The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-03 00:00:00

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considered .., the cause of his excitement. Heta.• left h,
the room. Arelieve that I have correctly stated
stances of those interviews. I tlid not mean Sir V' ,
suppress the copies. I have no recollection of hi ." ;3,
he must send them in. I remember that I reps• ,
ately the substance of what passed to a Mr. B t 7.. ••.:1
?
man in the office. I have ascertained his reco
•
statement, and it is in accordance with that whi
stated. I was surprised when I heard that
Baldwin's statement. I have further to notice po
evidence of Captain Milne. I quite assent to Calrlialibibit
statement, that I requestedhim—and it was imme.
my conversation conversation with Mr. Briggs to " smooth matters over"
with Sir Baldwin. I adopt Captain Milne's expression. I
cannot, however, adopt Captain Milne's word " mediate," if
it be intended to imply that such mediation was between Sir
Baldwin and myself, or that it was to induce Sir Baldwin to
suppress the copies.
Sir B. Hall—Are we to understand that you neither saw
the letter of the 21st of April, '52, nor were aware of the ex-
istence of such a document till the 23d of November,?
Mr. Stafford— Yes ; it remained with Admiral Parker, who
had received a discretionary power from Sir Baldwin Walker
in the matter. I went to the duke, and he said that the sur-
veyor would not remain, and that if he resigned there was no
person to fill his place ; that if he went Admiral Parker would
foll9w him, and he (the duke) did not know how they could
get on with the business of the Admiralty. I said• that any
imputation would be removed, and there Admiral Parker's
evidence takes up the thread of the story.
Sir 11'. Ball - Did the duke allude to Sir Baldwin's resigna-
tion having been tendered ?
Mr. Stafford—No ;he said the surveyor was very much
annoyed, but 'mentioned nothing about his having tendered
his resignation; and I have no recollection of that being
discussed. No oue talked of it for fear of raising the
subject,.
Lord. Seymour directed Mr. Stafford's attention to trio
terms of Admiral Parker's evidence, in which he stated that
the letter of resignation was made the subject of conve.:
sation at an interview between them and Sir Baldwin
Walker.

Mr. Stafford—The question_ of resignation was not dis-
cussed.

'Lord Seymour—Admiral Parker said that he remonstrated
as to the rescinding circular not being brought under the
notice of the board; and that the Duke of Northumberland
agreed with him, and yet you say that you had the concurrence
of the board

Mr. Stafford—l cannot say what passed between Admiral
Parker and the First Lord on the subject, but I had the
cognisauce and sanction of the latter to what I did. The
,Admiralty
act as a corporate body, and are in the same posi-
tion towards their secretary as the Commandei-in-Chief is to
the Secretary-at-War. The signature of the secretary was
necessary. and I never heard of an instance in 'which a First
Lord had overruled the whole office. Vacancies are Aomet* es
filled up in the dockyard without my knowing hoW—as, for
instance in the case of labourers.
Mr. Grant, an officer in the civil department of the Admi-
ralty, and who had acted as secretary to Admiral Dundas, to
Admiral Stewart, and to Mr. Stafford, described the routine
of appointments with reference to which, when vacancies oc-
curred, the surveyor might recommend that they should not
be filled up. He knew of no instance where such a recom-
mendation had been made, and the vacancies filled up not-
withstanding. It had happened that Mr. Stafford had filled
up vacancies which had been previously supplied by labourers
without his knowledge ; but he had a perfect right to do so.
With reference to the promotions on the Bth of May,'lo names
were submitted by the superintendent, and five selected, in
strict conformity with the rules of the office. In the case of
the man selected for the appointment of writer after two years'
service, in preference to the man who had served thirty years,
Mr Stafford had ascertained from the Commodore Superin-
tendent that the former was more suited for the situation.
With regard to the appointments of the five men, the surveyor
had reported that the vacancies would be required shortly for
15 shipwright apprentices, but the report had been mislaid,
and could not be found.
Lord Seymour (addressing Mr. Stafford)—Why did you pro-
ceed to fill up these vacancies after such a representation ?
Mr. Stafford—Because the Commodore Superintendent re-
presented it to be necessary.
Lord Seymour—Did you send to the surveyor any reply to
his remarks ?
Mr. Stafford—l really don't remember ; these things were
coming every day.
Lord Seymour—But it was not every dav that the surveyor
was remonstrating.
Mr. Grant, with reference to the promotion of Ridgeway as
acting first-class man at the metal mills, said Wiled been re-
presented at the Admiralty by Sir Frederick Smith that the
superintendent of the dockyard had recommended a private
hand with the view of passing over Ridgeway, who was senior
second-class man, and had been 39 years in the service. He
Was in consequence appointed acting first class on 'probation.
Lord Seymour—Was this acting in accordance with the re-
gulations of 1847 ?
Mr. Stafford—Yes ; because they say nothing about intro-
ducing men from the private trade.
Lord Seymour—Did not the superintendent report that
Ridgeway was incompetent ? and is it consistent with any
circular of the Admiralty to put any man into an office who
is not fit for it ?
Mr. Stafford—l wrote to Captain Richards the following
letter on the subject :
(" Private and Confidential.)
" Her Majesty's ship 14triblition, off Portland,
April 11, 1852.
" Sir,--I fay:appreciate the motives that didtated your
letter of the Bth. .1

T)ie 'appointment of Ridgeway must now go forward, and.
if he is found incompetent to perform the duties-of his situa-
tiou, i# yrill of pour‘e,clev,elgpe.upon you to report officially to
that effect.—l remain, &c., _

" AUG. • STAFFORD,

• " Captain Iticharda,.C.B., R.N.•
I did not unsure Cap tau} .and -Admiral Parker was
wrong in saying, so,. •
Lord SeyrAottr—Was' Captain -Ttldhards acting politically
against Sir ,Frederick Smith?
Mr. Stafford—l believe that political influences were at
work. Captain Richards was alwayg looked On as one of the
strongest political partigans in the yard. I could not say that
he was taking part in the election, but, if so, he -was acting in
defiance of his duty. I did not think:the incapacity of Ridge-
'way so made out as to deprive him of the benefit of a proba-
tionary promotion, and no report wWs made against him dur-
ing the 6 months he was on trial.
Lord Seymonr—Must not the effect of disregarding his re-
,orts have been to discourage Captain Richards from sending
ulO ,57mt,lb.e:1—I think not. If he felt that he had nop.been
properly :rcated he might have addressed the board, and oue
or two isolatOd cases give an unfair view of the way in which
his recommendations were generally received.
Lord Seymour again directed air. Stafford's attention to Sir
Baldwin's letter to the Duke or Northumberland, and with
reference to it
Mr. Stafford said, when the duke told me that he considered
it confidential, I was sorry that I knew of the existence of a
letter whiCh brought grave charges against mo that I. had no
power to answer.
Lord.Seymour—Could you not have gone through the cases
of promotion, and brought them under the notice of the First
Lord 2

Mr. Stafford—l did so confidentially. That I vindicated
my character is shown by his Grace not making the letter
public. The duke did not ask for an inquiry, but determined
at once to make the letter private. To have made it public
would have involved a public inquiry.
Lord Seymour—Did it not occur to you to prepare a re-
port ?
Mr. Stafford—No ; but I believe I asked the duke to make
it a public letter. He declined, however, saying that I had
no right to suppose I had ever seen it.
Sir B. Hall—Did you press the point urgently ?
Mr. Stafford—l simply asked him. I could do no more.
Sir B. Hall—Did he say it would be inconvenient for the
public service ?
Mr. Stafford—He did not give me any answer. I was new
to office, and any mistakes I made at first I corrected as I
gained more experience, becoming more in accord with the
general feeling of the superintendents.
At this stage of the proceedings the committee adjourned,
and the examination of Mr. Stafford will be resumed (to-day)
with reference to the case of Wells.

The sale, by auction, of the immense territory of the
Western Australian Land Company, announced by Mr.
Robins to be held on Thursday next, is, we perceive,
unavoidably postponed until Tuesday the 31st inst.
_ _

The extensive landed estates in Lower Canada of the
Gasp 4 Fishery and Coal Mining Company, announced
by Mr. Robins to be sold on the 2d of June, present
strong temptations to enterprising capitalists, especially
when it is known that railway communication is about
being established between these properties and Quebec
and Montreal, and from thence to the United States.
SUNDAY TIPPLING IN SCOTLAND.—On the .Bth ult.
nearly 200 gentlemen in Edinburgh agreed to ascertain
the actual amount of Sunday traffic in the publichouses
of that city, and their report, entering into the statistics
of each house, the character of the visitors, &c., has just
been published. There are in all 464 licensed houses in
Edinburgh, and 312 of these were open on the Sunday
i referred to. The visitors were-22,202 men, 11,931
women, 4,631 children under•l4 years of age, and 3,032
children under 8 years of age. Total amount during
the day, 41,796.—Limp00l Chronicle.
Loss OF AN EMIGRANT VESSRL.—lntelligence has
been received by Messrs. Corry and Son, of Belfitst, of
the total toss of their barque Hercules, 551 tons re-
gister. It appears that on the 6th ult., in lat. 35 N.,
long. 72 30 W., she was fallen in with in a sinking
condition, by the Perote, from Rio Grande, and by the
ththaet Deal
on Montank, from Galveston for Antwerp, and having
taken off the crew, 18 in number, the Hercules shortly
26th inst. and landed the captain, Mr. Louden,
on the
and sailed from the former port about
and eightyafterwardsfouhnisdered.
a Thend th eP Montauke
rot e arrived
w i
12th inst. The _Hercules was bound from Liverpool
officers, aneight others, arrived at Baltimore on the
the 6th November, but having got about 360 miles off
Cape Clear, she experienced very severe weather,• which
carried away her starboard bulwarks from
for Charleston,
besides doing other damage. She was t stem to stern
the port on the 29th of November, and
havingowed back to
necessary repairs, sailed twain on the 13th got tha
but on the 27th of the same month, of December;
Man, she encountered another s when off the Calf of
lost her fore and mainmast, &c.,evere gale, in which she
standing ; she then put back the wizen only left
towed into Fleetwood a second time, and was
on. the 2d of
got new masts, &c. January, and there
STEAMER FOR THE PlvitiA
manufacturer has received OF EGYPT.—A French
steam-ship in London -an order to fit the cabins of a
, and, intended for his Highness the
Pasha of Egypt arrangements
have been made for
the introduction of the f urniture, &c., into this country,
from France, which will be required, and manufactured
for the purpose,
VAN DIEMEN'M LAND.— From Van Diemen's Land
the dates are to the Bth o f January. The Legislative
been prorogued
to the Bth of March,
when it was ex
Government expected the d etermination of the English
with regard transportation
t o
known. Meanwhile, they li ad only voted three months'
supply for police and 'gaol ( ,xpenses, the determination
apparently being to cut down a all further allowance to a
merely nominal sum if the future advices from this
country should prove unsatil ;factory. Nothing of much
importance had taken place in the shape of gold disco-
veries. A charcoal-burner 1 Lad just found some quartz
specimens about six miles frt )m Hobart Town, and two
men had started with proper• implements toexamtithere
spot. Of the deposits at Vingal it is statedt
tha
ersons
had never been more than: an average of p
v enezceeded
there, and that their profit I sad rot " ali.' °
IPdvits, pox. au,n.