Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-01-18 00:00:00

BALL AT NEW BRIGHTON.

The annual ball in aid of the "Wallasey Ladies'
Charity" took place last night, at the "Club-rooms,
New. Brighton, under the patronage of Mrs.,Hughes.
This ball, has always come off with. great eclat, and that
of last night was in, no respect an exception to the
general rule, either in point of attendance, or as a
charitable effort. Nearly two. hundred were pre-
sent 'of the elite of, the district. . The arrangements,
thanks to the efforts Of Mr. Hassall, president, and MT.
Bates* secretary, Were most perfect, and the harmony
which consequently prevailed, throughout the' night
rendered it, comparatively speaking, one of the most
successful of the season. The mirth and gaiety never
6gged, and another day had been ushered in to the
inspiriting strains Of Mr. Philips' band ere the assembly
broke up. The following ;is the programme of the

dances :
Quadrille
Walt z
• Polka
Lancers
Tlle supper, wh
stNle; was provid,
Hotel, New Brie

Waltz
Galop
Quadrille
Polka

Waltz
Lancers
Waltz
Galop
in the nio§t 'elegant
Lt, 'of the Victoria,

rich was served up i
den. by Mr. Garra
.11ton.

'OUR NATIONAL. DEFENCES.

At.the Bootle Church, School-room, last evening, Mr
Wilson delivered a lecture on " The Emperors and our
NatiOnal Defences." The room was completely filled
by a mast respectable audience, a. large number of whom
were dressed in the uniform of the rifle corps. The chair
was occupied by the Rev. Mr. Crump. ',
Mr. WILSON having, in, the first part of his address,
named the principal events in the life of the first
Napoleon, proceeded with the second division
of his subject, in which he proposed to give -a
brief account of. the life of the present Emperor, to
indicate his probable ,course of action for the future,
and to show the necessity of at once completing our
national defences. The lecturer recounted the main
features in the history,of Napoleon 111., showing the
part he took in the last.revolution, the horrors of which
were graphically described, and the want of principle
which had characterised all his actions, his only object
being to secure his ends. This country was the first: to
acknowledge him as Emperor, our government acting
upon the principle, that every nation has a right to
chose in what manner they shall- be ruled. The late
Emperor- of Russia never acknowledged him ; and in
consequence Napoleon sought an English alliance, which
lasted till the end of 1848, but was then shaken by the
offensive languacre which ,was allowed to appear in the
pages of the iltosageur... Such alliances, the lecturer
said, were not desirable. Despotism and liberty cannot
combine—a fact shown by the -experience of the laSt
ten years.. England was dragged into a Russian war ;
and, when prepared to prosecute it more vigorously, the
Emperor suddenly_ stopped short, made peace, and left
us in the. lurch. There never was a greater mistake
than the French alliance. It made this country more
or less antagonistic to, the rest of Europe. It was all
very well to be on good terms with every one, but too
close intimacy was, as in every-day life, not consistent
with continued friendship. Our government ought to
be careful at this moment when the French are coveting
another alliance upon the difficult and intricate question 1
in regard to Italy, with which the less we have to do i
the better, our moral support to the Italians being suffis
cient. ,For some years there has been a disposition on
the Continent, and particularly; in France, to underrate
the military power of this country, to lead people to
believe that we have lost that. prestige which we once
possessed, that our god is money, our hearts wrapped up
in spindle, in loom, and in all branches of trade ; and,
our power being overrated, our navy crippled, and our
army reduced, that we could easily be invaded with
success. This disposition not only misleads our enemies
but reduces materially cam moral power with natural
allies. 1; lance ' and Austria hid some groundwork. for
their assertions in the tut recently crippled state of our
army And: navy,, which was owing to the exertions of
such cheese paring statesmen as the late Joseph liamei
Cobden, Bright; and others' of the Manchester, school.
A few extra millions ten. Years since Would have saved
us tens of millions; and an expenditure of an extra ten
or twenty millions now would probably save us hundreds
of millions at some Ouse time., Thanks to the late
government, and Sir John Pakington in particular, our
navy is now assuming that position which it is our
best policy to cite it, and which in the end would prove
the cheapest. Who, he,.would ask, won the battle of
the Alma, when the Russian general said he could hold
his position for three weeks ? Nothing but the indomi-
table "phials " of. the British soldier could have carried
those heights, crowned as they were by the well-armed
Russian batteries. ' One poor fellow, whom he saw at
Bootle the following spring, and who had received A
bullet throUgh his throat, described the fire and carnage
as fearful, and told him that the river, which was up to
his waist when he crossed towards the Russian position,
only took him np to the ankles when he returned, the
bottom being filled with the bodieO of English soldiers.
The same courage was displayed throughout the Crimean
campaign ; and they wanted any further instance of
it, they might cast their eyes to India and note the acts
of heroism performed,. not only' by theiarmy. but by
civilians' and even by those of the •gentler sex. Then
ey must
againstntr nr
yo
he would ask, are we not a military nation ? He
thought, that after what he had stated none could doubt
it ; and,. if the possession of heroic courage, of nerve,
of energy, , and of skill were elements of a military
natiOn, they were possessed by the Anglo-Saxon race in
an eminent degree. This was the race of which our
Rifle - and Artillery volunteer regiments had been
formed ; and they must also . bear in mind that
British soldiers and British sailors were volunteers;
for, in this country, men are not, as they are on the
Continent, doomed from their birth to serve in war.
se t n
numberedhl
wioss
anees do s;ui
The Emperor Napoleon, thoughhe had frequently called
his empire one of peabe, could not keep quiet ; and how
was it likely with such an immense army ? He had a
great destiny to fulfil, which he had said was to restore
the. empire, humhle Europe., and avenge Waterloo.
Russia was a main cause of his uncle's misfortune ; and,
therefore, Russia must be humbled first ; and they all
remembered the fall of Sabastopol. Austria came next,
and they well remembered how he placed 150,000 men
in Italy and drove them out, though he had stated when
questioned by our government regarding his mighty
armaments, that he was merely placing his forces on a
peace footing and making good the losses occasioned by
rtodywoo. , of:Imo:hoer
rpn,eohlateehno thought
hostility.uo
nghw haadsf
These
whetherfacts
hwere
was
the worthym oafna
ot attention,
nti
peaceon,
andthe Rituwssaiasna wvare.stion
whichh e '
existingw as s.
o mi
ne Andkind-hearted
trancet, i,
oldar,a.h,
,7t
Louis Philippe published a pamphlet showing how easy.
anof .iionvovassiioonn. of
Hthisisorcmo country
frequently said that he had received hundreds Of plans
being continually increased, and he was increasing his
navy to, an enormous -extent; and what did all this mean?
What does he waiitwith so large a navy, except for aggres-
sion ? Re was building flat-bottomed boats capable Of-con-
taining 2,000 cavalry, and this looked very like a strategem
of his uncle when on the heights of Boulogne. It was
not now as then. Men could be brought down by rail
' to Cherbourg, -which was only a few hours' sail from the
coasts Of England. In the late war steam was unknown,
but now we are more open to attack. Then the army,
including militia and volunteers, amounted to 800,000
men; he questioned much'whether we could now count
500,000. The Continent was' in a most unsettled con-
dition, and each state was armed with the dread of a
coming war. Who could tell when it would break forth?
He should then arm not only for defence, but to enable
England to take that position in Europe which it was
right she should occupy. He concluded by expressing
a wish thit the government would lose no time in corn-.
pleting the coast defences, and that the rifle Corps move-
ment would go on and prosper. At the conclusion of
his lecture, as well as frequently during its progress, the
lecturer was warmly applauded,
' The CHAIRMAN said, that after the expression of
approbation which had reached his ears, he need hardly
invite them to thank Mr. 'Wilson for his interesting,
able; and instructive lecture, and he begged to be
allowed on their behalf, to convey to him their Most
cordial thanks. (Applause.)- *Whether Louis NaPo-
peon will attack this country was only known to that
dark, enigmatical, and spbynx-like mind which rules the