The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-17 00:00:00

English soldiers through the country. Sir Samuel
Baker recommended an expedition of 500 men, and
the Belgian Minister one of 1,000 ; and he, there-
fore, wanted to know why we had sent 12,000 men,
or, with camp followers, 50,000. This was hard on
the British taxpayer, and still more on the British
soldier, because of the difficulties of transport and
of maintenance. That dey's news was that water
was scarce, and that the troops were being moved
forward, and that animals were dying for want of
nourishment. If, as he believed, a small expedition
would have insured success, a large one would frust-
rate it with proportionate responsibility on the Go-
vernment. It was most extraordinary that the gene-
ral in command and his large staff—a large staff re-
quired a large army— (laughter)—as will as a large
army a large staff —had not left Bombay yet. If a man
like Outram had gone into Abyssinia as Outram
did into Affghanistan, we might by a sharp adven-
ture have rescued I he captives from Alagdala, where
they were entirely cut off from the King. Theodore
he believed to be a different man from what he had
been represented to be by the Foreign-office. We
had not heard him yet. He was an acute, shrewd
man, who knew something of our habits and laws ;
and it might be that he would give up the English
captives and retain the Germans and Hessians. We
must then retire with our large force and leave them
in captivity, or rescue them at the cost of the British
taxpayer. We had blundered from the beginning,
and the only thing we could be certain about was
the valour of our troops. (Cheers.) The conduct
of the War Department did not inspire confidence.
The sending a regiment on board a transport past
Plymouth to Portsmouth, and back to Plymouth
by train, the keeping of a regiment on board a
transport three days between Plymouth and Alder-
shott because tides were missed, and Sunday
" didn't count"—(laughter) —the payment of
£B,OOO to the inventor of a destructive roc-
ket, and the non-supply of such rockets to
the Abyssinian expedition, and an interminable
correspondence about the repair of a pump showed
that there was a want of system which would
shame the organisation of a ragged school, that we
frittered away the energies of public servants upon
trifles, and that we wasted thousands of pounds by
mistakes while we haggled with a gas company and
deprived the soldier of light. Satisfied from such
things as these that there was something wrong,
he intended to move for a committee to inquire into
the organisation of the War Department and its re-
lations with the other departments of the Govern-
ment. He hoped that the non-purchase system
would soon be that of the whole British army,
and that in the meantime, the scheme of
promotion in non,rurchase corps, devised by
the committee on which he sat, would be
adopted. He also hoped that the recommenda:

tion of another committee on which he sat would
be adopted, and that election committees would
be superseded by judicial tribunals. Atten-

tion must be directed to the administration of the
revenues of India, which amounted to £150,000,000,
and were at the disposal of the Secretary of State

for India in Council. Pensions of from £BO to
£2OO a year had been paid to officers dismissed for
drunkenness, peculation, and insubordination ;
£l,BOO compensation had been offered to an officer
who had been ill-used ; and the revenues of India
had paid for the ball to the Sultan, who did not
dance, and was hated by Hindoos. No man had a
higher character than Sir Stafford Northcote ; but
it was a question whether one man should have the
control of such revenues. Having expressed his
confidence in Lord Stanley and his foreign policy,
and his approbation of the course taken by Lord
Stanley on the Luxemburg question and the Ala-
bama claims, the honourable member concluded by
saying that when they next met many would
have entered into possession of those political
rights from which they had hitherto been excluded.
We, be said, are about to part with power, and to
confide to your keeping the destinies of a nation
which has achieved great things. There are men—
native and foreign—who say that our country has
reached the apogee of her glory and power, that
henceforth we must look for her decline. Ido not
share this opinion, but I feel that on you and all
those about to be enfranchised depends greatly the
future of England. Make it your task to preserve
her mighty empire, to cherish her freedom, to pro-
mote by all means in your power the happiness of
her loyal and industrious people." (Loud cheers.)
A resolution, expressing high appreciation of Mr.
otway's Parliamentary services, entire satisfaction
with the principles enunciated in his address, and
undiminished confidence in him as a representative,
was agreed to.