The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-15 00:00:00

NAVY ESTIMATES.

The house then went into committee of supply on the
navy estimates.
The first vote, namely, £142,957 for the Admiralty-office,
after a few words from Mr. WILLIAMS and Sir C. NAPIER,
was passed.
On the second vote, being £186,057 for the Coast Guard
Service and Royal Naval Coast Volunteers,
Sir C. WOOD expressed his opinion that measures should
be taken to secure the services of these men as a reserve,
being the most valuable and steadiest men in a ship's com-
pany. When the coast guard was transferred to the Admi-
ralty they took 8,000 men the first year, and the following
year they took a vote for 9,000. That they were right in
increasing this class of men as much as possible was clear
from the fact that the commission for manning the navy
recommended this force to be increased. This year there
was substantially no increase in the number of seamen and
reserve in the coast guard. He hoped there was no inten-
tion to interfere with this most valuable reserve of seamen,
and that the force would be increased to 12,000 men as soon
as.possible.
Sir J. PAKINGTON did not dissent from the policy
which the right hon. gentleman had just laid down. If he
had made the increase this year it would have been only a
nominal increase. There were now 700 or 800 less in the
coast guard service than were voted.
Sir C. NAPIER observed that though it had been said
that some ships had been commissioned they had in fact
been manned by men who had volunteered from the coast
guard ships.
Sir J. PAKINGTON said it was true a few men had
been allowed to volunteer from the coast guard ships, but
they were very few. They had manned two ships of the line
and two frigates recently with a rapidity which was very
uncommon.

Admiral DUNCOMBE observed that if they were 700 or
800 short of the coastguard service, they were not making
much progress in the object they sought, to render it more
easy to man the navy.
Mr. CALDWELL said there was no difficulty in filling
up the coastguard service, which seamen looked forward to
with ambition. He trusted that when the First Lord of
the Admiralty brought the question before the considera-
tion of the house, they should find that he proposed to fill
up the coastguard to the full number of 12,000.
Mr. CORRY explained that the crews of the revenue
cutters were formerly taken from the coast guard on shore.
Now they were manned from the coastguard afloat, and the
number actually on shore was as great as it was last year.
That number was complete, but the coast guard afloat was
720 short.
Sir J. ELPHINSTONE said that the evidence taken
before the commissioners showed that the coastguard
volunteers were not likely to be a force on which much per-
manent reliance could be placed, and that the better part of
them would probably be absorbed into another force which
the commissioners proposed to create.
Mr. W. LINDSAY had come to a different conclusion.
It was true that the volunteers were not to go more than 100
leagues from the shore, but there were many services in
which they would be able to supply very important aid.
Still there was one great defect in the volunteer system—out
of 7,000 men not more than 4,000 or 5,000 attended the
drills.

Sir J. PAKINGTON said that one •seventh did not ap-
pear when they were called upon. He thought that with
some slight encouragement a very fine class of men, called
" wreckers," who at present were idling about the coast,
might be made very efficient crews for the gunboats.
Sir J. ELPHINSTONE had omitted to state that the
establishment of the volunteer force had been productive of
very good effect by accustoming sailors in the north to the
discipline of men-of-war.
Mr. CARDWELL was of opinion that when it was well
understood that the old system of impressment would not be
again resorted to there would be no limit to the number of
volunteers that the country might obtain. It would, how-
ever, be better to discuss the whole subject on another occa-
sion, and in a more formal manner. (Hear.)
The vote was then agreed to, and the chairman reported
progress.