The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EvENING, FEBRUARY 23, 1861.

hear.) We lament that so large an amount of property
should be annually lost on our shores. That, however, is a
toss which falls oh iiidiVichials, and they have means of in-
Abbinifying themselves to a certain extent 'ay insurances
and other arrangements. But we lament still more the loss
of most valuable lives—(hear, hear)—the loss of some of
the best seamen of the country, and that is a loss against
which no insurance can be made and no compensation can
be obtained, and is, therefore, a dead calamity to the coun-
try. (Hear, hear.) But when we say that we are sensible
of the magnitude of the evil We also cannot shut out eyes
to the magnitude of the remedies which are proposed to
correct that evil, and that which has passed in the short
discussion we have just heard shows to what extent the
demand Would go. The hon. member who began the dis-
cussion confined his representations to the harbours of re.
fuge on the north-east coast of England. Immediately
afterwards another hon. friend of mine draws attention to
the state of the Welsh coast. Another hon. member points
out how necessary it is to have harbours of refuge for the
Irish coast, and I have no doubt that my noble friend the
member for Wick (Lord Bury) would be ready to insist on
the extreme advantage of a harbour of refuge for the place
he represents. tut those harbours of refuge would cost a
very large sum of money, and T am sorry to say that her
Majesty's Government are not at present prepared to pro-
pose to Parliament to advance grants from the public re-
venue at all commensurate to the magnitude of the object
in view. At the same time it is quite true that last session
we did make a pledge that we would propose some measure
this session, and my right hon. friend the President of the
Board of Trade has a bill ready to be presented to the how e
for the purpose of taking the first steps in this matter.
The hon. member who spoke first urged that steps should
be taken to improve Westing harbours. That is a suggestion
more within the scope of our means than the construction
of new works, and I agree NI ith the remark made by my
hon. friend behind me with respect to the mistake which
has been fallen into, of making these harbours of refuge toe
small. It is quite true that they are so, and that if you
are to make new hat hours care should be taken to make
them large enough to meet all demands. As our shipping
and eetaMerCe Increase we must look forward to new de-
mands, but my right hon. friend has a bill ready, I believe,
to be presented, the object of which will be to enable the
Exchequer bill Loan Commissioners to make advances both
in England and Ireland to th6se who are willing to take
money on certain conditions for the purpose of improving
existing harbours. (Hear, hear.) The committee which
the hon. member who spoke first referred to made a propo-
sition which, I am afraid, has not been at all approved of,
namely, that if the Government advanced money for the
creation of harbours of refuge, the interest on part of the
money so advanced should be paid by passing tolls. This
is a proposition which, I believe, owners of shipping are not
at all ready to acquiesce in. A bill will shortly be pre-
sented, giving to the Exchequer Loan Commissioners very
large powers, for the purpose of making advances on easy
terms to those willing to draw money from that source with
the object of improving existing harbours. (Hear, hear.)

is the case with regard to Rotterdam, to the consulship of
which I retomtnended the other day a merchant of great
respectability. The committee tetommended that there
should be a classification of consuls ; &stiY, of those who
should be never allowed to trade ; secondly, of those who
should be allowed according to circumstances to trade;
thirdly, of those who should always be traders ; and
fourthly, of those whose places be abolished as va-
cancies occurred. I have endeavoured to give effect to that
recommendation. (The noble lord here specified several
appointments to the diplomatic service). Some of these
changes have taken plate tinder Lord Malmesbury and
some under me, and they show that there is no desire in the
Foreign Department of the State not to give promotion in
this particular service. Since the report of the committee
of 1858 alterations have been made in a great number of
places; 11 consular offices hate been improved since July,
1858. In many of those cases salaries hate been given in-
stead of fees, and the fees have been transferred to the
Treasury. This I think is the right principle which should
be applied when places fall in. -in 71 cases, therefore, these
improvements have been effected; in 21 the consillB have
been placed on a reduced footing. The increase of salary
has amounted to £1334871 the decrease by abolition is
£5,600, and by reduction, £3,400, reducing the net increase
to £4,457. Well, there is a recommendation by the Com-
mittee to which the hon. and learned gentleman seems to
attach much importance. It is that with respect to consular
students. But when the matter came to be considered it was
thought that to appoint students to consulships would be
placing young men of talent in a position in which they
might remain a very long time without any chance of pro-
motion—a state of things disappointing to them and burden-
some upon the public service. We thought it better, there-
fore, not to adopt that part ofthe recommendation of the COM •
mittee ; but, on the other hatid, there have been a great
many of the lower class raised to a higher position. At
the same time we cannot make an absolute rule even in
this case, because vacancies fall in all parts of the world,
requiring to be filled by persons possessing a special apti-
tude. For instance, the other day I received a deputation
who wanted a consul at Abbeokuta, where a cotton etilti,
vation is springing up. / believe my hon. friend the mem-
ber for Warwickshire was the chairman of one of the meet-
ings on that subject, and it is my intention to recommend
the appointment of some gentleman to the Blatt in question.
I think I have now stated the main points upon which the
committee reported, and their recommendations, and upon
the whole we hate endeavoured to keep to the spirit of
those recommendations rather than follow' exactly or ser-
vilely any one of them. I think the recommendations of the
committee will lead to great improvement in the consular
service, and they have already enabled the Government to
do away with trading among the consuls in some places, and
in varioas other places to give then! an increase of salary.
Her Majesty's Government desire not to increase the public
burdens, but, at the same time, they wish to promote the
efficiency of the consular or other branches of the public
service. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the correspondence
which the hon. member for Bradford wishes to obtain, I
have to state that I shall be most willing to give it, and it
will be presented on Monday next, and I may further say
that that correspondence is highly honourable to our consul
at Charleston. He was placed in a position of great dill •
culty, not being able to acknowledge the new Government
which sprang up, but at the same time he did not neglect
the interests of British shipping.
THE CASE OF ANDERSON, THE AMERICAN

plained of. The case was one arising entirely out of a treaty
concluded, not between the colony of Canada and a foreign
power, but between the Imperial Government and the
United States. His noble friend stated in his despatch that
Anderson could not be delivered up under the extradition
treaty by the mere act of the law, adding that the case was
one of the greatest possible importance, and that her Ma.
jesty's Government were not satisiled that the decision of
the Court at Toronto was in conformity with the decisions
which had guided the authorities in this country, and that
in any case Anderson Was net to be given up without in-
structions from this country. (Ileer. hear.) No commu-
nication had been received from Canada since then, except
the receipt of the answer to that despatch. With reference
to the reddest of the hon. gentleman that the papers might
be laid upon the table of the house, he might say it was
undesirable to produce them in their present incomplete
state. But the question was not in the hands of any
I court either of this country or of Canada, but was in
the hands of het Majesty's Government, and he thought
they could not do better than leave it there. (Hear.)
MARINE ARTILLERY VOLUNTEERS.

Mr. NORTH asked the noble lord the Secretary to the
Admiralty whether the Board persisted in their determine•
tion to refuse Marine Artillery Volunteers having facilities
for practice afloat.
Lord C. PAGET, in reply, said the Admiralty were not
behind hand in their admiration of the Volunteers. The
matter had been under the cc dderation of the Board whe-
ther they should comply with the request they had received
to send one or more gunboats out to sea with Volunteers on
board, in order that they might have the benefit of trial
proctice at the great guns. It was fully admitted that that
was desirable; but the Board on consideration declined to
do so, in consequence of the expense that it'would involve,
which was very considerable. It would be well if gentlemen
who took such a deep and creditable interest in this matter
would encourage men to enter the Navy Coast Volunteers,
or else the Naval Reserve. The Government had certainly
no desire to discourage the Volunteer movement.