The Sun.
London, England, 1849-11-08 00:00:00

away " all that did not belong to a British sub-
ject." Her entire status was changed by the act of
marriage, and therefore the privilege that belonged to
her former status as an alien—that of being tried by
a jury de medietate linguce—thereupon ceased and de-

termined.
The Judges very properly rested their decision on
the effect of the statute. They very properly declined
to enter into the elaborate arguments adduced
as the effect of BIERE's Case, which, to say
the least of it, is of very doubtful authority,
as well as being exceedingly obscure. Indeed,
the Attorney-General was unable to state whether
the reported decision had been made in a civil action
or in a criminal prosecution, a matter on which the
result might very easily turn. It would palpably
only weaken the effect of their clear and unequivocal
judgment on the operation of the statute if such a
precedent were relied on.
The Learned Counsel for the prisoner—Mr. BAL-
LANTINE—did all that man could do on behalf of his
client. He contended against fearful odds. The
law and the facts were alike against him
but he laboured zealously and energetically
for his client, as he was bound to do. We cannot
blame him if his arguments could not stand the test
of reason. They were the best that could be adduced,
and it was his imperative duty to bring them forward.
An advocate, as we have already stated, must consider
his client, and his client alone; he must disregard all
other persons, and let no feelings of compassion or of
sensibility influence him in the performance of his
task. Thus it was that Sergeant WILKINS acted in
his admirable defence of MANNING, the husband.
Thus it is that Mr. BALLANTINE has acted for Mrs.
MANNING, the wife. Lord BROUGHAM has placed
this just principle in so strong a point of view, when
defending Queen CAROLINE before the House of
Lords, that we cannot refrain from quoting his very
words. They will be found in Vol. 1., p. 105, of his
published Speeches. He says—
" Let no man vainly suppose that not only I, but that
any, the youngest member of the profession, would he-
sitate for one moment in the fearless discharge of his
paramount duty. I ;once before took leave to re-
mind your Lordships—which was unnecessary, but
there are many whom it may be needful to remind—
that an advocate, by the sacred duty which he owes his
client, knows in the discharge of that office but one
person in the world—THAT CLIENT AND NONE OTIER.
To save that client by all expedient means, to protect
that client at all hazards and costs to all others, and,
among others, to himself, is the highest and most un
questioned of these duties. And he must not re-
gard the alarm, the suffering, the torment, the
destruction which he may bring upon any
other. Nay, separating the duties of a patriot from
those of an advocate, and casting them, if need be, to
the wind, HE MUST Go orr reckless of the consequences,
if it should unhappily be to involve his country in con-
fusion, for his client's protection."
Let those who prate about how far a barrister
should go in defence of his client consider this deli-
berate opinion of one of the most brilliant advocates
that ever appeared in a court of justice, and relin-
quish their own ridiculous crotchets on this point.

Our naval intelligence of this evening affords
another melancholy illustration of the mismanagement
of that noble service which has been the instrument

at once of the creation and the conservation of the

puissance and the glory of England. It will be ob-
served in the accounts transmitted yesterday from
Portsmouth that the difficulty experienced in manning
our vessels, so far from diminishing in any respect, is
rapidly on the increase. Even a twelve gun brig,
" the most tempting craft in the navy for seamen,"
finds almost insuperable obstacles to obtain its neces-
sary complement; while "a dashing first class frigate,
with a popular captain," is compelled to put
up with a number of inefficient hands and the
offscourings of various seaports. The futility
of the efforts recently made by Captain
DACaES to collect together an adequate complement
of able bodied mariners to man the 50-gun frigate
Leander, lately put in commission, is a glaring and
lamentable testimony of the rottenness, not to say the
insanity of the prevailing system—a system by which
the maritime power of the country is very materially
deteriorated, while a vast number of excellent seamen,
rough and tough salt• water Jacks, noble fellows who
deserve better treatment from the nation, are thrown
suddenly out of employment, and very frequently cast
adrift upon parishes but ill qualified to afford them
assistance. _ .. , .

Grievous, however, as are the evils resulting
from this deplorable mismanagement, it is not to
them that we are now going to refer. Our object
at present is to pursue the line of argument
commenced by ourselves on Monday—to dilate upon
the grievances accruing to the naval profession, and
the unnecessarily heavy disbursements required from
the na,ional Exchequer, in consequence of the enor-
mous number, the preposterously enormous number,
of superior officers, whose names are inscribed upon
the Navy List as post captains, rear-admirals, vice-
admirals, and full admirals.
Already we have shown that, while the United
States navy is without one, while the French navy
ha, but thirty-one, and the Russian navy but sixty-
three, the navy of England is encumbered with no
less than one hundred and ninety-four admirals-43
on the retired list, 151 on full pay, 31 full admirals,
45 vice-admirals, and 72 rear-admirals 1 We have
intimated, moreover, that this enormous assemblage
of flag-officers is exactly 158 more than were enu-
merated on the books of the Admiralty during the
period of our gigantic wars with NeronEoN. At that
period 36 admirals were found sufficient for all the
emergencies of war, for all the wants of the service,
for all the advantages of the profession. It is quite
manifest, therefore, that a number so monstrously
disproportioned as 36 for war-time and 13'4 for
peace-time is indicative of a shameful unsoundness in
the organization of the Reyal Navy. It demon-
strates quite unanswerably that the evil has become
so immense as to render its instant diminution
and its gradual dissipation imperatively necessary.
Nevertheless it may be asked how on earth matters
can be remedied ? The answer is sufficiently obvious.
Let the number of superfluous admirals, vice-
admirals, and rear -admirals be diminished—slowly,
and to a certain extent almost imperceptibly, if you
will—but still diminished. According to the present
arrangements of the service, no sooner is a superior
officer deceased than the Gazette is crowded with a
long list of consequent promotions. Some octogena-
rian dies admiral of the fleet; and forthwith we are
informed that the vice-admiral of the United King-
dom becomes admiral of the fleet as his successor ;
senior admiral of the red becomes vice-admiral
of the United Kingdom ; second admiral of
the red becomes rear-admiral of the United
Kingdom ; admiral of the white becomes
admiral of the red, admiral of the blue becomes
admiral of the white, senior vice-admiral becomes
admiral of the blue, vice-admiral of the red becomes
senior vice-admiral, vice-admiral of the white becomes
vice-admiral of the red, vice-admiral of the blue
becomes vice admiral of the white, rear-admiral of the
red becomes vice-admiral of the blue, rear admiral
of the white becomes rear-admiral of the red, rear-
admiral of the blue becomes rear-admiral of the
white, and the expectant post captain fortunately
succeeds to his flag rank, moderately beginning upon
the superior catalogue as rear-admiral of the blue.
Phew ! the mere list makes one breathless. " And
so the world wags !" Now such as the foregoing are
the nature of the changes occurring immediately upon
the death of any old " tarpaulin " of an admiral. We
would see this interminable accession to the highest
rank in the service retarded in some measure until
the present preposterous list of 194 flag officers were
reduced to within a rational compass. Nor would we
desire that this beneficent innovation should be accom-
plished with an abruptness such as would entail any
hardship upon any class of the naval profession. Let
the reduction be effected in a manner so graduated as
to excite no reasonable disappointment among the
numerous aspirants for promotion. At present the
senior post-captain obtains his flag-rank immediately
an admiral departs life, be he admiral of the fleet
or junior rear-admiral of the blue. Now instead of
the senior post-captain attaining bis flag-rank with
evc-ry individual death, let it be with every two, or
three, or four deaths among the admirals. Say,
with every three deaths—and let this regulation
continue in force until such time as the present
monstrous list of admirals, vice admirals, and
rear-admirals shall be sufficiently diminished. The
felicitous result of such an arrangement would very
soon be perceptible. We commend the plan with all
earnestness to the consideration of the honourable
Gentleman the representative of Montrose, or to some
other energetic and ptitziotic ALenaber of the 11,4„