The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-17 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Memorials, Personal . and historical,' iii-,47,,,inii
Lord Gambier, G.C.8., wills original letters
from Lord Chatham, :Lord Nelson, 4-e:, 4.c.
Edited by Lady' Chatterton. 2 vols. - Hurst
and Blackett.
These volumes appear in singular conjunction
with the menrorials of the lamented naval Earl
whose death England has just had to deplare, and
who was at one part of his career involved in such
painful dissensions with their subject. The editross,
who has compiled this' work froni family papers,
gives, as her reason for so doing, "the prominent
though disputed position which Lord Gambier
occupies in the. Naval History of. England, And the
total absence of any,reliahle published information
as to his personal
.qualities. He was a well-
intentioned and high•principled man, without the
grasp of mind and vigorous energies of 'a great
commander, whom - elrcumstances placed in the
midst of national events of historic importance,
and who vas thrown into the shade .by the
nehirvernents of . the Titans who were beside
him.
Between the two extremes in, which
his.' friends and his enemies regard him, Lord
Gambier seems . really entitled to occupy 's
smoirpdedwlehapositioni
The editress, who rates ' him
throughout the work, takes
the
Of
ffollowingthose
names of hhaisvecannrejeLtal nsduffcehraedraebter. :.--t—g, -
whose
itenr(Gisamnobl.er.
pc
loossi
etil oynre
pa
rneds e
n i
4 t indirectve
thani nfe rt
be eacet :
oef,
- BYjecause
instance more
he had the pluck to avow unostentatiously his honest and
simple faith at a period when such an'avowal w
equiva-
lent to being morally branded ea tither a Meehtcsi
e„Cbr
a
Jesuit—he has been handed down to posterity asa narrow-
minded pharisaical sectarian, against the. direct testimony
of men who served. afloat under him, and against-the fact
that in 1830, he voted in the ,Houtie. of
.Lords' for the
Catholic Emancipation to the annoyance of Many personal
friends and dismay of the hligious party, whose views he
is now affirmed to have held bigotedly., lii truth, though
his personal bravery, tinstwortlainess in .command, and
general high tone of character, stand recorded. by the most
respectable and best-infermed vtitneases, the detail's of his
very remarkable organisation have4ever bees fairly corm-
pared and -harmonised.- Constitutionally fearless And by
temperament inclined' "tor dashing 'enterprises Constitu-
tionally prudent in . the ,t,e,pired interest of the, public
service—singularly broad, and exempt tom
,party bias
in his political' 'opinions patient under foul
calumnies and .poisonous .insinultions-4ord
:Gambier
was deficient in two , defensiv,e qualities without
which quiet Merit' is too apt ti, be' jostled out of the road
to. fame byT•lotul-tonved • dempetition..: 'Tithe 'o:Edifies
were self-esteem
,and ambition. ,Of the _former he had
but just enough to secure firmness of purpose—the. latter
was abssletely non-existent. '' Hence the 'only literary re-
cord of his gallantry, on ..the let, of June, is to• be found
in a periodical now out of print, and his management, of an.
arduous unrewarded duty fifteen years litter has remained.
unexplained and•undefended save. in the forgotten minutes
of a court-martial. , . ; • .' - •
Lord Gambier's family, was originally French, his
greatgrandfather havin,. been one of the Huguesots
who were driven front' their country by. the revs-
cation of the Edict of Nantes. He was connected
with the family of the Pitts, who were at that time
most powerful in, their influence—.a fact which
accounts for his promotion, without accusing his
friendship for Mr, Wllberforce of any interested
motive. There is but little directly referring to
Lord Gambier in the early part of the work ;
indeed, the editress at one tittle ' expresses
her fear that her. book may resemble "Hamlet with
the part of Hamlet omitted,", but having arranged
it chronologically, and Lord Ganabier:s services hav-
ing' been long uneventful, shahas, principally °eau.
pied the first voluble , ' v'ith the letters of
bis ' friends or '•eonnexions. 'Ai -theSe include
many from the. -;first . Willialit' ''' Pitt 'and
other political ~ leaders,. , besides • •numprous
extracts from the
.corresponaenec,of Hannah More
With Sir Charles Miadietonrespecting the schools
'which haie rendered her famous, the reader has Hula
cause to complain. The second volume 'is more
directly 'concerned 'with Lord Gambier's naval
career, and .the, court, martial.on. the .affair 'of 'the
'Basque Roads opcupiefi.n4aTly, half Of it. Into' the
details of this we shall not enter Alwalsen ini-
Vidiotis ta'Sk it'weindle donbly so .whg,n t. 4.€! great
Abbey his Inst.. utterleived - the , "Anianis ,Of the
gallant Cochrane:: We ;. can only 'lenient' 'the
. bitterness and spirit•of depreciation with 'whitliithe
.editress invariably speaks. of; one.twho :haw left • a
name worthy of, being. melktipad .beside those, of
Blake and Nelsen.
.The two, following cAtracts
bear 'testimony -tt, ' the 6ivibes 2 *hieh 'Lora Gam;
,bier,rendered to hisprofesikili i—' ''' .. "".." .. ,
While he presided at the,Boardof Admiraltyt•Midfirinis
bier compiled with mitch,,labenr a code.pf eignAls feu the
bevy=" ne'regular one Mithonied icy";the Admiralty hay-
,ing been established' iaixece, the'Very imPelfeet'iairthk`and
fighting instructions *sued by,theipake of. Yorki,after-
wards' James the SeCOnd."
In that code 'arid Gambier Maile a'lists 'df the itlifii. of
the navy with numbers against their names:-an.invention
of his own—for the purpose of making t,hesaselyestEnovra
to each other at sea and On other occasions, with several
improvements iii the signals and &volutions.' 'He alsbdiraiv
up the " General Instruptions" ,for, the direction and, feud-
anee of officers in the internal discipline of governn?ent of
the King's' shipi, with'the duty'of eVery oftloer'cliaily
pointed out. This, was, a wprk greatly -needed, as the .eld
instiuctiona had beeerne obsoleteared ejtaxeet,useleas, being
very deficient and'Colitutied.'" The'new'ciide introduced by
Lord Gambier was adopted in the service and , feint] very
efficient, tip made further ,improvements ip..jt jig Ow ,year
1515 when 'he was President of a committee of, naval MA-
oars appointed to revise the former' eede.''''. 't` "t`^ '-""'
~
, .
In the year .1796 _Lord Gambier being.then, as before
stated, at the Board of Admiralty,' constructed a frigate of
32 guns, called the Triton,' of, peouliar beauty',' and 'which,
upon trial in the •command of Sir John Gore and other
officers of repute and judgment, was found to answer ad-
mirably in all respects: The Triton appears to have been
built by contract' by Alesgrsi Barnard and Co., who make
the following note.:-7'• If this ship should answer
,all the
purposes of a maii-of-war;of which there is no reason to
doubt, the country will be much indebted to Admire Gana-
bier for these experiments,. as she-will be built of straighter
timber than any ship of her clasS ever was in this or any
other country, a very valuable' acquisition at a time when
"compass" (crooked) timber is so difficult -to obtain, so that a
twofold purpose will be answered, viz., that of
ft ship's sell-
ing faster, and being built of a straighter timber than any
others have been." The model and drawings ;of the Tritbn
are in possession of Lord Gambler's nephew, Vice-Admiral
Robert Gambier.
Lord Gambier also constructed the 'Plantagenet,' a
74-on ship. She was launched in Octeber, 1801, at Wool-
wich. I subjoin the following passage respecting her from
the Naval Chronicle:--" On the 23d a 'launch took place
from the dockyard, Woolwich, of a new 74-gun ship, called
the Plantagenet. This ship was built upon a plan furnished
by Admiral Gambier (when one of the Lords of the Admi-
ralty), and is considered by judges of naval architecture to
be of singularly fine mould and exquisite proportion. She
is upon a large scale, but without a poop, so that, at a
distance at sea, she niay pasi for a large frigate." '
In the year 1832 Lord Gambier received a Field
Marshal's baton, the first ever given to an Admiral
of the Fleet as a badge of office. He had then out-
lived the days when tokens of worldly distinction
and marks of honour were valuable. Infirm, suffer-
ing, and nearly blind when the distinction was con-
ferred, be did not long enjoy it. The following
year saw the termination of his career and removed
from the naval service of England one who was
certainly alpainstaking and conscientious officer,
s of
al-
though he might not possess the daring genius
a Cochrane. The editress, with rare discrimination,e_.She
has left all details of his private life unrecode!of
has, however, been less wise in supervisiontherno
Considerable
her materials, which would have borne
Hannah More,
condensation. Thus the lethteirshl
interesting,
though many of them are highly
agwr
"ark which professes
occu-
py too prominent a place i
Among the correspon-
such a different charactfreor.m
Nelson, relating to the
dente we find a lettelvith
regard to the introduc-
events of the war. 1
time over which it ex-
dence and the
tory correspondence and
as
tends the editress w . .
services of intrinsic importance I
In detailing only
I was anticipating the ' reader's
hoped and believed
that
at the • varied correspondence wishes. I beliievedoteth
din their day, and coiin, of
people, eminently n
blood or friendship, would ected with
Lord Gambler bybe more ac-
ceptable than es,
the names of his schoolmat •
b oks Moreover, or a pen-
al."' of his log- ,
'oddl f the oreover' these letters form
links between the mi e elast century and the latter
part of this. The letters describing respectively the mar-
riage of the elder and the birth of the younger William
Pitt, carry us from the confines of the Walpole regime over
the bloody Rubican of 1793 into the struggle with Napo-
leon and thence through 'Wilberforce, thafriend and inde-
pendent supporter of the younger Pitt. .The links are ex-
tended over the Reform Bill to the days when Lord
Palmerston was Foreign Secretary and Lord John Russell
Paymaster of the Forces, Thus much as regards the
links in the chain of years.
The work, though telling us nothing really new, and
touching on many irrelevant matters, is by no means
devoid of merit. It gives us a' faithful picture of the
time, perhaps the better from the discursive cha-
racter of its contents, and as a supplement to other
works on that epoch it will be especially valuable.
The editress may be congratulated on having satis-
factorily accomplished a task which is somewhatif
er
an arduous one for a feminine hand, and. het
judgment
judgment is sometitnes' a little biassed, 1 will'
by the high esteem
be readily accounted for
her volumes'
whioh she holds the subject of

------------- ~„,
TILE GARIBALDI SPECIAL FUND.-ine per-
formance announced for the Standard Theatre,
Tuesday
opposite
the Eastern Counties Railway, Shorediteh, on
or
no
aplpsosaerdecawnTrioaunt
atganleykh
have
on:
evening, November 20th, has been promoted by friends of
Italy in the district, as a benefit for the Garibaldi Special
consideration of the
Fund, intended 'to' defray the expenses of equipping and
sending out the British Legion: -in
local interest thus evinced, and the public object to be thus
served, the London Central Committee of the above Fund
of the Theatre hope to render
solicit us to notify to eur roaders the date of the per-
formance, which the companY
attractive, independently of its patriotic object.
Some jo'uraals have announced that
FRANCE AND ITAL—The Moniteur de la Flotte
has the followieg':--"
Vice-Admiral 31. I3arbier de Tinan had received new in-
journals
=kno thoselonger
Gaeta by and
consequently, it is inexact that Admiral
formed,.tno ghilacis that,
commenced the bombardment of that town ;
doubtless they meant Kola di Gaeta. We are authorised
to believe that the instructions of Admiral
net been modified in any respect, and that the
mission of
that gene" officer is still the same—to
maintaining the most strict neutrality, prevent, while
by sea against Gaeta;' any act of hostility

ilia .'per,

lIIE NAVY.

Our Po-ctsmouith correspondent has renewed his
inquiries bat° th e condition of the naval cadets on
board the. Britannia training ship at Portsmouth,
and also of those who have been admitted into
llaslar hospital. At the date of our last report on
this subject (the 10th inst.) no deaths had occurred;

but since then two hare taken place, one from measles
and the other (Mr. Kirwin, son of the Dean of
_ _

Limerick)) from fever. 22 cadets remain in Haslar
Hospital , 18 of whom are, or have been, suffering
from measles, and the remaining four from low fever.
The dila medical authorities at Haslar have held a

medical survey on board the ship, and strictly ex-
amined her in every part, even to analysing the
water from her pump-well. They report that no
local cause exists on board to account for the dis-
eases which have exhibited themselves, and. that
they must have been imported into the ship. The
report also states that no ship could be in a more
perfectly sanitary condition, every part being clean,
well ventilated, and dry. The report concludes by
declining to recommend that the cadets and boys
on board should be dispersed at an earlier period
than usual., unless the sickness takes a more decided
turn, tb.ere being every appearance of its strength
being subdued. Since this report has been forwarded
the sickness has considerably abated, the last fever
case admitted into Hasler Hospital from the ship
beJing 14 days since. As will be seen, however, the
cases of measles have been more numerous, and the
death of Mr. Kirwin from fever only took place yes-
terday. We are assured, however, on the best medical
authority at the port, that both measles and fever
are daily diminishing. There are now only two boys
on board the :Britannia who have not already, at
some period of their lives, had the measles. Three
only of the novices belonging to the ship are in hos-
pital. Both measles and fever have, as we before
stated, been to some extent of late prevalent in
Portsmouth and its neighbourhood, and doubtless,
but for the sanitary state of the Britannia and her
cleanly, well-ventilated decks, referred to in the
medical report, and for which all credit is due to her
eaters, the sickness on board might have spread to
a much greater extent. It may be necessary to state
that the Britannia is not only a "cadet," but also a
" novice" training ship, and that while there are
only about 180 of the former class at present on
board, there are 300 of the latter class. The number
of cadets on board in the spring will be greatly in-
creased, and it has now become a serious question,
and one which doubtless has received due attention
from t'ne Admiralty, whether it is not imperatively
necessary at once to separate the two classes, which
ougb.t never to have been placed in any numbers on
boar d any one vessel. The two most urgent points
bearing on this cadet and novice question are—first,
t'ne question in a sanitary view ; and secondly, in a
`scholastic one. The first few will doubt ; the second
'will be more seriously battled for, but any person
who has been on board the Britannia during study
hours aft and gun-drill forward, will readily endorse
the opinion now shared in by many, that the rough
drill of the novices ought not to be carried on in the
same ship with the study of the naval cadet.
The Gorgon, 6, paddle, Commander B. C, Pim,
has returned to Portsmouth from the westward. -
The Insmortalite, 51, screw, in the first-class steam
reserve at Portsmouth, will be commissioned at that
port this morning by Capt. George Hancock.
The Euryalus, 51, screw, Capt. Tarleton, C. 8., is
discharging stores alongside Portsmouth yard, and
is expected to pay off on Monday. She will after-
wards be taken into the ship basin. Capt. Tarleton
is spoken of as likely to succeed to the command of
the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert on Captain
Denman obtaining his flag.
The screw despatch gunveisels Cormorant, 5, and
Linnet, 5, 200-horse power, fitting in the basin at
Chatham for the second-class steam reserve, will be
iindocked this day, and. proceed to join the reserve
steam ordinary.
The hired transport, Norwood, taken up for the
embarkation of Capt. Mercer's Battery for New
Zealand, yesterday went down to Woolwich, and
commenced shipping the cases of Armstrong guns
(carefully packed two in each case and well se-
cured), as well as the cases of shot, shell, waggons,
gun-carriages, and stores.
The Himalaya, screw steamship, Captain I. Sec-
combe, returned to Spithead during the night of
Thursday, from her successful search for the Royal
squadron, again justifying the motto inscribed on
her binnacle, " Facts non verba." She will embark
the following troops at Portsmouth on the 20th inst.,
for conveyance to Kingstown—viz., 2d Battalion
17th Foot, 2 officers and 141 men ; 2d Battalion, 21st
Foot, 4 officers and 150 men ; 96th Foot, 45 men ;
City of Dublin Militia Artillery, for disembodi-
ment, 16 officers, 403 men, 2 officers' wives, 19 sol-
diers' wives, 62 children, and 2 horses.
The Sultana, intended for the transport of the
military train to Hong Kong, still lies off in the
stream awaiting further instructions. The cases of
hospital stores shipped at Woolwich on her arrival
were yesterday disembarked and returned to the
dispensary. Her cargo, consisting of 700 tons of
war materials will, it is stated, likewise be returned
to store.

His Netherlands Majesty's frigate, Admiral Was-
senaar, 45 guns, Capt. Van Voss, from Malta and
Lisbon for Holland, put into Plymouth Sound on
Thursday. On the night of the 12th inst., about
8 p.m., she came into collision with a barque,whicli
struck her bows and carried away her bowsprit.
The frigate was at the time under can-
vas only, all sails being reefed. The ami.
dent occurred in lat. 49 50 N., long. 12 43 E.,
about 60 Dutch miles S.E. of Scilly ; and the barque
is supposed to be Dutch. The Wassenaar experienced
strong winds from the south-east. Her Judder is
defective ; she was appointed to go up Hamoaze
yesterday, and be repaired in the Devonport dock-
yard. She has discharged her powder for that
purpose.

Th 3 screw steamship Sanspareil, 70, Capt. A. P.
E. Wilmot, C. 8., which arrived in Plymouth Sound
on Thursday afternoon, left Queenstown on the Bth
inst., and experienced strong easterly winds during
the passage. She spoke on the 11th the Susan
Ann, of London, from Quebec, for London, short of
provisions, and supplied her with a cask of bread
and one of pork. The Sanspareil brought from the
hospital at Queenstown supernumeraries and boys
belonging to the fleet. She saluted the flag of the
Port Admiral, which was acknowledged by the
Impregnable.
The screw steam gunvessel Violet, Lieut. and
Commander E. C. Batty, having been very suc-
cessful in raising men at Gloucester, returned on
Tuesday to
head-quarters at Pembroke, where she
is likely to make a short stay to receive entries for
the naval reset:.
The lighter
Sinbad,J. Moore, master, sailed from
Plymouth Yesterday for Chatham and Woolwich,
and the lighter Tortoise,yf li, Hoskings, master, for
Pembroke.
It is reported at Plymouthet that the screw steam-
ship Hero, 90, will be
from the Sound to
on
Haleavemoazeof absence.t , and tha Commander Seymour will go
The newly-formed corps of artillery volunteers
assembled yesterday in the Devonport Dockyard,
to pay their first instalment towards the" •
unitor
which will cost £4 12s. each suit. m,

The provisions placed on board the screw steam
frigate Orlando, 50, for temporary service in the
Channel, will be transferred to the screw steam
corvette Jason, 21, now preparing for commission
at Plymouth.
The screw steam sloop Petrel, 11, was placed in
No. 3 dock in Devonport Dockyard on Thursday
to be coppered.

-"A court-martial was to be held this day at Ply-
mouth, for trying a seaman belonging to the St.
George, who refused to holystone the deck of that
ship when required. Commander Seymour, of the
Hero, will preside.

The screw steam frigate Ariadne, Capt. E. W.
Vansittart, is under orders to leave Plymouth for
Portsmouth.

The Royal Commissioners, assembled in the De-
vonport Dockyard on the subject of expenditure,
attended yesterday at the pay-table, and afterwards
went to the lieyham Steam yard.
The gunboats Steady and Delight were put out
of No. 3 dock in Reyham Steamyard yesterday.
2'h© following appointments were made yesterday