The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-14 00:00:00

A VAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, APRIL 13.
The Agamemnon, 90 (screw), Captain Sir Thomas
Maitland.—Several additional cases of relapse have
occurred on beard this beautiful but neglected ship.
What else was possibly to be expected ? Of what ser-
vice, we ask in the name of common sense, was it to
fumigate the Agamemnon, and then to permit unre-
stricted communication between her and her hospital
hulk, Camperdown ? It becomes a sickening task to be
obliged so often to notice this painful matter, but we
think it high time that some decisive and instant step
should be taken to stay the further progress of an in-
sidious malady that may otherwise offect every ship in
the harbour. It is very evident that the convalescent
were too quickly put on board.
The Illustrious, old 72.—We understand that an order
has come down from the Admiralty Board to fit this ship
up as an hospital afloat, and to have in charge a lieute-
nant, surgeon, assistant-surgeon, a warrant officer, boat's
crew, &c. She is much better calculated for. such use-
ful service than the proposal of turning her into a block-
ship without a screw-propeller. If we are to have
guard-ships for the protection of the East and West
Channel of Isle of Wight, it is worth while to have
efficient ones, capable of turning round.
The Sidon, 22, paddle, Captain Goldsmith, had her
damaged shaft taken out to-day. We understand it is
toe faulty to be repaired, and to make a new one will
require a month's work. This unfortunate vesel is
again rendered useless, after a frightful expenditure of
the country's money.
The Basilisk, 6, paddle, Commander the Hon. F.
Egerton.—We had an opportunity of inspecting the bot-
tom of this vessel to-day, and feel a pleasure in stating
that not the slightest damage was sustained in her touch-
ing on the bar in coming into harbour the other evening.
Her copper has as fair a surface as on the first day she
was launched. •

The Imperieuse, 60, screw, Captain Rundle B. Matson,
C. 8., got up steam and got several turns at the mea-
sured mile, apparently with great 'speed. We will give
the result of the trial in our next.

PLYMOUTH, Amin 13.
Her Majesty's paddle-wheel steam-frigate Odin, 16,
Captairi F. Scott, arrived in the Sound yesterday, at 2
p.m., and sailed at 5 p.m., for a cruise in the Channel.
The quarantine flag was flying, and she had no commu-
nication with the shore.
The SanePareil, 71, Capt. S. C. Dacres, took her powder
and shells on board yesterday.
The paddle-wheel steam-frigate Maoiciene, 16, Captain
Thomas Fisher, sailed on Tuesday for Pembroke with
juryma.sts for the James Watt.
The Scorpion, 6, surveying-vessel, arrived yesterday
from Portsmouth, and will come into harbour to-day to
be paid off.
The brig Nautilus, 6, was taken into dock on Tuesday
to have her copper repaired.

WOOLWICH, Apilm 13.
APPOINTMENTS.

Clerks.—William H. Chapman (1848), from the Boa-
cawen, 70, guardship of ordinary, at Chatham, to the
Hogue, 60, screw steam-guardship, at Devonport ; Chas.
W. Tuke (1848), to the Tortoise, etoreship, at the Island
of Ascension.

Commodore Henry Eden, Superintendent of Wool-
wich Dockyard, having gone on leave, Commander
Edward A. Inglefield, as senior officer, taken the
duties afloat, and Mr. M'Donald, the master attendant,
the duties of the dockyard.
The Cyclops steam-frigate, having the Melampus, 42,
frigate, in tow, with the machinery and boilers of the
St. Jean D'Acre on board, passed Woolwich at 4 p.m.
yesterday, on their way to Devonport, where the lattet
vessel is to be fitted with her engines, of 600-horse
power, by John Penn and Son.
The Phosnix screw steam-sloop, Commander Edwaid
A. Inglefield, is reported to be ready for sea by Satur-
day next, and will be tried down the river on Monday
next, to ascertain the working capabilities of her engines.

THE COAST OF AFRICA.
By the arrival of the Mail screw-packet Faith at Ply-
mouth, from the west coast of Africa, we have the fol-
lowing from the squadron :
The Commander-in-Chief, Rear-Admiral Bruce, in his
flag-ship Penelope, 16, steam-frigate, Captain Lyster,
was at Lagos, Feb. 28, with the Alecto, 6, steam-sloop,
Commander Crofton ; Cygnet, 8, Commander R. D.
White ; Ferret, Commander Macdonald ; and Britomart,
8, Commander Hesseltine.

The Ferret remained at Lagos on the 11th March, but
the Commander-in-Chief had left for Ascension. Alecto
had proceeded to the eastward, and was passed off
Grand Popo on the 12th.
Bloodhound, steam-vessel, Lieut. Commander Chris-
tian ; Pluto, steam-vessel, Lieut. Commander Bedding-
field, and two French men-of-war were at Sierra Leone,
March 23.

Firefly, steam-sloop, Commander Seymour, was at
Goree, March 28.

THE VULCAN AND THE LATE COURT-
MARTIAL.

We regret to hear that some serious differences be-
tween the officers of the Vulcan, screw steam-ship and
the officers of the regiment Commander Van Donop con-
veyed to Australia, took place on the voyage, and that it
is not at all improbable that some correspondence will
pass between the Horse Guards and the Admiralty on
the subject. We are also sorry to find that there has
been so much misunderstanding between the commander
of the Vulcan and his officers, which will lead, it is said,
to further courts-martial. The case of the mate, tried on
Tuesday, is looked upon as a very hard one, and-although
it was impossible for the court to have overlooked the
admitted fact of diract disobedience of orders, yet the
circumstances which led the mate (a commissioned officer)
respectfully to commit a breach of discipline, demand, on
the part of the Admiralty, further inquiry. It is sub-
mitted that the court, which was composed of 11 cap-
tains, did not go far enough into the " whys and where-
. f ires" of the case, and that they stop short of their duty
if, in upholding stern discipline, they do not satisfy -the
service that justice has been done to all grades. There
is no excuse for disobedience of orders that are not un-
lawful, but to fulfil the requirements of justice, this case
should not terminate without an inquiry into the whole
of the facts that led to the commission of the offence.
These facts must have been of a very extraordinary cha-
racter, or the court would not have so pointedly alluded
to it in their sentence.

If we are rightly informed, the mate not only appealed
to his captain against his ordering him to do inferior duty
to that of a midshipman, but previously to his offence,
he actually wrote to Commander Von Donop for a court
of inquiry or court-martial ; but of which application no
notice was taken by the commander.
Another " extraordinary" fact has reached us from
Portsmouth, which we trust to see fully explained. It
is reported that after the court-martial was over, Mr.
Hartwell went on board the Vulcan to get his things,
when be was again placed under arrest. He expostu-
lated in vain, and at length managed to get a note to
the commander-in-chief, when Sir Thomas Cochrane
instantly ordered his release, and accompanied his
peremptory order with a sharp rebuke. We sincerely
hope that there is no foundation for this statement.—
Herald.

NAVAL DISCIPLINE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING HERALD.
Sir,—Our naval discipline is a subject that cannot be
too often discussed or too often brought under public
notice. It is one of vital importance, because on it de.
pends the efficiency of our navy, and, in a great measure,
the safety of the country. Everything that has a ten-
dency to weaken our maritime superiority ought to be
exposed, and (without taking into consideration either
professional prejudice or antiquated opinions) inquired
into and remedied.
The great question of manning the navy has at length
attracted public attention, and the present state of the
I fleet imperatively demands a searching investigation into
I the causes that have driven 20,000 seamen to place
I themselves under the protection of the flag of the United
States of America. Sir James Graham, who, as a
landsman, must be as ignorant of naval discipline as
he is of naval tactics, stated to the House of Commons,
that the cause was the unusually high rate of wages
offered by the mercantile service, and said "To that
cause, and that cause alone, I ascribe that desertion."
Now, every one in this free country has a right to give
his opinion on any subject connected with its prosperity
and safety, and I believe that all who are acquainted
with naval discipline, and have no interest in concealing
its enormities, will be unanimous in attributing deser-
tion to other more serious causes than that so plausibly
and confidently proclaimed by the First Lord of the
Admiralty. The English people are kept in ignorance
of what is passing on board our ships, particularly on
foreign stations. Naval discipline has for many years
been a sealed letter, and if Sir James Graham could be
think
caneiln
o
prevailed upon to break the seal and disclose its Con-
tentsrender a great service
they to
the
t)
i. country.presumeva to speculate on the cre-
dulityD o
those he
, vh
Englishmen,tlieeve that
in the necessity of vesting, in
o
power of inflicting torture on his fellow-
thene
public n
a onf
hteo
m„ ? Why do not the advocates of a system that drives-
our seamen across the Atlantic produce proof of that
necessity ? Because they are fully aware they cannot.
Because they know in their hearts that it was and is the
cause that forces our seamen to take refuge under the
flag of a foreign government. In the merchant service
the seaman enjoys much greater advantages than the
man-of-war's man. If treated with brutality, he can
appeal to the civil power for redress ; the man-of-war's-
man cannot. The merchant seaman can leave his ship
at the end of his engagement ; the man-of-war's-man
cannot, and the latter is at the mercy of the cap-
tain, who, if the sailor incurs his displeasure is em-
powered by the Articles of War to punish him " ac-
cording to the customs and usages observed at
sea." Now, every ship has its customs, amid every
captain his usages, for what they ought to be
are not defined by the Articles of War • and the
seamen under his command are the victims of caprice
and his cruelty. It is to these causes, and to these
causes alone, that I ascribe these desertions. And what
are the remedies proposed by my lords of the Admiralty?
Not courts-martial, but the very liberal allowance) of
-sixpence per diem to the worn-out seaman. He will be
permitted to return to his native village with, in all pro-
bability, a lacerated back and his splendid sixpence, to
be pointed at as "the man who was flogged on board a
man of war !"
There is a law for the protection of animals against
cruelty, but the seaman is not included in it. Is the
biped called a sailor an inferior animal to the quadruped
called a dog ? And is he considered by our legislators
as of less value than the donkey that draws the cart of
the costerinonger ? For the present, "I shall pause for
a reply."—l am, Sir, your obedient servant,
Buz Pun.

I\IPEIIIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-(YESTERDAY.)
COUNTY ELECTIONS POLLS (SCOTLAND)

BILL.
Mr. ELLIOTT then moved the following clauses :
That every county voter (except as hereinafter provided)
shall poll at the polling place of the district within which
the premises, or part of them, in respect of which he
claims to vote may be situate ; provided that nothing
herein contained shall be held to repeal or alter
the ninth section of the seventy-eighth chapter of
the statute passed in the fifth and sixth years of
his said Majesty, respecting freeholders in counties.
Any county voter not being a freeholder, and not resi-
dent in the district containing the premises in respect of
which he claims to vote, may make application in per-
son by writing to the Sheriff, at the Registration Court
of the county, to be entitled to poll at the polling place
nearest to his residence; and the Sheriff, on being satis-
fied of the truth of the statements of such voter,
shall insert n the list against the name of the voter
making such application, the name of the poll-
ing place at which such person shall be registered to
vote, and such voter shall thereafter be entitled to vote
at such polling place ; and shall not be at liberty to poll
at any other polling place for the same county. Where
the, olling place for a district containing the premises
in respect of which any voter claims to vote shall be in
an island distant more than ten miles from the main-
land of the county, such voter not being resident
in the island may poll at the polling place for the
district in which the county town is included. With
respect to rection 33 of the said first-mentioned
statute, be it enacted, that where the sheriff shall not
have received the poll-books, transmitted from any
island, within the time therein limited for the opening
thereof, the sheriff may adjourn the point for the decla-
ration of the state and result of the poll from day to
day, omitting Sunay, and shall at the first of such ad-
journed courts after the receipt of such poll-books pro-
ceed to declare the poll, and make proclamation and
a return in the manner therein mentioned.

Agreed to.
Mr. FREDERICK DUNDAS moved the following
proviso :—Provided always, that in respect of the re-
mote situation of certain parts of the county of Orkney
and Shetland, and the occasional difficult intercommu-
nication therein, nothing in this act contained shall alter
the provisions of the said recited act so far as relates to
the keeping open of the poll for two consecutive days as
heretofore ; but nothing in this proviso contained shall
be construed to exclude the said county of Orkney and
Shetland from any of the benefits or obligations of the
other portions of this act.
After a short discussion the proviso was agreed to.
Mr. DUNLOP moved the following amendments :
Page 1 (preamble), line 4, after " places," insert, "and
also to repeal so much of the act of the second and
third years of the reign of his late Majesty King
William the Fourth, chapter sixty-five, as enacts, that
no poll, whether in counties or burghs, shall begin on a
Saturday, and to amend the
~ regulations for taking the
poll in counties and burghs.

Agreed to.
The house then resumed.

JUDGES EXCLUSION BILL.
On the second reading of this bill being proposed,
Lord PALMERSTON said he thought there were
valid objections against the passing of the bill. In ac-
cordance with the generous spirit of our constitution, the
doors of Parliament ought to be open as widelyas possi-
ble to all who could assist them in debate. There were
instances in which that principle might be departed
from. There were persons holding official situations
which would prevent them properly discharging the du-
ties of a member of Parliament unless they neglected
their other functions, and there were others who, from
filling certain offices, were consideredto be too much under
the influence of the Crown to be independent and self-
willed members of the house. But it was not advisable
to carry the principle of exclusion further than strong
necessity or apparent advantage required. No doubt
there were some judges whose duties were incompatible
with their attendance in the house, and whose appear-
ance would not perhaps contribute to the independence
of its character, but he did not think the Master of the
Rolls, to whose exclusion the present bill was chiefly
directed, was one of those functionaries. For a great
length of time many eminent Masters of the Rolls had
held a seat in the house, and greatly assisted it in its de-
liberations. lie recollected that Sir Wm. Grant, who
was a master of the Rolls, brought to:the discussions in
the house the aid of deep learning and extensive infor-
mation on matters of high importance, which members
generally had little studied, while they at the same time
maintained a perfect independence of character. If the
house excluded the Master of the Rolls because he was a
judicial officer, he did not see how they could omit to apply
the same principles to the Cursitor Baron of the
Exchequer, recorders and chairmen of quarter sessions.
He considered that it was manifestly absurd to shut out
men who, above all otherg, were particularly qualified
to assist the house in debait and whose presence among
them added to its dignity and character. (Hear.)
Mr. HUME thought it was incompatible with the
judicial functions of the Master of the Rolls to have a
seat in the house. At the present time there was a vast
amount of arrears in the Court of Chancery, and he
asked whether it was consistent with the proper dis-
charge of his duties as a judge of that court to take a
part in an election committee ? He considered that
every one of the judges included in the schedule of
the bill ought to be precluded from sitting in the house.
Sir F. KELLY regretted that so distinguished a
member of the house as Lord Palmerston should oppose
the bill. In his opinion there was something inconsist-
ent in the position of the Master of the Rolls sitting in
the house. With only two exceptions he was the
highest judicial officer in the country, the Lord Chan-
cellor and the Chief Justice of England being only his
superiors iu rank. Supposing he expressed an opinion
upon a legal matter which would he binding out
of the house, and the house decided against it,
that circumstance would certainly not increase the
respect and confidence with which he was looked upon
by the public. There were also scenes connected with
the election of members, especially in large boroughs,
which derogated from the dignity of the office, and
lessened that esteem in which the superior judges of the
land had invariably been held. He trusted that the Go-
vernment would not oppose the second reading.
Mr. V. SMITH said the speech of the hon. and
learned member was calculated to cast a stain upon all
popular assemblies. He did not know what experience
he might have had in elections, but he could
not allow it to be said that the pursuit for a
seat in the house was a matter of personal indignity.
(Hear.) He thought the experience and judgment of
the Master of the Rolls would be most valuable to the
house, and he should, therefore, oppose any measure
which required his exclusion.
Sir J. PAKINGTON did not think it could be fairly
contended that the chairman of the Quarter Sessions was
to be treated as a judicial officer, as he received no salary,
was not appointed by the Crown, and was not recognised
either by the law or the constitution. He held that the
whole spirit of our recent legislation had been to exclude
judicial officers from the house, as evidenced by the
County Courts Act, which disqualified the judges of
those tribunals from being members of Parliament.
Mr. E WART said that judges were admitted into the
representative assemblies of America, and he bad not
beard that their presence had tended to injure legisla-
tion, or to bring it into disrepute. He considered that
the qualification of the Master of the Rolls to sit in the
house was a remnant, and not an innovation, of our old
constitution, and believing that his attendance in the
house would be of great advantage to members, he
should support the amendment.
Lord J. RUSSELL said he had the greatest possible
objection to limiting the choice of the constituent
body of the country. He disliked it, on principle, because
he thought that the people at large should not be re-
strained in selecting men of eminent ability to represent
them. (Hear.) He likewise thought that such a course
tended very much to the degradation of the house, for
the presence of men of great learning and eminent abili-
ties gave lustre to it, and led to the preservation of its
authority and dignity. Sir James Grant, Sir Joseph
Jekyll, and Lord Lyndhurst had all sat in the house
while Masters of the Rolls, and they had not only dis-
played great powers in debate, but greatly assisted the
transaction of business by their legal learning and infor-
mation. Mr. Pitt had said that he did not like to sit
in the House of Commons as Prime Minister unless there
were some members qualified to give opinions upon im-
portant questions of law. He (Lord J. Russell) did not
think that any person could seriously entertain the belief
that the Master of the Rolls in the event of being elected
a member would necessarily neglect his Parliamentary
duties, or that because he sat in the Court of Chancery
in the morning, he would not be able to attend the house
in the afternoon. It had been objected that if he were
a member of the house he would not be able to sit upon
election committees, but that was the case with all the
officers of the chief departments of the State, and they
were exempted from the attendance upon such com-
mittees. It was also said that the turmoil of an
election contest was unfitted for the holder of
so distinguished an office, but if a person of
well-known abilities succeeded in obtaining the confi-
dence of a constituency, they would return him easily,
and, in the majority of instances, perhaps without
opposition. He hoped the house would not as-
sent to the bill, and v
dep ri it of the advantages
which had been obtaineelfroem such eminent men as
Sir William Grant and Lord Stowell. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. ATHERTON supportedothe the bill. He quite sub-
scribed to the objectionnoble lord, that constitu-
encies should not be limited n
number of judges in the country
haves so small, that he
their choice ; but the
o such an effect,
did not think their exclusion woudw
while he believed it would tend to the m
formance of their duties in their respectivree efficient
per"
Mr. WHITESIDE thanked the noblec°luortr(sl.
Hotbam) for introducing Irish judges into the scheLu dorld
of the bill. He hoped the house would agree to the
second reading.

Lord HOT-HAM having briefly stated the reasons
why he had introduced the measure,

The bill was read a second time

COUNTY RATES AND EXPENDITURE BILL.
The house then went into committee on this bill.
On clause 4,
Sir J. PAKINGTON moved the insertion of an
amendment, the effect of which was to keep the magis-
trates' boards as at present, but to allow the introduc-
tion of certain elected members. He thought there
would be serious practical difficulties in the way, of
making such a prodigious change in the management of
the expenditure of counties as was proposed by the bill.
Mr. BARROW opposed the amendment.
Mr. DRUMMOND said they were agreed that the
magistrates were to have a hand in the arrangement of
the county -rates. (Hear.) Well, this he would sug-
gest, that there should be a committee appointed by each