THE PARTING QUESTION.
THE political session virtually closed on Thursday night, and Par- liament is about to separate; leaving, we apprehend, one of the most important questions before it unanswered. If, therefore, there resides any independent influence in the House, it ought to be exerted for the purpose of extorting an answer to that important question ; an answer which could not be given without some material guarantee to accompany it. The Government has announced that the war is to be carried on " vigorously " • as we now know that we shall not have the active assistance of "vigorously"; we must calcu- late to do more for ourselves; but the turn of events in Germany threatens us with a long continuance of the war ; the scale of our action, therefore, is likely to be extended. The question is, what reserve Ministers have for the contingencies which are most likely to arise, and which ought to be provided for before Parliament meets again next session.
The subject did not escape notice in debate, and several unplea- sant facts were strung together, particularly by Sir De Lacy Evans. Authority was given to form a Turkish contingent of 30,000 men. Six months have elapsed, and not one battalion has taken the field. Authority was given to form a Foreign Legion; bitter language was used in this country respecting "mercenaries," and the Foreign Legion gets on slowly. Since the commencement of the year, 30,000 men have been added to the forces in the Crimea, and the army is now in a state of perfect efficiency—for the present ; but if it were to encounter casualties similar to those that have already occurred, and if its field of operations is to be extended, we shall want a larger reinforcement to keep up the ef- ficiency and enlarge the force. Emigration has been carryitig away our population at the rate of 350,000 a year; and if it has declined during the past twelve months very considerably, it is partly be- cause so many have already gone, and partly because employment, particularly for the class which furnishes the stoutest recruits, has increased. It is at a time such as this that Ministers maintain the bounty of which the larger proportion goes to " outfit," and the recruit is disgusted not only because the amount which he touches is so small, but because he feels that he has been cheated. It is true that Lord Panmure promises increased pay in future; but the class that furnishes recruits seldom looks much to the future.
Sir De Lacy Evans contrasted the small exertions that we have made with the large exertions of other communities. During the war which placed Isabella the Second on her throne, the feeble Government of Spain got its Foreign Legion into the field within six weeks : we have taken six months without having even formed our legion. Our own miserable supply of transport in the East is notorious: at the Cape, when Sir Harry Smith set out with an expedition of 900 men against the Caffres, he took with him 500 waggons. These facts, which prove how little we have done in proportion to other communities so much weaker, prove also what resources we must have in store to work upon still, if necessary. But the question is, whether the Executive is already prepared to take the measures that are necessary. We do not assume the negative, but we do say that before Parliament closes it is most desirable that, without any impolitic disclosures, Ministers should give some guarantee, some assurance that they have the requisite authority and the intention to provide every needful supply of men, mate- riel, and mechanical appliances.
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