The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-27 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 27, 1849.

dispatched from Loodianah to the aid of Bhawulpore ;
that another of irm:rler ne-elry a'id arti!le-:y ..as rkt
from Lahore to Govineighur ; that a detachment
of Seikh troops was ordered towards Moultan ; that
the defences of Lahore were strengthened, that the
political agents at the out-stations were called in, that
all officers absent on leave were ordered to join their
regiments, and that the troops along the whole of the
right bank of the Sutlej were required to bold them-
selves in readiness to march at a moment's notice. At
the same time, Major Edwardes, Colonel Cortlandt, and
the Nawaub of Bhawulpore, were taking measures to
unite their forces, and bring them into the field
against the Dewan of Moultan. Such were the
notorious facts upon which he (Mr. Thompson) had
founded his statement on Friday last, that the origin and
commencement of the war in the Punjaub dated from the
month of April, 1848. If anything else were needed to
prove this, there was the proclamation of the Lahore
Government, dated the 18th of May, which was a formal
declaration of war against Moolraj, and contained the
threat to " root him out from the face of the earth, and
bring him to entire destruction and everlasting perdition."
He would now say a word upon the denial of the Right
Hon. Baronet, that the army in the field in the Punjaub
amounted to 120,000, including camp followers. He
held in his hand a return of all the troops now in the
field in the Punjaub and at Moultan, including the re-
serve at Sirhind. The following was an abstract:—
The grand army under Lord Gough amounted
to .21,020 ; the Lahore force under General
Wheeler to 5,510 ; Brigadier Wheeler's own force
to 2,360 ; the reserved force under General Hill
to 5,800 ; the Moultan force under General Whish to
7,580; and the Bombay Moultan force under Brigadier
Dundas to 6,750, making a grand total of 49,020 men,
exclusive of from 15,000 to 20,000 native auxiliaries. So
much for fighting men. Some days previously to the
question put to the President of the Board of Control, a
pamphlet had been published in the form of a letter from
General Sir Charles Napier, late Governor of Sinde, to
the Right Hon. Sir John Hobhouse. In that letter the
Gallant General informed Sir John Hobhouse that
" the usual calculation is, that, for every fighting man
in the high caste Bengal army, there are five servants,
or' camp followers,' non-combatants. In the Bombay
army, where the caste is generally lower, there are
about three camp followers' for every fighting
man. That an army in march, consisting of
10,000 fighting men, amounts in the mass to
40,000 or 60,000 men"—that " the General must feed
this crowd of non-combatants and their animals." The
statement of General Napier was fully confirmed by a
military writer is the Delhi Gazette of October the 25th,
who, speaking of the preparations for the war in the
Punjaub, says, " the number of men to be assembled at
Ferozepore amounts more or less to 20,000 men.
Their camp followers will exceed 100,000, but we will
take them at that figure." Now, assuming the
correctness of General Napier and the writer in the
Delhi Gazette, whose statements confirmed each other,
and taking the Bombay troops in the Punjaub at
10,000, and the Bengal at 39,000, there were 30,060
camp followers attached to the former, and 191,000 to
the latter, making 225,000 in all; which, added to the
49,000 fighting men, gave a grand total of no less than
274,000 men in the field. In the statement made
on Friday, he (Mr. Thompson) had set down the
fighting men at 40,000 and the camp followers (two to
each soldier) at 80,000, making, together, the number
120,000. He had now demonstrated how greatly below
the actual amount were the numbers he had stated. With
this explanation he was content to leave the matter with
the House, and also the question of expense, which
would be determined when the accounts were produced.
Mr. ELLIOT, in the absence of the crotary to the
Board of Control, made some observations with reference
to the statement made by the Hon. Member, but was
indistinctly heard in the gallery, in consequence of the
noise which prevailed in the House at the time. He was
understood to say that his Right Hon. Friend
(Sir John Hobhouse) had objected to the form in
which the Hon. Member had put his question on a pre-
vious evening, as he had endeavoured to introduce into
it a little speech.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped that the
Hon. Member would put his question in a proper form,
in order that it might be easily answered.
FINANCIAL REFORM.

Mr. HUME said, as he had given notice that he would
submit to the House a motion on the motion for going
into a Committee of Supply—that, in the present state of
the finances of this country, her Majesty's Ministers,
before calling on this House to vote the estimates for
the public service, should submit a general financial
statement of the whole or expected revenues, and
the total intended expenditure for the en-
suing financial years—he had come down to
the House prepared to carry out the resolution. He
was sorry, however, to find that by a resolution which
the House passed a few nights ago they would be unable
to move more than one amendment to the motion for
going into a Committee of Supply. When he gave his
assent to the resolution he had formed an opinion that
they would be left with regard to the C. mmittee
of Supply in the same way as before, aud
he must say that ho had been completely
taken in by his own act.—(Laughter.) He thought it
necessary to bay that much, because he was anxious that
the motion of his Honourable Friend near him (Mr.
Cobden) should come on before any vote was granted.
He hoped and trusted that before another session any
restriction which prevented morethanone division taking
place would be done away with. He had consented to the
resolution from an anxiety to push forward the business
of the House, and not to prevent amendments being!
made upon the motion fur going into Supply. He
would take the opportunity of making his mo
lion on Friday next, and he would, therefore,
now leave the course free to his Hon. Friend Mr. Cob-
den, and he hoped he would be as successful as he de-
served to be.

ENGLISH WORKMEN IN FRANCE.
Mr. B. COCHRANE wished to ask the Noble Lord
at the head of the Government the question of which
he had given him notice with respect to the inten-
tion of the French Government to those English
workmen who had deposited part of their earnings in
the saving banks of France, but who were obliged to
leave that country at the revolution without obtaining
the return of their little all.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that he understood it
was the intention of the French Government, and that
they were ready to pay the sums, and the only difficulty
in their doing so arose from identifying the claimants.
THE REC WRY OF BISHOPS WEARMOUTH.
On the question that the House do now resolve itselt
into a Committee of Supply,
Mr. lIORSMAN rose to repeat his question to the
Noble Lord at the head of the Government relative to
the rectory of Bishopswearmouth. Ho believed that the
Noble Lard at the head of the Government had re-
ceived a communication from the Bishop of Durham,
pointing out the inaccuracies into which the Noble
Lord had fallen in the last answer to his
question ; and he wished, therefore, to know, whether
tne Noble Lord still adhered to his answer. The Hon.
Member again went into a recapitulation of the case of
the rectory of Bishupswearmouth, and the course
pursued by the Bishop of Durham. He wished to know
whether any of the points alluded to by the Noble Lord
in his answer to the former question were inaccurate.
Lord J. RUSSELL replied, that on the authority of
the Bishop of Durham he stated that the income of the
late Dr. Wellesley, the incumbent, was 3,5001. The
Honourable Gentleman said that it was much
larger. He (Lord John Russell) could not say
whther it was or not ; he had simply offered the
information ho had received. The Noble Lord
then read a letter from the Bishop of Durham, setting
forth that some dispute had arisen with respect to the
proper application of the " Way fees," and that the
trustees were not disposed to take any active
part in the disposition of the fund placed at their dispo-
sal until it had been definitively settled. The Govern-
ment acted upon a memorial which they had every
reason to believe expressed the sentiments of the majority
of the inhabitants. He certainly should not take the
trouble to inform himself as to the disposition of the fund,
as in the event of the general question being raised in
the House the matter in question would form a proper
subject of discussion.
Mr. HORSMAN merely wished to know if the Noble
Lord thought that a bishop could divert a portion
of the temporalities of a living to other purposes with•
out violating the law?
Lord J. RUSSELL apprehended that a bishop so act-
ing would be amenable at law.
• EMIGRATION.
Mr. MONSELL referred to a document signed by
Mr. Merivale, stating that emigrants would be sent out
from each part of the kingdom, according to its popula-
tion, out of the votes ordered by Parliament for that put..
pose ; also, from a statement made by Mrs. Chisholm, it
appeared that 13,533 had been sent out from England,
2,739 from Scotland, and but 1,879 from Ireland, which
included orphans taken from the workhouse. He wished
to know whether the statement was correct, and if so,
if the Colonial-office considered this a proper disposition
of the funds placed at their disposal by Parliament?
Mr. HAWES was understood to say that there were
2,763 persona who had emigrated from Scotland, 3,554
from Ireland, and 22,000 odd from England. He be-
lieved that the colonists preferred English to Irish
emigrants.—(Laughter.)
Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL e
asked whether, as a large
proportion of the Irish emigrants from Ireland were
young parsons, and especially orphans, the re was any
provision for their being educated in the religion of their
parents.
Mr. HAWES said a Committee had been formed in
the colony of the leading merchants, to see that the emi-
grants were properly distributed, and he presumed that
their religion would be attended to.

MR. COBDEN'S FINANCIAL SCHEME.
Mr. COBI)EN rose to move the following resolution:
—" That the net expenditure of the Government for the
year 1835 (Parliamentary Paper, No. 260, 1847)
amounted to 44,422,0001.; that the net expenditure for
the year ended sth January, 1849 (Parliamentary
Paper, No. 1, 1849), amounted to 51,185,000/.; the in-
creat e c f nearly ten millions having been caused princi-
pally by successive augmentations of our warlike esta-
blishments, and outlays for defensive armaments : that
no foreign danger, nor necessary cost of the civil Govern-
ment, nor indi,pensable disbursements for the skrvices
in our dependencies abroad, warrant the continu-
ance of this increase of expenditure : that the
taxes required to meet the present expenditure
impede the operations of agriculture and manufac-
tures, and diminish the funds for the employment of
labour in all branches of productive industry, thereby
Increasing pauperism an,d,.icrinr, and adding grievously
to the local and generalbuithens of the people : that,
to diminish these evils, it is t xpedient that this House
take steps to reduce the annual expenditure, with all