HOUSE OF COMMONS, MINUTES.] Monday, May 4, 1846. PUBLIC BILLS.-1°. Corn Importation; Rating of Tenements. 2o. Poor Removal. PETITIONS PRESENTED. By several hon. Members, from various places, for Better Observance of the Lord's Day. which had the power of making advances for the execution of public works, on due security being given for repayment, and at a certain rate of interest. He conceived that any railway company desirous of obtaining a loan of money ought to apply to that Board, specifying the nature of the security they could give; and the Board had the power, if satisfied with the security, of making the advance. He was sure the vour of the Appointment of a Bishop to the See of Man- hon. Baronet would see that it was imposchester. By Mr. Feilden, from Merchants, Manufac-sible for him (Sir R. Peel) to give a geneturers, and other Inhabitants of the Town and Neigh-ral assurance with respect to the encouragement of all railway schemes in Ireland. The hon. Gentleman had said, that the shareholders in these companies were not prepared to come forward and pay up the calls. against the Union of Saint Asaph and Bangor, but in fa bourhood of Blackburn, in favour of the proposed Measure respecting Customs and Corn Importation.-By Mr. Allix, and Mr. Fuller, from Guardians of the Poor of the Wisbech and Cuckfield Unions, for Rating Owners in lieu of Occupiers of Tenements.-By several hon. Members, from various places, for Repeal or Alteration of the Lunatic Asylums and Pauper Lunatics Act.-By Mr. Hastie, from Members and Adherents of Free South Congregation, Paisley, complaining of Refusal to grant Sites for Churches to the Free Church (Scotland).-By Mr. Wales, for the Admission of Australian Corn on the same Cromarty, against the Corn Importation Bill.-By Mr. Hume, from Shipowners of Whitby and Glasgow, for Re duction of Tolls on Lighthouses.-By Mr. Butler, from John Dillon, for Inquiry.-By Dr. Bowring, from several places, against Enrolment of Militia.-By Lord Charles Manners, from Asfordby, against, and by Mr. Ord, from SIR H. W. BARRON explained that what he stated was, that the companies could only call on the shareholders for the payment of calls in certain proportions, and at stated intervals, generally every three months. All the calls that had been made by Irish companies had been very punctually paid. SIR R. PEEL said, the real difficulty as to the payment of these calls in Ireland arose from the same cause which had pro Newcastle upon Tyne, for Alteration of, the Poor Removal duced similar difficulties in this country Bill. By Mr. George Hamilton, from President and Committee of the Stock Exchange, Dublin, against Alteration of Law respecting Stockbrokers (Ireland). RAILWAYS (IRELAND). SIR H. W. BARRON said, he wished to put a question to the right hon. Baronet. Several of the Irish railway companies had, he believed, made applications to Government for pecuniary advances, to enable them to proceed with their works, on the ground that their Acts of Parliament prevented them from making calls upon their shareholders, except at certain intervals and at long periods. Some of the companies, especially those whose lines would pass through the most distressed districts, had pressed upon the Government the necessity of advancing them a portion of the capital they were empowered to raise, in anticipation of their calls, on proper security being given, and subject to the payment of interest. He wished to ask, whether the Government were prepared to make any such advances to these companies to enable them to afford employment to the people in the distressed districts of Ireland? SIR R. PEEL was not prepared to give any general assurances as to advances for the execution of railway works in Ireland. A Board had been constituted, known as the Exchequer Bills Loan Commissioners, namely, the enormous extent to which railway speculation had been carried, and the consequent effect upon the market. The House had already passed Resolutions, and the provisions of a measure were under consideration, with the object of affording facilities for winding up improvident speculations, at the discretion of the parties concerned in them. The Government must, therefore, be cautious not to counteract the effect of those Resolutions, by undertaking to make advances to railway companies. A company which had completed a certain portion of its line, and had given evidence not only of its solvency, but of the probability that the undertaking would be remunerative, would, he apprehended, have no difficulty in providing satisfactory security; but many companies were prevented from proceeding in consequence of the number of these speculations, and the inability of the shareholders to pay up the calls. He thought, therefore, that any interference in the way of advances, except under special circumstances, and with full justification, would only add to the existing difficulties. He (Sir R. Peel) could not, as he before stated, give any general assurance on this subject. He could only recommend those companies desirous of obtaining an advance of public money to apply PENSIONS TO VISCOUNT HARDINGE Order of the Day for going into Committee of the whole House to consider Her Majesty's Most Gracious Messages was read. House in Committee; and the Royal Messages having been read (see ante, vol. lxxxv, p. 1152), to the Exchequer Bills Loan Commissioners, | Lord Gough; and Her Majesty now invites specifying the nature of the security they the House of Commons to make the provicould offer; and the Commissioners would sion usually made on similar occcasions. I then determine what aid could be given in find it necessary, therefore, to state to the each particular case. House, not merely the services performed by those officers on the late occasions, but those also by which, on former ones, they have sustained the honour and glory of the British name, and the interests of their country. It is now forty-eight years since my noble, gallant, and distinguished Friend, Viscount Hardinge, entered the British service; and in the course of his long military career it has been the good fortune of my gallant Friend to be present at numerous actions in the Peninsula at Roleiça, at Vimiera (where he was wounded), and, under the command of that most gallant, distingushed, and lamented officer, Sir John Moore, during the retreat to Corunna, and at the battle of Corunna. At the battle of Corunna, at an early period of his life, Captain Hardinge was near Sir John Moore when that gallant officer received his deathwound upon the field. Of Lord Hardinge it is said, by the eloquent historian of the Peninsular campaign, when describing the battle of Corunna, that Captain Hardinge, a staff officer, who was near Sir John Moore, attempted to take off his sword, part of the belt of which had entered the deep wound in his shoulder made by the cannon shot by which he was struck; that Captain Hardinge proposed to Sir John to unbuckle the sword, that the torment it contributed to cause might be relieved; but that Sir John Moore stopped him with this affecting speech, "It is as well as it is. I had rather it should go out of the field with me. The historian adds that, in this manner, so becoming a soldier, Sir John Moore was borne from the field, refusing to part with his sword in the moment of death. After the battle of Corunna Sir H. Hardinge was present at the passage of the Douro, at the battle of Busaco, in the lines of Torres Vedras, at the battle of Albuera, at the three sieges of Badajoz, at the siege and capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, at Salamanca, at Vittoria, where he was severely wounded, at Pampeluna, at the battles of the Pyrenees, at Nivelle, at Nive, and at Orthez. The House will remember that my gallant Friend was at Ligny, two days before the battle of Wa terloo, and he was only prevented from taking his share in that great action by the severe wounds he received at the battle of Ligny. This House cannot forget what a distinguished part my gallant Friend SIR R. PEEL said: Mr. Speaker, it has been my duty so recently, on two separate occasions, to attempt to do justice to the distinguished services and merits of the officers who are the immediate subjects of these Messages from the Crown, and not only to them, but to all the officers and men, European and Native, who served under their command, that I conceive it would be an unwarrantable trespass on the time of the House, if, on this third occasion, I were to call the attention of the House specially to the distinguished services they have rendered in the campaign on the banks of the Sutlej. On those occasions, the House, by a unanimous vote, assented to the Resolutions which I had the honour of proposing. The House gave a convincing proof how deeply it felt the extent and the value of those services, by the ready and unanimous assent which it accorded to the Resolution, that a Vote of Thanks should be given to those distinguished officers; and I allude to the recorded Vote of the House as a reason why I should not again attempt to describe their actions, rather than venture to recapitulate them. But, Sir, this Message from the Crown not only alludes to the triumphant services of Viscount Hardinge and of Lord Gough in the late victorious campaign of the Sutlej; but it also states that Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to recommend this House to adopt such measures as will enable Her Majesty to confer upon them some signal mark of Her favour for their distinguished services upon other occasions. Perhaps, then, the House will permit me to allude to those services which Viscount Hardinge and Lord Gough have performed for their country in other campaigns than the recent one upon the banks of the Sutlej. Her Majesty has been graciously pleased, in return for all those services, to confer the honour of the British Peerage on Viscount Hardinge and 66 took in the battle of Albuera; and it is | Sir, it was the recollection of such an exploit, possible that he learned in that action what it was the experience of such desperate vaconfidence could be justly placed in the lour, that, I have no doubt, induced Sir H. desperate valour of British soldiers. It is Hardinge and Sir H. Gough never to deprobable even that the recollection of the spond, whatever might be the disparity of battle of Albuera, and of the change in numbers, and the skill and valour of their the fortunes of that day, accomplished opponents; but, relying on the energy of chiefly through the valour of the British the British infantry they had under their infantry, may have induced my gallant command, they felt assured of the ultimate Friend to persevere under all discourage- success of their arms. So much for the ments in his latter and equally glorious services of my gallant Friend Sir H. Harbattles, and to place a just and never dis- dinge. As I said before, he has now comappointed confidence in the enduring valour pleted forty-eight years of military service. of the British troops. The same gallant The career of that other gallant officer historian to whom I have referred, speaking whom Her Majesty has elevated to the of the battle of Albuera, states that there British Peerage has not been less distinwere many circumstances which might guished. For fifty-two years has Lord have made the most gallant men in the Gough served in the British army; and no British army despond, and, referring to a one would have supposed from the vigour, period of the fight when an attack was the energy, and the heroism of his conduct, made upon a French division posted on an that fifty-two years of active service could eminence formidable for the purpose of de- have passed over his head. Sir Hugh fence, he says— Gough was at the capture of the Cape of Good Hope, at the attack on Porto Rico, and at the capture of Surinam. During the Peninsular war he commanded the 87th Regiment at Talavera, where he was severely wounded; he was present at Barossa, at Vittoria, at Nivelle, where he was also severely wounded; at the sieges of Cadiz and at Tarifa. During the period of European peace he had still an opportunity of distinguishing himself in his country's service-an opportunity he never neglected. He commanded the British army at Canton, and directed nearly all the operations in China. He was with the right wing of the army of Gwalior, which fought and gained the battle of Maharajpore. These are the services rendered by that gallant officer previous to the late campaign on the Sutlej, where he was Commander in Chief of the army. It would be presumptuous in me to attempt to do justice to his signal services. I believe he is known to the British army as a man of the most heroic valour, and that his valour and skill inspire confidence in all those whom he commands. I will not speak merely of his valour and his skill: these are admitted by all who are acquainted with the history of our Peninsular and Indian wars. But, I must take this opportunity of placing upon Myers was killed; Cole himself, and Colonels Ellis, Blakeney, and Hawkshawe fell, badly wounded, and the whole brigade, struck by the iron tempest, reeled and staggered like sinking ships. Suddenly recovering, however,' says Colonel Ñapier, in strains of sublime military eloquence, they closed on their terrible enemy; and then was seen with what a strength and majesty the British soldier fights. In vain did Soult by voice and gesture animate his Frenchmen; in vain did the har diest veterans, extricating themselves from the crowded column, sacrifice their lives to gain time and space for the mass to open out on such a fair field; in vain did the mass itself bear up, and, fiercely striving, fire indiscriminately on friends and foes, while the horsemen hovering on the flanks, threatened to charge the advancing line. Nothing could stop that astonishing infantry. No sudden burst of undisciplined valour; no nervous enthusiasm weakened the stability of their order: their flashing eyes were bent on the dark columns in their front; their measured tread shook the ground; their dreadful volleys swept away the head of every formation; their deafening shouts overpowered the dissonant cries that broke from all parts of the tumultuous crowd, as foot by foot, and with a horrid carnage, it was driven by the incessant vigour of the attack to the furthest edge of the hill. In vain did the French reserves, joining with the struggling multitude, endeavour to sustain the fight; their efforts only increased the irremediable confusion, and the mighty mass, length giving way like a loosened cliff, went head long down the ascent." at This is a description worthy of the scene; a description that could only have been written by a man of great eloquence, and of great experience in the art of war. But the historian proceeds: "The rain flowed after in streams discoloured with blood, and 1,500 unwounded men, the remnant of 6,000 unconquerable British soldiers, stood triumphant on the fatal hill!” record an instance of his devotion to the service of his country, which he, probably, little thought would ever be mentioned I conceive to be at least as honourable to within the walls of Parliament, but which him as any services he has rendered in the field. After the termination of the Chinese civil government and military command at Madras may fully meet the expectations of the Government-I have, &c., campaign, Lord Gough was nominated to the command of the forces in Madras. It was thought expedient, at a period subsequent to "H. GOUGH, Lieutenant-General, his nomination to this command, that the "Commanding Expeditionary Land Force." military and civil command should be united This, in my opinion, is one of the most in the hands of one person-that person creditable letters ever written by a military having the advantage of previous personal man, and proved, I think, that the writer communication with Her Majesty's servants. was worthy of a higher trust than that of Lord Tweeddale was selected for the go- Commander at Madras. I trust that these vernment of Madras; and, as I have said, instances of apparent self-sacrifice and of it being thought desirable in the circum- devotion to the true interests of the milistances in which that presidency was then tary service will ever meet with their just placed to unite the military and civil com- rewards; and though Sir Hugh Gough, mands, Lord Tweeddale superseded Lord when he wrote that letter never contemGough in the military command. That plated that a consequence of this might was a severe trial to a British officer-to be his appointment to the chief comone who had just been victorious in China.mand in India, yet I rejoice that such a Now, what was the answer returned by noble devotion to the public service was Lord Gough to the Commander in Chief on its being intimated to him that the public service required the union of the two commands? Many officers would have felt deeply mortified; but I consider the answer of Lord Gough to be so honourable to him, and to set so striking an example of what is the duty of a British soldier under such circumstances as I have mentioned, that I have determined to read to the House the letter written by the gallant officer on that occasion : Head-quarter ship Marion, off Nankin, "My Lord-I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's letter of the 30th of April. However mortifying it may be to me to find myself deprived of the appointment to which I had been so graciously nominated, I beg to assure your Lordship that I bow without repining to any measure that may be considered beneficial to the interests of my country. To serve that country in the higher walks of a profession which I entered as a child, I came to India, and especially to China, and I trust your Lordship will believe, that while my Sovereign considered my services useful, they were, as they ever shall be, freely, and, I hope, energetically rendered; but when they are no longer required, or when the public exigencies in such an important portion of our foreign possessions as Madras are deemed to clash with my individual advantage, I hope I may say that I am one of the last men in the army who would not readily sacrifice self-interest. My graeious Sovereign's unsolicited nomination of me to the chief command at Madras was received by me with thankfulness; and whenever for the furtherance of Her Majesty's service it became expedient to place another in that situation, whether in a single or conjoint capacity, I should not have wished my private interests to stand in the way of the public good. That I feel rather disappointed I cannot deny; but I am not the less grateful to my Sovereign for Her gracious kindness towards me, or the less sincerely and warmly thankful to your Lordship for the renewed proof of kind consideration which your letter conveys. With the earnest and anxious prayer that the union of the followed by a reward to which he has proved himself to be fully entitled. Having thus attempted briefly to recount the services rendered by these distinguished men previous to the late campaign, I have said enough to show that the proposition which I shall submit to the House is not only justified by recent services, but by a long career of military exertion and glory. The proposal which I shall make may not be one commensurate with their merits, but I feel it to be of the utmost importance, that a proposal so made should command the unanimous assent of the House. I am perfectly certain that it would be more agreeable to my gallant Friend, Lord Hardinge, and to that other distinguished officer, whose personal acquaintance I have not the honour to enjoy-I am sure that it would be more acceptable to their feelings that the Minister of the Crown should make a proposition so reasonable and moderate that it should command universal assent, rather than one that might possibly lead to controversy. I shall propose that the annual sum of 3,000l. be granted to Her Majesty out of the Consolidated Fund, to be settled in the most beneficial manner on Lord Hardinge and the two next surviving heirs male of his body. I shall propose also to follow precedents, which I think it is desirable to observe in respect to the rewards of these military services, in order that there may not be the possibility of inviting a contrast. Adopting, then, these precedents as far as practicable, I shall propose that the sum of 2,000l. a year be granted to Lord Gough and to the two next surviving heirs male of his body. I have reason to believe-and it would not be proper to withhold the knowledge from this House-that the East India Company, most wisely and properly, in my opinion, are anx- | ious to mark their sense of the services rendered by Lord Hardinge and Lord Gough, by making every provision for those distinguished men which the charter of the India Company enables them to do. I believe, that without some legislative sanction, and the assent of the Crown, the East India Company cannot make any provision or allowances to the heirs of any one who has rendered services in India; but the India Company are most desirous of making a liberal provision for Lord Hardinge and Lord Gough during their lives. In that case, though on the present occasion I shall feel it my duty to propose the vote in the usual form-namely, that provision be made from the 28th of April for Lord Hardinge and Lord Gough and their two next heirs male, yet in case the India Company should take that course which would be most becoming to them, and consistent with that liberality which they have always evinced in rewarding services rendered in India, and should make provision for life for those two distinguished individuals, then it will be perfectly competent in the House, during the progress of the Bill, to permit the East India Company to have the honour of allotting to Lord Hardinge and Lord Gough for their lives whatever provision the Company may deem suitable to their brilliant services; and in that case the grant of the House of Commons, so far as those two illustrious individuals are concerned, would not take place. I am most anxious that there should be a deep conviction on the part of the House that the proposal I make is so moderate as to command unanimous assent. After the account which I have given of the services of these two distinguished and gallant individuals, I believe that such will be the feeling of the House; and being fully confident in the moderation of my proposal, and in the liberality of the House of Commons, I now move "That the annual sum of 3,000l. be granted to Her Majesty, out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the said Annuity to commence from the 28th day of April, 1846, and to be settled in the most beneficial manner upon Lieutenant General Henry Viscount Hardinge, and the two next surviving heirs male of the body of the said Henry Viscount Hardinge." LORD FRANCIS EGERTON: I have hitherto, for what I considered good reasons, but I must say at the sacrifice of my own inclinations, remained silent when the services of our Indian army have been brought under the notice of the House. I was so when the vote of thanks for the recent victories was unanimously adopted, for I felt that any expressions of mine could but weaken the effect of the eloquence so happily displayed by my right hon. Friend. I felt still more strongly that anything I had to offer must diminish the effect of that sanction from professional authority which these meritorious services obtained elsewhere, when the laudari a laudato was so happily illustrated. The opinion the House has manifested is now upon record, and must remain there as long as history retains the name of that great master of the art of war who has borne testimony to the successful exertions of his pupils, and has thus afforded them their proudest and their best reward. The same feeling of selfdistrust would induce me on this occasion to give my silent but hearty concurrence in the present most reasonable and moderate proposal, if I were not at this moment under an influence I cannot control, to express my earnest desire that it may be possible to introduce into the category of reward another distinguished name that of the conqueror of Aliwal. Putting aside for a moment, and as far as it is possible, the consideration of other victories, I believe that we must go to the annals of Sir Henry Smith's great master in the military art for a specimen of such a felicitous combination of foresight and strategy which rendered his achievement so teres atque rotundus, if I may so apply the expression. We must look not merely to the apparent success of the enemy at the ford of Hurekee, but go further back, and do justice to the wise calculation which, even through the semblance of temporary discomfiture, amid insecure allies and barbarous foes, could look forward with calm confidence and resolute patience to that great victory which he subsequently achieved. It has fallen to the lot of scarcely any individual to pass through so long and so unostentatious a career, and to terminate it by a result so judicious in its conduct, so brilliant in its execution, and so important in its consequences. It has received the great reward of the thanks of Parliament; and I must say, that while speaking, I feel the inconvenience and embarrassment that may ensue if Gentlemen come forward with claims founded on high services, but estimated by personal regard and private friendship. On this account, if I had the slightest acquaintance with Sir Henry Smith, or even with his friends — if I |