The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-02 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, ocr. 2, 1863.

Hastened onward probably by a knowledge
of the importance of the tidings of which
she was the bearer, the Cunard steamer
Scotia, due at Queenstown on this (Friday)
afternoon, arrived at her destination at cock-
crow this morning, after a passage of eight days
and a half across the Atlantic. The intelligence
brought by the Scotia is certainly, when we come to
look into it, as remarkable, almost we had said as
startlinf, as any that has for a long while past come
to us from the American seat of war. There were,
rumours, it will be remembered, brought to us
at the close of the last mail, to the effect
that General ROSENCRANZ had suffered some severe
discomfiture. But they were only rumours. No
reliable particulars were there accompanying that
statement encouraging any one to believe it. These
vague reports,howavee, as to some serious disaster
having befallen the Federal force under General
ROSEN CRAN Z, are now, as it turns out,to the full con-
firmed and justified. The defeat of General ROSEN-
CRANZ by the Confederate army under General
BRAGG is an event now q'iits unmistakeable. Ths
discomfitted Federals, having been engaged
vigorously by General BRAGG on two suc-
cessive days, the 19th and 20th ultimo,
near Chickamanga Creek, were compelled, on
the following morning, that of the 21st, to beat
a retreat to Chattanooga. The results of the con-
flict, which appears, as usual, to have been very
severe, are these—that General BRAGG has captured
from his antagonist twenty guns and taken five
hundred prisoners, the Federals themselves owning
to a total loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners of
twelve thousand men! The numerical force col-
lected together by General BRAGG before the corn-
neencernent of this attack upon the position of
the Federals under General ROSENCRANZ cannot
as yet be estimated with anything like accuracy.
It was variously reported at New York on the
morning of the 23d ult., before the departure of the
Scotia on her eastward voyage, to have been an
army of from 70,000 to 96,000 men. It is tolerably
certain, however, already, that before BRAGG'S
movement, he bad been considerably reinforced by
troops despatched to him from all directions, by
LEE, by JoHNsTONE, and by
BEAUREGARD. The
meaning of the recent withdrawal of the
" Comm a nder-in -
Confederate Chief upon the Rapi-
dan,e become, in this way already compre-
hensible, Every
one who has watched
the strategy of thtt
' great master of war since the
War s commencemeet, knew
common parlancewhen it be-
that there was,
3°oaething in it,"
came apparent that, instead, of advancing cgainsL
his antagonist MEADE, he hen
resolve upon with-
drawing to a new position,
slightlyslightlyt the rear of
d
his late headquarters, namely',
the lie© of the
Rapidan. One reason leading him
to this modifi
cation of his plans, the battle of the 19th and 20th,
at Chickamanga Creek, has rendered
already
apparent. That contest, as We have ahead
having been preceded by the transmissiony noted,
of rein-
Other
foreements from LEE'S main army to .131:Lew
reinforcements coming up simultaneously and very
opportunely from JOHNSTONE and Beeuiteeeue,
enabling General BRAGG to seize 20 guns tend ego
prisoners as trophies of his victory over ROSEN
C?ANZ—ItOSENCRANZ confirming the truth of that
victory by his retreat upon Chattanooga. "
sadMANHATTAN in his very last letter, published
only yesterday, "if LEE shc.suld chance to take
Wrshiegtce, we shall see gold at 203 p The Con-
federate Commander-in-Chief has not (yet) taken
Washington, is still (for the time being) at his
lest chosen quarters on the Rapidan. It is General
BRAGG (only) who has gained a victory over
ROSENCRANZ,DOt within sight of Washington, but at
Chickamanga Creek, thence drivfng the defeated Fe-
derals back to Chattanooga—and yet WicL tte C4Pital

untaken, even unapproached, gold, on the first news
of General ROSENCRANZ'S defeat, in exchange went
up to 155 ! Even by the closing quotation upon the
evening of the 22d, receding only to 1514 ! And then
merely rallying so far, not because of any good news,
so to speak, but for no better tidings than that the po-
sition of ROSENCRANZ was then supposed to be
slightly less disastrous or less critical than it had at
first been reported. Two fragments of the intelli-
gence brought to us by the Scotia, read rather omi-
nously, it must be confessed, so far as they tend
to indicate the imminent impossibility of a war
between France and the Federals—one being an
intimation through the Hew York, World, the
other through the Neu' York Herald. The latter
stating—"lt is reported that Vice President
STEPHENS has gone to Europe with an offer to cede
Texas to France in return for French assistance to
the Confederate Government. The former asserting
that information has reached New Orleans that the
French had occupied Matamoras with 5,000 troops.
A collision is expected to take place at the mouth
of the Rio Grande between the French and Federal
gunboats on matters connected with cotton and
supplies for the Confederates." Straws—these are
not—thrown up to indicate in which direction
blows the fiery wind of war. Rather, let us say,
flickering flambeaux, telling us by the drift of their
fierce flame the one direction of its hot breath.

Among the numerous maps and charts published
annually for our instruction and guidance, there
is perhaps none which has so strong a claim upon
our notice as the small and unpretending map
yearly set before us by the National. Lifeboat In-
stitution. If it be well that we should be
able to track the steps of discoverers in distant and
unknown lands, to realise the vicissitudes of war
by following the course of a campaign, it is un-
doubtedly also desirable that we should know the
perils lurking round our own familiar shores, that
we should not be ignorant of the spots close to us,
where courage and skill are as nobly shown as even
on a field of battle, where brave men laid down
their lives in the struggle with the elements. Such
information the 'Wreck Chart freely gives us. It
startles us from our fancied security and boasts of
progress to learn that, so far from diminishing, the
statistics of our naval disasters show a decided in-
crease, not only in number bat in ratio; that is to
say, not only the actual amount of shipwrecks has
been greater, which might be owing merely to
increased traffic, but that a larger number were
wrecked in proportion to the voyages made. One
wreck out of every 201 ships was the average,
whereas the chronicles of the year just past show
one wreck for every 147 vessels sailing. During
the twelve months of 1862 no less than 1,827
wrecks and casualties occurred on the shores of the
United Kingdom alone, accesapanied unfortunately
by the loss of 690 lives. There is some consolation
attending the last item, seeing that the average of
deaths from these casualties has been 800, and that
consequently the exertions of our lifeboat institu-
tions, and other means, have been rewarded with
increased success. The Wreck Chart plainly tells
us that the experience of the past year is very
unfavourable. It therefore becomes us as a
maritime nation to inquire closely into the matter,
and to ascertain by what means such catastrophes
may be diminished in number, if they cannot be
prevented. The number of vessels which entered
inwards sod cleared outwards from different British
ports last year was 268,462, and it is estimated that
these ships had on board more than a million and
half of men. It is, therefore, only reasonable to
believe that a large number of casualties and dis-
asters must eventually occur under the most
favourable circumstances. It remains to be seen
whether the number that does actually take place
exceeds the inevitable average. In the first place,
it is worthy of note that a large proportion of the
vessels lost were the ordinary coasting colliers,
which are mostly ill-found, ill-manned vessels,
whose owners take very insufficient precautions to
ensure their safety. The ages of some of these
ships would certainly not improve their credit at
an insurance office. A collier sloop, which foun-
dered last December off the east coast with the loss
of all hands, was 71 years of age! Another, which
went down under very similar circumstances, was
still more venerable, being 99 years old. The want
of good ground tackle and sailing gear, the reckless
and indifferent manner in which these vessels are
sent to sea, is quite enough to account for the fact
that " the destruction of hundreds of them, even in
moderate gales, is now reduced to a matter of cer-
tainty." Nearly 800 out of the 1,800 vessels that
were lost were under 300 tons, a fact that is not
surprising, when we remember how numerous are
the vessels of this class round the coast. We
may hope for some improvement in the fitting out
of these vessels, as many of the large shipowners are
interesting themselves in carrying out the project
brought forward by Mr. LAIRD, of submitting an-
chors and cables to a regular test before a ship can
be insured. Were this plan once fairly carried out
we should hear of fewer wrecks on our coast, and a
better and higher spirit would be infused into the
trade. That the whole of the wrecks must not be
laid to adverse elements is proved by the fact that
23 vessels were wrecked .!.n perfectly calm weather ;
28 in light airs ; 56 in light breezes ; 48 in gentle
breezes; 110 in moderate breezes; 187 in fresh
breezes; 195 in strong breezes; all which grada-
tions are reckoned below the degree of " moderate
gales." Only 321 of the wrecks were under the
command of masters holding certificates of compe-
tency; while, as a proof of the necessity of some
change in the equipment ofvesselisa, 2t3heof
chips
s totalor
wrecks were lost from defects
equipments, while 66 parted their cables or dragged
their anchors. The need of additional harbours of
refuge on some of the more exposed parts of our
coast is forcibly demonstrated by the Wreck Chart
—a fact fully appreciated by Lord RAVENSWORTII,
when, before bringing on a motion on the subjectit
in the Upper House, he caused a large copy
of
to be suspended in their lordships' library. The
number of vessels lost and damaged by collisions,
which frequently occur in daylight and clear wea-
ther, is so great that we must certainly class a large
proportion of them among the preventible disasters_
We must hope for some change for the better in
this respect from the new regulations just issued
by the Board of Trade. The valaable services ren-
dered by the lifeboats and the brave sailors who
man them, have long been recognised by the public,
and additional proof is afforded every year of the
exertions. Within six sears life.
efficacy of its
boats and life-saving apparatus have been the means
of saving 4,169 fiver. During the past year they
rescued 35S lives, besides saving 21 vessels. The
number of rewards given by the society for
saving life since its formation is 13,220, and
it has expended upwards of £75,000 on
lifeboats and their appliances. It must be re-
membered, too, that the
are often true h the highest
heroes, well deserving of
men whom it employs
rewards that can be off-red them.
As is justly
remarked in the cu
'`rent Lifeboat
Journal"—" The relief of number
aof the
wreck is no mere child's
play : it often occupies hours of hard, dangerous,
and uureinittin; toil. It is no mere sudden flash
of generosity that is required—no enthusiasm burnt
out as soon es kindled—but that steady, undauutod