The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-24 00:00:00

or of some other regiments, have not,Peen sinCe sent iR
that ship.
Mr. PEEL said he would answer the questions om
Monday.
THE MILITIA..
Colonel CLIFFORD asked the Secretary of Stsite for/
the Home Department, whether in his or:11°110s act
of 12th May, 1854, had not deprived any militiaman,
whether enrolled before or since, of any right to claim.
his discharge by reason of the embodiment of the mi.
litia without the existing danger of invasion 1
Sir G. GREY gave it as his opinion that the provi-
sions of the act of last session applied alike to itnilitia•
men enrolled before as after the passing of the act.
That, . was the opinion of the law officers of the
Crowt
JAVA BURIAL GROUNDS.
Mr. G. DUNDAS asked the Under Secretary for
War if the Government had taken any steps with re-
gard to the state of the burial grounds in the neighbour.
hood of Balaklava, and the lar4e quantity of deeayino.
and putrid substances in the vicinity, to counteract th;
natural effects of so much offensive matter, and prevent
as far as possible the spread of fever and disease 1 Also
if those composing the sanitary commission, recently
sent out to the Crimea, were indued with full powers to
adopt at once such means as p.lny. appear to them neces-
sary to secure the health of the troops ?
Mr. PEEL said the attention of the commissioners hail
been especially (Erected to that subject, and large quan-
tities of peat charcoal, and other disinfectants were
about to be sent out to be placed at their disposal. The
commissioners had the power referred to in the second
iuestion.

TRADE WITH CHINA.
Mr. GREG SON asked the First Lord of the Tread
,ury, with reference to the notification from the Board.
Trade of the 12th instant, published in the London"
Gazette of the 13th, on the subject of the coasting trade
in China, whether the coasting trade in China by
British ships was thereby extended beyond the five
ports named in the treaty of 1842 ; if so, whether British
ships might proceed at once under the local authority
from Amoy, without waiting for the sanction of the Im-
perial Government at Pekin ; and, whether goods sent
coastwise in British ships would be admitted at the same
duty as goods imported in Chinese vessels ?
Lord PALME RSTON said the permission bad been
granted not by the imperial but by the local authority,
and he was unable to say whether it extended beyond.
the five ports or not. He was unable to answer the
second question.
TOOLS FOR THE ARMY.
Mr. H. BAILLIE asked the Clerk of the Ordnance
whether any trenching tools of a superior description to
those originally sent out had been forwarded to the
army of the Crimea, or whether the Board of Ordnance
was still prepared to maintain that the tools originally
sent out were of the best description that could be ob•
tained in this country ?
Mr. MONSELL entered into a lengthened explana•
tion in reply to the question. The tools he said were
partly supplied by colonels of the regiments, and partly
by the Board of Ordnance. The tools used in
the Crimea were issued from Woolwich, and.
were made after a pattern agreed on by a
board of general officers. Conflicting statements of the
quality of these tools had been made to the Ordnance,
and under those circumstanses an officer had been
sent to Woolwich to examine the tools about
to be despatched to the army. If they were found to
be bad in quality, of course the order for sending theta
out would be countermanded ; but perhaps the hon.
gentleman would repeat his question on a future day.
Mr. ROEBUCK inquired if it was true that the tools
sent out were reported against by a commission of general
officers that met in the camp at Chobham ?
Mr. MONSELL had never heard of the commission,
but he would make inquiries about it.