The Sun.
London, England, 1855-06-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON SATURDAY EVENING, JUNE 16, 1855.

a reference had once been made to the subject, all the par-
ticulars could have been known to the house.
The motion for the adjournment was then agreed to.
On the motion of Lord PALMERSTON, the orders of
the day were postponed until after Mr. Layerd's motion
had been brought forward.
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM.
Mr. LAYARD then rose and moved the following reso-
lution:—" That this house views with deep and increasing
concern the state of the nation, and is of opinion that the
manner in which merit and efficiency have been sacrificed,
in public appointments, to party and family influences, and
to a blind adherence to routine, has given rise to great mis-
fortunes, and threatens to bring discredit upon the national
character, and to involve the country in grave disasters!,
The hon. gentleman said :—I am more in need than usual
this evening of the kind indulgence of the house, both
because I am afraid I shall have to trespass upon it for a
considerable time, and because the question is one which,
under any circumstances, might perhaps give rise to feel-
ings of irritation upon the part of some members of the
house. It is, however, my especial wish to treat the ques
tion in as moderate'a manner as possible, and I shall there-
fore prefer reading such documents as I possess to express-
ing any strong opinions of my own upon the subjects I
shall have to bring forward. This question is one of far
too serious a nature for me to make any appeal to the pas-
sions in discussing it, even had 1 the power and the elo-
quence necessary for ine to do so. I wish merely to make
a plain straightforward statement. (Hear, hear.) It can-
not be denied that a general feeling is abroad that there is
something wrong in the administrative system and the Go-
vernment of this country—that there are great evils in that
administrative system which can only be remedied by
some kind of pressure from without. I will endeavour,
as concisely as possible to state the grounds upon which
the people of this country have come to that conclusion.
It will be for Her Majesty's Government to show
whether these grounds are correct—that conclusion justi-
fiable or not ; and it will rest with these gentlemen who
represent various branches of the public service in this
house to show how far the country is right in believing
that the departments with which they are connected are
not properly administered. Ishall endeavour to say nothing
which will hurt the feelings of any of the right hon. orhon.
and gallant members present, and I think that they on their
part will permit me to state what I think without attri-
buting to me any improper motives, for I assure them, with
the deepest feelings of conscientious conviction, that my
only wish is to promote the general good. If the hon. and
gallant member for Weymouth (Colonel Freestun)is in the
house I trust he will justify his statement that things
which I have said are not true, and that be will take a
course in better taste than that which he has lately adopted.
My resolution contains three distinct propositions. First, it
states that the house views with deep concern the state of
the nation; it points out, secondly, the feelings of the
nation; and thirdly, what will be thseconsequences if the
present state of things continues to exist. An amendment
has been given notice of by my hon. friend opposite (Sir B.
Lytton)— if the hon. baronet will allow me to call him so—
somewhat of a similar nature to a motion which wasbrought
by a noble lord before another assembly when I gave notice
of my resolution. The noble lord to whom I allude felt it,
necessary to place the sentiments he entertained in a some-
what palateable shape before that assembly, and I believe
the hon. baronet has now acted under a similar feeling,
and, following the advice of the Italian poet, has anointed
the edge of the jar with honey in order that his friends
may more readily swallow the dose he is about to ad-
minister. I have endeavoured to call things by their right
names, for I think this country has been placed in consider-
able danger from that not having been done. I also think
that danger threatens this country from too great respect
being paid to personal and private feelings. (Laughter.)
Perhaps hon, gentlemen, before they laugh, will allow me
to explain my meaning. Those feelings are very right and
necessary in private affairs, and no one can respect them
more than I do; but those who put aside public duty out
of consideration for them neglect their duty. If private
feelings are t o be put before public duty we ought to debate
questions in this house with closed doors. If we are to be
erevented from saying what we believe to be true for fear
of lanrting some one's feelings, reports of our proceedings
ought not to go forth. What should we say if a judge did
not use harsh words in condemning a criminal for fear he
should hurt his feelings? There are cases in which we all
agree that condemnation to some extent is necessary, but if
harsh phrases are used in expressing that condemnation they
are received with public disapprobation. I trust I shall do
my duty in that respect. I will endeavour to be moderate.
I will state facts ; if I am wrong I hope hon. and gallant
gentlemen will tell me so without any irritating expres-
sions, and I trust they will not find me unwilling to admit
the errors I may have fallen into. (Cheers.) It was said
that the debate in another place led to nothing because the
speeches made dealt solely in generalities and no instances
were adduced; but, when instances are adduced, then it
is said, these are merely vulgar personal accusations which
do not prove your cases We are thus placed in a double
difficulty. No doubt the noble lord at the head of the
Government will say this evening, as ho has done upon
former occasions, that this is a mere attack upon the aris-
tocracy. The noble lord is weleome to say that I am at-
tacking an oligarchy, but I utterly deny that I am making
any attack upon the aristocracy. I only wish that every
man should have a fair chance of rising in the public .ser-
vice of the country. (Hear.) Although the words of my
hon. friend's resolution are not exactly the same as those
of my motion, yet, if they mean anything, they must mean
precisely the same thing. He asks the house to recom-
mend the Government to institute judicious tests of merit,
and to remove obstructions to its fair promotion and legi-
timate rewards. That must moan that at the present mo-
ment there are no such tests and there are such obstructions.
Then comes the question, what are those obstructions?
Do not think that by voting for this amendment you are
escaping the difficulty which the amendment is moved to
enable you to escape, because its meaning is exactly the
same as that which I have embodied in my resolution.
Why should we flinch from naming the things which we
considei as obstructions to merit ? Why should we shrink
from stating that a man cannot rise in the public service
of the country on account of the obstructions proceeding
from party and family interests ? That is the chief evil
of which we complain. There is no use in denying that.
Such, at any rate, is the feeling out of doors. If that
feeling is not justified, it is surely well worthy of this
house, if possible, to remove that feeling. For myself, I
am willing that this feeling shall be removed. All I say
is that this feeling does exist. (Hear, hear.) Nor is that
feeling confined to a small and insignificant class; it is
especially characterised by being prevalent among the
most educated class in this country. My avocations and
antecedents throw me a good deal among men connected
with literature, art, and science, and I will ask any man
frequenting that society, whether the feeling I have de-
scribed does not prevail among these men ? (Hear, hear.)
Now, I do not say that the feeling is altogether war-
ranted,:although I believe it is, and as it prevails among
the class I have named it must prevail among the class
below that, and it is, as I have said, so extensive and so
general that it is well worth the time and attention of the
house to endeavour to remove it if it can be proved to be
ill-founded. It must be known to the house that a large
and powerful association has been formed to investigate
this question, comprising among its, members many men
of wealth, of talent, and of enterprise. The opinions of
that association have been re-echoed in the largest towns
of the country, and that association is determined to pied]
the doctrines and opinions enunciated in its address. Now,
such an agitation may lead to great mischief. Notice has
been given of another amendment by the hon. member for
Cork, but, as it is not on the paper for to-night, I pre-
sume it is the hon. member's intention to bring it for-
ward on some future occasion. The house will permit
me to say one word upon my own resolution, as it has
been misunderstood in some respects. I believe that it
stands, if not in the same shape, yet with the same inten-
tion as when I first placed it upon the books of the house.
I have cut off a phrase which pledged this house to the pro-
secution of the war, because such an allusion was unneces-
sary after the motion of the right hon. gentleman opposite
(Mr. Disraeli). A few words in the way of recital have also
been left out, but the words and essence of the resolution
have been maintained. There are three propositions in
that resolution, and I shall endeavour to substantiate each
of them. I will first take the state of the nation. I have
heard it said that these words are now uncalled for, be-
cause we have-had some success in the East, but I deny
that I ever intended to refer to the war. I look upon the
ecampaign in the Crimea as an episode, upon our failure as
a witness, and to the blue-hooks as evidence; but they form
only a part, and but a small part, of the question before
the house. But if the blue-books, that contain so much
that must be painful to the house and to the country, are
to remain dead letters, then our cup of disgrace will be
full indeed, and I hope that something will be done upon
those blue-books irrespective of my motion. (Hear, hear.)
What I mean by the state of the nation is, that I am fully
convinced that this country is becoming very distrustful of
this house, and is losing its confidence in public men; that
the people begin to believe there are great defects in the
, administrative system, and 'hat a remedy must be applied
to those defects ; that the Government of this country has
become a class monopoly, and that the recent changes in
the Government show that that monopoly does not go out
of the hands of a few—(Hear)—and that the Government
do not represent the country at large. (Hear.) They
see a liberal Government voting against every liberal mea-
sure that has been proposed this session, and voting in the
lobby on all these Questions with hon. members sitting on
the opposite side of the house, in contradistinction to the
Liberal party on this side of the house. (Hear, hear.)
They have also seen those who have hitherto been the
friends of the people, and who have represented popular
opinions, absorbed in the Government and remaining mute
and silent upon those opinions. (Hear, hear.) Is it then
astonishing that the confidence of the people has waned
with regard to public men? They have been so often be-
trayed by public men that I am not surprised that confi
dance in them is so much shaken. The country thinks that
the great offices of State are sacrificed to the interests of
party, and that the public service has been neglected, and
to this they trace the disasters that hake taken place.
Now, sir, I ask whether that is not a state of the nation
that is alarming, and whether such a feeling is not danger-
ous ? (Hear.) That is whit I mean by the state of the
nation, and I say let us if possible remove these impressions.
I propose to look into three departments—the army, as
that branch to which is confided the honour and defence of
the country, the diplomatic and consular service, to which
the conduct of foreign affairs is intrusted ; and the civil
service, which has the conduct of national affairs at home.
Sir, to begin with the army. This is, undoubtedly, a very
difficult and delicate question. I know that hon, and
gallant gentlemen in this house feel very indignant that a
civilian should touch the army, but I ask the house whe-
ther any but a civilian can touch the army ? Why, a mili-
tary man dare not touch the army. There is no doubt I
may be led into error when I speak of the army. The
rules and regulations that affect the army have been a
matter of some study to me, but I may be pardoned for
some misapprehensions when even very eminent military
men are ignorant of some of the rules and their application
—nay, even of the very existence of some of the regula-
tions affecting the army. I hold in my hand a letter from
a gentleman of seine rank in the army, whose name the
house will see I cannot mention, and I cannot, therefore,
give my authority; but this letter expresses so fully my
and the
He ay
e existing state of things that I will
r°evia feelings
tt ion g
thes house.
" A civilian, undertaking, as you have done, to attack
military abuses so deeply rooted, and of such long standing
as those which disgrace our service, is (as you very justly re-
mark) placed in a particularly difficult position ; for, unac-
itinutarlncatecidesa swyhoi tic
hp
seor
mh aept
is
ma
er
se
evr, ietnh p
uall
et hper minorn
adl emt ae inl
ya
ud
are not able to receive open assistance and evidence, which
would probably be the ruin of any military man who might
volunteer to enact such a Curtian part ; and many a man who
might be indifferent to the consequences as regarded himself,
might feel averse to sacrifice the prospects of some near rela-
tion, who might either be, or be intended to be, in the mili-
tary profession, and whose future prospects might thus be

prematurely blighted in the bud. Then, again, you will have
against you all those military men of family connection and
great interest who, having profited by a corrupt system, will
strenuously oppose any reform or innovation in the same. All
these circumstances combined render your task one of no ordi-
nary diffi ,ulty; still I would not despair for you have not only the
spirit of the times and public opinion in your favour, but als 3 all
that hard-working and ill-rewarded portion of the army, who
have not sufficient interest or family connexions to push them
unfairly forwards. All such, if they dare not openly applaud,
will look with secret pleasure on your undertaking, and, lam
sure, back it indirectly by any means which will not bring
them under the influence of that inquisitorial tribunal which
can more or less influence the fortunes of nearly every officer
in the service, whatever may be his merits, in the same man-
ner that it can by its fiat place men, most unfitted, in the
highest and most responsible situations, which has unfortu-
nately of latt‘been so fully and fatally proved."
(Cheers.) Sir, I believe that letter eminently expresses the
whole truth of this question with regard to the army.
(Hear.) But I have another letter from an eminent mili-
tary man, whose name I am permitted to mention—Sir W.
Napier. (Hear.) I have spared no pains to go to the best
military authorities before I ventured to touch upon this
subject. • Sir W. Napier's letter is most fair and proper
and, although it tells against me in some respects, I will
draw the attention of the house to it. He says :
" The question of promotion from merit and promotion
from favouritism I have never examined carefully, thinking
the latter an inevitable consequence of human selfishness, and
the former impossible to solve, except in a few instances.
With respect to favouritism generally, however, it certainly
pervades the British army to an inordinate degree, seeing that
no officer of high or low rank, no man below the rank of an
officer, no civilian related to or interested for an officer by re-
lationship or friendship, or seeking himself to enter the army,
"ut whose first thought and immediate course is, not very
vehemently, to beseech some person privately to use influence
to obtain by favour what is sought for. The Universal con-
stant prayer is, ' Let me have your interest.' Sometimes, in-
deed, some poor forlorn officer merely states his long and ardu-
ous services, his wounds, and the number of his relations who
have died in action ; but this only to sway the influential per-
son addressed, not as grounds for acceding to his claim. Why
is this ? Surely because the absolute necessity of paivate
interests, apart from merit, is universally felt to be domi-
nant. Your purpose is to bring public opinion to bear on this
system so strongly that an amelioration must take place, and
I for one will not shrink from cheering you on in such a pa-
triotic course. But while Ido so on general principles it
would be ungenerous, ungrateful, and unjust not to state
that I have made, I may say, hundreds of applications for
officers and soldiers, who have only their services to recom-
mend them—favour without service I never asked for—and,
while LordAlaglan was Military Secretary, in no instance did
I ever fail of success, nor have I in the very few cases which I
have brought before General Yorke, the present Military
Secretary, found the least backwardness to aid deserving
men,"

(Cheers.) If I were not addressing the house I should cheer
that sentiment as much as any man, but, although that
sentiment may tell against me, it is the very thing I am
arguing. Sir William Napier is a great military authority.
He has access to the Horse Guards. He can recommend
persons. Fortunately, his soul abhors a job, and he would
never recommend any one for promotion who is unworthy
of it. (Hear.) If every promotion went in the same was
I should not complain. If I saw promotions made upon
the recommendation of esuch men as Sir W. Napier, or that
gallant general who so much adorns this house, or any man
equally distinguished and equally pure, I should have no
doubt whatever of the propriety of those appointments.
That is not what we complain of, or are disposed to call in
question. (Hear.) A curious word occurs in the regula-
tion which affects the very commencement of every man's
career in the army. That regulation is, that all recom-
mendations for commissions shall certify the eligibility of
the person in respect to education, character, and " con-
nections." I do not really understand what is the mean-
ing of the word " connections," unless it be in relationship
to persons of a certain position. (" Oh, oh !") I shall be
very happy if hon. gentlemen will explain it. I have no
wish to put a wrong construction upon it ; I merely take
the word as it stands. (Hear, hear.) Before I go into the
several cases to which I shall call the attention of the
house, I must beg their indulgence while I say a few words
upon a rpersonal subject. I do not suppose the house is
forgetful of what occurred some time ago with regard to
myself and Colonel Harding°. Up to this moment it has
not been in my power to explain this matter fully. When
the questioi was brought forward I was not prepared to
meet it. I had received but a very short notice from the
gallant member that he intended to bring it forward, and
other reasons prevented me entering then upon a full ex-
planation. Those reasons no longer exist. Colonel Wilson
has retired from the army; and the country has lost the
services of an eminent and gallant officer, who distin-
guished
himself as much as any one on the fatal day of
Inkerman, who was in the thickest of the fight, who
brought his company into action from the two-gun bat-
tery, and was one of the very few that survived. He has
left her Majesty's service. It is a matter of regret to
me, because I am partly the cause ; but I am not to
blame. I wish merely to state to the house this case
of Colonel Wilson, because it eminently illustrates
my proposition, and I will state it as fairly as I can,
having taken great pains to obtain accuracy by most care-
ful inquiries on all sides. I hope the house will under-
stand that I will never be a party to, deceiving it in any
way whatever, tot even if I could appeal to 37 years' expe-
rience in Parliament. (Hear.) The house will believe me
when I say that if I state anything it is from a conviction
that it is true. I may be wrong, and, if the error is pointed
out in a fair and quiet manner, I shall be the first to retract.
Upon the occasion to which I allude I did not believe that
I had stated that which was not strictly true, though I felt
I was not in a position to prove it. I would not, therefore,
retract, not from any want of respect to the house, butsbe-
cause I respected the house, and would not give it the
impression that I had stated anything which I knew to be
inaccurate? (Hear.) What was the case of Col. Wilson?
Three officers, captains and lieutenant-colonels in the
Guards, were killed in action. The three officers next in
rank were entitled to promotion. Two of those officers were
not for purchase, and they were promoted' The third was
tor purchase, Col. M'Kinnon, and he was also promoted.
Colonel Iligiinnon' whose promotion was purchased, was
killed. He had not heard of the purchase at the time of
his death, and a regulation operated which was unknown
to Col. Wilson, and was unknown to many officers in the
army. Col. Wilson's friends were called upon to purchase
the commission. He was then ill in the hospital at Scutari.
He thought he had got his commission withopt purchase.
It proved not to be so. His friends had paid the money,
and he found himself g Lzetted by purchase. He thought,
considering the circumstances, he might have had the op-
tion of purchasing or not. However, that courtesy was
not shown Col. Wilson, and the rule seems to have been
strictly applied. I had what I considered the best possible
proof that I was not understating the case of the Guards.
I am not satisfied, though I quite admit I was wrong.
Col. Crombie was put on half-pay, Lord Burghersh was
promoted without purchase, and Col. Hardinge got his
step. The house will see there were rules, and the rules
were applied, and when I said there were not rules I *as
wrong, and that I retract. (Hear, hear.) Let me call the
attention of the house to Colonel Hardinge's career. I trust
the house will believe that I regard Colonel Hardinge with
no personal feeling whatever. He is a most gallant officer.
He has distinguished himself, and I do not grudge him ad-
vancement. It is not the man I attack • it is the system
which I wish to expose. Let us look at Colonel Hardinge's
career. Colonel Hardinge entered the army as ensign in
1844. His first appearance was in direct violation of a
printed regulation—much stronger than this regulation of
which Colonel Wilson was ignorant, and 'which I presume
is not printed—of a regulation which says that no officer
shall serve on the staff until he has for two years performed
regimental duty. He was put on the staff and served as
aide-de-camp 10 his father in his Indian campaign. For
good service in that campaign—in which he ought not
to have been, though I am glad to say he was—Colonel
Harding° was made a lieutenant without purchase. There
were hundreds of poor ensigns who went through that
campaign, but they received no such reward. (Hear,
hear.) That was in 1845. He was low in the list
of lieutenants in his own regiment, yet shortly afterwards
he was allowed to purchase a company. That was not
against rule, but it was done in a manner almost unac-
countable. (Hear, hear.) He is not in this new regiment
many days before he exchanges into the Coldstream
Guards, and advances to the position in which we have
lately seen him. Now look at Hart's Army List, and take
the case of an officer who entered the same regiment
shortly after Col. Hardinge—Lieut. Henry Buck. This
poor young man served all through the campaigns in the
Punjab. He got his lieutenancy at Guzerat ; he was at ail
the subsequent battles, and obtained several medals and
clasps. Poor Henry Buck is still a lieutenant, and Col.
llardinge has attained high rank in her Majesty's army.
(Hear.) I am glad to see Col. Harding° where he is ; but
the case of Lieut. Buck is a reflection upon the system.
(Hear.) When Major Hardinge is made an effective major in
the staff in direct opposition to regulations ; when Colonel
Wood is placed over the head of Colonel Brough ; when
Colonel Cuningharn, son-in-law to Lord Haas tinge,
is placed over everybody's head; wheu.all these things are
happening together, can the house be .surprised that an
officer like Colonel Wilson, who has to pay for his promo-
tion after all he has gone through, should have felt hurt ;
or that, naturally feeling, some indignation, I should have
made a somewhat inaccurate statement ? lam sorry that
I made it; and I now beg to retract anything which was
not correct. (Hear.) There is another question upon
which I must say a wbrd—that of Lord Eustace Cecil.
There the promotion was in direct opposition to all regu-
lations. The hon, member opposite got un and excused
that promotion because Lord Eustace Cecil had shown a
meritorious desire to see service. That was a not very
complimentary speech to the officers of the British army ;
but what are the facts of that case ? Lord Eustace Cecil
had exchanged from every regiment which was seeing
service. His regiment is at the seat of war; he is placed
in a battalion which is at this moment at Dublin, and
Lord Eustace Cecil is within a mile of the house, or,'
indeed, he was so within a very few days. (Hear.)
On a former occasion I alluded to the case of Captain
Blackett, and I have since been accused of some inaccuracy,
and I was asked by the father of that gentleman to retract
my statement, but which I refused to do ; and certainly I
ptrei etehde arnitd
eass teo n
letteredi s h
ithatwhich the
hf aet hdeern
isehdo utlhdhaat ve
wwaristtseurn
son was promoted for merit, but that it was by the influence
of Col. Upton, with whom he had gone on some pleasure
excursion. (Laughter.) This reminds me of Canning's
celebrated story of the knife-grinder, who would not be re-
lieved, although some sentimental person was ready to
afford it to him. I have a long list of lieutenants in the
army who have served for years and years without having
been promoted, but I will not refer to all of them. I
will, however, call the attention .of the house to a few
cases, avoiding, as much as possible the mentioning
of names where it may be considered painful to indivi-
duals to do so, (Hear, hear.) There was a Lieutenant
Edwardes, who went to Spain in 1811, and who was en-
gaged throughout the whole of the Peninsular war.
He was in six medal actions, and he was 30 times under
fire, and had been twice wounded ; and yet, notwithstand-
ing a most earnest appeal to Lord Hardinge by Sir W.
Napier in his favour, he has been a lieutenant in actual
service ever since. (Hear.) Let me mention the case of
Lieutenant D-----. That officer made an application for
dI India and
his
was an ensign in 1839. He is the son of an old officer, and
rperiogmnosteirovnicteo, h
avlets a" the rank of captain without purchase. He
has served some 12 or 14 years out of the 17 years on fo-
reign
China. He
has
present, corps, as it is impossible for him V support his
family in England. He is now the oldest subaltern in the
service, and he has applied to be appointed to an unat-
bee
family, during
and
has that e
xteihmeen
g i ne
unat-
tached company. But, no ; he has no friend at the
-Horse Guards, and therefore he still remains a subal-
tern. I will now read to the house a most touching
letter, which has been furnished to me by Sir W. Napier,
who has applied in vain to Lord Harding° on behalf of
the writer, who is a captain in the 44th Regiment, and
who has been 4 iyears in actual service.ghe letter, although
working of the whole system, that I make no apology forate, private, is one so touching, and so fully exeruplifyiwg the
reading it :
" This day is the 40th anniversary of the Nivelle, when you
showed us the way to fight and conquer. How few Aux-vivo

of those whom you so gallantly led ! Am I not somewhat pri-
vileged, as oneeof your old followers, to address you : I think
so. Mine reallyis a singular fate. Here I am, one of the spared
of the old guard, making preparations in Table-bay for the
embarkation of the modern 43d, destined for Madras. . .
During the last three years I have not been one night absent
from my post. Sir George Cathcart has not been backward in
acknowledging my services, and recommended me for a brevet
majority (2 per diem). My Lord Hardinge rejected my claims
to this trifling boon with the inconsistency of adinitting that
he entertains a full sense of my merits. He has promoted a
legion of youngsters over me ; many of whom have been only
iu one little skirmish, pendant notre petit guerre. One 26
years my jun., writes to me to say, I was surprised to see
my name among the lucky fellows promoted, as I have never
done anything.' The chief of our staff, a very intelligent
officer, wrote to me not long since stating----' I have no hesi-
tation in saying that the zeal and diligence which you have
exhibited in carrying on the various business at our great
entrepot, whence everything comes to this army, have been
of more use than if you had been in every skirmish and on
every patrol during the war.' My services are considered,
however, unworthy of
.the smallest consideration. . . .

Cependant n'importe ! la vie est si courte, et si triste, qu on
ne doit pas s'en chagriner."
I will now refer to a case of a very opposite description-
It is that of an officer, a young man (Captain 8-) whose
name has never been mentioned in any despatch, and
whose services are wholly unnoted. In 1853 he was pro-
moted to a majority, and in 1855, on Lord Panmure's ac-
cession to the office of Minister for War, a was
he made

deputy quartermaster-general and ieutenan t-colonel, which,
of course, makes it certain that he will obtain his co-
lonelcy in three years' time, while be still retains his cap-
taincy in his own regiment. That, I contend, is a case of
most unjust promotion. I say not a word against the in-
dividual, but I do most severely condemn the system. The
tint step in his promotion put him over the head of the
senior major in his own regiment, Major A-, who en-
tered the regiment four years before Captain was
known in the service, and who was in the campaign of Aff-
ghanistan, at Ghuznee, Khelat, and in the Caffre war, was
severely wounded, and is well known as a distinguished
officer. The second step in his promotion puts him over
Lieut.-Col. B-, whose name has often been mentioned
in orders and despatches, and who is "six years the senior
of Captain S-, twice slightly wounded, once seriously.
It puts him over the head of Brigade-Major Simmons, who
entered the regiment nine years before Captain S- was
appointed, who was known to the House in the Seringa-
patina affair and in the Affghanistan campaign, and was
seriously wounded at Ghuznee and twicp at Khelat. I
ask is this a state of things that is to be tolerated ? (Hear.)

I could go into the particulars of an unlimited number
of instances of a similar description, but 1 think those I
have already mentioned will be sufficient to prove to the '
house that there is a system of favouritism pursued in the
British army to a great and lamentable extent, and whioh
operates most injuriously to those whc have honestly and
patriotically served their country. (Hear.) I will now go
to the staff. I have already stated that the regulations of
the army are infringed whenever it is thought they may be
au obstacle in the way of the promotion of men having
influence at their command. One of those evils which
have given rise to all the anomalies of which we have to
complain is the numerous appointments to the staff. If
you look through the Army List you will perceive this at
once. It will be seen that there are not less than 45 officers
wilt), in spite of the regulations, are away from their regi-
ments ann serving on the staff. By those regulations it is
positively stated that no officer shall be on the staff while
his regiment is in foreign service. I know that there is a
distinction between the staff of the army and the personal
staff of the general. General Jomini has said that—
" A good staff, is more than all,, indispensable to a well-
constituted army. It must be considered as the nursery
whence a general is to draw the instruments of which he
makes use—an assemblage of officers whose talents are to
second his own. When the genius which directs, and the
talents of those who are to carry out his conceptions do not
harmonise, success becomes doubtful, for the most skilful
combinations are neutralised through faults in execution. A
good staff has, moreover, the advantage of being more lasting
than the genius of one man--it can remedy many evils, and
we hesitate not to affirm that it is the best safeguard. to au
army. Petty interests, narrow views, misplaced self-love,
may deny this assertion ; it must nevertheless remain an un-
deniable truth to every reflecting soldier and every enlight-
ened statesman. A well-constituted staff will be to an army
what an able Ministry is to a monarchy—it will support the
commander even when he is capable of directing all himself.
It will prevent faults by furnishing him with good informa-
tion, it will also prevent them when he is unequal to the
duties of command."

It must, nevertheless, remain an undeniable truth to every
reflecting mind that a well•constituted staff is to an army
what an able Minister is to the Monarch ; and I wish we
had both. Those axe most remarkable words. This house
and the country know what we have suffered of late.
There is an institution in this country specially devoted to
the education of officers who ought to be on the staff. A
return was called for some time ago by an hon. member of
those officers who had taken honours and were now on
the staff. I made an error before, and I will correct it now
by reading the returns :

" Omitting gentral officers, there are 116 officers serving on
the staff, of whom 19 belong to the Guards, most of them of
noble families, and 7 to the Rifle Brigade, of whom 4 are ho-
nourables. There are 6 lieutenant-generals on the staff, not
one of whom has taken a certificate in the senior department
of the Royal Military College; 12 major-generals, of whom 1
(General Eyre) has obtained a certificate; 4 colonels, 1 of
whom (Colonel Cameron) has a certificate; 12 assistant adju-
tant-generals, 2 of whom (Lieut.-Colonel Stirling and Major
E wart) have obtained a certificate ; 1 quartermaster-general,
with a certificate; 9 assistant-quartermaster-generals, none of
whom have obtained certificates; 29 deputy-assistant quarter-
master-generals, 5 of whom have certificates ; 1 military secre-
tary, assistant military secretary,. 12 staff officers, 30 aides-
de-camp, and 14 brigade-majors, none of whom had obtained
certificates; so that out of the whole staff, properly so called,
only 7 have obtained certificates of the senior department of
the Royal Military College."

A. return hay been also made to the house of the names of
those officers who have been promoted for good service
during the campaign, coming down to the 11th of March.
Out of 93 officers promoted, how many does the house sup-
pose are on the staff? No less than 65. This is a most
serious consideration. Remember the brave men in the
Crimea; our officers are becoming disheartened by the pre-
sent state of things. I say so from my own personal know-
ledge; I have mixed with them and heard from their own
lips their opinions of the wholesa:e promotions of those
whose services are inferior to their own. Let the house
listen to a voice from the Crimea. The following obser-
vations have appeared in a public paper :--

" But, more by far than any injustice or indiscriminating
liberality in distributing honours, is the tardiness with which
the State rewards them (the officers and soldiers). How many
of the soldiers of the Alma are there remaining among us 'I
How many have passed away from the ranks of those who
fought at Balaklava and Inkerman ? Look, for example, at
the case of Colonel Egerton, who fell the other night in a noc-
turnal action in the trenches. That gallant, loved, and ho-
noured officer had never for a moment left his regiment, from
the time he landed, till he met his death-wound; he led his
regiment up the steeps •of Alma ; he commanded them at
Inkerman, where Lord Raglan specially mentioned their ser-
vices and exertions in recapturifig three of our guns from the
enemy ; and many a weary night he passed in the dreary
trenches ; but while Gazette after Gazette showered promo-
tion on the peak of every cocked hat, wherever it was, in the
fight, or out of it, Colonel Egerton received nothing— not one
step. He had no reward except the regard of his general,
the respect of the army, and the promise of A medal and
clasps, which he never lived to see. That is the o,) se of many
a gallant soldier, and the cause of many a great complaint.

" The authorities at home have, no doubt, ascertained pri-
vately, and through communications unknown to the public,
how much disappointment exists among the senior officers in
command of regiments out hero at the delay which has taken
place in the distribution of the rewards and honours which
they have reason to expect, and to which they are so justly
entitled. The feeling is expressed in every tent, in every con-
versation in camp. If colonels of regiments are to be made
C. B.'s for past services, why are they kept waiting till they
are heart-sickened ? The case of Colonel Egerton, who
went to his honoured grave followed by the regrets of
the whole army, may be that of every one of the few
remaining officers who led their regiments at Alma, In-
kerman, and have served their country in the equally
perillous, more trying, but less glorionsservice of the trenches
during this protracted siege. There is understood to be some
little difference of opinion ben Lord Raglan and the War-
office respecting the list of officers to be rewarded : but it
matters little to those who are pining for some acknowledg-
ment of their services what the nice point may be which bars
their right. Very recently, Colonel Rumley, who has seen but
little foreign service as commanding officer, and Colonel
.Williams, who has latterly at least been principally employed
in Ireland, have been appointed Brigadiers-General in Malta.
It is felt that these appointments would have been conferred
with much greater propriety and justice on some one of the
colonels of regiments out here—men who, like Col. Garrett
or Col. Macpherson, belong to the Peninsula, and who are
only in temporary command of brigades, from which they
may be superseded at any moment ; whereas Colonels Rum-
ley and Williams have permanent commands. Colonel Shirley
of the 88th Regiment has every day an opportunity of seeing'
his nephew, who never saw any war service, and who is
junior to him by many years, in the,,uniform of a major-
general, with rank and pay greater than his own ; and there
is no doubt that Major-General Shirley will not only have his
local rank confirmed, but that he will also have a certainty of
higher promotion if the force to which he has been appointed
perform any service of importance, while Colonel Shirh y, who
:las served with his regiment throughout the campaign, can-
not be promoted, and does not even receive any honorary dis-
tinction for his conduct. He was a brigadier for a few days,
but is so no•longer. The case of Colonel Yea of the 7th, than
whom there is no more gallant, devoted, and energetic sol-
dier in the service is equally hard ; and all the Alma colonels
are aggrieved or slighted in the tame way. Col. Cunynghame
is doubtless a deserving, zealous, and hardwo,rking officer; but
he has recently received an appointment which places him far
above the heads of officers as deserving and far senior to him
in the service. (The system we go upon is in fact unintelli-
gible, it is neither one of seniority or of merit.) What reward
has Brevet-Colonel Dicks n received for the services he ren-
dered at the Alma, and the incalculable results he produced
at Inkerman by the fire of two guns, around which 17 of the
gunners were struck down beside him ?"

I know Colonel Dickson, and a more gallant or more able
officer does not exist, nor one who has rendered groat r
services to the country. Does the house remembor his
f‘ther in the Peninsula, when the Duke of Wellington
ordered a certain military operation, which the artillery
officer in command said it was impossible ; upon which the
Duke turned round to the young officer and said, " Will
you do it ?" he replied, " I will ;" and he did it. What did
the Duke of Wellington ? He promoted the young officer
to the head of the artillery on the spot, and morever kept
him there, in spite of favouritism at home, and even of
officers being sent out to supersede him. W ell, what was
the result? Why, his artillery was the best in the British
army. Colonel Dickson, the son's, was exactly the same
case. At Inkerruan the colonel commanding the artillery
said it was impossible to bring up the guns to a position which
would decide the fate of theday. Colonel Dickson, how-
ever—who left this country, be it remembered, a brevet
colonel, having been in Spain and seen long service there—
said it was possible to bring up guns, and, like his father,
ha did bring them up, and played with such effect as to
break the masses of Russian infantry which were attacking
us. He is still a plain captain of artillery. The statement in
the Times was—" It would surprise the Horse Guards,
perhaps, if they could hear the names of officers who have,
I know, expressed their intention of leaving the service as
soon as they can should their claims be disregarded any
longer, or as soon as they complete a term of service to
justify their demanding a retirement." We have bad re-
verses, and why? Because we have had no mento command
—no officers. And we shall have none if you continue to
turn a deaf ear to just merit, and still determine to pro-
mote those only who have family or political influence to
recommend them. Look at the Staffs of the generals, look
at that of my gallant friend here (Sir D. L. Evans.) That
staff was not composed of men selected on account of re-
laMonship or political influence, but of the best men for
the duties. There was one hon. Member of that house
(Lieut.-Colonel P. Herbert)_upon that gaff, but he was

not elected on that account, fora more gallant officer could
not bb found, and ie choosing him the general did honour
to the house, and at the same time placed that officer in
the right place. What are the remedies I suggest for the
evils I have pointed out? They are promotion without
purchase, and an end, if possible, to all favouritism in the
army. That is the first step. As to the promotion with-
out purchase, I believe my gallant friend (6ir De Lacy
Evans) agrees with all those who are well acquainted with
the army, that this system, which disgraces us in the eyes
of foreign nations, must be put an end to. That has been
proposed more than once, and the answer al ways has been
you cannot meddle with vested interests." I do not wish
to do so, but if I can show you how you can remedy the
evils without interfering with vested interests, if you be
sincere in your desire for improvement you will agree with
me. Here is a curious list, which I have made, of the num-
ber of commissions given without purchase up to this time.
Will the house believe that out of 4,367 commissions given
from the rank of captain downwards, more than one-half
(2,413) have been granted without purchase. I will take-
two regiments at random. In the Ist Regiment, out of 23'
commissions as captains, 11 are without purchase; lieute-
nants, 22 out of 33; and ensigns, 10. out of 16-without pur-
chase. Now; I will take the last regiment—the Rifle Bri-
gade. There, out of 43 captains' commissions, 30 were given
without purchase; of lieutenants, 34 out of 35; and o en-
signs, 23 out of 129 were without purchase. Now, if you
be sincere, you have an opportunity to put an end to one-
half of the purchase system in the army—if you will say
that all these commissions which have been given without
purchase shall remain free commissions, to be given only to
merit, and shall not pass by purchase. Thus, without touch-
ing in anydegree vested interests, or injuring any man in any
way, you can put an end to so much of the system of pur
chase, and at the same time be doing only an act of justice.
Is it right that a man who has a commission given to him
should go and sell it to a person who has merited it? (Hear.)

I know-he cannot do so immediately after he gets it, but
he can very soon after ' • and supposing a man on obtaining
his colonelcy sells out, he sells all his former commissions,
although one or two may have come to him without pur-
chase. If the Government wishes to advance the int"rests
of those men who are fighting our battles, and wishes to
say one word of-consolation to them, let the decision of
this house go forth, that at least commisSions given with-
out purchase shall henceforth be given only to merit. The
anomalies of the purchase system are greater in war than
in peace. You have officers who have fought in all your
campaigns ; when vacancies occur they cannot, perhaps,
purchase ; and then men who have never left this country
—who have been the whole time with the depot—are ena-
bled to buy over their heads, not only within their own
but in any other regiments. The next thing you must do
is to abolish the privileges of the Guards. There is the reat
evil. You take one regiment and place it above all others,
which is an injustice ; it is unfair and inconsistent with
the s pirit of the age. You must edncate your staff—you must
make a rule that no man shall be on the staff unless he
shall have received the education necessary for such an ap-
pointment. You must attend to the recommendations of
the commissions which have been appointed to consider
these questions, and which have reported in favour of
changes insour military system. Thera was a report made
.last year by a commission, signed by several members of
this house, in which I find the following passage :
" It is generally admitted that in a,naval command phy-
sical vigour, and the energy which accompanies it, are
necessary to the full discharge of the duties imposed upon
the commander ; but, if this be true in the navy, in which,
though the responsibility and risk to life be increased in
war, yet there is little additional fatigue or privation, com-
paratively, beyond what is encountered in peace, how much
more is it true in the case of land service, where immense
distances have to be traversed over unknown and difficult
ground, where the general must necessarily spend days to-
gether in tl:e saddle, visiting, as lie must do, in all parts of
an extended line of operations, where the most opposite reports
have to be balanced and decided, where the most elaborate
combinations must be rapidly cunceiveif and executed, in
order to move and feed vast bodies of men in an unwilling or
, hostile country, to find means of transport for supplies of
provisions and ammunition, to provide for the sick and
wounded; to create, in short, wrth such materials as may be
found, an organisation, any failure in which may result in a
terrible sacrifice of human life, and may, in the most critical
moment, baffie the best combinations. That labours such as
these must require not only the exercise of faculties of the
highest order, but physical strength, and powers of endurance
which shall keep those faculties unimpaired by bodily fatigue
and privation, is too obvious to be disputed. . . .
The breaking out of a war, of which no one can foresee the
duration or the extent, makes it incumbent upon us to take
immediate and effective measures to remedy evils by which
the efficiency of the service may, at a most critical moment,
be seriously impaired."
But how far have those recommendations been carried
out ? The report gives a list of the, ages of the general
officers iu the Peninsula :

"The Duke of Wellington was a Major• General at 33, the
Marquis of Anglesey 34, the Earl of Dalhousie 38, the Earl of
Strafford 36, Lord Hill 33, Lord Beresford 39, Sir George
Murray 40, Lord Combermere 31, Lord Londonderry 32."
By way of contrast, I have here a list of the ages of the
general officers in the Crimea, which, I believe, is correct,
and which shows how much attention has been paid to the
recommendations of the commission :

" Lord Raglan 67, Sir J. Burgoyne 73, General Brown 65,
Duke of Cambridge 36, Sir D. L. Evans 68, Sir R. England
62, Sir G. Cathcart 61, Lord Lucan 55, General Tylden, en-
tered service in 1806, 66, General Cator, entered service in
1803, 69, General Strangways, entered service in 1806, 66,
Commissary-General Filder 61, Admiral Dundas, entered ser-
vice in 1792, 67, Lord Rokeby 57."
All these are gallant officers ; they have served their coun-
try well, and the country would rejoice to honour them—
and to pension them ; but when the interests and honour
of the country are at stake, we must not allow private con-
siderations to have weight in appointments of this kind.
I want to know why the recommendation of the commis-
sion which I have just read was not carried out, and I
want to know, further, whether it is now being carried
out. By your present system you exclude from the army
all the middle classes— those classes which eminently re-
present the intelligence of the country; only those who have
influence and family connexions can get commissions; but
if you were to throw open the army you would at once have
a large importation of the middle classes into it, even as
privates, if you were to give,them a prospect of rising. But
the Government have done nothing towards improving our
military system, except throwing open the Artillery, and
uniting the Commissariat and Ordnance with the Horse
Guards. I should not quite like to state my own opinion
with regard to this last measure, but I will read to the
house what the hon. member for Middlesex—(laughter)---
who is a member of the Government, and who ought there-
fore to be an authority, said on the subject some little time
ago—

" Will any man tell me that our military system, as exist-
ing at present, has tended to develope or bring forward mili-
tary talent or genius ? 1 deny it. Look, sir, in the first in-
stance, how the staff of the British army ie compose& (Cheers
and counter cheers.) It is all very well for hon. gentlemen to
come down and talk of consolidation of the Ordnance, the
Horse Guards, and the Commissariat under one bead, and the
substitution of one Minister for another. I maintain (what-
ever may be the inherent vigour of that man, whatever may
be his experience), a mere consolidation will not be sufficient;
you must reconstruct your whole military system. The time
has arrived when y ou cannot expect an army, besides winning
battles in the field, to go through the vicissitudes of a cam-
paign under the present state of things. (Renewed Opposi-
tion cheers.) You must lay an unsparing hand on that build-
ing adjacent to these premises—you must see, whether in fact
you can find a modern Hercules to turn the Serpentin through
the Horse Guards, and all the ramifications of the War-office.
(Loud cheers.) . . In England every one knows that it is
not merit and capacity for which an officer is appointed to
the staff, but interest and connexion. . . I say you must
not be satisfied with the army consolidation—you must reform
the army and the Horse Guards. . . The fact is this,
that you never will haye any reform till you commence with
the Horse Guards, and are not satisfied with the mere conso-
lidation of offices. It is very painful for me :o make this
statement—(ironical cheers)-1 have a superior duty to per-
form ; I represent a constituency."
(Laughter.) Really, if I had boon speaking myself, I corild
not have used more appropriate. language. This being,
then, the opinion of a member of the Government, I trust
something will be done. We must remember that our
words here will travel far; I know that every regimental
officer in the Crimea is watching what passes here with the
deepest 'anxiety ; they trust in us, and they are hopieg
that we shall be able to break up the system which ex-
poses them to so great wrongs. (Hear, hear.) With re-
gard to the navy, I am afrai.i there is much in its system
which produces the same injustice and the same grievances
as those which I have described with regard to the army.
I am afraid there is the same favouritism at work there
too. will just give ono instance of the perversity
which characterises the a ,ministration of the navy. If
there is one class of officers more valaable and more de-
serving than another in the navy it is the masters. (Hear.)
They are intrusted with most responsible duties; if a shin-
wreck takes place the blame is generally thrown on their
shoulders ; but although there is a power to promote
masters, the Government will not do it. Some time
ago I pressed on ati hon. member of this house, who faits at
the Admiralty Board, to do something for the masters and
he told me that something was being done: It turned out
that that something was a mere increase of pay, but there
was no improvement whatever made es to promoting them
in rank. Now a mere increase of pay Isay is no encourage-
ment at all to such men. I have received letters from mas-
ters telling me that they wore so disgusted with the service
that they were longing to quit it, and enter into th 4 mer-
cantile marine. I come now to the diplomatic service, in
which lam somewhat more at home, as have had consi-
derable personal experience of it, and have made it, too, a
subject of study; I will divideitinto twoparts—Aiplomacy
proper, and the consular service. Recent events have shown
us of what importance our diplomatic service is, and what
i,nportant questions are committed into its hands, and yet
if there is one service more tbananother which is made the
vehicle for favouritism it is our diplomacy. Here's a little
book published by the Foreign-office, which gives a list
of those who are employed in our diplomatic service I
open it at random, and I read :---Hanover—Minister, the
Hon. John Duncan Bligh, C.B. ; Secretary of Legation,
Hon. G. Edgcumb ; First Attache, Hon. W. Nassau
Jocelyn. Then Igo to Austria. There the Minister is the
Earl of Westmoreland ; the Secretary of Legation, Hon.
Henry G. Elliot; First paid,Attache, Hon. Julian H. C.
Fane. I turn to Berlin, and there I read—Minister, Lord
Bloomfield ; Secretary of Legation, Lord Augustus Loftus ;
First paid Attache, Hon. Lionel S Sackville West ; Se-
cond Attaché, Hon. William G. C. Ellibt ; and so on
throughout, showing what a complete monopoly the ser-
vice is. From this little book I have made the following
analysis of the compositions of the service
Head of Missions-7 lords, 9 honourables, 2 baronets
3 noble families, 7 gentlemen, nearly all small missions";
against 7. Secretaries of Legation-2 lords, mhoessnoroci_urcebn.Fitlaeliesa.
1 baronet, 5 noble families, 7 gentlemen ; 17 against..s 1
Attaches-1 lord, 7 honourables, 6 noble flilitoisch,
Persian
men ; 14 against 10, but the 10 include T
Mission. Unpaid Attaches-2 lords, 5 honourables, 9 noble
families, 17 gentleman ; 16 against 17."
My hon. friend the member for 'Stafford the other night
mentioned the ca se of Mr.Sata ndley,
who, w
ahfotehraslxbde been
ve
n sperreciise-
writer in the Foreign-office, n
Its second attache, was made first attaché ; and, after three
years' service as first attache, was promoted to the post of
secretary of
ieption. Certainly I should have thought
that that family had had enough—two peerages and a
bishopric, besides other things, ought to have sufficed
for them. Than, on the other 'ham!, there is the case
of Mr. Alison—emphatically a man of genius—who has
been kept at the embassy at Constantinople since 1839.
An abler man does not exist ; yet the Government thougl
they have made him Oriental Secretary, will not allyw
- him to rank as a secretary of legation or to claim incr.Jase
of pay ; he is kept under such men as Mr. Stanley, and
Alters who have been put over his head. There are a
great many other cases, all of which ale equally as bad ;
and let the house take kny word for it—for I have
been engaged in diplomacy and in the Foreign-office—there
'is nothing but favouritism is diplomacy. Yez, the noble
lord (Lord Palmerston) gets up and says that it is a great
mistaketo suppose that when vacancies occur in the higher
ofdoes the "elections are not made with la view to efficiency. ,

..•••••

',e:

Fr

am.................. .............................mas... , ~..........,
There is thee case of Lord Nornrtanby, our present Mini.se., .....
-in Tuscany., whose office a coinunittee of this house rec._ 7.
mended she Auld be abolished, or merged iuto another. tt.).°ol
tainly it hat; been well said that the country inaY i'',.
.1
to pension. :incapacity, but cannot afford to employ lui,•, I
am •sorry to- have to refer to individual instances; b t .
cannot flinch from that task when it i 4 necessary t0,,,P..e21
form it iu mei 'er to expose a crying evil and abuse. %''':
years ago it Wr, a determined to have gentlemen at COnst
r t,..
tuaople who she eat take the plates of the foreign intefrp..l.
_
ters. Now, I ,'lave heard M. Pisani and others
o st
foreign interpret, en much condemned. It has been
sot te
be
that they are mcre Russian spies, who are t a
I
bought ; but, in j. estice to this class, I must sal (f. of
speak fro u experi. ante) that I heave a more honest s-?._,
men does not exist ; -and I never heard of a case in o'nic,iss
they had betrayed their trust. The system, however, so
bad ; and it is no reflection upon those gentlemen t.? _Za
that you ought not to have foreig 'tars in your serviceiiiiiiire.
can get Englishmen to till their situations. My sh°, os do
not act as the Austrians, the French, and the Russo' red,
in this respect ? Well, several vacancies having occurvice
four gentlemen selected from Oxford and Carabridteoo rof
seat out to sup; ly them ; but up to this Inomen,te: ye not
them are kept there upon miserable salaries an" '3 all
been recognised as Attaches. True, they are teld theY c
but hew
marry and settle there, and take up a profession; e
..e0„,
can they do so and keep up the position of
25 ;1. a-year, less income-tar and Foreign-otlice fees,
..wef a
cut any chance of promotion, or even the advantageekr,i "iica
dragoman's place ? Though_ one of these gentleitt
step_
been abroad since 131-0 he has not risen 3 ein.r_rviee,
Now what is wanted in diplomacy, as in the dal! spe.._elco
gentt_i,rt,..
is seine test on entering. When I was at theForeig . ''efof
the subje L ...
many documents were submitted to me on r than -1
examinations. Some of then, went even furthe
eq._i ;,.
thought necessary, because I don't know that an u
:scienceg'
ante with botany, astronomy, and other abstrutsoo „ow..
to
is of much use to such officers. Some examine:o4bl
ever, is absolutely requisite ; and, above all, W t of our
employ no man without paying him. That part
0 man's
system is rotten from top to bottom. (Flear•L'vey ino-
services are worth anything, pay him from the not wort),
went he enters your employment ; if they are
on_
~dyaeeea
anything, let him be dismissed. In the next els :',y.' up to
your Attach& by seniority to a certain Poisetf.ete tool:rote
secretaryahips of legation. You cannot L' e'" ill diplo•
~ese . et
them further than that by seniority, bee• 00 we
macy book knowledge is not t ufficie
greater qualifications than that, and, in grainY to sc°r°
role ma,lo
superior efficiency, almost any departure from
er b° r°"6
be justifiable, but that departure should nev 0 ig die
for the purpose of perpetrating a Pb' In the of
case unfortnuate!y two often at present. ,J_.- should
hoe
petition to which 'diplomatic appointment': those w d
consularua bers•
subject, a preference should be she'v,°, your public sad
tyootubre
a
recognised
nt itskeedn
placesthe
ofhighesteduhe
as.
tql:00uno is.:
Aii nzs sons
ofi.
stieivoiaweteiiet3hia.grgo,iegovalsti;
branch
—shammeu' establishments one that is as ill-treated as 2S. re your ulit? four d",' con-
° oyeeerles,
___,,,r
which it is necessary to distinem:Bll-"cons icor toga
suls, vice-consuls, and consular' asst=
,u maploYed for
service is no profession at all and 10. 'n are sometilee,B.so.
- for the moat extiamdinary a
rea-one, fvncould reP""' Aro,
reasons, I may almost say, thst morality' _oh ,a0:),,,,,ee
Theud claims put forward for appointment t
ostoje„ :10,,eeii,
i eed; often so remarkable that I as 3 'y 00'1 C toe
should be listened to for a moment. But in thi . at the
0,110 lei,
consist
are never promoted. The consuleneral, eat nevc'e Go-
of the tree, ought to have eviously been,,.° ,d of O'veon-
hard-working consul. The noble lord at then'''. of
car
f some - ti ee-
vernment bore testiinony to the efficiency o ,
ee gen L the
suls. I have myself been acquainted with.tritee'rogo of the
are many most able men, and men, in fe'"
in Europe,'Asia, awl Africa, in the inarue`lh'sot areeog their
Mediterranean at'
least ; and I must sal that frealh.,,,hest
wonderful acquirements would ntitled.
to the 19'1''oele.
pests in any profession. But arethey ever andacb cora' self
of them write to me stating their grievances, eod I nievea
ing of their long and unrequited services; for 20er, told
kthaaotwthme
yenmwayithtrlaadrageiffatmheiylieisdawahsao;have been they 10111,
30 years stationed in some small town. Trile,, , leo ere
of the but this 1 •ett WY. .0a
for how they rob.'" t
can they trade weithout capital, of Ivp'symdil 5,,i° ta
destitute? •If they attempted to do s° her we OP
become bankrupt ; they would set all there ioto ct°,tlthein•
place against them ; they genidinsu" -00.?•,,.
quarrels with the pashas, and everybody "",,,- an leejejueb
(" Hear, hear," and a laugh.) • You put arrut you tick
3001., or, it may be, 50e/. a-year ; but,
cu'yeerirel bich
he is living, is
from his salary the income-tax, which, eu'lltrY in sv
Ob.'
he does not escape the taxation of the °Theo y•ecbmeo,
ject him to another burden, which, I thl.o7efece 'dp'
nation —viz., what is called the Foreag.e_ "tbe Farr tot.
fees. I will say-nothing against the clerks 1...
in that ere rePthst
, perhaps, rather hazel.. i,. is 0 a,ierio
I was ashamed to feel myself placed
office, because, during the short time I Was city tue'pit :
ment, I found men of such power and cal," the
re ,
consul and every diplomatic offic2,r is 0 ._ the P with
much for ever y 10J/, he receives to a clerk 13.4 „eliet,,sid,
office for enabling him to draw his salary ; tuut;,te clop
this, and with the extras which the rid° s a yea e f
with 2501. a-year, has to pay, there is always incor.c; or
aosarnyoifih
percentage to be deducted from hie miser:o;l'ooe alai,
clerks_t whi
...lit
clerks by
actually paid ; but don't, by a sort of si" eratioa ° , coo'
xtehr e—yr
aee
111 otrhr ee,r
consular that
y , you
sra
Fl
asoihiroae
aui
gl
ad,
It° dielli
,tabrhrleei. ilutsi 1
at6ll3ffi:ePtirbcetojiliii gvoi
06
any inadequacy there may be in the ren.ol! to P°oo your
cheating of his scanty earninN goe hey 011
sal in the East. (Hear, hear.) Then • ,re is scar 9%,t,
vice-consuls,- who never rise,—indeed tb°_,TiGe. 000.
an instance of advancement in the consular suiiiir egoseee
you have got a -perfect cloud of otes„ eatieoceeci'
These persons are mostly Greeks, or Men °' their Papr ea'
in the East. I read an amusin account of 'OOOOO4
ings in a book written, I understand, by 5F6 The ::000t4
gaged in the Foreign-office, and entitled op, Ter
Eugashmun." I have seenhundredsof these°,oo gib elle'
myself over and over again ; they are nieeijoeleateee`ie
tection, who go about with two or three 13°" g ee,7,„' t.'"':
ing everybody ; who make money by proanirlyoin "I:sserlN
to individuals from the lockup house an" 0, reP
be
bunals of the country ; men who violate the 1,,5,5iit0 i,`l, the,
themselves as British subjects, and pay the°6:,°Bed with of
fee, in consideration of which influencers exe'-,-,t.lieri"-' cos'
pasha to secure their liberation. Thus, the at..-i, y thist the
the country are insulted ; these men In 00:,. Si‘-rie;'ool
toms' dues, and the local law is set at deflan",..-o:ncis'es the
course which I -Would take to remove this ,s,; disret-ieolvi
be, if ever I beard of such a case, at once to hole
person concerned, and have him signallY plans yOO servalSiee
in the diplomatic and the consul a- servicensoier f
have a career. No man should enter the °coo wish
to
unless he had previously been what inisdo not Writ con'
countries is called a "pro consul;" but, es ,assistse as':
use high-sounding names, I will term it ono thr°llPs'erv:
Sal." Let there be a probation to be gon roe h3l. niece-
the case in the French service, and when biglie7hret, Peen-
the
a certain period let him rise merit to ,0 hoe rote
• in his profession. Then you will hold out wbollY I 001
couragement to exert himself which is Wee tee%
01. plOi
ing. I would also abolish the Foreign' subjection, lit
come to the civil service, a branch 0f.,,,ic,i questbe 1.41,
eminent importance, because it is 3 P°lll'dcice Of 000 1 e
I hope we shall be favoured with the
' aladstooe) 0 bo,
honourable gentleman behind me (Mr'
On, because tor 134,.
Here we have safer grounds to, go of
west i° tor
iu evidence before us a collection of the we of th:goti,ilie
ing and Agluable papeß drawn uP by have boort en,rf 5 Olio
remarkaMf men in this country 0° 'e Pcr 105 yr
the grounds, I hope, of future all departments of the public service. eot, an' foe is i
I will r ~0
on which this house may work. Irt.syil service, 0 node bas
own opinion upon the state of our ci e who hay et ieli
the opinions of some of the gondol" this 11°11'°.' ss WO-
reports which have been laude efo.,? ._ country ana 1,00,
been said that the civil servof
have had faoily Aii 1003",
iroprot: al
of expr.ess a ,
entirely confined to those who hav . and We war of 40
tical influence, but chiefly the laottief the pw-r, ia "„,0
that an impression has gone abr • '
t the Treasg hist' °l'd
right hon. gentleman who represen 4Let to
see joioaf r
house in the distribution of offices,' will cite thueelritY el°,4
gentlemen say in their reports.
cuss as 511 3 te'r the ii•
Mr. Romilly, and he will be reifea
z' iners ur, 0001
he has been appointed oncial.
...-•no uttinents in the civi, ilea.v,
politTichael
regulations. lie says of app i
appointments being P itotl.,
aPP;olitieal serviFloreerca
fur the ilouse 0; adhlote,
exertions in obtaining vote
era n elections, a steaa9 ea, 0
0 adeel- oug
large sums of money one-- ~1 followed by. op „vatiot!
~s o'
to one political party at lop
poanrltyi s ma
nost i vi
se
gratitude for
d similar consrawe'eistersnttirt;y,
to be duly appreciated—these an. 2,_.,.,eushig l',,es,aseiect
tuate the Minister' of the day in urerileiraeliPuiyoppOl,l,
s 3cretaryships, conamissionerships,an"o' chosen arovos, brio
just to indicate that the former unswerving tleP. a
fall vacant. .. . In all cases thefin:eno;
not because they are peculiarly
look upon their appointments,
not as an important field for fresh e%
f the sitled for ;atieg,
not as ihiPv hut a° a to '1:
ertieus, " ,A fl cif,'
cause as political adherents they must b? Pr...esvilijg nelf 10,001:.,
4011'7,40e .001
for the past, and an agreeable and easy the „too , re 41,0
tive life for the future. In other wordS, 7,,its. .t.'0,1 19. ;00
service is sacrificed to political consider Itie pc raiis
the 00
of
party must be'kept together. Elopes ;nes_ I3ot. l'iloq,,ao
minds of the rising generation of politielbacerss•of ti11:6307i,
proportion as hopei are reesed 4if inc°3
Commons-by every fresh polities' aPP°,‘„cd an'
in the strictly civil service they are lessv"
the civil service." boo
.., rill°.sr;
intraelit I ora'lle
,os oip-,
-enbe -es 'jowl
The words I have read are those of 5 p..,3 5!....5.
been chosen by the Government thenaose oeiel.:„.
._
therefore they will give due weight t
__!!!l'4.`ates • distru.
_ro cle., 000.,.ird
let us see what Sir J. Stephen says. Tie ' arlf ritl,
" The clerks iu the colonial office
__11:;y seiend tho oth fa
guishable into three classes. The first, rho first, 50 • ',oil,
the second beim; more numerous than tne,lod,
..0 lie put 0,
exceeding the number of the other two u, sore t, it, 1:91, of
te
the narrow circle of the first of these elasa.;hers o_,hieho'..„,ct
not indeed combined in any one of the hl,ties of „,ci r 'r:r
riously distributed among thorn all—cltha" iottoa '4 004.
still never think without the highest adlh ,owero
_:".'ttore 40
—such as large capacity of mind, literarY,,ay, L,1,0 te,!„o
omitable eqedev?':,,eo 2rif
cellence, sound scholarship, ind
perience in public affairs, and an absolutevr., tootfi igh %.
public service. It comprised some men fiutiou,
.awitoe,c7.o
to eminence in any field of open cone'soaliiithey v:ilie
born to more ample forttraes, might ins villieU • f 1110
pined to hold the seals of the cite° ty 1' 50
serving as sub ordinates. . • • • • the ;I'3i°fiees": er
members of the third class--that is, , tiel--deos 00e
members of the Colonial Department in III! degroe,_. of D ior
only in a low degree, and some of them 10,11.. of nia!utre‘l 'lO
credibly low, either the talents or the lialedge relces. ~,e,
uess, or the industry, the zeal, or the krolto fuet for tfoe
the effective performance of their approlli‘The naerie fe',,sse
many cases ample and valid occuses n.lu iniposswoo sf tap-
defects ; but of the existence of them it go_ the catithe cs.ot
to doubt. Neither have I any doubt a: to wholto of 're,
extreme disparities between the person,,,,..°o' men alb ,vir
lishment of the office was composed. l',`..e, neeri'it of 'O4
which I have designated the first-class were,
tocoa iota c
Onto4l °ll The pleat
0 I
who had been sought out and app
~ercteo. withotio ,
well-ascertained fitness for tho Pliblic,lh,, Ora, he poll if,
of that which I have named the tiara
to
gratify ttroos, 0,
ception, men who bad been appointed 4 tech Ps.. i f the iti'
the domestic, or the personal feelinglt ,•'
...eveberSAvell, of
of successive Secretaries of State. Thc,'_ L'at 09.97 foto tijio
called aecond-class were chiefly, thouge,nrocioetion list
..,,,
lie unaei- roesv rid,
department. It will, of course, /.,
that VrbiCh P of °eller' I'd
classification is wholly distinct from _ 0
seniors t
rioio
d.•btecl to such nepotism for their no 400 a betn,
under the same names, to indicate tn herefere' many °
I conclude, t rates
each other. .• • • which gehe • iii Or
in our public offices a nepotism„
abuses in th© conduct of them. SO lif ro'
P t
, 14 'l' ojoo
that of Sir C. Trevelyan. He says-' "'import; the te
Such is the evidence of Sir J. SteplLen•
mho%W.'S elle 511
JO . 0 iCe 3; 0
fession would attract into its ranks r . that tb ,
.eed i
!roe
ambitious of the youth of the coriutwy_ '1,03. eiteterii ;l'
"It would be nateral to expect that be t s,uo st e° e
lotion would prevail among 01°801
ehr?....emaiitt a' ouch,roer
that such as were endowed with:
.Pi i000e0to•
~.. oil; I
rapidly rise to distinction and p:h! e_L;Ol, ii.it
.stri:or
..iato,
ever, is by no means the case. t I'l_ll'7._ het 1
_it is tro
07- 911
intact th't sa
• rid Inca.
ambitious and the indolent a do
..,,3t via,rrau ~,sofeer,
desired. Those whose abilities ' 4.,, (10 r
vice is, indeed, eagerly
tien that they will WWI 111 ''.
sough 9.6,,,,.