The Express.
London, England, 1848-09-21 00:00:00

General CAVAIGNAC is not amen of first-rate mind,
nor of great political experience ; bat he is brave,
reedit* homeet,•straightforward, and noble-minded,
and it would be ditlieult to tad one better fitted
than he to t e the chief of a ties state, with a
responsible ministry under him. C&VAIONAC. as
prandial; would be a persemal_ parades to the
party, whilst the abehdlelediem....6.allekhi
CPellartrusted by hies to thew ape& sad
men, who are to be had May on the rtes awe 1
the Assembly. The chief dap, that now -resin
the republie, springs add* fame the ismnpuelly of
tholes to wham it bm Wrested tandem NA
authority. Let the impel* redeem this by the ap.
mil mapaymmattirtaly sale awl
merit and andiame mania soon deviUdt into thdr
leenThe sameed am&
ffiesedind end widow state of *Eke
in the pavans, lemeever, leads government
and the Aims* hdle to shriek from either
idemittimg the new mmetitudan or the else-
tion of a peaddent to the ordeal of popu-
lar same, The inpoilessy of completing both
these great acts by the-Assrably itself is mooted, if
not decided. Government wished to send commis-
sioners to nomad
salailestatio public and provincial
opinion on the the Assembly forbade
their appointment. tis very dictatorial and man-
etiatiesal for the Assembly to keep to itself their
attributes of sovereignty. For a persident, named by
the Assembly, will be but a dependent on the Amen-
bly. Whilst, on the other band, a president named
by the people, were he a Louts Nirotion, for
example, might without arrogance meditate the
throwing the Assembly out of the window, es no very
heinous or impossible exerciee of authority.
The time is fast approaching when theme bly
must decide which course it will pursae. sult
of the Paris elections, especially if Louis Dravida;
be returned, will have its affiance ; and we have
little doubt that the election of General CAVAIONAC
will be considered a sike qui. nom, and accomplished
at all risks by men of all parties aware how indispens-
able that measure is. To this, we are sorry to add,
too many members of conflicting parties reconcile
themselves by the belief that Gen. CAVAIONAC =keys'
but weakly health, and that his constitution requires
a warmer climate than that of Paris. The establish-
ment of the constitution and the elevation of CA-
VAIONAC by the Assembly would thus wear the cha-
racter to many of a temporary arrangement, not
excluding their hopes, and not even, we fear, super-
seding their efforts and intrigues. It would be a
trots, however, and a desirable one, and will as inch
be adopted and supported by every intelligent French

IT is a sound maxim in tactics that when any hesi-
tation or wavering is apparent in the ecemy's lines,
then is the time to charge. The advocates, apolo-
gists, and palliators of what they call liberal, and rea-
sonable men all profilate public expenditure, are
obviously at this moment full of misgivings and
trepidations—now is the time to charge.
The Mines indulged yesterday mornins in some
rather severe remarks on the laxity and
went which prevail in the dockyards, and
department of the Woois and Forests. The Globe,'
yesterday afternoon, enlarged upon the increased cost
and diminished efficiency of the navy, caused by the
excessive number of naval officers. The Times, it is tame,
records a protest in favour of a large naval establish-
ment, and the Globe regrets that no mater el reform of
the abuse which it points out can be speedily sdiested.
In fact, neither of them have any serious win te
mote the cause of real retrenchment and
reform, but the cold shadow which the withheld evi-
dence taken by the committee on navy, army, and
ordnance estimates, casts before it, has chilled the on-
rkte of both. They feel the necessity of temporising,
and of speaking fair the earnest and growing deter-
mination to have the national accounts thoroughly
overhauled and rectified which pervades the public.
They are willing to reform in minor matters, in order,
by their business and baste, to withdraw attention
from greater. They cannot stem the torrent, and
therefore seek to waken it, by withdrawing a portion
of its waters into side drains and canals; and in these
insincere and inadequate operations they are but types
of the great body of officials a-d expectant officials
who seek to obstruct, impede, and decry financial
reform.
It is true, as the Globe learnedly and laboriously
demonstrates, that the supernumerary officers in the
navy are a source both of weakness and unneoesemy
expenditure. Bat it is equally tree that the sdidsteirs,
whose constant and ancomprognisiss apoi=se
Globe is, have refused to ogres to reduce see
from 160 to 100--a nosesan whisk the evidgasesiMr.
SID axv RIMBERT dowel to be ensedient and peas&
cable, and which the mumbles en navy, arney, ad
ordnance estimates resseameninL It is tree, as the
Throes has visaing* andiresd, that a mins of the
laxity and iniesengeog white pervade ear dock-
rude and cam merman! establilineds weed be
highly condeefeete esenomy. But it is also true that
to effect a retrenehasent that can be sensibly
felt by the overburdened tax-payere, we must not
rest contented with regulating, but most also curtail
these establishments. lt is true, as the Examiner
wittily pointed out last Saturday, that the fay:aims.
Use which characterises our large men-of-war is as
ridiculous as it is scandalous. But it is equally true,
though the Zraminer overlooks the fact, that the
busy idleness which prevails on board these ships is
the necessary consequence of having more ships in
commission than we ma find work for. All the re-
marks of the journals we btu named are valuable as
showing that a screw is loose—that a maviction of the
amity of economy sad rensaehasent is gaining
ground ; but they also skew inability to discover the
root of the evil, or unwillingness to set to work to
eradicate it.
The unman's:By large naval establishment which
t keep on foot is at the bottom of all the
government
mismanagement which the journals we
have quoted, following at last our example, are begin-
sing to complain of.
In 1836 the number of her Majesty's ships and
vessels on the different stations was 167; their total
complement of men was 20,287. la 1848 the nambw
of ships and mods is 236 ;their told esegpireme
men, 39,124. These figures *rem bee
the increase in the force sad spew .11::nat
armaments which has taken pine amiss the interim.
The composition of the bream igloo a ceder
change than the number al dips 1111 i
Oar steam navy has been woad oboe the former
period. The addition of wee simmers to the navy
bas been accompanied by eras small naiades la the
total number of sailing vessels el war, bed the wow
Lion tau been confined entirely to the am of
smaller vessels. The number of the larger dam el
ships has been increased since 1838, eel the
complements of men have also been increased. The
number and garrisons of our floating fortressek
(so the large ships of the lies may be called) have
been augmented, and a more powerful and effective
class of lighter vessels has been substituted. The
substitution of steamers for railing vessels, to die-
the duties which devolve on the lighter crag
employedel as means of couununication between the
ships of the line, as explorers, and as agents for
striking unforeseen and eisesehed blows, ought to have
enabled government to ?edam the number of ships
and mad m somuniajois ; indeed of that both have
been increased. A larger amount of the perfected
and more powerful machinery of naval defame is
used than was need of the old inferior machinery, and
at an infinitely guider cost
According to Mr. SIDNIT HERBULT we have at this
moment war steamers afloat, with an aggregate horse-
power of 28,000. Of this amount 3,150 must be
deducted for packets, leaving 24,610 immediately
available for war purposes. The Pm& have 20,000
horse-power afloat in war stearnem, and abut 3,850
in packets. But, besides our war steamemo, we pay
annually a large sum for contracts for maybe the
mails in steam vessels Lailt under the inpielin of
the Admiralty, capable of carrying the lersed put
and of which the Admiralty may, in toms- of
the contracts, avail themselves in one of war.
Cunard's line has nine such stem= if
400 horse-power each ; the West Whet lee
to of 400, and four of 260 ; the Palmier
and Oriental Company have 3 of 500, 4 of 400, and 2
of 250. The whole *ewe of the 28,000 horse
purer of war steamers and packets is borne by the
country, and considerable part of the expense of the
32 contract mail steamers, and all are meant to be
turned to amount in case of war. To the expense of
this arm of our naval faros must be added the extra-
vagant and ill-conducted steam factories at Heyham,
Portsmouth and Woolwich, and those which are con-
templated or in the course of erection at Bermuda,
Gibraltar and ?delta.