POSTSCRIPT.
SATURDAY MORNING.
The third reading of the Enlistment of Foreigners Bill was last night carried in the House of Commons by a majority nearly the same as on the second reading-173 to 135, a majority of 38. Many Members took part in the debate : on the aide of the Opposition, Sir EDWARD DEIUNG, Mr. COBDEN, Mr. CORRY, Mr. SANDARS, Lord LOVAINF., Mr. EVELYN, Mr. BE.NTINCK, Mr. ABEL SMITH, Dr. MICHELL, Mr. ISAAC Burr, Sir JOHN PAKINGTON, and Mr. BRIGHT; on the side of the Government, Mr. R. PHILLIMORE, Mr. DIGBY SEYMOUR, Lord EBRINGTON, Sir ERSKINE PERRY, Mr. PATRICK O'BRIEN, Mr. COWAN, Mr. LAING, Sir JOHN FirafeaALD, Mr. VINCENT Scur...mr, and Lord Jonx RUSSELL. In general the arguments respecting the measure before the House were but reetatements of those used on former occasions on both sides ; but new turn was given to the debate by Mr. Cobden, who raised the question of the original propriety and general conduct of the war ; and in this he was followed by several of the speakers whose names we have set down. But the salient speeches were those of Mr. Cobden, Lord John Ruffed], Sir John Pakington, and Mr. Bright.
Mr. eosins opened with a charge that Members had voted against their convictions, and not on the merits of the bill; and then he launched into the general question. No satisfactory reasons have ever been given for this war at all ; the special ground put forward by statesmen in mag- niloquent phrases is that we are fighting for civilization and the liberties of Europe, and to resist Russian encroachments on Turkey. But Turkey is no longer menaced by Russia ; she has renounced her in- tention of invading Turkey ; and are we to be the Anacharsis Clootz of all nations, the Don Quixote of Europe ? Austria and Prussia have a greater interest in this question than England and France, and why should the latter require greeter guarantees than the former are content with ?. What is the use of destroying Sebastopol ?—in ten years the Em- peror of Russia will build it up again out of the resources of British capital, as the French King in the last century rebuilt Dunkirk. The only way to strike a blow at Russia would be to occupy her capital or territories; but that cannot be done. Then it is said that the Christians in Turkey are to be protected by the Five Powers : if so, what an insane act to fight with Russia about Sebastopol ? To take Sebastopol will only make peace mere difficult. Better leave the adjustment of the question to the chance of peace than to the arbitrement of war. The Emperor of Russia will die some day, and the source of the difficulty will be passed away. The Turks are so degraded, it is useless to strive to sustain them. Mr. Cob- den drew a piteous picture of the state of our army in the Crimea, and repeated that we might withdraw without any compromise of our honour.
Anything pointed and substantial on the Tory Opposition part was re- served for the peroration of Sir Ram PAKINGTON the last speaker on that side- " Time must elapse before you can enlist these mercenaries. The men must be brought here, embodied, and drilled. I believe an English force could be obtained in as short a space of time, and might be as rapidly con- veyed to the seat of war. But then, assuming that you should get these foreigners, embody them, drill them, there still remains this question—when you have got them, how can you trust them ? Remember that the Emperor of Russia will fight us not only with steel and iron but also with gold. If you buy the services of those men who have no interest in this war, who have no other tie to you beyond the pay you give them, is there not a manifest danger that these men whose services you buy may again be bought? You may buy the blood of these men, but you cannot buy their hearts. Remember the circumstances of the war. You are not fight- ing Russia on the Danube—not in the Principalities. You have invaded the Russian soil ; you have attacked Russian -hearths, and have raised in the minds of the Russians the same feelings which enabled them to repel the legions of the great Napoleon from Moscow. I believe you have done this - in a just war ; but of this I feel convinced, that if you are to bring this deadly struggle to a successful issue, it can only be done by meeting the Russian forces with men who are impelled by the same animus by which they themselves are animated—loyalty to the Crown and attachment to their country. I hope that Parliament will reject this bill; but at any rate, we on this side of the House will have the consolation of knowing thst we have raised our voices against a measure which we think dangerous and impo- litic, derogatory alike to our national feelings and our national honour." Mr. JOHN BRIGHT was the last speaker on the part of the " independent " Opposition, and his was the most spicy speech of the evening. Substan- tially it 'was a reproduction of his letter to Mr. Watkins, but peppered with the higher seasoning that oral compositions have as compared with the soberer process of writing. He slashed at the buffoonery of the Re- ferm Club ; made appeals to the mourning which prevailed in the ladies' gallery of the House of Peers when the vote of thanks was moved; ridi- culed the fantastic and visionary Ministerial notions of Lord Palmerston about what will become of us if something is not done to destroy Russia ; and, holding himself to represent, feebly perhaps, but honestly, the opinions of many and the true interests of all that have sent him there, he was not alone in condemning the war, and an incompetent and guilty Ministry. At all which the Opposition cheered loudly. Two specimens in the newer points in Mr. Bright's speech will suffice. A reminiscence of Colonel Boyle, the Member for Frome, to illustrate the mournful effects of war. "I met him a short time before he went out, at Mr. Westerton's, the bookseller, near Hyde Park Corner. I asked him whether he was going out? He answered, he VOW afraid he was : not afraid in the sense of personal fear—he knew not that—but he said with a look and tone I shall never forget, 'It is no light matter for a man who has got a wife and five little children.' He has found a grave in the stormy Eux- ine • his wife is a widow, his children are orphans.' An illustration of the hopelessness of Turkey's prospects, although the Turks have begun to wear trousers. "You have now two empires attempt- ing to set the Turkish empire up again, and it is said that a third great em- pire is also about to engage in the task. The Turk wants to borrow money ; but he cannot borrow it today in the London market at less than from 8 to 9 per cent. Russia, on the other hand, is an empire against which three great empires, if Turkey is to be counted one still, are now combined ; and t is said that a fourth great empire will soon join the ranks of its enemies. But Russian funds at this moment are very little lower than the stock of the London and North-Western Railway."
Lord Joan RussELL made a kind of general reply to the arguments of the Opposition; in order of time speaking before Sir John Pakington.
The arguments, he said, appeared to be exhausted; they amount to no- thing more than a repugnance to employ foreigners, and a declaration in favour of the employment of British troops. To one argument, the " mer- cenaries " one, he replied with great point. "Then it is said, Oh 1, give
them more bounty.' They who reproach us for employing mercenaries turn round and say, • Give two or three pounds more bounty. You will get all the troops you want for thirty or forty shillings more.'" Lord John re- newed the declaration that Government stood, firmly.zby their measure—" I say, then, we must either have these 'powers, or the Government must be placed in the hands of those who think they can successfully carry on the war without them."
Lord John stated several facts to show that Turkey is improving—but un- der British, not Russian influence; that the Sultan grants freedom to trade and improvement—which Russia does not grant in her own territory ; And that a nominal Christianity established in St. Sophia would be stained by the ignorance and barbarism of the general population. Towards the close of his speech, Lord John made an amended statement on the subject of Austria ; ob- serving that on the first night of the session he had been anxious not to over- state the ease. "Austria will acknowledge, that as we do not propose to diminish the territory of Russia, but to leave her a great and powerful state, only asking for securities whip/tare as necessary for Austria as they are for England and France, the Allies ought to obtain • that wish. If, however, Russia should not consent to such very moderate terms as it will be our duty to propose, after the Minister of the Emperor of Russia haa declared he is directed to enter into negotiations,—but should still continue of opinion that that great scheme which was begun in the reign of the Empress Catherine, if not before, and which is to end in adding Turkey to the Russian dominions, must be prosecuted,—if he is still of that opinion, I feel convinced that we shall, before the opening of the next campaign, have the alliance of Austria, both in offensive and defensive operations. I will state to you that Austria is not literally bound to any course. I am free to admit, I always thought we might be obliged to have a long protracted war if Austria were a party in that war against us ; but if Austria join us, as I believe she will, we shall be in such a position that the war will not be protracted, but will be speedily ended by a durable, satisfactory, andhonourable peace."
After Mr. Bright's speech there were loud calls for Mr. Gladstone; but, with eloquent silence, he.tlid not rise, and the House divided. The numbers were—Ayes, 173; Noes, 135; Ministerial majority, 38.
On the motion that the bill do pass, the Solaciron-GinennaL substi- tuted a new clause for the second one—more effectually prohibiting the use of the foreign corps in the United Kingdom, or their 'being billeted on private persons. Crippling amendments were moved by Mr. J. G. Pau, Lrstortz and Mr. Lame, and rejected; and the bill passed at nearly two o'clock this morning.
The Lords met at the early hour of a .quarter to .nine o'clock this morning, and agreed to the amendments made in the Enlistment of Fo- reigners Bill by the Commons ; and the Commons met at two. The early sitting of the Lords enabled Ministers to communicate with the Queen at Windsor ; and the Royal assent was given, by Commission, to the Enlistment Bill and the Militia Bill, at two o'clock this afternoon.
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