The Sun.
London, England, 1836-03-12 00:00:00

COUNTY COURTS BILL.

In reply to a question from Mr. II UM E.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL had not prepared any
Bill on the subject of county courts, and had no authority for
saying such a measure would be introduced in the course of the
present session.
Mr. HUME begged to ask the Noble Lord, then, whether
the Goveramentwiould think it -worth while to,brinir•in a Bill
upon the subject?'
Lord JOHN RUSiSELL replied, that if such a measure
were brought forward, the Government would give it their
support. It was a much more convenient course for the Go-
vernment to consider, before they brought in a great number
of Bills, whether there was any prospect of their being en-
abled to carry them in the course of the session.—( Hear. )
THE CANADAS. •
Mr. ROEBUCK had some time since asked for the pro-,
duction of certain papers relative to. Canada. The reply was,
they .were not ready for production ; and he had heard no
more of the matter, until he saw the most important among
them published in the Morning Chronicle of that day. He
wished to know whether, now they had been published, if his
Majesty's Ministers would allow the House to possess them ?
Sir GEORGE GREY replied that Government could have,
no desire to withhold the documents in question.
The question was again put and carried, and the House re.
solved itself into a Committee of Supply.

ARMY ESrINATES.
Lord 110 WICK rose to bring under the consideration of
the committee the estimate for the army service of the present
year. These estimates were in every respect almost precisely
the same as those of last year; their amount continued un-
altered, and the force remained the same,
with the exception
of a very trifling addition, which had been raised abroad for
temporary purposes. For aught he knew, the force might
have at this moment actually ceased to be in existence, and
under these circumstances he had considered it better, instead
of adding the amount of the charge for it to the regular coti-
mate of the year—a course which would have occasioned some
confusion in the comparison between this and the preceding
year—to include it in a supplemental estimate. The lion.
Member for Middlesex had given notice of a motion for a re-
duction to the amount of 5,000 men ; when he had heard the
arguments by which that proposition was supported, he should
be enabled to state to greater purpose the reasons on which his
Majesty's Government objected to it. With respect to any in-
crease on the present estimates, the instances were very trifling.
There was a very small increase—if it deserved the name at all—
in the number of officers, first in the Royal African Corps,
where it was rendered necessary by the casualties which had
occurred ; and again in the two West India regiments, which
consisted of ten companies. In the War-office very consider-
able reductions had taken place ; in this respect the Govern-
ment had followed up the principle acted upon by the Right
lon. Gentleman opposite. In 1832 the whole number of
persons employed in that office was 64 ; it was now reduced
i
to 51 ; and when various superannuation and other charges
fell in, the annual amount of saving would be 4,810/. He held
in his hand a return showing the number of clerks employed
in, and the annual expense of, the War-office in 1815, 1820,
1824, 1828, 1832, and 1836. It also showed the number of
clerks which had been formerly engaged in other branches of
public business, now transferred to the War-office. From this
paper it appeared that in 1615 the number of persons employed
in all these offices was 215, of whom 170 were in the War-
office, at an annual .charge of 71,2451. In 1820 the number
of persons employed in all these offices was reduced to 171 ;