The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-17 00:00:00

DESERTIONS FROM THE NAVY.

We noticed in our last week's publication the credit-
able manner H.M.S. Hastings was paid off—every man
orderly, sober, and clean, and from their healthy and
youthful appearance we may very reasonably suppose the
ship's company to have been one of the best in the ser-
vice; but the question now is, where are these fine body
of efficient men? Are they in, the service, or likely
to return to it ? We feArirap,k. , As we said before, allure-
ments abroad hold-out,ELEFonger attractions than employ-
ments in H. H. shipii, and We much regret it is not in
our power to contradict the statement which we made
last week as to the innjcir-part of the men having united
to go over to the diggings in• the manner we then de-
scribed. ,
We sincerely wish it was in bur power to induce the
Lords of the Admiralty to lose nts time in adopting such
favourable measures as would raise in Jack's mind a
greater interest, and thereby a stronger tie, to remain in
a service in which he has been reared almost from child-
hood to manhood. When no longer able to serve his
gracious Sovereign from age or incapacity, how well it
would become a grateful nation to bestow upon
Jack for his long and faithful services a moderate
competency which would enable him to live happy
and contented all the days of his life. The great
difficulty heretofore has been to procure hands
to man our ships, and now it would appear
a greater one is arising to keep men to the service whom
you have had in it for years. Existing pensions were
formerly thought adequate to answer the fulfilment of all
good purposes, but it is now conclusively evident that
greater allurements have come to the views of the sea-
man, so as to induce him to seek greater a dvan-
tages in a distant land. The present system of entering
boys in the service as apprentices, for ten years, is un -
questionably an admirable regulation, and time was when
such servitude would have kept them to the service on
arriving at manhood, with favourable retiring prospects
before them ; but then there existed no load-stone
to attract them (as they think) into a more profitable path
to the diggings. Be that as it may, it is now too evident
that the time has arrived and the necessity is most
urgent, for at once adopting efficient means to check
the ardent desire of our brave tars for emigration, for
in the event of its continuance Briton's best bilwarks
will be left unmanned and undefended. If this be the
case in profound peace, what alternative have we left in
war but to return to that most arbitrary of resorts—im-
pressment ; alike un-English, and unconstitutional ?
Many have said we can, in the event of a sudden
break out, fall back upon our Coast Guard, forget-
ting that numbers of the men in that service
were never brought up to the sea, and many more,
although qualified in every way as good seamen, yet
from age, and rheumatism generally following, ren-
der them anything but efficient. At the same time, we
admit, as an auxiliary, they would add much to our naval
• strength by being distributed amongst different classes
of ships, and it would be still more advantageous if prac-
ticable to complete the complement of men in each ship
to a full ship's company, with younger and more active
men.—Portsmouth Times.