The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-14 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, JAN. 14, 1364.

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The Moniteur is M. TRIERS' justification. That
is—if he needs justification. Such, however, we our-
selves do net conceive to have become in any way
necessary. And, if for no other reason, for this—
that his Majesty the EMPEROR was himself the one
to take the initiative in the revival of the agitation
of the grand constitutional question of Reform.
NAPOLEON 111., and no other than NAPOLEON 111.
took the initiative thus—it is only fair to remember
it—quite spontaneously. He voluntarily—in obedi-
ence to no pressure from without—of his own free
will—of course in the interests of his dynasty, but
from whatever motive, we repeat, it was the French
EMPEROR himself who quite spontaneously revived,
about a year ago, in the stagnant political atmo-
sphere which Frenchmen had been doomed, until
then, to breathe ever since the date of the coup d'etat,
the first refreshing gusts of returning Freedom.
That Freedom of some kind has already, indeed,
returned to France at the bidding of the EM-
PEROR, 15 proved by a variety of facts, facts visible
on all hands, facf.s beyond the reach of con-
tradiction. Why, it is, for that matter,
proved to absolute demonstration by the vary speech
just now delivered from the Legislative tribune
by M. TRIERS, as the mouthpiece of the Op-
position. That noble and, in many respects,
dauntless oration is demonstrative of itself that
freedom of discussion to no inconsiderable ex-
tent has, oven now, been assured to France,
by the will, at the instance, in compliance
with the personal suggestion, of the despotic
ruler who holds, the while, within his single grasp,
within the vigorous and delicate grasp, of his strong
right hand, the whole of the accumulated reins of
the Imperial Government. Thanks to his common-
sense regard for his own dynastic interests, if for
no other loftier or less selfish reason, France is

already tasting the reinvigorating sweets of return•
g Liberty of various kinds. Liberty of Represen-
t4tion—proved by the result of the elections, more
especially by the return of the Opposition candi-
dates throughout the arrondissements of Paris,
without one solitary exception! Liberty of Speech—
proved by this very Oration of M.THIERs, an oration
delivered by him even from the tribune of the Corps
Legislatif, under the Presidency of a high official
as imperially fastidious as M. Le Due DE MORNY !
Freedom of the Press—ex. gr. the verbatim report
of that bold, manly, thoroughly outspoken harangue
of M. TRIERS, as given, ipsissima verba, in the
columns of the Muniteur ! Let it be borne in mind
that this speech of M. THIERS is one characterised

by nt , ordinary boldness. It is, in some sense, a great

liberal manifesto. It is, in its whole purport'
dire ctly in harmony with that most noble, and,
indl ied, we would even go so far as to say, most affect-
ing peroration of ADOLPHE TRIERS' " Histoire du
Col isulat et de l'Empire," the closing words, the
cl!c caning thought of that grand historic master-
p icce--Vorthy at once of the genius of the histo-
ri sits and of the glory of his Hero—where M.
'WEBS completes the record of the wondrous
c aree r of NAPOLEON THE GREAT with—A Cry for
'Libez rty Andihe is consistent—not only in echo-
I low, with his eloquent lips, that cry from the
of his soul, inscribed in immortal words by
no less eloquent pen upon the tablets of History

is consistent in identifying always with his full
and earnest appreciation of the Child of the Revolu-
tion, his own persevering advocacy of those liberal
prim 3iples which it was the office of the Revolution
to in augurate, and of which principles NAPOLEON,
as ti Le great Revolution's Child and Champion, was,
in the very truest sense, the living incarnation.

They are no idle words, we may be certain,
these words addressed to the French Legislature
by M. TRIERS on Monday, and published in extenso
immediately afterwards—not suppressed as in-
discreet, bat printed verbatim et literatim—in the
columns of the Moniteur. Words, thoughts, con-
victions, the weighty mrort of which are com-
pressed within the compass of the final sentence of
M. 'THIERS' harangue—that last (accordingly as it
may be received between the Nation and the
EMPEROR) either formidable or auspicious sentence
is which M.THIERS said," Let it never be forgotten
that France, scarcely awakened, and with whom
the exaggeration of desire is so prompt, if she
now allows it be asked for in a deferential
and respectful manner, may, perhaps, one
day exact it." Or, to give the very words
in which this burning truth fell from the great
orator's tongue :—" Qu'on ne I'oublie pas, tontefois,
ce pays a peine eveille, ce pays si bouillant et chez
qui l'exageration du desir est si pres du reveil, s'il
permet aujourd'hui qu'on demands pour lui d'une
maniere deferente et respectueuse, un jour pent-
etre it exigera !" The literal truth of which assur-
ance who is there in the wide world who shall
gainsay ? Certainly, for one—not the French Ex •
PER OR ! With his judgment chastened in the school
of adversity—with his intelligence, naturally large
and keen, enlarged by reflection and rendered more
penetrant by experience—with his dynasty to
cons)lidate, with his throne to strengthen,
with his son's interests to cherish and
conserve, with every conceivable inducement
impelling him to undertake the realisation of the
designs he himself has been the first to indicate
as lying before him in the Path of his Duty—Naro-
LEON 111. can only be in doubt, now, can only be
disposed yet to hesitate, as to the time at which, as
to the proportions in which, the imperial institu-
tions of France under his rule shall be widened,
deepened, elevated, according to his own
projected scheme for their wise and constitu-
tionally liberal development. Already he him-
self has put his hand to the work of
this development. Hence, in simplest truth, as a
pure matter of fact—an Opposition has been called
into existence in the bosom of the Imperial Legis-
lature ! Hence—all Paris has been enabled to
return the popular candidates, by preference to the
candidates proposed for its acceptance by Govern-
ment ! Hence—radiantly conspicuous at the head
of that compact but powerful Opposition, appears
the oratorical and statesmanlike genius of
M. TRIERS, the genius of that indepen-
dent and patriotic historian who, having
raised as it were a Temple of Fame, are
perennius, to the glory of NAPOLEON, did so appa-
rently in order that from the topmast pinnacle of it,
he might all the more effectively, in accents that
will resound through the hereafter, raise that one
dominant cry of his soul, that Cry for Liberty.

The news from New Zealand is important, and
on the whole satisfactory, although in one respect
it leaves room for regret. The natives have suc-
ceeded in evacuating their stronghold at Mere-
Mere without coming into collision with the troops,
and notwithstanding loss of life has been thereby
avoided, the advantage of gaining a decided victory
over them has been consequently lost. It will be
remembered that the Maories strongly entrenched
at a place called Mere-Mere, which was protected in
front by the river and in the rear by a labyrinth of
swamps and marshes. At this spot General CAME-
RON had concentrated his forces, resolved by a grand
coup to reduce the natives to submission, and an
attack was daily expected when the last news left.
It seems that the new iron steam gunboat lately
arrived from Australia arrived at the Waikato Heads
at the close of October, and occupied her appointed
position facing Mere-Mere. The Maories endea-
voured to oppose this proceeding,and used their guns
with so much skill as to give rise to a suspicion
that they were directed by Europeans. The iron-
clad vessel, how- ever,was proof against their salutes,
and remained ready for further operations. The
gunboats already on the spot commanded the river
and a small str...am adjoining, so that it was con-
cluded that the Maories would endeavour to retreat
by the land, and accordingly the ironclad steamer
proceeded a few miles up the river to land a de-
tachment of troops so as to frustrate any such at-
tempt. An attack was immediately made by the
natives on this position, but without success, and
arrangements were made for a united attack the
next day en the entrenchment from which it was
supposed that all means of retreat had been com-
pletely cut off. Native subtlety, however, and an
unthought of contingenoy frustrated the General's
plans, for before the appointed hour for the assault,
Mere-Mere was deserted, without, it is said, the loss
of a single man. The condition of the river had not
been taken into consideration, its swollen state
having converted the swamps into highroads for
the native canoes. It is said in one account that
they were seen taking their flight in 18 canoes,
but could not be followed. It is certainly im•
probable that the British forces had any boats of
sufficiently light draught to be able to pursue
them, while the skill of the natives in such a
case would of course be far saperior, and would
probably have enabled them to baffle their pur-
suers, had their designs been discovered earlier.
It is a further proof of the quickness and handi-
ness of the Maories, and their readiness in taking
advantage of any chance that may arise in their
favour. It is certainly a great thing that they
should be dislodged from their strongholds, which
is now in the hands of our troopsi who have
taken possession of three pieces of cannon left
there, thus depriving the Maories of one of their
most formidable resources. The body of natives
who were encamped at Mere-Mere have disap-
peared from siglit, having probably dispersed,
but the experience now gained by our men in
bush warfare, and the success of the flying
columns recently organised, gives no ground for
hoping that they will, before long, be forced to
lay down their arms. The difficulties they must
experience in procuring food in the bush, com-
pared with the arrangements for the supply of
our troops, adds another to our chances of speedy
success. One very satisfactory par; of the intel-
ligence brought by this mail is the unanimous
resolution, in official quarters, to prosecute the

war with promptitude and vigour. The War and
Peace parties in the House of Representatives have
not only agreed but combined a new Alinistry
uniting the leaders of both aides. It is at length
admitted by all that a strong hand is needed to
secure the lives and property of the settlers.
Either the settlements must be abandoned, or the
Waikatos must be disarmed and dispersed. The
necessary severity may and must be matter of
regret, bat the alternative leaves no choice. It must
be remembered, too, that the hostilities are entirely
of the Maories' own causing—the only fault of our
Government having been of late a too great eager-
ness to conciliate and concede. There was, un-
doubtedly, a good deal of mismanagement about the
occupation of the land in the Waikato district, more
especially with regard to the Tatairamaka block ;
but the charge of causeless bloodshed must certainly
rest on the heads of the natives, who have followed
up their barbarous commencement by committing
eighteen murders within the last month of which
we have any intelligence. The confiscation of the
native land at Waikato and Taranaki has been re-
solved upon ; and, indeed, no other coarse holds out
the? smallest promise of peace. The disarmament of
the natives is another necessary step, while the
proposed military settlements will afford substantial
protection to the colonists, and will retain the con-
fiscated lands with a firm grasp. Roads are to be
carried further into the country, thus depriving the
natives of their principal strongholds—the swamps,
marshes, and bush lands. It is satisfactory to find
that in other districts the Maories, probably owing
to the discomfiture of the natives at Waikato, are
on friendly terms with the settlers. A resolute
settlement of this affair will be of incalculable ad-
vantage to all the settlements of New Zealand.
Half measures now would be most mistaken mercy
—they would be cruel alike to colonist and native;
denying the former that support and protection
which he has a right to claim from his Government,
and encouraging the latter to the prosecution of a
struggle which, if maintained, must end in their
total extermination. The Maories are by nature a
very superior race to the generality of aborigines,
and the aptitude they have shown in acquiring
European tactics prove that they are capable of a
high degree of cultivation. If they can be made to
lay down their arms and live peaceably with the
settlers, it is possible that they may riso in the
scale of races; but it is very certain that they must
now be reduced to unqualified submission, if we
hope to retain a footing in the colony.

No sooner do our artillery contrive guns capable
of penetrating all existing armour plating thaa
some newly-devised plan for protecting vessels is
projected. While Mr.REED is contending that no
shot can penetrate his Bellerophon target, which,
by the way, has never yet been subjected to the
ordeal of a fair trial, namely, such as the Warrior
target has undergone, Sir WILLIAM ARMSTRONG
claims for his monster six hundred and ten pounder
a complete triumph, inasmuch that with a single
shell he destroyed the aforesaid target at a range
of four thousand yards. Yet again last Friday a
trial took place at Shoeburyness with the old sixty-
eights, which proved that after all the money and
labour expended on these new guns the old service
gun can be as effective against armour plates as any
of the new inventions. The only difference made
is that instead of a cast-iron spherical projectile
being employed a steel one of the same form and
weight has been substituted. The result has been
that where the cast-iron hall made only a slight
indentation the steel shot penetrated the four and
a half inch plating and sunk into the teak backing.
It was considered, however, by those present that
had the charge but been slightly augmented the
target would have been broken through, and this,
too, with a spherical shot, the worst possible form
of projectile for penetrating armour plating. We
have no doubt that if flat-headed bolts, so con-
structed as to carry true to their mark, were sub-
stituted, the penetration, even with the ordinary
sixteen pound charge of powder, would be easy.
Let it not, however, be supposed that the substitu-
tion of steel for iron is any grand discovery of the
Lords of the Admiralty or dockyard authorities.
Such a proposition may have been made to them a
year or so ago, but of what avail would that have
been ? What has awakened the Government of
England to the importance of steel shot is the
fact that a leading firm in Sheffield, Messrs.
JOHN BROWN and Co., Atlas Steel and Iron Works,
have been for some time past manufacturing such
projectiles for the Russian and other Governments,
while Messrs. BLAKELY and Co. are providing the
same Governments with guns equal to any yet tried
at Shoeburyness or elsewhere. Let us console our-
selves, however, on the principle of better late than
never ; and if the Admiralty have been dilatory in
some respects, and shown undue partiality to cer-
tain parties, to the detriment of the interests of
the country, they have been active enough in ex-
perimenting on iron plated targets, and in the
construction of experimental fleets at an enormous
cost. We have considerable doubts as to the effi-
ciency of ironclads for general purposes, but such
as they are, England can boast to have sent to
sea the finest and largest ironclads yet afloat.
What the Americans will do hereafter time will
show. The Sect etary of their navy stated the other
day that the class of vessels which were required to
contend with England in a forthcoming war would
require to be of such dimensions as would enable
them to carry any requisite thickness of armour,
large storage for coals, powerful engines, and guns
of the heaviest calibre. The expense of such ves-
sels, however, he observes, would be so heavy, that
he could not give the order for the construction even
of ono without the sanction of Congress. From
such statistics, coming from such a quarter, we are
led to suppose that the forthcoming navy will be so
many ironclad Great Easterns, and we expect that
a like ill success awaits them. The late statement
regarding the repulse of the monitors in the attack
on Charleston shows clearly that this class of ves-
sels are useless when contending against heavy
forts, and we expect that the like re-
sults would follow an engagement with a
heavily armed frigate, the concentration of
whose fire would soon place the armadillo, hors de
combat. Of what avail are turrets, bomb-proof
though, they be, if an unlucky shot deprives them
of all motive power. The Americans have just
launched, after considerable difficulty, their last
naval chef d'csuvre, the Dictator. She is 314 feet
in length, 50 feet in breadth, and 221 feet deep.
Her armour is 11 inches in thickness, with 3 feet of
oak to back it. She is provided with a revolving
turret 27 feet diameter, composed of iron 18 inches
thick, in which will be placed two 13-inch guns,
carrying projectiles -weighing 304 pounds. Is this
what armour plating is to come to ? True, the
leviathan is provided with a formidable beak, to
enable her to aet as a ram, but even then only two
guns for all that armour-plating, costly engines,
and heavy working expenses—why each shot that
she fires will cost the States some 100,000 dollars,
unless she be almost constantly in action. \%TO
might almost exclaim with Prince HAL, "Only one
halfpenny worth of bread to all that Sack l" All
the nations of Europe are now provided with rifled
cannon, and all the maritime ones are possessed of
(or soon will be) guns which will be able to pene-
trate any ordinary armour-plating. It is more than

doubtful if the Dictator's eleven-inch plates would
withstand the shock of BLAKELY'S 800 pounders,

or ARMSTRONG'S 600 pounders. But we have yet
to learn whether monster guns or shot-proof sides
could resist British seamen when the cry was,
"Boarders, away." This experiment has yet tc, be
made, and when that trial comes off, we expect the
result will be something more than a burst gun or
a shattered target. Let us then pay every attention
to the build and speed of our ships, and their ag-
gressive powers, rather than waste time and money
in trying to find out how best to keep oat of dan-
ger. A fast ship can either force or decline an en-
gagement; a slow one, however strong, cannot run
away from, nor yet can she overtake, her enemy.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

LREUTER'S TELEGRAM.]

AUSTRIA.

VIENNA, JAN. 14.

It is asserted that Count Rechberg addressed a
circular note the day before yesterday to all the
German States formally requesting that the
Federal Diet shou d strictly observe the limits of
its competency. Should it go beyond these limits
in the question of the succession tp the Duchies the
two great German powers would be compelled to
settle that question themselves.

THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION,
NEUMUNSTER, JAN. 13 (Evening).

A meeting of 80 clergyme❑ have resolved to for-
ward an address to the Federal Diet, requesting the
recognition of Duke Frederick. It was also resolved
to send a deputation from all the parishes to Duke
Frederick, on Friday next, to present a reply from
the German clergy to his address.

KIEL, SAN. 13.
Duke Frederick received several persons of dis-
tinction to-day, and among them Count Reventlow
Farve, who had hithorto held aloof.

SPAIN.

MADRID, JAN. 13.

The official Gazette of today publishes a Royal
ordinance authorising the Spanish financial corn-
mittees abroad to receive proposals for the auctions
of the Ist and 2d Interior Passive Debt, and the
Foreign Passive Debt.

MADRID, SAN. 14.

The Po'itica asserts that the English Ambassador
has presented a despatch to the Spanish Govern-
ment, requesting a settlement of the question of
the English certificates of the Passive Debt.

THE NEW FRENCH LOAN,

PARIS, JAN. 14.

M. Limayrac iu this morning's Constitutionnel
d wells upon the reception given in Germany to
the proposal of a Conference to settle the Schles-
wig-Holstein dispute. " This reception is a proof
how just were the remarks previously made as to
its impossibility.'' It is reported that England has
proposed mediation. M. Limayrac considers this
proposal will encounter more objections even than
a Conference, especially in Germany. He points
out the difficulties in the way of mediation, while
hoping they may not be unsurmountable.
The decree stating the conditions of the new loan
was published this morning.
The public subscription will remain open from
the 18th to the 25th January. The issue price will
be 66.30. Interest will be reckoned from the Ist
January. Subscriptions of 6 francs rente will not
be subject to deduction. One-tenth of the amount
taken is to be paid at the time of subscription, and
the remainder in ten equal instalments on the 21st
of each month. A bonus of 4 per cent. will be
allowed on all instalments paid in advance.

THE PENINSULAR MAILS.
SOUTHAMPTON, JAN. 14.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Ripon has arrived here. She brings 66 passengers,
£2,429 in specie, and 126 packages of cargo.
Sir Moses Montefiore left Gibraltar on the 6th
for Saffi, in her Majesty's frigate Magicienne, which
was placed at his disposal.
Sir Moses Montefiore proceeds to Saffi for the
purpose of seeking an interview with the Sultan of
Morocco, to obtain the assurance that the Jewish
subjects of the Sultan shall enjoy throughout his
dominions equal rights with Mahometan subjects.
Exchange on London at Gibraltar on the Bth
inst. was quoted 50k for 90 days' sight; on Paris,
5 27 ; on Madrid, 8 days' sight, 4 prem.