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    290 THE LEADER. [Saturday,

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    Officious, not Official.—>A fortnight ag...

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    IMPERIAL BARLTAMENT. THE TREAT* WITH SAR...

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    Cl Uspense And Expectation Are The Two W...

    have ended . But he seems to have behaved throughout the business with a haughty selfsufficiency far from the character of a true soldier . Major Reed . has reihtroduced the subjeet ' promotion , moving a resolution " for a select committee to inquire into the preasnt modcc & conferring appointments in ^ tfite-aEfny- ( by pusctiasesor otherwise ) , to report on thoe same , and" recommend a ^ more efficient system £ Gr securing prcnaWKtion to merit and long serviwe . " This waJsfS !* lowed up by a hosH of spels « 8 te 3 for and ^ sgKinst ,

    ending in a division throwing out the motion by 104 to 70 . The sum and substance of the argument for the motion was , that purchase , is the grand corrective to ithe extreme slomiessEofc promotion by mere seniority ; and it is evideniftHat persons practically acquainted with tfiV service can Iiardly conceive any rule except that of letting aged offioerB ^ live up to the next : step » ih rank ^ until all tfie : tipper : ranrkV become crowded with

    superannuated" veterans . The only idea apart from this is promotion by " merit ; "' but as tbeavera ^ e run- of officers-beBave well , "justice " already seem * ttr be dome to merit . To pick out the best- men f & v rapid' promotion ; to set the ablest-men of the- kind to work for which they are most suited , to reward extraordinary bravery or sagacity by extraordinary advancement , seem to be ideas alien to our present managers .

    An excellent blow has been given at Churchrates . Sir William Clay introduced his bill ( amended in form ) with a vote of 155 to 76 in favour of the first reading , and with Lord Palmebston ' s permission to go at the impost , if he can strike hard ! enough to overcome the " difculties . . ¦ The House of " Commons threw out Mi * . Deedks s motion to postpone the Ministerial Bill for altering the Newspaper Stamp Law by a net majority of 54 : The measure waslnade a regular MihisteriaT question , and Ministfers ^ of course , couia dc ^ anyttiing if they resolved to it . It is only a pity that they limit their determination to matters like the

    newspaper stamp . Among the incidents of the week tKe Liverpool election is interesting . There , in that stronghold of Toryism , a Liberal has been elected by a majority over his Tory opponent of 15 C 0 : and all the ... circumstan ^ jes ^ mpjb ^ i ^ the triumph . Th ^ ro was no " question " before the constituency to agitate either side into extremes : the Tory was certainly a foolish and' non-oratorical old gentleman ; but the Whig was a plain merchant of the town , eminent : in no sense , and recommended simply in his representative' aspect' as a Liberal ; and we thus regard the election as' evidencing

    that if you appeal to any crowded communityeven a rather Tory community , and are free from passionate agitations , having neither the cry of measures nor the cry of men—the chances are- that ; on tKe broad question—Do you prefer a reactionary Derbyite , or a practical progressive ^ Liberal ?' - —the answer will be dead against Toryism . There is a world of meani ing in this'quiet ' election : atid though the Tories have lost ; and explain their loss by-the fact that they did not take much trouble , nor spend much money , yet we may compliment them on the business as highly creditable to them : *—to have' taken trouble to return a B 6 nham ' , would' indeed' have been disgraceful .

    290 The Leader. [Saturday,

    290 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,

    Officious, Not Official.—>A Fortnight Ag...

    Officious , not Official . —> A fortnight ago th « uemi-ofBcial weekly organ of the young . Tories an * nouncod -with fracas that the " Emperor Louis" was all for war , and that he would invade the Crimea at the head of a largo army in the spring . Last week the same authority announced with equal fracas thai the Empertw of ttttf tfnench w » s disposed to peace ! The probability ifr-that , of thefte two announcements ) one at toast lrmoie orlew correct / What' an advan- * tmedt matt : teto 4 iave special wrarcefrotf Itfbrmatlcta !

    Imperial Barltament. The Treat* With Sar...

    IMPERIAL BARLTAMENT . THE TREAT * WITH SARDINIA . The Earl o £ Clareni > on moved on Monday that the House shemld take into consideration the message of her Maipsty respecting the convention lately concltidetfwitlfrSardinia . He stated that tlfc ; adhesion ' of S * rdinia * to the Alliance wos-perfecitl ^ rvoHintary , andltHat sheshad adhe « dtothat article cfcthestreaty by wttich "ESogland andSBranc * bind thernseUnsB not to dftrivc aay advantages froiosthe war . —TitaeEarl of HSRDs ^ Kawr expressed' his * admiration ofittfe way * in whie * fctfie Sardinia ** armjF-Kad behavedSrt a very critical period of its history . He seconded the motion . —The Earl of Shaftesbury believed that the 1 ev 41 s = of ^ tbypreseut-atop woatd . beroonrpengatedn by- the establishment of Sardinia in her proper positionr among the nationsof : E « rope . ' The motion was cstrriednemine-contradtcente .

    T-bo same subject- was-- introduced-int © -the House of Commons , when the House having gone into committee to consider the Queen ' s message , Lord EAdriMERSTOsr stated the terms of : tbe agreement between this ^ country and Sardiniay namel y * that Sardinia shouldifurnish a corps , of 15 , 000 men ,. and that England should advance a sum of 2 , 000 , 000 / . towards tbe expenses , Sardinia paying four per cent , interest , of which one per cent , is * to be a sinking

    fund * Lord Balmerston spoke highly of the courage and efficiency of the Sardinian arrays and trusted that the alliance between Austria and Sardinia would obliterate old feelings of animosity , and lead to an improvement"in the general condition of Italy . He concluded by moving * , as a resolution , that ' the Commissioners of the Treasury be e mpowered to advance 1 , 000 , 000 / . by way of loan to the _ Sardiniani Government * " and a like "• sum at'thfe expiration' ofl twelve months * , if the wan be not jconeludedi by that !

    tune . Mr . Disraeli said , the circumstances connected with the resolution should not be passed unnoticed by the HouseC The loan which they were asked to make in favour of a foreign power would-probably not be very speedily repaid ; and he greatly feared that in -the end it would prove to be a subsidy in disguise . Subsidies , he said , were generally condemned , and were indeed so pernicious in principle , that nothing but extreme necessity could justify them . Did that extreme necessity exist in the present case- ? " If it did ,-it was in consequence of the late Government ; and more especially Lord Paltnerston , having neglected the development . of our military means while hostilities were imminent . On this point he said : —• ¦ ¦

    " We did not enter into this war Hastily . It was not on a sudden that England found herself involved in a struggle with a- great military power . The whole country , long before the message of her Majesty came down to the Houses " of Parliament , was prepared for more than the possibility of such a great contingency . The Ministry , who for more than a ' year had been carrying . _ on negptiationS j ^ were _ . theylouring that . period making no preparations for the war which they must have considered inevitable ? or , if they did not , it was at least a proof of their want of becoming prescience . Her Majesty ' s Ministers , we now know , were in possession of secret information a year before war was declared—they were apprised of the most confidential intentions of the late Emperor of Russia . T Bay , then , that after having

    been placed in possession of those intentions , her Majesty ' s Ministers must , or ought to , have felt it their duty to prepare for the great struggle which was more than possibly impending . " Mr . Disraeli then strongly censured the late Government for not having , embodied on a much greater scale the English militia , and called out the Scotch and Irish militia . He concluded by saying that he would not oppose the measure then brought forward , but thought it right to proclaim that , " at'the commencement of the second jrear of war , we are beginning a system of subsidies , because her Majesty ' s Ministers have from the first neglected those national means which would have prevented a recurrence to so odious a meafcure . '' ( Cheers . ' )

    Lord Palmerstox denied that there was the remotest analogy between a loan , for which interesti was to bo paid , together with a sinking fund , and at subsidy , In'answer , to Mr ; Disrneli ' scharge againstl the late Government , in respect to not having 1 , embodied the militia earlier , he said that the blame really lay with the Derby Government , whose Militia Bill only gave power to the Crown to embody ! the militia' in-the case of actual invasion , or dangen of invasion . The late Government , therefore , bad to bring in a special net to enable them to embody the miHtiafti time of war , without refcrenco to invasion ; and a * soon as they obtained the power , they pro- ' ceeded to embody several regiments .

    Mr . Bright said they had been told by the Government ; that this is not a subsidy because Sardinia ' is to pny < interest upon the loan ; Inrt' they Had notl been told any thing about tliesecuritrc Hfc believed that debts of this kind ,, from one State-to another , are generally shuffled off under some prctonco or

    other , not very long after tue money advan ced H &> -8 5 ^» p . athised greatly with the progress of Sardinia , btMKi h « Uk that she had no interest in the war * and adddeft —~ ' * " -Dwislfcalde-t o express my entire dissatisfaction with the plao-tof ? subsidies , whether in their original form or in the ? sfktpe « # * av loan . I wish further to . express my deep regret tbafc the kingdom of Sardinia should have left i the pjBficefuIiand honourable pursuit in which she was engaged ; of settling her own internal freedom on a fiirm and" * satisfactory : foundation , and should have ithroaWJDliniwifanto a struggle from which greater coun-, ttws ? tEanJSa « afiBa cannot , retire without loss and disaster , and probably dishonour , anebfrom which I believe that Sardinia , especially if h % r forces are placed under your generals * - and under your management , -will retire with-the-same dishonour as ourselves . "

    Mr ; Bowtbr rasidfe- a few remarks reflecting upon the credit'of th ' e Sardinian : Government . He said there was- an annual' and' increasing deficit in the reyeirae ~ of Sardinia , which amounted to several millions of francs ; the taxes were heavy ; commerce had been stimulated to the utmost ; and there was considerable over-speeulation , and an unsound state of credit in the trade of the country . An increases of expenditure arose every yearfrom the manufacture of places , which were disposed of forthe purpose of enabling the Government to manage-the House of Commons and obtain that "influence which

    wasnecessary to carry their measures ; an-J there was a great standing army , oat ofall proportion to the resources of the country ^ orf to its necessities . ' The trade ; of Genoa was carried ' .. on , principally with Russian potts ; and a great injury must therefore ensue from war with Russia . Theo recent 5 seizure of ecclesiastical property- by the- SardinUm ^ Gavernment evinced the necessitous condition of the State—a condition which shows howuncertain is-tHe security we possess . Mr . Gladstone said that , to the best of his belief , all the financial obligations p Sardinia , notwithstanding , the great and peculiar-difficulties she has had to confront ^ have on every , occasion been met and discharged with fidelity . He denied Mr .

    Disraeli ' s allegation that th ' e present loan is , in fact , a subsidy , and held that ; the treaty with the Sardinian Government is wise anbl 'beneficial .-r—Mr . Addeblbt thought that a single regiment of Canadian volunteers would be of greater worth than 15 , 000 foreign auxiliaries . —Mr . WAtpbtE contended that the late Government had been guilty , of delay in the embodiment of the militia . —Mr . J . Bam . said that tlie embarrassments of' the Sardinian Government were merely temporary , ahd Mr . Cobden regretted that Sardinian freedom should be forced linto an allianee

    with Austrian despotism , and asserted'that it was very , ill-judged to enter into this loan at the very time when there was a probability of peace . —In answer to a question ffom Mr . MitNES ^ Lord Palmekston stated thatj if the . war came to a premature close , only a part of . the loan would be advanced , in proportion to the expenses already , incurred by Sardinia . —The resolutions were then unanimously agreed to ; and a Bill founded upon them was brought into th ' e" Houser 61 fr <^ m ' mo ^ sr 6 n " Tue " saayrn % lrt 7 ' read a second time pn Wednesday , and discussed in committee on ThursdayV

    TOSTAI , COMMUNICATION "WITH AUSTRALIA . The Earl of Hardwicre , in the House of Lord * , called attention to the fact that , since the war , tire steam-vessels used for intercommunication between this country and Australia have been used for transports , thus throwing the colonies back upon the sailing vessels , in consequence of which they have to wait four or five months instead of six weeks . He presented a petition with reference to this question . —Viscount Canning admitted the importance of tlie subject , but said that the war called for every resource which the country could command . He affirmed that Australia was not the only one of oar colonies which had to suffer , but promised that Government would as soon as possible remedy the

    . COUUT OF OHANCEUY . Lord LvNi > nuKST . moved that the Court of Chancery Bill bo referred to a select committee . Tlte bill ultimately passed through committee after adiscussion between the Lord Chancellor , Lord St . Leonari / s , and Lord Lyndiiukst , which disclosed the note-worthy fact that the remuneration of solicitors in Chancery proceedings is so insufficient : aeroften to oblige tl « m to put their clients to unnecessary expenses in order to obtain some sortoi compensation for their services .

    BLOCKADE OF KU 6 SIAN PORTS . In the House of Commons , in reply to « S-andaivs , Sir Charles Woon stated that the uovernment proposed to establish an effec ^ MoctaJ of the Bussian ports in the Baltic and White boa » 8 soon as those ports are open . THIS EARL OP DUND ' ONALD ' S PROPOSAL . In answer to Mr . Bellew , Sir C . Wood said a proposition wbb submitted ttv the late Board ot Admiralty by the Earl of Dundoimld . borne inquiries had been made into it , but the hon . gentie-

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 31, 1855, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_31031855/page/2/