The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-21 00:00:00

i an appropriate iron screw steamer to hold liquids,"
sheuld their lordships " desire to carry out the
wishes of the Minister of War ;" also that six
sin iilar iron steamers could be obtained.
"In reply, the Lords of the Admiralty simply
adknowledged receipt of his letter.
.Mr. Macintosh here remarks with great truthful-
nes, s that " the Admiralty were too confident in
their imaginative powers of impregnable strength
in at tacking sea-face fortifications ; their immense
floatiAng batteries have proved themselves entirely
useless.' as an arm of attack against the sea-faces of
Sebasto.pol."
He go es so far as to recommend that " a Cora.
mantling Minister of our naval and land forces be
appointed, and then (but not till then) will entirely
cease that constant clashing of departments."
He deplores this disunion of action now existing
between the War and Admiralty Departments, and
states that had his system been adopted, and em-
ployed against the enemy, the war would have soon
terminated ; that the nation would have economised
at•out £80,000,000, and about 50,000 valuable lives
wol:ld have been saved to the country. To strengthen
his argument he quotes an appropriate axiom from
the renowned " Jomini "—viz., "L'unionfait la
force ; sans union point de succes n'est possible."
The force of .his statements are so conclusive to
our minds, And the facts—(stubborn things these
little fellows are)—he has so lucidly explained,
fully bear out his bold recommendation that " a
Commanding (and responsible) Minister of our
naval and land forces" should be appointed.
It is quite clear that some thoroughly practical
reform is required, and we are fully persuaded that
the appointment of one responsible War Minister
as sole commander over both services would ensure
promptness of action during war ; and, further,
would enable the nation to quickly discern, by the
acts Of "their sole War Minister," if he was bona
.fide carrying out, with energy and ability, the
responsible duties they had confided to his care.
Mr. Macintosh's important suggestions are worthy
of deep consideration • but it must rest with the
national will if or if not such a practical reform
should be adopted.
On the 11th May the Lords of the Admiralty
simply acknowledge receipt of Mr. Macintosh's
letter of 10th inst., and on the 14th inst.he requests
the Lords of the Admiralty to furnish him with a
reply to his letter of the 4th, to which their lord-
ships' answer of the 18th is very curt—viz., " that
their lordships have nothing to add to former coin-
muhications." ' Mr. Macintosh states that " this
answer is tantamount to a positive rejection of my
invention. The true cause is so obvious to me that I
will endeavour to explain this sudden change of their
lordships' amiable intentions, as expressed in their
despatch of the 7th inst.
"At this period the ' Roebuck .Committee of
Inquiry' was sitting at the House of Commons, to
investigate into the mismanagement of several of
the Government departments relative to the war.
The Lords of the Admiralty were informed that I
intended to question Sir James Graham and other
parties connected with the Admiralty respecting
the non-adoption of my system of warfare by the
Government. Fearful of the consequent public
exposure of their lordships' dereliction of duty
towards the nation, they conceived it prudent to
stop my proceedings, therefore penned that wily
despatch.
• "Thus, thinking their lordships' intentions were
honourable, I immediately withdrew the questions
I had submitted to Sir John Pakington (President
of the Committee).
" About the period of their lordships' second
despatch (18th May), the Committee had closed its
proceedings ; consquently their lordships' fear of
public exposure had ceased, so they again refused
to adopt my system, assigning, as on all previous
occasions—no cause for its rejection."
Mr. Macintosh, with untiring energy, again (12th
June, 1855) addressed the Lords of the Admiralty,
expressing a desire to receive more explicit replies
to his letters of the previous month, further stating
that " the duty I owe to my country and myself does
not allow me to be a sharer of such responsibility."
Also; "most respectfully stating, that I shall feel
myself at liberty to take such steps as will exonerate
me in the eyes of the public, which I could not do
while the matter remained under the consideration
of their lordships."
On the 15th of June their lordships sent Mr.
Macintosh a very curt reply, viz., " that my letter
had been laid before the Lords Commissioners of
the Admiralty."
Mr. Macintosh again wrote to their lordships,.
" complaining of receiving no specific reply to my
letter of the 12th inst., but only a simple acknow-
ledgment of its receipt ;" also urging their lordships
to employ his " suffocating agent against the for-
tresses of the enemy, the expense not exceeding
£5,000." •
On the 25th June (1855) the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty sent Mr. Macintosh a distinct
refusal to either adopt his plan or accept of his ser-
vices for the destruction of the enemy's fortresses.
Mr. Macintosh having failed in all his endea-
vours towards urging the Lords of the Admiralty
to either adopt his plan or permit him doing so,
and at his own expense, or to furnish him with
copies of Sir Thomas Maitland's reports, communi-
cated (on the 7th July, 1855) to Lord Panmure the
refusal of the Lords of the Admiralty to comply
with his lordship's desire (of 2d May).
Further, offering to proceed to the Crimea and
superintend the filling of shells with his combus-
tible agent, to be used against "the Redan" and
" Malakoff" (Russian earthworks); and, " if allowed
proper assistance," to cloud the sea-faces of the
forts " Constantine" and " Alexander" (situated at
the entrance, to the harbour of Sebastopol) with his
" black suffocating vapour, thereby enabling our
vessels to approach and destroy the forts unmolested
by their fire.
Lord Panmure, in replying to Mr. Macintosh's
letter (on the 27th July), thanks him for his offer of
services, but says he " does not feel himself at
liberty to avail himself of them at the present
time.

From the verbatim copies of all the despatches
contained in Mr. Mackintosh's work, it is clear that
Lord Panmure carefully avoids any reference to the
first paragraph of his letter of the 7th instant; and
as his lordship declines Mr. Macintosh's offer and
services, his lordship actually coincides with the
Lords of the Admiralty in refusing to adopt his
plan of warfare, although, as Mr. Macintosh has
previously demonstrated, Lord Panmure was per,
son ally cognisant of its efficacy.
It will appear that, although Mr. Macintosh had
already received so many rebuffs from the War and
Admiralty Departments, his mind was still impressed,
with undoubted and sincere proofs of unflinching.
patiotism; his views and energies are pointed
towards effecting practical reforms for the benefit
of his country ; whereas (see our leader of the 16th
inst.) we mentioned that the too often puffing
Leviathan, " triumphantly extols the past acts of
its political fraternity," exculpating itself from ex-
posing their acts, not from an unbiassed patriotism,
but from finding that their conduct towards Mr.
Macintosh's patriotic endeavours was left unsifted.
It is cheering to find, by their columns of Friday,
that a spark of light has reached their eastern
and gloomy hemisphere—thus, they admit, "we
seem driven to conclude, that either we have no
system at all, or the system is a bad one, and it is
high time that we should see some effective reform,
or be convined that no reform is called for." The
Leviathan is really beginning in earnest, and like
a " good housewife, (intends to) clean her garner,
sweep out the rubbish, and put in perfect order
the whole machinery of her establishment." Let
their reforms be real, and not visionary, and
then they will profit by their exertions. . . .
On the 9th Nov., 1855, Mr. Macintosh requested
Lord Panmure would be pleased to order that the
Select Military Committee," then sitting at Wool-
wich, should report on the whole of his invention,
so that, " if it should be thought proper, arrange-
ments may be immediately made to avoid the pub-
licity of my specification to the world, which must
otherwise very shortlytake place." In reply, Lord
Panmure states, on 20th Nov., that " be has or-
dered the Ordnance Select Committee to report
upon the whole of your scheme which you are
about to patent."
Some successful practical experiments having
taken place at Shoeburyness on the 30th Nov., Mr.
Macintosh addressed a letter to Lord Panmure and
toW. Monsell, Esq., M.P., informing them of that
fact, and urging the necessity of his lordship
coming to an immediate decision.
Mr. Monsell replies, on the 3d Dec., that " he
has called on the Ordnance Select Committee to
furnish an immediate report of the result of the
experiments with your invention at Shoeburyness."
Thinking that Sir Thomas Maitland might forget
the result of the experiments which he witnessed
at Shoeburyncss on 30th Nov., Mr. Macintosh
reminded him, on Ist Dee., that such were entirely
successful ; 'further suggesting that " one of the
Russian forts should be rendered untenable with
his plan ;
ilttteaep'spe late sending a notification to the enemy that
all their forts would be similarly treated, and that
appears that
to the e
t resulth e with of
that o f Captain
the cost would be only a few thousand pounds."
Com-
Thomas Maitland was so fivourable, that " the
‘rrh
c Sele
ct
in
Principal Secretary
War" (Lord
Panmure) officially objectedof State for
Macintosh's y to the sealing
of Mr.
patent (18th December, 1855) ; the
grounds of objection were, " That such an invention
can only be useful in • time of war, and that the
publication of it may b
L prejudicial to her Majesty's
service."
This official and unexpected seizure of Mr.
Macintosh's invention undeniably stamps it
being one of more than ordinary value.
Lord Panmurc's " official interdict"
naturally