The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-07 00:00:00

Obtninit 4&.l'•"int

LONDON, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1852.

Speaking of the political superiority arising out of
the geographical advantages possessed by a maritime
state, Lord BACON has observed, with his accustomed
wisdom and more even than his accustomed senten-
tiousness—" To be master of the sea is an abridgment
of a monarchy." CICERO had already implied the
same truth when, in writing to ATTICus about Pox-
PEl's preparations against C2L3AR, he observed that
the opinion of POMPEY was manifestly identical with
that of THEMISTOCLEC, seeing that he considered that
whoever possessed the command of the sea held in his
grasp the reins of imperial dominion—" Consilium
Pompeii plane Themistocleum est ; putat enim, qui
mari potitur, eum rerum potiri." The opinion of
BACON, the opinion of CICERO, the opinion of POM-
PEY, the opinion of THEMISTOCLES—aII combine to
force upon the recognition cf the British Government
the necessity of maintaining our marine predominance
over the rest of Christendom. The dictates of self-
preservation, indeed, point imperatively in the
same direction. That motive of itself one
might conceive would be sufficient to induce the ad
ministratore of England to cherish with the utmost
conceivable assiduity the energies of its naval power.
Yet, not so—it hes only been by the most reiterated
appeals made to the patriotism of party that the en-
deavours of the ruling Cabinet have been directed
towards the development of the latent resources of
the great national profession. Happily, however, on
reviewing the progress made of late years in the ad-
vancement
of the maritime forces of the world, it is
gratifying to observe that the improvement discern-
ible in the Royal Navy of England is more than pro-
portionedatthe
to the original superiority of Great Britain
commencement of the peace thirty-seven
years agone. Nevertheless, this advantage has
been gained solely by the pertinacity with
which the necessity of change after change has been
thrust upon the attention of the authorities at the
Admiralty. The relucmtaanrk, hce of these officials, it is
scarcely necessary to re
been for a very
considerable period proverbial) And And no wonder.
For while several of cur marineanor
octogenarians have
been left at full liberty to wander about the dock-
yards razee-ing this vessel and that, trying exces-
eieel:e comical but, we regret also
cessively to
been
an
expensive experiments upon observe,t..ites e xd-
three-deckers, a civilian has too often placed
at the head of the board of Lords Commissioner.
was among several of the most important sources It
of
satisfaction to the country on the resignation of the
Whigs, that the Admiralty was at length placed 00cc,
more under the command of a distinguished naval
officer—a sailor no less eminent by his position and
no less respected for his character than his Grace
ALGERNON PERCY, the Duke of Northumberland.
Altogether, therefore, affairs at the Admiralty may
be regarded as holding out to the nation the happiest
prospects as to the still further development of our
maritime resources, as well as to their prospectively
improved organization. We may hope, before long,
under these agreeable auspices, to hear somewhat less
about calling out the awkward squads of a cumbrous
and shambling militia, for the nonsensical purpose of
defending an island, the security of which (under
Divine PROVIDENCE) ought to depend, of course, upon
its
Bea forces, and especially upon its marine artillery.
Once let the Royal Navy assume its natural position,
and We shall find no reason thenceforth for
anxiety
aa to the accident of invasion. Let that branch of
the public service
be regarded as by right it should
always be regard.
the most essentiald;o
namely, as the most national and
the existence of the British
Empire—and
we
shall never have the time of the
squandered Legislature
upon
and inefficient measures for the
s the discussion of hasty
by hurriedly drilled and protection of the coast
clumsily accoutred bands of
civilians. What England
in the way of
defence against the possibilirtyclireseuf
soldiers
rs warlike incur-
sion is—nut troops of amateur
to fight the
invaders after they have landed, but
o:,t
the brave-
hearted, iron-handed Tars of Old vo
their landing at all, and so by landtheto prevent
effectual
means secure to the country the blessings of
unin-
terrupted tranquillity.

Hitherto, with colonial possessions scattered all
over the world—stretching northwards beyond Hud.
son's Bay up to the extremity of the Arctic regions,
southwards beyond New Zealand to the furthest
limits of Victoria Land, westward beyond New
Brunswick to the coal deposits of -Vancouver's Island,
and eastwards beyond Gibraltar and Valetta and Ce-
phalonia to the rice-fields of Hindostan, and the tea-
depots of
Hong-gong and the spice-treasures of
Borneo—hitherto, we say, notwithstanding the enor-
mous extent and scattered situation of her territorial
acquisiions, England has been enabled to maintain
the security of her position and the integrity of her
dominion. She has done this simply because of her
abloot involuntary regard to the necessities of her

sway as en insular power, because of her almost
instinctive recognition of that profound aphor-
ism of Lord BACON, that—" to be master of the
sea is an abridgment of a monarchy." Looking back
to the records of the wisdom of antiquity, we have
shown that the sage and golden truth pronounced by
the Founder of Inductive Philosophy was identical
with the opinion expressed by CICERO, acted upon by
PoMrEY, and advanced by THEMISTOCLES. It were
well if the principle therein implied were borne now-
a-days more sedulously than ever in the remembrance
of the British Government. It were well if the say-
ing of Bacot were emblazoned over the vestibule of
the Admiralty, and inscribed—like " Frigates" on
the heart of NELSON, and " Calais" on that of MARY
—on the hearts, the consciences, and the judgments
of the Lords Commissioners. For assuredly, if in
the abstract " to be master of the sea is an abridg-
ment of a monarchy"—in the particular instance before
us it is infinitely more than "an abridgment of a
monarchy"—it is an actual necessity for the conti-
nuance of the existence of England, for the enforce-
ment of her authority, and for the perpetuation of her
dominion.

in Parliament, by
and just, against the waste of time
There has long been a complaint, loud, general,
speech-making. Could the fact. be investigated, it
probably would appear that, nine hundred and
ninety-nine cases out of a thousand, not even a single
vote has been changed by a speech in Parliament,
however eloquent. Members go into the discussion
of a question with their minds made up as to how
they shall vote. Parliamentary speeches have their
effect, no doubt, but in a circuitous manner. They
are spoken, reported, and read. They influence the
public mind beyond and out of the Senate ; and then
the electors influence the representatives, and thus ob-
tain a modification or change of opinion.
Mr. VILLIERS, in this way, annually made his
onslaught against the corn-laws. He got few votes
in the House. His statements were read and dis-
cussed out of doors, and gradually influenced the
minds within. At last the public became imbued
with his feelings, and the repeal of the corn-laws
took place. It is rather to be reported in the news-
papers, than to gain converts in either House, that
Peers and Members of Parliament make speeches.
It has been discussed whether, in this country, as
in the ci-devant Chambers of Peers and Deputies at
Paris, and in Congress at Washington, what are called
la cloture, and the power of stopping a speaker
after he had been "on his legs" for a specified
time (usually half an hour), should be intro-
duced into the British Parliament. No such sys-
tem has obtained among us. In America, where
it may be carried out, it is almost inoperative. There,
as with us, speeches may be of any length—though
the British Legislature certainly has a peculiar way
of its own of putting down a long-winded speaker.
It will listen to the flowing eloquence of DISRAELI,
the good sense of Waeroee, the common-place
wisdom of Hume, the hesitating sentences of Lord
JOHN RUSSELL, the dashing rhetoric of KEOGH, the
ready sarcasm of BERNAL OSBORNE, the eccentricities
of HENRY DRUM MOND, the acerbity of ROEBUCK, the
anti-episcopal attacks of Sir BENJAMIN HALL, the
sound common sense of CHARLES VILLIERS, the
vigorous declamation of Sir JAMES GRAHAM_
the boldness of BRIGHT, the clearness of COBDEN, the
classic eloquence of BUTT, or even the spasmodic
efforts of the immortal SIBTHORP—but it will not
listen to pompous platitudes or mere essays at speak-
ing from " honourable gentlemen" who wish to " air
their vocabulary" (as Lady MORGAN said) and make
the House of Commons a place for oratorical practice.
The moment one of these legislators attempts to " fly
off at a tangent," in a cut-and-dry harangue, carefully
elaborated and faithfully committed to memory, or to
blunder through an oration, as if it were a punish-
ment, the House puts him down gently by its own
unmistakable means.
Not so at Washington. There the pent-up crater
must have its way—let him who would stop it, dread
gouging and the bowie knife 1 The long speech,
however weak or wearisome, must be spoken, in order
that it may be printed, to show the world how the
Member of Congress has distinguished himself in the
Legislature. "Must be spoken ?" asks a little Astno-
deus who has perched himself in our vicinity, himself
invisible, and overlooks what we have written.
" Must be spoken ?"—We admit that the remark was
inconsiderate. We have before us an American
journal, containing a report of the proceedings of the
First Session of the Thirty•second Congress. There,
under date the 12th of August, it is reported that, in
the House of .Repressntatives—
" Mr. Freeman (dem.) of bliss., not wishing to trouble
gentlemen with a speech, obtained permission to print
one on the subject of the public lands."
What an admirable way of managing matters ! The
orator has only to bring down his speech in his pocket,
the House to take it as read ( just as our own Court
of Chancery does with documents), and ob!ain leave
to have it printed. Fancy what a relief to the legis-
latiee mind if our own RICHARD SPOONER, the
atrabilious Member for Warwickshire, would
deal in this way with his tiresome in-
tolerances. What a relief to the public,
if instead of lengthened and adjourned debates, some-
times occupying five or six nights, none but the
leaders must speak, all the rest, " not wishing to
trouble gentlemen with a speech," obtaining permis-
sion to print it ! There is something novel and en-
tertaining, in this American "notion." We wish that
Mr. FREEMAN, the democratic representative of Mis-
souri, could inoculate our Legislature with his views
on this head. We have been doomed to listen to
absurd speeches, fired off in irregular vollies, like
the platoon practice of " the awkward
squad," until we have wondered, at last,
whether DICK MARTIN'S Act for punishing Cruelty
to Animals might not be enforced in such cases.
Oh, that Honourable Members would only consent
to print, not speak, their orations !
After all, the probability is that our present chance
of an occasional speech, too tedious or too dull, is
better than the " preventive check" as supplied by
the power of the clOture or the half-hour
limit. The newspapers brought over from
New York, by the Africa steamer, which
arrived at Liverpool on Sunday, supplied us
with one of those reports—unhappily and disgrace-
fully too frequent in the Legislature at Washington—
in which personalities were exchanged and language
Indulged in, of the same character as distinguishes
he scoldinga of the naiiiis of Billingsgate. We
copied the report into 7he Sun of yesterday, where,
no doubt, it
has attracted the attention of many
thousand readers
a smart and
sauc .
declarationtheof ex-President) to General
Curzom,
of "For fearst
tell the entleman
hasietf misapprehension, 1
LlAR,"—he had pre-
g he
viously intimated
had betrayed the South. Th: the gentleman"
gentleman," whose
gunpowder tendencies authorize his future name to
be CuLLom-KILL, retorted that Mr.
himself "a liar." Mr. POLK expressed a p
ovfe.ieh
tlas
the gentleman would come a little neasere_
twat
a t
inviter, we presume, meaning within gsagin,
dis
tance. After many words, "the gentleman" endea.
voured to explain, but Pone stuck to his assertion
and insult, and repeated, " I said you were a liar,
and I ray so again." All this time the President of
the House vainly sought to maintain order the
report says, " Bang, bang went the hammer." It
would not do. The orators would have their scolding
by advising
match. COLLUM showed his wit (!)

Pour," to getsome glue and stick himself to his seat,
and maintain his dignity ' Fancy the maintenance
of dignity in such an Assembly ! A " dignity-ball"
in Barbadoes (so humorously) described by MAR..
RYATT, alone would suit such polite legislators.
After an hour's mutual insolence, the wordy belli-

gerents ceased, probably from mere exhaustion.
Comment is not wanted on such a sceae. It is the
habit with some ultra admirers of

" Freedom far beyond the Atlantic waves "
to point to the United States as a place where liberty
is in full course, and the rights of man universally
rod, We
recognised. For our own part, without denying that
our own Administration may and must be much im-
proved,
runs prefer what we have to the " liberty "
wild into license, and the " freedom "
wbich vents its exuberance of spirits b
Billingsgatey means of
in the Legislature, and the bowie•knife
and revolver out of it.

THE TALEGRAFIL in train-
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