The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-04 00:00:00

THE PENINSULAR MAIL.

SOUTOAMPTON, Dec. 3.—The Peninsular and
Oriental Company's steam-ship Pacha, Capt. Weeks,
arrived here at elven P.M.
The freight of the Pacha consists of 11 packages
of specie, 556 boxes of oranges, 16 ditto tangirenes,
and cargo comprising 69 boxes of eggs, and 12
packages sundries.
Her dates of sailing were—Gibraltar, Nov. 25 ;
Lisbon, 29; Vigo, Dec. 1 ; Oporto, Nov. 30;
26, &c.
Stations of her Majesty's steam ships—At Lisbon,
screw-steamers Arrogant, 46, llogue, 56, Encounter,
14. Conflict, Scourge, steamer, and Leander, frigate.
The quarantine is reduced to three days from the
south, and should the packet of the 7th produce a
clean billl of health, she will be admitted to free
pratique at Lisbon.
Ships Spoken with on the Voyage—Exchanged
signals with Company's ship Sultan, Dec. 1, lat. 45
deg. 20 min. N., long. 7 deg. 30 min. W. Off Cape
St. Vincent, November 27, passed a screw•steamer,
supposed to be the Earl of Auckland.

CALEDONIAN AS Y LUM-COR-
POR AL PUNISHMENTS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sea,—At a meeting of the guardians of the Cale-
donian Asylum, which was held on Thursday last,
the 29th ult., a resolution was moved by Captain
Lamont, that corporal punishment ought to be
utterly abolished in the institution. The Gallant
Captain stated that, from his long experience in the
navy, as well as from his intimate knowledge of the
charitable institutions of the country, he well knew
the evils resulting from flogging.
Mr. Strickland seconded the resolution, "upon the
broad principle of proilioting a love of justice among
Mk n, and of assisting that glorious consummation,
when an appeal to the better feelings and to the
judgments of young persons should be deemed pre-
ferable to a resort to physical suffering."
Mr. hector Rose, a magistrate for Middlesex,
strenuously opposed the motion. " Whipping," said
he, " in cases of tender age was authorised by the law
of the land as a mode of punishment." I attended the
meeting, and heard and saw Mr. Hector Rose, and I
venture to state that I am at a loss to characterise the
speech which he made in support of corporal punish-
ment and the remarks which he thought proper to
make on the conduct of the parents of the children.
Mr. Rose, from his remarks and attitude, seemed
prepared to " whip universal nature." I pray that I,
or any little bays or little girls, be preserved from
corning before him in his magisterial capacity, or, if
we do—woe betide us I
Dr. Cumming opposed the motion, and asked " what
was it proposed to substitute, supposing corporal
punishment to be abolished ?"
Captain Lamont named several, such as " depriva-
tion of indulgence, confinement, and, finally, expul-

sion."
Dr. Cumming—" A good whipping would be better
than all put together."
The lion. Fox Maule " wished it to be distinctly
understood that the question on this motion regarded
the punishment with a rod for ycung children, and
was totally different from the question of flogging
adults. Ile might advocate, as regarded young chil-
dren, following out the authority of ' he who spareth
the rod spoileth the child.'"
Here, then, we have Mr. Rose, a magistrate, re-
presenting justice; Dr. Cumming, representing reli-
gion ; and the Hon. Fox Maule, one of the Ministers
of the Crown, and Secretary-at- War—a most powerful
and formidable combination of what may be termed
"justice, religion, and the force of arms,"—strenu-
ously upholding a system which is coeval with our
history. Hence it may be considered that the lash is
part and parcel of our common nature ; but every in-
telligent being and every well-regulated mind must
be aware that the torture of the lash is associated with
despotism and tyranny; and because, as it is said, the
custom is as ancient as the bilk and as universal as
the sand of the sea shore, it ought not to be abolished.
I differ in opinion with any man or class of men who
thinks that corporal punishment ought not to be abo-
lished, because, as Captain Rose says, " if they went
to Eton and Harrow they would find that the chil-
dren of the highest nobility got a monstrous great
flogging when they deserved it. He knew he did when
he was at school.—(Laughter.)" This observation
reminds me of what Colonel White, of the Hussars,
in the notorious Hounslow flogging, said. I will
place in juxta- position what the Secretary of the
Ragged Schools says—" Our Ragged School system
is one of love, kindness, and affection, and anything
I like corporal punishment would ill-accord with these."
I So that the poor little ragged boys of London can
be trained by " love, kindness, and affection ;" and,
according to Mr. Rose, the sons of our nobility
" get a monstrous good flogging when they deserve
it." We are told that God is love—but Dr. Cumming
is for " a good whipping."
I am afraid that I have already trespassed too much
on your valuable space, but as one of your readers who
has read:from time to titne:in,the articles which appeared
in the columns of yourjournal, the horrid, brutal, and
inhuman description of what Haynau has been doing
with that noble but unfortunate people, the Hunga-
rians, as you raised your voice in exposing cruelties
which were perpetrated in Eastern Europe, I hope
that I am not asking too much for the assistance of
your powerful aid in endeavouring to remove from
the statute-book of this country one of the last relics
of barbarism-namely, the torture of the lash, or cor-
poral punishment.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
A GIFARDIAN.

THE GUARDS.
TO 7'HE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

trust that the pithy letter in this day's
Times, on the subject of the Guards, will not escape
your notice, and that you will comment on the
scandalous system which sends a lieutenant-colonel
of fourteen years' service in St. James's to command
a regiment of the line in Ceylon, where the other
lieutenant-colonels are officers of 30 and 40 years'
hard service.

LOOK UPON THIS PICTUIIH
S lsth Befit. Col. Drought,
36 years service.

AND THAT.

CA 37th R9gt'A Skelly,
23 years.

Cul. Milman,
From the Guards to
the 37th Regt.
14 years' service! !

Braybrooke,
37 years.
Ceylon j Col. Cockrane,
Rifles. A 42 years.
Col. Simmonds,
44 years.
Surely no captain of the Guards under 20 years'
service ought to be permitted to receive a lieutenant•
colonelcy in the line, or, better still, let the officers of
the Guards be colonels or generals, or field-marshals
if they like, but " let them," as the late Lord Erskine
proposed, "be a distinct body from the line of the
marching army, and as their services are totally dif-
ferent, let not their rewards clash with each other.
Let not the safe silken service of a Court, however
honourable, supersede the hazardous and laborious
duties of the camp."
What can a young man reared in the Guards, with
only fourteen years' service, know about the com-
mand of a regiment of the line; and must it not be
mortifying to the veterans of the army to see a mere
youth thus brought among them on a p it ?
Eventually all the elevated posts in the army mast
be filled by Guardsmen, owing to the rapidity with
which, in the first instance, they obtain the rank of
lieutenant colonel, and in the second, tint of colonel
regimentally; and except the Line look to it in time,
they will find boy Guardsmen brought to command
them, thereby utterly destroying all their prospects
of promotion.
Trusting that the Commission now sitting will not
allow the unfair advantages enjoyed over the Line to
escape their notice,
1 remain, Sir, your obedient servant,
A MAJOR OF FORTY YEARS' SERVICE
December 3, 1849.

DEATH OF EBENEZER ELLIOTT.—Died, on the
Ist inst., Ebenezer Elliott, the " Corn-law Rhymer,"
at his residence, Argilt-bill, near Barnsley. his
illness has continued, more or less severe, for many
months ; yet up to the last few weeks his powers of
mind were active and clear, so much so, that he was
engaged in correcting for the press an enlarged
erlition of his works, now publishing by Mr. Fox.
borne of his sweetest lyrical effusions have been the
production of this period of bodily affliction. He
has left a wife, five sons and two dsughter4.—From
a Correspondent.
One to-day is worth two to-morrows.—Eliza
Cook's Journal.
LONDON COFFEE AND EATINGHOUSE-KEEPERS'
BSOCl.lTloN.—Yesterd4y evening a meeting of the
members and committee of management of the above
society, Mr. French iu the chair, was held at the Free-
' mason,"favern, for gencr.l busines% The report
stated that the society was making fair progress amongst
the members of the trade. The capital fund invested
amounting to nearly 2,300/, the. amount of pensionary
relief distributed to the male and female pensioners has
during the past year kept pace with the income deriv-
able from invested stock. The usual routine business
having been concluded, the meeting adjourned.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
THE ARCTIC PROMO [IONS.
The following limited prr•motions have been made
of officers who were engaged in Sir James Ross's
Arctic expedition in search ut Sir John Franklin :--
Lieut. Robert John Le Mcsurier APClure (1837),
first lieutenant of the Enterpribe, to the rank of co►ii-
mander.

Lieut. Melville George Hope Warrender Ross,
(1842), first lieutenant of the Investigator, to the
rank of commander.
Mate—Samuel G. Creswell (1848), of the Investi-
gator, to the rank of lieutenant.
Clerks—James Biggs (1841), acting paymaster
and purser of the Enterprise, and J. E. Gilpin (1844),
clerk in charge of the Investigator, to the rank of
paymaster and purser.
Commander M'Clure is an old officer, and since
his appointment to the Enterprise, more than forty
lieutenants have been promoted, and of these more
than nine-tenths were his juniors in standing, as
lieutenants. the promotion cannot, therefore, be
called that of advancement for his late perilous
and responsible service AS first lieutenant of the
Enterprise. Commander .I\l'Clure had, moreover,
served in Sir J. Back's expedition to the
Arctic regions. lie passed his examination
as a lieutenant in 1830, and after serving
seven years as a mate received his commission. As
a lieutenant he served in the Hastings, than in the
Niagara, on the lakes of Canada, 1838-39, when he
had the daring, end (shame to the English Govern-
ment) the misfortune to cap!ure in a night expedition
that notorious freebooter " William 'icily." To his
honour be it said, Captain Sandom, then in command,
supported ilia officer, and showed his appreciation of
his gallantry by appointing him to the superinten-
dence of the dockyard ; hut subsequently he was re-
moved to A seagoing slip, lie aftemards served as
first lieutenant of the Pilot, 16, Commander Ramsay,
on the .North American and West India station,
and from 1342 to 1846 was in command of the Rom-
ney, receiving ship, at, the Ilavanash. He next
served for some time in the Coast-guard, and was se-
lected by Sir James Ross as his first lieutenant for
the Enterprise.
Commander Ross passed his examination in De•
comber, 1837 ; was promoted in 1842, on returning
;rem service in the Cleopatra, 26, oil the North Ame-
rica and West India station. As a lieutenant he
served in the Columbia, steam-vessel, surveying in
the Bay of Fundy from 1842 to 1848, and on his
return to England was selected for first lieutenant of
the Investigator.
Lieutenant Cresswell was appointed to the Investi•
gator in May, 1848, and no less than 80 mates have
been promoled since that period. Of this number
about 30 were junior, as mates to Mr. Cresswell.
Paymaster and Purser Biggs, although acting in
tielt rank in several ships successively, has been al-
lowed to become the tenth only in seniority on the
list of eligible and ineligible clerks, many juniors
having been promoted since his appointment to the
Enterprise. Mr. Biggs was appointed by Sir E.
King from the Rose to be acting paymaster and
purser of the Clio, 18, when she was ordered from
Brazils to China, where she was engaged at the taking
of Woosung, and in all the operations on the Yang.
tsi-Keang till the treaty of peace at Nankin. During
this service Mr. Biggs received a serious hurt in the
performance of his duty. Subsequently, when the
Clio was ordered to convey Major Rawlinson en route
to Bagdad, Mr. Biggs accompanied Clpt.tin Fitzjames,
Dr. Sloane, and Mr. hicks (then mate), to that far-
famed city as an escort, and were absent from the ship (in
the Persian Gulf) far about a month. Mr. Biggs, frem
the Clio, next joined the Spiteful strata-sloop as
acting paymaster and purser, and served in that ship
for more than three s ears in the East Indies, in the
course of which period the steamer hoisted the flag
of the Commander-in• Chief, and was engaged in the
operations against the Borneo pirates, where Mr.
Biggs had the commissary's office of providing for the
troops and seamen of the expedition up the river to
the attack of the city of Borneo.
Thus we have shown that the above officers have
fairly earned their promotion, independently of what
they deserve for their late service in the Arctic expe-
dition ; for by their standing and services they could
not have been passed over, had they never served in
the Enterprise and Investigator; and it only fair
to them that their commissions should be dated back,
or that the senior and "acting" officers should have
that privilege accorded to them.
We have, then, yet to learn what acknowledgments
a generous country are about to confer on the
officers who were engaged in Sir James Ross's ex-
pedition, for this special service, beyond the functions
of one lieutenant and one clerk. Belonging to the
Enterprise we find there were the following officers :
Lieutenants F. L. M'Clintock (1845), so promi-
nently mentioned in Sir James Ross's official report,
and W. 11. J. Browne (1848), Dr. John Robertson
(1834), a highly respected and able officer, who had
before served in an Arctic expedition ; Second• Master
Stephen Court, and Clerk E. Whitehead : and in the
_ .

Investigator, Lieutenants F. Robinson, (1844), an
old experienced officer, and John Barnard ; Surgeon
Robert Anderson (1846), the naturalist, and one of

the most active, energetic, and efficient officers in the
expedition ; Assistant Surgeon E. Adams and Second-
Master John H. Allard. _ _

Surely from the above officers—eligible, worthy,
and deserving as they are—the Admiralty might
select a few whose promotion would mark the coml•
try's appreciation of the hazardous service which
they were dispatched by the Admiralty to perform.—
Herald.
We are happy to say we hear that Rear-Admiral
Superintendent Prescott, C. 8., was much better
yesterday.
Captain Henry James Matson has bean appointed
to study steam, at the factory, Woolwich.
The Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, Admiral
Sir Bladen Capel, accompanied by Captain Chads and
the 11 ig-lieutenant, Mr. Cochran, went out to Spit-
head in the Myrtle, and mustered and inspected the
Eurydice, 26, Captain Anson. The crew were prac-
tised in various acts of seamanship, and their quarters
and gun exercise, but they did not fire at a target.
The Admiral was on board for about three hours.
So soon as he left, the Eurydice discharged her
powder, and was towed into harbour, where she will
dismantle and prepare for paying off.
The Constance, 50, Captain Courtenay, is ordered
to be paid off at D‘vonport on Saturday next.
The Pbconix, 50, is ready for the pendant at
Sheerness ; but the Arethusa, 50, will not be ready
at Devonport for a day or two. They have been too
busy there with the Indefatigable.
Another mail arrived at Devonport, on Sunday
morning, for the Hound, 8, Commander C. Patten.
The weather was foul all day, blo wing hard from the
south-west, but she was to put to sea early on Mon-
day morning, weather permitting.
The Amphiun, 30, screw-frigate, having been tried
in Sheerness basin and reported complete, the Ad-
miralty have ordered her on a trial cruise, for a week,
in the North Sea, the Dasher, 1, steam vessel, Lieu-
tenant Commander Parks accompanying her.
The 1:11oratio, screw-frigate, was undocked at
Chatham on Friday, and on Saturday morning was
towed by the Monkey and Adder steam-vessels to the
East India Docks, to have her machinery put on
board.
The Tiger (steam-sloop, we presume), of 1,220
tons, was bated out of dock at Chatham, on Satur-
day. The following are her dimensions, as built :
Length between perpendiculars, 205 feet.
Length of keel for tonnage, 180 feet 51 inches.
Extreme breadth, 35 feet 11} inches.
Breadth for tonnage, 35 feet 7i inches.
Breadth moulded, 34 feet 11-1 inches.
Depth in hold, 24 feet 6 inches.
Burden in tons, 1,220 52 94.
Draught of water forward, 8 feet 6 inches.
Aft, 9 feet 64 inches.
Broke in launching ith of an inch.
The Stromboli, 6, steam-sloop, Commander Lord
A. Beauelerk, arrived at I):,.vonport on Saturday
evening, with TlON•raised men from Ireland.
The Elfin and Fairy steam-tenders go daily to
Osborne, returning at night to Pur:-Fnouth harbour.
DOCKTARDS.—The officers of the respective dock-
yards have orders to report on the system of contract-
work, now that it has been in operation two years,
and to state their opinion whether it is best to continue
it, or to revert to the old system or any other.
Mr. William Aylward, late master shipwright's
assistant at Devonport yard, has been superannuated
on a pension of 3001 per annum.
TUB COAST OF AFRICA.

ASCENSION, OCT. 31.—Her .11.1aesty's steam frigate
Centaur, 5, Commodore Arthur h anshawe, C.B. ; the
Tortoise, 12, store and guard ship, Captain Hutton;
and the Flying Fish, 12, Commander Patey, are here.
The Centaur arrived on the 12th, when she found
the Tortoise, Pluto steam vessel, Lieutenant Joliffe
commanding, and the store-ship Adventure, at an-
chor; the latter have both sailed, the Adventure for
England, and the Pluto, on the 18th, for the sou'h
squadron. She has had some of her officers changed,
as it appears there were numerous complaints. Mr.
Moorman, who was mate of the Pluto, goes home,
and is replaced by Mr. Shewell, mate of the Centaur;
her assistant-surgeon, Dr. Corbett, is appointed to the
Snap tender, and Mr. Walling is appointed his suc-
cessor in the Pluto. The Centaur on her way across
chased and captured a schooner about 200, miles from
the coast; she was named the Velox, was under Bra-
zilian colours, fully equipped for the slave trade, but
had no slaves in. The Centaur has undergone a
complete refit and alteration; she is now rigged as a
ship, and has been given larger spars ; her fore and
main-topgallant masts have been lengthened, and the
alterations made are expected to improve her sailing
qualities considerably. The Flying Fish, with the
mails and dispatches for September, came in last
night. She reports the northern division as healthy.
There are no changes there. She is expected to re-
turn to the north coast, and the Commodore will go
hence to the Bights of Benin. The Bonetta will take
119140 the Deteraber mail.

The Kingfisher, 12, Commander Harvey, cruising
in the Bight, captured a shyer on the 4th of Septem-
ber, after a chase of six hours. They met with
determined resistance from the captain and crew,
numbering in all 26 hands ; 130 shot were fired into
her, which almost riddled her blow and aloft, before
she would strike. They gave her name the Paqueta
de Luch, built at Portugal ; it was her first trip, and
in a few days she would have shipped 600 slaves. The
number of shot fired so entirely destroyed her that
she was burnt on the. following day. Her crew were
Owed on board the Rattler, to be landed at Whydab.
Information has been given that a vessel of similar
build will leave Rio every 15 days for that part of the
coast for souse time to come. The Kingfisher had
fallen in with the Bonetta and Rattler : all well on
board.