The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-05 00:00:00

THE TRANSPORT SERVICE.

The following recommendations have been made by
the commissioners appointed to inquire into the irregut.
larities which have taken place in the transport of
stores, &c., to the East :-
1. That the usual permission in the charter, party to
employ lumpers in loading the ship be so far qualified as
to insure a portion of the crew being present; and that no
transport er hired vessel be considered on "pay" until the
master, chief or second officer, and a proportion of the
crew who are to go to sea in the vessel, have joined.
By this arrangement, so many persons on board would
uilndg acognisant
troiset
,h,l
es ofteoht
whereha engpositionchanges
w anyhi ocpho f thert
tooofk
it
talwragcao t
es,
among
stowedmh aotno ihdiwe
officers
be
ocow
and men of the Robert Lowe and the Prince, previous to
sailing, it appears doubtful whether any one on board
y where the stores intended for Scutari
2. The cargo book is to be carefully and accurately kept,
made out in duplicate, and a sketch of the ship's hold ap-
kwneerwe
plaacocoudr.a tel
pended showing the exact position in which the stores are
placed, and that, whenever practicable, a memorandum
should be inserted iu the bill of lading, showing in what
part of the vessel the stores were likely to be found. Ths
be deposited with the
r
From the absence of such precautions at a time when
transport
boofo
rtdh ef cra:egfoo-rboonooke is to
extensive shipments letve had to be made in great haste, it"
may be matter of surprise-that the errors have not been
more frequent.
3. The cargo-book to be shown to the superintendent:of
transports and consignee at any po t where cargo is to be
inspect it.
discharged, whose duty it should be on all occasions to
This precaution appears very necessary, to prevent the
amtetrheeas
stares,serti f
roofmthoepcoar
getting
pattianign'teoe
pub-
lic service. In the case of the Prince, it has been found
ithoothe prejudicediffic
that one captain, whose views it probably suited to hurry
forward, was permitted to leave Constantinople without
delivering an important part of his cargo, on his bare
eltyofinthe
assertion (perhaps imperfectly understood) that the stores
could not be readily got at; while in the case of the Robert
Lowe, another captain,.-whose views it probably suited to
remain, was allowed to waste five days in landing goods at
Scutari when one would have been sufficient for the pur-
pose. Some controlling power obviously requires to be
exercised over the captains in these matters.
4. That a discipline clause be enacted, extending to the
masters, officers, and seamen of transports, enforcing obe-
dience, attention to duty, the prevention of desertion, and
the proper care and due delivery of cargo.
Oases have been brought under the notice of the com•
mittee of serious inconvenience and delay to her Majesty's
service from the desertion of the crew, and from the captain
and officers not joining until immediately before the ship
sailed.
It is also in evidence that one of the sailors on board the
Prince was found in a state of intoxication in the maga-
zine of the vessel, partly filled with ammunition and live
shells. Transports have also had to proceed to sea with a
drunken and mutinous crew, who left the safety of the
ship to be provided for entirely by the petty officers and
apprentices. _ _

At a time when the whole operations of a campaign, or
the safety and health of any army, may be seriously com-
promised by delay in the arrival of a vessel, no pecuniary
recompence for breach of contract would be of any avail.
Power is wanting to compel the crew to that degree of
obedience and subordination which is essential to' the
safety of the ship and the immediate prosecution of the
voyage.
U. That the requisitions for freight from the different
departments of govern men t having been lodged in the proper
quarter, duly considered, and vessels appropriated, such
appropriation should not be changed, unless under the
most pressing emergency.
6. In the event of such appropriation being interfered
with, and stores shut out from any vessel, the authorities
concerned to be immediately acquainted therewith, in
order that a fresh appropriation' may be made.
7. Whenever there is a sufficient quantity of stores from
one department to fill a vessel, she should be taken up ex-
clusively for the use of that department.
8. That on the departure of a transport or store-ship
from England, the consignee should be written to by post
as well as by ship, enclosing counterparts of bill of lading,
so that he may tam) measures for the reception of the stores
on the vessel's arrival, reporting immediately and direct
to the department from which the stores were sent, in the
event of the non-delivery of any portion of the articles
named in the bill of lading.
In illustration of the necessity of some arrangement of
this kind, it appears that no report has yet been received
by the Ordnance or Medical Department, as to whether
any or what proportions of the 667 iron bedsteads shipped
in the Robert Lowe and Manilla, in October, 1854, for the
East, have reached their destination.

9. That, on shipping stores from any department, the
several parts of every article, such as iron bedsteads, &c.,
be tied together; and where this is impracticable, as in the
case of camp equipage, a responsible officer be sent in
charge of such stores, in order to see that they are put on
board the transports from the lighters or craft in proper

proportions, or in a complete state.
(Signed) ROBT. CRAIGIE, Captain R.N., Chairman.
Amuc. M. TIILLOCH, Colonel.
ALEX. STEWART, Ordnance Storekeeper.

LONDON SLIIPO WNERS' ASSOCIATION.

The following letter from Messrs. Baines and Co., of
Liverpool, intimates that the recent complaint made by
the London Shipowners' Association of certain ♦essels
having been privately taken up by the War-office,safter
a system of open tender bad been invited, originated in
a misapprehension on the part of that body :

" Liverpool, April 3.
" Sir,—We beg to assure you that the allegation of the
London Shipowners' Association, on which the strictures
on our letter of the 29th ult. were founded, is entirely
wrong. The ' toe late' tender was for carrying horses to
the Crimea at so much per bead, delivered there, and bore
no reference to the hospital ships, the prcposal for which
was submitted to Captain Milne in presence of the Trans-
.pelt Board, through an iatreduction from Lord Pantnure.
Captain Milne then stated that the Admiralty had no need
of such ; but if his lordship required them for military
purposm, it was a very-good suggestion, and one he had
advocated as a reason for leaving the Britannia and other
large ships of war in the Black Sea, instead of bringing
them home. The subsequent decision was Lord Pan-
mare's.

" We deny having received any advantages in terms,
and,h
tanan2,
tidetf as sbnwbketorsehiope,
faedoLsB::
me;
4,lolgg:fec
inonriaStji
aeci
gallonsnpko :ob Shipowners'
thoroughly
o-ohs
fr'e
ouaAlWbpt
gsiwasni
to,
upwards
awigoolhflhnsty2ehto
oosa
rhvao2feneu4
htdovo setr
shnhei
long,venti-
lated,
think that they are unfairly dealt with when such vessels
aro taken up at 18s. per ton per month, while many mem-
bers of the association have ships chartered at very much
higher rates—in some instances, we believe, nearly double,
and which we hope Lord Panmure will give us an oppor-
tunity of replacing at the reduced rates of our other two ?
" The public are very ready to blame the heads of de-
partments when an unbending attachment to routine pro-
duces any disaster, and now an important public body seek
to censure the War Secretary because he did not do what
all else condemn.
" Lord Panmure is too honest a statesman to be scared
by this injudilious manifestation, but there are others less
scrupulous to whom it may be an excellent screen for ma-
nagement after the most approved Crimean fashion.
Faithfully yours,

JAMES BAINES and Co."

INDIAN OPINION OF HAILEYBVBY
COLLEGE.

The Mail reports the solemnities at the close of the
term of 1854, at the College of Haileybury. The days
of that institution are now drawing to a close. The
chairman stated that "the Government had determined
on ceasing to recruit from this college for the civil ser-
vice of India." The Rev. the principal, in alluding to,
the same subject, said, " I do not forget that the
days of the college aro numbered. We have but one
course to pursue, to bow to the decision of Govern-
ment, and to take all possible pains that the
last men whom the college sends out shall be so well
prepared as to make it difficult for the new system to
prove itself better." We think it is time that the days
of this institution were numbered. For the genius and
successful labours of the Principal we entertain the
highest respect. If there could be one shade of gloom on
the prospect of the abolition of this institution, it would
arise from the remembrance that the talents of Mr..
Melville will be no longer employed in the training of
men destined for high office in India. But when we
find the "prominence given to oriental studies in a posi-
tion in which they can be cultivated to the least ad-
vantage, when we learn that the precious time of the
young civilian has been wasted in translating Byron's
"Farewell of Napoleon to France" into Sanscrit
verse ; that in the fourth term "the marks of good
proficiency include the greater number of the class
in Sanscrit ;" that Mr. Brown passes in Sansorit,
Persian, and Hindostanee (the one a dead and the
second a useless language in India) ; and that Mr-
Browne has added to all this a highly resplictable ac-
quaintance with Arabic ; that Mr. Melville is entitled
to espeeial notice by extra translations from English
ofthe Vedas and
into Sanscrit,—it is time this folly shopll
cease. We do
lore
the Court of Di-
not want profound scholars
einttohaw
the Vedantas in our cutcheries.
.11° best Sanscrit scho-
lar generally makes a poor rcsigotrat:43. Ihere are two
points especially in reference
rectors have led men to entertain doubts of the wisdom
of having confided the Government of India to them,—
*
the half
of a
battan by which they risked the attach-
ment order,
army of 200,000 men for a saves of
18,0001. a-year_—and the pertinacity with which they
have continued to Cram the learned language ",,of
not
,the courage to resist the archaso-
the Brahmins down the throats of civilians, because
orientalists of Dr. Wilson. We have only to
rit°hugnelycc7.l3bwa:lnri
.the list of prizes given in the last term in that
college to find the strongest reason for congratulating
India that its days are numbered ; and we trust the Pre-
sident of the Board olControl and the Court of Direc-
tors will see the impropriety of adopting any of the ano-
malies of the old system in their new plans—that they
will exclude Sanscrit, Arabic, Teloogoo, Tamil, Persian,
Hindoostanee, Mahrattee, and Bengalee from the Euro-
pean studies of the service ; that they will content
themselves with sending us out accomplished English
gentlemen, and leave the study of the languages of the
country to be pursued in the country itself and enforced
by the local authorities.—Friend of India.

CHRISTIAN BLIND RELIEF SOCIETY.—The members
and friends of this excellent society, established in 1853,
for the purpose of affording relief to those who can give
evidence that they are of the Household of Faith, and
are deprived of their natural sight, assembled many
hundreds strong on Tuesday evening last, in Church•
street-chapel, Christchurch, Blackfriars-road, for the
purpose of hearing the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon advocate
the claims of this institution. The spacious chapel was
well filled before the rev. gentleman entered the pulpit.
He took for his text the 31st chapter of Jeremiah, verse
8, a subject singularly appropriate for the occasion.
After making a most powerful appeal to the congrega-
tion, a collection WAS made, and a liberal sum was
given at the doors to increase the usefulness of tho
society.