The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-06-16 00:00:00

tied jury df (yr fellow-countrymen, before whom
the whale facts of the case iidt'e been laid with a
degree of precision and fulness which is undttnin-
able before any other tribunal:
Into the' details of the report we do not, at
present, propose to enter. The sum and substance
of it may be briefly stated. We at once accept
the opinion of the Commissioners, that under
present circumstances, 'neither our fleet, our
standing army, nor our volunteers,' nor even the
three combined, can be relied upon as sufficient
tifemselye&._for-the ,see4mity .of. The kingdom
against foreign invasion ; and, therefore, that we
must..-have recourse to the aid of fortifications.
We agree to the proposal to, fortify the vital
points_,specifi7d in the report; and while we can
scarcely deny ourselves the constitutional right
to grumble at the cost, there is no doubt that the

sum stated must be required-; and the proposition

' to raise the requisite amount, some twelve millions,
by terminable annuities, seems judicious and
unobjectionable. If we take an exception to any
part of the report, it is to a point which in 'no
way interferes with the practical conclusions it
arrives at, nor in any degree tends to weaken
the recommendations for the immediate erec-
tion of certain fortifications. The Commis-
' sioners assume that we cannot fortify the
whole assailable portion' of :the coast, and
that fortifications should be confined to vital
points. We may regret the unnecessary expres-
sion 'of such an opinion with Out rejecting the rest
of the report; bedause 'we believe its conclusions
hold good independently of what seems to us
gratuitous and unnecessary assumption. Indeed,
by. _taking tip a seethingly adverse view on this
point we rather confirm the main pfopositions of
the Commissioneri: We would riot abridgit their
scheme but rather extend it. With all deference
to the report of the Royal Conimissian, we deny
that there is any insurmountable difficulty in
fortifying the whole assailable portion of our
coast. Nay, more, we believe that the fortifica-
tion of the whole coast may be easily, speedily,

and economically effected, and that before many
years elapse, we shall see works in progress
with that end in view. Our proposition
is that a good turnpike road should be
completed round the "coast, to be protected
by strong and well-executed earthwerks, mounted
with -Armstrong guns, and kept and patrolled
in ordinary, times of peace by the Coast
Guard ; a substantial tramway to be laid dostrif
along the road, and the communication throughout
to be maintained by telegraph. Any amount of
force could thus be concentrated on any part of
the coast without delay. We have gone into a
calm,lation of the expense of this scheme with a
thoroughly practical man, and we are satisfied
that the proposal is neither utopian nor extra-
vagant—it being kept in view that a great
portion of our coast already constitutes, by
naturdl forniation, an impregnable wall of defence
—and, if so, we cannot but think that, with
a few rallying points of great strength, such as
those now recommended in the report of the
Royal Commission, the execution of such a work
as we have rudely sketched would warrant us in
believing that our coast would then be fortified
at every assailable point.
Next to the maintenance of peace and its ines-
timable blessings; the annihilation of periodical
invasion panics is of the greatest importance to a
great commercial community like ours. We
cannot secure these, advantages in the present
state of Europe without ample preparations of a
kind, and on a scale of importance hitherto; per-
haps, unnecessary. These are not to be obtained
at a trifling cost, or without some sacrifice. Do
we assert our 'readiness to shed our blood and
peril our lives in defence of England against Con-
tinental invasion, and will we yet scruple to put our
hands i,nto our pockets to pay for the protection

of the honour of our coasts ? Here is the true
test of our vaunted patriotism. Let us prove that
We are -willing to act, az well as epPnk. Shall we
have our coasts fully an' efficiently protectea, or
not? Are we' to be subject ever du-id anon to tor-
turing fears of invasion; or are we deteriiiined to
put an end to this undignified suspense? Our
taxation is already enormous, and 'in all probabi-

ty must be greater before.it earlbe less. But is

it not better that we should at once cheerfully
consent to pay the price of peace, and purchase a
permanent sense of security—far better
Than on the torture of the mind to lie,
In restless eestaey

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