The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-22 00:00:00

et? (71'1
4'427
to lay all the south of ugland, under coati-
tione—to threaten Portsmouth, Plymouth, Sheer-
ss,
and Chatham, by turns—and, following the
era of Westermann in La 'Vendee, to T lay -
-waste the country with fire and sword. Might not
such a force so engage our whole attention as to
render it almost impossible to prevent it from serving
as the avant courier to a far more formidable inva-
sion ? The most effectual way to restrain the ravages
of such a body of men—ravages which, independently
of the amount of misery which they would cause,
might be the precursors of a struggle for national '
existence—seems to be that which we have now indi-
cated. And let it be remembered that, on the one
band, the new rifles, as Colonel Chesney has shown,
have greatly added to the resources of defence—
whilst, on the other, however defective may be our •
knowledge of the gun, we are unrivalled in the use
of the spade. With a large amount of convict labour
absolutely disposable, and with any required quan-
tity of free labour readily obtainable, we might soon--
and at-very little expense—construct works which, if -
defended by a due proportion of cennoneers and rifle-
nec n,:would so hamper the movements of an invading
force as to make it no easy matter to levy contribu-
tions on us. It is one thing to ravage an open
country with flying COhlillii4, skilled by African
practice in all t'ee arts, of plunder—and it it another
to undertake the
t atsteac okf
ohfenwvyorakrstiwnhericyh. could be only
overcome by te u
DAILY NE Wt3.—Yesterday in the letter of our
8
Portsmouth correspondent, we :aye an enumeration
no less startling than instructive of the floating garri-
sons w e maintain on the maritime frontiers of Turkey,
Portugal, China, Guinea, and Brazil, while our
own
shores are left undefended by ramparts either of wood
or stone. For purposes of cosmopolitan philanthropy
we keep an armed flotilla of eight vessels, five of which
are fast-sailing steamers, having a total of eighty-
eight guns, off the eastern coast of South America.
For similar benevolent objects we keep no fewer than
twenty- three vessels of war on the slave-trading
coasts of Africa ; besides nine ships, including three
steamers, at the Cape. Then there are between thew"-
North merican and West Indian stations fourteen
ships, out of which five are steamers, being a total of
253 guns, while in the Eastern Ocean there are no
less than fourteen vessels, four of them steamers,
mounting 286 guns ; and in the more remote Pacific,
fifteen, carrying 292 guns. The Lisbon squadron
consists of eight vessels with 818 guns ; and finally,
the Mediterranean fleet comprises a force of
six line-of-battle ships of 120 to 78 guns
each, two fifty-gun frigates, and nine steamers
which, with lesser craft, make up twenty in all,
carrying 780 guns. Now here is an amount of naval
power at the disposal of a single state such as the world
never before saw. There may have been a longer
list of armed sail in our grandfathers' time ; but
wind and tide were then irresistible, for steam as a
countervailing impulse was unknown. But taking
all things into account, whether we regard celerity
of movement, precision of direction, or weight of
destructive metal, we repeat that Great Britain pos-
sesses the most wondrous naval force that has
ever floated on the world's waters. Strange and
humiliating, that in the same breath we are com-
pelled to own that the seaboard of the United
Kingdom should nevertheless lie—as it does at the
present hour—denuded of all protection from its
natural guard—a ready and a tempting prey to any
piratical adventure or perfidious coup de main. How
is this ? Who is to blame ? What is the remedy
for a state of things so intolerable ? And how can
it most speedily and effectually be secured? These
are grave questions which will press for an imme-
dtate and explicit answer at the hands of Ministers on
the re-assembling of Parliament. Let us endervour to
anticipate a little in what manner they will be answered.
We can readily imagine with what consummate
rhetoric Lord John Russell will begin to wind up the
sentimental patriotism of his hearers in the Lower
House, on the theme of the "coast in danger." We
can fancy the enthusiastic chorus of lordlings and
would-be lords which will be awakened by every
historical allusion to " the flag that braved a thousand
years the battle and the breeze." And we can but
too readily realise the rollicking air with which Sir
Charles Wood may offer to whistle away the surplus
of revenue, in order to raise new regiments and com-
mission additional ships for the benefit of the united
service, and all younger sons and brothers who are
anxious to belong thereto. We have little doubt that
every true Tory would hail with delight such an an-
nouncement. Increased armaments mean two things
in prcesenti, beside much more in expectancy. They
mean increased outlay among the idle classes, and
upon the most worthless portion of them whose
maintenance in economic times is often burthensome
to beads of noble and honourable families. They
further imply the probability of some quarrel with
somebody or other being speedily picked, in order to
give the new battalions something to do—a prospect
full of charms to those self-same classes. Then in no
distant perspective there is seen gorgeous visions of
enhanced prices and augmented customs' duties. A
corn- law was but a substitute in peace for the un-
limited blessings of war ; and the landed interest would
cheerfully relinquish their pauper-spirited demand for
protection were they assured of the surpassing bene-
fits of a general European war. It is not in prefer-
ence that they harass their own people and strip their
native fields of the fruits of the peasant's industry.
They would rather be let loose against neighbours or
strangers, in the Christian-like acquisition of prize-
money or other kinds of what is considered honourable
plunder—with the comfortable assurance of pensions,
titles, and decorations at the end of the campaign. The
military profession is more than sufficiently repre-
sented in the present Ilona() of Commons. But were
it not so, the instincts and sympathies of the
classes, who contrive to make their own of it in the
main, would be certain to insure any proposal for
more armaments a rapturous reception from the
irresponsible Members for uncontested counties and
incontestably corrupt or controlledsbnoorn a boroughs
Ministerialhsltre-
re-
mains, however, to ask, how would
been sent by intelligent and independent..constituen-
cies
announcement be received by. those who really have
to defend them against evils from .
to Parliament, to watch over thweiztrhinnteraesswts,elal and
dangers from without ?
and from
tdbuet
discharge manifestly
ofnaeri e.
devolved upon them; an
ted. No good and wise
nei-
ther can they.
ruler, he owes to the ing all necessary
citizen can be indifferent beexusntdaetpetro,arteotsfheter
vt.oaa_bkrli.iogna.t ion which, as a
at liberty
at
the o trifle with
or Nethaopersii
esuch
h integrity
ofm
means for its safely
an
cy
eople. But onbutlhlwieeidllother hand, no
will feel
realm,himostoeslrf
to
leave
the_ lives and properties of a
fo-
reign gt hoe
de ap
wise legislator
into
oer
refitting
and b bamboozled bameoo or
neck the blood-stained and
gtpoeoaocdhefeul p
which, from 1793 to 1815, the
burigonhaniagieyockoeunitnry's
landed oligarchy held the nation, until its strength
had been wasted, its constitution undermined, its debt
enormously increased, and its very heart tainted by
incessant thoughts of ruthless violence and merciless
revenge. We know bow many years of peace it took
to restore anything like a healthful, moral, or indus-
trial tone to the system, prostrated as it was left at
the end of the last European war. We were indeed
victors, but at what a cost were our martial triumphs
forwardthat
to purchased ? Have we paid off the, incumbrances of
infatuated Struggle yet or no we ever look
._
being able to do so ? We cannot easily
forget our eight hundred millions of debt.
No ; and, therefore, we say let us in our
present emergency think, speak, and act as sober-
minded and as honest men. Let us, instead of
rushing blindly into new taxes or new debt in
order to provide gold lace and glory for our idle
gentry and nobility, look narrowly into _
_the actual
resources we fortunately possess ; and see if they may
not ne tound suttirnent for au our real needs. Let the
fleets in the Tagus, on the American coasts, and
wherever else they can bast be spared, be at once
summoned home. If there be positions which we
cannot abandon, let these be still maintained ; but let
the Quixotic and questionable function of acting as
naval sentry on the courts or coasts of foreign na-
tions be relinquished, as it ought to have long since
been. When England has been made secure—and
her free people can once more sleep in an assured
peace—
then let Lord John propose a new tax, or a
new loan, to equip a fleet for the use of the Queen of
hopeful Portugal—anderyßut let
let
himnot go
the tnoatthioenhb jockeyed into
uestings on that
estimates for the defence of the realm, when we nerve,
afloat in foreign waters the most powerrul
magnificent fleet the world has ever seen•
aanctdua lly

THE ENGINEERS' STRIKE.
Yesterday,
of any event likely to eir employers.
of the dispute
between the passed
chaugoevetrhowiathsopeuttt the occurrence
operative engineers and
No advance has yet been made towards a reconcation
between the two parties, although the gbneral expres-
siou of opinion upon the part of the operatives continuos
to run in favour of a fair settlement by arbitration.
The cost of the strike appears likely to prove very
heavy to the operatives, as a sum of 782/. was distributed
as strike pay, for the past week in Manchester alone.
A large portion of this sum, however,
was made up of
contributions of a day's payby the
men in work, so as
greatly to relieve the pressure upon the general fund- of
the society. The returns of expenditure from other
places have not yet been received.
yesterday re-
-office, upon the subject of the
Twenty-two additional returns were
cleoi,voeodo/a.tcot-hoepgereanteirvae.igPrlsntt, the whole of which were in
favour of the proposition. The total number of returns
now received amounts to about ninety-five, of which only
three are in the negative.

GREYHOUND SALE.—Mr. Webb. of Worcester's
celebrated kennel of greyhounds came to the hammer at Tat-
tersall's on Monday last. The twenty-five lots produced
315%2 ynneas, and the principal prices obtained were for
War Eagle, 42gs. ; Wrestler 36gs. ; Well-I-nevers, 31gs-;
Wicked Eye, 25gs. ; a nineteen months' first season dog, by
Czar, out of Havoc, 16gs. • dog by
and a ten months' PuPPY
.
War Eagle, out of Smith's Signora, 25gs. The first four
were of the same litter (April 15th, 1847), and have reahzed
a very large amount fa their late oiraer ja gisk"'