The Sun.
London, England, 1870-03-12 00:00:00

SCOTCH VACANCY.

Mr. CRAUFURD asked the First Lord of the Treasury
whether it was the intention of Her Majesty's Govern-
ment to fill up the vacancy in the Court of Session occa-
sioned by the decease of Lord Barcaple.
Mr. GLADSTONE said the vacancy was proposed to be
filled up, but the person appointed would have to abide
by any rules and regulations which Parliament might see
fit subsequently to enact.
THE ARMY REGULATIONS,

Major WALKER asked the Secretary of State for War
whether he had considered, and was prepared to remedy;
the heavy increase of mess and band subscriptions which
would be entailed on regimental officers by the proposed
reduction of their numbers, and by the discontinuance of
promotions from the rank of Ensign or Cornet to that of
Lieutenant.

Mr. CARDWELL said he was not prepared to propose any
measure for the increase of the pay of the officers to meet
such expenses.
PROMOTION IN THE ARMY.

Mr. SINCLAIR ArrouN asked the Secretary of State for
War whether, in carrying out the proposal to give twenty-
five unattached Lieutenant Colonelcies, fifty Majorities,
and one hundred Captaincies, as mentioned in his speech
on the estimates, to meet the claims of officers, and
stimulate the rapidity of the absorption on the reduction
of the army, it might be understood that it was intended
to give such promotion according to length of service
from the date of first entering into the service, in con-
formity with the precedent established in 1866, when
Parliament santioned a similar distribution of a certain
number of unattached commissions.

Mr. CARDWELL replied in the affirmative. The course
to be taken would be similar to that taken in 1866. His
Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief considers the
professional claims, and acts accordingly.
THE TELEGRAPHS.

Sir STAFFORD NORTHCOTE asked the Postmaster-
General whether it was true that the system of sending
Parliamentary reports by telegraph direct from
the Houses of Parliament to the offices of
country newspapers had been put an cried to
since the telegraphs had been taken into the hands of the
Government ; and whether any measures could be taken
for remedying the inconvenience which has been occa-
sioned by the change.
The Marquis of HARTINGTON said it was certainly a
matter of the greatest importance to the pro-
prietors of newspapers that they should receive
the earliest intelligence. 'Under the old sys-
tem of telegraphs, the different parties competed
and combined for the supply of interchange, and such
matter was transmitted by the intelligence department by
a spectal wire to Birmingham and Leeds, Liverpool
and Manchester, and Edinburgh, Newcastle and
Glasgow. If so more was required of the present
system that could easily be done, and more
We could send intelligence by one wire to Brighton, Nor-
folk, and Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Nottingham,
and Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, and
Cardiff. But the fact was that more was required. The
department was now required to send all sorts
of intelligence in addition to Parliamentary news,
such as general news, sporting news, and shipping
and commercial news, and to send them at all times other
than that at which Parliamentary news was transmitted
—viz., 6 p.m. and 3 a.m. The intelligence department,
it was true, gave preference to the Parliamen-
tary news, but the associations declined to do that ;
in fact, the subscribers for the news were as various
as the news transmitted. The department now had no
power to give precedence to Parliamentary news. There
must, of course, be a limit to the capacity of every de-
partment, and it was a fact that the amount of news
transmitted now was far greater than it was under the
old system. The arrangement that was required
was co-operation in the press associations, and therefore
it appeared impossible that every person could receive
exactly the news that he required in the absence of that
co-operation. It was the greatest desire of the depart-
ment to do their utmost, but the altered circumstances
of the case would for the present prevent the
intelligence being despatched in any other mode than it
was at present, and he was afraid that in the absence of
that co-operation to the want of which he had referred,
the inconvenience would have to continue some time
longer.