The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-06 00:00:00

duly seasoned by pickle extracted from obsolete"

old junk. His intention was no doubt very laud-
able, but not so his conclusions, His animadver-
sions on the waste occasioned by the s 3 stem pur-
sued in our dockyards were just, but were devoid of
novelty. How indeed could he have shed novelty
on a matter so often investigated before but not cor-
rected, for reasons it were needless now to inquire
into. Mr. COBDEN'S proposition to reduce the
number of men just voted, seventy-six thousand,
may be very wise as a matter of economy,
but not so as one of prudence. It is
far easier to drill a soldier than to make
a seaman—the one may be taught in a month
or two, but it will take two or three years
to make a good seaman, and even more than that.
A soldier may soon learn his steps, but it will take
a long time before a sailor gets his sea legs
—run aloft, or reef a topsail in a gale of wind. It
is not even every smart seaman that can take a
weather-earing in a stormy night. But though
we may excuse a landsman for going out of
his reckoning in hazy weather, yet Mr.
COBDEN had better have kept more in
soundings than have hazarded so far beyond his
depth. He made charges against Sir JOHN
PAKINGTON that were quite at sea as to their cor-
rectness. Indeed, Lord CLARENCE PAGET justified
the late Board of Admiralty for their patriotic and
praiseworthy endeavours to restore, if not to recon-
struct, the Navy. To Sir JOHN PAKINGTON belongs
the merit of originating the first great iron ship—
the Warrior—and in asking Parliament for a vote
for that purpose Sir JOHN said that he did not dis-
guise from the house the fact that the expense would
be the greatest ever yet laid out in building a
man-of-war.

Now, as to reducing the number of men, we think
the Admiralty have acted wisely in resisting that
proposal, bearing in mind the result of our insane
conduct at the end of the great war in discharging
the best of our seamen, and so spreading disgust in
the service. What was the consequence of that un-
grateful proceeding ? Why, that most of the prime
old seamen so discharged went over to America—
took service in their navy—were welcomed with
delight, and taug')t the "saucy Yankees"
how to capture our English frigates !
Would Mr. COBDEN repeat that suicidal lesson
now ? We believe not. He is too patriotic for
that, and only hazards opinions beyond his own
knowledge, thinking he is consulting the interest
of the country. Some things that may appear
cheap and economical often turn out to be very
dear, and ingratitude to our gallant seamen is one
of them, indeed, the dearest economy ever pur-
chased by a nation whose real salvation depends on
her naval power and efficiency. " Our tight
little island," which the sailor exulted

is while singing in jovial mood, is no
longer so safe with our hearts of oak
as of old, for now steam supersedes
both wind and tide, as iron promises to deal with
our wooden walls of glorious memory as relies of the
past. And, indeed, the present time, however peace-
able things may appear, is not so settled as to war-
rant the reduction of men who have been trained at
a heavy cost, and worth ten times their number of

landsmen for a naval emergency. Europe is now

heaving in commotion though overawed by military
force, or restrained by prudent counsel, and it were
unwise to reduce a body of men on whom our very
safety and independence may depend.
With respect to one charge, amongst many,
made against the Government of Lord DERBY, we
will let Sir JOHN PAKINGTON speak for himself
in regard to the Navy :—" The hon. member referred
to that Treasury minute which my noble friend re-
ferred to in his speech, and what did he say as re-
garded that minute ? He said that the drawing up
of that Treasury minute by Lord DERBY'S Govern-
ment was a good party move.' I repeat that a
charge more unfounded was never made in this
house. At the time that the committee which
drew up that minute was appointed it was a
secret committee to consider a matter of
mere detailed arrangements for the purposes
of the Government, and that committee
drew up a report for the instruction of the Govern-
ment under these circumstances. I found it my
duty, in considering the state of the navy in 1858-59,
and I proposed to the Cabinet that we should have
a very large addition to the amount of the votes to
be brought forward for 1859. It was the feeling of
the Cabinet that as we were about to call upon the
house to vote navy estimates then of an almos'
unprecedented character we aaould not be
justified unless we had the best and clearest
grounds to proceed on. In the arduous position
which I then occupied I was not disinclined to
make the inquiries, and I drew up papers that
required the opinion of the Government; and to
obtain this an inquiry was made into the whole of
the circumstances upon which we meant to proceed.
That paper which followed was drawn up solely
for the advice and guidance of the Government.
At the time that committee was appointed, and at
the time that they made their report,l state broadly
and distinctly that it was not the intention of the
Administration that that paper should ever go be-
yond those who ordered that committee. There
was not the slightest intention to make it public,
and therefore I appeal to the hon. member whether
he is just in saying that it was a ' party move."
And further on Sir JOHN declared that it was dur-
ing a subsequent debate on the state of the Navy,
when this document was referred to, he said that
though it was only meant as a confidential "minute"
produced by a committee of four Ministerial mem-
bers, yet as it:,;was referred to ty Lord C. PAGET,
the Government of Lord DERBY had no objec-
tion to make that paper a public one ; and it
was under these circumstances that the "minute"
was laid before Parliament. But it was not only
Sir JOHN PAKINGTON, but other members, and,
among them, Sir CHARLES WooD, who said
that Mr. COBDEN, in his anxiety to prove
enough, had committed many mistakes—a fault
very natural with an advocate who proves too
much, and thus overdoes the thing. One good may
result from this re-opening of a question BO impor-
tant to the nation, that it will now make the Ad-
miralty s.-t their Board in some better order, and,,
make our naval administration more ship-shape than
it has been in for the last fifty years at least. But
in our laudable endeavours for economy, we must
take care not to spoil the navy for a halfpenny's
worth of tar.

The news from Poland by no means con-
firms the confident anticipations of Rusin
officials, or rather the sanguine hopes expressed by
them in public. There is good reason to believe
that soon after the first outbreak of the insurrec-

tion the Russian Government awoke to the percep-
tion of the danger ; and the course of events ha,
certainly not tended to re-assure them. True, tele-
gram& and despatches continually inform us of the
rout of the insurgents, the indifference of the great
body of the people, the easy triumph of the
Russians, and the numbers of the enemy slain and
captured. Facts, however, speak differently.
Notwithstanding this boasted Russian valour and
superiority, a threatened attack on the town of Ka-
lisch has thrown the Russian garrison into a panic.
the infantry
guard the gates
and the cavalry patrol the neigh-
They are under arms day and night,

bourhood. It is scarcely worth while to take such
precautions against such insignificant foes. But in
truth the Russian soldiers have felt the force of the
courage of desperation. The recent victory of
LANGIEWICZ at Malogoszaz was not over a few
detachments but a force of 4,000 men. The firing
lasted from eight in the morning until oue in the
afternoon, when the Russians began to disperse,
having lost 400 men, and killed, it is said, only
130 of the enemy. The Russians afterwards fell
in with the Polish rearguard, consisting of 100
men, who were escorting a train of 32 waggons.
The Russians achieved the triumph of routing this
small detachment, who fled, leaving, it is said, their
most empty waggons behind them. From the
selection of the waggons we may presume that this
flight was not a very hurried one, as in such a case
the lighter waggons would have been more suitable
companions ! Now, how does the Russian organ
report the affair ? It tells us that the combined
bands of LANGIEWICZ and JEZIORAUSKI having
encountered the Russian troops were totally de-
feated ; that all baggage, waggons, and horses fell
into the hands of the troops, LANGIEWICZ himself
being wounded and taking to flight. The peasants,
it continues, seized the flying rebels and surren-
dered 200 of them. The loss of the Russian army
is stated to be inconsiderable. A total defeat is thus,
by the stroke of the enchanter's pen, transformed
into a decided victory. A trifling success becomes
a triumphant achievement, while statements which
are entirely fabrications, are made with an air of
confidence and precision that might deceive many,
were they not found in a Russian despatch. The only
foundation to which can be traced the asserted flight
of LANGIEWICZ exists in the fact that he has pushed
forward at the bead of 5,000 men ; it is not known
in what direction, but be has probably the intention
of making a bold stroke, having the comm'nd of
so large a body of men. His binds ate son-
tinually reinforced. The eagerness of the young
Poles to flock to the revolutionary standard
result', it is said, in a perfect exodus from Warsaw
towards the camp. No less than 1,200 young men
left the city on the Ist, and, although a few were cap-
tured, by far the greater portion succeeded in elud-
ing pursuit, The bands of LANGIEWICZ are now
becoming daily more organised and disciplined.
The rough and untutored peasantry, with no wea-
pon but scythes, no training but the long course of
Russian oppression, have become transformed into
armed and uniformed soldiers, profiting by expe-
rience and animated Ly success. It is not easy for
the Russians to annihilate such a band. Defeated
in one quarter they will re-appear in an opposite
direction ; repulsed in one attack they will return
at a more favourable opportunity. Familiar with
the country, certain of the favour of the population,
they belong to that class of combatants which, as in
the highlands of Scotland or the woodlands of La
Vendee, always prove so difficult to subjugate. The
Russians proved, in 1812, the impossibility of a
conqueror profiting by his conquest in the face of
an indignant and determined people. How is it
they do not learn the lessons taught by
their own history ? Time is fighting the
battles of the insurgents by augmenting
and disciplining their forces, as well as changing
what was at first considered a mere local outbreak
into a revolution which effects the whole of Europe.
The prolongation of the conflict is, on the contrary,
against the Russians. It is diminishing their
prestige, weakening their authority, and destroying
the confidence of their supporters. The CIIAR and
his advisers may soon find themselves in the
awkward position of President LINCOLN, who
vowed to conquer a people he has not been able to
subdue, and rushed recklessly into a cruel, and pro-
fitless war for the sake of subjugating a country
whose inhabitants would never willingly submit to
his rule. Let the Cabinet of St. Petersburg then
take warning in time. The French journals seem
to hope much from the recent diplomatic interven-
tion, which, it is said, NAPOLEON was willing to
have pushed a little farther than the English
Government were disposed to venture. La France
of last night says that M. BILLAULT is going to
communicate to the Senate a document recently de-
spatched by the French Government to Sr. Peters-
burg. The reply of the (CZAR to this communica.
tion is daily expected, and it is hoped that its tom-
will be favourable. It is also rumoured in Paris
that ALEXANDER 11. intends to issue an ukase,
reconstituting Poland. as it was in 1830, with tilt
Grand Duke CONSTANTINE as Sovereign. We shall
probably learn to morrow the substance of his reply
to French intervention. It had need to be com-
prehensive and liberal to the last degree before it
satisfy the excited feelings of the Poles, or allay
the suspicions which recent events have re-
awakened in Europe.