The Express. — London, England, 1847-04-30 00:00:00

.THE EXPRESS, 'FRIDAY ,14V11N1144.1s APRIL 30, 1847. her pe grunyelyeaforeing it. To the priatipieseltbe . evert • be s ti ff adberole but his fructigal *Variance had led almeossiderably to modify his views as to details. In many the particulars he felt assured that great inconvenience gee arose would arise from a departure from the present liassentary supervision, he thought it " Par the budget a „ m eths quits as easy for d e partment to maces] seb if they desired to do so, by giving more minute • se when they humped votes together giving details in seelks: fora. As lion. Maxima here moved that the house be counted, p o t it proved that there were more than forty members ... es t, On our reporter's readzitiaron to the gallery, 'Leal. RUSSELL was expressing his concurrence in the e•ass of Sir J. Graham and Mr. Baring. He thought the H yde of the report war right, but in detail it was, for magnums, not desirable to adopt it. De DOWRING spoke briefly in reply, and withdrew the Mace THE NAVY. Kr. HUNIE then rose to move for " an inquiry into the esti of the nary since 1832, as regards the building, &Itera te" and repairs of her Majesty's ships." The hon. member slid thou could be little doubt that the naval architecture of i bj, °w intry during the last ten years had been retrograding. It bed been perfectly lamentable to witness. year after year, ths pertinacious resistance of each successive government of this *sentry to the introduction of scientific improvement kr or naval ship building. While every other maritime rut of Europe had been making efforts to improve its ✓arer eervice. England had insisted upon stagnation and c a ptain Symonds. The institution of the school of naval mthitecture had promised to be attended with the happiest s ip; but this school the right hon. baronet opposite (Sir J. Graham 1. for some reason or other, bad abolished 15 years ago ; sad, from that time to this, as he ( Mr. Hume) had predicted at the time, the country had been subjected to the most moostrous expenditure upon the very worst of bad ships, kilt for the moat part under the utterly incompetent diem. tier of Comic Symonds, a gentleman who might be a very guises officer, but who was perfectly unfit for the duties of Wryer of the Navy, from his entire want of scientific kaowledge of navel architecture, a want which he himself bad hilly admitted in 1831, and which he had never since 'applied. A committee which inquired into the subject in Ms, reported, among other things, that the shipwrights in the pubic yards were, almost to a man, destitute of that seentifie skill and knowledge which could alone produce good ships. In consequence of this report, the government of 1811 established a school of naval architecture, to the bist pupi:S of which it held out as prizi s various wellopaid offices in the public dockyards. This school went on for a few yens most pnenisingly, and sent out several pupils who had "nee distinguished themselves in building almost the *sly decent public ships that had hues constructed in war time, and in publishing some admirable treatises on the various branches of the subject, publications which 'routed a lurked contrast with the wretched attempts dist had protected from the pen of Captain Symonds who: e th e n was wen nigh as bad as his practice. These men. trims men, however, had not attained those rewards which thegevesnment of 1811 had held out to them, and the school itself, es he had already observed, was done away with by the right hon. barouet oppoeite, to the infinite injury tithe public service in every possible way. He (Mr. Hume) hod token the trouble to ascertain the exact number of skips built since 1832, and the history, as nearly as possible, each yew 1, and the result of his inquiries was that al most every one of them had been a failure, involving the tonntry in enormous expenditure, not merely for their an aul construction, but fur the interminable alterations which each had undergone, with little or no effect. (Hear, boar.) In the last fifteen scan no less • cum than twenty two millions of the public money had been laid out in wages contacted with ship building, and under suck grossly incompetent direction, that a large proportion of the expenditure had been sheer wa te, as he would prove if a commission were granted. The number of skips of the line constructed since 1832 was 20; of which nine were built from Captain Sy monda's designs; 10 from those of former surveyors, and 1 upon a French model. In the earns period, 26 new frigates lad been launched. a considerable proportion of them de signed by Captain Symonds, and 7 corvettes, 4 of them laid down by the same gentleman. With refer nee to these veer* and to those now in course of cone ruction, he wan prepared to show, on the fulh st and clearest seientihc and practical evidence. that almost every yew 1 laid down by Captain Symonds had turned out an utter failure in every quality requisite for a ship of war, in stowage, in floatage, sad for fighting. There was the P:que, for instance, which had been so highly vaunted in particular quarters : Captain Row pronounced it a had sea-boat, and a beet sea-boat it had thoroughly manifested itself. Had it even been a good vessel, the credit would have been none of Captain Symonclia, for it turned out to have been built after the model of a French ship, constructed 50 yews ago; both model and copy, however, were failures. Then, again, there was the Vernon ; why the Vernoy, in her first cruise with Admiral Collier, lurched so heavily that she broke her head reale short off, and displayed, in other respects., defects equally grow. Why this sort of thing should be the rule with the Royal Navy, he del not understand, for the vessels bult for the East India Company, and for our merchant service in drivate yards, were all, more order, well built, and did their uty without having to be sent hack for alteration after alteration. (Hear, bear.) And these alterations, let it be borne in mind, involved the country in most henry expen diture, details of which he was fully prepared to lay before any tribunal of inquiry. There was the Vanguard, fur instance, a ship that Admiral Bouvcrie and Lord Mint,. bad praised up as perfection. The alterations which it had been found necessary to make, and twee again, in this perfection of a vessel, had raised its total tut to 111,0001., the first cost of the hull having been 62.0001. There was the Queen, too, another fine production of Captain Syrtionds'a skill; this ship had been altered no fewer than three times, the entire cost being 127.0001., of which but 93,0001. had been expended on her first construction. (Hear, bear.) There was the Prince Albert, in Portsmouth-yard ; she was • 90-gun vend ; and when she put to sea she was found to have an inefficient stern, and to he a discredit to any yard. In Woolwich-yard there wan an SO-gun ship, the Boscawen. She was made a 70-gun ship by order, thereby wasting a great deal of timber. A part of her bow eras taken down and altered in June, 1840, when her stern was recon structed a second time. This ship cost a great deal of money, and was still but a wretched specimen of naval architecture. All this was done by the surveyor, and permitted by the Admiralty. There wan the packet Cygnet, at Portsmouth, where she kid her topsides taken down, and wan rebuilt for a 10-gun brig, while she was only capable of carrying six. Wea that setting a good example? There was also the Heroine, which was laid down for carrying 10 guns, her stem was altered, and she was fond capable of carrying only six. Ile would challenge any man to go into any private dockyard, and find such expensive and unless changes as these. There were the Express and the Swift, both built by contracts. As soon as they were built they underwent some alterations. There was the Star, built at Woolwich ; she was so bad, that when she put to sea, she lot her mast, and all the men on deck were washed overboard. In Chatham yard the Welverene had a new bow put in. The Orpheus, after a great many altera tion:a, was taken to piece., and distributed amongst other ships. That was the way in which the public money was meat. The Goliah, an S;)-gun, while in frame, and having her stern taken down, was obliged to have her timbers kept secure with iron 'undo. If she had been properly constructed. there would have been no necessity for those bands. All that he stated went to show the great incepteny of the sur veyor, and delinquency on the part of the Admiralty, for allowing such proceedings to take place. There were the Mars and the Vanguard, which had also to undergo exten sive alterations. In Slieernear, the Serpent and Snake underwent extensive repairs. The Pembroke, the Coiling wood. the Daphne. the Sealark, the Redwing, the St. George, the Volcano, the Beelzebub, were obliged to be altered at great expease ' and were, nevertheless, failures. All this went to prove the vacillation of the Admiralty, who made orders for alterations on one day, which they countermanded the neat. The Union, a 98 gun ship, was °virtu' to be reduced to a 74. She was taken to pieces for the purpose, and ultimately she was not rebuilt, but disposed of an /tome other way. There were one or two fine vessels sacrificed, all through the ales nee of a proper surveyor. The Scar. 'smooch, a 74. gun ship, was only a fow months at sea when she sou condemned by Sir W. Symonds, and sold for 6,0001., and it was pron. d that she was worth 40.0001. (Hear, bear.) The Thames, a hoe rue', was made a convict ship after being condemned, and sent to Bermuda as such, though she was an fine a vessel as could be. The Liebe, quite a new ship, built by Sir R. Sydney, was now made a receivingehip at Woolwich. The Redoubtable, also a good ship, which was never at sea, was condemned, and broken up at Chatham -yard. By these, sold other such prweeedimrs, the navy had lost her hest ships, and had none hut-verde which had undergone alterations. The efficiency of the navy bed been thus vary much affected. They were constantly making changes, without knowing by any experiments whe ther they were necessary ; and after they had been made, they did not know whether they were beneficial. It was of great importance to know whether the surveyor had done his duty, or whether the Admiralty bad sees that he had done his duty. One instruction of the Secretary of the Ad miralty to the surveyor was, that he should m ,ke a report every year of the newels which he thought to be sound or otherwise, and what alterations he considered it advisable to make. Now he found, that since the year 1841, no such re port had been made. The late Secretary of the Admiralty had given orders to atop the construction of six ships, which were being built on the lines of the Albino, which was found to be a failure. In that instance they laid six vessels on the lines or a ship which was never at ass, and whose quality they knew nothing about. The steamboats built he Sir W. Symonds were for the mast part failures. He would Meant. the Blazer, the Tartarus, the Volcano, the Gorgon, and the Royal Yacht, which wet altered again and again, and which he believed cart the immense sum of 100,000/. He thought that in what he brought before the house he made out a good cage for inquiry, and he called upon them es speedily as possible to arrest the heath of the destroyer, for be could be called nothing Ave. He had ales a bat of several other vessels, midi' bad been taken down and destroyed, but as he had and seingh to prove that great irregularities had taken place, that great sums had been expended, and that it was time to put a slop to any Blither misapplication of the public. money, he won oat trouble the house with going through it. He might be told that the government appointed& committee of reference, but this only showed that previous Board, of Admiralty doubted the wisdom and authority of Sir Wiliam Symonds. Re believed that committee condemned the line of ships completely, although it connoted of shipwrights who were IlVder himself. Os the ground then of expenditure, of edu di en, and for the public interest, he asked the house to agree to his motion " for an inquiry into the state of the easy sines 11132, as regarded the building, alterations, and repairs of her Majentees ships." (Hear.) Lord INGESTRE seconded the motion. The subject was one that ought deeply to concern every representative of this maritime country, and the thanks of the public were des to the hon. =ember for the pains which he had taken in eolloning the fects he had detailed to the home. (Hear, hair.) Hs did not desire to throw blame ea the Bard of Admiralty or any particular individual, but if fault was to be found it must be imputed to the board over which the right hon. baronet (Sir J. Graham) presided, for haring appended a surveyor to the navy, without being cer tain of kisz i td e ily to performs the duties of that office. Indeed be the utile of that aim es too much fur any one man The hon. member for Menem* had when the exp. uses of particular vessels. He (Lord Ingest's') would elate what it was in the total. In 180. the total can for constructing sailing vends was 1,356,0001. ; for steamers the eclat was the tame. A great many alterations in the vessels had been made which would not be necessary if they were constructed at first on sound principles. lie had re ceived a letter on this subject from Capt. R. Burton, which stated that the Albion was originally cimetructed to curry 68-pounders, but she sank so much, that it was found nee. s eery to substitute 32apounden, and even with the latter she plied 45 degrees ; and the chances were that, if she had been tried in the winter in the Bay of Biscay,she would have rolled completely over. This was owing to the weights above being so heavy, while the water, stores, and provisions, below the centre of gravity, were decreasede by consumption. That atheement involved the whole question. The whole fault in the construction of these ships was the want of stability below the centre of gravity, to balance the super structure above them. This want made them top-heavy. (Hear.) With respect to the trials that had been made of the vessels built by the surveyor of the navy and others, he would state that the Castor best the Pique live times, the Inconstant beat the Pique tan firma whereas the Pique heat the Inconstant only twice. 'On another occasion the inconstant beat the Pique eight times. Sir Gordon Bremer, in his report. said that no further trial was necessary , m ud yet the Pique was a model &hip. In like manner the Baron beat the Vernon thirteen times; the Vernon the B iron only three times. The E.piegle beat the Flying Fish in eleven trials; the Flying Fish the lispiegle only six. The Raleigh again beat tit- Constance, the improved Vernon, which was to be the paragon of the seas. The Eurydice beat the Spartan, the Thetis the Superb, and he believed the Terrible also beat the Retribution. There was a most discreditable system practised of getting rid of ships built by rival contractors. —(hear, hau)—stud selling them for lees than they were worth. He concurred with the hoe. member for Montrose as to the suicidal policy of destroying their School of Naval Archi tecture. Besides, it was an act of great injustice. lie had no party feeling on the subject of the motion, but he had • great desire to see the navy of England placed on an equal, it not a superior, footing to that of any other navy in the world, • and so long as they continued to proceed on the present us. satisfactory plan would they have ships which would be exposed to the risk of defeat in • future war. He hoped the government would be induced to grant the inquiry, and also to re-establish a school to further the object. lie also trusted that the government would see the propriety of making public the report of the gentlemen who built the Tnetis, at Chatham, and that of the Committee on Shipwrecks. The question having been put, Mr. WARD said it was not his intention to follow his hon friend through that hill of indictment which he had pre ferred, not against the present government merely, but against every government which had had anything to do with the naval administration of affairs is this country during the last fifteen years. (Hear, hear.) lie would stite at once, however, that having at heart, no less than the hon. gen tleman and the noble lord, the efficiency of the English navy, her Majesty's government did not see how that efficiency could be promoted, or any good end attained by seceding to the motion. (Hear, hear.) No doubt errors had been committed—(hear, hear, from Sir C. Napier) ;--no doubt money had been erimapent • no doubt there had been a want of proper preesulimanot under any one government in particular, but under all governments. (Hear, hear.) The first paragraph of the instructions given to the committee of reference stared that it was desirable to adopt etch plans only as, after due examination, would ensure the greatest pomiblo degree of efficiency. He admitted the utility and the necessity of the check which had been so im pea ; but then, he said, that the moment when that check was established was not the proper moment for moving for a committee of inquiry iuto past errors. (Hear, hear.) The committee of reference was composed of the very men whose loss the hone table member deplored, being presided over by his noble friend, Lord John Hay, one of the most scientific men, as well as one of the most pretreat sailors and othcers in the naval service. Dascussions of thirna'ure, whether aU the compleints were just or not, did iu?lnite good, by making men cautious and preventing a recurrence of mistakes ; but as to devising at once, by means of any body of men, a perfect model for the future construc tion of ships, he was a total disbeliever in any such project. (Hear, hear.) In the construction of • ship of war, so various were the qualifications required to be united, that under any circumstances it must he extremely difficult to obtain a per. fect model. The Thetis had been largely and justly praised that evening; but the gentleman by whom that vessel was constructed, had intimated an opinion that she was sot p erfection ; and his hon. and gallant friend (Sir C. Napier) admitted that considerable improvements might be made also in the Salon. How were the merits of ships to be determined except by referring to practical men ? His hon. friend had himself shown how much authorities differed on the subject. Ile held i,t his hand a letter from Sir Wm. Parker, speaking of the Albioa and the Queen. As regarded the Albion, Sir William Parker said that although she did not sail so fast as true Venguard, the Belton', or the Ceno pue, yet the manner in which she stood up under her can vas was quite astonishing. With respect to the Queen, be said that her sailing was geaerally supe rior to that of the Albion, and that he consi dered her by far the finest ship of her clue, and that in • general chase she would be found to rank among the best. He found discrepancies existing on all hands, in fact, which showed that they had not yet arrived at anything like a naval standard ; and he only wished that those who so much admired the naval school of architecture, would take a lesson from the moderate men connected with it. (Hear. hear.) He held in his hand an extract from a report whi• h he had been milked to present. Did Messrs. Iteed and Chaplin sty that they were able to present to the world • perfect model ? Certainly not; what they said was, that there were no insuperable obstacles to progressive improve ment, and that en inductive reasoning, based on mathe matical investigation, might be applied with great advantage to naval architecture. He could not help remarking upon the looseness of the evidence which his hon. Iris ad bad adduced. Had not the house thought that there were two sides to the question, the hon. member would not have had so small a number as about twenty listeners whilst delivering his ad dress. Unless there had been two rival parties connected with ship-building, such inettention could not have been manifested. (Laughter.) As to the re-establishment of the College of Naval Architecture, that was a question of the utmost difficulty. Could anything be more fatal to the hopes of the large muse, of men concerned, than to see the prospect of naval promotion checked and clogged by the perpetual interposition of a number of young officers? (Hear, hear.) By the comae they were pursuing the government hoped to get rid of all that gross ignorance which had characterised the ap prentices in the dockyards. Under the present regulations no boy was admitted who could not read and write, and who hail not received the elements of a decent education. His hon. friend just before he left office had had the pleasure of attaching his name to • circular which made it necessary that there should be two years attendance at the dockyard school, and that the education of the youths should be completed at the public expense in an establishment formed for the - pu-pose at Portsmouth. By such means they hoped to secure a much better educated class of officere. Allusion had been made to Sir William Symonds. He did not mean to say that Sir William was a faultless man, but he thought that he was at present an under-rated M.lll. At first, too great expectations were ra , sed,:and now justice was not done. (Hear, hear.) Certain it wee, that at the outset Sir William Symonds had rendered most eminent service. He was now most unfortunately situated, in having an influential party arrayed against him. Enough had bade d oacurred to induce cautioa in the laying down of six skips like the Albion. (Hear, hear.) Still after such letters as that of Sir W. Parker, he must say that it was unjust to carp at Sir William Symonds, and to say, at a time when we had as fine • fleet as ever floated, that our ships were not fit to face an enemy. However these ships might be decried, he would ask, was there an officer present who would declare that any one of them could not face any French three-decker which might be brought against it? (Heat. hear.) In conclusion he would state, that no plans or drawings would be selected by the present Board of Admiralty, without having been referred to the committee of selection, and etportni upon, but he could not make the eonoession which would be in volved in his acceding to the motion. (Hear, hear.) Sir J. GRAHAM said that there could be no doubt that this was a fitting eubject for the consideration of parliament. (Hear, bear.) We boasted in this country the best seamen of the world ; and it was only right and just that we should provide for those seamen the strongest, best, and swiftest ships-of-war that skill and science could enable us to build. (Hear ' hear.) It was upon that principle that he had always acted when et the heal of the maritime affairs of this country; and it was from a consideration of that principle that he had, when in office, appointed Sir William Symonds to the surveyorahip of the navy, an appointment of which he did not hesitate for one moment to admit his responsibility. (Hear, hear.) The hon. member throughout the present dis cussion had assumed that Sir W. Symonds was wholly destitute of science . His naval skill no one doubted ; every gallant member in the house would, he was sure, frankly acknowledge it. But the fact was, that Sir W. Symonds' acquaintance with the art of ship-building won very considerable ; it was a subject he had studied scientifi cally as well as pnicticelly, and that acquaintance, combined with his navel experience, his rneral knowledge, his great capacity', and his admitted ability, rendered him a most fit officer for the post which he had been appointed to fill. In every branch of this profession the most angry— not to say the most sicions—feeling had been displayed upon this matter, and Captain Symonde, lino doubt, had to encounter, is consequence, • most determined and violent hostility. But before he spoke further of Captain Symonds, let him advert to a charge which had been brought against him by the hon. member, of having taken steps, in concert with the Board of Admi ralty, of which he w is the head, to abolish the eo.cailed School of Naval Architecture. The School of Naval Archi tecture was one from which, before he assumed office, great benefits had been xpected, but which had brought forth very little fruit. The hon, member spoke of the " prizes" open to the students of the School cf Naval Architecture, and had charged him with aboashiog those prizes and thereby ruining the prospects of the school. Certainly, when lie took office he found it desirable and necessary to abolish • large number of lucrative offices in dockyards and elsewhere, bi cause thev were unnecessary and expensive; but he denied that the abolition of those places was incon sistent with the maintenance of good faith towards those who had ontawithe saga or wee ay iatorhreacia with the prospect asset M Haw. No ate of his, be emesobas. timely mould sa, bad been tainted with Wade* to any indlvide. As to " prime" far atabonts at the &gloat of Naval Architectore, what wore the facts Ho held in his band a list of dime holding some of the best ad luta lucrative apaisitatents is the dockyards; and what did he led 1 Thelettatv ship= at Portamouth was a student of 'the Saud if Naval tutor', and so was the nester shipirrt at Tombeau end the master shipwright at Chathies. The had of the la chiaery depot at Woolwich wee a student of the same school; aad if he_looked to other offices, he found them filled by parties who had equally received their education in the school. So far from any injustice, therefore, hiving. been done to these students, they had received more than ample justice at the hands of the Admiralty. (Hear, bear.) Hut to return t • Sir W. Symonds. 'the boo. memher's first charge wee, that improvement of constriction had not been progressive of late years in England—in fact, that foreign countries had advanced considerably beyond us. Let them examine hew this fact stood. lie believed he was justified in saying, that, at the end of the French war, the best ships in the English navy were ship. which we bari captured trots the French, or which we had built upon the French lines. ('' Hear, hear," from Sir C Napier.) or all these ships, there wu none, perhaps, more distinguished than the Canopus. She wee universally considered the best ves sel of her class in our navy. (Hear, bear.) Now, in several recent trials, the Canopus had been sent to sea with ships of Sir William Symonds's construction ; and, unless he was very much misinformed, the Canopus which, at the end ut the war, was so superior to any ship built even in our own dockyards upon French linos, proved herself vastly inf nor to those of the more recent constructions. (Hear, hear.) The hon. member had said that some years baCk, be '(Sit J. Owallaala) bd rested his opinion on Sir William Symonds, sad consented to stake his reputation upon the nemess of the Vernon. (Hear.) But what were the opinioas easel cal men respecting toe Vernon. He held in his hand the. report of Captain Sir Francis Collier, whom he had ap pointed to this ship on her trial cruise, by the ads ice of Sir Thomas Hardy, and than whom a better sailor never existed. (Hear.) What did Sir Francis Collier aster the Vernon? On she 17th September, 1832, he wrote thus, "I have to report very favourably of the Vernon. She stores better thin I expected. She stands up to her sails, and is the easiest ship I ever sailed in, in a heavy head sea. (Hear, hear.) She pitches heavy but easily. She rolls eseily. She is the handiest ship I was ever in. Take her for all in all. I think her perfection." (Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") But other shim of Sir W. Symonds had been named. The charges against the Queen had been disposed of by the Secretary to the Admiralty. The Vanguard was another of his ships. Of that revel the late Sir C. Paget wrote, " Her superiority in all points of railing greedy die tinguiehes her. I am in admiration with hes." Sir It. Stopford had this vessel under his command in that fleet in which the gallant officer below him (Sir C. Napier) so highly distinguishes) himself, and he (Sir .1. Graham) wm informed (the gallant almtral could correct him if he was wrong) that Sir R. Stopford declared that such was his opinion of the power of the anguard, that he deemed it unnecessary to have a ship to windward of the squadron, because the Van guard could be sent to windward at any time. (Hear, hear.) The Collingwood, which was another of Sir W. Symonds's vessels, and which Mad been an the South American station, under the command of Sir George Seymour, had woo equal applause from that officer. (Hear, hear.) And here he would beg the house to bear in mind, that this Sir William Symonds, who was thus attacked, bad, since 1832, the year of his appointment, had to serve under five or six different Boards of Admiralty, composed of men of different polities', and different views upon nautical matters, all of whom hod thought him not unworthy of their milldam*, and all of whom were of consequence_ collectively and individually, sharers of his (Sir James Graham's) responsibility as to Capt. Symonds's appointment. (Hear, hear.) When, therefore, they talked of rumours to this officer's disadvantage—of having heard ibis from one quarter and that from another —let him ask, did not the opinions of five or six different Boards of Admiralty and of a large number of the best officers. in the service who had tried and reported upon the merit; of his ship., present a mass of evidence which ought at once to check the aspersions sought to be cast upon has character? (Hear.) Ile (Sir J. Graham) might tell the house—that which he had often told Sir W. Symonds himself—that he considered it the misfortune of every welleonceived theory, that its designer clung to it with pertinacity, instead of applying his mind to the correction of the defects which others might discover in his system. (Herr, hear.) Over and over ao,ain be bad entreated Sir W. Symonds to attend respectfully to the representation' which were made to him—to consider carefully such alterations as might be pointed out to him—with • view to apply correc tion to acknowledged defects in a system, in the theory of which he was persuaded there was much wisdom and excellence, and which had this great and import ant consideration to recommend it, that it was a theory adopted in its mein principles by all who had followed in the name profession. (Hear, hear, and a cry of "No.") Yes ! There could be no doubt that it wee so. The defect in our ships of war when Sir W. Symonds commenced his labours ' was insu ffi ciency of beam, and :rant of stability. Sit W. Symonds, admittedly, had remedied these defects, and he gave hie ships • power of carrying sail which no vessels had ever possessed before. To obtain these ad• vantages, Captain Symonds had no doubt sacrificed eciractaing; but it was his (Sir J. Graham's) belief, that experience would correct all the existing defects, end that the system itself would ultimately be proved to be the best that could be adopted. (Cheers.) One other point that the hon. member had adverted to was worthy some at tention. He had referred to the question of cost attending alterations. For his own part be (:sir J. Graham) could not say that he thought it was throwing away money to try, in time of peace, the relative advantages of various modes of naval architecture. And when it was said that science witienst naval skill was the power beet capable of making a perfect ship of war, eases might be cited to prove strongly the converse of the proposition. What ship had that evening been mentioned as the best in the service ? The Inconstant. Who built the Inconstant ? A gallant admiral—an admira ble naval officer—a man of science to a certain extent, cer tainly, but or.e who had devoted his early life to his profes sion, and who only took up the art of construction as an amusement. (Hear, bear.) The Eurydice had, also, been cited. The Eurydice was built by Admiral Elliot, an officer with whom he had ha I the pleasure of sitting at the Admi ralty, but who, certainly, he had never heard classed as an eminently scientific m in. But what ship had required the greatest outlsy before she was made available? The Rodney, • ship to which the boo. member had referred. No less than 141,0001. had been spent to correct defects in that one vessel. And by whom was the Rodney built? Not by • naval officer—not by a practical man; but by a scientific surveyor, for she was built upon the lines of the hde Sir It. Seppings. (Cheers.) But, as he was addressing himself to the present, let himtake occasion to remark that boweverim portant might be the errors of the past, they were nothing to be compared in importance with the Dressing necessity of adopting a wise course for the future. (Hear, hear.) Although as a temporary expedient he should not object to a committee of reference, vet he begged the Admiralty to take care lest, under that term, they created a new navy board. It was his opinion that one Board of Admiralty, and one alone, should exist. It was required by public opinion that at the Board of Admiralty there should sit tome of the ablest officers of the profession. That board, as no A' constituted, vets, in his opinion, most happily composed. It was a mixed board of officers and l civilians. It was to these men at peen nt that the decision with regard to the lines of every ship to be built was necessarily submitted, and he should think it a rest misfortune if any board of construction should come an to supersede the authority now exercised by the board of Admi ralty itadf. Survey ors of the navy should only be eyes to the board of Admiralty ; and if any thing could be said against the present surveyor, it was that he had perhaps devoted himself somewhat too much to his own plans, to the exclusion of that supervision which be ought to have exercised, and that consideration which he might have given to the plans of ethers. (Hear, hear.) But all he would say to the board of Admiralty was, if Sir William Symonds does not enjoy your confidence, dismiss him ; but if you believe, with me, that for the lest thirteen years he has laboured to work out a theory which is sour d and successful that be has been able, upright, honest and indefatigable—only too zealous in the cause of the public—only too neglectful of all interest attaching to himself—then do not sacrifice him to an unjust clamour, raised by the hest of prejudice, and calculated, in injuring him, to prejudice the navel superiority and power of the country. ( Loud cheers.) Capt. BERKELEY said the board of reference could only be called together when something new was proposed. The honourable and gallant officer vindicated the character of the Teasels constructed by Sir W. Sylvanite.. Sir C. NAPIER considered, that in his wholesale condem nation of Sir W. Symoads his hon. friend the member for Montrose exceeded the exact measure of that censure to which many of that efficer'sconstructions were liable. He did not at all concur in the eulogy which the captain of the Van guard had forwarded home of that vessel. The great defect of Sir William Snends' vessels wee, that they would not fight well in roug h weather. Let a stiff head-wind get up, and his ships almost all begin to pitch, and lost their sailing. Sir Hyde Parker bail himself told him that the Albion rolled so heavily that he at one time thought she would lose her masts, shipping so much water, that while all the other vessels of the aqua dron had their ports open, she was obliged to clot* all her ports and run her guns in. As to the outrageous expendi ture upon public ships, and their bad construction, these had been subjects of complaint long before Sir W. Symonds wee surveyor. He controverted the opinion in favour of Capt. Symends'a groat steam frigates, which so .ar from being perfect vessels, would not, ander any pro fenional difficulties whatever, lee able to contend with the enemy. He considered the committee of reference as wove than useless. He was of opinion that the surveyor of the navy should not be a man under the influence of professional jealousy as • builder, bat should rather be almost entirely engaged is carrying, out the views of the Admiralty'; provided, indeed, that the present system of the Amiralty were wholly changed, for Nearctic any system could be wore. The Admiralty wanted to try the screw the other day, and what they did was to bore four ships of war for the purpose , of lid ting them screws in before they tried one of them. It was high time to put an end to this eatmeagance. He con cluded by supporting the motion of the hon. member for Montrose. Mr. CORRY, amidst loud cries for Mr. Brotherten and " Adjourn," said that the measures adoplene by the Bard of Admiralty were calculated to arrive at Whit was looked far by the hon. member. It was the opinion of the Board when he belonged to it, that Sir William Symonds had been of great service to the navy ; but at the same time it was suppeeed that his system was not entirely perfect. (Hear. Me. HUME, in reply, mid that sufficient admissions were meele . adi a s supporters of the Admiralty to junify ahe in quiry he sessile hr. Not one boa. member answered me that it was thepractice of surveyors for some years to di satleing has pull to pieces and reconstruct ships at • vast swam The, lieuee thee dielded—For the motion— 13 Against it. out 66-63 If °him lost. ~.; : ;IM home adjostmed. at a quarter pert one o'clook. ~; , :*#p eporto. _ _ 2 MAIL& Maim/la kr New Bow& Wake, Van Diemen's Land, and New Zealand will be made up is theeeeeing of the Loth April Ile Meet Mania walk Inaleging them for Oleibeil, Hoodaree, and the Havana/. will be made op am do morning of the lit May. The ISPTINi walls far Gibraltar, Malta, Greece, the lonian libinda, Wm, Aden, Clayton, Melia, Hang-Kong, and China, Ws Southampton, mill be made 'mouths morning ofthe Srd Mar. The math for genii!, North Amerika, Beniitida, end the United *Mai, will be made up an the evening of the Ord May. The mails for the Smile, the Saver Plate, Monte Video, Pernam buco, Bahia, blatheira, and Borne Ayres, will he made ap on the evening ores 4th May. the mall, for Vigo, Oporto, Whoa, Madeira, Cad* and Gibraltar, will be mode no on the morning of the 7th May. The overland cloned mails, Ms Marseilles, to the Medlternsean, enot. Aden, Carlon, India, ling Nang, he., will he made up on the wing of the 7th May. I2IGU WATFAI AT LONDON-BRIDGE Tia DA.—MoraUm 0 OM. pot 2; Afternoon. IS 01.. put 2. Todttlonow—hlornhnr, 23 min. post 2 ; Afternoon, 49 tan. pot 2. .• LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 30. TUERe is no subject demanding more grave and immediate attention than the treatment of juvenile offenders. For this class our present prisons are either schools of crime, or tolerably comfortable homes. The effect of either impression is equally mischievous. In the' one case they leave the gaol with lessons which ensure their speedy return to it ; in the other they go out with a determination by some petty offence to regain that shelter, food, and instruc tion, which they can find only within the prison walls. In both ways their course of life finds them and leaves them gaol-birds ; one class with the in stinct of prey more developed than the other, but both almost equally unfitted for the mw material of useful citi zenship. We have every sympathy with the objects of such reformers as Sir J. PAKINGTON, but we should be sorry to see his measure carried. Of this, indeed, there is little prospect. The second reading was con ceded rather from that unaccountable whimsicality which sometimes sets the house protesting its objections to a bill in the same breath with which they vote for any but a third reading. We don't like the bantling, but we won't burke it yet. We will allow the fond parent to flatter himself with the hope of rearing it—we will let it through the croup of a first reading, the hooping-cough of a second, and carry it off in the tits of a third. It appears to us a kinder course to kill the unlucky I nursling outright, more particularly when it comes into. the world as the representative of what should be a very lusty family, the measures of a sounder criminal discipline for juvenile offenders. All grave legislation should be compendious, sys tematic, and complete. It should embody& principle, and` ot strive to provide for particulars. It should attack the keep and stronghold of its selected wrong, not fritter away its strength upon the outlying forts. At all events, its attack on these should be part of a combined movement, the ultimate aim of which is the citadel. Sir J. PAXINGTON'S bill, excellent in intention, is one of these isolated attacks upon a single point only of a system every point of which should be assailed at once, if anything effectual is to be done. The measure pro poses to meet only one evil, and that by no means the greatest evil in our present mode of dealing with young thieves. And it is very doubtful whether, in removing one mischief, it does not open the dour to a greater evil of a different kind. The bill proposes that persons below fifteen, guilty of simple larceny, obtaining money by false pre. tencre, cheating, and receiving property where the doing so is a felony or indictable misdemeanour, or attempting any of these offences (where the value of I the subject matter of the offence does not exceed forty shillings), shall be summarily convicted by two magi strates, who shall also have the discretionary power of dismissing the case, of admitting to bail, of im posing the additional punishment or whipping, and discharging on a first conviction. If the justices think the offence too trifling to merit punishment, they may dismiss the case at once. Now all these powers may be very wholesome ones properly exercised; but, in proportion as they are valuable when rightly and cautiously used, they are dangerous in inexperienced or jaali hands. The judges might probably exercise any of them with safety and advantage to the accused and the public. But this act gives these great and novel powers to justices of the peace. With due respect for the " great lls paid," we very much doubt if they exercise the powers at present intrusted to them so well as to jsetify an extension of them. Probably counsel attending quarter sessions, in cases where there does not happen to be a legally educated chairman (or a gentlemen who has taken settlement for his hobby horse, and so acquired, perforce, a legal turn of mind), would hardly advise that the average bench should be trusted with more authority, and, above all, authority unchecked by the utmost publicity, than it wields at present. Sir J. Paeiscvos's measure might work tolerably well even in the bands of metropolitan magistrates, who have all received the training of the bar. But it gives too great latitude to justices of the reglas justices of the peace are. Besides, why i e s e llre only for the untried ? Comparatively few of the buys who are brought up for such thefts, as lads ander fifteen live by, are innocent. If they have not the weight of this particular handkerchief, or that especial till upon their consciences, they have hooked handkerchiefs and emptied tills often enough not to be much surprised when the policeman lays hands on them. The corruption of the prison works as fatally in the sentence which follows conviction, as in the period which intervenes before trial. Make our lrisons what they ought to be, and there will no onger bo any ground for legislating (as Sir J. PAKINOTON is doing) for the untried, with a view to ' the few cases in which the culprit will escape pollu tion by not being committed to gaol before conviction. A comprehensive measure of prison discipline, as it concerns the young, would secure all the possible good of this bill, would do a great deal that this bill does not contemplate, and would secure both these results, without vesting additional powers in a class who have not always shown that they arc fit to exercise with propriety those which they already possess. Mm' the beginning of the present year a series of articles appeared in the AUgemeine Zriluny on the course that ought to be pursued by the Zollverein at the expiration of the treaty which the British govern ment concluded in 1841 with Prussia and other mem bers of that iiody. The drift of these articles, and of a host of paragraphs which have since appear ed: in the oolamns of the same journal, os if to follow. up the blow, is, to represent the policy of England to wards Germany as grasping and uufriendly, with a view to uphold a system of commercial hostility to wards this country. A simple statement of what has been done in England, since the formation of the Zollverein in 183:1, to relax our navigation laws, and reduce our tariff in favour of Germany, will su ffice to prove that the policy of our country has been marked by great liberality, and a desire to extend our commercial rela tions with the states of the Customs Union. . Under the treaty of 1841, the states of the Zollverein are entitled to clear from the ports of the Danube, from the Prussian ports on the Baltic, and from every port between the mouths of the Elbe and the Meuse (inclusive), as if they were their own national ports. This concession is, or might with a proper exertion of skill and enterprise, be made most important to these states. Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Saxony, and many other states which have no seaports, may build ships on the banks of the Danube, the Rhine, and the Elbe, float them by artifi cial means to the parta of these rivers capable of carrying sea-borne vessels, and use as Zollverein ports Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Dordrecht, the ports of the Zuyder Zee. Oldenburgh, Hanover and Hamburg, and the porb of the Danube. From these they may pro med with their cargoes to every port in the United Kingdom, in British North America, in the West Indies, in South America, in Africa, in Ceylon, in all the Australian colonies, and to British India, upon the same footing as the ships of the most favoured foreign nation. The reciprocity guarante.d to British ships in ports of the Zollverein, is, on the other hand, of little moment to this country. Except Prussia on the Baltic, no state of the Zollverein has any port in which British ships can derive the least advantage under the treaty of 1841. Even the Prussian Baltic ports are unimportant British shipa proceed ' to them, carrying little freight ; the value of all our exports in Prussian and British ships to Prussian ports is not above one seventh of the value of what we send to Dutch and German ports not belonging to the Zoll verein. The value of British produce and manu factures exported to Prussia in 1814 was 505,3841 ; in 1845 it was 577,999/. The value exported to other German ports wa56,151,5281. in 1844, and 6,517,7961. in 1845. The value exported to Holland was 3,131,9701. in 1844, and 3,439,035/. in 1845. Again, England has, since the formation of the Zoll verein in 1833, either reduced the duty, or admitted free of duty every article, raw or manufactured, which Germany produces; while during the same period the duties on several important articles of British produce and manufacture have been greatly augmented in the tariff of the Zollverein. Since 1833 the import duty has been entirely taken off twenty-six articles of Ger man produce, or manufacture. German cottons, coloured and plain, on which 10 per cent. used to be paid, are now admitted into this country free; flax and tow, wool, seeds, hides, and skins, are admitted duty free; the duty on cereals and pulse, formerly prohibitory, now ranges from 10s. to 4s. per quarter, and will be entirely removed after February, 1819 ; the duties on glass have been reduced from 30 and 85 per cent to about 2 per cent.; on lath-wood and oak plank from 61. 16,. per cubic load, toll. 4s. and 1/. re spectively. On the other hand, the Zollverein duties i on our textile fabrics have been raised from 30 to 50 dollars per cwt. ; on raw linens from 2 to 4 ; on finished linens from 11 to 20; on tapes, &c., from 22 to 30. Thtsc facts show that the commercial policy of this eountry to Germany has not been of the character attributed to it by the writers in the Allyemeine ; and that the renewal of the treaty of 1841 is to us, as far as the trade and navigation of British ships are concerned, of the least possible value, while its termination would annul all the concen.4ons and advantages granted in it to the Zollverein. The .411gemeine Zeitung is published in a country where the censorship of the rress is exercised with great strictness ; no article can appear in it which does not meet with the approbation of the confederated governments of Germany. The .111yemeine Zcitung exercises considerable influence on public opinion throughout Germany. We are therefore warranted in regarding the articles which have from time to time appeared in it hostile to the renewal of the treaty of 1811, as having been prompted, or at leant connived at, by some of Ike more powerful German governments, with a view to awaken throughout Germany a blind prejudice and enmity against England, as an indirect means of injuring the cause of free trade. The facts to which we have directed attention will serve to disabuse the reading and thinking part of the German population of such groundless opinions. The policy of England is to accelerate the period of entire free trade among all nations, as far as is com patible with the necessity of raising a revenue for the purposes of government. England's reason for adopting this policy is the thorough conviction of its mien and the great majority of its citizens that such untrammelled commerce is conducive to the prospe rity of all nations, its own included. The pledge given by England that its profession of this convic tion is sincere—that this economical faith is its rule of action—is its readiness to meet all countries more than half way in the abolition of financial and other restrictions upon trade. This guarantee, as shown shove, it has amply extended to the states of the Zollvcrein. The Paris journals of Wednesday are most destitute of interest. The postscript to our corre spondent's letter of Testerday, in reference to the re ported grant of the liberty of the press in Tuscany, is corroborated by L' Union 3 fonarchique and other journals, but no positive or official accounts of it had been received. - - The debate on the secret service funds was closed on Tuesday afternoon; the usual grant being made. We announce with regret the death, on Tuesday evening, of Lord Cowley, late amba-sador from England at the Court of the Tuileries. His lord ship had been some time ill. The project of law upon the Greek loan, with which the chamber was occupied or. Wednesday, was voted almost without discussion, the object being to mani fest by this proceeding the prevalence of a reeling in favour of Greece. M. St. Marc Girardin declared that it was on this score that he desired the vote of the chamber to be taken, and M. Guizot made a similar declaration, adding that the fixed determina tion of the government was to follow the same line of policy in Greece. Our Madrid correspondence of the 23rd inst. is without interest One of the journals says that a disturbance having been apprehended in the capital on the evening of the .22nd, precautions were taken against it by the authorities, but no cause is assigned or particulars given. The Queen continued to appear daily in public, accompanied by the sister and father of the King, but, except on the single occa sion formerly mentioned in our correspondence, the King has never appeared with her. General de la Concha had not yet left the capital to take command of the army of intervention. He was still detained by family affairs. The Phare, a new Madrid journal, says that the government intend to give the King- Consort a suitable separate dotation for his household. The Queen had appointed six senators from the liberal party. El Herald° states that reports have been received from various parts of the provinces highly favourable to the approaching harvest. gbe scum. The Queen had a dinner party on Wednesday at Buckingham Palace. The company consisted of Hit H. the Daihess of Kcnt, their RR.HH. the Duchess of Con. bridge and the Priacess Mary, H.S.H. Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort, and Lady Blanche Somerset, Ls(ly Augusta Bruce, Bareness de Ham merstein, Baroness de Spells, the Marquis of Douglas, Lord George Lennox, Lieut.-Col. the Hon. C. B. Phipps, Lord Jamui Murray, and Mr. Edmond Mildmay. Her Majesty had afterwards an evening party. The following had the honour of receiving invitatious: The Russian Minister and the Baroness de Brunnow and Mademoiselle Olga de Lochner, the Pniadan Minister and Madame Bunsen and Mdlle. Bunsen, Prince Lowenstein, the Marquis of Headfort, and the Ladies Olivia, Mary, and Virginia Tar lour, the Marquis of Granby, the Earl of Minto, and the Ladies Elizabeth and Charlotte Elliot, the Countess of Morton, and Lally Ellen Douglas, the Earl and Counted Bruce, Viscount Anson, Mr. G. E. and the Hon. Mrs. Anion, Hon. Mils E. Harbord, Mr. J. M. and Lady B. Balfour, Hon. W. Cowper, and Capt. F. Seymour. The Queen and Prince Albert, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and the Prince,. Alice, honoured the performance at Drury-lane Theatre with their presence yesterday afternoon. Her Royal H4hness the Duchess of Kent visited her Majesty yesterday. - The royal dinner party at Buckingham Palace, yesterday evening, included her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kest, his Excellent j M. Van de Weser, his Excellency Baron de bloncorvo, M. le Container Dieu, the Marelsieneea of Lansdowne, Lady Augusta Bruce, Ramona de Speth, Viscount and Vis countess Villiers, Lord and Lady Beauvale, Sir R. and Lady Peel, the Right Hon. H. and Mrs. Labouchere. A deputation of the Southwark Improvement Commissioners waited on the Commissioners of the Metro politan Improvements yesterday. A deputation of the Westmiuster Improvi menta Commissionen also waited on the Commissioners of Metropolitan Improvements 3 esurday. The Commimioners of Metropolitan Improvements had a meeting yesterday at their office in Whitehall. place. There were present, Viscount Morpeth, Sir Robert H. Inglis, Sir Charles Lemon, Mr. Ald. Humphery, Mr. Milne, sail Mr. Barry. A deputation of magistrates of the West Riding of Yorkshire had an interview with Sir George Grey yester day at the Home-office, respecting a portion of the new prison at Wakefield, being transferred to the government for the use of convicts under sentence of transportation. A deputation consisting of Lord Courtenay, Sir R. Howard, Mr. Godley, and Mr. M. J. O'Connell, had an interview with Lord J. Russell yesterday, at his official residence in Downing-street. Lord J. Human was accompanied b 7 Karl Gray and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The hurl of Bowie had an interview with Sir G. Grey at the Home office yesterday. Mr. Bancroft, the American minister, was pre vented by illness attendiug her Maissty's levee on Wed nesday. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England had a general meeting yesterday at their office in Whitehall- Piers- Dispatches were received esterday at the Colonial- Mks from the Governors of the Mauritius, the Cspe of Good Hope, and Malta. DEATH OF LORD COWLEY.—It will be seen by our Paris correspondence that Henry Wellesley Baron Cowley, died on Tuesday night last, April the 27th, in the capital where be once represented England as ambas sador. Lord Cowley was the fifth son of Garrett, second ►aeon Mornington, his elder brothers being the late Mar quis Wellesley, Lord Maryborough, the Duke of Wel lington, and the Rey. Dr. Wellesley. When his brothers became powerful, one as a statesman, and another as a soldier, Lord Cowley became a diplo matist, and was appointed ambassador to the Cour t of Madrid. He had previously married Charlotte , daughter of Earl Cadopan , and by this lady bad issue four children, but whilst in Spun, circumstances occurred which led to a divorce, and Lady Cowley was soon afterwards married to the Marquis of Anglesey. At Vienna Lord Cowley sube-quentle reprmented Cheat Britain. and still later at the court of l'rance. He married, in 1816, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Salisbury, by whom to has one daughter. Lord Cowley obtained his peerage by letter. patent in IR2B ; and big diplornatis cervices else se cured him the distinction of G.C.B. His mild/en, by the first marriage, were Henry Richard, secretary of legation at Constantinople ; William, Is chaplain in the royal navy Oerald, in holy orders; and Charlotte, married to Lord Rehert Grosvenor. _ _ DILATE' OF MRS. DAVIS, OP BOSTOil.—Leta arrivals front tho United Staten luring intelligence of the death of Mrs. Davis, of Boston, mother of Mrs. &Acton, the wife of the American =Ruda r. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. The annual meeting took place yesterday, at the house of the society in Hanover-square. The Earl of Derby presided. The report of the auditors of accounts, with the reading of which the proceedings opened, stated that the total receipts during the year 1846, including the balance of 5381. 10a. 4el. reuniting from the previous year, were 8.843/. 81. Id., and the payments 8,6111. 111.94., the amount of cash remaining in the banker's hands at the close of last year being 16s. 4d. The; auditors observed with regret that, with only four exc. ptions, in which there arc increases amounting to 1091. Is. 92., there were decreases in the re ceipts of last year, as compared with those of the year 1845, under eleven different heads, amounting together to 6351. 12s. 5,1., showing an actual total diminution of receipts, alter deducting the increases, of 5261. 10s. Bd. There was a small iner.ase in the admietion fees, the amount received last year having been 801., u ramparts' with 651. received in 1846; the receipts in the two previous years hav ing been, in 1843, 601., and in 1844, 601. The decrease in the amount of annual subscriptions, which was 2101. 155., was, they conceived, to he the more rroretted, inasmuch as it had been progressive for a series of years-the diminution for the last four years having been sa follows: in 1843, 4871. se. ; in 1844,4311. 12a. ; in 1845, 18 il. 10e. ; in 1846, 2101. 15e., making a total of 1,3154 2a. An examination of the comparative annual receipts under the bend of " compe titions," afforded a more cheering result. The accounts for the year 1843 *bowed no sum whatever to have been received under that head. In the year 1844, 801. was received ; in 1845, 1682 ; in 1846, 2421. ; making a total of 4901. in the three yews. The increase in the eel:tiles from ivory tickets, although amounting hut to 162. 18s., was of snore conse quence than that sample amount wou ld indicate, contrasting it with the progressive decrease in the tire previous years, viz., in 1844, 261. Is. ; in 1846, 29/. 9s. : melting a total de creme of1:51. 14s. There was a decrease of " public admis sions to the gardens " of 2332 4s. ; India the " promenade*" a further decrease of 401 17s. There was also a decrease of 69/. 10*. 62. in " garden sales," the amount received in 1816 having been 621. 16s. 6.1.. as compared with 1211. 7e., re ceived in 1845. Only 2.51. 19s. 61. had been received in 1846 under the head of .• transactions," 664. 1.55. Ild. having been received the previous year • and the amount received for the sale of proceedings had be en less last year by 91. Is. than in 184.5. With regard to the expenditure, a reduction had been effected to an extent that would have splaeed the financial position of the society, at the close of the year 1846, in a much more favourable point of view, had it not been for the very considerable decrease in the receipts, as well as the various " extraordinary expenses " which it was found indis pensable to incur, and which were stated to amount te 1,0631. les., which was an increase of 3701. Is. 9d. over the correspondisig expenditure of the. previous year; whereas, in the " ordinary expenditure," there was a demand of no less than 1,0481. 14s. 14. The arrears which at the close of last ye .r amounted to 1,6351. 13s. 6d., had been reduced to 1,0281. IS.. 2d. • And the salaries and wages had been reduced from 2,071. 18.. Bd., to 1,8341. 64.10 d. The cost and carriage of animals, provisions, mena gerie, and garden expenses, had all been proportion ately decreased. The present liabilities of the society were estimated at 2,1502, the assts amounting to 7,90 U. Os. I ld. The committee, viper observing that although they could not congratulate the Weil ty upon the prosperous state of its affairs at the close of 1846, they yet wished it to be under stood that they saw no cause whatever for despondency, con cluded by acknowleoging the valuable pettier. of Mr. Born pas, the assistant-secretary, and of Mr. Leigh, their able and efficient aceountimit. . . . The report having been adopted, and thanks voted to the seven gentlemen who had prepared it. the report of the council was read, from which it eppeerec that the total num ber of fellows was at present 1894, and the number of can didates for the fellowship, four. The number of honorary and foreign members remain at 19, and corresponding mem bers at 142. The attention of the council had been drawn to the further extension of the privileges of the fellows, and to the question of admitting the public to the gardens ; and they had come to a resolution which obviated the necessity of the personal attendance of members introducing their friends, and provided for the ad mission of the public on certain dale. In conse quence of the vacancy which bad taken place in the secretaryship, they lied come to a resolution that it was im possible to secure such constant attention KB was necessary for their purpose as long as the situation remained merely an honorary one. They hod, therefore, agreed to engage a secretary at a salary of 2601. a year. After acknowledging the receipt of donations to the library from various distin guished public bodies, English and foreign, the committee reported that the general health of the animals in their menageries bad fully justified the anticipations which had been formed with regard to the new system which they had adopted. The total number of animals in the possession of the society was at prevent 905 The total number of visitors to the gardens in the year 1846 was 100,046: Previous to, and atter the adoption of, the report, conver sation took place moons the members with regard to several subjects connected with the management of the gardens, one gentleman recommending that accommodation for dancing should be provided in a tent on the promenade days ; another, deprecating the continuance of the poultry exhibition as a useless expense leading to nothing, and advo cating the promenades in their stead; while others main tained the promenades to be a departure from the principles of the society, which were far more ! effectually carried out by the poultryexhibitions. Nothing, however, arose out of these discussions, and they were stopped by the result of the ballot being announced, when the president, treasurer, and council, were declared to be re ' elected, with the exception of five members of the latter. Mr. D. W. Mitchell was confirmed in the appointment of secretary, rendered vacant by the resignation of J. Whi shaw, Esq. The proceedings concluded with some complimentary votes. COURT OF COMMON IoUNCIL.—SALARY OF THE CITY POLICII COMMI.SIONEK.—The report of the com mittee appointed to enquire into the expediency of raising the salary of the Commissioner of the City police was read yesterday at a court of common council. The committee, on taking into consideration the varied and responsible duties attendant on the (flier, and the position of the com missioner at the head of the City police fume, were of opi uion that the salary of the comminioner should be 1,0001. per annum, with 2001. per annum for a house, which house was not to be more than six miles from the Royal Exchange. Most of the gentlemen prevent thought the sorrier. of the ocmmissioner were well paid, and they objected to his conduct, both in emplosieg member. of the force as servant,, and in the attacks which he had made on the magistracy of the city. The option of residing out of town was also objected to. The recommendations of the report were negatived.—Tllll HEROIC Session CAPTAIN. —Upon the motion of Sir limes Duke it was referred to the General Purposes to examine and report to the court the host means of appropriately testifying the admiration, and, by the citizens of Loudon, the deep sense entertained of the dinection and herin-rn of Captain Bernie.- ditto Camp, of the brig Emilio, and the intrepid and devoted exertions of his officers and crew, in saving the lives of the mew and passengers of the Royal Mail Steam Packet ship the Tweed, on the 12th of February list.—Adjourned. LONDON INIiTITUTION.—The annual meeting of the governors and members of thi. institution took place yester day, at the institubt, in Piusbury.eircus, John `Vas, Req., vice president ) is the chair. The auditor's report contained the following items:—Receipts: dividends on the Invested capital, ideal is 37,6301., 1,0951. 194. Bd.; annual eulacriptions, 1.7541.. making, together with 3441. 13s. 6d., bedews of last year's account. sad other items, a total of 2,1561. 19s. lOd.i the total expenditure had been 2,8071. 4s. 6d., leaving a balance in the treasurer's hands of 3491. 154. ed. The report of the committee of manage ment stated that the reenagers greatly lament the lean arising from the resignation of the ptheident, Sir Thomas Doring Bart., who is prevented by loss of sight and other bmilly Infirmities from holding that office longer, and from Has sadden d. ath of their treasurer, Sir W. Curtis, But. The reports being unanimouely adopted, the eltairmsn stared that the mauves had inquind whether Thomas Baring, Esq. M.P.. the son of the former president, was willing to take that office, and having received a reply in the affirma tive, they now proposed him for elrctiou. Abraham G. Roberts, Esq., was proposed for election to the vacant office of treasurer, and these, together with other elections and re.elections of officers, were unanimously agreed to. The chairman moved a resolution expressive of the respect and gratitude with which the meeting looked back at the cour teous and liberal manner in which Sir Thomas Baring had filled the olSes of president, and their deep regret that his bodily afflictions should prevent him continuing in that office. This was unanimously adopted, as were votes of thanks to the managers nod the chairman of the day, after which the meeting separated. ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE.—The general anniversary meeting of this society was held yesterday, at the society's house, in St. Martin's-place, the chair being occupied by Henry Hallam, Esq., the president. The report was read by the Rev. Richard Cattermule , 11.13., secretary. It recited the Terbium papers reed at the ordinary meetings of the past year, many of which appear to have been of more than usual importance. With respect to funds; it appears that the society is in a comparatively flourishing condition, although, perhaps, not sufficiently strong to attain the very important objects proposed in its formation. After the report had been read, the president delivered his annual address, reviewing the proceedings of the society, and the progress it had made during the year last past. He congratulated them 011 various remarkable disco veries, and especially upon the part the society had taken in recent successful researches into the monumental history of Egypt; and he passed a glowing and generous eulogium on his brother historian, Sharon Turner, whose recant death has left a blank in the society's li st g members. After the . . president's - ' ensuing we, dent. The members c' ..... ~ ddeut's 'ttires..., the (Muer% of the misty Ihr tar rex aing were elected, lar. lialkist brim immilsialsol rut. t. The meeting wee %Umatilla by aben of the emety, a g ,(0 ,1,-,h : 4: 1 •„„ :„. .t ) 11 1 4 :..,.. , 13 1; . ..'CJ,. 73 a. la '10;1 1 -v ;.., -,.• . ... . . _; i