The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-29 00:00:00

• N
/
I OUR NATIONAL DEV __-)NES. - ,(-
Where is a French army of fifty 4; I, tisfixid,p3ol9,-;;I- i'd
fan —asked " A Soldier," in cu 'Coltiii_)Ell-. ay.
"..--.)?
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At a distance of twenty-two nil - k&eitliAt, ez.,_,,e
there is a small spot on cur shore, whit, e. ..,-deff
known by the name of Dover. In 13111,4 .dly*c.areNe/
when our ancestors were men of mettle, and when
Kings of England invaded France as eeroyal Pastime ,
Dover was considered a port of great importance.
There was a very general feeling that if •it was so
easy to go from Dover to Calais, it might be just es
easy to go from Calais to Dover; and consequently,
Dover was defended by a royal fortress, and formed
one of the Cinque Ports. Again, during the prepa-
rations made at Boulogne in 1804, splendid works
were made on the Cliffs of Dover, which command
the town, and a military road was constructed there.
But of late years our Government, with its usual dis-
crimination, thought it necessary to economise—not
by reducing official salaries and by displacing unne-
cessary placemen, but by letting cur forts be turned
into grazing grounds, and our batteries become use-
less from want of due care. And now let us
see what Dover is supposed to be, and what
Dover actually iv. Ordnance maps and plans tell us
that as you enter the harbour, a fort, known by the
name of Archcliff, commands entrance ; that the
Castle is strongly fortified, and can, with its out-
works, be armed with some hundred guns ; whilst
the citadel heights have fifty guns; the se hole sup-
ported by a large redoubt.
These are very formidable obstacles, but does this
Ordnance statement show the real state of the case ?
Dover is a seaport, situated between two high cliff.,
the valley between which leads to London. Formerly
the entrance of the harbour was protected by two
batteries, known as the Amherst and Townshend,
both on the water level—and by Archcliff redoubt,
which—situated to the side towards Shakapere's Cliff—
raked the entrance, and also commanded the sea west-
wards. But the harbour requiring certain improve..
ments, the Amherst and Townshend batteries were
pulled down, and a certain space was left nearer the
town, where a battery was to be formed. Now a shore
battery is not an expensive thing ; it is not supposed to
withstand an actual attack, but merely to do as much
damage as possible, whilst shipping is still at a certain
distance, or whilst boats are being filled with men
for disembarkation. A simple earthen battery would,
therefore, answer every purpose, but from neglect, or
—as the Ordnance would explain it—through want
of funds, the space intended to have been occupied by
a battery is still vacant and desolate, neither useful
nor ornamental. Lately, also, a railway terminus
has been erected at Dover, and in the full belief that
for the future nothing was to appear near our shores
more alarming than pleasure excursionists from Paris,
the terminus was allowed to be erected se as to cut
off all the flanking fire from Archcliff fort towards
Dover, and, instead of its projecting well out, as it
used to do, and raking the sands, it is now thrown
back and comparatively useless—the few guns which
it possesses looking westwards out to sea, in the di-
rection of Shakspere's Cliff. As if that memorable
block of chalk wanted protection against attack, rising,
though it does, some hundreds of feet perpendicularly
from the sea.
The defences cf Dover, therefore, are confined to
the citadel height and the castle. The latter dating
from the days of Julius Caesar, situated on the cliff to
the right of the entrance, consists of a keep and a
series of batteries, extending down to the sea- side
With the exception of a salute fired from the keep
on the arrival of the Queen from Ostend, and the late
experiments with the magnetic wires from Calais, we
doubt very much whether these guns have ever been
used. Instead of a hundred, there are certainly not
fifty, many of which are carronades. But this is not
all. Instead of the , place being garrisoned by ar-
tillery, it is occupied by a line regiment, the guns
are left in the care of the winds of heaven, and there
is not a single gunner on the premises. To the left
of Dover is the citadel. This consists of splendid
field works covering the whole cliff, commanding the
town, harbour, the military road which leads up the
valley, and is protected towards the castle by a strong
redoubt. But earthen parapets without guns are
rather harmless, and though they may serve as
boundaries to adventurous cattle, or as
pleasant rambling grounds for boys on a Sunday
afternoon, they certainly will not much deter san •
guinary marauders should such desire to venture
near us. But where are these guns ? In Woolwich
Warren surely. Now, when the whole country is
occupied with the grave question of our national de-
fences,—when the Government very well know that
day by day the public are clamorous for some pre-
cautions to be taken,—we have the key of England,
as it were, totally undefended. Guns are not moved
and mounted in a day or ain week. To put that
citadel in a state of defence would take the small
force of artillery which is in the redoubt a whole
month, working day and night. As this citadel com-
mands the castle, the latter is useless were the former
taken ; and by lank'ing towards Folkestone, the latter
might be captured without a single shot from the
castle being able to prevent it ! Is not this a pretty
state of things ? and we may well ask " A Soldier"
why cannot the landing be made at Dover, and an
intrenchment be completed on Dover heights? for
an enemy would find things ready made, and have
nothing to do but to mount his guns and man them.
Are not the French fully aware of this matter ? Is
there a spot along our coast which has not been visited
by military tourists, and is there a stone on Dover
heights which they are not acquainted with ? Ports-
mouth and Plymouth have a formidable defence in
their men-of-war, but large vessels cannot lie off
Dover, for it is a dangerous place, and merchantmen
do not much like the straits of a windy night. Yet
we think there would be no great difficulty in moor-
ing a floating battery. When danger is said to be
staring us in the face, it is not a time for dull and
whfeorafoinvwisEei French siege guns,
slow consideration, but for action. The Ordnance
may wish to put Dover in a state of defence, but what
oldba
labroad
Woolwich,
roo
a edvxi?-
are they waiting , for ? Where are the ordnance
store boats, which are kept and paid for the purpose
of conveying guns ? and what is the utse of keeping
hundreds of these guns stored
da
royal
toaraarferomtn
for thfevroermaymuasieffmereenn
London,
amusement of
style
Castle are but
ps vi-
sitors s a
Indeed, the guns in Dover _ small ones,
and very different things
England by th
which—known in e
name
of Monk's
and Dundas's—appear too valuable to be exposed to
We pay dearly enough for our ineffi-
cient ordnance, and as we pay so much for it those in
whose charge it is seem to think it too precious to be
made useful.
Surely these are times for asking ally so few ar-
tillerymen are stationed at a place like Dover. At
are
present there
thenot enough to man the
guns actually
mounted, and whole force is very insufficient to
keep in order the guns which are supposed by
public to be mounted.
But whose fault is it ? No-
beyf course. Nobody is responsible, and so
work g o
es undone The Premier will refer any
questioning undone
of r Parliament to his Honour..
able Friend the Secretary at War; the latter, de-
clining the
Clerk of th responsibility, will throw it on the
e Ordnance who will re 1 that he merely
e estimates, and that such
regulates th '
13
5-
in formation
must be obtained from the Master-General. That
gallant officer has his hands tied by the Board of
Ordnance—one of which has to supply the guns,
whilst another gives him the order for that purpose.
As to the men, as long as the guns are kept in depot
at Woolwich, the artillerymen are kept there to look
after the guns—a duty which could be as well and
more profitably performed by the police. .
If we mis-
takeed
not, these idle weapons are at present watched
by both forces, so that the police may throw any
blame on the soldiers, and the latter return it on the
poliee—a little reciprocal arrangement which is too
advantageous to be lost sight of.
This is merely another of the series of ill-manage-
ments consequent on the division cf authoeity and
responsibility. No man would subject himself to the
imputation that through his neglect such a port as
Dover was left entirely unguarded; but when it is
nobody's fault, neglect becomes an easy matt`er•
There is no reason for surrounding ourselves with a
Chinese wall, but really we do not see why our vera"
doors should be left open to admit any housebreaker
that pleases to walk in. As the Ordnance is a body
that does not trouble itself about this matter—perhaps
the public voice will find somebody
that will. Let
us insist that proper use be made of the forces we
pay for.—Daily News.

1
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Hehad
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clialLTo.n—doTn.he quotation of gold at Paris
Establish-
ment,
r, Sus
I\l4"(according to the new tariff ), which,
,rjakrh. Mint price of 3/. 17s. 10Id. per ounce for
aist tahbelnb id-, gives an exchange cf 25.17 ; and the ex-
standards p_
l tgrisaris on London at short being 25.24, it follows
about 0.41 per cent. dearer in London than
tchhaatngge° d By advises from liambnrgh the price of gold
in 4P2agr i s Per mark, which, at the English Mint price of
37. 17s. 100. per ounce for standard gold, gives an exchange
of 13.61 ; and the exchange at Hamburgh on London at
short being 13.71, it follows that gold is 0.56 percent
dearer in London than in Hamburgh. The course of ex-
change at New York on London for bills at 60 days'
1104- per cent., and the par of exchange betweenfollows
England
and America being 109 23.40 per cent., itsight is
r of England;
exchange is nominally 0.67 per cent. in v
and, after making allowance for differenfcneanonefin_t_
profit on
all
interest and
charges of transpoi, the present rate leaves
the importation of old, from the United States. small