The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-20 00:00:00

SCHOOL TRUSTEES BILL.

Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY moved the second
reading of this bill.
The LORD CHANCELLOR regretted he could not
assent to the second reading. The bill was a very un-
pretending one in appearance, containing only one
clause, but involved most important consequences ; and
be had hoped the noble lord would have yielded to his
suggestion iend not pressed the hill, which could not
possibly be discussed as it required at so late a period of
the session. He begged to move it be read a second
time that day three months.
Lord CRANWORTII admitted the bill was not ac-
curately worded ; but it was a most useful measure, and
in committee could easily be altered so as to meet the
objections of hie noble and learned friend. By the
recent decision the whole law was at sea, and something
should be done.

The Earl of DERBY was opposed to legislation on
the subject at that period of the session.
The amendment was agreed to without a division.
The bill was therefore lost.
UNIVERSITIES (SCOTLAND) BILL.
The house went into committee on this bill.
On clause 1,

The Earl of AIRLIE moved an amendment, the
effect of which was to keep the Kicg's and Marischal
Colleges in Aberdeen distinct.

After a short discussion, the amendment was negative)
without a division, and the clause was agreed to.
Oa clause 2,
The LORD CHANCELLOR proposed an amend-
ment directing that the Chancellor should be elected by
the other members cf the general sound,.
The clause as amended was agreed to.
Clause 3 was expunged by consent.
Clauses 4 to 20 were agreed to, with little discussion.
Oa clatiie 21,

The LORD CHANCELLOR proposed to insert rds
giving compensation to professors and others for the loss
of emo'nments.

The amendment wr‘s agreed to, as were also the remain-
ing clauses of the hil►, which passed through committee.
THE DURTIAII COUNTY PALATINE JURISDIC-

TION BILL.
The Commons' amendment to the Lords' amendments
Were ain,idered and agreed to.
COPYRIGHT OF DESIGNS BILL.
The hill passed through committee.
NEW GENERAL POST-OFFICE (EDINBURGH)
BILL.
This bill was rEad a third time and passed.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA BILL.
The house went into committee on this bill.
On clause 34,
The Earl of ELLEN BOROUGH said he must for a
few minutes draw their lordships' attention to this clause.
4, for the first time, introduced competitive examina-
tion for commissions in the scientific corps of the Indian
army. That priccipte was not in the bill cf the late Go-
vernment, and bad been introduced for the first time
now. He had al says thought that the introduction cf
competitive cximinations was the most impracticable
and dangerous sy4era that had been introduced in mo-
dern tithes. Its practic :1 effect was to substitute people
of an inferior position in the place of those who bad led
our army to victory and had well cinduced the affairs

of the state, In the case of the scientific corps of the

army there was no defect to be removed, the existing
system was perfect, and no attempt could be made to
alter it without dangers of the gravest character. fie
knew nothing, more dangerous tbau to tamper with the
scientific corps -Of the army ; for a failure in that arm
would affect the euocesaof a siege, or of a battle, and that
Might came about ft-Jul the inferior character of the offi-
cers in command. Such a tannin went to the fate of a
campaign or of an empire. This change also was pro-
posed at the moment of the highest perfection in both.
The boldness of the operations of the engineers in front
of Delhi—the extra irdinary resources and the audacity
that accompanied all their operations at Lncknow, had
aotually introduced a new era into the war. These things
seemed to er,tablieh for the scientific corps such a claim
for consideration as he should have thought the Grvern-
moot would have listeted to. Their lordships were no
doubt aware that at-this moment there was competition
at Addiscombe, and it was through that college that the
officers for the engineers and artillery were obtained.
They were educated under men of the highest ability and
character. They we-e impressed with the goeat moral re-
spiesibility of their duties, and theirs was not an exam!•
for which they were crammer',nition on a particular day
but their moral ebaracter was ascertained as w,ll as
their edocational standing, and the men so selected were
such as the coun•ry could entirely rely on. There was
no possi•l s lity of introducing into the propcst d cempeti-
tive Ocarnication a security of that kind. (Rear.) All
they could find out was that a gentleman on a certain
day attained a certain apparent degree of superiority
over another gentleman. There were other advantages in
the present system which it gas perfectly impassible to
obtain by means of open cornpeti ion. They could have
no doubt, from the manner in which these officers from
Addiscombe Lad obtained their commissions, that they
were gentlemen. He could not speak too strongly of the
advantage of having, especially in India, gentlemen,
with all that gentlemanlike feeling which prevailed in
sncie'y in this country, to take the command of the mi-
litary, We took nur position in that cs:untry by our mo-
ral superiority. An EngliAman holding cfficial position
there was in a manner a representative of his country,
and whatever ho did to impair his own position he ira-
parred at the sarnelime the position of the government I
of this country. At the same time whatever he did dis-
tinguishing his owse conduct from that of others increased
the strength of his government. He remembered a friend
of his Laving gone to the late Dake of Wellington on
the subject of a court-martial. It was suggested that an
[freer who had been dismissed for drunkenness should
be restored to the service. He himself told the duke that
there were extenuating circumstances, but the duke re-
plied, "Never forgive drunkenness in an officer ; de-
pend upon it that the natives are extremely clever in
discovering the character of every Englishman a-A there
is no offence that is to disgusting in their eyes as drun-
kenness." It was not that only, it was by our moral
spirit that we succeeded in India ; and if that was low-
ered we should suffer injury. He had always acted on
that principle. It was because he was most desirous that
we sttrinld have gentlemen of the highest character at
the head ef affairs in that country, that we should not
have the eldest sons of milliners, grocers, or tailors,
riders ref the John Giipin class, in that position that he
objected to this' clause. We should have them, whilst
the eons of per country gentlemen who could not
obtain the rame education, but were infinitely more
suited to the position, were excluded. There never was
a time when it was more important that the general de-
meanour. bf officers towards the natives should be that of
gentlemen. This alteration was proposed also at a tine
W'len none of the apprehensions as to our officers could
be entertained which might perhaps have been enter-
tained formerly. The directors were no longer elected by
a constituert body who had claims upon their patronage
which mightaa.ve led in former times to the selection of
persons not of the most pr, per kind ; and the members
of council, by not having -seats in Parliament, wield be
saved froth other &aims. -He cool' not but regard this
clause as an act of homage to the mob. It was totally
uncalled f, r, no one asked for it, no one eipressed the
h ge introduced into
smallest wish to have this
our Indian army, and it wa.g:epartopcoasend when ti.at parti-
cular branch of the perfection was covered with glory,
and when there was every reason to suppose that it
would maintain its position in future. It was an enact-
ment which would affect the future efficiency of the
artillery and engineers, and it was impossible that it
should not give the greatest' offence to the officers of
those corps.

The Earl of DERBY said that it was with the greatest
possible deference to the opinion of his noble friend, and
1110r8 eepec'ally on the subject on which he spoke with
vuob great weight and authority, that he could not CO'
i, aide with his argument. Ele thought that some portion
of that argument wa4 inconei,tent ',kith the other part
of it. His noble friend said that competition vas for
the first time introduced into the scientific corps. The
clause, however, did not introduce the principle cf com-
petition. As the clause stood, it did indeed introduce