thhattsun turtritingo in Vorlinnunt.

PRINCIPAL BUSINESS OF THE WEER.

House or CosnioNs. Thursday, May 31. Supply ; Army Estimates, debate on Military topics-Sir John Barnard's Act Repeal, 8cc.; Bill read a third tune and passed.

Friday, June 1. Paper-duties; Lord Fermoy's Question-Sir Henry Rawlin- son ; Mr. Danby Seymour's Question-Policy of Russia; Lord John Russell's An- swer to Mr. S. Fitzgerald-Supply; Army Estimates.

• MILITARY QUESTIONS. •

The House of Commons reassembled on Thursday. The motion for going into Committee of Supply on the Army Estimates gave a great number of Members an opportunity of which they profusely availed themselves to bring forward military questions of all kinds, many of them worth a separate debate.

Major EDWARDS inquired of the Secretary for War whether any cor- respondence had passed between the War Office and the Treasury, or any other department of the Government, respecting the omission from the estimates of the usual vote for the annual training of the Yeomanry Cavalry ; and if so, whether he had any objection to produce such correspondence.

Sir Rims TRELAWNY called attention to the effect of the selection of Another point which he wished to bring under the notice of the House Line; without any guarantee being afforded that he was fit to discharge the duties of so responsible a post. There are a great many Lieutenant- colonels in the Guards, and this is therefore a very important question. lieutenant-colonels of regiments upon the relative position of the Guards

and line in cases of exchange: It us-in the power of an officer in the Guards by exchange to antinre the licisition of the selected officer in the

was whether the grade of salaried full colonels might not be abolished (as regarded the future) without disadvantage, and so as to effect a con- siderable saving. The manner in which one of these places had recently

been filled up was universally held to be so indefensible that it had

excited suspicion as to the propriety of maintaining these sinecures. It was understood that they were intended as rewards to be conferred on officers for distinguished military services, and as such were justi- fiable, although he thought the reward might be bestowed in a more direct and satisfactory manner ; but no excuse could be offered for the appointment which bad just been made, and which could be characterized only as a most iniquitous job. He was desirous, also, of ascertaining whether aides-de-camp were subjected to adequate examination, and whether they had regimental pay when not on regimental duties. As this class of officers enjoy very high pay, and are often intrusted with very delicate and important duties, he thought they should be required to pass through the Staff College. He was satisfied that on the three regiments of Guards alone as much money could be saved, without any difficulty, as would provide her Majesty with more than one complete regiment of the Line. The extra allowances of the Guards aro very large in comparison with those of the Line, and might well be reduced.

He was told that by some sort of underhand arrangement it was possible for an officer in the Guards to obtain leave for eight months in the year, and as the rule was that after five years' service he became a colonel, he might attain that position by actual service for only twenty months. Ha wished to know whether that report was true.

General PEEL began his remarks with these pointed sentences :— "My object in rising is to call on those honourable Members who have expressed the opinion that these estimates are extravagant to come forward, and state upon what grounds they consider them to be extravagant, and I especially address myself to the right honourable the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer and to the honourable Member for Birmingham, if they happen to be in their places, because the right honourable gentleman, in introducing his Budget, spoke of them as enormous, though he trusted only temporary, and the honourable Member has been going through the country, calling them extravagant and useless. For my own part, I have no hopes what- ever that a reduction of expenditure can be accomplished by a reduction in these estimates."

In the course of a speech full of figures, intended to show that our force is not more than adequate to our necessities, he urged upon the Government the necessity of maintaining the Militia in a state of the most perfect efficiency, regard being had to the peculiar circumstances of the country. The right honourable and gallant gentleman congratulated the Secretary for War upon the success of the Volunteer movement, which he described as a "magnificent army," but he expressed an ear- nest hope that it would not be allowed to supersede the old constitutional reserve of the kingdom. Mr. JOHN Loam advocated the claims of the artificers of the Land Transport Corps, organized during the Crimean war, for the non-fulfil- ment of the conditions upon which their services had been enlisted. Mr. DzEnrs, reverting to the subject mentioned by Major Edwards, said that the impression out of doors with regard to the Yeomanry Ca- valry was, that the War Department intended to show hostility to the frequent training of that corps.

Sir Da LACY EVANS brought under notice the recent appointment of General Sir Charles Grey to the Colonelc7 of the Third Buffs, and in- vited the Secretary for War to state the cause of that particular dis- tinction. He was not prepared to deny that General Grey had renderd important services as Private Secretary to the Prince Consort, but these were not military services. The late Lord Raglan had laid it down that. distinguished services in the field constituted the first claim to that mili- tary preferment of which. General Grey had become the subject—that services in the colonies gave the next claim, and services chiefly at home the last. But this wise regulation had been set at nought in the present case, although there were fourteen general officers senior to General Grey, who had seen a great deal of service, and who had commanded brigades and divisions in the Crimea. It bad been said, as a justification for the appointment, that the gallant general had offered to serve in the Crimea ; but so had every other general officer; and unless that offer was followed up by action, as in the ease of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who threw up his lucrative office of Secretary for Ireland to join a foreign ex- pedition, it really amounted to nothing all. The appointment of General Grey had given rise to a great deal of dissatisfaction out of doors ; and if such nominations continued to be made, it might become a question with Parliament whether so large a number of Colonelcies should be maintained.

At the close of his speech, he contended that our force at home is in- -sufficient for defensive purposed, and in a most unsatisfactory state, being composed of depots made up of recruits.

Mr. Annsatunr raised the question of Colonial defences on the basis of a recent report on the subject. His argument was that 4,000,0001. could be saved at once if the colonies were made responsible for their own de- fence.

For 150 years English colonies maintained their own defence, externally and internally, without any assistance from the mother country. The pro-

vincial militia of the American Continent met the regular armies of France, Spain, and Holland, and not only defeated them, but added to the territory of the Crown ; and yet it is now argued whether the colonies are bound to maintain their own internal defence ! Lord ROBERT CECIL expressed himself in favour of extending protec- tion to the colonies, and instanced the Cape colony, where, he stated, a

number of independent or republican States had been created, contrary to the wish of the colonists, and against which the Imperial Government was bound to provide some protection. He deprecated any suggestions which would have the effect of weaning the colonies from the mother country.. Mr. CILICRESTER, PORTESCUE agreed with the observations which had fallen from the last speaker, and said that the reason for keeping up a military force in the colonies was not the problematic risk of a great Eu-

ropean war, but the danger which might ensue from the pressure of hos- tilities with formidable native tribes. Mr. WILLIAMS apprehended that the country must have lost its " pluck " to have abandoned itself to a fear of foreign invasion when 140,000 men were enrolled for the regular army, and the other defences, including the volunteers, amounted to 200,000 more. He saw no reason why the Bri- fish colonies should not provide the means of their own defence in the same manner as the Dutch colonies.

Sir CHARLES NAPIER replied to Mr. Williams, and assured him that the country was by no means too much defended, as the army was not sufficient, while the naval force was far too limited. Sir LAWRENCE PALK censured the Government for having delayed the defences of the country, and urged the necessity of at once communicating to the House what works they proposed to undertake, and how they con- templated meeting the expenditure. It was half-past ten o'clock before the interrogating Members had all ceased to speak. Then the Secretary for War made answer. Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT defended the course pursued towards the yeo- manry. The Government place a high value upon them, and do not in- tend to discourage them; but, pressed to provide materiel, ho had been glad to avail himself of every resource. Then he turned to the questions of Sir John Trelawny.

"The honourable baronet behind me has referred to exchanges of officers from the Guards to regiments of the Line ; I know that of late years the Guards have been very severely dealt with, and no one is more responsible for that than myself, for I felt it my duty on former occasions to deal with great severity towards the Guards. But just look at the difference which the warrant of 1864 has made. Before that time, the Guards, having al- ways a step in army rank in advance of the Line, and in attaining by brevets the rank of major-general, they did occupy a position in the list of major- generals quite disproporlioned to their number. But the warrant of 18.54 did away with all that. It is true they can exchange into the Line, but how seldom do you find that done, unless under very exceptional reasons ? A lieutenant-colonel of the Line is qualified to become a full colonel, but if he exchanges with a lieutenant-colonel of the Guards he is qualified for nothing. That has made a very great difference with regard to these exchanges, and the gallant officer opposite has written an able pamph- let, in which he complains of the effect of the change which has taken place. I feel, therefore, that when speaking of this an- cient corps, many of whose special privileges have been taken from them during the last few years, and when I recollect that I have been the instru- ment of doing things that have pressed hardly upon them, I am bound to say something for them. . . . . I was asked by the honourable baronet whether or not aides-de-camp were subjected to examination. I have to reply that, not only are they subjected to examination, but to one of some importance, and which exceeds in extent that of almost any other country in the world. They are examined, not on niilitasy matters only, but in lan- guages and other accomplishments. I find that in Prusim, for example, which is the most examining country in the world, and where there is an al- most pedantic adherence to theoretical tests, them is no examination for aides-de-camp. It is, however, strictly carried out with us, and I believe it is attended with very great advantages." After commenting upon a point of military administration raised by Colonel Lindsay, of an abstruse kind, Mr. Herbert touched on the question of colonial defences.

" I will not now enter upon the subject of colonial defences introduced by the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Adderley)—a subject of all others re- quiring the most careful, deliberate, and delicate handling. It would be taken very ill in the colonies if the Government, without consulting them and giving them an opportunity of pointing out any exueptional circum- stances, were to announce that they were going to apply a Procrustean rule to them as to the payment by them of the expenses of colonial defences. We have the advantage of the labours of the cominittee,and the very clear and able rule they have laid down, and on the other hand, we have the exceptions taken by one of the Committee to some of the opinions in the report. If the world were ruled by logic the arguments might be very good, but men have feelings and passions which must be taken into consideration, and upon no subject is it more necessary to act with care and caution than upon one so largely appealing to the interests, feelings, and hopes of the different colonies that compose our colonial empire." In reference to the claims of the Land Transport Corps, they had been considered by a Committee of the House, which had reported that there had been no infringement of the agreement en- tered into prior to the enlistment of the officers and the men, and in that conclusion he entirely concurred. Finally, he spoke of the appointment of Sir Charles Grey to the 3d Buffs, and defended it, on the ground that Gene- ral Grey, so far from never having been out of Hyde Park, as had been al- leged, had commanded the 71st Regiment for nine years in Canada. During the entire time that General Grey was in the army there were only two fo- reign expeditious, one to Portugal and the other to Quebec, and he hap- pened to he in both. The appointment of the gallant General rested with the Secretary for War ; but it had been approved by the Commander-in-chief, —not because he had accepted a Court place, but because his previous mili- tary services and standing entitled him to it. He considered it would be most unjust to put a black mark against an officer's name because he held employment in connexion with the Court, and he thought it would have been mean, shabby, and cowardly if he had refused General Grey the pro- fessional reward to which his previous services and military status entitled Mr. Drsuarne said that he had no particular predilections in favour of General Grey, as that gallant officer had many years ago defeated him in three contested elections, At the same time he could not bring himself to the conclusion that persons in the position of General Grey were to be deprived of the fair rewards of their profession because they had been selected to offices in the Royal household. If this principle were to be adopted, a very inferior class of military men would be found about the person of the Sovereign and the other members of the Royal family. The House then went into committee of supply, and a supplemental vote was taken for 1907 officers and men for the army ; also a vote of 3,236,701/. for pay and allowances of land forces at home and abroad. The CHAIRMAN then reported progress.