The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-30 00:00:00

COLONEL BOXER.

On going into committee of supply,
Mr. O'REILLY called attention to the paper relative to
the resignation of Colonel Boxer of the office he held in
the Royal Laboratory, and moved for a select committee
to inquire into, and report on all the circumstances which
led to that result. The hon. gentleman reviewed at great
length the whole of the facts connected with the case,
quoting largely from the published correspondence. Col.
Boxer had served the state well for many years, and in
refusing to answer certain questions when called upon by
the Secretary of State for War, was guilty technically
of insubordination, and accepted the alternative
of resigning. He (Mr. O'Reilly) denied that
Colonel Boxer had been " dismissed," as the right hone
gentleman had said, and he had received no reward for
his services. The member for Droitwich had laid it down,
that it was the duty of such an officer to invent for the
public service. There was, however, as .he
(the hon. gentleman) contended, a great diffe-
rence between improvements in manufactures and inverk
Lions. An intelligent officer would naturally be expected
to improve in manufactures, but it could not be expected
of him to invent without reward. Mr. O'Reilly pro-
ceeded to speak of the specific inventions of Colonel
Boxer, all of which he urged had benefitted the public.
It was under these oircumstances that he asked for a full
inquiry into the subject.
Sir JOHN PAKINGTON thought the hon. gentleman had
made the best of a bad case. He thought the Secretary
for War had acted quite properly in calling upon Colonel
Boxer to resign, and expressed his opinion that any other
gentleman under similar circumstances would have done
the same. He denied having given Colonel Boxer the
instructions which in the correspondence he attributed to
him, or that he was justified in the course which he
adopted. He could not have thought that a man like
Colonel Boxer would have attempted to practice so much
deception upon him. In answer to a letter from him to
Colonel Boxer asking whether he had any pecuniary in-
terest—whether he received any royalties or other con-
sideration in the manufacture of cartridges by Messrs.
Eley, Colonel Boxer replied that he had absolutely assigned
his patents to that firm. His (Sir John Pakington's) fear at
the time was that the relations between Colonel Boxer
and Messrs. Eley might give rise to scandal. There had
been secrecy from the beginning to the end of the some-
what scandalous transaction. Had he known then what
he knew now, he should have felt it his duty to
remove Colonel Boxer, to have brought the case under
the notice of the commander-in-chief. The letter
to which he had alluded was founded upon a minute in
his own handwriting ; but his instructions did
not contain any word about royalties or other
remuneration. The mistake, however, had been made,
and Colonel Boxer was entitled to the benefit.
The right. gentleman concluded by saying that the right
hon. gentleman at the head of the War Department took
the same view of the letter as he (Sir J. Pakington) had
done, and he hoped the House would, irrespective of party,
do the same, and that they would find that there
was nothing in his (Sir J. Pakington's) conduct incon-
sistent with his duty to the Crown or his character as a
gentleman.

Mr. WHITWELL said he hoped the House would approve
the conduct of both the right hon. gentleman the Secre-
tary of State for War and the right hon. baronet, and say
hat they had acted with the utmost honour.

Mr. CARDWELL acquitted Sir J. Pakington from all blame
iu the matter, and defended the course which the War-office
had taken in requiring Colonel Boxer to resign. He de-
clined, however, to assent to the motion for a select com-
mittee.
Ultimately the motion was withdrawn.

Lord CRICHTON called attention to recent magisterial ap-
pointments in the county of Leitrim, and moved for papsrs
on the subject.
Mr. C. FORTESCUE defended the appointments, after which
the subject dropped.
Sir L. PALK inquired what day the Government would fix
or proceeding with the Education Bill ?

Mr. GLADSTONE said as soon as the Irish Land Bill was
disposed of he proposed to put the Education Bill in
its place, and to facilitate its progress as far as it was
possible. _ _

Sir J. JENKINSON called attention to the case of Jacob
Spinosa, who had been convicted of murder, and recently
reprieved, and asked upon what ground such reprieve
was granted.
Mr. BRUCE said he was justified in the course taken by
the recommendation of the learned judge who tried the

case.
Mr. C. BENTISCK drew attention to the case of the-Tor-
nado, and contended that the capture of the vessel was
illegal, and that the proceedings in the Spanish Courts had
been grossly unfair.
Mr. O'rwAY said that all the Government contended for
was that the vessel should have a fair trial in the Spanish
courts.
After some discussion the motion was withdrawn.
The Poor Relief (Metropolis) Bill was considered in com-
mittee, and the other orders having been disposed of, the
House adjourned at 20 minutes past two o'clock.