The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-03 00:00:00

THIRD READINGS.

On the motion of Lord REDESDALE the following
bills were read a third time :—Victoria Gas, Swansea
Harbour, Treat and Swansea Dock Company, North
Western Railway, West London and Crystal Palace
Railway, Caledonian Railway (Linea to Granton), Mid
Sussex Railway, Metropolitan Cattle South Eastern
Railway (Greenwich junction) to Dartford.

THE MILITIA.
Lord PANMURE said, before their lordships pro-
ceeded to public business, he wished to bring in a bill
for the embodiment of the militia—(hear, hear, from the
Opposition)—between this and the 25th of March, with-
out the necessity of calling Parliament together upon
that embodiment taking place. It would not be ne-
cessary to present the bill, -if it were not thet the law
required that, in case of the embodiment of the militia,
Parliament should he summoned together within fourteen
days from such embodiment. In the pesent state of
of affairs it does not seem desirable to compel parlia-
ment to meet during the recess. The Government have
always the power of calling Parliament together if the
necessity for such a step existed. If this were a bill for
the embodiment of the militia on account of a war with
a foreign country, such a proceeding would no doubt be
necessary. There seemed to be an impression abroad
that the Government required power to embody the l
militia, but he begged to state that the Government re- I
quired no such power, if they were enabled to meet part
within a certain time after such embodiment.
The circumstances under which the present bell
was considered necessarry, were these. The militia
act only gave the Government power of embo-
dying the militia in exoectation of insurrection or inva-
sion of the country. In the year 1854 Parliament passed
a bill to enable the country to have the advantages of a
militia force embodied in the event of a war with a
foreign country. Neither of these things existed at pre-
sent. But a state of things did exist in our eastern pos-
sessions which occasions as great a drain of the enforce-
ments of this country as if we were carrying on a
foreign war. It is therefore necessary, under such circum-
stances, to supply the vacum created by the demands
made by India for more regiments. In order
to do this, H.M. Government bad determined, in the
first place, to reise ten battalions to supply
the place of those who are gone—to raise the regiments
at home 841 rank and file to 1,000, and to raise
those in India from 1,000 to 1,200. All these al-
terations can be made without going beyond the pro-
♦isions of the present Mutiny Act. As the hone was
aware, the ultimate charge of these forces would
fel on the EastlndiaCompany, and not upon the home
revenue. At the Fame time the existing crisis render it
somewhat difficult for the Ea-t India Company to raise
these new battalion Fr. The drainage from this country
of htr regular troops, in the interim, was so
great as to render it necessary for the Government
to call out and embody certain militia regiments
fur which he was quite prepared to say they might rx-
peet to derive the same good services as bad been ren-
dered by the same i umber of the regular army. It was
not absolutely necessary that because the power was
given that it must be exercised, but it would only be
used as necessity required. His noble friend in the other
house would present an estimate of 200 0001. to provide
for the expenses of those forces between the present
period and the 31st of March. The noble lord concluded
by moving the first readiug of the bill.
The Eallof HARDWICK E cordially agreed with the
noble lord as to the necessity of embodying the militia,
but like air the other acts of the Government it had

I een decided on too late. It seemed to be a fatality with
the pressnt Gniernment to be always a little too Late.
Earl GE.ANVILLE thought that the Government
were not open to such criticisms. Tbey felt it was ne-
cessary tv defer the enlistments until after harvest
operations.
The End of DERBY did not offer the slightest objec-
tion ta the bill. He only thought that Government
could have easily seen the necessity for tbis measure at
ao earlier period.
Lord PANMURE tbongbt that it was not possible to
have taken this step sooner.
The bill was read a first time.
[LEFT SITTING.]

SOUS OF COMMONS—(This Evening.)
The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock.
SLIGO AND HUNTINGDON ELECTIONS.

The Clerk of the Crown attended at the table of the
bouPe and amended the returrs for Huntingdon County
and Sligo Borough, in accordance with the decision of
the Committees. After which Mr. Fellowes for Rent-
iogdon, and Mr. Wynne for Sligo, took the oaths and
their seats in the room of Mr. Heathcote and Mr. P.
Somers unseated on petition.