Mr. Humepresented a petition from George William Butler, relative to the important subject of Impressment. This petition was he said, drawn up by a man who had had a great deal of experience in the navy, and what he stated seemed well deserving of serious attention. The party submitted, that he had been twenty years in his majesty's navy. There were four causes to which the evils attendant upon the naval service might be attributed. These were first, the unlimited time of service; and the petitioner instanced cases, where men were impressed on their return from abroad, and detained in the service for a period of thirteen years, with, at the end of that time, a leave of absence of fourteen days, after which the parties were again sent on service, where they remained nine years without intermission. The second cause was the capricious discipline with respect to punishment and dress. The third, the being placed under the control of mere boys, acting as midshipmen and masters' mates, who were not sufficient judges as to whether men did their duty properly or not, and who yet nevertheless had the power of punishment. There was, he observed, a considerable improvement in the navy in this respect since the close of the war, but he believed much still remained to be done. The fourth cause was the lowness of wages, and the unequal distribution of prize-money. The hon. member expressed a hope that the attention of government would be seriously turned to these matters, which were most important to the public service. He would himself, at no distant day, submit a motion with a view of obtaining better information on the subject. There must be something defective in the service, when, with all its advantages, it was found so difficult to induce men to enter.
Mr. Sykes, as the representative of a considerable port, expressed a hope that the attention of government might be speedily turned to the system of impressment. He should, in a short time, have to present a petition from his constituents, very numerously and respectably signed, against the present system.
§ Ordered to lie on the table.