The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-03-24 00:00:00

SIR CHARLES NAPIER

Sir Charles continues his controversy with Sir James
Graham. In a letter which appears iu all the morning
papers, he says that on the 18th of July he sent in the
following report on Sweaborg :
" The only successful manner of attacking Sweaborg,
that I can , see, after the most mature consideration,
assisted by Chads, who is a practical man, and knows
more about gunnery than any man in the service, is by
fitting out a g►eat number of gunboats, carrying one
gun with a long range, and placing them west of
Sweaborg, and south of Helsingfors. Every shell from
them would tell somewhere and parhaps not five per
cent. from the enemy would take effect. Back them by
the fleet, to relieve the men, and in the course of the
summer S weaborg would be reduced to ashes, and Helsing-
fors also, if it was thought proper ; and I don't see why we
are to be • mealy mouthed' in the time of war. The ships,
you will see, could not be destroyed, because they could,
move out of the way."

Sir Charles adds :—" This letter the Admiralty deny
having received. I wish to know what Sir James has done
with it; He said I sent home no report before the 23d of
September, which was the reason he could send no appli-
ances in 1864."

The Admiral goes on to say, " With regard to Bomar-
sand, Sir James read two letters of mine, recommending
10,000 men to be seat there ; but he suppressed the extract
of another letter as follows The third plan is to attempt
Aland Islands. To do this (as we have no troops) it would
ba necessary for the whole fleet to proceed to the anchorage
pointed out on Captai❑ Sullivan's chart, leaving vessels at
the entrance of the gulf to watch the Holsingfors squadron.
Land all the marines, and the French troops, which would
amount to 5,000, a great number of heavy guns, and lay
seige to Bomarsuud, attacking at the same time in front, if
found practicable; if not, land 10,00,1 seamen, and make
soldiers of them. Why did Sir James suppress this,
unless in order to injure me ? It is worse than Captain
Christie's affair."

With respect to Sweaborg, the Admiral repeats v► hat he
said before ;—" My second reconnaissance, an account of
which was sent home on the 23rd of September, was
received by the Admiralty on the 4th of October, the day
that the report of the capture of Sebastopol arrived; and
they perverted my letter, wickedly and maliciously, and
goaded me to attack Sweaborg, contrary to the opinion of
two councils of war : and on the 9th of October, the day
that they knew Sebastopol was not taken, without waiting
fur my reply, they contradicted the order, andltdirected
. .

.
the selling ships to come home, and my squadiun to go
to liel. How does Sir James get out of this? Ho

blinked it altogether, and told the house that the battle of
- -

, .
Alma was taught ou the 15th of September. That had
nothing to du with my report, which was dated the 23rd.
and arrived the day of the hoax ; and that was what
caused the quarrel between the Admiralty and myself ;
and Sir James managed that so well, that he led the house
entirely away from it. Sir James says it was my neglect

in not sending home a report before th•-. 23rd of Sep-
tember, 1854, which prevented him from sending ap-
pliances necessary for the attack of Sweaborg in 1454. I
have shown that I did send my report, the 18th of July ;
and as for his talking of sending out appliances, it was
quite impuss,ble, and he knows it was."
In conclusion, Sir Charles denies that his "nerves are
gone," or that he " has the gout:"

By a new regulation the Board of Inland Revenue have
ordered that any Expectant who shall have to travel any
distance exceeding five miles from the place where he has,
been instructed, or last employed, or directed to reside, will
be allowed fur his travelling expenses 3d per mile for every
mile travelled.

We read in the Boersenhalle of Hamburg :—lt is said
that Prussia has the intention of operating a complete
reconciliation between the courts of Vienna and St.
Petersburg, and that, with that object, there will be an
interview between the Emperors of Anstria and Russia and
the King of Prussia in some town near the borders of the
three countries.

INTERESTING TO GAS COMPANIES.—On Tuesday, the
magistrates at the town hall, Preston, gave judgment in an
appeal against the poor rates by the Preston gas company,
which was heard last week. In 1838 the company was as-
sessed at the rate of £1,200; and since that time the amount
has been gradually increased in consideration of the increase
of the works, till at the beginning of 1855 they were assessed
at £1,972. In November last the overseers raised the assess-
ment of that sum to £3,520, and it was against this amount
that the company appealed. Several witnesses were called
on both sides. Mr. It. Voyers, of Preston, said he had gone,
through the accounts for 1854 and 1855, and estimated th;
rateable p operty of the company in the township of Preston
at £4,547 10a. 43. Mr. J. Bentley, of Kendal, estimated ilk
it at £4,410. Mr. Fisher, of Manchester, on behalf of the
company, stated that he estimated the value of the rateable,
property at £2,114 16s. 6d., but explained that he had not
taken the value of gasholders into his calculation, as he did
not consider them rateable property. Mr. D. Bellhouse, oli
Manchester, made the net rateable value £2,108 3s 23. Mr.
Rope, the managing engineer of the gas works, said that
last year the company paid a dividend of ten per cent,
amounting to £7,800, of which £2,545 78. 83. was taken from
the reserved /mad. In giving judgment, Mr. Ainsworth
chairman, said the magistrate 3 bud decided that the gaso-
meters and purifiers were rateable. The gross value of these
articles was £13,697 ; and the annual value £B9O 6s 13,
from which must be deducted one-fifth for depreciation,
£l7B is 23, leaving the net rateable value £712 4s Ild.
After having gone through the whole of the accounts, and
setting down what in their judgment was an equitable
amount as the rateable value of each description of property,
they made the gross rateable value 43,243 Os 53,
The increase upon the old assessment is, therefore £1,9,70. '
An extensive burglary was committed on Friday, at
Chatham, on the premises of Mr. Clift, pawnbroker, higiL
street. The thieves carried off about a dozen gold and
silver watches, a large number of rings, besides a quantity
of wedding rings and keepers, several Crimean and other
medals which had baen deposited in pledge, as well as other
property. The burglars appear to have effected an entrance
into the premises by prising open the cellar window in the
street, which they closed down again after them, to disarm
suspicion.

The next meeting of the British Association for the
Advancement of-Science has been fixed for Wednesday,
August 6, at Cheltenham. Dr. Daubeny will preside.
The special secret tries for the next meeting will be Capt.
Robertson, lt.A., and Messrs. Beamish and Hugall.
During the search instituted by the editor of the
_Newark Times for female compositors, it is reported that
the following short dialogue took place : Brisier " Mr.
llenpec, have you got any daughters who would make
good type-setters ?" Ilenpec : No, but I've got a wife
who would make a very good Devil.
Tux KNIGHMBILIDOR PUSSYI TES:-At a meeting held on
Thursday, for the purpose of securing the return of Mr.
Westerton as churchwarden of St. Paul's Knightsbridge,
Mr. Beal, one of the speakers, stated (Mr. Westerton being
pia sent), that Mr. Westerton had been offered 5.000/. in
hard cash, and a seat in Parliament for himself or friend,
if he would give up the contest with the Hon. and Rev.
Mr. Liddell, the incumbent. This statement having been
positive), denied by Mr. Liddell's friends, Mr. Westerton
has aanounced that immediately after the election for
churchwarden, next Monday, he will publish a pamphlet,
not only fully verifying the statement, but giving a nar-
rative of the whole of the circumstances connected with Lk.
case