The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-05 00:00:00

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A reduction in the vote for stores was made also by that
Right Hon. Baronet, and still more by the Government of
the Right Hon. Member for Tamtvorda He would not give
an opinion upon those reductions. They were not made
by the present Government, but were made by the Right
Hon. Baronet the Member for Pembroke, who received
great credit at the time, and most justly, for having made
those reductions, The blindness of party spirit had re-
ferred to all these reduction in one indiscriminate censure,
and that censure was directed against those who had not
Made the reduction. The present Government had in-
creased the number of men nearly thirty per cent. They
nearly doubled the number of ships of the line in com-
mission—they
had increased the number of men in the
dock-yards nearly thirty per cent., and had increased the
provisions and stores to fifty or sixty per cent.
Blame might be cast on the Government. It might be
said, even as the Hon. Member for Kilkenny would say,
that the increase in the establishment was too great--but
let not such an absurdity be committed as to say they had
been guilty of reducing the efficiency of the Navy when
! such increases bad been made.—( Cheers.) For what he
had done he was perfectly ready to bear censure, if his
conduct deserved it—but as it would be unworthy in hire
to claim credit for many of those measures which the
Right Hon. Baronet justly deserved credit for, so it would
he unjust that he should receive censure for the actions of
others. He wished therefore to say, with respect to this
general charge, that he had referred to documents which
showed the real state of the case. He had derived
no peculiar information from a mere possession of office;
but the documents he had referred to were the estimate,
of the past two years, which had been in the hands of every
lion. Member, and which must or ought to have been in
the hands of those who had made these charges. He was
ready, as every man in public life must be, to be cen-
sured for what he had done, and to have what he
had done misrepresented ; but he did not complain
on his own part, and which was of still more importance,
on the part of the public, who had been deceived, that
those who professed to guide and instruct the public mind
had, in their anxiety to injure their political opponents,
totally forgot both dates and facts, and that the assertions
they had made should be so totally wide of the truth.
So far then as to the general charge against them of hav-
ing reduced the navy ; they had not reduced it in any one
single item. lie was perfectly aware that this answer
would not satisfy the House, and that he must go into full
details of the expenditure, and in doing so he would take
them in the order in which they appeared in the expendi-
ture. The first and great head of expenditure to which
he would call the attention of the Committee was the num-
ber of men upon which of course depended the great
strength of the Navy. In the last Session of Parliament
it might be remembered that the Duke of Wellington
called the attention of the House of Lords to the reduced
state of the Navy. He complained that the Navy of this
country was in too weak a state; but with the candour
which always attached to him, he did not say that any
blame attached to the Admiralty. He blamed those indi-
viduals who thought proper to reduce the establish-
ment so far that protection could not be afforded
when wanted. 110 at least did justice to the Govern-
ment. Not so those who, following up the cry, bad
for the last six months attributed the whole of the reduc-
tion to the present Government. The charges had been
made at after-dinner speeches—( Cheers)—and the usual
organs of the opinions of Hon. Gentlemen opposite; and all
those charges were, that the present Government had made
all these reductions. Now, let them look at a few figures.
From 1818 to 1824 the average number of men voted was
15,000—from 1824 to IE3I the average was from 20,000
to 21,000, including the Coast Blockade. In 1831 the
highest vote of men that had been taken in a time of peace
was taken under a Whig Administration, and under the
auspices of the Right Hon. Baronet, the Memberfor Pem-
broke. The Coast Blockade was taken from the Esti-
mates for the Navy, 'and the vote was taken for 18,000
men, and so it continued till 1834. In that year the Hon,
Baronet, wishing to introduce boys into the service, re-
duced the vote of men 500; and taking the usual calculation
that two boys were equal to one man, he added 1,000 boys ;
so that the vote taken in that year was 17,500 men, and
1,000 boys equal to 18,000 teen. Then came the
Government of the Right Honourable Baronet for
Tamworth, which greetly reduced the Navy, and boasted of
it.—( Cheers.) He was sorry that he did not see
the lion. Member for Dorset, who said the Whigs had re-
duced the expenditure upon the',Navy; but that the country
had not suffered, in consequence of the return of the To.
ries, who had made a reduction upon the Whig estimates
of 4,000 men, upon full wages; but in consequence of the
success attending the experiment of the Right Hon.
Baronet, they had added more boys; but the actual reduc-
tion amounted to 1,500 men. In the the next year the
Whig Government added 5.000 men to the number.—
( Hear, hear, and cheers. )--The Right Hon. Baronet ( Sir
J. Graham) expressed his disapprobation of the reduction
made by the Government of the Right Hon. Baronet, the '
Nlember for Tamworth. That reduction was made by the
Tories, who accused the present Government of doing so
—(Cheers)—and that reduction was apposed by the
Whigs.--( Hear, hear.) He would have been glad to
have heard upon what ground that reduction had been
made. He, however, knew that when the Whigs in-
creased the Navy, the Duke of Wellington expressed his
approbation of what had been done. Then what, he
would ask. was the difference in the state of Europe in the
!ears 1835 and 1836 ? He knew of no difference ; yet
the Government of 1835 reduced the Navy much below 1
its present strength, and now blamed the present Govern-
ment for their own fault. If he had had any doubt upon
the matter, it was set at rest by the epeech el a Noel°