The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-20 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDA
•------Y, juNE 20, 1864.
-___

The Government on Friday eveningsustained one
of the severest shocks that have yet assailed its tot-
tering strength. It is true that they escaped a re-
petition of those defeats which have been groNcing
lately by no means uncommon, and that the divi-
sion which closed a lengthened debate resulted in
their favour. But the victory was like that of
PYRRHUS, scarcely less damaging than a repulse,
and iu fact a majority of seven in a house of four
hundred and fifty-nine members is a virtual defeat.
The real blow to the Cabinet, however, was not the
alarming amount of the minority, or the narrow
escape of a vote of censure, circumstances su2-
ciently ominous in themselves to produce a strong
manifestation of party feeling on the declaration
of the numbers; the real danger to the Govern-
ment was in the debate whicj preceded the
sloe, and in thestartling diaalosures which it elicited,
and whose effect no ccan:er charges, however reck-
leea, no official ingenuity, however skilful, could
avail to mitigate. The Government stand con-
victed, unless they can being forward a much more
satisfactory defence than any they have as yet made,
ilalividnally or collectively, of having rashly ex-
posed the lives of our troops to needless danger, of
paving hastily entered into a war which was likely
to bring us nothing but loss and discredit, of havicg
entirely neglected those precautions for the health
end accommodation of the men whiah the most m a
dioary rules of common prudence would direct to be
much more in
folawed in the healthiest locrlit
;hc deadliest spot of a coast which he, been styled,
Wish only too touch truth, the grave of
Euro-
peansa' It seems that while proclaiming our love
of peace with a farceur and a pertinacity that
make us ti.e laughing-stock of the civilised
world, we ars engaged in half a dozen wars
in outlandish quarters while scarcely know-
ing it. Certainly, as Sir JOHN HAY remarked,
iL was not until vary recently generally known that
we were at war with the King of AsHANTEE, and
We might almost quote the hacknied lines which
tells'us that 'tis folly to b 5 wise in some cases, since
a more melancholy and humiliating record of human
life wasted and needless saffzr ing iafLcted by official
indifference And mismanagement bag seldom dark-

ened our annals. Ashantee is situated in the Bight
of Benin, in one of the most unfavourable parts of
that sickly locality. We have a treaty with its
KING, dealing among other points with matters of
extradition, always excepting the restitution of
escaped slaves. Two slaves fled to Cape Coast,
bearing with them, it is said, some stolen gold.
The KING insisted upon their extradition on the
ground that they were criminals, The Governor
objected on the ground that they were slaves.
Evidence of their guilt was demanded, and argu-
ments went on. Surely this was a case for negotia-
tion or compromise rather than warfare. But the
KING proceeded to ravage a territory under the
protectorate of England, and forthwith a war was
commenced, if that can be called a war in which our
troops were matched with no mortal foe, but with
the pestilence that walketh in darkness, that dee
stroyeth in the noonday. A large number of troops,
mostly coolies from the West Indies, were landed
on Cape Coast Castle at the commencement of the
rainy reason, without any adequate preparation
being made for their reception or accommodation in
a country in which, above all others, such provision
is a matter of absolute necessity. Cape Coast Castle,
1,100 miles from Sierra Leone, is a settlement
standing cn a projecting rock. To the east of it is
a small river, which during the great part of the
year is a swamp, and whose water is unfit for the
use of man or beast. It is well known that one of
the worst of the many insidious dangers of the gold
coast is the quality of the water, which produces a
dire disease. The water used in this settlement is
collected in tanks for the dry season, and the
quantity of water required for the use of the regular
garrison-230 men—was kept in the port. What
official eloquence, what skilful special pleading, can
mitigate the fact of sending men to such a coast
without any provision for supplying them
with extra water ? It is useless to tell us
of a distilling apparatus which got to work
in May, when the troops were landed in August, as
it is useless for the Prime Minister to declare that
in the course of a feito days after they arrived they
were all placed under shelter. In the course of a few
days in a climate like that of the Gold Coast ! As
Mr. COCHRANE reminded the House, those charged
with the interests of the navy must have known
the nature of that coast, where at some seasons the
vapours are of a poisonous and dangerous character,
The result of the whole affair was, that two expedi-
tions were sent up the country, one of 700 men, of
whom 180 were dead within five days, another of
400 men, of whom half were dead oe disabled. Is
this a result likely to strike terror to the Ashantee
King ? Private accounts are even more frightful in
their details. A letter, well authenticated, but
whose writer was not mentioned, says that out of
twenty-six cfficers nearly half have been invalided
home, three have died, and four are so ill as to be
confined to bed; while of the twelve medical offi-
cers who accompanied these ill .fated troops three
are fever-stricken, three more invalided, and one
dead ; so that the condition of the surgeons is not
much better than that of their patients. Four
weeks ago Sir JOHN PAKINGTON called attention to
the state of affairs, when the Colonial Secretary
announced that it was the intention of the Govern.
meat to despatch transports immediately to the
fatal spot to remove from it troops equal in number
to the extra reinforcements, so as to reduce the
amount to those ordinarily accommodated. This
tour weeks ago; but the promise so glibly given
was kept after the fashion of most Whig pledges.
The best the Government could do to retrieve its
error and save the victims of its precipitancy and
folly from still heavier losses was to advertise for
a sailing vessel--not a steamer, on account of the
expense. Well migl.t the House murmur at such
a tale. Blt even then the full measure of cruel

neglect was not filled up. Such as she is, this

sailing vessel has not yet startei. The best tender
that was offered was taken, says Loid C. PAGET,
and the men have been working day and night to

get her ready. The naval reputation of the Govern-

ment mast stand high indeed if the best vessel

'offered for their service needs a month's hard work
to get ti er fit for sea. Mr. CORRY spoke the feeling of
the House and the country when he said that " The

moment the cry of distress came from Africa

the Admiralty ought to have applied to 0e_4,3
of the great steam navigation cons -zanies
for one of their most powerful, roomy,
and rapid steamers at any price. nut when
Sir JOHN HAY mourning the 10A of a near rela-
tive sacrificed in this wanto,a waste of life gave
notice of his motion, a er.dden energy inspired the
Government. They ;aye orders that the Gladiator
should at once 5'..1.1 for Cape Coast to fetch away
the remnant of the troops. But with all the fine
veseels at their disposal the Admiralty thought fit
to select a ship declared on unquestioneble authority
to ba totally unfitted for the purpose, thus needlessly
aggravating the sufferings of the invalids. She is
to be met at Cape de Verde by a sailing transport,
to take the coolies to the West Indies. Why, since
the Portuguese will not permit them to land there,
not have sent two steamers to convey them at
once in comfort across the Atlantic ? The landing
of the troops recalls meat forcibly the dieembarka-
tion in the Crimea ; in fact General PEEL, a mem-.
ber of the memorable committee, declared ttat We
had, on the Gold Coast, a repetition on a smaller
scale of all the horrors of the first
winter in the
Crimea. The responsibility such miemanage-
ment cannot be lightly got .id of. Lerd PALMER-
' STON'S defence was a algnal failure. Ho endeav-
oured, with his es :al ingenuity, to turn the ques-
tion
from the management of the trcops to the
war ; b e_
fen then it was impossible not to remem-
ber that the
mtsftetrh:chco,usnotreymrpehqautiirceadlltyhdatecElanregd.
i ihprotection
tb,at th e he °ut:
o should not be an empty word, had
not 8
carriedout that principle quite so boldly in the
north of Europe as on the African gold Coast. The
noble lord's attempt to divert the matter from a
national question into a
Party movement was also
unsuccessful. Jokes felt fiat before the lists of the
dead and disabled. IRdignant denials and rash
assertions were powerless unsupported by evidence.
101 pardonable an
life.
It is no light thing to trifle away human
However innocent the intention, it is n
offence to undertake great duties and to neglect
their adequate fulfilment. Englishmen will never
shrink from sacrificing their lives when duty ell
them, but they will not tamely submit to a lavish

expenditure of life and treasure through a coi.

bination of recklessness, improvidence, and neglect

There are few things more difficult to define than
the nature of appointments; it is almost impossible
to draw a line as to where influence should n :t pre-
vail, and favouritism have no share. It is seldom
that so glaring an instance of this kind of thing is
made manifest as was the case the other night
when Mr. FERRAND brought forward his motion
on the Board of Charity Commissioners. The hon.
member did not do his cause any service by 'sing
such vehement language, but, at the same time, he
adduced arguments which it may be presumed
were unanswerable, for no member of the Governs
ment attempted to refute them. Mr. BRUCE ex.
pressed virtuous indignation at the tone adopted
by Mr. FERRAND, and in this plea he very ingeni-
ously shfiled out of inquiry on the subject. If he
really considered that the Commissioners were so
misrepresented in the statements of the hoe. mem-