VISCOUNT DUNGANNONsaid, that pursuant to notice he wished to call the attention of Her Majesty's Government to the unsound and unsafe condition of vessels selected to convey those troops who had proceeded to India by the overland route from Suez and Aden, and more especially to the condition of the Alma and the Ajdaha, sent to convey detachments of the 69th regiment. The 69th regiment having been sent by overland route to India, the Alma was expected to be in readiness at Suez to convey them to Aden and Point de Galle. He was informed, however, that this vessel, when off Aden, broke the shaft of her paddlewheels, and was rendered incapable of proceeding any further. That might be a casualty, which could be neither foreseen nor prevented. Be that as it might, the consequence was that the detachment of the regiment was detained eight days at Suez. They arrived on the i 9th, and did not leave until the 27th of December, when the Ajdaha was sent to convey them, and in this vessel they proceeded to Aden, where they arrived on the 4th of January. On the 6th they left Aden, and on the 7th, when the ves- 1720 sel was about 700 miles out at sea, the Ajdaha sprang a leak, and put back to Aden. No less than 280 officers and men had been put on board this vessel, which he was told had been condemned as unseaworthy eighteen months before, He might be told that neither of these vessels belonged to the Government. He was aware that they did not; the Alma belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Company, and the Ajdaha to the East India Company. He thought that the Government were highly blameable if they had handed over Her Majesty's troops to the ships of any Company without having them examined by some accredited parties at Suez or Aden. If they had not done so, it could not but appear that they had incurred the wanton and reckless risk of a great number of lives. It was surely sufficient for those who had relatives engaged in India to be aware that they were exposed to all the necessary chances of the field and climate, without the reflection being superadded that they were exposed to the additional risk of losing their lives unprofitably and ingloriously by accidents which might be avoided by ordinary care. This was not the first time in which great carelessness had taken place in this matter of the conveyance of troops. The same regiment, the 69th, came over from Barbadoes last year in the Urgent, a vessel which was known not to be seaworthy, and which occupied thirty-three days in performing, at considerable risk, a passage which ought not to have taken more than nineteen days, and it was quite providential, he was informed, that she had arrived at all. He trusted the noble Lord would be able to afford some satisfactory explanation of these matters, or at all events assure the House and the country that a full inquiry should be made, and measures adopted to prevent their recurrence.
§ LORD PANMUREIn reply to the observations of the noble Viscount, I can only state that he has made a great complaint of a matter that can be most easily explained. The 69th regiment was sent overland to India, the Alma being destined to meet them at Suez and carry them on. In her passage to Suez, and before the troops were embarked, the Alma broke a very important part of her machinery, which rendered her totally unfit to convey the detachment. In the meantime the 69th regiment arrived at Suez, and found waiting there the Ajdaha—not a vessel that had been condemned, as the 1721 noble Viscount says, but a frigate belonging to the Honourable East India Company's Navy—which undertook the duty that was to have been performed by the Alma. The Ajdaha is a steamer of between 1,400 and 1,500 tons and 500-horse power, and was therefore amply sufficient for the conveyance of the troops. This vessel, however, unfortunately sprang a leak when she had been two days on her voyage beyond Aden. She put back into Aden in consequence, and delivered the men safely without the loss of a single man. Another vessel, the Candia, carried them on, and no doubt they have by this time arrived at their place of destination. It is obvious that in both cases the accidents were such as no human foresight could have guarded against, and I beg your Lordships' attention to the fact, that in all the embarkations of troops to India there has not been a single casualty whereby the loss of any soldier's life has. occurred. The misfortune which happened on board the Sarah Sands transport only served to exhibit a most remarkable instance of discipline, coolness, and presence of mind, under circumstances of the most extreme peril, and reflected credit, not only on the gallant officers and men of the regiment, but also upon the officers and men of the ship. It is with great satisfaction that I am able to make this statement in answer to the noble Viscount, because an idea has gone about that some ships have been taken up that were unworthy of being sent to sea, and that some accidents have occurred from this circumstance. But no such accident has occurred. It has been the most anxious desire of the Company that no troops should be embarked on board ships that were unseaworthy, and the result has been what I have stated. The difficulties attending the overland route to India are very great, and at this moment, I am sorry to say, in consequence of the non-arrival of a vessel, the 92nd have been detained a considerable time on their voyage to India, but they have since been enabled to proceed on their way to India.
§ THE EARL OF HARDWICKEthought the difficulties to which the noble Lord alluded might be met if Government would address themselves to the establishment of a system of transport in connection with the Royal Navy, instead of depending upon hired transports. Under this latter system they did not know what ships they got. [Lord PANMURE: "Yes, we do."] 1722 No; they did not know what they paid, nor what they got for their money. No doubt the noble Lord was anxious to prevent accidents as far as possible; but accidents were constantly occurring notwithstanding, and to the great inconvenience of the public service. He was aware that under no system could accidents be altogether avoided, but they would be much more rare if the Government employed for this transport service their own ships, their own officers, and their own men. There was a class of vessels now in the possession of the Government—the block ships, which were scarcely suitable for war purposes, but admirably adapted for the conveyance of troops; six of these had been fitted with engines and employed during the late war. He would suggest that of these, two should be constantly employed between this country and Alexandria, and the other four sent round to the Red Sea, to carry on the troops as they arrived at Suez to the ports of debarkation in India.
THE EARL OF CARNARVONsaid, he would venture to bring to the attention of the noble Lord one or two details which had lately come to his knowledge. He had heard that the connecting-rod of the engine in the case of the Ajdaha was worn out and broke, and had she not been close to the shore there would have been danger from that source. He had also heard that this vessel was taken up to convey specie and the mails, but that, having been examined, she was not thought good enough for that service, and that after this the troops were embarked in her. There ought to be in the case of every vessel taken up for transport purposes an examination under the authority of the Admiralty as to her sea-worthiness, and by an officer of the Quartermaster-General's department as to the accommodation and provision made for the men during the voyage.
§ LORD PANMUREsaid, that the services of the Ajdaha were brought into requisition because she happened to be in port at the time. She was not taken up, but was a frigate belonging to the East India Company. He knew nothing about the breaking of the connecting-rod. With regard to the employment of men-of-war on transport service, the subject had been well considered by successive Governments, and it had been decided upon all grounds that it would be unadvisable to adopt that system, but to adopt the plan of taking up 1723 merchant vessels when wanted. There was a system of examination which he believed to be sufficient: the vessels taken up were inspected by an officer appointed by the Admiralty, whose report was forwarded to the Quartermaster General's department, which in their turn reported to the Horse Guards, both as to the fitness of the vessel for transport purpose, the nature of the accommodation, and the number of troops it was proposed she should convey.