The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-17 00:00:00

THERMOMETER.

This morning ...62 •. _
68
This day at Two o'clock
Barometer-22.88.
; light, and fine.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
CATS DAY.—Morning, 2h. 45m.—Afternoon, 3h. 3m,
To-moßßow.-Morning, 3h. 21m.—Afternoon, 3h. 40w

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LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1863.

The Telegrams now showering in upon us from the
!Etna come fast and thick, with tidings as hot and
fierce as though they were redhot stones and boiling
lava. They are tidings still of the fiercest fighting,
hither and thither, at opposite extremities of that
vast and already fearfully ravaged seat of war in
America. Here the storming by the Federals of
Port Hudson—yonder their persistence in the
siege of Vicksburg—yonder, far away to the North,
the preparation of General LEE at the head of his
victorious Confederates to cross the Rappahannock,
and the preparation, on the other hand, of General
HOOKER to prevent his crossing it—if possible.
The Battle which we now learn was raging all
through the 27th and the 28th nit. between the
Federal forces, under General BANKS, and the Con-
federate defenders of Port Hudson, proves to have
cost the former on the first day of the assault, that
is on the 27th, alone, from two to four thousand
teen placed ho/s de combat. And all to no purpose,
as previously had befallen the Federal troops
under General GRANT before Vicksburg. All to no

purpose, at any rate, up to the moment when these
last advices left the scene of conflict. The Northern
army having been withdrawn by its commander
from its advanced position—retreating in obedi-
ence to those orders along its whole line to its
original position before this attack upon Port Hud-
son had been commenced. According to the belief
prevalent in the North, when the /Etna was leaving,
the Federals and General BANKS would there and
then, in that resumed original position, await the
reinforcements which had been hastily sent
for by that commander, from New Orleans. In
the meantime, so far from the Northern army
under General GRANT, resuming its inter-
rupted attack upon Vicksburg, it was stated
to be on the contrary engaged up to the very close
of May in erecting earthworks with a view to its
own protection ! The utmost show of audacity on
its part being directed to certain cautions and gin-
gerly operations in mining, to the end that some
of the Confederate forts might be safely blown up.
As to the bombardment of the beleagured city by
the fleet lying off there on the Mississippi, that

se ems to have proved so utterly futile and ineffeetaa
fr am first to last, as to draw from Admiral PORTER
the naive acknowledgment that the Confederate
works in defence of Vicksburg were really and truly
stronger than he should have looked for! What
renders the position of GRANT all the more serious
after his reiterated repulses from Vicksburg by the
Confederates, is the doubt entertained as to the pro
bable doings, as to the possible position of the most
forrmidableleader of the Confederates in that part of
the seat of war. It used to be thus always, it will
be remembered, during the lifetime of General
STONEWALL JACKSON in regard to his movements. It
has more than once so happened, very notably, in the
instance of General BEAL:REGARD. It is precisely
in this way falling out now in reference to General
loitNsToNE. The Federais upon that subject seem
to be fairly bewildered. They know not in what
direction to look for him. Now his appearance is
to be confidently awaited from this—now, again,
from that, totally opposite, quarter. The likelihood
being all the while that JOHNSTONE will eventually
" turn up" when and where here he is least expected. The
in
favourite notion hregard, according to the last
accounts, appeared to be
that, with from 15,000 to
30,000(rather rough guess evidently as to the
mere number of followersehs3tlese' had contrived to gather
toge then) he was making his W
in between
wh
the Big Black River and the Yazy it steadily
the design of
recapturing Haines 'Bluff, and of s' o interrupting any
further Federal communication by ra„nsoithe
latter
river, that is the Yazoo. So cc.uch credit, indeed,
was attached to this statement as to his where,,
abauts and his intentions, that one corps of the Fede.
ral array had been actually detached and sent forth
in the direction indicated with a view to interrupt
JOHNSTONE on his march. So cheerless, however,
appeared to be the prospects in reference to this
unhappy siege of Vicksburg,that one of the New
York papers (the World) actually owns to a belief
that it will drag its slow length along all through
the summer. That is to say, of course, if the Con-
federates will hear of it. At the very time, moreover,
that this confident avowal of almost hopelessness,
in regard to the capture of Vicksburg, is
blurted out at New York—comes to the Federal
Population an ugly rumour enough from the direction
01:Vicksburg, : one, however, that we hardly in any
ay feel disposed to credit : a rumour to the effect
that General GRANT, having been repulsed at all
points, had fallen back upon the line of the Big
Black River,. where he was preparing himself to