The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-26 00:00:00

THE WAR IN ITALY.

The following telegrams have been received at
Mr. Reuter's office :
The Moniteur publishes the following telegram:
ALESSANDRIA, MAY 25.

The Emperor has passed several hours at Voghera.
Nothing is yet decided respecting the departure
the troops.

MARSEILLES, MAY 25.

Advices have been received from Constantino?le
to the 18th inst. The Porte has at last in confor-
mity with the protocol of the Paris Conferences
promised to recognise Prince Couza.
The Sclave population on the coast of the Adriatic
begin to show hostile feelings against Austria.
Three Turkish war steamers have been despatched
to the Adriatic.
Advices have also been received from Athens.
In reply to a question by a member of the Chamber
of Deputies the Greek Ministry denied that Austria
had called upon Greece to take the Austrian com-
mercial marine under the protection of her flag.

GENOA, MAY 26.

The Courriere Mercantile di Genoa affirms that
the Bey of Tunis has offered two auxiliary regi-
ments to Piedmont.

TRIESTE, MAY 25.
The Austrian barque Scanderbeg has arrived
here from Cardiff, laden with a cargo of coals.
Up to the day before yesterday the Commandant
of Venice had received no notice from the enemy
declaring the town to be in a state of blockade.

TURIN, MAY 25.

The official bulletin published to-day confirms
the news of Garibaldi's entry into Varese, and
announces that the arrival in Lombardy of the
first of those troops destined for its liberation has
caused great enthusiasm among the population,
who declared at once for the King of Sardinia and
the national cause.
The bulletin further announces the death of the
King of Naples, and that Francis 11. has ascended
the throne. The proclamation published at Naples
of the ascending of the throne by Francis IL is
countersigned by Signor Carafa.

DRESDEN, MAY 25.

The King opened the Landtag at noon to-day
with a speech announcing the demands for money

supplies.

The Royal speech says :—War threatens to make
those treaties doubtful on which the rights of
Europe now rest. His Majesty is :upheld as well
by the consciousness that he has always raised his
voice in behalf of that which the honour of Ger-
many and the maintenance of just principles dc•
mand, as by the consciousness that these his senti-
ments are shared by the whole Saxon people.
Should war ensue for the protection of the just
cause, his Majesty hopes with confidence that God
will be with Saxony and Germany in general.

BERNE, MAY 25.

2,000 Austrians are at Camerlata waiting for
reinforcements and artillery. Garibaldi is expected
at Como from Varese. Yesterday his advanced
posts were at Alairate.

It is reported fron Lugano that General Gari-
baldi, with his 5,000 men, has barricaded himself
in the town of Varese, but is without cannon.

The Austrians posted in the neighbourhood of
Varese are on their side provided with artillery,
and a fight has commenced.

The following version of the battle of Montebello,
has been received, via Vienna, forwarded from
Head•quarters. It is dated Pavia, 22d May :
" Count Stadion passed the Po on the 20th by
the strongly fortified bridge at Vacarizza, with
25,000 men, to ascertain the position of the
French.

" He found them in Casteggio, which he stormed.
He then came upon Baraguey d'Hilliers' army near
Montebello. He attacked it so as to make the
enemy display his strength.
" In the fight Stadion was wounded, and had 10
offie:ers killed and 16 wounded. About 500 men
were killed or wounded. The French brought up
fresh troops by rail during the battle.
" At night Stadion retired, having effected his

purpose.
" General Zobel retired from Vercelli on the 19th,
and blew up the bridge over the Sesia.
" The Austrian head-quarters are at Garlaseo."

" Since the publication of the English declara-
tion of neutrality," says the Paris correspondent
of the Independance of Brussels, "the armaments
have been suspended in the French arsenals, and
enlistments for the navy have also ceased."

A letter from Alessandria of the 22d, in the
Constitutionnel, gives some further details of the
combat of Montebello :—" The extensive plain
round the village of Montebello is dotted here and
there with clumps of trees, and intersected by
strips of land sown with corn or artificial grasses.
When the Emperor arrived the ground was still
strewn with dead bodies. The whole night and
part of the morning had been employed in collect-
ing the wounded, but the Emperor came soon
enough to see the field nearly as it was left by the
two armies. The Emperor was accompanied by
Marshal Baraguay d'Hilliers. As Generul Forey
had received a contused wound in his left leg from
a ball which struck the sheath of his sabre, he was
merely able to present himself to his Majesty, who,
after embracing him, spoke in the highest terms of
his brilliant conduct. Col. Cambriels was also em-
braced by the Emperor, and this brave officer, it is
said, is to immediately receive a high recompense
for his conduct. Several of the Austrian officers
who had been made prisoners were presented to
the Emperor, who conversed with them. The attitude
of these officers, nearly all young, was very becoming.
Some of them were recognised as havingbeen at Paris
last winter, and one had even been presented by his
ambassador to the Emperor, and was even invited
to a ball at the Tuileries. The Emperor's visit to
the field of battle did not surprise the soldiers, but
it delighted them exceedingly. - The wounded, on
seeing the Emperor, saluted him with the loudest
eivais, and their comrades who were carrying them
to the hospital stopped to raise the shout of Vive
l'Empereur.' In their turn, the soldiers remaining
under arms greeted his Majesty with enthusiastic
acclamations, and the officers who have this even-
ing returned from Voghera were unable to find
adequate terms to express the feelings of satisfaction
which, they said, beamed from the Emperor's noun•
tenance. The Austrian prisoners, too, regarded
the sovereign of France with much curiosity.
Montebello, when taken, was defended by 5,000
kestrians, supported by two batteries of artillery.
A body of 1,200 French advanced with the
bayonet in order to save their few remaining car-
tridges, and succeeded in their gallant attack. The
exact number of our wounded is 360, as I have
been informed by a surgeon, who also stated that
very few of the wounds were likely to render
operations necessary. The Forey division, which
has thus had the honour of opening the campaign,
is an object of no little envy ; there is not a single
officer who would not wish to have been in the
place of his brethren in arms. The moral effect
has been immense here, and wo have no doubt it
will be equally great in France, The Emperor's
ardent desire is gratified, as the army has shown

that it has not degenerated. On his return to
Alessandria his Majesty met with quite an ovation.
The inhabitants cheered him loudly, and the soldiers
followed his carriage crying out Vivo la France !'
Vive l'Empereur !' I must not omit to state that
the Austrians did not take a single prisoner from
the French or Piedmontese."

A correspondent of the Debuts writes as follows :
—" Various rumours have been in circulation as to
the first cause of the encounter, It has been said
that the national guards of Casteggio barricaded
themselves in their houses, and repulsed a strong
Austrian patrol with musket shots. A column of
Austrians afterwards advanced to punish the inha-
bitants of the village, who had sent of their syndic
to request the protection of the allied troops. It
was then that the Piedmoutese cavalry under Gen.
Sonnaz took up a position. Having been attacked in
his turn by a very superior force, he was obliged to
solicit support from the division of Gen. Forey.
This version will give to the combat of Friday the
character of such an incident as frequently occurs in
war. But the composition of the enemy'scolumns,their
nu mber,and their tenacityin maintaining Montebello
—everything leads to the belief that it was a pre-
concerted plan. Two officers of the regiment of
Novara have been wounded—Capt. Piola and a
Frenchman named Corealis, who serves as a lieu-
tenant in the Sardinian army. As at Constantina,
at the Mamelon Vert, and at Malakoff, the French
officers led on their men to the battle cry of 'En
avant,' and all resistance was overcome. This fact
explains the relative considerable loss among the
officers, but they have been well avenged, for the
streets of the village were covered with Austrian
bodies, and some of the houses were full of them.
We entered black with powder, and we came out
red with blood,' said one of the wounded men,
who had however fought to the last. Col. Morelli,
who was killed, was only 43 years of age. He was
two or three months ago sent on a mission by his
Government to England to procure horses for the
cavalry, and was considered as one of the best
officers in that branch of the service. Colonel de
Bayl, of the Novara Light Horse, although always
in the heat of the conflict, escaped without a wound.
The news that the division of General Cialdini had
crossed the Sesia the same day in front of Vercelli
is now official. The Austrians on that point were
also repulsed with severe loss. The compaign has
commenced for them under very sad auspices. The
regiment of Nice cavalry, in which the Duke de
Chartres serves as lieutenant, and which has been
for some time encamped at San-Geramo, at the
extreme advanced posts, followed the movement of
General Cialdini. The villiage of Montebello, it
has been stated, was taken three times from the
Austrians, and it was in the last attack that Gen.
Beuret was killed. Colonel de Bellefonds, one of
the superior officers wounded, expired the night
after the combat."

The Piedmontese Gazette publishes the following
bulletins :

" No. 44, MAY 22, EVENING.

" The Modenese have evacuated Fivizzano, Fos-
dinovo, and the neighbouring places, and have
retired by the Cerreto road. The inhabitants of
those communes have unanimously proclaimed the
dictatorship of King Victor Emmanuel. The tri-
colour waves throughout the Lunigiana."

" No. 45. MAY 23d, MORNING.

" Yesterday the enemy was foiled in an attempt
to prevent a reconnaisance towards the Sesia, com-
manded in person by the King. The small island
opposite Terranova was occupied by the King's
troops. We have had but few killed or wounded ;
among the latter is Major Ferreri, Captain of the
Staff, who has lost a leg. In a cavalry encounter
beyond the Sesia, Captain Brunetti, of the Nice
Cavalry, was killed by a stroke with a lance. From
further accounts we learn that the conduct of the
10th Infantry was admirable, in crossing the Sesia
with water up to the waist and vigorously attack-
ing the enemy at Il Torrione, killing many, and,
making several prisoners. In the battle of Monte-
bello, besides Col. Morelli Lieutenants Blonay,
Scassi, and Govone were killed ; and Lieutenants
Ghilini, Salasco, Milanesio, and Mayr were wounded.
Gen. Sonnaz received a slight contusion in the face.
The enemy is in force at Mezzanino and Vaccarezz.
It is confirmed that at the inn del Fumo, near
Torricella, the Austrians shot the whole family
Ciglione, consisting of seven or eight individuals,
including two boys under ten years of age, for
having German muskets in the house. At Casatisma
they first bastinadoed and then shot a youth of 17,
because, being asked whether there were any French
at Montebello, he replied in the negative. They
also arrested the Vice-Syndic of Pinarolo, in the
province of Voghera, threatening to shoot him if
the Syndic did not inform them of the movements
of the French. The Garfagnara, lately belonging
to Modena, has declared for the national cause."

The Indipendenta of Turin states that Leopold
11., Grand Duke of Tuscany, has assumed the cm-
mand of the Bth regiment of Austrian Dragoons,
which is his property.
The Milan Gazette announces that the Neapolitan
steamers in the Mediterranean have received orders
not to touch at Genoa.

ENGAGEMENT ON THE SESIA.
The Alessandri t correspondent of the Constitu•
tionnel, writing on the 23d inst., says :
" Since this morning there is great excitement in
the town. There is a report that some sharp en-
counters took place yesterday evening and during
the night between the Piedmontese troops en-
camped along the whole line from Valenza and
Casale to Vercelli. The sound of cannon was heard
at midnight, and it was asserted that the whole
army, commanded by King Victor Emmanuel in
person, was engaged on the banks of the Sesia,
after having made a forced march from Occmiamo.
" A thousand other rumours were afloat, and the
opinion was that the moment of a general attack
had arrived with the concurrence of the Imperial
Guard.
"As yet all that has been confirmed of these
reports is this:—The main body of the Piedmontese
army, commanded by the King, holds the banks of
the Sesia, and is exchanging a well kept up can-
nonade with the Austrians. The reports which
have reached head-quarters contain no details.

" 4 O'CLOCK P.M.

" The news of an engagement between the
King's troops and the Austrians on the banks of
the Sesia, is confirmed, but details are still wanting ;
but, as none of our troops were engaged, our infor-
mation will not bo extensive,"

THE BATTLE OF MONTE-
BELLO.

The Milos Turin correspondent, who dates his
letters from the Austrian head quarters, gives the
following extraordinary version of the battle of
Montebello ;

"TURIN, MAY 23.

" A brief Vienna bulletin (or probably the abridg-
ment of one) of the combat of Montebello has reached
us here, and although it will of course be ridiculed
by the Turin papers, it is hardly to be called incon-
sistent with the French report yesterday transmitted
to you, except on one point, and that is with respect
to numbers. Each party says that it was in presence
of forces numerically superior, and very probably
each party believes itself correct. On such points
there always have been and probably always will be
discrepancies, often greater than the most impartial
historians, writng long subeguently to the events,
and with many documents before them, are able to
reconcile. Contemporary chroniclers cannot hope,
then, to be more successful, and can but weigh and
compare conflicting testimonies, often without ven-
turing an opinion which there are not sufficient
grounds to render positive. According to the
French account of thq late affair the Austrians
fought gallantly and obstinately—so much so that
it is difficult to believe that if they were 12,000,
15,000, or (as it has also been said) 18,000 strong,
they would have been repulsed by 4,000. It ap-
pears also from the French bulletin that, before
the attack on Montebello, General Forey's
second brigade came up. The two brigades top.
ther made more, it is presumed, than 4,000
men. The Austrian statement that their troops
retired in excellent order receives confirmation from
the French aceount, which does not talk of them as
routed, but as retreating, and as pursued only by
the skirmishers, and by the fire of artillery. If all
bulletins were as fair as this French one seems likely

to be (setting aside the question of numbers, in
which mistakes are easily made, and, as far as I
can judge of it, by an Italian version of a telegraphic
transmission), the truth would be less difficult to
arrive at. Even if it be admitted that the Aus-
trians were in superior force, they still would natu-
rally retreat when their object of a reconnaisance,
to ascertain their opponent's strength in that quar-
ter, was accomplished. It is strange that no mention
is made of any cavalry being with them. The
French seem to have been unprepared for their
coming, and would, it is here said, almost have
been surprised, but for the gallant resistance made
by the Piedmontese cavalry. This consisted of the
regiments of Novara and Aosta and part of the
regiment of Nlontferrat. They lost four officers killed
and five wounded, which, if taken according to the
usual proportion, would imply a heavy loss of men ;
but, judging from the French loss of field officers,
old rules will hardly hold good in the present war,
in which it seems likely that improved weapons and
skilled marksmen will be particularly fatal to leaders.
In any case, there can be no doubt that the Pied-
montese cavalry did their duty manfully, and gave

time for the French to come up before the Austrians
had advanced further than Ginestrello, less than an
Italian mile on this side of Montebello,"

MALTA.

The Malta Times of the 17th contains the fol-
lowing :—" The Mediterranean squadron has been
increased during the past eight drys by the arrival
of the line-of-battle ships Victor Emmanuel, St,
Jean d'Acre, Brunswick, and Orion, and the steam
frigate Racoon from England and Gibraltar. The
Orion was last from Genoa, where the Conqueror
from Leghorn relieved her. The St. Jean d'Acre
and Brunswick did not enter port, but joined the
Commander-in-Chief, Vice - Admiral Fanshawe,
outside. The admiral has been sailing on and off
the island since the 10th on board his flagship the
threedecker Marlborough, accompanied by the
twodecker Princess Royal. Yesterday the ships
were at general quarters, practising firing shot,
which was distinctly seen from the shore. The
liner Hannibal (flag of Rear• Admiral Mundy) is
hourly expected from Gibraltar. We have now,
in addition to frigates, corvettes, and smaller ves-
sels, ten line-of-battle ships in the Mediterranean
all provided with screw machinery. The two-
decker Centurion was by last accounts at Naples,
the steam-frigate Terrible at Civita Vecchia, the
gunboats Osprey, at Athens, Wanderer, at Con-
stantinople, and Recruit, in the Danube, and the
surveying steamer Tartarus at Candia. The gunboat
Coquette is at Marseilles awaiting Admiralty
orders. The following is a list of her Majesty's
ships of war at present in the Mediterranean
besides the above :—Hibernia, receiving ship, off
Malta ; Euryalus, 51, in port ; Vulture, 6,
Gibraltar ; Ariel, 9, in port ; Argus, 6, in port ;
Scourge, 6, Gibraltar ; Lapwing, 4, in port ; Vigi-
lant, 4, in port; Azov, 2, in port ; Kertch, 2, in
port ; Caradoc, 2, in port ; Boxer, in port ; Bustler,
Gibraltar ; Hearty, in port ; Medina, 4, in port ;
Tartarus, 4, Candia ; Supply, 2, in the port. The
present British naval force (23 pendants), large as
it is in these waters, is to be still further vastly
increased; and we think that our assertion will be
confirmed by the fact when we state that our fleet
in the Mediterranean is to be, and that very
shortly, made up to 97 pendants, 22 of which
are to be line-of-battle ships. We have also good
authority for saying that the garrison of this island
is to be raised to a strength of at least 10,000 men.
P.S.—H.M.S. Renown has just joined the fleet off
the port. The hired transport Pembroke Lass is
under orders to sail from Woolwich, laden with war
stores for Malta."

FRANCE.
PARIS, WEDNESDAY.

A private letter from Genoa, dated on Monday,
mentions that a serious affair was expected from day
to day. The writer was on the point of starting for
Leghorn, but so general was the belief that such an
event was nigh at hand that he postponed his de-
parture. When he wrote cannonading had been
heard. Another letter, from the head-quarters of
the French army, received here this morning, says
that no important affair was expected before the
end of the month or the Ist of June. Yet there is
a rumour here to-day that a battle began yesterday
between Stradella and Pavia. The French troops
are described as in the highest spirits, and, though
the difficulty of driving the Austrians from their
positions be greater than was anticipated, the French
army is full of confidence.
It is said that all the Powers, with the exception
of France and Sardinia, have acknowledged by
telegraph the new King of Naples,
BOURSE, May 25.—The market has been rather
agitated by various rumours. One was that the
English Cabinet had sent a note about the occupa-
tion of the Tuscan territory by the French troops ;
and another, that a serious engagement had begun
yesterday between Stradella and Pavia, and had
continued this morning. Threes, after having been
done at 61fr. 40c., receded to 61f. ; Mobilier varied
from 585 f. to 570 f.; Orleans, 1,170 f. to 1,162 f.
50c. ; Lyons, 772 f. 50e. to 767 f. 50c.; Northern,
880 f. to 867 f. 50c. ; Eastern, 590 f.
.to 582 f. 50e. ;
Southern 440 f. to 435 f. ; Austrian, 357 f. 50e. to
352 f. 50e. ; Lombardo-Venetian, 425 f. to 422 f.
50c. The following were the closing quotations :-
4 per Cents. 88 50 Credit Foncier 625
Do. end month .. 88 751 Belgian 4f
3 per Cents 6l 30 I Piedmonteso (5) 77 75
Do. end month 6l 20 Roman Bl 50
Bank Shares. 2700 Austrian
Credit Mobilier 582 50 Spanish Threes
Do, Account

RAILWAYS.

Cash. Account.
Orleans
Northern 1167 50 .. 1167 ,50
877 50 .. 875
New ditto 745 .. 747 50
Lyons and. Mediterranean 775 .. 775
Geneva 455 —
Southern - ..
442 50
Western 495 • •
Eastern
Sardinian 342 50 .. 337 50
Austrian
Exchange on London, at sight, paper, 25f. 7,3/4c, ; money,
25f, 21,04 three months, paper, M. 90c. ; money, 24f. 8710.

A letter from Vienna of the 21st says :—" After
various delays occasioned by diplomatic reasons,
theEmpei or will definitely leave Vienna on Tuesday
next for Italy, attended by a numerous suite.
Among the personages who accompany his Majesty
are the Archduke Leopold, and Generals Hess,
Hanslabb, Grunne, and Schlitter. The Emperor
has no intention of assuming the command of the
army, but only of personally ascertaining the state
of things, and of inspecting the troops."
Advices from Vienna state that the Belgian
Colonel Lagrange had arrived there on an extra-
ordinary mission, and had been received by the
Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Ost Deutsche Post and other Vienna journals
recently published a most improbable report to the
effect that Prince Alexander of Ilesse, brother-in-
law to the Emperor of Russia, had received a letter
from his Imperial Majesty, asserting that in no case
whatever would he attack Austria. A subsequent
number of the same journal contains an authorita-
tive contradiction of the assertion, which is
declared by the St. Petersburg official presS to be
altogether unfounded, as no such letter ever ex-
isted.

Prince Eugene of Savoy has issued a decree,
dated the 21st, and countersigned Cavonr and De
Foresta, enacting that all civilians committing
delinquencies to the prejudice of the allied armies
shall be punished according to the military penal
code.

The Madrid journals of the 21st state that the
Government was taking active measures for
strengthening several fortresses, and had sent a
number of galley-slaves to Santona to work at the
fortifications. The officers ordered to Italy are to
receive in addition to their pay an allowance of
£2O a-month, and £4O for an outfit. It was re-
ported that the Queen was in an " interesting
situation." The Prince of Wales was at Granada.

THE MANNING OF THE ROYAL NAVY.

The following letter has been addressed to a con-
temporary :
" Sir,—Among the grave public questions the
consideration of which by the House of Commons
has been interrupted by the late dissolution, there
is one to which recent events have given greatly
increased importance—l mean the question of man-
ning the navy. The report of the Royal Commis-
sioners, as soon as it was submitted to Parliament,
was printed in extenso in your columns, and thus
the widest circulation was given to it. It does not
appear, however, to have hitherto provoked that
full public discussion which the importance of the
subject demands. I venture, therefore, to trouble
you with a few remarks, which a careful perusal of
the report and of the evidence on which it is
founded has suggested to me, in the hope that other
naval officers may be induced to follow me, and,
through your aid, to give to the public the benefit
of their practical comments on the recommendations
of the Royal Commissioners.
"The Commissioners are of opinion that the dis-
inclination on the part of merchant seamen to enter
the Royal Navy is to be traced chiefly to ignorance
of the usages of the service, and the advantages
which it offers. If this ignorance really exists, the
Admiralty might easily remove it by promulgating
through the shipping offices, as the Board of Trade
have done in regard to the regulations of the mer-
chant service, a full and explanatory statement of
those advantages. But some of the witnesses exa-
mined before the Commissioners have suggested
other reasons, such as the grievances and discom-
forts to which men on board her Majesty's ships
are subjected. There is much in the evidence on
the subject of these grievances which was once, but
is no longer true. I can bear witness that all the
Boards of Admiralty during the last 40 years have
used their bests efforts to remove them, and many
of the grievances alleged by witnesses exist only as
traditions. One naval officer who was examined
before the Commissioners gives as a grievance the
practice of calling men out of their names,' and
evidently would wish us to believe that so unaccus-
tomed are merchant seamen to be addressed in rude

language by their superior officers, that the reports
they hear from coastguardsmen of the language used
on board her Majesty's ships sufficiently accounts
for their disinclination to enter her Majesty's ser-
vice. Now, I will appeal to every officer who has
commanded any well-regulated ship since 1815
whether such conduct on the part of the middies,'
or of any other class of officers, has been tolerated.
This grievance is purely imaginary, and the mer-
chant seamen may now enter her Majesty's navy
with the full assurance that he will not be shocked
by language offensive to ears polite.
Another naval officer gives a long story about
sailors being detained in bad weather, hanging on in
shore boats, alongside, till it suits some ill-condi-
tioned first lieutenant to allow them to come on
board. This officer had evidently read Glasscock
just before his examination. Glasscock was the first
man to show up the caprices of naval discipline,
and the publicity thus given to them caused their
removal.
" Other witnesses complain of the discomforts of
the hulks. The hulking system is coeval with the
existence of the navy; it has been bad from the be-
ginning, and there seems to be no remedy for it so
eligible as the establishment of naval barracks in
the dockyards. This would be the best, and, with-
out question, the most economical system. Naval
barracks have been established for some years in
Dockyard, where the evils complained of
were intolerable, and there is no doubt that the dis-
comfort of the hulks increased the difficulty
of mart
ning ships at that port. Men of war should
from the basins complete, and should return to themto
service, only sacrificing the time necessary
should
be their ammunitton ; and the crews
be allowed to walk out, if they wish to do 0, and
to return the next morning to close their accounts.
n
But the exaggerated fears entertained by the Ad-
miralty of fire in the dockyards are such that their
eyes are closed to the many advantages which the
service would derive from the establishment of
naval barracks at every port where ships are fitted
out.
" Capt. Mends makes some very good suggestions
in regard to the establishment of an uniform system
of discipline, and any suggestion from so practical
an officer is deserving of consideration. Such a
system is much wanted, as at present every captain.
is at liberty to carry out his own notions of disci-
pline. It happens too frequently that an idle lieu-
tenant, who never could and never would do his
duty, and who could scarcely be trusted to keep his
eyes open in his day-watch even, has sufficient in-
terest to get himself promoted to the command of
one of her Majesty's ships. Such a man, without
knowledge and without discretion, immediately
enters upon some harassing scheme of discipline, to
the discomfort and dissatisfaction of everyone but
himself ; he makes no allowance for a crew who
have been instructed by his predecessor in command
of the same ship upon quite a different system, but
follows up his caprices regardless of the detriment_
to the service which is the inevitable consequence of
any just cause of dissatisfaction given to his crew.
There is no doubt that this want of system is a
grievance which goes a long way in accounting for
the disinclination which seamen have to enter the
Royal Navy.
" Although I cannot allow that there is anything
oppressive in the proper discipline of a man-of-war
yet it must be admitted that under the most favour-
able circumstances the Royal Navy will always
have some drawbacks for men brought up in 010
merchant service. The duties of gun drill, musket,
cutlass and pike, field pieces, &c., are irksome in
themselves, but they are especially so when carried
to excess ; and the military preciseness exacted by
some officers renders these duties particularly dis-
tasteful to seamen. Add to these exercises those of
boating, shifting sails, and occasionally masts and
yards, hoisting boats in and out, which have all to
be done against time, and are in excess of the coral-
mon everyday work of a merchant seaman, an
have stated quite enough to account for the disT
clination he evinces to serve in a man-of-war. 11,
every movement he makes he encounters restrain''
of some description or other which he has not been
to in the merchant service. There are
but three and frequently two masters in a merchant
sdhiffipe,reenxtceipnt
ainmoaunr-loafr-gwearl.ndipenitenm;c tnho,
etchasoewiesvfearr,
di
be misunderstood, for however irksome and
s-
amgur
te ab be
en
ntfho er cdeud t es s
m 1
ahka
ev e
officerbe,
tdiscretione iffin
cei
ennfoc
yr c
;i nagn onlyyt
hnsgu f fic ii
n eenxt d e
esrlsi
of
to
f it mi
sa ian-
a
error. The evil reports of the excessive drill and of
the caprices of discipline spread widely ; let the
Admiralty, therefore, be cautious how they intrust
commands to officers endowed with so little judg-
ment and discretion as to be unable to steer clear of
such mistakes.
" I fear that a voluntary supply of seamen fro
the merchant service will always be confined to
small numbers, and that it will certainly not furnish
the best and most contented of the class ; we liras"
therefore look to other means for securing a perma-
nent supply of good men for our navy ; but I have
already encroached so extensively on your other
that I must reserve my further remarks for an
othea
letter, if you consider them worthy of a piaci:,
your columns. " BLUE JAGI'E`.
" United Service Club, May, 1859."