The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-05 00:00:00

JUNE 5, 1846.

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LETTER to the EARL of ELLEN-

BOROUGH.

My Dear Lord,—When I associate your Lordship's
acknowledged abilities with the high station which yon
fill, I must have heard with the greatest chagrin and
surprise of your Lordship's recent denunciation of Va-
lentia Harbour, as unsuitable to a packet station. I had
been taught for above twenty years, on what I deemed
the best authorities, to consider it, under all its circum-
stances, the best adapted for that purpose in the king-
dom. In asking permission to tender my bumble, but
public remonstrance, against your Lordship's doctrine,
I -feel the duty of abstaining from urging a single point
on my own naturally prejudiced and incompetent au-
thority, and to rest altogether on that of others, per-
fectly independent of, and exempt from all local or per-
sonal interest in the question.
Your Lordship is described as having given a prefer-
ence to Cork over Valentia and Bantry.
As,, by your Lordship's avowal the question has not
been recently before the Admiralty, I am quite ready to
confide, that when it is regularly referred, it will re-
ceive from your able and Honourable Board, that deli-
berate arid impartial investigation which its importance
deserves ; in the meantime, your Lordship has pro•
nounced a decided opinion in favour of Cork, and I am
aware of the serious impression like] y to be made on the
public mind by the dictum of the First Lord of the Ad-
miralty. I am much too conversant with the whole of
the subject not to be aware, that if Cork be adopted, the
effect would inevitably be to make it a mero touching
place for an English steamer, to pick up some strag
glint Irish passengers and mails, if greater rapidity of
conveyance were obtained thereby. Cork is a great
commercial port, with a very beautiful and picturesque
harbour, and favourably circumstanced for intercourse
with England.* It may be also considered one of those
Mies du pont which, by means of steam, in a military
sense, connect Ireland with England. But, that it
should be deemed the most favourable position for inter-
course with the westward (with America for instance),
would seem contrary to all geographical science. It
would also be in conflict with the best authorities,
military and naval.
It would be preposterous to suppose that passengers
would cross from England to Dublin, and thence
by a land journey of 120 miles to Cork, in order to
be exposed to a cocsting passage of seventy miles
of the most dangerous character. It can only
have been thought of on your Lordship's sup-
position, that the west of Ireland is destitute of
harbours for packet stations. I had read in our best
geographers that the glory of Ireland was in its noble
harbours. Why, in looking at the map, the west of
Ireland would seem to abound with harbours. Not to
speak of the great estuaries of Galway and the Shannon
(one of which is just now made a port for East India
goods, and the other containing the head-quarters of
the steam navy on the western coast), is there no har-
bour at Killibegs, nor at Roundstone, nor at Kilrush,
nor at Valentia, nor at Kilmacalogue, nor at Beret-
haven? Ido earnestly hope, if such a doctrine prevail
at the Admiralty, as that there is no harbour in the west
of Ireland, some of the very able engineers in their ser-
vice may be quickly applied to, to ascertain its validity;
because it appears to me to involve many points seriously
concerning our national security, and the prosperity of
Ireland. But, as the objection is made, not merely to a
particular harbour, but to the entire western coast, it
may be better, first, to consider it in a general point of
view.

In the separate state of England, before the union
took place, the importance of departing from its most
westerly ports for oar colonies was fully established. On
that ground, London and Portsmouth were superseded
by Plymouth; and on that ground, and on no other, the
Government establishment was transferred to Falmouth
(in all respects a very inferior place), because of its
being forty or fifty miles more the west. On the
same principle of a more westerly position, and on ac-
count of its greater distance from the enemy's coasts,
the dockyard of Pembroke was established at enormous
public expense. As long as the post-offlee communica•
tions were conducted through Government establish-
ments, the rule of proceeding from the most westerly
ports was inflexibly acted upon. From the moment the
union took place, it was clearly within the spirit of that
measure, and as unquestionably within its policy, that a
packet station for America should be transferred from an
English to an Irish port. .If one degree of westing
should entitle Falmouth to defeat Plymouth and the
Admiralty, it is difficult to conceive how the Govern-
ment can have been justified in not availing themselves
of a suitable port five •ancl-a- half degrees west of Fal-
mouth, so much nearer to America, and saving such an
immense amount of dangerous navigation.
Leaving the claims of other harbours to be sustained
by their respective advocates, many of whom are power-
ful in political influence, of which I possess none, I
must seek the aid of certain independent authorities
in favour of Valentia. _ _

The Protector Cromwell, who, though out of date,
will not be considered obsolete in anything relatingudu to
subdued
the maritime interests of England, when be had • e_d
the south-west of Iraand, and expelled the Spaniards
froin Valentia, established a station there for frigates
and troops, erected forts at the entrances, and placed a
garrison i
on the island. It is clear that Cromwell con-
sidered Valentia the best position from whence to
defend the western coast against the piracies of the
Spaniards, the enemy of that day.
In 1824, a project was submitted to the Government
for the conveyance of mails and troops from Valentia
to Halifax : it was received with the utmost favour
by the Government, and, under its sanction, an Act
of Parliament was obtained to facilitate the enterprise.
The Duke of York declared himself patron of
the undertaking, and expressed, through his
secretary, Sir H. Taylor, his high gratification at
the advantage to be afforded to the public service
from the quickest and safest conveyance of troops
between the United Kingdom and our colonies. Lord
Liverpool, then Prime Minister, assured to the company
the conveyance of the mails. A company was formed
Itt Boston. in 1825, to build steamers to meet those from
Valentia at Halifax. The legislature of Canada, Nova
Scotia, and New Brunswick, granted sums of public
money for co-operation with the proposed company, under
the impression of the great advantage to those colonies
from the rapidity of intercourse with the United Bing-

'1! I have before me a letter. from Sir Pulteney Malcolm,
commander of the fleet at Cove, on board the Donegal, dated
Sept. 13, 1832, which says, "They talk of Crookhaven as
competing with Valentia ; but although it is more accessible
from England, Valentia is more accessible from the open
ocean." If Sir Malcolm considered Crookhaven too easterly
for a western packet station, d fortiori Cork, fifty miles fur-
ther to the east.

PRICE SD,

' 'dem, to arise from the adoption of Valentia, which is by
far the most westerly harbour in Europe. •
.Mr.-14t-Giegor, in his very able work on North. Ame-
rica, points out, and recommends the communication be-
tween Valentia and Halifax, as highly important to the
mother country and the colonies. . , .
The evidence given on oath before the COmmissioners
Of Revenue Inquiry, in 1830, by several'distinguished
Officers and public -functionaries, clearly shows the ad-
vantage of communication with. America from Valentia.
(Vide ParliaMentary papers, No. 86, on " Western Har-
bours of Ireland,",printed in 1835.)
A very able American writer, on the "traverse At
lantique, explains the general impression in the United
-States to be in favour of packet communication with Va-
lentia, not Merely as the nearest European harbour to
America, but as the most suitable in all respects.
Cru
Ireland,ge r and
with G
ao
A deputation from capitalists of New York (Messrs.
)I4 ean American
who
Examinedthpeackheatrbsotuarstionof,
specifically recommended Valentia as the best.
Mr. Cobden; in his. remarkable p amphlet " En land
Ireland, and America,"' quotes, from American g
publi-
cations, a decided opinion. its prevailing in the United
'States in'favour of Valentin, and he powerfully recorn-
mends the selection of such westerly harbour, and the
formation of a railroad to that point,- expressing, At the
same time, his conviction, that such a project, if com-
pleted, would secure,the;preference of voyagers to all
parts of NOith Ainericn, net. only from: Britain, but
from every quarter of Europ ; and would offer-incal-
culable advantages ninon Ireland, hi intiiqucing capital,
and stininlating'in'dustry and 'enterprise.
Mr. Cliarlei Wye Williams, in his very interesting
essay on the importance of internal navigation in Ire-
lard, adopts the same .view. . •
• The prV.ted letter.,.of Admiral Sir Itc•bert Otwpy
struagl3'.reeotareenN•Visientia fer iin Ameriew4-pacitet.-
station. •

Amongst' engineers, for a series of years, Mr. Nimmo
zealously urged the recommendation of Val, ntia.
Mr. William Cubitt and Mr. C. Vigil°lies expressed
their conviction in the' same way ; and Mr. Vignolles
dwelt much on the peculiar combination of advantages
possessed by Va'entia as a packet station and railway
terminus. 'These eminent engineers had been consulted
by the Dublin and Kingstown Railway Company, a
body wholly independent .of any local interest in the
selection.

Men of science, as well as of the greatest practical
knowledge i❑ other countries, have expressed similar
opinions.

M. Chevalier, in his work on French Statistics, points
out that Valentia, from its position, must become the.
ultimate port of European departure for America ; and
he dwells upon the great results likely to arise there-
from, by facilitating and increasing the interchange of
business between the two continents. The Stutgard
Quarterly Review " also expresses an opinion, pre-
vailing in Germany, that Valentia will become the chief
port of intercourse between Europe and America.
The Swedish minister to England, some years ago,
described this object as anxiously lookcd for in the
Northern States. The transit of the Atlantic from
Valentia had excited more interest in those countries
than in the United Kingdom.
If any modern authorities have been furnished to
your Lordship against the west of Ireland, I would beg
leave to appeal from the living to the dead. My late
friends Sir H. Blackwood and Sir P. Malcolm, together
with many other distinguished officers, zealously es-
poused a project for a communication from Valencia to
America ; and in order fully to bear out their judgment
on the subject, they called for the opinion of that man
whom they deemed, beyond comparison, the most ex-
perienced and judicious, practical seaman in the navy,
viz., Commissioner Bowen, for twenty years at the head
of the transport service. He had been Captain of the
Fleet in Admiral Christian's expedition to the Wcst
Indies. He described the delays as extending over five
months before they Cleared the coast of Ireland, during
the last two of which, after all was ready, they were shut
up in Cork. Being asked what the difference would be
if they sailed from Valencia instead of from Cork, he
said, "We would have been there in three weeks, and
Guadeloupe would have been saved." On the question
whether, generally speaking, embarkation should take
place on the ocean instead of in the channel, he an-
swered " No man in his senses could doubt it."

With such a host of authoritative and impartial testi-
monies in favour of western embarkation for our colo-
nies, it is not easy to conceive bow that policy can have
been placed in abeyance for above twenty yeats—why
the principle which controlled England, as to her western
ports, shall not be applied to Ireland • why Ireland shall
not obtain those advantages to which nature and her
geographical position entitle her,'of having the most suit-
able port on her western shores made the ultimate point
of departure for our colonies. If her provinces are poor,
and her people unemployed, is it consistent with national
justice that she is to be deprived of the practical benefits
that would arise from making Ir land the transit be-
tween Europe and America? What imagination can
place limit to the advantages which would arise from
turning the tide of human interccurse between Europe
and America through her impoverished districts !! Na-
tare has placed Ireland between England and America.
Is it that Ireland should be merely a breakwater in the
channel ? Is the impover'shment of Ireland, is its
non improvement, is its virtual extinction as a portion
of the United Kingdom, so decided a state policy, that
a vast sum of money is to be devotr d to passing round
and by Ireland, rather than infringe, in the most minute
degree, on the monopoly of England ?
But over and above the selection of a packet station,
there are other matters of national interest which cannot
be disregarded in dealing with the ease. The larger and
more pressing subjects of a defensive naval station, and a
preferable point of embarkation for troops, whether for
general or colonial service (the latter of which *more es-
pecially concerns the Horse Guards), will probably be
taken into consideration together with the choice of a
packet station.
As various considerations apply in common to those
several subjects, it will probably turn out to be the in-
terest of .the Government and the country to combine
them.

On the principle of embarking on the ocean, compared
with channel harbours, and in direct contradistinction to
Cork, I refer to the evidence given by the Duke of
Wellington, by Lord Beresford, and by Lord Strafford,
before a committee of the House of Lords in 1836, which
was printed for the use of the committee.
It is probable that no one has had such experience of
the disadvantages of embarkation in the channel har-
bours (Cork included) as his Grace the Duke of Wel-
lington.
I believe the operations of the army on the Peninsula
were very often embarrassed by delays, which would
have been obviated by embarkation at an ocean harbour.
It can, however, be hardly necessary to refer to any
authority beyond common sense for the utter absurdity
of depending upon a station at Cork for the protection,
in any respect, for the western coast—the assailable
points of that coast are, at an average, 200 miles distant
from Cork, and all this a coasting navigation of the worst
possible description.
In conjecturing the grounds upon which your Lord-
ship has denounced the whole western coast of Ireland
for packet purposes, I am disposed to think that it may
be from some representation as to the force with which
the Atlantic bears upon that coast ; but I will submit
that, in every departure for America that force must be
encountered. The difference, in that respect, between
Cork and Valentia, would be, that from Cork a vessel
would have to work against the prevailing winds and
currents along a lee shore of the most dangerous cha-
racter for seventy miles, whereas from Valentia, with
the same wind, you are in the free ocean in halfan hour,
without any lee shores at all (the same prevailing wind
that shuts up Cork is a free wind out of Valentia) ; that
Cork is seventy miles further from Halifax than Valen-
tie is, making in the fortnight passage over 3,600 miles
in the year, of a desperate coast navigation, involving a
fearful
this
iasmcooumnpt
aorfi
sdoann
tgheer
ut os
el i
of ef atnd he
In eproperty.steam-tug,
in either
case, suggests itself. The only
ay es
steam-tugeel
sobjectionswith ever
rao
Valentin
northaa:ewen
ettisoat
wind.wolul nd is
nn ttrelateshhraete worstmtiol
e sailingmiles, place
case,
place a vessel so as to emnable it to
make its northern or southern tack in the free ocean.
To effect the same purpose from Cork would occupy a
steam-tug for sixty miles. It is probable that in a future,
as in the past war, the cruising-ground of our channel
fleet would be from Thhant to Cape Clear, in which case
Berehaven would afford a good safety harbour, or Cork
might be suitable, if preferred as a "head-quarters."
It is undoubtedly more comfortable. I recollect the
case of an admiral realising 100,0001. prize-money sit-
ting in his arm-chair at Cove.
But surely it does not follow that the selection of a
North American Packet Station should be confounded
with the " head- quarters " of our grand fleet to watch the
Channel. The latter should be as contiguous to the ene-
my's harbours as possible, and the other as remote as the
nature of the case will allow. Rut there, are some para-
mount national interests to be consulted." 'The securing
the utmost safety and efficiency in the embarkation of
our troops, whether for colonial reliefs, or for the gene-
ral purposes of war, imposes a very solemn duty upon
the Government. The occupation of the Horse Guards
by the most illustrious of military men, would suggest
the wisdom of consulting his Grace as to the principle
on which the soldier should be embarked.
Casting aside the control of existing establishments,
and looking with the largest view of economy to the
comfort and safety of the soldier, and his most prompt
and rapid appliance to his military destination, it will
probably be found that the choice most compatible with
colonial and general service, will alto be that most con-
ducive to the military security of Ireland.
There are some circumstances, which, even to an
unprofessional person, must preclude the selection
eo
bCaorrkka
tfioern sou;
thr
eau pp
su rmp ousset .
in
cAI u
ds tea ti odne p footr
ttohre
the
mu-
nitions of war ; it should therefore be, in the fullest
sense of the word, defensible against either external or
internal attack. As long as we command the seas, our
grand fleet makes Cork safe from attack by sea ; but
with an enemy in the country, Cork harbour, with all
its Government establishments, is perfectly commanded

• A strong additional objection to channel navigation is to
be found in the fogs which prevail, during which several
steamers of value have already been lost, and the dangers of
collision, which are in proportion to the crowded state of
navigation in the narrow seas. The comparative dangers of
channel navigation may be tested by reference to insurance
companies.