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

IMPERIAL PAIILIAM 1.,N T.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
it five .

I'EPTATE BCSINESS.
On the -motion of Lord REI)ESDALE, the foliov --
bills were read a second time :—'-Waterford and Limerick;‘i
and Great Southern and Western Railway; Holyhead
Weer, and Isle of Wight (Eastern Section). -
THE BALLOT.
Lord TEYNIIAM gave notice that he would on the 16th
of Match move a resolution, to the effect that it was expe-
dient that the votes at elections fur inembars 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
IS 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 tho use of violent means. What he wished for was
that some moans 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.
Vise'mut DUNGANXON presented a petition, signed
by 300 women of Aylesbiry and its immediate neighbour-
hood, against any measure fur legalising marriage with a
deceased wife's sister.
Lord WODE HOUSE said the noble lord seemed to be
taolgfpa)ouipiagi
snhtitot
he
eeo
thaturltidhi
ao withlve a
majoritysonie of the female population was
difficultydeccased il pife:esying
sisterb,iabueat
shoe.
(Hear, hear.) The noble visc,amt 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 signed by 300
women, but signed by 428 ladies residing in the neighbour-
hood of Asylesbury—(" 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 antieipitCd would arise it the alterations required
in the marriage law, were made. For himself he should be
perfectly willing to let the question be decided by the ladies
of Aylesbury. (Rear, hear, and laaehter.)
The LORD ~LOIt add 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 isejority of the female population was against the
measure.
Viscount DUNGANNON confessed the noble lord
(Wodihouse) 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 II ARDWICKE, 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 the noble
duke at,ihe 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 present state of Europe we were compelled to
keep afloat an armament equal to the carrying on of a con-
siderable war, and this too at a moment when our relations
with our allies were of the most friendly character. It was
well known 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 raising a force by compul-
sion, and the facilities of locomotion by sea and land were
so rapid, and extended, that the hope of raisin.- seamen by
impressment was almost universally abandoned ; ano,
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 bad been taken on the Navy Estimates for paying this
volunteer force, and the present was therefore a fitting time
to inquire into the prospects and present condition of our
naval reserve. He would not go into the question of reserve
steamships, but would• confine himself to the ability to man
those ships on any sudden emergency. We had for some years
possessed a valuable reserve in the coastguard. The 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 ing..re 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 need.
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 for a year, they could never
be sent to sea. The commissioners then recommended that
a force of volunteer reserve of 30,000 men should be formed.
and held together by a retaining fee. They recommended
that their retaining fee should be £6, but that Ll Of this
amount should be carried to a pension fund. The object
wa to renew, if possible, that Mercantile- Marine Fund
which was of so tench value and importance 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' ;;neat object i the present scheme could be con-
nected withthe Mercantile Marine Fund, the idea being
that £1 of the retainer should 'olt 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 t) make an observation or
two on the operation of the third article, regulating the
admission of volunteers, by which candidates were re-
quired to have served five years at sea. The object of this,
of course, 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 no
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 artillery ; 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 enemy, it would be deceived. (Hear.) 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. He 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 seven years, ho 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; he might be only partially
drilled and trained, and, yet after he had been a certain
number of years on the books, he would have the right 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 a
most valuable accession to it. At present they received a
pension of 6d. a day, but by making a difference in their
pay from £9 to £l5 a-year, the Government would attract
an. excellent class of men to the proposed force. Theme was.,
at present a description of reserve wleich was coesidererodve.
some value, but which he thought suscertible of imp
were
now various theeucret
purposet oard volun-
facilities for drill to the coastguard and c?a.
nmoewntrn menu—he
pwosrtsoffotrhethe
but
might
be eleven shipsf thaffaterudiebreg
teers Those ships never moved from theirmte
hbee
donet h o thought gt
to
t renderif they yw
theirere
crews
st oresoe al
really
n tsn e n
te.isrn nce 118
w;
ilisohgedamtooadnayseeratm. At
was being laid for them
tmoefms Oellnlte
bi no iNt tor
arsta toldnce
there
ewr
ehtwi which hseefeme•
raTney imagined that when
in this plan of the Government.
they the country that at.
they were liable to be jounced 7r
't3tuoopv.enrnmatenatoaysorleosinereNntet men
they entered the service
carried off to China or
vicseome other distant part of the world
in some petty war. He (Lord
V spoke the feeling of both houses
of Parliament
and of the o G vernment when he said most
where
aerdrewwieekell) night
~bieireerki,ogs only
scheme was shl y of having
distinctly and emphateticgvyiathteutththeebeeneed andnecessity
ca)ject of the
whole
re-
course to imprestrient,sothianttetrehsetea.men of the country,
in its success, and were
of all men, had re greatest
war or political accident
under the strongest obligationsuevettyto support it. (Hear, hear.)
Government to break the contract
they had made in this matter with the seamen of England,
wHotiulrewsartiisnfidencicethtahte
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 por-
foment* of that great duty of national defence which wan
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 assured the noble ear
that he did not in the least complain of any criticism or any
censure which, might be passed on a scheme which was still
an eTperiment, 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 Admiralty
had pursued with respect to them. They had offered. a num-
ber of special recommendations, the first, and perhaps, the
most important of which related to the establiihment of
training ships for boys. On that subject two difff rent plans
were suggested. One was that et Portsmouth and Ply-
month training vessels should be, stationed for' leas who
should enter them for a time, and then all go iiktovithe

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