The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-20 00:00:00

Five ran.
CHESTERFIELD HANDICAP.

1

Gaylass

Three ran.
NURSERY PLATE.

Viatha . ,
Fenella .

LATEST BETTING.
GOODWOOD STAKES.
15 to 2 agst Lifeboat (taken)

100 to 6 agst Lord Nelson (taken)

NAVAL PROMOTION.

Tho moral of the debates last week on the ques-
tion of navy promotion is, in one word, that very
old, trite, and familiar fact that there are too many
of us—the world is too full. This is a piece of ex-
perience under which the world has groaned a long
time, so long indeed that we have come to the con-
clusion that it is of no use complaining any more
about it—that it is the fact, and that we must take
things as we find them. So in a general way we
bear the burden silently. But a really distressing
subject cannot always be disposed of in this way ;
it " must out" sometimes; a loud murmer is heard,
threatening tones reach us; it is evident that men
are getting exceedin ly angry about something or
other, and on inquiry we find that it is the old sore
that has broken out again, the ineradicable old
grievance—" The world is too full ; there is really
no such thing as promotion now ; we are all stand-
ing in each other's way, and everything is at a dead
lock." Sometimes it is one world that is too full,
sometimes it is another. On Thursday night it was
the Admiralty world that was complaining. The
debate was a perfect lament on the fulness of the
service, and, had it been conducted by bards and
pipers, and attended by sea nymphs.who came up
the Thames to weep on the occasion, it could not
have been more impassioned. ySir John Pakington
was more than serious—he was pathetic on the
subject of this incorrigible repletion —" Who
leaves the Navy ? Nobody." He turned round
with indignation upon the old admirals, and ex-
claimed, with an almost poetic fervour, "Nobody
goes out at the top of the list." Admiral Walcott
t•;ought it necessary to get up and apologise for
living still. He assured the house that it was not
his fault, and that it was an evil which time would
remedy, if hon. members would only have a little
patience.
There can be no doubt that the navy is singu-
larly ill off on the article of promotion, and suffers
peculiarly from the stagnation of a crowded ser-
vice ; that its lieutenants cannot get captaincies, and
that its captains cannot get ships. There is a
melancholy want of promotion for the subordinate
officers. and want of employment for the higher
on es ; at a certain time the profession hangs heavily,
and breeds nothing but listlessness and disappoint-
ment. In no single line of life is the sensation
produced so early of there being nothing more for
you in the world, and that you have nothing to do
but go on as you are, though you are not nearly
half way as yet, according to the standard of origi-
nal hope and expectation. The lieutenants can
procure employment, indeed, if they are tolerably
efficient officers, and only remain lieutenants ; but
this is paying a heavy penalty for active ser-
vice. Promotion is, of course, the aim of every
officer, and to grind on at a lieutenant's pay
when you think you ought to be a commander is
enough to embitter any employment. This is felt so
keenly that it is a common saying in the navy that
nobody would enter it if he were not "caught
young." But let us suppose our lieutenant,
by a marvellous bit of good luck, made
a Commander ; he is, of course, delighted with his
new title, and thinks himself for a short time the
most fortunate man in the world ; but as soon as
ever he wants to be a real captain afloat, then comes
the blank and disappointment. There is no ship
for him. Unfortunately there can only be one cap-
tain to a ship, and there are only so many ships at
sea. The Russian war or the Chinese affair may
give him a post for a year or two, but when he
comes back and asks for more employment, with
the confidence of one who knows he has distin-
guished himself and earned it as the reward of past
merit, as well as shown his decided capacity for it,
he is told that he has had his turn, and that now
others must have theirs. His turn may come again,
but it will be years hence, when his interest in the
service has subsided for want of practice, and when
he will not be nearly so good and effective an offi-
cer as he is now. In the meantime he must remain
an idle man on shore on half-pay.. The veterans of
the French war, indeed—the conclusion of which,
by reducing our Navy to one-fourth, cut short many
a p: omising young officer's career and stranded an
immense number upon half-pay—have most of them
either died off or ceased to desire service ; but,
though the estab:ishment is now, perhaps, on a
higher scale than it has ever been for a peace scale,
the number of disappointed and unemployed officers
is distressingly large.
How is this grievance to be remedied ? Sir J.
Pakington says by a superannuation scheme. He
relieves the service of all the admirals over
the age of 60, and transfers them to the rank
of the great departed; they cross the Admi-
ralty Styx, and find themselves in the realms
of peace and repose, where the bustle of this
restless scene has ceased, and a quiet rubber
is the only excitement of the nautical Elysium. But
the old Admirals do not particularly relish this
proposal, and, with great gratitude to Sir John
Pakington for his benevolent intentions, say that
they had rather not put off this mortal coil just yet
--this vulgar earth, with its turmoil and contention,
has still its charms for them. They do not consider
themselves quite past work ; they feel vigorous and
healt,)y, in perfect possession of all their faculties,
bodily and mental, and able and ready to serve their
country whenever they are called upon. They
treat Sir John Pakington's scheme as of the nature
of a Ghaut murder. The Hindoos, we know, have
a way of getting rid of the older portion of society
which they think very convenient, but which does
not chime' in with our notions. The old admirals
protest against this funereal rite, performed though
it be on ever so patriotic a principle ; no religious
observances, chants, hymns, or any beauty of
ritual would reconcile them to it. They had rather
not have anything to do just yet with the blessed
water of Oblivion.
iffitocuthltintokctlheaart
So, then, it is a
asnadd
thatfact itthiastvwerye are standing in
anady'persuade old officersetahceh
ground other's way,
their country can do without them
an g There
age,
ies,
always a) difficulty, too, inmentioning
there is certain
tboe c ahues e ,s
mw
eh astiegvnearl the e
natgee
xi:
'mple of the most
heroic services having been performed after it-
Sir
Lyons,
Charles
wWO
no
lodd mentioned
Dave crossed Sir
John Paking-
ton's superannuating line be
fore the Crimean
War brought him out. Facts are sure to be
awkward whenever asuperannuating plan comes
cannot,
f 79
out. a Prime Minister of 75, a
Lord ChancellorlV e with
and a Minister for Foreign
nearly Affairs of ne '0
savyertyhhatodmy,enasuniforsoonmlys loseynu
their senses at 60. E
whisper about age talks of Radetzky, who seems
to have been born in order to prove that the Duke
of Wellington was once in his life wrong when he
said that a man should not be a General after 60.
And an Admiral has this advantage over a General,
—that he has not to ride. There is always this
difficulty about the first introduction of a superan-
nuation scheme,—that the persons affected by it
can Kay that they had all the disadvantage of. the

:
' old system when they were young, and t hat it is
hard they should not have the a.da:y-anit: age rof it
when they were old. " You cut us off at ba th ends,"
they say ; " we had to make our 1N
against a whole mass of o'struction in fly nt of us,
and a hard struggle it was ; now, ha 'Ong attained
our position so late on that very account, WC are not
allowed to enjoy it, but are requested to 1t love off,
in order that others may be better o, T t'l, arl
'-
we
were." The great ethical philosopher o f a‘? an-
cients mentions, as the greatest test that tru 1 fr• telid-
ship can submit to, the willingness to give up tae
performance of noble exploits to your friena 1• Gar
old Admirals may have something to say fot . them-
selves, but it must be frankly confessed that ; .their
love for their younger brothers in the ser7ic4 i goes
not stand this test,—that they are grandly I ;elfish
on this subject, and wish the noble deeds c ,f :the
service to be achieved by themselves, and ha, ;e.. no
idea of handing them over to their juniors.-1 Ymes.