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    218 THE LEADER. [Saturday ,

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    IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. CIVIL SERVICE OF JC...

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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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    A Lexander The Second Mounts The Xjl Thr...

    that cannot establisli its own freedom , - resist Cuban insurrection or the advance of Columbia ? Apart from foreign politics there is no event at home that needs detain us very long . Parliament has been going through the details of business without any very strikUjg- ddwtes . The aaew Ministry has ventured " ^ pon as coup cPStat , and has left the lead chiefly to the subordinates ofiflie departments , who have been « arry ing on theEstimates—Mr . PehBj , Mr . Mbkbexj ,, and men of that class . The Ar « iy Estimates and the OrSnance Estimates have had to run through the fire of

    questions and sarcasms drawn from the expecifiJiee of the campaign- Boots too large , great coats too flimsy , transports inefficient , commissaries out of the way when they -were wanted , clothing for soldiers uhenlisted , a want of clothing for soldiers on the field , —these have been traits of the administration of the departments that now come to Parliament asking for tens of millions of money each- The money was not withheld , —nor the sarcasms ; and Ministers -were content to take the cash , wit"h assurances that they would behave "better for the future .

    In the meanwhile the inquiry into the state of the army before Sebastopol has begun , and witnesses have been examined who speak from personal knowledge on the spofc—such as Mr . George Dtindas ; General Sir De Lacy Evans ; General Bentinck ; Dr . Taux , a surgeon ; Captain IVbiothesley i and Mr . Stephen Owen , the only surviving officer of the Resolute . The evidence thus far has given us nothing that is new ; but it confirms many of the strongest statements made on the spot as to the incapacity of the

    commissariat , the total inadequacy of the transport machinery , and the excessive amount of labour thrown upon the men . The most experienced witnesses'do not seem to consider the bad supply of provisions to have been so fatal as the continued over-exertion . The militaryofficers . ' were not astonished at the deaths of horses ; nor , indeed , should they be so , for there have been Russian campaigns in which the Russians suffered a far greater mortality amongst their beasts than has been observed in the Crimea . But

    the over-exertion is something fearful , and we are thrown back by this result of the actual position at ^' Sebalto ^ lir'IS ^ thijncQtinLdir ' o'f war at" which : the Crimean expedition was determined . It is evident that the Generals commanding did not know what they had to -encounter—had not the knowledge which would have directed their movoments — and had not the means which they would have demanded if they had known what they were going to do . It is not in fighting that the men have been killed , but in tlie impracticable endeavour to

    dig and defend a vast extent of difficult ground . On Monday , Mr . Malins moved for the correspondence between the First Lord of the Admiralty . and Sir Chabx . es Names , doing what he could to cot / ipel submission to his motion , by reading extracts from the correspondence ; as the chimney-sweeper who wanted a penny bun , for a halfpenny enforced Jbis proposal of the bargain by clapping the dainty between his hands while he bargained . Sir CjaAKi . Es Napxbs complained , through Us lawyer Mr . Malins , that whereas Sir James Gkaiiam had sent him the most flattering

    private notes , the Parst Lord of the Admiralty had called upon him to smash the British fleet against Sveaborg , and had dismissed him for declining to do so . In brief , that is the sum of Mr . Mawns ' s statements . Sir Jambs Gj & aham ' b reply is , that as a private friend ho had written unguarded notes to Sir Charles ; that after surveying Sveaborg Sir Charles placed the practicability of attaoking that fortress in a now light , and the Board of Admiralty xathor expected to hoar of achievements on his part j the nonporforxu- ^ ance of which apparently irritated Sir Charles , caused h * s language to bepome " turbulent and

    insubordinate ; " and that tone compelled the Admiralty to 3 » ak « kin -strike his flag , but without censure . The -presetft Tirst Lord , Sir Charuis Wood , isgused the correspondence ; and on the whole Sr Charles Napier gained nothing \ by theJH ©* ioB « of-Inslegal 3 riend . . . Sfar did Sir Henry Halford take anytinng by hissntotion ^ flr th e second Heading of his Wa ges Bill 5 -the olapJet of wlfidh was- £ o prevent eugfloyers fromtftarafog money * tit s £ wages for accounts

    set down to the creffit of Workmen . The bill is intended to grapple with an abuse that is a violation of ± ke 'Jj-uck & £ & i itnd it weuld serve the purposes of honesty and justice . It is undoubtedly open , however , to the objection that there is too much legislation on these things ; and perhaps it would be better , instead of increasing the number of statutes for the protection of workmen , to pull down some of those that are used for their coercion and oppression .

    We are promised , however , an abrupt close to all these debatings , and discussions more exciting ; for it is expected that as soon as Ministers have got . their money they will dissolve Parliament . So we are to oj ) en the spring with a new Czar , an extended war , Napoleon in the Crimea , and the United Kingdom in all the excitements of a general election !

    218 The Leader. [Saturday ,

    218 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,

    Imperial Parliament. Civil Service Of Jc...

    IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT . CIVIL SERVICE OF JCNDIA . In the House of Lords , on Monday , Lord Monteagle moved ibr some correspondence touching the examination of candidates for the office of Assistant-Surgeon in the East India Company ' s Service . By the Charter Act of 1833 , all distinction of caste , colour , or birth in appointment to office was abolished ; -but in practice , and by the regulations , that clause was never faithfully carried out . Under the Act-bf last session , however , regulations were passed which dealt satisfactorily with the whole subject of education in India , and to illustrate the working of it Lord Monteagle brought forward the instance of Dr . Chuckerbutty . At the _ early- age of six or seven he

    had made great progress at the local school of Ins district in the Persian , Sanscrit , and Arabic languages , but , being anxious to learn the English language ( accidentally heard in the mouth of a collector visiting the place ) , he set off to a distant European school , carrying with him a few articles of clothing in a handkerchief and some parched rice . Here he made still greater progress , and advanced from one school to another , till at length he came to England to complete his medical studies , at the hazard of losing the favour of his friends and his prospects of promotion . "He " entered TTniveYsify "College , " and there carried off three gold medals and certificates of honour , with the degree of Doctor of ' Medicine , and then applied for an appointment , and was refused . He was not daunted , however . After spending some time on the continent of Europe , he returned to

    India , where he was appointed a professor and lecturer in some of the many useful colleges which were to be found there . On learning that the Bill of last year had removed obstacles to his appointment as a surgeon , he came over to this country , competed in the public examination for an assistantsurgency , and attained the second place in the list of successful candidates . By the aid of the President of the Board of Control , he would not lose those appointments the possession of which ho had risked by leaving India . Several exclusively British-born subjects in Calcutta had assisted him to come to this country and enter into competition with English subjects . Lord Monteagle expressed a hope that the generous measure of last session would not bo defeated by a side-wind . After some remarks from Lord AsiiDtmTON—on the great capacity of Native Indians for classic studies—from the Earl of

    Albebiarle , Lord Wynford , and Earl Guanville—who intimated that even the improved regulations are not unalterable against further improvement—the returns were agreed to .

    JjJMV EDUCATION . On Monday , in the House of Commons , Mr . Rich , on the motion for going into committee of supply , moved an amendment , declaring it expedient that wo should enhance the efficiency of our military academics , and take other measures to render the coming generation of officers moro fit for regimental and staff appointments . The Navy and the East India Company ' s Service give gfood opportunities to young offlqers of acquiring a perfect knowledge of their duties ; but in tho regular army staff appointments are the result of favouritism , and ho thought himself justified in saying that one-half of our military officers had not received an education to qualify them for the ordinary duties of life . Tho consequence of this ie , that

    they have to learn their profession after a war has broTcen nut . Mr . F-Ywa .-urged that , as the whole question of anilitary wflucation and promotion is now being consiflered Sgir the Government , any pr esent dis cussion on the subject would be premature . He also thought that too'ftagh i nrtandard of education might lead" to the exe & usion « of a large number of well-qualified persofis . Cokmdl 3 > c > KE said we have no means in England of instruetfcag sia # \ efficers in their duty ; and that -aceeB ? fiBg * ft *! lie opinion of some French officers , our « fcaff offieCTSTfire the wcw & t in the world , though they admit tf lat our jegimentflUsystem is perfect .

    After some desultory remarks from various members , in the course of which Lord Palsierstox observed that it was very important that officer s sh ould make progress in their profession , and that they should not lie advanced unless they did so , Mr . Rich consented to withdraw the motion , as he thought the declarations made by Government were in many respects satisfactory .

    THE ORDNANCE ESTIMATES . Mr . "Monseli , said that the votes he was going to propose were unusually large ; but for this there were very obvious reasons . He then specified the different amounts ; , among which were 267 , 000 / . for barrack bedding , 54 , 375 * . for "boots and shoes , 142 . 90 G / . for warm clothing a t the hospitals , 54 , 800 / . for huts and stable-huts in the Crimea , which had been fini shed in eighteen days and 382 , 5007 . for waterproof clothing . With respect to this last item , he contended that great expedition had been evinced by the Government in sending out the clothes , which were of excellent quality . Other items

    were—25 , 000 / . for the erection of a -foundry for the manufacture of Lancaster shells , and 15 , 000 / . for the erection of a gun-factory at Enfieid , of the origin of which Mr . Monsell gave several particulars . The item for great coats was very large : it amounted to 215 , 000 / ., owing to the Irish militia and the foreign legion . ' Finally , he mentioned votes of 800 , 000 / . for the supply and repair of small arms ; 60 , 000 / . for barracks at Dover ; 61 , 000 / . for the same object at Gosport ; and 250 , 000 / . for a permanent barrack at Aldershot , to contain 10 , 000 men . He concluded by moving the £ rst vote , 1 , 402 , 961 / ., for the exigencies of the several Ordnance military corps . -

    Colonel Dunne complained of the boots which had been sent-out , and which were useless from being too small ; of the want of warm clo thing in several of the regiments , which had in consequence suffered ^ great mortality ; and of the defective nature of the shells used against Sebastopol ^ many of which would not burst . —Mr . Muntz said the conduct of the Government with respect to the manufacture of small arms was the old story over again . Mr . Monsell had said that they had but a small supply of arms , but he had not told them the reason , Avhich was , that the patterns had not been delivered till August , nor the materials till November . Government had also endeavoured to beat down the fair price for bayonets ,

    though they failed in tliat attempt ; ^ but the delay hadprevented half theI ' g ^ nsTjeingnnisliecl for want of bayonets . The establishment at Enfieid would be all that could be desired if it were properly managed ; but the manufacture for casting shells was one of the grossest jobs ever perpetrated . — Sir J . Paxton , who approved of the ground for the new camp at Aldershot , said that the Government proposed to erect huts for 20 , 000 men in the course of six weeks , which was utterly impossible . —Lord Seymour enlarged upon the injustice of the Government requiring guns to be made at an insufficient price . It was out of tho question to suppose that by establishing a manufactory at

    Enfieid they could get a supply of arms more rapidly : the most rapid way was by dealing fairly with the trade . He objected : to the votes for new barracks , and he would propose to reduce the vote by 40 , 000 / ., the sum asked for the new works at Enfieid . —Mi . Layard criticised the defective shells sent out to Sebastopol ; warned the Government against establishing an hospital at Smyrna , the climate of which was fatal to Europeans ; and anticipated that , unless active measures were taken at Balaklava , the hot weather would bring a plague which would sweep away every man in tho army . —Mr . Nehtdegate supported the proposal of Lord Seymour . The gunmakors could produce any lay

    amount required of them if they had only fair p . Mr . G . Dunbas supported the vote ; and Mr . MoNSei . i , explained , with reforenco to the small arme factory , that scientific gentlemen , who had been to America to investigate tho gun-trado there , naa showed that Government could make then : muskets as perfect as tho Mini < J rifles could be made , at a cost not more than half what was now being paid , mi gunmakers of Birmingham need not bo afraid oi their trade being takon away from them , as Government was still disposed to receive all they eouiu manufacture—Lord Palmeuston said it had become well known that there was a doflcioncy of fcliosiunu arms necessary for the Bupply of our army . It * « therefore proposed to establish a manufactory wmu « would not cnablo the . Govorment to funiieu all tw

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 10, 1855, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_10031855/page/2/