The Sun. — London, England, 1857-05-19 00:00:00

engaged—that she was not overmasted—that she had not too much top weight, and that her commander was almost inclined, when she arrived at port, to ask permis sion to land 20 tons of ballast out of her. The statement, therefore, which hadformed the foundation of the question he alluded to was a pure fabrication from beginning to end. (Hear.) They should remember that steam machinery was undergoing improvements every day. The screw was now being generally introduced, instead of the pad dle. To adapt the machinery to the screw considerable alterations were necessary • and during the period of transition it was possible that some difficulty might be experienced, and occasionally accidents take place. But some hon. gentlemen seemed to think that whenever the machinery of a steam-ship broke down, the fault was chargeable to the Government. The fact was, that the whole of the machinery for the fleet was made in private yards. Not a single engine constructed was constructed by the Government ; therefore when an accident hap pened, and the machinery broke down, the blame, if blame there was, attached, not to the Government, but to those by whom the machinery was constructed. The next item of expenditure in these estimates was "stores," and the largest charge under that head was for timber. The amonnt charged for timber in 1856 was precisely the same as in 1852 ; but as during the war it was necessary to provide for a continuous supply of timber, and as it was impossible to say how long the war was to last, and contracts had been entered into extending over a number of years, until those con tracts expired no very great reduction could be expected in the charge for timber Another item of expense was coals, which was altogether new of late years. Great pains were taken to keep that charge as low as possible ; but the substitution of a steam for a sailing navy must necessarily make that always a very heavy item. A con siderable expenditure had been incurred in works in the dockyards. This also had been occasioned by the intro duction of steam. They were obliged to provide the means in the yards of supplying defects and repairing accidents in the machinery, and as this was a much more expensive kind of work than orcl , nary ship build ing. requiring a higher and more expensive kind of skilled labour than ordinary ship building, the charge under this head was also necessarily increased. It should not be forgotten, also, that the nominal horse-power of the navy had grown enormously of late, and now. reached the aggregate of 102,000 horses. With regard to the dockyards themselves, they were not yet in that state which the requirements of a navy such as that which this country must always maintain demanded, and were not what might be expected as compared with the dockyards of other maritime nations. Last year be visited the yard at Cherbourg, and found that the works there would place anything we had in any of our yards altogether in the background. They were blasting immense places out of the solid rock, and con structing two inner basins, as large as all our basins put together, and he believe I the Cherbourg yard was as ex tensive as Portsmouth, Devonport, and Keybarn com bined. The area of the Cherbourg basin; was 180 acres, while the area of the basins atKeyhara was only 34 acres, and all the works were in proportion, and in the most complete state of efficiency. It was impoisible, therefore that repairs and other works could be executed with the Caine facility as in those of France. There was a time, be remembered, when the yard at Keyharn was thought altogether unnecessary ; but his right hon. friend (Sir J. Graham) had nevertheless extended it and hal done wisely in so doing ; but last year, when be (Sir C. Wood) went down to examine, he found it far too small for its purpose, and bad given orders for its futtber extension. The alteration and enlargement of the docks had been rendered necessary by the change in the construction of the ships. Snips were built now much larger than formerly, and some merchant ships were built considerably longer than those in the Queen's service, and for seine of those vessels it was necessary for the Government yards occasionally to provide accemtnoda tion. He found the other day a dock constructing in a private yard 400 ft. long. but they had nothing of the kind in the Government yards, and when those large vessels were taken up by the Government, as troop ships or other wise, difficulty was experienced it, finding dock accommo dation for them when requisite. When they chartered the Himalaya, two years ago, they had to deck her, bat they had no dock long enouV, and the consequence was that they had to pull down and rebuil&one of the docks atKey ham, the newest) and we hail. When the 31errimacfrigate came over last summer it was found that there were only two docks in all our dockyards into which she could be taken ; and for many of our own large ships the only place where dock accommodation could be found was at Keyharts. This state of things could not of course be permitted to continue. It was quite clear that our doeks must be lengthened and enlarged sufficiently to admit that class of "ships of the line now building, and which, for the purpose of gaining increased power, were much longer than we formerly used to build them. Sailing ships and paddle steamers might be repaired without taking them into dock ; but it was almost impossible to repair a screw ship without taking her into dock. The introduction of screw steam vessels in the British navy, therefore, had rendered a large addition to the dock ac commodation in our Governineot yards absolutely neeas sexy. He had now gone through the principal items of expenditure eeneected with the naval service, and the reasons why the amount he proposed to ask for was required. There was some slight increase which he had omitted to mention, on account of the higher price of provisions and souse other smaller items of additional charge, which he would explain when the votes to which they applied were proposed. 'He had laid before the house a general view of the state of the naval service, and of the expenditure which would be required to maintain it in an effective state during the current year. He had 'compared the state of our navy with the state of the navies of other maritime na tions—he might perhaps say our rivals; but whether rivals or not, we could not permit them to beat us in. the force and efficiency of this; important branch of mili tary service. They might beat us in the number of men they could befog into the field, but he should be sorry to see the day when we were not in a condition to sand out a fleet on the instant that should be equal to meet - any emergency, and maintain the honour and character of the country. He proposed the same number of men for the year which bad been voted for the first four months, viz., 53,750 men and boys, including marines. Admiral vv...lLcorr said he must congratulate, the right hon, baronet on the intelligent, clear, and straight. forward statement ho had made. In his opinion, there, was not a branch of expenditure which the nation felt more disposed to support than that for the navy, provided, however, that the funds were properly admi nistered. He had heard with great satisfaction the' pro position in reference to the evolutions of a squadron of the fleet ; and he thought that 12 sail of the line should be kept in constant active service, and this would keep the of f icers perfectly alive in the management of the Ships at teen, and well acquainted with their duties in actiou. In 1845, at the suggestion of ono of the most distin guished men in the service—he referred to Admiral B , wee—two ships of the line were required to be placed in an efficient way and prepared for sea.! On a Monday the order was received at Davenport to place the Calcutta in order, and on the following Wednes day the provisions and stores were on board,• and in every way she was within 48 hours prepared eo go_ to sea. This showed great alacrity amongst the , men and officers. With regard to the continuance service men, he hoped the Government would in the arrange ments made with them deal in a spirit of fairness. And he. trusted that the bailee would maintain the efficiency of the navy, for upon it depended the preven tion of di'aster, and the supremacy of England and Eng land's security. With respect to the ceastguard men, of whom there were 5,700, it was useless to talk of these men being wade useful at a moment's notice—for they never could be useful if always kept on shore—a certain portion ought to he kept at , ea and frequently exorcised in the performance of their duties. He should to glad to know whether there would be a uniform for the navy 1 Also, whether there would be any alteration in the terms of the Mutiny Act which would place the seamen on the same footing with the saldier ; and as to naval cadsts, he hal received an assurance that a ship would be se lected to receive them. .They ought -to be trained and prepared for their duties. Formerly the captains hhd the nomination of midshipmen in their own hands, and then they performed the duties of parents by losahig after and instructing them, but now the young men" were left * themselves. Sir C. NAPIER said that a,lthouele the slim rf 8,000. 0001. was a large sum to vote for the navy at the present time, yet, after- what the right hon. baronet t pressed, he could not think that the estimates ought to be reduced one farthing ; on the contrary, they were much too low, for the defences of the kingdom were not in a fit state. Again, while England had 42 sail of the line, France had 40 ; and if a war should take place, this country bad not the means of manning the navy properly. He thought the number of the men was a great deal too low, and if a war took place, it would be quite impossible to send au efficient fleet to sea. He was happy • to find that the Governrneet, after 25 or 30 years' ct,nsi de:a tion, had at length taken the coast-guard under the jurisdiction of the Admiralty ; but that was - not all, We ought to have efficient shine efficiently manned, instead of the old ships which were now on duty on the coast ; far if a war were to break out, we should have to call in all the ships now ou duty and pay them Off, and issue cornmisaions for now ships. Moreover, a ship does nut wear the less from being in commission, but, on the con trary, wears longer tban'a ship in ordinary. Of the ma rines he must say. they were a most efficient set of men, whether ashore or afield. What he would advise was, that hall the m ar i nes allowed on board should corns ' ashore and garrison the seaports,; that the Admiralty should make up the numbe r aboard with able seamen ; and then, in case a war were to. springup, with the c oast-guard and the v o l unteers they could man the fleet efficiently. For example, take a shin with a crew of 800 men, including officers and marines. Of these he w ould send half the marines ash or e—th,t was 100 men; h e would then complete the ehip with able seamen, which would give them 700 seamen aaoarl. In case' of a war the ships might be doubled, and with the help of the coast-guard and the vo lnnt eere manned in th e nour , e of a week, making airiest efficient fleet. The Fi rs t L ord had told the house that France had 40 ehips, and we only 42. France was equal, therefore, to us in ships, and superior in the means of manning them ; sh e h a d Au army of 300,000 or 400,000 ale , n and we had but2oo,ooo. What would the ceneequenee be were a war to spring upt Why, the re would be an invasion immediately. That was a consideration which ouoht to strike every roan in the house and the country. Ile warned the house not to expect such victories as they bad had over the French during the last war. There was a thing which he had heard that might be true ; at all events it was singular. When the British fleet was manned for the Baltic, the Admiralty received only 400 British seamen from the merchant service. If that were true it was not the con dition a which the service ought to be. The right hon. member for Carlisle (Sir J. Graham) passed an act when he was in office, empowering the Admiralty to call out the , nen by po)ilematicn, and to offer them a bounty to eater the service. He did not know how it would work, bat if it were tried in peace, and if liberal terms were THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVEN ING, MA Y 19, 1857. •ffered them, it would not be felt to be so great a hard ship in war. When he clinmanded the Baltic fleet he found that, hut for the ceast-guar d and the riggers from the docks, that fleet could not have gone to sea. Now that the coast-guard was under the Admiralty he trusted there would be no Treasury jobbing, and that men would no longer be appointed because a member of Parlia ment asked the appointment; and he hoped the men would be compelled to go to sea and not suffered to rust their legs off ashore. He wished the house to reflect vc hat the consequences would have been during the war with Russia if France had been oppesed to us. Russia ha•l no screw fleet, but France has, and Russia was now getting a screw fleet also. But would it be believed that we had only 4,000 able seamen left after deducting officers and marines and boys ? The Admiralty said the ab °seamen were now'lling to leave tee eI r ice. He sincerely hoped that that was the case; but be must say, after talking with sailors only the other day, that he found the service was very unpopular among them. The men thought 10 years too long a period ; but he could not approve of the system of entering them for five years, and then paying them off at the end of three ; he would keep them the five years out, and longer if they would remain. But the present practice was pursued in order to give the Admiralty more patronage. He would ❑ot deny them patronage —he would have them remove a captain and a lieutenant now and then ; it was good for them, and gave them all the opportunity of active life, and of getting acquainted with their profession. The gallant officer then complained of the system of reserved admirals, which had the effect of throwing young men out of employment, whilst older men were doing the duty. The Admiralty would do what was right if they placed the acting admirals on the reserved list, and called out the present reserved admirals. (Laughter.) He then attempted to go through the list of acting, retired, re served, and pensioned admirals ; but, failing in the at tempt, he admitted it was so complicated an affair as to baffle his comprehension. Instead of reducing the num ber of able seamen to 38,000, they ought to vote 50,000 at this morner.t. Lord C. PAGET said he thought the statement of the right hon. gentleman was highly satisfactory ; but yet he must add that, in his opinion, we ought to deal with the men differently afte r i n d uc i ng th em t o give up their other pursuits and join the service ; and, if i we dis missed them, it ought not to be without a pruper gratuity. He expected there would have been a much more detailed statement of the purposes to which the money was to be applied —the house was entitled to it —yet there were two votes comprehending 2,000,000/., and all that they knew of them was, that the one was for wages of artificers and the other for the materials of ship-building. After much had been said of the value now of ships of the line, he must say he believed teat the relative power of smell vessels was greatly increased over that of large ships. He did 'not wish to see the line of-battle ships burned ; they would always be necessary as the public officers, so to speak, of the fleet ; the flag ship must always be a line-of-battle-ship; hut they might greatly reduce the number of them. The First Lord had told them that in 1817 we had 117 line-of battle ships, and now only 42 ; but, according to his (Lord C. Paget's) statement, we bad 51—for he reckoned the nine block ships cf the number as being the most efficient line-of-battle-sh!pe. These block ships were aWe to take part in the engagement in the Baltic, while the others lay off looking or. But he believed that if the gallant admiral the member for Smithwark had had a large force of gun-boats they might have damaged Cronstadt. In former times the line-of•battleeship cerried the heavier metal; but in these times the vessels of the class of cor vettes and sloops of war all, carried these heavy guns ; and he believed that experience would yet show that no line-of-battle ships would be able to withstand the shoal of gun-boats and sloops of war which they saw last year at Spithead, and which did the right hon. gentleman so much honour. If the First Lord would only issue a commission to some 'experienced officers to inquire what class of vessels was moot useful, he believed it would be attended with the best' consequences to the navy and the country. The right hon. baronet had represented the number of French line-of-battle-ships as much greater than it real) , was. He had received a state ment from the French Minister of Marine, from which it appeared that there were only 31. He maintained that line-of-battle-ships were inefficient, and he asked that the opinion of a commission of naval officers should be taken upon the subject, (Hear, hear.) Our treat strength lay in the gun-boats, and it was im possible for a landing to be effected in the presence of the legion of gun-boats with whisk this country had been provided. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BENTINCK objected to the penny wise and pound foolish policy. The extravagance which had been complained of arose from the foolish principles of eco nomy advocated by some hon. members. Toe enormous cost incurred 'during the late war for the transport ser vice might have been obviated if proper meanshacl been adopted. Mr. WARRE asked for some explanations with re spect to the coast-guard service. Ho also objected that great loss was occasioned by not keeping the navy in an efficient state, as appeared by a letter written by the Admiralty, in which it was stated that some of the gun boats were constructs(' in such haste and of such green wood that they required to be taken out of the water, and their timbers exposed to a thorough draft of air in order to get seasoned. Mr. W. WILLIAMS said that no one was more anxious than himself to maintain the efficiency of the navy ; but at the same time he could not but look to the great expense which had been incurred, and the present inefficient state of the navy. The estimates for the year 1852 3 were 2 5 175 ; 0001. less than for the present year, after two or three years of peace. There was no necessity for any such increase. 250,000,0001. bad been expended on the navy since the termination of the French war, and he asked why, after such an expenditure, the navy was so inefficient. He found that there were 3Q2 admi rals on the half-pay list, while there were only nine in commission and three in the dockyards. In 1851-2 there were 220 on half-pay ; in 1837 there were 148 or 154 less than in 1857. During the late war only 18 ad mirals were required to command our fleets, and yet there was this enormous number of admirals on half-pay. The number of marines, also, was too large. ' There were 15,000 for 35,000 sailors, while during the war there were only 16,000 fur 60,000 sailors. There were 34 ge neral officers of marines, and 73 staff officers, with a command of 205 each. This was most extravagant. The expenditure in dockyards was atlogether unaccount able. In the last five years the sum spent in wages and stores had amounted to 16,036,A001., and if they took stock as a merchant or tradesman did, they would have considerable difficulty in discovering what had been doee with so much money. We had built three times as many ships as we had got at present, and yet none had been destroyed in war, nor damaged, nor lost. There were se veral Lords of the Admiralty receiving 1,0001. a-year, and an allowance of 2001. and 3001. a year for roue rent in addition to their hal'-pay as admirals, He could not understand on what principle they were allowed to re ceive their half-pay when they were well paid for the performance of civil duties. It had been his intention to more that the estimates be referred to a select commit tee, where only they ‘ could be properly inquired into, but as one-third of them had been voted by the last Par liament, he did not non propose to adopt that course. He ventured, however, to assert that when these ac counts went to the audit-office not one of the sums erotild be found to have been expended actually for the purpose for which it had been Voted. , Sir F. SMITE did not agree with the gallant admiral who had spoken, thatwe could not man a fleet to go to war with France. He had seen our fleet in the different ports of the ceuntry, and he had come to a very different conclusion, and he hoped that the First Lord of the Ad miralty would,be induced to grant the commission sug gested by the gallant officer, because he believed the re port it would give would confirm what had been adopted by the Government. He approved of their building line otkattle ships, end thus preparing themselves to cope With any enemy. The gallant admiral said we were not provided with a sufficient army wherewith to meet an enemy, but he ventured to differ with him in that respect. Before a war could take place wewould have some warn ing, and ample time would be given to provide a suffi cient force to assert oar rights. With regard to the esti mates before the committee, he must yt'at he never saw any which were more comprehensive, or had been prepared wibh grea'er minuteness or clearness. Sir J. TRELAWNY complained of the absence of a sufficient audit, and said that although for the last seven lasaare stuns vpoying from 5,000,0001. to 8,000,000/. a year bad been voted, we were; at the breiliug Out of the last war, deficient in all those appliances which 'were necessary to the proper carrying out of that war, and were therefore unable to strike that blow in the Baltic which - might have been struck. He deprecated the un wise and wasteful system of paying off and dismantling ships on their arrival in this country, and suggested that they should be kept in a state of efficiency. He believed that by judicious management convict labour might be made available to a considerable extent in connection with navel works, and a great saving thereby effected to the country. He could not justify the high estimates in consequence of the two wars which the country was engaoed. With regard to masters in the navy, he thOught that they ought to have the same opportunity of rising in their profession as privates had in the army, and nut be compelled to remain as masters ad. their life. Then, as to the naval yards, he saw no necessity to keep admirals at the head of them. Sir C. WOOD said, in reply to the questions of hon. members, that anew uniform was being prepared for the navy. According to the new regulations a school ship bad been stationed at Portsmouth and Devonport for the reception of tee naval cadets who would, for the future, go to sea with far more knowledge of their pro fession than hithert"- The gallant admiral, the . hon. member for Se•uthwark, had stated that during the war the navy had received only 400 men from the merchant service. He (Sir C, Wood) was not in a position to may how many had really been received fern the were:lntl:, marine, hut he knew that during the first two years or the war 16,000 men and 4,000 boys entered the R real Navy, and he was at a loss to know where those 16,000 men came from if not from the merchant service. The gallant acirtral had, also said that it was wrorg in the Admiralty to pay off and not recommission ships, but he was happy to tell the gallant member that the Admiralty had recommissioned the Bmcaweo, which had just returned home. The honourable and gallant member had attributed unworthy motives to the Admiralty by stating that it was the wish of the First Lord to keep down the service of the captains, and so force them on the retired list, when it must be manifest that if the Admiralty had any such wish they could best carry it out by employing a few captains in continuous service, and thus exclude the majority from the oppor tunity of serving. With respect to the principle on which the retired liet was framed, he did not wish to speak. In. France rt.) officer could serve after a certain ago,, and in. America the United States Government, acting on the sauce rule, lately discharged a large num ber of officers without half pay or any remuneration. Here the sole was not to keep in active service as an admiral any officer who had not served a certain num- ber of years, and the result of it was that they were getting down to the appointment of admirals of a rea sonable age. With regard to the establishment of coal depots and the building of transports, the Admiralty was taking every possible step for the advantage of the country. The coast-guard, for only 8,004 of whom he this year took a vote, were rated upon the books cf three ships, in which they were trained for the perform. ance of their duties. It was desirable to keep a large supply of timber in the dockyards, that it might be sea. voned by the time it would be required, and it was by all means necessary that an officer of high rank should act as dockyard superintendent. The vote was then put and agreed to, as were also a vote of 1,349,333/. to complete the sum necessary for the payment of the wages of sail?rs and marines to the 31st of March, 1858, and another of 53,9221. to com plete the sum necessary for their victualling for the same period. . _ On the motion for the vote of 84,217/. to complete the sum necessary for the payment of salaries and contingent expenses at the Admiralty. Mr. W. WILLIAMS complained that there were no fewer than 13 solicitors employed in the Admiralty. Admiral DUNCOMBE thought the residences al lotted to the Lord of the Admiralty ought to be turned into public offices. Advertingto the appointment of Mr. Phinn to the office of Secretary to the Admiralty, he characterised it as an unfortunate one, and inquired what were the causes which led to his retirement. Sir C. WOOD, in reply to Mr. Williams, said that considering the extent of the legal transactions of the Admiralty. 13 solicitors were not too large a legal staff. Sir C. NAPIER asked if it was the intention of the Government, in the plan for the proposed ne iv public offices, to make any provision for removing the civil de partment of the Admiralty from Somerset-house to the new buildings. Mr. OSBORNE replied that no such removal was con templated by the Government. Referring to an observa tion which had fallen from the hon. and gallant member opposite (Admiral Duncombe) respecting the retirement of Mr. Phinn from the Admiralty, he wished to observe that few persons had done themselves greater honour than Mr. Phinn during the short time ho held office. Ho thought it ungenerous that the gallant admiral did not put himself in possession of that information on the sub ject' which he ought to have had before bringing it for ward. The office which Mr. Phinn had relinquished bad been pressed upon him, and he refused it two disti nc t times; but while he held it he acquitted himself with great credit. He left that office for his profession. What his private reason was for doing to ho (Ur. Osborne) was not able to judge ; but as to his appointment being, as the gallant admiral said, an " unfortunate choice," no better choice could be made by the Government. Whe ther Mr. Barrow, or any other clerk of the Admiralty, ought to have been put in the situation, he (Kr. Osborne) would not pretend to say • but he must protest a ga i ns t an hon. member taking advantage of his position in that house to make such a statement as the gallant admiral had made. Admiral DUNCOMBE remarked that whenever he entertained an opinion on any subject, he never should be ashamed to express it either in the house or out of it. Mr. W. MARTIN, as a near relation of Mr. Phinn, expressed his thanks to the First Lord of the Admiraity, and the hon. member who had just sat down, for having come forward so kindly and generously to defend his relative. The next vote, for a sum of 118,1501., to defray the expenses of the coast-gard service, and the Royal Naval College, wars agreed to without remark. On the next vote, for a sum of 33,0911., to defray the expenses of the scientific department of the navy, Admiral WALCOTT asked what was the full amount of the expenditure for that purpose ? Sir C. WOOD said a considerable portion of the sum named was emp ended in the purchase of chronometers for the royal navy. Sir J. GRAHAM said the statement of his right hon. friend at tie head of the Admiralty appeared to him very clear and satisfactory, and he only rose to a.k for some details as to the scientific expedition lately fitted out to the south coast of Africa. Ssr C. WOOD said, so far as he knew, that expedition was not fitted out by desire of the Admiralty, although the Admiralty had given leave to officers to embark in it. The expedition in question was sent out with a view to further explorations of the African rivers. Sir J. dRA_LIA VI said perhaps his right hon. friend could explain what progress ha•l been made in a survey of the River Thames, for which money had been voted for so many years by Parliament ? Sir C. WOOD said it was quite true money had been voted on many occasion for the survey of the Thames, but it was found that every year the sands shifted, so that a survey made five years ago would be of no use at the present time. In reply to observations by Mr. WARRE and Mr. A. STAFFORD, Sir C. WOOD said that estimates respecting the expe dition in question would in due time be laid before the houe. In reply to remarks by Mr. LAIRD, Sir C. WO JD said that the fullest instructions had been given on several occasions to officers of the royal navy to obtain information relative to the most prolific guano deposits in various quarters of the globe. On the vote of 92;2241. for her Majesty's Ravel estab lishments at home, Sir J. TRELAWNY, referring to the observations be had already made upon the want of proper encourage ment to masters in the naval service, said that be bad not yet received any reply from the right hon. baronet. In the present vote there was included a sum of 8001. for the salary of the captain-superintendent of Deptford dock. yard. Why weie not such appointments as those given to deserving masters in the navy ? Such appointments were often filled by persons who had little acquaintance with naval matters. He would move, as an amendment, that the vote be reduced by the sum of 8001. in question. An HON. MEMBER seconded the motion. Sir C. WOOD defended the vote, and said masters were not barred from promotion as the hon. member ap peared to suppose. He trusted the house would not sanc tion the principle of leaving establishments without pro per responsible heads. Sir J. THE LAWNY said that in the army a private could, by good conduct, attain a commission, and might rise to a field-marshal. Would the right hon. baronet the First Lord of the Admiralty give ,him a distinct as surance that the same principle would be applied to the navy ? If not his vague assurance that he was mistaken was of no weight. He would divide the house upon his amendment. The house then divided, and the numbers were— For the amendment Against it Majority --212 The announcement was received with much laughter. The ori:zina.l vote was then agreed to. Mr. WILLIAMS expressed his surprise that the sum asked for the present year in the case of seven particular dockyards exceeded that of the last year of war. It struck him that it was a very extraordinary way of mak ing peace reductionsupen war estimates. - A . vote of 15,423/. for naval establishments abroad was next agreed to. Upon a vote of 584,3901. for payment of artificers, navvies, &c., in the naval establishments at home, Sir J. GRAHAM was anxious to draw the attention of Government and the committee to the object of this vote, although he could not say he was at presen t prepared to propose any reduction in respect of it. The state ment which the right hon. bars. at the head of the Ad miralty made in the early part of the discussion upon the estimates, to the effect that her Majesey's Government had no intention of discharging any of the naval service men without strictly fulfilling the engagements made during the war, was, he felt sure, hailed with considera ble satisfaction by every member of that house. The die cussion with reference to the number of ships was very important, but he still thought that every consideration with regard to the efficiency of the navy was secondary when compared with our having at all times a sufficient number of able seamen at our cenamand. There was no thing which bad, been done that he more approved of than the introduction of continuous service. If there were any difficulty in reducing the number of trained men, then he thought the country ought to consent to give them small pensions. As to economy, there was 'a difference between the sailors and marines and those em ployed in the dockyards. The number of artificers and labourers eraployed in the dockyards was between 10,000 and 11.000. The average number was the same as last year. Was it fitting that, as a peace establishment, they should keep 4,000 shipwrights—being exactly the same number as was employed in the last war ? After compli menting Lord C. Paget for his services in the late war, the right hon. gentleman proceeded to say that he agreed with his right hon. friend the First Lord of the Admiralty that it was not expedient to stop the building of the line 'of-battle ships of the largest size. Whilst the great mari time powers of Europe and also America continued to build ships of the largest class, it was not possible for England, with a due regard to her maritime superiority, to discontinue bedding them. It was a question of pro portion in degree, and he agreed entirely with his light hon. friend (sir C. Wood) that this country ought to have an ample supply of vessels of the largest class. The great exertion at the beginning of the late war was to have a sufficient force of line-of-sattle ships, for the Russians had 30 sail of the line. Soon alter the want of gunboats and smaller vessels was felt„ but no at we possesE ed a compa rative!y strong force of bo th line-of-battle ships and gun boats. Ile believed for channel service, and the purposes of defence on our own sl Lorca, that those small vessels would be found of inestimable value; but, if they were to struggle for naval stoserierity in the Atlantic or the Mediterranean, that must be done by ships of the largest size. (Hear.) It was lave opinion that, if economy was to be enforced, it ought to he in our dockyards. The number now employed - there was 10,800, of whom 4,000 were shipwrights and 7:50 boiler-makers. This vote had undergone no reductieen. He (Sir J. Graham) thought upon this head there c ught to be reduction. It was of the greatest iinportap ce to keep up the number of effec tive seamen, but he - thought tbet expense ought to be counterbalanced by :reductions in other departments of the service. Sir E. PERRY spoke on behalf of the unskilled labourers in dockya r d s , w h ose case d eserve d th e k i nd and attentive cons ideration of the Government. The Admiralty order of 1844 was founded upon the necessity of raising the wai;es of the men , ar i s i ng f rom t h e hi gh price of provisions ; and what he wished to press upon the Government was that a similar state of things ex isted now . In the article of leather, of coals, and of butter, a large increase of price had tak en pl ace . T he Admiralty bad already given way in the case of Skilled labourers, and his thought that unskilled labour had the same claims. This latter class were in fact worse off than they were 15 or 20 years ago. He also 'wished that the clerks oof the Admiralty, in making the proper returns, would so far abandon their old forms as to des=ignate the dc.ckyard of the town he bad thelonour to represent (D. vonport) by its proper name, and not by that of Plymt.utb, a place two miles off: Mr. MARM, said be had ascertained that in the county of Warwick the average rate of wages for la bourers was 12e., which was just what unskilled labourers had in her Majesty's dockyards; but there was this diffirence that, in Warvvickohire, a labourer's cottage could be had for 41. or under 51. a-year, whereas it was impossible to get a decent lodging in Woolwich, Chatham, or Rochester, under 7/ , 91., or 101. a-year. He had been told Wit the smiths in the dockyards had had their wages raised to 15W. because they could not leave the Tard in the day time, but were obliged to stay to keep the forges in ; but the ropemakers, who were equally compelled to stay to keep up the fires of the steam engines, were allowed only 12s. Hon. members could form no idea of the distress that now prevailed at Woolwich. Mr. Sergeant KINGLAKE had a word to say for the , artisans and mechanics employed at Rochester. He re ferred to the ropemakers, sailmakers, and others. They were receiving 3s. 6d. a day, or 1/. ls. a week, whilst in other places the same claes of labourers were certainly paid at the rate of 5.. a day. If the work were not well done the consequences might be very fearful. The Go vernment could not get their work well done unless they paid a good day's wage for a good day's work. Sir-F. SMITH quite concurrei in the statements made with regard to the workmen's wages, and he believed the smiths were the worst paid men in the dockyards, and pail less than in any private establishment. Sir G. PECHELL could nut help expressing his great regret at the abeente of his right hon. friend, late the member for Gloucester (Admiral Berkeley). With re gard to his popularity in the service, it was due to his having given the men good clothing, good pay, and good living, and no doubt it would be great disappoint. ment to him not to be present so witness the effect which his excellent management had produced. Gen. CODRINGTON said the complaints lately made with regard to the pay of the labourers at Woolwich had been great, and although he could not agree that the wages inside ought to be equal to those paid outside the yard, still the proportion ought not to be so great as to put the Government men in a disadvantageous position. In some cases the labourers in the yard had been re duced to 12s. a week, and that was really a low rate of wages ; but the main point was, that the Government were entitled, if they paid the best wages, to the best workmen which the labour required. Mr. TOWNSEND also complained that 12s. was a very small sum to enable the men to provide for their wives and families. He should be glad to hear of their being paid 153. or 1/. a week for their services. Sir C. WOOD was obliged to his right hon. friend (Sir J. Graham) for his observations with regard to the system of victualling, and they should be adopted. As to the number of artificers not having been reduced, be must remind his right hon. friend that the number was not increased during the war. The number this year would not be greater than existed in 1845. The late ad. dition was made by hirine extra men. The number in 1845 was 10,872 ' • in 1848, 12,500 ; in 1849, 10,953 ; and in this year, 10,850, being nearly the same number as in 1845. The increased number of the steam ships ' of the navy required a much larger number of smiths to be employed in the yards than formerly. Extra labourers had to be employed during the war to assist the arti ficers in carrying material; and otherwise, but these men bad since, after three months' notice, been discharged. The hon. members for the dockyard towns had pressed hard upon him the qnestion of the wages of the dock yard labourers, and he found it very difficult to yield to that kind of pressure on the one hand, and to the call for economy on the other. (Hear, hear.) Before the war all these labourers worked for day wages, buteohen the war broke out a system of taskwork was introduced, and the pay of the artificers increased. When peace came they had to make reductions, and their first step was to discharge the extra men as he had before stated, and gradually to bring the establishment to what it was before the war, and, as far as possible, to the same scale of remuneration. They had found it necessary, however, in order to retain certain classes of efficient artificers, to increase their pay. The Board of Ad miralty had made inquiry as to the wages paid in private yards, but he would rema r k th at no rule could be founded on that, as they varied very much in the several ports of the kingdom. The dockyard labourer, however, was in a far better state than the agricultural labourer, or the labourer in private yards, because the former was perma nently employed, and when disabled from work he was pensioned for the remainder of his lite. They ought, therefore, to be able to get efficient artificers and la bourers at the wages they were now giving in the yards. All these matters were, however, under the consideration of the Board of Admiralty, and all they were anxious to do was, to do justice to the artificers and, at the same time, not unnecessarily increase the expenditure. (Hear, hear.) After some further conversation, the vote was agreed to. A vote for 33,383/. for the wages of artificers and labourers in naval establishments abroad was agreed to. On the ♦ote of 895,450/. for naval stores and steam machinery, Sir G. PECHELL trusted that the right hon. gentle man had taken into consideration the large consumption of coal that had taken place. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY said that this was a very important vote. He wished to ask upon what ground they were going to vote this large sum for naval stores ? Up to the present time there had been already voted 7,000,0001. for stores ; and the house really knee noth ing of the stock in hand. He thought they were voting in a year of peace a sum totally unknown to their naval estimates. Another question, well worthy the attention of the committee, was, what became of the stores that were of no use ? What were called old stores were very often new stores. The country very frequently lost by this buying and selling, for they bought dear and sold cheap. (Hear, hear.) He believed that if this expen diture was carried out they would have to vote new tares next year. He wished also to ask whether all these stores were used for naval war purposes? if any wore wanted for miscellaneous purposes, they ought to be separated from the naval war expenditure. After a few words from Mr. KINNAIRD, Sir C. WOOD said that he hoped to give teeright hon. baronet some satisfaetory explanation on the subject of stores. He had stated the other evening that there had ' necessarily been a great expenditure this year, and there would be during subsequent years ; because the expen diture during the war on certain articles was necessarily heavy. The largest item of expenditure was for the pur chase of timber. The expenditure of shipbuilding timber in 1852 was 18,700 loads. In 1853 it was 20,000 loads; and in 1856 it was 40,000 loads. The amount of ship building timber in store on the 31st December, 1855, was 63,000 loads, which was reckoned to be three year's consumption ; and on the 31st December last year there were 56,000 loads, being 7,000 loads below the esta blishment. When war was being carried on, they had to enter into contracts fur the supply of timber which generally ran over two or three years, and in point of fact there were contracts running now fora greater amount of timber than would be delivered during the next year. However, they would be leaving the yards in an improper state if they did not, at an early a period as possible, get the timber up to.the establishment. Sup pose a sudden demand came, what would be said if they left the yards below the establishment of seasoned timber ? The same reasoning applied to most of the items of heovy stores—hemp, canvass, and copper. The expenditure of last year was far beyond the ordinary course, but it was absolutely necessary under the cir cumstances. He assured the committee, on the autho rity of the superintendent of stores, that none of the army stores had been sold which were available for the navy. • Mr. BLAKE NIORE regretted so great a reduction as was proposed in the vote for our iron steam navy from 600,0001. to 345,0001., for he was satisfied it was one of the most important departments in which this country contended with the rivalry of other nations. The vote was then agreed to. On the vote of 378,415/. fur new works, improve ments, and repairs in the naval establishments, Sir J. GRAHAM wished the right hon. gentleman to give some explanation of the large outlay for repair of machinery at Chatham, amounting to 160,0001., and 56,0001. for the same purposes for Pembroke dockyard. He also complaiued that there was 26,0001. for the break water at Plymouth ; but he was at a loss to know how the money was to he employed. Mr. MAGUIRE wished to draw. attention to a sub ject which was not only unfair to Ireland, but dangerous to the empire. He found that there were sites for 600,0001. ter works in England, and oily 1,5001. for works in Ire land. Queenstown, which was one of the finest natural harbours in the, world, was altogether neglected, and in case of vessels being driven by distress into this harbour there were no means of assisting them at the command of the Government ; the steam tugs belonging to the merchant service were employed, and it was often a mercy that the vessels were not lost. Mr. BLAKEMORE asked what steps the Govern ment had taken for the protection of commerce in the Bristol channel? Sir C. WOOD said—At Chatham, where vessels were admitted tor repair, and finally fitted out, it had b een properly determined to take additional land for the con struction of a basin and other works, which it was hop e d might be executed entirely by convict labour. Convict prisons had been built on the adjacent ground, and con victs had been placed in them in considerable numbers. The works at Sheerness were on a comparatively small scale, and the position of the Ova was so inconvenient that he almost grudged the money, but it became neces sary to make some preparations for vessels coming in there for repair. With regard to Queenstown he could not hold out any hope that any large works would be un dertaken in Cork harbour. In reference to the Bristol channel he had to state that a coast guard vessel had been stationed at a certain distance up the channel, but as the position was found to be very dangerous, it had bean removed to a place of greater security. S:r J. GRAHAM expressed his regret that the force of marines was to be reduced. It was of the last im portance to maintain that force with a large establish ment, oven in a time of peace. This was a question which could only be regarded in conjunction with the votes for the army. He was decidedly of opinion with the gallant admiral, that the larger portion of the garri sons of the outports should consist of marines, particu larly Devcripsrt, Portsmouth, Chatham, and Woolwich, and it was quite possible by some arrangement with the Minister for War to have occupied by marines in a time of peace some of the barracks at those places which had heretofore bean tenanted by the army. Sir C. WOOD said that at Woolwich there were good and extensive barracks for the marines, and it would, therefore, be unnecessary to make any additions at that place. The barrack accommodation at Portsmouth and at Plymouth was insufficient for the accommodation of the soldiers, and it would therefore at present be impos sible to station the marines in barracks at those places. The vote wai then agreed to. A vote of 13,000/. for medicines and medical stores was neat agreed to. The CHAIRMAN then reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again. TRANSPORTATION AND PENAL SERVITUDE' BILL. On the motion of Sir G. GREY, the third reading was fixed for this day (Tueeday). BANKRUPTCY- AND - INSOLVENCY (IRE• LAND) BILL. This bill was read a second time. • BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY (IRE LAND) NO. 2 BILL. The house then went into committee on this bill. An explanation was .given by the ATTORNEY GENERAL for IRELAND as to the of kots of the bill, which, he said, would ultimately effect a considerable saving for the public, and lead to the better administra tion of justice. There were no new appointments. After a few words from Mr. Henley, Lord J. Manners, and Mr. Macaitney, who wished for a select committee to examine into and .report upon the state of the Irish bankruptcy law, The ATTORNEY-GENERAL for IRELAND again exp:ained the enactments of the bill, and defended its provisions. No less than 4,000/. a year would be saved by the measure. Mr. I. BUTT could not see the necessity of giving 1,0001. a-year to two commissioners of bankruptcy for doing the business which they paid the Right 1100. Mr. Hatehell 1,8001. a-year far not doing. (Laughter.) The ATTORNEY-GENERAL for IRELAND ex plained that the increase in the salary of the commis sioners was only a fair equivalent for the additional labour imposed upon them. _ _ Mr. S. FITZGERALD wished to be informed what would be the total increase on the expenses connected with the Bankruptcy Court? The AII'ORNE.GENERAL for IRELAND said it wou'd certainly not exceed 1,8001. probably n0t1,500/, The remaining clauses were then agreed to, and the bill passed through committee, THE CASE OF CAPTAIN WOOD. Capt. ARCHDALL moved for an address for copies of all correspondence between Capt. Wood, late pay master of the Battalion Depot at Winchester, and the War Departs Put, relating to office accommodation at Winchester, additional assistants, and resignation of the paymaster; and of a memorial dated the 3d day of January, 1856, presented by Captain Wood to the Minister of War, the"raply thereto, and of all correspon dence consequent upon and relating to the said me morial and its contents. Sir .J. RA.NISDEN said that he regretted he was under the necessity of opposing the motion, upon the ground that the case was only one of a great number of similar claims constantly brought before the War De partment, all of which were disposed of in strict c)m pliance with the established regulations. Government was of opinion that it would prove most detrimetnal to the public service if that house was called upon to inves tigate each particular case. He trusted that the ~aaliaist officer would not attribute the course which he was adopting either to any disrespect to himself or to a wish not to produce the corresponde❑ce, but solely upon general and public grounds. (Hear, hear.) Capt. ARCHDALL expressed a hope that the house would not rest satisfied with the right hon. gentleman's explanation—the correspondence for which he moved contained all the facts of the case, and he ftlt bound to press his motion—the house would then have an oppor tunity of judging the merits of the case. He trusted the house would do justice to an officer who had faithfully discharged his duties for 41 years. • Lord PALMERSTON expressed ahope that the house would not agree to the motion, which would be to adopt a principle that would embark them in " a sea of troubles." Would the house constitute itself a court of appeal for the War-office Captain BOLDERO expressed a hope that his hon. friend would not press his motion to a division. Motion negatived without a division. INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. Sir J. TRELA.WNY moved an address for copies of all reports of the inspectors general of infantry and cavalry since the appointments of those officers. Sir J. RA.NISDEN opposed the motion on the ground that its production would be detrimental to the public service. Sir W. CODRINGTON also opposed the production of the returns. Mr. P. O'BRIEN took the same view. RATING OF MINES. On the motion of Mr. KENDALL, the following mem hers were appointed a select committee on rating the royalties of mines :—Mr. Kendall, Mr. Michael Williams, Mr. George Cavendish, Mr. Child, Mr. Bonverie, Mr. Philips, Col. Pennant, Mr. Ridley, Mr. Spooner, Mr. H. Vivian, Mr. Hume, Mr. H. Herbert, Mr. Colville, Mr. Wm. 0. Foster, Mr. Davey, and Mr. Dudley Fortescue. BLEACHING AND DYEING WORKS. On the motion of Mr. BUTT for nominating a select committee on this subject, Mr. CAIRNS moved that Mr. Adderley's name be removed from the list, with the view of substituting that of Mr. Davison. The SPEAKER decided that the hon. member must give notice of his motion to appoint Mr. Davison. The following members were then nominated to be a committee, Mr. Adderley's name being struck out : Mr. Butt, Lord J. Manners, Viscount Goderich, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Baxter, Mr. Massey, Mr. Fergus, Mr. Clark, Mr. Cheetham, Lord Naas, Mr. Cobbett, Mr. Wise, Mr. Turner, and Mr. Packe. CONTRACTS (PUBLIC DEPARTMENTS). On the motion of Colonel BOLDERO, the following members were nominated to the select committee : Col. Bolder°, Mr. Corry, Sir Charles Napier, Mr. Os borne, Mr. Muntz, Viscount Duncan, Mr. Mitchell, Lord Claude Hamilton, Sir •rolan Ramsden, Mr. West head, Colonel North, Mr. Philips, Mr. Puller, Mr. Lid dell, and Sir John Hammer. The house rose at half-past 1. MIDDLESEX SYSqlo.l 7 ;s.—May 18. (Before the As is staut Judge.) Henry Hills, 49, described as a clerk, - of superior education, was indicted for unlawfully assaulting Hannah Stamp, a girl under 12 years of age, with 42, - intent, (c. He pleaded guilty. Mr. Sergeant Pa'ry and Mr. Metcalfe were for the prosecution ; Mr. Sleigh for the prisoner. The Assistant Judge sentenced the prisoner to be kept to hard labour for one year. William Benson, 51, weaver, was indicted for feloniously embezzling three sums of money, amounting to 60/., received by him on account of James Bellett and others, to wbom he was servant. He surrendered in court. Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. Ribton appeared for the prosecution ; Mr. Sleigh for the prisoner. He was fotind guilty, and sentenced to hard labour for 15 calendar months. James Newland, boiler-maker, was indicted for having fraudulently obtained the sums of 11s. scl. 35., and is. 4d., from Jarvis Jones, with intent to defraud. _ _ _ Mr. Sleigh was counsel for the prosecution. it appeared that the prisoner some time ago, was secretary to the branch of the Friendly Boiler makers' Society, at Bayswater, but had ceased to belong to the society. The jury found him guilty. From inquiries then made it appeared that the prisoner's character was none of tha best, and he had been under the surveillance of the police at Bristol. He was convicted of felony 10 yeas ago, and had besntried a short time since, but acquitted. Sentenced to six months' hard labour. (Before Mr. Creasy.) • John Richard Holland, a very respectab7e-loolc ing young man, was indicted for embezzling the several sums of 41. 19s. and 2/. 3s. Bd. received from Mr. Rogers, and 7/. ss. 6d. received from Mr. Raymond, for and on account of Thomas Wm. Hunt, his master. Mr. F. H. Lewis prosecuted ; Mr. Payne de fended. The prosecutor is a wholesale grocer, and the prisoner had been in his service for six months as town traveller, at a salary of 30s. a week, without comtniss:on. It was his duty to pay over the sums he received from the customers every evening to the cashier ; and he wal charged with having re ceived certain sums of money which he had not ac counted for. Mr. John Rogers, a grocer and cheesemonger, of No. 1, Providence-place, St. George's-in the-East, said he was a customer of the prosecutor, and the prisoner had been in the habit of calling upon him for orders.. In February last he paid him the sum of 8L 19s. 4d. for goods received in January, and on the 17th of March he paid him a further sum of 2/. 3s. Bd. for (roods. He did not return any sugar to the amount of Si. He took receipts for the sums paid. Mr. Edward Raymond, a grocer of No. 106, High-street, Hoxton, said, on the 6th of April, he received goods to the amount of 7/. Bs. from the prosecutor, and on the Tuesday following he paid the prisoner the sum of 71. ss. Gd., in discharge of the debt, and received the prisoner's receipt for the payment of the money. Mr. G. A. Simpson, cashier to the prosecutor, said the prisoner had to pay over to him the monies li he received on account of his maser every day. The prisoner made his own entries of the amounts in a cash-book, and witness put his initials to them as he handed over the money. The prisoner did not pay over to him in February last the sum of 81. 19s. 4d., referred to by the first witness. On the 10th be paid 1/. Hs. Bd. as received from Mr. Rogers ; and on the 24th of the same month he paid in a further sum of 2/. 3s. Bd. on account of Mr. Rogers, making together 41. Os. 4d., but leav ing a deficiency of the sum he had really received of Mr. Rogers. He had not paid over the sum of 71. ss. Gd., received by him from Mr. Raymond. At the request of the prisoner he made an entry in tie ledger, to the credit of Mr. Rogers, for 2cwt. of sugar, which he said had been returned, but that was afterwards found to be untrue, as no sugar had been returned. Mr: Payne cross-examined the witnesses, and afterwards addressed the jury for the purpose of showing that Mr. Hunt's accounts were kept in a carelass way, and that in several cases the prisoner had been the means of errors being rectified. If there had been any deficiency in the accounts he attributed it to accident, and not to any felonious interkton ; and if it was not proved that there was a felonious taking of the money the prisoner could net bs coavicted.on the present charge. Mr. Creasy sunirael up, and left it to the jur3 t • say whether`such defalcations could be the result of accident, or whether they arose from a felonious intention. The jury found the prisoner guilty but raCom munde 1 him to mercy on account of his previous good character. Mr. F. H. Lewis said that since the prisoner had been committed on the present charge, the prosecutor had found out further acts of embezzle ment by the prisoner to the amount of 401. Mr. Creasy sentenced the prisoner to ten months' hard labour. James Baldwin and Edward Coleman were sever ally indicted, Baldwin for stealing 951 b of oats and other articles, the property of John Wraga his master, and Coleman for receiving them, well-know ing them to have been stolen. Baldwin pleaded guilty, Coleman not guilty. Mr. Sleigh and ir. Poland prosecuted ; Mr. Tindal Atkinson appeared for Coleman. , The Jury acquitted Coleman ; Baldwin was sen tenced to six months' hard labour. SURREY SESSIONS, MAY 18. The adjourned sessions for the county of Surrey commenced this morning at the Court Rouse, New ingtm-causeway, before J. E. Johnson, Esq., deputy-chairman, Lord Lovaine, and a bench of magistrates. The calendar contained the names of 39 prisoners for trial, 30 for felony and nine for misdemeanour, which is much less than usual at these sessions ; but that may be accounted for by the proximity of the Central Criminal Court Sessions. Before Lord Lovaine, and a Bench of Magistrates.) APPEAL CASE. This was an appeal case from the landlord of the Duke of Sutherland, a new and commodious house, recently erected in the Lorrimer-road, Walworth, against the licensing magistrates of the Newington division, partly heard at Reigate Quarter Sessions, and the last adjournment, when the Court came to a reiolntion that the licence should be granted pro vided that the appellant came to art agreement with the builders, kc. Mr. Knopp said that every matter had been: settled to the satisfaction of the' bench, which was also assentel to by Mr. Corner, when Lord Lovaine said that the appeal must be allowed. The license was consequently granted, Mr. John son and other magis rates of the Newington divi sion having left the bench during the discussion. WATCH ROBBERY AT THE ROWING MATCH. Alfred Chitty, waterman, was indicted for steal ing a silver watch from the person of Chas. Milts. Mr. Matthew Williams prosecuted ; and Mr. Ribton defended the prisoner. The prosecutor stated that on the evening of the 12th inst. he was at the rowing -match for the cham pionship of the Thames, and about nine o'clock he was in front of the bar at the White Hart public house, at Barnes, where there were also a few other persons, among whom was the prisoner. While standing there he felt a tug at his watch, and on looking down he saw it in the prisoner's hand. Witness had only a few minutes previously put it in his trousers pocket for safety. and 'it was fast ene3 by a guard to one of his trousers buttons, which Ind been torn off. He immediately said, "I'm Alf. Chitty, of Richmond, the rowing man." Witness said he did not care who he was, he had robbed him of his watch, and he should give him into custody. Witness did so immediately. In defence Mr. Ribton contended that it was a mistake • his client wa's under the influence of liquor, having been drinking with the prosecutor all the afternoon.- The jury, however, found him guilty, and the Court sentenced him to two months' hard labour. EXTENSIVE ROBBERY BY A SERVANT. Charles Billars, 18, shopman, pleaded guilty to stealing, at Lambeth, a writing desk and other articles, and the sum of 701., the property of his master, Henry Cook, in bis dwelling-house. The Chairman said it was a very serious offence, and he should sentence him to 12 months' bard labour. SPORTING INTELLIGEIVCE. TATTERALL'S (MONDAY,) The Derby horses were knocked about in a perplexing manner„ and so sudden and rapid were the changes, that it was with great difficulty that we are enabled to compile a correct price current. ' The most important incident was the advance of Tournament, who it was re ported bad been most satisfactorily tried. Early in the afterncon 12 to 1 to about 7001. was taken about him ; afterwards a slight reaction set in, and 13 to 1, 14 to 1, and 15 to 1 were laid ; at the close, however, he was de cidedly firm at 11 to 1 taken freely ; 7 to 1 was cffered against Skirmisher without effect, but a point higher odds would have commanded backers ; 9 to 1 was repeatedly taken about Arsenal, but it was also currently offered throughout the afternoon ; 11 to 1. was laid against An ton to 501.; 10 to 1 might have been obtained without difficulty. The odds against M.D. fluctuated between 15 to 1 and 100 to 8, the latter price being, perhaps, his correct quotation. Sprig of Shillelagh was steady ' • he was not, however, backed for a very large sum ; th e last bet about him was 1000 to 80 ; 1000 to 55 was taken three times about Lady Hawthorn. Bird-in-the-Hand was friendless; 20 to 1 was currently offered against him, and, indeed, we believe layers might have been found who would have accommodated backers at any price between 100 to 5 and 100 to 3 ; 30 to 1 was laid once agst Adamas, but subsequently 25 to 1 was taken. Saunterer made a further retrogression, 20 to 1, 22 to 1, and finally 25 to 1 were laid agaiust him ; 1000 to 15 was betted five times against Lambourn ; 1000 to 4 and 6000 to 30 were laid against Newton-le-Willows. The other transactions do not require comment. Closing prices : SOMERSETSHIRE STAKES. 3 to 1 agst Wentworth sto 1 agst Dulcamara 7to 1 agst Pole Star 7to 1 agst Jesuit Bto 1 agst Fisherman 10 to 1 agst Odd Trick The above prices were compiled froni " City business." There was no betting on the race at the " Corner." DERBY. 7 to 1 agst Skirmisher (offered) 9to 1 aget Arsenal (taken and offered) 10 to 1 agst Tournament (11 to 1 takeu freely) 11 to 1 agat Anton (taken) 100 to 8 aget Sprig of Shillelagh (taken) 100 to 8 aget M.D. 18 to 1 agst Lady Hawthorn (taken) 20 to 1 agst Sydney (taken) 20 to 1 agat Zuyder Zee (offered) 24 to 1 apt Adamas (taken) 25 to 1 agst Sadiaterer (taken) 25 to 1 ag.4 Bird-in-the-Hand (offered) 30 to 1 agst Wardermarske (taken) 40 to .1 aget Blink Bonny 40 to 1 agst Glentnaseon (taken) 1000 to 15 art Lanibourn (taken) 1000 to 15 agst Pyrrhus the Second (taken) 200 to . 1 aget Newton•le-Willows (taken) 1200 to 800 and 500 to 400 on Skirmisher eget Arsenal (taken) 200 even on Anton and Lady Hawthorn agst Warder mareke coupled (taken) 6to 1 agst Anton and M.D. coupled (taken to 50/ ) OAKS. 20 to 1 aget Moe,tiseima (offered) ASCOT CUP. 0 to 1 agst. RiAtber (taken) 1C; to 1 agst Polestar (taken) Racing Fixti Tiarpenden. 23 .es for 1357. AY. Epsom Newcastle 23 Knighton 23 Lenham 24 Bibury Club 24 Stockbi idge 25 'Winchester 26 Carlisle 3O Chelmsford 3O JU, Redditch , 1 Cartmel 1 Manchester Wye Hawick 5 Ascot 9 Beverley, Hull, &c 10 Hampton l7 Newton 17 Worcester 2 Stoorbridge Newmarket Odiham lO Liverpool l5 AUG Nottingham 21 Stamford 23 K.nntsford 23 Goodwood ..28 Ripon North Staffordshire. 4 Brigbton Brighton Club . Wolverhampton lO Reading l2 UST. ' York 19 Radcliffe 24 Eghani 25 IS toc kt on 27 Hereford 27 Maidstone 28 MBER. SEPTE Warwick Cardiff . 'Lichfield Derby Thirsk ll OCTO Northallerton Chester Autumn 6 R. Caledonian Hunt....: , 6 Wrexham Richmond 8 . NOV E 1 Worcester Autumn 3 Wenlock Shrewsbury Autumn .. 17 Doncaster 15 Leicester 23 Monmouth 24 Manche6terAutumn 2S Newmarket F 0... 29 ,BER. Newmarket S 0 l2 Warwick Antonin 2O Kelso 2O Newmarket H 26 Country lYlarkets, CHELMSFORD-MAT 15. Wheat to-day experienced a rather dull sale, althortg the attendance was good, and bat few sales were effected, and those,at a reduction of is on the best wheats and 2s an' inferior. Spring corn firm at the prices of last week. Wheat, white, old, per s. s. 13. qr.3l 71 Oats, per qr 24 new.... 34 70 Peas, Partridge: 41 red, old "9 61 White.... 39 new.... 29 61 Boiling 39 Barley3s 46 Dun 37 Chevalier 40 54 I Beans, Tick 35 Grinding . 35 46 Harrow ticks 39 Halt 73 77 Mazagan 34 Chevalier 75 79 Ditto, new... 34 Official Statement of the Qua: in the port of London, fro: May 11 to May IG, both ins 47 •46 40 40 entities of Corn, &c., received nu the following Forts, frost Lelusive. aBER. Liverpool Autumn ...,,.10 Ludlow Autumn .........20 Irish Racing Fixturez for 1857. JUNE. Monchstown (Co. Cotli) 9 J Curragb 23 JULY: Bdllewaiown 8 Down R. C orporat i on ...21 Wicklow l4 I Heath of Marficro' ...2g AUG UST, Galway 4 I Ballyeigli 425 Tamura .. II Tuam... pi , t fixed Killarney • cd 1 ) g g 13 xi ea 0 xi 1 2 62( - 1401. PTO -- 669 ? 60 ( 747 j 2 Colchester liarwich Leigh Haddon COLCHESTER- MAT 16. A good supply of wheat to-day ; the prices asked for best samples must be quoted 2s per qr. lower. In Spiing corn very little doing, and prices for all sorts at late rates. Prices to-daywere as follow :—Wheat, white, 60s to 68 , ; red, 51s to 60s; barley, 44s to 48s ; cats, 26s to 28s ; beans, Mazagan, 36s to 386 ; middle and small, 38s to 44s ; peas, white, 38s to 42s ; grey, 40s to 425. KIRKCALDY-MAY 16. To-day we had a large supply of wheat, which had a ready sale at about 2s per qr. reduction upon last week's prices. Barley and oats were in small supply—the former sold slowly at is decline, and the latter at prices the same as on last market day. Wheat. Barley. 1 Oats. 1 Beans. 1 First s9s .0d 1 48s 01 t 31s Od 1 Os 01 Second Third 32s Od I 33s 01 I 25s Od 1 Os Od Oatmeal, 36s to 38s per bag of 2801 b. M.—MAY IS. the close of the mark l et. Wallsend, au. COIL krAr,x: Prices of Coals per ton at s d., Bell's Primroso l3 I:) Bebside's Hartley 17 3 North Percy Hartley l5 0 Holywell 16 6 s d • Russell's Hetton 16 6 Tees lB 0 Lambton l7 6 Braddyll l6 6 Wallsond, ILyon's Stone Coal Haswell • lB 0 Ships at market i, 37 ; sold, 34. LOCAL SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL, MAT 18. STOCK. EXCHANGE. —Eastern Counties, 11X London and North Western, 1034.—Ditto, Eighths, -A dis.—North . British, 10 11-16 - Lancashire and Yorkshire, 101 . 4 -- .111,,,nchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln, 42i---Midland, 83i 4 —Grand Trunk of Canada, 16i 13—East Lancashire, i 34 Great Western of Can a d a , 23 / - Dutch Rhenish, 1 Royal Insurance, 3 9-16 pin. MANCHhSTER, MAY 18. STOCK EXCHANGE. -- The market was quiet, but with no material change. The sales Were —Dfaucbester, Shef field, and Lincolnshire, 42k—East L‘ncashire, 98i Lon don and North-Western, 104 i—London and South- Western, 100—Midlands, 834—South Eastern, 22 9-16--' Canadas, 24 3?—Grand Trunks, 161 1. BIRMINGHAM,. MAY 18, STOOK EXOEIAN6E.—The market was quiet. Midland, Birmingham and Derby, 54} s—South Stafforde, 9i 9i — Great Western, Birmingham pref., 91 9i—Birmingham Bank, 32—Stour Valley, n 9. LEEDS, MAY 18. STOCK EXCHANGE.—Sheffields, 43 —Norfolk, 65—Leedo Northern, 20I—North Westerns, 8 Great Western of Canada, 24k—North British, 11. Market quiet. FISIING EXTRAORDINARY,—The Per4llshire Courier relates the following :—A party fishing, a few days age, hooked with a fly a large trout, which, at the first spring, went away with a fine gat cast line and three flies in it. The same individual fishing further up the water on the afternoon of the same day, with bait, found his hook come in Contact with something unmanageable at the bottom of the water, and on drawing his line his astonish ment was great to see a fine gut line come up with three trouts attached to it. The fisher irnniediately real' nixed the cast off gut be had lost in the morning, and could only account for three trouts being on it by sup' posing that the one he hooked in the morning, ill moving through the water, had attracted two of its brethren ; or, in other words, had gone fishing for then• Such another instance is perhaps not on record. Never on the Edon has there been a worse season, the strong easterly winds off St. Andrews' Bay and bhe dry weather preventing good takes. _ _ A MID;;TIOIIT FUNERAL OF A MURDERER. —Soon after, the inquest on Samuel Ch ar lt on , th e murderer o i Hannah Holroyd, had closed on Wednesday evening' the constable, in obedience to the warrant of the core' tier, prcceeded.to procure a place of burial for the body of the wretched man. The result was, that a grave iva ° ordered to he dug i n th e b ur i a l groun d at t ac h e d t o tbe primitive methodist chapel, at Great Horton, near Brad' ford, and about a mile and a half distant from the public' house where the inquestshad been held. About 11 o'cloci`' the same night, the body was conveyed to Great lI° P , ton. A crowd of more than 3,000 p eo pl e h a d asse mbled on the road in front of the ch a p e l y ar d, an d grea t CO° . fusion prevailed. The mob were loud in expressing their objection to the interment of the corpse. VI authorities of the chapel were oppo se d t o i ts i n t er men' in the ground ; and they had keen sympathisers in the crowd. They met the bearers of the coffin at the gat e° on its being taken from the hearse, and endeavoured to prevent its entrance into th e groun d. Th e uproar ar`b disturbances were very unseemly, arid exclatnationet such as "Throw it over the wall," " Burn it'," See., vie!: mingled in the uproar. By th e a id o f t h e po li ce t°' coffin was at last got to the grave side; but then objeci tion was taken to the grave not being deep enough, si n , also to its being an old one. The consequence was th s the sextons proce e d e d t o di g a new grave i n a plot of virgin soil adjoining. Meanwhile tee uproar and noof tl ; *ion prevailed for many holm. The interment vess l ' s length completee. M an y o f th e crow d rema i ne d on tn spot till five o'clock on Thursday morning. 1 A DVItItTISIIMANT.I—SIGIIT AND HEARING. ---SPECTACLES* -- ; POWERFUL TELESCOPES.—OPERA, RACE, AND PEESPECTI T GLASSES.—Messrs. S. and u. rioter:teem, opticians, 39, Ail marie-street, Piccadilly. Obs e r ve — o pp os it e th e Y or k &t e a W.—By her Majesty's Royal Letters Patent for valuable a; 0 , extraordinary improvements in the mos t p ower f u l an d liant l'Aescopes, Camp, Kacecourse, Opera, anu Perspeet7, l Glasses to know the distances. These telescopes eoese, such extraordinary power th t t some , th ree an d a -h a lf :nett' s ' with an extra eye-p ere will show distinctly Jupiter's niecl: o aturn's ring, and the double stars ; w ith th e same teleseos, can be seen a pc: son's countenance three-and-a-half mile , cu taut end an object from 16 to 20 miles. Eor the wai pocket, an , are of larger, and all sizes, with increal po we: accordingly, The Royal Exhibition, 1851 —A able newly-invente l very small powerful Waistcoat Pool, Glass, the size of a walnut, by which a person can be 15e 1 ,/ and known one and a half mile distant. Th e y answer ~ purpose on the race-course, and at the Opera 11 01 %., Country scenery, and ships are clearly seen at 1 t o 14 They are invaluable for shooting, deer-stalking, yacht i te , sportsmen, ge otlemen , g3mek, epers, an d tom ists. OPS, d I Camp, Perspective; and Reoccourse (classes, with wondeljo powers. —lnsalu ble preserving Spectacle Lenses or ,ei greatest transparent power. she great advantage derv , . Lem this invention i s , th e t vision impArecl becomes P t e envoi and stre ng th ene d , and very age , ' person,- arc enab l e to employ their sight at the most minute eccupati°,: e t can see with thcae lenses of a much less magntty ing P ° oe —and they d o no t requ i re the frequent changes to " 1 0 , dangerous effects of further powerful assistance. Pa s o, can be suited at the mo>t remote part of the world by 5° 4 0 fag one of the glasses o ut o f th e i r s p ec t, c l es i s a l e tter, ; ie t• stating the (list .nee from the eye they can read small f with it, and those. who, have not made use of epectaclesote stating their age. Deafness.—New Dis :ov e ry.—Ttle A r genic Vibrator, au extraordinarily po wer ful, sma l 1 :( 0 ' 0 11 invented ;Jastrument for deafness, entirely diff rent fro; 0 , oti ers, surpasses anything of the kind that I.as been, or P e . baby ever can be I reduced. Being of th e sa me colott , , ce r toe skin is not perceptible. It enables deaf p ers ons to r pt distinctly at church and at eublic assemblies ; the wiple 3 , e ch sensation of ringing noises iu the ears is entirely rer° ° . re r• and it affords all the a sistance that possibly could be dee' ette —39, ANemarle-street, Piccadilly. —Observe—opposit e York Hotel. W. BIRTHS. OF A SON. On the 17th .inat., at 23, Clarendon-road, Mai— Aiv bill the Mrs. John H a l se . a On the 17th i ns t., at Hamilton-square, Birkenhes lady of John C arm i c hael, Esq. OF A DAMITER, .ago" On the ]7th inst., Mrs. Valentine Vyso, 30, l' u , _ street. On the 17th i ns t., a t 2, Ch es t er -pl ace , H y d e -park44° l." the wife of Henry Trowor, Esq. MARRIED. 0 04 e On the 16th in s t., a t. St. M ar ti n ' s -i n -th e -field°9 th Lloyd Williams, Esq., late Captain in f1.31.'s 24 ji'V e ' limit, to Eliz ).hetli Jane, eldest daughter of ThoW 4 man, Esq., of 1. b , 7 On the 14th 'inst., at Clapham Chu r ch, Mr. ie eld e " Mitchell, of Pa-k-hill, Clapham, to Elizabeth, til i e tt uat°' daughter of the late Benjamin Fellowes, Esq., of street, city. DIED. as L . On the 16th inst.', at Park-road, Dalston , le or, , Cren, Esq., aged 69. Sture . On the 16th inst., at Leatherhead , Mr. Charles ~ job ° On the 16th inst ., at Rumor°, Somerset, the Se.' el Poole, rector of Enmore, aged 67. -C°j, °v On the 15th inst., at Henley-an-Thames, Lient. John Stuart, formerly of 7th Fasilierq, aged 5 7- er l,,, CO/ On the 15th inst. E. P. Flenslowe, Esq. , f " lll t i oe n e. tain in the 15th king's Light Dragoons, You n g ee the late Sir Jobn Henslowe, aged 85. „ L I A O-o °e On the 17th inst., at 1, Palk-crescent, rar Clement Wigney, Esq., aged 56. - purl° On the 16th inst., at Margate, Mr. L. A • f Camd On etbe n-st r l6t heet, C ins t amen Henry'William-town, aged 56. m c ° d , Carr Besr3, Esq., Of Welbeck-street; secona Cavendisu ri" var ...! aged 4 years. - - - ---...-----------. .. .. -* _,, ------- - - -- -- ----- --- y0 1 : 1 ' 6 Vo LONDON : Printed and Published by MA D Ot hee ' • o c of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at 27 " e ' 274 the e°l4ll 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Sa vo y , in " of Middlesex; Tuesday, May 19,1567• p nre tuni cs to 5, a'will : ae fusse s urea. 1) 1 daily, br. Plif flor 4 The Eat ; i kusen r NI to itioat Lecture I'ir 6t, dam , Q uine nr 2 il a t ; .1, 14 01 ;e8,81.4. / 1 .1 trab is trai ns i 3 144841, Parti e exa mine eaFro„, „„, e Th„! Th e 1..", t r ter4t r i neny A e OTH Z a 'r r ati o , 11 'w ant 1 1 41, 41, It ard( c.ayett having a t ad d im foll ;of owin, ...nryoend , free ii l ' e e 4 l l :(3l 0.114 I Ple) Eleti on tOlor att( soft, f ail Of i tse : aCknov: el w hi tit nt) li Vie; IN C M R` reetici Pso, Ind s Poly v been e it " 8 S Of Laure r ?rilacii tigh t, ten. , •—____ t sear neat a ',ra tes 83 :a ‘ ,m ,-v'ert a Rcser y Of g oo str eet ao at Cin Cons, tunibc,T th e Sr I)e• Ati. fo o i S fiara'erl it Tile vOt uae 4 P )11e, a be pit tot c Liv "