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Leader (1850-1860), 3rd February 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 99

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      PEBBUAKarS , 1855 . ] ^ Bl ' 'I / M ^ gffi 38

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      purchased—a -lft * itena « t-colonel ' s commission costing at the fixed price 4500 fc ? " How is -it possible , then ^ that any but a rich man can enter the army ? " [ Here a cry of " Question ?'' arose from the Treasury bench . ] "I fhinir this is ., speaking to the question , " resumed Mr . Osborne ,, "this . is going to your system , which . I maintain is-J-ofctenJ' ( JTremendoua ^ cheermg . ) He waa told it Was not 6 m a . persea iathia situafciaiv . tb- speal&T- ^ mt the safety ; o £ t 1 te whole * «« ay . ia ^ afe ^ tafee ^ andi toi th musfrbe told . "If you constitute another aiaaay on th */ 8 ame

      footing itJwiH ' nofr do . any better It is . not enough that they-should :-win " battles , they must go through campaigns ; and we har& seen the lamentable and disgraceful way in "which : thiar -Avar has been conducted . '" It was painful to him to make that statement . [ Here the House laughed . } ' " I have a superior duty to performj " retorted Mr . Osborne ; "I represent a constituency . '"' Convinced that Lord . Aberdeen- ia . not only a .-goodcLiberal , but an honest and conscientious ; politioian , h * for one would , not desert him . Ileihad felt it . hi * duty to speak

      unpalatable truths . M * . ' Henley followed , and the feeling of the House subsided . The position he took- uj » was that ministers had not done what they ought with the means at their disposal . Why had they only a collection of regiments and not . an army ? Why had they no waggon train , where they could get any amount of waggons and practised men they pleased ? Why was a difficulty made of transporting . d \ 0 v 000 men , and 250 ; 000 tons of stores to the Crimea ? The men- could not get the heaps of . stores at Balaklasra * because their ranks were

      thinned , and Government had neglected to reinforce them . Hundreds of men- would have- undertaken- to transport these stores to the camp , and Have-laughed at it . The Government had had carte blanche as to money , and the whole people at their back ; they might have had advice * but they did not seek it s tney fail miserably , and then say that the system , is a bad one . He put aside the pretexts that the motion was either inconvenient , unconstitutional , or indirect ; the Government had failed ; and Parliament should mark its utter disappro vat of the way they had conducted the- waar .

      For some time now . the minor speakers-had it all then : own way . Admiral Be&kbejsy defended the Admiralty , Mr . W . B ^ rksford vindicated Lord Raglan , and urged an- enquiry . M * j Rhzjb spoke-up for reformsTbui would not vote for enquiry . Mr . Miles , whojwa&rfor enquiry , attributed all the evils , to : the War-office . Sir Francis Babmtg decided not to vote for-enquiry , because ¦ it .. would : paralyse , those : departments which should , be especially active . By voting for the motion as a vote of censure . amd < gettingrrid of it afterwards , the

      House would act . in ^ an 4 inworthy manner ; At the same time , the revelations made by Lord John Russell wouid prevent hint froms voting for the motion as ^ a vote of confidence ia the Government * Lord Aberdeen had refused Lord John . Russell ' s proposal on insufficient grounds ^ ha had- listened to . private affections , instead of doing . a , painfikl duty . Lord John had manfully undertaken the invidious task of making , the first move-to get rid of the Duke of Newcastle ,, anal the wished his colleagues had supported hinu .

      . _ Mr . Bjsntinck . severely condemned the conduct of the Government ,, and exoneraVed Lord- RaglaitrMi . Kicir sustained Lord John ' s- position , said he . should vote for enquiry , and condemned the mode- of conducting the war . ¦ Sir Bulwer Lytton put the case of the Opposition . If the House acquiesced in the continuance in power of the present Ministers , they would bo servile accomplices in the sacrifice of a noble army . Lord John Russell had resigned rather than , resist inquiry , and would tha House be more complaisant than the nobte lord ? Should they reject thfc motion because it is a motion for inquiry when it should be a vote of censure ? Take it , then , as a vote of censure , and let it so stand as a precedent to other times , if other times should be as grievously afflicted under a similar administration f

      He next arraigned Ministers for having gone to war without sufficient information , ignorant of the power and resources of the-enemy , of the nature of the climate , of the supplies tk » acmy should receive . Entering into a military criticism on . the faith of letters from a young officer who had died in the Crimea , ho condemned the Government for not buying mulea at Gallipoli ( 1 ) ; for having encamped the troops at Varna ; for having spared Odessa . Is Odessa spared for motives of humanity ? Why , to-spare Odessa—that nursery , granary ,, market , foedcrof Sebastopol—was . tho groseoBt inhumanity to the army that moulders piecemeal uudor tlio walla of SebaatopoL Had Odessa been taken—it need not have been

      do-Bteoyod—our troops could have wintered there . Ilia first proof of feeble incapacity links itaolf with the last . Ho charged the' Government with taking tho troops to the Crimea at a season of tho year especially unhealthy . Even a common book like Mr . M'Culiocli ' s Dictionary would have . told them that the climate wan unhealthy in tho autumii . Yet tuuy landed the army without , transport , andttwico in one campaign exposed it in unhealthy Bituatlonsvi They ought to havo foreseen the hurricanes , the rainsy th « mudi ; thoy , ought to have untioiputod Mr . Peto , and' ha \« . constructed a road whoa the ltuHuians took their only load from them . Ho rated Ministers for calling Parliament together to pasa two bill * , one of which- remained' a dead letter . Tho country looked to tho Parliament , and would they desort tho country ?

      BEettssKty " -Whmt iato ttB'doiie # " Lord Johnrftusedtt is a ;« hrerwd man ; . hfas naign&tiamfe sig » ificaa * 'of-wlia should be-done * S 4 fr Btiiw « r'pefor « todvtliu»>—' " ¦ TKere is one indispensable' element of : a Coalition , and that is , that its members shooW ' coalesce ; (^ Loud cheers ami Idnghbtrh Itia thfcfrelemeat 'wfeioh seems-to me wanting m fclte- prtaenfc Cabinofc It bas- bftew a union of- party interests * but nofc a < . Coalition ofipaiity sentiment and- feeling ; ( CiteeegJ Us . waa * jeafci > e JLord Oheaterflrtd ' s , jwhenr a man of freiy : ob * saurfrferaHy married . tbedsug ^ terof a ladj torwfaonvscanddl ascribed a lauge- number of- successful admirers ^ that ' nobody's son had-jqst : married , everybod ^ ' s- 'dauglitec . ' ( Gmat laughter . ' ) ¦ If 1 / may . parody that . jest ,. I would say of this Government , that everybody ' s principles had . united , with nobodv ' s opinions . ( Lauqhter . ) , It is dimly intimated that

      the noble-lord—now » in-a state of transition—but after air he is- eqtraHy illustrious as the- merabei"fdP Tiverton—if is- intimated that . the nobler-lord the- member for- Tiverton ia inlendsd < for an appointment tfaa * . some months agep would have satisfied , the-country and sav * di the Government . Tfeau now that it raayr be too late * and among his greatest dangers will be the armad . neutrality of . his- unsuccessful ad-v « uat and noble friend- { ZjaughterS ) r : That noble . lord ,., the member for London , on Friday last , attempted , not triumphantly , to vindicate the Whigs from the charge of being an- exclusive party that required alF power for itself ( "Hear , hear ? ' from Lord ¦ J . JHasett ) s and he found a solitary instance- for the- refutation of that charge in * the magnanimity with which' the- Wirig 6 > had consented- to ' that division ? of-power- which his-desertion now Tecants ~ and ; tjon- '

      damns ,- Bat in-plain , words his vindication : only amounts to this , that wiiereithe Whi g * could . notrigeb-aU . the . powary they reluctantly consented . to accepthalf . , ( Muck-laughter , ) Now , gentlemen opposite will , pernapSrpamon jne ? if I say * that I think the secret of Whig , exolusiveness and Whig ascendency ; has . been mainly this : —You , the large body of independent liberal polMeians , the advocates for progress , have supposed , from the memory of fdnner contests now ended ; that , white England is-advancing ; alarge section-of your countrymen , with no visible interest iifc existing aboses ; -iir for standing still ; and thus , you hare given , not to yourselves , not to the creed , and leaders of the vast popular party ^ but to a small heKditaey combination of great families —( "Hear , hear ' "from , Mr . Brig / ify—a-fictitious monopoly of liberal policy—a genuine monopoly of lethargjtc Govern--ment . It is my firm belief that any Administration ,, formed ; from either side of the House , should we be so unfortunate

      as to lose the present , would be a 3 fully alive to the necesr sity of popular measures , of steady progress—( f * Hear , hear " from ^ Lord J . Ruaseliy-of sympathy with the free and enlightened people they might aspire to govern , as any of those great men who are democrats in opposition and oligarchs in office . ( Loud cheers *) But td-me individually and to the ^ public it is- a matter of comparativeindiflerence fpom what section of men a Gbvernmenfc at thismtoment shall be formedj so long as it manfullyrepresents the great cause to which the honour and safety of- England are committed , and Carries into practical , execution the : spirit that animates tile " humblest tradesman , the poorest artisan 1 who has sent his scanty earnings to the relief of our suffering army . ( Cheers . ) it has been said , as the crowning excuse for the

      Government , that all our preceding wars have begun with blunders : Were this an arena for historical disquisition I should deny that fact , but grant it for thesake ofargument . How were those blunders repaired and converted into triumphs ? I knowa ensein point . Oucein the last century there-wasa Duke of Newcastle , who presided over the condueb of a war , and was supported by a powerful league of aristocratie-combmations . That war was * indeed , a series of blunders and ( lisastersr In vainattemprs-were- made- to- patch up that luckless Ministry—in vain some drops of healthful blood were-infused into its feeble and decrepit constitution—the people at last became arou 3 ed , indignant , irresistible . They applied one remedy ; that remedy is now before ourselves . They dismissed their Government and . saved theirarmy *" ( Loud and prolonged cheering . )

      Mr . Gladstone elaborately insisted , with his . usual force aad dexterity , that the motion involved not only thefate of the Government , but the condition of the army , and the function of the House of CommonB to remedy great national evils . Sir Bttltper Lytton said the Government waa a union- of interests ; Mr . Gladstone protested against that declaration . From Lord John he had always received a cordial support in all tho measures he had , brought forward . Mr . Gladstone explained the position * of tho Government in relation to Lord John . At the time he resigned his colleagues were not aware that any difference existed between them and him . He made a < proposal last November ; it was declined ; the correspondence on tho subject closed on the 8 rd of December ; on tho 16 th , Lord Aberdeen * asked Lord John whether he adhered to-his proposal , and he said he did not ,. He had changed his intentions—convinced that the time waa not : fitting . Well , his colleagues regarded tho proposal made .

      in November , not as a proposal kept alive , but aa a proT posal definitively abandoned . In . November . Lord . John wrote to tho Duke , of Newcastle ,, saying , that tho Duko luul done everything in ofitce it was possible for him toi do . Kveni so lato auSatuxday week . Lord John , had / boom a > consenting party txv a plan 1 modifying thonnilitaBy 6 &- > partmenta . Wo had said that ho thought hie ; amomlmenta would , not be adopted . What reason had he for thinking thoy would not r Ministers had not then shown ' a rcckloas disregard of opinion in meeting Parliament . What course could Ministers have taken ? Had they mado an interchange of offices it would have enhanced BUflpicion . Neither could abandon office under the pressure of a hobtilo . motion . Few Englishmen will not freely own that it was tho . duty of Government , ' having ? conducted affUirs up to tho timo when thoy incurred conauro , not to shrink lroin that censurCi "If wo had ehrunk from thta motion ; I think' I may dbscribetlife

      tgrms- in wHen ^* trouM' *( aTe wfrlteutne-epitiKpii' -on-ottr gnrres . It wonldr be < ' thos-r * Here - Ke Hlfe . dfehom j ured ashes of iar Ministry , which * fbtmd' Ettgbiird ? ih-peaw aijd left-iehrwar ; which-was * contemViwitft tHe . emorumentt of- bflroe , and wielded the sceptre of" power , asdbmj as no man' had the courage- to- questron : theiir exx 8 ttsa . ee- ; Vat when- they saw the storm gathering over * tBfe country , and heard" the accounts- of' the sick , aad wxnmded in the East , these things- did ; , not-, move flfenr ; but- when they were threatened' witn th * tntmderbolt launched' bythehon : and ldaarnedf . membet for Sheftteld " , they were glad to accept" theirpuniBhment by the abandonment of theif duty . '" ( Cfieera . ) He-should not" attempt to weaken the sense of"interest

      felt in the condition of the army . It is the absorbing question of the time . As Mr . Stafford says , the : peopje of England care for little else . Bttt we must put * . a check on feeling and come to a fair appreciation of facts . The difficulties of the army are diminishing ; warm clothing has been-issued ; there is less sickness ; all the railway plant has arrived out , and three' weeks after they begin the railway will' be completed . By an arrangement between Lord Raglan and' General' Caitrobertsucha French force has been supplied : as diminishes , by 1500 men , the number of" EngJfeb ^ permai

      irently in the trenches . Then ? with respect to the number of the army—excluding the sick" lfet v thete . are upwards of 30 , 000 men engaged in military duties befdie SebastopoL We are not yet driven to the conclusion that the finest army that ever left our shores is numbered' among the things that were . Wn ' at evils were unavoidable , and what might have tfeeir avoided , he would not say : but some gentlemen do not take a just estimate . Mr . Henley , for instance , thought it a matter of no difficultly to provide ., for an army three thousand miles off . He intimated also that the arm . y has been

      starved from motives of economy . Mr . Gladstone was afraid it would , be found that they hadebeen driven into profusion . Taking up Sir Bulwer Lytton ' s criticisms , he showed the absurdity of talking about buyirig mulea in the great market of that narrow strip of sand Gallipoli ; and that M'CulIoch ' s Dictionary states that there is nothing ' in the climate of the southern part of the Crimea to prevent it becoming the scene of ' military operations . Why spare Odessa ? Sir Bulwer forgot when , he said Odessa ought to have been- , taken , that it was an open town of 140 , 000 inhabitants , and close to large Russian-armies ? As-to the was departnient , i t is untrue to say that nothing has been-done to improve it . The commissariat has been * separated fern the- board of

      transit ; the Minie" rifle has been introduced' ; the artillery has been fresbiy created ; thw > militia hasbeett orgwaise * Because there were complaints } - ought Lord Daglan t < ¥ have been recalled ? Ought his offioers to have been recaHed- without communicating wl * h him >? Certainly n «< s ; One of Lord Raglan ' s most important duties hadbeen the maintaining and oonftpmiBg- of the French alliance ^; and- that he had ably performed . M * . Glad ^ - stone contended that the vote ofinqniry ^ was withbut a precedent ; for the Walcheren case' was no preeedent , forthat was a completed expedition- undertaken by u » single-handed , and not with * allieav The ; motion * if car- * ried out , would ruin the expedition . If it were-not car ^ - riecl > . out , it would be a disappointment to- tmy country ^

      and' unworthy of the House ' " to" use . a ^ m <* tion ~ fbr th «' dispatch of a Government , and then to get- rid of it afterwards . ; The inquiry wouM never take place- as a real'inquiry , but , if it did , it would lead to nothWeg but confdBion , paralysisj increasing disaster , shame at home , antf ' weakness abroad ; it would carry no consolation-to those whom thtey sought to aid , but of thfa they might be-surej that it would carry a malignant joy-te thb hearts of thte enemies-of" England ; and ' , fdr his own- part , he should ever rejoice * if the motion should bocarrifed , that his * own last words ; as a member of Lord' Aberdeen ' s G * ov « rnment , were words of earnest and solemn- protest against a proceeding which'had no-foundation-either in the constitution' or in-the practice of preceding

      Parliament!?—a resolution- which was useless- and mischievDus lfort&b' purpose- which it appeared' to contemplate , and Which ' , in his judgment , waa fuW of danger to-tlie powOT , dfgniWyj- and usefulness , of t * t 6 Comnions'of- England . Bfer . Dhskakli adverted" to tlie statement which had been made- by Lord Johw Ktasaolfy and' remarked that ; after the declaration so madej it was impossible to resist Mr : Kbebuck's mot ? on . Ifc could- not bo denied that a gallanf army had perished ^ The Chancellor of the Exchequer-hhd asserted tha « not more than 24 , 000 or 2 BiO © 0 ' nwn had . perished , out of a force of 54 , 000 or /

      ff 6-000 ' mcn . Was not that a proper subject fur enquiry Exaggeration ^ tdo , was alleged as regarded the state ot tfib army irt- tho Crimea . Was not that a worthy suojexjtof enquiry ? Tho motion was not for artJ ^» "T into tho war , but into tire Htato of thb flnny bbfore Sebastopol . Mr . Disraeli maintwncd that such an ^\^ was constitutional , and , in hid opinion , ^ d-not bo in " convenient . H « protested ^ B ^^ ^ . " ^^^ - tho supporter-, of tho motion were ^ clH « £ their shafta . against the Duko of NbwcaBtle never bo a party to selecting- mont and maklnir h&n the ac attached to all his collBagucs . was not the only Miniwter on war . There was , tho Homo with tho militia , and' tho noblW lord in adopting mea

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  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 3, 1855, page 99, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2076/page/3/