HC Deb 24 July 1840 vol 55 cc960-8
Colonel Dawson Damer

This vote, to woich I beg to call the attention of the House, is one of 21,600l. for carrying letters for seven months from Falmouth to Alexandria; and is, if I am not in error, in addition to a sum of above 30,000l. per annum, paid the Peninsular Steam Company for carrying the mails to Vigo, Lisbon, Cadiz, and Gibraltar; and one of 3,000l. per annum given for the same service between Alexandria and Beyrout; and these combined would make yearly a sum of upwards of 70,000l. given for the exclusive purpose of carrying letters. Now, when this sum is added to 300,000l. a-year about to be given to another company for carrying letters across the Atlantic, these sums together will amount to nearly 400,000l. per annum, exclusive of the sums paid to the French government for carrying letters through France destined for India and the Levant, and which must be a considerable charge, if I may judge by what has happened to myself, having had last week 16s. to pay for a letter from Smyrna. I cannot help thinking, Sir, that so large a sum of money as this had far better be laid out in increasing the Royal steam navy, an object that may not be inopportune at the present time, and I trust this House will concur with me in this opinion. Having very recently, Sir enjoyed opportunities of hearing the opinions on the spot of many able officers serving in the Mediterranean, as well as those of the principal British merchants trading in the Levant, I became impressed with the magnitude and importance of the interests, commercial and military, that are at stake in those regions. I beheld the Mediterranean traversed in all directions by the armed steamers of other powers. I heard of the subjects of one of those powers declaring, with their accustomed boasting, that the Mediterranean was becoming what it ought to be—a French lake. I witnessed the creation of a formidable array of French armed steamers under the denomination of packets; I saw them in operation, and the expense of them very much defrayed by English travellers; while, on the other hand, I found that the British had but one communication monthly between Alexandria and Marseilles, one monthly between Alexandria and Beyrout, and one twice a month between England and Malta, which were chiefly for the transmission of public documents and returns between the Ionian Islands and Malta with the War and Colonial offices at home. It is to alter this state of things, Sir, unless valid reasons can be given why it should not be altered, that I am anxious. I am desirous of improving our communications in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, not by contracting with private companies for temporary purposes, but by the employment of a greater number of the gallant officers and men of her Majesty's navy, and by the putting in commission of a greater number of steam-vessels of a superior class, that would be available, should unfortunately any event occur that could endanger the peace of the world, and that could in the mean time carry on the Post-office and packet service in a far more satisfactory and efficient manner than is the case at present. A first good that would be obtained, Sir, would be the avoiding the evils of all contracts. Instead of the Government having nothing to show for its money at their termination, it would remain in possession of its own vessels—they and their engines belonging to the country; and thus a foundation would be laid for the creation of a numerous and formidable steam fleet under martial law, that would require but the addition of a few marines to make it available and competent for any service. I think, Sir, that the House will concur with me in opinion that it is becoming the dignity of this nation that it should be the British navy in all its branches that should ride predominant in all seas; and that, above all, she should possess a long list of scientific officers, and a powerful force in armed steamers, such, for instance, as the Gorgon and Cyclops, and vessels of their class, of which the country may be justly proud, although I believe they have not answered all the expectations formed respecting them, and that we should not again have recourse to altering ten-gun brigs into steamers, some of which, it is now notorious, can neither sail nor steam. As I have before said, Sir, our communications within the Mediterranean are limited to one monthly steamer between Marseilles and Alexandria, and between the latter place and Beyrout. The communication between Malta and the Ionian Islands is now kept up by ten steam-vessels, which are maintained for that particular purpose, at a vast expense, without any adequate return or result whatever, because almost all passengers and letters take the route of Italy instead of Malta, and are conveyed by Austrian steamers from Ancona to Corfu and to Athens; and I will here observe, that on a sea that is studded with the steamers of other nations the means of communication by British steamers is so scanty, that our Admiral at Malta having to communicate with his fleet has to send vessels expressly for that purpose—an expense that would be very much curtailed did British steamers start from Malta once a fortnight in all directions within the Mediterranean, as had been proposed in plans laid before the Board of Admiralty. If the Government would consent that all plans and calculations laid before the Board of Admiralty, with a view to improve our communications in the Mediterranean, should be presented to this House, I have little doubt that most, if not all, the suggestions contained in them would be carried into effect. The case would appear so strong a one, that the money wanted, but a very small sum, if the transatlantic contract be finally completed, would be cheerfully given, and a stop at once be put to the hiring of private vessels. There is one branch of this subject, Sir, that has an important bearing, and is calculated, I think, to induce many hon. Gentlemen who now hear me to concur with me in my opinions. It is an old adage, that the readiest way to preserve peace is to be prepared for war, and they will, I am sure, think with me, that in adopting measures for carrying out this worldly maxim, no alarms, no apprehension of exciting the jealousy of other powers, who are notoriously well prepared for either attack or defence, ought to induce us to abstain from adopting such precautions as would prove our security and bulwark in times of war, should not the knowledge of our being in such a state of preparation become the happy means of preserving peace. I call upon all gentlemen connected with India to lend me their assistance. They will, perhaps, be surprised to learn, that after all that has been said respecting the speed with which letters are conveyed between Bombay and England, that speed, according to my own experience, may be augmented by four or five days by the employment of a more efficient class of steamers, such as the Alecto and Prometheus, which have recently been placed on that station. Then, Sir, the correspondence with India, the commerce of the Levant, and the convenience of the numerous public servants who, with their families, are daily passing to and fro between India and England, and who are now very generally taking the route of Egypt, demands from this House some attention to the subject; and to this list I will add that of the numerous travellers in the East, chiefly British, who, were other arrangements made, would contribute very materially to defraying the expense of them. I hold in my hand an authentic list of passengers in the Mediterranean, and by this it appears that by English steamers, on an average of fifteen moths, the numbers have been as follows:—

Between Gibraltar and Malta 19 monthly.
Malta and Alexandria 24
Malta and Corfu 6
49
By French steamers, on an average of the last eighteen months:—
Between Malta and Alexandria 62 per month
Malta and Marseilles 68
130
And, during the last six months, 500 of these were English; and to give the House some idea of what will be the probable increase of our commerce in the Levant, I can state, from information received on the spot, that the Austrian. Steam Company, running between Constantinople and Trebisond, carried goods during the last year of the value of upwards of a million, chiefly British. All commercial men, all insurance-offices, all owners of colonial property, are deeply interested in the question. I will ask, and I think, Sir, the attention of the public ought to be called to the matter, particularly at the present time, when the position of the East has placed us in so delicate a position with other powers, what in the event of any misunderstanding with our more immediate neighbours, or with our northern allies, would be the amount of danger by which our coasts and commerce would be threatened. Is there any protection anywhere but at Portsmouth and Plymouth? Is Sheerness protected from a coup de main?What is there to protect our trade at Dungeness, or off the South Foreland? And may not the same question be put, and answered equally unsatisfactorily, respecting all the coasts of this island? Then, Sir, to what has this country to look in cases of emergency, as I suppose this House is not prepared to vote large sums for the purpose of erecting works on shore, but to a formidable force of armed steamers, that ought ever to be held ready, and which might be made to spring out of an establishment such as had been proposed to the Admiralty to form, in place of hiring vessels, on board of which neither martial law nor discipline would be found to exist, if wanted on an emergency for the purpose of war? The adoption of this plan would be doubly beneficial. It would add to our national dignity in all parts of the world: it would encourage and increase a class of scientific officers of which the country is every day becoming more and more in need. If we could get a sight of these recommendations, Sir, I have no doubt it would be demonstrated that the efficiency of this branch of the service might be increased to a very considerable extent at pretty much the same annual cost as the present system; and I think it would then be seen, that if a first outlay were required, the sum would not be large, or that, even if large, the House would not hesitate to vote the money when the honour and advantage of the British navy were at stake. If these papers could be got at, Sir, it would be seen that plans have been laid before the Board of Admiralty in the course of this year, prepared by able officers, and recommended, I believe, very strongly for adoption by the highest officer on the Mediterranean station, by which it was suggested that communication should take place twice a month between Portsmouth or Southampton and Malta, touching at Lisbon and Gibraltar, to be carried on without any delay from Malta to Zante, then to drop the Ionian Islands mails, then to the Piraeus with the letters for our Minister at Athens, and then on to Smyrna and Constantinople with the despatches for the fleet and our Ambassador at that port. By this arrangement the two steamers kept to run between Malta and Corfu would be discontinued, and a considerable saving would be effected, because the Ionian Islands have steamers of their own that could meet the Government boats at Zante. A second communication would take place twice a month between Alexandria and Marseilles instead of once, as at present, by which messengers and letters could reach Constantinople in fifteen or sixteen days, and Alexandria in fourteen—a considerable saving of time when compared with the present system, whether by French or English steamers; and these same steamers could be made to keep up the same communication that now exists between Alexandria and Beyrout at about one half the sum now paid annually for a sailing vessel for that service—viz., 3,000l. per annum. By the adoption of this plan, the necessity for sending expressly steamers to communicate with the fleet would be very much discontinued, as also that for sending messengers overland from London to Constantinople—a very expensive article in diplomatic accounts. The convenience of this mode, Sir, would be such, that all comers from India would adopt it, because it would give them time to pass leisurely through Egypt. All British travellers would, for reasons well known in the Levant, but which I shall forbear to mention here, naturally prefer national vessels to French ones, as affairs are marching so fast in the East, that it is probable the adoption of this plan would lead to a more perfect communication between Suez and Bombay. I think, Sir, I may with confidence assert that all our ambassadors, consuls, and all commercial men in the Levant, are anxious that this or some such plan should be adopted. And that the House may form some idea of the class of vessels that ought to be built or adapted for the service, I can state, on the authority of persons well competent to give an opinion, that vessels of the size of the Alecto and Prometheus, and of 200-horse power of steam, would be fully equal to carry on all the duties of the packet and Post-office service, and would at the same time be able to carry in their holds, until wanted for use, and without straining the vessels, two eight-inch Paixhans guns, which commercial vessels, were even their scantling strong enough, could not do in the efficient manner of vessels built for the purpose, lam informed that the present complement of officers and men would suffice, and that they would only require the addition of one officer and 25 marine artillerymen to each vessel to render them fit for war; and the necessity for having these men ready for service would lead to what many Members of the House have much at heart—the increase of that admirable and gallant corps the Royal Marine Artillery, In conclusion I have to state, that if the information I have received be correct, 150,000l. would more than suffice for a first outlay in establishing such a system, and that if the transatlantic contract were not completed, 700,000l. would be enough to build a sufficient number of vessels of the size of the Cyclops and Gorgon, to carry out all the objects of that contract. Thus the country would get rid of ruinous bargains. It would not again have the mortification of seeing so large a sum as 3,000,000l. given to a private company for carrying letters, and the Government have little or nothing to show for so lavish an expenditure at the expiration of ten years, and for purposes which, if they can be beneficial to private companies, need not be a losing concern to the state. In closing these observations, I beg to inform the House and the public, that within the last month the French Government has contracted in this country for 16 pairs of engines of the largest size. This inform a don I have obtained from a party to whom this contract was proposed, and requires no comment from me. This statement is fully borne out by the publication of the French budget for the next year, by which it appears that the French have now at sea 30 armed steamers, of from 120 to 450 horse power, and are taking such vigorous means for adding to this branch of their service, that the steam power, which is at present that of the average power of 3,140 horses, will in the course of the next year be nearly doubled, or 5,780.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer

said, the question raised by the hon. Member did not relate to practical details, but to great principles, whether the course of policy which this Government had always pursued, of employing vessels by contract, should be continued, or whether it should do as the French Government did, take the communication into its own hands. The policy of England had always been entirely different from that of France in this respect. He was not there to criticise the policy pursued by other countries, but to defend the principle we had adopted—that it was not for this Government to occupy the lines of communication by armed steamers, but rather to encourage and assist the private enterprise of the country—to aid it, but not to interfere with it. And if the time should come when vessels which were employed in peace were required for war, the country would find, that by having encouraged commercial enterprise and private speculation, a sufficient supply of steamers would be obtained when occasion occurred. That he believed to be the real policy of England, and the reason why a different policy was pursued in France might be, that the Government was forced to do what it could not find private companies able or willing to do. With respect to the Mediterranean, all these objects were matters of contract; but the Mediterranean was not the whole world; it was a small space, and not of such great importance. All that was required was, that there should be a certain amount of communication for India and the Levant, and we had not thought it necessary to employ our energies there. But you must look at the relative importance of different objects. If England did not employ her energies there, look at other parts of the world—the communication with India and North America, the great lines of communication with the West Indies and the western coast of America; these were more important points than the small ports of the Mediterranean, and these great lines of communication had not been neglected by the Government. He was bound to tell the hon. Gentleman, that there were much greater lines and objects than those of the Mediterranean. The communication with the Brazils was of far greater importance than the convenience of gen- tlemen travelling in the Mediterranean. These objects the Government were quietly pursuing. But the French were benefitting the world, and English commerce in particular, by their steamers. The trade with Trebisond was chiefly in English goods. All the great lines of communication in the Mediterranean were beneficial to English commerce. With regard to India, a mail had arrived in India, on the 4th of April, in 32 days from England. His experience had been different from that of the hon. Gentleman. The mercantile interest in this country, so far from wishing that the communication should be taken into the hands of Government, in their communications with him, had said, "You manage your letters, and leave commerce and private enterprise to us;" and he believed it to be far better to leave the whole plan in the hands of a company to manage.

Mr. Goulburn

said, the right hon. Gentleman appeared to have misunderstood the hon. Gentleman, who did not mean that Government should interfere with commercial communications, but he thought that armed steamers might be made the means, in the event of a war arising, of affording a ready armament, and enabling us to compete in this respect with other nations. When the right hon. Gentleman spoke of the availability of the steamers engaged in the execution of the contract, it would be desirable to ascertain whether that would be an economical mode in case of an emergency. Would it be economical to make purchase in such case of vessels not built for warlike operations? What plan had been resorted to at the commencement of the late war when there happened to be a deficiency? Ships were then purchased, which, after having considerable sums expended upon fitting them out, were afterwards found to be inefficient. It was the bounden duty of those who had the administration of the naval department to show that an available force was ready in the event of an unexpected breaking out of war, and to prove that the country, in such an event, had an adequate means of defence corresponding with the naval force of the enemy.—Vote agreed to.