The Sun.
London, England, 1867-03-22 00:00:00

PAY OF LABOURERS IN THE DOCKYARDS.

Mr. OT WAY wished to say that, having had opportuni-
ties of conferring with the engineers of the navy, and
knowing how grateful they were for the favours which had
been conferred upon them, they would regard it as a great
boon to have their names included in the Navy List. But
the question he rose more particularly to ask the noble lord
was whether the augmentation of pay granted by the late
Board of Admiralty to the labourers who were receiving
only 13s. a week was limited to that class, or whether it
was extended to other classes of labourers?

Mr. WHALLEY said ho had no objection that Roman
Catholic chaplains in the navy should receive such adequate
remuneration as would render them more amenable to the
rules and discipline of the navy than the Roman Catholic
chaplains in prisons had proved themselves to be. The
question, however, which he wished to put to the noble
lord was one of more importance than mere pay, and this
was, whether Roman Catholic services in the navy were
to be regulated by the importunity of their applications to
the department and the power they exercised in that house
or according to the exigencies of the navy ?
Lord 11. LENNOX said he would first answer the ques-
tion of the hon. member for Peterborough, and his answer
was this, that with regard to the appointment of Roman
Catholic chaplains the Admiralty would be solely guided
by the exigencies of the service, believing that the best
way to render men loyal and obedient was to instruct them
in the principles of their religion. (Hear, hear.) With
regard to the spiritual wants of Roman Catholic sailors,
he was glad to be able to assure the hon. and gallant mem-
ber for Longford that the recommendations contained in
Sir JohnPakington's letter were carried out as far as prac-
ticable both afloat and on shore. The case of the three
chaplains at Sheerness, Portsmouth, and Devonport was
under the consideration of the Admiralty, and it was only
just that men who devoted their whole time to the Roman
Catholic sailors at these ports should have some retiring
pension when old age or infirmity rendered them unfit for
active duty. In answer to the hon. member for Chatham,
an increase is proposed to bring up the pay of different
classes of dockyard labourers to 2s. 4d. a day, at a whole
cost of £7,750 to the country, and no money could be better
bestowed. (Hear, hear.)
Sir J. PARINGTON said it would be convenient for
the house to know, after what had occurred that evening,
that the consideration of the Mutiny Bill will be postponed
till Thursday next. (Hoar, hoar.)

THE NAVY ESTIMATES.
The house then went into committee on the Navy
Estimates.

On the first vote of £2,900,952 for 67,300 men, including
coastguards and marines,
Mr. CHILDERS entered into a' minute criticism of
the estimates. The large increase in the navy estimates is
the more serious when taken into account with the large
general increase of our expenditure of £40,233,834 for
army, navy, civil, and revenue departments, as compared
with the £38,182,855 asked last year, when we had the
two windfalls of £500,000 from New Zealand, and nearly
the same sum from the Chinese indemnity. Practically
three millions more will have to be found than were asked
for by the last Government, and it is therefore of the
utmost importance to consider whether we may not incur
risk of a serious financial crisis. In the course of his
review he admitted the expediency of some of the items of
increase, as in the nnmber of boys and trained gunners
under the branch of personal charges. But the increased
charges for Woolwich cannot be justified in view of the
ultimate changes contemplated there. He disapproved of
the expenditure of £42,000 a year on Greenwich Hospital,
where there are now only 380 old men and women ; he
complained of the slow progress made in the construction
of the two iron-clads, Hercules and Monarch ; and be
particularly censured the Admiralty for attempting to
build in one year 35 light craft, ranging from 700 tons
down to China gunboats, and for building at the same
time two unarmoured ships, ono of which is large enough
for 600 men. Ho then proceeded to speak of the fleets re-
quired for home stations and colonial stations, and those
for the protection of English commerce abroad. Our true
policy would be to strengthen our home fleet in a manner
to meet the approval of the house. The bon. member pro-
ceeded to show the force on the various stations iu 1846,
1856, and at the present time, and then suggested a reduc-
tion of 2,Boo:men in China, the East Indies, and Australia,
700 men on the West Coast of Africa, 2,400 men on the
North American and West Indian station, 300 men on
the South Eastern American station, and 1,000 men in the
Pacific, altogether a reduction of 7,200. .Yor that it pro-
posed t e substitute a much more popular force, namely au
increase to our home strength by the formation of a flying
home squadron of 2,500 to 3,500 men, in six or seven fast
ships, part armoured and part not, of nearly equal sailing
powers, rendezvousing at Lisbon, having two flags, and
employment for two admirals, and ready at a moment's
notice to be sent to any part of the world where our per-
manent force was not sufficiently strong. We have thirty
admirals employed, paid £32,700 ; 370 admirals unemployed,
paid.£155,700 ; 111 post captains employed, paid £85,500 ;
and 616 unemployed, paid £149,800; 128 commanders
employed afloat, paid £51,700 ; 65 employed ashore, paid
£23,700; and 1,040 unemployed, paid £117,600; one
general of marines employed, paid £1,400 ; and 42 unem
ployed, paid £26,50;) ; in all, 321 employed, at a cost of
£195,300; and 2,045 unemployed, at a cost of £449,000.
(Laughter.) The remedy is to buy out men when they
are younger and wish to retire, or are useless, by paying