The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-30 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, rFRIDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 30, 1860.

LA GLOI.RE.

NAVAL AND DIE.RC.HANT SERVICE.

Mr. IL Vivian, in a letter to a contemporary,
says :—During the interesting and valuable dis-
cussion upon shot-proof ships which has lately
taken place in your columns I am not aware that
any description of the famous French frigate La
Gloire has been given. If such is the case you may
not deem the following remarks unworthy of in-

Mr. G. D. H. Elphinstone, in a letter to a con-
temporary, says :—I will yield to no man in in-
terest in the welfare of the seaman, whose claims
on the country I shall continue to press on the
attention of the Legislature. I admit much has
been done, but much still remains to be accomplished
before the situation of a seaman on board a man-of-
war attains that point when dismissal from the
service will be the greatest punishment which can
be inflicted ; but I look on that man as the seaman's
greatest enemy who could calmly suggest the pos-
sibility of a repetition of the unfortunate occur-
rences which took place last year—disturbances
which could only have occurred in a recently raised
force, and for which there was no adequate provo-
cation.

The country is perfectly alive to the importance
of improving the condition of the seaman ; his posi-
tion is regarded with the kindliest feeling, and I
have no doubt in a few years all real grievances
will be swept away. The only way in which this
kindly feeling can be counteracted would be by
such conduct on the part of the men as your cor-
respondent, " One who Knows the Service," points
out, and apparently is inclined to justify.
Your correspondent sums up his case by the state-
ment that " the seamen of the Royal Navy are, as
a body, the worst paid, the worst treated, and the
worst fed class of sailors in the world." I deny these
allegations, and I will endeavour, as shortly as
possible, to show that they are in a great measure
without foundation.
Captain Brown, Registrar-General of Seamen in
the port of London, in a paper, No. 19, Appendix to
Report of Naval Commission, states that all cases
of a sudden increase of our naval force are followed
by a rise of wages in the merchant service, which
appears to subside gradually as the wants of the
two services are supplied. " The Royal Navy was
increased from 12,936 seamen in 1792 to 54,042 in
1793, to' 71,776 in 1794, and so on progressively,
until it reached the highest point of 115,347 actu-
ally serving in 1813. At the commencement of the
war a very large portion of the increase was drawn
from the merchant service, that being the only
available source from which seamen could. be ob-
tained." This extraordinary demand on the national
stock of seafaring men naturally forced the wages
of the merchant seamen up to a very high point,
but the return of peace caused a reaction, and the
average of merchant seamen's wages from 1835, the
period when we first have accurate returns, to 1853
was from 40s. to 505., the ordinary wages being 40s.
o 455., per month. In 1853 and 1854 the same cir-
cumstances occurred as I have alluded to above, and
wages in the merchant service rose to 60s. to 705.,
a point from which the necessities of the Navy has
not yet allowed them to descend. In 1852 the wages
of au able seaman in the British Navy was £2 ls.
per month, in addition to which he had all the
advantages of prospective pension, cheap clothing,
&c. ; and, as the average wages for the previous
18 years in the merchant service was not much, if
at all, above 40s, t 0455., I do not think the matter
of pay justifies the statement of your corres-
pondent. The wages of an able seaman now are
.E 2 9s. ld. for continuous service. The state of
the case is this :—The wages of the merchant
seamen fluctuate with the requirements of trade ;
the wages of the man-of-war's man are a fixed
quantity, which does not fall far short of the
other on an average of years, and exceeds the ave-
rage of merchant seamen's wages if we take credit
for clothing, bedding, mess things, slops, &c., set-
ting aside medical attendance. prospective pension,
Green wich(which it is hoped will be soon improved),
and many other advantages which the merchant
seaman does not enjoy.
Secondly, as respects treatment. Many witnesses
were examined by the Royal Commission in 1858,
and the complaints made as to the treatment in the
service resolved themselves into a deficiency of bread
and shrinkage of beef, and the difficulty of allot-
ment to their wives; no complaint whatever was
made of any treatment on the part of the officers
calculated to produce dissatisfaction. On the con-
trary, the witnesses testified most willingly to the
kindness and forbearance they had been accustomed
to meet with from their superiors. I may here men-
tion that the allowance of bread has been increased
by Alb. per diem, that the Commission also recom-
mended a similar increase in the allowance of beef,
and the allotment question has been placed on a
proper footing.
Thirdly, as to food. After a close examination of
all the dietaries of the various branches of the mer-
chant service, the Commission recommended an addi-
tion of llb. of meat and 21b. of biscuit per diem.
At the same time it must be admitted that a large
sum is annually paid to men for savings, amcunting
at that time, on an average, to 14-d. per diem, or
3i. 9d. per month, per man. (See evidence of Sir
Richard Bromley, question 6,272). I have no
doubt whatever—in fact the evidence proves it—
that the allowance, with these additions, is ample.
At the same time, I believe that the dietary of the
Navy might be much improved. It is a fact that
the life of the seaman is very much shorter than the
average of almost any other class of men, and I
cannot help thinking that, in addition to other
causes, the nature of the diet has some relation to
the question. Captain Pierce, of the Sailors'
Home, says :--" A sailor above 50 is most rare ; 40
is considered old, and the large majority are from
20 to 35. If you ask me what become-s of the old
men, I can hardly say, but I believe seamen die
either at home or abroad from various causes at an
early age."
Surely this is a question which would repay an
inquiry ; the subject would expand beyond the pos-
sible compass of a letter.

ago.
It is ptz fectly impossible in the compass of a
letter 'to do mo:e than touch upon the various
accusations containecijn your correspondent's letter.
I would therefore recomn.'end the reports of the
Commission of 1853 and 180 to the attention of
your readers, who will there see tl..‘e real state of the
case fully investigated.

[ADvEßTlsEmENT.]—Holloway's Pills.—Youthful
In-
firmities.—From causes scarcely perceptible at first, the
young become prematurely enervated and debilitated. They
lose alike their looks, energy, and confidence. The general
cause of this melancholy state is a disordered stomach,
which Holloway's Pills will regulate. By improving diges-
tion and purifying the blood they work wonders. They act
so kindly, yet so certainly, upon every organ ne,:essarY for
healthy digestion that the nervous system soon recovers,
take
and the wonted good spirits speedily return, with stiength,
vivacity, and vigour. The most delicate may safely
Holloway's Pills. They cause no violent effects upon the
system, but gradually accomplish their end without • much
restriction in diet or pleasure. The composition of thew
pills s °cures them from doing

UNDER THE WALLS OF PEKIN.

The following letter, which is interesting, from
the circumstance that it supplies an account of the
very latest occurrences reported as taking place
before Pekin, is from Captain Carrington, of the
Marine Battalion now serving in China. This
officer was severely wounded in the storming of the
forts at Taku, having received a gingall ball, which
passed transversely through the lower lip, and not-
withstanding which, though desired to withdraw
to the rear by the colonel of the battalion, he
with great gallantry kept his place with the
stormers. He served with the Marine battalion in
the Crimea, volunteered for duty in the trenches,
and was continually in the front :
" Under the Walls of Pekin, Sept. 22.

" I will resume my account of occurrences up to
this point. I cannot exactly tell you that Song-
chow is taken, but I believe that the results are
much about the same. We had a very agreeable
day yesterday in moving about after cavalry, from
5 o'clock in the morning till 6 o'clock in the even-
ing. Our brigade, which consisted of a wing of
the 99th Regiment and our battalion, with a bat-
tery of artillery and some cavalry, moved round to
clear out some intrenched positions between Song-
chow and Pekin. I believe that at the same time
the French force and our other brigade were to
assault Song-chow. General Grant and all our
chief people remained with us. The fighting•—if
after the Crimea I may apply that name to it--
began about half-past 9 o'clock and lasted till
about 1 o'clock. Sir John Michel, who commands
the division up here, cautioned us not to be in a
hurry to fire, but to let the Tartar cavalry come
quite close up to us. It was soon after this that
down came a whole cloud of horse. We remained
quietly waiting for them, and the Dragoons were
also quiescent, for the purpose of giving them, at
the proper moment, the treat of a charge. Bat
our cavalry were denied a chance; as, although
the Tartars are by no means afraid of the Sikhs,
they cannot stand the gleam of the movements of
the King's Dragoon Guards. However, these
masses of Tartar horse advanced very steadily
within about 200 yards, when, greatly to their
consternation, but unfortunately too much in anti-
cipation, the 99th, who were on our left rear,
opened fire. This suddenly brought up the Tartars,
and then we formed line. Meanwhile the Dragoons,
considering they were in accessible distance, charged
the Chinese cavalry. The Tartars waited until our
men had neared them within 50 yards, and then
they fired a volley, wounding a captain rather
badly and killing a trooper. They then turned
about and made rapidly off. If the ground had
only happened to be tolerably favourable very few of
them would have escaped, but the sly fellows were
on the other side of a broad ditch, over which our
first Hue of Dragoons went in fine style and safely,
but on account of the prodigious dust which was
kicked up by the charge the second line could not
see the ditch, and so the one half of them were
baffled. However, a considerable number managed
the ditch and caught up the broken enemy, laying
them straight with somewhat greater rapidity than
they had expected.
" After the defeat and rout of this body of cavalry
we kept following the enemy, and cleared out four
camps. All the camps were left standing, to which
we set fire. About two o'clock we halted near a
military village, and after taking it (its defenders
bolted after a few shots) our men were let go in to
refill their water bottles. I assure you it is very
hard and thirsty work charging cavalry about such
a dry and insupportable country. The millet is but
lately cut, and you have a plain of stalks, standing
about a foot and a-half high, with sharp tops that
pierce like spikes. Several of the horses have been
lamed by these points. As I had no immediate or
nobler exercise for my sword, 1 strolled about the
village, trying my skill at cutting heads, indeed ;
but on this occasion only heads of puzaled fowls, as
they ran past me to accidental cover. This is very
pretty execution for hungry men. In company
with two other as equally skilful headsmen, I se
cured about 20 fowls, which established quite a
possible cuisine for us. Nor should we have been
without our dessert, for in one garden I found some
delicious grapes. However, there was no time to
cook, and therefore I was compelled to put up with
only a fragment of biscuit.
" We set fire to this place before leaving, which
is only 'seven miles from Pekin. I wish we had
made a dash on ; I verily believe we should have
taken the Celestial metropolis, with very little loss,
for most of the Chinese troops were outside.
" And now for some news which will be very
interesting. I have told you all about the loss of
Mr. Parkes and of the Times correspondent. I can
now add that when we sent in for the captives the
Chinese returned the artful and dubious answer that
Mr. Parkes had already left to return to our camp,
and that they had not seen him since he set "out.
I think the Chinese will not dare to touch Mr.
Parkes or the prisoners. We have sent a second
message to say that if the prisoners were not given
up in three days we should force our way in and
sack Pekin. This of course we shall have to do if
Mr. Parkes and our other friends do not speedily
appear, whether the treaty thereby be spoiled or
not. A flag of truce came in this day with a
despatch for Lord Elgin. The latest reports are of
negotiations again."

RAIL WAY INI ELLIGENCE.

GREAT WESTERN.

. • -
Lastly, your correspondent says that "the money A special general meeting of this company was
that has been spent in royal commissions and in- held yesterday, at the Paddington station, for the
quiries as, to how to man the navy would have purpose of considering the report of the directors
manned it long ago if given in addition to the men's on the subject of applying to Parliament for power
Pay ~,
to raise capital for laying down additional rails for
During the last 8 years there have been two in- the narrow gauge between Reading and London,
quiries into this subject. In July, 1852, a commit- and for other purposes therein referred to; the
tee of naval officers was appointed, consisting of Earl of Shelburne, the chairman, presided.
Rear-Admiral A. Fanshawe, C. 8., Capt. the Hon. Mr. Saunders, the secretary, read the notice
R. S. Dundas, C. 8., Capt. P. Richard, C. 8., and convening the meeting. The report, a copy of
Capt. J. Shepherd. This committee collected a mass which appeared in The Sun about a month since,
of most valuable evidence, and produced important was taken as read.
results. As it consisted entirely of naval officers, The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
the expense must have been but small, probably the report, said he had no doubt that every shareholder
difference;
between full and half-pay for the time present had read it. He had two resolutions to
being. In 18b e;) a royal commission was named, con- submit for their consideration, and he trusted they
sisting.of the Ear; of Herd vricke, chairman; the
Marquis of Chandos, xv;:lit Hon. E. Cardwell,histeeee would show their confidence in the Board by
adopting them. In going into the circumstances
Admiral W. F. Martin, Sir J. D. Ip
, which had led to the measure he was about to
M.P., Admiral J. Shepherd, Mr. John Shepherd, propose, he wished the proprietors would allow
him to fix their attention en the present state of
Deputy Master of the Trinity House; .Yfr. W. S.
Lindsay, M.P., Thcy met and Mr. Richard Green. the affairs of the company. It would be very
on the 29th of June, and made their report, afiCr a undesirable to go back and endeavour to argue
long and careful inquiry, on the 19th of FetTuary, from facts which they could not alter, and from
1859. The cost of this commission, as stated in a J-e- I ‘7,2iich no advantage could arise by recurring to
turn moved for by Mr. Massey, was £964, 2s. 11d. :hem. The Great Western in extending their
The labours of this commission have not been alto- systel
in had expended a very large capital, and
gether fruitless. In compliance with their recom- those ex.`ensi°Lis had not always succeeded in
mt...xtension of their system, but that
mendation the men have been '
supplied with a suit an increased dividend. He did
of clothes, a bed and hammock, and mess utensils producing ti;;'•
on joining a ship; their allowance of food has been not propose any be ,;,,uthorized to apply to
pu:noses mentioned
in various ways increased, and I trust the Admiralty ,session for power to
parliamentthe direct o risn s
thhoeu i
will see fit to carry the whole of their recommenda-
tions into effect ; the most important of them all is densui;23
the proposal to establish school ships at all the lead- in the report. It was not for fhb' purpose of
raise additional capital for the'
extending their lines that they
required the
ing ports. This is the only satisfactory mode of
additional capital, but for making tieinot.,t of
the property they possessed, and for developing It
manning the navy, and until it is done we shall
never see any permanent improvement in the con- ;
the utmost the reaonrces of the company. That
dition of the men. It is too bad, when we squander
money was the course now proposed to be adopted, and he
in every conceivable manner, that a scheme
had no doubt it would prove beneficial. He would
so reasonable and so important should not be car-
divide the subject of proposed outlay into two
ried out. portions. The first related to the cost of additional
The great obstacle to placing the Navy on a
proper footing arises, first, from the difficulties rails to form the narrow gauge upon the line between
Reading and Paddington, including the branches
thrown in the way of increased expenditure by the to Windsor and Brentford, and of the necessary
Treasury ; and, secondly, by the Admiralty allow- narrow gauge working stock to work it. The
ing the Treasury to override them. Thus, the re- former was estimated at £225,000, and the latter
served post captains and warrant officers' widows at £230,000, making together £455,000. The second
ars deprived of their just rights under the most related to the additional capital that would be
qre-
contemptible pleas, and all sorts of injustice is quired from time to time for the general purposes
habitually practised. of the company, amounting to about £500,000, and
There are many things in the Navy which re- making the total sum £1,000,000. The subject
quire amendment, respecting which there is no had occupied the attention of the Board for a con-
difference of opinion ; they would cost money, and siderable time, and a most careful investigation
therefore remain without remedy. Whenever we had been made into all the circumstances and bear-
have a Board of Admiralty who will lay down a ings of the question, and they had arrived at the
distinct policy for the reformation of the Navy, conclusion that it was the interest of the Great
submit it to the Government, and stand or fall by Western Company to afford
it, something will be done. We might then hope
every accommodation
to induce traffic to come upon their line, and to
to see the fatuity of paying ships off as soon as
sup-
they have arrived at a perfect state of organization remove any obstacle that might exist, or be
posed to exist, in preventing an accession of ,traf-
put an end to ; we should hope to see wholesome fics, particularly the goods traffic. He was not
and comfortable barracks take the place of un- prepared with any fixed data to show how mucli
wholesome and miserable hulks; and we should see additional traffic they would derive from the pro-
our men-of-war fitted in commodious docks, instead posed additional expenditure. They could not
of lying in the stream after the fashion of 60 years control the progress of events in the railway world,
_. _

and it did appear, after the most careful inquiry
at every point and at every place, that a consider-
able amount of traffic was prevented coming on
the line in consequence of not being able to facili-
tate the transit of narrow gauge traffic from other
lines. The directors, therefore, thought it wise to
proceed with the question, and submit it to the
proprietors as early as possible. The Board were
prepared to act, if necessary, at a short notice, if
the proplsed measure met the approval of the
meeting. The West Midland Railway Company
had assured them that additional traffic would
come from their line to a considerable amount, so
that, with the traffic that would come from the
northern portions of the Great Western line and
from other sources, it was believed there would be
an ample return to compensate them for the pro-
posed outlay. Most people considered that it was
a step that must ultimately be taken—(hear,
hear)—and that now was the time to bring it
forward. In their competition with other com-
panies for traffic they had generally succeeded

in giving satisfaction to the traders, and they '
saw no reason to doubt that when they extended
the accommodation on their line—for that was
what they proposed—it would result in
giving them a fair amount of additional traffic.
The proposed increase of capital for the gene-
ral purposes of the company was fully explained in
the 13th and 14th paragraphs of the directors'
report, and had already been before the shareholders
on former occasions. It would be useless to urge an
accession of traffic when the great float at Birken-
head was completed, unless they could provide the
additional accommodation which would certainly
be required on a large scale. It would be impossible
for the company to carry on a large trade success-
fully unless proper and sufficient accommodation
were provided. The money would not be expended
without the authority of the shareholders in every
case. The most pressing matters would be provided
for as early as possible, full explanations would be
given as to any proposed outlay, the expenditure
would be carried on gradually, and spread over a
certain period. All that was required at present
was their assent to the application to Parliament
for powers to raise the money when required for
the purposes of the company, but the directors
could not raise any part of it without the authority
of the proprietors at some future meeting to be con-
vened for the purpose.
Mr. SAFER had no doubt that the plan proposed
by the Board was a good one, but he trusted that
nothing would be done to interfere with the free
operation of their broad gauge for passenger traffic.
It was the favourite gauge with passengers, and
had the advantage in respect of speed and safety.
It was of great consequence to the company that it
should be retained, particularly for reaching distant
stations. He thought the estimate for laying down
the narrow gauge from Reading to London was too
high, and that it would not cost so much as
£225,000, or £5,000 per mile.
Mr. VIVIAN suggested that the company should
make a narrow gauge line from Oxford to
Wycombe or Uxbridge, and so on to Paddington,
with a view to' fill up that district, and thus pre-
vent the. West Midland or any other company
projecting a line in that direction.
The Rev. Mr. NICHOLSON said he was not a
partisan of the directors, but on that occasion he
would give them his most hearty support. Their
, narrow gauge traffic on the Shrewsbury lines was
increasing considerably ; up to the present time
the traffic had shown an increase of £B,OOO, and
there was every probability that those lines would
soon show a profit instead of a loss.
Mr. NORRIS, M.P., hoped the meeting woulld not
sanction so large an expenditure of capital in the
present condition of the company. Their dividend
had now arrived at 3 per cent., and he thought, as
prudent men, they should not increase their outlay
until they could pay dividends on the ordinary
stock at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum. Their
capital was £23,000,000, of which £8,250,000 was
ordinary stock, £4,500,000 preference stock,
_and
£10,500,000 floating debt. He did not see how
they were to raise additional capital unless they
could increase their preference stock considerably,
and reduce the proportion of the floating debt. He
had no confidence in the promises of the West
Midland to bring traffic on their line. The
Wycombe and Uxbridge district was open to them,
and he hoped no expense in laying down the narrow
gauge would be incurred or; that account.
Mr. SHAW said he represented the Edinburgh
shareholders, and they were Of opinion that no
further expenditure should be incurred until the
shares were higher in price, and the dividends
larger for a certain time. He quite concurred in
the views of the last speaker.
Mr. BAKER, a director, thought it right, in
justice to the chairman, to inform the meeting that
he had gone into the whole question avith the
utmost care, that he had investigated every point
in the most minute manner, and that he (\lr.
Baker) had accompanied his Lordship in those
inquiries, and could assure the proprietors of the
great personal labour and consideration the whole
matter before them had devolved on their noble
chairman, and he (Mr. Baker) had no doubt of the
result of those measures as to an increase of revenue,
if the propositions of the directors were carried
out. With regard to the West Midland Railway
Company, they could afford them all accommoda-
tion they could possibly require, on such advan-
tageous terms that they would not be wise ren if
they did not embrace them. He contended that
that was the proper time to consider the question
of accommodating narrow gauge traffic, and that a
considerable augmentation of revenue would be the
result of the proposed facilities.

Mr. GILES contended that the time must come
when the whole of the broad gauge rails would be
taken up and replaced by narrow gauge rails.
(Cries of " No, no !") Various annual sums had
fallen in, and were about falling into the hands of
the company, amounting in the aggregate to
£33,000 a year, and instead of raising any more
capital he would appropriate that amount to pro-
vide the necessary accommodation for increased
traffic. He concluded by moving an amendment to
the effect that the further consideration of the
question be deferred until the next half-yearly
meeting.
The CHAIRMAN, in reply to various observations,
said he thought there was a certain amount of mis-
apprehension among the shareholders respecting
the broad gauge on their line; the board had no
intention whatever of disturbing it. He quite agreed
in all the observations as to the advantages of re-
taining it for their passenger and goods traffic,
particularly to Birmingham and other places.
(Hear, hear.) There was no doubt the goods
traffic had suffered from the break of gauge, and he
might state that the great object of the board was
to remove all obstructions to their traffic, and to
induce as much traffic to come upon their lines as
possible. The directors would take care not to spend
anything more than was requisite to accomplish the
desirable objects they had in view. They would
feel much gratfied if they should find that less
capital than was estimated would be sufficient for
these purposes, but he did not believe the sums re-
quisite had been over-estimated. He could not tell
what might be done in 100 years hence, but he
could assure Mr. Giles that they had no intention
whatever to pull up the broad gauge *and substi-
tute the narrow ; their only object was to develope
the resources of the line as much as possible, for
the advantage of the public and for the benefit of
the proprietors. (Hear, hear.)
On a show of hands only four appeared for the
amendment, and a very large number against it.
The report was then adopted with only three dis-
sentients.

The CHAIRMAN proposed the following resolu.

tion :

" That the directors be, and they are hereby empowered,
to make application to Parliament in the ensuing session fora
bill to enable them to raise and create additional capi-
tal, not exceeding £1,000,000, for the several purposes spe-
cified in the said report, upon such terms and conditions. as
may be determined irom time to time by resolutions of the
company, and generally to regulate the existing capital of
the company as may seem most advantageous to the com-
pany."
'1 he resolution was carried, and the proceedings
terminated..