The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-07 00:00:00

FLOGGING AND DESERTION 1N THE NAVY.

The best commentary on Sir James Graham's re-
marks on Tuesday night with respect to the flogging
of the boatswain's mate, Stapleton, and the right hon.
baronet's notions as to what is " brutality " and " dis-
grace," and what is " degrading " and " brutalising,"
will be found in our Parliamentary report, and especially
in the remarks of Lord Palmerston. The wretch who
has been convicted, after a fair and open trial, of ill-
treating a woman and of inflicting the most brutal
injury on his wife, must not be flogged, because corporal
punishment "will leave marks on his back," and be-
cause the tendency of flogging is to disgrace and to
brutalise the human species ; but it petty officer in the
navy, with 17 years' good character, if he happens to
commit a breach of discipline, under great provocation,
may be "flogged " and " brutalised ' at the will of his
commanding officer, and the House of Commons,
which on Tuesday li.tened without disgust to a
Cabinet Minister who defended the flogging the
sailor, voted yesterday against the infliction of cor-
poral punishment on any notorious ruffian against
whose violence a poor woman may be compelled
to appeal to the protection of the law. The First Lord
of the Admiralty was not aware of the fact that any
men had deserted from the navy in consequence of the
flogging of a petty officer, and attributed the desertions,
which he could not deny had taken place, to the temp-
tation of higher wages in the merchant service. We are
sorry to find Sir James Graham so unacquainted with
facts so well known without the precincts of the Board
of Admiralty, and we fear that if the First Lord is so
slow to acquire information on matters so vitally im-
portant to the service over which he presides, he will
learn a lesson in the House of Commons on naval affairs
which will be neither agreeable nor creditable to him.
We believe that the offer of high wages in some instances
has led to the desertion of a few men-of-war's men, but
the principal cause for desertion and of so many vacan-
cies for petty officers in the navy, is owing to the dis-
graceful flogging of the boatswain's mate, Stapleton, who
had so good a character, and we know that men who
would have been received into the navy with first-class
petty officers' ratings, have preferred hard-working ser-
vice in East India clippers at 455. a month.—Morning
Herald.

SUICIDE FROM WESTMINSTER-BRIDGE.—Last evening,
about half-past six, a plainly-dressed man, apparently
about thirty, was observed by some people leaning over
the side of the bridge, and looking abstractedly on the
water, but did not excite any further notice, until he
suddenly climbed the parapet and precipitated himself
into the stream, and, although crowds of people were on
the bridge at the time, the act was so sudden that none
could prevent him from committing it. A boat with
drags instantly put off from the pier, but although they
were dragging for nearly an hour, no trace of the unfor-
tunate man could be discovered. His body, however,
was found this morning near Waterloo-bridge.
DEATH OF PROFESSOR SCHOLEFIELD.--The reliious
and literary world will learn with regret
that thisg dis-
tinguished and excellent man died at Hastings on Mon-
day. He had been unwell for the last six months, and
had gone to Hastings, in the hope that he might be re-
stored to health by a change of scene and the salubrious
climate of that place ' - but the result has been otherwise.
Professor Scholefield has long occupied a prominent
place in the University of Cambridge. He originally
came before the public as curate to the Rev. Charles
Simeon, of Cambridge, and has ever since taken a warm
interest in whatever related to the cause of evangelical
religion. He was in his sixty-fourth year.