The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-28 00:00:00

_EVENING, JULY 2B, 1852.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. I ELOPEMENT FROM LIVEI?POOL.
TIMES.—The chief business of the new Parliament IavERPOOL, TUESDAY.—llaring the pest few days
was very significantly indicated in a sketch which we `the conversation of nearly all classes hero has been con-
.,
and
and
yesterday published of the actual "Representation of i
Hued to an elopement which has just taken place
the People in the Louse of Commons." The details of 1 which, from the relative position in life of the lady
this very matter-of-fact statement were founded on the gentleman, has caused no little gossip, particularly in
unimpeachable authority of the last census returns, and I those places " where merchants most do congregate."
gathered more immediately from a Parliamentary paper The gentleman is a married man, with a family. The
J
procured by that father of representative reform, Mr. lady is a handsome young widow, well k newa as tho
oseph Hume. Of the general results of the demonstsa-
proprietress of one of the leading hotels in the twine-
lion we need only say that they make it almost impos-
sible to believe that the "People" be recognised by those who remember reading in the
Representation of the diato vicinity of the Exchange. Her patronymic will
could have really undergone a thorough reform within
newspapers about ten months ago the facts connected
twenty short years, and with a professed view to finality with a fatal accident which happened on the Bootle-
and permanence. Substantially the existing state of
road, near this town, to a highly-respectable hotel-
things appears little better than that of 1829. That keeper whilst returning home on horseback from his
seats in Parliament are still bought and sold
country-house at Bootle. The gentleman is one of the
for bard money
in a regular market is he-
tiaiefter wealthiest of the "merchant princes" of Ltverpsol, and
Yat°llSdt. Aallibatiti'usestein°dn; a partner in ono of the leading firms in the town.
newthedisclroeseueraets ain, cluDie.irtbioyne t
t ' Luxuriating in the superabundance cf this worlit's
That little pocket boroughs are still actively conducive.'
guess, he some
time
ego added to his clis-
tincture position as an influential Bsitith mer-
fromto the vitality of our constitution we lear very easily
the late Ministerialchant the character of " lord and matter" of
successes, while as to the
0 inequalities and anomalies" which formed the great an " old ancestral hall" in a neighbouring county, '
arguments of Brougham and Macaulay, it would be hard which had formerly been the residence of a branch of
t ,
to conceive any system more apparentlyof the most ancient families in England. A few
monstrous than "le
that exemplified in tho tables before us. If numbere ere years ago the head of the ancient family eiluded to was
taken as a basis of computation, we find 13 towns with compelled to dispose of the whole of his patrimonial
an
bers to aggregate Population of 54,808, returning 20 mem-
estates and "lordly halls." The principel family seat
Parli and 13 other towns, with an agere- (which commands a beautiful view of tho estuary of the
gate of 198,667 inhabitants, returning noun. If property Mersey), together with its extensive demesne, was purt
is to form the groundwork of the estimate, we observe chased by the wealthiest banker in Liverpool, whilst a
that Honiton is rated exactly as high as Liverpool or neighbouring mansion, with its broad corer, scarcely
Westminster, and twice as high as Salford; while, if interior to the before-named, became the property of the
respectability is to conatitute any claim to the franchise, gentleman who is the subject of this narrative. Re
we are constrained to remark that Doncaster returns net married the daughter of his late, and sister to his pre-
member, though Harwich is credited with two. We need sent partner, the fruit of such marriage being four
not pursue these contrasts any further. They have been children, with the prospect of a fifth. The marriage
illustrated of late by a fair abundance of exposition and took place under unusually happy circumstances. The
comment, ad ovepi lUr. Disraeli himself, when pro- father of the bride, who was then an alderman of Li-
posing a transfer.t o the four forfeited franchisee, verpool, is said to have settled upon his daughter the
was comPell 11 enlarge upon the extraordinary sum of 30,000/., whilst the bridegroom made a settle-
anomalies of the existing_ arrangements. Where, then, ment upon her of 10,0001.
beyond the natant!. perplexities of exact adjustment, lies Such are the circumstances, so far as the hero of this
of reform? To dismiss '
the difficulty
grapple with the questionto at once, we may say that a regards the heroine, before narrating the flight of the
large party is anxiousf,, . preserve what is teemed the fugitives, that she is reported to be an exceedingly fa-
o interests;" thug existing balance
tation as is, to maintain acinating personage, the mother of two interesting
f represen s
h a system ohall debar the menu- children, and that she left her home on this occasion in
suc seemed to be th
actoring classes, etIPP a emocratical in their Possession of no less a sum than 3,0001.
views, from obtaining
' over the agriculture.' classes,onceived to be aristocra- day morning last, by the four o'clock e mail, for
tical and Conservative:
the abstract Omitting,
however,. for the pro- London. The lady left her hotel / ands( o doubt
so us n
of the abstract principle thus pro- by previous sent, any discussiont a
ions appointment) met the gentleman at the
loss to see how the rail
pounded, we areb a.
ustified on any theory, even of anomaliespure carrylay, station.d They were seen to enter the same
before US can
eGrjanting that manufactures, as opposed officials in
charge
it has since been ascertained from the
Conservatism.
and towns as contrasted with counties, travelled to Luctedof the train that thus in company they
to agriculture,
elements
rather of progress than security, A letter is said to have
supply the
assumption, which must itself be re- tlemen on Sat d . been received from the gen-
this
ur ay, bearing the Folkestone postmark;
yet even
same qualification, will not explain or whilst still more corroborativee proofs of the arrange-
ceived
with
resent distribution of Parliamentary ments previously made bet
warrant the P
Places like Birkenhead or Staleybridge yered in the course of yestewrdean the parties were disco-
se a tR. rerhaS
uponP
as politically formidable, but why The gentleman, whose annual
may be locked
representation such unmanufacturing com- stated to amount to 4,0004 or 5,0n0e,
income is variously
exclude from . .
those of Leamington, Gravesend, or Rams- independently of his
interest in the Liverpool house, is said to have .
inanities as
et, condemn, too, such unexceptionable dis- with him upwards el 12,000/. which
9 1 with tle lady's
gate?
Fulham,W'''' Kensington, and Chelsea—districts 3,000/., will for some time provide the " ways and meaairs''s'
tricts as
ctioned into residences of thriving and sue- for their continental (excursion. It is understood that a
literally !
f 1 P3r-i tors? Why should Rutlandshire, with a member of the legal profession has been dispatched in
cess.u. proprietors?
population
983 inhabitants, return-two members, search of the gentleman, with the view of same arrange-
and e-
'
ment being made with regard to the family. It is
cur-
enjoy just half
of 22,
and the Isle of wight, with just double the number,g
the representation? Surely there is no rently rumoured that steps .will bo taken for procuring aimaginable sen so in which ono of these two latter con- divorce, and it is not unlikely that the affair will be the
stituencies can be
deemed more "respectable!' than the means of calling into requisition the services of the gen-
other? Again, the rival " interests" alluded to are so far tlemen of the long robe.
constitutional theory that agriculture
is --
-e Our recognised i
presumed to be represented through the knights of the
trade through the burgesses of the towns.
shires, end
except our most Conservative Chan-
cellorßut, as nobody,
proposed to transfer to the counties
himself, has towns, or conversely, it is hard to see
the franchises of
otinterests can be improperly af-
fectedhow the "balance r Lut
of'the town seats among
themselves. by a re-arrangement
the metamorphosisof gTo propose
themselves.
intoaa four county seats, for the express
borough seats
ilting
agricultural influence at a period
when the demand
e
for augmentation was notoriously in
favour of trade, was a precedent of audacity which will
not be lost sight of in
efuture discussions. Bat how are
or C •
agriculture
Conservatism af-
fected interests of either
from
the 12,000 inhabitants of
feeted by withholding
conceded to the 3,000
inhabitants
Doncaster a privilege
should Protectionists
of Honiton? Why . _ small boroughs
stickle so
for the preservation of ewati . and
strongly
ent of large ones? Is it that the
the non-enfranchisem
are so manageable as to be former constituencies
service of those who are already
- in reality at the
Members
ho
for the county?
represented in t.
is something very like the simple
This, we suspect,the
principle can be defended it is
truth; but how
not easy to conjecture. If the transfer of the
franchise from plsces like Marlborough c
-
r is Woodstock
to places like
Birkenhead or Hammersmith described
as unduly depreciating the agricultural or territorial in-
terests, this
can be nothing but a plain confession that
the interests in question have extended themselves be-
yond their proper spheres, and encroached upon ground
which, by the original theory of the constitution, per-
tains to interests of another kind. If knights are to be
knights let burgesses be burgesses—one class repro-
sentingland, and the other commerce; but to say that
commerce should be controlled for the sake of land is as
great a violation of principle as any contained in the
charters of pure Radicalism. We aro mistaken, however,
if this fundamental proposition of balancing interests will
prove in the long run to be practically defensible. We
cannot well see how any " interest" of a country can
claim to be represented otherwise than according to its
true weight. The preponderance once pertained to the
territorial interest, and was proportionately acknow-
ledged. If the course of events has tended to
reverse the balance, this result may be a subject
of regret, but it is worse than useless to disguise or
evade it. To maintain that a declining interest should
be unduly favoured, or a rising interest unduly depre-
ciated, in order that a fictitious equilibrium may be
preserved between things no longer balanced, will lead
to insurmountable difficulties of legislation, and inter-
minable absurdities of conclusion. Lord John' Russell
seemed to assert the other day, that though the strides
of population, education, and trade had wholly altered
the respective weights of classes in the social scale, it
was necessary to devise some expedients for neutralising
the effects of this change in electoral proceedings. We
can understand the persuasions under which his Lord-
ship was speaking, but we should be curious to hear
how, upon such principles, he would justify the dis-
franchisement of Old Sarum or Gatton. If the me,ni-
festations of a certain social state are to be preserved
by artificial laws after the state itself has passed
away, the Whigs of 1832 were greatly in the wrong.
We confess, for ourselves, that while we see end-
less trouble in any evasion of the truth, we can
discern no danger whatever in its recognition. Possibly,
a 51. householder may bo less considerate than a 10/.
householder, though that remains to be proved; but why
should a 10/. householder be less Conservative in a large
and thriving community than in a decayed and stagnant
borough? A hundred electors at Doncaster must surely
be as trustworthy as a hundred electors, with the same
qualifications, at Honiton. Nobody can deny that in the
original distribution of the franchise the selection of
boroughs was regulated by their wealth, population, and
consequence, nor do we see how any Conservatives
should be offended at the proposal to revise the list by
the ancient rules. If 186 English boroughs are to re-
turn Members, in a certain proportion to Parlia-
ment, it is surely plain that those boroughs ought
to be the most considerable in the kingdom, and
that, according to their consideration, they return
one Member or two. If any of them, through
the natural vicissitudes of fortune, have so de-
clined from their former condition as to fall under
the influence of other than their own burgesses,
there can be nothing unconstitutional in holding these
to have lost their right. We are not, indeed, without an
opinion that, if a revision of these claims was periodi-
cally instituted in the ordinary course of legislation, it
would be advantageous to the State. At present we are
so impressed (in some respects most fortunately) with
the sanctity of existing arrangements, that oven resto-
ration wears the aspect of revolution, and adjustments
dictated by the commonest maxims of sense and pru-
dence are resisted as the approaches of anarchy and de-
struction. The true danger, however, lies in the oppo-
site direction, for the English people, whether in their
representative institutions or elsewhere, will never tole-
rate the substitution of fiction for truth, or sham for
reality.

WRECKERS at the MOUTH of the THAMES.
A most determined attack by wreckers at the mouth
of the Thames, within sight of her Majesty's squadron
at Sheerness, was communicated at Lloyd's yesterday
afternoon, the circumstances of which created no trifling
astonishment. It appears that on Saturdevight, be-
tween eleven and twelve o'clock, the schoon r Renown,
Mr. Kinnear, master, bound to London from Alloa, in
the north, laden with a miscellaneous cargo, from some
unfortunate circumstance went ashore on the Nore
sand, and in consequence of the strong wind which
prevailed she settled down and filled. The master,
apprehensive of danger, took to the boat with his
crew and made for Sheerness, where they landed at
four o'clock oa Sunday morning. The weather sub-
sequently moderating, the mate, with two of his men
and a boat's crew, event off to the wreck, and on reach-
ing
it theyi,he fmbusitnedpirtohdaudeinbgeen taken possession of by the
chief boatmen of the Shoeburyness Coast Guard Sta-
tion.tho revenue officers,: they delivered gitshteer,warneedksautpistfoyihniga
charge, and left. The mate then with his men pro.
ceeded to unbend the sails, and prepared to lighten the
vessel, a craft having been engaged to come off to her
and take what stores could be got from her. They had
been so engaged some time, when ten or twelve boats,
belonging to Southend it is said, manned by a large
number of men, came alongside, and under the plea of
rendering the schooner assistance, boarded her. A few
moments of their work sufficed to show the character of
their intentions. The mate remonstrated with them,
but to little avail, the fellows produced their axes and
commenced cutting away right and left. The mate
again reasoned with them, as their operations would
tend to destroy all means of getting her off. They,
however, heeded none of his remonstrance; they told
the officer and his hands to take care of themselves,
and fearing the anger of the wreckers, they took to the
taffrail out of the way as much as possible of the gang.
Intelligence of the attack reaching the ears of the
Admiral at Sheerness, the African steam vessel,
under the command of Lieutenant Bullock,
with a body of Marines on board, was
instantly dispatched to the scene. The appearance of
the steamer instantly alarmed; the wreckers, who made
smart chase ensued, end we understand that two of the
a precipitate rush to the Essex shore in their boats. A
boats were captured with some of the stores which had
been removed from the wreck, and which were delivered
over to the receiver of droits. The African continued
by the schooner for some time, and it being thought that
the boatmen would not venture to renew the attack she
returned to Sheerness. The fellows,_
the Government
kept a
sharp look-out upon the movementee o!
not
to beove easily
deprived
the vessel , they again hastened
steamer, and evidently were deterirtin d
deprived of their plunder. On the tide going on and
leaving to her and to
make short work of it,
and more daring visit
resumed the pillage. This second oat of a more strong
immediately suggested the sending
dings and the Wild-
at once cut down the masts and
force to repel their infamous proceedings,
dispatched. At I
Wildfire had not
returned, nor was the result of her
fire steamer was without loss of
u c
the time of this being forwarded trhuei
cruise enown.

SHOCKING COLLIERY ACCIDENT.
NOTTINGHAM, TIIESDAY.—A shocking accident oc-
curred this morning, at the pits of the Right Hon. Lord
Middleton, at Old Radford, about two miles from Not-
tingham, the particulars of which are as follow:
It appears that about half-past nine o'clock this morn-
ing four of the colliers who had bean working in the
pit as usual, :named William Bonsor, William Banner,
John Husbands, and William Robinson, entered the cage
(a sort of hamper, used for the purpose of drawing up
and letting down the men),
113 n
sou:aera were
to be taken to the top of
the pit. Everything appeared secure. Wthheoni;ohnotwwevuerrk,
they had reached a height of between 40 and 50 feet,
the rope to which the cage was attached suddenly
snapped,:and the whole of the unfortunate men were
Dihnur. hurled lheed
Williams,
piwithWilliams,
a fearfulandof
Assistance was immediately rendered by
aNmotetsinsaggheamw.asltinwsatasn, thloywdeivseprat;cahnehdoutor
before all the unfortunate fellowsiiii)csiootusil;drebAtne got out.
William Robinson was removeduw gabsant
do
sthae
nvaillag
village
eoftWt.n°l-
- closa by, in a most precarious state,ue...
g.
l t: having
em o n arere-
ceived severe bruises all over his person.
being very doubtful.
Notting-
ham shGoecnkeirnagllybruised,
Infirmary. andu taken to t, "liNner ;was
accident of
married,tskentountdhehiarvehicammeisliense.arßtohbe
The pit is 67 yards deep, and no critical position, his recovery
a similar
nature has occurred there for upwards of 20 Fears.
—................._

__..
ATTEMPTED FRATRICIDE ANDS IDE.--On San-
day morning the inhabitants of Wyndham-road, Camber-
well, were aroused from their beds by loud cries of " mur-
der," which were found to issue from a house. in JAW,/
buildings, Thomas-street. Shortly afterwards a man, all
in a state of nudity, issued from the house and ran
rP they
towards the Camberwell-road,
[Followed by so me f
upon
neighbours and police, whom he succeeded in eluding' raed
an damn
returning to the house they discovered a Young' man
in.
John Kendrick, aged 21, lying upon the ilearp division of
sensible. Mr. J. S. Flower, surgeoncovered thil
police, was sent for, and upon examinat9 on the scacli(),rna.
the left ear was nearly severed, and a wound on was
to. thedis
,1 laid
entire
the back, by which that portion of theisdivide—minlere
pletely bare, and several blood vas"
Wound four inches in length. ThesPo_9_r,Ye csungreibaer named
s'"' - bßobaA Town.
with his parents, and a few dr:Yearted living on his pa-
Richard Kendrick,
witbassailant was last
jblisPar„te.h er T
The latter had upbraaidgeedd
"' : sued
to have com-
rents, and a violent cLuaraire, and he's for several hours
seen near the Surrey vas
was d"ggd.
mitted suicide. The water.
__ discovered.
but his body has not yet 0134,,„.-011 Saturday the
5 rAilillt h , who confessed to the brutal 1
THE Mutt DEB
t I.lriston,. near Bath, in December
prisoner, C„hristopber. S
murder of Creork,re Bo fbo'ra examination at the County Ma
r, was hroughttr ne appeared very haggard and dejected,
landast ee
persisted°ilie'iljnev.atrTintrcuth of his confession. Several witnesses
Bence of the facts already published,
gi-ventook place as to the desirability or seeotherwt
havingation
testimony, when the prisoner said, " Gentle.
e • further. ._
callinf is enough evidence to hang twenty without any
men, theremore. , After the usual caution, the prisoner was asked if le,
thin, to say why he should not be committed. Ile
lial.:Za 1 'lye nothing to say," and then signed hie name
freipa', excellent handwriting. The prisoner was then fully
c'„,arnitted to take his trial at the next Somerset Assizes on
the charge of wilful murder.
BSLFAST, JULY 23.--Yarns'--Since theiresuraption
of full work stocks are rather upon the increase, and the same
unsatisfactory state of the weaving trade so frequently no-
ticed, in the scanty supply of hands, continues to operate on
this and all other branches. Prices are stationary, at former
rates. Brown Lir.ens in Country Markets—On the 17th inst ,
at Ballymena, there was a considerable falling off in the
supply, and goods could not ba purchased on as favourable
terms as in the preceding week; all lots were well cleared
off. At Armagh. the supply was also smaller, and the de-
mand was active both for roughs and Holland; prices tend
slowly upwards, but any material advance would check the
demand. Moneymore market being small, and the inquiry
active, goods vrent off at an eighth of a penny to a farthing
advance. ,Litzan was scantily supplied, and prices were
slightly on the advance. With manufacturers the difficulty
in obtaining weavers and the advance on wages are much
dbeaplained of, as prices are unchanged. Stocks of most
White
sorts of goods are moderate, and the demand fair.
_
..
Linens—No change. Foreign markets, with a few ece.l:.,
tions, continue dull. savannah has rather improved g.Y
last advices.

IMPROVEMENTS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE.—In
addition to the extension and improvements of Buckingham
Palace on the northern and eastern sides, the greater portion
of the area on the south side, forming the site of the old
domestic offices, and that part of the Pimlico road which has
been added to the Palace grounds, are now being covered
with an extensive range of buildings, stretching from the
riding-house nearly to the park gates. The Palace gardens
have for the most part been re-embellished, and numerous
ornamental decorations have been added, amongst which the
most conspicuous is a beautiful and tasteful alcove, intended
for the special use of her Majesty and Royal Consort. It is
of an octagonal form, 18 feet in diameter; the flooring of
which is laid with Orsi and Armani's patent metallic lava.
The design has in the centre a prismatic star, from which
radiates a variety of figures and floral emblems in numerous,
brilliant, and tastefully.arranged colours. The whole of the
works are being constructed by Messrs. Cubitt, and progress
towards completion. With regard to the buildings adjoin-
ing the road, it may be mentioned that they will comprise a
moat magnificent and spacious ball-room, with attached re-
freshment and ante-rooms, beneath which will be kitchens
and other domestic offices.

BULL'S THEATRICALS.*—MadIIe. Rachel, who went
to Berlin at the express invitation of the Empress of Russia,
has been performing to empty houses. Miss Wagner has
made her appearance at Harnburgh, and is engaged to sing
at Breslaw till her leave of Absence from Berlin expires. It
was lately reported that she . had petitioned the Kiug of
Prussia to pay the costs of her discreditable law-suit- e.
gi
London, which, however, his Majesty is not likely to do, l?,.„
cause the act would be very unfavourably regarded by "";
Austrian public.
THE CITY RAILWAY TERMINUs.— T•W. - understand , g a visit
that Lord Derby has signified his intention of p.f! ,11,
to the City for the purpose of examining 3-1 r•
t et the City,
son's plans for bringing a railway into the ho.t The Noble
in the neighbourhood of Farringclon-stre;sit,
but it will
Premier has not vet fixed the day fer_b_i'd John Russell, the
most probably be early next week. -laor
fans more than once,
ex-Premier, has already inspected thee p
d with the idea, and
LnYaries Pear-
and expressed himself highly I ,to carry it out.--..4d-
isnittuhaetedwoinrldihinsgnaoryw
vweirttliisetrh! mode in which it is proPpeose"
IN
THE WoRLD.— One of
THE LONGEST TUNNEtr.,
It is in-
titan
pie io •
in a forward state of co:n
0,
the River Gran, not far from'
the longest, if not the longeis.
and leads from the shores of ft
he Schemuitzer Hills; it is two
English, miles long.
Zarnowitz, to the mines nltelis
about ten
geographical, or
doable purpose of a channel to drain
tended to answer the . .
the works, and
accumulating in of it railway off the water accu
transport the ore from the mines to the river.
to

REPORT OF TUE NAVAL COMMISSION
ON TILE STATE OF THE FRENCH
NAVY.

The Slide contains the following:—
I" When the revolution of December 2 broke out, the
Ron. Isl. Dufauro had only terminated tee portion of his
report relative to the' materiel of the fleet. This report
was read to the commission, in the sitting of the Bth,
13th, end 16th of November, 1851. Political events
having put an end to the cove miseion, M. Dufaure has
Gnot drawn up, or, at least, has not presented to the
overnment'n the other
(thr7.7 1 parts of his report
to the navel , the administration,
and accounts. We have obtained one.. of the rare
copies of the printed part of this able neeunland
we will endeavour to
vesselsgie of
astina wary of it entot, our
readers. Tho sailing
the fleet according to
the return annexed to tutLabtuneetdof 1852, are 214 in
number, thin, divided:—
sion de port, 30 ; in ordinary, 114. outin7otl;iiisn meager
must
he placed in the first ra:fiz
war—men
vessels which must
be considered instruments
of war, Li-
g s'.es, and corvettes. We have afioatween6
.men of war,
37 frigates, 11 corvettes. The question
usisfitaot know
wnat these vessels are worth in warp Let „
of men of war. They are 26 in number; but,sapfVek
the most scrupulous investigation, only 12 have been'.
found tit for combat at sea; the 14 others could only
be employed to protect the coast and close the road-
at (-anis. The report even says that it might happen, as in
18e6, that oar officers would hesitate to accept the com-
mand of such machines. An Overage duration of twenty
years is ascribed to a men of war; it is, therefore, es-
sential to know the ago of ours. Amongst our six
men of war of the first rank, three, aged more than 30
years, have already undergone at least one thorough
repair; the other three are of recent construction.
The oldest of our four men of war of the second rank
lis only 15 years. Out of the ten men of war of the third
rank, five, aged above 20 years, have undergone thorough
repairs; the other five are not old. As to the six men of
war of th© fourth rack, five have been thoroughly re-
paired, and although the least aged is only 18 years, all
are considered as unfit fcr war or distant voyages. The
commission thinks it right in consequence to declare
that, though materially exact, the list of our navy is not
the less a fiction. The truth is, that out of the 26 men
of war, 8 are armed and fit for war; that 4 may receive
the same destination; and that the rest ate at best
only calculated to give France an imprudent confidence
in her maritime power. We are, thank God, better off
as regards frigates and corvettes. The frigates afloat
are 37 in number, and only 8 of them have been con-
structed more than 20 yews. Six frigates are armed,
14 are in commission de port, and 17 are in ordinary. Out
of 11 corvettes, 8 aro fitted out, 3 in ordinary; only 1 of
them, a very old one, has been thoroughly repaired, and
that was in 1844. As to the 103 small vessels, the com-
mission condemns most of them to be sold. If we were
to follow the order of the report, we should have to
speak here of the situation of our present steam fleet,
but we shall proceed to say at once how the commission
proposes that the fleet shall be composed :—Men of war
afloat, 30, some of them provided with auxiliary ma-
chines, others with machines which would enable great
speed to be obtained; men of war on the stocks, 15—
total, 45. If the 30 men of war afloat were to be fitted
out, the number of the crews would be 26,160 men;
39.240 would be required to man the 45 men of war;
but it will be understood that such a Foy's-
non is not absolutely necessary. The commission
leaves to the executive government to fix the
number of men of war of different rates ; and
it is by taking the
amountinftheaverage of the crews that
it arrives
a
crew ofwe have given. The
a man of wet. of the first rate is 1,087; of a
man of war of the second rate, 915; of the third, 810;
and of the fourth, 675,
thefr sets of figures give
an average of 872. Althoughecommissionerntt its
views
as doesto notthe
pretend to impose on the Government
merits of men of war of differentin
oes, it very clearly
expresses the opinion that the man of war of the first
class is the best for war ; that
not man of war of
the second rate, of 100 guns, has
the
expectations of the constructors; and that thos-eerecif
quaolititehse
third and fourth rates possess remarkable
In the effective proposed for the fleet, we count, first,
2t) fast-sailing frigates, of which 14 are afloat, and 6
on the stocks; next, thirty frigates, all afloat, provided
with an auxiliary screw, and capable of carrying Biz
months' provisions; 50 corvettes, also all afloat, some
fast-sailing and others with an auxiliary screw; 20 large
transports afloat, with paddle-wheels or screws; and
lastly, 80 advice vessels, all afloat. This would make a
total of 235, instead of 323, existing in the preceding
regulations of the effective. It is needless to add that
in making for these different sorts of vessels the calcu-
lations established for the crows of men of war,
the commission declares that France possesses a suffi-
cient naval personnel to man her fleet, even if it were
afloat. The crews of our 235 war vessels would consist
of 87,440 men. In a time of peace tho fleet would be
manned by 27,064 sailors. The following would be the
composition of the fleet:—Experimental squadron-
-10 men of war, 3 frigates, 3 corvettes, 4 advice-
vessels; crews, 11,382 men. Stations for the pro-
tection of our commerce-6 frigates, 11 cor-
vottes, 2 steamers of 450-horse power, 27 advice-
vessels; crews, 8,700 men. Voyages of circumnaviga-
tion-5 frigates, 5 corvettes; 3,500 men. Interior ser-
vice of the colonies-15 advice-vessels, manned by
600 men. Service of the five naval ports-5 steamers
of 450-horse power, 22 advice•vessels, 2,331 men ;
gunnery frigate, 321 men; 1 corvette for a naval school,
230 men—total, 10 men of war, 15 frigates, 20 cor-
vettes, 7 steamers of 450-horse power, 68 advise-ves-
sels, with crews of 27,064 men. On the subject of
the experimental squadron, we shall ask permission to
express a doubt. The report states, with reason,
that in time of peace, and when there is nothing to
induce the Government to have under its hand all its
forces united, it is proper to keep up two experimental
squadrons, in order to accustom our sailors to the diffi-
culties of the navigation in the Channel, the North
Sea, and, we will add, the Baltic. In this arrange-
meet, there would be an advantage to which the
report does not allude—that of keeping two vice-
admirals at sea. Out of the ten now in the service two
occupy the prefectures of Brest and Toulon, one com-
mands the experimental squadron now at sea, three sit
at the Council of the Admiralty, and four are neces-
sarily en elisponibilitt. Would it not be a great advan-
tage to have two vice-admirals at sea instead of one?
This is tequestion which we respectfully submit to the
commission. According to the present system of naval
evolutions it would be impossible to divide 10 sail of the
line, 3 frigates, and 3 corvettes into two squadrons.
The system of matesavring might be changed, but the
commission makes no mention of it. It appears to us,
therefore, that it would be better to decide that the ex-
perimental squadron should be composed of 12 saleeof-
the-line, 4 frigates, and 6 smaller vessels, to be divided
in case of need into two squadrons, each having at its
head a vice-admiral, with a rear-admiral under him.
Tho expense would not be a million a year more, and the
importance in the event of war would be very great.
We have great interests at stake in the Mediterranean;
but these interests are, in ordinary cases, protected by
our squadron in the Levant, and we do not very clearly
see why our experimental squadron of 12 sail of the
line., divided into two squadrons, should not every year
assemble in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic, in
order to give our admirals an opportunity of acquiring
Experience in commanding during a naval combat on a
large scale, but we regret to 9 that
doexplicit manner. We
say the commission
es not express itself in an . the effective
insist, however, on the necessity,"
strength of our experimental squaefisenfiszsinoti.hat it can be
i g to the present
divided exactly into three,
ur
according
corn© to that part
system of naval evolutions.
of tho report relative to the transformation of the fleet,
and it will we hope
be trendily understood why we have
delayed until this moment to speak of our present steam
progress
of science, is, in fact, re-
duced to a transport fleet, which, by the fleet:
but the utility of which we
when we look at the comparison
aro far from denying
la greport between the expedition to
established by
that to Romo in 1849. It was ne-
Algiers in 1830 andt
rive to Algiers 35,000 men, 3,800 horses,
ceessry y for that force. For this
to convey
necessar-
Uedrg= there were employed 130 ships of war, 140
~„ and 432 transports. The expense amounted
gun-boatel, millions,
_ln. the. expedition to Rome it was
to about
to convey to Lentil Vecchia CO 197 men, and
necessary .
materiel , -
3,019 horses, with all the for the siege of Rome.
The operation was executed in one-sixth of the time of
acost only 1 %In e
that of Algiers, 811-
Toulon only employed in this service 9 steamers of 4 „power each, which made altogether 32m made
twoso
horse
voyages,
one steamer of 400 horse-povver, which
voyages, and one of suo-horse power, which
ceoding to join the Mediterranean squad waselaniro-
It is true that steamers, whether worked ric; °pita' dlecs-(011;
screw, have not sufficient room for the;
fad, and the stores necessary for a dirstrnaniteheixiipeleld' itthitilnir.
greatto naval war, it is pro-
But if we had to maintain a
bable that we should not havetransport large masses
of troops to distant points. Weyr, now come to the qua-
tion of the changes which arelug -
will be seen that without pretending to have solved in our fleet. it
ever
difficulty, the commission consider the problem of they use of steam for ships of war, and the combination of
steam and sails, as solved by the adoption of the screw.
M. Laureneiu, commandingpaddle-steauier ever fittedolel in° the Mogador, the largest
the reasons to the commt„'ion wile?;enocrhultaavys if the
introduction of the screw, had prevented the application
of steam to our large ships or war. .We did all we
possibly could,' said M. Laurencin, 'to protect the en-
gine of the Mogador; we surrounded
it with coal
butcher, but the vessel was still very vulnerable, rind
such must always ho the sate with vessels having their.en-
eines above water.' In fact, it, has never been the wei3lit
of the
machine, the boilers and the coal, which before the
al
adoption of he screw has
'
prevented steam from be ing
tPlepted to our large ships of war-
vess;ls their poker
la:possibility of preserving to largetic-.5 wheels helf
oh fighting, oy ausching to their
seater,
under
pieces by the first
water, moved by a machine placed_above.r, tind
cfmacquently exposed to hoe. knove,ksseedi.tolt, e
• • screw and the
beoadstdo from a largo seeing
Ziachine which works it being under water, null leasing
the sides of the vessel free for working her guns. the
transformation becomescassY;ilinvessel,, and the number The only thing to de ler-
g
mine is, the number of fast
tre
ti
, power, that a lino of battle
should be
of those with auxiliary ID ,
composed of. rhe establishment of these two
kinds of large vessels of war wee no longer anything
but a (la .
eseee of money, wit a the exception of the niodi-
1 n e ..
fications rendered e "snly by the progress of naval lo-
cometion. The report sums up es follows its advice as
to what ought to be done relative to the war fleet:—' Not
to commence building any ship of the line before a deci-
.siv° trial of the two systems has been made; to apply to
vessels afloat or in an advanced state on the stocks an
auxiliary motive Power, requiring the least possible al-
teration its her hull; to immediately ley down the keels
of frigates and corvettes, capable, when moved by screw
power of going from 10 to 11 knots an hour."