The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-18 00:00:00

SUPPLY-HARBOURS OF REFUGE.

On the motion for going into Committee of Supply,
Sir F. SMITH moved that so much of the report of the
Commissioners on Harbours of Refuge as applied to Wa-
terford, Wick, and Padstow be carried into effect.
The hon. and gallant member urged, at some length, the
propriety of losing no time in constructing these important
harbours.

Mr. KENDALL, in seconding the motion, particularly
advocated the claims of Padstow, on the double ground that
not only had Padstow done much to improve itself, but
that more could be effected there by the expenditure of a
small sum of money than anywhere else.
Sir J. D. HAY, while supporting the motion, took occa-
sion to recommend that a harbour of refuge should also be
formed at Filey, which was the only spot cn the north-
eastern coast between Flamborough Head and the Firth of
Forth where such a harbour could be advantageously
formed for the use of the Baltic traders. In the evidence
taken before the commission, it was stated that on one occa-
sion, namely, the 7th of Feb., 1858, there being upwards of
100 sail at anchor off Flamborough Head, the wind suddenly
changed to the south-east, which compelled the whole fleet
to go to sea ; and the result was that 50 of them were lost.
As many as 1,300 vessels had taken refup at a time in
Filey Bay, while 700 were frequently to be found there.
Mr. BEECROFT called upon the house not to hesitate
as to the formation of a harbour of refuge at Filey, in order
to check the dreadful loss of life which now annually oc-
curred on the north-east coast.
Sir J. ELPHINSTONE had been on the Harbours of
Refuge Committee, and he had afterwards accompanied
the commission during a considerable portion of their in-
spection, and he could strongly corroborate the opinions
which had been expressed with respect to the necessity
for the formation of a harbour of refuge at Filey. But he
had also to direct attention to the desirableness of form-
ing a similar harbour at Peterhead, which was a salient
point on the coast, and one to which our northern trade
converged as it approached the land. He would press
the question upon the noble lord at the head of the Go-
vernment, and point out that it was no light matter that
the recommendations of a committee which had sat during
two sessions of Parliament, and which had been backed up
by the report of a commission, should be ignored, while the
public money was being so lavishly expended on works of
questionable utility elsewhere.

Mr. BLAKE concurred in the views expressed by the
lion. and gallant member for Chatham, and stated that many
of the wrecks which took place off Waterford Harbour
might be prevented if the recommendation of the commis-
sioners had been carried out.

Mr. G. DUFF observed that in regard to Peterhead, the
recommendation of the commissioners was a dead letter.
The commissioners recommended a grant of £lOO,OOO, but
the condition on which it was made dependent, namely, the
subscription of £200,000 in the district itself, could never
be realised.

Lord BURY observed that, while other places were
waiting for grants of public money, the inhabitants of Wick
were turning their attention to raising money for themselves.
The fishermen of Wick, who had to leave that harbour every
day to follow their fishing avocation, did so very frequently
at the risk of their lives ; for the sea round that part of the
coast often became so tempestuous that the fishermen when
they left Wick in the morning never knew that they would
be able to re-enter the harbour. Under this state of things
they could not wait until such time as the Government
might think prop:errtoodcoosnirsoturcuseotf abhrraorwboinugr
sosfurmefuofs
money
tier
Loan
no
doubt that besttotnbeersto builda pier,
fraeoemordthinegElyxtcltheny4
although there could be construction of a
harbour of refuge by the
Government would be of far
greater benefit.
viewed the queesotifonusoftiotuhael cioron:
Mr. LIDDELL said he
struction of harbours of refuge
niaindthbies generalselected
pseonrtsane, caen,
danndet htebetthepreerftoiree dvulaarpoclaaaseteeosdnsiht
whiles othofersw e ere
enr ee g loe
fc t
greater. e d
ioppenarr
tea
nd
n toe himand t
uh
ragt
ahna
ory-
than fortifications. Fortifications were carried out for the
purpose of providing against the contingencies of war,
whereas harbours of refuge were intended to provide against
natural contingencies in the shape of storms and stress of
weather. He would not follow the course taken by hon.
members of asking that a harbour of refuge should be con-
structed at this or that place; his desire was to see the
principle generally carried out.

Mr, GIBSON said the hon. member who spoke last
wanted to have the principle of harbours of refuge gene-
rally applied, but if every harbour in the country were
to ask for a grant of money for the purpose of improve-
ment, where would they stop ? That was a principle with
which he could not sympathise : as it was, perhaps, the
most distinguishing feature in the English character that,
of all other people in the world, they were the most forward
in carrying on great undertakings by private enterprise,
and without having recourse to State aid. As regarded
Peterhead, he thought that question could be easily dis-
posed of. It was true, that the commissioners recom-
mended a grant of L 100,000; and if he applied to the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer for that sum, his right hon. friend
would ask him whether the locality was prepared with the
£200,000. Well, as the locality had no disposition to
A raise that sum, the recommendation of the commissioners

could not be carried into effect. The right hon. gentle-
man ;then reviewed the several statements which were
made about the great saving of life and property which
would be effected by harbours of refuge, and expressed his
opinion that such statements were very much exaggetated,
although he did not mean to deny but that some small
saving would result from the construction of those works.
It was an entire mistake to suppose that nothing had
been done towards the encouragement of the construc-
tion of harbours of refuge and the improvement of harbours
by the present Government ; or that the present Govern-
ment had overlooked the recommendations of the committee
of that house. On the contrary, they had contributed ma-
terially towards that end by the bill introduced by the hon.
member for St. Ives, for allowing tolls to be raised for the
purpose without the expense of a private bill; and also by
a measure which he had himself introduced for enabling
sums of money to be borrowed at a moderate rate of inte-
rest, and to be repaid on easy terms. A great deal had been
done towards carrying out the object in view, and already
£600,000 had been advanced or promised towards it through
the agency of the Public Works Loan Commissioners, He
had spoken of Waterford and Padstow, and the noble lord
the member for Wick had told them that the inhabitants of
that place were inclined to help them,elves. Last session
they obtained a bill for making a new harbour, and they
were now asking the Public Works Loan Commissioners to
assist them with £60,000, which there was every reason to
believe would Ise granted. The effect of the motion before the
house, if successful, would be that they would suspend those
operations, and rely on assistance from the State. That, he
considered, would be a very bad policy for the house to adopt.
The plan of the proposed harbour had been approved of by
the Lords of the Admiralty, and he expressed a hope that
the house would not interfere and check local and private
energy as in the case of Wick, or give money to some places
whilst others were raising large sums for the improvement of
their harbour by the imposition of taxes on the local trade
of the place, If they once commenced giving public money,
there would be no knowing where it would end, and he
believed it would be injurious to all concerned if the time
of that house was to be occupied in settling rival claims
on the public purse, and to be employed in a kind of
general scramble for the public money. He thought he
spoke the sentiment of the Chancellor of the Exchequer
when so deliberate a design was made upon that surplus
which the right hon. gentleman said he was determined to
keep and defend if he could. (Hear, hear.) He asked the
house not to agree to the motion.
Mr. BENTINCK said the right hon. gentleman had
fenced with the question, becoming an official person of
great experience; but he thought the house would not be
satisfied with his explanation. The time had come for the
Government to act, but he regretted to find it was not the
intention of her Majesty's Government to act in the matter.
He did not support the motion, but he was of opinion that
the country had a claim upon the Government for protec-
tion, and that they ought to deal with it as a general ques-
tion for the public benefit. The Government might find
sufficient support for the object in view without contributing
money, and his suggestion was that local contributions in
money should be aided by the Government in granting con-
vict labour; and he expressed a hope that future legisla-
tion with regard to convict labour would put them in a
better position for carrying out his suggestion. Convict
labour was now a farce. A certain amount of recreation
was enforced for the benefit of the health of the convicts—

(hear, hear)—but he wished to see it carried to the extent of
making the convicts support themselves. By his plan he
thought they might economically carry out a plan for the
general construction of harbours of refuge, and get rid of
conflicting interest.

Sir J. PAKINGTON described the speech of the right
hon. gentleman the President of the Board of Trade as
not creditable to her Majesty's Government, and a speech
that ought not to be satisfactory to the house. That
speech would lead one to the belief that this was the first
motion on the subject of harbours of refuge in that house;
whereas the late Mr. Wilson, acting in the name
of the former Liberal Government, was most active in re-
ference to it, and presided over a committee on the subject

that sat for two sessions; and when the Derby Government
was in existence, it was in consequenee of that gentleman's
urgent request that he (Sir J. Pakington) appointed the
Royal commission whose report had been referred to that
night. Nothing could be stronger than the report of the
committee and also of the Royal commission for something
to be done for the protection of life, shipping, and commerce
on our coasts. He regretted to find that the subject was
pooh-poohed, and adjourned from session to session by eva-
sive speeches, such as they had heard that night from the
right hon. gentleman the President of the Board of Trade ;
and he appealed to the noble lord at the head of the Govern-
ment to distinctly state whether they were to continue to go
on in their present state and condition. Whilst he hoped
the noble lord would be prepared to give the house some
hope that the reports might receive some attention from her
Majesty's Government hereafter, he suggested to the hon.
and gallant member for Chatham whether it was prudent to
take the sense of the house on the limited motion he had
made rather than as a wh( le, and to be dealt with as a na-
tional question. After the statement made the previous
night by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that his surplus,
after the large financial concession that he had made,would
not be encroached upon, he considered it was some vl hat in-
opportune to commence the evening after with the first
inroad on the £500,000 surplus. A motion of this kind he
thought should be made earlier in the session, so that the
Chancellor of the Exchequer might be able to arrange his
financial scheme accordingly. He was unable under the
circumstances, to give his support to the motion.
Col. SYKES thought the Government should transfer
the balances on the fortifications votes to this great work,
which was infinitely more worthy of the humanity,the pru-
dence, and the good sense of that house. (Hear, hear.)

The motion was then negatived a division.
THE LIGHTING OF LIGHT-HOUSES.

Lord LOVAINE moved for a copy of the reports to the
Trinity House of the South Foreland, Varne, and Dunge-
ness light keepers, and of all reports from Professor Fara-
day subsequent to that of the sth day of July, 1862, upon
the electric light now in operation at Dungeness, and asked
the President of the Board of Trade whether it was the
intention of the Trinity House to include the use of the
electric light in the alterations contemplated at Portland.
Colonel CLIFFORD, in seconding the motion, was happy
to be able to state that if they were to introduce the electric
light into the national lighthouses, it would not be neces-
sary to make any attack upon the surplus in the hands of
the Chancellot of the Exchequer, as the Trinity House
were in possession of ample funds, which might be available
for the purpose. It was certainly most extraordinary that
the electric light had not been already introduced into our
lighthouses, while the Dutch, who were not usually re-
garded as a very quick nation, had applied it in two in-
stances. Indeed, it was to be feared that, as regarded light-
houses in general, England was in a very backward state.
Even Spain, which was not a particularly precipitate

country, had lighthouses far superior to those of England.
He could himself bear witness that no lighthouse which
England possessed gave so brilliant a light as that afforded
by the Spanish lighthouse at Ceuta, on the African coast.
Mr. M. GIBSON said it was not competent for the
noble lord, according to the forms of the house, to make
a motion upon such as occasion. Nevertheless, be would
offer no opposition to the production of all the papers for
which he had asked. With respect to the introduction
of the electric light at Portland, the Board of Trade had
refused to sanction the expenditure necessary for the
purpose until further experience had been had as to the
adaptability of the light for the illumination of lighthouses.
Everyone admitted that the brilliancy of the electric light
was far superior to the light produced by oil lamps, and
likewise that it was far more capable of being distinguished

than any other light. Certainly light was a matter of the
greatest importance. The electric light had been in use at
Dungeness for nine months, but it required constant atten-
tion. It was found occasionally to undergo a partial or
momentary extinction. The cost of lights was borne by the
merchant sbipping, and no further burden should be thrown
upon that interest until further experience proved the adap-
tability and superiority of the electric light.
Mr. BENTINCK hoped that on a future occasion the
right hon. gentleman would give the house a fuller ex-
planation on the subject. It was his own impression that
the Trinity Board wasted more money than would suffice to
establish the electric light all over the kingdom.
The matter then dropped.
THE SEWAGE OF TOWNS.

Dr. BRADY called the attention of the house to the re-
port of the Royal commission appointed to inquire into the
best mode of utilising the sewage of towns, and apply it to
beneficial and profitable uses, and moved a resolution de-
claring the inexpediency of granting any further public
money for the use of the commission. He referred to the
report of the commissioners who visited Rugby, which, he
said, contrasted strangely with what Mr. Lawes stated had
been done at Edinburgh. They condemned its application,
i whilst Mr. Lawes and the Edinburgh experience showed
Sewagethe manure and its application to the land, and urged
that
scusheiewha:aosbj
iencotreedast:a bayndEkngeplitshelfivarembeyrsthfreommapnrue
judice,
--
iangfleunetns,eaen. d
Htheatcaplloerdtiaotntenoftiothnetoprtehses
ethtiarat
tuwaatsinung dgeuraltiht
ieei
sr
facturers of, and dealers in, artificial manures, their paid
of town sewage, and its satisfactory results when properly
applied to the land. The hon. member prcceededatgreat
length to prove that the conclusions of the Royal commis-
sion, namely, that sewage was not applicable for any crop
but grass, that the grass produced by it was so inferior that
it was unfit for fattening, that it was not good for milk,
and, finally, that to produce any result at all, it must be
used in enormous dressings upon limited areas—that each
and every one of these conclusions were not only incorrect,
hut were diametrically opposed to all practical experience.
Having done that, he called upon the Government to dis-
solve a body which had so ill discharged the important du •
ties entrusted to its care. Whatever might be done in the
matter by the house, he trusted that the discussion of the
question would be productive of benefit to the country at
large.

Mr. K. SEYMER remarked that the hon. gentleman's
motion had been before the house for about six weeks, and
yet he had not apparently had time to put it info a
of
form. Setting aside, however, the cuostum ot gram-
mar, he maintained that the object of the commission was
not to discover the best mode of application, but the best
plan of utilising, the sewage of towns. The hon. gentleman