The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-21 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 21, 1863.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer on
Evening Classes.

The distribution of prizes and certificates in the
department of Evening Classes, in connexion with
ding's College, took place 13st night in the large
hall of the College, under the presidency of the
Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., the Chancellor
of the Exchequer.
On the platform there were, beside the chairman,
the Bishop of Lichfield, Sir Thomas Phillips, the
Rev. Dr. Jelf, the Principal of the College, many of
the professors, and a considerable number of ladies.
The bpdy of the hall was crowded to excess, and the
proceedings were marked by the greatest en-
thusiasm.
The Rev. Dr. JELF, in opening the proceedings,
said that these evening classes were among the
most remarkable in Europe, because the members
of them had for six months, after the toil of their
daily avocations was over, devoted their evenings
to the pursuits of literature and science; and he
challenged any educational institution to produce
more self-denying or more indus'rious students.
Daring the six or seven years the classes had been
in existence the conduct of the members had been
such as to excite his admiration, and one important
feature was the strong and deep feeling which per-
vaded all in favour of the College principle. (Cheers.)
The Rev. Mr. PLUMPTRE, the Dean of the Col-
lege, addressed the meeting on the subject of the
evening classes, which he said were established in
1835 through the instrumentality of Mr. J. W.
Cunningham, the secretary, and those who took

counsel—with him on that occasion. Their object
was to meet the wants of the class of young men in
the offices and warehouses of this great city, who
desired to spend their leisure hours in improv•
ing their minds and strengthening their charac-
ter, but who up to that period had been
little thought of. The classes opened with
only five matriculated students, who increased to
seven and 15 the two following years. At the end
of the three years they determined to admit them
to the privileges of the college ; and in 1858 the

number of matriculated students rose to 104, bu

since then there had been a slight deflection in the
number. On the other hand, there were the non-
matriculated students. They began with 177 of

those students, and in the years following the num

bars were respectively 177, 147, 323, 445, and 555 ;
bat last winter there was a downward tendency, in
consequence of the general commercial depression,
the number being 523. Altogether, however, the
number of students attending the evening classes last
winter was 604, and they included members whose
ages varied from 14 to 45, and even 50. (Hear,
hear.) After specifying the different branches of
knowledge taught, the rev, gentleman said that
an important feature of the classes introduced
this session was that schools with a large number of
students were allowed to enter and form a separate
class, and to have special examinations. Of this
privilege Dr. Yates, of the upper and middle schools
at Peckham, had'availed himself, and as the result
he would have the pleasure of introducing, for a
certificate of honour, Mr. Edward M.Dermott, one
of that gentleman's pupils, who had earned that mark
of distinction in the division of " the principles of
commerce." (Hear, hear.)
The Chancellor of the, Exchequer then prcceeded
to deliver the prizes and certificates to the success-
ful competitors, addressing a few appropriate words
of encouragement to each.

The following are the names of those to whom
prizes and certificates of honour were awarded.
Prizes and certificates of honour are of equal value,
and are given to the student who stands first in the
examination for each subject, provided he has
gained at least three-fourths of the full num-
ber of marks. We omit, for want of space, those
who received certificates of merit, which are given
to all students who gain, in the examination for
each subject, at least three-fifths of the full num-
ber of marks :

Divinity—Henry William Atkinson—certificate of honour;
Edward Stainton—prize ; William David Ground—prize ;
William Farren—certificate of honour ; George Garners—
prize.

Latin—George Galliers—prize; Henry William Atkin-
son—prize ; Joseph Heptinstall Marshall—prize; George
Butler—prize; James Golding—prize.

Greek—George Galliers—prize; James Bower—prize;
Henry William Atkinson—prize; James Golding—prize.
French—Frank Bretherton—prize ; James Robert Cole
—prize ; Francis Medland Phillips—prize; James Brether-
ton—certificate of honour ; James Bower—prize; Frede-
rick Heather—prize; Henry Wicks—prize.
German—Edward George Pearse—prize ; Samuel B.
Flaxman—prize ; Henry Temple—prize; Thomas Adams
Phillips—prize,

Italian—• Edward Forbes Gaitskell—prize ; Horace Hope
Bloxham—prize.
Spanish—Llandaff Watson and Edward George—certifi-
cates of honour ; Francis Medland Phillips—certificate of
honour.

English Literature—George Butler,certificate of honour.
English Composition—George (dalliers--prize ; James
Kirkwood—certificate of honour.

Grammar and Composition—William Honey—prize
Henry King—prize.
History—Walter Miller Taylor—prize.

Geography—Thomas William Green—prize,

Mathematics—Carlton John Lambert—prize ; Frederick
Joshua Whitworth—prizA, ; William James Wood—certifi-
cate of honour; Edward Stainton—prize ; James Bower

—prize.

Arithmetic and Bookkeeping—Stephen Henry Emmens
—certificate of honour.

The Principles of Commerce— Llandaff Watson—prize,,
" On the- best means of impreving mercantile morals ; '
Frederick William Groves—prize; Edward 3l'Dermott—
certificate of honour.
Writing—Georn Flack—prize.
Chemistry—Stephen 'Henry Eramens— prize.
Mechanics—William Penile—prize.
Experimental Physics—John Simonet Scott—prize.
Political Economy—Joseph lleptinstall Marshall—prize.
Logic—Thomas de Conrcy Atkins—certificate of honour;
James Russell Tunks—prize.
Physiology—Robert Shakell Knight —Trize.
Drawing—Arthur ebenham—prize.
Botany—Lewis Angell—certificate of merit.
Zoology—Arthur Pye Smith—certificate of merit; John
Simonet Scott—certificate of merit; George Butler, certifi-
cate of merit.

Prizes to the Five Students who Gained the Highest
Aggregate Number of Marks in all the subjects respectively
brought up for examination.—George Galliers—Divinity,
Latin, Greek, English, History ; Joseph H. Marshall—
Divinity, Latin, Greek, Physiology, Political Economy ;
Francis M. Phillips—Divinity, French, Greek, German,
Spanish; James Bower, Divinity, Latin, Greek, French,
Mathematics ; Thomas W. Green—Latin, German, Geo-
graphy, Physics.
At the conclusion of the ceremony,

Dr. JELF expressed his thanks to the Rev. N.
Plumptre, and other professors and teachers who
had assisted in conducting the classes.
On the motion of the Bishop of LICHFIELD, who
was formerly Principal of King's College, seconded
by Si, rrEtomeS PHILLIPS, a vote of thanks was
passed by acclamation to the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer for his kindness in officiating on that oc-
casion.
The CHANCELLOR of the
address the meeting Was EXCHEQUER on rising to
which hraevc.eived with most enthu-
siastic cheering,
My Lord Bishop, ladies, anding subsided, he said,—
were true that I have confergreediemeni if indeed it
my presence
markable favour by upon you any re-
my share
in the proceedings of this evening,, andlhy
sll'lld
have
received much more than an adequate reward
in the kind and cordial manner in which I have
been welcomed among you ; but, as the Bishop of
Lichfield has very well observed, it has become
almost a law of our political and social condition
that those who are charged with the responsibility
of public situations should from time to time take
the opportunity of bringing themselves into con-
tact, outside the walls of Parliament, with various
classes of their fellow-countrymen. And permit me
to say that I believe none are more willing to sub-
mit to that law than we, whose duties, whose
habits, and whose privilege it is, as far as our
limited opportunity allows, thus to seek occa-
sion of meeting face to face those with whom we
sympathise, and those with whom we desire to
sympathise—those upon whose cultivated minds
and intelligent convictions the Government of this
free country in the main depends. For we feel
that a great portion of the strength we may possess,
of any capacity that may be accorded to us to
serve our country, mast depend upon oar living and
acting in the light of day, and upon our making our-
elves thoroughly acquainted with the studies and
the progress of mind and intelligence among our
fellow-countrymen, (Cheers.) It is a matter, in
another view, of the greatest interest to me to come

......---.
to King's College. In the first place, I never can
forget how important has been the part which this
institution has taken in the general moot went of
the age. Most of us think in this country that,
whatever be the special designation under which
we may be ranged by others, or under which we
would like to range ourselves, the greatness and
strength of England consists in reconciling and
harmonising together what is old in our laws and
institutions with what is new in the real demands
and in the real civilisation of the time in which we
tive. If other countries have been less happy in their
destiny—if they be precipitated upon violent and
even bloody changes—if even these violent and
bloody changes have failed for them to issue in
stable order and extended freedom—it is because
they have not had the secret of reconciling those
various elements of their constitution and their con-
dition ; but they have come into violent collision
one with another. In that work of reconciling and
harmonising which is the great characteristic of
this country King's College has borne a distin-
guished part. It was founded with one hand, as
it were, laid upon the tradition of the past—upon
the laws, the religion, and institutions of the coun-
try—and with the other hand pointing and beck-
oning onward, and announcing the intention of
those who founded it and those by whom it was
conducted, to offer within its walls to the intelli-
gence of their countrymen the means of meeting
and satisfying every demand society was likely to
make upon its resources. We have now, I ven-
ture to think, reached a time when it is no longer a
question so far as this institution is concerned,
whether that reconciliation can be happily effected.

I know that much has been due to the labours of
the excellent Principal who now so worthily occu-
pies that place—l know that much has been due to
the ability, self-denying zeal, and unwearied as-
siduity of the teachers and professors of this col-
lege; but not even these powerful agencies would
have availed to effect the results which have been
actually achieved unless the principle had been
sound, and unless the plan of the college had been
found to combine a just relation to practical ex-
perience. (Cheers.) But I must say to those who
occupy positions sneh as that which I unworthily
fill, opportunities like these are the means of afford-

rig many lessons. It is true that this ancient
community of which we are members is like-
wise in one sense a young community,
because it has about it the vigour, elasticity,
and growth of youth ; and while it expands
in power we rejoice to believe that it is likewise
growing more and more compact in internal solidity
and strength. The meeting of class with class to
which reference has been made, from several and
distinct positions, tends to unite us in mind and
heart. It is true I require to think that is the sphere
in which I ordinarily live and move, so much has
been done to consolidate the institutions of the coun-
try by improving its laws and by bettering the con-
dition of its people. But it is also true that if we
want to know what is the special security of our
social strength and national prosperity we must
look for it, not in what can be done by Parliaments
and legislatures, but by the earnest, patient in-
telligence of self-denying efforts of men and
public bodies, who do their duty each in
his own sphere. And I know no more
valuable instance of the success of such efforts
than in the case of the evening classes in King's
College. (Cheers.) There is no doubt a great want
to be satisfied—there is no doubt that the immense
commercial progress and material activity of the
age require not only stimulants but correctives.
They require not that they should be repressed, not
that they should be discouraged, but that they
should be balanced by the higher cultivation of our
nature—of our intellectual and moral and, above
all, of our spiritual nature. (Cheers.) There have
been made efforts, which I cannot characterise
otherwise than most gallant, to carry that higher
degree of cultivation into spheres which of all others
it was the most difficult for it to enter—l mean the
sphere of those who are already burdened with the
avocations which ordinary men may well deem to be
fully equal to their strength, and such as entitle
them when the ordinary labours of the day are done
to retire to their repose. But it has been shown that
there is in society, even in the heart of this vast and
crowded metropolis, no inconsiderable portion of
men—an increasing portion, I hope, and venture to
believe—who are willing, even after the exhaustion
of the day, to enter on new efforts, Lr the purpose
of giving to their minds the immense advantages
that are to be derived from refined education. In
the profession to which I belong we do, for six
months in the year, at any rate, know something of
what it is, within the compass of 24 hours, to
finish one day's work and then to go down to
Westminster and begin another. (Cheers.) So far
I am able to sympathise with you, because that
which we do under the strongest obligations
—that which I venture to say we must do
almost whether we like it or not—you have done
by a free and spontaneous effort, and the result
is accorded in the marks of distinction which I
have just distributed. I for my part do not go
down as far as the lowest classes in this country
are concerned. It becomes a matter of increasing
difficulty to induce even young men among us to
make the efforts and exertions which are necessary
to achieve progress in the work of education. There
can be no doubt that we require in all classes of so-
ciety the stimulus of necessity in order to induce us
to labour and to reap through labour the reward it
produces. It is impossible not to see what immense
labour is required of the teachers of our schools and
our Universities, who have to do with the highest
classes of the country, and in how many cases it
happens that the most devoted labours bestowed in
the most intelligent manner and with a zeal and
self-denial not to be exceeded produce but slender
results ; but there is a broader strata of society, an
immense mass of intelligent material, which is sus-
ceptible of every kind and degree of cultivation ;
and if we have come to the time when, in certain
classes of society, the attractions of wealth and the
outer world prove too much for the more sober at-
tractions of learning, then it has become more then
ever necessary that we should look downwards into
those veins of rich material in which the English
nation abounds—(cheers)—and that by efforts such
as these new recruits should be continually brought
forth in increasing numbers to add themselves to
the body of those who are the followers of the Muses
or students in the inferior walks of letters and men-
tal cultivation. It is therefore a great work to
which the promoters of these evening classes have
addressed themselves, and the importance of which
cannot be measured even by the results attained
within these walls. Much may be done here, but
why should not that much be multiplied elsewhere ?
You have had no advantages, you
powers, except what are possessed by
h(Haveear h,ah d ea
no hear.)
others, what a man has done a man may do ;
but you have lifted up a lamp in the face of the
country which I trust will serve tolead others
to imitate the efforts here made, and to draw
forth from among industrious youths—not ex-
eluding other periods of life, for nothing
has struck me mote than the manner in which
varied ages are here combined in one affectionate
brotherhood brotherhood and one generous emulation
forth the struggling energies of
youth, to satisfy
its nobler aspirations, and to call away, not only
from vice and dissipation, but from sluggishness and
indolence, and to encourage every man to End
within himself, and to develope to the best of his
abilities, the gifts with which Providence has en-
dowed him. I rejoice to see that these evening
classes have been attended by no common success.
I need not say how cordially I
continued success to their
meritorioushave had need I assure those to whom h
thead thepri
prizes
snaonudr
of distributing with my own hands
certificates, how earnestly I desire that the rewards they have received, and the testimonials afforded to
them to-night may be to them not merely signals
and records of what they have done, but also much
more—namely, incentives and encouragements to
persevere in a continuing industry, to continue the
cultivation of their gifts, to consider themselves re-
sponsible before God and man, every one of them,
for applying and opening up to the best of their
ability all the faculties they possess, and to find in
the exercise of those faculties, and in their exertions
in every work that is for the glory of God and the
good of man, no small solace amid the difficulties of
life, no small pledge that when that life comes to its

close it may prove to have been but the harbinger
of a better and a brighter one. (Cheers.) I beg to
return you my sincere thanks for the vote which
you have passed, and to assure you that the instruc-
tion which I receive and the practical knowledge I
derive from meeting you on an occasion like the
present encourages ma in the laborious profession
to which I too am given, and satisfies me more and
more that the increasing strength and happiness of
this country will continue to be found in efforts like
this—in conscientious individual exertion, each man
striving for himself to do his duty co the best and
utmost of his ability in that sphere and station of
life to which it has pleased God to call him. (Loud
cheers.)
The proceedings then terminated.

THE INSURRECTION IN POLAND.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)

CRACOW, May 12.
Of late there has been a marked improvement in
the conduct of the Russian troops near Cracow. I
fancy this is to be attributed less to the restoration
of discipline than to the fact that they have been
successful in all their recent enterprises against the
insurgents, It is defeat which brings out their
worst qualities, and when they are compelled to
retire they seldom do so without murdering the
wounded on the ground and massacring the pri-
soners who have fallen into their hands. The
scythemen, who gave no quarter themselves, seldom
find mercy under any circumstances at the hands of

the Russians. A Russian prisoner who was brought
to a place near Cracow the other day told a friend
of mine that he thought nothing of killing a scythe-
man, " because mowing was not fighting, and the
scythe not a Christian weapon.,"
A few days ago the General who now commands
at Miechow sent back several Galicians who had
been taken prisoners. On one occasion last month
Prince Schachoffsky did the same ; but, what-

ever the good intentions of some of the cow
wanders may be, it is certain that the sob

diers have only to be provoked by failure

to renew at all times the atrocities which have
now become habitual to them. I hear from eye-
witnesses that at Jezioranski's great battle, which
lasted seven hours, in which the Russian forces en-
gaged were four times as numerous as those of the
Poles, the Imperial troops, f nding their most des-
perate attacks were all in vain, ended, as they
fell back, by firing in their impotent rage upon
the wounded. The Austrians who watched the
battle from a neighbouring elevation and cheered
the Poles with enthusiasm throughout their hard
fight—as trying for them as that of Inkermann

for the English—had been prevented with difficulty
from assisting what at first appeared to be the
weaker side, and their indignation knew no bounds
when they saw the wounded being put to death.
They even went under fire to save them, but
without taking part in the fighting. At the critical
point of the battle, when the Russians, after an
hour's rest, recommenced their attack from a new
position and with redoubled fury, Jezioranski had
to refuse the aid of 200 of the bravest and most
generous troops in Europe. A message was sent
to him to the effect that 200 Hungarian Hussars,
officers and men, were only waiting for his orders
to fall upon the Russians, and that they would
charge at a moment's notice. He was of course
obliged to tell them to remain where they were,
and added that, if they joined him in spite of his
wishes to the contrary, he should be forced to treat
them as enemies. The colonel of the Hussar regi-
ment thanked Gen. Jeziorankski for his reply, which
was no doubt as prudent as it was honourable.

On the night of the Bth Jezioranski marched west-
ward along the frontier leaving his camp fires burn-
ing. A hundred cavalry remained to mask the move-
ment. It is said that Jezioranski, with his able co-
adjutors, Smiechowski and Waligorski, is on the
point of joining, or has already joined, Chachow-
ski's corps in the province of Sandomir. He ap-
pears to have been threatened by greatly superior
forces, but it is hoped that by his night march along
the frontier he has outmanceuvred_them. It was
reported yesterday that he had re-entered Galicia;
but if so he only re-entered it by a sort of mistake
in making a short cut from one point on the frontier

to another. People are anxious about his position,
however, especially as now that Taczanowski (in the
province of Kalisch) has been beaten and his de-
tachment broken up, Jezioranski's corps and that of
Chachowski are the only very formidable ones in
the Kingdom.
There are nearly 200 small bands about, however,
of from 50 to 500 men each, and even in the unfor-
tunate Cracow district insurgent companies are no
sooner dispersed than fresh ones are formed. Since
Easter five detachments have been utterly defeated
near Cracow,—Gregowic's, at Szklary ; Mossa-
kowski's, beyond Olkusz; Mieroslowski's, at Igolo-
mia ; Miniewski's, beyond Olkusz; and Rumowski's
at Sice. But five new detachments, as numerous,
as well armed, and, it is to be hoped, much better
provisioned than the others, are now on the point
of starting for the frontier, and it is expected that

hey will all be in the Kingdom before the end of
the week.

A grand funeral service was performed here this
morning for General Francisco Nullo at the Church
of the Capucins, but the most magnificent cere-
monial i❑ his honour was got up, not by those for
whom he died, but by those who killed him. By
order of Prince Schaehoffsky, the Garibaldian officer
was buried at Olkusz with all possible pomp and
with full military honours. The whole army was
drawn up in line, and saluted the remains as they
were carried past ; a mortuary mass was celebrated
in the principal church of Olkusz, and the Prince,
with. his Staff, detachments from each regiment,
and all the Polish population of the town, lA-
loa ed the procession to the grave. This will be
looked upon by many as a hypocriticll demoustra-

ion on the part of the Russians, but I do not think

the Russians have said any thing about the matter,
and my account of the funeral is derived from a
Pole who witnessed it, and who arrived here from
Olkusz this evening. Properly considered, the
conduct of these men, who admire in Italy what
they hate in Poland, like that of so many others,
who admire in Poland what they hate in Italy is,
not hypocritical, but simply anomalous. It is a fact,
however, to which any one who has visited Russia
during the last two or three years can testify, that
Garibaldi's exploits excited the greatest enthusiasm
throughout Russian society—so much so that the
principal journal of Moscow found it advisable to
have a regular correspondent at his camp—a sort of
thing never heard of before or since in Russian
journalism.

The losses in Minie wski's retreat from Olkusz are
roughly estimated here at 10 killed, with an indefi-
nite number of wounded ; but an officer of Nullo's
corps assures me that of the Italian and French volun-
teers alone 26 were either killed or taken prisoners,
It is not easy to ascertain exact numbers in these
affairs on either side, and it must sometimes be im-
possible to compute them on the part of the Poles.
Altogether, however, after the three defeats of Igo-
lomia, Olkusz, and Sice, the loss of the insurgents
in killed, wounded, and arrested has not, I think,
amounted to more than about 200. The loss in
rifles and ammunition must have been proportion-
ately far greater, as many who escaped being ar-
rested by the Austrian soldiers were only able to do
so because they had thrown their arms away before
crossing the frontier. This is most unfortunate, as
i❑ the present state of the Polish war-market rifles
seem to be worth more than men.

It would be interesting to get at some true par-
ticulars as to the number of insurgents actually
under arms throughout the territory of ancient
Poland. In the " Congress Kingdom" I doubt
whether 20,000 men could be accounted for, but no
one reckons the insurrectionary force at any higher
figure. In Lithuania it may amount to about 10,000
—certainly not more, if even so much. In Volhynia,
Podolia, and the province of Kieff there has hitherto
been.. no rising at all, though Volhynians and Podo-
I ans., as
as Galicians and Poseners, are fight-
ing the Xingdom. If the Poles had an unlimited
command of arms, if they had en open sea coast, or
any one port through which arms could be smug-
gled, 30,000 men
would not represent a formidable
resistance on the
p
we must remember what ol a
thenation,,. a ti o
inn
so
uf
r2r4e ,cotoioon,oosop. r
aßnugt
out of, under what difficulties it has to be main-

-

tained, and that it is nevertheless kept up and goes
on increasing.

Yesterday, in the Municipal Council of Cracow,
M. Valery Wieloglowski questioned the Mayor as
to the circumstances under which two Prussian offi-
cers, named Annenkoff and Muchanoff, the latter,
until recently, Director of the Police at Warsaw,
had received " quarter tickets," in virtue of which
they had been living for some days at the Hotel de
Russie at the expense of the inhabitants. The
Mayor being unable to give the requisite informa-
tion the proprietor of the Hotel de Russie—or "of
the Rose" (" Mil," instead of " Rossje), as it is
henceforth to be called—was sent for and examined
with reference to the Russian gentleman's bill,
which appeared to have been settled in the usual
manner,and quite to the satisfaction of the inkeeper.
" Quarter tickets" had really been given to them,
hat seemingly in the way of compliment, by Aus-
trian officers, and not by the municipality of Cra-
cow. Such a compliment would be regarded as a
doubtful one by officers in some parts , f the world ;
but it is, of course, all a matter of taste and fashion,
and it would appear that in these regions orders for
private rooms are freely exchanged among the mili-
tary, and that a chop-ticket may be accepted, just as
in England one accepts an opera bone. The visit of
MM. Muchanoff and Annenkoff to Cracow will
not ho forgotten, either by the inhabitants or
by themselves. Their arrival was announced in
large type at the very beinning of the Czas, In
quiries have been made after them in all directions
during their brief residence here; one of the lead-
ing members of the Town Council has made a point
of asking publicly how they were lodged ; in short,
no such attention has been shown by the people of
Cracow to any visitors since the departure of Mr.

Hennessy.
The Prussian vassal has also received a visit from
an emissary of the Czar. The envoy, General
Minkvitch, found a Royal carriage waiting for him
at the Berlin Railway terminus, and, instead of
being offered soup tickets and gratuitous lodging a:
a second-rate hotel, was provided with accommoda-
tion for a short time at the Palace. The town-coun-
cillor there will have no opportunity of asking im-
pertinent questions about his bill. His proceedings,
however, do not escape notice, and I learn from
a paragraph in the Czas, which bears the stamp
of authority, and is signed with the letter " R,"
affixed only to communications from a certain mar-
vellously well informed quarter, that the Russian
General spent an hour and a half with the King
and three hours with M. Bismark, after which he
proceeded to Posen, and attended a Council of War.
General Minkvitch has now returned to Warsaw,
and it is said that, since his visit to Prussia, Prussian
and Russian engineers have been engaged together
in inspecting bridges and roads in the Kingdom of
Poland, and that the 3d Prussian Corps has been
ordered to the frontier.

countries. The Confederates, of course, have not
lost sight of this topic now that it can be turned
against Americans themselves. They speak of
" Lincoln's hirelings" with the utmost contempt
and indignation, and call Europe to witness the
measures to which the Northern people are resort-
ing for the conquest of their freeborn brethren. We
are really almost compelled to believe their allege-
tions when we look at the temper in which the
North takes the war. It should be remembered that
the terrible battles of which we have lately been
reading were not fought in any remote province, or
at such a distance that the echoes of the fight were
lost. All that slaughter and carnage occurred close
at home. From Fredericksburg to Washington the
distance is but trifling ; indeed, in one of the earlier
campaigns the wounded were actually taken to the
Federal capital for succour. Yet still no grief dis-
turbs the gaiety of New York. Society cares no
more for these fallen soldiers than if they had been
troops of another nation. There is a dark side of
the war at Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg, bur
there is a bright side of it in the North-Eastern
cities, and they turn their lot to good account.
Still, such things leave us with much that we cannot
understand. Certain classes of people are gainers
by the Civil War, as is the case in all wars, bur, as
those gains must necessarily be counterbalanced by
losses far heavier and more extensive, how does it
happen that the slighter cause should determine the
aspect and policy of the nation ? How is it, in
abort, that if contractors gain while America loses,
America rejoices and the War goes on ?
PosT.—Accepting the most favourable construc-
tion which can be placed upon the Federal accounts
of the recent engagements in Virginia, there can be
no doubt that the Grand Army of the North has sus-
tained a signal defeat. The object with which Gen.
Hooker crossed the Rappahannock undcebtedly
was the reduction of Richmond, and that object he
has failed to attain. If, like his predecessor, Gen.
Burnside, he had simply failed to force his way
through the lines of entrenchments which his oppo-
nents had thrown across his route, and had
mately succeeded in saving from annihilation the
remnant of his army, he would, to say the least,
occupy no lower position than those Northern
generals who have already attempted, but in vain,
to secure the possession of Richmond. But there
is only too much reason to believe that General
Hooker has sustained a defeat with which in the
annals of the present war it would be impossible to
find a parallel. In the disastrous battle of Chan-
cellorsville, and the retreat of Sedgwick across the
Rappahannock, it is not difficult to determine the
turning point of the present war. Notwithstanding
the cloud of words in which the Northern press have
enveloped the story of the recent engagements, it is
easy to detect the plain and unsophisticated truth.
The fifth and last invasion of Virginia has proved a
failure. The Northern Commander-in-Chief has
been out-generalled,and his forces have been beaten.
Nothing could apparently have been more favour •
able than the opening which presented itself t o
Gen. Hooker. For some two or three days he had
the initiative, and was himself at liberty to deter-
mine his mode of attack. In directing the main
body of his forces towards the north-west of Frede-
ricksburg he at least gained the advantage of sur-
prising his adversaries. There is every reason to
believe that the Confederate General was taken un-
awares when he found Hooker attempting to out-
flank him. Every preparation had been made by
Lee to cheek the advance of his adversary across the
line connecting Fredericksburg with Richmond. In
the December campaign the calculations of the Con-
federates in this respect proved to be correct.
Burnside marched direct south from Fredericks-
burg, and found his course arrested by intronch-
meets which he found it impossible to force.
Warned by the mishap of his predecessor, Hooker
decided on turning lines which he could not pene-
trate. His advance to Chancellorsville surprised
the Confederate Chief, though it did not find him
entirely unprepared. On Friday, May 1, the day
before the general engagement, Lee withdrew his
forces from bis entrenched lines, and drew them up
in front of the Federal battalions. The following
day a battle ensued, and on this occasion it is ob-
servable that the Southern forces were enabled to
turn no natural or artificial advantages to account.
They engaged the Northern troops on even terms,
and compelled them to abandon their position, and
entrench themselves for further security. The
judgment, promptitude, and gallantry of the Con-
federates not only saved them from defeat, but
turned the scale against their opponents. Hooker
had hoped to have outflanked Lee, and, instead,
found himself obliged to retire in order to save his
army. The experience of preceding campaigns has
not been thrown away on the Southern Generals, and
on the present occasion they have shown a prompti-
tude which, if exhibited on previous occasions, would
have materially enhanced the value of their vic-
tories. On the Ist of May they abandoned the
lines which they had been at so much pains to de-
fend in order to frustrate the object of the Federal
Commander-in-Chief, who, at another point, was
endeavouring to turn their position ; but, this object
once frustrated, they then concentrated their forces
and recovered the position which, to all appearance,
they had surrendered with reluctance. As apiece of
military strategy, the course taken by the Confede-
rate Commander-in-Chief in the first week in May
is beyond all praise. To abandon a position which
for months he had laboured to make impregnable
must have cost him a pang of regret ; but still he
had the genius to perceive that on the frustration
of Hooker's scheme depended the complete success
of the enterprise which he had undertaken. Strong
as were the lines at Fredericksburg, he knew that
they would be untenable if once the Federal General
was enabled to attack him in the rear, and ho had
the resolution to abandon them in order to prevent
the occurrence of such a contingency. Subsequently,
by undaunted courage, and (as there is reason to
believe) with the aid of superior forces, he regained
the position which he voluntarily abandoned. There
now can exist no doubt that General Hooker com-
mitted a fatal mistake in separating Sedgwick's di-
vision from his main body. Assuming that he could
have succeeded in outflanking the left wing of the
Confederate army, he might indeed have placed it
between two fires ; but then a failure to execute this
manoeuvre was equally certain to place him at a
terrible disadvantage. On Saturday, May 2, when
Sedg wick carried the dreaded heights of Fredericks-
burg by assault, he met with little resistance. Thus
far the result realised his most sanguine expecta-
tions. When, however, he subsequently attempted
to co operate with his chief at Chancellorsville, not
only did the interposing columns of the Confederate
army arrest his passage, but the arrival of addi-
tional reinforcements in the Southern camp rendered
the position he had gained untenable. From that
time, until he withdrew the broken remnant of his
forces across the Rappahannock, General Sedgwick
was compelled to fight a losing battle. The heights
were evacuated under thEeoverwhelming pressure of
the advancing battalions of the Confederate Chief,
and the luckless General was oblige to retire fight-
ing his way step by step, in the vain hope of secur-
ing some shelter under cover of the town of Frede-
ricksburg. The slaughter made in the Federal
ranks in this retreat, and especially when the retir-
ing army attempted to cross the Rappahannock, we
can readily believe was unexampled on any previous
occasion. The results of these last engagements
have been so disastrous to the Federals that it is
almost an impossibility that the invasion of Virginia
can be renewed during the present summer. It is,
of course, not without the bounds of possibility that
at some future period the North, if it chooses to
persevere, may succeed in marching a victorious
army into the Confederate capital. But, judging
from appearances, we should consider the happening
of such a contingency as very remote. Five several
times have the armies of the North endeavoured to
force their way over the comparatively narrow strip
of ground which separates Washington from Rich-
mond, and on every occasion they have signally
failed, Is there any reasonable hope that success
will attend their efforts so long as the population of
the South continue sufficiently numerous to supply
armies such as those which have in succession dis-
comfited M'Clellan, Pope, Burnside, and Hooker ?
We must reply in the negative, and every citizen
in the Northern States, unless blinded by prejudice
and vanity, must Concur in that reply. It may be
very well to bluster on platforms of prosecuting the
war !Intll the population of the Confederacy are ex-
terminated, and the Southern States made an un-
inhabited waste. But though such folly and wicked-
ness may be conceived by the human heart, it is not
permitted to human hands to carry it into execu-
tion. Through the gloom occasioned by this last and
most signal defeat of the greatest army the North
has as yet been enabled to bring into the field we
think we recognise the faint glimmeringof approach-
mg peace.

HERALD.—The most difficult part of the French
campaign in Mexico, considered simply as a strate-
gic operation, will be accomplished by the reduction
of Puebla. This town, lying about two-thirds of the
way on the road from Vera Cruz to the capital, is the
chief fortified place, and about the only position of
strength in the republic. The long delay of Gen.
Forey, the many months which it has taken him to
get as far as Orizaba, and from thence to Puebla,
150 miles from the coast, are to be explained by the
real difficulties which attend on such an expedition.
The importance of securing communications, and
of guarding against any attack on the rear or
on either
flank of the advancing force, the diffi-
culties of the commissariat, the trouble and delay
attending the transport of the siege train and
cavalry from Europe, and the risk of yellow fever
sear the coast in the hot season, must all be
borne in mind. In this case there does not seem to
have been added that crowning difficulty which
would have rendered the task of General Forey
well nigh impossible. The people of Mexico, a rtlce

of degenerate half-castes and Indians, are indolent,
apatkets.c, and good nattred. They do not seem to
he ill-disposed to the French. According to Gen.
Forey they welcome them with open arms. Not
that they go oat of their way to hail them as deli-
verers, or anything of that sort. The poor imbe-
ciles are not conscious that they have anything par-
ticular to complain of,or from which to be delivered.
It requires French perspicacity to discover that.
Juarez and Forey are very much the same to these
Indians. They like the look of the uniforms and
the sound of military music. If the new comers
will conduct themselves innocently, pay for the pro
visions which they consume, and desist from rob-
bing and murdering them, they are delighted to
trade with them and house them comfortably. Gen.
Forey has not, then, to make war against a nation
in aims, against a people every man of which is
jealous of the national honour and burring for the
destruction of the invader. There are no raids upon
his stragglers, no murders of solitary soldiers, no
attacks upon the baggage or sumpter mules. He
has nothing to fear but from the men who make a
trade of arms, and the military adventurers who
lead them. Even some of these are on his side, and
Mexicens fight against Mexicans under the banner
of France. To have marched thus far towards a
point 300 mile sin the heart of a hostile country
would have been a task of immense difficulty. To
have accomplished as much, in spite of a few thou-
sands of halt disciplined troops commanded by men
whose only experience has been in the irregular war-
fare which prevails among savages, is an achieve.
ment which does him credit, but which he might
reasonably have been expected to perform. The
dispositions of Gen. Forey seem to have been skil-
fully made. His little army has advanced in three
columns, at some distance apart, one led by
General Douay, another by L'Heriller, and the
third or centre by Forey himself. General
Neigre, leading the reserve, kept up the corn-
misaliat arrangements, and watched over the
villages where there were flour-mills. From
Orizaba, the last place where there was any fight-
ing, the army of General Forey commenced its
march about the end of February. On the 16th of
March it had arrived before Puebla. Marquez and
his Mexicans were sent on another route, in order to
divert, if possible, the attention of the enemy. Some
opposition was looked for at a place called Amozoe,
but on the news of the approach of a French column
the place was promptly evacuated, and no enemy
was met with in the various towns and villages be-
tween Orizaba and Puebla. On nearing the latter
place the news was heard that Juarez had been
there, reviewing and haranguing some 18,000 troops
who formed its garrison. Comonfort was in its
neighbourhood with 3,000 regular troops. He in-
tended, doubtless, to throw himself into Puebla, but
the French were too quick for him, and when he
came up at last he found the city invested. Juarez
himself, fearing perhaps that he might fall into the
hands of the invaders, returned to Mexico before
their arrival at the second city of the republic.
Puebla, formerly called the City of Angels, is built
in a fertile plain at the foot of a wooded hill. The
t ouses are large and built of stone, the churches and
convents numerous, and the cathedral is thought to
be the handsomest edifice in Mexico. Thera are
80,000 people in Puebla, and the population at the
time of the siege must have been swelled by the
garrison. General Forey hoped to have been able
to capture Puebla by March 16, that he might pre-
sent it as a birthday gift to the Prince Imperial. He
was to be disappointed in this. He had just arrived
before it on that day. The investment was com-
pleted on the 18th, and the first trench opened on
the 23d. The general appears to have been ill-in-
formed as to the strength of the place and the deter-
mination of its defenders. He has to batter tort after
fort, and to fight for each house with the bayonet.
His soldiers were picked off by riflemen in the belfry
of the cathedral, and French guns were pointed
against the sacred edifice. By last accounts the siege
had gone on for nearly a month, and yet Puebla was
not taken. From the 18th March to the 12th April,
the French had been eontending fiercely with the
defenders of the Mexican stronghold, who really
seem now to fight with muck bravery. The outlying
forts had been captured, and three of the suburbs
occupied. The walls of the houses were riddled with
cannon balls, the rooms blown open to the air and
blackened with gunpowder, the thresholds stained
with the blood of their late inmates. We do not
share in the fears which are expressed in Paris for
the success of General Forey. To take Puebla, at
whatever co-t, has become now a point of honour
with him, although it cannot be done without a great
sacrifice of the lives of his brave soldiers, fighting
in a distant country in an ambiguous cause. That
Puebla will fall, however, and that Mexico will be
open to his army, we have no doubt. The military
triumph will, we doubt not, compensate for the un-
popularity of the enterprise. But the real difficul-
ties will begin when the French army has no more
cities to take or enemies to fight. If, after defeat-
ing their army i❑ the field, the French Emperor be
able to induce the Mexicans to form something like
a settled government, he will have achieved much
for France, for Europe, and for civilisation.