The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-17 00:00:00

BREAD.

The prices of wheaten bread in the metropolis are from
bid to 7d , of household do., 53 to Gd per 41b loaf.

HIDES AND SKINS.
Market hides, 561 b to 641 b, 21d to 3d ; 641 b to 721 b, 3d
to 3id ; 721 b to 801 b, 3d to 3/d ; 801 b to 881 b, 341 to 4id ;
881 b to 961 b, 4d to Od; 961 b to 1041 b, 5d to sid 1041 b to
1121b,—d to —d, Horse hides, lOs Od to Us Od ; calf skins,
light, 2s Od to 4s Od ; full, 7s 6d to Os Od ; polled sheep, os
Od to Cs Od ; half-breds, 4s 4d to 4s 9d ; Downs, 3s 10d to
4s 3d; lambs, 3s Gd to 7s Od.

A Flapper for the Admiralty.

Under this title " Caveto" has the following good and
well-timed article in the Examiner of to-day :
Sir, —Always doing, seldom done, and when done badly
done at an enormous cost, is the motto of our Board of Ad-
miralty. The Times occationally thunders at them, but it
is generally distant thunder, the Daily Telegraph speaks out,
the A, my and Nacty Gazette sometimes groans with a per-
turbed spirit, and sometimes is satirical. All in vain, the
great proprietor of the borough of Totnes, the ducal bearer
of Britannia's trident, assures the House of Lords that he
rules the waves, and Rear. Admiral Lord Clarence Paget,
as Mr Disraeli assures us, hitches up his trowsers, and in
a manly, British, mariner-like manner reperts " how many
bells it is," when hie grace replies, " Make it so," and the
Rouses of Lords aid Commons aro satisfied with that brief
account of their affairs in true man of war fashion. The
time may enme, however, when disaster must cause the
country to overhaul the Admiralty logs in a sharper spirit,
fur I feel convinced that disaster Alone can achieve that good
end, Is it not disgraceful that, instead of arming our ships
after the manner and power of other nations, we lag behind
them all P Every foreign man-of•war which takes to the
sea is armed with the most effective guns, while our
boasted armour-clads sail up and down the channel, their
officers feed and are fed by mayors and corporations, and
while the people rejcice in their noble appearance, old sea-
men shako their heads, and exclaim, looking at their de-
ficient armaments, "Lucky we are not at war."
I find the following passage in the last number of the
Army and Navy Gazette.
" Defence, armour-plated iron screw steamship, Captain
Augustus Phillimore, 3,720 tons, 600 horse-power, arrived
at Bristol on Wednesday, and Captain Phillimore immedi-
ately addressed a letter to the mayor of the city, announc•
ing that her Majesty's ship was lying in the roads."
Of course to be admired ; no doubt her construction as a
man-of-war is admirable, but then her armament ought to
be equally worthy of admiration. Now what is that arma-
ment ? Why it consists of ten of the old Brown Bess
family of smooth-bored 66-pounders, and eight of Arm-
strong's useless breech-loading whisker-singeing 100-
pounder rifled guns. " What a falling off was there !"
Well, but we have seen how the A.ruo.ican sloop of war
Kearsage was armed, let us now look at a passage in the
last report of the Federal American Navy, from the United
Service Gazette.
" The iron-clad frigate New Ironsides, now repairing at
Philadelphia, has been ordered to be prepared for sea with
all possible despatch, She has been thoroughly overhauled,
and it is ascertained that she received but little damage
while in Charleston harbour. She will have an entirely
new battery of 11-inch Dahlgren guns and two new 150-
pounder Parrott rifts, The work on the new screw frigates
at the Philadelphia navy yard is progressing finely, and
the vessels are expected to be as good as any which will be
turned out at any of the yards."
Be it uuders'ood that the 130-pounder Parrott rifled guns
carrying heavy charges of powder, can pierce any plates as
yet invented. Verily the Americans are wide awake, the
reem
their ships,
head of their navy beresu sleepeth not, but as for our Board
y
of Admiralty, " the throstle cock's head is under his wing."
1 have now, sir, called your readers' attention to the
make
their abeut ?
guns; Thg our best
engineersare far West. Let me direct their observata ion to the
Pe
i Nnorth. What
the
Russians
to
take the
following Iran the Ohsericr
" The Russian fleet has just been strengthened by tine
addition of a magnificent iron-clad frigate; called the Sevas-
topol, which was launched in the Cronstadt doehe ma the
21th ult. It is stated to be one of the largest and most for •
naidable of armed Vessels yet coutstruoted in Europe. She
nearly equals the Black Prince and Warrior in her dimen-
sions, and far exceeds those of the Oloire and Normandie.
At her line of flotation she measures 3JO feet in lengths and
is
her greatest breadLh 52ft 3in. When ready for sea she
will draw 26Ft at the poop, and 21ft at the chains. Her
plates are 41in. thick, fastened toa double cowing of teak
from 6in. to Pin. thick. Rer engines will have a nominal
force of 800 horse power, and, she will be armed with steel
guns of the greatest calibrJ.,
Well, here is a nice Muscovy duck for our waters! In
the time of the old Franco-Russian war, the French used to
say of the Russian soldiers that they were very bravo fel-
lows, but so utterly stupid (bcis), that when you had killed
them it was necessary to knock them down to convince them
they were dead. This I dare say is applicable enough to the
Russian serf soldiery, not so to their officers, who are gene-
rally as polished as they are brave, and as well informed as
in
those of any service Europe. In the last war the Rus-
sians had to sink their own ships ; take care, in the event
of another war, that they don't sink yours.
Had we not better sot the Flappers to arouse the Lords
of the Sleepy Vends? We have lost our best chance of
putting an end to the brutal slaughter and demoralisation
of the Americans of the dies-United States. Neither side
thank us nor like us ; the Northerners hate us consumedly.
had we taken the, part of tLe.Seutherners, away would have
gone the great Monroe doctrine, away
would have skedaddled
the spirit of filibustering, away wou'd have vanished all
ideas of annexing the Canadas. The South would have been
closely connected with England. A nation of growers would
have naturally sought a nation of importers. We should
have commanded peace and secured its blessings. Let the
Yankees and Secessioners make peace, and how long will
you enjoy it ? If they unite, look out for an attempt to clip
the Britishers' wings. Ido nut nican to say that we have
taken a wrong course, pet hapswe have adopted the soundest
of the two, becense niast consistent with political morality,
if there be such a thing ; but I am not at all convinced that
it is either the safest course, or one most comlueive to the
immediate interests of the couutry. At all events, with the
note of preparation all around us, it is no time fur our Ad-
miralty to indulge in their unwholesome slumbers.

CIIIJECEI RATES AT STAPLEHURST.—At the in-
stance of Mr Henry Hoare, churchwarden of Step Murat,
25 summonses have lately been Ferve3 on the inhabitants
for church rate, ranging from 31 to 20s. On the day of
hearing at Cranbrook Petty Sessions, none of the parties
summoned were in attendance. The bench adjudicated 17
cases, and in, 14 made orders for payment forthwith with
coats,