The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-18 00:00:00

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ADMIRALTY COURT.

Mr. HADFIELD obtained leave to bring in a bill to
enable sergeants-at-law, barristers-at-law, attorneys, and
solicitors to practise in the High Court of Admiralty. The
hon. member complained that, although under the Probates
Bill compensation to the amount of £70,000 had been given
to the practitioners in this court, they still clung to their
monopoly. The object of his bill was to throw open the
practice of the court to the legal profession generally.
CHARITABLE USES.

Mr. HADFIELD obtained leave to bring in a bill to
amend the laws relating to the conveyance of lands for
charitable uses.

FIRE INSURANCES.

Mr. SHERIDAN moved for leave to bring in a bill to
reduce the duty on fire insurance. He said that a very
considerable agitation had recently sprung up, one of the
chief promoters of which was the noble lord at the head of
the Indian department, for the total abolition of the duty
on fire insurances, and for the re-imposition of the duty on.
insurances' of agricultural produce. He (Mr. Sheridan)
proposed no such sweeping alteration. He merely sought
to reduce the duty of 3s. per cent. on such insurances—pru-
dential insurances as they were called—the premiums on
which did not exceed ss. per cent. to a uniform rate of Is.
per cent. One half of the insurances in the kingdom were,
he believed, effected at rates not exceeding ss. per cent., and
therefore the reduction he proposed would not greatly affect
the revenue. £1,300,000 was the total amount of revenue
derived from fire insurances, and, allowing one half of it
to be received in the higher classes of premiums, L 650,000
would be the sum with which they would have to deal.
Two-thirds of this, or £133,000, would probably bo the
sacrifice required, but he believed that this loss would bo
greatly diminishod by the increase of insurances which
would arise from the reduction of the duty. The amount
insured in 1835 was £500,000,000, and 20 years after, in
1855, it was no more than £800,000,000, notwithstanding
the great increase in the population and the property of the
country. In 1851 the national property was estimated at
£4,000,000,000, half of which was insurable mperty,
whereas up to the present time only £9,000,000 was insured.
The Government, therefore, did not derive half the amount
from the duty it ought to have done. He submitted that
the uninsured property was that which belonged to artisans,
clerks, and small tradesmen, who were deterred from in-
suring by the high rate of duty. The proportion of insured
property was much less in England than in France, not-
withstanding that the practice of insuring against fire had
been carried on in this country 180 years, while in France
it had only existed 38 years, the cause of the difference being
partly the lower rate of duty and partly the provision of
the civil code, which makes the person in whose house the
of his neighbours. There was another reason
fire breaks out liable for the injury which it may occasion
to the propartY
in the requirement imposed upon all railway companies to
insure the property throughout the whole length of the
line, and these heavy insurances they were enabled to effect
in consequence of the low rate charged. He had a number
of petitions from merchants, bankers traders and others, of
London, Finsbury, Tower Hamlets, Deptford, Exeter, and
other places, all praying for the total repeal of the duty.
Sir S. NORTHCOTE could not admit that the proposed
reduction would not involve a serious loss of revenue. And
it was to be recollected that this duty was not only an im-
portant but increasing source of revenue. There was no
doubt that the exemption of agricultural property from the
duty on insurance had been followed by a considerable in-
crease of incurance on that class of property ; but on the
other hand, the hon. gentleman omitted to tell them that
during the same time there had been an almost equal pro-
gress in the amount of other property insured. He felt
bound to oppose the motion, as if the bill were allowed to be
brough in expectations would be raised which would only
be disappointed, as they, could not be realised.
Mr. HADFIELD had no doubt that if the duty were re-
duced the revenue would not suffer. When the duty on
coffee was 3s. 6d. a pound coffee was almost a prohibited;
article ; now that it was a few pence there was a large re-
venue obtained from it. Then take the Post-office : he be-
lieved the number of letters sent had increased sevenfold.
He believed that if the duty had only been a shilling, the
ruin of many persons, which had been caused by fires,
would have been averted, but the high duty had acted as ss
preventive of insuring. The duty was a tax on prudence.
The house then divided, when there appeared—
For the introduction of the bill
Against it
Majority _lo
LAWS OF JERSEY.

Mr. HADFIELDm-ovedanwairessio- the crown, pray-
ing for a commission to inquire into the institutions, saws,
and tribunals of Jersey, as also into the state of the prisons
and administration of public charities in that island.
The HOME SECRETARY consented to the motion,
which was agreed te.
THE NAVY.
Sir C. NAPIER moved for a copy of the letters from Sir
Baldwin Walker, on the state of the navy, to the Admiralty,
tohrethene
dFoirfstthLeorrcela(l).f.
_th„.,e Admiralty, from Marah, 1857, to
Sir J. PAK iNGTUIN was understood to say that the
documents were of a confidential character, but that he had
alreadyportions of them before the house.
NAPIER did not want extracts of the letters, but
Sir
C laid
the letters themselves, for he wished to see whether the right
hon. baronet did all that he could as soon as he came into
office to romedy the evils he had since complained of. He
(Sir C. Napier) thought the present Board of Admiralty had
been more to blame than the last, for though the peril of the
country was much more imminent, the Board did nothing
last year to put the navy in proper condition.
Mr. CORRY said his right hon. friend (Sir J. Pakington)
was the last person in the country who ought to be blamed
for neglecting the navy. (Cheers.) The present Board only
came into office in March last, and in the following May the
whole of the workmen in the dockyards were put upon task
and job, which was equivalent to increasing the force by
one-fourth. (Hear, hear.) That course was persisted in
during the whole of the summer, and his right hon. friend
had taken such measures as had resulted in the addition of
four screw steamers to our navy. (Cheers.)
Sir C. NAPIER—But the engines re not in them.
Mr. CORRY—The gallant admiral knew that they could

NEI . SP4's.PER

- •
were ; but he forgot to add that when the majon •
thea
S were granted in 1687, there were but comparatively few re-
giments of the line in existence. (Hear, hear.) The rank
of lieutenant and captain was given in consequence of the
distinguished services of the Guards at Waterloo. The hon.
baronet had omitted to notice that the position of the Guards
was very much altered by the warrant of 1854. Before that
was issued an officer of the Guards, on attainhi
jority, became a lieutenant-colonel, and he soon
obtained his rank as colonel; now his lieutenant-eolcmeley
did not commence counting towards his colonelcy till be
became a mounted officer in the Guards, which required
eight years. Under the present regulations a lieutenant.
colonel in the Guards required 13 years to obtain the rank
of colonel, whereas an officer of the line could obtain it is
five years. As to the exchange of a lieutenant-colonelcy ip
the Guards for the command of a regiment of the line, it
should be recollected that it could not take place without.
the consent of the Commander-in-Chief, and he knew enough
of his royal highness to feel certain that he would not permit
any officer to take the command of a regiment unless he
were perfectly competent. (Hear, hear.) The Duke of
Wellington and Lord Hill were always in favour of the
practice of exchanges, on the ground that if the Guards hall
any peculiar advantages they ought to be thrown open to
the line. As to the jealousy which the hon. baronet sup-
posed to exist between the Guards and the line in conse-
quence of the advantages possessed by the former, he must
say he thought there had been a great deal of exaggeration
on that subject. (Hear, hear.) Having served in the
army for nine years, six years in the line and three in the
Guards, he had never observed any such feeling. He ob-
tained his promotion much quicker in the line than he
would have done in the Guards, and while he was in the
Rifle Brigade they thought themselves quite equal to the
Guards, and never felt the slightest jealousy. (Hear,
hear.) The hOn. baronet was quite mistaken in supposing
that the first commission was obtained in the Guards
without any previous examination. No person was allowed
to have a commission till he had passed an examination,
and received a certificate from the examiner. In conclu-
sion, he would observe that the report to which he re-
ferred contained all the information that could reasonably
be required, and on that ground, as well as on the ground
that the system in the Guards during the last five years
was perfectly unobjectionable, he must on the part of the
Government oppose the motion.
Viscount BURY hoped his hon. friend would not press
his motion after the explanation which had just been
given.
Colonel NORTH said, having served solely in the line,
he felt bound to say that he did not believe there existed in
it the slightest jealousy towards the Guards. (Hear,
hear.) As regarded the letters that were written on that
subject, he thought it was a universal opinion in the army
that they were not written by any soldiers, but by some
mischievous persons who wished to create a bad feeling
between the Guards and the line. Of 20 captains in the
Coldstreams, no less than 16 had served in the line. What-
ever duty the Guards had been called upon to perform,
they had discharged it in a manner that was highly credita-
ble to them, and which had gained for them the admiration
of their brethren of the line ; and he trusted that so long
as this country had a sovereign, so long would it have such
domestic troops as the Guards. (Cheers.)
Sir H. VERNEY said, having served in the line as well
as in the Guards, he had neverheard any conversationamong
the officers which indicated that feelings of jealousy existed ;
on the contrary, he believed that both the officers and the
soldiers'of the line rejoiced in the continuance of a system
which induced men of high rank and large means to enter
the army. Soldiers of the line were not fitted for the kind
of service which was performed by the Guards. If a regi-
ment of the line came to London, it soon got into scrapes.
He trusted that the hon. baronet would not divide.
Sir W. CODRINGTON was afraid the hon. baronet
would not consider him an unprejudiced person in relation
to this subject, as a considerable part of his life had been
spent in the Guards; but during the most part of his mili-
tary career he was in command of a brigade of the line, and
it was then stated to him, on the most reliable authority
—that of the officers of his staff—the most friendly feeling
existed between the line and the Guards. He had himself
seen in a line regiment before Sebastopol a brevet-major of
not more than eight years' service acting as a field officer
over captains of 15 or 16 years' service. These things might
be unfortunate accidents, but they could hardly be avoided.
Sir W. F. 'WILLIAMS said that he had had an appre-
hension that this motion was launched against the very
existence of the Guards as a body. One direct argument ix
favour of the, Guards as a privileged body was this, that
their duties were confined mainly to London. Their com-
manding officers were therefore well acquainted with the
metropolis. A regiment unused to London could hardly
be moved about in town—certainly could not be moved
with ease and effect. He had one word more to say on the
subject of purchase. He believed that that system had the
best results, and he trusted that no Government would
attempt to interfere with it.
Mr. CONINGHAM supported the motion of the hon,
member for Tavistock. He believed that the privileges of
the Guards were most detrimental to the whole army. At
that time he would net go into the question, but on some
future occasion he would be prepared to maintain that these
privileges were utterly indefensible.
Sir J. TRELAWNY replied.
The house divided—
For the motion
Against it
Majority against —lO4
The result was received with a slight cheer.
PARLIAMENTARY VOTERS (IRELAND.)
Mr. BRADY moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend
the laws which regulate the qualifications and registration
of Parliamentary voters in Ireland, 13 and 14 Vict., c. 68
and 69, s. 27. By this clause provision was made for the
clerk of the peace to regulate the list of voters. But the
clause only gave one day for making out, settling, and
printing the list. He therefore proposed to repeal that
clause, and so extend that time as to give ten days, within
which the clerk of the peace might perform his duty.
Mr. S. ESTCOURT said the hon. gentleman had taken
him by surprise. He did not expect on St. Patrick's -day
to find a bill in the list which on the face of the notice
looked rather like a reform bill for Ireland. (A laugh.) But
as the bill appeared to be of very modest dimensions, he
would not object to its introduction, though he must not be
understood, in the absence of Lord Naas, to give an entire
assent to it.