The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-20 00:00:00

SUPPLY OF TIMBER TO THE NAVY.

Sir C. NAPIER rose, agreeably to notice, to put a
question to the Secretary to the Admiralty, on the sub-
ject of the supply of timber to the navy. It appeared
that two ships had recently required a good deal of re-
pair, in consequence of the badness of the timber which
had been used in their construction. He had hail
an opportunity of examining returns of the quantity of
timber supplied to the dockyards fur the year 1840 to
the year 1841, and it appeared that 274,131 loads of
timber had been received into the dock-yards
during that period by private contract, and
and 56,035 loads by public compytition. Sometime ago
he found that it was usual for the Government when
timber wus received into the dockyards to have
it examined by the surveying officer, and he un- '
derstood that when timber had been rejected by
him as unfit for service, it had been ordered by
the storekeeper to be received at reduced prices. Now,
under such a system, it was impossible that the dock-
yards could be properly supplied with timber. They
had heard the other night from the Secretary to the
Admiralty that no inferior officer was permitted
to sign an order in his own name, but that all orders
must be signed by the Secretary to the Admiralty. He,
therefore, asked by what right the storekeeper took
upon himself to sign an order for admitting in-
ferior timber into the Backyards, at a reduced price ?
Formerly it was the custom to ascertain from the con-
tractors where and when the timber furnished to the Go-
vernment for ship-building was grown. That practice had
been discontinued about 10 or 12 years since, and at the
present day the surveying officer knew nothing about
where or when the timber was cut down. The Hon.
and Gallant officer here recounted the various stations,
and ships of war at each, which France had throughout
the world, and pointed out that, as our navy was circum-
stanced at present, we were not in a position to compete
with the French. While the French had a large squadron
of observation, we had not a single ship ready for sea.
He wished also to point out another subject to the con-
sideration of the Government—he meant harbours of
refuge. It was but a few years azo since the
French Government granted 170 -millions of
francs for the purpose of forming harbours of
refuge, and they had this year added four millions
more for the same purpose. He concluded by moving for
a return of the quantity of timber that for the last
ten years had been presented at the different dockyard:
and rejected by the officer, and of the quantities received
by order of the storekeeper-general; also for a list of all
orders in the public service signed by the subordinate
officers.

The question having been put,
Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT said that the Hon. and
Gallant Gentleman who had preceded him was per-
fectly well aware of the practice pursued in
her Majesty's dockyards, timber not being of the
size specified in the contract was rejected, un
less it could be made useful for the public service.
Both the present Admiralty and the last had done all
they could to break down the monopoly which existed in the
timber market, and had endeavoured to establish a fair
competition, but they had been hitherto unsuccessful.
When he (Mr. S. Herbert) came into office, Earl Minto
told him that there was one timber-merchant in the
market, whose influence was so great that no other
merchant was able to compete with him. The Hon. anti
Gallant Officer had spoken of some reductions which he
said were contemplated in our naval force, and had re-
ferred to what foreign Powers were doing, and to the ex-
tent of their forces. Now he (Mr. S. Herbert) knew no
subject more mischievous to be introduced into discus-
sion in that House, than the relative strength of the
forces of this and other countries. Such discussions
only tended to create alarms for which there was, in
fact, no substantial foundation. He was very certain
that, if occasion should ever arise, and it should be ne-
cessary for the Government to ask for assistance, that
House would never be backward with its assistance.—
(Hear, hear.) He did not feel himself justified in giving
the returns asked for by the Hon. and Gallant Officer,
but any information which with propriety he could give,
he should have great pleasure in communicating to him.
After a few words from Mr. FOSTER and Sir CHARLES
NAPIER, _ _ _

Mr. BARNARD said he was glad that some altera-
tion was about being effected in the mode in which those
contracts were made.

Mr. HUME also animadverted in strong terms upon
the manner in which the contracts had been made.

Sir GEORGE COCKBUItN thought that the mode
in which those contracts had been completed in times
past was open to reprehension, but the Admiralty at the
present time were doing all in their power to render the
fulfilment of those contracts as beneficial as possible to
the public.
After a few words from Mr. HUME, the amendment
was negatived, without a division.
STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATES (IRELAND).
Mr. BELLEW, in rising to draw the attention of the
House to the appointment of stipendiary magistrates in
Ireland, had no intention to make any observations on
the debate which had taken place the other night, except
to express his regret that the cause of that debate should
have arisen from the dismissal of ten magistrates who
had been appointed by the last Government. Those
dismissals were not worth much on the score of eco-
nomy, and in every other point of view they had better
not have taken place. The Noble Lord had observed
that it was extraordinary that the late Government, at
the very time they were boasting of the increased tran-
quility of Ireland, should have thought it necessary to
increase the number of stipendiary magistrates. Now,
it appeared to him that the increase in the num-
ber of stipendiary magistrates might be considered
as one of the causes of the increased tranquillity.
He was not opposed to the system of appoint-
ing additional stipendiary magistrates. He thought
there ought to be one attending every petty ses-
sion. They understood their business better than the
local magistrates did; they were not actuated by local pre-
judices, and they acted under the immediate supervision
of the Executive. In England, public opinion was so
strong, and there in general existed such feelings of
mutual goodwill between the eountry gentlemen and their
neighbours, that the local magistrates formed perhaps the
best possible arbitrators for the settlement of local dis-
putes. In Ireland, however, the case was different, and
so strongly was this felt that, even so far back as the
Government of the Marquis of Wellesley, stipendiary
magistrates had been appointed. Their appointment
had been always opposed by the local magistrates, and as
these latter were almost all Tories, the number of sti-
pendiaries had not been greatly increased until the Go-
vernment of the Marquis of Normanby, when the
number was increased to forty. At present there were
about sixty of them, and he was happy to hear that it
was the intention of the Government to keep up the
number. What could be more absurd than that the
administration of justice should be left to the caprice of
country gentlemen ? The machinery for the administra-
tion of justice in the counties of Ireland was more com-
plete than it was in England. In Ireland they had a
public prosecutor in every court of quarter sessions.
They had also the assistant barristers, which they had not
in this country. They were men of sonic standing
at the bar, and were an excellent body of men ;
and then they had the stipendiary magistrates.
He wished to call the attention of the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet at the head of the Government to the cases of
Messrs. Brereton and O'Brien, who had been appointed
stipendiary magistrates by the present Government. It
was well known that in the county of Tipperary, in par-
ticular, the people were not remarkable for confidence in
the administration of justice, and it was, therefore, the
more necessary to make unexceptionable appointments
in that county. In general the people and the prisoner
were on the one side—the police, the Crown prose-
cutor, and the magistracy on the other. A verdict of
acquittal was hailed by the people as a triumph—by the
other side it was regarded with dismay ; a verdict of guilty
was received in the manner of a party victory by those
who should only desire to promote the ends of justice—
the humbler classes were grieved and disappointed at it.
The Noble Lord the Secretary for Ireland must be by
this time aware of the conduct of Mr. Brereton concern-
ing a prisoner who was tried at the Nenagh Assizes,
and of the manner in which that functionary took down
the depositions of the witnesses. The judge on the trial
felt it his duty to say that Mr. Brereton not only neg-
lected his duty, but had violated the law, This
was strong language from a judge, and the Government
could not pass over such gross culpability. Regarding Mr.
O'Brien, it was well known that a short time ago he
was a violent Repealer—a member of the Repeal Asso-
ciation—one of its most active members too. He car-
ried his enthusiasm so far in the Repeal cause that he
refused to drink the health of Lord Ebrington, the then
Lord Lieutenant, at a public dinner in the town of Bal
linasloe. One year he eulogised Mr. O'Connell in the
most ardent and even bombastic manner, declaring he
was worthy of the eternal gratitude of his countrymen—
his praise was so gross that it must have been fulsome
to the most warm admirers of Mr. O'Connell; the next
year he denounced him in the most malignant and in-
temperate language ; he said the people were drilled by
an old lawyer, instead of a soldier—a monster who was
only fit to grace a gibbet. (The Hon. Member read
several extracts from Mr. O'Brien's letters, which were
received by Hon. Members on both side of the House
with visible marks of disgust.) Yet:that was the person
whom the Government had appointed to the office of
stipendiary magistrate, a post which required the great-
est prudence, and the most untainted character.—(Hear,
hear.) Such an appointment was highly objectionable,
on the ground of lowering the standard of public principle
and public morals, as well as shaking the confidence of the
Irish people in the administration of justice. The only
ground that he could see upon which the appointment
of this man could be justified was his gross and filthy
abuse of Mr. O'Connell.—(Bear, hear.) In fact, it was
a premium held out to abuse Mr. O'Connell. Some
years ago, Mr. Blake, a stipendiary magistrate was dis-
missed by Lord Normanby, the then Lord Lieutenant,
because it was ascertained that Mr. Blake had been dis-
missed by a court-martial 24 years before, even although