The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-26 00:00:00

the appointment of Mr. James Wells as master smith in
the dockyard of Portsmouth, the subsequent cancelling
thereof, and the appointment of Mr. George Cotsell in his
stead.

" Mr. George Cotsell, the master smith at Chatham,
stated to your committee that he had for some years been
desirous of being transferred to the same situation at Ports-
mouth, and in the spring of 1852 he made an application to
the Admiralty on this subject. He subsequently saw Mr.
Stafford in the smithery at Chatham, accompanied by Sir
F. Smith and other gentlemen. He then took an oppor-
tunity of reminding Mr. Stafford of his request.
In August, 1852, Admiral H. Parker, directed Sir B.
Walker to select a man for the smithery at Portsmouth from
the private trade.
" Sir B. Walker thereupon communicated with Com-
modore Eden, because at Woolwich a smith from private
trade had been found of great service. Eventually James
Wells, a smith from Liverpool, was recommended for the
place, and Admiral Parker signed a minute, considering
himself entitled to appoint a master smith, and believing
that this appointment would be an advantage to the service.
In accordance with this minute letters were sent from the
Admiralty, on the 10th of September, to the superinten-
dear at Portsmouth, to the Surveyor, and to the Account-
ant-General, acquainting them with the appointment of
Wells. A warrant was also prepared, but this was sub-
sequently stopped by Captain Hamilton, the permanent
Secretary of the Admiralty, without any communication
with Admiral Parker. Captain Hamilton said that the
minute by Admiral Parker was not regular, because he had
no authority to make it, the patronage being at the dis-
posal of the Secretary.
"At the end of September Mr. Stafford returned,
having been absent for some weeks ; he wished to appoint
Cotsell to the place, but Admiral Parker remonstrated.
On the Ist of October Cotsell was appointed, and Wells,
rho had entered upon the duty, was dismissed.
" Cotsell had a very good character as a workman, as
will be seen by referring to the evidence. The chief ob-
jection to the appointment was, that he .had been named
through political influence, and that, as this was well known
in the yards, it must operate prejudicially to the service.
"On the Bth of October Admiral H. Parker, wrote to
the Duke of Northumberland, complaining of this substi-
tuting as injurious to the public service and as an affront
to himself. His Grace states that he was vexed at the
manner in which Admiral H. Parker had been treated, and
expressed an opinion that it was wrong. The admiral,
had, however, committed an irregularity in. making the
appointment, and the duke desired to allay the angry feel-
ings which had arisen.

" Mr. Stafford defends the appointment of Cotsell upon
two grounds—first, that Wells had, in fact, received no
warrant of appointment ; next, that Cotsell had a stronger
claim, because he was an excellent master smith, and hav-
ing served in the dockyards was fairly entitled to be pre-
ferred to a manger.
"Admiral Parker said that he made the minute rightly,
as First Naval Lord, when he appointed Wells. The duke
states, on the contrary, that the conduct of Admiral Parker
was irregular, for that he himself had given this appoint-
ment to Mr. Stafford.

" The expediency of introducing persons from private
trade, and thereby stopping the usual course of promo-
tions, must depend on the special circumstances of the
case. In the circular of 1847 attention is directed to im-
provements in working copper and iron, and to the early
introduction into the Government yards of the best mode
of working adopted in private establishments. Great be-
nefit had resulted in Woolwich from this introduction,
and Admiral Parker, having been superintendent of Ports-
mouth Dockyard, was well qualified to give an opinion on
this question.
" Under the present Board of Admiralty Mr Wells has
been restored to Portsmouth, and Mr. Cotsell remanded to
Chatham.
" FOURTH QUESTION.—To inquire generally into the
exercise of the influence and patronage of the Admiralty
in the dockyards and Government departments connected
with the several Parliamentary boroughs.
"An extensive field of inquiry is here submitted for in-
vestigation. All the witnesses, who have been asked the
question, admit that the political party enjoying the power
and patronage of office exercise an influence, more or less
effective, upon the constituencies of the dockyard boroughs.
" The evidence offered upon this general subject con-
vinced your committee that, if they examined into the
political conflicts within these boroughs in former years,
they would immediately be bewildered by contradictory
assertions and statements as to long-past transactions,
which the lapse of time renders it difficult to verify ; and
probably, after devoting the whole session to such an in-
quiry, they would be unable to afford to the house any
more useful information than can be now obtained from
the reports of different election committees.
" Your committee have therefore restricted their inves-
tigations to proceedings subsequent to the issue of the cir-
cular of 1847, when a new era commenced. In former
years it is generally admitted that corrupt practices pre-
vailed in the dockyards. To prevent a recurrence of such
practices the circular of 1847 was avowedly issued, and the
accompanying evidence tends to show that from the time of
its issue until April, 1852, the Board of Admiralty had
honestly fulfilled their part of the engagement. Your com-
mittee limit their report to the subject of dockyard appoint-
ments, and to the direct exercise or influence upon men in
the dockyards. They wish, therefore, to state, that they
pronounce no opinion upon the general exercise of patron-
age by the Board of Admiralty. The patronage of the
first entries would probably give a preponderating influence
to a Government which had held office for a continuous-
term of years. There are, however, objections to permit-
ting the officers of the dockyard to exercise patronage in
reference to the first entries. The admission of numerous
relations and persons locally connected with each other
would neither tend to the good discipline of the yard, nor
to impartiality in the examinations for promotion ; while
the power of rejection, if properly exercised by the super-
intendent, seems to afford some security against the intro-
duction of unfit men into the yard.
" No general election had occurred since the issue of the
circular of 1847 until the summer of last year, but two
elections for Greenwich had occurred in the years 1849 and
1851 ; your committee endeavoured, therefore, to ascertain
whether the Government, in the years 1849 and 1&51, had
interfered with the course of promotions at Woolwich,
either before or after the two elections. Commodore Eden
states that his recommendations were duly confirmed, and
he does not remember any case where other influence pre-
vailod against him.
"The late Secretary of the Admiralty was accompanied
by the parliamentary candidates of his own political party
when he visited the dockyards at Chatham, Deptford, and
Devonport, and at the two last places he stood with the
candidates at the ticket office, where all the men must
necessarily pass in review. During his stay at Devonport,
a few days previous to the election, he invited men, who
were taking an active part in the political contest, to meet
several officers of the dockyard at dinner, and this dinner
was charged to the contingencies of the Admiralty.
" In regard to these proceedings Mr. Stafford has ad-
mitted that his conduct was wrong, and not consistent
with his duty.
" Your committee asked Mr. H. Hay, who has been at
the Admiralty during 47 years, whether lie ever knew any
occasion upon which a Secretary of the Admiralty had
gone round without the board in the way in which the late
Secretary did, and Mr. Hay said, Ido not think I can in-
stance a case."
"Mr. Stafford states that he was not then aware of the
stringent obligations under which the superintendents of
the dockyards, as men of honour, were required to abstain
from all political interference.
" Thus, in ignorance of much that he should have known,
seeking counsel from none, and rejecting such counsel as
had been tendered, he acted in disregard of precedents,
and pursued a course which rendered the circulars of the
Admiralty, and the conditions imposed on the superin-
tendents, equally nugatory and valueless.
"Some observations will be found in the evidence upon
the expediency of disfranchising the men in the dockyards;
this is a question of State policy involving considerations
which were not referred to your committee, and which it
is not within their province to report upon. They have,
however, not deemed it irrelevant to obtain some opinions
upon the question from witnesses whose judgment and ex-
perience deserve the attention of the House.
" In its bearing upon the public interest, the importance
of the system under which labour in the dockyards is rogu
lated can hardly be overrated. The vote for wages alone
in these establishments at home has this year amounted to
683,6001., and the present number of men is fixed at 9,653.
A few years since the expense under this head was still
larger ; but from the evidence of Sir F. Baring it appears
that by the regulations of the years 1847 and 1849 the dock-
yards were so much, improved that an equal amount of
labour was obtained from a diminished number of work-
men.
" An impartial system of advancement must be produc-
tive of industry, and therefore of economy ; such a system
your committee believe may be enforced, if the Board of
Admiralty honestly persevere in its maintenance, and if,
having appointed fit persons as superintendents, they direct
them vigilantly to watch those whose fair co-operation can
alone insure justice to candidates for promotion.
" For the purpose of securing a proper system of promo-
tions in the dockyards, it may, perhaps, fairly be required
that if the system under which these promotions are now
again regulated should be hereafter altered or modified the
information shall be laid before Parliament as soon as an
opportunity may be afforded for such communication.
Before closing this report, your committee wish to di-
rect attention to some matters of detail which appear to
them susceptible of improvement. The minute books of
the Admiralty do not afford all the information in regard
to past transactions which is desirable for reference. 'The
evidence here annexed shows that important documents
have been either withdrawn or lost, and the loss of papers
is, it is stated, not an unfrequent occurrence at the Admi-
ralty. In order to obviate the inconvenience of such loss,
an improved arrangement might, perhaps, be made, so that
orders entered in the general minute book may not long
remain without the cognisance of the board, and so that in
after years a reference to the general minute book may
show not only the purport of the minute, but the autho-
rity for its issue.
" May 23, 1853."

EXTENSIVE FAILURE IN nitIaRTON.—It is with lid
small regret that we announce not only the failure of
Mr. Robert Winter, jun:, but the bteakinvip and die-
persion of the Brighton 6404 thieeeOdetl iri
establishing in elliton-road. It has for some time past
been known that Mr. Winter was struggling against
formidable difficulties into which the several spethilative
schemes in which he is td itii'olVed ;
Ltlwnel I?rotltdhlttvesueenliabalsesdis
These hopes have not been realised ;. and some large
htaimnc,e,two owueladthhearvtehebesteinzmob:-,
creditors being in possession of a bill of sale, and all
prospect of a retrieval having vanished, the pupils, up-
wards of one hundred in number, received their eange
last week, and the eireets will be brought to the hammer
without delay by Mr. Wilkinson. Mr. Winter's liabi-
lities are, we hear, nearly 30,0001., and we fear that
much distress in several quarters will result from this
failure. We regret to add that Mr. Winter has disap-
peared, anti his absence will of course complicate matters
the more.—Brighton Cluardia%
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