The Press. — London, England, 1854-04-08 00:00:00

APRIL 8, 1854. NOTES ON THE NAVY. B; PILOT. No. I.—" THE CAPTAINS IN THE BALTIC." So much interest is felt at the present time in all that relates to our fleets, their officers, and crews, that many will be glad to obtain, in a convenient form, some account of the gallant commanders to whom the ships that bear the proud flag of Queen Victoria have been entrusted. Works of a professional character relating to the navy are not easy of access, and even that excellently-compiled and most valuable book of reference, " O'llyrne's Naval Biographical Dictionary," is, from its size and expense, not adapted for general circulation, though no public insti tution or extensive library should be without it. The im partiality and candour of its able editor necessarily made him avoid touching on certain political features and inci dents in the characters of the officers described, and it may happen in these notes that we shall have to refer to certain political considerations. To the chief admirals in command we shall devote special papers ; and we shall commence the series by to-day referring to the " Captains in the Baltic Fleet," who are eighteen in number, exclusive of those in the flag-ships, and thirteen of whom we notice in this paper, leaving the rest for future survey. The Royal George, 120 guns. Captain H. T. Codrington is forty-six years of age, and is son of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, G.C.11, This gallant officer has seen much service. On board the Naiad, in 1824, he assisted at the blockade of Algiers; and he was severely wounded at the battle of Navarino, in 1827. In 1831 he was advanced to the rank of commander ; and for the part he took in the siege of St. Jean d'Acre, in 1840, he was made a C.B. When his distinguished father was admiral of the fleet, Captain Codrington officiated as flag-captain on board the Queen, 110, and the St. Vincent, 120. He is a knight of French, Russian, and Greek orders. St. Jean d'Acre, 101 guns, is commanded by Captain the Hon. 11. Keppel. The family to whom this officer belongs was one of those which accompanied King Wil liam to England in 1688, and several of its members have been repeatedly distinguished in the military and naval annals of the country. It is a curious fact that the first, second, and third Earls of Albemarle were all eminent generals ; the first being conspicuous in the wars of Marl brough ; the second was wounded at Fontenoy ; and the third was side-de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland at Cul loden. Admiral Lord Keppel will live to posterity en• shrined in the eulogy of Burke, in a passage which we may quote as being applicable to another great Dutch family— the Bentincks : 'Lord Keppel had two countries, one of descent, and one of birth. Their interest and their glory are the. same, and his mind was capacious of both. His family was noble, and it was Dutch ; that is, he was of the oldest and purest nobility that Europe can boast, among a people renowned above all others for love of their native land. Though it was never shown in insult to any human being, Lord Keppel was something high. It was a wild stock of pride, in which the tenderest of all hearts had grafted the milder virtues. He valued ancient nobility, and he was not disinclined to augment it with new honours," &c. &c. The captain of the St. Jean d'Acre is fourth son of the fourth Earl of Albemarle, by a daughter of Lord De Clifford (Admiral Keppel being his grand father's brother). Entering the navy in 1822, he obtained his first commission in 1829, being then twenty years of age, and served in the East Indies, the Mediterranean, and at the Cape of Good Hope. In the Dido, 18, he was at the capture of Woosung, and his services against the Borneo pirates are too well known for detailed illustration. In his engagement with the pirates, at a loss of 32 British killed and 30 wounded, he killed 250 of the pirates, destroyed five of their towns and a vast number of their boats, besides taking 70 brass guns, and 13 flags. Captain Kennel is married to a daughter of General Sir John Crosbie. Princess Royal, 91 guns. Captain Lord Clarence Paget is the eldest son of the Marquis of Anglesey's second mar riage. He is half-brother of Lord W. Paget (Captain R.N.). He entered the navy in 1823, and was a mid shipman on board Sir Edward Codrington's flag-ship at Navarino He served in several vessels, and was on half pay in 1845. In 1846 he was Secretary to the Board of Ordnance, and sat for a short time as M.P. for Sandwich. The Monarch, 84. This ship is commanded by Captain John Elphinstone Erskine, whose father married the youngest daughter of the eleventh Lord Elphinstone, by which connection the captain of the Monarch is nephew of Admiral Fleming, and cousin of the late Sir Charles Adam, to the latter of whom Captain Erskine was flag captain, when Sir Charles was Commander-in-Chief in the West Indian and North American stations. Cressy, 80. Her commander, Captain Laird Warren, is the eldest son of the late Vice-Admiral Frederick Warren. He has served in the North American, West Indian, and Mediterranean stations. Entering the navy in 1822, he obtained post rank in 1830. He is married to a daughter of the late Doctor Warren, of Hampshire. Blenheim, 60. The number of ships named after great battles by land as well as by sea must strike every reader of the Navy List. What a variety of associations are called up by the juxtaposition of the ships Greasy and Blenheim! The captain of the latter is the Hon. F. T. Pelham, second son of the second Earl of Chichester. The present Lord Chichester (his brother) is married to a sister of the Earl of Cardigan. He entered the navy in 1823, and in 1.828 was present at an attack on Mediterranean pirates. After some service in the Mediterranean, he was employed on the north coast of Spain, under Lord John Hay, and he was presented with the Cross of St. Fernando. In 1847 he was appointed to the command of the Odin steamer-frigate. THE PRESS. The Bogue, 80. This ship is commanded by a very brilliant officer, Captain William Ramsay. Like many of the officers in command, he served at Navarino, but the exploit which eminently distinguishes him was his gallant action with a Spanish slaver. While cruising on the coast of Africa (circa 1880) Mr. Ramsay was placed in command of the Black Joke tender, mounting a pivot gun, carronade, with a crew of forty-four officers and men. On April 25, 1831, he fought and captured a splendidly-equipped slaver of upwards of 300 tons, with five 18-pounder guns, and 77 :,fficers and men. The slaver was called the Marimieto, and her capture excited great attention, from the ferocity with which she was defended by her piratical crew, of whom 15 were killed or drowned, besides several wounded. On board were 4118 slaves, of whom 49 were found dead, and about a hundred unfortunate creatures in such a state that they had to be landed at once ! No greater horrors were ever described in " Uncle Tom" than were to be found in the history of that slaver. For the brilliant style in which, with heavy odds against him, Mr. Ramsay fought the slaver, he was appointed a commander, and he has since twice been in charge of large armed steam-ships. He is decidedly one of the most dashing and experienced officers in the fleet. Born in 1796, he is the youngest son of the late Sir Alexander Ramsay, Bart. .4ja.r, 08. The fortunate and meritorious commander of this vessel is Captain Warren, who entered the navy in 1838. He served as mate in the flag-ship of Sir E. Codrington at Portsmouth, and in the Royal George and Victoria and Albert yachts. He was advanced to be a lieutenant after accompanying her Majesty in 1843 on a visit to the King of the French. He has received a medal from the Royal Humane Society for having risked hits life to save several others. Euryalus, 60 guns. Captain G. Ramsay is cousin to the present Governor-General of India, and nephew of the late Lord Pantnure. He is son of the late Lieutenant- General Hon. J. Ramsay. He has served on the Ameri can and Mediterranean stati ons , and has seen much hard service. He was invalied from dysentery in 1842, and twice had the yellow fever in the West Indies, three of his officers and twenty of his crew having died of it. He married a daughter of Mr. Robertson, of Logan-house, M idlothian. Amphion, 34 guns. Captain Astley Cooper Key, in com mand of the Fanny tender, was wounded at the battle of the Parana in 1845, when the batteries of General Roses were destroyed by the combined English and French fleets. On the coast of Portugal he has since commanded the Bull Dog steam-sloop. Captain Key entered the navy in 1833. Tribune, 30 guns. Captain the Hon. S. T. Carnegie. This gallant officer is son of the late Earl of Northeak, who had the honour of being third in command at the battle of Trafalgar. He has served with Lord John Hay on the coast of Spain during the civil war, and had his ser vices acknowledged by the order of San Fernando. He has commanded several vessels on the North American, West Indian, and Mediterranean stations. He sat for a short time as M.P. for Stafford, and was for some months a Lord of the Treasury in 1846. He entered the navy in 1826. His brother George, Lord Rosehill, was lost in his sixteenth year on board the Blenheim, 74, in 1807; and it is worthy of notice that his uncle, Captain Jervis, was drowned by the upsetting of his barge while in command of the Magnificent, 74 guns, in 1805. The present Earl of Northesk is his brother. In consequence of the services of the late lord at Trafalgar, this family has obtained honourable augmentation to its arms. Naval ensigns are added to its supporters, and the word " Trafalgar" is in scribed on the armorial shield. The late Admiral Lord Northesk married a niece of Admiral Lord St. Vincent, so that the commander of the Tribune rejoices in a high naval pedigree. Valorous, 18 guns. Captain Buckle is second son of Admiral Buckle, a lineal descendant of Sir Christopher Buckle, Lord Mayor of London in 1593. The father and grandfather of this gallant officer were highly distinguished in nautical annals. He has served on the South American, the West Indian, and the African stations. Vulture, 6 guns. Captain Glasse entered the navy in 1818. His father was chaplain to the late Duke of Cam bridge. He has served on the Home, Lisbon, and African stations, and also in the East Indies. He was awarded a post commission in 1848. [To be continued.] PILOT. ONE OF THE CHTHICH ENORMITIES of the days of George 111. has just been brought to a natural ter mination by the lapse of time. A canon of Ely has recently died, at the age of fifty-nine, who appears to have been inducted into his canonry in 1819; which, being thirty-five years since, seems to prove him to have been of the ripe age of twenty-four years when he obtained this high and valuable distinction. He held also two vicarages ; one, Waterbeach, of the annual value of 4201.; the other, the great town of Wisbeach, with an income of 1,7791. per annum. Thus his gross income must have been very nearly 3,0001. a year. But then, we believe, be was son-in-law to Bishop Sparkes. Of the individual himself we say not one word. He may have been an amiable and deserving man. But the system was unendurable, and we rejoice to know that it has passed away. We feel no doubt that the present Bishop of Ely will do his duty to the great parish of Wisbeach, which con tains 12,709 people, and an ecclesiastical income of 1,7791. per annum. There is, we believe, a second church, with only a very small endowment. But the above income will suffice for three incumbents; and a town of the size of Wisbeach ought to have at least as many.—Herald. 323 " OUR CORRESPONDENTS." TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS." Sir,—As your valuable paper is not in the habit of mystifying its readers by statements purporting to come from foreign parts, and probably concocted in London , permit a plain country gentleman, who really looks for information to his daily newspaper, to protest through your columns against the delusions that have been lately practised upon him by " Our Cor respondents." A few weeks ago a communication from Our Correspondent (on which a leading article was founded) informed us that the Czar had not only cashiered the Austrian and Prussian Monarchs, but had forbidden his officers to wear their decorations, in consequence of their siding with us. The absur dity of such a story, whilst their ambassadors were still residing at St. Petersburg, was manifest ; and it now turns out not only that this was pure inven • tion, but that these powers have ever continued strictly and inviolably neutral. Another correspon dent descants on the force of the Russian fleet at Revel, the means taken for its escape, and the pre paration for its protection, when in fact there is not a single man of war in that port, and, what is more, never has been one. The journals have lately occupied their columns and our attention by teaching the Sovereigns of Austria and Prussia what is their duty and interest, as if these Sovereigns were still in the nursery, and incapable of judging for themselves ; utterly con cealing the fact, that we are now reaping the harvest we have sown in our treatment of Austria during the last ten years, when we imagined that we could never again require her assistance. In her struggle with Piedmont, in our reception of Kossuth, and in the affair of Mr. Mather, no abuse was too virulent to direct against her : now we want her, no sawder is too soft to soothe her. I should like to know if another General Haynau were to visit England at the present crisis, and were to be Barclayed and Perkinsised like the last, how long should we be in discovering the ruffians, and then how long would they be in finding their way to the tread-mill? RusTicus. GUANO. TO THE EDITOR Or "THE PRESS." Sir,—l feared that my last letter would occupy too much space. It should have been divided into short pieces, and then all its particulars about guano, which at present possess peculiar interest, would have perhaps received your permission to appear. I would beg to correct one important error of the press : for 71. the ton, as the value of turnips, read 7s. I have still a few supplementary rem Arks to make on guano, and then I shall take my leave. I have all along said that Peruvian guano is the most valuable of any, owing to the peculiar incidents of the climate in which it is found, and that its value as a manure arises from the large quantity of ammonia it contains, in combination with organic matter. These ingredients abound in it from 48 to 60 per cent.; while in the Bolivian, Chilian, and Patagonian guiuios they only amount from 12 to 17 per cent.. The value of the ammonia, the phosphates, and the phosphoric acid in Peruvian guano, at their present advanced rates, is 101. 17s. a ton, the market price of this guano being at present 111. be. a ton. The value of those constituents in a ton of Bolivian guano is at present 71. 45., and the market price of the guano is 101. So with Chilian guano, their value is 41., and its market price is 91. a ton. And their value in Patagonian guano is 21.65., while its market price is 61. 10s. a ton. Thus Peruvian guano is at present sold at only 8/. a ton above its int,insic worth, whereas Bolivian is sold at 50 per cent. above its value, Chilian more than double, and Patagonian nearly three times its value. In regard to tbe rela tive proportion of phosphates in guano, the Peruvian contains from 17 to 25 per cent., whereas the Bolivian has 56 per cent., the Chili= and Patagonian having considerably less, with a large proportion of sand. But, notwithstanding this large per centage of phosphates in Bolivian guano, it is cheaper to use them in bone-dust than in any kind of guano. At 5 cwt. the acre, Bolivian guano, at 101. a ton, yields 3131b5. of phosphates at 21. 10s.; whereasl6 bushels of bone-dust to the acre, at 2s. Rd. the bushel, yield 3731b5. of phosphates at 21., and yet the 3731b5. supply no more of phosphates than is sufficient for an acre of turnips. In every view, therefore, it is evident that it is next to throwing away money to purchase the inferior sorts of guano. H. S. UNIVERSITY BOAT RAcz.—Both trews have been in daily practice over the course of Putney, and their training preparations were watched with consider able interest. In each trial both crews are said to be improving in pace, and will not, as it was at first feared, fall far from the standard of former Univer sity crews. The Oxonians are considerably the heavier men. Betting is ll to 4 on Oxford. The boats start at a little after eleven from Putney bridge this (Saturday) morning, the course finishing at Barker's rails.