The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-27 00:00:00

(From the Daily News of this day.)

The question of the newspaper stamp has at length under-
gone a full discussion in the House of Commons. Last night,
the point at issue was not so mach the propriety of abolishing
the stamp, as that of bringing forward the subject at all until
the Chancellor of the Exchequer has made his financial state.
ment. The British public is certainly a strange mixture of
liberality and churlishness. We throw away millions, and
make as much fuss about a few thousand pounds a year as if
the national treasury were empty. We are almost ashamed
to record the fact that a considerable portion of the House
of Commons would absolutely refuse to perform an act of ac-
knowledged justice for the sole reason that it might cost the
country something short of 200,000/. a-year. What happened
only last night ? The Government has lately concluded an
alliance with the King of Sardinia—the conditions being that
the Sardinian Government is to send out an army of 15,000
men to the Crimea, and that we are to advance a million a-
year for the expenses that will be incurred. Some objection
indeed was made to lending a large sum of money, which may
possibly never be repaid, and the Tories, to do them justice,
protested against what looks very like a return to the perni-
cious policy of subsidies. Bat the thing was done without a
murmur. It was quite pleasant to witness the alacrity with
which our representatives voted away a million of next year's
taxes. No sooner had this been done than Mr. Deedes rose
and objected gravely to the immediate abolition of the news-
paper stamp, lest the Chancellor might not be able to spare a
fifth part of that sum from the revenue. Poor Sir Francis
Baring was petrified at the irregularity of the proceeding.
There are some men, we suppose, who are so attached to the
" established order," that they would sooner see the country
go to wrack and ruin than sanction the slightest change in
official routine. Once, too, when Sir Francis held a subordi-
nate position in the Government, an indiscretion of this kind
happened to lead to some rather serious consequences. The
memory of this disaster has haunted him ever since. It has
pursued him through life as the insect pursued 10, and has
now driven him into a course of policy which simply contra-
dicts every previous act of his political history.
So much for the financial side of the question. It is ex-
tremely doubtful whether the revenue will not benefit, in-
stead of suffer, from the change in the stamp law. But we
think it perfectly monstrous to allow any considerations of
probable loss to interfere with the enactment of a law
whose justice is so obvious. Sir Lytton Balwer, in
a speech of surpassing eloquence, had the honesty
and the 'courage to desert his party banner, and
to stand forth as the champion of an unfettered press. It is
positively ludicrous to read the whining complaints put forth
from week to week by persons who seem to think that the
character of the British press depends upon the payment of
a penny to the revenue for every copy that is sold. It is the
old story. As it was very properly put by more than one
speaker last night, every man wants protection for himself,
and denies it to his neighbour. Talk of inconsistency? Why
here are a score of papers that a few years ago were hunting
protection to the death, and triumphing over its final anni-
hilation, now beseeching the House of Commons to defend
them against competition. No. Let us make a clean breast
of it at once. As public journalists, we perform great ser-
vices, we gather an enormous mass of information, and pre-
tend to instruct our neighbours, but we still are human,
fallible, and inconsistent. We must refer our readers to the
admirable speech of Sir Lytton Bulwer for a crushing reply
to what we can only call the trash that has been uttered as
to the possible deterioration of the press in case the new bill
should pass into law. Why should the press deteriorate ?
The most probable result of Sir Coruewall Lewis's measure

will be, tha-,t instead of one class of daily newspapers we shall
have +pm and thn van! ,sns. +ha mnro Prnnnairna
while the poor will have a supply equal to their demand.
Statesmen must have a low opinion of the intellectual condi-
tion of their countrymen if they think that persons who have
been accustomed to daily journals, conducted as most of them
are at present, will b 3 content with an inferior article; and
the masses, as they are called, must be in a lamentable con-
dition if every 'cheap thing that sold must perforce be also
" nasty." No paper that fails to furnish news will live for a
single slay. There will be class journals of every kind, but
any journal professing to do what the morning papers do
now must be conducted as they are, or die. All we ask is,
that no legislation shall stand between us and tho public,
The price of our commodity will be regulated as easily as the
price of corn was on the abolition of the duty. For ourselves
we really don't want the few pennyworths of daily protection
that we are supposed to derive from the existing law. We
wish to be in the same position as other merchants, and to
make our own bargain with our customers, whether they be
the public or the Government. As for the cheap and pira-
tical newspapers with which we are threatened, the Attor-
ney-General last night expressed his opinion that the exist-
ing law of copyright is sufficiently strong to protect us
against any injury of that kind. But if these hopes should
turn out to be false, tho same House of Commons
.which has
decided to give full freedom to the press can surely enact a
new law to meet any emergency that may arise.4We do not
think that, so long as the British press maintains its present
character, or, rather, grows with the growth of years, ox.
pauding and advancing with the resources and demands of
the country, any man of sense will wish to destroy its power,
We have no desire to encroach upon the duties of our rulers,
except, indeed, so far as the greatest statesman is he who
most faithfully expounds the public opinion of his time. We
have our own work to perform, and are by no means anxious
to do more than to collect information from every quarter of
the globe, and to pursue it with faithful comments. Let the
public judge of us by our works. We are very certain that
in our case, as in the case of every other department (f
human labour, our success will be in proportion to our effi-
ciency. The House of Commons has now, by a considerable
majority, acknowledged the principle for which we contend,
and it is to be hoped that not many days will elapse before
the press is set free from those restrictions which have hither-
to done so much to thwart its legitimate influence, and have
at least made that the privilege of the few which ought to be
the possession of the many.

NAVAL AND MILITARY- INTELLIGENCE•

The fleet at Spithead was augmented in force yesterday by
the arrival of tho Colossus, 81, Captain Robinson, from
Devonport ; and the Centaur, 6, paddle
-frigate, Captain
Clifford, from Portsmouth harbour. Signal was made by the
Commander-in-Chief yesterday morning, at 7 o'clock, for all
the ships to unmoor, in order to take up now berths, and at
half-past 10 Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane went out in
the Fire Queen tender and hoisted his flag on board the Nep-
tune, 120, Captain Hutton, which ship immediately weighed,
in tow of the Bulldog paddle-sloop, and took up her appointed
position. The remainder of the fleet took Itp their berths in
succession ; the St. George,l2o, towed by the Dragon paddle-
frigate ; and the Calcutta, 84, by the Driver, paddle-sloop.
Sir Thomas Cochrane rehoisted his flag on the Fire Queen at
half-past 2, and returned to Portsmouth. The fleet is now
spread over a large length of water, in two lines, starboard
and port, with an outer line formed by the
The lines are moored N.W. by W., and S.E. bT E,, the shis
Paddle-steamers.
10.14 twn ambles,' 1,...,1+, -::---,, ---. eu. flues 0110 cabled
length
between. The flag-ships puke of Wellington an Exmouth appear the centre ships open with Portsmouth har-
bour. Two paddle steamers (ono at each extremity) are
moored at either end of the line-of-battle ships, forming an
advance guard—the Dragon Ea' .f a mile N.W. by W. from the
Neptune, and the Odin half a mile N, W. by W. from the St.
George.
The James Watt, Hastings, and Pembroke are still in har:
bour; meanwhile the Colossus las moored in the place of the
Hastings.
dated the Downs,
yeogrintwnion! to rise,
We had
and asliotnhainlkshiotwliekrseloyf we sleesth.
A letter from the24th adinst vanced squadron of the Baltic fleet,
~ MS—
" We, the advanced squadrot, are under orders, received
this afternoon, not to quit thisanchorage until the wind shifts
to the southward; it is now Plowing from the north, with
all'ilmevegliann a isda b
rather a rough passage round, the wind having freshened soon
occ
after our departure from Spithead, and by the time we had
reached Beachey-head it bleY a strong gale from the east,
accompanied with thick mist aid rain, The three large fri-
gates, however, made good wy against it, averaging 4i knots
per hour with three boilers, ecept the Euryalus, which used
four between Dungeness and tte Downs ; her steaming power
in rounding the South Foreland in the fresh gale that was
then blowing was the admiraton of every one who witnessed
it. The Arrogant steamed vell also, and if the Inaperieuse
had been enabled to use all hr power (which, from a trifling
accident to one of her boilers,she could not) it would have
been a good opportunity . fin testing the relative steaming
power of two of the finest frgates in the world—viz., the
Imperieuse and the Euryalui. The Imperious°, Euryalus,
and Arrogant anchored about p.m. on Wednesday, the Con-
flict about half-past 3. The lsk arrived the following morn-
ing, and the Archer anchoredthia morning.
...._ .

The Orion, 91, Screw; Capt.in Erskine, Is still lying up the
River Medway, hut is expotted down to Sheerness on Wed-
nesday next, when she will Rake in her powder, coals, &c.
Sunday last the vietuallini department at Sheerness was
sbhuosrilty-healldpelod, yebdusth3ipo
op;inigt
ipsVi
are ready for her at Ports-
month. s for her. We hear she is
mouth.

The Horatio, screw, the lon. Captain ,Cochrano, is still in
No. 3 dry dock, Shcerneg. A number of mechanics are
working at her early and Ito. When completed, she will
mount two of Nasmyth's ',lent guns, the diameter of the
Yi
breach of which is 3 ft. 3 it; at the muzzle, 2 ft. 74 in., and
carries a shot 3101 b. solid. The space between the foremosts
and mainmast is cut away z,
11 in. in breadth. These
guns are suspended by tw chains ; the rollers of the car-
riages upon which they trail will be some distance above the
upper deck. In consequecs of their being suspended by
these cbAblei little or 110 0:13112 COlllO4 um the deck when