The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-14 00:00:00

ADMIRAL CRAWIE ON THE NAVY.

At the annual dinner of the Bath and West of
England Agricultural Exhibition at Truro, on
Thursday, the 6th inst., the president having pro-
posed the toast of " The Army, Navy, and Volun-
teers," Admiral Craigie, in returning thanks for
the navy, said—lt is believed in some places that
our naval preparations are not what they ought to
be—it is thought that we do not take the lead by
adopting the most recent improvements—that we
are content to follow in the wake of other nations ;
but there are weighty reasons which may account
for this apparent inaction. Although the science
of naval architecture has made prodigious progress
within the last 20 or 30 years, yet it has not reached
that state of perfection which will enable the most
scientific builder to calculate with any certainty the
effect of the slightest alteration in the form of a
ship. If, for instance, you want a ship to carry a
certain armament; to attain a certain speed, to carry
a certain complement of men, and a proportion of
provisions, these points may be attained, but if we
require these in combination with others equally
valuable, the chances are that you fail in some one
or other. As an instance, those two ships (Warrior
and Black Prince) to which the chairman has
alluded, which are considered, and justly considered,
the finest ships in the world ; these ships have
been constructed on the most scientific principles—
they have been built by two of the first firms
in the kingdom—l may say by two of the first
firms in the world. These ships have now been
launched, and they had scarcely been afloat when
it was believed by many men of science that they
might have been vastly improved if, instead of
having what sailors call a wall-sided ship, they
had had a curve to their outward forms. It is not
to be supposed that these eminent shipbuilders
were ignorant of the fact that a curve would resist
a shot better than a flat surface ; but I presume
they took into consideration that by adopting a
curve they might sacrifice some even more impor-
tant object, Well, gentlemen, if after all these
considerations, if, after all this care in the building
of these two magnificent ships at a cost, it is said,
of one million sterling—if they should have com-
mitted a mistake of this kind, would it be prudent,
would it be right, in any Government (I care not
who they may be) to adopt rashly and hastily
every new project which floats before them ? It
would not be wise in this country to allow our
neighbours to get too far ahead of us; but on the
other hand, with the abundant resources we possess,
with the inexhaustible resources of our shipbuilders'
yards, we can afford to " lay upon our oars," and
wait with patience the result of such costly experi-
ments, and not adopt rashly and recklessly every
new idea, which may be only an imaginary im-
provement.

EXTENSIVE FORGERIES BY AN

INSU.RANCE AGENT;

Yesterday a case of a most extraordinary descrip-
tion was investigated before the magistrates at the
Manchester City Police-court, and no doubt it will
excite as much surprise as sorrow amongst the
public when they learn that a gentleman of hitherto
supposed unblemished character, Mr. Edward
Williamson, agent for the Royal Exchange Fire
and Life Insurance Office, will be charged with
having committed a series of forgeries to a large
amount. From what we have been able to glean
from various sources, it appears that Mr. Willia-
mson will be charged with having obtained money
from the principal Office, in London by representing,
through forged documents, that losses had been
caused by fire on the premises of persons insured in
the office, when in point of fact no such fires had
taken place. He will also be charged with having
increased the amount of bone fide claims made by
insurers who had incurred losses by fire, and he will
be charged with forging signatures endorsed on bills
which he had been ordered to draw to pay some of
the fictitious claims which he had made. We believe
we shall be found pretty correct in stating that the
amount which the Royal Exchange Office has been
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gentle-
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fraud
the Royal Exchange-office to ask the directors to
appoint a friend of his a second agent for Manches-
ter, alleging that all the other offices had two
agents, whilst the Royal Exchange had only one
in Manchester. The manager, or one of the direc-
tors, replied that they should do no such thing, see-
-' that with one agency fires so often occurred in
that city. At the same time, he pointed to claims
then lying before him from Mr. Williamson for
something like £7OO, in corroboration of what he
had stated. The gentleman expressed his astonish-
ment at what had been stated, looked at the claims,
and declared, from his own knowledge, that those
fires had never taken place. The manager was
equally take
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inasmuch as
Williamson, whose father had been the agent in
Manchester for 45 years. The son, Edward Wil-
liamson, was partner with his father some years be-
fore his decease, and we believe the agency had been
in the hands of the father and son for the last 60
years. In consequence of what transpired in the in-
terview we have alluded to, one of the directors of
the Royal Exchange-office, and the solicitor to the
company went to Manchester, on Tuesday, to investi-
, gate the matter, and in the course of a short time
they obtained such information as to satisfy them
that the statement made to them in London was but
too true. Yesterday a warrant was applied for and
granted for Mr. Williamson's apprehension on the
charge of forgery. The warrant, we believe, was
placed in the hands of Superintendent Maybury and
Inspector Buckley for execution, and yesterday
they proceeded to Greenfield House, Bowden, where
Mr. Williamson resides, to apprehend him. At
first they did not find him at home, but at five
o'clock, on returning, they found him in. The
officers showed him the warrant, and told him the
charge upon which he was to be arrested, to which
he replied that he was very sorry that it was so;
that he had been a great fool, and it served him
right; but that he had property that would five
times cover the amount he was charged with hav-
ing dishonestly obtained. Mr. Williamson was
then taken into custody, and brought in a cab to
the detective office, Manchester. Besides being the
owner of considerable property at Bowden, Mr.
Williamson has a shooting-seat near Stafford, where
Mrs. Williamson and her family are at present
staying. Owing to this fact the family sere
spared the pain of seeing Mr. Williamson appre-
hended, and there can be no doubt but that the
affliction which has overtaken them will awaken
that sympathy on their behalf which is but a poor
consolation in such circumstances as those in which
they are placed.

THE BUILDERS' STRIKE. The masons' commit-
tee yesterday reported that another employer, in addition
to those previously announced,
the men—Mr. Crabb, of Gravel-lane,
THE NIGHTINGALE SLAVE-SHIP.—We have made
full inquiries and find that the ship Nightingale, of Boston,
U.S.A., 810 tons, commanded by her owner, Frederick
Bowen, arrived at Liverpool from New York on the 6th of
October last. On the 24th of November she cleared out for
St. Thomas, West Indies, and on the 18t of December sailed
from the Mersey with the following cargo, which is valued
at £l,27o—viz., 17 bales and 25 cases of cotton goods 135
bundles of shooks, 6 casks of hoops, 300 boxes• of
herrings,
20 casks of thread, 14 casks of rice, 25 barrels of beans, 400
h barrels of gunpowder,
otr,c4Otcean gsese,o9d2eb, daelnes,
13teeeks,an
and
d3dlsopouttreer.el o
of earthenware,
ehen
hardware; 12 sheets of iron, two small iron guns, and two
small swivel-guns. Of course the clearance for St. Thomas
was a russ to deceive the Customs, but we have heard that
before leaving the Mersey the destination of the ship was
perfectly well known to, and was freely talked of among, a
certain class of people. The Nightingale was found off
Congou or Kiusembo, on the Afiican coast, with 960 slaves
out of 1,600 which she had taken on board. The United
States frigate Saratoga sent her boats alongside during the
night, captured the ship, and sent her in charge of a prize
crew to Liberia,—.Liverpool Post,