able Committee. Now, with regard to ments which had now scarlet uniforms the question of esprit de corps, he (the were converted into Rifles or kilted regiEarl of Morley) was far from under-ments, the Secretary of State for War valuing the importance of esprit de corps would be prepared to give the officers in the Army. It was a sentiment which some pecuniary assistance, the amount he honoured and respected in the highest of which was now being considered. degree, and one to which as little While speaking of the officers, he would violence as possible should be done. point out that in double-battalion regiBut respect for this sentiment might ments they had this not inconsiderable be carried a little too far, if it were advantage-they could, if they wished, allowed to prohibit any changes of or- exchange from the home to the foreign ganization which were, in other respects, battalion, or vice versa, without losing for the good of the Army at large. their places in the regimental list; Moreover, he would ask whether these whereas, if an officer exchanged from changes would, as the noble Lord fore- one regiment to another, he was placed told, destroy all esprit de corps in the invariably at the bottom of his rank Army? He should be extremely sorry in his new regiment. He had lis to think that these anticipations would tened attentively to the speech of the be realized. Every effort had been made noble Lord, and had not heard an to preserve, in each case, the badges argument which proved that the singleand distinctions in which the various re- battalion organization was better suited giments felt a just and an honourable to the peculiar conditions of the British pride. Every effort had been made to Army than the organization which now associate together regiments which were existed, and which it was proposed connected together by local or other to consolidate. Not one of the defects ties. In some cases, no doubt, a certain which the noble Lord deplored would be amount of self-sacrifice would be re- met by the retrogressive policy which he quired; but these cases had been proposed. It might be argued that brought within the narrowest possible an organization of regiments, consisting limits; and even if in these cases the of three or four battalions, would be old associations were, for a time, weak- more elastic and capable of adapting ened, he hoped and believed that, in itself to sudden emergencies than a process of time, an enlarged esprit de double-battalion system; but to contract corps would grow up in the territorial regiments to a single battalion, resting, regiments which it was now proposed when abroad, on its own depôt, would, to create. Many persons, he was aware, he maintained, be a step in the wrong considered this a fanciful theory. A direction. Such a course would render sentiment of this kind could not be it impossible to carry into effect the new created in a day; but even now, though system of supporting our Indian and the local system was as yet scarcely in Colonial Army, which he (the Earl of thorough operation, experience showed Morley) had explained on a previous that this enlarged esprit de corps was occasion. The object of this new system being gradually formed. In the Appen- was, as far as possible, to insure the Indix to the last Report of the Inspector dian Government that the men sent out General of Recruiting would be found to them would serve in that country for the answers of 64 colonels commanding a full term of seven years. The effidepôts to the question-“ Is a local con- ciency of the Indian Army would thus nection beginning to establish itself?" be promoted, and a very considerable Fifty-four of these officers gave affirma- economy would be effected-a matter of tive answers, and only five directly ne- very great importance. It would be gative answers. That could not but be effected by retaining the battalions for regarded as highly satisfactory. The a longer period in India, and supplying noble Lord referred to the expense their deficiency by annual drafts, rather which would devolve on officers in con- than by relieving a large number of sequence of changes of uniform. On battalions. He had already shown that that subject he (the Earl of Morley) by reducing the number of battalions could only say that arrangements would annually sent abroad as reliefs from eight be made to render this expense as light to four the constitution of the Army at as possible; and in cases where regi- home would also be improved. It would, The Earl of Morley cretary of State for War had many good points, which deserved a fair trial, and that trial would have been given it in the most complete manner if the linked regiments had been left together, and not changed into territorial regiments, which, he maintained, entirely subverted the regimental plan upon which the British Army had been successfully based in the past. He did not believe that the territorial system would succeed, and he thought it was a step which might hereafter have to be retraced; but the responsibility meantime must rest with the Government, and he would advise his noble Friend not to divide the House on the question. in these circumstances, be much easier to keep the regiments first on the roster up to their full strength, ready for any sudden emergency, without suddenly pouring into their ranks a large number of young and half-trained recruits, a course which obviously diminished their efficiency. The system which he was now advocating would, he believed, at the same time, facilitate our foreign reliefs, and would tend to improve the constitution of the home and foreign Army. It would promote the union which it was most desirable to establish between the Regular and Auxiliary Forces; it would stimulate recruiting throughout the country, and would, by degrees, form an enlarged esprit de corps in the territorial regiments, without obliterating the associations which these regiments cherished. If these proposed changes were for the good of the Army at large, even though at first they might be at variance with the feelings of some individuals, he could, with confidence, rely on the public spirit and patriotism of officers and men to accept them, and to assist loyally in carrying them into effect. VISCOUNT BURY urged his noble Friend behind him (the Earl of Galloway) to be content with the expression of opinion which he had elicited from the Government, and not to push his Motion to a division, especially as the House was almost empty, and as the changes referred to were actually being carried into effect under a General Order recently issued. There were, no doubt, several noble Lords who would have liked to address the House on this subject; but other occasions would certainly arise on which they would be able to do so. For his own part, he would only point out, in reference to the speech they had just heard, that while the noble Earl assumed that existing defects in the organization of the Army were about to be remedied, the adoption of the territorial system would not in the least help them to attain that end. The great difficulty was to obtain men. By the new system they would not get any greater number. Another difficulty was -seeing that there were to be 71 battalions at home and 70 abroad-that the dislocation of any single battalion would dislocate the whole. The new territorial system would dislocate them in exactly the same way. The scheme of the Se THE EARL OF NORTHBROOK remarked, that the noble Viscount (Viscount Bury) had not correctly appreciated the remarks of his noble Friend (the Earl of Morley). The system of territorial regiments was not an invention of the present Government, but had been handed down to them from their Predecessors in Office; and he was surprised at the objections raised to it by the noble Viscount, because it was the recommendation of Colonel Stanley, the late Secretary of State for War, under whom the noble Viscount had served. As regarded the difficulty of meeting Colonial wars, their Lordships ought to bear in mind that it was not upon the territorial system alone, or indeed principally, that the Government relied. The development of that system was only one of a series of measures which had been introduced by the present Secretary of State for War; and it should be remembered in these discussions that we were now in a much better position as regarded Reserves than we had ever been previously. He agreed with the noble Viscount that it would be inconvenient to prolong the debate, and would only add that their Lordships might rely upon the Secretary of State for War endeavouring to meet the various difficulties of the situation to the best of his ability, and that he would do his best to preserve the esprit de corps of the regiments. LORD AIREY did not complain of the course which the Government had pursued in adopting their own scheme in preference to that recommended by the Committee over which he presided; but he thought that there were just grounds for complaining that the Government had unduly delayed the publication of their Report. He believed that if it had been produced sooner, the system would have been different from what it was now. He had great doubts whether the present system was anything more than an experiment. LORD CHELMSFORD said, he had intended to speak upon this Motion; but, looking at the state of the House, he would reserve what he had to say to a future occasion. Too much stress had been laid upon the Committee over which Colonel Stanley presided having recommended the formation of territorial regiments. The double-battalion system had not at that time been tried and failed. The weak point of the system was that when the home battalion acted as a feeder to the one abroad, it became absolutely unfit to be employed on active service. It would require about 600, or even 700, Reserve men to bring it up to war strength; and it would consequently be some time before a battalion so composed could possibly be fit to take the field. THE EARL OF GALLOWAY protested against the doctrine that if a civilian met a soldier in the street he was not at liberty to inquire of him how he liked the Service, his regiment, and his uniform. Motion (by leave of the House) with drawn. House adjourned at half past Eight o'clock, till To-morrow, half past Ten o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Monday, 16th May, 1881. MINUTES.]—WAYS AND MEANS-considered in Committee-Resolutions [May 13] reported. PUBLIC BILLS Leave Church Patronage (No. 2) [House counted out]. Second Reading-Local Government Provisional Orders (Askern, &c.) * [152]; Land Law (Ireland) [135]-[Seventh Night]—debate further adjourned. Second Reading-Referred to Select CommitteeLocal Courts of Bankruptcy (Ireland) [164]. Committee Petty Sessions Clerks (Ireland) [41]-R.P. Lord Airey QUESTIONS ARMY-COMPETITIVE EXAMINA. TIONS. MR. RYLANDS asked the Secretary of State for War, Whether his attention has been directed to the following facts disclosed by the Return of March 24th relative to First Commissions in the Army-namely, that during the years 1879 and 1880, 1,630 young men qualified for First Commissions in the Army before the Civil Service Commissioners at the open Competitive Examinations; that only 448 of these successful Candidates at the open Competitive Examinations obtained First Commissions in the Army during 1879 and 1880; whilst 423 First Commissions in the Army were given to Militia Officers during the same period; whether he can state the number of young men who, having been unsuccessful in open Competitive Examinations, received First Commissions in the Army as Militia Officers, or otherwise, during the years 1879 and 1880; and, whether he is prepared to take any steps to prevent the continuance of the state of things which appears in the abovementioned Return to have existed during the years 1879 and 1880? MR. CHILDERS: Sir, I have paid especial attention for some time past to the subject of the Return to which my hon. Friend refers. It is most important and instructive; but, whether from the language of the Return or not, he has been led into some misconcep tion of the facts. The 1,630 young men who qualified for first commissions in the Army in 1879 and 1880 were not all successful candidates at the open competitions. All the successful candidates have obtained, or are in course of being given, commissions, and they are the 448 for the year 1879-80 to which my hon. Friend refers in his Question. All the Militia officers who obtained commissions are included among the 1,630 who qualified in 1879 and 1880, or among those who qualified in previous years, or have qualified by passing an equivalent examination before the Civil Service Commissioners as University candidates. What is unsatisfactory to my mind is the very large number of commissions granted to Militia officers. But for this in 1879-80 there were two suffering from the effects of his arduous mission, his health will in all probability be completely restored should he be granted leave for a further six months, such additional leave will be granted to him, instead of his being placed on halfpay, owing to his present and temporary inability to perform active service in India? reasons-the first, that in previous years the number assigned to the Militia (120), under the system of nomination by colonels, had not been made up; and the second, that the vacancies in the Army were made abnormally large in those two years by the Afghan and Cape Wars. On the other hand, Sandhurst can only turn out a limited number of qualified cadets every year, so that the balance had to be made good from the Militia, and the substitution of competition among the whole of the subalterns of the Militia justified a larger number of appointments from this source. For the future, under the Army Re-organization arrangements which I have explained to the House, a smaller number of commissions by 50 will be granted annually, and even this reduced number will not be appointed after 1882, until gradually the Establishment has been brought down. The proportion given to Sandhurst-that is to say, to virtually open competition-will be much larger than in 1879-80. CENTRAL ASIA-CAPTAIN BUTLER'S MISSION. MR. LABOUCHERE asked the Secretary of State for India, Whether, in the year 1877, Captain Butler, of the 9th Regiment, was secretly ordered by Lord Lytton, then Viceroy of India, to proceed to the Perso-Turkoman Frontier, with a view of surveying the Turkoman land from the Caspian Sea to Merv; whether he was directed by Lord Lytton and by Mr. Thornton (the then Indian Foreign Secretary) to arrange to be in a position to raise the Turkoman Tribes in case of a War with Russia; whether he was specially directed to conceal the object of his mission from all the home authorities, from Her Majesty's Minister at Teheran, and from the English officials at Meshed; whether a Report of Captain Butler, as to his proceedings in the Turkoman land, was sent by him to the Indian Foreign Office on his return from his mission; and, if so, whether there is any objection to lay the same upon the Table of the House; and, also, whether, considering that Captain Butler's health greatly suffered, owing to the hardships incurred during his mission, and that in consequence of this he was granted sick leave for eighteen months, and that his medical advisers inform him that, although still VOL. CCLXI. [THIRD SERIES.] "Gain information as to the state of affairs among the Merv Turkomans, and the geography and resources of the valley of the Murghab, without compromising Government," and some pecuniary assistance was given him for this object. These Papers do not contain any evidence that Captain Butler was directed to "arrange to be in a position to raise the Turkomans in case of a war with Russia; " but, on the contrary, directly refute any such idea. It appears that Captain Butler's mission was to be undertaken at his own risk and responsibility, and that he was to make his journey as an ordinary unofficial traveller. He was ordered not to go to Teheran, chiefly on account of representations from himself that if his presence in Persia, and the object of his mission were known, difficulties might be thrown in his way by the Persian authorities. Captain Butler submitted to the Indian authorities, through the Quartermaster General, a Report of his travels on the Northern Frontier of Persia. Official information received from other sources by the Government of India has thrown considerable doubt on the accuracy of Captain Butler's Report of his proceedings. The Report itself does not contain any information of a valuable character; and, if published, would have to be accompanied by a large mass of Correspondence which would serve no useful purpose; and I do not, therefore, think it necessary to lay it on the Table. As to the latter part of the hon. Member's Question, I can only say that the matter of additional leave to Captain Butler is one entirely for the consideration of the Field Marshal Commanding in Chief, in regard to which I see no ground for interfer T ence on the part of the Secretary of State for India. LUNATIC ASYLUMS (IRELAND)-LIMERICK ASYLUM-PAUPER LUNATICS. MR. O'SHAUGHNESSY asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, If it is not true that the rates of the City of Limerick have lately become charged with the maintenance in the Limerick Lunatic Asylum of several persons, not natives or inhabitants of the city, who, being prisoners in the Limerick District Prison, were transferred thence on account of mental derangement to the Limerick Lunatic Asylum, and several soldiers enlisted in the city, who, having become mentally deranged in the service, were transferred from Netley to the Limerick Lunatic Asylum; and, whether he will take into consideration the desirability of compelling the place in which a pauper lunatic, admitted to a lunatic asylum, shall have been usually resident, to contribute to his maintenance and treatment in such asylum? MR. W. E. FORSTER, in reply, said, the Inspector of Lunatic Asylums reported to him that two soldiers who had been confined in the Limerick District Prison, and who had become insane, were transferred to the Asylum for the county, in which they now remain. Only one soldier had been sent from Netley to the Limerick Asylum, and he was a native of the county. It would be very difficult to carry out what was recommended by a general rule; but, in individual cases, the matter might be arranged by the Inspector of Asylums, as was done in this case. STATE OF IRELAND-INFLAMMATORY PLACARDS THE IRISH CONSTABU LARY. MR. HEALY asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether the following paragraph from the "Enniscorthy Guardian " of the 7th instant is correct: "On Wednesday an affair took place in Enniscorthy which perhaps was the most unwarrantable stretch of authority ever attempted. In two or three places placards, a copy of which is given below, were posted on the walls. No sooner had these caught the eye of the vigilant constabulary than they at once tore them down. This was repeated twice: The Marquess of Hartington "Wexfordmen! assemble in your thousands at the Court-house, Wexford, on Friday next, the 6th instant, at two o'clock, to witness landlordism degraded, to the collection of unjust rent through the sheriff, and to see the resources of Buckshot Forster liberally supplied for what he himself denounced as the enforcement of injustice. Contingents will attend from the va rious branches of the Land League. The land for the people. God save Ireland;’" whether the police admitted they tore down the placards by order of the head constable; and, whether the Government sanction such proceedings; and, if not, what notice has been taken of the matter? MR. W. E. FORSTER: Yes; I understand that the placard in question was pulled down by special order of the head constable; and I think that the head constable acted perfectly right. MR. HEALY asked, under what statute the head constable had acted; and, whether anybody else tearing down placards would not have been liable to be prosecuted? MR. O'DONNELL asked, whether the reason why the right hon. Gentleman approved of the head constable's conduct was because the words "Buckshot Forster" appeared on the placard? MR. HEALY, after a short pause, asked, whether the right hon. Gentleman intended to reply? MR. W. E. FORSTER: Sir, it appears to be thought that it is a matter of necessity and duty that Gentlemen sitting on this (the Treasury) Bench should give a reply to every Question put to them. There is no necessity for that. A Question must be answered according to the way in which it is asked, and at the discretion of those to whom it is put. This Question is manifestly for the purpose of insult. There is no more reason why a person in my position should be called on to answer it than am perfectly ready to meet any charge any other person. I only state that I that may be brought against me with regard to those placards. ["Oh!"] MR. HEALY begged to move the adjournment of the House. As the right hon. Gentleman seemed to think he had put the Question to insult him, he only wished to disclaim any such intention. He must explain that his attention had been called by a resolution of the Land League branch to the matter, and he was asked to put the |