The Press.
London, England, 1854-04-15 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

the panic of invasions ceased, and public confidence
was completely restored. The English admiral was
at a single creation made an earl, a course very un
usual in the distribution of public rewards. The
political resuh of the battle was undoubtedly very
great, and the nation was overjoyed. But there
have been battles more glorious to the English name,
although Jervis deserves all honour, for his resolving
with about fifteen sail to attack the Spaniards with
twenty-five sail-of•the line, and an enormous supe-
riority in guns. But it is the wit end not the ships
that decide sea-fights. For what were the Spaniards
at that battle' We may reply in the words of
"James's Naval History" (Chansier's edition, vol.
p. 4) :

One fact is certain. that the crews of the Spanish ships
were the most worthless that can be conceived : they were
composed of pressed laudnien and soldiers of the new levies,
with about sixty, or at most eighty, seamen to each ship.
Is it necessary to go farther? Can it. be surprising that
the poor panic.struck wretches,' in the words of an in
telligent writer, ' when called upon to go aloft to repair the
injured rigging, fell immediately on their knees, and in
that posture cried out, that they preferred being sasrilioed
on the spot, to performing a duty in the execution of
which they considered death as inevitable?'

Upon the whole, the victory of Cape St. Vincent, although.
from its consequences as a political event, pre-eminently
great, from its merits as a naval combat, cannot be con•
sidered, especially when the quantum of effective resist-
ance is taken into the account, in an equal degree glo-
rions."
2. The circumstances under which tte battle of
Camperdown was fougbt have been well described in
a most entertaining work, called the " Life and
Reign of George the Fourth" (Longmans). Its
author was the late William Wallace, a man of con-
siderable abilities, whose talents never received fait
play :
France had still the Texel and Brest fleets. Fortune,
or rather an unforeseen event, in which the French had
iv, share, though such an opinion prevailed at the time,
promised them much more decisive aid. A dangerous
mutiny broke out in the British fleet at Plymouth, Ports-
mouth, and still more desperately at the Nore. Admiral
Duncan, a brave veteran beloved in the navy, was deserted
by all but his own ship's crew, his courage, and his pre-
sence of mind. He continued, with his single ship, to
make the usual signals, as if in command of a squadron,
and the Texel fleet did not venture out. The mutiny was
suppressed ; Parker, the ringleader at the Nore, and a few
others, were executed ; subordination was restored ; and
Duncan was again in command of a fleet. Admiral de
Winter, a brave and experienced officer, and an ardent
republican, received orders from the Government of Hol-
land, now called the Batavian Republic, to put to sea and
engage the enemy. He accordingly came out of the Texel
with fifteen sail-of-the-line and ten frigates. Admiral Dun.
can, who was refitting in Yarmouth Roads, on being
apprised of the enemy's movements, put to sea with sixteen
sail-of-the line ; and at eight in the morning of the 11th of
Qctober the two squadrons prepared for action off the
coast of Holland, between Egmont and Camperdown. De
Winter, whose lighter vessels drew less water, manoeuvred
to keep near the shore. Duncan penetrated his intention ;
and, by an experiment of unprecedented boldness, broke
through his line to get between him and the land. The
battle novetegan ship to ship, and was fought for several
hours with desperate valour on both sides, until the Dutch
vice-admiral struck to Admiral Onslow. De Winter, his
ship La !Aborts having become a mere week, two-thirds of
his crew hors de combat, and being himself wounded dan-
gerously, struck to ])uncan's ship the Veterrabk. The
llatavian fleet, with the exception of a few ships winch got
back to the Texel in a shattered state, was either destroyed
or captured. This most important victory extinguished
the chances of invasion. The admiral was created Vis-
count I iuncan of Camperdown, and De Winter was treated,
as a prisoner in England, with all the respect and honour
due to his gallantry and misfortune."
De Winter died not long after of a chronic disease.
Of the two actions, some have thought Camperdown
the more honourable to English arms. Consummate
nautical skill was shown in fighting a sturdy enemy
upon a lee shore, and, though an Englishman pre-
fers to give rather than take the odds, still that.
action was an overwhelming triumph. In num-
ber of guns the English bad 575 against 517 in
the Dutch ; in number of crews the English
were 8,121 men opposed to 7,157 Dutch ; and,
in round numbers, the superiority of British
tonnage was as twenty-three thousand tons to
twenty thousand. At the end of the fight the
English were in possession of two Dutch seventy-
fours, five sixty-fours, two fifties, besides a couple of
frigates. How gallant was the resistance of the
Dutch may be seen in the following statement of
James :
" The appearance of the British ships at the close of the
action was very unlike whst it generally is, when the
French or Spaniards have been the opponent of the
former. Not a single lower mast, not even a topmast, was
shot away ; nor were the rigging and sails of the ships in
their usual tattered state. It was at the hulls of their
adversaries that the Dutchmen had directed their shot:
and this, not until the former were so near, that no aim
could well miss. Scarcely a ship in the fleet but had
several shot sticking in her sides. Many were pierced by
shot in nil directions ; and a few of the ships bad twee wed
some dangerous ones betweso wind anti water, which kept
their pumps in constant employment. The driest had

347

received no fairer than ninety-eight round shot in her
I hull. The Brlliqueux, BeWard, Venerable, anti .ilunareh had
likewise their share. As to the last•named ship, such wr.s
the entire state of hyr masts, rigging, and sails. that, were
the topsail sheets whivh had been shot awe.% moiled home
no one, viewing her from a little distance. would have be,
lieved that she had been in action."
Our loss in killed and wounded at these two battles
are worth stating. At the sea-fight of St. Vincent we
had only ti offfeers killed and 5 wounded ! There
were 119 seamen killed, and. 16'J wounded; and 11 of
the marines killed, and 33 of them wounded. At the
battle of Camperdown the result of casualties ou our
side WM
Seamen—Killed lO5
Wounded 474
Mariues—Killed 2O
Wounded.
Officers—Killed
fl Wended . 4l
Or, in total, there were 707 seamen, marines, and
boys, and 40 officers, killed and wounded at Cam-
perdown ; and, though it is anticipating, it is worth
here rematking, that in the bloodiest and most
decisive sea-fight in history—Trafalgar—there was a
total of 1,6147 British killed and wounded, 30 of our
oftkerti having been killed, exclusive of 3 who
died of their wounds !
The results of St. Vincent and Camperdown may
be stated as having raised the public feeling from
despondency, and as having inspirited England
rather than intimidated her enemas. To sitcom-
plish the latter, the Nelsonian battles were necessary.
When we recollect that Nelson died only as viscount
at Trafalgar, after his prodigies of personal valour,
besides his exploits at the Nile and Copenhagen, we
may feel surprise either at the moderate honours
awarded to Mtn, or the excessive ones given for a
single action to St. Vincent. But the state of public
opinion at the tune justified the earldom to Jervis;
and, recollecting that the Spanish admiral fought the
encounter, we must greatly admire the audacity of
Jervis in assailing such a numerous Beet as Cordova
cotonianded. It must also be recollected that
Jervis performed prodigious public services after-
wards as a naval administrator. Titular honours
have been often niggardly withheld, and sometimes
lavishly bestowed Lord Rodney was very Mused in
being made only a baron ; and it. was certainly very
hard to refuse a reversion of his title to that noble
mariner whom the author of "Singleton Fontenoy "
has so happily called "the Bayard of the Sea "—Col-
lingwood, whose genius was great, and whose glory
is without a solitary stain. It is not a little curious
that two brothers should have won glory as admi-
rals—Viscount Hood and Viscount Bridport—like
Nelson, the sons of a clergjinan. We have a
calculation (now before us) made in 1808. on
high authority, of the comparative number of peer-
ages traceable to the military and naval life. There
were then existing in the peerage, exclusive of any
extinct honours, fifteen titles won at sea—from Mon-
tagu, Lord Sandwich, in 1000, to Lord Gambier; and
there were fourteen military tithe, commtneing with
Marlborough in 17042, to Lord Cathcart in 1807.
Down to the saute dates there were not less than
twenty-seven peerages actually then in existence,
owing their origin to—the low.

Pu.or.

[l'o be continued.l

THE ELECTRIC TELRORAPH COMPAKY have laid
down a main of wires to the new Stoat Exchange,
in Throgmorton-street, for the us. of the members
of that establishment. The Stock Exchange will
now have direct communication with all places
reached by the electric wires, both on the Continent
and in the United Kingdom.
THn DP.ATHB REGISTERED re THE WEEK ended on
Saturday last declined to 1,14 U. The weekly average
in March bad been 1,305 ; and the decennial average,
corrected for the increase of population, is 1,228.
The Government is sendiog agents to different
parts to buy wooden steam vessels that will go about
eight miles an hour, and can carry two 80-pounders.
They have also ordered some half-dozen vessels to be
built as gun-boats and despatch vessels for the
Baltic. These are to be of 400 tons, with screw-
engines of about 160-horse power. It is expected
that in the course of ten weeks aurae of these ships
will be ready for the warm wtak in the North.
They will be powerful in speed as well as in
armament.
WHAT has the taste for ardent spirits done in tan years in
the htates of America?-1. It bar cost the nation a direct
expense of I 00,0(}0,0(J0 dols. 2. It has cost the nation an
indirect expense of 600,000,000 dole. 8. It bas destroyed
84X1,1100 lives. 4. Lt has sent 100.000 children to the
porhouse. 5. It has consigned at least 150,000 persons
to the gaols and penitentiaries. 6. It has made at least
1,000 maniacs. 7. It has inettgated to the mniinission of
1,500 murders. R. It has caused 2,000 persons to commit
suicide. 9. It has burnt or uthenrit.e destroyed property
I. die amount of 10$100$011 dots. 10. It has made 200 4'
widows.p and 10/10,000,
ceplao obildres.—lielt. Edward
zvereft. ' • • •

gni

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