Lords Sitting of 1 August 1876

MINUTES.
PUBLIC BILLS—First Reading—Bishopric of Truro* (201).
Second Reading—Winter Assizes (200).
Committee—Report—Parochial Records* (194).
Third Reading—Notices to Quit (Ireland)* (188), and passed.

SAT FIRST IN PARLIAMENT.
William Richard Lord Harlech—Was introduced by virtue of a special limitation in the patent dated 14th January 1876, and sat first in Parliament after the death of his brother John Ralph Lord Harlech, and took the Oath.

WINTER ASSIZES BILL.
(The Lord Chancellor.)
(NO. 200.) SECOND READING.
Order of the Day for the Second Reading, read.
THE LORD CHANCELLOR, in moving that the Bill be now read the
226
second time, said, it had been passed in the other House for the purpose of meeting an evil which had been seriously felt in one or two recent cases where a prisoner had been committed for trial immediately after the Summer Assizes, and in consequence of no Winter Assizes being held in the county his trial had not come on till the following March. In one case, which attracted public attention very recently, a prisoner was acquitted after having been in gaol for six or seven months. The rule was that a Winter Assize should not be held for a county unless a certain number of prisoners—six, he believed—were awaiting trial. The object of the present Bill was simply to enable an Order in Council to be made, which for the purpose of Winter Assizes would unite certain adjacent counties. In conclusion, he moved the second reading of the Bill.
Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accordingly, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Thursday next.

ARMY—MOBILIZATION.

  QUESTION. OBSERVATIONS.
  LORD WAVENEY: My Lords, in rising to call the attention of your Lord ships to the system of mobilization recently introduced into this country, and to ask the noble Earl the Under Secretary of State for War, Whether it is proposed to mobilize any additional corps during the present drill season, I will begin by assuring Her Majesty's Government that, although I shall be obliged in the course of my observations to notice what I consider to be some deficiencies in our system and endeavour to suggest other means for carrying out the great object in view, I have no desire to cast any reflections upon them. With regard to this moblization principle so general on the Continent, it has there a double meaning. It was originally intended for the purpose of organizing expeditionary forces, but subsequently it has been used there, and especially as I apprehend it is used in the German Empire, for the purpose of distribution of troops. In our own country, according to the arrangement in The Army List, it is intended for the purposes of defence; but by that arrangement there is only one purely military

  227
  corps as exemplified in Her Majesty's regular forces, and that is the first army corps, or the Army Corps of Colchester, which is composed exclusively of battalions of the Line, Artillery of the Regular service, and, with the exception of two Corps of Yeomanry, of Regular Cavalry. In the other army corps there is a much larger infusion of the Militia service. The first division is almost entirely composed, as regards the Infantry, of Regiments of the Line; but the other division is supplemented from the Militia of England, of Ireland, and of Scotland. There are six army corps provided for the defence of this country, one for Ireland, and one for Scotland. I am not disposed, by any means, to find fault with a system that brings the local soldier from one part of the Kingdom to another, because it gives him the opportunity of studying the customs and habits of his fellow-subjects, and of obtaining information which he would not otherwise have an opportunity of doing. And I may remark, in passing, that in the new Kingdom of Italy, where affairs are administered with a sagacity that gives an example to the older Monarchies of Europe, that the movement of troops from one point of the Italian peninsula to another is mainly relied upon for the purpose of welding theme from the different provinces into one harmonious and congruous force. With regard to the operations of the army corps this year, I have no fault to find. I remember that last year when I brought the subject generally before your Lordships I rather regretted that a larger system of manœuvring had not been adopted than that attained, and I was told that the system had only been in existence for three years, and that the time for extended operations had not returned: still, I do not find fault with the experiment that has been made this year, and that the movement of the troops on a large scale has been postponed, because, under all circumstances, a great gain has been achieved in the military system of this country, and we have learnt much that we should not have known unless this plan of mobilization had been put in force and carried out. I do not complain of the change of system; but it seems to me that the mobilization, so far as it has gone, has not been altogether so complete as it might have been; and I would
  228
  suggest that a remedy should be found for our shortcomings in the mobilization of our troops, so as to be able to assemble the largest possible number of men and matériel in the shortest time at some given point, from which the expeditionary forces might prepare for ulterior movements. To such an extent is this carried on on the Continent, that I have seen a table in which the time is calculated with sufficient accuracy for the information of a Government in which it is possible to assemble a corps from all the points of a district, and the time that would elapse for their further movement in any given direction to the frontier. This principle has been, to a certain extent, overlooked at Aldershot; but at Salisbury a happy accident has given the Commander of the district a practical opportunity of seeing how soon an army corps can be concentrated on a given point. There is no official Report of the circumstance; but we may trust implicitly in the statements of the military correspondents of the Press as to what occurred. Some outlying regiments beyond Salisbury were assembled simply for the purpose, as they believed, of returning home. They were called upon late in the evening to prepare to march to the railway from their camping ground on one side of Salisbury. I know the ground well, and the difficulties of moving troops over it. The movement was rapidly executed, and subsequently received, the approval of the General commanding. That is one point to be gained in mobilization. There is another point about which a great deal has been said—and I think rather unnecessarily—in disparagement in the training and teaching afforded to the army corps. It has been said that the troops were inconvenienced from the want of food, and in this country I am afraid it must occasionally be the case, because we have to depend upon contractors to furnish the troops with food. In Prussia it is done by requisition. That, however, is not our position, and we are obliged to depend upon contractors to a very great extent. But with regard to transport, it would seem that a very considerable improvement can be effected. I believe that for the transport both of men and heavy matériel some very different system from that now in use is required. For instance, it is matter of notoriety to all con-

  229
  cerned in the movement of heavy stores that a large cart with two wheels is far superior to a large waggon with four wheels. There is another point which is of some importance. I am now going to speak of the force as assembled at particular points. I took occasion last year to request a Return of the troops under arms on a particular day in July, in order that I might compare them with the establishment of the regiments from which they were drawn. The result is somewhat remarkable. It should be an object in our Service to bring the force upon paper, as near as possible, in accord with the force in array; but I find, from the Return, that there is a considerable discrepancy between the strength and the establishment. I find, for instance, that the strength of troops of all arms at Aldershot on the 12th of July last year was 21,762, and that there was absent from the colours on the establishment at Aldershot 5,683. Your Lordships will observe that this is one-fifth, or nearly so, of the strength of the establishment. If we were to permit this to escape our notice, and to overlook the consequences which it might have on our defensive strength, I need scarcely tell your Lord ships that calamitous results might arise. Some of these reductions from the strength are, however, inevitable. I find from another Return, which was moved for in the other House of Parliament, as regards the strength of the Infantry regiments at head-quarters, that there were present 12,447, and that there were absent 814 sick, or convalescent, 552 engaged on recruiting service, and 464 the cause of whose absence was not clearly defined, and others were detached on special duty. That shows an aggravation of the discrepancy of which I have spoken. Now, as regards the results of these manœuvres, we were anxious to see how the troops mobilized could perform their duties. There can be no doubt that the training drill and appointments of all branches of the Regular Service were very complete. I do not know whether any of your Lordships were present at the march past at Aldershot on the 22nd of July; but the guns, Cavalry, and Infantry of the Line were what we have ever seen them, and I hope always will continue to see them. The Militia attracted the observation and praise, as I believe, of
  230
  all who were competent to pronounce an opinion. Those who saw what were the nature of the movements, and saw how they were performed, will admit that the Militia were not unworthy comrades of the Line. After the first march past, the column, headed by three battalions of regular Infantry, was massed on a hill, which may be familiar to some of your Lordships. The Scotch and Irish regiments belonged to General M'Murdo's brigade; but so limited was the ground on which they had to move, that being desirous of communicating with General M'Murdo, I had great difficulty in passing my horse between the columns of soldiers. I remained to see the reverse march; and I can assure your Lordships—and I am certain that if the illustrious Duke who was present on that occasion were here to-day he would confirm what I say—that the Militia disentangled themselves from that dense, but not confused, mass with the steadiness of old soldiers. There was this also to remark—that the Infantry of the Line showed that though young soldiers, not in their discipline but in their youthful form, they gave promise of what they would come to. The Militia regiments were remarked as being stout and active. But there was one element of power which was absent on that day. By some arrangement, which I will not question, the soldiers of the Reserve which had been attached to the division had been dismissed; but from other persons I heard only one opinion of these men—first, of their personal and physical qualities; second, of their readiness to be attached to any regiment where their services were required; thirdly, of the facility with which they resumed their old habits; and fourthly, as I have learned from the Returns, that of those who were summoned the number which accepted the summons was almost complete. In the preceding year the men belonging to the first class Army Reserve were invited to attend the manœuvres. From 15 of the military districts there was no result; and from the remaining districts there were only 84 volunteers, of which 62 were present. I think that the time has now come when the country may be congratulated on the possession of a Reserve force. I myself looked with considerable apprehension on the substitution of the short-service for the long-

  231
  service system. In many quarters the change was viewed with disfavour, and, to a considerable extent, with apprehension; but the risk was encountered, and the country may be congratulated on the result. Year after year probably this Force will increase, and eventually give us such a force as on an emergency will be sufficient to bring up the peace establishments of our Cavalry and Infantry to the war complement. There are some points on which it seems to me improvement may be effected. In the Yeomanry, for example, I think that some alterations may well be made. Where large and powerful regiments are formed it may be easy to maintain the organization of the Cavalry of the Line; but I cannot help thinking that an organization somewhat similar to that of the irregular forces in India would be better suited to the smaller regiments of Yeomanry. In many counties, owing to the alterations in the system of agriculture, it is not so easy now as it was years ago to find the description of trooper which is especially required. The men whom it would be desirable to bring into the Yeomanry service are the sons and relatives of the Yeomanry class of farmers; and therefore I take leave to suggest, whether it would not be wise to form provisional regiments of Yeomanry in the same way as provisional battalions of Volunteers are formed, of different strength, according to circumstances. I now come to what I may call the second phase of the question—the army corps system. I would consider it not inadvisable to establish one army corps as an absolute body complete in all its strength. If it be desirable to establish such a body, it should be in a central position, and that central position has already been indicated by the establishment at Aldershot. The principle of which I am speaking has, to a certain extent, been justified by the way in which the troops have been connected during this last mobilization at Aldershot. One army corps was completely made up of troops of the Line, Cavalry, and Artillery; and if an expeditionary force were to be sent abroad, it would be at once available for this purpose. I am afraid that I have trespassed too long on your Lordships in calling attention to the mobilization of these two corps, and I now proceed to the Question of which I have given Notice. The
  232
  Question is, Whether it is proposed to mobilize any additional corps during the present drill season? I am not aware whether there be any Militia regiments still to be called out for training; and if there be no regiments, there is the marching-out season for the Line Regiments, which may be always well employed. It might, therefore, be possible for generals commanding in one district to place themselves in communication with troops occupying the next district. There would be no great difficulty in one corps placing itself in military relations with a neighbouring corps. The Chester army corps, for instance, might find itself in military relations with the North of England army corps. In such eases the marchings would not be of a very severe nature. The troops might be expected to cover, without difficulty, some 25 miles of ground, and 25 miles of ground on the one side would bring them into tactical communication with corps that had marched the same distance from another quarter. I have only now to express a hope that the remarks which I have made will induce the Government to give us their views—especially on the question of the mobilization of additional army corps.
  EARL CADOGAN: said, he had heard with satisfaction the favourable opinion which the noble Lord had expressed of the scheme for the mobilization of the Army, for he was aware that not only was the noble Lord eminently qualified to give an opinion on the subject, but that he had satisfied himself by personal inspection of the various matters to which he had referred. The scheme for the defence of the country to which the name of mobilization had been given, had, perhaps, from its novelty, given rise to considerable misunderstanding, and he might be allowed to offer a few remarks in the hope that he might be able to clear up some misapprehensions existing on the subject. In the first place, the scheme of mobilization was entirely one for the defence of the country. The noble Lord had said that there were two phases of the question—one was for the defence of the country, and the other was an organization of a force for expeditionary purposes. As the scheme for the defence of the country was the only one recognized by the military authorities, he must be ex-

  233
  cused if he did not follow the noble Lord into the second phase. The object of the mobilization scheme was not to re-construct, or, directly speaking, to increase our Army—its object waste organize that which they had, and to make arrangements to use to the best of their power their military strength in case of immediate necessity. With that object it was divided into army corps, divisions, and brigades; various points in the country were chosen to which the various army corps would be sent, and at which head-quarters and divisional quarters were to be situated; and routes were issued which would enable commanding officers to reach with facility the destinations to which they were sent. It was only the first part of the scheme which had been tested this year. No doubt in time of war their work would not end there. It would not be sufficient to bring the army corps to the various posts assigned to them—it would be necessary that they should be moved forward according to the exigency of the moment or of the movements of the enemy they had to meet. That did not occur this year. Having brought the men forward and placed them in standing camps, advantage was taken of the situation to drill the Militia during the period of their annual training; and that done, the troops returned to the quarters from whence they came. The fact that it was only the first part of the scheme which had been carried out might account for the various objections which had been made by the noble Lord and by others as to what had been done. The noble Lord alluded, as he understood, to the drills, and said they were not sufficient; he also objected to the transport. The authorities might be excused if they did not go into extravagance in that direction. Their Lordships no doubt knew that in the case of transport waggons they might be divided into two classes—"technical" waggons and ordinary waggons. He did not attempt to conceal any deficiencies, and he admitted they were not adequately provided with technical waggons. It was stated that the mobilization was not practical. In making this experiment of mobilization it was necessary to select a convenient time and place, and thus various difficulties had been encountered, which in the case of a sudden emergency would
  234
  not exist. He was authorized to state, and he did so with confidence, that should war or invasion threaten this country the mobilization of the troops could be effected much more expeditiously than in the present instance. As to the number of Reserves which attended the manœuvres, the Returns now being prepared would be found highly satisfactory. He believed he might state that of those summoned to attend the manœpuvres, the absentees did not amount to more than 2 per cent; and in connection with this fact it was gratifying to observe that the men had been universally praised for their good conduct and soldierly bearing, and for their general excellence in the discharge of their duties. With regard to the disposition of the troops under the mobilization scheme—something had been said as to bringing Scotch and Irish Militia regiments such a distance to join in the exercises: but he was sure their Lord ships would see on reflection that it was advisable to give Scotland and Ireland a share in the defence of the country at those strategic points which were deemed by qualified judges to be the most liable to attack. Having now touched on the principal objections urged against the mobilization scheme, it only remained for him to state, in answer to the noble Lord's inquiry, that it was not intended to mobilize any additional corps during the present drill season. The noble Lord would recollect that an Act of Parliament would be required for such a step to be taken. Besides, the necessary funds had not been voted. The extent to which such operations might be carried in future necessarily depended on the will of Parliament. With regard to the time at which these manœuvres were to be held, he believed he was right in saying that last year he did not give any distinct pledge, but merely stated in a general way the intentions of the Government.
  VISCOUNT CARDWELLcongratulated the noble Earl (Earl Cadogan) not only on the satisfactory statement which he had had to make, but also on the lucid and interesting manner in which he had made it. He regarded these experiments in the mobilization of the Army as of great importance, because they were the natural outcome of the Intelligence Department which had been recently established, and which had been

  235
  found to be one of the greatest wants of our Army administration. The noble Earl had rightly said that if we had to organize an expedition to a foreign country it could not be carried out by means of a system of local mobilization. Of course the system of local mobilization was purely defensive. A continental Power might make it the means of invading a neighbouring country; but with this country the circumstances were entirely different. In our insular position the first thing to be done in organizing an expedition to foreign parts was to provide means of transporting the troops, and the next to find a base of operations in the country where they landed—matters with which local mobilization had nothing whatever to do. Another thing to be noticed was that in case of war it would not be in small local bodies that the Army and Auxiliary Forces would be employed. It might be very proper to assemble them in that way in the first instance, but the chief step would be to aggregate them into a manœuvring Army. And here, again, the present experiment would have no bearing. Local mobilization, in fact, was only a part of our system of defence; for on emergency it would be necessary to employ the railway system of the country for the transport of troops to the point of danger. With regard to the present experiment, he could not refrain from expressing his great satisfaction at the General Order recently issued by His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief in reference to the recent manœuvres. His Royal Highness expressed his entire satisfaction with his inspection of the several regiments both of the Regulars and of the Reserves. One remarkable feature of the experiment was the large turn-out of the Reserves, inasmuch as it demonstrated the falsity of the prediction that that branch of our Forces would be found unsatisfactory. The absence of pensions, it was thought, would deter men from joining the Army; but he found that up to the year 1875 no fewer than 57,700 men had enlisted for short service. These Returns showed that when the choice was given men preferred short service and the Reserve to long service and a pension. If anybody had told him four years ago that the deficiency of those summoned in time of peace would not exceed 2 per cent he should have
  236
  thought him a sanguine prophet. And what had been their character? His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief expressed his gratification at the satisfactory condition and the exemplary conduct while under training of such portions of the first class Army Reserve as had been called out; adding that their efficiency was such that unless special circumstances should arise they would not have to be called out again. It was right to put them to a severe test, and to ascertain whether they were paper men only or men who could be relied upon; but it was not desirable to call them out unnecessarily to the disturbance of their civil employment, and any apprehension had been dispelled by the course pursued:—it had been thought proper to call away only a proportion of the men from their civil employments, and the results had been eminently satisfactory. That being the state of the case, he rejoiced that he was able to congratulate his noble Friend opposite on the statement he had made, and he could only hope that all the experiments of his Department would be attended with equal success.

  BARBADOES.—OBSERVATIONS.
  THE EARL OF CARNARVON, in calling attention to the Parliamentary Papers relating to the recent disturbances in Barbadoes, said: I regret very much that my noble Friend (the Earl of Kimberley), on whose account the statement which I am about to make was postponed the other night, is still so far from well as to be unable to be in his place this evening. Since then an hon. Friend of mine in "another place" (Mr. J. Lowther) has made a statement on the subject of which I have given Notice, which in many respects has traversed the ground that I had intended to take, and that relieves me from the necessity of entering at any length upon it. I shall therefore confine myself to adding one or two points that seem to me of importance, and to reminding your Lordships of the general bearings of the case. I refrain from reciting the history of these transactions in Barbadoes—they are still sufficiently fresh in your Lordships' minds to dispense me from that task. The Blue Book on this subject may be roughly said to contain, first, the statement of the facts; secondly, the com-

  237
  plaints which, various parties in Barbadoes have made either directly or indirectly as regards the action of Her Majesty's Government; and thirdly, and most important of all, the charges that have been brought against Governor Hennessy. With respect to the statement of the facts, those facts are so well known that I need not trouble you with them. As to the complaints, they substantially divide themselves into two heads—there is more or less complaint with reference to the subject of Confederation; there are also complaints with regard to certain changes which have been made in the Executive Council, and which the Assembly of Barbadoes seem to resent as a great innovation on the Constitution. With respect to the third, I shall have more to say before I sit down. As regards Confederation, I need not go into the whole of its history. Successive Secretaries of State have endorsed it, and it may, therefore, be fairly assumed that their opinion is in favour of such a measure. But I would point out what Confederation really means. Confederation in Canada means one thing; it might mean at the Capo of Good Hope another; it certainly means a very different tiling in the West India Islands, where the scale and measure of things are smaller than in either of the other colonies I have named. What did Confederation in the West India Islands mean? What did it mean specially in Barbadoes? I might take the six points, as they are called, of Governor Hennessy. They comprise the appointment of an Auditor General, the transport of prisoners from one island to another, one common lazaretto, the re-modelling of the judicial system, and one police force common to the whole of the Islands. There is nothing very grand or very formidable in these proposals. It is, perhaps, in some respects a misnomer to speak of them as Confederation—it is rather an amalgamation of some municipal arrangements. At the same time I do not underrate the importance of such a change. It has been admitted, as I have said, by successive Secretaries of State to be important and desirable. At present there is a multiplication of offices in these Islands—a separate Judicial Staff for each, a Chief Justice, an Attorney General, and so forth. There is also, by consequence, a great waste of public money
  238
  and very frequent inefficiency; and with a multiplication of offices, a waste of public money, and inefficiency, there follow a whole train of evils which I need not specify, because they will easily suggest themselves to your Lord ships, but evils demoralizing to the public life of these communities, and such as it is the duty of the Government, if possible, to check. When I wrote my despatch on this so-called Confederation, I was well aware that an unfriendly feeling might be entertained in Barbadoes on the subject. There had, no doubt, been a good deal of local prejudice. Even before Governor Hennessy arrived there a public meeting had been held at which very violent language had been used. At the same time I thought it was not consistent with my duty to avoid bringing the question before the Legislature. I did not see that there was any more cause for apprehension than in former years; and on reading these Papers I think your Lordships will admit that I exercised all the caution and forbearance in the matter which a Minister ought to exercise. I desired not to press the proposal, but that it should grow from the spontaneous action of the Legislature, and I was at least entitled to suppose that the Legislature would give a fair and patient hearing to any proposals which the Governor, as the Representative of the Queen, might make. I will only add on this part of the subject that there is a point which, perhaps your Lordships would do well to bear in mind—namely, that this question has never been discussed by the Legislature of Barbadoes. There has been a great deal of violent language used in public meetings and otherwise with respect to it, but there has never been any discussion in the Legislature. Passing from this, I would allude to the changes which have been made in the Executive Council—reference to them will be found all through the Blue Book, and they have been made a great matter of complaint. I desire to explain what the change really amounts to, and how little foundation there is for the charges that are based upon it. Until within the last year or so the Executive Council and the Legislative Council were composed of identically the same persons; they sat at a different time and in a different place, but they were identically the same

  239
  body discharging different functions. But that being so, and part of the body being composed of unofficial members, there could be none of that un reserve and that confidential communication passing between the Governor as the head of the Executive and the Ministers who had to carry out his measures which are essential to the conduct of any Government at all. I am not aware of any other single colony or of any civilized State in which such an arrangement exists, as that the members of the Governor's Cabinet should be other than those who are his confidential advisers and persons whom he trusts. I am bound to add the exceptional system adopted in Barbadoes had worked badly and had led to many difficulties and evils; and, therefore, when a new Governor went out to that island I thought that provision should be made to secure that the Executive Council should henceforth be composed exclusively of his confidential advisers. That is the sum total of the change which has been made, and the whole of the offence which I have given. I pass now to the charges which have been brought against Governor Hennessy. The first charge against him was that he addressed violent and intemperate language to the House of Assembly on the 3rd of March; the second was that he, having received my instructions as Secretary of State, and knowing that it was my desire that Federation should not be forced upon the inhabitants of Barbadoes, had in defiance of those instructions sent secret emissaries through the island to scatter abroad among the negro population his views respecting Federation; and the third was that, not content with these means of spreading his views, he had resorted to extraordinary methods of propagating them by presiding at negro meetings and giving dinners to negro deputations. It would, perhaps, have been well had Mr. Hennessy remembered the old maxim about—
  "Spargere voces
  In vulgum ambiguas."
  With regard to the first charge, I think that Mr. Hennessy is open to some blame. I candidly confess that I think his language to the Assembly was somewhat indiscreet. No doubt he used words which might be construed by an excitable negro population in a very different sense from that in the mind of
  240
  the speaker. It is quite true that other Governors who had preceded Mr. Hennessy had used equally objectionable language; but that is no excuse for his having followed their example. It is not because one man has committed an indiscretion that his successor should make a similar mistake. The effect of language is altered also by time and place. Thus, what may be uttered without any ill effects in Pall Mall may have grave results when spoken in the West Indies in the hearing of a negro population. I think, therefore, that had Mr. Hennessy more carefully measured his words on the occasion referred to, he would have shown more discretion than he did. But, at the same time, having said this much, I think that I have stated all that can be substantiated against Mr. Hennessy. And I wish once more to repeat that, so far as the actual language goes, I do not think it was in excess of much that had been uttered by his predecessors in the government of the island. When, however, I come to the second charge—namely, that he sent emissaries throughout the country in order to propagate his own opinions, that involves a totally different question. I must say at once that I do not see in these Papers one particle of reasonable evidence in support of it. On the contrary, I see more than once a flat and an absolute contradiction of it. What are the words which Mr. Hennessy himself uses with regard to it? He says, in his despatch of the 30th of May—
  "I have never employed, directly or indirectly, any paid or unpaid emissaries in favour of Confederation. I never attended a meeting about Confederation in any part of the Island, or in any way encouraged or countenanced agitation on the subject. I have never made any criticism on the Legislature or institutions of Barbadoes, or delivered addresses on that or any other subject that Have not, in due course, laid before your Lordship in official despatches."
  I deem it due to Mr. Hennessy that I should read to your Lordships the flat contradiction which he has given to the charge; and no one can reasonably doubt, there being no evidence in support of the charge and there being this flat contradiction of it that Mr. Hennessy stands entirely acquitted with regard to it. Referring to the third charge—that he entertained negroes at banquets and presided over negro meetings—your Lordships will find in Mr. Hennessy's

  241
  despatches very careful and elaborate answers to it, which seem to reduce it to a complete absurdity. It appears from those despatches that on one occasion he directed his butler to give a few negroes who had called at his house as a deputation some little refreshment, and that he had on one occasion addressed a few words to a single negro in his own grounds. Under these circumstances, therefore, Mr. Hennessy stands entirely absolved from the two latter charges. This is how the matter stands with regard to his conduct before the riots occurred; but now let me ask your Lordships to consider what was Mr. Hennessy's conduct during the riots. Your Lordships will remember that he had been denounced with violence in the public newspapers and at public meetings, and that charges had been made against him by agents sent home to denounce him to the Secretary of State, and that he had been constantly threatened with assassination. On the other hand, it should be remembered that he had been continually urged by excited persons to shoot and hang and to proclaim martial law, and thus to revive a state of panic and terror, which the noble Lord opposite will remember was an unfortunate incident in the Jamaica disturbances. Mr. Hennessy, however, kept his head clear and cool throughout. He declined to be a party to such acts—and he even refused permission to the special constables to carry fire-arms. During the whole of the disturbances not one shot was fired by the troops, and whatever lives were lost were lost through the action of the police. In other matters also he acted with the utmost impartiality. He allowed the Crown officers to vote against him on the question of Federation; he gave leave of absence to the persons who were delegated to visit this country to denounce his conduct to the Secretary of State, and he gave leave to the Assembly to discuss the question of his recall. An Assembly debating the question of the recall of their Governor is a case almost without precedent in colonial history. Probably there are not many Governors who would have shown equal coolness and forbearance with Mr. Hennessy in such a matter. Further than that, he discountenanced all Petitions which were presented in favour of his particular views; and throughout a
  242
  long period his conduct was uniformly courteous and conciliatory, though that was not the characteristic of the language of his opponents. On this part of the case, therefore, not only do I acquit Mr. Hennessy of all blame, but I think that he is entitled to very great praise. The next question that arises is as to the course which Her Majesty's Government have thought proper to take in the matter. The Assembly passed a resolution a short time since, in which they prayed for two things—first for the recall of Mr. Hennessy, and, secondly, for the issuing of a Commission. Now, after what I have said with regard to Mr. Hennessy, your Lordships will agree with me that to recall Mr. Hennessy is simply out of the question. It would be a base and monstrous injustice to him. I do not deny—although I admit it with great pain—that the relations between Mr. Hennessy and the Assembly and some other classes of people in Barbadoes have become greatly strained; and of this there is one instance in the Blue Book, which certainly is without precedent. It appears that on the occasion of the Queen's Birthday, Mr. Hennessy, according to the ordinary custom, gave a formal banquet, to which he invited the leading persons in the colony; but I regret to say that with two exceptions the leading members of the Assembly declined to accept the invitations they received, and fixed another day, on which they gave a dinner on their own account. I think that in doing this they acted in deplorable taste, to say the least of it. If the Assembly or any other political Body in Barbadoes desired to put themselves at variance with the Governor, they should have adopted the ordinary political means of doing so, without dragging Her Majesty's name into the controversy, and should have acted in political warfare like political men and not in the fractious temper of mere children. Looking to the extreme tension of the relations between Mr. Hennessy and the Assembly, I have been urged, both by the opponents and friends of Mr. Hennessy, that his removal from the colony would be desirable. I think that tension of feeling is very much to be regretted; but surely at such a moment as this, I am precluded from, entertaining this suggestion. Whatever may be done hereafter, I cannot consent to remove Mr. Hennessy now. To

  243
  do so would be to pass an indirect censure upon him; and it would seem as though Her Majesty's Government had accorded a victory to those who have carried on this warfare in a manner which I think they, upon reflection, will be the first to regret. A second point urged by the Assembly is, that a Commission should be issued. Now, there are two kinds of Commissions. There is a Commission such as was issued in the case of Jamaica, and there is a kind of Commission appointed in the ease of the Mauritius. The first was a Commission issued to inquire into the disturbances in Jamaica, and the amount of blame which might attach to one side or the other in connection with them. Now, I see no reason why we should incur the expense of raking up these causes of quarrel in Barbadoes and in provoking recriminations of the bitterest kind, and in keeping alive that state of feeling that has prevailed. Let the storm which has been raging subside, and then it will be full time to think of any further steps. There is a second class of Commission—namely, a Commission to inquire into the condition of classes, the interests of the Island, and the best way of promoting them; the question of the franchise, the labour question, emigration, and many other matters which make for the welfare of Barbadoes; and I do not say that hereafter it may not be desirable and may not be the duty of the Government to issue such a Commission. At this moment, however, I do not think it would be needed; and as regards the first kind of Commission I think it would be highly objectionable. My Lords, I can hardly bring these remarks to an end without adding some expression of opinion as to that which has been brought indirectly to light by those disturbances—namely, the present state of the colony. I am quite aware that in entering upon this subject, however briefly, I walk upon delicate ground as far as the feelings of the Barbadians are concerned. I am not insensible to many points which may be urged in their favour—their attachment to their ancient Constitution, their loyalty to the Crown, and other estimable qualities. At the same time I should be untrue to the facts if I were not to state that, in my opinion, the present condition of the Island as revealed by these Papers is one by no means satisfactory. The condition of the
  244
  peasantry is in itself an unsatisfactory, and, I venture to say, an unsound condition. The population is, no doubt, redundant. It is consequently paid in very low wages, and even these wages, I suspect, are sometimes liable to various stoppages and deductions. I doubt whether the law in some instances does not press with a certain amount of severity upon the peasantry. All these points have at different times been pressed not merely by Mr. Hennessy in these despatches, but by successive Governors—some of them men whose affection for the Barbadian Constitution cannot for one moment be questioned. I go a step further, and I doubt whether many public institutions of the colony are in at all a satisfactory condition. Take the case of the prisons. In some of those Papers will be found a despatch written in 1872 by my noble Friend (the Earl of Kimberley). I cite it as an illustration and nothing more. A statement as to the deplorable condition of the gaols in Barbadoes had been sent to my noble Friend, who forwarded it to the Governor for the time being for a report. The answer was that, though, no doubt, more or less coloured, there was a good deal to complain of. In 1867, SIR James Walker, who certainly had no prejudice against Barbadians or Barbadian institutions, twice called the attention of the Legislature to the state of the prisons. No notice was taken of his Message, and he made some very severe comments upon the subject. All through 1871–2 the late Governor, Sir Rawson Rawson, called attention to the same subject. In 1873 a Commission of both Houses was appointed. In 1874 a Vote for a sum of money was read a first time; but delays occurred, the whole question was shelved, and the gaols remained very much in the same condition. Take another case—that of prison discipline, and the punishments inflicted for prison offences. It is impossible not to be startled by their character and number. On the average of the last six years the floggings in the Barbadian prisons appeared to be 20 times as numerous as those of all the prisons of Jamaica. During the first 10 months of 1875, 50 persons were flogged in Barbadian prisons—while on the other hand, not one single case was recorded in St. Lucia. Grenada, or St. Vincent: and the total prison punishments in Barbadoes during

  245
  last year, including other punishments than flogging, amount to the enormous figure of 2,197. I can only say that either the population of Barbadoes is of a very much worse character than that of any other of the West India islands, or the fault is in the system, and many more prison floggings are inflicted than are necessary. I do not say that the Assembly or any class of persons in Barbadoes is responsible for this state of things. I merely say it indicates—wherever the fault may lie—an amount of unsoundness which requires the best attention of the Barbadian Legislature. One more case will be enough. It shall be the case of some public institutions. Feeling uneasy, for some reason, as to the provision for idiots and imbeciles, I requested an explanation from Mr. Hennessy as to the character and amount of such provision. I am told there is none. I do not think this is creditable to a colony. Further I find there is an institution for that great scourge of the West Indies, leprosy, and this institution is administered by a Board, if I mistake not, appointed by the Assembly. Now, official evidence shows that during a space of five or six years—I am speaking from memory, but I believe I am correct—this institution was never visited by the members of that Board, and that, in fact, no one ever visited it excepting the chaplain and the surgeon. There again, I say, though individuals, perhaps, are not liable to blame, the public institutions of the Colony require very careful reconsideration by the Governing Body. I wish that in recent transactions the Assembly could have brought itself to believe that co-operation with the Executive Government upon questions of this sort was not only its duty, but was also expedient. There have been two or three cases, however, which have forced painfully upon me a different conclusion. Since these disturbances the Governor has pressed most earnestly upon the Assembly the necessity of increasing the police force; and no one can doubt for a moment the reasonableness or the necessity of such a proposal. But the Bill for this purpose has been practically ignored by the Assembly. I myself felt the subject to be of such importance that I telegraphed to the Governor, and requested that it might be brought before the Assembly; but I believe that up to this time all the proposals for in-
  246
  creasing the police force have been in vain. Meanwhile, your Lordships will remember that the troops in the colony are still quartered about in the different plantations to maintain peace and order. In 1867 the Governor of that day attributed a great part of the disturbances, and the most serious part, to the absence of an active police force, and I consider I should have been wanting in my duty if I had refrained from urging the Assembly to take the same course now. There are other matters which the Assembly will do well to consider. Its not worthy of the Legislature of any British colony to refuse to pay a Bill for telegraphs passing between the colony and the Imperial Government upon their own domestic concerns. It is not worthy of them to spend their time in personal discussions and recriminations when questions of grave importance are still to be dealt with. The House will observe that throughout the despatches stress is laid on the importance of maintaining the Constitution. I am not insensible of the value of the colonial Constitution; but when they say it is identical in fundamental principles with the English Constitution, I feel bound to point out how absolutely they misapprehend the case. In fact, the principles of their Constitution are practically the reverse of ours. The Executive Government is separate from and generally, I am sorry to say—of late years, at all events—at variance with, the Legislative Power. When a Money Vote is proposed, so far from its being proposed simply on the responsibility of a Minister, it is proposed on the responsibility really of a private Member. The greater part of the business of the colony is conducted by means of Committees or Boards formed out of the Assembly, who spend the money and appropriate it as they think right. That is a fusion of legislative and executive duties such as we have no notion of in this country. Again, the franchise in Barbadoes is of a most limited character. Out of a population of 160,000 or more, there are only something like 1,200 or 1,300 electors; and, to crown all, the Dissolution, instead of occurring at intervals of seven years, must, as a matter of necessity, occur annually at Barbadoes. Under these circumstances it seems idle to say that the principles of the Barbadoes Constitution, whatever value they may

  247
  have in an historical point of view, are similar or analogous to those of the Constitution of this country. I have now gone through the different points which I have thought necessary to touch upon. I have certainly no wish to seem to press hardly on the Legislature or Constitution of Barbadoes, but I should be wrong were I to refrain from saying that I do feel considerable anxiety. If the present state of things were to continue, I foresee trouble in the future. I certainly am not one who would in any way desire unnecessarily to interfere with an ancient Constitution in which the colonists take a pride. I have always objected to such interference, and I conceive it can only be sanctioned by the facts and necessities of the case. As far as possible I would trust to the good sense and the patriotic feeling of the Legislature of the Colony. Possibly, one of the reasons why they took the view which they unfortunately have taken is that they were hardly aware of what the feeling of Her Majesty's successive Governments has been on the subject, and how strong has been the opinion of the public here in England. My Lords, the mere form of Constitution seems to me to be a secondary matter. An anomalous Constitution, such as, I am bound to say the Barbadoes Constitution is, may be worked, and even worked admirably, by men of good sense, right feeling, and patriotic impulse. On the other hand, if the Constitution were perfect, it might be badly worked. I take it to be of the substance of a good Constitution that there should be good government; that there should be equality for all in the eye of the law, and that all the securities for the well-being of all classes of the community should be fully provided for as far as a Constitution can provide them. I trust that the Barbadoes Legislature will accept this view of the matter; that they will co-operate with Her Majesty's Government, as Her Majesty's Government are most truly and sincerely desirous to co-operate with them; and that they will address themselves with all their patriotic feeling, with all the ability they possess, and with all their earnestness to the task, and the very responsible task, which, I need not for one moment attempt to conceal, lies before them.
  VISCOUNT CARDWELL: I am sorry my noble Friend the late Secretary of
  248
  State for the Colonies (the Earl of Kimberley) is quite unable to appear here to-night. I have had some communication with him, and I come here to express on his part, and on my own, sentiments very much in accordance with those stated by the noble Earl opposite. With regard to the proposed alteration of the Legislative Council, so that it shall not be the exact correspondent of the Executive Council, I think it is absolutely necessary that you should not have in the deliberative Council the very same persons who compose the Executive Council—that the Executive Council should contain only one confidential adviser of the Governor, and that you should have in the Executive Council the opponents of the Governor, and that the government should be carried on by them is an evidently impracticable arrangement. With regard to Governor Hennessy, the policy of which he has been the advocate was first, I think, distinctly laid down in a despatch by my noble Friend the Earl of Kimberley. The time of bringing it forward and the person by whom it was to be brought forward were the choice of my noble Friend opposite; and I bear in mind that he pointed out to Governor Hennessy that he ought not to press a change in the position of Barbadoes and the other Islands against the wish of the people of Barbadoes themselves. I am disposed to agree with what has been said by my noble Friend opposite in regard to Governor Hennessy. It was unfortunate that that gentleman used the phrases and assumed the tone which he appears to have done in the first instance; but with regard to his subsequent conduct I am ready to admit all that has been said about him by my noble Friend opposite; and certainly I have not the slightest inclination to apologize for or extenuate in any degree the violent opposition shown to him by many who have taken part in the government of Barbadoes, and who showed disrespect to the Sovereign in order to express their disapproval of the Governor's conduct. I have listened with considerable surprise to the scheme just propounded by the noble Earl (the Earl of Carnarvon), because I should have thought that it would have come more naturally in the form of a despatch from the Secretary of State to be laid on the

  249
  Table of Parliament and considered by the constituted authorities in Barbadoes, rather than in a speech delivered by the Secretary of State at the close of the Session, and, as far as I am aware, not in the presence of any individual who has a personal knowledge of the state of Barbadoes, or the views which any of these people might wish to lay before your Lordships. Therefore the proposal must be taken as a grave censure of all the authorities in Barbadoes made by the Secretary of State, who has given them no opportunity whatever of expressing anything, either in disproof of any facts which have been stated, or in mitigation of any blame laid upon them; or, in short, of exercising the common right of Englishmen to be heard in their own defence.
  THE EARL OF CARNARVON: My noble Friend will remember that almost every, if not every, word of what I said on that subject is to be found in these Blue Books to which I desire to call attention.
  VISCOUNT CARDWELL:I am not sure that that alters the case very much. We have been lectured during the last few days for bringing forward Questions before this House without having a Motion before it; and if the rule is to be observed by those who sit on this side of the House, and are not burdened by any special responsibility, I think it ought also to be observed by those who sit on the other side, and are charged with all the responsibilties of the Executive Government. For myself, I have not the slightest desire to take the part of any of these gentlemen in Barbadoes—of whom I happen to know nothing. If one-tenth of the impeachment made against them by the Secretary of State is founded on fact, all I can say is, whether it be in the form of Confederation or not, some change in the government of Barbadoes is absolutely necessary, and must be forced upon them without much delay. Such a state of things as has been described by the noble Earl cannot be permitted to continue. With regard to Governor Hennessy, it is of course impossible that my noble Friend can recall him after the verdict which he has arrived at on his conduct. It is intended, however, I presume, to provide some other position for Governor Hennessy without any protracted delay—for I think he is, at present, in a position
  250
  which must be very unsatisfactory to himself. To recall him would be to imply blame which it is not intended to imply; but I think there should be a separation between Governor Hennessy and Barbadoes on the ground of incompatibility of temper. There is no cause in this instance for such a Commission as we were compelled to send out to Jamaica. A Constitution which might be suited to a great and powerful country might be utterly unfitted for a small island, over-populated and in a condition of great poverty, and the Government might be quite right in not appointing such a Commission as in the case of Jamaica; but after the statement of my noble Friend as to the condition of the colony, it is quite clear that that condition cannot be allowed to continue many months, and I therefore earnestly hope that when Parliament again assembles my noble Friend will be in a position to lay some proposal before the House for immediately putting an end to it.
  LORD STANLEY of ALDERLEY: said, that whilst the planters attributed the agitation in Barbadoes to the Governor, and the Anti-Slavery Society believed it was attributable to tortuous proceedings on the part of the planters, he believed that it was chiefly caused by the discussions of the Anti-Confederation Defence Association—it being a fact that the colonial newspapers had lowered their prices with the avowed object of convincing the lower classes that confederation would not be a benefit. The West Indian was a very fair and moderate paper, and it contained so many letters taking a view opposed to its own, that it would increase the excitement; whilst The Globe and Agricultural Reporter were very exaggerated. The unseemly conduct of the Assembly in carrying their disputes into the celebration of the Queen's birthday, and their debating the recall of the Governor, reminded him of those Levantine Consuls who used to haul down their flags and break off their relations with the local authorities without orders from their Embassies. But there was some excuse for the Barbadian colonists in the bad precedents which they had; for he found in Sir Robert Schomburgk's History of Barbadoes that, about 80 years ago, a man of colour named Denny had shot a poor white man and was found

  251
  guilty by the jury. The Chief Justice Gibbes who tried him animadverted on the bias shown by the jury, and made representations on behalf of the prisoner to the Governor. The King's pleasure was taken, and the sentence commuted to perpetual banishment. The prisoner was sent on board a Government brig which got under weigh, when a band of colonists, many of them of the more respectable class, rushed to Rickett's battery and fired upon the brig, and got possession of the prisoner; the tumult was appeased by reading the letter of the Duke of Portland. But a committee of the colonists called upon the Governor to suspend Mr. Gibbes from all his official employments. Mr. Gibbes went to England and obtained a mandamus for his restoration to office, shortly after which he resigned. In his judgment the noble Earl the Secretary of State had exercised a wise discretion in refusing to send a Royal Commission to Barbadoes, notwithstanding that both the West Indian Committee and the Anti-Slavery Society had expressed the wish that he should do so; because such a Commission would have the effect of re-opening the late discussion and reviving the excitement, by taking evidence with regard to the recent disturbances. But he would ask his noble Friend to give his favourable consideration as to whether it would not be desirable that he should send a clerk of the Colonial Office in whose department Barbadoes was situated to acquire some local knowledge of that colony, and whether it might not be desirable for the Secretary of State to take the same measures whenever any colony was in difficulties?—following in thistle example of the Foreign Office, which frequently sent one of its clerks to assist one of Her Majesty's Legations abroad, to the mutual benefit of the Legation thus assisted and the Staff of the Foreign Office, which thereby acquired useful experience and local knowledge. The conflicting statements as to pauperism in Barbadoes showed the difficulty of estimating the value of reports without local knowledge. The project of Confederation might well be dropped for the present, since most of the advantages of this scheme had been already secured, as had been pointed out by Governor Hennessy, in his despatch to the Secretary of State, which he communicated
  252
  to the Barbadoes Legislature on the 1st of February last. The word "intercolonial" had already been adopted by the Barbadians, and would cover all that they objected to under the word Confederation. He would suggest that free passages should be given to labourers from Barbadoes going to the neighbouring islands, half the cost to be borne by Barbadoes and half by the Colony receiving the labourers. Emigration Acts had been passed in Barbadoes, and sums voted for this purpose, but not with sufficient system; this course was not open to the objections which were made to promoting coolie immigration by votes out of West Indian taxation, since in this case the poorer class of taxpayers would profit by it. The same measure of free passages might also be advantageously applied to the students of the Windward Islands who might come to the schools and colleges of Barbadoes, which were better than any that existed or that would be likely to be established in the other islands, and in that manner the inhabitants of the Windward Islands would not feel so much jealousy of the educational advantages possessed by Barbadoes. There was also a suggestion which Mr. Duffield, a gentleman who had long resided in the Colonies, was very anxious should be made to the Secretary of State, and the favourable consideration which his noble Friend had given to the plan of a proposed Colonial Museum emboldened him to make it—namely, that the Secretary of State should send out an inexpensive scientific Commission of one or two persons to report upon the vegetable products of the West Indies, of which many valuable kinds were unknown, and. which might be usefully exported to Canada and to England. The mission of Mr. Markham by the India Office to South America to obtain cinchona plants formed a precedent for this suggestion.
  LORD O'HAGAN: My Lords, I cannot refrain from expressing my entire approval of the conduct of Her Majesty's Government, and the great pleasure with which I have heard the characteristically just and generous statement of the noble Earl, the Secretary for the Colonies. Of his general policy in relation to Barbadoes enough has been said by the noble Lords who have preceded me. But I desire to add one word, on behalf of Mr. Hennessy, in

  253
  whose proceedings I have not taken less interest, and in whose vindication I have not felt less satisfaction, because, whilst I sat with him in the House of Commons, he was the active and often the troublesome opponent of the Party and the principles to which I am attached. He may, as was said by the noble Earl, have spoken indiscreetly; but he was placed in circumstances of extreme difficulty, in which few men could have hoped for a perfect immunity from error, and, looking to the Correspondence before us, I think it affords the strongest evidence that he possessed throughout the serious trials to which he was subjected a cool head, a brave heart, and an honest purpose. He refused to permit any of those acts of violence and cruelty to which panic has so often urged individuals and masses of men. He resisted a powerful combination, acting too much in the spirit of ascendancy, which has shown itself equally reckless in its accusations and indifferent to the interests of humanity and justice. He deliberately declined to allow his Executive Council to adopt the unconstitutional courses which had been pursued in a neighbouring island, and to his fairness and moderation it is directly attributable that the scenes of blood and terror which disgraced Jamaica were not enacted in Barbadoes. I sincerely rejoice that the Government, in spite of unscrupulous and persistent calumny, has recognized his merit, and preserved to the public service an able administrator, whose career will be one of usefulness and honour.
  House adjourned at half past Seven o'clock, to Thursday next, a quarter before Five o'clock.