The Sun.
London, England, 1835-03-28 00:00:00

LONDON.
SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 28, 1835.

The motions of which Mr. HUME and Mr. WARD had
gii ea notice for last night's discussion in the House of
Commons, were withdrawn on the recommendation of the
leading Members of the Opposition, and for reasons
which we are quite sure will be satisfactory to the
country. Mr. Humes motion had for its object to refer
the Army and Ordnance Estimates to a select Committee,
for the purpose of inquiring whether these departments
might not be so consolidated as greatly to diminish their
expense, and at the same time render the controul over the
necessary expence more efficient than it is at present. Lord
JOHN RussELL, in seconding the motion, stated that the late
Administration had turned their attention to this important
subject, and had actually appointed a Commission of Inquiry,
consistingof the Duke of RICHMOND, the Noble Lord him-
self, and Mr. ELLIcE, the late Secretary at War. The Duke
of RICHMOND retired from the Government before a report
could be made ; but as far as the inquiry went, it satisfied
the Commissioners that great advantages would result to
the public service could the responsibility of the two de-
partments be vested in one individual, and greater sim-
plicity be introduced into the administration of our military
affairs. Considering, however, that if the Estimates were
not gone into then they must be postponed for a week, and
that, as there did not appear to be funds in hand adequate
to the absolute necessities of the public service, the greatest
inconvenience must result from delaying the &applies, it
appeared the better course to withdraw the motion, provided
Sir ROBERT PEEL did not object to some mode of
enquiry in future, by which the practicability of Mr.
HUME'S plan might be ascertained. Lord STANLEY took
the same view of the question, and expressed his cordial
acquiescence in the motion, though lie objected to the time
of bringing it on. The Noble Lord seemed to think that
very extensive reductions might be made, and great im-
provements effected, in the military departments ; and
trusted the Government would follow up the inquiries
which had been commenced ; but it they did not, he would
give the Member for Middlesex all the assistance in his
power, should he bring forward his motion at some future
time, when it would not have the appearance of a factious
obstruction of the public service. This declaration called
up the Premier, who, seeing clearly enough how the matter
must finally terminate, made, an awkward sort of compro-
mise, by which be virtually acceded to the proposed en-
quiry, while he pretended that he would be guided by the
opinion which he might form from the evidence adduced
before the late Commission—a mere subterfuge, resorted
to for the purpose of letting himself easily down. We should
like to know how the Right Hon. Baronet could resist a
motion supported by the whole of the Opposition, wa-
verers and all—when he is still writhing under the agony of
those humiliating defeats, which he has so recently and so re-
peatedly sustained, though supported by the whole of Lord
STANLEY'S men. This is what we want to know. The
truth is Sir RoEERT PEEL is in a situation the most unen-
viable that can well be imagined for a man of spirit. He
is compelled to oppose measures of which in his heart he
approves, because he is leagued with a set of men, all of
whom are at least half a century behind the age in
which they live. Inv doing this, he is exposed alone to
the whole fire of the Opposition batteries—he has not
an associate that is worth a single shot. His colleagues are
either mere dumb machines wound up by him, or if any of
them attempt a voluntary effort, in the way of a diversion
in favour of their chief, it may indeed be called a diversion
in one sense, because it sets the whole House laughing,
but it is a serious calamity to hint. He said last night,
overwhelmed with the perplexities of his position, that
he longed for the day when a motion implying want
of confidence 'in the Government should be put, and
that "he was careless what the issue of it might be."
We believe in the perfect sincerity of this declara-
tion, for to live in the state of constant anxiety, sus-
pense, and embarrassment in which he has existed for the
last two months, must be misery almost unspeakable.

A morning Contemporary (the Chronick), in alluding to
a question asked by Colonel EvaNs in the House of Com-
mons last night, relative to the recognition of the indepen-
dence of Wallachia and Moldavia, takes occasion to observe
that the statements which have appeared in the Newspapers
on this subject are exceedingly erroneous. Our contemporary
says—" It is perfectly idle to talk of a British Consul at Bu-
charest resisting the encroachments of Russia in that quar-
ter, when all the world knows that the two Hospodars
were actually presented to the SULTAN in Russian uniforms ;
that the provinces are under the protection of the Autocrat
that the Russian Consul at Bucharest is the authority from
whom emanate all the regulations concerning the quaran-
tine ; that there is at this moment, or was very lately, a
Russian army at Jassy ; and that the mouth of the Da-