The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-09 00:00:00

REPORTS OF PARLIAM ENTARY AND PUB.
LIC PROCEEDINGS.
Lord CAMPBELL rose and said,—My lords, Isbell
detain you for a very few minutes in moving for the re-
appointment of the select committee which was appointed
during the last session to inquire into a very important
and difficult subject—namely, whether the privilege now
enjoyed by reports of the proceedings of courts of justice
may be safely extended to the reports of the proceedings
of the two Houses of Parliament and of other public as-
semblies. At present,according to the established law, the
proceedings of courts of justice may be published with im-
punity if they are fair and bona fide. The greatest benefit
has arisen to the public from that privilege, but it extends
no further--not even to the proceedings of the two Houses
of Parliament. It has lately been decided—and I believe
the decision is allowed to be a sound one—in the case
of " Davison v. Duncan," that if, except in the case of
proceedings of courts of justice, the editor of a journal
publishes accounts of any other proceedings at all crinai-
natory of any individuals the proprietors of the journal
in which the report is given are liable to an action. It
was stated by my distinguished predecessor Lord Den-
man, that there was no immunity for a fair and faith-
ful and accurate account of the proceedings of this or
the other House of Parliament. Now, there does
seem to be a grievance here, because although ac-
tions are not frequently brought in consequence o
the reports of proceedings of either House of Parlia-
ment, there is no doubt they may be brought. Con-
siderable anxiety prevails lest actions should be brought
under such circumstances, and if actions are brought
there can be no defence on the part of the most distin-
guished and trustworthy journals of this country. It
seems to me, my lords, that this is a state of things
whick ought not to continue if it can be prevented. A
remedy has been proposed to which I certainly can by
no means accede—namely, that all distinctions between
verbal and written slander shad be abolished, and that it !
shall be a complete defence of a written libel if the de-
fendant can show that the same statement has been made
by any individual. This proposition is supposed to rest
upon what is called " Lord Northampton's Case ;" but
as my noble and learned friend on the cross benches well
knows, it is founded upon an utter misconception and
misrepresentati ne of that case. The dictum of the judges
who sat in the Star ens's:ll)er went, if properly under-
stood, no further than this—that when what was said by
another was repeated upon a proper occasion it might be
defended ; but to allow that what has been whispered
in a corner may be published in every journal in the
empire with impunity would be wholly inconsistent
with the protection doe to the characters of individuals.
If all that is said at a public meeting, or in an assembly
that may be called a public meeting, is to be pub-
lished without any remedy being provided for those
whose characters may be attacked, the most mischievous
consequences will ensue. Public meetings may be got
up for purposes of calumny, and the person who utters
the calumny may be a man of straw, who will fly the
country as soon as he has uttered his slanderous etete-
relent. I think, however, tha- a remedy may be devised
which will, at all events, mitigate the evil that exists at
present. Some years ago I myself proposed that com-
plete immunity should le given to lair reports of what
took place in either House of Parliament. My proposition
was supported by the late Lord Denman, but, unfortu-
natoly, it was not successful. I certainly cannot conceive
any welag.ounded objections to that proposal. All the
arguments by which you suport the privilege of reports
of law proceedings will equally apply to the proceediues
of the two Houses of P.trlianieut. What is the founera-
tam of teat immunity of law reports ? The per lic good.
'Well, I suppose your I,r,lships and all the memeers of
the other house are of opinion it is for the public good
that the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament should
be made known to the country ? (Hear.) Teere are, ho
ever, other assemblages with whose proceedings it is
desirable that the public should be acquainted. This day,
I believe, Convocation aesetabled, and Isuppose that to-
morrow we shall have an account of the speeches f
our most reverend and .right reverend frien is.
Notwithstanding the grave character of that a semi lv,
statements are sometimes made there which might form
the grounds of action • aid it would he extremely herd
it proceedings were taken against the Times or any other
journal for accounts of what had been said by the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury or by the Bishop of St. David's.
(Hear, hear, and a laugh.) It may be urged—but I
only throw out the suggestion, an 1 give no opinion on
the matter—that the immunity should be extended to all
meetings held under the authority of an Act of Pasha
went, and to which the public may rightfully claim ad-
mission. Some line must be drawn, for it would be
monstrous to contend that anything that can be called
a. public assemblage should be privileged. If that were
the case, no doubt Mr. Ernest Jones's meetings and the
Sunday assemblages in Hyde-park would be rxiuca fre-
quented by those who wished to calumniate their neigh-
bours. Some line must be drawn with regard to the pub-
lic meetings to which the privilege is extended • but, if
this cannot be done, it is mcatter-lor consideration'
t d
whe-
ther it might not be en tb •tif a fair account of
what has taken place at
a
no real public meeting is given, and
damage is inflicted upon the character of any one
by such publication, the ?.t,,, t,,, tii,d
urymglat be entitled, in case
of au action being broue
verdict for the de-
fendant. Until very lately if a jury found(j a verdict
for a farthing damages full costsl , but the law
in that espect is altered.
your JordsLipe,
however, to consider the case of an
a, here the plaintiff has euffered reacdtiacnnat:: libel
but
whether the proprietors of the j iurnel against which
Pay very
proceedings are taken are obleeed to
sour as- costs, independently of the anxiety ae(' heavydi,ie
agreeable consequences which the mere fact ot
having on action brought against them meat occasion. I
Merely offer these suggestions in order to induce your
lordships to institute an icepiiry on the subject, and I
trust you will consent to the renewal of the cumulate::
which was appeinted last session, Lord Campbell then
proceeded to say that he also wished to take the oppor-
trinity of calling their lordships' attention to the manner
in which oaths were administered to witnesses who were
examined before committees of that house. When the
house was not sitting witnesses could not be sworn, and
persons were frequently brought up from the country
who were kept in town for some days, or were sent back
to their homes and again brought to London to be swore, Tor' TRANSIT. either proceeding entailing very coesideraele expense. Mr. W. S. LINDSAY rose to ask for some
The shift was Sometimes rreorted toofellowieg witnesses tion regarding the Government t•aisport
to give evidence without being sworn, and of afterwan's
,the eTxrPalnasniat.
swearing them at the bar of the house to the truth of all On the 7th of April this vessel Sailed from Spithea
they
had stated- The limit serious inconvenience arose having on bo Pithead,
from the present practice, for at times 83 great were the
rticl 30 of the Royal Engineers,
286 of the 90th Foot, and 119 of the 59i,b, besides officer On
A
s.
crowd and confusion as tee bar that people were ireelieed , the sth else pa:, back on account of an accident ; bais a
to suppose that a mob had rbed in, and as much alarm .'" brought up" near the Neelles and anchored
or the

MAYNOOTH.
Mr. SPOONER gave notice of his usual motion on
Maynooth, on the 21st instant. (Loud laughter.)
PUBLIC HOUSE LICENSES.
Mr. K. SEYMER asked the Secretary of State for
the Horne Department whether the Government intended
to propose any alteration i❑ tha present mode of licens-
ing public-houses and beer-shops ?
Sir G. GREY said it was not the intention of the
Government t') introduce a measure during the present
Session of Parliament. He begged, however, to say
that the law, with reference to licensing pubiic•houses
and beer-shops, was very defective. (Hear, hear.) It
was a question requirirg to be dealt with with great
caution from the amount of capital invested in the i
trade, as well as other circumstances connected with it. I
(Hear, hear.)

SUPERANNUATED FUND.
In answer to a question,
The CHANCELLOR of EXCHEQUER said the
report bad not been received, but he hoped it would
shortly he laid before Parliament.

NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERIES.
Sir .7. PAKINGTON gave notice tbat on Monday he
should prJent a petition fr.,m Newfoundland on the
proposed c.,nditions of the French Government relative
to the fisheries of that coast ; and ou the same day he
should put a question to her Majesty's Government as
to what were the intentions of the Government on that
subject.

THE ADDRESS,
The report of the committee on the address waF.
brought up by Mr. Dodson, and read by the Clerk at. the
table of the house.

On the motion that the aldress be agreed to,
Mr. HADFIELD referred to the exaggerated state-
ment contained in the Royal Speech relative " to the
progressive development of productive industry through-
out her Majesty's dominions," arid denied that the state
of the country and our colonies was in such a prosperous
condition as to warrant that statement.
Mr. BOWYER asked when the committee on public
moneys was to be appointed ?
Mr. WILSON said he saw no reason why it should
not be done immediately.
Mr. BRISCOE expressed his satisfaction at e answer
of Lord Palmerston last night relative to Parliamentary
I%forna and church rates.
The motion was then agreed to, and ordered to be pre-
sented to her Majesty,
Ow
nortdhe eremd°tT nbe of
takenLordi
uPtAo Lc!
sEi
dRe
rSaTtiOu the.ou ma do dnrdeas s

MPERIALPARLIAMENT., was occasioned as if Lord Geo. Gordon'smob had broken
into the house. (A laugh.) The only question was how a
I change was to be brought about—whether by a standing
lorder or by legislstion. He had bee❑ of opinion that le-
gislation was not necessary, and that theirlordshipspro-
: prio vigore had power to authorise witnesses to be sworn
before select committees. Since be last called their lord-
ships attention to the subject it had been further inquired
into by his learned friend Mr. Macqueen, and the opi-
nion he had entertained had been fortified by the result.
His lordship then referred to the precedent of the tryers
of petitions, who examined witnesses no doubt on oath.
If such power as that existed, might not the house order
its committees to administer an oath ? At the same time
he gave no decided opinion on the point, and did not
propose a standing order in reference to the mat-
ter. He believed that the noble and learned lord on the
woolsack and the noble and learned lord on the cross-
' benches (Lord Wensleydale) felt doubts as the power of
their lordships to allow witnesses to be sworn before se-
lect committees, and untii those doubts were resolved he
should by no means propose to move a standing order on
the subject. It might be said that the House of Com-
mons would object to pass a bill empowering their lord-
ships to swear witnesses before a select committee, as
that house had no such power itself ; but that was an
anomaly which ought to be removed, and such autho-
rity ought to be given to the House of Commons. The
noble and learned lord concluded by moving for a select
committee to consider whether the privilege now enjoyed
by reports of the proceedings of courts of justice might
be safely and properly extended to reports of the pro-
ceedings of the two houses of Parliament, and of any
and w hat other assemblies or public meetings, under
any and what conditions or restrictions ; and also for a
select committee to consider and report on the expe-
diency of altering the present mode of administering
oaths to witnesses to be examined by committees of the
house. He proposed to add to the committee Viscount
Eversley, whose great Parliamentary experience and con-
stitutional learning would, no doubt, be found of ,great
advantage. (Hear.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR thought that all/ their
lordships would concur in the propriety of the course
proposed to be pursued by the noble and learned lord.
Both the subjects to which attention had been called were
of the greatest importance. With respect to the last
alluded to he confessed, looking at the matter with the
eye merely of a lawyer, he doubted whether it would be
safe to attempt to effect the important change suggested
simply by a standing order. It might be possible, inves-
tigating the subject with the eye of an antiquarian, to
discover precedents, leading to a conclusion that the right
of delegating to committees of the house to swear wit-
nesses did exist ; but it must be felt, if such a course were
taken and a witness were afterwards charged with per-
jury for evidence given before a committee, that it
would be to the last degree doubtful what might be the
decision of the judges on the validity of the oath so ad-
ministered ; and therefore, in matters which might in-
volve criminal consequences of great importance, he was
satisfied that legislation was the wisest course to pur-
sue. The object of administering oaths was to give
the highest sanction to truth, and it was always said
that an oath should b'e administered with the greatest
solemnity and by the highest functionaries ; but any of
their lordships who had witnessed the administration of
oaths in that house must be aware that the object was
entirely defeated. His noble and learned friend bad cer-
tainly not exaggerated the indecorum attendant on the
swearing of witnessetee.t the bar of the house. Some-
times, in consequence of the rushing in of witnesses to be
sworn at the bar, there was such a disturbance that the
proceedings of a judicial nature which were going on had
to be suspended, or else they were continued in the midst
of noise made by a crowd at the bar taking oaths. There
was the least possible solemnity in the mode of adminis-
tering oaths, and that the evil ought to remedied he had
no doubt. He was sure that a power given to select
committees of their lordships house to swear witnesses
would work well, and the oaths would then be adminis-
tered with solemnity. Fie saw no difficulty in the sug• I
gestion that the Commons would not pass a bill to enable
witnesses to be sworn before their lordships committees
without claiming a similar privilege for theinelves, for
he saw no reason wby they should not enjoy such a pri
vilege if it established an additional security in favour
of the truth. In that motion of his noble and learned
friend's, therefore, he entirely concurred, although ho
would caution him and the rest of their lordships not to
be led away by old antiquarian precedents of what had
been done by the tryers of petitions in former days,
which might afford very scanty security against what
might be decisions of Westminster-hall in modern times.
With regard to the other motion he entirely agreed in
the expediency of removing what he admitted to be an
acknowledged and crying evil. He thought that it
would be very difficult to arrive at a definition of what
should be regarded as a public meeting; but he believed
that the suggestion of his noble friend that juries should
have the power, in cases where they thought that no
damages had been inflicted, of finding a verdict for the
defendant which would give the defendant his costs
would afford a simple and practical remedy for the exist-
ing evil. He reserved to himself, however, the right to
examine the subject more in detail before committing
himself to the approval of any particular measure.
The motion was then agreed to.
TRA NS PO RTATION.
The Earl of CARNARVON, who bad a notice on
the paper with regard to transportation and penal servi-
tude, declined to open the question, perceiving that the
Home Secretary had revived his bill on the subject in
the other house.
Their lordships adjourned at five minutes past six.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(YESTREDAY.)
The SPXASER took the chair at ten minutes to four
o'clock, when the swearing in of members was proceeded
with, and about a dozen took the oaths and their seats,
PRIVATE BILLS.
The Clerk at the table read a long list of private bills
standing over from the last session of Parliament, and
they were advanced to the stage at which they had ar-
rived previous to the dissolution.

CONIMITTEE ON STANDING ORDERS.
Col, W. PATTEN moved the nomination of the fol.
lowing select committee on standing orders : Colonel
Wilson Patten, Mr. Henley, Mr. Sotherton E,tcourt,
Sir R. Ferguson, Sir J. Yarde Buller, Mr. Palmer, Mr.
Wrightson, Mr. Brawston, Mr. Thornely, Mr. E. Lock-
hart, and Mr. Bonbain-Carter.
Col. FRENCH complained of the absence of two Irish
members on the committee according to the usual
practice.

- After a few remarks from Col. WILSON 12ATTEN, the
motion wan agreed to.

•
COMMITTEE OF SELECTION.
Colonel WILSON PATTEN moved the nomination
of the following committee of selection :—Mr. Sotheron
Estcourt, Sir Robert Ferguson, Mr. Bonham-Carter,
Mr. Palmer, Lnrd Harry Vane, and the chairman of
the select committee on standing orders.
Agreed to.

PRIVATE BILLS.
Colonel WILSON PATTEN roved the following re-
solution :—Tbat the committee of selection have power
to form and appoint the meeting of all committees on the
private bills referred to them or to the General C.,11-
mitten on Railway and Canal Bills, provided seven clear
days elapse between tho second reading of such bills and
the sittings of the committee thereon ; and that three
clear days' notice only be given by the clerk of the com-
mittee of selection to the clerks in the Private Bl-
office of the day and hour fixed for the first meeting of
such committee.—Agreed to.
Petitions were presented in favour of an amendment
in the civil service superannuation fund ; for the amend-
ment of the Shipping Act ; for a better registration of
voters ; for the removal of Jewish disab,lities ; for the
repeal of the paper duty ; for the better provision of
juvcoOle reformatories ; for the extension of the suffrage,
Parliamentary reform, vote by ballot, and direct taxa-
tion ; amendment of the law for the sale of beer ; COM-
pliinirg of the present poor-law board control.

was necessary to put ballast into them to counteract
the lightness of troops ae compared with dead-weight
cargo, and to provide against the results of the con-
sumptiou of water and provisions on the voyage. Into
none of them, however, was there put so mush ballast
as to sink them below the point •
to intended by the buile;eri;
be their water-line. In the case of the Tree- • .
Admiralty were slot satisfied with the ce esit the
iculations
slows, but made experiments upon her a'6 'iseeenese,
both with troops and with dead-weight, the effect of
which was entirely to confirm the;,,. ' A few
hours before he came down to theresult:greatthe
toheranchor,andtroopships,holeindays'
the
ships
house;'.savingThet.ne
House he bad put
Maaft7J7W containing an
.amietextepleeriumpooonts,thane
ia that
reparation
on
Transit,tati
written, he believed, by
cvno was a witness of the
thiegsaiwhich is the
article there was the folloofr
passage :
elf we express in nun' -ears the ratios of the moment of
ship under canvas, then wh.l"."
Posifeai)rhilelaitusydtitffotfntteehsseSameteflraltill.enetaxe each represented by the ni el
bt
51, the Transit will. berapresented by tne number e n'ne.-te•
is when the, veer els r.re light. When th,-.1,
are'Setp-Ltuh'es
numbers are ~—,;tea_ and Satellite each e
The relative i shiftier see under stet:.
and Satellite each 'B2, Transit 116. As a further vy , 91?
t
olf)etahrel andstiitiS: iltseolifi ttehoeaTehratenes:tT:stisit 67 ;
t n alone aared Twrlat
en when
.iii -111c9te;
when'heave Peari
we maycompare her stability
with that of. the .A Aventure (formerly the Resolute), which
was justly praised in the Times of
Tuesda
Mr. J. Le ard of leirkeehead, who built y, Alay 6, by
Leer. Theseships
are of als Jut the same size, the displace
enent or weights
..

"Her Majesty's skip, Urgent,
Corunna, March 6, 1857.
tEor:
put‘glBa
i2rlD—te!)
Corunna.
trgigit :lel rue:l Urgent (rigleancstchoaat
shall
ladt
tstahkewe Regiment
get
irhmt their rno
tf waym y havingnt
laying
'9tihthefiaßldi
before you the facts. The leaden joints or washers inserted
betiveen the blow-off pipe and the,Kingston valves proved
rather too slight for their work, and were blown out, thus
dividing the pipe by which the water from the boilers is
driven into the sea. It is my belief, also, though I have
no proof to offer, that some small substance, such as a bit of
wood or coa], was driven through the Kingstons, and tem-
porarily prevented their closing after blowing off. My letter
to the Board states the time and circumstances of the water
coming into the ship, and which at one time rose nearly up
to the fires. Under the circumstances—made so flinch more
grave from our not knowinghow to accountfor the leak—we
manned all the pumps, made use of the fire-engine, and of
all the buckets to bale. The compartments forward and aft
were tight, and confined all the water to the stoke-hole, and
in a short time we had mastered the water. By 1 p.m. the
ship was dry and the cause of the leak discovered. The
chief engineer stated that the defect could be made good at
sea, but as Corunna was not much out of the way fdeter-
mined to put in there and coal, instead of stopping at Ma-
deira for that purpose, by which means the defects would
be made good with more certainty and with more setisfac-
tion to those persons embarked in the ship ; but I have no
hesitation in saying that the ship might have gone any-
where without anchoring to repair the defective joints, al-
though we should have found ourselves obliged to blow off
much of the water in the boilers into the bilges—a very
objectionable proceeding, and, of course, involving the ne-
cessity of pumping it out again. Since arriving here we
have made iron joints instead of those broken, and having
nearly filled up with coal, I hope to proceed to Barbadoes
at 2p m.
" Captain Milne, R.N. " C. G. PHILLIPS."
(Hear, hear.) Attacks of this sort were very arousing,
because they seemed to imply that it was only Govern-
ment vessels that suffered from bad weather, but a cir-
cumstance had come to his knowledge which showed that
other vessels suffered also. At the very time the Ur-
gent went to sea a fine merchant ship did so likewise,
and, encountering the same gale, was not injured
slightly like the Urgent, but was driven back die-
mautled. As regarded the Transit, her engines had,
as he had already stated, been originally built
for the Russian Government, and he woul t frankly ad-
mit that they had turned out ill, and had broken down ;
but all the accidents which had occurred were to be
attributed to the engines, and not to the ship itself.
During the war the necessity for the services of the vessel
was so great that it was impossible to lay her by and put
in new engines, and all that could be done was to re-
pair the existing engines as well as possible, but at the
close of the war they had been taken out and new ones
substituted'.
.or them, and the ship at the present mo-
ment wee., ,perfectly L ready to go to sea. With regard to
the reticular accident to which reference had been made
,he would inform the house how it occurred. The ship
left Portsmouth, and proceeding to the Needles encoun-
tered a thick fog, and the commander knowing that
there was a large number of merchant vessels aeout de-
termined to anchor. He did so, and in the course of the
night, the tide having changed, the ship drifted over the
anchor, which upon being raised was found to have had
its stock broken, and no doubt the hole in the bottom
of the ship had been caused by the vessel etiiking the
anchor-stock. The conduct of the captain was, no
doubt, exceedingly negligent—(bear)—and the court of
inquiry had not, as had been stated in the newspapers,
acquitted him of all blame, but, on the contrary, had
ordered him to be reprimanded, and he had been repri-
manded most severely. He was an officer of high cha-
racter, and had served with great credit to himself, and
it was not thought that a single instance of carelessness
should in his case be visited by his being superseded.
Now, although it had been stated that he (Sir C. Wood)
ought to be sent to sea in the Transit, and that the
Board of Admiralty had been guilty of more than Crimean
mismanagement, bow, he would ask the house, could
any precaution on the part of the dockyard authorities
or the Board of Admiralty have prevented such an ac-
cident ? Now, with regard to the Transit having put
into Corunna, the hon, gentleman had referred to a let-
ter deseribieg the dangere which the ship incurred iu
the Bay of BiecaY. He did not know whether
the gentlerean who wrote the letter was suffering
from that depression of spirits which sometimes display-
ed itself on board ship in those not accustomed to the
sea, and therefore took a gloomy view of matters ; but
he could only say he had received a very different ac-
count. He would read to the house a letter which be
had received from a friend of his, whose brother was in
command of the troops on board the Transit :
" Dear Sir Charles,—l received last night a letter from
my brother, written on board the Transit, at Corunna, the
tone of which is so different from that of one which I have
just read in The Times that I think it right to let you
know what he says. My brother is in command of the
troops on board. and though by no means given to grurnb-
litig, would not be likely to conceal from me any serious
complaint in such a matter. He says that the Transit
hail to encounter a four days' gale in the Bay of Biscay,
the wind blowing right in their teeth ; that they shipped
a good deal of water (no mention of any leak), and that
their foremast rigging having got loosened, they have put
into Corunna in order to get it put to rights, and expect
to be off again the fel:owing, morning. He speaks in high
torme of the general arrangements for the comfort of the
troops, who he says are in perfect health, and is warm in
his praises of Captain Chambers. His whole letter is
written in the best spirits, and certainly conveys no idea
of any misgivings as to the safe arrival of the Transit."
It was by no means an unusual thing for the rigging of
a newly-rigged ship to stretch, and the rigging of the
Transit had no doubt stretched and required to be set
up. He had been told by a naval officer an instance of
a ship which, after having been at Portsmouth ten
mouths, went across the Bay of Biscay, and in that case
the rigging was so stretched that it was necessary to set
it up. The operation of setting- up the rigging of a
ship might he understood be performed at sea, but in the
present instance it had been thought more convenient to
do it at Corunna. He would read an extract from the
report of the sailing qualities of the ship Transit, dated
the 221 of August, 1856, signed by the somma.nder,
master, and the carpenter:—
" Does she ride easy at anchor? —Yes, so far as tried.
" Does she roll easy or uneasy in the trough of the sea ?
—Deep, but easy.
"Is she, generally speaking, an easy or uneasy ship 1
—Easy."
Twit statement would, he thought, serve to show the
house that the Transit bad been tried in every possible
way. He might add that there was now no complaint
made with respect to her engines, and be was sure the
house would not fail to see that the first accident which
had befallen her was not to be attributed to any omission
on the part either of the Admiralty or of the authorities
at the dockyard, but rather to negligence on the part of
her commander, while the accident which had happened
to her in the Bay of Biecay was one to which any ship
might tinder similar eitturnstanees be liable. He trusted
he had now satisfied the house upon the subject, and
would venture to express a hope that what had fallen
from the hon. member for Tynemouth would induoe the
observance of more caution and more forbearance in lay-
irlq Mich letters as they have read before the public.
(Hear, hear.) lie should 'not of course in the slightest
degree complain of any attacks which might be male
upon the Board of Admiralty. It was but natural that
they should • xpect to be found fault with ; but such
statements as had been put forward were cruel to the
relatives of those whose safety was connected with
the seaworthiness of a particular vessel, while they
were not calculated to effect any good whatever.
(Hear, hear) When a ship went upon a long voyage
a considerable time must elapse before any informa-
tion could arrive with respect to her crew, and much
unnecessary at -aiety wad caused by communications
which, while they raised alarm, rendered it impossible in
the absence of authentic information thatthe alarm should
be removed.
Admiral WALCOTT said that if the question under
their notice had not been introduced by the hon. gentle-
man the member for T nernouth he should have felt it
y
to be his duty to submit it to the house. The subject
had now, Ilea ever, been fully entered into, and he should
make only a few ob, ervas4-ior • sw, th respect to it. In refe-
rence to the circumstance of the Transit having grounded
her anchor at the Needles, he must say that he very
much doubted whether she ought to 'have anchored in
such very shoal water, while he admitted the force of the
statement which had been made by the right hon hart,,
to the effect that a great fog had prevailed at the time.