diseased. The crop of Indian corn in the United States was abundant; and he hoped that that circumstance, combined with the exertions of the Government, and the assistance which, no doubt, would be rendered by the Irish landlords, would tend to mitigate the effects of the impending calamity. All the accounts of the distress which prevailed in Ireland had been accompanied with the gratifying assurance that the people in general had evinced the greatest patience and most peaceable disposition under all these trying circumstances; and that the clergy of all denominations, Roman Catholic and Protestant, had used their best efforts to check that spirit of exaggeration and panic which, if spread abroad, might lead to the most evil consequences.

Among the subjects which engaged the attention of Parliament during the latter part of its session was that of military reform. Public interest had lately been excited in this direction by the circumstance of a private who had been flogged under sentence of a court-martial having shortly afterwards died; though whether solely or partially, in consequence of his punishment, was a matter of much controversy both of medical and popular opinion. However, the consideration of flogging naturally led to inquiry respecting other points of military discipline and treatment, and an opinion, that the condition of the soldier required investigation and reform, began to gain strength. Captain Layard gave expression to this prevailing tendency in the public mind, by a motion which came on for discussion in the House of Commons on the 3rd August, to this effect:

"That an humble Address be

presented to Her Majesty, praying that she will be graciously pleased to direct inquiry to be made how far the reduction of the period of service in the army from the present unlimited term would tend to procure a better class of recruits, diminish desertion, and thus add to the efficiency of the service."

In support of his argument, Captain Layard quoted a number of returns. From one of these it appeared, that the desertions in Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland, in the years 1842, 1843, and 1844, amounted to 7,537. Of these deserters, 4,638 had been retaken or had given themselves up, and 2,899 remained unaccounted for. From another return it was shown, that for the five years ending 1844-5, 17,0207. had been paid for the apprehension, subsistence, and escort of deserters; and that 54,500l. had been paid for the maintenance of men in confinement. Another return stated, that from the 1st of January, 1839, to the 31st December, 1843, 3,355 men had undergone corporal punishment. But the most astounding fact of all was, that during the same period 28,190 committals to prison had taken place. Captain Layard also stated a number of particulars, showing the sufferings men will undergo to escape from the service. In the cavalry; the cases of suicide were found to amount to one in every twenty deaths, or nearly 1,000 of the strength per annum. Soldiers often maimed themselves to obtain their discharge, or else became convicts. Captain Layard suggested a plan for obviating the objection, that a very considerable expense would be incurred by sending home men from foreign places at the expiration of their service.

employed in building bridges and making roads, the cultivation of the land might be neglected.

The Marquis of Lansdowne, in reply to a remark about the tendency of the measure to establish a system of out-door relief, stated that the Government did not intend to lay the foundation of any such system, their conviction being that it would be peculiarly mischievous in Ireland.

The Bill then went through Committee.

The melancholy prospects of a famine in Ireland, which the now ascertained failure in the potato crop too clearly indicated, became the subject of further comment in Parliament on several occasions.

The Earl of Roden made a forcible appeal, previous to the adjournment for the recess, to the sympathies of the House, and to the humanity and patriotism of Irish landlords, in behalf of the suffering but resigned people.

He could speak of the calamity from personal observation. He had traversed a great part of the province of Munster, and he was not guilty of any exaggeration when he stated that, during the whole progress of that journey, he did not see one field that was not either decaying or had not actually decayed from the disease. There was a deficiency, too, in the oat crop; and, if that deficiency should prove to be general, the calamity would be awfully increased. If his voice could reach the ears of those individuals who possessed any property in Ireland, and it could have any effect to speak to them from that place upon so solemn a subject, he would implore them, under every circumstance, to go home to their country and people; to live among them, and encourage them

in their present difficulties; and to show them that they themselves were willing, under these great trials, to share with them the evils they were forced to bear.

The Earl of Clarendon echoed Lord Roden's appeal.

He could not permit the subject to close without appealing to all those who possessed property in Ireland to combine together in alleviating the dreadful calamity with which it had pleased Providence to afflict Ireland. No time should at that most important moment be lost in adjuring every one who had any interest in Ireland, and not only those, but all persons in this country, to unite together in one common effort to relieve this distress.

In the House of Commons, Mr. Dillon Browne besought the consideration of the House to the destitution in Mayo. The potato crop was not only a failure, it had almost completely disappeared. The Government scheme for giving employment had created the greatest satisfaction; it could not, however, be regarded as altogether adequate to the emergency; and he hoped the Government would adopt additional and speedier measures of relief.

Mr. Labouchere promised the unremitting attention of Government to the subject.

He admitted that the failure of the potato crop was much more general than that of last year. He found from recent accounts, however, that Indian meal was selling at Westport at a penny a pound, and that thirty tons had recently been sold at that price. Potatoes had been selling at 1d. and 2d. per stone; but he admitted that some of them had been forced into the market in consequence of being

His proposal was this. Enlistment should be allowed for ten years. If the soldier acted worthily during the time, he should receive his pay for six months after his term; and if he re-enlisted within a certain period, say two years, and served eleven years longer, he should be entitled to the old rate of pension, namely 10d. a day, if in a sound state of health, and 1s. if reported unfit for service by proper medical authority. If he served on, his pension should be raised. Now, by the saving of pensions to those who did not re-enlist, he conceived, so considerable a sum would be gained, that it would cover all the expense of sending men home from foreign stations, and enable an adequate pension to be given to those who remained.

Recruiting was now carried on with difficulty. Railways were absorbing the class of men from which the army was usually supplied; and if England expected soldiers, she must give some greater encouragement than 1s. a day with a prospect of 6d. after twenty-five years' service. Of all countries, this is the only one that requires so protracted a service.

În France, the period is very short; in India, only three years in time of peace; in America, five years; in Austria, the limit has been reduced from fifteen to eight years. He would propose to divide the term of service into three periods; at the end of each, the soldier to have a right to claim his discharge. If he re-enlisted and served the second period, he should be entitled to a pension of 5d. a day for life; and at the end of the third period he should be discharged from the army with a pension of 1s. a day. Mr. Windham, when Secretary at War, proposed a plan

of limited service, which met with great opposition in Parliament, though it ultimately passed; but subsequently a clause was passed permitting men to enlist for life, and offering a bounty of 167. 16s. instead of 117. 11s., the bounty for limited service. The premium of 51. 5s. in favour of unlimited service completely counteracted Mr. Windham's enlightened scheme of limited service.

Captain Layard strengthened his case, by quoting several authorities in favour of limited enlistment.

Mr. Fox Maule opposed the motion, but wished to be understood as not committing the Government to any line of conduct. He was inclined to think that Captain Layard had given too glowing a description of the advantages of limited service. As to desertions, it would be found that most of them took place in the first or second year of the soldier's life; and he was inclined to attribute the cause, not to reflections arising from the thought that his liberty had been disposed of for life, but from the sudden emotions that were raised in his breast by the rough discipline to which he is subjected in obtaining a knowledge of his duties. Still, the deserters for the most part, the moment they regained their sober senses, gave themselves up to their officers. The desertions in Canada took place on the frontier, where the men were seduced by the temptation of holding land in the United States; and the same result would follow whether the enlistment were for a limited or an unlimited period. With regard to suicides in the army, Mr. Maule had never heard them attributed to a distaste for unlimited service. Much had been done by the late Government to facilitate the discharge of the

really deserving soldier, and to promote education in the Army. Regimental and normal schools had been established, also libraries; places of amusement, too, had been established for the soldier, and every disposition exhibited to render him when discharged a useful member of society. The average duration of service in foreign parts was fifteen years; and an enlistment for ten years would involve a change of the men if they would not re-enlist at the end of that period.

Several Members spoke in favour of the Address, among whom were Sir De Lacy Evans, Mr. Bernal Osborne (who mentioned that in ten years the number of desertions was 53,764, while the annual number of recruits was about 12,000), Captain Menzies, Mr. Hume, Mr. W. Williams, and Mr. H. B. Curteis. Colonel Sibthorp ridiculed the motion. Mr. Bernal advised Captain Layard not to press the motion to a division, but to trust to the effect of the debate.

Ultimately, Captain Layard acceded to the suggestion of Mr. Fox Maule, and postponed the motion.

A motion for the total and immediate abolition of military flogging was next announced by Dr. Bowring; but before it came on for discussion an order was issued by the Commander-in-chief, by which the amount of punishment, to be inflicted under the sentence of any court-martial, was limited to a maximum of fifty lashes. On the 7th August, upon the order of the day for a Committee of Supply being read, Lord John Russell anticipated Dr. Bowring's motion by an explanation of what the Government had done in the matter.

He said, that in explaining the decision to which the Commanderin-Chief had come on the subject of military flogging, he disclaimed any wish to take to himself credit for the alterations which the Duke of Wellington had made, or to shrink from the responsibility which must fall upon the Government for concurring in the limit placed by His Grace upon corporal punishment, which they and he declined at present to abolish. The Duke of Wellington, having taken this subject into consideration, had given directions to all officers ordering courts-martial, that by no court-martial, either general, district, garrison or regimental, should any greater punishment be inflicted than fifty lashes. His Grace had also given special directions, that every precaution should be taken to ascertain the health of the offender sentenced to corporal punishment, and that every other circumstance, such as the heat or coldness of the weather, which might render the infliction of punishment dangerous to the offender, should also be taken into consideration. He knew that there were many who wished that corporal punishment should be at once abolished. He should be glad to see the day when it could be abolished; but he thought that the maintenance of the discipline of the army was a paramount object; for a well-disciplined army was a benefit to its country, and a terror to its enemies; whereas an ill-disciplined army was a terror to its country and a scorn to its enemies. He therefore thought that the Duke of Wellington was perfectly right in making the present reduction of punishment without taking at present any ulterior measures for its abolition. There were only two