The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-02 00:00:00

1 111PERIAL PARLIAMENT.

ROUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY).
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
id five o'clock.
The LORD CHANCELLOR laid on the table a bill to
amen, I the law relating to attorneys and solicitors, by which
It wit! I proposed to improve the education of both with re-
spect to their professional acquirements. If articled clerks
had is ►ken & degree at a University, the term of servitude

was _ )
be shortened two years. ,
MR. JUSTICE BLACKBURN.
Lord LYNDHURST—I wish to call your lordships'
attention to a recent appointment to the judicial bench—
the appeintment of Mr. Blackburn to a puisne judgeship in
the C' mart of Queen's Bench. I have been asked who is
Mr. T 31ackburn ; and a journal which takes us all to task by
turn s has asked somewhat indignantly, " Who is Mr.
Ble ,ckburn ? Who is Mr. Blackburn ?" (" Hear, hear,"
froan the Lord Chancellor.) I take leave to answer that he
i.s a very learned person, a very sound lawyer, an admirable
arguer of a law ease, and eminently fitted for a seat on the
bench. (" Hear, hear," from Lord Brougham.) These
appointments are exclusively in the hands of the Lord
Chancellor; he is solely responsible for them; but of this
I am sure, that if the distinguished judge who presides in
the Queen's Bench—a judge remarkable for his knowledge
of law, and for the admirable manner in which he applies it
—had been consulted, he would have deferred to the judg-
ment .3f my noble and learned friend on the woolsack. I
owe his explanation to the learned judge, Mr. Justice
Blackburn—and I owe it to my noble and learned friend,
thon.sh I know he can always take good care of himself.
(A 1 augh.) I am one of those who think it of great im-
Pee Lance that the public should not entertain any doubt or
an 1 jealousy with respect to appointments to the judicial
,each. (Hear, hear.) I hope my noble and learned friend
will allow me to take this opportunity of congratulating
him on his elevation—on his having attained everything
that he bas ever looked for. (A laugh.) We may say of
him in the words of the poet,
"Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,
As the weird sisters promised."
(Hear, hear.) Without being a countryman of my noble
and learned friend, I had a species of second sight as to his
advancement. (Laughter.)
The LORD CHANCELLQR—I should not have taken
any notice of this question, "Who is Mr. Blackbuin?"
had not my noble and learned friend thought fit to put the
question and answer it. I knew nothing of Mr. Blackburn,
except what I knew from having seen him practise in the
court over which I presided. I have no private intimacy,
and I declare, on my word of honour, I don't know of what
aide he is in politics. (Hear.) But I have known him as
a sound, good, and able lawyer ; one of the ablest in. West-
minster Hall. My only object was to appoint the perron
who I thought would best discharge the duties of a judge
in the Court of Queen's Bench. It is said that he had not
a silk gown, but in former times that was never held to be a
test of fitness for the judicial bench. Lord Tenterden never
had a silk gown, and a noble and learned friend of mine,
who was one of the most distinguished judges that ever
presided at Westminster Hall, had not a silk gown. I am
convinced that the more Mr. Justice Blackburn's qualities
and abilities become known the more will his appointment
be approved. (Hear, hear.)
Lord WENSLEYDALE said he had been very much
astonished by the remarks made on the appointment of Mr.
Justice Blackburn by the public journals. There was not
an abler man at the bar than Mr. Blackburn, and a better
selection could not have been made. It was of considerable
importance that the puisne judges should be appointed
without any reference to politics, and he hoped this course
would always be persevered in.

Lord CRANWORTH said it was absurd to think that
because a man had not a silk gown he was not fit for the
bench. Mr. Justice Willes, whom he had appointed, never
had a silk gown, and no complaint had ever been made of
his appointment on that account.
THE RED SEA TELEGRAPH.
On the motion that this bill be read a third time,
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY hoped that the mea-
sure would not be brought forward in the way it was.
done last session. The objects of the bill were very
extensive and important, and as it would occasion the
expenditure of a large sum of money, therefore it ought
not to be treated as a private bill. The course he thought
ought to be adopted was that the bill should be presented and
laid upon the table in order that it might be considered as
a public measure.
After a few observations from Earl GRANVILLE and the
Earl of Danny, who defended the course pursued by the
late Government,
The bill was read a third time and passed.
VOLUNTEER CORPS.
Lord VIVIAN wished to ask the noble lord the Under-
Secretary for War the intention of her Majesty's
Government with respect to volunteer corps. Whether
they intended to adopt the views of the late Admi-
nistration, and whether they were disposed to supply a suffi-
cient quantity of arms for practice. He thought it his
duty as a lord lieutenant of a county to ask the question.
The g. arl of RIPON said ho was glad the ques-
tion had been asked, as it would give him an
opportunity of explaining the views of the Government on
a subject which was exciting so much interest. The late
Government had issued two circulars—the first advising
the formation of volunteer rifle corps, in accordance with
the existing regulations, by which all expenses had to be
paid by the volunteers themselves. The second con-
tained very salutary advice. In consequence of the
Government circular, 12 companies were formed. This
was the position when the present Government came into
office, and the question with them was, whether
anything more than "rifle clubs" would be formed.
Wishing to establish volunteering on a larger basis,
her Majesty's Government had determined to
supply 25 stand of arms to every 100 men. There
would of course be certain conditions, namely, that a safe
practice-ground should be provided, and a competent officer
would be sent down to inspect the spot, which must
not be less than 300 yards in length. A suitable
place must also be provided for the safe keeping of
the arms sent out by Government. It was also
intended to provide at Hythe for the instruction -of
a certain number of the staff of the disembodied militia.
The Commander-in-Chief had also decided to enable the
officers of the corps to go through a modified course of in-
struction of this kind. This remark, of course, only aps
plied to rifle corps, but much good was hoped
by the Government from the Volunteer Artillery Corps.
(Hear, hear.) It was very necessary to proceed with the
greatest precaution in a matter of this kind, but the Go-
vernment felt fully sensible of the patriotism that had
actuated all those who had come forward and tendered their
services to the country. (Hear, hear.)
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH approved of what
had fallen from the noble lord. It was, however, true that
the movement had been taken up in towns where footpaths
would cross the practice ground. He should like to know
whether it would not be possible to stop up the footpaths
during practice.
The Earl of RIPON did not think such would be pos-
sible, but the best precaution, it was certain, would be taken
to prevent accident.
Lord HOWDEN, with reference to the word "invasion,"
said it was understood differently on the two sides of the
Channel. He was satisfied that there was no sane
Frenchman who thought of invading England for the
Purpose of conquering it, any more than there was a
eerie Englishman who thought of his being conquered,
But of this he was sure, that it was the constant thought of
every Frenchman to humble this country and deprive her
of the position she held among the nations. A despatch,
written from a miserable fishing village, with a population
of six fishermen and a ploughboy, penned cleverly, after a
forlorn hope had entered there, and describing the French
Eagle as dying freely from Acton to Ealing, would be
enough to set all France in a fever of excitement. Such a
thing was not to be deemed impossible. He heard it said
by many, in 1830 and 1848, that there would be no revela-
tion in France, but they knew what had been the result,
and it reminded him of what the philettophers of the French
Encyclopedia said of Christianity at the end of the last
century—that it was a beautiful invention, but that it had
performed its task. Its mission was done, and, as they
said, "As.'on temps est fait." Every English Government
should remember that there was no other project that would
se completely cement all ranks and sections of French
society into a whole, as that of a war with England. For
it the widow would sacrifice her last son, and the beggar
his last 302 f.
The Earl of HARDWICKE said that the objection to
granting these rifles was, that it tended to arm a class of
men: whom they wished to get into the militia and the
line. With respect to the • arms to be provided, his noble
friend had; no doubt, informed himself of the state of the
arms of the country, and, if so, he could only say that he
had made large promises.
The Duke of NEWCASTLE said if the noble earl bad
only looked into the matter, he would not have been appre-
hensive of such consequences as those which he had
anticipated would result from the course adopted by the
present Government. By granting sufficient arms for
Praetteeta number of expenses were still left for accoutre-
r°ellfa and p tiee-ground. which would prevent the class
who enlisted into the line and the militia from entering
these.
"'el*. Another object in issuing these arms was
that they had
cus-
tody of them, thereby a right to insist on the proper
than if they were the
they would be taken better care of
ere the property of the individuals. They
would secure also that they
ever should be wanted, they
would be found, and folesd in an efficient state, and not in
that state in which
would be likely to ) delicate an instrument as a good rifle
be, left at the residences of the indi-
viduals and exposed to ay
ery The Earl of DERBY casualty.
thinking that the proposed "T"4
like/710 interfere with the agreed
for h the noble duke in
the militia, because the men who
joined the e triflehercot wouldhr
e s notlwi noeubli
belong to an altogether superior chess. He did not,there-
fore, object to the course which the GO „Ito u
to take in thus going somewhat beyond the -e ht
late Ministry, provided they had satisfied thßeem of the
tended
they would not be unduly encroaching scheme
that
theeesovee v of
rifles for the regular service, in fulfilling the 0b1i;.•441-
ron;floenl Enfield
they had taken upon themselves. The supply of
rifles for the use of the army, whether by the effort,'
trade or of the Government factory. appeared to the late
Government insufficient to warrant them in otherwise de,.
posing. of any considerable proporCon of these arms, and
upon those grounds it was that they had not thought it •
expedient to provide these corps with rifles. If the present
Government had satisfied themselves that there was an
abundance of rifles, and if they thought they could without
inconvenience meet the demands of the volunteer corps, he
had not a word to say against such an arrangement ; but
the late Government had come to a different conclusion.
The Duke of NEWCASTLE replied that the question
mooted by the noble earl had been carefully considered by
the Seeretarrfor War who had satisfied himself that from
the number of rifles now in store, and coming in weekly,
ample means would be provided for meeting the wants of
the volunteer corps. (Hear.)
Lord, SANDWICH suggested that the disembodied offi-
cers of militia should be supplied with the Enfield rifle, so
as to be the better qualified to. instruct the volunteer corps.
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY asked whether the
Government intended to embody the Irish militia, and said
that attention
ought to be directed to the use of the arms
of those regiments, which were usually found in the very
worst condition.
In reply to the Earl of AIRLIF4'
The Earl of RIPON said he though.the had stated that.
Government did not intend to supply these corps with any
musketry instruction at the public expense ; but the illus-
trious duke (of Cambridge) had made arrangements which
would enable the volunteer officers, if they thought fit, to go
through a modified course of instruction at Hythe. With
regard to the embodiment of Irish militia, that was a ques-
tion which he was not prepared to answer without notice.

THE NAVY ESTIMATES.
Lord BROUGHAM rose to ask a question as to the truth
of a report of a proposed reduction in the navy estimates.
The noble and learned lord, who was very imperfectly beard,
began by referring to the dreadful slaughter now going on in
Italy', a*d remarked that whoever might be the guilty
Flfea) ar whateTer alight be the motives which actuated
Ali' R iltilaigAte4 k tigtst 19r yßia.