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

~'

THE PRESS.

SATURDAY,

insult on our diplomatic servants for the mere pleasure of the

thing.
People ask what has become of Lord CLARENDON lately? How is
our present attitude towards Austria to be reconciled with that held
previous to the last six months? Is his Lordship content to become
a mere agent for the transmission of Lord PALMERSTON'S senti•
ments? The " timid ambition" for which our Foreign Secretary is
celebrated seems to have reduced him to the level of a Foreign-office
messenger.

Lord PANMUEE during the week has enjoyed his habitual taciturnity,
and not indulged us with any very striking telegraphic messages from
the camp, a solitary one on Monday morning announcing the re-
pulse of a sortie, and the publication on Thursday of a despatch dated
the 25th ult., being all the information which his Lordship has vouch-
safed the public. This laconic despatch of General SIMPSON intimates
the probability of the Russians renewing their attack at an early day.
Vast masses of men were seen concentrating on the Mackenzie heights
and towards the village of Makoul ; reinforcements of two divisions
of grenadiers were known to have arrived, and a great battle wasfalt to
be imminent.
At Constantinople it is believed that some expedition up the
Danube is in contemplation. The collection of vast stores of materiel,
the concentration of all the available Turkish forces, and, above all,
the appearance of a squadron of allied gun-boats off the Sulina mouth,
and the daily-expected arrival of several floating batteries from both
the English and French ports—vessels certainly adapted above all
others for river service—give colour to the rumour.
In the Baltic the fleet are beginning to shift their cruisiug-ground.
The bad weather has commenced, the blockading squadron before
Cronstadt has already experienced a heavy gale of wind, and has
shifted its berth. The vacillation of the Government, and the imbecile
management of Sir CHARLES WOOD and his Board, seem to have meta-
morphosed all our fighting Admirals into the meekest and most timid
of men. " Impossible," a word unknown in the vocabulary of the last
war, appears to be imprinted on the mind of every Admiral in this.
The Government have spent millions on this Baltic fleet ; they
had all the vast resources of the country at their disposal, and all the
experience of '54 to guide them, and yet, in a whole summer, they can
only achieve a single bombardment of an arsenal and capture a few
paltry vessels !

Mr. HlNcxs, of Canadian notoriety, has been appointed by Sir
WILLIAM MOLEBWORTH to be Governor of Barbadoes. Sanguine hopes
are entertained by the Colonial-office that his Excellency, after
having been a fiery politician in frozen Canada, will become a cool
ruler in hot Barbadoes. If the temperament of Mr. HINCKS could be
" iced," his undeniable abilities would appear to more advantage. A
native of the north of Ireland, his propensities are rather Hibernian,
for he is formidable in a row. For years his name has been fami-
liarised in Canadian agitation, and the Peace at-any-Price party in
that colony will be glad that they have been relieved by his promotion
from his belligerent politics. We think of " coals to Newcastle " when
we read of a gentleman with such a superabundance of caloric being
sent to an Indian clime. His public life has hitherto been conducted
on a system as if he wished to travesty the early aspiration of
GEORGE CANNING, _ _

To live in a blaze, and in a blaze expire.
But flaming patriots and agitators often burn into ashes when placed
in office, as Mr. HINCKS may yet exemplify.

Sir CHARLIS WOOD and his Board seem bent upon blunders. No
sooner do they discover, in the last week of the season for active
operations in the Baltic, that the contemptible supply of mortars
which they originally sent out to demolish all the Russian fortresses
have been used up in a partial bombardment of the first, than they
immediately order a ship round to Woolwich, load her with mortars,
and despatch her to the station. Very admirable energy, under
ordinary circumstances, but, in face of their Admiral's declaration
that the season was too far advanced for any further operations, and
that the mortar-boats were en route for England, very questionable
management. Arrived at Kiel, this ship, the Sanspareil, lay there for
some days with the mortars in her hold, when, as might have been
expected, came an order from Admiral DIINDAS for her to return home
at once, as the mortar-boats had left the station, and the weather was
too boisterous for further operations. So, home comes the Sanspareil,
no market for their mortars being found in the Baltic. This playing
at cross purposes between Admiralty and Admiral betrays a want of
unanimity of action and conformity of plan disgraceful to the admi-
nistrative ability of "My Lords." The official " cat," in this case,
clearly resides at Whitehall. Admiral DUNDAS, some weeks before,
had stated that the season was over for operations ; but the Admiralty
hoped, by this display of unwonted energy, to cover their primary
discreditable mismanagement in not having supplied the fleet with an
ample reserve of mortars in the first instance. This very " weak
invention " is seen through at a glance. We never had a very high
opinion of the administrative talents of the present Board of
Admiralty; but their management of the home resources for the
supply of the Baltic fleet this year inflicts more disgrace upon them
than any of the previous many maladministrations they have bees
guilty of in their official career.