The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-10 00:00:00

SEIZURE OF wAie STEAMERS AT
NORTHFLEET.

:ao many contradictory statements having been pub-
lished respecting the recent seizure of Russian war
steamers at Mr. Pitcher's ship-yard, Nerthfleet, a de-
tailed statement of all the circumstances connected with
the transaction may not be unacceptable to the public.
To begin with the beginning : it appears that in Dec.
1852, Captain Schestakoff, of the Russian navy, and
Lieut. Ivastchenko, marine architect at the dockyard
of Nicolaev, brought a letter of introduction to Mr.
Pitcher from Capt. Istomin, aide-de-camp to the Em-
peror, who had been in this country so far back as
1842, to superintend the building of a war steamer of
800 tons in Mr. Pitcher's yard. In this, the fifth tran-
saction, the vessel was built in the ordinary course of
trade, no government permission was asked, nor was it
dreamt of to ask any permission from the authorities
The vessels now on the stocks were ordered in the most
open manner, the two gentlemen above-mentioned hav-
ing come to the Thames to select in the ordinary way
the best and cheapest shipbuilder, and being influenced
in their selection of Mr. Pitcher's firm, simply by the
recommendation and previous knowledge of Captain
Istomin. The vessels were ordered as steam corvettes,
not intended for speed, but to be capable of carrying a
heavy armament, the same class of vessel, in short, as
the Highflyer and one or two other recently built vessels
in the British navy, and they were stated openly to be
intended for the Black Sea. The vessels were sot com-
menced until the beginning of 1853, from which time
the Russian officers remained for purposes of inspection
until the 25th of January, this year, when our compli-
cations with Russia becoming serious, they feared that
their presence might lead to the condemnation of the
ships. War then becoming imminent, the Russian
officers feared that the delivery of the vessels would
not be permitted ; they did not, however, return to
Russia, but remained at Ostend to watch events. It
appears, however, that Mr. Pitcher waited on Lord
Palmerston in December last, to take his lordship's
opinion as to whether he was liable to any penal-
ties for building steamers for Russia, when the answer
was in the negative, the illegality consisting as Mr.
Pitcher was informed simply in the arming and equip-
ping. The fact is that according to the usage of Lon-
don river all vessels are considered to be •merchant
steamers, until the guns are aboard, and the contracts
are not made with foreign Governments, but with
consuls at Hamburg or elsewhere (in this case the con-
tract was male with Mr. Krehmer Consul-General for
Russia) so that a whole navy might be built for a foreign
power under the Home Secretary's nose, seeing that
no attention is paid to the build of the vessel, but
simply to the fact of the armament, being on board. On
the departure of the Russian officers, Mr. Pitcher
stopped the building of the vessels, and nothing further
occurred until Monday last, when, about 9 o'clock at
night, Mr. Scanlan, customs officer, came to the ship
yard, and formally seized the vessels. The act took
Mr. Pitcher completely by surprise, as the fact had pre-
viously been notorious that the vessels could not be de-
livered to the Russians, so much so that an application
for their purchase had been made by the Danish Go-
vernment, and Mr. Pitcher had hhisself offered them to
the English Admiralty. A negotiation was entered into
with the latter, which has resulted in the purchase of the
vessels by the British Government. The first vessel
will be launched on Saturday next, and will be ready for
sea in about six weeks. It is understood that they are
intended to join the Baltic fleet, being admirably con-
structed for service in that quarter.
. The above details were all supplied by Mr. Pitcher,
' superintendent, who further informed the reporter that
the firm has had large transactions with the Russian
Government, for whom they have built between twenty
and thirty thousand tons of shipping. So far back as
1839 they built the Argonaut, Orestes, and Pylades,
steam corvettes, and all intended for the Black Sea, and
all of which subsequently received their armaments at
the Royal Arsenal, at Woolwich. In 1842 they built
no less than five war steamers for the Russian Govern-
ment, and also intended for the Black Sea, namely, the
Bessarabia, the Thnnderer, Crimea, Cherson, and Odin.
It may be wondered how, under existing treaties, these
formidable squadrons could have been got through the •
Dardanelles, but it appears that they passed as merchant
vessels, having their armaments comfortably stowed away
in their holds, the unsuspicious Turks being satisfied
with the word of a Russian "gentleman" that they were
really what they seemed to be. Under all the circum-
stances, Mr. Pitcher feels unable to understand why the
vessels should have been seized at all, as it is the regular
practice in. London River to build war steamers for any
foreign government at peace with ours. He has one on the
sfocks at present for the Portuguese Government, and
has just finished the Carlo Alberto for Sardinia. The
latter vessel is at this moment lying off Woolwich pre-
paratory to receiving her armament from the Royal
Arsenal. With respect to the transaction immediately
in question he states that there never was the slightest
mystery or irregularity about it. It was taken openly
after the manner of several previous contracts, the
Home Secretary was consulted and expressed no die
approval, and when the rupture of our peaceful rela-
tions with Russia took place, the progress of the vessels
was stopped, and negotiations were at once opened for
their sale to our own Government. There is another
part of the transaction respecting which Mr. Pitcher is
also anxious to see himself right with the puhhe: It
has been alleged that he had cautiously prepared him-
self for all the eventualities by insisting on payment by
instalments according as the work progressed, and that
thus he would only be performing a very profitable act
of patriotism in transferring them, under present cir-
cumstances, to our own G ivernment. We were in-
formed that this mode of payment is the ordinary one
in all dealings between Thatues shipbuilders and foreign
Governments, and that the contract in this instance,
being wade, not with the Emperor Nicholas, but with
Mr. Krehmer, of Winchester-buildings, all the money
advanced will have to be returned as in any ordinary
transaction.

Of the above details, furnished by members of Mr.
Pitcher's establishment in the most open and undisguised
manner, the public will form its own opinion. Thebuild-
ing of war steamers for foreign governments is the most
profitable branch carried on in the Thames shipyards, and
has been carried on for years without the slightest mo-
lestation or notice. With respect to Russia in particular,
they not only build ships habitually for that power, but
apply to her naval architects for information as to what
is going on in the royal dockyards of England, it being
the strong impression among the shipbuilders of London
river, almost amounting to moral certainty, that there
is a Russian spy in every one of our dockyards—an Eng-
lishman save the mark ! who regularly transmits to the
chancellerie at St. Petersburg accounts of what is going
on and drawings of every new improvement in our,naval
architecture. This statement was made to the reporter
in the most positive manner, the parties making it ex-
pressing their implicit belief in its truth, and adding that
it had been tested by frequent applications for informa-
tion in the quarter indicated.