The Express.
London, England, 1861-07-18 00:00:00

ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE.

The following letter has been received by Mr.
W. 8. Lindsay, in reply to one from himself to the Duke of
Somsrmt, Maiming copies of the resolutions passed at the
recent meeting at the London T►vern, on the subject of the
Royal Naval Reserve :

Admiralty, July 16, 1861.
Sir,—l em commanded_ by the Lords Commissioners of
the Admiralty to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
the 10th inst., addressed to hoi Grace the Duke of Somerset,
submitting for the consideration of her Majesty's govern-
ment four resolutions unanimously adopted by • large and
induential meeting of shipowners, held in the City of Lon-
don on the 9th instant, of which meeting you were chair-
man ; and, in reply, my lords request you will be good
enough to convey to the Whines of, the mercantile marine
the assurance that my lords view with greet pleasure the
feeling of loyalty and patriotism which induces them, in
common with the rust of their follow-countrymen, to offer
their services.

It would appear from your letter, a well as from the
purport of the resolutious, that there are two points in the
Admiralty propagate which have not met with the entire
approval of the meeting, via, :
1. That the qualifications required are unnecessarily high;
and

2. That, in respect to rink, officers of the naval reserve
a 14 sot placed on an equality with officers of the same grade
in the Davy.
With regard to the first point, my lords will not object,
in concert with the Board of Trade, to reconsider the regu-
lation, in order, as far as possible, to meet the views ex-
pressed in your letter.
In reply to the second objection, that officers of the
naval reserve are not placed on an equality with
officers of corresponding rank in the navy whoa
called out for service, and might be called on to
serve under the command of lieutenants of the navy, my
lords would point out that, in the ontinary course of
service, such a contingency would not arise, as, in vessels
commanded by lieutenants, no other officers of that rank
are employed.
It would, of course, be impossible to provide at this
moment for the various unforeseen coutiogencies which
might arise in time of war. My lords therefore do not
think that they could, consistently with their duty, enter
into any positive engagement on this point, further than
to state that while, on the one hand, it will be their
desire to treat the officers who have volunteered their
services with all the consideration their high character and
experience deserve, on the other hand it is necessary to
provide that, in all cases of the death, removal, or absence
of the commanding officer, the command shall devolve on
the senior officer of the Royal Navy, as is the case in the
army, according to the Queen's regulations, wherein it is
provided that "officers of the regular or marine forces
command the officers of equal degree belonging to other
branches of the military service."
My lords desire me to request you will have the goodness
to communicate the reply to the officers of the mercantile
marine, sat to accept their best thanks for your cordial
and efficient co-operation in carrying out this great national
object.—l am, sir, your moat obedient, humble servant,
C. Pace?.
W. B. Lindsay, Eeq., Manor House,
Shepperson, Middlesex.

LONDON IRISH Rings.—The members of this
oorpe will assemble on Saturday nest, at 5 o'clock, at
Somerset.house, when the corps will be presented with
pair of handsome silver bugles, the gift el Captain Leech,
as efficient anon of the corps.