The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-12 00:00:00

BURIAL GROUNDS.

Mr. IL BERKELEY asked the Secretary of State
for the Home Department why burials were allowed to
continue in metropolitan graveyards, now that ample
accommodation existed for interments at a distance from
London F Why the churchyards of Saint John, Sex-
ton ; St. Mary, Haggerston ; St. Giles, Camberwell,
having been repeatedly dosed by order of the Council,
have as often been allowed to mopen, and were, to.
gether with the Blue Lion burial-ground, in Grays-inn-
lane, and Trinity, Brompton, now in full operation ?
and why the objectionable practice of placing more than
one body in one grave was continued in the cemetery at
Brampton, which had been purchased by, and was under
the control of, the Government ?
Sir G. GREY said the burial grounds referred to had
not been repeatedly closed, 'but an extension of time had
been granted some of them till the, new city of London
Cemetery was completed. That cemetery would soon
be ready for the reception of burials, and then those
places would be permanently closed.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Mr. HUME asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland
whether the Government bad bad under its considera-
tion the question of assimilating the
f weights and. mea-
sures and tales in Ireland ; and,
measure
so, p
wulaeotnh e r
the t w:t
s
their intention tp bring in any
sub-
ject this session I
Mr. HORSMAN said it was not the intention of the
Government to bring forward any measure of the kind
,this session..
Firstha tSERVICE.
measuresL Loral
r o thhade Tbreeean-
M r E
wTAHrtEr D IL
inquiredOMolf T
thelwC
sury whether any, and (if
fhoirngcandidates in the diplomatic
anya)eystenk of examination, or
oa
ho.prt9edd
ufocra
ttihoon
aels ttaebslt,i s
service of
ToopfAthLemeoEunntsryl
N stated there had been commu-
nications with the commissioners for the examination of
candidates for public appointments, And he would have
no, objection to lay that correspondence, relative to the
examinations for'embassies and consular appointments,
on the table of the house.
Mr. RICARDO gave, notice that he should move on
that day fortnight fora select committee to inquire into
the system of Goveinment contracts.

THE POLICE BILL.

In answer to an lIONTMEMBE,

Sir G. GREY said be believed it was the general
wish of the house that this measure should be proceeded
with as speedily as Tossible. He shad postponed it
already for some days, on the understanding that it
should be proceeded with on Wednesday
next. Under
these circumstances, therefore, he could not comply
•
with the wish of the hon. gentleman to further postpone
the second reading of the bill.

NAVAL ESTIMATES.
Oa the motion of going into committee of supply on the
naval estimates,
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY wished to call the attention of
the house to a practice relating to the public expenditure,
which might be productive,of much mischief. On referring
to the financial accounts for the year ending March 31.
1855, he found that a considerable expenditure had takes
place in excess of the estimates which were passed by the
house, which he submitted was a most dangerous principle
as one which took all control out of the hands of the house.
In the estimate of naval stores for that year the house tAa
three different occasions voted 2,828,0001., but he found
that the expenditure had been 3,264,0001, being an excess of
436,000/. expended without the sanction of that house.
There was a clause in the Appropriation Act by which the
Lords of the Treasury were allowed to take any surplus, watt
to apply it without actually coming to the house., .To that
principle the house should object, because if expenditure
could be thus incurred is excess of the estimates agreed to
by the house, they might as well not tronble themselves
with estimates at all.

Sir C. WOOD said the first vote he should have to move
would be one to cover the excess of expenditure last year,
and he thought it would be more convenient to postpone
his explanations till he brought the subject before the
house in moving the navy estimates.
Mr. W. WILLIAMS thought it would be much more
conducive to the public interest if the navy estimates were
postponed till, they knew whether they were to have peace
or war. He did not wish that the Government should, ise
the least relax their preparations for carrying nn.the was*
with vigour; but if they voted the estimates now,' he- was,
afraid, although peace might take place, that the (*wary'
would be saddled with a vrar expenditure. There .was an
increase of 6,000 in the number of seamen to be voted this
year. Of course the house would expect some explanation
from the Government as to the reason for this large in-
crease at a time when there was not a flan. belonging to
Russia to be seen in the Black Sea. The country had
a right to expect that something more would have beau
done in the Baltic than had been accomplished. In the
estimates about to be submitted there was s considerable
increase for the marines, although the number of men watt
the same as in the year before, namely, 1,600. He'wishea
to draw the attention of the right hon. gentleinan.also to
the cost of the coast guard and the riggers. No doubt
that body of men had been of the 'greatest possible use,
but after the fleet had been trained for two years he could
not see the use of continuing those men in the service any
longer. The extra cost of these two classes of men was
67,000/. this year and 55,6001. last year. In three years
they cost the country 164,7031. Now during the war 20,00
extra seamen had been called out. This extra cost, there-
fore, would have enabled them to pay a bounty of 81—and
able seamen might be had for less- to each of these 20,000
men. This point deserved the attention of the Government.
He would next call attention to the vast increase in the
numberof admirals ; in 1846 there were 153 admirals of all
grades on the list, of whom 11 wereemployed ; in 1853 the
number had risen to 268, but only the same number were
employed. The present estimates provided for 314, al-
though only 18 were employed afloat and 4, is the dock-
yards. He thought such an increase of the number of
admirals was monstrous. There was also an increase of
13,0001, in the half-pay and pensions this year over the
last. This could not be owing to the war, as none of the
officers employed had yet come on the half-pay list. With-
in the last ten years this dead weight had diminished only
51,0001. The amount now asked for was 1,207,000 E. .11e
hoped some explanation would be given of the. increase.
He also wished to call attention to the mode in which the
good-service pensions were given away. He' believed the
grossest injustice was done in this matter. Be found a

noble lord had just been placed on the list. Ile did not
wish to disparage his gallantry, but he had seen very little
service, and there wore at least four hundred captains and
twice that number of lieutenants in the service who had
performed more meritorious services. An honourable cap-
tain had also received a pension whose services wore net
of a nature to deserve it. In conclusion, he would only
say he would offer no objection to the most effieieut esti-
mates for the vigorous prosecution of the war.
The SPEAKER then left the chair, and the house went
into committee.

Sir C. WOOD said it was his duty to propose the naval
estimates for the year ; but the first vote which his would
have to propose was one which bud no reference to the ser-
vice of the coming year, being a vote for the exeesstive ex-
penditure of the year ending on the Ist of April last. He
thought the explanation he would give of the circumstances
of that vote would entirely refute the assertion of the hon.
member for Evesham (SirH. Willoughby), that any expen-
diture could be incurred without its being submitted to the
house. Any person who paid attention to the subject would
see that in an expenditure of eight or ten millions it was
hardly possible to measure the amount so accurately as that
there should not be excess one way or other. The estimates
were framed by the department some time before they were
laid on the table. Sometimes at the end of the year there
was a surplus, which was carried to the credit of the account
at the Exchequer; sometimes there was au excess of ex-
penditure, which it was always necessaryto submit to Par-
liament. With regard to the particular excess incurred
last year, he thought he would bo able to satisfy the house
that it was hardly an excess of expenditure at all, although,
technically, it came before the house in that shape. Last
year, when the right hon. gentleman, the then first lord
(Sir J. Graham) was moving the naval estimates, be re-
called to the recollection of the committee the great changes
he had made in the administration of the Admiralty in
1830. These changes had effected an amount of adminis-
trative reform larger than had even been hinted at in mo-
dern days. Many parsers rega sl al the late Sir G. Cock-
burn as a great authority in naval matters, but it was a
fact that every one of these improvements had been
strenuously opposed by that gallant officer; amongst them
was the introduction of a better system of accounts,
and a system of bookkeeping by double entry, and from
that the accounts of the naval expenditure had been
most satisfactory. For 20 years of peace the system had
worked without any difficulty, and it had hitherto borne
the pressure put on it by the war. In point of fact, there-
tore, the item of 204,000/. for excess of expenditure ap-
peared in the-estimates; not because a greater sun had
been expended than had been calculated on, but because
owing to a better system of accounts a sum of near
300,0001., which in the ordinary course of things would
have been defrayed in the course of the current year, had
been carried into the accounts of the past. In the report,
of the Accountant-General he refers most favourably to
the change thus made, and to the exertions made by thw
officers of ithe department Ito bring about this result, and
the Commissioners of Audit corroborated his statement.
So far, therefore, from any blame attaching to the
officers of the department for this excess of expenditure, it
arose from circumstances highly creditable to them. He
was sure the hoe. member for Lambeth would be glad
to learn that the public accounts were now kept in
the same manner as those of the great =keen-
tile establishments. A great deal of the result ob-
tained was owing to a change recently made in the ?node
of paying off ships on arriving in port. Formerly the
books were sent up to London, and examined by an esta-
blishment of clerks from the Accountant-General and Pay-
master-General's offices. Considerable delay, therefore,
took place before the men could be paid. Within the last
two or three years the system has been changed, and the
paymaster of each ship paid all the men belonging to her.
When the Baltic fleet returned in 1854 and 1855, each ship
was paid up as she same in : no complaints were made, no
difficulty was experienced, and the men were Set.aelibetty
either to go on leave or be transferred to other ships. The
paymasters of the fleet deserved the highest praise for the
manner in which they bad discharged the new and dif-
ficult duty devolved on them. Intimately connected with
this subject was a further change which be proposed
to make in the mode of payment at the dockyards.
As the paymasters of the ships had been substituted
for the pay clerks loom the Accountant-General's office,
a great portion of the duties of the latter had been
done away with, and he proposed to relieve, them 'alto-
gether, and recall them to London. In their jilaee he
would substitute in each dockyard an officer to be tinned
the accountant, who would pay the allotments and all the
wages of the yard. This was now done b 7 the storekeeper.
He thought it better they should be entirely disconnected
with the monetary transactions of the yard. The new
officer would be able to inquire into and check the deck-
yard accounts, which he feared at present were not
checked as they ought to be, especially with regard to
contract work.' He next came to the actual estimates for
the year. As had been already stated they were framed
on the supposition that the war would continue, for they
were !prepared when the prospects of peace were net so
favourable as at present. He believed they were perfectly
right in presenting to the house a war estimate. (Sear,
hear) As had been stated on the first night of the ses-
sion by his noble friend at the head •of the' govermeent,
they did not propose to ask at ones the war estimates
for the whole twelvemonth, but he hoped the house
would sanction them for such a time as would cover
the longest possible delay of the negotiations. The best
security for pease was to show that they were rei.oy. fur
thewar.
enemy I w
If they showed
vlaeansttde of b
doubt,
Le
, th.
tit be s
least h e:I:n et:haton ,
ould take
the
ag kead
if the negotiations for peace should fell, and the war pro-
ceed, they were prepared to carry it on as war wee never
carried on before. He appealed with confidence to every
not
member of the committee,
only to those who liadigieeu
on all occasions n
generous support to the Government,
-
but to those who were most anxious for peace, because he
believed this was the best way to secure peace and promote
Although he 001.1 intended to propose a vote for part of the
the objects for which they were honestly anxious. (Hear.)
year, be begged' to remind the house that they must net
flatter themselves with the hope that a very large reduce
tion would be possible in the event of peace being made. If
hen. members would refer to the debate which took place
in 1816, on the termination of the great war, they would
find a very curious statement made by the then Secretary
of the Admiralty, to the effect that at the termination of
every war during the preceding century the estimates fur
the first year of peace had beenlarger than for the last year
of war. Although the system of paying the ships dose up
would diminish the increased' expenditure in the event of
peace, yet there must be a greater expenditure than if the
ships were continued in commission. (Hear.) The house
would observe that there was an increase of 6,000 in the
number of men to be voted. This involved an increase of
350,0001. in the vote for wages. This was principally owing
to the increased number of men, but partly to an increase
in the rate of pay. The hon. member for Lambeth had 7:
ferred to the pay of the coast guards and riggers. No
t
as soon as the fleet was reduced these would be the
sfi.otnr"..
suns to return to their ordinary avocations; but as
seen
every day, it would be meat unwise, and
t_
ow,
wen,
on
they required a large force, and were .nluitsafy destru ?•
tive to the efficiency of the fleet to remov
. .
also an increased
expenditure
of the newly raised men. There.
wonasof this was owing
expenditure for the marines. A Port
reign to a very ad-
. whose experience they depended for the training and disci-
to ,recruiting, but the more insportan
, by increasing not the
beennrheenumber of that most
wvihsaolt!eilum change
iz r oft
the
which e
fhoarcL,
but
artillery The exper
nience
valuable branch of it, the
b and wherever else it
services it had rendereda
itS
most advisable to increase the
be proposed to take only a portion of
nd the
was en tployed, rendered
they Ilad had of tdh isn afols
er force during marinen
tilwi irtiocan ee
otr
gi
gunners. Ares.
(oHn te
awra.: ,
wa
numbe r of trained e
t The vote was for 3,200,0001. ; he propoie4.l t o
it on a. sconn •
of two millions only on account. The next vo to
to take V‘,.<3
CO this there was a t • ing increase. The
for—victuals. °t
was
dby the additional number of en was ha.ithrs-
mere. gani to the v
lance( ldin some measure by the diminished price of the articles.
The elm ease on the ono side Was 120.000 e, but as there was
a deduct ion for diminished cost of 60,0001., the set incireese
was eel; 60,0001. On this vote he proposed to take a; mil-
lion on account. The house shOuld remember that the
contract a for provisions were made early in the year ; these
contract s could not be broken, so that even in the event _of
peace, in uch diminution of this vote could not be execte!l•
The men t vote was for the Admiralty department- He di d
not ' 03in k there could be any diminution
in this vote, be-
cause, en if they had only to wind up the affairs, there
seer
.e an
i mmense number of accounts and
books
o to he
010 ' ,He was moat anxious to get rid as soon
of . the number
of temporary clerks that crowded e
the rooms,
ely find eccommedation,
a he could
a Ad for whom they could afore