The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-28 00:00:00

IiNIPEINAL

HOUSE- OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.)
The LORD CRANCELLOR took his seat oa the woolsack
tt five o'clock.

• PRIVATE BUSINESS.
On the motion ot: Lord REDESDALE, the full° wing
bills were read a second time :—Waterford and Lime ick,
and Great Southern and Western Railway ; Holyilead
Water, and Isle of Wight (Eastern Section). •
THE BALLOT.

Lord TEYNIIA.M gaVe notice that he would on the 16th
of
.March tuove a resolution, to the effect that it was expe-
dient that the votes at elections for memb4rs of Parliament
should be taken by secret ballot.
BLEACHING WORKS.
Lord BROUGHAM called the attention of the house to
the suffering endured by children of tender age and women
in the process of bleaching. It had been proved that child-
ren between seven and eight years of age had been kept for
18 and 20 hours, and in some instance two and three days,
in continuous work in bleaching works, during which time
they endured the most excruciating hardships. The
system pursued towards these poor children was
heartrending, many of them. only, being kept awake
by the use of violent means. What he wished for-was
that some means might be adopted to put an end to such
dreadful practices, and he begged to ask the noble earl
whether it was the intention of the Government to extend
the operation of the factory act to bleaching works.
Earl GRANVILLE said he would make inquiry into
the subject, and give the noble and learned lord an answer
on another evening.

THE MARRIAGE LAWS.
Viscount DUNGANNON presented a petition, signed
by 300 women of Aylesbury and its immediate neighbour-
hood, against any measure for
.legalising marriage with a
deceased wife's sister.
Lord WODE HOUSE said the noble lord seemed to be
of opinion that the majority of the female population was
against the marriage with a deceased wife's sister, buthe
theught he would have some difficulty in proving his case.
(Hear, hear.) The noble viscount had presented a -peti-
tion signed by three hundred of the women of Aylesbury,
and urged the importance of such a petition. Now, he
happened to have another petition, not siomed by 300
women, but signed by 428 ladies residing in the neighbour..
hood of Aylesbury—(" hear, hear," and laughter)—quite
of an opposite prayer. (" Hear, hear," and laughter.)
He did not think that any such great evils as the noble
Viscount anticipated would arise if the alterations required
in the marriage laws were made. For himself he should be
perfectly willing to let the question be decided by the ladies
of Aylesbury. (gear, hear, and laughter.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR said he hoped the
ladies of England, both for and against the alteration,
would come forward and give expression to their opinions
on the subject by petition. It was, however, his opinion
that the majority of the female population was against the
measure.
Viscount DUNGANNON confessed the noble lord
(Wodohouse) had the advantage of him on that occasion—
(laughter)—but he was firmly convinced the female popu-
lation generally agreed with those whose petition he had
just presented.
The subject then dropped.

NAVAL RESERVES.
The Earl of lIA.RDWICKE, in rising. pursuant to no-
tice, to call attention to the state of the naval reserves, said
he had a strong desire, so far as he could, to assist then oble
duke at the head of the Admiralty in this- important ele-
ment of our national defences. At a time when enormous
sums of money were being voted for our armaments it
would be a matter of the greatest satisfaction to the country
and service to the State if a body of seamen could be relied
upon in any sudden emergency for the defence of the na-
tion. In the pro Sent state of Europe we were compelled to
keep afloat an arinathent equal to the carrying on of a con-
siderable war, anti this too at a moment when our relations
with our allies Were of the most friendly character. It was
well kaotFir to their lordships that we had always possessed
a naval'reserve in the whole merchant service, the seamen
in which were liable by ;Acts of Parliament to serve the
Crown in case of any emergency. These statutes were still
in force, but public opinion had so anxiously pressed upon the
Government the impossibility of raisjig a force by compul-
sion, and the facilities of locomotion -by sea and land were
so rapid, and extended, that the hope of raising seamen by
impressment was almost universally abandoned ; and,
although there was no intention of repealing the statutes,
yet it was felt that they could not be carried out until too
late, and until an enemy was thundering at our doors. His
noble friend behind him (the Earl of Derby) appointed a
commission to consider the best mode of manning the navy,
and in August last an Act was passed empowering the
Crown to raise a volunteer reserve of seamen. This year
a vote had been taken on the Navy Estimates forming this
volunteer force, and thepresent wak therefore a fitting time
to inquire into the prospects and present condition of our
naval reserve: He would not go into tire question of reserve
steamships, but would confino himself to the ability so man
those ships on any sudden emero- b ency. We ad for some years
possessed a valuable reserve in the coastguard. Those men
had all served the Crown at sea for 10 'years; they were
thorough seamen, trained to the use of all descriptions of
arms, and in the highest vigour of life. They consisted of
between 7,000 and 8,000, but not inst.° than about 4,000
were now seamen, the rest having served in the revenue
service upon shore. The commissioners hoped that the re-
venue service would employ more seamen, and that a larger
number would be available for the royal navy in case of ned.,
The next portion of the naval reserve were called coast vo-
lunteers. They were constituted by Act of Parliament, but
they were very inadequate in numbers, and although they
might be valuable along the coast at the commencement of
a war, yet, being only bound fora year, thereould ;lever
be sent to sea. The commissioners then recomnieiided that
a force of volunteer reserve of 30,000 men should be formed,
and held together by a retaining foe. They recommended
that their retaining fee should be £6, but that Li of this
amount should be carried to a pension fund. The object
was to renew, if possible, that Mercantile Marine Fund
which was of so :ouch value and im2ortanco in connecting
the whole of the seamen of England together by a common
bond. Unfortunately that fund had gone to ruin, but it
would be a great object if the present scheme could be con •
nected with the Mercantile Marine Fund, the idea being
that £1 of the retainer should go to a fund enabling the vo-
lunteer reserve to receive £l2, £lB, or £2O a year, accord-
ing to length of service. It was hoped also that the public
would liberally aid this fund. They also recommended that
naval schools should be established at the different ports
for the instruction of boys, and that one portion of the
boys should Le draughted off to the Royal navy and an-
other to the mercantile marine. He earnestly called the
attention of the noble duke to these recommendations of
the Commissioners. He wished to make an observation or
two'on- the operation of the thitd article, regulating the
admission of volunteers, by which candidates were re-
quired to have serried tiVe years at sea. The object of this,
Of Coarse, Was to get A. B. seamen. Now, there was no
term so vague as that of A. B. seamen. One man might
be good for one purpose and another for another, but
all received general certificates after service. By proceed-
ing on this principle of selection the probability was that
when they got their 30,000 men they would find that a
great many of them were not up to the mark. Why should
. .

it not be at once distinctly stated that there were certain
qualifications which the men should possess, and why
should they not be asked to show on examination what
they were able to do ? In this way they would be sure to
know what description of men they were who presented
themselves. Under the system proposed there could be nu
certainty of procuring good men. He had heard it said
that certificates were even made matters of bargain and sale
by the men. Then, as to the system of training, he thought
it very inadequate. The volunteers were to be a picked
body of seamen, trained to the use of arms, well drilled,
and made practically acquainted not only with the use of
the great gun, but of small arms. The time set apart for
drill was 28 days in the year, which, by deducting Sun-
days, and the time required for travelling, would be re-
duced to 22. Now, they knew perfectly well that without
an immense deal of practice no man could be of any great
value in the management of artlllery ; and he feared, there-
fore, that if the country depended upon these volunteers as
being first• rate seamen, accustomed to artillery, and ready
to fight an enethy, it would be deceived. (Bear.) He wished
next to point out to the noble duke that if they were not
able to produce a better class of men than these were likely
to be, they would absolutely ruin the reserve they 'now
had. By one of the regulations, No. 151, it was provided
that naval volunteers would be eligible for the Coastguard
'force. Ho had shown their lordships that they might
confidently.rely on the Coastguard to the extent that they
could go. They might be called off their stations to-day
and ready to man a ship to-morrow. But supposing
they had 30,000 volunteers of the ' description he had
referred to, and they had a right to enter the Coast-
guard service after ten or seeen years, he was afraid it
would be found that the latter would lose its efficiency. A
naval volunteer might pass and not be a seaman at all in.
the proper sense of the word ; ho might be only partially
drilled and trained, and, yet after he had been a certain
number of years ou the books, he would have the tight to
enter as one of the elite-of our reserve, he being an inferior
man and unable to perform any of the duties that a coast-
guard man now discharged. In this way the coastguard
force would be deteriorated. There was a body of men,
called short-service pensioners, men of good character and
who had each served ten years on board a man-of-war.
They were now scattered over the face of the earth; but, if
permitted to join the reserve force, they would be found
most valuable accession to it. At present they mclivtehleir
pension of 6d. a day, but by making a difference t
pay from £9 to £l5 a leer, the Government weaTilhdeasettrawaact
an excellent class of men to the prof' teed force.
at present a description of reserve settich w
some value, but which he thought suscesub
hips ,affording wero
improve-
ment—hes
meant the crews of the eleven
now in the various out ports for 'al considered
dof
facilities for drill to the coastguard and guaard
their moorings ; but
volun-
teers Thoso ships never moved from the purepooaasset
really efficient. There was a
be done to render their crew
which 1:
he wished to advert. At
he thought if they were sent to sea inmsummer much might
paint of some importaneettperawas
afae..g
amng seamen
this moment he wastoldhat a trap was being laid for them
h
Government. They imagined that when
Go
service of the Government as reserve men
throughout the countvryrnt
in this plan of the
pounced upon at any moment and
carried off to China
or some other distant part of the world
theythe y
were entered
li thebic pbe
engaged in some petty war, He
.Lord
and of the Government when he said most
both houses
aki3i g
wast sbuere he oly spoke thefeeling of "4°"'
wherdreww
• tly and emphatically that the end and
distinctly object of the
whole scheme was to obviate the necessity of having re-
course to impressment,
oilal-arlilicuneent
so that the seamen of the country,
of all men, had the greatest interestin its success, and were
under the strongest obligations to support it. (Hear, hear.)
He was satisfied that no petty war or political accident .
would ever induce the Government to break the contract
they had made in this matter with the seamen of England,
or to take those men from their usual occupations on any
such enterprise ; so that they might rest assured that when
they were callee on to serve it would only be in the per-
formance of that great duty of national defence which was
incumbent on every citizen.
The Duke of SOMERSET said he was not surprised to
find that the noble earl took a considerable interest in the
success of the plan in question. He assurA the noble can
that he did not in the least complain of any criticism or may
censure which might be passed on a scheme which wag still
an experiment, and which was now for the first time being
tried on a large scale, He (the Duke of Somerset) might
shortly advert to some of the principal recommendations of
the Manning Commission, and to the course the Adusiralts
had pursued with respect to them. They bad offered a IlUnt•
her of special recommendations, the first, and perlmps, the
most important of which related to the establiatratent of
training ship§ for boys. On that subject ts.vo different -plans
were suggested. One was that at Portsmouth P.nil Plye
mouth training vessels should be stationed i'or "sadn vho
should enter,tbem for a time, and then all go; into tb
.8 navy.