The Press. — London, England, 1855-09-08 00:00:00

SEPT. 8, 1855. Battle of Inkermann, and in his reflections upon the subject asserts that the Russians had they chosen to renew the attack, as they ought to have done, might have annihi lated us. This is a peculiarly interesting por tion of his book, because the present relative position of affairs is very similar to that after Inkermann, except that we now possess all those advantages of numbers and position which Menschikoff then held : The allies were saved, but at what price? Well might they exclaim with Pyrrhus, " Another such a victory, and our doom is sealed !' If the allied commanders bore in mind that this victory had hung merely on a frail thread, that Prince Menschikoff with his numerical superiority could far more easily bear the losses than themselves, and might in a few days renew his attack upon their position, while their promised reinforcements were still part at sea and part in the quiet garrisons of France and England ; if they considered that winter was at hand without the necessary preparations for it having been made ; and if, notwithstanding all these disheartening facts, they did not despair as to the final issue of their enterprise, but still persisted in the continuation of the siege, then it is diffi cult to say whether their courage is more to be admired or their want of foresight to be deplored. That under such circumstances the allied armies were not annihilated is owing neither to the sagacity of their Governments nor to the capacity of their commanders, but solely to the inactivity of their enemy. The more the allies needed repose after the battle of Inkermann, the more was it the interest of the Russians not to grant it, but as soon as possible to return to a second and decisive blow. In spite of their considerable losses, the Russians had still sufficient forces left to carry out their object Menschikoff could not possibly have overlooked the fact that the winter offered the most favor. able chances against the allies. And if he still allowed that opportunity to escape, it must be set down either to his want of judgment and resolution, or to peculiar reasons emanating from the conferences at Viena, and the prospects of peace naturally connected with them. It is also possible Menschikoff had received orders from St. Petersburg to desist from farther attacks upon the be siegers, in order not to urge on France and England to a 'me desperate step, and thus kindle a war of Cabinets, heretofore purely local, into a general struggle of nations and of principles. Upon the ultimate result of the siege his 02inion appears well-founded, in spite of the oo igratulations of our press : Everything betokens a most determined defence on the part of the Russians. According to their prisoners, the larger works of Sebastopol have as yet scarcely suffered, and the allies themselves May see from their camps thou• sands of Russians actively employed in strengthening their defences, and constructing new ones behind them. Moreover, the command of the attacked fronts is intrusted to the most expert and resolute officers, who will doubtless strain every nerve to dispute the advance inch by inch. Yet we do not deny that the allies may not obtain a partial success, for example, against the bastions and numerous batteries crowning the hills in front of Karabelnia. If they can secure a firm footing upon one of those com manding points, the fate of that part of Sebastopol would soon be decided ; for the arsenal and the barracks could not offer any serious resistance, and the besieged would be compelled to retire into Fort Paul, at the entrance of the military harbour. But then the sole advantage gained would be an insight into one part of the port ; the allies would still have to clear a way into the city proper, and meanwhile the Russian vessels could always find sufficient shelter against their projectiles in some corner of the great bay. Supposing, however, that the allies should, in the end, and at the cost of half their army, obtain posses sion of the south side of Sebastopol, what then ? A mo ment's consideration of this vital question will not be out of place here. The allies, when once masters of the town, have two alternatives--either to content themselves with what they have done, and order a re.embarkation of their troops, or to decide upon a continuation of operations. In the first case, the success of the enterprise would only be partial, for if the vessels were sunk, the dockyards, arsenals, forts, the whole city, everything destroyed on the south side, the northern fortifications would still stand unconquered, and from their commanding heights look disdainfully upon the departing squadron : in the latter case, the first thing naturally suggested to us is, whether it would not be more reasonable for the allies to desist from expending the flower of their armies in the Crimea, and to select another sphere of action, where gain and loss might be balanced more proportionately, and the object of the war, as well as its ultimate issue, be really brought within their grasp'? GeneralKltpka's view, on the whole, is not promising : he looks at Asia, and sees Moura vieff with a strong force besieging Kars ; he glances at the Danube, and finds the Turkish army of 1853 to exist no more; he turns to Sebastopol, " and even that has dwindled down " to an attack on one of its fronts, thanks to the " marvellous plan of operations which the allied " commanders brought with them ready cut and " dried to the scat of war." Without entering into this very gloomy view of affairs, we cannot yet credit that Russia is so near exhaustion as is generally believed, and that the balance of loss and gain is so much in our favour as to induce a hope that Russia must speedily collapse. The concluding chapters of the THE PRESS. book are devoted to a review of the different plans of attack which offer themselves against Russia, and of the proposal of the fol lowing:- 1. The speedy recal of the Crimean expedition, and the transfer of the principal seat of war in the East to the Danube. 2. The landing of an army in the Baltic provinces and the securing an alliance with Sweden. 3. The restoration of a mighty Poland. 4. The repudiation of Austrian neutrality by summon ing her to declare for or against. And in the event of her joining the enemy—which can scarcely any longer be doubted—the formation of a Danubian Confederation to include all the provinces not German abog that river, with Hungary as their centre. 5. The simultaneous liberation of Italy. 8. The employment of all the Turkish forces in Asia. The translation of these observations of General Klapka is well and freely executed, and a tolerable map of Russia is given, which we are disposed to think would have been better replaced by one of the seat of war, with the various routes and lines of at tack and defence at each memorable spot marked out for the benefit of the reader. PERIODICAL LITERATURE. THE Dublin presents an excelient table of contents. Of lighter literature there is abundant matter. " The Fortunes of Glencore " are continued, in four chap. ters, and some clever sketches of Irish character given. " The Literature of Italy in the Fourteenth Century " comprises some brief but good notices of the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, "the triumvirate of " the Tercento," stars that shone out of the horizon of literature, forming the clasp in the chain which constitutes the literature of Italy. Reviews of Sir David Brewster's "Life of N'wton," which is cha racterised on the whole as successful, though with many faults of style and an undeniable mistake in its dedication to Prince Albert; of Tennyson's "Maud," which is kindly described las incomplete and unsatisfying, though with many detached passages of beauty and power; of " White locke's Embassy to Queen Christina"; and of Bunsen's "Egypt," in which the learned German's work, and his peculiar rejection of the Mosaic narrative of the Flood, are cleverly and critically commented on We have no desire (remarks the writer) to undervalue the labours of so distinguished a man on a field that he has made almost hii own, and who has established so many claims upon our generosity; but we must state, in plain terms, that if his conclusions offer a positive violence to the religious convictions of the people of this country, they will be rejected without hesitation, and will deserve to be so . . . Whatever comes of the monuments, the inscriptions, and the dynasties, we cannot afford, as yet, to put them in the place of Moses and his writings. If the modern German scholars will not allow us to con sider him an inspired man, who was under the guidsnce of a heavenly power, and must be indulged with the liberty of sneering at our simplicity when we do so, they cannot pre vent us from asking where, in that case, he got that collec tion of strange and varied knowledge which he communi cated to others, and which distinguishes him so remarkably from all the profane writers of antiquity. The story which he tells it is impossible he could have invented. It is too complicated and too multifarious for that; and if he has only bequeathed to posterity a series of old legends which had been preserved among the descendants of the Noachithe, can any good reason be assigned- why we should not put as much credence in them as in the infinitely more apocryphal traditions preserved in Egyptian papyri, or engraved on Egyptian tablets, Melte, and tombs? . . . Egyptology s is not only a fashionable study at present but a fascinating one. . . . It is for this reason that we have dwelt at such length on the Chevalier Bunsen's system of chronology. His high personal character and his wonder. ful attainments necessarily impress much weight on his individual opinions; and many unreflecting persons will adopt his views, without considering that if they were to prevail over those which have been received unsuspectingly by the great body of Christi ms for 1,810 years, they would leave the modern man in a worse condition than the ancient man, by sapping the foundations of his religious belief, and replacing his positive faith by an objectless pantheism. Curran's "Sketches of the Irish Bar " are reviewed at great length, and copious transcriptions made from those pleasing aoecdotieal volumes. The sole political article in this number is a brief review of the session, in which Lord John Russell's unfortu nate escapades form the main topic. ' - Colburn's New Monthly follows up its late excel lent papers upon " The Military Resources of Ger many " by an admirable one upon her fortresses, in which we see, while the frontier line of Germany is defended by vast fortresses and intrenched camps on the French and Russian sides, her Baltic seacoast is almost wholly undefended by any fortress of strength. Cuxhaven, Rostock, Wismar, llamburz, are all defenceless and alike open to the attack of every enemy, Russian, French, or English : When the German Confederation was founded at the termination of the great Napoleonic wars, and a few for• tresses were commenced by the aid of the French contribu• 863 tion, no thought was taken of anything but protecting the frontier as far as possible against France. No one thought for a moment of the defence of the seacoast, for in all the late great wars, whose experiences /ere alone kept in sight, it bad never occurred that a French fleet had attempted a disembarkation on the North German seaboard. But the supposition that it would always remain so, which alone prevented steps being taken for the defencr of the North German ports, is no longer correct. In tht first place, in all the wars Germany carried on with France from 1793 to 1815, England was ever her ally The powerful British fleet commanded every sea, and prevented the French from hazarding any expedition. But now England and France are firmly allied, and will assuredly remain fast friends in case either power is engaged in a war with Germany. When united, their fleets will sweep every sea, and then, unless the Germans set about the task of defending themselves much more energetically than they have done during the thirty years' peace, the eventualities to which we have alluded would very soon come about. A clever, thoughtful paper upon the numerous mushroom assurance-offices which are daily springing up all over the country is worthy of attention ; while "Ensign Pepper's Letters from the Crimea," though treating of rather a stale subject—the assault of the 18th—will be found entertaining. Of other light matter there is abundance, lively and entertaining as usual—reviews of books, sketches of character and country, literary leaflets and leaves from diaries —which well sustain the reputation of the magazine. Tait this month has no very striking articles, with the exception of a critique upon Mrs. Norton's " Letter to the Queen," in which the writer, while admitting the justice of Mrs. Norton's argument for women, claims an equal right on the part of men afflicted with the " converse cause " to her personal sufferings. " Reading Raids " contains a review of " Maud." The second number of the new series of the Merchant's Magazine contains a clever, practical article upon " Limited Liability," in which the writer, with considerable ability, points out the errors to be avoided, and warns the public not to regard limited liability companies as institutions per fectly safe because resting on an act of Parliament, but as institutions liable like all others to mistakes, and depending for success solely upon the honesty, integrity, and skill of their managers : The only basis upon which the safety of these institu tions depends is the honesty, skill, and judgment of its managers, and the fact that the right class of men are more likely to join these companies than they were while unlimited liability existed. Then, to be convinced that this, the only safeguard, is the first and most essential condition towards the successful working of the principle of limited liability is necessary ; and to apply it practically in the choice of companies in which parties desire to invest their moneys, will he the necessary consequence of that conviction. In addition to this, we would urge the direc tors of these companies never to undertake anything upon the strength of subscribed but unpaid capital. The paid up capital is all they ought to deal with, the other they may call for when they wish to increase their operations or to make good losses, but they must not build upon it till they have it. Half the mistakes have arisen from a neglect of this principle. To those who will have to deal with and trust these companies we would also say—first satisfy yourself as to the trustworthiness, in a moral point of view, of the directors; secondly, look only to actual available present assets for your security ; and, lastly, put not the least value upon the share list. By observing these rules they cannot err ; but if creiit be given to these institutions upon the liability of shareholders to pay calls rather than upon the means in hand to pay liabilities, they will be acting in opposition to sound commercial mkt, ; for, excepting in exceptional cases, and in matters of speculation or kind ness, no one will open a current account, or lend money to a trader in the ordinary way of business upon expecta tions or reversions. A paper upon the " Capabilities and Resources of our North American Colonies " is continued from the previous number ; and an admirable paper upon "The Opportunities Furnished by the Gold Die. coveries" takes a practical view of the question as bearing upon commerce and of the great results likely to accrue to the world from the influx of gold. The usual money•market, foreign, colonial, and home produce reviews of the month are continued with great ability. The Art Journal for September opens with an acute and critical review upon "The Sculpture at the Beaux Arts," in which the larger portion of the French works displayed are characterised as coarse in feeling and devoid of that purity of sentiment which should envelope the nude; and, though possessing extreme imaginative beauty, and display ing great execution, yet a want of natural modesty and unaffected grace pervades the design, yet among many of the varied works contributed these qualities, it is admitted, are to be really found. The writer further on draws a comparison between the position of the sculptor in France and in England, n which all the advantages fall to the lot of the Frenchman. A beautiful engraving of Uwins's famous " Vintage in the South of France," from the Vernon collection, and of Canaletti's "D 4 gana at Venice," from the Royal Gallery, form the two most prominent illustrations in the present number.