The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-15 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLI AN EN T.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

The Duke of RICHMOND presented a petition from
Wakefield, praying the Government to bring into opera-
tion all the resources of the country in order to bring
the war to a speedy and successful termination. The
noble and gallant duke took occasion to pass a warm
eulogium on the bravery displayed by our troops at the
Ajma, Balaklava, and the Inkerrnan ; and recommended
that medals in honour of those brilliant achievements
should be immediately issued, and not delayed till the
close of the war.

ENLISTMENT OF FOREIGNERS BILL.
The Duke of NEWCASTLE moved the second read-
ing of the bill which he had laid on the table, to pro-
vide for the training and drilling of a limited number of
foreign troops. He said that after the debate which
took place on Tuesday night and the general. expression
which had been then made that there were not sufficient
troops in the Crimea to carry on the war efficiently, and
that there was not a sufficient army of reserve in this
country, he did not anticipate that he would be likely to
meet with any opposition to the motion for the second
reading of the bid which he had laid on the table on the
first night of the session, to enable her Majesty to enlist
foreigners as officers and soldiers in the Queen's service.
In former times, this power of enlisting foreigners was
considered to exist in the Crown, and on some occasions
had been commented on by Parliament, and on
.other
occasions had been allowed to pass without remark,
until in the year 1794, when a motion was made in the
House of Oominons which led to a discussion on the in-
troducing of foreign troops into this country. It was,
probably, on account of the feelings which had been ex-
cited on account of the subsidising of foreign troops that
the first act of Parliament was brought iu to enable
the Sovereign to do it. The first act on the subject
was passed in 1794, and it enabled the King to raise
foreign troops to carry on the war in which we were
engaged at that time. The next act was that of 1804,
which enabled the King to enlist German troops, but
under which other foreigners were enlisted ; and the
third act was that of 1806, under which several foreign-
ers were enlisted—the German Legion, and forces under
other denominations. It had always been found desirable
to enlist foreigners at the beginning of a war, on account
of the difficulties we experienced in not having the im-
mediate means of bringing into operation a large trained
army. The institutions of other countries gave them
much greater facilities of suddenly raising a large trained
force than ours. In Prussia and other countries men
were trained to arms, and taught a sufficient knowledge
in the art of war, to render them immediately available
for .the army in case of hostilities. There being no such
system in this country, all we could do was to raise as
many men as possible. The wheleof those raised could not
with us have any previous training, and men should net
be sent out to an army without six or seven months pre-
vious training. He had alluded to the jealousy expressed
by Parliament with respect to the introduction of foreign
keeps, and it had likewise been thought right to limit
the number of those that might be brought into the
country with the view of drilling them. By the act
of 1794 the number was limited to 5,000 ; by tli
act of 1804 the number was extended to 10,000 ;
and by the act "of 1806 the number was further ex-
tended to 16,000 ; from which period it remained until
the close of the war in 1815. He felt it desirable to
state that, the Government believing that a constitu-
tional principle was involved, and conceiving that it was
due to Parliament to obtain their previous sanction, no
official communication has been made as yet to any fo-
reign Government on the question, and he did not pro-
pose to do so until the bill which he submitted to their
lordships should pass into law. (Hear, hear.) He did
not think it his duty to make any communication to
foreign Governments till the bill should pass, and there-
fore he hoped that, having explained it, and not antici-
pating any opposition to it, it would be allowed to pass
with as much rapidity as would enable the Govern-
ment to carry its provisions into immediate effect. Until
the year 1837, except under special acts, the enlistment
of foreign soldiers in English regiments was not permit-
ted ; but in 1837 leave was given to introduce one fo-
reigner for every fifty men in our regiments. It was now
proposed that the foreign troops to be raised should be
raised in separate battalions apart from the regiments of
the Queen. He did not think it desirable under the cir-
cumstances, and as no communication had been made to
foreign Governments on the subject, to state to their
lordships where he thought these foreigners were likely to
come from. Noble lords knew that from Germany, from
Switzerland, and from other countries, soldiers were likely
to be obtained, but he,did not think he would be justified
in stating more particularly the places whence he antici-
pated to get the men required, until the communications
to which he had referred had been received. In the last
war, the greater body of the foreign troops which served
in our campaigns were the German legion, and those
noble lords who heard him would bear him out in saying
that throughout those campaigns these troops rivalled our
own gallant services. From the year 1807 to the bat-
tle of Waterloo in 1815, there was scarcely a siege or
battle in which the German Legion had not taken part.
(Hear.) It was essential to raise as efficient and as good
a force as we possibly could, and all the men raised
which could be thus raised, would be, not raw recruits,
hut trained soldiers, which, if properly officered, would
be immediately ready to outer on a campaign. A hini-
tation of the number of troops was likewise proposed in
this instance by the Government', mid the number which
in the present aspect of affairs they thought it advisable
to take was not considerable ; they therefore proposed

to limit the number under this bill to 15,000. Die bill
was of a pimple character, and did not require further
explanation ; but he was ready to answer any questions
which any noble keel might think proper to put to him.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said that when the
noble duke first announced the intention of the Govern-
ment to bring in a bill to enable her Majesty to enlist
foreign troops, he imagined they intended to raise two
or three corps, and to maintain in this country the de-
pots of these two or three corps ; and he felt the greatest
repugnance to the admission of even the depots of two or
three foreign corps. But when he had received the bill
that morning, he was filled with astonishment—(hear,
from the Earl of Derby)—for, taking this bill in connec-
tion with the bill in the other, house to enable her Ma-
jesty to accept the services of the militia to garrison the
fortifications and stations in the Mediterranean, the prac-
tical effect of the measure would be to substitute 15,000
foreigners in this country for the 15,000 British militia-
men that would be employed in the Mediterranean. (No.)
He thought it was a perfectly legitimate and Parliamentay
view of the measure which he then took, for if the bill
would give the power of doing what he represented, he
was entitled to assume that the power would* be exer-
cised, and the bill did give the power of substituting
15,000 Germane or Swiss for 15,000 Englishmen. He
did not think there had been anything in the conduct
of the people of this country since the commencement
of the war to induce the supposition that they were not
perfectly ready to bear all the sacrifices demanded of
them. (Hear, hear.) Their had been nothing in their
conduct which could justify the conclusion that the
people of this country were either unable or unwilling to
maintain their own national interests or their own na-
tional army. (Hear.) The circumstances under which
the several acts referred to by the noble duke had passed
were totally different from those existing at present. In
those periods the states which were subsidised were sub-
jugated or threatened by other states ; and the men in our
pay were fighting, in fact, for their own country. The
circumstances now were totally different • yet, at the
commencement of this popular and national war, it was
proposed by our War Minister to go back to old times,
and to hire Hessians instead of our constitutional force.
The noble duke should have told the house that there
was a difficulty—that there was a difficulty of recruiting,
and why ho had failed in obtaining a sufficient number
of soldiers; but instead of that he attempted, by sacri-
ficing constitutional principles, to make up for the
Inebesiettke Government. He (the Earl of Ellenborough)
had, from the year 1828 to 1841, the good fortune of
being in communication with the late Sir Robert Peel ;
and it was understood that the majority of her Ma-
jesty's Government represented the feelings and opinions
of the late Sir Robert Peel ; and be thought he might
venture to say what the opinions of the deceased statesman
would be on this question..He did not pretend to have has
es great an intimacy with Sir Robert Peel asp the noble
duke, but being in communication with him for 13
years, he might assume that he was acquainted with the
character of his mind and his general views on public
affairs ; and he would say with the greatest confidence,
to this motion Sir Robert Peel would have never as-
sented. He felt satisfied that that right bon baronet,
having been Home SecretarY for some time, would look
at the extreme difficulty and danger which would attend
the calling out of these 15,000 foreign troops in any
portion of the country, as they should necessarily be,
for the preservation of the peace if disturbances should
anywhere arise. Occasional disturbances could not be
prevented, disputes between masters and workmen, and
local riots ; and if this bill passed these Germans, or
other foreign troops, might be the troops employed to
quell these disturbances, and to act against the people of
England on such occasions. A great deal had been said
of the improvements which had taken place in the moral
condition and character of her Majesty's troops, bu t
what security was there for the moral character of
the German or other foreign soldiers wham was
proposed to enlist The recruiting sergean did
look for moral character but for physical strength, sound
wind and limbs. He was far from being disposed r
say anything to decry the character of the
respectable
eany other foreigners. They made very resp
sol-
diers, but they were not qualified to stand with the sol-
diers of England or France ; and bad one of those Ger-
man regiments been placed between
steno t o nglishoht regi-
ments at Inkerman, they could not wnd E
and fi
the British stood and fought—no man. believed they
could. (Hear, hear.). There was considerable danger
always in a long battle if the men were unequal in
trength—dange;to the whole army engaged. These
being his objections to the enlistment oeforeigners, as
proposed, he would venture to repeat a suggestion
made in the beginning
.of this year to the noble duke,
and which was then rejected. At the commencement
of the war he had recommended to her Majesty's Minis-
ters the establishment of an uniform system of police
throughout the country, not for the general administra-
tion of justice; but because ho believed such an estab-
lishment would, in case of war, be the best foundation
of a good, efficient, and ready military systeal for ho
knew of no recruiting officer so good as the policeman.
They ,knew the character of all those whom they en-
listed, and if the police establishment was made a na-
tional one it would make the most solid foundation for
an army in case of war. Nine\ months ago he had re-
commended that plan to the Government, and that
the whole militia of the country should be called out.
That measure, however, was not adopted. What,
ho asked, would have been the condition of the country