The Sun. — London, England, 1859-07-15 00:00:00

the late Government. - He (the Duke of New:AAtte) was " aware that schemes had been projected for establishing railways across the continent, and he did not look on them as wholly visionary, -but rather—looked forward to their being actually established. He did not think, however, that any of the schemes yet proposed were of a character to be entertained. But a minor scheme had been proposed *hich embraced a system of postal communication across the continent by means of the lakes and roads. He was ataious to 'ive every possible encouragement to such a scheme, but it was only . fair to say that he did not contem plate being so liberal with regard to postal subsidies as the We Government had been, and this scheme involved the question of a large subsidy, which he thought objection able. At the same time he felt the great national impor tance of some such arrangement, and would give it every support. After a few words from the Earl of DONOUGHMORE, the subject dropped. ARMINtk COMMERCIAL STEAM VESSELS. The Earl of AIRLIE rose to ask her Majesty's Govern ment whether they had taken into consideration the expe diency of entering mto arrangements with persons or com panies owning steam vessels other than those which carry the mails, for the purpose of rendering such steam vessels capable of carrying armaments of heavy guns if required. He said it was well known that steamers which re ceived Government subsidies to carry mails were under en gagement to carry armaments, and to be placed at the ser vice of Government for warlike purposes if required There was a very prevalent impression that the contract that these steam vessels should be so constructed as to be capable of carrying armaments had not been fulfilled. As it had been arranged that certain steamers--commercial steamers—should be so fitted as to be able to carry heavy guns, why should not the same arrangement be applied to other steam vessels as well as those which carried mails ? The steamers which carried mails had a Government agent on board, but he did not know if it was his duty to see if the vessel was seaworthy ; but under the Passengers Act the Government had the power of ascer t*ining whether any steamer which carried passengers was seaworthy. The service of large steamers carrying mails was of great importance to the public ; it was important that the mails should be regula rl y transmitted, and the ser vice liable to no interruption. A strong case, therefore, ought to be made out before the Government should take these vessels for warlike purposes. There had been lately published a pamphlet, by a gentleman whose opinion was of great weight on all matters relating to steam navigation -.Mr. Laird. That gentleman said that many steam vessels employed in the coasting trade of a smaller descrip tion might be used for warlike purposes, and be useful m defending the coast, and the mouths of great rivers like the Mersey, which were now unprotected. Mr. Laird had made an estimate of the cost of fitting these vessels for war ble purposes. His scheme was that the vessels should be made so strong as to be capable of mounting heavy guns, and he proposed to fit out 200 of these vessels so as to serve as gunboats. Mr. Laird put the cost of building and fitting 200 gunboats at £1,200,000, and the annual charge for keeping them he put at 10 per cent. of the cost, or £190,000. The cost of fitting vessels already in existence as gunboats would, he calculated, be £2OO each, or £40,000., and the annual charge for them at £lOO each, or £20,000. The difference between the expense of regular gunboats and the fitting of the proposed vessels for the purpose of converting them into gunboats was, that the former -would cost ex actly eleven times as much as the latter. Mr. Laird, how ever, admitted that he did not expect that the vessels so fitted would be quite so well adapt•W as regularly built gun boats for warlike purposes. The noble earl then referred to the manner in which the large number of gunboats which had been built for the public service had been kept in ordi nary, and stated that their condition was such that it would take six weeks to put them in order for service. It was not for him to say whether Mr. Laird's scheme was a feasible one, and if it was carried out in what manner it was to be carried out. Vessels of that description ought cer tainly to be manned in such a manner as not to interfere with the manning of the regular navy. Men might be got for that service beyond the age when they would be re ceived into the navy for continuous service. It was quite certain that it was not possible to construct fortifications sufficient for the defence of the whole of our coasts, and if 'we could we should not be able to man them • while any fortifications, if they were so situated as not to be efficient, had better not be erected at all. Some such scheme as this was Ltherefore necessary, but it was not necessary to go to any great expense at first, but to try it on a small scale in the first instance. He would not at that late hour enter, as he might have done earlier in the evening, into the general subject of our national defences, but he would content him self with putting the pestionof which he had given notice. The Duke of SOMERSET said that the question put to him by the noble earl was this : " Whether they had taken into consideration the expediency of entering into arrange ments with persons or companies owning steam vessels other than those which carry the mails, for the purpose of rendering such steam vessels capable of carrying armaments of heavy guns, if required." The subject to which it re ferred had been at various times under the consideration of Government. For many years it had been part of the con tract with steamers which carried mails that the vessels should be so constructed as that they could be adapted to carry armaments. About the year 1852 a committee consist ing of military and naval officers, was appointed to examine into this question, and they went into the subject with great care. They surveyed almost all the steam vessels on the coast of England, and reported what they were fit for, and the general result of the mquiry was an opinion that it was not expedient to adapt such vessels to the purposes of war, for in doing so they would be made less efficient for packet pur poses and very inefficient for purposes of war. In 1853, there was another inquiry, and there was some slight dif ference in the report. It was admitted that, after consider able expenditure, some steam vessels might be adapted to carry guns, but that they would not be fit to cope with yes • Bela of war, but would only be able to defend themselves when carrying troops and stores. Even that committee, which was composed of professional men, who looked at the scantlings of the decks of the vessels, their capability for the erection of magazines, and all the necessary details, did not recommend that they should be adapted to purposes of war. At the same time, some few of those vessels might probably, at an expense of £3,000 or £4,000 each, be made available for war purposes; and certain steam tugs, such as those plying on the Mersey, which were built of more than ordinary strength, might be armed and rendered useful in aid of the coast defences. The Board of Admiralty, on receiving that report, gave directions to have those vessels surveyed; but, looking at former reports, which embodied the view.; of able professional men, who had gone into the question with great care, and seeing that out of 1,200 ves sels examined by them only 10 or 12 were found capable of being fitted for use as armed steamers, he did not expect much from the inquiry. The large steam-vessels trading between London and Scotland and London and Holland would, he believed, be found wholly unsuited to the pur • poses of war, and to attempt to make them so would be a waste of money. Considering the arrangements now in force in our dockyards, which enabled the Government to produce vessels of war with unexampled rapidity, and fit them with the requisite machinery and armaments in a very small space of time, there was the less necessity for looking to the merchant steam navy for assistance, though as he had said it was possible that a limited number of small ves sels, such as steam tugs, might be made useful in case of emergency. Upon that point the Government had directed inquiry to be made, but they were not prepared to re-open generally the question involved in the inquiry of 1852-53, the result of which was before the house in the report, to which every member might refer. The Earl of HARDWICKE was of opinion that unless some machinery wore established for regulating the con struction of merchant steamers so as to ensure their being built of sufficient strength to carry heavy guns, which would materially increase their cost and interfere with the freedom of trade, it was hopeless to expect that merchant vessels could be made available for war purposes. Nor was it ne cessary, considering the increased facilities for constructing, arming, and manning ships of war which now existed, to rely upon the merchant service as an available source. Their lordships then adjourned. 1 HOUSE OF COMMONS.--(YESTERDAY.) _ The SimaxAß took• the chair at four o'clock. t • • , PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Lords' ataendments to the Carlisle and Penrith, &c. , -Roads Ri ll , an(l. the Much W en l oc k an d S evern J unction Railway Bi ll, were considered an d agree d to. The following bills were read a third time and passed Bridport Railway ; Cowes and Newport (Isle of Wight) Railway; ~Droitwitch Roads ; Hinckley and Melbourne Roads; Norwich New Street; Stokes Bay Railway and Pier ; and Swanage Tramway aud Pier, changed from " Swanage Railway and Pier." Mr. FITZROY nominated the following select commit tee on the Westminster New Bridge Bill :—Mr. Fitzroy, Sir John Shelley, Mr. William Williams, Sir H. Willoughby, Mr. Hanbury, and Mr. Knatehbul-Hugessen ; and five members to be added by the committee of selection. P. Several petitions were presented in favour of the aboli tion of the Duty on Paper, and of Church-rates, against the Endowed Schools Bill, &c. SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH COMPANY. Sir STAFFORD NORTHCOTE said that he wished to explain a statement which he had made in the recent debate on the Red Sea and Indian Telegraph Company's Bill. He said that in the , arrangements made by the Submarine Telegraph Company that a priority was given to the French Government in the transmission of messages over the Government of this country. He had received a letter from the chairman of that company, from which it appeared that he was in error in the statement in question,. _ JOINT STOCK COMPANIES; On the motion of Mr. FINLAY certain returns in con nection with limited joint stock companies were ordered. NEWSPAPERS, &c. On the motion of Mr. B. CRAWFURD the following return was ordered :—Tbe registered United Kingdom, and the number, if newspapers any,n e of s theaes r tam s of ps th a e t ld. issued to each for each quarter respectively from De cember, 1857, to the 30 th of Tune, 1859 ; also of the stamps at 11d. issued to any such newspapers during such period ; and a similar return of registered publications, and of mps issued to them during the same period (in continua tion of Parliamentary paper No. 489 of session 1558). INDIA. Mr. W. VANSITTART asked the Secretary of State for India whether the report from the Government of India respecting comp ensation for losses sustained d ur i ng th e late mutiny h ad been received ; and, if so, whether it was his intention to lay such report on the table of the, house. Sir C. WOOD said that the report alluded to had been received, but he objected to stating at present when it would b e convenient to lay it on the table of the house. FLOGGING IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. Mr. W. WILLIAMS moved for a return of the number of persons flogged in the Briti s h navy in the . year 1858', s pecifying the name of the shi p, the offence, the sentence, and the number of lashes inflicted on each person, whether by court-martial or not (in continuation of Parliamentary p a per, No. 41, of the session of 1859.) Also, for an Address for return of the number of persons flogged in the army and militia of Great Britain aad Ireland in the year 1858, spec_ifyin; the offence, the regiments, the place or station at t he time, the sentence, and the number of lashes inflicted eac h parson. SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH COMPAN Y Sir S. NORTHCO TE mov ed for a copy of e-e'rrespon deuce between the Treasury, the Foreign-offi ce, and Office of Woods, &e., the Admiralt y , and the Submarine Tele graph Company, on the subjec t of the recent conventi on between that company and the French Government __ Ordered. SHERIFFS' COURTS IN SCOTLAND. In reply to Lord DUNCAN, The LORD ADVOCATE said that he understood there was no item in the estimates for the present year for mak ing a provision for the Sheriffs' Courts in Scotland, and he believed that an Act of Parliament would be necessary in ()War to enable Government to do so. TRINITY HOUSE. M'r. HUGESSEN moved for returns of the annual amount of earnings returned by the Trinity H o use pilots resident in the t owns of Do ver an d D eal respectively, from the year 1864 to the Ist January, 186 9. LONDON CORPORATION BILL. Sig J. SHELLEY gave notice that in the event of the house going into committee on this bill,-hetwould-move that elections in the London Corporation should be taken by ballot. The hon. baronet shortly after rose and asked if the Government did not consider it would- be unadvisable to proceed further with the bill during the present session, as it would inevitably meet considerable opposition. Sir G. C. LEWIS said he understood that there would be no general opposition to +he bill. His present wish was to appoint a day , that would afford an opportunity for the full discussion of the bill. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Mr. E. JAMES asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any information had reached her Majesty's Government, to the effect that more than two thirds of the provincial and local standards of weights and measures had been used more than 20 years without re verification, and that the same were defective and un just, and could not be relied on as tests of accuracy; that such standards, nevertheless, furnish the legal means and evidence by which the integrity and accuracy of the weights and measures used byte tradesmen for commer cial purposes are ascertained and tested ; that legal convic tions take place, and penalties are enforced, for non-confor mity to such standards • and, if so, whether her Majesty's Mi nis ters intended to t ake any steps for the prevention of so great an injustice. Sir G. C. LEWIS said that during the last 20 years means had been taken for verifying local standard weights and measures with the fixed standard. Mr. WALPOLE wished to know if the right hon. baronet had any objection to introduce a bill on this subject. Sir G. C. LEWIS said that he had not, but it must first be determined whether the expense of the reverification should be defrayed by a voteof the house or by local bodies. INDIAN FINANCE. Mr. BRIGHT inquired if the ri g ht hon. baronet, the Secretary for India, would inform the house when the subject of Indian finance would be brought forward, and when any despatches on the matter would be laid on the table. • Sir CHARLES WOOD was understood to say that a statement on the subject of Indian finance would be made shortly, but not till subsequent to the financial state ment of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. FINANCIAL STATEMENT. In reply to Mr. HORSPALL, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that if the army and navy estimates were gone throughto-morrow evening—and he hoped if necessary the house would sit a little longer than usual for that puse--he proposed to make his fi nancial statement on Mon day evening. (Hear.) INDIAN ARMY. On the motion for going into Committee of Supply, Mr. H. BAILLIE called the attention of the house to the report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the organisation of the Indian army, which elicited some discussion, in which Sir C. Wood, General Peel, Lord Stanley, Colonel Sykes, Sir De Lacy Evans, and other hon. members took part. After which the subject dropped. THE SLAVE TRADE. Mr. GRIFFITH called the attention of the house to the case of Santos v. Illidge and others, and asked the Secre tary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he thought the sth and 6th clauses of the act 6 and 7 Vic. c. 98, authoris ing the sale of slaves by British joint-stock companies; should be repealed. LAND TRANSPORT CORPS. Lord A. V. TEMPEST asked the Secretary of State for War whether any, and it so what, decision had been come to by the Treastuyon the subject of carrying out the recommen dations of the committee of last session on the claims of the Land Transport Corps with reference to granting permanent half-pay to that class of officers who entered the corps from the militia and civil employ. Mr. LAING said there would be no object'on on the part of the Treasury if the Secretary for War did not object. THE OVER PACKETS CONTRACT. Mr. RICH called attention to the Dover contract, but said that as the whole matter would come before the Dover election committee, as well as the committee on contracts, he would not press the matter en the house, if he could obtain from the Government an assurance that no confir mation of the contract should be made until the matter was fully investigated by the committee he had referred to. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY took the opportunity of com plaining of the slovenly way in which the navy estimates had been drawn up. Nos. 8,9, and 10, upwards of three millions in amount, were composed of gross sums embody ing a number of items that were not specified. There was nothing to show how the money was to be applied. There was no di- fisition to grudge any amount, but the country wanted to ow that the money was properly applied. Sir J. PAKINGT ON, in reference to the question of Mr. Rich, had no objection either to the postponement of the estimate which comprised the Dover contract, or to the matter being fully discussed at that time. Lord C. PAGET said he meant to move the vote for packets, and if Mr. Rich objected to any portion of it he might move to strike out that portion. It was the earnest desire of the present Board of Admiralty to go closely into the question of shipbuilding, and to give all the informa tion that could be supplied. When the next estimates were brought in he hoped that greater detail would be em ployed. Sir F. T. BARING said there was a general belief that the Dover contract required to be looked into, and he hoped that the Government would not ask for the vote for that con tract until the commitee had made their report. Other wise the house would have to discuss the matter twice. Mr. WHITBREAD said the contract had been signed and was legally binding. He was told it was subject to the approval of the house, but he found no mention of that in the contract. As, however, it was the wish of the house that this contract should be further considered, the amount would be omitted from the estimate about to lie submitted. After a few words from Mr. LYGON, Mr. ROEBUCK warned the house of the danger into which they were likely to fall. If they canvassed all the contracts of the Government they would bring into the lobby of the house all the chicanery and contests which took place in the American Congress. He was told that there was a company which would positively be benefitted by this con ! tract being broken. Mr. WILSON said that the contract contained the words "to be paid out of the moneys voted by Parliament ;" but this was the case with all contracts, and did not necessarily imply that the contract was subject to the approval of Par liament. Lord J. RUSSELL, replying to the question of Mr. Griffith, said that the matter was under the consideration of the law officers of the Crown. SUPPLY.—NAVAL ESTIMATES. The house then went into Committee of Supply. Upon the motion that £368,311 be granted to defray the half-pay, reserved half-pay, and cost of retirement of offi cers in the Navy and Royal Marines, Mr. W. S. LINDSAY called attention to the state of the active list of officers. Out of a total of 1,600 officers of all grades 260 were aged between 60 and 85. In the steamships belonging to private companies there was a large number of active and intelligent officers, who, since the passing of the Mercantile Act, Vera bound to undergo examinations quite as strict as officers in the Royal Navy ; and if an examination on gunnery were added to the course, they would form an efficient reserve, on which the country could depend in the hour of need, and thereby the large sum which the house was called on to vote annually for half-pay might gradually be very materially reduced. Mr. W. WILLIAMS said that there was a great defi ciency in the lower ranks of the navy—in mates and mid shipmen, for instance—while there was a great redundancy in the number of admirals. He thought this system ought to receive some check. Sir C. NAPIER attributed the existing state of things to the different Lords of the Admiralty. Between 1830 and 1846 there were 509 vacancies in the list, consequent upon deaths and promotions, and while, according to thebregula tions, only one promotion ought to have taken place for every three vacancies, for these 509 removals there were 369 promotions. It was evident that if the minute of 1830 had been made in 1815, and if every First Lord of the Ad miralty had acted upon it strietly, the number of officers of the navy of all ranks would by this time have been very considerably reduced. The evils of the system of promo tion, from the age of the officers, became very great, and he suggested to the late Sir R. Peel, who was then in office, a plan for removing a certain number of officers from the top •f the list with their own consent. Some years afterwards Sir R. Peel consented to give a retirement to a certain number of captains, who were allowed to take the rank of admirals at 60 years of age, and if that arrangement had not been interfered with the list would not have been in its present state. If the list were only allowed to remain un disturbed it would be easily ascertained from an actuary within what period that list would be exhausted. The fact was that the different Boards of Admiralty had promoted too many officers, utterly regardless of the regulation that only one promotion should be made for every three vacan cies. An honourable member opposite had recommended that officers in the merchant service should be allowed to become officers in the navy; but that system would not answer, for their manners and education unfitted them for such a position. They might as well put officers of the navy into the merchant service. He admitted that in the event of a war, if there was a deficiency of officers in her Majesty's navy, it would be absolutely ne cessary to call in a certain number of officers from the mer chant service, upon the distinct understanding that their services were only required for a certain time. There was no doubt that a number of very fine young men might be obtained as officers from the merchant service; but they must only be used for the time they were wanted, unless they distinguished themselves, and in that case no doubt the Board of Admiralty would be glad to retain them per manently in the navy. The present condition of the list of officers was attributable to the circumstance that the long war led to numerous promotions ; that successive Boards of Admiralty had sanctioned unnecessary promotions, and that when a minute was made with the object of checking promotions it was entirely disregarded. Sir J. PAKINGTON—I think it will be admitted by every man who has studied the state of the navy, that the question which has been touched upon by the speakers who have preceded me is one of the utmost importance as con nected with the efficiency of the naval service, and I cannot allow this vote to pass without expressing my anxious hope that the new Board of Admiralty will take into their con sideration the present stagnation of promotion in the navy, and that they will deal boldly and courageously with the subject. From the experience I have had for the last year and a half, I think I may say it is absolutely necessary for the efficiency of the naval service that something should be done; and I have also seen enough to be satisfied that no thing will be done that will effect the important object in view unless the Minister who attempts to deal with the subject is resolved to do so in a bold and determined spirit, and not to be deterred from attaining his object by slight difficulties. On Monday night the hon. and gallant member for Southwark animadverted on the plan of retirement,which to complain, not I think unjustly, o f the gallant officer for was arranged while I was at the h ead of the Admiralty. I have making the subject of unfavourable comments in this house a paper which was never in any sense made public, and, therefore, of the fairness or unfairness of his remarks, relative. to which hon. members, never 'having seen the document, could not possibly judge. Later on the same evening the hon. member for Sunderland expressed a hope that I leould take an opportunity of explaining what the na ture of - my plan was. Now, while I think it would be ver y inconvenient that I should enter into details connected with a paper which has not been made public, and which there fore T could not hope to make intelligible to hon. members, nevertheless, I may s ay that the age — though n o t necessary principle of the proposal I prepared was thi s , th a t th ere s h ou ld be laid down a certain would li rde u m e e r n e t a a r a a d t et to necessarily always the same age- - aPP cable to all ra nks in the naval service, at which officers be required t o re ti re , rece i v i ng as compensa ti o n for such compulsory re ti , of pay regulated with t i h n e ran lengt k h an, o d f t an heir am ac o t un ua t l services to the country. I also p roposed that thereshould be another age—of course some yearn younger thin that fixed • for the compulsory retirement—at s hould have it in. their powervolu ntar i l y which officers to withdraw with the same advantages. That was the principle on which I framed that plan. Although • is perfectly true, as I have said, that the paper to which I have re ferred veas never in any sense published ; I have showxi it to a aster oonsideflewith the viewview of. numb iiltai•er Se tamingt heir opinions on the question, and, among others, to the hon. and gallant admiral. The hon. and gallant member seemed to express an apprehension that the plan would bear hardly upon officers of his own rank. I cat only say that I should be prepared, either in public or in private, to contend that there is nothing in that plan of which offi cers of the high and distinguished rank of the gallant ad miral would have the least reason to complain. I admit also that in undertaking the difficult task of devising any scheme of retirement to remedy the evils now pressing on the navy from the want of such a scheme, any man would fall in his duty if he did not show the utmosti possible re spect for the high claims of such officers as the gallant ad miral and many others of his rank, who have risen to their high position by their own great services, by their gallantry, and a long and successful career in a noble profession. On the other hand, I feel with equal force, and I am glad to have this opportunity of stating it, that any man who ventured to enter upon such a work would no less fail in his duty if he limited his regard to officers who have reached the highest rank in the navy. I say the poor lieutenant is as much entitled to consideration as the admiral—(cheers) —and I beg to tell the house that while I was at the Admiralty nothing was more painful to me than the cases which came crowding before me of men, who, having served the country well, had failed in the difficult race of promotion for want of interest. (Hear.) Yes, lam sorry to say it is too true that many of these men fail through the want of that mode of getting ad vancement which we all know has been necessary. lam not imputing blame to anybody, because we are all aware of the difficulties which a Government have to meet—that they are compelled to make selections from large bodies of men ; and let them make those selections as honestly as they may, - there must remain a large residuum unemployed and un promoted. Why, at this moment, there are officers who have held the rank of lieutenant for years and years till they have become old men, and who are now struggling to main tain themselves as offieers and gentlemen on a pittance wholly inadequate for the purpose. (Cheers.) Any one who occupies the position which I had the honour to fill must have his feelings continually wounded by numberless cases of that description. And I say it in no spirit of disrespect, that I think it behoves those more fortunate men who have succeeded in attaining the highest distinction not to stand upon too much punctilio on their own position. They ought to show some consideration towards their less favoured brethren, and to be willing to make some sacrifice to relieve them from the hardship of their present lot. My plan ar rived at this point, that I had consulted my colleagues upon it, that it had been cordially and thoroughly adopted by the Cabinet ; and if I had remained at the Admiralty, I should have done, my utmost to carry it into effect, of course with such modifications as fairness might dictate. The gallant admiral said the plan was strongly opposed by many dis tinguished officers in the service, and even by the officers of my own board. (Hear, hear, from Sir C. Napier.) Now, I will tell the gallant member this, that so far as I know the disapprobation of that plan was mainly—l will not say exclusively—confined to a very small number of officers at the head of the list of his own rank, who took a view of it which I deeply regret, . and which I think very mistaken. It is true the professional members of my board were di vided on the subject, but this is equally true, that I did not limit my inquiries as to the plan either to members of my own board, or to the few distinguished men who stand at the head of the navy. I consulted flag officers, captains, and lieutenants, without knowing their previous bias, and solely regarding their competence to give a fair and disin terested opinion • and the overwhelming majority, including officers of all ranks, were most hearty and decided in their approval of the scheme, and expressed hopes that I would pursue it to a successf ul issue. (Hear, hear.) And as a proof that something must be done, I beg to remind the Secretary to the Admiralty that during the first 12 months when I was at the head of that board I was not able to pro mote more than five lieutenants to be commanders, and two commanders to he post-captains. Some extraordinary promotions, indeed, took place in consequence of the tran sactions in China, but that does not interfere with the accuracy of the statement I have made as to the very limited amount of ordinary promotion which occurred between April, 1856, and April, 1859. I ask, can such a state of things be expected to produce contentment in a great profes sion like the navy ? Is it likely you can have the service provided with officers of an age suitable for the due per ormance of their duties under a system of such stagnation as this ? The gallant admiral told us that no evils of the kind exist in the army, that general officers are not asked to give way at a certain age, or regarded as impeding the advancement of their younger brethren. In using that argu ment the gallant member surely forgot that the two services are governed on totally different principles. The general in the army does not stop promotion ; the admiral in the navy does. Why, every year there are numbers—l may without exaggeration sayhundreds—of officers in the army who quit their profession by selling their commissions. Who leaves the navy ? Nobody. Year after year you are pouring in young gentlemen into the navy, although not, as has been truly said, to a sufficient extent, but while you are doing so nobody goes out at the top of the list. It really seems as if our admirals were immortal. (A laugh.) They appear to be exempted from the common lot of humanity, and, unless they are carried off by a cannon shot they never die. (A laugh.) lam glad of that, but with such a state of things you need not be surprised at stagnation, and therefore I say it is necessary to adopt some plan of retirement applicable to the naval service. (Hear.) lam not the first naval Mi nister who has felt this embarrassment ; on the contrary, from the nature of things it is constantly occurring, and in point of fact various Boards of Admiralty have been com pelled to adopt retiring lists. A retiring list relieves the system for a time, but after a few years .it is again choked, you again experience a dead lock, and I do not believe you will ever provide an effectual care until you adopt some self-acting plan, which shall promote retirements at the top of the list as you pour in fresh blood at the bottom, and so enable you to have a due succession of officers capable of doing good service to the country. (Hear, hear.) It was my anxious wish, by the adoption of a. simple mode of retire ment, with fair compensation for the disadvantages it created, to afford a permanent remedy for the present state of things. I left office before I could carry out a plan which, though open to correction in its details, I believe, in its leading principles was perfectly fair and sound, and which would have attained the object in view. I have left that plan to my successor. It is in the hunds of the Duke of Somerset, whom I have implored to consider it impartially as a matter . eeplv affecting the welfare of the British navy, and I shall be glad to hearfrom the Secretary to the Admiralty that the ' present Board will endeavour by some means or other, to re- L medy what I believe to be a great and growing evil. (Hear.) Sir C. NAPIER had hoped that the right hon. baronet would not again have found fault with him for having men tioned his plan of , retirement. That plan was not furnished to him confidentially, and he appealed to the house to say whether a document which was handed round to almost every old admiral resiilent in London, and which formed the subject of a petition tp her Majesty wild be properly called confidential. It was triie the petition to which he referred was not presented to the Queen, but the reason of that was that the right hon. baronet left office before the requisite arrangements could be completed. The petition, however, was signed by himself and several other admirals, and one of those who attached their names to it took the liberty of telling the right hon. baronet that an experience of 15 months at the head of the Admiralty did not seem to have taught him to respect the feelings of naval officers. (A laugh.) To press old officers to retire from the service was degrading, and he could never forget that the death of his own father, a captain in the navy, who had net had an op portunity of serving, was cause d his being passed over in promotion. The truth was that the right hon. baronet did not know, and never would know, what the feelings of naval officers were—(a laugh)—and fortunate it was that he was driven from office before he could bring forward his nefarious system of retirement. (Laughter.) It was no doubt true that the right hon. baronet obtained the assent of a number of officers to his plan, but the probability was that those officers were young men who wanted promotion ; at all events, he could state with certainty that the plan was disaloproved by the senior officers. But the right hon. baronet had not told the house all. In addition to the other objectiOnable features of his scheme, the right hon. baronet actually wanted to take into his own hands, with the view of increasing the patronage at his disposal, the hauling down vacancies belonging to flag-officers, as well as those special vacancies which were given to the Board of Admi ralty for the purpose of rewarding officers for gallant ser vices. (Hear, hear.) It was quite true that various boards had made retirements. That was quite right : it brought forward a sufficient number of young officers, and at the present moment there were more young admirals in the service than there were during the war. But the pro posal of the right hon. baronet went much further, and he ecould only say that he hoped the present First Lord would would find something better to do than hurting the feelings of old officers, and that the House of Commons would not vote a single shilling except for the purpose of assisting old commanders and lieutenants who had not sufficient interest to make their way in the service, (Hear, hear.) Sir Y. PAKINGTON said that not a single word of what had fallen from the hon.. and gallant admiral applied to the present system of retirement. The gallant admiral com • plained of the cruelty of compelling old and distinguished officers to retire. Perhaps the house would be surprised to hear that his (Sir J. Pakington's) plan did not compel any flag-officer to retire. (Hear, hear.) It applied to o ffi cers in junior ranks, but did not deprive any flag-officer of any privilege that he now possessed. Sir C. NAPIER—I don't know how the rule now stands, but I know how it stood when I was employed by the Ad miralty. Sir C. WOOD, who was almost inaudible in. - the gallery, was supposed to speak to the following effect :—lt is very inconvenient to discuss a plan not before the house, but I think the right hon. gentleman has very much understated the effect of the plan of retirement. The consequence of the plan now in force is to reduce the period of service of post captains from 36 years to under 20 years. There are at this moment, I believe, a greater number of young admirals, if I may use the expression, than there had previously been since Lord Howe's time. The number of admirals under GO years of age is now 30 instead of 9, which was the number under the previous plan 'of retirement. I confess that I do not believe that retnementby age would bean improvement of the present system. .1 think that every one will admit that Lord Lyons was' one of the most efficient officers we have had for many years, and yet Lord Lyons would have been disqualified years ago if retirement at the age of 60had been compulsory, for Lord Lyons 1 believe was 70 when he died. [Admiral Walcott.-68.] I do not say that every man above or below 60 would be able to command a fleet, but I think it would be a great mistake to debar yourselves of the 'services of such a man as Lord Lyons because he was above '6O years of age. (Hear, hear.) I say this without any reference to the plan of the right hon. gentleman. The number of superior officers being much less than those of the inferior officers, it is impossible to hope that by any plan of retirement promotion can be given to all the inferior offi cers. Suppose that 1,200 lieutenants is the number required and 3.50 captains, and 450' Commanders, it is obviously im possible that the whole number of lieutenants can ke pro moted to commanders. By increasing the retired list you will remove officers whohave attained an age which renders it almbst impossible for them to serve. It is to the interest of the country that the list of officers in the lower ranks should be relieved of such as are incapable of serving in that rank. I think that the present rules of retirement have answered, to a great extent, the purpose for which they were instituted. No scheme that could be invented "would be agreeable to all classes 'of 'persons. Adthiral WALCOTT said, if the country and the house would only exercise a little patience these gray-headed men would' soon disappear from the reach of their bounty. o stm ed ce it un s o d ri e g r i w n h to ich th t e he w l a a r rg t e ha l t ist las ha te d d b e en from p j ro 7 d 92 uc t e o d l . Bl l s t , The house had not been m a d e acqua i n t e d w ith the circum stance which we had at 'one 'time 1,000 pendants flying. There were at the same time, no less than 140,000 seamen in the service. We were at war with almost the whole world, and it was absolutely necessary to have fleets block ading the ports of the 'eVently end' protecting the commerce of the country. The number of officers was consequently very large, and that was the'eause as he had always said of the number of 'officers on 'these lists. If an actuary were ap plied to, he would tell them that officers' of the navy did , not Jive longer than other ao m tef elan. late , i bi t t rst kh a e aol m icos o tuns re , wt f ed a h v e o ft u hor r e a rth b o l e e f commanders, or lieutenants, were iitate of the p li tli b c e h in ea g lt gre h, only to exercise a ad ave ra ra ira ge b; e_f eaptains, and they would • see them thinned' by the natural effect of time. Since 1815 appointments, prorao lcritotredpedatiweiiitche, old men, and they had tions r and recommendations formarks of honour at the hand of the Sovereign had gone by favour. Every First Lord had - his own friends to provide for, and then he probably took the advice of the First Naval Lord, who kneir certain officers, with whom he had served, and naturally recom • mended them. It was impossible that there could be any confidence iu the service until the colleagues of the First Lord were made responsible with him for appointments, promotions, and rewards. During 40 years Of peace the proportion of 'captains employed was 80 out of 600 ; and fqw, therefore, could rise to the rank of admiral without . . friends at the 'Admiralty. In peace a captain must have been six years, and in war four years in command of a ship before he was entitled to rise to the rank of admiral, but if he were not employed he could not rise, and if he had no interest he could not get employment. There were 99 admirals on the list. They had more young admirals than they could employ, or did employ. If an officer could not reach the ear of the First Lord he remained without employment and was put upon the reserved list. He was one of those who was displaced when he had a fair right and title to be employed. He never could obtain employment. Captains who had been six, nine, and ten years afloat were able to get ships, while other cap. tains could not serve the time necessary to keep on the active list. When the experienced captains died the coun try lost their services, and, in addition, the advantage of the survivors having hared the experience. Until some consideration was shown for merit the evil must continue. If it were known that the only road to promotion was by zeal, energy, and gallant good conduct, there would be a very different feeling in the service. Officers who had no influence saw First Lord after First Lord succeed to office, and just when they expected that the First Lord had pro vided for his friends and could give encouragement to merit a change came, and with the change disappointment. They had rolled the stone uphill with the greatest difficulty, when it fell and crushed them, and they had to begin over and over again. That was his case for 30 years, and hundreds of others, who had spared no effort to get employment never could get a command. His heart had been almost broken, and he had been thrust upon the retired list when he had energy and ability to have done his country some service. (Hear, hear.) Men who had not used every effort to get employment were unworthy the profession and should be thrust aside, but those who offered for any station were en titled to some little consideration. He was glad that the Admiralty had promised some advantages to chaplains and surgeons, but something was equally due to masters and lieutenants. (Hear, hear.) He suggested that rank and some small pecuniary consideration would remove discon tent and afford encouragement to young officers who were just entering the service. (Hear, hear.) Sir F. BARING said, that in the year 1848 the average age of those officers whose names stood upon the admirals' list was 70, and that there were only six of them whose age was under 60, while there were at the present moment 31 admirals who were below that age. The consequence of the state of things which had formerly prevailed was that when he, being then at the head of the Admiralty, had com municated with two gallant admirals, with the view of send ing them out to take command in the East Indies, the answer which he had received was that they were too old to perform the service which was required at their hands, and he had eventually been obliged to appoint an officer to the command whose age was 72 years. (Hear.) There were, at the period to which he referred, about 100 officers in the captains' list who were incapable of service, and on that of the lieutenants', which embraced 2,300 names, about 1,000 in a similar position. He had, under these circum stances, found it impossible to leave matters as they were, and had therefore introduced a measure which, in conjunc tion with other measures in the same direction by which it had been followed, had caused the present efficient state of the navy list. The question of the age of naval officers was one which had been over and over again taken into consideration at the Admiralty, but however well any scheme for dealing with it might look upon paper, to strike distinguished and historic names, such, for instance, as that of the hon. and gallant member for Southwark, off the list was by no means a pleasant task for a First Lord of the Admiralty to discharge. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the' complaints which were made by . those officers who oc cupied the lower ranks in the service, he could only say that it was impossible to make every lieutenant an admiral, and that, in his opinion, the best mode of dealing with them would be to open a door which would admit of their retire ment from the service with honour and satisfaction to them selves. (Hear, hear.) So far as the question of promotion was concerned, he thought that, instead of promotion hav ing been slow, there had been a considerable flow of it for the last few years. -(Hear, hear.) Sir J. ELPHINSTONE said, it had been recommended that the officers of the superior class of merchants' ships should be made available for the navy, Mit he should remind the committee that it would not be easy to secure the ser vices of such men. For his own part, he should not, when he had been in the East India Company's service, have thought of entering the navy, inasmuch as the former service was much preferable on the score of pay,, and in consequence of the rapidity with which promotion might be obtained. Those who served in the superior classes of merchant vessels had the prospect before them of becoming partners in some mercantile house, or of settling down comfortably in some other capacity, and it was not therefore probable that many would be lured into the navy from that service. As to the manner in which the officers in the lower ranks of the navy might be provided for, he could only say that in his opinion the best mode of dealing with them would be either to raise them to the rank of commanders or buy them out, as had been done in the East India Company's service, in which a man on leaving the service received a certain sum of money, according to the rank which he filled, and a small premium. If a similar practice were adopted in the navy the lieutenants' list would soon be cleared. He might add that when a man had served as a midshipman for eight or nine years, and after-; wards a lieutenant for 13 or 14 years, making in all a period of from 21 to 23 years' service, he generallfbecame, owing to the wear and tear of constitution to which he was sub jected, practically unfitted for duty as a quarter-deck officer. What, then, under these circumstances. was to be done with him ? He could not be made an admiral; but then he might have conferred upon him the privilege of writing Captain So and So on his door, together with a small addi ' tion to his pay if he remained in the service, and by that means the list might be cleared. There was at the present moment in the navy a large number of officers who were discontented, because they saw, as it were, no daylight before them, and because their youth had passed away, leaving them to spend the rest of their days in the endea vour to live on a pittance which was a disgrace to the country. (Hear, hear.) He might also observe that the navy, instead of , being a. cheap was an expansive profes sion, and that as a consequence it was' idle to hope that many officers from the superior classes of the merchant ser vice would be i n duced to enter it. As t o th e a d m i ra l s ' li s t, he did not think it m uch mattered how many names stood as there was a p ower o f se l ec ti on. (H ear. ) monr. it, s aid an attempt h a d b een ma d e t o f as t en on upons G lo o n N g the late Government the authorship of a scheme the ten dency of which was to do viole nce t o th e f ee li ngs of man y gallant officers in the naval service. They had no such intention, but believed that the system was one which would give to-every officer his f a i r s h are o f promotion with out hurting the feelings of any, while it would increase his pride in his profession. Admiral DUNCOMBE said it was currently stated that the officers who had been consulted in this matter by the late First Lord had one and all disapproved of his plan. Admiral WALCOTT declared that the scheme had given infinite pain to many old and gallant officers, who were the pride and ornament of the navy, and whom every young officer might look up to as an example. The hon. gentle man (Mr. Lygon) and the late Fi rs t L or d h a d no know ledge of the profession, or they would not have adopted such a system. As regarded the lieutenants, whose posi tion was a perfect reproach to the country, the Admiralty say ls. a-day, and probably they would be might give them the rank of commander, with some little additional pay, satisfied. Naval officers should be encouraged to improve themselves in the various branches of their profession, and they should be made to feel that this was the only road to employment and promotion. In the case of the gunnery officers, however, no such encouragement was held out, and he thought their case was really deserving of considera tion. Sir J. PAKINGTON, referting to the statement that all the officers whom he had consulted had disapproved of his plan, stated that he had asked the opinion of a great num ber of officers without the slightest knowledge of their pre vious bias, and an overwhelming majority had given their cordial assent to the proposal. Admiral DUNCOMBE said he had referred to the old flag officers as objecting to it. Lord C. PAGET had understood the right hon gentle tleman (Sir J. Pakington) to say, on the subject of the present rate of promotion, that he had only during one year the opportunity of promoting two commanders to be captains, and five lieutenants to be commanders. During the year 1858, when the right hon. gentleman was in office, there were nine admirals made from captains, 22 captains made from commanders, 62 commanders made from lieu tenants, and 51 lieutenants made from mates. He (Lord C. Paget) did not say that even that was sufficient promo tion, but it made up a very different figure from that which the right hon. gentleman put before the committee. Sir J. PAKINGTON said he had spoken of promotion on the active list. The vote was then agreed to, as were also votes for £243,957 for military pensions and allowances • £ 83,416 for civil pensions and allowances ; £175,000 for ;hips for con veyance of troops on account of the army; and £706,337 for Post-office department (packet service). On the vote of £lOO,OOO for the payment of gratuities to seamen now serving in her Majesty's ships, who have at least five years to serve, or who engage to serve for five years if so required, Mr. W. S. LINDSAY said he wished to direct the at tention of the committee to the scale of payment of seamen in the navy. He would be the last to oppose unnecessarily an increase of that pay, for he had been a sailor himself; but he asked if that increased pay was necessary, and, if so, would it effect the object ii#view ? A bounty was increased pay in another form. The right hon. gentleman the late First Lord, in a time of peace, but taking alarm at rumours which had not the slightest foundation, thought it was necessary to hurry on the work of manning the navy. It was extraordinary that, while the pay of the seaman and his position in the navy were better than in the merchant serv ice—while his work was less severe, and that he was not only provided for in sickness, but in old age, when we wanted men to enter the navy they could not be got. There must be something wrong to account for such a state of things. (Hear, hear.) Excessive drill was alleged as one reason, and flogging as another. What a degrading position it was to strip a man and flog him before his shipmates, and that not after any trial, but from the mere impulse of the moment. (Hear.) He (Mr. Lindsay) did not advocate the doing away with corporal punishment ; it might be neces sary; but let a roan, before being punished, be tried by a court-martial composed of naval officers, and then if he was held to have deserved punishment, let it be inflicted under the authority of that tribunal. The bounty of £lO, while it increased the pay of the Royal navy, ended with increas ing the pay of the merchant service from £2los. to £3 10s. per month. And yet, after saddling an important and de pressed interest with a heavy additional burden, the bounty did not effect the object that the Government had in view. The shipping interest of this country were running a great ocean race with all the countries in the world, and anything that raised the rate of wages paid in British ships made the shipowner less able to run the race prescribed for him by the law. The £lO bounty created dissatisfaction in the British navy. The seamen asked why they should not get £lO as well et.- the men of the merchant service. Well, the Government now proposed to vote to able seamen. Would that satisfy them ? They would say that if it wero just to give them £5 it was equally just to give them £lO. He had do doubt it would be necessary to vote another £lOO,OOO, and still the Government would not be able to gain their object. He certainly thought the offer of a £lO bounty a mistake on the part of the late Government. Lord C. PAGET said he was now enabled to give an ex planation of this vote, which he was unable to do on Fri day. At that time the order in Council was not issued, and he preferred to wait until he was in a position to propose this estimate. He wished to repeat the opinion he had be fore expressed, that nothing but the most urgent necessity could justify a recourse to bounties, especially to bounties of so large an amount, cHear.) A system of bounties might bo compared to- t hose opium draughts which were common inEastern count' ins: each dose must be stronger than the former. in like man ner, if our seamen were taught to expect that at the least cl cud in the west, or"approach to a political difficulty, a boun, ty would be offered, the Admiralty would never be able to get a seaman without a bounty. (Hear.) The wisdom of giving a bounty ought therefore to be very carefully considere d by any Government before they proposed it, and the bounty ought never, in his opinion, to be adopted without the sa action of the House of Commons. The bounty offered by the late Government had certainly rapidly increased our force •of seamen. But another ques tion then arose. The Goven - anent had not only to consider the position of those who ex itered the navy from the mer chant service, but also the position of those seamen who had been serving their country faithfully, who had learnt in the Royal Navy the whole of the duties of a seamen, and who had come to be efficient men- or-war's-men. Now, he wished to bring this matter home to his right hon. friend (Sir J. Pakington) as a personal question. He would suppose that his right hon. friend and him self were captains of line-of battle ships, and that instead - . of a scarcity of seamen there was a scarcity of captains of li re-of-battle ships. That had happened before, not in the ~%nglish, but in the French service, for in France during tl 4e revolution the captains of merchantmen were taken out th!their ships and put in com mand of men-of-war. They we we the uniform and enjoyed all the privileges of captains of j nen-of-war. Now, suppose that some respectable merchant captain, who was a very ghod seaman, but utterly unaq aainted with the duties of captain of a man-of-war, were pea upon an equality with his right hon. friend and himself. That would be unsatis• factory; but what would his ri; t hon. friend and himself say if this captain of a merchant man had given to him a large sum of money in hand b eyond what they hedge ceived, if he obtained his epaulettes, sword, cocked hat, and all the paraphernalia of rank, all. the furniture of his cabin? That was precisely the case of the seamen of the Royal Navy at the present moment. The bounty of £lO was nearly half a year's pay. He certainly thought that the seamen in the Royal Navy had no legal claim to any par ticipation in. the bounty. B - at their position was such that the Government had to consider how they ought to be treated. He must say for these men that, so far as he was aware, they h ad never uttered a word of complaint. (Hear, hear.) But was that a reason for not considering their claims ? If the Government thought they had a just demand for some consideration justice ought to be done at once and spontaneously, and without waiting for complaints. (Hear.) He thought it was best that the sea men already in the service should have no cause of com plaint. Although one half of the bounty was to be given to men already in the fleet, it was - upon certain conditions that a man who had less than five years to serve should enter for an extension of that period to five years, and one month after the receipt of the order in Council on board each ship should be allowed to the seamen to elect whether they would accept the gratuity or not upon those terms. Supposing that those conditions were accepted by a majo rity of the men, we should, as it were, have our fleet man ned for five years to come. Under these circumstances he submitted that the Government was justified, upon grounds of public policy and fair consideration towards the men, in asking the committee to vote this sum of money. (Hear.) Sir J. PAKINGTON was sorry to say that what had fallen from the noble lord had not affected in the least de gree the opinion he had expressed upon a former evening. He had heard nothing which he could call a reason for the extraordinary course proposed, which was a deviation from all precedent in the past, and establishing an embarrassing and inconvenient example for the future. He could only hope that by the immediate adoption of a better system of reserves we might escape being placed in the critical posi tion in which the late Government were placed when they were compelled to resort to the system of a bounty. (Hear.) The hon. member for Sunderland and the noble lord had both touched upon the general policy of a bounty, but that question was not now before the committee, and, indeed, it was settled last week, when the house voted the sum necessary for that bounty. All he would say as to the general policy of the bounty was that a great national object was at stake, and that object was accomplished by it. (Hear.) The question before the committee was a different one—whether, because Parliament had voted £31,000 to get seamen, it was right to spend £lOO,OOO more in making a voluntary gift to men who were already in the navy. He thought nothing could justify such wanton ex penditure but the most urgent necessity. If there had been any great exhibition of dissatisfaction in the fleet, that might have been an excuse for such a proposal, but nothing of the kind existed upon the noble lord's own admission. The whole 'case of the Governmentturnedonthe possibility that there might be dissatisfaction amongst those men. He had said the other evening that if there were discontent upon that ground, it was a case in which the Government were bound for high reasons of high policy to take a bold attitude and declare the demand unreasonable. But, to the honour of the sailers it must be said, they manifestly saw the unreasonableness of the demand. The committee must remember what had been done for those men recently. In the supplementary estimates they were now considering, in the first vote were three items to which he called their attention. The first was to meet the increase of extra pay allowed to seamen gunners, £13,000 ; the next was to pro vide for good conduct pay to petty officers for badges awarded to them after promotion to that rank, £7,657 ; and the third was for gratuitous issues of bedding and clothing to seamen and boys, £38,000. Those werebonuses just given for the first time, and it was unreasonable that a bounty which was only grantedupon an emergencyto induce sailors to enter the Royal navy who would otherwise have re mained in the merchant service should be extended to all the men who were already in the service. Considering the increased pay and advantages enjoyed by men engaged for continuous service, there never was a moment when there was less excuse for dissatisfaction. Nothing had fallen from the noble lord which would not have been applicable to the three former occasions upon which bounties had been granted, and which were not paid to men already serving. At some future time, notwithstanding all improvements, a day might come when the Government of this country would be embarrassed by this unreasonable proposal to throw away £lOO,OOO just now, when, as the Chan. cellor of the Exchequer would probably soon tell the house, the finances were not in a condition to justify any wanton or wasteful expenditure of the kind. He (Sir 3. Peking ton) believed that there was no amount of money which the house would not vote and their constituents sanction if that money was to be judiciously and properly expended to secure our national defences. (Hear.) But, on the other hand, it ought to condemn and would condemn any gratui tous, unnecessary expenditure of the kind now proposed, which was not justified by past precedent nor existing facts, and which must prove most embarrassing and inconvenient for future Administrations. However, approval of the pro posal was one thing, and opposing it when proposed was another. (Hear.) Now there might be dissatisfaction, but two months ago there was none. The late Government attained their objeet, got the men they wanted, and there was not a whisper of discontent heard. The noble lord had talked about the poliCy of treating the British sailor with generosity ; and so he should be, but the fact was that never was the sailor treated with so much generosity and consi deration as at the present time. (Hear.) Now, for some mo tive which had not yet been explained hefound the Govern ment at a moment of financial difficulty . embarking in this most unnecessary expenditure. (Hear.) Having protested against it on these grounds of public policy, he must leave the Government to take the course they thought proper, for they had embarrassed the question and placed it on a totally different footing from that on which it stood before. (Hear.) Mr. WHITBREAD asked the house to consider, as the right hon. baronet said the present Government had adopted an inconvenient precedent, whether it was not the late Government who adopted an inconvenient precedent in giving a bounty to seamen on enlisting. (Hear.) The right hon. baronet referred to the success of the bounty in ob taining a certain number of men,.and said that a great na tional object was to be gained by it. So likewise it might be said of the recent act of the present Government, that a great national object was to be gained by it; and he thought that object would be accomplished in the prevention of any discontent arising among the seamen, as well as in secur ing the services of the flower of the fleet for many years to come. (Hear.) Ho believed, notwithstanding what had fallen from an hon. member, that this gratuity would sa tisfy the seamen, for they knew that they had no legal claim to it, and they would be pleased and gratified by hav ing it offered to them on a principle of justice. (Hear.) It was maintained by the right hon. baronet that, as no dis content had been heard of hitherto, none was ever likely to arise, oven if this gratuity had not been offered; but dis content did not arise in a moment. The men whom this question affected lived not like other people in the midst of society composed of all sorts of _professions b u t entirely in the company of persons like themselves. 'All their inte rests and feelings ran in one way ; and was it not certain, when the propriety of the late Government's act was i,e ques tioned in such an assembly as that house that it would questioned by them ? It was imposs ibl e to conceive, ie un less the present propositions were acceded to, that t sea men would not think that, having madeof it, and was a bargain with the country, the country had got the be st . deter mined to keep it. (Hear, hear.) He thought it might safely be maintained that by t he ste p now taken tne Go vernment had not only secured to this country the services of the most efficient body of men for the fleet . for flve years to come, but he had also impyes_sed o m n the minds of those men—and this was a result of far ore value than the money at present asked for—the conviction that they were dealing with a just and onerous coun ry. (Hearhear.) Sir NAPIER approvedg_ of the bounty which had been given; inasmuch as ithact obtained for the fleet a consideern 3bolneenumber of men and what could the country have ithout them ? 'The noble lord said that ameliora tions had taken place in the service. He knew that that was the case, but he did not thank the Admiralty for it, because. had it not been for the motions brought forward by himself, none of these ameliorations would have taken place. Corporal punishment had been alluded to, but he did not.think that the men generally_ were avers e t o th at, as they knew t hat the discipline of the n av y cou ld not be carried on without it. He should like, however, to see the men brought to a court-martial before punishment was inflicted. Such a course would give great satisfaction to the seamen, and would not destroy the discipline of the navy one iota. He gave the First Lord of the Admiralty th e greatest credit for offering the bounty, and he did not see that the present Government or any one else had a right to find fault with that measure, since it had proved successful. ful He believed the men w ou ld f eel grateful for this g ratuity. They knew they were not legally entitled to it, and they would receive it all the more grate fully on that account. The late First Lord of the Admiralty - said he had heard of no discontent among the men ; but he (Sir C. Napier) was often atiPortsmouth, and heard loud ex pressions of discontent. When an experienced sailor got a gratuity of £5, and a man who had not experience equal to him got the bounty of £lO, was _there not likely to be discontent ? (Hear.) W ou ld the House like to see the fleet lying at Spithead in the present state of Europe with out hands to man it ? (He ar , h ear.) The war was said to be finished, but was it really fi n i s h e d ? (Hear, hear.) In the present position of a ff a i rs no effort should be spared to place the country a state of sa f e t y. (H ear, hear .) There was not a man in another place who did not hear with pleasure the speech of Lord Lyndhurst the ether evening. He should like to see th e same spirit that e• hedisplayed hibited in that house. Let gentlemen forget for a time that they had constituents—( a laugh)—and let them boldly ap prove all that could be done for the defence of the country, so that they might be able to point to the British fleet, and say " There is our fleet, ready to do all it ever did in former days." (Hear, hear.) Sir J. GRAHAM—I am ye y unwilling to prolong this discussion, as it is desirable that we should get through the navy estimates as soon as possibls ; but like the hon. and gallant admiral who has just sat down, I have for a long period taken a deep interest in the question of manning the navy, and am therefore desirous of saying a very few words. I will not discuss questions that are not before the committees—questions of peace or war, and of the state of Europe, the subject of corporal punishment, and other topics that have been introduced. The questionda gratuity con sequent on ;the bounty that has been granted is the matter now in hand, and to that I shall address a few observations. ' On a former occasion E expressed at some length my decided opinion against bounty in time of peace. (Heir.) I then , • stated my object ions to it in detail, and to those objections • I still adhere. I think they are conclusive against the pre cedent set for the first time by the late Board of Admiralty of offering a bounty in time of peace. I think that that ought to be the last resource of a Government in the last ex tremity of war, or when war is immediately pending (hear), and I fear that to have had resort to this last resource now will be found to have established a precedent that will add to our difficulties in manning the navy in future in time of peace. (Hear, hear.) But it is needless to argue that ques tion at any length on this occasion, because the bounty has received the sanction of Parliament, and I assume, there fore, that such a bounty was necessary. But if that be the case, I can have no doubt whatever with respect to the vote now before the house. (Hear.) I think this gratuity is the inevitable consequence of the bounty which we have granted. (Hear, hear.) The late First Lord of the Admiralty says there has been no discontent on the part of the men now serving in the Royal navy. There are two important occa sions on which a bounty has been offered in this country. One of these was in 1793, at the commencement of the re volutionary war. We had then only about 14,000 seamen, and just one-half of the amount now offered in time of peace was offered as bounty by the Government. The effect was that in six months the number of men rose from 14,000 to 60,000. The other occasion was in 1803, at the commence ment of the second French war. A bounty was then offered exactly half the amount of that now offered in time of peace. At that time there were about 20,000 men serving in the navy, and the effect of the bounty in six months was to raise the number again to 60,000. (Hear, hear.) Now what is the case on this occasion ? If I mis take not, there are 30,000 men now serving; but besides that a new system has been adopted—viz., that of continuous service. (Hear.) I believe that is a system which ought to be cherished as the foundation of a continual supply, and as one likely to ensure the service of disciplined men. It is a system which, either in peace or war, promises to be of the greatest benefit to the service. (Hear, hear.) The right hon. gentleman says there is no discontent ; but let my right hon. friend reflect on what is the inevitable effect of this bounty. Supposing a ship arrives in port from a foreign station to be paid off. There are five continuous service men on board and five non-continuous service men. The five continuous service men go to the flagship in order to be employed in some other ship. The non-continuous service men can the next day take the bounty of £lO and. ' enter into service in another ship, but the continuous ser vice men, though of equal merit in every respect, are bound • to serve lye years longer without any bounty whatever. (Hear.) But the advantage to the non-continuous service ; man does not end there—he gets a suit of clothes complete, I worth £6, while the continuous service man gets nothing. Sir J. i'AKINGTON—The continuous service man has more than an equivalent for the loss of bounty. Sir J. GRAHAM—He will at the end of ten years have received an equivalent, but it will be doled out to him in small driblets, at each monthly pay ; while the non-con tinuance man gets £lO in hand and £6 worth in clothes. Sir J. PAKINGTON—The non-continuance man wi receive £4O. Sir J. GRAHAM—At the end of ten years he will have received £4O I admit ; but still, when one man receives £lO in hand and clothes worth £6, and another gets £4O in small sums at the expiration of ten years, I appeal to the house whether there is not likely to be discontent ? (Hear, hear.) Then the right hon. gentleman says no demand has been made for this gratuity. But can any doctrine be more dangerous than that ? (Hear, hear.) What was the cause of the mutiny at the Nore ? The men made demands, but no attention was paid them till those demands assumed a most dangerous and formidable shape. Then concessions were made in a manner most dangerous and that produced no salutary effect. (Hear, hear.) It is said that this is great generosity on the part of the State. Let there be such generosity. I think the wisest possible course at the pre sent moment is to treat our sailors with kindness, gene • rosity, and consideration. (Cheers.) hi The hon. and gallant admiral (Sir C. Napier) takes to mself exclusively the merit of everything that has been done in favour of the sailor for the last 30 years—(a laugh)—but, setting aside that claim, it has been the object of Governments for the last 30 years to improve the condition of our sailors, and the concessions of the late Government, founded as they were upon justice, seem to me to have been founded upon sound policy. I think the question is not one of generosity, of discontent, or contentment, but of justice. The hen. and gallant admiral referred to a measure which I intro duced in 1832, when I had the advantage of the advice of the late Sir Thomas Hardy, who was better acquainted with the feelings, the habits, and the prejudices of sailors, and the motives by which they are actuated, than any officer I have ever known. With the view of averting the necessity of im pressment I introduced a measure giving her Majesty, at the commencement of a war, or when war was imminent, or when invasion was expected, the power of issuing a pro clamation calling for the services of seafaring men within a short period-6 or 12 days—and of offering to all men who volunteered within that limited time double bounty. By the advice of Sir T. Hardy I included in that bill a provision which, after debate, received the sanction of this house, that a bounty being given to new comers, an equal bounty should be given to all men then serving in the fleet. The hon. and gallant member for Southwark, in a pamphlet published in 1840, referred to the circumstances which had occurred in the Mediterranean, and pointed out what appeared to him the disadvantages of the enactment. I thought, upon ma ture consideration, that the objections were well founded, and in 1853 I introduced a measure materially altering the act of 1832, and enabling the Queen to issue a proclamation not to all seafaring men, but to classes between certain ages, and leaving the question of the gratuity to the advisers of the Crown. So the law now stands, but lam bound to say that upon every principle of equity, and upon every consi deration of policy, I am convinced in the first place that no proclamation for compulsory service can be issued without the concomitant offer of a bounty, though I think the offer of a bounty ought to be reserved for that great emergency ; and secondly, that whenever a bounty is offered to new re cruits a gratuity must be given, not perhaps of an equal amount, but of a considerable amount, to all men serving in the fleet. I think you cannot avoid the risk of serious dis content without taking that step, and in my opinion it is de manded by strict equity. Now it is so, that it is impossible to man the fleet quickly without a bounty. On this occasion a bounty has been offeredin a time of peace. It was my duty to man a fleet in time of war without a bounty, and I suc ceeded in doing it—not I, but an officer of the highest merit who was associated with me- Sir M. Berkeley—who was entirely opposed to a bounty, and who, in the extremity of war and amid all the difficulties of manning the ffeet at that time, steadily resisted the offer of a bounty. Now, the gallant officer says that the fleet was manned by tinkers, tailors, and butcher boys. (Hear, hear ' from Sir Charles Napier.) Well, sir, there may have been tinkers, and there may have been tailors, in every ship on the station, but there were captains in that fleet who, satisfied with their crews, were ready to lead their men into any action and into any danger in which the gallant admiral was prepared to require their services. (Cheers and a laugh.) I can ap peal, to Sir Henry Koppel, who commanded the St. Jean d'Acre—to Admiral Elliot, who commanded a screw line of-battle ship, and to the present Secretary to the Admiralty (Lord C. Paget), who commanded the Princess Royal, and I would ask them whether these " tinkers and tailors" were not men in whom they placed such confidence that they were ready to encounter any fleet that might have engaged them . So much, then, for the experience of manning the fleet without a bounty in time of war. I say again, that in time of peace I consider the bounty to have been an inexpedient measure. I hold the gratuity to be an inevitable concomi tant to the offer of the bounty ; and if the result should be to render future Governments more cautious in offering a bounty in time of peace, with reference to the inevitable ex penditure occasioned in the shape of a gratuity, without which gratuity they would run the risk of creating discon tent in the fleet, I for one shall be extremely glad that that salutary effect has been produced. The bounty having been given, I cannot object to the necessity and prudence of vot ing the sum now demanded. Sir C. NAPIER--The right hon. baronet says I took credit for all that has been done for the sailor during the last 30 years. I did no such thing. (Laughter.) I say so distinctly. (A laugh.) It is untrue. (Cries of " Order.") What I took credit for was obtaining the appointment of the committee which was the means of doing much that has lately been done for the good of the service. The right hon. baronet says he manned the fleet. He man the fleet I Prettily the fleet was manned. (Laughter.) There never was a fleet sent to sea in such a disgraceful state as the Baltic fleet. He refers to Sir H. Keppel and to Admiral Elliot. Why does he not refer to other officers ? He knows how the ships were manned as well as I do, and every offic er i n t h at fleet knows that it was shamefully and disgracef u ll y manned. The fl ee t was a ghihts dis graceown to the British I will tell hon. baronet further that if he will allow me . topr t o h d ei uc r e letters, and Sir Maurice Berkeley'sprivate referring to the way i n which that _ letters to me, house will be astonished. I fleet was manned, the am not sure that I am doing those my duty in not producing letters • and I ask the right hon. baronet now to let me them on come down to the house with another day, and they willshow how the fleet was manned. , Sir J. GRAHAM —The gallant admiral has already taken that liberty (Laughter.) by producing my private l e tt ers . _ Sir C. NAPIER--Not all of them. Will th e r i g ht h on. baronet allow me to produce the rest of the letters ? Mr.WILLIAMS ex p lained that th o ugh the noble lord the Secretary of the Admiralty commanded the P • Princess Royal in th e B a l t i c h e was not captain of that ship when the abominable flogging of which he had complained took place. The vote, which was the last in the navy • estimates, was then agreed to. THE ARMY ESTIMATES. S. HERBERT then rose to bring forward the sup plenWntary estimates for the army. It was not necessary to go into the whole question of the army estimates, as only this portion remai ne d t o li e b roug h t un d er t h e cons ideration' of the house. It had been correctly stated by the right hon. and gallant gentleman opposite (General Peel) that the army at home amounted to 110,000 men. Of this number the embodied militia ranked at 23,000. He agreed with an hon. member opposite, that in times of peace the embodied militia ought not to form a portion of our home army, but this branch of the service was very properly called out to meet the circumstance of th e non-return of Indian regiments who were detained in that country owing to the mutiny in the local In dian army. Still, when these regiments did return to Europe, and another battalion from Canada, they would then have a fair regular army at home; but until the return of these regiments, it would not be desirable to disembody the militia. The right hon. gentleman then referred to the artillery, which was in a most efficient state, and was to be attributed to the zeal and effective administration of the right hon. and gallant member opposite (General Peel.) (Hear, hear.) He would now refer to the camp at Alder shot. Previous to the establishment of that camp the British army was badly off in respect to its commissariat, to military trains, and also as regarded the medical staff. The conseqaence of the establishment of the camp at Aldershot was that a great improvement had taken place in all these particulars. From a communication which he had received in respect to the camp, he found that the engineers were engaged in making fascines. The artillery were actively employed in their military duties. Slaughter-houses were established, and in fact, all the business of the camp, as in times of war, was carried out with promptitude and effi ciency. He had also to observe that crime had greatly di minished in the camp within the last three months. De sertion had also diminished, and he had to add that the health of the army in the camp was very good. The next vote would have relation to wages, but under this head would be included an amount for shot and shells, and other materials for our ships and fortifications at Malta and Gib raltar, and other places. Perhaps the house would like to know the position we were in with respect to the manufac ture of our improved guns. He had to state that at the end of the year 100 guns would be ready, and 200 additional would be completed by the end of the financial year, and after that time the delivery of these guns would be in the same ratio every year. No. 9 vote would have relation to the expense of clothing the militia. The vote No. 11, which related to warlike stores, included many heavy items, amongst which would be £225,000 for miscel laneous stores. Then came a larger and important vete, namely, that relating to fortifications. The right honourable gentleman then referred- to the forts at Devon port, Alderney, Portsmouth, and Portland, and said it was desirable that all the forts at these several places should be completed as rapidly as possible. At Portland they had the finest harbour in the world, but which was wholly undefended. If an enem y once mounte d th e heights there he could be dislodged with difficulty. It was pro posed to erect a citadel at Pottlancl, and with the materials excavated an admirable breakwater could be formed in the harbour. With respect to Portsmouth he had to observe, that there were no defensive arrangements for the entrance to the harbour at Spithead. Experiments, however, were now being made to see how far defences could be satisfac torily erected in the neighbourhood of Spithead. The next item had relation to civil buildings, and after referring to an item of £12,000 for the erection of a substantial magazine for keeping powder at Woolwich, the right hon. gentleman referred to the vote for the medical schools at Chatham, and in doing so said an improved system of medical exami nation had been suggested, similar to that in the Indian service. In vote 14 there was an item of £14,000 for a new rifle range at Chatham, the Admiralty having taken away the one they had had hith er t o . H e h a d now gone througn those estimates, and had only to say that the items of which they consisted represedted expenditure which had become necessary before he came into office. The right hon. gentle man concluded by moving a vote of £410,000 for the em bodied militia of England and Ireland. Gen. PEEL said that so far from his having anything to complain of in the manner in which he had brought for ward these estimates, he had heard his statement with great satisfaction, - Col. GILPIN bore testimony to the great ability of the commandant at Aldershot, and the rapidity with which the militia regiments had been converted into efficient soldiers. He had no hesitation in saying that a more perfect corp.! d'arinde was not to be found in Europe than at Aldershot. He had to complain that the officers received too small an allowance for the keep of their horses. General PEEL said as to the allowance of keep for horses, the officers who had stables for th e m still received 2s. But it had been representen that the allowance for forage was increased to officers who had no stables, - 25 per cent., so that they received 2s. 4d. instead of ls. 6d. for a single horse. Colonel GILPIN said he had taken a fair average, and that was ls. 9d. Captain L. VERNON rose amid cries of " Divider divide," to ask a question. They were about to vote twelve millions of money for the army, and out of that large sail only three went for the fighting men, so that nearly on e twenty-seventh of the sum so voted went to support the staff, which was enormously expensfve. He hoped the right hon. gentleman would take that into consideration , and see if it be possible to reduce the expenses of the stall. (Hear, hear.) £180,375 to defray the expenses of wages for artificers ; £300,000 for clothing, and other necessaries ; and £93,106 for provisions, forage, fuel, and light were then agreed to, and the house resumed. - CRIMINAL JUSTICE (ASSISTANT-JUDGE) MIDDLESEX BILL. On the order of the day for going into committee on this bill, Mr. CRAUFURD moved that the house resolve itself into a committee on the bill that day three months. A .„ The motion was not seco n d e d, an d th e h ouse wen t law committee. On clause 1, which provides that the additional /300 $ year be paid out of the county rates, ' The Hon. Mr. BYNG moved its rejection. The rate were already quite heavy enough, and if the remunerati on were paid it shoyld be contributed by the ConsolidOs' Fund. Sir G. C. LEWIS said that Mr. Bodkin had accept the office on a promise made by the late Government' that _ g i f he gave up his private practice lie should be paid a salar y £1,500 per annum. Mr. CRAUFURD said that was the reason he oppose d the bill. The contract had been made without the sane. tion of the house. . The house then divided— For the clause 167 • Against it ..... Majority The clause was then agreed to. The remaining clauses having been agreed to, the how resumed. POOR LAW BOARDS (PAYMENT OF DEBTS) BILL The further proceeding with this bill was postponed Thursday. The remaining orders having been disposed of, lio 101 0 adjourned at ten minutes past two o'clock. -134 COUNTRY MARK.ETB. MANCHESTER—JuLY 14. ' • This morning's market was thinly a tt en d e d, an d ho!der of wheat and flour being unwilling to make concessiS equal to those required by buyers, only a retail business% mined at a reduction of 2s to 3s per qr on wheat and I_ l _ l S, 2s per sack on flour. Other arti c l es so ld s l ow ly, a t : "'' previous rates. BIRMINGHAM—JULY 14. of At this day's market there was a very short suppiY i Lw wheat, but more than wa s requ i re d by b uyers , a nd PIZ gave way is to 2s per qr. A f a i r re t a il d eman d f or har`,3 & n .: at 6d per qr. reduction. O a t s h e ld fi rm l y f or prev i e usi rencies. Beans is per qr; cheaper. Peas were the cheaper. LOUTH-4131,r 13. A small attendance to-day at the corn-exclange, an very limited business transacted. The only sales we h of were a few of wheat, at a reduction of 2s to 3s per 4 for red and mixed 42s to 45s per qr. BOSTON—JULY 13. 40 There was: quite if panic in the wheat tradelo-dah 0 the business done :so triffing*that it is impossible to cll i g prices with any degree of correctness. The little SP' w " corn on offer sold at drooping prices. 21° Wheat— .38s to 428 Oats . 2 24 to os White do .42s to 44s' Beans ' - 46 a to o f i .28s to 32s Peas Barley gm tol' ".. Averages for the week : - Wheat 1,537 qrs., at 45s 6d Beans 8ar1ey......... -- ~ --4 Od Peas EDINBURGH GRAIN—JULY 13. Sales were heavy to-day. • Wheat on the top 3s Od down Barley on the top Os 6d up .average Os 7d down Oats on the top Os 6d up. average is ld dosvo. Beans on the top is Od up ... :average Os 3d up. Averages per Imperial quartqr. Wheat. -12ths Barley " 1 12 11 0-12ths Oats ' 1 6 8 0-12ths Beans -12ths Total Supply and Sales. Wheat .1199 qr 5........ Sold • 7fj6 qrs Barley... 298 qrs Sold 144 qrs Oats .1535 qrs Sold 628 qrs Beans 63 qrs Sold 4 2 qrs DERBY SMITHFIELD--JuLy 12. de me The supply of fat b eas t s to-day was better, but verf mend .for the best quality was. flat, and. prices :were s ot high. Sheep and lambs were in in very good 5uP,,1 30 prices no high er th an l ast week. Pigs rather uw "- Calves plentiful, but sales heavy. Beef 6d t o 7d Veal Mutton 6ld to 7d Pork . . . 6id i t to o per La mb 7id to 8d Rough fat, d Hides, 3d to 6id; calf skins, 6d to 60. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Pills'and Ointm ti nt t ho Longevity. —In these two medicaments will be Raul h as antidote to disease ; i nasmuc h as di seas e canno t e xist !ea the blood rem a i ns pure, and- this purity Holloway's pre re' produce. In a ver ti ng a ll a il men t s th es e noble medics not only ensure health and h a ppi nes s, but e Gn those who use them vigo u r th roug h th e i r life 3n d o ur green old age. They prolong our years, and preserve, off faculties toenjoy the wished longevity. They W ar. o „, disorders arising from within or without, fever from iraPg, blood and wounds from violence. In all possible deran , ments in the human body, sufferers may rely with,c ° 4 dence on Holloway's medicines, which at once chech• erring functions and quickly restore every organ's lie action. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—It is ever a pleasing duty l c ; journalist to introduce to his readers some discovery et re . lated to benefit that vast portion o f our fellow creaTiii which has the strongest claims upon our sympathies. ..14$ with tLis feeling that we call th e a ttention of invi'„, to the following extracts from Du Barry's intereer= report of cures without medicine of indigestion• (dlf4 pepsia), flatulency, constipation, nervous, bilious, an A liver complaints, cough, ast h ma , . consumption, and :--" debility by Du Barry's Revalenta Arabic& Food Cure No. 52,422—Bridgehouse, Frimley,April, 1854' disease 4 I have suffered these 33 years continually from ing in the ears, constipaton iliv,edredbeilraity7sehmoertant,essdeoaffnberesst;thsinawg:, lungs, spitting of blood, cough, which have b d b bean remove y your Revalenta Arable°. M y l ung s, liver, stomach, head, and ears are all right, 01 hearing perfect, and my recovery is, a marvel to all tel acquaintances. James Roberts, timber merehig i r In tins, at Is. 6d. ; 11 b., 3 s. ; 21b., ss. 9d. ; 51b., 121h.,_,&„ 265. The 101 b. and 121 b. tins carriage free, on receipt a office order. Du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-stzeet, Lona a Fortnum, Mason, and Co., 182, Piccadilly; Abbis,.,7; Gracechurch-street ; 4, Cheapside ; 63, and, 150, 01 2 °' s et!: street ; 330 and 451, Strand - ; 49 and 60, BiaboL street ; 85, Tottenham-court-road. Also at 1-I.W ~, Bewley and Draper ; a t• Edi n b urg h, R a i mes an d v . „ ° l at Liverpool, Ni xon an d Th ew ; at Manchester, Shall Scott ; at York, Raimes, Blanchard, and Co. ; at Son tb ampton, Randall and Son. BIRTHS. - ARDITI.—On thell3th inst., at 54, Regent-street, the of Signor Arditi, of a daughter. BAmtow.—On the 11th inst., a t Ri c h mon d, the wife f Wallace Barrow, Esq., late C ap t a i n 17t h L anc ers ' " daughter. HORTON.—On the 12th inst., at Wellow, Mrs. George Horton, of a son. MARTIN.—On the 14th inst., at 3, Morden-road. heath-park, the wife of J. K. Martin, Esq.) of a a a '" ter. MARRIAGES. OKEOVER—CATENDISII—O n the 12th inst., at Doveri,S, Haughton Charles Ok eover, Esq., of Okeover .r des t Staffordshire, to the H on. E l i za Anne Cavendish, '3' daughter of Lord Waterpark. * HALFORD—DILLON.— a On the 13th inst , at St. —e° TS* ies Cha r Hanover-square, Charles A. Drake, only son of vies D. Halford, Esq., of Grosvenor-square, and of tito Lodge, Suffolk, to the. Hon. Geraldine F. L. D °4l ' youngest daughter of Viscount Dillon. DEATHS. „ Toby the 13th inst ., „ Geo rge , son of I , A-• Brighton, of Tooley..street, Southwark, aged 17. bo rt CARBONELL.—On the 12th inst., at Cheltenham, R'0 Warren Carbonell, Es q ., aged 49. CASSAIGNE.—On th e 13th i nst., at 7, St. James ' s - -8 rion* o r Camden-town, Joh n G eorge Cassaigne, Esq., ID , wi ne -- chant, late of Sali s b ury - street, Strand, ageds7. od' GODDARD.—On the 12th inst., at Blake House, 13 " , ger frey Goddard, E sq ., .of 101, Wood-street, Cheap solicitor, aged 62. • W GROOM.—On the 11th inst. at 16, . 2 Grafton-street, A T. I LO t• square, Samuel Robert inst. Esq., of 10, Clare ta place, Bath, aged 63. PRATT.—On the 10th inst. , James Pratt, Esq., late the Island of Ascension, aged 65. 100 * RAWLINSON.—On th e 11 th inst. , Thomas A. Raw Esq., barrist er - a t-l aw, aged 43. ;-°, LONDON : Pri n t e d and Published by MURD O YLTTif % " of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sups Office, No• 11 S t r and, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the countY Middlesex, Friday, July 15, 1859. M r A 1