The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 13, 1863.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

THE NAVY.

Mr. lames Stansfeld, M.P., junior Lord of the Admiralty,
paid a visit to Sheerness dockyard yesterday, in further
prosecution of his inquiry into the system of dockyard
book-keeping. The different officers of the dockyard were
examined by Mr. Stansfeld, in the Captain Superinten-
dent's office.

The armour. plated ship Caledonia, launched from Wool-
wich dockyard, and afterwards placed in the Victoria Docks,
on account of the delay occasioned to the works at the en-
trance of the basins at Woolwich, was yesterday undocked
and towed down to Sheerness to be completed for sea. The
whole of the supernumerary seamen on board the Fisgard
at Woolwich, 85 in number, navigated the Caledonia down
to Sheerness for transfer to the guardship of steam reserve
Cumberland, for distribution. On the return of the working
party from Victoria dock to Woolwich a fatal accident hap-
pened to John Smith, aged 40, a lending stoker attached to
the Fisgard, and recently paid off from the Ardent sloop. It
appears that the steamtug Bustler had been sent up to
Blackwall pier from Woolwich, to bring back the men who
had been employed on the Caledonia, Smith was playing
with his comrades when he fell between the pier and the
vessel, and was drowned, the tide flowing rapidly in at the
time. Immediate search was made for the body, but without
success. The Caledonia was taken out of the dry dock at
Woolwich on Sept. 28, and has since that period received the
whole of her engines and boilers of 1000-horse power, and
weighing 850 tons, from Messrs. Maudslay's works. In
consequence of her draught of water, which is about 32ft,
she could not be received in the dockyard basins at Deptford
or Sheerness, she being of greater draught than the basins
would admit. The Caledonia is of the same class as the
Royal Oak, the only eifference being that the engines of the
Caledonia are of 200-horse power more than those of the
Royal Oak, and the build of the Caledonia is of much
greater strength. The backing of the armour plates of the
Caledonia is composed of 8 inches of teak planking, which
also forms the external planking of the ship. The backing
is firmly bolted to the usual frame timbers, 12 in. square,
near the ports, and is composed of English oak. The clamps
or internal planking of the ship, are also of teak 8 in. thick.
Great care has been taken in the Caledonia to give unusual
strength to the fabric, and several new and useful mechani-
cal arrangements have been perfected by Messrs. Turner
and Thornton, the principal shipwright officers of Woolwich
yard. Among others may be enumerated the diagonal iron
riders, which are placed on the outside of the frame timbers
instead of in the inside, the better to resist the impact of
shot on the armour. The space between the shelf pieces
and water ways, generally a source of weakness, has been
filled in solidly, and secured to the beams and frame tim-
bers. Great additional strength has also been given to the
ship by means of an iron deck secured to the beams of the
upper deck, underneath the usual wood deck of 4 inches
thick. The main deck beams are of oak, 161 inches square,
with deck planks of Dantsic oak 41 inches in thickness.
The upper deck beams are of the Butterly Company's bulb
iron. The port-lids are of iron secured with wrought iron
hinges and bars with screw bolts and nuts. The ship is to
be rigged with three masts, the lower masts to be of iron ;
the foremast 77 feet above the deck, and 36 inches in
diameter ; the foretopmast 78 feet in length and 11 inches
in diameter. The fore and main yards are 91 feet long and
22 inches in diameter, and the other masts and yards in
proportion. She will be fitted with double topsail yards,
together with the usual topgallant yards. The boats of the
Caledonian will be armed with the usual Armstrong 20 -
pounders. They will consist of two launches, each 42 feet
in length; two pinnaces, 32 feet in length; two cutters,
30 feet in length; one gig, 30 feet; one jolly boat, 16 feet;
and one dingy, 14 feet long. The armour plates which
have proved to be of excelent quality, were supplied by
three different manufactories, and at various rates, from
£3O to £.O per ton, some of the plates being hammered
and others rolled. Messrs. Brown and Co., of the Atlas
Works, Sheffield, and Messrs. Beale, of Rotherham, were
the manufacturers of the hammered plates. It is stated
that in working the plates the workmen at the dockyards
have found the hammered plates to be of the best quality
of iron. The rolled plates were generally found to be of
much softer texture. The Caledonia has been fitted with
two towers on her upper deck for the officer of the watch
and the captain and master to stand in during the time of
action. These are considered to be preferable to the single
tower with which the Warrior was supplied, as they are
clear of the masts and funnels, which obstruct the view
-from the single tower. These towers are to be plated with
irbn casing 41 inches thick, and are accessible through a
scuttle from the main deck. The utmost care has been
taken to make the Caledonia one of the strongest ships
in the British navy, and the officers are of opinion
that a gale as violent as that in which the Prince Consort
suffered so severely would not affect the Caledonia under
similar circumstances. To prevent the oxidation of the
lower tier of armour plates from the galvanic action of the
Muntz's metal two strakes of teak wood lining have been
fitted, so that the lower edge of the plates is nearly 2 feet
from the upper edge of the metal.
Considerable disaffection prevails on board her Majesty's
screw steam-frigate Liverpool, 39, Capt. Rowley Lambert,
now in Plymouth Sound, which after her return from duty
in the Mersey was taken to Devonport and refitted. There
is some difficulty in ascertaining the facts. It is stated that
on Saturday last the crew were employed in receiving coal.
On Sunday afternoon, when their wives and families were
below, the bugle sounded for ordinary duty, but the men
did not answer the call. The officers went below, but could
not succeed in inducing them to obey. On the contrary,
some missiles were thrown at them. The captain then sent
the marines below. On their appearance the crew went on
deck, when they were asked to name their grievances if they
had any. The petty officers were also asked to do so, but no
distinct complaints were made. Subsequently, an anony-
mous letter was received by the captain complaining of in-
sufficient leave. When the men were called up all denied
the authorship of the letter. A deputation of one man from
every mess informed the captain that shortness of leave was
the chief cause of the discontent. Ultimately, some four or
five of the ringleaders were selected and placed in irons, and
they are to be tried by court-martial. Port-Admiral Sir
Chas. Fremantle, K.C.8., visited the ship on Wednesday.
The sailing ship Gladiator yesterday commenced shipping
140 tons of ammunition in quarter barrels at the powder
buoy, off Woolwich Arsenal, for the use of the Colonial
Government and the troops in New Zealand.
The Warrior, iron frigate, Capt. the Hon, A. A. Cochrane,
C. 8., was docked at high water in the Warrior dock at
Portsmouth yesterday. To-day, on the dock being freed of
water, the condition of the composition (preservative and
anti-fouling), and the experimental vitreous sheathing, with
which she was coated when last in dock, will be examined
nd officially reported upon by the dockyard officials.
The King Arthur, sailing iron transport, Capt. Marshall,
with the headquarters of the 55th Regiment on board, sailed
from Spithead for Madras at 8 a.m, yesterday, with a fine
northerly wind, The ship could not sail on the previous
day as intended, in consequence of a strong S.E. gale.
Her Majesty's ship Nile, with Vice-Admiral Sir A.
Milne on board, was appointed to sail from Halifax to-day,
the 12th inst., for Bermuda and the West Indies, to make
her official round of visits prior to leaving for England. The
Pylades was daily expected, on the 28th ult., to arrive at
Halifax from the south,

In consequence of the excessive rolling when at sea of
her Majesty's screw steam frigate Emerald, 35, lately paid
Uut of commission at Sheerness, orders have been received
by the officials of that dockyard that she is to be fitted with
bilge pieces on each side. She is now in the basin dismasted,
and the necessary fittings will be completed before she is
taken to her moorings in the harbour.

Instructions have been received at Sheerness from the
Admiralty stating that Messrs. Williams and Co. have pur-
chased the Amphion, 36, screw steam frigate, 1,474 tons,
30u horse power, belonging to the 3d division of the Sheer-
fleas steam reserve, for the purpose of breaking her up. The
purchase includes the fixtures and copper sheathing, en-
gines and boilers.

A survey has recently been made of the fleet of mortar
vessels laid up at Chatham, and two more of their number,
viz., Nos. 104 and 106, have been selected to be sold out of
the service.

THE ARMY.
The following general order has been issued :
" Horse Guards, Nov. 6.
" With reference to paragraph 5 of the Staff College Re-
gulations, published with the general order No. 831, dated
25th August, 1863, officers of the army are hereby informed
that the examination in July, 1864, of candidates for ad-
mission to the Staff College will comprise the following por-
tions of military history and geography, viz.
Military History—Campaign of Wellington, 1813, con-
cluding with the battle of Vittoria. Campaign of Napoleon,
1800, concluding with the battle of Marengo. Campaign
of the Archduke Charles, 1796.
" Military Geography—Northern frontier of Spain, and
basin of the Ebro ; basin of the Po, and theatre of war in
Sardinia ; theatre of war in Southern and Western Ger-
many.

.
" Candidates will be expected to acquaint themselves
with, and to be prepared to reason upon, tho circumstances
by which the issue of the campaigns were mainly influenced •
for which purpose they should compare for themselves, to
the fullest extent possible, the accounts of both sides.
" The examination will be principally directed to elicit
this knowledge rather than a mere narrative of facts,,,
A revised and corrected list of regulations relative to the
admission, education, and military training of gentlemen
cisagdueetda
from
0 tmh e
theß Horse o
yalilse
ilitarYCollege at Sandhurst has been
Guards by Major-Gen. W. Forster,
Military Secretary to Field-Marshal the Duke of Cam-
bridge, Commanding-in-Chief, dated the Ist inst,, to be
substituted for those now in force, which bear date the let

of May last. The alterations made are so trivial and un-
important that it is quite unnecessary to give them in
detail, for all the chief regulations for the examinations
remain the same.

The Adjutant-General, Sir James Yorke Scarlett, has
recently issued a circular memorandum, addressed to the
army at home and abroad, in reference to musketry re-
gulations, wherein the Field-Marshal Commandiog-in-
Chief is pleased to desire that on home stations the annual
course of musketry instruction shall henceforth commence
on the 12th of March in each year, the non• commissioned
officers being trained during the previous month, in the
prescribed manner, for the purpose of assisting in the in-
struction of their respective companies.
The Marquis of Hartingt. n. and Sir Edward Lugard,
K.C.8., Under-Secretaries of State for War, accompanied
by Capt. Galton, R.E., Assistant Under Secretary of State,
and Capt. Celan, R,N., C. 8., Director of Stores, yesterday
paid an official visit to the Military Store Department in
the Tower, through which they were conducted by the
military store officer in charge at the station.
The hired sailing transport Empress, with military train
and artillery on board for New Zealand, under the command
of Col. B. O'Brien, 4th Battalion, Military Train, arrived at
Spithead on Wednesday, in tow of her Majesty's steamer
Medusa, having put in on her way down Channel to repair
damages, caused by a collision with an unknown vessel at
9.50 p.m. on the previous day off Hastings. The repairs,
which are being carried out by the dockyard authorities,
will, it is expected, be completed this evening. The Em-
press will then resume her vgage in tow of the Medusa,
which is ordered to convey the transport clear of the.
Channel.

Disbandment of the Modenese Army.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)

The position of the Modenese troops in the Austrian ter-
ritorities was regulated in anticipation, by an engagement
of the Imperial Government in the form of a verbal note
communicated to the Modenese Legation in Vienna, and
dated 31st May, 1859. At that date the Duke and his
troops were still in the Modenese territories. But the Ducal
Government, foreseeing that the chance of the war between
France and Austria might necessitate the evacuation of the
Modenese territory, and foreseeing that thence would result
the impossibility of defraying the maintenance of the Ducal
troops from the resources of the Duchy, obtained from the
Austrian Government in that verbal note an unlimited en-
gagement that, from the moment the Medenese troops
should cress the Austrian frontier to combat as allies of the
Imperial forces, they should receive their pay and the cost
of maintenance from the Austrian military draft, as a loan
to be reimbursed after the war, or as soon as the Modenese
territory should be reconquered.
In virtue of this bilateral arrangement between two in-
dependent States, the Estensian brigade remained around
the Ducal banners at Bassano during the last four years,
Preserving the most exemplary discipline throughout, and
recruited from the numbers of brave and true-hearted
young Modenese peasants, rusticorum mascula militum
proles, who crossed the frontiers at every risk to enter the
little Ducal army.

This was a thorn in the eyes of the Revolutionists and
their abettors and dupes everywhere. It was a living pro-
test against the swindle called a plebiscite; and against the
combination of force and fraud, by which the engage-
ments of Villafranca and the solemn stipulations of
Zurich were violated before the ink of the treaty was
well dry. The Modenese army, under its prince's ban-
ner, was still more; it was a nucleus around which,
whenever Piedmont begins the attack—about which her
politicians and her King are always rhodomontading—
upon Venetia, there would have rallied vast numbers of
Italian peasants from the " annexed" provinces, who now,
sorely against their notorious will, form so large an ele-
ment of the present Piedmontese army.
This, Piedmont, and her protectors in Paris, and in
Downing-street, and everywhere else, saw more clearly,
unfortunately it would seem, that the Austrian statesmen
who have been intimidated and caressed at last into din-
banding that faithful and chivalrous little brigade. Foreign
persuasion and the pretexts of economy, put forward by
some Radical members of the Austrian Lower House of
Parliament, have led to the commission of this short-
sighted and grave political fault. For many months efforts
were made to induce the Ducal Government to consent to
this measure, and, at last, not obtaining that consent,; the
Austrian GoVernmentlak upon thetitselves the respiisibi-
lity of the initiative, offering, however, to any of the men
and officers of the Brigade who should prefer entering the
Austrian army—the army of the head of the duke's family
—to seeking private-employment as civilians, or returning
to their homes in the Modenese, the privilege of joining the
Imperial army under very fair and honourable conditions.
The men and officers were, therefore, called upon in the
month of September to pronounce their election deliberately
and individually before a mixed commission of Austrian
and Modenese officers upon this alternative. Perhaps
nothing in all the honourable fidelity of this gallant little
force is a more striking mark of their attachment to their
Sovereign, than that, in that deliberate and trying moment,
about 1,000 men of Modenese birth elected to enter the
Austrian army and remain in exile, in the hope some day of
rallying again round their rightful Prince, rather than re-
turn to their native homes, now in the minds of Piedmont,
or even remain as private civilians in the Austrian States.
Thirty-six per cent. of the men and all the officers of the
Modenese Brigade, with one single exception—that of an
officer whose private family affairs necessitated his return to
Modena—pronounced individually for remaining thus under
a friendly flag on a foreign soil, and eat the bread of volun-
tary exile while waiting for the chances of the future.
The decision of the Austrian Government to disband the
Medenese was first publicly proclaimed to the brigade by
the Austrian Commander-in-Chief in Italy, Gen. Benedek,
by a general order, dated 11th September, in which, after
announcing the conditions offered to such as choose to re-
main, he continues as follows :

"And now, before the conling lot of the Ducal troops be
fulfilled, I feel bound openly to declare that the whole im-
perial royal army experiences the most hearty sympathy for
the band of brave men, who, under the most difficult cir-
cumstances, have known how to guard loyalty to their Most
Serene Sovereign, and the spotless honour of their banner
—who throughout four years on the territory of the Empe-
ror and King, despite unfavourable circumstances, ever
showed most excellent spirit, and maintained an exemplary
order and discipline in every respect. and which now, in
the painful moment when their hereditary Prince absolves
them from their oath, present to the world the proof, that
troops sustained by genuine soldierly virtues may bo bent
by fate, but never struck in the palladium of their honour.
History, too, will acknowledge this in handing down to
future generations this rare example of truth and sense of
honour; and whatever turn the lot of each and every of
these br we men may take, each can say with pride that he
belonged to the ducal troops of Modena, for every political
opinion honsurs those virtues, which stand higher than the
varying fate and advantage of the hour. In these senti-
ments I therefore now bid a hearty farewell to those who
are leaving, for whom the army of the Emperor and King,
in every contingency, will guard the memory of noble fra-
ternity in arms ; and in these sentiments, in the name of the
whole imperial royal army, I wish most hearty welcome to
those who are about cnteringour ranks, who will be received
with all the respect and brotherly feeling which is due to
that loyalty and chivalrouness, above all praise, which dis-
tinguishes them."
The fate of the brigade having thus been made known by
the organ of the Austrian Government, the Duke, after the
lapse of some days, addressed the following proclamation to
his faithful troops :--
" Soldiers I from the commander of the Imperial Royal
Army in Italy you will have heard that the Estensian
Brigade must soon be disbanded,
" As your Sovereign, and as your commander, it is now
incumbent upon us also to make known to you with sorrow,
that notwithstanding all our endeavours, and all the steps
of various kinds which we tried and tried again ; and not-
withstanding our official protests and our personal sacrifices
likewise, this decision has been definitively taken by the
Imperial Austrian Government.
" That Government, in ordering you to be disbanded, has
by a convention dated 16th May, which we concluded with
it, opened the ranks of its own army to the officers and sol-
diers who may prefer adopting that course rather than re-
turn home, and will admit them either in active service or
in the gendarmerie, or in what are called peace employ-
ments, or on pension. We, however, concluded that con-
vention under the most explicit reservations that we did not
thereby mean to consent to the disbandment, but to secure
at least for each of you individually all possible guarantees
in such a contingency.
"Profoundly grieved at seeing his efforts to keep his
faithful and well-beloved troops together until better times,
rendered vain, your Sovereign though leaving you free to
follow the course which your conseinico
may
dictate, ad-
dresses to you this day a few words to let you clearly un-
derstand his opinion in the important moment when you
will have each to make your election as to your lot, before
a mixed Austre-Estensian Commission.
"Absolved as you will be by the disbandment of the
Brigade from the special oath of fidelity which as soldiers
you have taken to us,you may undertake a new obligation,
from which according to the convention, you may free
yourselves at any moment or at the utmost within four
years.
"You can, therefore, freely enter the Imperial Royal
Austrian army to serve therein honourably and faithfully
as you served us.
"The strong and young, especially among the officers
who may not have special motives for adopting another
resolution, will do well to adopt that course, for they will
escape Ilan': the danger of having- to deny their principles,

and because thus they may upon opportunity gather again
round their Sovereign and their banner.
'Let those who have good reasons on account of age, or
infirmities, or for family motives to abstain from entering
one or other of the above description of service in the Aus-
trian army, and who are without the means of independent
existence at home, call for their pension, which we shall, as
far as depends upon us, render as advantageous as possible
to all those who may be so circumstanced.:

"Neither will those officers who possess sufficient private
fortune, and may desire to return home to join their fami-
lies, or to conduc:, their families home, nor the soldiers in
especial, who, though robust, may choose to return home,
thereby fail in their duties towards us. Let the lastmen-
tinned, however, remember that the usurping Government
will probably oblige them to serve, to take an oath, will
constrain them to become instruments of the barbarities
which are daily committed upon their brother Italians in
the south the peninsula in great part soldiers faithful to
their lawful King, for whom they are fighting with rare
constancy; it will oblige them to hold also in subjection
the population of the Pontifical States, of our States, and
those of the other lawful Sovereigns of Italy who have
shared our lot.
"If we, too, shall respect the motives which will induce
them to yield to their own wishes and those of their own
families, we must nevertheless, in the event of a restoration
of legitimate power, distinguish between those who either
did not serve the enemy or were absolutely forced to take
service, and conducted themselves otherwise like honest
men, and those who _may. serve voluntarily, or in any other
way, shall have denied their past. Officers, to you we
entrust the charge of explaining more fully to your depen-
dents these ideas, and likewise the operation of the Con-
vention of the 16th May, in what regards the non-com-
missioned officers and men, that each may with full
knowledge of the case choose his own lot.
'"ln a little while we shall be amidst you, our faithful
soldiers, unfortunately for the last time, at least at present,
and to thank our admirable corps of officers and troops for
all they have done for us, to give you an attestation of
esteem and affection, distributing to you a commemorative
medal for the fidelity and constancy in adversity which you
have so brilliantly demonstrated to me—qualities far rarer
than mere military valour.
"The fault is not yours if, in these later times, you have
no occasion to demonstrate it ; yet we do not despair that
fortunate day may yet arise, in which God will crown your
virtues, affording you at the same time the satisfaction of
displaying as soldiers that glorious quality.
"In this last period I doubly expect of you that you
preserve intact, internal discipline, and order up to the last
instant, and that you support with manly firmness this fresh
and difficult ordeal which is imposed upon you. Never be
it said that even for one single moment you have wronged
the fair name of the Estensian soldier.
(Signed)
"Wildenwart, 16th August, 1863."

" FRANCIS.

The Malt Duty and the American War.

FAVERSHAM, Tim sday.

Last night, at the annual meeting of the Favers-
ham Agricultural Association, Sir Edward Dering,
the recently elected Liberal member for East Kent,
in a speech of considerable length, adverted to
several topics of public interest at the present time.
The chair was occupied by Lord Sondes, and there
were also present beside, Sir Edward Dering, Lord
Harris, Sir Norton J. linatchbull, the Hon. G. W.
Milles, and a large number of the yeomen and tenant
farmers of the district. The reception given to Sir
Edward Bering was very gratifying.
The Hon. G. W. MILLes proposed " The Health
of the County Members," which was received with
great cheering.
Sir E. BERING, after alluding to one or two local
topics, said—The legislation of the past session of
Parliament has been more of a passive than an se.
tive nature (hear) ; and, gentlemen, so far as agri-
culture is concerned, we may take its present satis-
factory state as a proof that it prospers best when
it is most entirely left alone. (Hear.) The present
sound and healthy state of agricultural interests
shows that when the English farmer is put upon
his mettle he is able not only to overcome all those
difficulties which at times have threatened to over-
whelm him, but to place British agriculture in the
proud position which it occupies at present, and
where, I trust, it will be ever maintained—at the
head of the agricultural world. (Cheers.) But, gen-
tlemen, called upon as we are to contend with the
whole world, we have a right to demand that our
farmers shall be allowed to carry on their farming
operations without being shackled by the restric-
tions imposed by the Excise authorities or by the
Government—(cheers)—and I recly believe the
time is approaching when we may hope to have the
privilege of malting our own barley for the purpose
of fattening our own cattle. (Hear.) B at, gentlemen,
if this were only a producer's question we should
not have so much chance of relief. It is not, how-
ever,se muoh a producer's as a consumer's question.
If we could only show that by malting our own
barley we could feed our cattle upon it cheaper
than we can at present, that would be the strongest
argument that could be used in favour of a change
in the law. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, I have one
source of congratulation, and that is that our manu
facturing and trading interests, in spite of the ex-
tent to which one of the most important branches
of industry has been affected by the war in America,
are in such a prosperous state. (Hear.) 0 wing to
the elasticity of our resources, so great has been the
development of the trade and commerce of the coun-
try, as shown by the Board of Trade returns pub-
lished only about a fortnight ago, that, though we
have been deprived of the principal source of supply
of the raw material for our greatest manufacturing
interest, our commerce was never in a more
flourishing state than at present, and the year 1863
will have to be described as one of the most pros-
perous and most successful ever recorded in the
commercial annals of England. (Cheers.) Gentle-
men, I have alluded to the war in America. We
must all of us very deeply deplore the efilicting
desolation and the awful sacrifices of human life on
both sides by the dreadful struggle going on in
that unhappy country. (Hear, hear.) No man can
foresee any probable termination of that struggle.
One thing, however, we may venture to predict, and
that is that the reconstruction of the old Federal
Union on its former basis is totally and entirely
impossible. (Hear, hear.) We all of us have our
sympathies with one or other of the contending
parties. Some aro anxious that the North should
be successful, while others there are, and I believe
they are the majority of the people of this country,
who wish well to the South. For my part, my
w
feelings are entirely with the South. (Cheers.) I
am in favour of the Confederates, not only because
they are the weaker party, but because they are
fighting the great battle of liberty and independence
against the most grinding oppression and tyranny
which has been witnessed in modern times. (Cheers.)
But whatever our individual sympathies may be, I
think we shall agree in this—that the proper course
for this country to pursue in the matter is to
con-
tinue to observe that strict and impartial neutra-
lity which has been maintained up to the pre-
sent time. (Cheers.) Though public °
in favour of the South, I think also in
favour of a strictly impartial policy being
it is Pinion is
pursued
by this country; and I only, trust, gentlemen, that
' that policy will continue to be acted upon till the
sooner or later,
period arrives—and come it
—when we, in conjunction :with the other great
powers of Europe, shall recognise the independence
of the great Southern States of America. (Loud
cheers.) I need not tell you that at the present
moment the Government of this country is in a po,
sition of extreme delicacy, if not of difficulty, with
regard to the detention of these two ships, about
which We have heard so much of late; hut, I trust
and believe a straightforward course will he
put-
sued to overcome that difficulty. (Hear.) My idea
is this. If it can be shown that the construction of
those steam rums brings them within the scope or
spirit of the Foreign Enlistment Act, it is only right
those who have been instrumental iu constructing
them should suffer the pains and penalties with
which every person should be visited who infringes
the laws of his country. On the other hand, if it
should be shown by the testimony of undoubted
evidence at the trial which will shortly take place,
that the building of these vessels does not infringe
the law as it stands, I trust we shall not be induced
by any tbreMs 'which may be thrown oat against us,

—..4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

or from any purpose whatever, to pass any special
legislative enactment for the purpose of including
those vessels, which when they were built could
not be said to infringe against the laws of the
country. (Hear, hear.) I trust the Government
will not be influenced in this matter by any threats
or influences brought to bear upon them, or by any
other motives than those of pursuing a straight-
forward and independent course in keeping with the
honour and dignity of the county (Cheers.)