The Sun.
London, England, 1810-03-20 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

- •
L7rd'Met.triLLE -moved for a number. of Papers
which he expeded.would throw light on, and ascer-
tain the present sate of every thing couneded with
:the Navy,- and afford grounds for many improve-
-I'letits in that Most important branch of tne national'
defence.: His first, motion was for a return of the
tittinber of sock-yards, in the. kingdom, the number
41 docks each Contained; the number -of ships each
duck contained, distinguishing how many there
.'titre of the: first class, and the different rates of the
liifrrior ships. .
The Noble Viscount next moved for an account
el the numbei, of skii.s in'each dock, distinguishing
for what-classes:and. rates of ships they ,'were -de-
bigned.

•1115 Lordship, after several other *motions to the
:,satire erreCt, Moved for an'account of number of
artificers employed in eSch clock-yard; distinguisio•
ing ttie number of those. who :were employed en
• new winks. -
The Duke. of .Nbapoeic did not conceive it be
. v"ry proper to ,produce suchinioute bafOrmation
re-
SPeo`ting.the state of the Navy. He thought it ra-
tier unusual to move-for-Such a number of doeu-
:kents, without any statement auk motives and
the objects for which they- were moved. - Beptdes,
he did not -oonsid:fr it Is' very. prudent to lay betore
the world a circumstantial detail of the state of the-
, -Navy; and he was 'rather surprised that the sr oble
'Lord at the head of the Adthiraliy- had made no Lib-
'.
iection to the--Production-ot Ahem. • '
• - Lord MvLGaavE confessed that he was ignorant
of the motives and: ends Which-:induced the 'Noble.
Vilcount to move-for such detailed information. -He
had consulted with:himself-if such-a thing' was un-
Usual, and found --there was a precedent for it in
• 1806 or 1806, when a Noble Lord (Darnley) moved
-tor nearly as many. documen ts. respecting the state of
the Navy, preparatory to a Motion .with regard to
The necessity. of - building ships of war. in the mer-
thaots' yards. Hiving that precedent •in
.his eye,
And being- desirous to afford the, Noble Viscount
•etery information his power, and trusting ro the
tiscretion with which he was., sole the Noble Vis-
ount would use -it, lie- felt a-iehiCtatice'tciinake,
any Opposition to the motions of the Noble*Vis‘
count. - •
•' The Duke Of NOR.Foi.ic and Lord MELvit.t.ri mtii-
tOally explained-. -
Lord Gaav- did not imagine there could be any
14anget in acceding to the motionsof the Noble Vis.,
Count. Such motions evinced. a vigilant anxiety on
the part of that House respecting every, thiog eon-
. neaed with such-an essential part of -our establish-
.rterits as the Navy, nor 'could the producticin of
113cli accounts be dangerous, *as 'conveying improper
information to the e`nemy: The enemy -might have
ih.234alac. .0,o,•
.'*night have it frora,Steel's Monthly List. Neither;
--was it necessary to be guided by any .precedent in
' the produCtion of sochiiofortnatioo.. A case might
.arid where there was no pr,ecedent for the produ6,'
thin of tertian) information which might still be of
a nature the most-urgently to require. the' minutest
infornaation, and in itself to justify ihe produuion
Of it. The. Noble Viscount 'Ad made many mo-
tions, the 'object of which seemed to be to ascer-
tain ie state of the dock-yards, and to shew that
whips in Ordinary might be prepared and usefully eti-f-
Ployed as transports for troops ;' but there were seize
of his:l-notions, that for example, for the number of
artificers employed in:the-docks, Which did not ap-
pear to him to have any,- bearing Whatever in the
,
professed object of the Noble Viscount's motions.
k . Lord MELVILLE had no difficulty in avowing the
object of his motion, It was to shew that at a
time when we were so much at' a kiss' fortransports
to convey troops, and incurring. such -heavy expetice.
'in procuring thena,•we alight, avail- ourselves of the
, • . ships laid up in ordinary, which would answer the
: Purpose much more effectually, ,and at a- much
'smaller expence. The Noble Earl would see the-
conneetion of his obje& will his last motion, se-
-sPeeting the number of-artificers : forrhy ascertain-
'mg the numberof artificers who were en4loyed.on
• new work, he would ascertain, at the same time,
-, the-number of hands that might be emplciyed in re,
Pairing and 'fitting out 'the ships-in •ordinarY to serve
*, as transports ; for he :would contend that there was
at present no necessity for building new ships, and
• • that, consequently, all,the hands now employed on
, new work might be turned over to the repairing the
ships in ordinary to s.rve for transports. As to the
..danger of conveying such information to the enemy,
the objeaion• of the. Noble Duke might be well-
' founded, If the object of his motions had been to
publish details respecting the. state ;of the :fortifica-
, halls -of our different -dock-lards .and naval de-
Pots.. „
- Lord DARNLgy did not think there was...any simi-
larity between the object of the motion he had for-
merly submitted to the Reuse onn-a naval subjea
• and the nature of the information now moved for.
1-lis object was to ,prove*there was no necessity for
building ships of war in the merchants' docks, and
teat the Noble-Viscount had caused ships to "be built
there at an enoi mous expetice. • I •
Lord MELVILLE' and Earl GREY had some forther
conversation respecting the objeci of the different
motions,- and the conntaion of the accounts ploy-
'ed f-or, with the precise- nature of their profes-
sed objea, after which the cidestion -was pat on
the different motions, which were agreed to.---Ad-
journed. - .