Earl Darnley, in rising to move for a return of all Contracts made for Timber for the use of his Majesty's Dock-yards, since January 1st. 1810,stated that his object in moving for the Return was, to put at rest those differences of opinion relative to the price of Timber which had been lately stated in that House. He wished also to make the Admiralty aware of the necessity of putting a stop to the practice of laying in such a vast stock of Timber as was piled up in the Dock-yards. Large sums were expended every year for the purchase of Timber, which night, he thought, be saved He by no means wished to cripple the efficiency of the Navy, for he believed that to be essential to the national safety—he wished to make no reduction in the number of seamen employed, for that part of the service could not be too effective: he thought, indeed, that the coast blockade might be dispensed with, but he objected to keeping up such an immense dead stock in our Dock-yards, which perhaps might never be wanted, and was purchased apparently only to decay. When the Returns, for which he should move, were laid before their Lordships, they would be as sensible of this as he was. The vote, he 1254 believed, for the purchase of Timber and other Stores for the next year, was not less than 784,000l.,* which seemed to him so enormous that some reduction ought to be made in it. He was willing to confide in his Majesty's Government, but he earnestly pressed it on the noble Duke (Wellington), or on the noble Viscount (Melville) to consider of the propriety of curtailing this enormous branch of expenditure. Before he made the Motion he would observe, that much of this Timber, he believed, came from Sierra-Leone, his opinion concerning which colony was precisely the same as that of his noble friend who had addressed their Lordships that evening. His Lordship concluded by moving for, "an Account of all the Timber contracted for the use of his Majesty's Dock-yards since January 1st, 1810, specifying the quantity and quality of the Timber supplied under each contract, the country where the Timber was grown, the price per load (except the price of contracts now in existence) and the amount of Duty paid on Timber of foreign growth."
Viscount Melvillesaid, he did not rise to oppose the Motion, but only to assert for himself, that he had a strong desire to make every possible reduction; at the same time he was bound to inform their Lordships, that he did not think a diminution of the supply of the materials of shipbuilding was consistent with the national safety. As long ago as the time of Lord Sandwich, a regulation was made to keep in the Dock-yards three years' supply of Timber, that, in case of any sudden emergency, seasoned Timber might be obtained. The regulation, however, was not carried fully into effect, till the very last year of the late war. He would not enter into details; he would only assure his noble friend, that much less Timber was made use of than formerly, and his Majesty's Government was anxious to reduce the expenditure to the lowest possible scale.—The Returns were ordered.