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No. 490. Aua. 13, iftflOT THE XEADEB. 93...
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PAYING OFF.—NAVAL RESERVES. In former ti...
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ITALIAN STATESMEN. TJ&KANO BATTiLZZI; S1...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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A Vision Of Whitebait. On Wednesday Last...
ing , all things went wellwHe the firm was Kussell anSPalmerston ; but now that ^¦ '"• . ^ J ^ SS and Russell , all things were going to the bad . ± ne Premier would have sneered at the ^ notion ol S and the Chancellor of the Exchequer would have chuckled at the idea of the repeal of the Income-tax . Milner Gibson must have got maudlin over his radical reminiscences , and fear Charles Wood would have cried over the figures of the Indian budget . Coraewall Lewis would have stigmatised himself as a bore , and Lowe denounced himself as a humbug . Can it be true , as . our Ulyssean waiter whispers , almost maudibly , that the evening terminated by Lord John Russell iYiaistfno- . irwi ftomic sonars , and a visit to the Cyder
Cellars ! while Mr . Gladstone proposed a trip to Cremorne , in order to study the great problem of our social existence .
No. 490. Aua. 13, Iftflot The Xeadeb. 93...
No . 490 . Aua . 13 , iftflOT THE XEADEB . 939
Paying Off.—Naval Reserves. In Former Ti...
PAYING OFF . —NAVAL RESERVES . In former times , after the State had ceased to need the services of the seamen it ; had seduced by bounties , or had impressed , it relentlessly turned them adrift . It paid them off ; and , at the end of every naval war , the country was suddenly inundated with unemployed starving , begging , and sometimes stealing , seamen . According to the old song- — " Says Jack Tar , I'll go on the highway ; Better do that than do worse ; And the first jolly farmer I meet , Bid him hand out the slack of his purse . And very often the disbanded sailor did go on the highway , and so revenged on society some of the injuries which , through the instrumentality of those who administered its affairs , society had inflicted on him . In those times the Admiralty forced men on board ship when they wanted them , and when they wanted them no longer forced them on shore , the whole service being coercion from first to last . The service has since become partly voluntary . Not that , the Admiralty ever had the good sense to obtain for the State the credit of renouncing impressment , which it was disgracefully compelled to give up , in spite of its inclination to retain and use it . Habituated , however ,
saw them . He would acquire such a familiarity withthewhole business of a ship that he would practise it with comparative ease when required ; Thus free and voluntary service—the men going as well as coming at their option—is better even than a conscription or a militia for diffusing through the whole population the knowledge of the ways of a man-of-war . To discharge trained men at their own desire— -not in the brutal manner they were formerly thrust on shore after being forced on board—would begin the education of youth for the service of the State . The paying-off was wrong when done by a board which , in spite of
experience , relies on arbitrary regulations , and prefers its own devices to the wise maxims of civil polity . At the commencement of a war many seamen are wanted speedily ; arid the problem which has engaged the attention of the Manning Commissioners , the Admiralty , and the Legislature , is how to get them ; and these several bodies have come to the conclusion to form in the coast-guard in a body of seamen attached to the coasting trade , & c , at the expense of 600 , 000 Z . per annuma naval reserve . The palpable fault of the scheme is that it does not add one man to the actual
at least were ^ including some very great men ennobled for their service *—if they do not know the meaning of the word capdbar , as the tailor knows the meaning of the word cabbage . And how can gentlemen , who are solemnly intent on filling their own purses , not always honestly , expect that the sailor shall serve for little or nothing ? To seek wealth is the grand pursuit of the whole nation , and the sailor runs with the rest . At thfe same time , there is not another class in the community in which the noble sentiments predominate , as in the seamen , above sordid selfishness .
resources of the navy _ , but throws it for help on some other services , impeding them when war breaks out . Sir Charles Napier ' s plan—which is also a very old plan of increasing the number of seamen embarked on board our ships in peace , and of embarking in them sailors exclusively—^ -has the merit of costing much less than the Commissioners ' scheme , and of adding , during peace , to the number of seamen in existence . It would tend to equalise the number of seamen required in peace and in war ; and the chief reserve being in the marine barracks , or the whole body of marinesa war would not—as with the system of
, reserves now adopted— -necessarily impede any business or trade . Our real reserve , beside the extra seamen and marines , would be found inall the youthful maritime population of the empire , who would be eager to serve in the navy , were it not degraded by the stinking-fish cry of its frightened chiefs , whenever the country was really threatened . Nothing is necessary to secure the national supremacy at sea , so far as the supply of men is concerned , but to make service in the navy entirely voluntary , and employ only seamen in our men-of-war during peace .
Such a plan , however , supposes that the ^ Admiraity should have confidence in the maritime population ; and the Admiralty , unfortunately , thinks that it must do everything , and provide for everything , or nothing will be done , nor provided for . In fact , to think otherwise would be derogating from its authority , abdicating its functions , admitting its partial inutility ; and to hide its weakness , to make a show of usefulness , and retain its powez , it inflicts incredible mischief on the community . If the general Government believed that the people would not feed themselves , unless it made regulations for the purpose , it could not act
more absurdly than the Admiralty , which from believing that they will not defend the country , bribes or forces them to do it . At this moment , according to 2 Vti ' . Cardwell , there are 60 , 000 British seamen in the United States ; and those who know these jnen believe that they , as well as the whole maritime population of the Empire , are proud of England ' s navnl greatness , ana would , were it not for the terrible mistrust of the Admiralty and its consequences , rush to her aid , were she in danger . They might , in fnct , be counted on as port of her great navalreserve . In comparison with the inimenso force which perfectly free service would place at her command , the old pensioners ,
the coast-guards , and the lured volunteers , about which the Manning Commissioners and the Admiralty say an immense deal , are more driblets not worthy of one moment ' s consideration . The reserve of the nation is the whole maritime population * and to secure its services in time of need it is only necessary that the Admiralty should have confidence , do justice , and fear nothing 5 or othorwiso should stand out of tho way . Wo do not j at the same time , suppose tho seamen to bo insensible to the charms of a good money payment . Why should jthoy bo P Their bettors nro not Admirals and captains , and Lords of tho Admiralty , and our very groatost patriots anxiously oontract for a large remuneration . Why should the sailor give Ws time for nothing P Pay him woll . Tlio upper members of the profession arc much belied
to coercion , and blinded , like other despots and like slave owners , to all rational means of accomplishing its objects , it continued the old p when a totally different measure was required . Owing to the use of steam , improved artillery , and various other circumstances , the business of a man-of-war ' s seaman has become very different from the business of a merchant seaman . He has especially to be . taught , and learns to handle artillery . Nevertheless , at the close of the Russian war , the Admiralty turned adrift a number of drilled , and trained men , whose services it now needs , and is not able to procure . The folly of this has become p lain € 0 the veriest land lubber that ever spoke in Parliament , and has of late called down on the Admiralty much deserved censure . In defiance of freedom and national
sentiment , this discredited board has made our naval pre-eminence depend exclusively 6 n _ regulations , and it gets scared out of its wits by finding that it has neither the skill to frame , nor the power to carry out , regulations equal to the French Government . For it , therefore—after it has made the navy entirely distinct from the mercantile marine—to disband its own trained men , was putting the nation to expense , and exposing it to danger . At tho same time , under other circumstances , we are inclined to think that paying off the seamen , or getting the trained men to mix with tho rest of the population , would bo an excellent means of instructing our youth in the
first elements of naval warfare . Our old and still execrable syatem of flogging , & c . inducos the authorities , ns tho rule , to Jkeop all the gulls they can catch , and prevent a knowledge of what they do being diffused through tho land . Were the service wholly voluntary , with no other restriction as to time than that imposed by circumstances- —such as that of a ship going to the East Indies—a much greater number of tho people than now would try thoir luck on board a manof-war . At nil times " much useful knowledge is transmitted from man to man , without tho intervention of tho schoohnastor ,, tho book , or' the newspaper ; and from those who wore returning from , their service or voyage , an aspiring youngster might learn much about reefing a topsail , sponging a gun , and heaving tho load , before ho
Italian Statesmen. Tj&Kano Battilzzi; S1...
ITALIAN STATESMEN . TJ & KANO BATTiLZZI ; S 1 GN 0 & Rattazzi , the present Minister of Victor Emmanuel , and virtual head of the Piedmontese Cabinet , is one of the best known and most energetic of Italian statesmen . By accepting the resignation of Count Cavour * af ter the prehininariesV the Peace of Villafranca , and by nominating Rattazii to the Ministry , the King of Piedmont has unmistakably proved to Italy and to Europe that he accepted French sixbeour in the late Italian War simply from the consciousness oi life own inability to overcome the Austrian arms . He knew but too well the uncertainty , -if not the inv possibility , of employing Italian force for the attainment of Italian nationality ; The choice df Rattazzi as Minister is an additional ptfoof , if suel were needed * of the positive and unwavering ; tendencies of the King towards maintouiSfig an indej pendent line of policy , though recently compelled by circumstances to accept fbfeigiiaid . . ¦ _ Si < mor Rattaz ^ i was born at Gasale . He * as brought up to the law , and practised in his native town as an advocate- ^ a profession which in . Ital * , as in France , is considered one of the most liberal * and looked upon as affording an opening tor ttie most noble and independent publie career . In consequence of his profound legal knowledge ana his intimate acquaintance with the Piedmontese laws , as comprised in the code promulgated by the present Savoy dynasty , Rattazzi practised with the mo'st decided and flattering success until 1848 . In that year he sat in the Chamber of Deputies for the city of Alessandria , and not long afterwards formed nart of the Casati Cabinet in the department of
Public Instruction . He resigned this office after the peace of Milan , and subsequently held office under the Minister Gioberti as Keeper of the Seals . Ibis Cabinet being dissolved on the question of restoring the Pope and Grand Duke of Tuscany , prior to the unfortunate battle of Novara , he returned to Casale and resumed the practice of his profession . In 1850 he was re-elected deputy , and the Liberal party numbered him among its most energetic adherents . He is a man of ready mental resources , a clever reasoner , and good orator ; his acute , decided , telling speeches are eminently adapted to settle disputed questions and to detect and expose the distorted and fallacious views of his opponents . Rattazzi , like Cavour , represents Ital y truly free and an independent nation , and in this character he was admitted to the Cabinet in 1851 with the portfolio of the Interior and of Justice . It was at this period that his political character first became fully developed . He proposed two projects of law—one with reference to the convents , the other to mortmain , —and by means of these laws he shook the priestly edifice to its very foundation . Sacerdotal and monastic tyranny , cnoroacbment , privilege , and abuse , exercised for the aggrandisement ' of the hierarchy and oppression ofthe people , were by them restrained and annulled . By these two laws Rattazzi succeeded in establishing the principle of religious toJance ; a principle winch forms tlw basts of * oowl liberty without which political freedom can JW « "gj His liberalism was not yet satisfied , but wont aWJ further He introduced and corned n . bi I through the 01 amber of . Deputies in favour of cm umrrhW But the Piedmonteso aristocracy , which m more exclusive than the Austrian , the Prussian , or S ? eSSbC eausea tho rejection ofthe law by the Senate , and Rattazzi in consequence retired from the ministry . Tho Cumber of Deputies then nominuted him president , a post which ho filled with ffi-oat wisdom and honour . In 1357 the question was raised in tho Chamber of tho trons / bronco of tho mftritimo arsenal from Genoa to Nice . On this occasion RatfeuMsi struggled offoinat tho municipal spirit exhibited by Genoa , and croatly forwarded tho wise and juet project of tho Minister of War . He has ever beoa opposed
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 13, 1859, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_13081859/page/15/
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