The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-13 00:00:00

the Sun and Moon, and to ascertain that they are
fully and fairly carried into execution. The de-
parture of Lord ELGIN and Baron GROS for Japan
is the strongest evidence that every difficulty has
been satisfactorily arranged. They are not the
men to quit their posts while anything remaile, to
be accomplished.

THE, ROYAL COMMISSION AT PETER,
. HEAD. ,

(From the Peterhead Sentinel.)

As will be seen from our report, the Royal Com-
mission held their sittings at Peterhead on Tuesday
and Wednesday last, in the Town-hall. The court
was an open one, and many availed themselves of
the opportunity of witnessing the interesting pro-
ceedings. At the council table were seated. the
commissioners, and beyond them in the body of
the hall were the witnesses. These latter attracted
the marked attention of a spectator. Most of them
were above the middle age—hardy, weather-beaten
tars—the elite of the master mariners of the east
coast of Scotland. Two or three Prussian and
Norwegian ship captains completed the tale of
witnesses. No one who sat for an hour
in the council-hall, carefully noting the pro-
ceedings, but must have been struck with the
dignified, impartial, yet frank withal, bearing
of the commission. We have said on a former
occasion that some on the commission were biassed
in favour of a particular place ; that bias on
Tuesday and Wednesday was sedulously. concealed.
The evidence of the • witnesses was given with-
out hesitancy, forwardness, or shuffling. They
evidently believed every word they uttered—
they spoke from their convictions and experience.
Although it is natural 'to suppose that those
witnesses, natives of Peterhead, would strain,
according to their temperament, in favour of their
own locality, yet we are satisfied that they gave
their testimony with as much impartiality in favour
of Peterhead, as they were listened to by those
commissioners whose foregone opinions we knew
were in favour of Wick.

Many of the witnesses from a distance were men
of reputation, and known at the Admiralty. We
mention them to show the weight of evidence.
There was Captain Cargill, who managed his ship
with so much credit during that terrible winter in
the Black Sea, and had been honoured to pilot the
Queen from London to Aberdeen. There was Cap-
tain Brock, presently shipping master at Aberdeen;
Captain A. Hepburn, one of the town-council of
Inverness ; Captain Shand, harbour master, Lossie-
mouth ; Captain Winchester, surveyor of shipping,
Speymouth ; Captain M'Lean, joint tacksman, of
Portsoy ; and Captain Matheson, of Banff, 10 years
master of a* vessel from Fraserburgh, and two years
in the London trade from Wick, and was thus
enabled to judge of the merits of all the ports. To
this list would have been added the Arctic voyager,
Capt. Penny, had not bad health prevented his
presence. Nis evidence, however, by letter, was
adopted. Important evidence regarding the Pent-
land Frith was given by Mr. Wm. Young, a ship-
master belonging to this port, but whose home at
one time was as much at Orkney ; he was selected
by a prince of Denmark to pilot his ship among
the Orkney Isles, and his apparently strong evi-
dence seemed to be appreciated by Capt. Washing-
ton. The deputation from Elgin, in behalf of the
Lossiemouth Harbour, while urging their own case,
gave forth no uncertain sound as to the advantage
of a harbour of refuge at Peterhead for the trade
of the Moray Firth ; and Mr. Gatherer stated that
there were 10 vessels trading on the south side of
the Frith to one on the opposite coast ; nay, that
some would maintain the proportion was nearer
twenty to one—strong and important evidence,
though given fortuitously. To crown all, there
happened to be present several Prussian and Nor-
wegian captains ; these men all spoke of Buchan-
ness as the point where they endeavoured to make
land ; their reasons being the lighthouse on the
promontory and the safe anchorage in the bay.
They stated that ships coming from the Baltic had
three points where they called for orders, namely,
Grimsby, Leith, and Peterhead, but even when
bound south they preferred Peterhead to either of
the other two places. One of the Prussians had
been " knocking" off and on our heads waiting for
orders, and he stated that he knew of 12 other
vessels that had to call for orders at Peterhead.