duke, that, having decided against his conviction to
make the movement, he did all he could to render it as
little perilous as possible. This, indeed, is far from
being the case, in my judgment. He was told that the
horse artillery might accompany the cavalry. He did
not bring it up. He was informed that the French
cavalry was on his left. He did not invite their coöperation.
He had the whole of the heavy cavalry at his
disposal. He mentions having brought up only two
regiments in support, and he omits all those precautions
either from want of due consideration or from the
supposition that the unseen enemy was not in such
great force as he apprehended, notwithstanding that he
was warned of it by Lord Cardigan after the latter had
received the order to attack. I am much concerned, my
lord duke, to have to submit these observations to your
grace. I entertain no wish to disparage the Earl of
Lucan in your opinion, or to cast a slur upon his
professional reputation; but, having been accused by
his lordship of having stated of him what was unmerited
in my despatch, I have felt obliged to enter into the
subject and trouble your grace at more length than I
could have wished in vindication of a report to your
grace in which I had strictly confined myself to that
which I knew to be true. I had indulged in no observations
whatever, or in any expressions which could be
viewed either as harsh or in any way grating to the
feelings of his lordship.           I have, &c., RAGLAN."
Lord Lucan concluded by moving for the production of
all the correspondence between the military authorities
and himself, which was agreed to.

On Friday, March 9, Lord ST. LEONARDS remarked
upon the defects that existed in the present system of
convict management, especially as regarded the Liberation
of Prisoners with Tickets of Leave. He inquired
whether any better scheme was under preparation by
the government.—Earl GRANVILLE confessed that the
system now pursued had somewhat disappointed the
expectations formed of it. There were, he urged, many
difficulties in the way of finding a fitting destination for
convicts whom it was not considered right to retain in
prison. Attention was carefully bestowed by the government
to the subject, and every improvement it was found
possible to introduce would be readily adopted.—Earl
GREY censured the practice of encouraging policemen
to follow released convicts and prevent their obtaining
employment. He recommended the government to send
a large number of convicts to Western Australia and
other available colonies.—The Lord CHANCELLOR
recognised the abstract advantages of the system of
transportation, which had been discontinued only in deference
to the feeling of the colonists. With respect to the
tickets of leave, he contended that the experiment had,
on the whole, proved successful, and a large number of
convicts had become honest members of society.

On Monday, March 12, the Earl of LUCAN read two
letters on the subject of his Application for a Court-
martial. The first, from the adjutant-general, was a
repetition of Lord Hardinge's refusal to grant his
request. The second was Lord Lucan's reply. He
moved that these papers be produced by the
government.—Lord PANMURE said that the government
concurred in opinion with the commander-in-chief,
but that he was ready to produce the papers moved
for.

On Thursday, March 15, Earl GREY inquired respecting
the system of Purchasing Commissions in the Army,
and confessed his reluctance to inaugurate any sudden
change in the existing practice, but declared his conviction
that the present mode of obtaining admission to the
army could not endure much longer. Alluding especially
to the purchase of first commissions, he inquired
what system was followed by the government in granting
commissions without purchase, and dwelt upon the
necessity of ascertaining the talent and capacity of the
candidates who were thus favoured.—Lord PANMURE
replied that the selection of officers for commissions
without purchase was made, first, from the cadets who
had achieved distinction at Sandhurst Military College;
secondly, from the sons of military officers who had
performed distinguished services; and thirdly, from the
sons of poor clergymen. Should these classes of candidates
prove insufficient, recourse was had to the general
list of applicants, who were selected, upon proof of their
individual fitness, according to the order in which their
names stood on the list. Many commissions, he added,
had lately been given to this class, the eligible age being
also extended from eighteen to twenty-two years, on
account of the great demand for officers at present.

On Monday, March 19, the Earl of LUCAN moved for
copies of some reports and correspondence respecting the
Charge of the Light Cavalry Brigade at the Action of
Balaklava. He detailed with much minuteness the
proceedings of that day, and the tenor of the orders he
had received from Lord Raglan, contending that these
orders, together with the positions of the various
English and French corps at the time, left him entirely
without discretion to decline or delay their execution.
He commented upon the letters that had subsequently
passed between himself, the commander-in-chief, and
the war-office, which had terminated in his (Lord
Lucan's) recall from the Crimea, and vindicated throughout
the whole series of transactions. He concluded by
renewing his demand for a court-martial, before which
he might prove his case.—After a few words from the
Earl of CARDIGAN, Lord PANMURE explained that the
reason why Lord Lucan had been recalled arose from
no doubt of his professional ability, but from discordances
which rendered his continued service under
Lord Raglan inexpedient. The request for a court-
martial he continued to think unprecedented, and saw
no reason to make an exception in the present instance.
—Viscount HARDINGE added some further explanation
of the course adopted by the war-office towards Lord
Lucan.—The Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Derby,
the Duke of Newcastle, and the Earl of Hardwicke,
briefly spoke, and the Earl of Lucan having replied, the
motion was agreed to.

On Tuesday, March 20, Lord LYNDHURST called
attention to the Present Position of Prussia with
regard to the War and the negotiations now in progress
at Vienna. He discussed the subject at great length, in
a speech so full of matter that it does not admit of
abridgement. After premising that the aggressions of
Russia, especially with respect to the navigation of
the Danube, had seriously imperilled the interests of
every Germanic nation, he traced the conduct of the
Prussian government throughout the whole period that
had elapsed since the invasion of the Principalities by
the late Czar. This conduct, he declared, evinced a
degree of servility and vacillation which destroyed all
possibility of placing faith in the professions of Prussia.
The government of that country had always subserved
Russian interests, and seemed to be guided by Russian
inspiration. Acquitting the Prussian nation of any
complicity in the policy of their rulers, he exhorted the
British ministers to pursue their course, whether of war
or diplomacy, in perfect independence of Prussia.—The
Earl of CLARENDON confessed that the charge of
vacillation and timidity might justly be alleged against the
Prussian government. He declared that Prussia had
not been admitted as a party in the proceedings of the
Vienna conference, although he did not apprehend that
all hope was lost of inducing that country to become a
firm and active member of the alliance against Russia,
a result to which considerations for her honour and
intererest alike pointed.

On Friday March 23rd, Earl GRANVILLE brought
up a royal message, communicating to the house the
tenor of the recent Convention with the King of
Sardinia.

Lord BROUGHAM laid on the table a series of
resolutions in reference to Criminal Procedure, which he
supported by some prolonged comments upon the
existing system and possible improvements of criminal
jurisprudence in this country.—The Lord CHANCELLOR
having added some observations on the subject,
their lordships adjourned at a quarter-past seven
o'clock.

On Monday, March 26th, an address in reply to the
royal message respecting the Convention with Sardinia
was moved by the Earl of CLARENDON, who briefly
recapitulated the heads of the treaty in question, and
pointed out the advantages which it secured to the
Allied Powers in carrying on the war against Russia.
—After a few words of concurrence and congratulation