"Mr. Corry said, in consequence of the statement of the hon. member, he had thought it necessary to make minute inquiry on the subject of the punishment on board the _Britannia_, and the result was a complete denial that the punishment of cadets was accompanied by the cruelty described. Punishment was inflicted, not with a birch broom, but precisely similar to that used at schools. There was a complete denial of any such cruelty as had been alleged. "Mr. Bass: The arms are not tied to ringbolts? "Mr. Corry: Certainly not. It is hardly necessary that I should go further into the case, as the Admiralty, having taken the whole subject into consideration, have thought it desirable that the practice of punishing naval cadets should be discontinued. (Cheers.) An order to that effect was issued by the Board of Admiralty last Monday. (Cheers.)" Mr. Bass and his friends thus scored off the Admiralty in a degree to which they were not intrinsically entitled. The use of the birch, or other means of corporal punishment, is a legitimate subject of controversy, upon which many diverse opinions have always existed; but, granted the advisability of its use, the allegations of Mr. Bass are mere humanitarian padding. If you are going to inflict corporal punishment upon anyone, man or boy, there is certainly no cruelty in securing him so that he cannot move; birch rods for the punishment of young seamen in the Navy were most frequently made by splitting up an ordinary birch broom into convenient small bundles for the purpose; and the soaking in water had the effect of preventing the ends flying off during the first few strokes; while the attendance of the doctor is merely an obvious precaution, in the event of a fainting fit, which may possibly occur, even in the case of an apparently robust subject. Needless to say, a delicate or weakly boy would not be subjected to such punishment. Mr. Bass, it will be noticed, did not agitate for the abolition of flogging. Mr. Corry and his colleagues must, however, be credited with having investigated the matter in an independent spirit, and with arriving at their decision upon adequate grounds; though the general impression produced must have been that they were more or less truckling to a piece of unnecessary meddling. [Illustration: CAPTAIN JOHN CORBETT. _Photo: Smale & Son, Dartmouth._] Captain Randolph was superseded in September, 1867, by Captain John Corbett, after having held the appointment for a period of only eighteen months. Among other useful institutions introduced in this decade should be mentioned the sailing cutters and the gymnasium.