The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-10 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 10, 1859.

LOYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT
INSTITUTION.—The Committee of this Institution
earnestly appeal t) the publfc for pecuniary ass,stance to aid
them to meet the present heavy demands on the limited
funds of the Society.
THOMAS BARING, Chairman.
THOMAS CHAPMAN, Deputy-Chairman.
Nov. 8, 1859.

Contributions will be thankfully received by Messrs. Willis
and Co. ; Herries and Co. ; Contts and Co. ; and at the office
of the Institution, 14, John-street, Adeiphi, W.C.

were still existing. (Cheers.) If there were any
survivors they must be amongst the Esquimaux,
and if so they were, in his opinion, on Lake Garry,
beyond which it was impossible for them to pro-
ceed. It was an everlasting disgrace to this country
that they had left these men in the position they
had, and the day must conic when they could not
leave the fate of Franklin in its present condition
—we were now upon the threshold of knowing what
they had been about. (Cheers.) That he had dis-
covered the great Polar passage there was not a
shadow ofdoubt whatever. There was one point which
did not strike Franklin at the time, a point which
made a very great impression upon him (Dr. King)
in going over this matter—viz., if you go into a
sea which is in a state of congelation, that never
'was frozen before, it became immediatly frozen. It
is a nucleus to form ice in a bay. Franklin bad a
strong feeling that if he could only get to " hug"
the land he would find " lanes" of water; but that
which was water when he went in became immedi-
ately frozen. He (the lecturer) could prove the theory
that a ship itself became its own " berg," by going
into these half-frozen waters. He contended that a
summer survey down that river would throw an en-
tire light upon the history of the missing crew.
There was not a doubt about it ; and the trifling sum
that it would cost to perform such a journey, he
maintained the Government were bound to find.
(Cheers.) It must be done by the Government, and
he had offered to do it for £l,OOO, and he believed
the Hudson's Bay expedition cost them £3,000.
That was the greatest disgrace that ever fell upon a
great commercial company; a company which held
their charter on the condition that they discovered
land, and who promised Prince Rupert, who granted
them that charter, that they would find the north-
west passage. The Admiralty were culpable first,
for not doing their duty properly ; and secondly,
for not demanding that the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany should search that part, which could not c)st
them £3,000 or £4,000 at the utmost. They had
deferred the progress of discovery, and bad dis-
graced the charter which they held. (Cheers.) And
although the Government had spent nearly
£2,000,000 in search of Franklin, they had never
sought him where they ordered. him to go. They
would not allow an expedition to be sent in the
actual direction of the Fish River, which must
have met the party, if Franklin followed his orders;
and there were records to show that Franklin fol-
lowed his orders to the very letter. He (the lec-
turer) felt strongly upon the absence of any record
being found upon Becchy Island; and no man who
knew anything at all about it would doubt that
some record was left there. If so, what had become
of it ? He believed there had been treachery some-
where, because if they had at an early period fell
upon a record at Beechy Island, stating that they
were making for the Fish River, he thought the
British Government would have prevented him
from going down that river in search of them. He
maintained that it was inexpensive as regards
money, and also as regards life, so that, under these
circumstances, seeing that a summer survey was
required, it was due to this people, and to our na-
tional honour, that we should know exactly where
to find the wreck, and that we should make that
little summer survey he proposed. (Cheers.) The
lecturer concluded by proposing a vote of thanks to
the Chairman, and especially to thank him for al-
lowing him the opportunity of addressing so very
numerous, and certainly very enlightened, an
audience.

A vote of thanks was carried amidst great
applause.
Mr. CONINGIIAM returned thanks and said that
the object of their meeting this evening was really
a public one, and a most interesting one ; and he
trusted it would not be without its results. He
hoped, after what they had heard, that they
would clearly see the course for this country to
adopt was a very simple one. All attempts to
get at the lost ships, or obtaining further
records of the lost crews by sea was evidently
fruitless. The only thing that remained to be
done was a summer survey down this Fish River,
where Dr. King for years past has been directing
the attention of the Admiralty as the place where
the crews of these ships would be found. He (Dr.
King) had told them this expedition would be inex-
pensive, and that it would be fraught with little
dariger to those who we're engaged in it. He (Mr.
ConThlham) thought that when this great nation
had sent forth expeditions upon such dangerous
errands as it had done, having gone to the enor-
mous cost of £2,000,000 in searching after them, it
would not, at the eleventh hoar, stop short, and say
they would send no further, but leave the crew—
the possible survivors—and their records to pass
away. (Great cheering.) He trusted that every
one present would urge upon their friends, and
those of infuence, the necessity of persuading the
Government—to force upon the Government, for
they would do nothing evidently unless they were
forced—(hear, hear, and applause)—to carry out this
necessary search; He thought that any further
records would he of the highest interests to science.
The discoveries of these men might be of very great
value; but still more, those humane feelings which
he believed animated the breasts of every English-
man would prompt him to urge that this expedition
should be undertaken for their own satisfaction, and
for the satisfaction of the friends and relatives of
the gallant men who had laid down their lives in
this dangerous search. (Cheers.)
An unanimous vote of thanks was then accorded
to the worthy lecturer, after which the assembly
dispersed.

THE BRITISLI-liISPUTIWITII

1

Since our detail last month of the particulars of
tins unpleasantness, despatches have been forwarded
by the Government of Senor Lopez, President of
Paraguay, to Lord J. Russell, Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs. These set forth, as we have
stated, that there was no intention whatever, nor is
there the least desire now, on the part of the Pa•
raguayan authorities to do anything that should
interrupt those friendly relations that have so long
subsisted between the two countries, ever since the
arrival in Asuncion of Mr. Consul Henderson, who
has always experienced the greatest courtesy. But,
the despatches add, it would be destructive of those
relations, because destructive of the self-respect and
efficiency of the executive of Paraguay, were it to
suffer its domestic laws to be set aside, and, the ad-
ministration of justice, according to the established
local tribunals, to be overruled at the demand of a
foreign Consul, in behalf of a person not a subject
of the State that functionary acts for, and who,
even if he were, is equally amenable as a native to
be dealt with according to the well-known juridi-
cal usages of the territory he is dwelling.in at the
time. The history of the transaction is given with
minuteness, and, as far as we can gather, with fair-
ness. It wouldcertainly seem that President Lopez.
who has had so many troubles on his hands of late,
could not be wished to increase them through pro-
voking a quarrel with England by dealing with
unjustifiable harshness towards a single Britis sub-
ject. But he maintains that the person claiming to
be such has no pretensions to the character, having
long travelled in Paraguay as a Monte Videan na-
tive citizen, with a passport of that city; until he
conspired with certain Paraguayana to assassinate
the President and family. Then he exhibited a pass-
port obtained at the British Consulate in Monte
Video, but which could be no protection for any
Englishman against the consequences of a criminal
act ; certainly no protection against being put on his
trial to answer a criminal charge; and this is all that.
is being done. The President, or rather his Minister,
Senor Valdez, repeats his belief that when Lord J.
Russell comes dispassionately to weigh the whole
case, he will be of opinion not only that the Para-
guayan Government have not done anything un-
warranted by. the. usages of civilized nations, in
friendly intercourse with each other, but that it
would have been impossible it could have done
otherwise, without deliberately incurring the odium
of its own citizens and the contempt of every state
that might become aware of such abandonment of
all domestic independence to foreign dictation. We
hope the correspondence on this subject will be laid
before Parliament as soon as the session begins, so
that we may know what are the real grounds for
any action of a coercive kind, if such should be
thought of, in that distant part of the world, where
oar interference has so frequently resulted in evil
to ourselves and others, and so seldom in good to
either. Witness all our operations, and prevention
of operations, in regard to Rosas, whose ruinsits
and sanguinary regime our bungling intervention
was the means of continuing for years after it
should have collapsed. It ultimately did when
" civilizing" England got out of the way of that
civilization which never could have visited the Rio
Plata as long as the oppressor held the keys of the
riverine provinces in. his grasp, locking them up,
together with Paraguay, Bolivia, &c., from all ap-
proach of the European and outer world.—Liver-
pool Albion.

[ADTI7CTISEMtNT.] —Mr. Benson, Ludgate-hill, has
just published a new illustrated pamphlet on watches (free
by post for two stamps): It should be road by all who are
about buying a watch, as it contains prices and important
information as to—What watch to buy I where to buy it 1
and how to use it 1

211. E NAVY.

The Mteander, Commander Sir Malcolm Mac-
Gregor, moved up from St. Helen's Roads yesterday
to Spithead, to await the completion of the Arro-
gant's repairs.
The Princess Royal, 91, screw, Capt. Thomas
Baillie, is berthed alongside the Sheer Jetty at

Portsmouth-yard, and her crew are employed in

stripping her and returning her stores. We under-
stand that from representations made to the autho-
rities it has now been determined to pay this ship
off in the usual manner, instead of turning her
officers and crew over to the Que...n as was at first
ordered.

The Ringdove, 6, screw, Commander Craigie,
sailed from Spithead yesterday for the China sta-
tion.

The Vivid, paddle steamer, arrived at Portsmouth
yesterday from the eastward.

The. Tartar, 20, screw, sailed from Spithead yes-
terday evening for Sheerness to be paid off. She
has a number of supernumeraries on board for a
passage round.

A deputation of reserved captains, Royal Navy,
consisting of Capts. John Hills, Josiah Thompson,
John R. Woodriff, and J. M. Mottley, waited upon
the Duke of Somerset, at the Admiralty, on Satur-
day, the sth inst., and presented a memorial signed
by most of those officers on the reserved list, pray-
ing that the advantages which they anticipated
from their reserved promotion might be conceded
to them. His Grace received the deputation with
great kindness, and promised his best attention to
the subject. A counterpart of the memorial was
also presented to Admiral Lord Clarence Paget, the
Secretary to the Admiralty, by. Capt. Thomas D.
Stewart.

Her Majesty's paddlewheel steam sloop Devasta-
ion, Commander Charles Wake, late from North

America and the West Indies, arrived at Woolwich
yesterday at 12.30. She is to proceed this morn-
ing down the river on a trial of her machinery
before being stripped and paid off.
The steam transport Peninsula was yesterday
chartered by the War Department for Gibraltar,
the Franklyn for Algoa bay, and the India for
Quebec, to ship war stores from Woolwich Arsenal.
The gunboat Wenzel, Lieut. Howorth, which left
Plymouth for China with the Centaur, parted com-
pany off Ushant, and has returned to the Sound.
Her bulwarks and quarterboat are stove, and jib-
boom carried off. She has gone into dock at Devon-
port to make good defects. The Cockchafer con-
tinued in tow of the Centaur.

Port-Admiral Sir Barrington Reynolds, K.C.8.,
accompanied by Capt. lerningham, of the gunnery
ship Cambridge, went into Plymouth Sound on
Tuesday, in the gunboat Redwing, and inspected
the crew of the Havannah, 19, Capt. T. Harvey,

just returned from the Pacific. She discharged her
powder the same day, and was subsequently towed
by the Zephyr and Confianee tugs into Hamoaze,
where her crew will be paid off.
A large body of workmen, under the direction of
Mr. Woods, clerk of the works at Portsmouth
Dockyard, arc busily employing in completing the
erection of the staging round the bows of the
Victoria, for the accommodation of her Majesty and
the Royal family, and also those of the public who
have admittance to this part by tickets which have
been issued for the purpose. It is calculated that
there will be a sufficiency of room in this gallery
for nearly 1,000 spectators. Ample provision will
also be made under the shed for the accommodation
of the general public. As far as is known at pre.
sent, her Majesty is expected to enter the dockyard
in the Royal train by the eastern gate, alight in the
vicinity of the steam basin, and, entering the car.
riages which wi:l be in attendance, at once proceed
the short remaining distance by the new dock and
entrance to the steam basin to the scene of the in-
tended launch. The central gallery will be opened
for the admission of parties in the possession of
tickets at 10 a.m., and all places must bo taken by
11 a.m., at which time the entrance will be closed.
ROYAL ARSENAL.—WOOLWICII, Nov. 9.—Two
complete 18-pounder batteries, and a large quantity
of shot and shell, have been shipped during the pre-
sent week—the former to be forwarded to Pem-
broke, and the latter for the coast defences of the
Merseyland the Hastings coastguard vessel at Liver-
pool. Unabated activity still prevails in the ship-
ment of war stores for China, and several river pon-
toons for service in that country have been prepared.

It is also stated that a number of Sir Wm. Ar-
mstrong's rifled guns will be forwarded to China as
goon as possible, with gun-carriages suitable for
naval as well as for military operations. The artil-
lery force about to embark on board the Simoom at
Portsmouth for llong Kong comprises in its ranks
about 30 non-commissioned officers who have re-
cently returned from the school of gunnery at Shoe-
buryness, and have been reported as competent in-
structors in the use of rifled ordnance. In accord-
ance with recent orders from the War Department,
the manufacture of brass guns at the Royal Arsenal
is to be entirely suspended for the present.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Lieut. C. A. Heysham, to the
Mutine ; Lieut. W. R. Kennedy, to the Trafalgar ;
G. D. Downing, Second Master to the Nautilus; F.
G. R. Wright, Assistant Clerk to the Mars ; and
Hugh B. Edwards, Assistant Clerk to the Algiers.