The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-10 00:00:00

fact a sort of local feud had been created about it—so that it
had been found that it was impossible to arrive at the best
plan amidst the conflicting allegations which were made.
The Government had selected Mr. Rendel to go to Devon-
port, and they were then expecting from him a plan of the
best course to be pursued in completing that basin. With
regard to the works at Keyham the report had it in
contemplation that the factory and establishment should be
on the same scale as that of Woolwich, and the ma-
chinery of which would be on the same scale as to the
cost, 50,000/: The great object would be to build these
factories on a scale which would ;permit of. a sudden ex-
tension of their operation in case of any sudden demand
or war. If there were not accommodation for con-
structing on immediate pressure they would be nearly useless.
The Committee then went on to say that there were works
then proposed for the first time from which they should re-
commend Parliament to withhold its sanction ; and they re-
ferred to the expense already incurred in the construction of
the large basin at Portsmouth. They stated that it was not
advisable that any further expense should be incurred in this
work after a million and a quarter had lately been sunk in a
similar one. It would be the height of folly and extrava-
gance—an extraordinary instance of fascination scarcely ever
seen, to allow the 400,0001. already spent to be sunk, without
taking measures to render it available. The Committee itself
was not far from the same opinion, for so it was impressed with
the necessity of continuing these works, that on a division cf
its members only two were found to recommend that the
400,0001. should be regarded as thrown away. The Govern-
ment were quite willing to act upon the report of the Com-
mittee, so far as to suspend the commencement of any further
works in the present year, and up to the present time they
had laid before Parliament the full plans and entire costs of
works now being built on a deeper and larger scale, and those
they submitted to the House for its sanction. He would,
however, point out to the House that the Government were
subject to this difficulty—that they were engaged to con-
tractors, to a large amount. Mr. Baker had in his posses-
sion a letter from the Board of Admiralty, written in 1844,
pledging themselves to spend 209,000/. in the present
year. The Board had succeeded in reducing the amount
to be spent to 130,0001. They must, however, pay
the contractor for the materials at present on the
ground, and during the recess the Board would consider
the whole question, and would endeavour, in conjunc-
tion with the contractors, to spread the items over a large
number of years, and at present they would refrain from
erecting any factory building at all, except on a very mode-
rate scale. The report next alluded to the works at Haulbow-
line. The Admiralty was at present in possession of the
land upon which the proposed tank was to be built, but not
of the land for the landing-pier; so that they could not give
any return for the cost of that. Application had been made
to Lord Middleton to transfer the ground for that purpose
to the Admiralty, but in consequence of some defect in the
title it was not possible to do so. The state of the case was,
the Government :had incurred censure for ,having made a
good bargain, and it was impossible to say when the
landing-pier would be constructed. The Committee
next recommended that the sum of 20,0001., proposed
in the estimates for the new barracks at Goa-
port, should not be granted during the present year. That
was a decision in which he certainly could not concur, hies-
mach as the exigency for these barracks was forced upon
them by another department, and their removal was required
by the public service. It was not of their seeking, but the
change gave opportunity for an excellent and advantageous
arrangement for the public. The barracks at Portsmouth
were in a state to require large and extensive repairs in
the course of a few years. The old barracks gave accorno-
dation to a number of men which the proposed ones would
better accommodate, and would certainly be one of the
best establishments of the kind which the country had.
He impressed on the House the necessity of granting this
20,0001., with the understanding that the estimate for the
expenses should not be granted before the estimate had
been very c Irefully gone into. The works were already in
progress, and great inconvenience would arise from stopping
them. There was another recommendabion with regard to
Bermuda—that of reducing the sum of 16,500/., to be
granted for the construction of works there, to 10,000/. The
reduction was recommended on the ground that more con-
vict labour could be employed. It was not, however, possible
stotoreemhopuloseys cwoenrveictto lhabavouer
iraolornreo;ofea,n, wdhibeehsidweesre trheaat, dythtoe
be sent out. He hoped that no impediment would be
thrown in the way of completing these works. Besides
cthesempi at
tret iec
tuhl aarts
tthhee rAe
dwinaisr
aal
tgve ne
he roaull
dr e cnoemv
never
einndati on
future o fenter
upon any new work unless they first submitted it to and
obtained the approval of the Treasury. That suggestion
they were quite ready to adopt. True very nearly com-
pleted the votes in which the naval service was ex-
clusively concerned ; but he should make a few
observations upon vote No. 13, with reference to the
expense incurred in drilling the coast-guard. That item
they had reduced from 16,0001. to 5,0001.; and he should
remind the House that although this expense had been
incurred, that this was an arm of the service which had dis-
tinguished itself, and had been proved to be in every way
most efficient. In the case of the late apprehended outbreak
in Ireland, 330 of the coast-guard volunteed their services.
These were picked men, and the Government might in case
of necessity have obtained double the number. The men
were all willing, and they appeared to have no hesitation,
with one solitary exception, in returning to their old profes-
sion. He then came to the question upon which the Commit-
tee and the Admiralty were deeply and irreparably at issue.
This was the question which occurred under vote No. 14,
and related to the question of promotions. The Committee
had proposed to the Admiralty that the Admirals' list—fixed
20 years ago at 150, should be reduced permanently to 100,
and that that reduction should be effected by stopping the
promotion through all ranks of the navy by only raising one
captain to the captains' list fir every three vacancies, and
by stopping promotion in a corresponding degree in all the
lower ranks. This decision was come to in the Committee
by a bare majority of the Members. There were some
curious circumstances connected with it, but of that, per-
haps, they had no right to speak in that House. He would
say that he hoped some of the lion. Members had seen the
many difficulties which were caused by this decision, and
that they would ultimately give their votes fur some other
course. In all the preliminary remarks of the Committee
there was great propriety and delicacy, and the considera-
tion which ought to be maintained in deciding a question of
this nature. The Committee stated that it entertained a
deep interest and regard for the feelings of those gallant
officers engaged in the navy; in fact it was impossible to
show more delicacy of feeling than that shown by the
committee In consulting on a matter affecting the in•
te rests of those gallant officers, but which they
thought might be altered with greater advantages
to the public. The Government did not contend for the
necessity of having an Admiral's list of 150; they
would be glad of a list of 100 instead. And it was quite
true that the number was not required, as they never had
that number employed in their greatest naval wars. It
was equally true, however, that the condition on which a
man went into the navy was that he should rise to a flag in
due course of promotion, and not be cheated out of it; and
he had a double right at present to form those expectations,
as the whole question of retirement in the navy had been
twice under the consideration of the House during the last
four years; and it was twice settled, by the assent of two
Governments, without a d:vision in the House of Commons.
The present system had been proposed and carried for the
express purpose of offering an honourable retirement to
those captains whose age was too great to enable them to
remain in effective service, and to whom their country
offered the rank of retired rear-admiral, instead of retain-
ing them on the active list. The House of ;Commons voted
30,0001. yearly for that purpose ; and what would be the
effect of the recommendation of the Committee? It would
throw back every man three years, and its opera-
tion was such that they would- cheat themselves of
the very consideration they expected with regard to the
30,0001., for they were bound to pay it for the lives of the
men already promoted. By the present system they would
in the course of a year have admirals of 55 and 54, instead of
men of the age of 70 and upwards ; and he entreated the
House to continue the grant, and to pause before it com-
mitted an act injurious to the serviceand unjust to its officers.
It would throw back the hopes of many a gallant fellow who
looked to the reward due to many yewaorbsr
yt ohf
dtdeath-vacancies;
haetarduousbh..thvservice.eapaoln ennai
op
coulde ns;
as .
And he would venture to believe that the House would not
entertain such a crude and uneconomical proposition. But
how was it that the Committee proposed to arrive at the
result ? They propose to take off 30 yellow admirals, and
to form a separate list, with only 112 remaining, from which
also they must strike off 12 in order to make up the reduc-
tion contemplated. But supposing that to be done, what
were they to do with the yellow captains who were serv-
ing up to their flags, and were close upon their time ?
They must be put upon the same narrow list.
He could say nothing but to recommend to the attention
of the House, that it it assented to this proposition it
would assent to one which would disgust a gallant
service, area break an arrangement to which only two years
before it had
egi
oisvewe given
were
wet seoaunsll assent, nntei: and
e promoted sanctioned y the
whilecunop-
posed posed authority of two Governments, after giving it a
grave consideration. The Committee also assumed that the
subordinatewr aerr,
man of spirit to enter the service whilst he had a shilling
left to live upon. It was proposed to do away with brevets,
but upon the understanding that there should be two in
tthheryeeasinsetnht to a
eordinparroymcootuiorsneofofo- promotion; otthiroene—; rod how
stated by the Committee? The Admiralty could not give its
consent, and they called on the House to confirm their de-
cision. The only part of the recommendation in which the
Admiralty did concur was the limitation of first entries,
They agreed that the limitation of first entries was the key-
stone to all substantial economy—they not permitting so
great a number of cadets in the service. He must also
remind the House that the half-pay lists of the army and
navy were differently arranged. The navy had not that
resource which was possessed by the army of disposing of
their commissions by purchase. When a man was once on
the halt-pay list of the navy he was there for life, and there
'were no means given to him of changing his condition by dis-
posing of his commission on terms of advantage to himself;
but if they looked at the payments now made to general offi-
cers and senior captains, they would find in the army that
the pay of the general officers and colonels of regiments
amounted in the whole to 154,000/. The half-pay of general
officers unattached was 76,0004 making together 230,000/.
The half-pay to lieutenant-colonels and colonels being li
83,6001., made a payment_togen_eralsand colonels in the army
of 313,600/. The total amount of full and half-pay of admi-
rals and,flag-officers in the navy' was' 232,504/. ; so that this
was not an overpaid profession. 'lt was indeed one in
which those few great prizes were looked to by
those gallant officers who entered the service. Then
another recommendation of. the Committee was the
freight of ships for the conveyance of convicts, or the
services performed in the packet service that should
not appear in the navy estimates, but be made matter
of account elsewhere. At present the public saw one million
charged in the navy estimates, and it was now considered
that that had nothing to do with the naval service. The
Government admitted that it would be desirable to adopt
this suggestion. He had now gone through the recom-
mendations of the Committee, which, taking them large and
a
atstt
ohhml
ftoombu2reoeg:
iuihgenavtnnteieddtsdtthatt ohtehei
oeti3:3nsod.auuvwgt
yyOhe
rtfet theseho edissent
had
suggestionsreasons w when
they
at lie
l our
fvreonmgrh ed
the Committee. He had now only to state to the House
was
adequatelyi n a m o most efficient
provided
for ; thatand
at home we had a large force, which, however, was not larger
thanan
ul
character
siatvraaase
ctee roaf
a required.trheeg regarded
radlChangeseudeof the ip
thea b had been made of a most use-
n ordinary,
theyand
could d
g ucao rds I iiP
and the steam reserve ships. If, indeed, the House wished fors
i nsteams in
reserve,not
have a better proof of how easily available it might be made
than what had occurred last week. Last week there was
reason to believe that an additional naval force might be
required in Ireland. On the 27th of July orders were given
at the Admiralty, at one o'clock, for tire immediate
equip-
ment of four vessels of the steam reserve. On the 28tti of
July, at ten o'clock in the morning, two of those vessels were
on their way to Spithead, manned, armed, provisioned, and
furnished with everything except their gunpowder; they
took in their powder at three in the afternoon, they sailed
an hour afterwards to Devonportovhere they took in the 35th
Regiment, and they landed that regiment on the 30th in
Dublin.—(Hear, hear.) That was an instance of the manner
available, in which our steam reserve would enable us to bring the
Twhheoloenplyoweeerrtoafinthweaeymopfihreavtoinbgea foarornee constantly
particular
point.
was in the shape of a steam reserve, which he hoped would be