The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-26 00:00:00

last year. That Sir Baldwin Walker had urged the question
upon him in the month of July last year, and yet he had
never come down to the house and stated that fact, and now
he came with a proposal for a partial reconstruction of the
navy, and at the same time proposed to reduce the wages
of workmen. He did not put the French navy at the
same amount as the First Lord, but he knew that at Toulon
there were nine first-rates ready to put to sea at any mo-
ment, and in order to meet them we should be obliged• to
denude our Channel of the fleet, and if we did so we should
then leave open Brest and Cherbourg, where there were a
large number of other ships-of-war not wholly manned
but half manned ; and while he did not say that the French
desired to attack us, it was evident that they had the
power to do so, under existing circumstances ; and they
might depend upon it that if ever a blow was struck, it
would be secret and sudden. That was a state of t hinge
which, in his opinion, demanded the utmost watchfulness
and preparation on the part of this country. The hon.
member proceeded to comment on the state of the steam
basin at Sheerness, which he said would be most injurious
to the vessels themselves • and, at the same time, the
basin was only capable of being opened three days in the
week, and with some winds it was impossible for vessels
either to get out or in ; and yet this was the great steam
arsenal which was to watch over and protect the groat
North Sea traffic and the Baltic. He believed that the
miserable deficiency of our naval administration arose
from our having overtasked. . our . navy surveyor, who
had more work thrown upon him than it was possible that
any one man could perform. There .was nothing that the
British Parliament had committed .more carelessly and
recklessly to the entire . charge of the First Lord of the
Admiralty than the administration of. the navy, and now
they learned from the. Minister who held that office that
we were unprepared to meet. possible demands upon us.
If they would not take his warnings, or that of others,
surely they would that of the right hon. baronet, and think
it was time to take the_ matter into their own hands. If
they did not, they would some, day feel that it was no con-
solation to find that their confidence had been misplaced
and their interests betrayed.
Admiral WALCOTT said that after all that had been said
he did not believe that any such naval deficiency existed
on the part of this country as had been alleged. Besides
the Royal navy we had. a large mercantile marine, which,
in any case of emergency, could be brought to bear in a
single week, with an effect that could not be overesti-
mated. As to the threats or alarms of an invasion, he did
not believe that it would be any more successful than the
attempts of the Spanish Armada, or those of Admirals von
Tromp or de Ruyter. The true course to pursue was to
secure efficient officers and men, and to treat them libe-
rally and justly, and thus attract them to the service, and
keep the navy in the highest state of efficiency. He utterly
denied that the French could command the English
Channel, notwithstanding the repeated assertions that such
was the case ; and he had the fullest confidence that this
country could protect itself in any emergency whatever.
We had blockships available for the defence of our coasts,
and 7,500 coast guardsmen, wno, in the course of a few
hours, could be made to man them in case of emergency. He
would declare to God, too, that were they in dad ger of inva-
sion there was not a seaman on the Thames who would not
heartily join their navy. Let them have fair play in the
system of manning their ships, and show the men that there
was a fair chance of promotion before him, and they would
find all their difficulties disappear. Let them encourage
seamen to enter the service, and not turn away the linds-
man friendless when he had been converted into a seaman,
and they would find that the service was looked upon with
greater favour. There was no more generous being on earth
than the British sailor. With all his reckless spirit he made
regular remittances to his parents and relatives, and on
every showing he was entitled to a fair and liberal condi-
tion. But these must no longer be matters of debate. Pre-
paration must be made before the time for action arrived,
and he trusted that the means which Parliament would now •
place at the disposal of the Government would at length
place the navy of the country in a suitable condition of
efficiency.
Mr. F. BERKELEY wished to know whether the Go-
vernment had taken any steps for the introduction into the
navy of breech-loading rifles, such as were employed in the
American navy. There could be no doubt that if foreign
navies were armed with rifles that could fire five times for
one, we should be at a deplorable disadvantage in any
maritime contest in which we might hereafter be engaged.
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. BENTINCK said that the statement of the right
hon. gentleman the First Lord of the Admiralty had the
advantage in candour and explicitness of every statement
of the kind it had ever been his lot to listen to, and by
making that candid statement the right hon. gentleman
had taken the best means in his power to remedy the con-
fessedly defenceless state of our navy. There could not
be a shadow of a doubt that our navy was not in the con-
dition it ought to be, and no pains or expense should be
spared to render it perfect. The question had been asked
by hon. gentlemen opposite, what had been done with the
large sums of money which had been voted for the last
two years for the navy. (Hear, hear, from the Opposition.)
Well, he would state his own opinion, without meaning to
impugn the conduct in office of any predecessor of the right
hon. gentleman, that so long as the Board of Admiralty re-
mained constituted as it was, it was not to be expected to
have an effective navy • so long as they were content to
place a civilian at the head of the Admiralty, so long they
must expect results to fall short of fair anticipations. What
objection could there be to placing a naval first lord at the
head of the board ? The objection commonly urged was,
that professional men were apt to be influenced by pre-
judices which would injure the administration o
civilians. Under such a system a naval lord was appointed
to a situation in which he had no power or responsibility,
but in which he nevertheless was able to advise. That
being the actual system in force, the objection amounted to
an absurdity. The administration of the navy should be
entrusted to men who knew what the navy was, and who
perfectly understood the objects which ought to be aimed
at. The report of the commission for manning the navy
was a most useful document 4 and in due time would no
doubt lead to the best results; but the fact itself of the
Admiralty sanctioning the appointment of a commission to
teach them how to man the navy was a virtual condemna-
tion of the system under which they acted, and which
stamped it with utter inefficiency.
Mr. LINDSAY desired to offer an explanation with re-
gard to his dissent from the opinions given by the other
members of the commission for manning the navy, It was
not without regret that he so dissented, but he consulted
with men of eminence and authority, and on reading hie
notes, they agreed with him that the principles he laid
down were sound and well-founded. He handed his dissent
to the me committee almost at the same time
that the report was signed. He returned the corrected
proof of that .dissent eight days ago, and if the dissent was
not in the hands of hon. members, the fault was not attri-
butable to him. With that explanation he should, for the
present, content'himself. (Hear, hear.)
Sir F. BARING having defended the appointment ofthe
commission for manning the navy, and replied to the ob-
jections raised by Mr. Bentinck, said that, with regard to
the number of men.required, he thought the matter should
be left to the responsibility of the Government. With
regard to the number of ships, it was his opinion that we
ought to keep a-head of foreign navies, and to be prepared
for all possible improvements in their naval armaments.
He looked upon the present vote not as the end but as the
beginning of increased naval expenditure ; and in the pre-
sent state of public affairs he thought that rigid economy
was not expedient. He advocated the appointment of a
committee to examine our naval expenditure, and he
believed their inquiry would be of great value. It was his
opinion that the compulsory retirement of officers when
they reached a certain age would not be attended with
economy, and would be productive of a very bad feeling.
After a few words from Admiral DUNCOMBE'
Sir G. PECHELL deprecated an opinion he had heard in
the course of'the debate that our neighbours were masters
of the Channel.

Sir J. PAKINGTON expressed his satisfaction at the
manner in which the Government proposal had been re-
ceived by all the members of the house with the exception
of the hon. baronet the member for Halifax, who had
thrown into the debate a degree of political asperity which
he (Sir J. Pakington) had certainly endeavoured to avoid.
He might say that they had made a step in the construc-
tion of ships, when they had added in one year six line-of-
battle ships to the navy of England. The hon. and gallant
admiral (Sir C. Napier), who he did not now see in his
place, had imputed to him that he had said France had the
command of the Channel. Now, he begged to state most
emphatically that he never said anything of the kind, and
should be ashamed of himself if he could be capable o
giving utterance to any such expression. He utterly and
entirely denied that he had ever said any such thing. On
the contrary, they had now a force of line-of-battle ships
in England, which constituted a most formidable power.
It was in JOJ37 that they ascertained the state of the
French navy, and in August they immediately set to work
and converted four ships into line-of-battle ships. They
had also given orders for rifle cannon, but he did not know
the quantity. He thanked the house for the kind atten-
tion with which they had heard him.
Sir C. NAPIER said that the right hon. baronet had
ships to put the men in ; but having. ships was one thing!
and getting men another. If the right hon. baronet had
the. power that France had of getting men by conscription
or inscription, and if he could, like France, send a fleet to
sea in 24 hours, then, indeed, he might say that France
had not the command of the Channel ; but, unless he could
do that, then he (Sir C. Napier) would say that France had
the command of the Channel ; and France had also, he
begged to remark, the command of the Mediterranean.
After a few words from Sir C. WOOD, in explanation of
what he had said respecting the number of seamen and
coast-guard men in the service,
A vote of £2,487,060 was then taken for payment of sea-
men and marines, and the house resumed.

LOCAL ASSESSMENT EXEMPTION ABOLITION

BILL. _
This bill, after a few words from` Gen. Codrington, Mr.
Estcourt, and Mr. Wilson,waa read a second time, -and
ordered to be committed.

POOR-LAW BOARDS (PAYMENT OF DEBTS
• BILL).
On the motion that this bill be read a second time,
Mr. Alderman COPELAND said it was impossible that
they could discuss the question at that moment.
Some discussion took place, in which Sir J. Shelley, Mr.
Ayrton, and other him. members took part, the object of
which was, not to proceed.with the bill at that late hour of
the night.

After some conversation, the bill was read a second

The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and
the house adjourned at a quarter-past one o'clock.

BIRTHS.

BURCIIXTT.—On the 24th inst., at 3, Clarence-place, Re-
gent's-park, the wife of Henry. Burchett, Esq., of a son.
CUMBERI3A.TCH.—On the 23d inst., at 12, Cadogan-place,
Mrs. Lawrence Trent Cumberbatch, of a daughter.
MARRIAGES
BARNARD—LONG.—On the 24th inst., at North Cadbury,
Somerset, Thomas Barnard, .Esq., M P., of Cople, Bed-
fordshire, to Isabella H. Theodora, youngest daughter •
Henry L. Long, Esq., of Hampton-lodge, Surrey, and th
Lady Catherine Long.
PRALL—GIBBS. —On the 24th inst., at Christchurch, High-
bury, Richard Prall, jun., Esq., of Rochester, and of 19,
Essex-street, Strand, solicitor, to Hester, the youngest
daughter of Henry Stephen Gibbs, Esq., the Shrubbery,
Highbury.