The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-07 00:00:00

COAL

Mr. HORSMAN gave notice of his intention to move
for the omission of the 11th article relating to coal from the
commercial treaty with France:. (Opposition cheers.)

_
THE BALLOT.
Mr. H. BERKELEY gave notice that, on the 22d
inst., he would move that, in futuie, the election of mem-
bers to serve in Parliament should be taken by ballot.

(Hear, hear.)
LUNACY (SCOTLAND) AND REFORM (SCOT -
LAND).
Mr. STIRLING asked the Lord Advocate, in the ab-
sence of the Secretary of State for the Home Department,
whether it was the intention of her Majesty's Government
to introduce into Parliament, in the present session, any
Bill to amend the Lunacy (Scotland) Act. He also asked
why the Reform Bill for Scotland had not been placed in
the hands of members up to this time, notwithstanding
that the Reform Bills for England and Ireland had already
been trinted and issued.
Sir G. C. LEWIS said, with respect to the first ques-
tion, that a bill on the subject alluded to was under the con-
sideration of the Lord Advocate, and would shortly be in-
troduced. Some delay had,unavoidably arisen with respect
to the printing of the copies of the bill, but it would be
placed in the hands of hon. members to-morrow.
CAVALRY OFFICERS.

In reply to Sir H. STRACEY,
Mr. S. HERBERT said that questions and answers on
this subject would not make the house wiser, as the matter
was very intricate and unintelligible. A cavalry officer
not having received the difference in question, would not
be obliged to pay the same. -

- -
LORD COWLEY'S DESPATCH.-SAVOY AND-

NICE

Lord J. RUSSELL laid on the table the despatch from
Lord Cowley, relative to the annexation of Savoy and Nice,
which had been moved for on the 24th Jan. last.
Sir J. WALSH wished to ask the noble lord whether it
was intended to produce any additional papers which had
been received by Government on this subject ?
Lord J. RUSSELL was not prepared to say that the
papers alluded to were in a state to be laid on the table at
present.
Mr. DISRAELI asked whether the private letter of
Lord Cowley would be produced ?
Lord J. RUSSELL said he could not then inform the
right hon. gentleman.
SALE AND PURCHASE OF ARMY COMMIS-
SIONS.

Sir DE LACY EVANS moved that an humble address

be presented to her Majesty, praying that she would be gra-
ciously pleased, to order the gradual abolition, as soon as
practicable, of the sale and purchase of commissions in the
army (having due regard in doing so to existing rights),
with the view of substituting for the purchase system, pro-
motion partly by seleetioni partly by seniority, grounded on
war services of merit, length of colonial and home services,
ant attested professional fitness, under such regulation% as
her Majesty shall be pleased to direct. The hon. and gal-
lant officer proceeded to address the house, but in so low
and indistinct a tone of voice that we could not frequently
even guess at his meaning He was understood to say that
he did not propose ro abolish the purchase of commissions
at once, but asked the house, as a beginning, to carry out
the recommendations of the Royal Commission, and to go a
very slight degree further in the march of what he conceived
to be reform in our military system. It was well known to
the house that many members of the commission, including,
he believed he might say, the right hon. gentleman the pre-
sent Secretary for War, were desirous of going a little fur-
ther, and of including lieutenant-colonels and majors in the
non-purchasing ranks. Taking a series of three years, it
appeared that in the first a sum of £67,000 was paid for the
commissions of those two ranks of officers ; in the next
series a sum of £65,000, and in the third a sum of £53,500.
They might assume that to be the ratio of decrease. The
hon. and gallant member was understood to complain of a
system which enabled the incompetent to take the place of
the competent. He had known able and meritorious officers
freqUently passed over although strongly recommended for
promotian. The hon. and gallant gentleman then, as un-
derstood, referred to the conduct and operations of the army
in the Crimea, and the subsequent inquiry at Chelsea, and
to the system of exchanges in the army, which he con-
demned, but not a single complete sentence of the hon. and
gallant member's observations reached the gallery,
although he was frequently interrupted by hon. mem-
bers, sitting around him, telling him to speak up. The
hon. and gallant member proceeded to read, in an extremely
low tone, various returns and documents, from which he
was understood to infer that the competitive system hav-
ing worked so well in the civil department in this country
and in the army in France, might•with great success be in-

troduced into the British army. The artillery had been most
efficient during the Crimean war, and had preserved most of
their horses, whilst the cavalry were almost universally un-
horsed. The gallant officer next alluded to the vacancies-in
the cavalry, there having been 65 cornetcies vacant on the
15th February last. The hon. and gallant gentleman re-
sumed his seat after having addressed the house for two
hours, during which he was almost totally inaudible in the
gallery.
Mr. RICH, in seconding the motion, said ho did not wish
to detract from the merit of offieers who had obtained com-

missions, because many of them were men of the highest
qualifications, and had done gallant exploits in the field, but
the man of money passed over the heads of all the rest what
aver their merits, and it therefore became substantially a
questionet whether promotion should be secured by money or
in
Every one had admitted that the present System could
defended
not be ended in the abstract. The noble lord at the head
of the Government said that if the army had to be reorganised
he would be strongly opposed to the purchase system, but
that it was now difficult to eradicate it. But it was said that
the system after all kept up the efficiency of the army. Upon
that point he joined issue. urchase system supplied
bodies of officers of the right andefittingthe age for the several
stations in which they were placed, nh e would admit hat
it was good ; but did it do so ? It was uselessneto take e the pre-
sent state of the army, because in consequence the wars in
which we unhappily had been engaged dm ingthe last few
years,
it had been increased to an enormous extent, and was
not in its normal condition; but going back to 18517;he )et* l
before those great augmentations, he found that the average
age of officers was as follows :—Ess!gn and cornet, 21;
lieutenant, between 28 and 29 ; captain, 38 ; major, between
43 and 44 : lieutenant-colonel, 49/ ; major general between
68 and 60; lieutenant -general, 65, and a full general, 3.
Were those the ages at which officers should arrive at those
commands ? At a period preceding 1851 there was not one
n'tajor-general under 50, five years older than the laWiuke