The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-20 00:00:00

Auckland
ca onmd phraedh e comprehensivei
nandd i
tmhpe a
present.r ti.
re found
o
wthhiatahLowrdas
instructions f the Na
to define dsutattieead
otfhatthheeowfdioeshewdhtoiohdrsaiwr üßp.
,andhth
he
had
e
Walker was to perform. In May, 1845,
his draft instructions that the surveyor woul
Lentil Abeucaktllainbedrtiny
to correspond with the officers of the yards ; but
was not to issue any orders of a general kind, or
tothaetntheer
into correspondence with the superintendents of the yards.
It could not be imagined that this most important subject
could have escaped Lord Auckland. The superintendents
were officers high in the service, and it was alwa) sintended
that they should communicate directly with the Secretary
of the Admiralty. He believed that every Secretary of the
Admiralty had corresponded with the superintendents of
the yards. But the hon. baronet (Sir B. Hall) said that
he should wish to lay the whole responsibility on the Sur-
veyor of the Navy. He questioned whether it was not
much better that they should be able in parliament to call
upon the Secretary of the Admiralty to explain every ap-
pointment, from that of John Smith (of whom he knew
nothing) to those of the other individuals whose names had
been mentioned. He thought that this was a wholesome
practice, and he was not disposed to shirk that responsi-
bility, or to repent that he had undertaken to relieve an
over-worked officer from a charge which had lately been
forced upon him. In doing so, he had acted upon the
opinion of the highest naval authorities. He would not
venture to go over this public or private letter which had
been addressed to the Duke of Northumberland by Sir
Baldwin Walker. In that letter Sir B. Walker stated that
he felt it his duty to call his grace's attention to the evil
connected with the system of promotion in the dockyards,
and complained that correspondence had been carried on with
the authorities of the dockyards without his intervention.
He (Mr. Stafford) had taken upon himself to correspond
with them, but he had never interfered with the steam de-
partment, which he thought ought to be left under the
control of the surveyor. Sir B. Walker then said that
there would be no one to control the estimates, and that
the surveyor could not be held responsible if they were ex-
ceeded. He (Mr. Stafford) believed that those who had to
answer for these estimates were responsible to Parliament
and the country, and from that responsibility he would
not shrink; and he hoped that no secretary of the Admi-
ralty would shrink from the responsibility which neces-
sarily attached to the administration of the finances of that
gigantic establishment. (Hear.) But there were those
who would exercise a control. There were the admirals,
commodores, and captains superintendent of the dock-
yards ; and he knew enough of -them as officers and
of business to be perfectly certain that they could control
men
those establishments, and he could wish those establish-
ments no better luck than that they might be long under
the control of the officers who at present did control them.
The hon. baronet had mentioned the names of various per-
sons whom he said had been unfairly promoted. He (Mr.
Stafford), through the courtesy of the First Lord of the
Admiralty, had had an opportunity of looking over the
papers in these cases. With regard to the Devonpo
entries, the correspondent of the hon. baronet from thert
West of England might be an exellent man, but he could
be no better judge of the sort of men entered than the hon.
baronet himself. Jahn Smith and others might have been
entered, on the responsibility of the superintendent, for a
week's work. The superintendents would never have men-
tioned the entry of men for the purpose stated by the hon.
baronet. For instance, he (Mr. Stafford) sent down a list
of 12 boys to be entered at Woolwich, but what did Cap-
tain Eden do ? He refused 11 of them. (A laugh.) Captain
Eden, in a sailor's straightforward, frank, and honest man-
ner, said—" I know nothing of politics in the dockyard,
and if you send me down unfit men, I will chuck_them
neck and heels into the streets." (Hear, and laughter.)
He believed that every one of these superintendents would
have said the same. He should do them dishonour if he
thought that, with folded arms, they would have per-
mitted him to attempt any political jobbing. (Hear.) The
next case which the hon. baronet had mentioned was that
of Atkinson, who had been appointed on probation, and
at the end of his period of probation was reported as not
being sufficiently competent ; and all he (Mr. Stafford) had
done was to ask that he might be tried a little longer.
(Hear.) With regard to the case of Longson, he was a man
who had served 17 years and 11 months, and who had been
discharged for having been found drunk. According to
the police report, he and another man had been taking
some of the contractors' rum, 40 per cent. above proof,
and were, therefore, ordered to be reprimanded and dis-
charged ; but, in consequenence of the high character
which was given him by the master shipwright, and as he
had only neglected his duty for about a minute, he was
restored in about five weeks after his dismissal, that hav-
ing been considered sufficient punishment for so small an
offence. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the case of the
miller who was promoted, although, as it was said, he had
been reported as suffering from a disease of the spermatic
cord, and consequently unfit for promotion, the truth was,
that he (Mr. Stafford) had not appointed him, but had sim-
ply directed him to call at Somerset-house, to be examined
by Dr. Bryce, the second surgeon in the naval service, who
pronounced him to be in perfect health, and quite able to
discharge all the duties of a miller, which situation he be-
lieved he was now filling to the entire satisfaction of all
concerned. He did not consider that he had so much to
charge himself with as had been brought against him.
(Cheers.) He knew not what other hon. members who
would follow might have to say against him, but having
taken all the cases brought forward by the hon. baronet,
who had very fairy handed them to him before bringing on
this motion, he could not see that any very great amount
of blame could fairly be charged against him. (Cheers.)
He came now to the case of Cotsell, and he hoped that the
house would favour him with attending very minutely to
the dates in this case. The hon. baronet had yesterday
offered to show him the deposition which he had to-night
produced, but he (Mr. Stafford) said, in return, that he had
no wish to see it. He could not see that this deposition,
signed by Mr. Scott, relieving officer, had at all effected
him, inasmuch as it did not even say that Cotsell had seen
him when he came to London.
Sir B. HALL said that the substance of the deposition
was, that after the election Cotsell, having got this appoint-
ment, stated to the deponent (Scott) that now the election
was over, he did not mind telling how he had got it. He
said that Mr. Stafford had promised him the appointment,
and that he went up to the Admiralty, where he saw a
gentleman whom he knew. He was taken into a room,
and saw the appointment of Wells lying on the table. After
some conversation the appointment was put on one side,
and the gentleman told him that ho need not trouble him.
self any more about it.
Mr. STAFFORD- Certainly the election was over,_but
the election committee was not over. (Hear.) Why did
not this relieving officer come before the committee with
that statement ? (Hear, hear.) In the list delivered in by
the petitioners, he found that the name of Costell was set
down both as a briber and a person bribed, and the person
bribing him was the Secretary of the Admiralty. (A
laugh from Sir G. Pechell). The hon. and gallant gentle-
man might laugh if he chose ; calumnies such as this
might be good to divert a mind like that of the hon. and
gallant gentleman, but those who had charged Costell with
being bribed, and himself (Mr. Stafford) with having
bribed him, had an opportunity--if they had the manli-
ness and courage to do so—to bring forward the charge
before one of the constituted tribunals of this country ;
they might have put him and Costell upon their oaths,
and forced them to tell the truth, or risk the consequences
of perjury. (Cheers.) But instead of taking that course,
now, at the latest hour, when it was too late for him to
communicate with Costell, the relieving officer came for-
ward to make this charge, which, after all, went no far-
ther than to show how closely the eyes of enmity had
watched for every act of his which might not be able to
bear the strictest scrutiny. (Hear.) No more than that
did it prove in the estimation of the house. (Hear, hear.)
Costell said that he had asked to be transferred from
Chatham and Portsmouth, and certainly he had made such
a request as he (Mr. Stafford) was going round the dock-
yard, saying at the same time that he had sent a memorial
to the Lords of Admiralty on the subject. He had told
Costell that he would consider his request, but that was
all. Without for the moment alluding to the political
part of the question, he would observe that, upon Costell's
appointment hung four others, all whom were recommended
by the highest testimonials of their respective superiors.
The rank of master smith at Portsmouth was the chancel.
lorship of the smithery, and this man had raised himself to
claim it from the lowest situation in his business, who was
supported by Mr. Abethell, the master shipwright. The
Surveyor of the Navy denied having any share of the
appointment. Costell had petitioned to be promoted
to Portsmouth, while Wells was willing to remain
at Chatham ; and on the 29th of January the surveyor
wrote to the Admiralty superintendent respecting that
man, that for gene-. al fitness for the situation of master
smith, with regard to his endeavours for economy and ap-
preciation of all modern improvements in smithery, he had
the highest opinion of Costell." (Hear.) Sir B. Walker
was asked before the committee who had examined Wells,
and he replied that he could not recollect. Upon. the 16th
October, 1852, Wells was directed to proceed to Somerset
House, and was there examined by himself (the Surveyor
of the Navy) and Mr. Lloyd, the chief engineer. So, al-
though the surveyor had examined Wells himself on the
16th October, 1852, yet in February, 1853, the matter
had so entirely passed from his memory that he could not
recollect who examined the man. In another part of
his evidence Sir B. Walker said he did not know whether
Wells had any letter from the Admiralty appointing him,
and that he never saw him until he had been dismissed.
(Hear, hear.) So, although he would not swear whether
this mail had ever forged an anchor, he would swear
that he had never seen him. (Hear, hear.) Now, he
would approach the political part of 'the question. The
hon. baronet had stated that these claims would never
have been recognised, 'in spite of the eulogies of Mr.
Abethell, if Cotsell had not been an elector. It so hap-
pened that his (Mr. Stafford's) groat opponent upon this
occasion had been the hon. member for Liverpool, the then
Secretary to the Treasury, who complained that Wells was
a staunch supporter of his, and had voted for him and his
colleague. He had a long interview with that hon. gen-
tleman at the Treasury, and never did a man care less for
the dockyard and more' for his friend than he did ; and,
without being actually angry, had intimated that, as the
Admiralty. was the junior department to the Treasury, it
ought to give way. But he (Mr. Stafford) declined to give
way, and did not give way, preferring to maintain the
rights of the ' dockyard men. The right hon. baronet at
the head of the Admiralty, upon the 21st February last,
had said that if the dockyards were justly administered,
without consideration of political influence, chances offered
themselves to every man, even in the humblest position,
to attain to the highest. A noble sentiment, upon which
no better comment could be made than the removal of
Cotsell to command the trade in a place where he had
laboured in an inferior capacity. And let him remind the
house of the value of the men who toiled in these yards—
they formed the dockyard battalions, to whom were en-
trusted the priceless materials of our navy. They were men
loyal and proud of their Sovereign and their country—pre-
pared to shed the last drop of blood for the good of either.
They were men who keenly felt the blighting of their
hopes when their claims were passed over and a stranger
preferred. (Hear.) The hon. baronet had made charges
respecting the general superintendents. In all boroughs,
mwmhuoueerttehhdathvoceekryards were situate, the Government naturally
ienhfladuenbceee.n
nßoueot
nwteh:att;stvhereehtohne. fbaacrotsn?etAotpPpotse-
hws :scar isu
pnnue enemysliyton
ust
tc
been
with but the heat. If the late
Government had en inclined to use its influence so un-
easily
upon that score,anthered. it bad done, there might
easily have been awF st
the hon. baronet who brought there had been any opportunity of
From Devonport there
riotn
gwouldhth the
mattero t h ave
fboerewna or t t
From
d by
allegation
alx
otfh
a petition, but it contained no
Goyernment influence. From Greenwich
there was no petition ; from Rochester none, and f
ere was
held in his hand a placard
wChhaiethhamhadthehee:locnniea.t.ege.
m
in Chatham at the mof
the election, in which the electors were warned that
but that asie
sthmeitShee
uponre Secretary
his of
canvass,t h the
oan u/
no ilut tee of tuhge Si
houser F
d i nngettheiesutsiellti
close every circumstance
would compel that Secretary to dia
nerthe terrible
did not
e the committee;
taofryhistovitshite.
wasANdorotwirialthtsytan
) contain a word in
and the report of that committee
Smith
reference to him. He (Mr. Stafford
out the votes of the dockyard mob believeds that, with-
would gill have been elected. (Hear.) If
nothing could