The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-24 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS-(YESTERDAY.)

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

ROYAL COMMISSION.

The Royal assent was given to_ the following bills :
Consolidated Fund (£4,500,000), Probate and Administra-
tion (India), Valuation of Rateable Property, Medical Acts
Amendment, Packet Service (Transfer of Contract), Admi-
nistration of Poison, Blackburn Gas, and West Middlesex
Water.

LAW AND EQUITY.
The LORD CHANCELLOR laid on the table a paper
containing very valuable information which had been sup-
plied to him by the Master of the Rolls and the Tice-Chan-
cellor, calculated to throw light upon the bill which he had
brought is for the assimilating law and equity. He moved
that the paper be presented.
PRIVATE BILLS.
The Droylsden Gas Bill was read a second time.
The following bills were read a third time and passed :
Torquay Gas, Eau Brink Drainage, Kilkenny Junction
Railway, and Waterford and Limerick Railway.

REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE.
The Earl of AIRLIE moved for returns of the number of
persons charged with inhabited house duty, and qualified
to vote at the election of members to serve in Parliament,
within each of the counties and Parliamentary boroughs of
England and Wales, also a return of the number of persons
entitled to vote for members of Parliament in respect of
houses of the rentals of £lO and under £l5, £l5 and under
£2O, £2O and under £25, £25 and under £5O, £5O and
under £lOO, and upwards in each of the said boroughs, and
also a return of the number of householders. in each
borough inhabiting houses of the gross rentals respectively
of £6 and under £7, and under £B, £8 and under £9, £9
and under £lO, £lO and under £l5, distinguishing
the numbers in each class sot rated to the poor,
of all rated only through the landlord and exempted
from payment of rates from poverty and other causes. The
noble lord said he had intended to have moved for a number
of returns with respect to the income-tax, but he had been
informed from the authorities that it would be impos-
sible to make such a document. He did not think that there
would be any objection to his motion, the more especially
as the subject of the amending the representation of the
people in Parliament was at present under the consideration
of Parliament. The noble Earl then proceeded at length
to touch upon the points of the financial scheme of the Go-
vernment, but owing to the private conversation that was
carried on by the majority of the peers present, he was
very indistinctly heard in the gallery.
[Shortly before six o'clock the Duke of NEWCASTLE in-
terrupted the noble lord, making some remark relative to
the Lord Chancellor, immediately after which the noble and

learned lord quitted his seat and left the house ; Lord
Chelmsford taking the Lord Chancellor's vacant seat.]
The cause of the Lord Chancellor leaving the house, it
was said, was owing to a message received by his lord-
ship of the illness of the Baroness Stratheden.
The Duke of NEWCASTLE said there was no objection
to the return.

Lord CIIELMSFORD then put the motion, which was
agreed to.

SAVOY.

The Marquis of CLANRICARDE rose to ask whether
the Government had received any communication from the
Sardinian or French Gtvernment of the recent vote of the
municipality of Nice, relative to the cession of that t )wn
and county to France ? The noble marquis said he did not
desire to extract from the Government any premature ex-
pression of opinion, but simply to ask a question as to the
facts. It was for the Government to consider, at the pre-
sent serious crisis, what course they should pursue, and
Parliament would ere long have to consider it. It would
be ill-judged to make any blustering declarations, and it
was to be regretted that people should use such language
as that England would not go to war for anything. That
language has had a very bad effect abroad; and foreign
Governments ought to bear in mind that England would
do her duty at any time, regardless of consequences—
(hear, hear)—but that if with any country we wereto main-
tain cordial relations, it could only be by a sincerely good
understanding between them, and by a loyal and truthful
frankness. (Hear.) Now, some weeks ago there appeared
in a foreign newspaper an announcement that communica-
tions were going on between the Governments of France
and Sardinia for the cession of Savoy and Nice, and papers
were laid before Parliament showing that such a transas-
tion was in contemplation. But great pains were taken by
the French Government to impress upon the public and
upon our Government the notion that these negotiations
were dependent on three conditions—that the charge was
only to be made with the full consent of the King of Sar-
dinia ; by the free consent of the population ; and not
until previous communications with the Great Powers.
(Hear, hear.) Upon two of these three conditions he bad
nothing to say, and he desired or'y to speak upon the
second, its to the free consent of the population. He
threw out of the question Savoy, upon which it would be
impossible to touch without going into those questions
on which he would not raise a premature debate.
He confined himself entirely to the question as to Nice.
He need say nothing as to the soundness of the principle
that the transfer of allegiance should be founded on the
goodwill of the populations concerned. There was no more
abominable doctrine connected with what was called despo-
tism or divine right, than the idea that any people could
belong to a prince, and be handed over by one sovereign to
another. The French and Sardinian Governments them-
selves had rested their conduct upon the validity of the
popular will. It had, however, been stated, and seemed to
be un fait accompli, that the county of Nice was to be trans-
ferred to France. And so far was it from the truth that
this was the popular will, that it was notorious that the
municipality of Nice lately, after long deliberation, had re-
solved against it, and had sent a deputation to the King of
Sardinia representing their desire to remain under his sove-
reignty, or, if they were to be separated from it, then to be
erected into a neutral State, which their territory was very
well adapted to become. (Hear.) There were many reasons
for that course, which might be matter for negotiation. But
what he was most anxious about was, that there should be
frankness and fair dealing, and an adherence to representa-
tions or promises, or declarations of intention, on the part
of one great Government towards another. (Hear.) Yet
the French Emperor had the other day, in his address to
the deputies from Savoy, thought fit to mix up the subject
of Nice (though there were no deputies from Nice), and
said :—" In fact, it is neither by insurrection nor violence
that Savoy and Nice will be reunited to France, but by the
free consent of the legitimate sovereign, supported by the
popular voice." Now he (the Marquis of Clanricarde) de-
dared that this was not a correct representation of the state
of things. (Hear, hear.) He said so not only on account
of the vote of the municipality of Nice (an elective body,
legally representing the territory), but on the authority of
communications he had received from Nice. There was to
have been a general popular vote after that of the munici-
pality. The French Government had no occasion to declare
any intention upon the subject ; but having made such a
declaration or intention (not to call it a promise or a pledge),
it ought not to be lightly set at nought. And if it were in-
tended to maintain the peace of Europe, and to preserve our
gociawill and friendship, there must be cordial, sincere, end
frank relations between the two countries, and statements
must not be made notoriously contrary to the truth. There-
fore it was that he asked the Government whether they had
received any communication of the expression of opinion
by the population of Nice ?
Lord WODEHOUSE—The question of which the noble
marquis gave notice was, whether we had received any
communication on this subject from the French or Sardinian
Government • and the answer is, that we have not received
any communication from the French or Sardinian Govern-
ment on the subject. My lords, the noble marquis said he
should not touch upon the grave and delicate question as to
the cession of Savoy anti Nice; end I ant, certain that it is
better that I should confine myself to simply answering the
inquiry of the noble marquis, without entering into a ques-
tion which is under the serious consideration of the Govern-
ment. (Hear.)
SALE OF COMMISSIONS IN THE ARMY.
Lord PANMURE drew the attention of the house to the
system of promotion by the sale and purchase of commis-
sions in the army. That system had existed from the very
rise of our standing army, and it was introduced to enable
those who had risen to rank to retire, and thus open an
entrance to others, and thus keep up a stream of promo-
tion, and prevent the army from being depressed by a set
of senile officers. (Hear.) With that view it was that the
system had been maintained. It had worked impartially,
and produced to the British army a set of officers superior
to that of every other army in Europe. No doubt there were
blots and defects in the system, and one of them was that
the regulation price was constantly exceeded. It had been
found impossible to eradicate the evil; but it was an
exaggeration to call it a scandal. (Hear, hear.) Successive
Secretaries of State and Commanders-in-Chief had con-
nived at it; and all that could be said of it was, that it was
inconvenient. (Hear.) It was said that the system of sell-
ing out made the army a sort of plaything ; but ho was
surprised that any one should call that an objection to the
system. It was an argument in its favour, for surely it
was an advantage to the country that the youth of its aris-
tocracy should spend a certain number of years in the army,
and then go back to their counties well trained and fit to
command militia or volunteer regiments. (Hear.) It was
said that the system stopped promotion ; but that was a
complete mistake, for it enabled officers to get quicker pro-
motion than they could obtain by seniority. It was to be re-
gretted, therefore, that the Government intended to inter-
fere with the system on the strength of the report of a com-
mission, a report not carried unanimously, but by a majority
of six to four. Those four were most distinguished men—
one of them, Gen. Williams, never having purchased a step.
Surely the protest of these four commissioners should have
deterred the Government from taking so rash a course. It
appeared that the lieutenant-colonelship was not any longer
to be purchased. But how then was it to be given up or ob-
tained when the lieutenant-colonel became too old for ser-
vice? It was recommended that he should be succeeded by
one of the majors, to be chosen by the Commander •in-Chief.
Any plan more calculated to disturb the harmony of the
army could not be devised. The senior major of the regi-
ment might not be the best major in the army; and if the
Commander-in-Chief were to choose another for the colonel-
alp, he would be stamped from that time as incompetent,
or the other officers, resenting the introduction of a stranger, I
woulhardly be abme
le to obey the new colonel with cordiality.
(Hear.) It
said, why not put the army on the same
footing as the navy? rte was, it was true, no purchase in
the navy, but the meeld
was entirely different. (Hear.)
The various classes of ollseeZ:
ofnn
a regiment formed one
board ship were quite
odis-
tinct, whereas all the officers
family; and if a systeml
invidious
sheeleetion were to be
oriwi oun9ld
introduced, this family ha
the Government consider these points before destroyed. Let
effect to the report of the commission by awarrant
thfey gave
Crown. (Hear.) Again, consider the financial part of tthhe
e
question. 'When a lieutenant-colonel applied to sell
was he to be told he could only have the regulation Prioiselt.:,
'Why, he may have given two or three thousand pounds
more for his commission, with the full knowledge of the
Commander-in-Chief, and if he were to be deprived of that
it would be a base act of robbery. (Hear.) Therefore the
of must bo repaid the s'mis they had really paid for
their commissions until the whole of the army had full notice
of the new system.
The Earl DE GREY and RIPON said it was the noble
baron himself who appointed the commission to inquire