Admiral Rous has sent a letter to the Times about the loss of the Captain and other naval matters, which dis closes the curious fact that in 1834 a ship which he commanded was paid off, and the crew (Jisperseidl, because he refused to make a false report of the qualities of the ship. He made one report, and was advised in a friendly way to make another. He refused, and the result mentioned followed. With regard to the inquiry into the loss of the Captain, the admiral .says the find ing should have been —" Lost by the officer of the watch not knowing how to shorten sail or keep his men on deck." He adds:—"The truth is, the boiler has emasculated seamanship. No man can serve two will hold to the tea kettle and despise the canvas. Yon can no more rear a seaman ou a steamer than on the Bridgewater canal, and in ten years time the British sea man will be a rare bird among the sailors in the Royal Navy." He tells us that his experience in naval matters "harks back" to 1808.
