The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-24 00:00:00

regiment of 450 Nubians to be marched down to Alexandria,
and to be forthwi' h embarked upon a French frigate, with-
oat their knowing why or where they were going. That
was sufficiently irregular, because the Egyptian troops be-
longed to the Sultan, and it is not competent for any vassal
to dispose of the troops of his sovereign without authority.
The Pasha had no right to send a regiment of Nubians to
serve under a foreign sovereign without the previous sanc-
tion of the Sultan, That, however, was not likely the inten •
tion of the French Government, because their instructions
were to enlist a number of Africans, entirely in accordance
with the exercise of their individual wills. However, not
contented with that irregularity, the Egyptian Government
committed an act which was exactly similar in violence and
cruelty to that recently committed at Warsaw, They
sent agents on to the streets and the quays, and they
secured every man thought fit for military service or for
hard labour. 'those people, torn away h oLa their homes
and families, were immediately placed on board of tenders
and conveyed out to a French frigate in the offing. Well,
I cannot help believing that the French Governmnnt, which
has expressed a strong dislike and condemnation of the cruel
operations at Warsaw, end other Polish towns, of seizing
people for service in the Russian army, will feel that this
act of cruelty has been worse, because these poor negroes
were carried to an unhealthy climate, and that, as far as
may be in their power, they will be disposed to make repa-
ration for what has been done. Her Majesty's Government
had expressed their opinion to the French Government that
the arrangement was perfectly irregular, a violation of the
rights of the Sultan, and that the Pasha of Egypt was not
entitled to dispose of the subjects of the Sultan.
SUPERINTENDENTS OF DOCKYARD POLICE.

Sir J, ELPHI N STONE rose to move that the house
resolve itself into a committee to consider an address pray.
ing that the three superintendents of Portsmouth, Pem-
broke, and Chatham dockyard police, superannuated on the
abolition of their office, be restored to the scale of pension
originally awarded to them. The hon. and gallant member
explained that the three gentlemen in question had been
selected, after long service in the navy, to M 1 these posi-
tions of trust, and that they had done so with credit to
themselves for 26 years. On the Metropolitan Police being
appointed to take charge of the Royal dockyards in 1860,
the offices of these gentlemen were abolished, and they
were awardel a pension by the Treasury of £174 a year.
They enjoyed that from October, 1860, to June, 1861, when
it had been summarily reduced by one half of the pension
allowed to them by the Treasury. The Admiralty were
satisfied of the justice of their claim, and had repeatedly
applied to the Treasury on the subject. He thought there-
fore that her Majesty's Government cught to take the mat-
ter into consideration with a view to restoring the pension
which had been granted them by the Lords of the Treasury.
Mr. F. PEEL explained that the pension awarded to
these gentlemen had been granted in ignorance of their
being in receipt of half pay for service in the navy. When
that fact had been discovered, the amount of their pension
had been reduced in conformity with the provisions of the
Superannuation Act, which provided that no officer receiv-
ing half-pay should receive a pension in respect of civil
services exceeding two-thirds of his civil salary. That
being the law, the Lords of the Treasury had no discretion
in the matter, and it was not in their power to accede to
the claims of the officers in question.
The hon. and gallant member's amendment was put from
the chair, but was negatived without a division.

THE TRANSPORT SERVICE.
Mr. LINDSAY rose to inquire what steps had been
taken to carry out the recommendations of the transport
committee of 1860-61, which had recommended that the
transport and victualling departments of the Admiralty
should be separated ; that the emigration office should be
abolished, and other arrangements made tending to greater
economy and efficiency. He was glad to find that the Go-
vernment were about to reduce the estimates.

Mr. BENTINCK could not concur with the hon. mem-
ber in congratulating the Government on the proposed re-
duction until he had heard the reasons for it. He was
afraid they might witness what had happened over and
over again, that the naval defences of the country might
be reduced without rhyme or reason to a moat inefficient
standard, and then when an emergency arose they would
have to be replaced at very great expense. The French
Government were now building a large number of vessels
of war, and although it had been asserted that they were
not to be used against England, still this country ought
to keep in mind, in case of a war with other Powers,
the means of aggression possessed by its neigh-
bour. He had the authority of officers in the French dock-
yards for stating that the French Government lisped shortly
to be able to send to sea an iron cased vessel named after
every department in France. For what purpose or against
what power could these vessels be designed but Great Bri-
tain ? It was well known that in the dockyards of Brest
and Rochefort alone the French had 11,000 men regularly
employed, whereas the entire number at work in all the
English dockyards was about 10,700. The hon. member
for Sunderland had said the committees of that house were
practically useless; and if ever that remark was true it was
with respect to the committee appointed to inquire into the
Admiralty system. In truth, however, he believed it im-
possible a wise system should be established under the pre-
sent constitution of the Admiralty. The responsibility
rested upon the First Lord, who was unacquainted with
the management of the department during the first few
years after his appointment, and was obliged to depend on
the assistance of professional men. But when the First
Lord bad mastered the details of the Admiralty a change
of Government took place, and he was turned out, and a
new First Lord put in his place who had to go through the
same course of training. So long as this system continued,
and so long as the Board of Admiralty was made a mere
political department, so long would it be useless to at-
tempt any reduction of expenditure, or any effective con-
trol over the expenditure. It was almost invariably the
custom that every new Board of Admiralty proceeded to
upset all the acts of their predecessors, and hence it was
that the defects of the department continued from year to
year. Until some resolution was come to for remodelling
the Board of Admiralty, it would be perfectly hopeless to
look for any change for the better. The hon. member then
referred to a committee which had been appointed some
years back to inquire into the subject, but considering the
men who composed the committee it was absolutely idle to
have expected any result from it. No one wished that that
committee should be revived, because it was plain that as
long as there were members upon it who had been officially
connected with the Admiralty, they could never come to
any right conclusion with respect to the reconstitution of
the board.
THE lONIAN ISLANDS—A HARBOUR IN THE
ADRIATIC.

Sir F. SMITH asked the Secretary to the Admiralty
whether he had any objection to place upon the table of the
house the correspondence that took place in the years 1808
to 1813 inclusive, between the Admiralty and the naval
commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean respecting the
advisability of having a harbour in the Adriatic for the use
of the British fleet. The hon. member impressed upon the
Government the importance of the question in a naval
rather than a military point of view; and he trusted that,
in the event of giving up the lonian Islande, they should
establish some place of refuge for British ships in the Adri-
atic, which would be indispensable in the event of a war
with France.
VIOE-CONSULSHIP FOR ABBEOKUTA.
Mr. D. SEYMOUR rose to call attention to the fact
that a British vice-consul was commissioned last year
for Abbeokuta, in Western Africa; that, on his arrival
and presenting his credentials to the native authorities,
he was peremptorily refused admission to remain in that
capacity, and was compelled to return to England ; and
asked the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs e wheth he
could explain the cause of this rejection of a British repre-
sentative,r and whether any steps had been taken by the
Foreign Office in consequence. The hon. member entered
into some details connected with the treatment which the
vice-consul had received, and stated the importance of the
town of Abbeokuta, which contained a large population and
several thousand British residents, should be his apology
for bringing the matter before the house, and requesting
some information upon it.
Lord C. PAGET said, in answer to the hon. member for
Chatham, that there was no objection to produce the cor-
respondence referred to. He had made a search himself,
but could find no correspondence bearing on the question of
the lonian Islandsi; but if the hon. member would give him
the dates, or come and examine the papers himself, there
would be no objection to give copies. He could also assure
the hon. member for Tynemouth that the transport depart-
ment was in a very efficient state, and that communications
had been received from the Commander-in-Chief, acknow-
ledging the high state of organisation to which the trans-
port department had been brought. The department was in
a peeition to carry out the duties referred to by the hon,
lJeraber, but some objections had been raised. The hon.
memberc for East Norfolk (Mr. Bentinck) found fault with
the constitution of the Board of Admiralty, and lamented
the changes which the board underwent. Bat as far
as that matter was
had no desire concerned, the present board
for change and would continue as
long as was desired. (Laughter.)
that the Admiralty increased or The hon. member argued
reduced the estimates ac-
cording to the tone of that house,antd without any reference
bu
to the efficiency of the service ; such
on was not the case.
The diminution in the estimates
went gradua
graduince
ally
the
1860-1 to the present. He did not meau to den
French had an admirable transport service, but syurely this
country could net prevent France from having an efficient
transport department.
Mr. LAYARD said that as far as he could understand
the motive of the King of Abbeokuta and his people for the
manner in which they treated Mr. Taylor, who went there
as vice-consul, it was because this countryhhad n t
o given
them more assistance against the King of Da omey. Repa-
ration would be demanded of them for their ill •treatment
towards Mr. Taylor, and for aggressive attacks which they
committed upon a neighbouring tribe.
After a few remarks from Mr. KINNAIRD, the subjec
dropped.

FLOGGING IN THE NAVY•
Mr. W. WILLIAMS called attention to the return of
flogging in the navy. The number of men flogged was
1,076, and the number of lashes inflicted 36,463. Of these
2,690 only were inflicted under sentences of courts martial,
which was a violation of the understanding of last session.
There was a great increase this year over the previous year's