The Sun.
London, England, 1812-12-11 00:00:00

bring% in a Bill for inipfoving the Smithfield Market.
,The Petition wag ordered to be referred to a .Com-
rnittee.., •
On the- motion of Mi. RoßncioN, leave 7,7 is
#ant.e4, to. bring -in a Mil for indethnifying shell
persons as -had acted under the Order in Council
of 1806, for regulating the , intercourse 'between
the West India Islands' and Americs.
The Sugar Brewery,,Bill, and the ;Starch Prohi-
bition Bill,, were read a third dine and passed.
The Report of the Committee to consider the
Provision for the Marquis of Wellington,' the
Committee of Supply, and the Committee on the
Rice Act, were brought up and agreed to, and
Bills ordered accordingly. •
. GERMAN LEGION.

Lord FpLKSTONE said, that the ~question to
which he was now aboht to call the attention of
the House, was-one of so great importance, that
• he laid wished to call their attention to.it as early
in the present Session as possible. He regretted
the postponement of it, because, if Ministers did
intend to oppose the production of thOse papers
for which he Gras about to Move, he was sensible
that owing to the absence of a number of his
friends, they would haVe a greater advantage over
him ,at that time, than they could have had on
the day on which he wished 'at first to' bring for-
ward the ..motion which he was now about to
, make. He could not help. thinking that the in
troduction of foreign officers into British corps,
was a, complete infraction of the 'AAA's of the coon-
. tra. As no proper return had•been made of tile fo-
reign Officers in our British corps, part of his pre-
' -sent motion would be fair a- return of'all the fo- '
reign Oriicers in our reginients, of all those who
had- Staff. appointments, and who were in the 60th
regiment. His Lordship then read the Order
from the• Gazette, which conferred permanent
rank on the OfficerS of the King's German Le-
gion, in consideration of the signal 'services of
that corps on diftrent occaz:ions,.bet particularly
:,at the late glorious victory at Salamanca.
Lordship conceived that this Order was contrary
to law, because it went to .give.to the Officers of
.the Gentian Legion (a• corps, the: existence of
which, by the Act of Parliament, was Only, tem-
.porarv) apermanent rank in the British rimy, .He
swished to know from a Noble Lord opposite (Pal-
nierston); • whether he was correct in his under-
standing of the Order ?
Lord PALISTERSTONprofessed not to be able to
comprehend whether the hiterpretatioh which the
Noble Lord had given of the Order, was correct
or not..
• Lord F9LISESTONE was,very sorry that he had
not made himself understood to the Noble Lord.
He conceived that the Order should be considered
in no 'other lig-hi than an-attempt to foist the. Ge-
rman Officers into a permanent rank in the British ,
Army; that ,is, to make their rank, such that it
would continue after 'it nfight be necessary or
proper to discharge the corps, according to the
• terms of the Act respecting the foreign troops in
our service. •
Lord PALMERSTONE said, it was never intended
• 'that the Order which the Noble tord had read,
should confer any privileges inconsistent with the.,
Act respecting them. -
Lord FOLKESTONE said, if the words of the
Order were to be construed according to the coin—,
paribri Onderstanding of the English Language, they
certainly did imply,- that •privileges vere confer-
red upon the Officers of the German Legion, which
woge, to all intents and purposes, inconsistent
with the terms of the Act- of Parliament. The
great exploits of the corps are made: the cause for
conferring on them some great boon. But ac-
cording •to the. Noble Lard, this great reward
Avhich was purported iu the Order, was not given
them. In former times, when British Officers.
went into‘the arnw in the temporary rank of su-
perior officers, without haVingagone• through the
inferiot steps, it was not • usual for these officers
to get promotion. But now the. German Officers
who are only temporary, arc to be introduced in-
to our service, are to be promoted, and to shoulder
out our old General Officers Who have risen pro-
gressively to their rank. The Order should have
said " permanent rank in the • German,Legion,"
• and not in the British Army. The Order, accord-,
ing to.the explanation of the Noble Lord, Was a
iiinrk of absurdity in the Office from which it was
issued—of want of knowledge of the English lan-
guage, and had the effect of deceiving the Officers ,
of the German Legion, besides causing much un- -
easiness in the British Army. The object of his
motion, therefore, would be, to procure informa-
tion, by which the Officers of the British Army'
Might understand that they had not received the
injury,
,which, in the present state of their knoW-
lcdge, they could tit.t fail to suppose that they had
suffered.. His Lordship concluded by moving,
" That. an humble Address 'be presented to his
Royal Highness the Prince Regent, praying, that
his' Royal Highness would be pleased to order, •
that there should he laid before the House; Copies
of all the Orders which, had been issued from the
Hoese Guards, relative to the rank of the Officers
in the King's Ger Man Legion."
Lord PALMERSTON obserVed,that the nature of
his explanation had induced the Noble Lord to
alter the nature of his motion. Had the, Noble
, Lord asked his question first, it might have • saved
him the trouble of a speech. Temporary and per.-
manent rank were technical terms, distinguishing
two kinds of rank which differedin many respects.
Permanent rank means the cOmmon ordinary rank
possessed by every officerriri the British army.—
Temporary rank was that bestowed on persons
who had raised'a number of men, or performed'
sonic other service. The latter of these; ranks was
confined to the corps in which it was given; and
as it ceased with the reduction of that corps, gave
no title to half-pay. The order now ip.question
implied nothing contrary to the law ; neither. did
it apply to all the officers iii the German Legion ;
only to those of superior rank. If the Noble Lord •
had asked him whether the rank of these officers
was to continue atter the corps was discharged,
he should answer in the negative. The existence
of their commissions would cease with that of the
corps to which they belonged. Neither did the
order entitle them to half-pay ; 'nor did it inter-
fere in the least degree with the interests of the'
British officers in our service,. The Act under
which the• German Legion' was organized, direct-
ed that when. German officers should serve along
-with British, tat officer should take the prece-