THE MARQUESS OF CLANRICARDErose to ask whether the Baltic Fleet had been provided with the apparatus necessary to attack Maritime Fortresses in the manner recommended last year to the Admiralty and the Board of Ordnance by Colonel Bethune. He had no wish to interfere with the Government in regard to the mode of carrying on the war. Colonel Bethune had distinguished himself in Canada, not only by his courage, but by his ability and aptitude in undertaking military operations, and any suggestion he might make was entitled to the highest respect. His plan was disapproved of by Sir Charles Napier, whose opinion carried with it great weight in such matters, as being too hazardous, but at the same time it was right that a fair experiment should be made; and, if thought proper, that the fleet should be provided with the means necessary for carrying out the proposed mode of attack should a favourable opportunity occur. A few hundred pounds would more than cover all the expense of furnishing those means; and it was the opinion of professional men, as well as amateurs, that the plan could be put in execution with more safety to human life on the side of those employing it than an ordinary bombardment of a fortress.
§ LORD PANMUREsaid, he agreed with the noble Marquess that no means should be thrown away of rendering our attack upon the fortresses of the enemy as effective as possible; though he believed their Lordships would agree with him that it would be wise and prudent not to publish the details of all our plans before they were put in execution, but rather to allow the enemy to discover their effect much in the same way as we discovered the effect of those torpedos that were sprung upon our ships the other day near Cronstadt. The suggestion of Colonel Bethune was one of those innumerable propositions which were made to all Governments in a time of war, when any gentleman who pleased, and there were many who pleased, might suggest means for destroying the enemy. It was made to the Admiralty in July last, and was referred to Sir Charles Napier, 9 then in command of the Baltic fleet, who, after studying it carefully, said it might do all very well, "but we would require the gentleman himself to 'bell that cat.'" The suggestion was afterwards referred to the Scientific Committee of the Board of Ordnance, and they gave it as their opinion that the invention would not be effectual for its purpose. No arrangements had, therefore, been made to enable the Baltic fleet to carry the plan into execution.
§ THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGHsaid, that in reference to what had fallen from the noble Lord as to innumerable suggestions being made to the Government for the destruction of the enemy's forts, he wished to say that no mistake could be made more injurious to the public interest than to assume that there was nothing in all these plans, because it was extremely possible that every one of them might contain something worthy of consideration, although, at the same time, it was extremely improbable that any one of them should be developed in a state fit to be adopted. It hardly ever happened that the originator of a plan carried it to success, but it was generally perfected by others, who, with less theoretical, possessed more practical knowledge. In his opinion, a Committee should be formed to consider those plans, formed not altogether of professional persons. Because a plan at first appeared to contain something absurd, that was no reason why it should be at once rejected, for every plan might, at first, contain that which would entitle it to the description of being absurd, while it might, in reality, also contain much that was very useful. He himself could recollect that, nine years ago, he, an unscientific man, offered a crude suggestion to an able friend of his who commanded the gunnery ship at Portsmouth; that suggestion was perfected by him, and the result was that, for the future, booms would form no protection to a harbour, because they could be blown into the air.
§ LORD PANMUREdid not think that anything had fallen from him which should lead the noble Earl to suppose that all inventions laid before the Government did not meet with a fair consideration; on the contrary, many improvements had already been adopted by the Government which owed their origin to suggestions received in the way mentioned by the noble Earl. There had been Committees to investigate the subjects of tents and ambulances for 10 the sick, and all matters connected with missiles of war were referred to a Committee at Woolwich, consisting not only of officers but of scientific gentlemen, who, he was convinced, did not dismiss any invention without giving to it a careful consideration, and endeavouring to extract from it all that was useful. But, at the same time, to make a trial of every invention that was submitted to the Government, merely because there might be something in it which was useful, would lead to a series of constant experiments from which no adequate conclusion could ever be drawn.
THE MARQUESS OF CLANRICARDEsaid, that as the noble Baron had stated the report of Sir C. Napier upon the plan of Colonel Bethune, it would be only fair to give the answer which was made to it. In that answer Colonel Bethune, not at all declining to go and "bell the cat," said that if the extraordinary step were to be taken of placing him at the head of the expedition, it would not be the first time that he had ventured under the fire of an enemy in order to carry out an attack which he had devised himself, and which he conducted with perfect success.
§ House adjourned to Monday next.