The Press. — London, England, 1858-02-06 00:00:00

THE PRESS, FEBRUARY 6, 1858. to say, they have exercised to the best of their abilities, while the most sanguine have at times given way to despair. It reflects no light praise upon Mr. HOPE and the Directors that from the first they have neve r lost t h e i r confilenee, but with indomitable spirit and with inflexible per severance, and with a liberality characteristic of Englishmen engaged in great enterprise, have placed such means at the disposal of the e ngineer as have enabled him to combat and overcome every obstacle. In a few weeks more they will present to the gaze of exploring thou• sands the most finished and magnificent specimen of naval architec ture afloat. What her success commercially will be in these days of declining emigration remains yet a problem to be solved, but the spirit which has endorsed the enterprise from the first, and the ene rgy which has carried that enterprise though such appalling obstacles, will not be wanting, we may rely upon it, to solve the problem if it be capable of solution. Upon the success or failure of the speculation vast interests depend. The division of Thursday night was remarkable as exhibiting the decidedly hostile position occupied by Lord JOHN RUSSELL against the Palmerston Cabinet. Lord JOHN RUSSELL is not yet disposed to tako his ease in the Upper House., nor, indeed, to bury himself so com pletely in a " folio ", on Fox as to forget his pretensions to be the recognised head of the once great Liberal party. An ancient philosopher used to say there was one thing only which the gods couldn't do—make undone what had once been done. Our British Mars, the doughty PANMURE, spurning these fetters on omnipotence, has declared that he will no longer be limited by them. He has undertaken, accordingly, to do that which the sage pronounced impossible, or, in his own celestial phraseology, to " wipe out " an event. The universe will doubtless watch this detersive process with some degree of curiosity; and the elation of those whom the god has selected to be the agents of this miracle must be proportionably in tense. Fortunate 18th Dragoons —or, if you prefer to be so named, Hussars—who are the chosen vessels to perform this great deed I But why, if our Deity of War really possesses this attribute, will he not exert it for more important objects? It is doubtless something that the misconduct of a few officers should be made never to have hap pened. But why not do the same to the Indian mutiny itself? Or does he, like the gods of EPICURUS, lie beside his nectar and smile at "clanging fights, and flaming towns, and praying hands "? We cannot tell. We sincerely trust, however, that before he is wiped out himself he will obliterate a few facts which tell awkwardly on his own reputa tion, for nobody knows better than his Lordship that this sort of kind ness begins at home. It may interest our readers to know that one of the two regiments—the 18th—which are about to witch the world with this noble feat of horsemanship, is the one in which the eldest son of Sir WALTER Scorr first obtained his commission, and subsequently his company; and some very judicious letters may be found in the corre spondence between father and son relating to the misconduct which ultimately caused the regiment to be disbanded. General Sir Haw Ross, G.C.8., is about to retire from tho post of Adjutant-General of Royal Artillery, as it is intended to place the administration of all arms of the service under the Adjutant-General. The services of this Gallant Officer have been so long and so distin guished that his retirement from office demands more than a mere announcement. Although his gait and carriage, whether on horseback or on foot, are those of a man of fifty, Sir HEW Ross entered the Artil lery in 1795, became a captain in 1806, and on the 9th of June, 1809, landed in the Peninsula at the head of the glorious " Chesnut Troop." Under his command it attained a pitch of efficiency which has been seldom, if ever, equalled in the history of artillery science, and which extorted the admiration alike of friend and foe. It is still the dearest object of the most ambitious Horse Artilleryman to emu late the glory of the Captain of the " Chesnut Troop," who, not satisfied with leading his men in eighteen actions and seven general engagements, including Waterloo, volunteered to serve in the trenches at the important sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz—in the latter of which he was dangerously wounded. The Peace of 1815 found Sir Haw Ross still a Captain in the regiment of Artillery, but a Brevet- Lieut.-Colonel, K.C.B , and in the enjoyment of a pension of 91/. a year for distinguished service in the field. He did not become a Regimental Lieut.-Colonel till 1825, and wastsubsequently appointed to command the artillery in the northern district. Here, during the Chartist disturbances of 1839 and part of 1840, he was under the com mand of Sir CHARLES NAPIER, and his military arrangements are spoken of by that distinguished General in terms of the highest praise. At the end of 1840 he was appointed Deputy-Adjutant- General of Artillery, succeeding Sir ALEXANDER DICKSON, of Peninsular fame. In 1848 he was made Colonel-Commandant of the Horse Brigade; and on Lord RAGLAN'S leaving England to assume the Command of the army in the East, he was appointed Lieutenant- General of the Ordnance, and continued at this post till July, 14:)5, when the Master-Generalship and Board of Ordnance were abolished. He then resumed his duties as Military Administrator of the Royal Artillery, with the higher rank of Adjutant-General. Even when moving the abolition of the Board of Ordnance without a glance at the services of the Master• General Lord RAGLAN, Lord PANMI3RE could not but notice with praise the manner in which, under the guidance of Sir HEW Ross, the Royal Artillery had been selected and equipped for service in the Crimea; and now on his retirement, after the despatch of thirty companies to India, at the shortest notice, the same compliment has of necessity been re peated. The selection of a fit successor to such a man is a matter of grave responsibility, but there is an officer who, under the directions 133 of Sir Haw Ross, arranged every detail during the Crimean war, who volunteered for active service, but who was retained at home as too valuable to be spared, and who has worked night and day most successfully, not only to equip the artillery for India, but also to supply their places at home with fresh troops and batteries as quickly as possible. If merit is to have any weight, if we are ever to see " the " light man in the right place," the name of Colonel BINOHAH will soon appear in the Gazette ,is Deputy-Adjutant -General of Artillery. General WI:41)11Am has been appointed by Sir CouN CAMPBELL to the command at Umballah, his appointment in Cawnpore having only been temporary. Details of the engagements at that place from the pens of many officers actually engaged have now been received, and from these it would seem that the abandonment of the camp and town on the 27th of November was in some degree owing to a want of generalship. It will be recollected that the British force was attacked both in front and flank, and that when the main body was most hardly presbed news was brought that the enemy had penetrated into our rear. The General then, ordering the more advanced portion of his line slightly to fall back, galloped to the rear. The troops, finding their commander gone, somewhat lost heart; and the camp followers, seeing him riding at speed through the camp, fled into the town in the wildest con fusion. When General WirinitAsl saw how matters were going on in the rear, he directed a retreat from a brick kiln, in the most ex posed position. Unfortunately, the aide-de-camp took the message to Major-General DUPUIS, who wits in another brick kiln, forming the most important point of the line. He remonstrated, but, on being told that the General's orders were imperative, had nothing for it but to obey. Hence arose the final discomfiture. This is the mistake alluded to in General ‘VINDHAM'S despatch ; but it is to be remarked that, had he remained at the front, it would not have occurred, neither would his troops have lost heart at the departure of their general. This is the second time that General WINDHAM has acted in the same manner, and we all know what was Marshal PELISSIER'S opinion of his conduct in leaving the Redan. It would appear that in action ho is too much governed by impulse ; but we trust this last lesson may not be thrown away, and that on a future occasion he may show that he has brought to maturity those qualities of a general which he undoubtedly possesses. ELLIOT AND PHIPPS. Oh, happy the land where no murmur is heard But the loyallest thoughts from the loyallest lips ! Where talent and virtue are surely preferred, Bo sure as the claimants are Elliot and Phipps! Though Britons excel all the nations of earth, Yet just as one Briton another outstrips, A fathomless and a superlative worth Is the absolute birthright of Elliot and Phipps. How else could it hap, without trouble or scars, That appointments, including governorships , Lieutenancies, embassies, ribands and stars, Should fall so profusely to Elliot and Phipps ? Whoever may strive for, they win—the rewards ; The rest are draught cattle, while they are the whips ; Whatever the game is, they hold winning cards, Top-sawyers, first fiddles are Elliot and Phipps. And so condescending ! consenting to take The places of middle-class ruffians and rips, Whose work is assumed, for their countrymen's sake, And pay intercepted—by Elliot and Phipps. With such cheerful alacrity—that we are blind To their little deficiencies, errors, and slips, And arc ready to bluster and worry mankind For the Cives Britannici Elliot and Phipps. Who never desert 11R-but early and late One is always at hand if the other one trips ; As Russell or Pam holds the helm of the State, We see on the paddlebox Elliot or Phipps. As Castor and Pollux divided the year, And held one another in passing eclipse, An Elliot ascends if a Phipps disappear, If Elliot is waning we look for a Phipps• And ho persevering, in sunshine and storm, Without interregnum or Tory ellipse, We steer in the name and the cause of Reform, By the twin constellation of Elliot and Phipps. X. I I I