The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-04 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 4, 1863.

records of Birkenhead and Birmingham might show
a very curious contrast. That a still more striking
instance of partiality is continually exhibited in
another part of our dominions is a fact generally
admitted, but, thanEs to the waters of the Irish
Channel, it is not thrust so conspicuously upon our
notice, and the supporters of Lord PALMERSTON
furnishonteheofotthheerewomithbamtaennt;
m withent
ships,neutrality
w h a t
is toi t
to supply
Can fancy picture the indignant
excitement
of Mr.
ADAMS, the horror of Earl RUSSELL, the rage of the
whole American nation, if a regular system of en-
listment was found to be going on at one of our
seaports on behalf of the Confederates ? Yet that.
a wholesale invasion of the Foreign Enlistment Act
is actually carried on by the agents and officers of
the Federal Government in Ireland, there is very
little reason to doubt. If the supply of men from
thence were stopped, the grand armies of the North
would soon dwindle away considerably. It is im-
possible, of course, to prevent men from emigrating
with a view to subsequent enlistment, but at least
some effort should be made to check that enlist-
ment being openly carried on in our ports by a Go-
vernment which so loudly proclaims its impartiality,
and, in pursuance of the duties of neutrality, thinks
fit to confiscate unfinished and unarmed vessels.
Two curious documents have been forwarded to a
contemporary, authenticated by the name and'
address of the sender, which contain the declarations
of two Irishmen before one of the Justices of the
Peace for the borough. of Cork. These men state
that an American war steam frigate came into the
harbour of Queenstown on the 2d of November, and
that in consequence of its being generally circu-
lated through the town that she was enlisting men,
they went on board, each in company with one or
two other men. The pay was to be twelve dollars
a month, and the. men were well received, being
provided with meals. One of them was refused on
account of his height, but his two companions were
engaged. The other passed inspection, but changed
his mind for some reason which he does not give,
and came back in the pilot boat. Both men agree
in affirming that there were from 150 to 200 men
taken on board, the most part being Irish. The
American consul for Queenstown and his agent
were on board, and remained some time in conver-
sation with the officers, so that the wholesale system
of enlistment thus carried on can scarcely be dis-
owned by American officials. The open manner in
which it was done, and the object of the
ship in coming there being known throughout
the town, afford pretty good evidence that Earl
RUSSELL'S remonstrances do not inspire so much
respect in the minds of his Federal friends as their
threats do him. Or is it that the bias of the Foreign
Secretary is so well known by the Northern Govern-
ment and its agents, that it is considered to be
useless trouble to keep up appearances, seeing that
their offences are sure to be weighed in a very
different balance from any act of the Confederates.
Guns and commodities of various kinds have doubt-
less left this country for both sides, but if the rela-
tive proportions were accurately known, the result
would not bc very flattering to Northern indepen-
dence or to English non-intervention. It is the
worst kind of inactive intervention which brings
all the resources of a vast trading community to
supply the needs of the one, while any effort of the
other to obtain what it wants is met by a universal
outcry. Englishmen are not sufficiently quixotic
to go cn in any line of business at a heavy loss, and
Earl RUSSELL and Mr. ADAMS have taken care that
the owners of the Alexandra and of the
Birkenhead rams shall suffer enough from
litigation, delay, and annoyance, that smaller capi-
talists may well hesitate before undertaking
trade engagements with the South. If it was the
Cabinet of Washington that happened to want half
a dozen Monitors, armed, equipped, • and manned,
how pleasantly and easily matters might be ar-
ranged. How conveniently the English authorities
might look another way while the vessel steamed
out of the harbour—how slight would be the
obstacles put in the way by the Custom-house. It
must be a great satisfaction to Mr. SEWARD and
his fellows to know that when the ranks of the
army of the Potomac,which we hear so much about,
are thinned, they can always be supplied in the
English dominions; when their naval force has suf-
fered fl om encounters with the Power that has no'
navy, all that is necessary can be obtained from the
strictly impartial English. We have certainly a
good right to admire and appreciate the courage
and determination with which the Southern States
maintain the struggle against heavy odds, when we
ourselves have contributed so consistently and
kindly to the assistance of their enemies, and to the
increase of their difficulties.

Mr. ADDERLEY'S last letter on Punishment and
Reformation contains some reflections that may be
of essential service to those whom it may con-
cern, or, indeed, to the public generally; for, apart
from the mere official set who require more or less
advice and assistance in the discharge of their one-
rous and complicated duties, the whole country has
a direct interest in the subject, since the safety of
many is closely connected with the right treatment
of this important matter. Mr. ADDERLEY'S chief
point of discussion in this letter is the " present
mode of discharging criminals from punishment."
On this he comments at some length, and his stric-
tures are for the most part most just ones. It is
a notorious fact, that the ptans adopted of late
years, and which were generally considered to be
so wise and humane, have almost utterly failed,
and that the resalt has been that the ends of jus-
tice have been defeated, and the return of the
criminals to active life has bean marked by a
decided desire to resume the evil of their ways.
Hence the greatest consternation has been experi-
enced in many quarters, and universal indigna-
tion expressed at the latitude allowed to prisoners,
and the false principles which have guided their
treatment, and pervaded the establishments
wherein penal servitude is carried oat.
Enormous sums are expended every year in the
mangement of these prisons; 'and if the end is to
be that safety is not preserved, and a due terror
inspired by the idea of imprisonment, it would
appear that the money is wasted, the time thrown
away, and the system a decided. failure. It is not
quite the thing for the general public to abandon
the consideration of this subject, until their
attention is aroused by tho grievous: annoyances to
which they are exposed, and the great discomforts
that many have to endure. This not at all the right
way of treating the question. It should be calmly
and cautiously regarded, and all its bearings taken
into account. Then, when objections have been
introducedtti
studied, fallacies exposed, proposals considered, and
theories analysed, some real and lasting benefit
may perchance accrue, and the whole framework
e changed; while so imperceptibly are the appli-
ances
thatreutninoe
ean
possiblyand deecaptiouslare ad-
herenttha
o the
od
we are acting under fear, and instituting what may
be called a pawc
legislation." Mr. ADDERLEY's
suggestions are in
regard ; and even if their
intrinsic
merits were not
so great, there would be this advantage in them,
that they call attention to th • 1--- e eu,leet, and may
stimulate others to go and 'do likewise
, so that at
last something beneficial may be imparted to the

' affair. It is particularly in a case like the one before
us that it is so difficult to discern the right road to
take, and to discriminate between conflicting opi•
nions, so as to take the best and wisest course to
arrive at a safe and satisfactory conclusion. It may
well be said of this convict question, in its treat-
ment by divers experimentalists, Tot homines, tot
sententie. It is incumbent upon all who are in any
way responsible for the public safety, and the due
observance of those regulations which are insepa-
rably associated with the decorum of society, to in-
vestigate all the particulars of the system now in
vogue. Mr. ADDERLEY complains of the, ticket-of-
leave system. Its first fault is, that freedom is
mixed up with punishment, and another error is,
that the conditions imposed are valueless, so
that
a would be infinitely
It r
has discharge
beea
found by practice that this
once vaunted plan has been a total failure, and that
preferable.it affords ample opportunity for the worst charac
ters to resume their evil ways, while the more
timorous are worried into wrongdoing by the per-
tinacious espionage practised upon them, and the
prejudice entertained against them in many quar-
ters. Mr. ADDERLEY thinks that the establishment
at Lusk, where the Irish convict system is pursued,
is open to objection, as it is not sufficiently distin-
guished from a prison. It would answer better it
it were more of an "adult reformatory," and not at
all as a third stage of penal servitude. Mr. ADDER
LEY is against the proposal of sending convicts to
Western Australia. lie prefers discharged ones
going out as free labourers. This to be conducted
by, private agency, assisted by 'funds from the
Treasury, for he says the market of the world will
be before them, and this plan will not complicate
the' Government. It is, however, to be questioned
if this idea can be carried out altogether. In the
first place, sufficient sums will not be raised to meet
all the requirements, and the plan of the society
receiving subsidies from Government may cause
confusion and lead to a failure eventually. Still
with all its difficulties the notion is in all respects
incomparably preferable to the measures now taken,
and if no better are to be devised there is no valid
reason why it should not be tried. Nothing is done
without time and trouble in a case of this sort, and
it does not appear that our authorities are willing
to recognise this important fact. They seem too
ready to fancy that, if they spend large sums
and employ a considerable staff, the sys-
tem must work as it has done already. But
criminals do not, any more than the rest of us, re-
main unchanged amid this changing scene, and it
behoves those who take the charge of them to study
the revolutions that take place in social existence,
and the altered features of a case that experience
brings under notice. It does not matter whether
or not the ticket-of-leave system answered when it
was first introduced. It is better to assume that it
did do so, to avoid discussion on an irrelevant topic.
It suffices to say that it does not do so now, and had
better be given up, and some other mode devised.
It is very bad to go on so long without coming to a
settlement on this question; it is apt to make the
criminal population imagine that there is no really
effective check to be put upon their proceedings,
and that an unequal warfare will be waged which
will end in their ultimate success. It is important
that the majesty of the law should be vindicated
at once, and with such decision and energy that
there may remain no doubt that its institutions are
powerful to restrain vice in all its ramifications, and
to enforce the severest penalties against those who
persist in the commission of crime. At the same
time it should be distinctly understood that due
rissistance will be offered to those who wish to re
turn up the steep ascent that separates them from
the pleasant paths of honesty and we 1-doing. Until
these advantages are offered in a convict establish.
ment it cannot be said that its mission is fully and
faithfully carried out; nor can its upholders arro-
gate any right to themselves of adhering to the
plans which common sense and practical experience
have alike pronounced against and declared as
incompetent and insecure.

The Gale,—Lifeboat Services,

TENBY, Thursday Night. --At daylight this morning,
the weather being moderate, several cod boats went off to
their fishing lines as usual. Suddenly, about 9 am, it
came on to blow a very severe gale of wind from the
N.N.W. The larger fishing boats managed to reach the
harbour before the height of the gale,lbut two of tha smaller
boats were obliged to let go their grapnel, and gradua►ly
drove to leeward. It moon became evident that unless
prompt measures were taken the butte and their crews would
be lost, and the Tenby lifeboat, of the National Lifeboat
Institution, was, therefore, immediately laanched to their
assistance. The lifeboat made sail and succeeded in getting
the crew, of three men, of one of the boats on board. In
the meantime the smack Emma, with ten hands on board,
seeing the lifeboat had gone to the rescue of the crew of the
boat furthest to leeward, gallantly started off and succeeded
in rescuing the crew of the other fishing boat. The lifeboat
was renorted to have behaved most satisfactorily. The cost
of this lifeboat was presented to the Institution last sum-
mer by F. Magenis, Esq., of the loyal Thames Yacht
Club.

HOLYHEAD, Thursday Night.----We have had a most
disastrous day here. Several vessels are ashore in the bay,
and it is feared that all will be perfect wrecks. What is
worse,•we have had great loss of life. The lifeboat of the
National Life Boat Institution was out this morning trying
to afford succour, but the wind and sea completely mastered
her, and compelled her to return to the shore.-5 p.m. The
lifeboat has gone out again to see what can be done for the
disabled seamen, but it is feared that the continued violence
of the storm will prevent succour being afforded to more
than one which has a signal of distress flying.
syr sm
ght.lt is blowing a very heavy
gale, and the new lifoDeat recently stationed at Swansea by
INsclh,oo schooner,
Thursday
the National Lifeboat Institution has been launched in
r'
reply to signals of distress, to the assistance of the barque
Duke of Northumberland, laden with copper ore, which is
on 'shore at tho entrance of our harbour. The tide is still
falling, and' at present the crew of the vessel are compara-
tively safe, but When the tide rises again it will be night,
aturtvith thb violent gale now blowing they will be in great
daniStr. The lifeboat le therefore in attendance on the v,s-
eel) in order to brlug off the craw If required. It is suppeeed
that the barque is bilged.
ElstnalitivE, Thursday Night..-,YeArday morning,
to fish. Whilst thus engage,4 a heavy gate eDrung up from
during Very Atlld weather, two well 'fishing boats went off
during the prevalenwor Wilith one of the boats
hoisted a signal of distress, Upon which the lifeboat of the
National Lifeboat institution stationed here was at once
lannchtd with a View of. renderin6 assistancs, but before
reaching the scene, however, both boats had been driven
many miles to leeivard, nna ultimately ran ashore in safety.

• •
' TOM TIDDI.EIeB GrtOUND !—We once heard a
great millionaire repeat with much tutiveti a pieno.
of Ethice which he had received fromsthe first Lord Ash.
turton. " Always (said that great merchant) keep a ba-
lance of £lOO,OOO at your bankers." If there are any City
capitalists of a bygone generation Who follow this advice,
what halcyon times do they not live in! The Bank of
England pursues an uninterrupted_ career of prosperity.
It regulates the monetary concerns of the Continent, and
plays the rile of monarch of the kingdom of finance, to the
honour of its directors and the signal profit of the concern.
The shareholders, with Bank stock at £235-237, have at
least no reason to be dissatisfied. Tho grad London
bankers buy landed estates, portion their daughters liber-
ally, pay their income tax cheerfully, and bequeath a bulk
and highly satisfactory piece of parchment to the care of
Doctors Commons. The joint-stock banks divide fa-
bulous profits and bonuses, and furnish a " sensation"
section to the ordinary City quotations. A London and
Westminster share, upon which £2O has been paid, may, it
seems, be bought for the ridiculously
small figure of £79.
A Union Bank share, on which £l2 has been paid, may be
had for £39. A share in the London Joint-stobk Bank, on
which £lO has been paid, may be bought for £37: The
London and County Bank has called up £2O on a share
which cannot be bought for £55: "91'he City Bark has
called up £5O per share, but the share marbe sold for£llo.
The Provincial of Ireland £25 shares are at £92. It is
needless to exhaust the catalogue, but it is clear that me-
tropolitan bankers and bank managers are at present in
high feather. The more adventurous capitalists, with
money at command, turn up their noses at 5 per cent,, so
great is the seeming abundance of more profitable invest-
ments. Yes I these are bright days for gold,—Londoie
Review

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE BANK OF FRANCE.

PARIS, DEC. 3.

It is said that the Bank of France has not yet
been affected by the action of the Bank of England,
and the amount of bullion held by the former was
to-day 212 millions francs, or about seven millions
more than at the date of the last return.