The Sun.
London, England, 1854-12-20 00:00:00

They fought great battles against the finest soldiers in the
world ; they went prepared to face everything—ay, and to
be successful against everything, or this country would net
have borne with them. Not one-third of those armies were
British troops, but they were brave troops, and not merely
brave —for I believe every man is brave—but well-organised
troops. Take the battle of Waterloo; look at the number
of British troops at that battle. I can tell your lordships
that in that battle there were 16 battalions of Hanoverian
militia, just formed, under the command of a nobleman,
late the Hanoverian ambassador here, Count Kielmansegge,
who behaved most admirably; and there were many other
fcreigu troops who nobly aided us in that battle, avowedly
the battle of giants, whose operations helped to bring about
the victory which was followed by the peace of Europe,
that has now lasted for 32 or 34 years. I say, my lords, that
however much I admire highly-disciplined troops, and most
especially British-disciplined troops, I tell you you must
not suppose that others cannot become so too." Such is
the testimony of the Duke of Wellington ; and you cannot
have any higher testimony with regard to the troops which
he commanded, and the services which they performed.
(Hear.) And am Ito be told that it is a degradation and
a disgrace to do what the Duke of Wellington has done?
(Hear.) But I come now to the objections which have been
made to the bill. The first objection has been dispelled by
a mere 4atement of facts. It has been said that this is an
unconstitutional employment of foreigners; and that they
are to perform the duty of troops in this country. The
answer to that statement, on the part of the Ministry, was
that no intention existed to employ foreign troops at home
—that they wore merely to come to this country for drill-
ing and training ; that they were not to be employed for
any of the purposes for which British regular troops or
the militia were used ; and that this would be made
plain in the bill. It has been made plain in the bill, and
no one can say that these troops are to be employed for
anything else. It is also said, " Don't let them offend our
eyes by being here ; let them go to Corfu and be trained
there ;" but I think when it is remembered that some
30,000 Germans pass through this country annually, it
would be a great discouragement to them to tall them to
go to Corfu, there to be prepared to fight our battles. And
then to tell men that you will be offended at the sight of
them is 'really such an insult that I cannot think this
house will be prepared to sanction it. Well, then, we are
told, after these ad captanduin arguments have been swept
away, that they will not be fighting like the Hanoverians,
and other troops employed during the late great war, in
their own cause or in the cause of their Sovereign, but that
they will be hirelings and mercenaries. (Hear, hear.) But,
sir, I say that if you use such arguments, you give up the
entire cause of the war. You say that you are not engaged
in a purely British war, but that you are fighting for the
cause of Europe. That which I have always urged in the
house is, that we are engaged in a great European quarrel
for the sake of the liberties of Europe. It is a quarrel in
which France and England have had the manliness to come
forward and say, " We are not afraid of this overgrown
power of Russia—we will not be cajoled by Russia—and
we will fight this European battle." We bare said that it
is not purely an English and French question, but that it
is a cause in which every German or Swiss subject should
take as great an interest in as either England er France.
But, sir. what were the names of the legions which were
employed during the last war. There was Watville's Re-
giment, the Ron Hussars, the Damas Hussars, the Loyal
Emigrants, the Loyal Foreigners, the Walstein Infantry,
the Dutch Artillery, and several others. They were all
paid by us during the late war, and this is equally a cause
in which men of every European State can take a part.
And, although some of the Sovereigns of the great States
of Europe have, I regret to state, hesitated, and left us
to bear the brunt of the battle they ought to have fought
along with us, still that is no reason why their sub-
jects should not take part with us, and enter into the ser-
vice of her Majesty to fight our battles in the general cause
not only of European liberty, but of European civili-
sation. (Hear, hear.) Another argument has been used
against the bill, and that is—that the service will be so
degraded that officers will hardly consent to command it,
as they are not serving under their immediate Sovereign or
engaged by his especial orders ; and yet, sir, some of the
men whom you have employed to fight your battles have
not disdained such service. Sir De Lacy Evans—(cheers)
—whose name is respected by every one, and whose name
has been mentioned by the right hon. gentleman opposite,
and whom we hope soon to see restbrad to health, and at-
tending to receive from you, sir, the thanks of the house
for his gallant conduct, did not scruple to go to the aid of
our Allies, and head a band of "foreign mercenaries."
(Hear, hear.) Another gallant officer—Sir Charles Napier
—was engaged in the service of the Queen of Portugal
when his country was not at war with Portugal. (Hear,
hear.) I have now, sir, I believe, touched upon the prin-
cipal objections urged against the bill ; but I may be asked
why is it necessary in order to the carrying on of the war?
I will answer to that, that if you thought it :advisable
utterly to drain your population, and by giving bounties
of 301. to 501. ahead to get men, you would then have to
send them out without training and experience, but yet
you might have a sufficient number to carry on the war for
the present. But lam looking to the necessity of a pro-
tracted war. lam looking to the p sy which this country
ought to pursue on such an occasion, and in that case, bilp-
posing you have 150,000 or ISO,OOO British soldiers, I say
there will be a great advantage iu having 30,000 foreign
troops to aid that force,and that if you should have 200,000
3ritishtroops, you may extend your foreign force to 40,000.
And I say also it is a great misrepresentation to say that,if
you have 200,000 British soldiers, which you will have in
a couple of years, and 40,00 foreign soldiers, that you are
relying solely upon foreign swords, and that you can resort
to those apt quotations in poetry and pr,se which cast a
brand upon the nation that relies upon foreign support.
(Hear, hoar.) I say, although you are a military nation
you are not a military power. (Hoar, hear.) I say that,
if you were to change the policy approved by Crom-
well and Chatham, by Marlborough and Wellington—a
policy which has carried you through many a European
struggle in triumph—that, whatever difficulties you might
have during war, you would have much greater difficulties
in time of peace. It may be that the military force of
the country is not sufficient, yet peace will hardly be two
years restored when, if you attempt to keep up a great,
military force, you will find popular feeling so much op-
posed to it that you will be obliged to renounce it. (Hear.)
Well, sir, if you are not about to adopt new principles and
new maxims, I ask you to rely upon the old principles and
the old maxims, and to employ, in addition to the 200,000
British soldiers which you will have in a couple of years, a
certain number of foreign troops, who will stand by your
side and fight your battles with you. The Duke of Wel-
lington has borne testimony to the value of such troops,
and we have also the example of Marlborough to guide us.
As her Majesty's Ministers have advised this means of
carrying on the war, they cannot, of course, attempt, with
the loss of the confidence of the house, to undertake the
further conduct of the war. It is one of the measures
which they think necessary in the present state of the war
—in the commencement of the war—to carry it on to a
vigorous and successful termination. It is one of the pur-
poses for which they advised her Majesty to call Parlia-
ment together, and they believe that, if the bill is adopted,
it will prove a useful addition to our means of defence. I
am, sir—l am surprised that any ono could have imputed
to the Ministry which sent a British army into- a country
where they had to contend with such masses of the enemy,
and to maintain themselves there, as they showed they
could do at Inkerman, that they had any distrust of the
British army. (Hoar.) We wish to carry on this war ef-
fectually, and any way by which the power of Russia can
be crippled, and her advances checked, appears to me to
be a mode which the house ought to adopt. There is, I
believe, many a man in that army who would say with
one wliCsm the Spaniards called " the Great Commander,"
"I would rather take one step forward if it led to the grave
than take a step backwards if it led to safety." Give them,
I say, every support you can, and pass this measure, which
her Majesty s Ministers believe will tend to a glorious ter-
mination of the war. I beg, sir, to move that the bill be
now read a second time. (Hear.)
Sir E. BULWER LYTTON then said—l trust, sir, that
neither I, nor any gentlemen on this side, nor, indeed,
upon either side of the house, need express our readiness
to support the Government in the resolute prosecution of
a war which is not only undertaken for Europe, but with
which we believe that the honour of England and civilisa-
tion itself are identified. But if the honour of England
is pledged to this quarrel, then we are not willing that
now, at the very outset of it, foreign nations and posterity
should receive our confession that our native spirit and
even our military training are not competent to encounter
it. Before I proceed to the historical question en which
the noble lord has dwelt, let us look only to the present
war. In this war, at least, we may say that, up to the
present moment, we have sufficed to fight our own battles
and earn our own laurels, and I have not heard from the
noble lord one adequate reason why we should in future
prefer to win our battles by proxy. Honour is not so in-
tolerable a burden that we should engage foreign soldiers
to relieve our own army from a part of the weight. What
is it, I would ask, upon which we rely in order to continue
this war with vigoar' no matter with what sacrifice, or at
what cost? Why it is not upon the extent of our terri-
tory, not upon the amount of our population, not even upon
our wealth, or the greatness of our resources, but it is upon
that spirit of nationality which the Minister-of- War told us
the other night rose against every danger and increased in
augmented proportion to the demand upon it. Well, I
say it is that ardour you are now about to damp—it is that
spirit of nationality which this bill will discourage. Is it
not really absurd to tell us that it is the commencement of
the war which is the period of difficulty and trial in the
midst of that popular enthusiasm which has now risen to
such a height that, as the Secretary-at-War informed
us the other night, recruits came in faster than he
knew how to form them into regiments ? When you tell
us that the ardour of our own people is not sufficient
for your purpose, but that you must go begging to all the
petty principalities of Europe for the co-operation of their
more skilful soldiers, you give an unwise and an alto-
gether unnecessary blow to the vital principle that sustains
our cause, and that brings to our army more men than the
Secretary-at-War knows how to employ. (Cheers.) If any-
thing could make the war unpopular in England, it would
be the sight of foreign troops drilled and quaiteredl in th
country, paid from taxes extorted from the poop e,de an
and
lodged in barracks, the paucity of which you have made
excuse for not embodying a sufficient
anttell
ll number
m e it will of
nouta mroakwne
natives. (Cheers.) Will any man
awodrikffieorgeneeleassiena
are
ee
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awnhdichhohrl
yetprepared, middle
andfor
any pecuniary sacrifice, whether theywn
army entirely composed of their
ho. c pay
ountrymen,
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,oaryndwho
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mthbeancakraienodfeeEdnsewiehimchenw, oourldwmheatkheertthheemy
may render them equal services,
are to pay foreigners, who may be
hequutalwlyhobereargel
could
only be acquired at the expense of our manhood? (Cheers.)
I tell you that the people of this country are not willing to
entrust to the hands of hireling mercenaries those standards
which a handful of English soldiers planted on the heights
of Alma, and which British valour rescued from barbarian
hordes on the field of Inkerman. (Cheers.) What are
the reasons assigned for the introduction of this measure ?
The first reason given by the noble lord appears to be sim-
ply this—whatever be the ardour of the people, still it re-
quires time to
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acble
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s we are engaged in what
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England except its chief minister, and chain the nine