The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-01 00:00:00

' - eeemeemie-eeepee
• ship-building; and we indicated that where reasonable
experiments have and ought to be made-, with the
view of rendering our ships of war more efficient for
their every purpose, it is puerile to dimoutice the ex
penses thus incurred as " wasteful," seeing it is in
the nature of things, and indeed is implied in the
word " experiment" itself, that the results are consi-
dered douleful until the necessary trials have been
competed. We showed also, that in considering the
I amount of money spent in the prosecution of different
experiments, we should not only place on the credit
side certain bcnefis which have undoubtedly
been obtained, but likewise the advantages derivable
from the negative knowledge which we may be said
to have acquired at the same time. Upon the other
hand, it is manifest from what has transpired, that a
sufficient regard to economy, under this important head
of national expenditure, has not been observed by former
administrations, of which the presentßoardof Admiralty
evidenced their conviction by appointing a Committee
of Reference. In forming this Committee, composed
of some of the most eminent members of the late
School of Naval Architecture, the object of the Admi-
ralty was and is, by a preliminary investigation, con-
ducted by scientific men, into the merits of every
new plan, to impose a check upon the late expensive
system of ship-building. The benefit to accrue to
the public from the services of this Committee re-
mains to be seen. It is evidently a move in the right
direction. It imposes a species of control upon the
Surveyor of the Navy, Sir W. SYMONDS, against
whose excessive influence in the construction of our
ships for the last fifteen years the public has heard so
much. A dead set was made at this public officer by
Mr. HUMR and others in the recent debate, an attack
in which Sir C. NAPIER himself most honourably
refused to participate. The gallant Commodore re-
pudiated the personal character which was infused
by many into the discussion, and confined his stric-
tures to the system which has hitherto regulated
he building of our men-of-war. There certainly
are very discordant opinions as to the merits of
some of the ships which have been built from the
lines drawn by Sir W. SYMONDS. Upon a review of
the different facts elicited we may deduce, first, that
in the construction of ships of the smaller class Sir
W. SYMONDS may be said to have gained an almost
unanimous approval, whilst in that of the larger his
-uccess is very equivocal ; and we think it not impro-
bable that his failures may be in a great measure
attributable to his having been indifferent to the
advice tendered to him years ago by Sir JAMES
GRAHAM, to whom he was indebted for his appoint-
ment. The Right Ilon. Baronet gave the purport
of that advice on Thursday night in the following
words :

"A person introducing a new theory under such circum-
stances as those to which he was alluding was under the
disadvantage of being difficult to be convinced of any faults
which might appear in carrying it out, and he therefore ad-
vised Sir W. Symonds to apply his attention to the objections
which might be made to his ships, fur he was satisfied that
there was much wisdom in giving consideration to such ob-
servations, as calculated to remove any disadvantages result-
ing from the adoption of such theory."
Every ship of war should sail well, and be capable
of being fought advantageously in all weathers.
These are two essential properties. In the former
respect, Sir W. SYMONDS' vessels are, generally
speaking, entitled to considerable merit. Except in
rough weather, and particularly when called upon to
breast a head sea, they sail admirably. But this ex-
ception is of the gravest character, fur, front the
manner in which they are represented to roll and
pitch under the above circumstances, it is clear that
we should at times be liable to engage an
enemy under great disadvantages, from our being
unable to fire with precision, or to keep
the lower ports open. This seems to be the chief
defect alleged against the Surveyor's ships by Sir C.
NariEN, and it certainly is one from which every
effort should be made to free our present and future
men-of-war. The question of stowage, though of
considerable importance, is not now-a-days so much so
as it was formerly, seeing that, by the introduction of
steam, the supplies to our squadrons can be furnished
with a speed and accuracy unknown to our ances-
Vessels built of iron are excellent for packet
service. Their bottoms, liable to become
fouled, are easily cleared in tidal harbours,
but with iron war-steamers the case is different;
they are constantly requiring to be docked. Again,
in action, iron steamers are easily destroyed, which,
both in point of safety, expense, and especially for
the great end of all, victory, renders the substitution
of iron for wood far Jess efficient for warlike pur-
poses, and exceedingly dangerous. We cannot con-
clude these remarks without suggesting whether,
considering the extent of the duties incidental to the
office of the Surveyor to the Navy, the prejudices
which every man is liable to entertain in favour of
his own system, and the jealousies, heartburnings,
and misgivings to which their almost inevitable
indulgence naturally gives rise, the Surveyor should
not be prohibited from submitting any drawings of
his own for the building of ships and vessels. With
this restriction he would be enabled to take a more
impartial view of the merits of the different plans
of competing architects, and being thus, to a certain
extent, practically divested of prejudice, he might be
found a more valuable assistant to the Lords of the
k(lmiralty, on whose fiat alone the construction of
ships should continue, as now, to be ultimately de-
pendent.

:ors.

Madrid journals of the 24cn 114. have arrived.

As an outward and visible sign of their reconcilia-
:ion, the KING and the QUEEN visited together on
;hat day the church of Atocha.

The Eco del Comercio says that Senor MAR-
TINEZ DE LA. RosA has sent in his resignation as
Director-General of the Pres Alas.

MADRID BOLSA, APRIL 24.—The Three per Cents.
were done at 311 for cash ; the Five per Cents. at
19i ; the Debt without Interest at 5i ; anl the
Coupons at 16.

' We have received the Paris papers of Thursday.
The " progressive Conservatives," if we may judge
from the language of their organ, have completely
thrown off their allegiance to M. GUIZOT. The at-
tacks of La Presse on the Ministry are more unceas-
ing and more bitter than those even of the A'ationa-
itself. In the Presse of Thursday we find the follow-
ing bill of indictment against the Ministry :
" The Ministry has existed for seven years, and not one
session has been signalised by any of those able measures
which alleviate the pomition of the tax-payers without dimi-
nishing the public revenue. Twenty departments suffer
from the unequal division of the taxes, and impatiently wait
for the more equal partition that has been so long promiced
them. The measure concerning the cadastre (registry of
lands) is yet to be presented! The Pension Bill, badly con-
ceived at first, has gone on from report to report; the Sugar
Bill has to be remodelled; the reduction in the price of salt
will not take place; the Bill on the liberty of instructien
is still only a promise of the charter; postal reform is threat-
ened with the fate of electoral reform; the Ministry which
fund it inopportune in 1841, 1542, 1843, 1841, and 1845,
will find it h till more so in 1847. There was only one measure
systems
which could ensure the execution of railways; it was that
which should adjudge the works to private industry, and ,
too, they do not
re-
serve the working of the lines to the State. But this is pre-
cisely the only one which was altogether avoided ; all the
most false, most complicated, most contradic'ory
the companies of
have been engaged in; at one time they were all amalga-
mated together, and at another opposed to one another. All
is eocuttToofwthereosferl!apbe,elalndNaoidw
which the shareholders refuse to pay up the legal calls. Thk-y
dare not restore the caution-money, and dare not confiscate
kisnaowchhaoows toa
it. They do not, in fact, know what to do; they are wait-
ing until the evil be sufficiently aggravated so as to spare them
the ;rouble of seeking for an efficacious remedy."

After half a column of bitter vituperation, the
article conclude.; by declaring that the Ministry must
either arise and be doing, or retire.
On the subject of railways the Journal des Debats
has following, which is important as announcing the
intentions of the Government with regard to thole
companies who are unable to execute their con-
tract

"If be desirable to make an example of the companies
and to show coute gut coute, that for the future no one shall
ci.ntrac, with 11. e State, the law must tow inaintainu!,
and the companies, after havi g been summoned to con •
tinu, t! a work,, must, if they refti,e to do ao withiti tii.•
periods fixed by the cuhier des cliarges, be subjected to thu
loss of the caution-money and to the confiscation of the
works already executed. lint if: above all, it be desired, as
we belive it is, that we shall have railways, these Draconian
ur Napoleonim measures will not he adopted. It is easy, in
fact, to understa,ut that such acts of severity would not
advance the termination of the railways, but, on the con-
trary, would retard it. For the Lyons Railway, the works
executed and the caution-money represent about 30,000,000 f.
270,0
The company which should take the place of the pre-
'*t company would, therefore, obtain a premium a
30,000,000 f. The expense for it would be reduced to
effect. The construction 00,000 f. The diminution is riot to be disdained ; and
panmore
?i:t;einthe present state of affaira, the, e is no reason to be-
unless the conditiOns
that " association of serious capitalists could be found
to charge themselves with the railway to Lyons for 270,000,000 f.
would Coercive measures, therefore, would have no
the present co-
b,
susmpenoeuy(c.i.tiontioofreihveerrailway from Paris to Lyons
; it would be suspended indefinitelv,
but then it is much simple to change them in favour of
of the adjudication were to be changed;
according to the cahier des