The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-14 00:00:00

Promotion in the Navy.

The following copy of a scheme signed by Lord
C. Paget, proposed for increasing the flow of pro-
motion amongst certain classes of officers of the
royal navywas issued yesterday:—
the executive list.

" 2. Admirals to be retired on attaining 70 years
of age, or when physically unfit for service.
" 3. Vice-admirals to be retired at 68, or when
physically unfit for service.
" 4. Rear-admirals to be retired at 65, or when
physically unfit for service.
" 5. Flag officers at present on the active list,
who may be retired under these regulations, will
retain all the privileges of rising in rank and pay
to which they are now entitled ; but no flag
officer, who has not hoisted his flag, will be con-
sidered eligible for the appointment of vice and
rear admirals of the United Kingdom, or for promo-
tion to the rank of admiral of the fleet.
" 6. The active flag list to be reduced to 85 :—Ad-
mirals of the fleet and admirals, 21 (but not to be
more than three admirals of the fleet at one time) ;
vice admirals, 22 ; rear admirals, 42 ; total, 85. This
reduction to be made gradually, by only filling up
two out of every three vacancies caused by the
removal of flag officers who accept Greenwich
pensions, and by retirments from age, whether
optional or compulsory. Vacancies from all other
causes are to be filled up as they occur. Vacancies
on the list of officers on reserved half-pay iu
and the list of flag officers
receipt
Greenwich
v icep
Hospital,
not be filled up.e
,t 7. Flag officers, at present on the active list,
who have hoisted their flags, or have been employed
at the Admiralty, are to be allowed to retain their
places on the active list if they should prefer it ; but
they may be placed on the retired list at their own
request, with the consent of the Admiralty. Officers
coming on to the flag list after this date will -be
subject to compulsory retirement at the age speci-
fied above, whether they may have served or not.
" 8. Captains to be retired at 60; or when phy-
sically unfit for service, on the terms of the order in
council of the 9th of July, 1864. Those at present
on the active list, who, before attaining the age of
60, shall have served the necessary time to qualify
them for promotion to the active flag list, are to be
allowed to retain their places on the active list, if
they prefer it ; but no captain will be eligible for
promotion to the active flag list after 60 years of
age, or if physically unfit for service.
" 9. Officers promoted to the rank of captain
after this date will be subject to compulsory retire-
ment on attaining 60 years of age, whether they
have served or not.

" 10. Captains of 60 years of age, who have
served the necessary time to qualify them for pro-
motion to the active flag list, and who remain on
the captains' list until promoted to a rear admiral,
will be placed on the retired list, butwill be allowed
to rise by seniority to the rank and pay of vice ad-
miral and admiral respectively. Captains who have
served their time, but who retire vollintarilybefotroe
reaching the top of the list, will not bes. entitleda
day,
rise to higher pay, as flag officers, than 25
ilnaccordance with the order in council of 9th July,
86
theirnp o timeyed forfo
r
‘ activellil.
agCaptains
rank,
and
who
iaoi
jejanvoet
the terms of the order in
bseeernveudnei
ten years,
council of 9th July, 1861.
• be allowed to retire on attain-
ingl2. Captains to
to be retired o
50 years of age, with the consent of the Admi-
ralty, on the terms of the order in council of July
9, 1864.
13. The captains' list to be reduced gradually
to 250, by filling up only two out of every three
vacancies caused by age-retirements from that list,
whether optional or compulsory. Vacancies from
all other causes are to be filled up as they occur.
" 14. Commanders to be retired at 55, or when
physically unfit for service, and to be allowed to re-
tire at 50, with the consent of the Admiralty, on the
terms of the order in council of July 9, 1864.
" Lieutenants to be retired at 55, or when phy-
sically unfit for service, and to be allowed to retire
at 45, with the consent of the Admiralty, on the
terms of the order in council of 9th July, 1864..
" 16. Time served by naval officers in civil em-

WHITETIA LL, Matzen 12. .
The Queen has been pleased. by Warrant under her
Majesty's Royal Sign Manual, to institute a new decora-
tion, to be styled the Albert Medal, to be awarded, in .
cases where it shall be
.considered fit, to such persons R
shall, after the dale,of the Warrart, endanger their own
lives in s.tving, or in endeavouring to save, the liveS, of
others shipwreck or other peril of the sea.
WAR-OFFICE, PALL MALL, Miner! 13.
3rd Regiment of Dragoon Guards, Surgeoil IN ell
Henry Stewart, M.D., from 98th Foot, to be
Surgeon, vice Surgeon-Major RoberZ; Marshall
Allen, appointed to the Staff.
4th Dragoon Guards—Mervyn Chaloner Stephen .
Tynte, Gent., to be Cornet, by purchase, vice
James C. Douglas, promoted.
2d Dragoons.—Lieut. John Stansfeld to be Cap-
tain,
by purchase, vice Charles Jefferys Watson
Allen, who retires.
Cornet Horace Stafford O'Brien to be Lieutenant,
by purchase, vice Stansfeld ; Gentleman Cadet
George Frederick Alexander Mungo Bashford,
from the Royal Military College, to be Cornet, .
by purchase, vice O'Brien.
17th Lancers—Cornet Stanley Yeatman Clark to
be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Corbett, who
retires ; Thomas Crowe, Gent., to be Cornet, by
purchase, vice Clark.
Military 'Train—Captain and Brevet-Major Perci-
val Ashley Brown, from the 102 d Foot, to be
Captain, vice Powell, who exchanges.
15th Foot—Lieutenant Turner Warner Burt, from
2d'West India Regiment, to be Lieutenant, vice
Henry Edward Adams, who exchanges.
39th Foot—Ensign Edmund Henry Berkeley to be
Lieutenant, by purchase, vice Charles Napier .
Milner Hamilton, who retires ; Gentleman Cadet
Hyacinth Chevers, from the Royal Military Col,
lege, to be Ensign, by purchase, vice Berkeley.
52d ioot—Captain R. Edwird Stuart Harington,
from the Rifle Brigade, to be Captain, vice Brevet
Lieutenant-Colonel Blanc, who exchanges.
74th Foot—Ensign Richard Leigh to be Lieutenant,
by purchase, vice Edwin Tarver Sainsbury, -wlio
retires ; Gentleman Cadet George Frederick
Guyon, from the Royal Military College, to be
Ensign, by purchase, vice Leigh.
98th Foot—Staff-Surgeon Alexander Humfrey to
be Surgeon, vice Neil Henry Stewart, M.D., an_
pointed to 3d Dragoon Guards.
102 d Foot—Captain James Powell, from the Mili-
tary Train, to be Captain, vice Brevet-Major
Brown, who exchanges.
Biße Brigade—Captain and Brevet Lieutenant-
Colonel Seymour J. Blanc, from the 52d Foot,
to be Captain, vice Harington, who exchanges.
2d West India Regiment—Lieutenant Henry
Edward Adams, from 15th Foot, to be Lieu-
tenant, vice Burt, who exchanges.
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.—Inspector-General Of
Hospitals George Stewart Beatson, M.D., to be
Honorary Physician to her Majesty, vice Sir John
McGregor, K.C.B.' M.D., deceased ; Surgeon-
Major Robert Marshall Allen, from 3d Dragoon
Guards, to be Staff-Surgeon-Major, vice Staff-
Surgeon Alexander Humfrey, appointed to 98th
Foot; Staff Assistant-Surgeon George Bell Poppel-
well to be Staff-Surgeon, vice O'Connor D'Arcey,
M:D., placed upon half-pay.
BREVET.—Major Herbert Russell Manners, half-
pay, late Depot Battalion, and late Assistant In-
spector of Volunteers, to be Lieutenant-Colonel ;
Lieutenant-Colonel and Brevet-Colonel Frederick
John Travers, half-pay, Royal Artillery, has been
permitted to retire from the Service by the sale of
his Commission, under the conditions of the Horse
Guards' Circular Memorandum of 15th February,
1 1861. -

ADMIRALTY, MARCH 13.
The following Flag promotion, dated the 7th in-
stant, has been made in consequence of the death of
Rear-Admiral Frederick Hutton, on the 6th inst. :
—Captain William Loring, C. 8., to be Rear-
Admiral.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, 11EIRCI1 14, 1866.

The Ministerial Reform Bill has been read a
first time, but it can hardly be thought by the most
ardent supporters of Government that it has been
received with anything like cordiality or approved
by the House. The distinguishing feature of the
debate has been indifference on the part of the lead-
ing speakers, but the most significant thing of the
whole is that all the chief opposition made to the
bill at this early stage has proceeded from the
Ministerial side of the House. Mr. GLADSTONE
has found " troops of friends" of the candid sort,
and doubtless their advice and reflections have been
as encouraging and exhilarating to him as such com-
munications generally are. The debate last night
was amusing, and contained great variety ; but
that arose more from the personal tone it assumed
than from any intrinsic interest manifested in the
mear.ure, or for any zeal and enthusiasm for or
against it. Mr. LowE's speech was a very elaborate
one, and his strictures on the Government were
very telling against them. It is well known that
the right hon. gentleman is no friend to Reform,
but at the same time he can see very clearly the
errors of those who are or pass to be devoted ad-
herents to its cause. In particular his criticism on
the doings and sayings of Mr. BRIGHT were very
much to the point, and that his shafts struck home
was proved by the circumstance that the hon.
member for Birmingham repeatedly inter-
rupted him, in or out of season. The extreme
inconsistency of Mr. BRIGHT'S cause was ably ex-
emplified by the member for Calne in his eloquent
and effective discourse. Now we have the Ministers
following the advice tendered to them at Rochdale
by the hon. member for Birmingham, and intro-
ducing a franchise bill ; but, says Mr. LowE, the
hon• member was not always of this opinion, and to
prove it he read a passage from a speech he de-
livered at Bradford in 1859, in which the oracle
declared that " the question of distribution is the
very soul of Oa() question, and unless you get that
you will be deceived, and when the bill is passed
may possibly have to lament that you are not in
you
the position in which You would wish to find your-
selves. Mr. BRIGHT and his friends took very good
care that the bill then under (11"clIEBion should not
pass,
and he now stands convicted before the coun-
try of having opposed a measure which went much
further, and would have effected
far more than the
now before the house. Mr.
fragmentary scheme
LOWE truly said that the House of Commons held
a proud position, and was far above any other de-
liberative assembly that ever existed, and that they
must be careful to keep up its character. More
true than pleasant were his remarks on the weak-
ness of modern Governments. formerly men in
an official position made up their minds as to the
advisability of this or that proposition, and kept to
it, but now every thing that is awkward is called
an " open question." This is a very correct defini-
tion of things, and shows the necessity for sending
men of discretion to represent the people in Parlia-
ment. We differ from Mr. LOWS as to the incon-
venieicea and injuries which he thinks will accrue