The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-23 00:00:00

.._ _
Lord Clarence Paget on Naval Affairs.

A public dinner was held in the Guildhall, at
Dora!, on Friday, to celebrate the election of Mr. W.
2,1. Cavell to the office of Mayor. The new chief
magistrate presided, and among his guests were
Lord Clarence Paget and Mr Knatchball lingessen,

the members for the borough,
"The health of Her Majesty and the rest of the
Royal Family," having been given with the usual

marks of loyalty,

The MAYOR next proposed "The Health of her
Majesty's Ministers," which was received with much

cordiality.

Lord CLARENCE PAGET, in acknowledging the
toast, said,—Mr. Mayor and gentlemen—l feel some
diffidence in having to respond to the toast which
has been so eloquently given by your worthy mayor
in honour of her Majesty's Ministers, because, being
dignified with that title, it may be expected that I
should give you a short programme of the measures
to be brought forward in the coming session, and
some idea of the policy and proceedings which are
likely to be adopted in future. Unfortunately,
gentlemen, if I were to assume any such
function, I should be committing an act
of gross deception, inasmuch as I am but a
subordinate member of the Government, and really
know nothing of their intentions with regard to the
future. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, 1 think it would
be extremely unwise in me to enter on this harmoni-
ous occasion upon any subjects which would be likely
to excite any difference of opinion. There are, how-
ever, some few matters on which I believe I may,
without raising any elements of discord, congratu-
late the country. One of these things is the fact that
in the midst of the turmoil which now prevails all
around us we are still enjoying the blessings of peace.
(Cheers.) I believe it is generally admitted that we
have pursued a very wise
policy in avoiding all in-
terference in the dreadful war which is now raging
on the other side of the Atlantic. I think also that
I am not stepping beyond the bounds of discretion if
I say that I believe we owe a great portion of our
present prosperity,. under Providence, to the fact of
having so largely increased our commercial inter-
course with our neighbours the French. It will be
conceded, I suppose, on all hands that the severe die-
tress which has been felt in the manufacturing dis-
tricts, and which has been so nobly borne by our suf-
fering artisans, has been greatly lightened through
the operation of the commercial treaty with France.
(Hear, hear.) But turning to subjects not strictly con-
nected with party politics, I think I can speak to you
with more freedom upon the administration of the
navy. Happily, all of us, whether in Parliament or
out of it, are of one mind in reference to the mainten-
ance of that magnificent force which has the safety
and honour of the country in its keeping. As a humble
member of the Administration, who has to conduct
the affairs of the navy in the House of Commons, I
may be permitted to congratulate you on the fact
that the vast sums which by the generosity of the
country are devoted to that noble service have not
been spent in vain. I may say, and say with con-
fidence, that our navy was never is a more satis-
factory or a more efficient state than at the present
moment. We have—and it is astonishing in how
short a time it has been created—a great standing
navy, which is now in such a permanent and fixed
position that we no longer hear alarm expressed
lest we should be unable to man our ships in case of
emergency. The men composing our immense
forces are almost all of them permanently attached
to the navy. We have eommenced a new system,
very expensive, no doubt, but moat efficient, by
which we introduce very largely into the service
boys who from their earliest years are brought npto
regard it as their home and their profession. Indeed,
in the course of a very short time the vast body of
your sailors will be all educated men. (Hear, hear.)
At this moment not a single youth enters the
navy who is not able to read and write. Now, I
appeal to my countrymen to judge what must be the
effect upon the morale of the service when the whole
body of the sailors, with few exceptions, are edu-
cated men. May we not hope that there will be a
very great improvement in their social condition,
and a consequent addition to the efficiency of the
navy ? lam not arrogating undue merit to the pre-
sent Government when I say it has been their che-
rished wish to improve the social condition of
our seamen, for the same object has been zealously
sought by all recent Governments. (Hear.) We
have likewise had to expend vast sums upon the
construction of our ships. Nobody who is not con-
nec!ed with the department of the Admiralty can
have any idea of the difficulties encountered in con-

aidering that which is really tho best kind of ship
in these days of transition, with regard both
to construction and to armament. We have
received a multiplicity of proposals from many
eminent men to apply novel inventions to the
build and every detail connected with our ships.
We have given these matters our most earnest con-
sideration, and I honestly believe that we have at
this moment the most powerful steam squadron at
sea of any country in the world. (Cheers.) I rejoice
to see that there is an increasing interest taken by
Parliament and the public in all that relates to mari-
time affairs. The Admiralty, you are aware, have
been found fault with. We are told that our ships
ought to be built of iron and not of wood—that we
ought to construct ships with twin screws; in short,
we are favoured with every variety of proposal, and
subjected to every species of criticism on these points.
W 11, I appeal to you and the public not to listen
to the assertions of those who are continually cavil-
-11,14 at the Government, because their own parti-
cular form
of
ship, or their own particular fancy
has net been adopted. I am sure the wisest
coarse we
straightforward
can pursue is to adhere to the
for euraehweaard and honest principle of deciding
is the beat folrefter due consideration, of that which
friend Well,Z and class of ship for the navy. A
day, " elot"1 Glasgow said to me the other
attacks upon the why don't you answer all these
officers are naturally
administration ?'' Now, our
answer these Y anxious to be permitted to
attacks; but the invariable course of
the Admiralty is to
fotorit themt from noticing them.
Our business is not
r into any controversy
with the Press, or with
but to assure t gentlemen who may make
speeches,
"Izetry
to do that which is just nue, that we desire
no other Wish than to constro,at
out, and that wa have
possible principle,
according to r navy on the best
the lights
seas. (Hear, hear.) I repeat tbEtt we pus
uur navy is in
the most satisfactor osition,
Whethe
con-
sider the number, the
• form, or the
we
whether we armament
of our ships, or
s 2 snakier
le Or the PhYsieue the
strength, the tnoraof their
crews. It is, I am sure, a matter of can
_.grEttuiEtti
is clouded in "1
in days when the horizon teen,
i
have its in
direction, that this country should navy
a state of perfect efficiency ;and, without being one
to say what will be the arnoulit of th© naval call,
-
mates, I believe it is the earliest desire of every one
that such liberal sums should be granted for the
maintenance of the navy us will unable US to keep
up in a position which consorts with the honour
and dignity of the nation. (Cheers.)
of the
Alderman BROWN proposed " The Health
Borough Members," which was drunk with the
usual honours.
Mr. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN returned thanks in
a speech exclusively confined to local topics, and
concluded by giving " The Health of the Mayor."
His WORSHIP briefly acknowledged the compli-
ment, and proposed " The Navy, the Army, and the
Volunteers," taking occasion to eulogise the recent
operations in New Zealandand
Lord C. PAGET, in returning thanks on behalf of
the Navy, said—You Mr. Mevor, have alluded to
what is now . e
world.
you transpiring in distant parts of the
mentioned that one portion of our
forces are em
in New Zealand,
in the suppression of the revolt
•
and that another portion have
likewise disti
nguished themselves in Japan. I as-
sure you that the accounts
which we receive from
have been enabled to soudthte small force which we
o the assistance of the
military in the arduous duties they have to perform
in that colony have rendered sool service, by its
great ardour, its endurance, and i ts gallantry in
action, that the General in command of the troops
there reports that he owes his success in several
late
encounters in great measure to its
extraordinary
exertions. (Hear, hear.) Again, in
Japan our
sailors have been called upon to perform a
very

gallant action in avenging the death of on English-
man who had been murdered by one of the lawless

chieftains of that conntrv. And I am f, e more
gratified in expressing my thanks to y for your
honourable mention of the navy on telt occasion,
inasmuch as a report has got abroad d has been
extensively spread by the Press, that the gallant
Admiral who was charged with the duty of punish-
ing this Daimio, the Prince of Satsuma, had acted
with wanton cruelty in wilfully destroying the
large town of Kagosima. Well, I can assure you
that her Majesty's Government deplore the loss of
property which took place on that occasion. They
deplore, as we all must deplore, that the property of
innocent persons should be sacrified in any of these
warlike operations, accompanied probably with con-
siderable loss of life. We have no intelligence what-
ever with regard to the loss of life, but we have in-
telligence that the loss of property must have been
great and grievous. It has been assumed thhiat
Ad-
miral Kuper and the gallant sailors under
wil-
fully bombarded a defenceless town, and destroyed
the property of its innocent inhabitants. Now,
it becomes me, as a brother officer who may be
said to represent them in this country, or, at
all events, in the House of Commons, to
explain to you that the loss of property, through
the dreadful conflagration which occurred on
that occasion, was not due to any intention of the
Admiral or the officers and sailors of the fleet,
whose only object was to punish the insolent Daimio
who had been guilty of the murder of an English-
man. The action was precipitated by the forts of
the Daimio commencing to open fire on the British
ships. It so happened that it blew a very heavy
gale of wind at the time, and my brother sailors
around me will easily understand that in the midst
of a furious storm, with a heavy sea running, and
on a lee shore, it was a very arduous enterprise that
this small squadron, with its handful of men, had
to perform. (Hear, hear.) Well, they performed
their duty nobly; and I am sure that had it not
been for the dreadful sea running, and the conse-
quent unsteadiness of the platforms of the guns, the
fire of our ships would have been confined to the
forts which belonged to the Prince, and would not
have extended to the town which lay in their rear.
(Hear, hear.) lam certain that any damage then
unfortunately done to the property or the lives of
the innocent townspeople is deplored as much by
the Admiral commanding that squadron, and every
officer and man in it, as by the Government or the
public of this country. (Hear, hear.) I have thought
it only due to those gallant men to endeavour to vin-
dicate their honour from a charge which to us sailors
is one of the most grievous that can be brought
against us—namely, that of inhumanity—(hear,
hear)—because I may say both of the army and
navy of this country, that if there is any marked
characteristic of Englishmen it is their humanity
in warfare. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, I have an-
other observation to make on a point which I
believe is of some interest. We watch the con-
struction of our ships with the greatest anxiety,
and in the event of any disaster arising the public
naturally feels great alarm. Now, with regard to
the late accident which befel the Prince Consort—
one of our new iron clad ships—l may explain
that she did not suffer in the least degree from the
storm which she unfortunately encountered. It is
but fair towards the gallant officers and men who
were on board of her to state that nothing but the
coolness, the judgment, the skill, and the bravery
which they displayed saved that magnificent ship
and all their lives. (Hear.) The story of that ship may
be told in a few words. And, surrounded as I am by
men accustomed to a seafaring life, I am sure you
will readily understand me when I say that the
accident occurred in consequence of the vessel, when
caught in a very strong gale with a very heavy sea,
having had to run in the trough of the sea, and
having also shipped a great deal more water than
was safe for her. The moment she was brought to
the wind, and under easy canvass, no ship in the
navy could have behaved better than she did. (Hear,
hear.) Teese are circumstances which should be
known to the public, in order that you may not
lose confidence, but that, on the contrary, you may
feel what I honestly entertain myself—viz., an en-
tire conviction that these ironcased ships are safe
for navigating in every sea. Nay, more, a feat was
performed by the Prince Consort which was never
performed by any man-of-war before. She was
driven in the teeth of the gale during the fiercest
part of the tempest at the rate of eight knots, head
to wind, through the sea. Well, that was a good
trial of the ship; and I can assure you that you may
rest confident that in these ironplated ships, whether
built of wood or of iron, you have got a magnificent
fleet, which is perfectly fit to keep the seas is any
weather. (Hear, hear.) I have only another re•
mark to make. You have drunk "The Health of
the Army, the Navy, end the Volunteers." Now,l
think the time has arrived when, on these festive
occasions, you should not forget another force, which
I can assure you is becoming one of the most im-
portant and most efficient branches of our service.
I mean the Naval Reserve. (Hear, hear.) I dwell
upon this, because that force has been growing up
quietly, and not in the view of the public, like our
magnificent Volunteers. The men have been regu-
larly undergoing their training, and we have now
between 16,000 and 17,000 of the first seamen of
this country, who are admirably drilled and ready
for service whenever they may be required. The
Royal Naval Reserve, therefore, has become a
national institution which should not be overlooked
at social gatherings like the present. (Cheers.) And
not only have we this large body of seamen, but we
have also about 150 officers, the cream of the mer
chant service, who have voluntarily come forward
and accepted the rank of lieutenant and sub-lieu-
tenant in this valuable new force without any re-
muneration whatever, and who, at considerable
labour and inconvenience to themselves, practice
the great gun drill and all those requirements with
which it is absolutely necessary for any officer who
intends to be of any real service to his country to
be acquainted. (Cheers.)

The Earl of Leitrim and the Lord Lieutenant.

The Earl of Leitrim has forwarded the suljoined letter
to each of the jurors who tried the case of the Queen v.
Murphy :

- _
" Lough Rynn, Mehill, Nov. 10, 1863.
" Mr. Robert Holmes and Gentlemen,.--An extraordi-
nary misrepresentation has been extensively circulated
through the newspapers to the effect that the cause of my
dissatisfaction with the Earl of Carlisle proceeded from the
verdict which you, as jurors, agreed to on tha trial of
James Murphy, at the Spring Assizes of this county, in
the year 1861, and asserting that I have complained of
the Earl of Carlisle's conduct because of your verdict. This
is untrue, and entirely without foundation. The unfor-
tunate man whose name has been thus unwarrantably
'jagged before the world fired at me in Mohill, on the 15th
'%ateraber, 1860, and was immediately arrested by the
Polieb• Oa the 9th of January, 1861, there was a very
numerous
tire
0. and respectable meeting of the inhabitants of
eetniZnillern part of this county, to petition Parliament,
7 the pea,..,111 of certaia grievances therein stated, affecting
Januar; :.1. welfare of this county. On the 26th of
requestu, t''ill wrote a letter to the Earl of Carlisle,
)
Parliament, atithe would be present at the opening of
conduct. The Vfaas my intention to complain of his
ceipt of this uutieerl of Carlisle acknowledged the re-
January 29th, ig6l: 11, a letter dated Dublin Castle,
Earl of Carlisle, dated it
ialddressed a further notice to the
that on the 12th instant intarY Bth, 1861, informing him
respecting his conduct. 01114)1'1d make special complaints
t
presented the petition, mtuedile• 12th February, 1861, I
bitants of the southern part 01 r;l7 2,079 farmers and inha-
ham:
foraned:sestimt:heeoaen manner.ei osmplai n t sI
House of Lords, and at the oar" time of Leitrim, to the
was •
con-
did not take place until the sth of xi:, James Murphy
n o t aicne
verdictl ikeahwi t:d ta
si:iri
think that the defence of that unfortuaet7 following. I
of which I had given
admusotefd
and humane. I never have complained of that verdict,
of the manner in which the trial was conducted.—I a' Ira"
oipninaimonostht agtenytoluenrl
gentlemen, your obedient servant, " Lzrran, '

__
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THE KING OF ITALY.

FROM FOGGIA. TO NAPLES
(From the Special Correspondent of the limes.)
NAPLES, Nov. 13.
If "sensation headings" were not of such questionable
taste I might have put at the top of my letter, "Through
the Brigand Districts," for, as regards distance, three-
fourths at least of the road from Foggia to Naples passes
through the country infested by these gentry; while, as
exclusive
Adriatic topic
regards the actual time employed to make the journey,
during five-sixths of it you meet everywhere preparations
against brigands, and you hear of nothing but Caruso. It
isa
t theit u d only
from and
thr
owshs which you
the
eou
Mediterranean.h ar i n t his
right across
There is, after all, nothing like prudent boldness to strike
the imagination of mankind. It is more effective than
downright courage and bravery, for it knows better how to
avoid catastrophes. Thus you see in the present case a
handful of men, belonging to the dregs of the people, keep
ing whole provinces in a state of alarm, driving the autho-
rities almost
to despair, fatiguing whole regiments of horse
and foot, acquiring the prestige of popular heroes and a
European notoriety simply because their own heels and
those of their Apulian ponies are fleeter than those of their
pursuers. Read any of the stories of encounters with the
troops, and the result of a fight for hours will be a couple
of brigands' horses left behind because lame, and some
cloaks because too heavy. If by chance some one is killed
among the brigands, it is almost sure to be one of their
women, who evidently have more courage than the men.
But let them have a chance of finding themselves un-
opposed in a solitary masseria or farmhouse among old men
and women, or let them find on the road a sick soldier or
two being taken to the hospitals, and there will be a mas-
sacre and mutilation so savage that the whole country for
miles round will ring with the deed. It will be matter of
gossip for weeks, and strike such terror into a population
already not very brave by nature that every one will be
ready to obey any order which may emanate from these
running heroes. This is certainly a safe way to immortality.
It was a good idea to take advantage of the opening of
the railway to Foggia to induce the King to visit the
disturbed districts, and the greater is the pity that the jour-
ney was so hurried. The loss of a few days in such a case
might have saved many lives and a great deal of trouble.
It is difficult enough to know those with whom we are
most intimate, how much more a population which has
been kept in systematic barbarism and abjectness, which
understands none of our ideas and motives, looks at every-
thing it does not understand with suspicion, and has a code
of morals, or, if I may so say, of immorals, quite revolting
according to our notions ? It is useless to expect that the
superiority of our own ideas will assert itself by miracle.
You must study the idiosyncracy of. the people, have
patience, and find out a lever by which you can work to-
wards regeneration. Now, as with all people long oppressed,
the great mania, above all with Southern Italians, is begging
and complaining. The Duke has it as much as the labourer
and the begger in the streets. So inveterate is the mania
that begging is practised as much for the sake of beg-
ging and bringing forward grievances as for the sake
of obtaining something by it. The man wants to be
listened to, and if he finds sympathy he goes away satisfied.
Now, the first Royal visit to these out-of. the-way places
was just the occasion for humouring this mania, and to
show that those judged falsely who created the belief that
Royalty takes no interest in these Southern provinces. Like
children, the inhabitants of the district through which the
Royal journey was to take place had prepared for the occa-
sion, and were ready to show themselves off in the most
favourable light. There was the excitement of novelty, so
unusual in these remote parts, besides the vague hope that
something might be gained by the Royal journey. They
had come in from all sides, at least, to see the king, they
had prepared their most choice dainties to offer them to him,
and they found the King gone before they arrived, and
their dainties remaining behind untouched.
Although little more than 60 miles by the milestones, the
journey from Foggia to Avellino, where the King was to
stop for the night, take 12 to 15 hours, owing to the moun-
tainous nature of the country. It was therefore necessary
to start early, if the programme was to be observed. There
was no difficulty about this, for early hours are much more
to the taste of Victor Emmanuel than late ones. Before
starting, the National Guard, which had been collected from
all the surrounding districts, had to be passed in review.
It was to have been done the day before, but the arrival
having taken place at night, the review was deferred till
next morning about 7.
if there is one thing which strikes you more than any-
thing else about the South of Italy, it is the development of
the National Guard. From the time we entered the old
Neapolitan boundary at Foce del Tronto, passing along the
coast towards Fuggia and thence across the mountain down
to Naples, we must have seen at the very least 30,000 or
40,000 National Guards. If you looked among the crowd,
right or left, you scarcely saw an able-bodied man unless a
priest or some functionary. All the men were there, armed
and arrayed in rank and file. You could not help remem-
bering the telling arguments of Mr. Gladstone in last year's
debate about Italian affairs. Surely no sane man can talk
of disaffection where every man is armed, and the only dis-
turbance that is heard of proceeds from 30 or 40 desperate
individuals in one district. Indeed, unless we take the
National Guard as a political demonstration in the South,
it has little meaning otherwise. With rare exceptions, they
are useless for any real service, and no more ridiculous dis-
play for the citizen soldier can be:imagined than the great
mass of these Nationals. In all the larger towns they have
indeed some sort of uniform ; in country places little is
found even of this. But whether provided or not provided
with the uniform, they are certainly not strong in disci-
pline or drill, and were it not that there is a foolish notion
on the Continent that the citizen soldier is the guardian
of political liberty, and were there not a law in Italy
organising the National Guard, these worthy men might
be sent home without any one losing by it, except
sonie young men fond of uniforms; the great mass
would be only too delightel. The bourgeois National
Guard has always been a subject of ridicule, and can never
be anything else. The only good feature in the institution
is that the law enables the Government to call out volun-
teers from the ranks of the National Guard, and form them
into mobilized battalions, which are drilled, subjected to
military discipline, and may be sent to any portion of the
Italian territory. They have more than once been found of
service in an emergency, while the regular troops were re-
quired in other parts; for instance, in 1859 and 1860, dur-
ing the war in Lombardy and Southern Italy.
The review of the Nationals at Foggia did not take long,
for before 8 a.m. the King had started, accompanied only
by his suite and the Ministers. Even the foreign Ministers
who had come to Foggia, had to wait for a couple of hours
—that is, the time required for the King to arrive at the
first relay. All the post horses and carriages had been en-
gaged by the authorities for the service of the King, others
had been hired, and even postboys had been sent for from
Naples for the occasion; yet with all this there was a great
want of means of conveyance, in a distriet where there is
usually only one mail coach a day, which takes the bags.
Another difficulty was the insecurity of the road, although
it is quite a month since anything has been heard of Caruso,
The mail coach is always accompanied by an escort, and so
are all the travellers who take a post chaise. As it would
have been impossible to give separate escorts to each car-
riage all had to wait and were despatched in one convoy,
which started about 10 in the morning.
Before leaving Foggia I must say something about the
place. The town, which is situated in the middle of the
plain of Apulia, is the capital of the province of Capitanata,
and has the pretension of being the most important centre
on the eastern slopes of the Appenines. it boasts of hay-
fag received and entertained many a King who came to
fetch his Queen ; not that you are to suppose that even
Neapolitan Kings had such bad taste as to choose the
partners of their thrones among the distressingly
plain women of the place, but as they often intermarried
with Austrian princesses, and these were sent from
Trieste by sea to Manfredonia, the Kings came to Foggia to
meet them. But even putting these past glories aside,
Foggia has a considerable importance for the eastern por-
tion of the old Neapolitan territory. Secluded as all this
part of the kingdom is from the capital, it has preserved a
character and a life of its own; only a few of its nobility
could be attracted to reside at Naples, the others preferred
being lords in their own territory to being about the Court
—and lords they were, and are still up to a certain point,
for there aro more traces of the old feudal system remaining
here than in any other part of the kingdom of Naples.
Special laws and privileges regulate the tenure of property,
keeping up the traditions of the past with all its drawbacks.
You have unly to take a stroll about the town to be aware
of this. It consists of two streets of substantial houses, with
fine rooms, well furnished, and a number of by-streets, ex-
elusively composed of wretched hovels—one long wall
pierced by arched doors, and, above, a circular window.
The circular window lets out the smoke, and the door serves
as the entrance to a single small room, in which the family
of the agricultural labourer dwells—men, women, children,
fowls, not to forget the pig. This latter is an important, if
not the most important, member of the Apulian household,
and dearer to the inmates of the room than any other thing
it contains. I heard a characteristic story as to this which
is worth repeating. A detachment of troops in close pursuit
of the brigands passed near one of these hovels, inhabited
by the family of a labourer, and the officer, who knew that
he brigands must have passed by, asked where they had

gone. " Non saccio" ("I don't know") was the answer,
accompanied by every assurance of the truth of the Gospel

that it was the fact. The officer, growing impatient, threat-
ened to kill the man. The threat had no effect. H e seized
hold of the son and had a picket told off to shoot him. Still
id
ea,
he same plea of ignorance. At last, struck by a bright
he threatened to have the pig cut -up and roasted for his
tired soldiers. The threat produced its effect, and the man
not only gave the required information, but actually showed
the
away, I don't wonder at this tenderness for the pig, for
wording to all appearance, the cleaner animal of the
two, and certainly the least corrupt. According to the state-
ment of medical men, the immorality existing among the
lower classes surpasses all belief. lam told it is worse
than at Naples. It is rare to see cottages or hovels about
the country ; moat of the buildings are large farms or coun-
try.houses, with considerable outbuildings attached to them,
ding
which are usually inhabited by the bailiff. The mass of the
agricultural population is crowded in the towns in the man-
ner Ikm desenbed.Thh, crow together protium the