The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-26 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sin,—Many letters have appeared in the public press of
late, both from naval officers and civilians, on the important
question of manning the British Navy. 'Various are the sug-
gestions set forth for raising and keeping sailors ad libitum.
Some go so far as to say that our line-of-battle ships, in
consequence of the introduction of steam power, ought to
be manned solely by artillerymen ; and, to render them in-
dependent of sailors, should be sent to sea without the en-
cumbrance of masts or sails. Really one would suppose
that common sense is at a very low ebb, when such twaddle
as this is to pass current for the opinions of practical men.
Now, sir, although we have spent millions in bringing our
screw liners to their present state of perfection, the great
question as to their true merits in action has yet to be solved.
hat would be the effect of the concentrated fire of a few
32-pounders on the crew or stern post of a line-of-battle
ship during action ? In my humble opinion the vessel
would be in less than a quarter of an hour no better than a
helpless log on the water, so far as her steam power is con-
corned. If lam right in this idea, it is very evident we
must still depend on sails as a propelling power in case of
accident, and, as a matter of course, man our ships with
seamen to work them.

When Sir Charles "Wood introduced his pet bill in 1856,
for transferring the Coastguard to the Admiralty, he pro-
mised the country 4 reserve of 10,000 seamen but, unfor-
tunately, like most Admiralty undertakings, the first start
has proved a failure. Discontent reigns among the men,
and now hands refuse to join the service. When the
Queen's proclamation appeared in May last, offering a liberal
bounty to British sailors to join the Navy, we were told
that au additional supply of 10,000 or 15,000 seamen would
be procured from the nerchant Service within a month or
six weeks. The proclamation has been renewed from time
to time, and is still in force, but where are the men ?
Sir Charles Napier has run up the signal, "England
expects the Admiralty will do iN duty ; " and winds up by
saying that so many improvements have taken place in all
navies of the world that, if we aro to be preserved from
danger and insult, no time should be lost in providing a
naval reserve. Yes, one and all are unanimous in saying it
is of paramount importance for England to have a naval
reserve; but what is said about preserving the supply of
seamen, if wo experience so much difficulty now in procur-
ing a few thousand merchant sailors ? What plan shall we
adopt when the carrying trade of the world is transferred to the
foreigner ? Are we not at this present moment encouraging
the employment of foreign sailors in our merchant ships,
and at the same time offering a bounty for English sailors ?
If we cut off the streams, can we expect the river to flow on
as strong as ever ? Will those foreigners who are so vastly
benefited by England's liberality support her in the hour of
danger? Let the people of England look to this nationel
question. It cannot be shelved much longer.
I will defy any man he prove from the statistical accounts
of the shipping trade of this country that the foreigner is
not fast supplanting the British sailor in every quarter of
the globe. Considering the enormous increase in the value
of our imports and exports that has taken place during the
past few years, the British mercantile marine ought to
number at least 100,000 more seamen than it does at the
present moment.
_ _

I enclose my card, and remain, sir, Fours obediently,
A GOVERNMENT OPFICIA.L.

October 24, 1859.

THE STEPH.ENSONS, FATHEI4 AND

SON.