Miss Elizabeth Garrett, a lady-physician, and a well known advocate of woman's rights, so effectually at the head of the poll, that she received 20,000 votes more than any other. candidate in any part of London, the number recorded for her being upwards of 45,000. Amongst the other successful candidates were Professor Huxley, Mr. Rogers, the Rector of Bishopsgate, a name well known in connexion with education (whose election was a high and spontaneous compliment, as he had come forward late in the day and with very little canvassing), Miss Emily Davies, Lord Lawrence, Mr. W. H. Smith, and Dr. Barry, the Principal of King's College. One working-man alone was returned, Mr. Lucraft, whom Finsbury selected as the last of her successful candidates. The Board comprised three Roman Catholics and one Baptist minister, besides members of other religious communities.

The provincial cities and large towns placed under the new Act also elected their respective Boards at the same period. At Liverpool and at Bradford there was no contest, the leaders of different religious parties and others having met and agreed to nominate a proportionate number of candidates for each interest. In Manchester another lady, Miss Lydia Becker, secured one of the seats, and the elected Board comprised six Churchmen, two Wesleyans, two Roman Catholics, two Secularists, and one Presbyterian. At Leeds an Independent headed the poll with nearly 50,000 votes, and the Board further comprised six Churchmen (one a clergyman), three Wesleyans, two Roman Catholics, one Primitive Methodist, one Free Methodist, and one Unitarian. At other places also the members elected belonged to different persuasions in fair proportion, while at Sheffield a Roman Catholic headed the poll. Under these various conditions even the supporters of the Birmingham League might hope that the new scheme for the education of the people, thus seriously undertaken, after years of talk and procrastination, would bid fairly for success.

CHAPTER IV.

Navy and Army Estimates-The Budget-Local Taxation-Condition of the Money. market and the State of Trade before the declaration of War-Effect of the War upon them-Variations in the Bank rate of Discount-Increased imports of wheat -Minor Acts of the Session-The Clerical Disabilities Act-Married Women's Property Bill-Halfpenny Postage-Disfranchised Boroughs-New Foreign Enlistment Act-Failure of the University Tests Bill-Ballot Bill-Marriage Law Amendment Bill-Motion to inquire into the Commercial Treaty-Condition of Indian Appeals-The Lord Chancellor's Bill-The Greek Massacres-Debates in Parliament upon them-Speeches of Sir R. Palmer, Sir H. Bulwer, Mr. Gladstone, Lord Carnarvon, Lord Clarendon-The Civil Service thrown open-Surrender of the Military Prerogative of the Crown.

The Navy Estimates were brought forward by Mr. Childers in the first month of the Session, upon a motion that 61,000 men and

boys be employed in the sea and coastguard service for the coming year. He commenced by stating the gross amount of the Estimates at 9,250,0007., and, comparing them with the Estimates of former years, he showed that they were the lowest since 1858-9, and involved a saving of 1,700,000l. on the Estimates of 1868-9, and of three-quarters of a million on those of 1869-70. Passing to the particulars of the reduction, he stated that in the vote for pay and allowances there was a saving of 100,000l., there being a reduction of 2000 in the number of men and boys employed. In the vote for clothing there was a saving of 205,000l., stores, 47,000/.; ship-building, 300,0007.; Civil Department, 10,0007.; and Transport Service, 57,0007. On the other side there was an increase for the extension of the dockyards, and of 189,000l. for the non-effective services. He then proceeded to explain the policy of the Admiralty under the heads of Administration, Ship-building, Employment of our Fleet, Number of Men, and Promotion. Under the first head he described in detail the extensive administrative changes made in the various departments, the effect of which, as a rule, had been not only great economy, but largely increased efficiency, and he claimed for the Admiralty the credit of having carried out the disagreeable duty of reduction with the utmost possible consideration for individuals. Under the head of Ship-building he stated that when the ships now in course of construction were finished we should have 31 broadside armoured vessels, including two of the first class, six of the second, nine of the third, eight of the fourth, four of the fifth, and one of the sixth, and nine turret-ships, in addition to an efficient force of about 100 unarmoured ships, a much stronger force, as he showed by comparison, than was possessed either by France or the United States. Respecting the artificers who had been discharged from Woolwich on the closing of the yard there, out of 2000 men 830 establishment men and 175 others had been transferred to other yards, 200 had been pensioned, 200 granted gratuities, and about 300 assisted to emigrate. The staffs at other yards were also being reduced, and it was the intention of Government to assist the discharged men to go to Canada. Ships would be provided for them, and if space remained, it would be placed at the disposal of the Emigration Commissioners for the benefit of the persons to be taken from dockyard towns, as well as Woolwich and Sheerness. As to the future, the Admiralty, after careful consideration, had come to the conclusion that in ordinary times we ought to build annually above 12,000 tons of armoured, and 7,500 tons of unarmoured ships; 4000 by contract, and the rest in the dockyards. This would require about 6,000 men for building purposes alone, and a dockyard expenditure of about 2,500,000. The shipbuilding programme for the year contemplated 12 new ships, including an improved vessel of the unmasted Thunderer type, and a frigate of a type intermediate between the Inconstant and Volage, all experience pointing to the supreme importance of pushing on the most powerful class

of armoured ships and the fastest cruisers. All our iron ships would be kept in order to go to sea, and the result, with the arrangements for the Reserve which he described, would be that the Navy would be in a more thoroughly efficient condition than at any time in its history. Though satisfied with the Service gun up to the 12-inch gun, the Admiralty had come to the conclusion that it was not powerful enough for the new vessels of the Thunderer type, and they desired, therefore, that there should be a trial between the Whitworth and Service guns, restricted entirely to this particular purpose. In explaining the proposed distribution of the fleet, he announced that another flying squadron would be despatched this year, and that the coastguard district ships would be sent on a eruise, to form a sort of second Channel Fleet, and he described in detail the means by which the Admiralty proposed to get rid of all the useless men in the service, and to strengthen the Reserve, by which he calculated he would secure a Reserve of 37,000 blue jackets and marines. Finally, he gave an elaborate exposition of the new plan of retirement, the basis of which was the compulsory retirement of admirals of the fleet at 70 years of age, of admirals and vice-admirals at 65, of rear-admirals at 60, captains at 55, commanders at 50, and lieutenants at 45. Flag officers, too, would be compelled to retire after ten years of non-service, captains after seven years, and commanders after five years. The scale of retirement, based on age and service, would range from 2007. to 8007., and the list of officers would be reduced to 2,336. The financial effect of the scheme would be, beginning with a loss of 54,0007. in the first year, to save the country from 300,000l. to 350,0007. a year. He concluded a three hours' speech abounding in the fullest details about all the departments by claiming for the Estimates that they provided for efficiency in the public service, for economy, and for retrenchment in the Navy.

Mr. Corry, on behalf of the Conservative party, regarded the great reductions the Government were making as ill-timed and in a wrong direction, and declared that they deprived the Admiralty and the dockyards of all power of meeting an emergency. He also found many faults with the building programme; but his remarks, though meeting with much approbation, did not lead to any material modification of the Government plan.

Mr. Cardwell, in moving the Army Estimates a few days later, said that they were founded on the policy he had laid down in the previous year, that, in time of peace, our military power should be maintained in such a position as to be capable of easy extension, and, with reserves close at hand, readily available for a sudden emergency. The total charge they imposed on the country was 12,975,000l., a decrease of 1,136,9007. on the previous year (or, taking into view the effective services alone, of 1,183,5007.), and on the year before that of 2,330,8007. This great economy, he asserted, had been gained without any sacrifice of efficiency. In arguing this point, he pointed out that our undue expenditure

on the military service had arisen from three main causes-our great colonial garrisons, the relation of our military finance with India, and the absence of proper control over the supplies; and he went on to describe in detail the policy of the War-office under these three heads. Our military expenditure on the colonies had been reduced from 3,388,0237. in 1868-9, and 2,589,8867. in 1869-70, to 1,905,5387.; and, including such stations as Malta and Gibraltar, which must be considered Imperial garrisons, the strictly colonial expenditure had been reduced from 1,838,0827. in 1868 to 1,216,8427. in 1869, and to 674,2567. in 1870, and the number of men from 49,000 to 20,941. In addition to this it was proposed to disband the Canadian Rifle Regiment, the Cape Mounted Rifles, the 3rd West India Regiment, and the African Artillery, amounting to 2,530 men. This policy he vindicated as training the colonies to rely on their own spirit and energy, and increasing by concentrating the strength of the Imperial power. Owing to financial causes, there had also been a reduction in the Indian establishment by one-third of its number, 3,201 men. Then arose the question whether the British taxpayer should have the benefit of these reductions by a corresponding reduction of the force at home, and in the decision. of this question four considerations had to be kept in view-whether the force at home was adequate, whether its distribution and organisation were such as to make it capable of easy extension, whether we had trustworthy reserves, and, lastly, the manner in which the reduction was to be made. Considering that we had 86,225 men of the regular Army at home, distributed in 105 batteries of artillery, 19 regiments of cavalry, and 68 battalions of infantry, and that the Reserve Forces added to these gave us an army of 109,225 available for foreign war, the Government had concluded that it was their bounden duty to give the country the benefit of the colonial reductions. He then went on to explain minutely the mode in which the reductions of the home establishment were to be carried out, by the reduction of the number of companies in all infantry regiments, with a view to our relation of military finance with India, from 12 to 10, and of troops in a cavalry regiment from 8 to 7; the abolition of second majors and of depôt battalions, and certain alterations in the artillery depôts. The depôt brigade at Maidstone would be abolished, and that at Woolwich much reduced. A prominent feature in the scheme was a reduction in the number of subalterns (the total of the reduction amounting to 1,239 officers, whose annual pay amounted to 164,3557.); and in connection with this, Mr. Cardwell explained a complicated plan for the gradual absorption of these officers, and the abolition of the rank of ensign and cornet which, he showed, involved a first step towards the abolition of the purchase system. Everybody on entering the army would enter it as lieutenant, as in the Artillery and Engineers. Passing next to the reserve forces, he announced that, in future, though the enlistment for the regular Army would still continue to be for 12 years, the service in regiments going abroad would be for six years, with the possibility of reducing the term at home to three

years. The remaining six years' service would be in the Reserve, the men being liable to be called out like the Naval Reserve, and receiving a retaining pay of 4d. per day. This plan for creating a Reserve he only put forward as an experiment, acknowledging that many great military authorities did not expect it to succeed, but he hoped that it would attract new classes into our military service, and add largely to our Reserve Forces. He passed next rapidly over the changes made in the Estimates with regard to the Militia, Yeomanry, and Volunteers, all of which were of minor importance; and as the general sum of the whole, he stated that our disposable forces for the current year would amount to 376,602-namely, Regulars and First Army Reserve and Militia Reserve (available for foreign service), 109,225; second Army of Reserve, 20,000; Militia (less Militia Reserve), 63,600; Yeomanry, 15,300; Volunteers, 168,477. This force, too, would be made more disposable by the division of the country into great military districts, in which the Regulars and the Reserves of every kind would be included in the same organization. The country would be for this purpose divided into nine great military commands, with fourteen districts within those commands, conterminous with them and with the counties. Next he referred to the introduction of the new Control Department, of the success and increasing efficiency of which he spoke in confident terms; its economy proving itself by the fact that there had been a reduction of 179 officers, and a saving of 45,000/. in salaries. Finally, he touched on the contemplated reconstruction of the War Departments, the improvements in military education, the changes as to military prisons, and the step taken to instruct the troops in spade-drill, in telegraphing, and in various handicrafts, and concluded by expressing a confident belief that the Estimates, if adopted by the House, would place the country in a perfectly safe and honourable position.

Sir John Pakington, in commenting on the Army Estimates, would not give an unqualified approval to the scheme, the main foundation of which was a great reduction in the Army. He did not approve of the alienation of the colonies by stripping them of their military defence. The object of the Government seemed to be to keep a large military force in England, where their services were least required. As regards a Reserve Force, it was nonsensical to call 9,000 men by such a name. He approved of the experiment of short enlistment, but doubted that it would have the effect anticipated. He disapproved of a reversion to the old system of making a troop a cavalry unit instead of a squadron, and thought that the Government was reducing the forces of the country to an extent that was hardly wise.

Among the other speakers were Major Walker, Colonel North, Colonel Barttelot, and Captain Vivian, who, while desiring to combine economy with efficiency, and acknowledging the principle of control and reorganization to be effective, questioned the policy of Government in reductions of men, and in entirely depriving our dependencies of military support.