The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 16, 1863.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

THE NAVY.

The iron paddlewheel frigate Recruit, 6, 150 horse power,
will be floated out of No. 3 dock at Chatham during the
approaching spring tides, and placed at moorings in the
harbour, where she will remain for some time in order that
the merits of the several antifouling compositions with which
her bottom has been coated may be thoroughly tested.
During the time the Recruit has been in dock her bottom
hasbeenscr
with whichapedanacleanbsoetdh, and the whole of the former
compositions sides were covered removed.
A portion of the starboard side, from the stem to the star-
board sponson, has been payed over with a new anti-fouling
composition submitted to the Admiralty by Mr. Wilson,
whose invention, it is alleged, has been tried on the bottom
of several of the iron West India steamers, with very satis-
factory results. The remainder of the starbard side is
coated with Crispin's composition, formerly placed on the
bottom of the same vessel. The whole of the port side is
covered with the composition of Mr. Hay, the Admiralty
chemist, who has received instructions from the Admiralty
to operate on the bottom of the iron frigate Achilles before
she leaves the dock in which she is approaching completion
at Chatham dockyard. An order had been received from
the Admiralty for one of the sides of the Recruit to be
covered with Redman's anti-fouling mixture, but it was
afterwards rescinded.

The Wasp, 13-gun screw corvette, 974 tons, and 100
nominal horse power of engines, ordered for commission at
Portsmouth by Capt. W. Bowden, K.L.H., made an official
trial ,of her speed and machinery at the measured mile in
Stokes Bay on Friday, under the superintendence of Capt.
H. Broadhead, commanding the steam reserve. The ship's
draught of water was 13ft Bin forward, and 14ft 2in aft,
with an immersion of the screw's upper edge of 7in. The
screw, which is of the common pattern, with the leading
corners cut, has a diameter of llft 3in and a pitch of 14ft
10in. The mean speed of the ship with full boiler power
was 8.176 knots, and with half-boiler power 5165 knots,
the indicated horse power being 280.
The Hector, 32, iron frigate, is coaling alongside Ports-
mouth Dockyard, in readiness for her official trial.
A large piece of land fronting the Naval Asylum at Great
Yarmouth has been purchased by the Government for the
purpose of erecting an ornamental promenade for the in-
mates of the institution.
The following appointments were made on Saturday at
the Admiralty --Richard 0. White, master, to the Colos-
sus for the Coastguard ; Dr. David Duncan, surgeon, to the
Greyhound; Charles G. Smith, paymaster, to the Wasp;
Francis M. Wright, paymaster, to the Stromboli ; John
Ashton, assist.-paymaster, to the Hawke ; Henry Forrest,
assist. -paymaster, to the Russell ; Charles H. J. Collings,
assist.-paymaster, to the Fisgard, and John C. Sabha',
clerk, to the Wasp.

THE FRENCH LEGISLATURE.

In the Corps Legislatif in its sitting of -W ednes-
day a rather animated discussion took place respect-
ing some contested elections; but the chief interest
of.the sitting consisted in the fact that M. Thiers
addressed the Assembly at some length :
"The Marquis d'Andelarre, although a Govern-
ment member, objected with great warmth that
M. Bertrand, the Mayor of Caen, was not duly
elected, because the ballot-box had not been sealed
as the law requires, and had not, moreover, as the
law also requires, been deposited during the night
in a room with sealed doors. He also complained that
M. Foucher de Careil, the Opposition candidate,
was refused the necessary authorization to print his
election address, and that the election.room was so
filled with partisans of the mayor that electors
could not put their own bulletins into the box,
but were forced to pass them from hand to hand
through a crowd of the Mayor's agents. To
these charges M. Bertrand, the Mayor of Caen, who
defended his own election in person, answered that
the ballot-box *as the same that had always been
used for elections in Caen, and that, although not
sealed, it was secured by four locks of such enor-
mous strength that they might have been forged by
Vulcan. (Laughter.) As to the refusal to print the
Opposition candidate's address, it was made by the
printer, who mistakenly alleged that the prefect
would not allow it, and, moreover, M. Foucher de
Careil went to the printer's on a Sunday. A printed
paper which the prefect would not allow to be
hawked in the streets was an electioneering squib
written by an agent, and not entitled to the privi-
leges which the law accords to candidates only.
The fact of the bulletins being passed from hand to
hand to the ballot-box he stoutly denied.
"M. Glais Bizoin, one of the new Opposition
members, said that in this scrutiny the Chamber
ought to have two objects in view—first, the
validity of the election immediately in discus-
sion ; and, secondly, to take care that the
abuses which had occurred s hould be so exposed as
to serve as a lesson to the country and the Admi-
nistration with the view that they might not occur
again. He read a letter from the sub-prefect of
Falaise to all the shopkeepers of his arrondissement.
recommending them to vote for the Government
candidate, in terms which evidently conveyed a
threat. Being interrupted by ironical cheers from
the majority, M. Glais Bizoin said, This is no
laughing matter, gentlemen, it is humiliating.'
"M. Bertrand was then declared duly elected,
without a division.
"Viscount Lanjuinais (the Opposition member
for Nantes), complained that, although there had
been no protest against his election, the bureau to
which it was referred had kept him waiting for
three days, and refused to make a report upon the
pretext that a protest was expected.
" M. Rouher (Minister of State) wished to say
that the Minister of the Interior bad only that day
received a pretest against M. Lanjuinais's return
and that the protest must by this time have reached
the Chamber.
" A conversation ensued, in the course of which
M. Rouher admitted, and the Duke de Morny (who
was in the chair) strongly insisted, that the bureaux
ought to make their reports without delay, and not
hold them over to wait for protests to come. It
seemed to be generally agreed that there was a
casus omissus in the law as to the time within which
a protest against an election ought to be made.
The report of the bureau in M. Lanjuinais's case not
being ready it necessarily stood over, but with an
understanding that no further evidence against the
return was to be received.

M. Jules Simon (Opposition member) asked for

the adjournment of the case of M. Noubel, agains
whom there was a very serious protest by M, Baze,
which was to have been supported by M. Marie,
who was unfortunately absent from illness. M.
Bazo had 35 documents which he brought forward
as proofs in favour of his protest, and they would
be in the hands of members on the morrow.
" M. Pissard (reporter)—lt is true there are 35
documents ; the bureau has examined them all care-
fully, and it was of opinion—without feeling it
necessary to hear the testimony of either M. Baze
or M. Noubel—that there was nothing in them,
"M. Thiers—l wish to make a simple observa-
tion. Why did the bureau, making an exception
to the general rule, refuse to hear M. Baze and M.
Noubel. Allowance ought to bo made for the dif-
ference between the situation of those who, being in
the Chamber, can offer explanations, and those out-
side, who cannot.
" M, Creuzet—M. Baze did not ask to be heard
by the bureau ; he only said he was ready to be
heard if called upon. The bureau thought itself
sufficiently informed about the case without calling
for his evidence, that is all.
"M. Thiers—No other election presents so grave
a fact as that which we have here—a suspension
of the course of justice. (Clamours.)
"M. Noubel—l am ready to answer. (The Pre-
sident having put the question of adjournment,
which was negatived.)
"M. Theirs resumed—l am not prepared to dis-
cuss the whole report on this election. I merely
point out one very serious fact, which is treated in
the report with an indulgence unworthy of the
dignity of this Chamber. (Cries of 'No, no.') The
case is this. M. Baze's placards were torn down
by order of the mayor in the commune of St. Front,
and that was a violation of the law. M. Baze there-
upon obtained an order from the President of the
Tribunal that the mayor should appear before him
to show cause why he should not be compelled to
post M. Baze's bills. But M. Baze could get no
huissier to servo the process upon the mayor, be-
cause the Procureur-Imperial had ordered all the
huissiers not to act for M. Baze until June 2, which
was the day after the election. Well, you would
have the law respected in the country, and yet
you treat with indifference a fact like this, which
is nothing less than the suspension of the
course of law in France. (Noise.) The Pro-
cureur-General and the Minister of Justice have
both censured the illegal act (applause on some
benches), and now the report treats it as just nothing
at all. (More interruption.) The bureau would
not hear M. Baze. That fact is certain. (A Voice.
it has been explained?) I will assume that
the bureau thought itself sufficiently enlightened,
but I must observe that it is the only bureau which
has refused to hear explanations. I repeat that I
am not prepared to go into the case fully. M.
Marie, who would have done so, is absent from in-
disposition ; but I call the attention of the Chamber
to this interference with justice, and I thus free my
own responsibility.
" M. Pissard.—The reporters said that the judge's
order only appointed a hearing for June 6, and
therefore M. Baze was in no way prejudiced by the
service of the order on the mayor being suspended
till June 2.
" M, Rouher (Minister of State) admitted that
the act of the Procureur Imperial was not legally
justifiable, and said that he had been reprimanded
for it. But it could have had no effect upon the
result of the election, since M. Noubel's majority
was very large. The fact was, that legal process
frightened country people very much, and the Pro-
cureur Imperial thought, bona fide, that M. Baze's
writ might operate as an intimidation while the
election was going on.
" M. Thiers.—l don't care about the influence of
the act upon the election. That is not the question.
I have obtained an admission from the Government
of all that I wanted—namely, that the course of
justice was suspended by the act of the Procureur
du Roi. (Loud laughter.) I beg pardon, I should
have said the Procureur Imperial. I shall soon get
into right habits. (More laughter.) You speak of
intimidation ; but if you say the Opposition exer-
cises intimidation in the elections, France will not
believe you. (Interruption.)
further excuses for the
" After some Producer