The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-23 00:00:00

REPAIRS AND ALTERATIONS OF

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SHIPS ORIGINALLY MAL-CONSTRUCTED.
The sums set down for " repairs" of ships in the re-
port on the navy and dockyards are thus detailed in a
tract recently issued by the Liverpool Reform Associa-
tion. The history of the Vernon, gathered from official
documents, seems to be the following :
The Vernon was the earliest offspring in the official
career of Sir William Symonds. Her keel was laid at
Woolwich in October, 1831, and she was launched on
the Ist. of May, 1832. Her tonnage was 2,082; her cost,
" fitted for sea," 48,4871. In one winter and spring, six
months only, the Vernon came into complete existence.
Other ships, such as the Trafalgar, at Woolwich, begun
in 1829, being without their own constructors to protect
and foster them, were neglected, and all the favours of
the new builder and the new Admiralty lavished on their
own. The Trafalgar was not completed until 1841. A
number of other ships were similarly delayed. Thus
many thousands of pounds of the taxes of 1828, 1829,
and 1830 were expended, and lay a dead loss upon the
timber stock twelve years. Yet such a disposal of the
taxes seems to have been more favourable for the nation
than that disposal of 48,487/. which brought the Vernon
into existence. _ _

It was seen by the evidence quoted at length in Sec-
tion 111., that the accounts of her " repairs " were de-
signedly misrepresented, to conceal her infirmities and
costliness ; yet, even according to those accounts, she
appears to have had, at a very early age, an extraordi-
nary power of consuming taxes. From May, 1832, to
some time in 1833, she lay a helpless thing upon the
breast of the ocean, or in her watery cradle at Sheer-
ness, not yet a tax-eater; but in the next twelve months
her consumption became enormous, for a ship under two
years of age. Her " repairs" cost 3,0811. ; and in the
next twelve months—still lying at Sheerness, still unfit
to leave the nursery-hospital—this young " wooden
wall " of Old England swallowed tip 2,1111. more for
" repairs."
In 1835 she was either moderate in her tax-eating
appetites, or the " falsification of accounts " made her
appear to be so, the cost for repairs was only 2731. In
1836 it was less, only 1031. In 1837, the fifth year of
her age, she made up for the moderation of the two pre-
vious years. Her " repairs" were set down at 9,0361. ;
and in in the next year she consumed 3,4231. more. In
1839 she moderated to 4551., rising to 7071. in 1840, but
decreasing to 1411. in 1841. In 1842 nothing is told of
her; while, in 1843, she is put upon the homeopathic
allowance of 771. She does not appear, however, to
have thriven on such short allowances, for next year,
1844, she obtained 2,3721, and in 1845, 1,181/. ; in
1846, only 64l ; but in 1847, though there is the entry,
Not yet received, being at sea," there is the ominous
intimation of her return to her native country and her
tax• eating, in the words " Requires a very large repair."
There are vtatements of particulars of the cost of other
ships given with those of the Vernon, to show, by corn-
pari,on, that other builders have given the country costly
s;tipq as writ as Sir William Symoods. To this dispute
about the merits of men the public are indebted tkr learn-
ing something of the merits of ships and their cost,
which otherwise they might not have known.
The Caledonia is a iir,q-rate, carrying 120 guns, and
measuring 2,712 tons. She was launched in 1804, has
been twenty—ne years in commission, and nineteen
years lying unused.
The first cost of the Caled,inia was ...

... £81,507

Her repairs cost, from 1806 to 1815, £10,448

from 1815 to 1831, 92,151
from 1831 to 1834, 3,575
from 1834 to 1839, 9,500
from 1839 to 1844, 4,715
from 1844 to 1847, 3,959

123,348

Total for cost and repairs ... £204,855
The St. Vincent, a ship now in commission, built in
1815—
Cost
And for repairs sinco then

~. £87,444
... 63,088

£150,532
"Requiring a large repair when paid off," in the words
of the Admiralty return.
The Impregnable is an unfortunate instance of a mis-
applied name. She was built in 1810, at
A cost of ..„
Fitted for sea in 1812, at a cost of
And ha 3 seen been troubled with " repairs"
to the cost of

£60,267
4,739

95,426