Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-05-27 00:00:00

THE MOUNTAIN AND THE MOUSE.

SINCE Queen ELIZABETII reviewed the youth of
England at Tilbury Fort, there has been no such call
to arms as that which now resounds throughout the
land, rousing the martial ardour of the sons of
England. The Poet Laureate blows his trumpet, to
the tune of "Riflemen form ;" the Lord. Lieutenants,
unaccustomed to the receipt of orders from the
War-office, receive despatches, "on Her Majesty's
service," suggesting the immediate embodiment of
the best shots in their counties ; the Deputy
Lieutenants, whose duties have been, till now,
limited to wearing a handsome uniform at levees and
speakers' dinners, are commanded to attend public
meetings ; the new Tory Magistrates (who, of
themselves, would form four or five regiments of
heavy cavalry) are formed into recruiting com-
mittees ; and every lad, who has five pounds to
spend in " toggery," or an open credit with his
tailor, puts down his name as a " South Down-shire
Marksman," or a " Royal Short-horn Rifleman ."

, Actuated by the same loyalty, burning with the
same warlike spirit, our worthy Mayor calls a
meeting, at the Town-hall, which is attended by
enthusiastic crowds,—the army represented by the
noble defender of Kars, the navy by heroes from the
Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Emigration-office ;
the House of Commons, by our excellent member, Mr.
EWART ; " the flags," by a man who has most worthily
organised and most efficiently commanded a gallant
little band of " Volunteers ;" the bankers and mer-
chants, by the late member and the late candidate
for South Lancashire ; and
" When. the pie was opened,
The birds be.;an to sing.';
We were deeply disappointed with the burden of
their song. We anticipated a " town side " move-
ment—something which would do credit to our
loyalty, our public spirit, and our well-known
liberality. We hoped to see measures taken for a
really national movement —the immediate embodi-
ment of 20,000 men—their careful drilling and
instruction in the noble art of self-defence by the
excellent officers who were prepared to volunteer ;
and we find that the new rifle corps is to be limited
to those who are prepared, not only to sacrifice their
time, but their money ; that the class of Dives is
to be the only one invited to join in the defence of
hearths and homes equally dear to the peasant and
the prince; and that a movement which might have.
been made the means of bridging over the gulf
which divides rich and poor, is more likely to
increase the distance between them.

The regulation which, in spite of the manly and
sensible protest of Mr. .J. PEMBERTON HEYWOOD,
seems to be agreed upon, that every volunteer should
provide himself with dress accoutrements and arms,
and the general tone which prevails as to the
aristocratic elements of the new corps, both in Liver-
pool and in the rural districts, militates, in our
opinion, against the whole scheme, and robs it of
almost all its value. If, in the opinion of the
Government, it is desirable to rouse the warlike
spirit of the people, and to encourage the nation to
act as if an invasion of its shores were to be expected
-at any moment, it is the duty of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer to advance the trifling sum per man,
which would place the services of hundreds of
thousands at the command of Ganeral PEEL. If, in
the opinion of the gentlemen who met at the town-
hall on Tuesday last, the vast commerce and enor-
mous wealth of Liverpool is unprotected, and may
any day be threatened or destroyed by a hostile
" steamer of light draught," let them start a sub-
scription list, which would, within a few hours,
place a sum in their hands amply sufficient to fortify
the docks walls, man the guns upon the landing-
stage, and fit up the powerful tug-boats upon the
river with rocket tubes and Armstrong's guns.

The schemes for our defence bear no proportion to
the assumed greatness of our danger. The docks
may be bombarded to-morrow ; and the Mayor is
authorised to recei .-e the names of those young
gentlemen who are prepared to pay their own
expenses, and to sacrifice their Saturday afternoon.
Truly " much cry and little wool." The mountain
labours with an invasion of our shores, and brings
forth a select body of three hundred young gentle-
men, in dark green uniforms, practising at a target
near the Formby lighthouse.

We perfectly agree with those who urge that
every man, in these days of " wars and rumours of
wars," should know how to handle a rifle, and should
thus be prepared to defend his country when it is
attacked ; but it is not by the formation of select and.
aristocratic Rifle Clubs that this desirable result is
to be attained. These Clubs, however, are not only
harmless, but, in so far as they accustom young men
to the use of firearms, aro useful. We only regret

that they should be ushered in by a flourish of
trumpets so utterly disproportioned to their im-
portance. _

Of the fears which have led to this movement, and
of the uncandid itud timorous manner in which her
Majesty's Government have met the call made• upon
them, we shall speak on a future occasion.

TOANSATLANTIC PACKET STATIONS—The report of the
Commission appointed in 1850 to 'examine into the com-
parative merits of the ports of Galway and the Shannon as.
a Transatlantic packet station was republished yesterday,
pursuant to a motion made by Mr. Mansell at the end' of
the last Parliament. The Commission consisted of Captain
Beechy, Captain Smith, and Captain Coffin, and the report
is accompanied with an immense mass of evidence and
correspondence. The result of their investigations is more
favourable to the ports of the Shannon than to the rival
port of Galway. In the selection of a harbour, they say,
especially on a boisterous coast, much depends on the com-
parative safety with which a vessel, when arriving, may
be got within the limit of her port, or when clear of
her anchorage on departure, can be got out to sea clear of
the land on either side of her. The entrance of the Shannon,
situated only 32 miles from the outer horn of the Great Bay
formed between the Blaskets and Slyne Head, and having,
from the Blaskets on one side, and for a distance of about 15
miles on the other, a bold precipitous coast, which may be
safely approached at any time when it would be prudent
to run for a port at all, and above all, having that
part of the coast on the west lying in such a direction
as to form a natural protection from the southerly
and south-westerly gales, so formidable from the thick
weather which attends them, the situation of the Shannon
is rendered preferable to that of the port of Galway ;
Galway, it is true, has no tides of consequence, and so far
it has the advantage, but to vessels of the class and speed
of those required for packets, the stream of the Shannon
does not, ia the opinion of the committee, constitute an
objection of any moment. In point of situation, therefore,
they give a decided preference to the Shannon. The
question of expense is then entered into, and it is estimated
that the cost of making the port of Tarbet in the Shannon
available for packet service would be, say £75,000,
that the necessary works at Foynes would cost
£13,000 ; while at Galway a pier and basin would cost
about £230,000. While thus giving the preference
to the Shannon ports, the Commission at the same time
do not feel themselves justified in recommending eider
of the ports a 3 suitable to a service requiring the
greatest regularity and despatch, being of opinion that if
the required regularity were enforced, it would be at a
considerable risk. In these opinions, however, there is a
want of unanimity in the Commission ; one of its members
thinking it probable that, although admitting the boisterous
nature of the Irish coast; yet, taking all things into consi-
deration, the service would-nevertheless be carried out at the
Shannon with the same regularity, and with no greater risk,
than it would be if the station were at Liverpool, as at present,
or at Holyhead, if completed.