The Sun.
London, England, 1867-03-15 00:00:00

RAILWAY TRAFFIC PROTECTION BILL.

Lord REDESDALE having moved the second read-
ing. _ _ _

Lord CLANRICARDE said that this was one of the best
bills on the question which could be proposed. The rail-
ways were for the convenience of the public, and it was
absolutely necessary that protection should be given to
the companies in order to protect their stock from seizure,
which would manifestly involve great public inconve-
nience. Ho trusted, however, that the noble lord would
pay particular attention to the clauses of the bill.
The Duke of CLEVELAND thought that the bill ought
to bo proceeded with as soon as possible.

Lord REDESDALE said that this bill was intended
purely to be a protection to the railway company until the
Ist August next. He considered that it would be better to
have the second reading of the bill.
After a few observations from the Duke of DzvoNsunts,
The bill was read a second time.

RECOVERY OF CERTAIN DEBTS (SCOTLAND)

BILL.

Tho appointment of the committee on this bill was
postponed.
RECRUITING IN THE ARMY.

Lord PANMURE said that he approached this subject
without any apology. He thought that it was only
in justice to himself that ho should lay before them,
as he intended to do that evening, the whole
of the particulars of this really most important
question. He conceived that such questions, involving
considerations only to the subject of domestic policy,
should not be referred to a commission. The reorganisa-
tion of the army was one of the most vital principles of the
day. The commission had inquired into the whole sys-
tem of recruiting and the means which should be taken
to make the services of the recruits valuable to the army.
All this had been done, and it had been found that the
system of recruiting was very defective, and therefore
they had advised that an officer should be appointed
to superintend the whole of the recruiting. He
(Lord Panmure) had heard in another place that
suggestion was going to be adopted by her Majesty's Go-
vernment. There was a second consideration to which
they had given their attention, that of the grievances of
the soldier. The principal one appeared to be the manner
of pay. After the many deductions were made from his
pay of is. a day he hardly received anything. (Hear,
hear.) Another point was that the soldier had to pay
12s. a year for his tunic; this was considered to be a hard-
ship. Now, in another instance, it was discovered that,
especially with cavalry soldiers, three-quarters of a pound
of meat was not enough. The noble lord condemned the
idea of giving 2d. a day to the soldier. if that were done
it might contribute to stop complaints for a time, but
they would eventually crop up again, and such a conces-
sion would be of no avail. The reducing of the stoppages
would cost £lB,OOO, butlif the extra quantity of meat were
given it would amount to nearly £200,000. He defended
the Limited Enlistment Act against the unfavourable criti-
cisms which he said had been passed upon it by most com-
manding officers, and suggested various slight modifications
which he believed would increase its efficiency. The Com-
missioners, he said, had not felt it to be part of their func-
tions to enter upon the question of the organisation of an
army of reserve, but, speaking for himself, Lord Dalhousie
was of opinion that the proposal to raise the militia force to
120,000, of whom one-third should be attached, in case of
war, sea reserve to the regular army, was wholly inadequate
to the wants and to the resources of the country. He
strongly urged the adoption of a system of compulsory ser-
vice in the militia, which he believed, if any Government
were bold enough to propose, Parliament and the country
would be willing to support.
Lord LONGFORD, observing that ho had been a mem-
ber of the Commission which had made certain recommen-
dation, sand was a member of the Government which had
disregarded some of those recommendations, entered rather
fully into the details of the various questions involved, de-
fending the decision of the War-office to grant a small in-
crease of pay instead of the deferred advantages recom-
mended by the Commission, as better calculated to attain
the object both had in view, the improvement of our re-
cruiting system.
Lord DE GREY, referring to a remark of the last speaker,
expressed his opinion that the Limited Enlistment Act had
answered the expectations of its authors, and then pro-
ceeded to discuss the question of providing a reserve force
for the army, arguing that, while we were less exposed to
invasion than continental countries, although the increase
of foreign naval power had diminished, our security in that
respect, yet, unlike other great States, we had no compul-
sory enlistment, and our army was called upon to do ser-
vice in many distant portions of the globe. The plan enun-
ciated on the part of the Government appeared to him to
be inadequate and unsatisfactory, and ho recommended
that the Militia Force should be strengthened in number
and improved by training, so as to constitute it what it
really should be, the main Reserve Force for the country's
defence, the Volunteers and the Yeomanry forming sub-
sidiary branches of the same force.
The Duke of CAMBRIDGE sail that military admmis-
trations in this country are placed in a positicn of great
difficulty. They are subject to the constant control both of
public opinion and of the House of Commons. And they
are very often prevented from doing what they believed
would promote the efficiency of the service by the regard
of the House of Cammons for the public purse. With re-
spect to the recommendations of the Recruiting Com►nis-
mon, it, was his opinion that the best thing for the soldier
was to improve his condition ; yet, on the other hand, the
thing that will bring most men into the service is an in-
crease of pay. After all, this is a mere question of the
labour market. This is the only great country, with the
exception of the United States, where there is no conscrip-
tion, and therefore we are obliged to go to the labour mar-
ket to get the man who serves his country, not for honour
and glory, but for reward. For that reason he approved the
course taken by the Government in adding to the pay of
the soldier, rather than carrying out the recommendations
of the commission for the improvement of his condition.
He regretted that a man who re-enlisted after his first
period of service will only receive an additional ld. instead
of 2d. a day ; but still, when it was considered that such a
man will have 3d. a day more than at present, there is
really not very much to complain of. He did not think
that the Limited Enlistment Act had operated injuri-
ously to the army, At the same time, he was of opinion
that great advantage will result from lengthening the first
period of service from 10 to 12 years, and shortening the
second period of service. The difference of two years
will not prevent a man enlisting in the first instance ; but
the shorter the period of second service the more likely he
is to re-enlist. He did not think that it would be possible
to have a shorter term than seven years' service in the
regular army before men are allowed to enter the reserve.
The proposal of the Government for the formation of a
reserve force will meet the wants of the service to a
limited extent, and he did not think that it would be
possible to form a large force without incurring an ex-
pense which no Government would incur. The Govern-
ment plan would, however, enable us to increase the
number of men in regiments ordered for active service at
the commencement of a war to 1,000 men. That would
be a great gain, because it would relieve us from the ne-
cessity of either sending out weak regiments, or of making
up their ranks by volunteers from others, which would of
course be in this way proportionately weakened. It was
said that it would be desirable to keep the reserve for
foreign service distinct from the militia, but ho did not
think this would bo possible ; nor did he believe that the
militia will suffer from the arrangement proposed. The
more the question is considered, the more it will be
apparent that the scheme which has been adopted
by the Government is the best that could be proposed
with a due regard to economy. At all events, the ex-
pense of the reserve cannot be found fault with, for it
will not amount to more than i.. 50,000 a year—a very
small sum to pay for some 30,000 or 40,000 men. Ho
contended that the men are better taken care of and
aro much better off at Aldershot than in country quar-
ters, as is proved by the low sick rate. It is absurd to
call this a camp; it is, in fact, a military station, and con-
tains ample and excellent accommodation for the troops
stationed there.
Lord GREY approved comparatively short periods of
active service with liability to be called upon to act in the
Reserve in case of need, as more acceptable to the soldier
and more beneficial to the country.
The motion for papers which Lord DALHOUSIE had for-
mally moved was then agreed to.
Their lordships then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMINIONS—LAsT EVENING.
The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock.
THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE.
Mr. MILL gave notice that he would draw the attention
of the house to the plan of personal representation.
T LIE PARIS EXHIBITION.
•P

Mr. AKROYD asked the Secretary to the Treasury if
his attention had boen called to the very incomplete state
in which the British portion of the Paris Exhibition was
now placed ; and whethei he intended to have itceom-
pleted in a manner worthy of the commercial dignity and
importance of this country.
Ur. ROPE said before the quektion was answered be

should like to know whether the sum of £116,000 which
had been voted for expenses would be exceeded or not.
Mr. HUNT said the question of the hon. gentleman
seemed to imply that the Secretary of the Treasury
had the direction of the works in Paris. Such
was not the case, but he had made inquiry, and
he had received a communication from the executive com-
mission of the Royal Commissioner, which stated that the
present state of the British portion of the Exhibition was
in consequence of the work not being done. (Hear, and
laughter.) It was, however, in progress, and would be
finished by the first of April. (Laughter.) He had
since that communication received additional information,
which stated that the British portion of the Exhibition was
much more advanced than that of other countries.
Mr. CRAWFORD asked the name of the Executive
Commissioner.

Mr. BUNT said the document was signed "Richard
Thompson." (Laughter.)

REFORM BILL FOR SCOTLAND.

Colonel SYKES asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer
whether it wag the purpose of the Government to bring
before the house this session a Reform Bill for the repre-
sentation of Scotland ; if so, whether the principles of re-
presentation to be adopted in the Reform Bill for England
and Wales would be applied to Scotland ; and whether any
attempt would be made, to a greater or less eat ent, to ad-
just the number of representatives in Scotland to the
present wealth and population of the country ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was
the intention of the Government to introduce a bill for
Scotland, but at that moment he could not state the exact
period at which it would be brought forward. The prin-
ciples would be the same as those embodied in the English
bill—(hear, hear) -with such alterations as the different
laws of the two countries rendered necessary. With respect
to the other part of the inquiry as to whether there was an
intention to increase the representation in Scotland, all he
could say at that moment was that the matter was under
consideration, and the subject would be decided upon its
merits.