The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-05 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence,

THE NAVY.

VALETTA, March 27.—Her Majesty's screw storeship
Fox, 2, Staff Commander T. C. Pullen, arrived yesterday
from Corfu, heavily laden with War-office stores, and on
tischarging will return for a fresh cargo. She brings no
particular news of interest. The demolition of the
fats was actively going on up to the time of her
departure (the 24th instant), and no accident of any
kind had occurred. The Liffey, 35, Captain G. Parker,
Ind arrived there from the coast of Syria, and was loading
ort'nance:stores for Malta. The other ships there were the
Or.ando, 46, Capt. G. G. Randolph (senior officer); the Peli-
can,l7, Commander Gomber (arrived therefrom Alexandria),
and the Growler tender. The Liffey may be expected here
to-morrow or next day. The Cossack, 20, Capt. W. R.
Rolland, was at Zante, loading the hired transport Thorn-
hill with stores. The Foxhound, 4, Commander IV. A.
Anderson, has been ordered to Malta, having been relieved
at Patras by the Trident, 3, Commander C. J. Balfour, and
was to call at Corfu for War-office stores, and at Benghazi
to embark Vice. Consul Reade, who has been appointed to
Scutari. The only ships at the Piraeus are the Revenge, 73,
bearing the flag of Rear Admiral H. R. Yelverton, C. 8.,
Capt. tae Hon. F. A. Foley ; the Resistance, 18, iron-cased
ship, Cipt, W. C. Chamberland ; and the Wanderer, 4,
Commander M. C. Seymour. There have been some dis-
turbances at Patras, owing to the 9th Greek Regiment
having mutinied, and the Magicienne, 16, Capt. W. Army-
tage, has in consequence been sent there from Malta. She
left this oie the 23d inst, The Phcebe, 35, Capt. T. D. A.
• Fortescue, and the Chanticleer, 17, Commander E. F. Risk,
were at Alexandretta on the 21st of March. The ships in
Malta harbour are the Marlborough, 121, flag of Vice•• Adm-
iral Smart, ICH., Capt.C. Fellowes; the Royal Oak, 35, iron
cased ship, Capt. F. C. Campbell; the Gibraltar, 81, Capt.
J. C. Prevost (refitting) ; the Surprise, 4, Commander W.
H. Whyte (refitting) ; the Caradoc, 2, Lieut.-Commander
E. Wilkinson (repairing) ; the Psyche, 2, Lieut.-Commander
R, Sterne; and the surveying vessels Hydra, Commander
A. Mansell, and the Firefly, Lieut.-Commander G. R.
Wilkinson. The latter two vessels will proceed to sea
in the first week of April to resume surveying service, the
former in the lonian sea, and the latter in the Malta
Channel, between Sicily and Tunis. There are also in port
a Dutch frigate, the Prince Mauritz of the Netherlands, 18,
and the Egyptian Government steamer Jafferia, which
arrived on Thursday from Alexandria, on her way to
England, to be leugthenea. The Racoon, 22, Capt.
Count Gleichen, has been taken on the strength of
the Mediterranean fleet, and was at Gibraltar by the last
accounts. On the 22d inst. Mr. F. Smiley, Assist.-Engineer
second class, of the Psyche, was tried by court-martial on
board the Hibernia, President, Capt. Campbell, of the Royal
Oak, and officiating Judge Advocate Mr. T. Royle, R.N.,
on the following charges :-1. Of conduct unbecoming the
character of an officer in striking W. Barrington, ordinary
seaman of the Marlborough, and threatening to strike Joseph
Bromidge, Master-at-arms of the same ship, when on shore
at Valetta; and 2. Of drunkenness on shore. He was sen-
tenced to be dismissed the service, but in consideration of
his previous good conduct and the good testimonials produced
by him he was recommended to the favourable consideration
of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. On the 26th
inst. another court •martial was held on board the Hibernia,
to try Mr. D. Langlands, engineer of the Caradoc, for strik-
ing his senior engineer and another engineer, and for drunk-
enness—President of the Court, Capt. Campbell, of the
Royal Oak, and officiating Judge Advocate Mr. T. Royle,
Royal Navy. He was sentenced to be dismissed the ser-
vice. Her Majesty's ship Meanee, 60, Capt. G. Wodehouse,
is entering port from Corfu.

The line-of-battle screw steamer Bombay, 400 horse power,
Capt. C. A. Campbell, fitting in No. 3 dry dock at Chatham,
will be out of the hands of the shipwrights to-day, the
operation of planing the decks having been completed yes-
terday evening. During the time she has been in dock her
poop has been lengthened forward, and additional cabins
and offices erected for the Admiral and his suite. She has
also been strengthened throughout. The Bombay is a teak-
built ship, and was constructed in the East Indies for an
80-gun sailing vessel. She was subsequently sent to this
country and placed in dock at Chatham, where she was cut
asunder, lengthened, and converted into a screw steamer,
since which she has been lying idle in Chatham harbour.
According to existing arrangements she'will leave dock on
the 7th inst., and will afterwards proceed to the south-
east coast of America to relieve the Forte, 39, 400-
horse power, bearing the flag of Rear• Admiral R. L Warren.
Most of the officers who have been appointed have joined
and taken up their commissions. There appears, however,
to be a difficulty in manning this vessel, as she has only
received a portion of her crew. Within the last few days
the once common, but latterly unusual, course has been
resorted to by the Admiralty—of issuing large placards,
announcing that petty officers and able seamen are required
for the Bombay. A rendezvous for raising men has also
been opened at Chatham, but up to the present time the
hands come in more slowly than is wished, and unless she
is detained at Chatham some time she will leave the Med-
way short of her complement of seamen.
A letter received by our Chatham correspondent from on
board her Islajoity's ship Conqueror, 78, 500 horse-power,
Capt. W. Luard, reports the arrival of that vessel at St.
Simon's Bay on the 12th of February with the battalion of
Royal Marines on board, for service in Japan. The Con-
queror was expected to sail on the following morning. The
whole of the Royal Marines, as well as the crew of the
vessel, were in good health, with the exception of First-
Lieut. A. Donellan and Second-Lieut. E. T. Richards,
Royal Marines, both of whom had been invalided. Her
Majesty's vessels in Simon's Bay at the departure of the
mail were—the Narcissus, 39, 400 horse-power, Capt. J. G.
Bickford, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Sir Baldwin W.
Walker, K.C.B, ; the Rapid, 11, 153 horse-power, Com-
mander C. T. Tago; and the Wasp, 13, 100 horse-power,
Capt. W. Bowden, which latter vessel arrived on the 12th
of February from Madeira; there was also a French gun-
vessel lying at anchor in the bay.
The following appointments were made yesterday at the
Admiralty :—James H. Kers, master, to the Duncan, for
surveying service—Richard L. Canney, chief enginner, to
the Himalaya—Thomas H. Symons, chief engineer, to the
Indus, for the Forth—James K. Keay, first class assist
engineer, to the Indus—Job Annabie, first class assist
engineer, to the Himalaya—lvie A. Couper, second class
assist engineer, to the Himalaya—J. Freebie, second class
assist engineer, to the Hector—Henry Trafford, nominated
to a naval cadetship.
The following appointments have been made in the Royal
Naval Reserve—To be Lieut., Williams Richards—and to
be Hon, Lieut., George Wm. Pierrepoint Bentinck, M,P.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

TIMES.-Mr, Stansfeld has taken the only wise
and honourable course that was open to him. He has
resigned the office which he held in the Adminis-
tration, and last &ening his denial of the charges
against him was made in the capacity of a private
member of Parliament. We feel sure that Mr.
Stansfeld will never have cause to regret this de-
termination. Standing again as an independent
man, responsible to no colleagues, and no longer
making his colleagues responsible for him, he was
able to speak with energy and freedom, and to re-
pudiate the construction which had been placed
on his acts by the French lawyers. Of Mr.
Stansfeld's intimacy with Mazzini, and the cir-
cumstances which brought his name into the late
trial, enough has now been said. *We think that
he was guilty of a grave indiscretion in aiding the
Italian refugee's correspondence, and of a greater
indiscretion in eulogising him at such a time and
in such a place. But at last we have his clear and
positive denial, not only of all plots against the
French Emperor, but even any knowledge of the
plotters themselves. In the most formal manner Mr
Stansfeld declares, not only that he is free from all
participation in the crime of Greco and the others
—a declaration which was scarcely needed—but
also that ho was a stranger to them, and was not
concerned with them in any political schemes what-
ever. From this time, therefore, we may consider
the matter as settled. Mr. Stansfeld has clearei
himself in public opinion from any culpable partici-
pation in the acts of these men, and all that can be
objected against him is that, like many of his coun-
trymen, he has allowed his enthusiasm in a good
cause and his admiration of an enthusiastic revolu-
tionist to carry him beyond the limits of prudence.
But however favourable may be the verdict of Vie
public in respect to the graver charges brought
against him, the retirement of Mr. Stansfeld from
the Government was a necessity. It is no secret
that the Opposition was preparing to attack the Go-
vernment through him, and with great chances of
success. The spirit which animates the Conserva-
tives was manifest last evening, when the Opposition
benches were left empty at the time of Mr. S tans-
feld's explanation. Having, through their leader,
denounced him with a fierceness seldom witnessed
in the House of Commons, the Conservatives
thought proper to absent themselves almost entirely
when it was known that he was about to offer his
defence to the House. That the attack on Mr.
Stansfeld and on the Government would have been
made with all the energy and bitterness of which
the Tory chiefs are capable there can be no doubt.
Why, then, should Mr. Stansfeld draw upon him-
self and others such a conflict ? He well knew
that the only reason why the Opposition made so
much of the matter was that they might damage
114 colleagues, and, as he observed last night, he was
likely to become a cause of embarrassment to them.
By resigning he at once frees himself and the Go-
vernment from the attacks of a pertinacious Oppo-
sition. As an independent member whom it will ad-
vance no political interest to attack, Mr. Stansfeld
is likely to have a fairer judgment, and to find his
conduct more leniently viewed. Now that he is again
a private person, he will only be thought of with
regard to Mazzini as a single-minded enthusiast
whose confidence was too uagaardedly given. In a
short time the affair will probably be forgotten, and
Mr. Stansfeld may be again able to serve the State
in any capacity for which his talents fit him.
Mr. Stansfeld now has the advantage that every-
thing is known respecting his connection with
Mazzini, and that everything that can be said
against him has been said already. If, then, at any
future time he is offered a political post, it will be
with a full knowledge of his previous history. This
will be a far better position than he recently held,
for it must be acknowledged that neither Lord
Palmerston nor any member of his Government bad
any idea, when Mr. Stansfeld was admitted as a
colleague, that he was making his private address a
cover for Mazzini's correspondence. Any Premier
who now offers Mr. Stansfeld office will take him
with his former revolutionary sympathies a well-
known fact, and will only have to demand of him
that they shall not lead him into further impru-
dence.

POST.—The fifth and last instalment of the Danish
correspondence has now been published, and the
story of the many and various negotiations to
which the Deno German dispute gave rise may
now bo considered complete. The correspondence
is brought down to the last days of March, and
the assent of the belligerents as well as of the
chief neutral Powers to a Conference, with the view
to the re-establishment of peace, is the last event of
importance which is recorded. Those who are de-
sirous of canvassing or criticising the foreign policy
of her Majesty's Government in respect to the
Danish war are now furnished with the materials
which they have so anxiously sought for, and can
no longer excuse themselves under the plea of igno-
rance from pronouncing a deliberate judgment.
The instalments in which the correspondence has
been pablished have not inaptly marked the several
stages through which theDano-German dispute has
successfully passed. First came the stage of nego-
tiations between the German Powers and Denmark,
in which Federal execution in Holstein was the
gravest contingency which either of the disputants
appeared to contemplate. Then foilewed the stage
of feverish excitement into which Germany was
thrown by the death of the Danish King, and the
vexed question of succession in the Dachies to
which it gave rise. Then came the phase in which
diplomacy gave way to force, and the administra
tiun of the Duchy of Holstein was seized by the
representatives of the German Confederation. In
the fourth stage Germany ceased to be united, the
leading States practically seceded from the Confe-
deration, and in their capacity of European Powers
threatened war under the flimsy disguise of seizing
a material guarantee, Lastly came the period of
actual war, of sieges, of battles, .of occupation of
captured territory, and of retreats; and beyond
this point we have not yet passed. The next stage
should be one of treaty-making and of peace, but
it is one which is as yet but dimly shadowed forth.
What has been the policy of the English Cabinet
under these constantly shifting circumstances, and
how that policy has been met by the Governments
of the belligerent States, is set forth in the papers
now before Parliament with a particularity and an
amplitude of detail which leaves nothing to be
desired save possibly the condensation of their
matter. What has taken place in the North of
Europe, and what Great Britain did in order to
avert those occurrences, are now matters of history.
It only remaies for the dispassionate inquirer to
say whether the policy which she pursued was the
best calculated to attain the ends she had in view.
The first letters in the series of papers just published
bear date in the last week in January. At that
time Holstein was administered by Federal cam -
missioners, every Danish official had been dismissed,
the chief towns in the Duchy were occupied by
Saxon and Hanoverian troops, and an Austro-Prus-
sian army was massed upon the left bank of the
Eider. Federal execution in Holstein had been
carried out, and the invasion of Schleswig by the
allied armies was momentarily threatened. The
mission of Lord Wodehonse to Copenhagen had
then ended in failure. The constitution of Novem-
ber stiii remained unrevoked, and the Governments
of Austria and Prussia formally declared that the
non-revocation of that constitution would be made
a casus belli. Such was the position of affairs
at the close of January; and accordingly we find
that at that time commenced those negotiations,
unfortunately unsuccessful, in which the English
Cabinet, in conjunction with those of Paris and St.
Petersburg, urged upon the German Powers the
expediency of postponing hostilities until the
Danish Parliament should have had an opportuT
nay of revoking the obnoxious constitution, These
negotiations virtually came to an end on the
29th of January, when our Minister at Berlin
transmitted to Earl Russell the refusal of the Prus-
sian Government to suspend hostilities, even
though an engagement were entered into by the
chief neutral Powers binding Denmark to rescind
the November constitution. On the Ist day of
February the allied armies entered Schleswig, on
the 4th the Prussians made their unsuccessful
attack upon Missunde, and on the 6th the Dane-
wirke was abandoned, and the Danish army retired
upon Duppel and Fredericia. From this point
there is little deserving of notice in the mass of cor-
respondence until the 11th of February, when the
Danish Minister in London made a formal demand
upon the British Government to assist Denmark,
basing this demand upon the engagements entered
into by Great Britain in 1720, and on the expe-
diency of maintaining the Treaty of London.
Almost at the same time commenced the negotia-
tions set on foot by the British Government, and
supported by France and Russia, with the object
of obtaining a suspension of hostilities as a preli-
minary to a Conference—negotiations which were
immediately cut short by the abrupt refusal of the
Geeman Powers to consent to an armistice. The
most important, and at the same time most interest-
ing, despatches will, however, be found at the close
of the series. Foiled in their endeavours to secure
an 'armistice, the English Cabinet next sought to
induce the belligerents to assent to a Conference
without a cessation of hostilities. To this proposal
the German Powers almost immediately assented;
but, in the then state of public feeling at Copen-
hagen, the Danish Cabinet found itself under the
necessity of asking time for consideration. At a
later period (March 7), and pending the decision of
the Danish Government, the German Powers is-
sued their proposals for an armistice upon the basis
of the preservation of the military status quo, or the
simultaneous evacuation of Jutland and Schleswig
by the Germans and the Danes. These proposals
were preeeed upon the twoeptuce of the DAnioh