The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-22 00:00:00

The Army Medical Service,

Sir C. Wood alleged on Tuesday night last in the House
of Commons that competitive examinations for the Army
Medical Service had entirely failed, and has introduced an
Indian Medical Service Bill which would do away with
competitive examinations. We do not hesitate to declare
that Sir C. Wood has been completely misinformed on this
subject, and has entirely misled the house. It will be neces-
sary for him to state what he means by the complete failure
of the competitive examinations for the Army Medical Ser-
vice. It will then be apparent that they have fully suc-
ceeded. They succeeded in supplying during the first years
of their establishment, and under the directorship of Mr
Alexander, a full, continuous, and increasing stream of
high-class candidates. They succeeded in furnishing to the
army a supply of men of precisely the quality and stamp
that were wanted—men fit to be intrusted with the sole re-
sponsibility of the health and lives of men and officers.
Presently, when by tampering with the Warrant of 1858
for the English army, by four years delay in applying the
Queen's Warrant to the Indian army, the Government hag
rendered the Army Medical Service so unpopular that few
men—except those who were hopeless, helpless, and
educated—would enter the service, the examinations were
successful in passing through all who were at all competent
persons ; and were also successful in keeping back certain
persons who manifested the grossest ignorance and most
dangerous incapacity, but who otherwise would have been
admitted into the service, since they were legally qualified
—men who proposed to plunge a trocar into the breast of
a suckling woman, who could not apply a splint, who ope-
rated on the dead body so unskilfully that had the subject
been living they must have killed him on the spot. The
examinations have been highly successful, and Sir Charles
Wood could not have consulted either the civil profession
or the army medical service, much less the examiners them-
selves, before he made the statement of their complete
failure. They have only been a little too successful for the
Govern7lent they have interposed a check on the pro-
ceedings of ,`.he Horse Guards by affording an index of the
depression in the quality and the number of the candi-
I;.:.
dates which t uniform harshness, morgue, and in-
justice of that de
p._rtment have caused. They pro-
with competitive examine -
pose, then, to do awa,
silence the tell. tale. An
tions—to destroy the index any
ral Medical Council to
attempt was made to induce the Gem:
by working upon
aisapprove these competitive examination:
the pride of the corporations, who were to:a
that these
secondary examinations were offensive to their dignity.
But after inquiring a little into the working of the ma, Yr,
and seeing how successful they were iL passing through alt
fit applicants, and only filtering off a sediment of so coarse
a quality as would shame the service and peril the welfare
of the soldiers, the council decided unanimously in favour
of them. What, then, can Sir Charles Wood mean by de-
daring that the examinations have failed? He cannot mean
that they have been unfairly conducted, or too stringent, or
that they have failed to distinguish the good from bad. No
one dcubts that they furnish, in the case of medical officers,
a fair and perfect test of merit and fitness at the time of
entering the service. He means that the military authorities
are shifting on to this useful part of the machinery the
blame which is, in fact, entirely and solely due to thbfr
arbitrary proceedings and the insufficient inducement which
the medical service of the army offers. Like bad conductors,
they want to smash the index. It is no doubt an ingenious
device to cover the injury which they have done and are
doing to the army ; but it can only serve to increase the
defect in the quality of the candidates, and to damage the
cfficiency,tof the service by admitting indiscriminately those
whom the competitive examinations would have rejected
and such as are utterly inefficient. If the House of Com-
mons would take the trouble to investigate the question at
all, we feel assured that it would never consent to abolish
competitive examinations for the Army Medical Depart-
ment, which are unanimously approved in the medical pro-
fession and by army medical officers. Mr Longfield and
Mr Hennessy have rendered a public service in offering a
spirited opposition to the progress of the India Medical
Service Bill in its present form, and we hope that Mr Hen-
nessy will further master the details of the question, which
will show how greatly such an opposition would be opposed
to the best interests of the army.—. Lancet.

REPRESENTATION OF KINCAIMINESIIIRE.
General Sir H. Arbuthnott having intimated his
inters ion to vacate his seat at the end of the present Par-
liament, Mr J. D. Nicoll, of Ballogie, has intimated his
intention of standing as candidate for the representation at
the nest election in the Liberal interest. The present
member has represented the county for nearly 40 years,
and his principal reason for retiring is on account of in-
creasing deafness, which prevents him from paying all the
attention he could dean to his Parliamentary duties,

(From the Queen of this day.)

The West-end season of eighteen hundred and
sixty-four has been generally admitted to be of ae of
the most brilliant of modern years, considorini the
retirement of the Sovereign from public life. Dur-
ing its continuance we hare had balls, di'hners,
bazaars, amateur plays, concerts, reviews, and' eve ry
species of amusement which fancy could devise for
the entertainment of the heir to the throne and his
consort, as well as the fashionable world. A set Ise-
tional wind-up alone was needed ; and as the rea( :ere
of The Queen, we imagine, will like to be made ac-
quainted with the fullest particulars of an event
which, from the rank of the contracting parties,
must become one of historic interest, we make no
apology for giving the following narrative:--Among
the English aristocracy there is no house so remark-
able for the manner in which it has interwoven
itself with the great families of the land as the
Pagets, and which may in soma measure be ac-
counted for by their connection with the Court,
which has been of many years standing. Indeed,
it has been said of them that the men were all heroes
and the women angels. Around them romance has
shed its halo, from the first Marquis of Anglesey
down to his granddaughter, who, by her marriage
on Saturday, became the Marchioness of Hastings.
Such an alliance at one time would have created no
more sensation than an ordinary marriage in high
life. The announcement would have appeared in
our columns; and we should have done justice to
the beauty of the bride, and the exquisite texture
of her dress, enumerated her bridesmaids, and
given details of their costumes, and concluded by
stating that the happy pair left town for Donning-
ton-park, accompanied by the best wishes of their
friends for their future happiness. All this trouble
has been spared us. We should premise our story
by stating that, among the belles of our English
aristocracy, few of late years created such a sensa-
tion on her debut as Lady Florence Paget, the
youngest daughter of the Marquis of Anglesey.
Gifted with the hereditary beauty of her family to ,
a rare extent, her petite figure and dove-like eyes
caused her at once to become "the rage of the park,
the ball-room, the opera, and the croquet lawn."
These personal charms were not a little enhanced
by the unaffectedness of her manner and extreme
good nature, which caused her to become the idol
of her father and the household. Deprived of a
mother's care at an early age, her education was
hardly so advanced as might have been anticipated
from her sphere in life, and she seemed to have
made Diana Vernon her model. In her intercourse
with society, among the many suitors by whom she
was currounded was Mr Chaplin, a gentleman
possessed of estates in Lincolnshire which produce
him a rental of nearly forty thousand pounds per
annum, and endowed with every quality to render
him a:desirable parti. Their intimacy was such
last year that rumours of their engagement appeared
in the papers, only to be contradicted, and Mr
Chaplin proceeded on a shooting tour in India with
his friend Sir Frederick Johnstone, Returning in
May, ne again met Lady Florence daily, and as a
proof that his attachment was undiminished he pro-
posed to her, and was accepted. The match was
one which gave the greatest satisfaction to the
Marquis of Anglesey and all his family, for Mr.
Chaplin was a young man of great promise, and
by his ample means could give Lady Florence a
position in society which she had a right to look
for, although she could bring him no dowry. The
announcement of the engagement appeared in the
Morning Post, and also in our columns, and the
happy pair were seen driving together in the parks,
in the same box at the opera, and enjoying each
other's society in the same manner as fiancees are
in the habit of doing. At a fashionable jeweller's
at the West-end Lady Florence's jewels, the gift of
Mr. Chaplin, were displayed to all comers, and the
trosseau engaged the attention of the first modistes.
Presents came into her in abundance, the servants
even subscribing for a silver teapot, sugar basin,
and cream jug for her. The wedding was fixed
he; the second week in August, and Mr. Chaplin
had made the necessary preparations to receive his
bride. But it was not to be, although no later
than Friday eight she occupied Mr. Chaplin's
box at the opera, and sat between him and
her really it ture husband, the Marquis of
Hastings, of whom we may remark that
his attachment to her had been notorious, and it
was known that he meant to have proposed to her,
if Mr. Chaplin had not taken time by the forelock.
Addicted as his lordship is to the turf and its con-
genial accessories, it was imagined Lady Florence's
image would soon be erased from his mind, but is
seemed otherwise, and that, while on the best of
terms with Mr Chaplin, he was only concealNg his
play, for on the following morning (Saturday) that
he had been at the opera with him and her ladyship'
he found himself with the latter at St George's
Church, Hanover-square, and they were united for
better or worse. As much curiosity prevails to
know how the marriage was arranged, we may state
that Lady Florence, on Saturday morning, left the
St George's Hotel, in Albemarle-street, where she
had been staying during tlee season, iv her father's
brougham, telling the porter, if Mr Chaplin called,
she should not return until two o'clock. She then
was driven to Marshall and Snellgrove's, in Oz ford-
street, and leaving the carriage at one entrance was
met at the other by the sister of the Marquis of
Hastings, who, engaging a hack cab, drove her at
once to St George's, where the Marquis of Hastings,
accompanied by Mr and Mrs Granville (whose mar-
riage we recorded only a fortnight back), Mr Biala s
Mr Wilkinson, and Mr F. Wombwell were in wait-
ing. Immediately after the ceremony had been
performed, the Marquis and Marchioness of Hast-
ings repaired to Mr Granville's lodgings in St.
James's-place, from whence, after the bride
had communicated by letter to Mr Chaplin
and her family her change of mind, they started per
special train for Donnington-park to spend the
honeymoon. AtPeterberough station they were met
by several of their friends, who were not a little
surprised to find Lady Florence in company with
the marquis instead of Mr Chaplin. To show that
the marriage could not have been an impromptu
affair, as some people imagine, the fact of the happy
couple being received at the station by his tenantry,
who had erected no less than nine triumphalarchea
trimmed with flowers, at once discloses. It is need-
less to add that Mr Ceplin feels very much the alight
that has been put upon him, but his feelings aro in
:ome measure consoled by the assurance of his friend&
that it is all for the best. The Marquis of Anglesey
is also :nuch distressed at the affair, for the alliance
with Mr Ctleplin had his consent and approbation.
Her ladyship's brother and brother-in-law, Lords
Uxbridge and linchelsea, heard of the marriage
by accident at the pigeon shooting match at Hornsey
In conclusion, we may ',Jilts that since Lady Adele
Villiers eloped with Capta;n Ibbetson, of the 11th
Hussars, at Brighton, no sioilar occurrenoa has
created such a profound sensatio:l among the West.
end Mothers and Daughters.

Raising of the Blockade of the German Ports,

(From a Supplement to the Gazette of Tuesday)
FOREIGN-OFFICE, JULY 21.
Notification of the Raising of the Blockade of the German
Ports in the Baltic, &c.
It is hereby notified that Earl Russell, her MitiestY'B
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has re-
ceived from her Majesty's Minister at Copenhagen. (Sir A•
Paget), a telegram, stating that the blockades of ports
in the Baltic are to be raised during the suspension of
arms which has been concluded betwoon Denmark and the
German Powers.
The following is a copy of the telegram above referred

to :
i; coptnbagen, July 20, 10 p.m.
" A Militaiy Convention was signed yesterday at Chris-
tianfeld, establishing a suspenswn of arms, to commence at
noon to-morrow, 20th, and cease on 31st, at midnight. All
blockades given up. Armies and fleets to keep their respec-
tive positions. No counnumcation allowed between the
territories occupied by respective armies,”

Accounts have been received from Warsaw and
other parts of Poland of considerable damage having been
caused by storms. in tunny places the hailstones were ac
large as pigeons eggs,

The Recent Elopement and Mania in
High Life.
SECOND EDITION.
•

'FILE, HALF.-PAST 4 o'CLoCK.

SWITZERLAND.

BERNE, July 20.—A Swiss circular invites all
the Powers to take part in a Congress to be held
at Paris in the autumn to regulate telegraphic
communications in Europe.