The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-08 00:00:00

against any person. The Gallant Captain had informed him
that when Mr. Elton was under his command he could base
distuisBe d him (entirely from the service, and 30 far disgraced but he believed the only cause he would have for doing
so was that he exceeded his leave of absence ten or twelve days,
and he must say that if the Gallant Captain through kindness
of heart did not follow it up, Mr. Elton was under deep obli-
gation to him. But still it did not appear to him that the
charge was of much importance. He believed in what he had
!gated that he had not saida single tittle which was not borne out
z.a_,faet; and if he were deceived, no person could feel more
mniignant than he (Mr. Curteis). In conclusion, he would
Y say, as he had begun, that he entirely approved of the
conduct of the Admiralty in remitting Mr. Elton s punishment.
• s tiecsnaPtain BERKELEY said that the Honourable Gen-
• eiasi4l who had just sat down having at the con-
to ar of his speech praised him for his clemency,
tss„. r• Elton, he could only say that he rejected the praise,
o:ttne if he had done his duty the House would never have
7'14 of the subject which was now before them, and the l!pub-
Hwould never have been troubled with Mr. Elton, had he
issed him from her Majesty's service.—( Hear, hear.)
ills said this the more readily as Mr. Elton and
Zs friends were not unknown to him as they were
the Honourable Gentleman, and neither was Captain
(Hear, hear.
unknown to him as he was to the Hon. Member.—
hear.) Mr. Elton's friends happened to be supporters
ora relation of his who had a sea' in that House, so that if he
badr a leaning at all, it would be towards Mr. Elton.
ehn.s Elton joined the Hercules as a volunteer of the first
when when Captain Williams was Lieutenant, whom
;:n promotions took place at the Coronation, he recom-
ehnetadktede to Lord Mint° for his good temper as an officer who
'served advancement, and he had received the common cer-
]tr,,.rkeleyw'sh)ich, as the Gallant Officer knew, was merely given
""e Purpose of carrying their time. On his (Captain
joining the Thunderer, he wrote to Mr.
ift;_on. father, to say that he had a vacancy in his vessel
'415 boy were unemployed, and Captain Williams was then
pointed Commander of that vessel. He could not say whether
plain Williams was in the ship at the time or not, but, at all
nta he was acquainted with every thing that was going for-
tlaey left Plymouth, and,consequently, he was aware of
_thing of which Mr. Elton had been guilty. He
th 7„•
n .ered the answer he had received a few evenings ago from
• ,Gallant Officer opposite, to the question he had put, was
y satisfactory, and that the question had been set at rest,
that there would not have been another word on the sub-
after the court-martial. But that was not allowed to be the
szaricl the Hon. Gentleman was not satisfied with the answer
s?".. had been given by the hsed of the Naval Administration
gcountry*, any
which was satisfactory to him (Capt. B.)
blh.l.lsPed Mr. Elton from going on shore as often as he
' tnd Mr. Elton then deserted. He (Captain B.) put
ehto the House, if a man under his command did the same,
ether he could maintain the discipline of the navy and the
skaracter of a British man of war without giving this man
ee dozen at the gangway 2—( Hear, hear.) This young
Z4n had not the excuse of his first ship, had deserted not for
heWeek or ten days, but for so long a period that if
the had not returned within a very few days of
.
time he did—and that return was not volun-
z7, for he was brought back by an elder brother—
Pbbooks,in of deserter would have been set against him in the
and it would not have been in his (Capt. B.'s)
Power to save him. But on this occasion the young man's
• cider brother implored him so earnestly to look over the young
es„fault-, that, being pressed so urgently by the brother,
Tse feelings did him credit, and knowing his family,
hwishing to excuse him, he said it would be impossible for
to remain in the ship as an example to the
othoter young men, but that he would allow him to join any
bier ship in the navy, if the Captain should be willing to take
When he (Capt. Berkeley) had made him acquainted with
• • : facts connected with his leaving the Thunderer. Captain
Bernard, of the Hercules, having succeeded him, expressed
nnielf willing to take him, and he (Captain Berkeley) said
t.iat he would give Elton a certificate, which was a mere official
14,teument, to enable him to carry the time he had spent in the
h`nonderer, not to Elton himself, but to the Captain, who might
tglie it to him at the end of twelve montls, if he
ould have well conducted himself within that time.
~..cos it appeared that if he (Captain Berkeley) had
t shown clemency, the case would not be be-
ore the House n •w, and the Admiralty might be
Visited for its clemency, as he was now. Now, he came to
• Wia statement of Elton in respect of Captain Williams. Capt.
lliamsi was then on board the Cambridge, in a wide road-
' Stead. Captain Williams was at dinner, and Elton, whose
Tht°lldnet was known to Captain Williams, did what all naval
"'en would see to be an act of the greatest impertinence. He
• asked the Captain for the loan of his boat. Why a Captain's
tv:at was to him what his charger was to the Duke of Welling-
?; and when the charger was ready saddled at the door, a
Duke in the army would have as much right to ask the
1,114 for the loan of his charger for a ride of five miles, as a
'midshipman would have to ask a Captain for the loan of his boat.
Hear, and oh.) The Hon. Gentleman might not know
the etiquette of the service, but Mr. Elton did.—( Hear, hear.)
`E
Must well know that no Commander or Lieutenant would
Captain Williams for a passage in his boat. The Hon.
Wiv'entleman might not know that the five or six men in the boat
ght have been from daylight till dark in attendance on the
Should hare a ull of five miles to the shore and five miles
wash
that Please a subaltern( Hear, hear) _that he might not wish
these should go after dark into a town where liquor was
Plentiful without the presence of an officer. These things
pt not be known to civilians, but they were well known to
hlvl men, and every officer in the Navy would agree with
01. in taking the part of Captain Williams.. It should
farther recollected that if the boat were down in the water,
ateh must remain up to hoist her up. Captain
"liains, therefore, was not wrong in saying there is no an-
.,„
'-cser to the singular application Of Mr. Elton ; and if he
e''aPtain Berkeley) had been applied to under similar circum-
tances, he would have sent for Mr. Elton to the quarter-deck
Atid have reprimanded him for his impertinence.—( Hear,
Laughter. ) The Hon. Gentleman had been somewhat
C,,t,rke upon him (Captain Berkeley), but he thanked God he
ren brought up in the school of strict naval discipline,
• tress Lise had never yet left a ship without hearing cheers and
te nes from every man and officer with whom he had sailed.
etttelthe
Hon. Gentleman who thought he was guilty of
. ,t.O Mr. Elton, ask what scene occurred when he
t,'; '3.) gave up the command of the Thunderer, with which
sas.,;:inied him. He thought now he had proved that Elton
Ilase;,,.."angerous character in the Navy, and that Capt. Wil-
' grant4.Perfectly right in refusing that which he might have
tehoeur„t.inar—tiar officer of a different character, and that the
was justified in its sentence. He would tell
eierntlenourable Gentleman that no Court was more just or
,tc;
eh ent than
a naval court-martial, and that nowhere had ,
• araetee
more weight.
caPtain ROUS • wished to explain the difference that
tllexistd e Honourable Member for Ryo
s, 'and himself n
and when the Honourable Gentleman
aillt7.had commanded a ship as long as he had, he had no doubt he
44sijr`; Would be a wiser and a better man.—( Hear.) It should be
sD 6.ll)orne in mind that when Mr. Elton and Captain Williams met,
is:„.„:the Captain knew that the former had deserted from the Thun-
ta'oer, er, and, therefore, the request of Mr. Elton was a piece of
impertinence. An apology was dictated to Elton by
•sseVeral gentlemanlike officers, but he refused to sign it—when
• 'he did, it was too late. The court-martial took place, and
sentenced him to six months' imprisonment. If this took place
its the French or American Navy, he would have been charged
°kith a felony, for challenging his superior officer, the greatest
(offence a man could commit.—(Hear.) But the very
eircurnstance that he was about to be discharged was
made the cause of an ovation or triumph, and a
great festival was prepared for him. If he (Captain R.) were
en the court_martial, he would have prevented such an act of
Mutiny by sentencing him to s'x months in England. How-
ever, orders came from the Admiralty to discharge the young
loan on his arrival at Portsmouth.—( Hear, and ,‘ No.") Well,
least the First Lord of the Admiralty gave a promise, and
re sentence was set aside. When the young man came on
I.o.oard the Hastings he was in plain clothes instead of being in
lse charge of a sentry. This showed that the service was
joing to the dogs.—(Laughter.) He talked with the Mate
Sinoilthe quarter-deck in familiar conversation. Perhaps the
"n• Gentleman did not know that the quarter-deck was not
1 place for familiar conversation.—(Hear and laughter.)
Captain Lawrence was quite right. A youngster of eighteen to
faY to a man of sixty, " You're a liar, and you know you're a
'er 1" If he (Captain Rous) were in his place, he would
teed him in irons and gagged his mouth.—(Laughter, and
ar, hear.) He hoped he might never see the Hon. Member
it' aye First Lord of the Admiralty.—( Hear, and laughter. )
ne Hon. and Gallant Admiral said he had no fault to find
Wskith the court-martial or the sentence, yet this young man,
?° on his passage home called the Captain a liar, was for-
civets five months of his sentence. Why, if a man did this he
la uld be hanged.—(Laughter.) Hon. Gentlemen might
.ttrh, bt this was no laughing atter or he country. But
t lion.o and Gallant Admiral stumltifiedf the court-martial and
he
Admiralty. He was told that Mr. Elton was
Hth man of family and education. Why, this made
e ease ten times worse.—(Laughter and hear.) If Elton were
Ills nearest relative, he (Capt. B.) would sooner Lave lost his
eaillt hand than have gone to the Admiralty to ask for a day's
have behaved
he were his only child he would say—" You
nave behaved youself like a mad-man, like a fool. If you are
I,4be imprisoned for six months, thank God it's no worse.
1-aughter.) 1 trust you will moderate your mind in future,
(La that you will come out a wiser and a better marl.
v 4ghter' ) Let this finish your education, and remember,—
la:uror brevis est qua nisi punt imperet.' "—( Hear, hear. )
c • CURTEIS explained.
Cotahha„Ptain PECHELL, after the discussion which had just
en Place, could hardly hope to gain the attention of the
s.oie'se, while he asked for some information relating to the
s„, sotea t.hen before the Committee. He wished for
ss Information as to the working of the Act for the
Fegistration
of Merchant Seamen. He had been in-
• urr°44i ed that some short time since, when a merchant ship had
-vet', in Torbay, it had been thought desirable to have
,of Lnformation as to the number and description
,n the crew, but on inquiry it was discovered that
oplei°„°,.° of these men had been regjstered. The general
• sequence
was that the Register-office was of no importance, or
• c_equence whatever. He should be glad of some information
The- the condition and progress of the Registersoffice.
again, with regard to the apprentices. Great
neat ofnt had recently been made by the misplaced
„.. officers commanding naval rendezvous in differ-
'' deurta, who seemed anxious to disover flaws in the in-
tof aprentices on board merchant vessels, for the pur-
akingo advantage of them, and getting the apprentices
eil_enn ter the Navy, thereby seriously inconveniencing the mer-
1. t service. He alluded more particularly to a case which
ft recently occurred at Shields, and which had been brought
IMr' SYDNEY HERBERT denied that there was any
• Skeen the part of the Admiralty to distress the merchant-
a,, and orders had been issued that in every instance an
Chentiee deseiting a merchant ship and seeking to enter the
:left' should be sent back is the merchant ship which he had
With regard to the case which had been alluded by the
has' and Gallant Member for Brighton. A youth of 20
entered at the rendezvous at Shields, and the officer had
a'neePted
himaspprentiee, Tanhde master of a merchant ship claimed him as
produced certain indentures which he
yeturelf acknowledged to be invalid. The youth was desired to
and to the merchant ship, he refused to do so,
• 10 'las not until he had expressed his determination to g,,
had
inn and enter, if he were refused at Shields, that he
the permitted to enter. With respect to the working of
she
nusumas.ore for registration, he had to state that since 1835
15,000, bner of seamen registered in the naval service was
of 45,000nd in the merchant service 30,000, making a total
that of het the
aptrwecaesdeinx:lusive of the last year, and it was
ant'ittet.ol!telmtehn;
t the increase in the last year was equal
'trucere had ,n which was
,about 10,000 ; so
1835 eee upwards of 50,000 seamen registered
a,heaene
aenpprlveast;s a notwithstanding this increase, the demand for
jam' Se that oeerrevveat., that their wages had risen 20 per cent.
gaisstaerstaelaso amounted to about 5,000 annu-
regularly
served
their time
annual supply of 5,000 men o.vho
It time and learned their profession.
iu • was calculat d that the number of seamen employed
6shing vessels e
Inlets more. It had
and other unlicensed craft amounted to 180,000
steanlNl4, joithad been supposed that the introduction of
9f milin`gve'ganutii would tend materially to decrease the number
-e s. Such, however, had not been the case since
d year in which steam navigation had been first intro-
uatin;:er I:ssactiiiniiligter of steamers had increased to 934, but
;;"''g the
ecrease of 4,5 vessels, amounting to 3,610, making a
ter e f seamen
in
18314 vessels since 1814. The French regis.
Zutufroasntabthleatsenanmeen. (as We understood) showed 56,000
e total at present was 98,000 men,
-seventh 'must be deducted on account of