The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-07 00:00:00

MANNING THE NAVY.

(Fro»z the Xelecastle Chronicle.)
. . _

On Thursday afternoon, Captain Pim, R.N., commander
of the Gorgon, which vessel will be shortly placed in the
Tyne, met the Shields sailors in the long room of the Sailors'
Home, North Shields, and addressed them on the present
movement for manning the navy. The long room was
densely crowded. There were several shipowners present,
and Captain Pim was accompanied to the platform by Mr.
Helmsley, Mr. Greenhow, and other gentlemen.
Captain Plat said that the mayor would have presided had
he not been unwell; and he would have to be both chairman
and speaker himself. The reason why he had called them
together was to point out the advantages of the navy to the
sailors. North country sailors did not like to buy a pig in a
poke. He was there to explain, and he hoped that some of
the sailors would speak, and tell the Government what they
wanted them to do for them. As he saw some shipowners
present he would tell them that he had not come there to
oppose their interests. He wanted to be upon the best terms
with them; but the country was in a most critical position.
A short time ago, Sir John Pakington, in his place in the
B ouse of Commons, told the country in a frank manner
that we had only five line-of-battle ships and 12 frigates
ready for active service ; which was less than the French
navy. It became the country, therefore, to get more ready,
and man them well. They had heard of an alliance between
Russia and France. The Russian navy was nearly as strong
as the French, and to his certain knowledge they had 300
gunboats. He had fought by the side of the French, and he
new them to be devilish fine fellows, and he should be sorry
to see the alliance between them and the English nation
dissolved; but:if the alliance between France and Russia was
completed, they might have " box and dice" some day, and
there would be the devil to pay, and no pitch hot—(laughter
—a person who had been listening to the discourse disappear-
ing from the room at the same time.) It was the interest of
the shipowners to have the navy well manned. (A voice—
" And have the harbour protected.") Yes; for a few shells could
destroy all the ships in the harbour. If the shipowners took
that view of the case they would see that he had not come
to oppose their interest. He would never interfere with ships
going to sea. He would not go on board a ship to take
away a crew, because they had a pique at their master. He
would not go to tap-shops and publichouses to pick up
drunken men. He wanted good steady men who knew
their duty, and who would fight like blazes if a dust should
occur. (Loud cheers and laughter.) If they joined the navy
hey would have permanent employment. Suppose the
average wages was £3 10s. a month in the merchant ser-
vice, and a seaman was employed eight months in a year,
that was £3O. Now, they gave £2 9s. a month in the navy,
and supposing a vessel arriving at home, and a man asked
leave of absence for six weeks, his pay still ran on. He never
saw such grub in the merchant service as they had on
board a man-of-war. When his ship came down to the
Tyne his men would come ashore—they should have as
much leave as they could stick to. Some of them had fami-
lies, and if they joined and were a little in debt, all they had
to do was to sign a paper, and half of the bounty would be
advanced to rub the debt off. The Admiralty had come for-
ward in a liberal manner. They wanted good men to fill
their ships, and they were anxious to have the opinion of
the. sailors as to any difficulty that might stand in their
way ; and having said that much, he would now wait for
any questions that might be put to him.
Mr. ROBSON, an old seaman, came forward, amid loud
cheers and laughter, and said he would read a few desul-
tory sentiments from an old tar who took his part in the
-last war. (Loud laughter.) The great Nelson said Eng-
land expected every Englishman to do his duty. Nelson
and his friend Hardy sprung from the merchant service ;
but our Government had ruined it by going beyond the
Scripture maxim, for they had loved their neighbours
better than themselves, and had starved their own seamen
to feed the foreigner. The old gentleman then entered
into a long tirade against the repeal of the navigation
laws, railways, and screw-colliers, and asserted that the
Tyne, instead of being a nursery for seamen, was now a
nursery for engineers, stoker:, and firemen. (Loud laugh-
ter.)
He asserted that in a short time the coal trade
would be ruined, and England would be a second-rate
power amongst the nations. The old tar then ran after
another hobby of his anent the Pope of Rome, when he was
coughed down. _ _ _ _

Capt. Pl3l would say nothing about the Pope. The best
religion they 'could exercise just now was to trust in God and
keep their powder dry. (Loud cheers.) He believed that
the English sailor would be equal to this or any other emer-
gency, and that if it were attempted to invade England the
invaders would have to march over their bodies. (Cheers.)
He said they did not come to recruit from men half-seas
over, but steady, patriotic, and good men.
Mr. LUMSOEN, a seaman's delegate, thought the bounty
good at present, and the largest ever known. But he was of
opinion that if a seaman died in the service his widow should
be pensioned the same as the widow of an officer. The wages
offered for the navy were equivalent at present to what was
paid in the merchant service, and he believed the provisions
were more liberal in the navy than in one-third of the mer-
chant vessels.

Mr. ALEXANDER LESLIE thought that the seamen of the
north would more heartily sympathise with the navy if the
authorities were to take more interest in the merchant
sailor. He pointed out how the seamen had been cheated by
the misappropriation of the Merchant Seamen's Fund, and
showed that when a poor old sailor was obliged to go to the
workhouse his poor pension from that source was stopped.
For his part he would as soon sail in a man-of-war as in a
merchant ship—sooner than with some of our young dandy
captains. (Cheers.) A midshipman on board a man-of-
war durst not call a man a son of a ' • and the captain
never used bad language. (Laughter.) He entered into a
very long detail about the Mercantile Marine Act. He
thought many of its clauses should be swept away. It al-
lowed more arbitrary power in a merchant ship than was
allowed on board a man-of-war • and as the boy said of
Pope, when Pope exclaimed, " fiord mend me I"—six good
men could be made in the time that he was mending—and so
six good acts might be made in the time they were trying to
mend it. He advised young men to join the navy. He
ridiculed the idea of the " cat."

Captain PINK and Mr. HEL3IBLEY spoke. The Captain
said if a man was killed in -action his wife would receive a
pension. He said he wanted 39 able seamen for the Gorgon,
and he hoped he would get them. He did not believe that
there was a 'dozen cases of flogging on board the navy dur-
ing the past six months. Mr. Helmsley, who himself had
wrought his way up from the merchant service, and in two
years would be entitled to a captain's pension, said that he
had enrolled 1,600 men in the north in five years, and he
could speak to the good treatment of the seamen on board
nen-of-war. Captain Pim said that he had heard that if
£5 a month were offered they would get 2,000 A.B.'s from
the northern ports. He would like to hear what the sailors
had to my on that subject.
CHARLES LIDDELL, in a very sensible speech, thought
that a wife and family could not be supported by the half-
pay, £1 ss. a month, now left by a man joining the navy.
However, if this country were likely to come to close quar-
ters, there would be no difficulty, he thought, in manning
the navy. _

The Meeting broke up with three cheers for Capt. Pim,
and three cheers for the Queen.

A large number of volunteers for the Royal Navy
have been forwarded from the Crocodile receiving
ship- off the Tower, to the Fisourd, flagship, at Wool-
wich, during the present week, and the men will be entered
for service on board the Gorgon, Jackall, Firebrand, and
other vessels recently in commission. Some excitement
WAS caused on the river yesterday from the appearance of
the Dryad and Swift, steam vessels, belonging to the Wool-
wich Steam Packet Company, and which were actively en-
gaged in giving practical effect to the Queen's proclamation.
Each vessel was gaily decked out with the' national
standard, and bunting of all colours from fore to aft. A
band of musicians performed the national anthem, " Rule
Britannia," " Cheer, Boys, cheer," &c., as the steamers
slowly proceeded up and down the river, and the crow
smartly attired in blue jackets, white trousers, and straw
hats, with blue streamers at intervals, appealed to the
watermen and others engaged in river-side occupations to
accept her Majesty's liberal bounty and serve under the flag
of England. The result was highly satisfactory, and
numerous volunteers were placed on board the Crocodile
in the afternoon. As a further inducement to enter the naval
service, the following admiralty notices were yesterday
posted at the various dockyards and public establishments :
—" Bounty to British Seamen who may enter the Royal
Navy—Seamen who may enter in aceordance with the
royal proclamation, and entitled to receive the bounty, may,
if they choose, make provision for the payment of theirdebts,
or for the benefit of their wives and families to the extent of
one-half of the boturty payable by the proclamation, 21 days
from the date of each seaman's entry. The man is to sign
a form sanctioning such payment, to be approved by the
naval officer of the rendezvous or ship by whom he is en-
tered, and the amount will be paid from the office of the
accounant-general of the navy immediately it becomes due.
Seamen will thus be able to clear off their debts and leave
their families immediately provided for, and as any allot-
ments they may wish to make can be taken from their pay
the month after they join the navy, and as they can now re-
ceive from the paymaster of the ship a portion of their pay
monthly, they will see that every care is taken to guard their
families from want, and that they are themselves set free
from debt and anxiety."
Several able seamen have during the last few days been
entered for the navy from the Sailors' Home, Well-street,
London Docks. The large intercourse which this institution
has had with merchant seamen (100,000 of whom have been
received asheartlers during the last 24 years) has induced
the directors to address the following letter to the Secretary
of the Admiraltyon the above important subject :—" Sir,—
I am desired by the directors of the Sailors' Home to re-
quest you will inform the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty that the proclamations for granting bounties
to seamen have been received here from the Registrar-
General of Seamen, and that every publicity shall be given
and every assistance rendered by this institution for
carrying out that important notice. lam further desired
to state that during the Russian war an office was appro-
priated in the Sailors' Home for officers of her Majesty's
ships to communicate with sailors, and that it will be
again appropriated for that purpose if required. The
directors request me further to submit the desirability of
establishing temporary branch offices in connection with
her Majesty's ship Crocodile at the following places :
Tooley-street, Borough, Wapping, Ratcliffe-highway,
Limehouse, Poplar, and Gravesend, and ,under suitable
officers, &c., to make known to seamen all the advantages
of the navy. lam also desired respectfully to add, that in
the opinion of the directors, the employment of one or two
small steamers with a suitable staff, to communicate with
the colliers at the different stations in the Thames, as well
as the ships from foreign ports (when the wind changes),
placing en board circulars, proclamations, &c., might be at-
tended with the best advantages, and they aro fortified in
this opinion by the remembrance that when the Britannia
frinzonsdevon.aer_l
ihuanndl,reszles , oGfE mo.er
was preparing for the flag of Sir James Dundas, a young
lieutenant from that ship, by patient exertions, succeeded
pinoie.tntoe
PchanlEltteEs,eaSmecenretianryt.h2
The Secretary of the Admiralty.".
Captain Brown, It.N., the Registrar-General of Seamen,
accompanied by Mr. Tribe, a gentleman connected with his
department, paid a visit to Liverpool yesterday to concert
measures for procuring sailors for the navy at the present
crisis Captam Brown and Mr. Tribe called upon the offi-
cials of the Sailors Home, Local Marino Board, Custom-
house, the principal shipowners, and the editors of the local
newspapers, and solicited their influence in assisting the
Gov; rumour to procure crews for the navy, so that the
nation might be prbniptly placed in a situation which would
relieve the ccturtry from all fears of invasion. Attention
was called to the proclamation recently issued by the Queen,
offering a bounty of £lO and other advantages to seamen
entering the navy, and to the necessity for all classes to use
their best efforts to assist the authorities iu rapidly prepar-
ing for active service a numerous and efficient fleet. The
remarks of Captain Brown and Mr. Tribe were cordially
responded to, and every. disposition shown to render them
assistance in their patriotic efforts. Captain Brown and
Mr. Tribe will leave Liverpool for Glasgow and other ports
to-day, but they will shortly return to Liverpool to attend
a public meeting of seamen, which it was thought advisable
to delay for a few days, as so feiv sailors are at present in
port, owing to the unusual contimianco of easterly winds,