The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-25 00:00:00

opihion with the Hon. Member as to its being ex-
ceedingly improper and, indeed, exceedingly
dishonourable to this country, that the naval
establishment should ever be in such a condition that
in the event of a sudden emergency we should be taken
at a disadvantage.—(Hear, hear.) Everything ought
certainly to be ready at a moment's warning, so that we
might never be taken by surprise.—(Hear, hear.) He
trusted that the new Board of Admiralty would look
vigilantly to the discharge of their duties, and display
more zeal and ability than their predecessors in cal-, of
whom, by the way, he was surprised to find that only
one had thought it worth his while to be present in his
place on the present occasion.—(llear.) The mode of
manning the navy was unquestionably a matter of the
most serious importance. In the year 1841 it was the
opinion of him (Sir C. Napier), and of several other
naval officers whose opinions might be supposed to be of
some value. that the navy was very inaperfectly manned.
The High Hon. Baronet, who then came into power, ad-
mitted that he was of the same opinion, and ac-
cordingly introduced a scale on which the service was
for the future to be supplied, but he did not follow up
his own system, and the consequence was that there
was still great cause of complaint in this department.
No ships, it had been said, were for the future to be sent
out to sea which were not manned in admirable style.
There were, however, seven or eight sail of the line
which were now afloat. Would it be contended that
the sail of the line now afloat were manned in admirable
style? Quite the contrary. He had no hesitation in
saying they were improp rly manned. If they were in-
spected, it would be found that they were manned not
with a first-rate crew, but with a crew two rates below
that, and that the ships were filled up with marines.—
(Hear, hear.) He asked any naval officer in command
, of a man-of.war whether he would prefer having the
number of marines on board doubled, rather than to
have her properly manned with competent seamen?—
, (Hear, hear.) The system was a most improper one,
and he protested against it accordingly. The Gallant
Officer opposite (Captain Berkeley), whom he was de-
lighted to find again a Lord of the Admiralty, had left
that department some years ago under circumstances as
honourable as those under which any public man ever
resigned office.—(Hear.) He went out because he could
not see the navy manned as he wished it to be. It was
to be hoped that his opinion on this important subject
had undergone no change, but that now that he was in
office, he would abide manfully by the views which he
had promulgated so emphatically when out of power,
and take care that no ships should go to sea that were
not manned in the first style, and in all respects pro-
perly equipped.—(Hear, hear.) He trusted that if the
Gallant Officer and the other new authorities at the Ad-
miralty manifested a desire to effect these desirable
changes, the House of Commons would back them zea-
lously, and supply them in a generous spirit with the
funds requisite for carrying these projects into execu-
tion.—(Bear.) He would not, on the present occasion,
trespass on the attention of the House by discussing the
votes one by one, having on Tuesday evening addressed
them on the subject at considerable length ; but there
was one vote he could not forbear alluding to. It was
that which was designed to cover the expenses
of the dockyards and naval stores. The money
here voted appeared to him to be quite too pro-
fuse. If anything like order or economy had pre-
vailed he certainly did think that they might have dimi-
nished a million and a half of money in the expenses of
the dock-yards and stores.—(Hear, hear.) He had here
again to complain, as he had complained a thousand
times before, of the gross defects of our present system
of naval architecture. The ships which were constructed
under that system—he would not say of them that they
were absolute failures—but he certainly thought, and
every naval officer must say the same, that they were
bad men-of-war. They looked very charmingly in
harbour, but to judge of them properly you should see
them in a gale of wind, when it would be found that
they would roll 45 degrees leeward, and 43 degrees
windward. He trusted that the new Board of Admiralty
would perceive the evils of the present system, and ac-
knowlede,e the necessity of adopting a new plan. There
was another point he was anxious to allude to. He meant
the enormous expense which had been incurred since 1800
in cutting down ships of war. They had recently taken
fmr 72-gun ships and four frigates—good men-of-war, or
at least fair men of-war—and these they had cut down
to make block-ships of.—(Hear.) The practice was an
inexcusable one. Why should men-of-war be thus sacri-
ficed? If block ships were required, what was easier
than to take old hulks, mount guns on them, and to tow
them by steam boats to the positions it was desirable
they should occupy? The cost of repairing these block-
ships had been set down at 18,0001, but he would take
upon. him to say that the cost of these ships would not
be less than twenty thousand pounds a piece.— (Hear,
hear.) Independent of that, there were engines put
into them at an enormous expense, and he would
answer for this, that those four sail of the line and four
frigates, when transmogrified into block-ships, would cost
no less than half a milliou of money. Let them but
wait until they had obtained a bill of expenses, and they
would find that they would cost little less than the sum
he had mentioned. And what was the use of them?
Why, they would be absolutely useless. They would be
put in dock with the machinery on board, and they
would be totally useless altogether Perhaps he would
be told," Oh, no, those vessels are intended to go to sea ;
we will send them into the Downs." He (Sir C. Napier)
asked, could they not send six vessels into the
Downs with the same facility ? Now, suppose those
block-ships were in the Downs and a westerly wind set
in, and the enemy instead of going to the Downs pro-
ceeded to Plymouth, those block-ships might be able
to sail not more than five or six mil, s an hour, while the
enemy's vessels could sail ten or twelve miles in the
same time, and what then, he (Sir Charles Napier)
asked, what then'l/4would become of the block-ships ?
(Hear, hear.) Now, with respect to their steam-boats,
he complained of the mode in which they were built.
He went on board of one the other eat' in Woolwich, and
she was exactly in the same position as the first steam •
boats they had built, and the engines and other parts
were exposed to shot. He, therefore, conceived that
they should change the present system. It was per-
fectly easy to do so, and he was sure that they would
find that it would do a great deal of good. He
had been allowed to build a steam man-of aver, and
he had arranged that it should carry provisions for
two hundred men, but when he went to look at the
establishment of the Sidon, a paper from the Admiralty
was shown to him, and that paper stated that she was to
carry provisions for 240 men. But if they were to fit
her out with a view to carry the order of the Admiralty
into execution, she would, like other steam-boats, be too
deep in the water to be useful.—(Hear' hear.) He would
suggest that the present Board of Admiralty should
form some sort of commission, to investigate and report
what was the proper system of building steam-boats, and
thus save the country from the enormous losses to which
it was subject during every year for the last twenty years.
The Secretary of the Admiralty had said that steam-
boats were in their infaccy. Yes, they were so in the
navy ; but it was not so in the merchant service. They
were in their infancy for the last twenty years in the
navy, and how long would it be before they came to
maturity ? If they went to Scotland, Liverpool, and
Ireland, they would find steam-boats belonging to the
merchant service that could stand every weather—(Hear.)
Sir G. COCKBURN felt, after the statement which
had been mad,. by the Gallant Officer on his left (Sir
Charles Napier) that it was quite right he should say a
word on the subject. In the first place, it was said that
after they (the late Board of Admiralty) came into
office, they agreed in thinking that ships-of-war should
go to sea fully manned ;but at the same time, with re-
spect to the ships that were kept in the Channel, he
explained at the time—two or three years ago—he felt
that they could exercise those ships without being fully
manned. They were enabled, with tne stun they gut
from Parliament, to send more vessels where they were
wanted—for instance, to Brazil and China—than if they
had those vessels of the line fully manned at home. As
to sending a double number of marines on board, it was
exceedingly useful if they were looking out for the
chance of a war, for a portion of them were lately en-
listed, who were fit to act as soldiers, but it was ne-
cessary to have some experience at sea.—(Hear, hear.)
He was old enough to remember the last war, when
they were obliged to put soldiers on board, and they all
got dead sick.—(Bear, hear.) In the event of a war
they had now a vote for 40,000 men; but if they had the
vessels fully maenecl, they should have 43,000 or 44,000
men. They should, he repeated, send the marines to sea,
to get sea legs, and give practice to the officers and men.
As to the next charge, with respect to the cutting down
of the block-ships, the House would remember that it
was not a proposal of the Admiralty at all. There was
an order from the Government to appoint a commission
to visit all their ports, and see what was necessary to be
done for their protection, in consequence of the French
having go!, a steam navy. That commission went round
to the diffemnt ports, and the recommendation of that
commission was adopted by the Government, requiring
that a certain number of line-of-battle ships and
of frigates, should be prepared to aid the batteries
in the different positions in which they might be
attacked, and it was thought wise that a screw propeller
should be nut to each of them to enable them to shift
their position from side to side, where the attack of the
enemy made it necessary. One of those vessels was to
be completed with the screw, and the order was that
others were nut to be completed until that one was tried.

His Hon. and Gallant Friend had stated that they had
not a steamer that was a perfect man-of-war. They had
often heard that statement before, and it was contra•
dieted over again. He might mention an officer well-
known to the country, Sir Rimond Lyons, now Roust, r
of Greece, and in his opinion the Terrible and Devasta-
tion were most efficient vessels. The Gon (French
vessel) was not to be compared to the Devastation; and it
was quite right in his (Sir G. Cockburn's) opinion, as
they had ships of the size in France, that in England
they should have some ships of the same descrip-
tion, and therefore it was that those ships were built.
Sir CHARLES NAPIER said that what he said was
that not one of our steam-vessels was fitted for a man-of-
war, as their boilers and their works were so high that
a shot would permanently injure them. What he de-
sired was that the Government would order a survey of
the steam-boat 4, and report what vessels were fit for war.
Captain BERKELEY considered that there had been
too much amateur building of vessels for serlice. The
difficuly was to have their men of-war properly manned;
and he, in his official capacity, would endeavour to
rem edy that defect.

Captain PECHELL was not one of those who were
accustomed to assert that they had not a good
and serviceable navy.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped
that the promise given would be persevered in.
It gave him great satisfaction to have heard what had
failed from the Hon. Member, the Secretary of the Ad-
miralty, with regard to the manning of our ships; and
he hoped that N.yhen be found himself under such restric-
tions as poi in be able to do justice to the British sea-
men, he would At once give up his post of authority.
The llon. Secretary had very clearly explained the
amount of votes, but he had AO show} so distinctly how
he intended tn apply them. They had not been told
ilqw t 1 a obipt were to be enaploied nos, weN,