ABSTRACT
There was little business done in the upper house during the week, but there were some interesting discussions notwithstanding. One of these took place on Tuesday, on the subject of the destitute condition of the wives and families of the soldiers who have sailed for the East. Lord St. Leonards is the head of the movement that has taken place in this matter out-of-doors; and, on the day in question, he moved for returns of the number of wives and children of soldiers in active service in the East, or ordered there—not with the view of obtaining any assistance from the Government, but for the purpose of leading to something like a systematising of individual efforts for their assistance. His Lordship said that, “having had occasion lately to consider the matter attentively, he ventured to say that, if the people of this country generally—and it could be done without any very great effort or expense—would take upon themselves, in the different parishes to which they belonged, to provide for one, or two, or three soldiers’ children during the war, they would not only provide maintenance and education for the particular children they took under their care, but they would, by taking off a portion of the burden, enable the soldiers’ wives to provide adequately for themselves, and the rest of their offspring.” The only objection offered to the course proposed was, that it was undesirable to hold out to soldiers any inducement to marry. This argument, however much or however little weight is to be attached to it, was not held to affect the exceptional course proposed by Lord St. Leonards, as he did not contemplate introducing any fixed system, but merely to alleviate the hardships arising out of an unexpected war, that had in many cases interfered with the reasonable expectations of the troops. The returns were ordered.
