The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-11 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

TIMES.—When Lord telanricarde aoserted, in
Thursday's debate, that if a stop had been put to the
export of men from this country to the Federal States
the American war would have been stopped also,
he said no more than has been repeatedly said by
President Davis himself, and other officers of the
Southern Government, Nothing has appeared
harder or more inequitable to the Confederates
than that we should allow their enemies to import
soldiers for the war; and if we look at the actual
course of affairs we shall have no difficulty in under-
standing the feelings of the Southern people. They
were largely outnumbered to begin with, eve❑ if
Ameticana only had been matched against Amelia
cans, without the introduction of foreign troops.
This disparity, however, they have compensated by
their greater unanimity, their stronger convictions,
and superior !military aptitudes; but whereas one
of the best chances in their favour consisted in the
probable exhaustion of their adversary, they see
or believe themselves deprived of this hope by the
arrival of mercenaries from neutral States to relieve
their native enemies of the work of war. We have
only to look at President Lincoln's Proclamations
and at the successive threats of conscription to see
that of all commodities in America men are now the
most valuable, and yet it is with these that we, a
neutral nation, heve been constantly supplying the
stronger belligerent of the two. All this makes the
soreness of the South and the dissatisfaction of many
persons in this country perfectly intelligible; but
we are convinced, nevertheless, that the importance
of the alleged facts have been greatly overesti-
mated, and that even if the case were otherwise it
would not invite that violent remedy which Lord
Clanricarde does not hesitate to suggest. The
Federals, as we believe, can have obtained but
an insignificant portion of their fighting men
from these islands, and if they obtained twice
the number we could not reasonably make it,
under the circumstances a case of war. It was
but yesterday that we published come Amerie
can statistics purporting to give an authentic
account of the levies made for the service of the
Federal armies from 1861 to the spring of the pre-
sent year, and exhibiting a total of more than
2,000,000 men, or about 700,000 for each year since
the commencement of the war. .We have no reason
to doubt the accuracy of these figures, but, as they
only profess to represent the "calls," and not the
numbers which the " calls" produced, we might
probably be justified in making some abatement from
the amount. Still, if we look to the returnsof Grant's
army recently furnished by our correspondent, and
remember that this forCe is only one of three large
armies actually in the field, exclusive of numerous
garrisons, we shall be led to the conclusion that the
numbers enlisted must have approximated pretty
closely to the numbers called for, or such enormous
hosts could never be maintained. Grant had under
his own command in the main body of the army of
the Potomac 218,000 men ; his colleagues Butler
and Sigel had, respectively, 35,000 and 30,000 ; as
many as 10,000 cavalry were engaged on special
duties, and 28,000 negroes had been armed and
equipped for such service as they could render.
These blacks were attached to the armies of Grant
and Burnside, but Gen. Butler had also a certain
portion under his command. Altogether, however,
it does not appear that more than 30,000, or at the
utmost 35,000, of these auxiliaries catered into the
composition of the army, so that least 280,000 white
soldiers were supplied from some source or other for
Grant's forces aione. Bearing this in mind, let the
reader observe what the Emigration Commissioners
have just reported of the events of last year. It was
in Ireland that Federal enlistments were supposed
to be most actively prosecuted, and from Ireland it was
thought that the great body of recruits was drawn.
But the total emigration from Ireland to America
during the year 1863 gives but 94,477 souls, and of
these but 36,083 were single men, even if we reckon
in that class boys of 12 years old. It is obvious,
t herefore, that the Commissioners in calculating at
25,000 the number of possible recruits for the North-
ern armies have pushed the estimate as far as it
could be carried, and what, we ask, are 25,000 men
among the immense totals of the Federal demand P
We do not know that all these men, or even the halt
of them, actually enlisted, We only know that this
was the whole number of likely subjects for enlist•
went, whereas 360,000 men at the least must have
been enrolled in 1863 before the Federal armies
could have been raised to the strength in which
they have taken the field this year. We readily
admit that a contingent of 20,000 or even 10,000
men would be extremely valuable, and, what is more,
the very knowledge and prospect of this supply
would encourage the North in its resolution to con-
tinue the war; but with such figures as we have
hid before us it is impossible to assume that either
Irish or German immigrants have formed, up to the
present tirne, any large element in the American
armies. E•ghty per cent. of these troops must have
been Americans, either native or naturalised. Lord
Clanricarde tells a very different story of the emi-
gration going on at this minute, but such are the
returns for 1863. The fact is that the sustainable
points against the Federals lie in a very small cam-
-1,9 It is easy to understand what they have been
doing. Pressed for men, and casting about in
every quarter for recruits, they have not only made
what they could cut of Irish emigration, but
have done their best to encourage it. 'We may
take it for granted that they have sailed pretty
near the wind, and that what their agents
have now and then done was what we should have
been disposed to stop. But who is to gainsay the
arguments available for the purpose? If it is an-
nounced that men are greatly wanted in America,
that labour is excessively scarce, and wages incre-
dibly high, who can deny the facts ? It it is added
that the men are not wanted for soldiers, but to
supply the place of those who become soldiers, who
can dispute the statement ? And if, when the emi-
grants have sailed on these representations and with
these prospects, they, nevertheless, do take service
in the Federal armies, who can say that they had
no right to change their minds? These aro the cir-
cumstances which render interference almost im-
practicable. We can only act when there is a plain
case for action, and that is what we have done. It
is beyond denial that the recruiting agents in Ame-
rican ports have seized upon certain emigrants on
their arrival and have forced them into the ranks
of the army. The unfortunate creatures were enticed
across the Atlantic by the promise of good employ-
ment, and kidnapped by crimps as soon as they
landed. But these proceedings have formed the
ground of strong protests on the part of our Minister
at 'Washington, and they have not been justified by
the United States Government. For the rest there
was really no difference of opinion between the
speakers on Thursday evening. Lord Brougham
and Lord Russell spoke of the war itself exactly as
Lord Clanricarde did, and it has now been made
sufficiently notorious that the provisions of interna-
tional law combine to give extraordinary 'advantages
to one of the belligerents. But this is merely an
accident of national position. What the South most
wants cannot be lawfully supplied, and that the
North can get all it desires without infraction cf
law or usage. This state of things is very fortunate
for the Federals, and very unfortunate for the Con-
federates, but it cannot be helped. We can only
apply the law es it stands. We can supply either
belligerent with munitions of war, and we do so.
We cannot supply either with ships of war, and so
the belligerent needing ships of war fares the worse
for the prohibition. We can prevent enlistment in
this country, but we cannot prevent the emigra-
tion of men who may enlist as soon as they get
across the ocean. If the Southern ports were open,
the Confederates might receive these importations
as well as the Federals, but the blockade de's
prices them of the chance. All this enables the North
to obtain far more from our neutrality than the
South, but the result was unavoidable. It is not
due to favour or to partiality, but to accident alone.
We can only stop such proceedings as are illegal—
that is to say, in the instance before us, enlishment
only, and not emigration. If emigration ends in
enlistment afterwards, that is an event beyond our
control.

POST.—We doubt if any person ever was present
at the proceedings of one of those numerous eom-
mittees appointed by the House of Commons to
investigate the merits of some new project for cutting
a canal or constructing
a railway, or carrying out
some other scheme requiring the sanction of the
Legislature, without being thoroughly convinced
that a more costly, a more cumbrous, and a more
unsatisfactory method of attaining a given end
could not have been devised by the wit of man.
A number of gentlemen, selected by chance from
the mass of our elective legislators, without possess-
ing any but the most superficial knowledge of the
rules of evidence, profoundlyi;n
on orantwhofichthethde
tails of the merits of the project
will be called upon to express an opinion, meet
after day, hear everything which can be
en dargeeid;
either in favour of or against the proposed scheme,
strike a balance between conflict-
ianngd, finay,
interests,
ll
and seek to do substantial jus-
tice by recording their
approval or disapproba-
ethnetirrelmeasure before them. Theoretically
quire into its supposed to be submitted to the
ect is House; but in practice the committee in-
merits, and, having made their report,
the former, in the generality of eases, confirms it.
The entire theory of investigation by Parliamentary
committees proceeds upon the assumption that, as
it is in the hands of Parliament that the power
resides of sanctioning or rejecting all schemes which
in their execution affect largely the interests of the
public, it is indispensable that members of the
Legislature should themealves personally investi-

gate their merits: When, for example, a railway
project is submitted by its promoters to Parliament,
the House of Commons is ready to accept the report