The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-02 00:00:00

that very situation of parties in regard to which
Mr. ROEBUCK spoke out so heroically and trumpet-
tongued.

The £lO bounty has acted, is acting, to admira-
tion. The old salts of the merchant service are
beginning to find their prejudices against the Royal
Navy melting away at last benignly under the
sunny influence of that new, and direct, and instant
allurement. The crackling sound of the crisp bank-
note, with £lO flourished in the corner of it—or
the chink of the ten gold sovereigns in the hollow
of Jack's tarry tawiy palm—either the one or the
other is altogether too much for him. He gives in,
your Honour, with a touch of his forelock—and is
ready to take his place off hand in the fo'castle of
any ship of the line you please—to run all the risk
of salt water grog for an infraction of the regula-
tions as one of her MAJESTY'S true blue, light-
footed, tough-handed men-'o-war's men ! Those gold
sovereigns Jack knows he can pour in a Danman
shower into the lap of goodwife Sal as she pauses
after a rinse of her parboiled hands over the wash-
tub—or he can flutter that crisp bank note with the
mysterious letters and numerals sprawling over it,
flutter it before her wondering eyes as a talisman
of delight and consolation. Jack at any rate, for
some good reason or other of his own, finds it im-
possible to resist the temptation of that
bounty—for the which he is Britannia's
" most obedient." The outer barrier of pre-
judice between the Royal Navy and the
merchant service has at last been fairly broken down
by this last proceeding of the Admiralty. Perhaps
a better step towards the ready manning of the
fleet has not been taken by the authorities since
the bold abolition of the old press-gang abomination.
Nothing, certainly, has tended more happily to-
wards popularising the maritime service of the
Crown among the very class whose sympathies it
was the most desirable of all to gain. This is cer-
tainly as it should be. It is a measure that reflects
credit upon Sir JOHN PAKINGTON'S administration.
It will be remembered honourably in Sir JOHN'S
regard when the CARNEGIE episode has been for-
gotten, and when there is but a dim reminiscence
of the twin double-triumphs inscribed of late under
his auspices upon the Parliamentary records=here
at Dover, there at Devonport.
Following with timely promptitude hard upon
the heels of the £lO bounty there has been issued
from the Admiralty very recently an admirable
circular addressed to the commanders of vessels,
earnestly recommending them so to regulate matters
that change of habits shall not come with too harsh
abruptness upon the newly-installed A.B.'s—but
just introduced to the cleanly but strictly
disciplined forecastle of a man-of-war from
the midst of the discomfort but comparative
freedom of the forecastle of a merchant vessel. A
brief interval allowed for him to shake down into
his new mode of life, is all that is really requisite
not only to reconcile JACK to the transformation,
but to convince him of the superior advantages he
has secured to himself by consenting to that very
" transmogrification." Allured by the £lO bounty
into the service of the Crown upon a regular line of
battle ship, JACK will not be long in recognising
that the change brought about in consequence is '
beyond all manner of doubt a change for the better.
Satisfy him, as he may be readily satisfied of this
after a very little examination of his new career,
and you will find the old prejudice against the re-
gulations breaking down far and wide—you will
even see, in lieu of it, the prestige of the Royal
Navy increasing and extending by little and
little all through the merchant service. Then----
there will remain no longer any difficulty in man-
ning the fleet at any time almost upon the instant,
and that to any extent that could by possibility be
required at the utmost conceivable emergency.
Armed at the outset with the LlO bounty, and aided
afterwards by that most judicious Admiralty cir-
cular to which we have directed attention, those
entrusted with the responsibility of looking after
the rapid and efficient manning of the Royal Navy
will have only themselves to thank if they fail in
extending gradually throughout the whole of the
merchant service a very different estimate indeed
to that hitherto entertained there, as to the position
and character of her MAJESTY'S men-of-war's-men.