The Sun.
London, England, 1855-10-02 00:00:00

WEST INDIA AND PACIFIC

MAILS.

SOUTHAMPTON, TUESDAY MORNING.
By the Royal Mail steamship Magdalena, Cap-
tain Abbot, we have dates from Vera Cruz, Sept.
4th ; Havannah, 9th ; Jamaica, 11th ; Trinidad
9th ; Barbadoes, 11th; St. Thomas, 16th.
The Magdalena brings 99 passengers, including
a number of invalid soldiers and sailors, and on
freight $1,369,489 in specie, of which $46,500 is
on account of the Mexican dividend, and the usual
cargo.
At Jamaica the weather had become more plea-
sant, but many cases of fever still existed. The
President of the Legislative Council was danger-
ously ill, and no hopes were entertained of his re-
covery. The Jamaica markets were a little more
active. Exchanges, sixty days, 1 per cent. pre-
mium.
At Grenada the weather was beneficial to the
crops, and, with sufficient labour, the results of
the next harvest would be unusually prolific.
A severe storm had passed over the adjacent
islands, and had done much damage.
At St. Lucia the heavy rains had done much
injury to the planting interest. The Legislature
had not met for some time past.
At British Guiana the Court of Policy was again
in session. The new Rum Bill had come into
operation. The weather was generally dry, and the
planters were getting busy. The sugar crop would
be low. The average business among the mer-
chants was still dull.
;later.,-intelligence has been received from Aus-
tralia to the 2d of July;- 'There is little additiozial

news. The supply of wool was limited • tallow
market dull ; hide market fairly supplied. The
quantity of gold arriving was not below the
average. Exchange on London, Bank drafts 3to
per cent. premium.
Pacific news, via Panama, states that the San-
tiago Railroad progressed ; and the telegraph be-
tween Valparaiso and Santiago had commenced
working on the 3d of August.
The powder magazine of the Chilean transport,
Indefatigable, exploded, shattering the ship to
pieces, killing three of the crew, and seriously
wounding the others.
The British ship William Cole was wrecked in
San Antonio Bay.

GENERAL SIMPSON-THE Bth OF SEPT.

" Accidents frequently happen to the most experienced
generals, against whom a great deal might be said, if experience
did not show that the most able are those only who commit
the fewest mistakes."— Turenne, Marshal-General of France.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING ADVERTISER.
Sir,—l have no wish to praise or dispraise General
Simpson, but mortified as he must be by the failure of
the attack on the Redan, I, appeal to your generosity
to allow me to interpose a few words between him and
you, and the editor of the Times, in your attack upon
him. The attack on the Redan was no sooner repulsed
than the subordinate officers of the army endeavoured to
criminate the men, and we may expect soon to hear that
the men recriminate on the officers, and that the Gene-
ral, in endeavouring to conceal the faults of both offi-
cers and men, as well, perhaps, as his own, purposely
penned his recent despatch in rather an incomprehensi-
ble manner. It is, however, to be inferred, both from
General Simpson's and the French despatches, that
blame, if blame there were, rests more with the officers
than with either our General or men. Supported by
officers not only brave, but well instructed and expert
in all branches of their profession, a person of but com-
mon abilities might command an assault with reputation
to himself ; but without such aid the efforts of the great-
est genius might be rendered unavailing ; and the de-
spatches leave much room to fear that whatever the
General's own abilities and acquirements may be, his
officers, however brave, were not of a kind either to
compensate for his defects, or to carry out his plans,
however excellent. This is a fault that has long, very
long, been inherent in the English army ; yet I would
not at the present time point it out, or dwell upon it,
were there not means of removing it ; but before point-
ing out these means, let me state some authorities as to

the inefficiency of our officers.
In 1658, the allied army, composed of English
and French, laid siege to Dunkirk, then held by the
Spaniards, and Marshal Turenne in his Memoirs*, has
recorded of the English that they behaved very well,
but brought very few conveniences to the siege, and
that, in the course of the operations, they attacked the
first pallisaeles at the ditch very vigorously ; but that
though they went boldly up, they knew not bow to lodge
themselves there, and always returned into the trenches
with great loss. This is language almost applicable to
recent events. The bravery of the English, as a body,
is admitted, but defects, arising solely from inefficient
officers, is as directly affirmed, and such is the case at
present with our officers of the Guards and line, amongst
whom our General forms but one. Colonel Windham

evidently never thought of effecting a lodgment by putt
ing his men under effective cover, for he had not taken
implements for the purpose, as he ought. The English,
who were not shot down before reaching the Redan,
were but few, for they only occupied a portion of the sa-
lient, or small front point of the work, while the Rus-
sians were so numerous that they not only occupied the
vello:e gorge, or wide rear, but had to form at least four
deep, for one or more of their front ranks had to kneel
to allow those in the rear to fire. In such a case, to
think of charging the Russians was worse than madness,
for the salient part of the work could not contain a suffi-
cient number of men to attack with success the over-
whelming numbers of the Russians, and, however often
it had been attempted, without our first renewing the
bombardment, it must have been repulsed. Colonel
Windham's first object, on finding the Russians in force,
should have been to effect a lodgment, and this he en-
tirely neglected. His subalterns seem to have been no
better than himself, if it be true that one wretched lad
amongst them (slinking behind, accidentally found
cover, perhaps, but whether so or not) was totally un-
conscious of the responsible position he held as an officer,
and occupied his time in smoking tobacco, as if the men's
lives that were under his care were not worth pre-
serving.
Muller, who was in the British Service, and a mili-
tary authority of great repute, in writing of our cam-
paign in 1794, sayst " that our troops had forgotten
how to relieve or how to besiege fortresses ;" and Lord
Londonderry, writing after the close of the last war,:ft
said that the British Government "never bestowed at-
tention upon the organisation of means, without which
the bravest troops in the world will bs liable to disaster,
as soon as they find themselves opposed by ramparts
and ditches ; and hence the British army, in no single
instance from the commencement to the close of the
Peninsular struggle, sat down before a fortified place
but under disadvantages."
Sir Charles Pasley, now alive, in a letter inserted in
the Times of 17th April, 1843, likewise admits the in-
efficient state of our army during the early part of the
Peninsular war ; but asserts that the engineers were im-
proved towards its close ; on which point, however, he
is not entitled to much respect, for he, a Peninsula en-
gineer, is obliged to admit that a former letter which be
had written to the same paper was "full of inaccuracies,'
and we all know that our attack on New Orleans was
most miserably managed, and entirely foiled by the
skill and ability of an old French sergeant who hap-
pened to be in the town. It is, however, the fact, that
our Engineers and Artillery have long been the most
efficient portion of our army, while our cavalry and in-
fantry remain, as they have long, if not always, been—
ignorant of permanent and field fortification, gunnery,
and attack and defence. As the Government and the
country at large are to blame for this as well as the
officers of the army, should we not endeavour to bring
our army into an efficient state without casting blame
on individuals who aeae no worse than their fellows ? The
first step to be taken is for this once to call on our En-
gineers and At tillery officers, and perhaps the Marine and
naval officers who are instructed in gunnery and fortifica-
tion, to select those most instructed in the use of arms, to
take the command and to organise a system under which
the whole of the younger part of the army may be com-
pelled to advance in the knowledge and use of arms and
fortification. It is undeniable that the corps I have
named are those only in our service where it is to be ex-
pected to find men capable of organising our army in an
equal or better manner than that of the French. It is
true that the effects of mess table habits and talk may
he found to detract somewhat even from the efficiency of
these officers, and the introduction of a little foreign
blood might, as of old, be beneficial. But, however that
may be, it is evident, from the investigations that took
place with respect to Lieutenant Perry, and on other
occasions, that the way in which the officers of the Line
and the Guards have hitherto spent their time, leave us
little to hope from them until they are reorganised.
There are but few of them you can be with but for a few
minutes, until they make some allusion to dinner or din-
ing, as surely as a Yankee will to dollars ; and the habits
and train of thought which lead to that will not be
eradicated without resorting to some such measure as
that which I propose.—l am, sir, your obedt. servant;
A. G.

* Vol. 2, pages 179, 181.
" Aluller's Elements." Vol. 3, p. 387.
" London der ry's Peninsula." Vol. 2, p. 190.1.

Mr. Rayner, well known on the turf and the stage,
died a short time since.
DEATH OF THE YEN. ARCHDEACON BROOKS.—It is
with feelings of sincere regret we announce the demise
of the Yen. Archdeacon Brooks, the senior rector of the
parish of Liverpool. The melancnoly event took place at
a quarter to one o'clock this morning, at his residence,
Everton-road. The rev. gentleman was in his usual health
yesterday morning, but on his servant entering his
study, at four o'clock in the afternoon, with refresh-
ments, she found him in a state of insensibility, and ap-
parently suffering from the effects of apoplexy. Medical
assistance was at once procured, but he never rallied.
The deceased was in his 81st year.—Liverpool Chronicle.
SHERIFFS' INAUGURATION DINNER.—The inaugura-
tion dinner of the newly-elected sheriffs, Mr. Alderman
R. H. Kennedy and Mr. Alderman W. A. Rose, took
place yesterday at the London Tavern, when about 270
gentlemen sat down in honour of the occasion—the two
sheriffs presiding. The dinner was, as usual, of a very
recherche character, and the company comprised nearly
all the civic authorities, in addition to other gentlemen
connected with the city of London, and several strangers
of distinction. Among those present were —the Lord
Mayor elect (Alderman Salomons), Lord William Len-
nox, Sir Edward Ryan. Major-General Bagnold, Capt.
Hood, RN., Captain Eastwick, Mr. Masterman, M.P.,
Sir J. Duke, M.P., Mr. Cubitt, M.P., the Chisholm,
M. Sebire, late Member of Council of the Prefecture of
the Seine ; Sir Charles Fox, Sir C. D. Crosley, Alder-
men Farebrother, Farncombe, Sir J. Musgrove, Sidney,
Finnis, Wire, and Eagleton, &c. The healths of the
Queen, Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, &c., were
given and responded to with the usual cordiality.
" The Navy and Army on service abroad," proposed by
Sheriff Kennedy, was received with marked enthusiasm
—the toast being replied to by Captain Hood on the
part of the navy, and by Major-General Bagnold for the
army. " The Health of the Lord Mayor Elect" having
been proposed and duly acknowledged, the healths of
the Sheriffs, the late Sheriffs, the Chisholm, and othet
toasts were proposed, and the company separated soon
after 11 o'clock. The musical arrangements were under
the direction of Mr. Ransford, who was assisted *by an
excellent glee party, and Mr. Harker acted as toast-

master.
SPIRITS OF WINE FOR MANUFACTURING PURPOSES.—
The excise order which permits the use of methylated
spirits of wine for manufacturing purposes, free of duty,
came into force on the first of this month. It would
appear that the beneficial change in our commercial po-
sition owes its origin to the representations made by the
Society of Arts to H.R.H. Prince Albert, who, impressed
with the fact that the very high duty on spirits of wine
placed an insuperable bar against all approach to fair
competitive rivalry between this and other countries in
many manufacturing processes, has successfully exerted
himself to remove the impost. The regulations to be
observed by consumers are now being issued gratuitously
by Messrs. Lightly and Simon, the well-known whole-
sale wine and spirit merchants of Fenchurch-street, who
have been licensed by the Commissioners of Inland Re-
venue to supply the spirit. The regulations are, of
course, of an especial and stringent character, and it
would be well if all persons desirous of availing them-
serves of the advantages offered by the new law in-
formed themselves of their nature,-9beerver,

THIS DAY'S NEWS

LAW INI'ELLIGENCE.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Fonblanque.)
IN RE PURNELL AND EAHL.

This was a meeting for last examination. The bank-
rupts were described as of 1431, Fenchurch-street, ship
and insurance brokers.
The bankrupts passed.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Evans.)
IN RE THOMAS EARLE.

This was a meeting for last examination. The bank-
rupt was described as of 44, Parliament-street, West-
minster, railway contractor and contractor for public

works.

No accounts hay* beon filed, the examination was
accordingly adjourned.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSION-HOUSE.

UTTERING COUNTERFEIT MONEY. —A middle-aged
female, who refused to give her name and address, was
charged with uttering a counterfeit sixpence on Saturday
night last, at the Three Bucks public-house, Old Jewry.
The prisoner went to the above house with a man,
and there tendered to the barmaid 6d. in payment for
some spirit, which was found to be bad. The man then
tendered a half-crown in payment, which was found to
be good. After that a second sixpence was tendered in
payment by the prisoner for some more drink be had from
the barman, which was also bad, which excited the sus-
picion of the barmaid and barman, and the consequence
was that the prisoner was apprehended. On the floor near
an empty cask, on which she had been sitting, was found
another counterfeit 6d., and on the following morning
the potman also found, near the cask, a small black bag
containing ss. 6d. in counterfeit shillings and sixpences.
The prisoner was committed for trial.