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^^ THB CO MMAND OF TURKISH LEVIES . The Earl of Eixenbobowwi aske ^ . m- ^ um ^ whether there would be any ejection to lagr before 7 * aSuse . a statement of the war services of Major-G ^ ieral Vivian , who had been appointed to the com . SdLof the Turkish levies .. He did not impugn ; the ffiti ^ SVjor-Generol TObuH . hi * Mdtt . ent SaSaSmt ^ geoeral of the Madras Army showed he SLa «« rneet ^ wrid he maybe fit 4 b ? the same service i ^^ aKSr ish leyyr ha * Earl thought for the Smxaand of -that levy a person ^ should have , been Seated who had had experience of Orientals . ^ mbeen onl thMadras
General Vivian , ftarmgr ^ y m e armr which has seen little service of late ,-could not have ' much experience in war , and must be trainform ed in the management of irregular corps , between which and regulars there is agreaft difference . The number of officers whom ? Major-General Vivian will have to reeommend is considerable—125 at the least . Now where are those office rs to come from ? In his opinion , the Governor-General of India should be written to , and requested to recommend the fittest officers for the service . He had at all times held the oninion that it was impolitic to confine the service * i
of Indian officers to India alone , foervice xn liicha » of a larger 'and more instructive nature than the ordinary service of the British army . Indian officers have more extensive and more valuable experience ; and there is no doubt that the deficiencies observable in many branches of the military service in the Crimea might be supplied by the officers of corresponding departments in India . The military reputation of this country has been impaired ; and the only remedy consists in selecting the fittest men for the various commands .
Lord Panjtore denied the justice of l , ora Ellenborough ' s remarks on Major-General Vivian , as well as" their prudence with reference to our army in the East . Major-General Vivian is in every way qualified for the post , from the exemplary manner in which he filled the highest stations in the Madras army ; and , as soon as it was was known that he was to have the command of the contingent , 'applications for service poured in . Lord Panmure would undertake that fitting officers should be appointed , even if it were necessary to select _ them from the East India Company ' s service . ~ Lord Vivian briefly spoke in vindication of his gallant relative , and read a testimonial in his favour signed by Sir Richard Armstrong , the commanderin-chief of the Madras army , when General Vivians resigned his office of adjutant-general .
THE TRANSPORT SERVICE . The Earl of Hardwickk moved , on Tuesday , for certain returns connected with the transport service , and enumerated the mistakes ¦ which had been committed in that department—paying for space , for instance , by measure , instead of registered tonnagefor space occupied by engines . Lord Pasmuhe acknowledged tjtoat great abuses had existed in the transport service ; but said that these were under inquiry , and would speedily be amended . He had no objection to produce the returns ™ ' " ~ " ~ ~ —¦
—THE GUEAT KENNEDY GA 3 B . Sir John Shelley moved on Tuesday for a Select committee to inquire into the grounds for the removal of the Right Honourable J . Kennedy , Commissioner of Woods and Forests , &c . Sir John Shelley described his dismissal as arising fr om a difference between Mr . Kennedy and a subordinate in the same office ; but he ascribed it in reality to Mr . Kennedy ' s being over-zealous for the views of certain members of the Government , and the dismissal was in effect an imputation upon his veracity and honour . Mr . Gladstone called upon Sir John Shelley to put the charge which , he had made , in writing upon the table of the House , and then Mr . Gladatonewould leave it to the arbitration of the House . Sir John Shelley did not accede , and then Mr .
Gladstone ) explained that Mr . Kennedy had made a charge against a subordinate in the same office . The charge seemed to have been founded on a misapprehension , and Mr . Kennedy showed no disposition to do justice to his subordinate when the error was proved . Mr . Gladstone read very full details from correspondence , to show that Mr . Kennedy ' s conduct was such as to bo destructive of authority , and such that , as his superior , Mr . Gladstone , could no t' be responsible for it . Other members , on both sides of the House , expressed a feeling that Mr . Kennedy had been intemperate ; and all tho Ministers who spoke con - curred in admitting that there was no imputation upon his honour and veracity . On a distinct ) statement to that effect from Lord Palmeuston , Sir John Shelley withdrew his motion .
In the House of Commons , on Wednesday , tho Marquis of Blandforo moved the second reading of tho Episcopal and Capitular Estates Bill , and explained and defended its provisions , which were tho same as those introduced in previous years , and aimed at tho better payment of tho working clergy . Mr . II . G . XiiDDELL moved to defer tli © second reading for six months , ¦ oa ho considered that tho property of the Church wns not general property ,
but belonged ; to the purposes of the Church , and ought not to be managed toy a cettfcradiaed powers Variouaother memberB : lia , vmg-8 poken ( the liberal members : being * tnos&iy' against the bill * and the Conservatives in favour of it ) , Sir B » Hall said , he had been : requested by "Sir G . G : rey to state that he was anxious that the-second reading should pass if I * or& Blandford would- consent to postpone the Confflaittee until the Cathedral Commissioners had reported ^ and until time had been allowed for the consideration of the report . The Marquis of Bjsandb'OHo having agreed to ^ this proposal , the aecdnd readings after » short discussion , was carried . tnr-10 % tor
66-BIB . KOEBtJCK ' S COBTMlTTEEMr . Bentotck moved that Sir George Tyler be substituted-in lieu of Sir George Cornewall Lewis in the Army before Sebastopol Committee . He thought it fitting 1 that in this case there ehauld be a naval man on the Committee * as naval witnesses would have to be examined . Captain Scobbll supported the motion ; bnt Mr . Roebuck could not admit the alleged necessity , as lie considered the Committee would be perfectly competent to decide upon the evidenee of the professional
witnesses . Upon the House dividing , the numbers' were—For the motion , 74 ; against , 87 ; majority against the motion , 13 . Mr . Roebuck then proposed Sir John Hanmer in the place of Sir G- C . Lewis ; but a quarter to six o ' clock having arrived , the motion was postponed , and the House adjourned . On Thursday Colonel Dunmb proposed that Sir G . B . Pechell should be added to the Committee . This was opposed by Mr . RoB » ttGK , and negatived ; and subsequently Sir J . Hanmer was appointed .
In the House of Commons on Thursday , Mr . Roebuck brought up- ai report of the Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition , of the Army before Sebastopol , which had resolved that , in their opinion , the objects would be best attained if the committee were a committee of seeFecy . On the same day , Mr- Roebuck appeared at the bar of the Lords with a message from the Commons , requesting their lordships to give the Duke of New * - ca 3 tle leave to attend ; and give evidence before thei Committee of Inquiry into the conduct of the war .
PROMOTION BY PURCHASE . In the House of Commons , on Thursday , Lord . Goderich moved an Address to her Majesty , praying that she will be pleased to take into her consideration the present system of promotion in the army , under wich non-commissioned officers rarely attain to the rank of commissioned officers , and scarcely ever to that of field-officers , and humbly to > express to her Majesty the injustice and danger of the system . He said , the people of this country , including the wisest among them , are impressed with the necessity which existed for the fittest men in the right places . Iu the army , the theory of promotion is , that the power is vested solely with the
Crown ; but the selection of officers was greatly influenced—by the-purchase system . That-system , which he believed had never been established by any law , is only a system of barter and sale . The officers of our array , generally speaking , are drawn from the wealthier classes , and the privates from the poorer classes ; and between the two there is a wide and almost impassable gulf ; It is true , any attempt to abolish the purchase system at once would be simple confiscation ; but a beginning might be made . No doubt particular instances might be brought forward of promotion from tho ranks ; but these are only exceptions ^ the rule . The present period , when the high and the low were fighting side by side , was the fittest for the inauguration of a different system . He appealed to the example of Trance , and more especially to the case of Ney , who rose from tho ranks to'be a Marshal
and a prince ; and , referring to the noble letters written by our soldiers from the Crimea , asked if such men did not possess an amount of reason , loyalty , and gentleness not to be surpassed by the highest ? It had been said there was a difficulty in obtaining fit men for recruits ; but he believed this difficulty would vanish if the men had a ftU » chance of promotion . Manny young officers were sant oat raw and untutored , very shortly after receiving their commissions , and had to be instructed by the sergeants , who ought not to have such men put over their heads . A number of commissions would shortly be at the disposal of tho authorities , who-might give thorn away to the deserving , lie did not believe that the gentlemen of England would objeet to serving with men who had risen from the ranks ; and he believed that by adopting the present motion , the House would be performing a tvuly conservative act .
The motion yrns supported by Mr , Oxway , Mr . Wahnku , Captain Soobell . ( who pronounced tho present system to bo a ahopkeeping mode of getting on in a profession ) , Mr . J . Ball . Sir Dg Lacy Evans , Sir Euaj&iNJfi Perry , nod Mr . W . O . Stanley ; and was opposed by Mr . F . Peel , Lord Lovajne , Colonel Sibthoapk ( who thought it ndvisablo to " lot well uloue" ) , { Sir J . Waa&ii , Lord Sjsymour , Loud
Elcho , Mr . Sidney Herbert , and . Lou ? Atan-« MMf . Mr . F . Pbbl Said the present ; system < hh& 1 noffce charged with having injured the : interest * trf tise country or of the army . Lord Goderifth * had- £ oikd to * showi in what way ther sjwtena was unjlustto . the private soldier . If merit < wae to-be - the rule ofpesmofion , who was to , be the judge ;? 'Ehei * were advantages in the present system , and inconvenieneifta in / that proposed , ¦ 'which should induce the JEoosB' to hesitate before it assented to the addreae .
The-chief speech , of toe evening-was that of Sir Bke . Lacy Evans . Referring to ' the decisions of 4 he Duke of Wellington in favour of ike-purchase sySteAi , he asked if we : were to be ; for-ever bound to the opinions of one man , and that man one wha was . influenced in . his judgment by politicalfeelings ,. Dy aristocratical sympathies , and by a belief that the iatereetaof the aristocracy were of greater iittporttsnfce than the welfare of the army . The opinion of the Duke also influenced those of other military man , who were afraid to differ , seeing that those ' who had the courage to do so suffered fop it . The Duke had opposed all improvements in the acoay—the Minie ride included ; and yet we- are < told we : should nenrer deviate from , what he said .
"If the system © £ purchasebe so admirable a thing , why aat introduce it into all thus- inafeUufciOns of the country ? why not introduce it iato your n « vy > and into year civil offices ? why not set up your Secretaryships of State for sale ? ( Cheesr * and kwght&rC ) Sirj . ihe system is a corruption—it isi dishonourable ! te tke country—it will be a disgrace to this House if yon continue to sanction it , and ¦ the people = » f Europe wonder at its existence . But . some geatlteoaea come with their sixpenny economy and teJL us , fovsoath , that if we attempt to-establish a , system ) of promotion by merit it will ' cost us . 100 , 000 i a year . That is the statement of tie gentleman who has been selected to fill the second place in the conduct of the war .. Well ,, sir , I tMnk it is a
very cheap thing if you can get it for lOQ ^ OQOL a year ( , Cheers >) Sir , it is said that it is not the sons of the aristocracy merely who purchase their promotion , hut also the sons of the manufacturer and the shopkeeper . But it is not so easy to pass some-of' the higher steps when he goes to the Horse- Guards if he isi the son of a humble person ^ My objection tt > the , system of purchase ib , that it aflEbrda facilities for ta © manifestation of a favouritism whieh entirely eschews the commonalty , and admits only to the higher prizes of the profession the sons of the gentry and nobles . ( Cheers . y I desire very much to seea largerpropdrtion , of the nobility and gentry than of the coiamoaalty in the command of the army , but what I object to is , -the-exclusion of the latter , and
that those should be deprived of the opportunity of coming to the higher appointments of the State who by nature are possessed of the : talents to . render great service to-their country . ( Cheers *" ) It has been well asked , why we should not upon the same principle set up situations on the bench for sale ? But that is not so , and the result is , that we see upon the bench what never occurs in the army—namely , that the sons of the humblest per- ' sens in the scale of society have risen to the highest rewards in their profession . ( Cheers . ') This is morally impossible in _ the-.. armjr . _ It is almost impossible even for the Bone of the gentry . ( ' Ok P and" ' Tteor , ' HearSy Look at my own position ! We are beaten by time . ( Cries of ^ hear , hearS ) We are kept back ( said the gallant general , with , feeling ) until we are worn out . ( Continued eries of''hear , hear . ' ) Those who have more friends get up to the higher ranks of the army ; but , if
there is a question of selecting some one for the command of a corps or an army , the anawer ia— ' Oh ! such a man is not of suck a class , ' and ' Don't talk to us of him . ' When the hon . gentleman the Under-Secretory for War tells us that fifty or one hundred conuniasiona have been sold for appointments in the Crimea , and -when he talks of economy and ulterior expense , I really think that he takes a very Low and inferior ground on tins question ( eh ^ era ) , and that he takeo , in > ttouth , a moat discreditable view of the subject . ( Cheers *) Because men have 4007 . or 500 i are they to < be put . over the heads of all those non-commissioned officers and private soldiers , and especially those non-oommissiened officers who are bearing witk exemplary patience and fortitude dangers , toils , and difficulties in tho Crimea ? All these men are to be set aside because 60 , 000 / . ia to be made of it . ( C / ieers . ) There was a time when it was contended that all the soldiers should be nobles , and in some
countries it was nooesaary for a man to have ten or twelve quartering of nobility before ho could be admitted into the army . But that has passed way . There have been great officers of all clasaes of the community . Princes have become groat officers . But let us compare tho number of groat oiHcors that uave arisen in which the very highest classes aloho obtain tho command , and compare them with the sumo countries where nt periods of revolution all classes have f ™ ° _ acopQ for the development of their energies and abUitaeB . Where you havo 10 grout ofiicors in one cnao , you aav « 60 in tho other , in tho time of Louis XIV . tuore were great oomnuuutoro no doubt , but wo had a greater ¦ commander than all 1 uh . Our own Kevolution wasypolitioal rather than military , but still there was a gentleman of great power And position—Mr . Oliver < 3 ronweu > - ( a Imighywho made himself hoard < rf . But oompaafe tho . own-
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31 ^^^ 3 , 1855 . ] TUCK LEADiEB , MB
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Leader (1850-1860), March 3, 1855, page 195, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2080/page/3/
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