The Sun.
London, England, 1833-06-10 00:00:00

doing could not in any way benefit his worldly good, or
advance his promotion. A 9 a declared Reformer, ae
writer considered that Sir Thomas Troubridge was hound
to have followed up the principles of reform, instead of
acting in direct opposition to them in his own per-
son.—(Hear, bear.) The letter then went on to state

the injury derived from such proceedings, both by
the naval service and the country. The Hon. Member
then said it was net so much to the charge of favouritism
that he called the attention of the House, as to that of
fraud, for fraud was directly alleged.—(Hear.) It was
a fraud that he should, if it were true, have received
his pay, and exercised his power for so many
years. He believed that many of our naval losses might
la,! traced to the improper promotions which hail from
time to time taken place. Captain Baker, who was taken
by an American frigate, after an action of 20 or 25
minutes, had been made a Captain at 17 or 18 ; and
be was satisfied that most of our losses in the American
war could be traced to such practices. A man bad re-
cently been deprived of his franchise for antedating his
certificate ; and be knew not why the same justice should
not be meted to officers who had committed the sarnefraud.
He would leave the House to deal with the petition--.
(Hear, hear )--be would leave the reformed House of Par-
liament to deal with the petition as it thought fit.—(Hear.)
Sir THOMAS TROUBRIDGE trusted the House
would indulge him while he made a few remarks, in which
he had no doubt he should be able fully to prove that the
petition arose entirely out o ielectioneering motives.--
To make the case clear, he would state exactly what did oc-
cur. When he went to canvass the electors of Sandwich he
found that a person unconnected with that town, named
Edwards, had arrived there with Captain Owen for the
purpose of assisting the Captain. What extraordinary con-
duct did the House think was then adopted ? They applied
to the mayor and jurats for a warrant to arrest him (Sir T.
Troubridge) on a charge of fraudulently obtaining money
on the high seas—(Hear, hear, and loud laughter)—the
fraudulently obtaining the money was alleged to have been
the pay which he received while he was on service at an
early age. That was stated to be a fraud. The Mayor re-
fused to grant the warrant until the day after the election,
when he called the jurats together to inquire into the
charge, but Captain Owen then refused to prefer it,
stating that be should prefer it some other time at Bow-
street. He, therefoie, thought it was clear that the
charge was an electioneering trick.—(Hear, hear.)
The evil—if it were one—complained of in the
petition, must be attributed to the Order in Council
of 1806, which regulated the periods of promotion. For
himself, he served his full six years as a midshipman, and
having passed his examinations, in accordance with
the regulations, he was in 1805 made a lieutenant.
It was true he was promoted at an early age,
but be would state fearlessly, that most of the gallant and
best officers—including Lord Nelson hiteself—had been
promoted at an early age.—(Laud cries of " Hear,
hear.") However, twenty-eight years had now elapsed
since he (Sir T. Troubridge) had been promoted to
therank complained of, and no charge bad during all
that time been brought forward.—(Hear, hear.) Then
as to sitting on courtsmartial, he declared that he never
sat upon one till he was more than 21 years of age.—
(Hear.) He could not help expressing his surprise that any
brother officers, well knowing the exact state of the ser-
vice of those days, should sign such a petition as that
which had now been presented.—(Hear, hear, hear.)
That individual, however, was the brother of the
Gall ant Admiral, his (Sir T. Troubridge's) unsuccessful
opponent; but he had the satisfaction of knowing that
that Gallant Admiral bad most handsomely disclaimed
all participation in thi', what he would term it, disgraceful
affair.—(Cheers.) He felt satisfied that his brother officers
knew and appreciated his conduct, and having said this
much, be would leave the subject in the hands of the
House —(Cheers.)
Sir J. GRAHAM said, that after the very satisfactory
explanation which had been given by the Hon. and Gallant
Baronet, it might be perhaps considered almost unneces-
sary for him to say a word. But standing in the
relation which be did to the gallant service to which
the Honourable Baronet belonged, he should consider
himself wanting in duty to the public, if he did not ad-
dress a few words to the House. It was true that the
Hon Member who had presented the petition had ap-
prised him of his intention of doing so.--(Hear.)
But he could .not help expresssing his great
astonishment that he should have thought fit to make
himself the channel of an imputation, calculated not only
to deeply wound the feelings of the living, but to cast a
slur on some of the greatest naval heroes that England
had produced. He held in his hand a list of not less
than 39 naval officers who had gained their promotion
under circumstances identically the same as those that had
been complained of. The Order in Council of 1746 had
been considered at the Admiralty as a dead letter—
(Hear, hear)—no notice having been latterly taken

of the age of a young man previous to promoting
him to a Lieutenancy. In time of war it was considered
improvident to act upon the order, and young men were
promoted from a midshipman to a Lieutenancy. Of the 39
officers he had referred to he would read the names of seven.
First was Nelson, who had attained a lieutenancy at 18 ;
then followed Lord Exmouth, Sir H. Hotham, Sir Wm.
Hoste, and Captain Edward Pellew, all of whom
had attained promotion at very early ages —(Hear,
hear.) Was the Hon. Member aware of the character
of the individual he had attacked, or his distinguished
father? The Gallant Baronet's father was the distin.

guished bosom friend of Lord Nelson. He was his right arm,
and had never failed him in the hour of need.
He had fallen in the service of his country, and was it
too much to say that his son bad claims on it ? The Hon.
Member had stated, that he had great attachment to the
naval service of the country. If he had, he had certainly taken
a strange m, ans of showing it. This petition, there could
be no doubt, bad arisen out of an election squabble. It
was an attempt, on the part of an unsuccessful party,
to vilify and blacken the character, and wound the
feelings of his more successful opponent. As to
the statement of Captain Owen, wbo had signed the pe-
tition, that in doing so he should injure his worldly
prosp.,cts, he might take it from him that, so far as he
WAS concerned, be should not attempt to injure them, but
what the House and the country might think of the mora-
lity of the line of conduct he had adoptedwas another thing.
If a Member of that House presented a petition charging
another Hon. Memher with fraud, he ought before hand to
have satisfied himself that its allegations were correct. No
such petition should be presented, unless the Hon. Memher
was satisfied that the charge could be ruade good. (Cheers.)
It was a charge tending to revile the dead, and injure the
feelings of the living, and he should move that the petition
rejected.—(Che re. )
Sir E. CODHINGTON seconded the motion ; which
being put as an amendment, with the original motion that
the petition do lie upon the table,
M-. MARRYAT designated the petition as one arising
entirely from electioneering disappointment. It ought
to have been sent forward as a petition against the return of
his colleague, for his allegations went to affect his seat in
in that House—(Hear)—but then the petitioners well
knew it would revert with all its expenses upon them as
frivolous and vexatious.—(Cheers.)
Mr. COBBETT rose to reply, but was met with loud
cries of " Time, time," and " Adjourn," and it being then
pet three o'clock, the House was adjourned upon the
motion of Sir E. Codrington.

PLYMOUTH, JUNE 8.

TO THE EDITHR OF THE SUN.

Sut,—The arrival of the mail last night was most
anxiously looked for. It was delayed an hour in conse-
quence of an upset, by which a respected fellow townsman,
Mr. Hicks, is much hurt. The second edition of your
Journal, containing the pithy reply of our good King to
the address of the Lords, was the principal means of
diffu4ing the grateful intelligence amongst the Plymouth
politicians, who are, for the most part, highly elated at
the finished foil by which the Minister has been enabled to
resist the " ruse politique" of the Duke's party. It most
not be concealed, however, that the people of England, the
thinking portion of the community, disdaining to accom-
plish a purposed good, by the evil means of demagogues
and mobs, as much as abhorring the servility which would
truckle to the overweening u►tra-Tory faction, which
disgraces an aristocracy,—it must be recollected, Sir, by the
Grey Administration, that, supported by these people, and
backed by the King, the acts of our Ministers should be
in proportion to the power which can be exercised to
effect them. The generality of persons at this point of
the empire look for the realization of the motto " Fuire
sans dire," the hope that the Minister, without being
flushed by victory, will still, having a giant's strength, use
it with the wisdom of a serpent, to the end that we may
yet taste the fruit of reform. The eyes of the people are
on the House of Commons, and the industry of ourrepre-
sentatives will be the only and surest means of satisfying
their constituencies. The session must not be allowed to
escape without the accomplishment of some, at least, of
the great objects fur which the present Members were re-
turned. S.

Ministers have ascertained that the majority
in the House of Lords against the Irish Church Reform
Bill will exceed thirty. It reniains to be seen, whether
they will create Pears at once, or wait until a vote of the
House on the question shall again demonstrate the ces-
f•ity of such a measure.—Morning Advei tis er.