The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-07 00:00:00

MISCILIANSOUIT SUBJECT&

Referring to the answer given by fir J. Pakington
in the House of Commons to lrr. Craves—namely.
that the list of ships in the reserves is " • vary short one,"
that the reserves see "by no means in • eatisfactory con-
dition,
or, indeed, in such • state as he had a right to find
them," that " the Admiralty have greet difficulty in find- 1
ing relief for the ships that return from foreign servioe,"
the Times observes that for the last eight years we have
been " reconstructing" continually, until unsophisticated 1
people might be excused for thinking that Britannia ruled
the waves more imperiously than ever. And now we find •
First Lord of the Admiralty, with official dignity to main-
, tain, and official obligations to bind him, declaring that
we really have not ships to send to sea. Sir John Peking-
ton is admitted by everybody to be at least a straightfor-
ward man ; he is not likely to speak without thinking, or
examine without coming to a reasonable conclusion. When
he speaks on this subject he has good means of judging
and every inducement to be accurate ; and the Ttmes im-
plicitly believes him. If the Admiralty Department was
an Augean stable, Hercules was supposed to be at work,
and soon not • tr►ce of the refuse would be left. But
it is now evident that the mismanagement during
the seven years of the late administration must
have been greater than at any previous time.
On the whole the Duke of Somerset and Lord Clarence
Paget have had things all their own way. They have
been supplied with enormous sums yearly almost without
question in the House of Commons, and without criticism
from the press. We now see the consequence. The
Tines fully believes that the business of the Admiralty
has never been more mismanaged than during the late
administration, and it is now time that a searching in-
quiry and a thorough reform be made. The waste, the
confusion, and the jobbery, that reign in every dockyard
are beyond belief. Numbers of vessels that are certain
never to go to sea are kept for no other purpose seem-
ingly than to spend money upon, and to keep up
• horde of useless dependents on the public purse.
The House of Commons must exercise an interference
more powerful, direct, and stringent than it has ever
hitherto attempted, or this gigantic national evil will
never be overthrown. The first thing to be done is to in-
sist that the whole of the useless vessels should be sold
or broken up, and that the British navy should cease to be
• sort of Chinese imposture and become a reality.
Commenting on Dr. Shirley's plan for • new college for
men of limited means who wish to become clergymen, the
Post expresses its doubts as to the wisdom of launching
into the ministry • large supply of men of narrow fortunes,
or no fortunes at all, until there is some clear prospect of
their being better provided for than is now possible. If
the patrimony of the church could be brought under the
action of public opinion, and be made amenable to public
criticism, it would do more good than any new col-
lege. But while two-thirds of the best livings are in the
gifts of irresponsible persons, merit can have no chance ;
and if so, the prospects of those who have nothing but
_ _

merit to help them forward are poor indeed. The
Post would not discourage any praiseworthy effort to
found a new college, but if its 'pliability is to
be cheapness, quietness, order, good tuition, steady
reading, and freedom from debt, it cannot help
saying that it is no credit to either university that a
new college should be required before those good objects
can be attained.