The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDOS, TUESDAY EVEAING, JANUARY 15, 1867

more than the mere neighbourhood of the
3134 required to make good sailors. The French,
though they possess a seaboard of consider-

able extent, have never equalled the Eng-
lish as seamen, while the Americans have
always been distinguished for their sailorship.
But although the ideal of a seafaring life is always
pope lar, though the schoolboy, sick of his tasks,
drean is of a life before the mast as of an existence
in Papadise, though NELSON and his contemporaries
are still the favourite heroes of the popular idolatry,
and. though Jack Tar is generally looked upon with
interest and kindliness by landsmen and landswomen,
the English navy has several practical drawbacks
which are seriously affecting its reputation and its
efficiency.
There have for some time been complaints made
of the increasing difficulty of obtaining recruits for
the Royal Navy, and various plans have been set on
foot for manning our ships and providing a good
naval reserve. The mercantile marine is naturally
looked to on these occasions as an invaluable train-
ing-school for able seamen, but we find the same
complaints made respecting the difficulty of obtain-
ing men, or of keeping them in the service, and this
in spite of the natural English love and aptitude for
the sea. The American masters appear to meet
with no such difficulty, though the harshness of their
rule is well known, and contrasts most unfavourably
with that of most English officers. It is well,
therefore, to look a little into the causes of this
seeming inconsistency, so far at least as our mer-
cantile marine is concerned.

Some very valuable information has recently been
laid before the public by Dr. STONE, Fellow of the
Royal College of Surgeons, who has personally
inspected numerous ships in the various docks on
the Thames. He gives us a very full account of
the capacities of the ships, the accommodation pro-
vided for the men, the time for which they are kept
at work, the quality of the food provided, and the
grievances which they most complain of. The
result is that any one who reads Mr. STONE'S report
attentively through, instead of wondering at the
demand for men exceeding the supply, can only
wonder that the supply is forthcoming at all. We
believe that the attention of the Government has
already been directed to this question, and we ear-
nestly hope that they will devise some measures of
thorough and practical reform.

The first visit which Dr. STONE paid was to the
East India Docks, where he found the vessels
mostly of a high order, large and well ventilated.
These are the ships employed in the traffic between
England and India, China, Australia, and New
Zealand, many of them being capable of accom-
modating a large number of passengers and heavy
freights. Even here, however, many of the ships
are fitted with mangers and scuppers, so that
when the cables are bent it is nothing
uncommon for the forecastles to be deluged
with water through the hawse holes. Dr. STONE
was told on good authority that sometimes the men
have to wade to their bunks. In these ships scurvy,
the dreaded foe of the sailor, is scarcely ever met
with. The provibions are good, and the supply of
lime juice regular. The masters, moreover, usually
see that the men actually drink their allowance.
Very different is the case of the vessel's employed
in other trades, in many of which the food is bad
in quality and insufficient in kind; while lime juice
is either not given at all, or if professed to be al-
lowed, is anything but genuine, so that the men not
only dislike to drink it, but lose their faith in its
efficacy. Scurvy is actually on the increase in our
mercantile navy, the number of cases admitted to
the Dreadnought last year exceeding those of the
three former years. The law provides an effectual
remedy for this the worst evil of the sailor's life,

but the law is disregarded. The masters have often

a share in the ship, and consequently it is to their
interest to spend as little as possible on the men's
provisions. So glaring is their conduct in this re-
spect that in the vessels used for the coast trade--

;easels mostly of a wretched condition—Dr. STONE
found a common complaint among the boys
and men that they have not enough to eat;
and although the vessels are seldom more than three
or four days away from land the men scarcely ever
get fresh meat. The supply always consists of salt
beef—the coarsest parts—and the biscuits are of
the worst description. Under these circumstances
we can only be thankful that vessels so managed are
not longer at sea. The strength of the few men
employed is nevertheless severely overtasked. The
hands are so few that they are kept working on deck
or in the rigging for 20 or 25 hours consecutively ;
and even when the vessel reaches the harbour they
are not allowed to rest or go on shore, but are re-
quired to assist in discharging the cargo. To
this fact Dr. STONE attributes the great
preponderance of chest diseases among them ;
and as a natural consequence of excessive
fatigue, exposure, and bad food, the men in har-
bour drink largely, and are often attacked with
severe diarrhoea, and it is with a crew in such
condition, half-delirious from drink, weak from
illness, that an old ill-found ship is sent in rough
weather to our northern coasts. No wonder, under
such circumstances, that the colliers exhibit a dis-
mal preponderance in our annual Wreck Register
As on too many of our railway lines a pitiful and
unjust economy produces a cruel waste of life and
health. The large screw steamers now employed
in the coal trade are much superior in their accom-
modation and provisions, but the men are kept so
incessantly at work, that often when they arrive
in the morning after a rough passage, they are
set to unload during the day, and at night the ship
is on her way to the north again.

The ships in the West India Docks are mostly of
a wretched description, and, indeed, it is mortifying
to find Dr. STONE continually reiterating the bad
hygyienic condition of our men, and the superiority
of the accommodation in the vessels of other coun-
tries. The Swedish and Norwegian ships are better
so far as the forecastle and sleeping quarters are
concerned. The American are far superior, and
the masters of the American commer-
cial marine pride themselves on the con-
dition of their crews, and say it is the
best economy to give them good and abundant food,
and pay strict attention to their sleeping quarters.
This is very different from the belief acted upon
in English ships. "In the timber trade the state
of things is disgraceful : a house on the deck is an
exception, and the men live in a small, close, and
ill-ventilated hole." In the West India vessels
Captain TOYNBEE " has himself seen forecastles and
seamen's chests in first-class ships black from the
gas which rises from the cargo, and which smells like
sewage, especially in sugar ships. Captain TOYNBEE
informed me a day or two since that he had actually
seen a place containing two packs of foxhounds and
three horses which received half its ventilation by a
hatch which opened into the sailors' forecastle."

Into the horrors of the manure cargoes and bone
ships we will not enter. Enough has been said of
a large proportion of our regular mercantile marine
to account for the acknowledged and increasing re-
luctance of our young men to enter the navy as a
profession. It is more than time that the condition
of our sailors was looked into by competent authori-
ties if we wish to retain our naval strength undi-
minished.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, Monday Evening.
There is no political news of importance to day
in the .3foniteur, but it contains some official decrees
of interest relative to ecclesiastical matters. In pur-
suance of a bull of the Pope, dated July 25, 1866,
an archbishopric is created by the Emperor at Algiers,
and there are to be bishops at Constantine and Oran.
M. Lavigerie, Bishop of Nancy, is appointed arch-
bishop of the newly created Archbishopric of Algiers.
The Abbe Callot, of Lyons, is appointed Bishop of
Oran, and the Abbe de las Cases, of Angers, is
promoted to the Bishopric of Constantine. The
Abbe Thomas, Vicar-General of Autun, is appointed
to the Bishopric of Rochelle, vacant by the appoint-
ment of Monseigneur Landriot to the Archbishopric
of Rheims. The Abbe Flacquard, curate of St.
Symphorien, Versailles, is appointed to the Arch-
bishopric of Verdun, vacant by the decease of Mon-
seigneur Rossat. The Abbe Foulon is raised to the
Archbishopric of Nancy, vacant by the appointment
of Monseigneur Lavigerie, as Archbishop of Algieis.
A letter from Lisbon states that the Portuguese
Government is occupied with the preparation of a
treaty of commerce and extradition with Spain, and
that the formal negotiations between the two Go-
vernments upon the subject will commence without
delay.
The Moniteur de l'Algerie contains some further
melancholy particulars of the terrible earthquake.
The inhabitants of almost all the houses at Blidah
have retreated from them in alarm. Three villages
have been entirely destroyed, Mouzaivitle, le Bon
Roumi, and El Afroun. When the houses fell
clouds of dust obscured the whole neighbourhood.
The number killed at Mouzaivitle was more than
40, and upwards of 100 mere or less injured. At
El Afroun, of More than. 100 houses only one re-
mains entire : this house, it appears, was of a iecu-
liar construction.' Eleven victims were carried away
from one house at El Afroun. In all the villages
situated at the foot of this part of the Atlas the
terror prevalent is indescribable. The mountains
of the Atlas at the time of the earthquake were illu-
minated as if by fireworks or lightning. Some
other villages, Chiffa, Ameur-el-Ain, and isolated
farms have been nearly destroyed. At the latter
village several persons were killed and many were
injured.

The Courrier de l'Alyerie gives an official account
of the deplorable catastrophe, and says that it was
more disastrous than is represented by the Moniteur
de l'Alyerie. It adds—,‘ We went to Mouzaia. The
reality of the destruction is more terrible than the
accounts of it. It seems almost impossible, but
whole villages have been suddenly destroyed. The
earthquakes continue to be felt. Marshal Mac-
Mahon has hastened to visit the scenes of death
and desolation." _

en. The sun has been
so bright a day as this has be •
intense, and the
seen all day, but the cold is still
sufficiently powerful
Even in the height of summer there is not always
rays of the sun have not been
to cause a thaw. At post hour the frost continues
with no prospect of abatemeat.
The Constitutionnel confirms my statement in
regard to the manufacture of exciting news relative
to the affairs of the East, ant says that the ques-
tion being " so interesting,
people must not be
astonished at the fecundity of the newsmongers
who invent or propagate imaginary projects and
solutions relative to it." The Constitutionnel, never-
theless, seems to put faith in one report, according
to which France and Austria have taken some
steps, if not in concert at least in common, in be-
half of the Christian subjects of the Sultan. The
account goes so far as to say that Prussia, Italy, and
Russia have the same views upon the question, and
that the adhesion of England to them is considered
certain. At all events the French Ambassador at the
Court of Turkey, M. Bouriee, was received with
great cordiality and attention by the Sultan when
he presented his credentials the other day at Pera.
M. Bouriee expressed a hope that his advice and
suggestions would be received with the same favour
and cordiality as those of the late French Ambas-
sador, M. Moustier. The Sultan, through his in-
terpreter, Aali-Pacha, assured the new Ambassa-
dor that such would be the case, and expressed a
hope that each day would Strengthen more and
more the relations of " good friendship" now exist-
ingm. betweeningreBF,
trhaencemaosntd Turkey.
eminent, perhaps, of all
French painters, is now in almost a hopeless condi-
tion. He is 87, but a few days ago he was in per-
fect health. A violent cold and inflammation of
the chest has suddenly prostrated him, and this
afternoon it was feared that his
recoyery was
almost impossible.
Yesterday afternoon the funeral ceremony over
the remains of the renowned actress, Mdll e. Georges,
took place at Passy church. The church di with '
ffi-
culty could contain the crowds of d • ramatists and
literary men who pressed for entrance to pay their
last tribute of respect, but yet, in her " utmost need"
it is said that she was almost
neglected, and the
friends who might have assisted her were " conspi-
cuous for their neglect of her."

Napoleon 111, and the Parisians.

The Emperor has of late adopted a Haroun-al-
Raschid sort of habit—i.e., of going about alone,
on foot or in a private brougham, which is very
distressing to all his surroundings, great sticklers
for etiquette, and still more so to the Prefect of
Police, who objects—very naturally—to his Ma-
jesty going out unattended. The other morning,
says the Paris correspondent of the Standard, he
walked down the Tuileries, crossed the river, and
literally " beat up" the Foreign Minister, M. de
Moustier, who was surprised at the unexpected
honour paid him. His Majesty, however, was
bent on business ; the Turkish Ambassador was
summoned, and a long conference ensued, the re-
sult of which may possibly shortly appear in the
Moniteur.
On Wednesday their Majesties drove in an open
caAche through the Faubourg St. Antoine, and
were received with enthusiastic acclamations. On
the following day the Emperor and the Prince
Imperial drove out in a private carriage, and
visited the Imperial stables on the Quai d'Orsay.
His Majesty and the Prince afterwards walked
down the Avenue Rapp as far as the Champs de
Mars, where they again got into the carriage.
" His Majesty's health," we learn from the Pays,
" has greatly improved since hilt return from Com-
piegne, so that every day he attends to business for
some
private hoursc,aarnrida
carriage, and
outa
iatahiloyu
gehi thtehreroen
iu his equipage to attract attention he is speedily
recognised, and receives the most respectful marks
of sympathy. isf°°t'orin
anothing

There is a rumour, according to the Salut Public
of Lyons, that M. Edmond About is to be made a
prefect.

- _
ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION.—His
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales has signified
his intention, through Gen. Knollys, to take the chair at
the forthcoming annual meeting
of the Royal National
Lifeboat Institution, which is expected to take place about
the latter part of the ensuing month. The Prince and
Princess of Wales have always manifeesd considerable
interest in the great and national work of the Lifeboat
Institution. On the first anival of the Princess in her
Majesty's yacht,
in Margate Roads, the lifeboat of the in-
stitution on that station gave her royal highness the
earliest welcome to the shores of England. Again, the
Manchester branch of the institution, on tho representa-
tion of the Rev. E. Hewlett and R. Whitworth, Esq., re-
ceived permission from his royal highness to name one of
their nine boats the Albert Victor, after his eldest son.
Since then that lifeboat has contributed to the saving of
31 shipwrecked persons. The city of Bristol, through
Admiral Tryon, about three years ago, presented to the
institution the cost of a lifeboat, and decided to name it
the Albert Edward, after the Prince of Wales. The life-
boat was stationed at Padstow, on the coast of Cornwall.
'l' he following winter, duringa fearful midnight storm,
the Albert Edward, was happily the means of Saving,
under Providence, 17 poor fellows from an inevitable
death from the barque Juliet, of Greenock. Her Majesty
the Queen is also a warm friend of the institution, and
sends it every year a subscription of £5O. Thus
this great and philanthropic society, which last year con-
tributed to the saving of nearly 900 lives from a watery
grave, receives the support and sympathy of all classes of
tho community, and is thereby enabled to accomplish suc-
cessfully and energetically, the national work it has un-
dertaken to do on WWI of our bhipwrookoci bailors.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)