Star.
London, England, 1828-02-26 00:00:00

in the slightest jegree pledge the House to any parti-
cular. opinion, and therefore •he should content himself
with moving, that the sum of '2208,2321. 13".90. be
granie : to his Mijety on account, towards defraying
the charges of the Navy.
On the question being puti
Sir JOSEPH YORKE said, he did not very well
understand the plan upon which the Government were
proceeding. The House had been told the other night
by the Right Hon. Secretary for the Home Department,
that the Committee of Finance could not enter•upon
the question of the quantity of men necessary for the
public service; that that was a point upon which the
Executive Government alone could be a fit judge; and
yet now, from the manner in which Ministers were

caking votes of credit, it would appear that the Finance
Committee was to enter upon the question or quantity.
And if that Committee was not to do so, he thought it
would be placed in a very awkward situation. He re-

membered that a late eloquent leader of that House,
Lord Castlereagh, when speaking of the Finance Com-
mittee in 1817, had said, that it was not to touch their

quantity—that it might propo,e,the reduction, for in-
stance, of the pay of the Army ; but, if it did so, what
Minister would be found to'carry.the recommendation

into practice? It, therefore, appeared to him, the House
should have some distinct understanding as to what the
Finance Committee was to touch, and what it was nut
to touch, before such information should have become

worth!ess. It had been sta•ed, and statea truly, by his
Honourable and Gallant Friend (Sir H: Hardinge), that
the Duke of Wellington had, during the time he was
Master of the Ordnance, reduced the estimates of that

Department nearly 30p001. and what was still more
remarkable was, that the reduction had not only been
effected without weakening the real efficiency of the
Establishment, but that its active force had positivel)
been considerably increased. The statement was in
itself 'excellent, bur he should have been better pleased

if it had had reference to the estimates before the
House. But the Hon. Baronet, whom he re,juiced to see
again playing the first fiddle—:-(Laughter) although his
Hon. and Gallant Friend (Sir (1. Cockburn) had given
way—the lion. Baronet said, he would not detain the
the [louse more than a few minus, s ; he would merely
take a vJte of credit, and then the House could pro-
ceed to the East Retford business, and by such a plan
of pri ceeding the House was really left between two
stools. On the one hand, they were told that the
Cominitt,.e of Finance could not judge of the quan-
tity of force required; on the other hand, prece-
dent would have to go against the judging of the
quality, and yet the House was called on for a •o'e of

credit without going into the Eitimates, on the score that
the Finance Committee was 'sitting. Looking at the
Estimates before the House, it did appear to him that
some of the great items might be reduced with great
propriety, and he mentioned the subject in order that
it should be noticed either by the House or by the
Finance Committee; he cared not whiei. He wished
to know it the Government were prepared to lay before
the Committee any particular statement, for instance,
with reference to the number of ships kept in a state of

complete rep-air.in ordinary? found that one item
alone in the Estimates was 800,000/. for timber and
building ma:erials. That was an immense sum,
and the Hothe or the Committee ought to be made
'acqtiainted with the intentions of the Government as

to its continuance. The tact was, that there were 110
sail of lice-of•battle ships in ordinary, and from the
estimate it would appear that it was intended to keep
up that force. What, then, he wanteJ to know was—
whether any plan had been agreed upon, whether they

had made up their minds upon the subject, and whe•
ther the Committee was to be allowed to investigate
the matter? Ile hoped he should not be thought
unkind in what he was saying, for he was a sincere friend
to the Government, and only wished to throw out such
hints as might be serviceable. In that spirit, then,
he would make a few more observations. At the instance
of the Honourable "Member fur Aberdeen, the Navy.
Estimates for 1792 had been printed, and certainly,
when he looked at those Estimates, and compared them
with those for 1828, there were schne items in the
latter which appeared not a little curious. Bet: he
Would confine himself to the ships in ordinary. In 1792
there were in all 414 ships in ordinary; and in 1828 he
found that there were-514. In 1792 there were 4,224
men victualled at an expense of 93,0001. to keep up the
.414 ships ia ordinary ; and in 1828 there were 2,780
victualled at an expense of 105,8131. to keep the
.514 ships in ordinary. Now that appeared to him:
to require a great deal of explanation. The dis-
proportion in the charges was immense. But that-was
not all, for in 1792 there were 12,0001. allowed in con-
sideration of the ships which might be called into active
service, while in the Estimates for the present year their
was no such allowance at all—nothing of the kind was
mentioned ; so that he almost thought there was some
lniatake in the printing. He had adopted that method of
bringing the subject b.:foie the House at once, because,
it appeared to him to be the must correct, and the most
constitutional one which was open to him. He wits
convinced that the subject should be investigated some
where or other, and it was for the advisers of the Council
of the Lord High Admiral to say where. He would not
run against Royal authority; no man had less dispo-
sition to do so than he had. It was the Council of his
Royal Highness that he held responsible ; and it was
their predecessors who had been held responsible 120
years ago, in the time of Queen Anne. If they gave
bad advice, woe be onto them—(4 laugh)—and he
begged it to be understood that such was his feeling
while. speaking on the subject to which he was just
going to allude. The House had heard something
the other night about 50,000 jackets, by
.the sale of
which, it would appear, the country was to be a con-
siderable loser. Some disclosure or statement had been
made by an Hon. Member, who perhaps from experience
was particularly well able to sp:ak to the point, add he
(Sir J. Yorke) wished for some information from his
Hon. and Gallant Friend (Sir G. Cockburn) upon the
question. He had understood that there were 50,000
jackets on hand, for each of which 12s. 6d. would be
charged, and that the Lord High Admiral had, by the
advice of his 'Couacil, directed that those jackets should'
at Once be disposed of, and replaced by a better article.
And that the Council had further advised that care at
tbealOps should be transferred from the Atleim shoulders
of the Navy Boatd to the weakly ones of the Victualling
Office.'Then if those jackets were sold at 10-. each, time
would' be at once *loss of 25,0001. to the public. But in
point of • policy, as the measure affected the Navy, he
objectediolt. He would ask' his Gallant Friend (wej
'believe Sir G. Cockburn) than whom the Navy had
•
never possessed more able Captain when he was otte,l
if be 'slid not recollect that slopping seamen was a.suls-
•ject- open' which too much caution could be hardly
;,hewn? But [he ttiuniphant'part of the mew plan seemed'
'to' be, that it took it out of the hands-ot the Jews—of'
tliote'hotriblefellows the Jews; and intd whose hands,
tie'v/Aufti ask,:did it place it? Why, into those of the
Gentiles—(Laughter)--the veriest Gentiles upon earth,
ikho, instead of charging the sailor its. would in all
probability charge bias 245. And what moon was