POSTSCRIPT.
SATURDAY.
In the House of Lords last night, the Earl of DERBY inquired whether Earl Granville could hold out any expectation as to the probable return. In the House of Lords last night, the Earl of DERBY inquired whether Earl Granville could hold out any expectation as to the probable return. of Lord John Russell from Vienna ; and if not, then within what time the Government would think it just and reasonable to make some per- manent arrangement for the appointment of a Secretary of State in his room ? He enlarged on the difficulties and inconveniences attending the present state of things, where one Secretary is doing the work of two.. From the fact that Lord John Russell had sent for his family, down even to very young children, it was to be inferred that he contemplated a lengthened stay at Vienna. The 'continued absence of the Colonial Secretary would not be treating the Colonies well or wisely. Earl GRANVILLE answered, that Sir George Grey has the whole buai-, ness of the department at his fingers' ends; that no inconvenience has been felt; and that at two Cabinet Councils on Colonial subjects two important decisions have been arrived at. This of course is not justifiable as a permanent arrangement ; it is a question of time. " Lord John Russell has gone to Vienna for the purpose of endeavouring to negotiate a treaty of peace : it may unfortunately happen that the nego- tiations will be broken off at once ; in which case there is no question that his Lordship will return immediately, and his absence from London will be of very short duration indeed ; but if affairs should take a more fortunate. turn, I can assure the noble Earl that the noble Lord will not be absent for so long a period as he supposes. The noble Lord goes to Vienna to settle the great general principles upon which a treaty of peace is to be concluded.. If those principles are agreed to, and there is a real prospect of peace, I do not think it is desirable that Lord John Russell himself should stay fora long period in order to settle all the details and formalities of the treaty ; and I believe I am justified in assuring the noble Earl, that at present it is the wish and the intention of Lord John Russell to be back in this country by Easter at the latest."
Lord ST. LEONARDS called attention to the working of the system of tickets-of-leave. He complained of the temptation the system bolds out to convicts to behave well in prison for the sake of obtaining their freedom ; of the practice of starting them anew in life with money in their pocket, which leads them to relapse into crime ; of the great evil of setting policemen to dog the steps of liberated convicts ; and of the laxity of the watch which the Government has kept on the working of the system. He asked if the Government has any scheme in prepara- tion for the supervision of ticket-of-leave men, and for obtaining inform- ation with respect to them ? Earl GRARVILLE confessed that the Government have no new scheme for those purposes in preparation ; but Sir George Grey has within the last month taken steps to obtain accurate information. The alarm felt re. specting the system is exaggerated. Policemen are not set to dodge liberated convicts.
Earl GREY, lamenting the abolition of transportation, and not admit. ting that it was necessary, expressed his belief that, far from being over- rated, the evil is a growing one. He suggested an extension of sentences of transportation, and the return to the old principle of making the pe- riod of penal servitude correspond with an equal period of transportation. On the whole, however, he thought the ticket-of-leave system ought not to be abandoned. The LORD CILANCELLOR said the present system is working well. The chief business of the Renee of .Commons was the voting of the remaining Ordnance Estimates, ix Committee of Supply. On the vote of 1,387,5001, to defray the expenses _of new works. and building-repairs, Mr. MONSELL explained that the vote included 60,004M for barracks at Dover, where the accommodation is so deficient.; 48,0001. for defences at Liverpool, on the Humber, and other places ; 800,000k for temporary barracks at Aldershott, the Curragh of Kildare, and some other site not yet fixed upon. In this way accommodation will be provided for 50,000 men ; 20,000 at Aldershott, 10,000 at Kildare, 20,000 elsewhere. Per- manent barracks for 10,000 men will be built at Aldershott.
Mr. Eurez said that be bad seldom heard a more alarming statement. Are we to become a military nation ? War, he trusted, is an exceptional and not a normal state of things; and if peace is restored what will be- come of these enormous establishments ?
Lord PALMERSTON said, the votes are part of a permanent system of defence ; not to provide against any particular danger; but to maintain the country in an independent position. At present there is not enough barrack-accommodation; troops are scattered about, to the great injury of discipline and efficiency ; billeting is a great hardship to innkeepers, and demoralizes the troops; and it is because there were no barracks that more of the Militia were not embodied earlier. By the aggregation of large bodies of troops, officers learn their staff duties, and men become more handy and able to shift for themselves.
It would be folly to imagine that England should ever have large standing armies like those of France, Prussia, or Austria ; but, however small the standing army, it should be as good and as perfect, according to its magni- tude, as care and arrangement can make it. It is the worst economy, the most improvident system, to have an army and deprive it of the means to make it effective in proportion to its aggregate amount, After a good deal of conversation, all the votes were agreed to.
Mr. J. L. Rmanno asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he would try to fix a day for bringing on the Newspaper Stamp Bill ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, if it would meet the convenience of the House, he should take the second reading of the Newspaper Stamp Bill on Monday sennight,
The Sebastopol inquiry was continued yesterday. The witnesses ex- amined were Mr. James Clay, owner of steam transports; the Reverend. E. G. Parker, chaplain of the First Division; and Mr. Vellacott, chief officer of the Harbinger. Mr. Clay, partly corroborated by Mr. Vellacott, described the state of Balaklava and its immediate neighbourhood,—the filthiness, the disorder, and particularly the total anarchy in the unload- ing, the responsibility for which be fastened upon Captain Christie. He enlarged upon the superiority of the Hull method of transporting horses lying on the ballast, which is used by horse-dealers, over the method of slinging hitherto used by Government. Mr. Parker enlarged upon the hospital discomforts ; the wasteful mismanagement •of the stores ; and the want of system under Admiral Boxer, whose manners were rough and repulsive.
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