The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-19 00:00:00

THE NAVY RESERVE.

It consists rather happily with the general views of
the country that the single posi ire strp taken by the
Elmse on Monday evening should have been tnat of
granting the usual fupply for the naval service. Tne
tint voze was a simple one, but it did indeed, as Mr. W.
with obs Tved, amount in t &cc to passing the whole
of the navy estimates. As we consider these esiinates,
in general resp.cts, not objectionanly framed. aed as
" seamen and marines" must needs be inctuded in every
ptts,ible seheme of national defence, we are glad that at
least so much ..dvaeee has been made in the " business
of ,he country." Nearly half the means required for the
effective service were thus provided by a tew minutes of
general agreement.
The vote proposed by the new Government is taken,
Si we had cortjetureri, without alteration from the esti-
m-,t aor the late Adm nAration. The number of sea-
men, boys, arid marines " to be employed in her Majesty's
flea" of necessity regulates the general cost of the effec-
tive branch of the service. This number, as proposed
for the current year, is 39 000, being the same as for
1851. It includes 26,000 seamen, 2,000 boys, and
11 000 marines, of whom 5,000 are employed on shore.
taut the votes of Monday evening went further than
this. Though the total numbers proposed were only
39,000, yet the sum voted for wages, 1,469,0541., was
computed for an aggregate of 44,000, inasmuch as it
includes the cost of the proposed naval reserve. The
scheme, therefore, although no discussion ensued upon
the point, has thus far ontained the practical approval
of the Legislature. The particular views expressed in
its details we took occasion to elucidate some few weeks
ago, but the subject is now invested with considerably
more importance as a substantial reality. The " re-
rerve," as our readers may recollect, is to consist of
5,000 men, 1,000 of whom are to be petty officers, and
they are to be selected with such regard to previous
service and good conduct certificates as to warrant a
presumption that they will be among the best of
their class. They are to be raised by volun-
tary entry, to be borne on the books of
Some ship in commission, and to be furnished, on
certain conditions. with annual tickets of leave.
They are then to be at liberty to take ser-
vice merchant ships on home trade voyages
only, and they ate to present themselves for inspection
anct ay me.nt every three months at the most convenient
of thep stations appointed for that purpose. The induce-
ments extended consistgol.f wages
year for the men, and to the amount of 61. a
or 121. for the petty officers,
equivalent expectancies—two
tOne
and of an undertaking
o
goes,s,ooorothsaetameheenedgogrnegoattecotistitutthe
sourffidieniarnyt
that they shall be placed on the
an
same footing with actual
years
erespect s
service
ipeeensi
beingns
oat sea. Such is the outline
of the naval reserve.
reckoned cin e a
The objections obviously producible against this plan
resolve themselves into the sole argument of its inade-
No person denies that it will be 'advantageous as
expenditure entailed
inade-
quacy.
by the vote, 38,600 t, will be well invested.- It is simply
far as it
alleged that
reserve against such contingencies as suggested any re
servedispersed as
serve at all, and that these 5,000 will be s
to be practically little more available
hands in the event of emergency. These objections,
perhapi, are not easily answerable in themselves, al-
though 5,000 good seamen can hardly be considered
en insignificant reserve when we rt ilct upon the time
and trouble required to send even a single three-decker
to sea; nor does it seem likely that these men though
engaged on the h mie trade, could be so distant from
one of the several stations appointed as to be long in re-
plying to a call, presuming, as we may safely do, on
their good faith and character. The exceptions to the
plan, therefore, imply little more that the measure might
have been made more eflective at a greater cost.
Views, however, of a more extensive kind have been
entertained, we believe, by the advocates of the scheme.
It Las been c.tneeived that the inoculation, as it were, of
our merchant marine with 5,000 picked men from the
royal navy wou'd tend to place the Queen's service in a
much more desirable light among h t-ose who may be any
day called upon to reinforce it. It is said that if mer-
chant seamen, instead of being deluded by wilful mis-
representations, could be properly apprised of the true
conditions of the royal Otztice, they would newer enter-