The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-16 00:00:00

THE BALTIC FLEET.

Mr. W. S. Lindsay, the shipowner, says in a letter
addressed to and published in the Times to-day :—The
first division of the Baltic fleet has sailed. The sight
was grand, and, as our good Queen, in her Fairy yacht
led forth her magnificent fleet, she never assumed a
position more becoming the Sovereign of a great mari-
time nation. I am a cool man of business, and as such
I look upon war as a dire necessity—a horrible thing.
But there was a something which made me feel that that
fleet was departing on a just and righteous cause. I
felt that every effort had been made to maintain peace
—that we were at last driven to the ,earful resort o
bringing about a more sure and lasting peace by force
of arms—and I wished it God speed. I saw, at last,
that any other course would only have delayed the evil
hour, and made its consequences still more dreadful when
it came.
The main cause, however, which made me spend a few
hours this morning in a cutter cruising among the ships
at Spithel
d was to see and judge for myself, as far as I
could, in regard to the efficiency of the fleet about to
sail for the Baltic. This was natural enough, as I
have so long taken a deep interest in maritime mat-
ters. But I had, perhaps, another reason. The Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer has doubled the income tax, and
men of business like to examine what they are getting
for their money. I know a little about the machinery
of the Admiralty, and, from the unwearied exertions of
the practical mainspring there, aided by the great poli-
tical knowledge and energy of the First Lord, I expected
to find something superior to anything I had ever seen
before. I was not disappinted. The ships fully sus-
tain the character we have long held for maritime supre-
macy ; there was about them no display—nothing un-
necessary—but there was a silent majesty of strength
which spoke volumes. We have improved to a most
surprising extent in our merchant vessels during the last
thirty years, but I certainly was not prepared to find an
improvement nearly as great in our men-of-war. I did so.
Those who have only inspected a line-of-battle ship of 1\ el-
son's day willforin a very imperfect idea of the Duke of
Wellington by any comparison they may make in their
own minds ; they roust see her before they can under-
stand the real strength of Napier's flag-ship. She is,
indeed, a magnificent specimen of naval architecture—
a thorough peace-maker ; for one broadside of her
tremendous artillery must tend materially to create
silence, Everything seemed in its place, ready for
action. As a whole. the fleet surpassed my
expectations. Great credit is due to the Admiralty, and
the thanks of the country are due in an especial manner
to Captain Milne for his untiring zeal and indefatigable

labours in sending to sea, in so short a space of time, the
most perfect fleet of ships that ever sailed from our ports.
In regard to the effi-ciency of the crews I had not an op-
portunity of judging. In getting under way they displayed
great activity, and I was certainly surprised at the rapi-
dity with which the topsails and courses were unfurled
and spread. That they sailed in the best of spirits and
were most enthusiastic in the cause there could hardly be
a doubt. I saw nothing to.make me feel that the courage
of John Bull was not as great as it had ever been, or that
the British Lion had in any way degenerated, as some
people would have us to suppose. I did not like, how-
ever, to hear that in every ship there were men ranked as
able seamen on different scales of pay ; that the Coast-
guardmen received somewhat more than 41. per month ;
that the dockyard men and riggers had 31.105. or 31.155.;
and that the finest seamen from the Lisbon squadron
had only 21. 9s. per month. If such be the case, it
must lead to dissatisfaction. Men rated alike should be
paid alike. Jack, at 21. 98. per month, and an able sea-
man in every sense of the word, will not rest content
when he conies to know that his messmate, perhaps not
so good a man, has nearly double wages, simply because
he happened to be a guardman on shore or a rigger !n
the yard. It is our duty to see that there is no cause
for discontent on board ; for, with a dissatisfied crew,
our finest ships may become an easy prey to the enemy.
I was also informed that there were very few officers
on board who understood anything about the navigation
of the Baltic. If it is so, let us despatch at once in a
steamer after the fleet, for distribution among the ships,
some 20 or 30 north country skippers. Abundance of
volunteers can be found, who have traded all their lives
in these seas ' • who know every inch of the ground, and
every bay and headland along the coast. The Admiralty
may rate them as they please, either as pilots or as as-
sistant-masters, and the expense is not worthy of a mo-
ment's thought when the intricacy and shallowness of
the navigation is considered, and the size and value of
our fleet, with the objects it has in view.
Though our fleet is exceedingly powerful, yet in num-
ber it is very far short of the Russian squadrons which
await its arrival. It is said that Sir Charles told some
one on the night of the Reform dinner that in 3 weeks ,
from that date he " would either be in St. Petersburg or
in Heaven." I cannot vouch for the truth of that say-
ing, and I do not for one moment question the courage
of its alleged author, or, if he said it, that he was sin-
cere. Nor do I doubt his qualifications for the very
important office he now holds ; hut, as I fear he may be
too brave, I do trust he will not make the attempt till
he is joined by the French and the second division of
the English fleets ; for I should like when he goes to a
happier land, to hear that he has taken with him his
Imperial Majesty Nicholas, Emperor of All the Russias,
The civilsed world would be well quit of him, and it
would tend to alleviate our sorrow at the exit of our
brave Charley.

I also hope that his zeal and great bravery may not
prompt him to carry his magnificent screw ships into
close quarters with the sailing ships of Russia—for then
the quantity of metal and numbers would decide the
struggle—but that, on the contrary, he will be always
sufficiently cool to remember that a screw ship, by
manceuvring, may destroy four sailing vessels of equal
size, whereas, if boarded by two, she would have little
chance. I likewise trust that he will confine himself to
a blockade, or prevent the junction of the Russian fleets
till he is reinforced, and not declare war with a broad-
side when he "gets into the Baltic," even though the
First Lord of the Admiralty (who, by the way, did not
display his usual great discretion that evening) " gave
him leave so to do."

One word more, and lam done. All men ofbusiness
must have admired the unwearied exertions of Lord
Aberdeen to maintain peace. They were in vain. Now
that we have been taxed for war, now that our armies
have embarked and our fleets departed, very few will
rest content with a peace the groundwork of which is to
be the simple evacuation of the Principalities. That
might have done once ;—it will not do now.