The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-27 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 1863.

The extraordinary intelligence brought to us this
morning by the Persia, and still dropping in upon
us as the day advances, in more or less fragmentary
telegrams, almost looks like the beginning of the
end of that dreadful civil war in North America.
Never among the Americans, with all their odyllic
force, their spirit rappings, and their wondrous
feats with gymnastic upholstery, never yet, we
may safely aver, have they had brought so vividly,
and undeniably, before them such an astound-
ing instance of a complete turning of the
tables. The biter is there, in truth, bitten, and
bitten too most severely. Diamond has there
assuredly cut diamond. The pursued has fairly
turned at bay, and become himself at last the
pursuer. The Yankee A CTsEON is meeting far worse
than the fate of his but partial prototype. Instead
of being devoured by his own dogs (of
war)—he has been turned upon and is no w
being fast followed up (to the death ?) by the
Southern game he had so very confidently set his
cruel heart upon bringing down in a veritable
batbu, The Confederate Commander-in-Chief,
having at length fully matured his plans for a new
and more daring development of his already bril-
liantly successful scheme of a campaign,
has boldly crossed the Rappahannock, it
seems, in three places, and carried the war into
the enemy's territory. At the head of an
army of 100,000, including among them 30,000
cavalry, the valiant and hitherto victorious military
chief of the Southerns, has commenced offensive
operations, in earnest, against the Northern States.
Already the foremost among these stages of advance
have been clearly marked out even in this first mo-
ment, AS it were, of the announcement. Foremost
among the foremost, STONEWALL JACKSON'S old
corps, commanded now by General EWELL, is noted
down as advancing, 18,000 strong, through Cul-
pepper, en route for the Shenandoah Valley. The
bare thought of " STONEWALL " JACKSON'S death,
we may be sure, giving a firmer grip to every sword „
hilt, and a steadier aim to every rifle-bearing right
hand, in all that dauntless band. Penetrating reso-
lutely beyond Culpepper, Ew ELL, it seems, without
one instant's unnecessary delay, had attacked MIL-
ROY at Winchester—carrying Winchester by storm,
and compelling MILROY, after spiking his guns, to
retreat in hot haste upon Harpers' Ferry. Not
however, until after MILROY had been intercepted
by the Southerners on the path thither, upon the
Martinsburg Road, from w hich point he eventually
broke his way through EWELL'S men—reaching his
destination, that is Harper's Ferry, with 2,000 of
his men put hors de combat. Subsequently the on-
ward movements of the Confederates appear to
have been rapid and almost uninterrupted—now to
Hagerstown, in Maryland, now to Greencastle and
Charaberaburg, in Pennsylvania. Thence they may
advance either to Harrisburg, to Pittsburg, or to
Baltiniore. As a matter of course, the northward
movement beyond the Rappahannock by the whole
cmithel° army under General LEE has necessitated
a retrograde movement of a very decided kind on
the part of the Federals under General HOOKER.
Leaving Falmouth and proceeding with all speed,
via Dumfries in the di • rection of Fairfax, the Fede-
ral Commander-in-chief (notable mainly of late in
Retreats, though not quite, eountable hitherto, even
in that particular as, let us eay,
yt either MOREAU or
XENOPHON), General HOOKER has caused his army
both Belle Plaine and
to abandon Anquia Creek,
selecting Alexandria as the new base of his now
purely defensive operations. By an ominous gobs-
cidence, the Federals have thus got back again to
the fatal old Bull Run battle-ground. There
the main army, under HOOKER, was, accord-
ing to our last advices, en camped MIL-
Roy having had his men driven back by
EwELL's corps as far as Harper's Ferry. At
that point, namely at Harper's Ferry, it was that
that very corps, under their beloved and glorious
chief, General STONEWALL JACKSON, took 10,000
of the Federals prisoners, after subjecting them to
a crushing defeat. While, how fatal to the
Northern cause the old battle-ground of Bull
Run, was, all the old world as well as all the new
world knows full well, long sir ce. No
wonder that so astounding a turning
of: the tables as all this would clearly
indicate should have created, as we hear it
evidently had created, before our last advices left,
P" this Persia, au extraordinary excitement

throughout the whole of the Northern States !
President LINCOLN, in evidence of this prevailing
excitement, calling out 120,000 militia, for six
month's service, from New York, Ohio, Maryland,
Western Virginia; and Pennsylvania. A word in
that lantern-jawed PRESIDENT'S ear, however, there
anent—" You may call spirits from the vasty deep,
but—will they come ?" As additional evidence of
the all but panic excited by these last marchings
and counter-marchings on the part of the main
armies of the belligerents, we observe that there
were rumours flying about just before the Persia
left, that by an adroit flank movement General
LEE had succeeded in cutting off and capturing the
whole of the sixth corps of General HOOKER'S
army. Even if this particular rumour should in
the end turn out to have been altogether without
foundation, the fact of its being bruited about
at all is sufficient testimony in itself of the peril-
lons plight, or, as they would term it themselves,
" fix" into which the Federals had by that time been
driven by the Confederates. LEE pushing onward
thus formidably to the possible threatening of
Washington—JOHNSTONE, it now appears, had
at that other extremity of the seat of war, namely,
in direction of Vicksburg, already cut his way
clean through GRANT'S army to the relief of the
beleagured city, or was at the very least advanc-
ing against GRANT to raise the seige, empowered
so to do by the accumulation under his banners of
immense reinforcements.

The Lancashire Relief Bill yesterday passed
hrough committee in spite of the renewed opposi-

tion of Mr. FERRAND and the disparaging com-
ments of Mr. BENTINCR. The lengthened addresses
of these gentlemen, and the ingenious 'Logic with
which they endeavoured to prove that the origin of

the present distress was to be found in the Free-
Trade agitation, occasioned se much delay in the
discussion of the clauses that some fears were en-
tertained of the ultimate fate of the bill. The Pre-

sident of the Poor-law Board expressed himself
with some warmth at the conclusion of the sitting,
and certainly he had some excuse for doing
so from the general opposition he had met
with, although the particular exception at
which he took offence was, no doubt, well founded.
Colonel WILSON PATTEN expressed his regret that
it had not been found possible to separate the bill
from the Poor-law Board, on account of the preju-
dice it had met with from its connection with that
not very popular office. Mr. VILLIERS, upon this,
expressed some vexation that all the trouble and
responsibility had been allowed to fall to his share
under such circumstances. But instead of all delays,
demurs, and objections the bill is now fairly through
committee, and will, we hope, be productive of much
good. Some hon. members appear to quarrel with it
because its action will be only partial and limited,
but this objection seems very unreasonable. No
single measure, except the raising of the blockade,
could give immediate wholesale relief to the dis-
tressed districts. The large army of unemployed
men and women must be dealt with in detach-
ments, and we expect it would puzzle any of the
opposers of this measure to devise any scheme
which would give practical assistance to 400,000
persons. Allowing this Bill to give employment
to comparatively a small portion of this aggre-
gate, it 'will take three or four times
that number off the parish, and as the works on
which they are to be employed are of practical and
permanent benefit, we see no reason for so much
cavil and disparagement. Mr. FERRAND and
others are warm advocates of emigration, but that
is no reason why they should not pass this bill as
well. The hon. member for Devonport said, after
speaking wrongly on this subject, that of course he
did not advocate the wholesale departure of unem-
ployed operatives, but that he thought 50,000
or 100,000 might safely be sur,plied with
the means of emigration at the present
time. As on his showing one great fault in the
measure just passed is its limited character, there
will unhappily remain many thousands to make
the colonial experiment if they so will. As Mr.
VILLIERS justly observed, it is unwise and unne-
cessary to mix the two questions together, especially
as Mr. CHILDERS, the member for Pontefract, has
given notice of a motion on the subject of emigra-
tion. ColonelWiLsoN-PATTEN, whose name is so well
known in connection with the Central Relief Fund,
has had an extended experience of the distress in its
worst forms, and an opportunity of becoming fully
acquainted with the wishes and capacities of the
operatives. He cordially supported the measure,
and gave but a qualified approval to an extensive
emigration scheme, while Mr. VILLIERS said with
truth that the Government would assume a great
responsibility with regard to those emigrants to
whom it granted a free passage. We must not
accept the expressed wishes of the men as alto-
gether conclusive. They know little of the country
they are to go to, even by report, or of the kind of
work they will have to do when they get there. The
pictures drawn by enthusiastic theorists fill them
with hope, and when after the prolonged wret-
chedness of the last eighteen months, the strong
man, who can find no work for his wilting hands to
do, looks round on his bare home, his anxious wife
and hungry children, no wonder he exclaims, in the
pathetic words quoted by Dean CLOSE, " Send us
anywhere out of this." But we must not, in our
anxiety to get the distress out of our sight, rest
satisfied with merely carrying it across the seas.
The subject of emigration requires careful
thought and anxious inquiry, and we must
ascertain that there is work to be done, and that
we can guarantee food and employment before
transporting any large body of emigrants to a
strange land. It would be advisable to establish
agents in the localities to which they are sent, to
make arrangements for their reception, and to take
steps for finding them work and wages. But,
while all these schemes are being discussed a better
solution to the difficulty may be at hand. The signs
of a possible termination of the American war are
visible in the horizon. The capture of Washington,
the relief of Vicksburg, will answer the appeal
of our helpless operatives a thousand times more
satisfactorily than Poor-law Boards or emigration
agents can do, and, even if this hope is deferred,
we have every reason for supposing that in all
human probability the cotton trade not only may,
but must revive. The gentlemen who take so
mournful a view of the case appear to forget the
supplies we may confidently expect to receive from
our colonies next year. The struggle has been
long and
just
whttl thebttt er, but let
sniogthtp.atience or charity fail
-
end is in

Colonel Cu4kwi,,,Ele
Lease again occupied the at-
tention of the Rouse a short time on Thursday.
Several bon. members
questions acode f
Marquis
ofn the the compli-
asked various a 4ew remarks, and
1 RAR
cated affair. The
great dexterity in parrying theTINGTON showed
in
questioned,
from his
any endeavours
that were made to wrest some information
unwilling statements. It is to be
how_
ever, if this mode of procedure is wise. It is only
natural that the greatest excitement should prevail
on this subject, and that every possible desire
should be evinced to become acquainted with all the
details relating to it. Mr. BENTINCK'S fears appear
quite groundless regarding the courL- martial taking

place in England. It is a most proper decision to
have come to, and, indeed, were it otherwise
arranged it is most probable that great disappoint-
ment would have arisen and great dissatisfaction
have been expressed. Colonel DUNNE made some
attempt to clear the reputation of ColonelCßawLEY
from a part of the charges adduced against him,
but he was not very successful. Mr. FORTESCUE
explained that it was in the single room that
the sentry was posted when Sergeant LILLEY was
ordered to be placed under confinement. Sir F.
SMITH more truly represented the general feeling
which exists on this subject when he declared that
" the trial ought to take place in this country,
otherwise public opinion would not be satisfied."
There was some force in the suggestion which was
made by Sir DE LACY EVANS, that it might be
advisable to recall the regiment. It would be most
likely that in that case the truth would be arrived
at more effectually than if the trial tock place in
India, or than if the evidence were not fully and
fairly delivered. Colonel DUNNE explained how
the difficulty in the way of expense might be
obviated by the Government changing the rota, and
thus ordering home the Inniskillings instead of the
Bth. It is not likely that any of these suggestions
will be carried out strictly in accordance with the
mode in which they are made, but still they may be
of good service in the cause. It is an incontrovertible
fact that all the attention to routine, and exclusive
adherence to forms have lamentably failed in the
instance here mentianed to carry out the rules of
justice. It is always the fashion in official quarters
to decry the attempts made by lookers-on, to get at
1 the unvarnished truth, and arrive at the real solu-
tion of the difficulty, but the question is "what
would become of the case, if there were none of
these self-prompted stirrers in the cause 9" It is by
the due admixture of the various influences that sway
the motives that a modified opinion is at last
arrived at, and often a very correot one. It is by
no means evident that if all the members were as
tranquil as the Marquis of HARTINGTON desired
upon this subject, that the result would be as satis-
factory as it now promises to be after all the various
influ-,Eces have been brought to bear upon it from so
many different directions. The facts now elicited
in regard to the treatment of this painful
case are very different from those at first men-
tioned, and this is because the real opinion
of the public had been unmistakeably
manifested, and their indignation expressed in
terms that could not be mistaken. Hence it may
result that this now approaching investigation of
Colonel CRAWLEY'S conduct will be far more com-
prehensive and searching in its style than if the
subject had been left to die out of remembrance,
instead of being thus constantly recalled to mind
so perseveringly.

It must have been with very amiable feelings that
Mr. DISRAELI last evening addressed the company
at the Conservative Banquet. The unity that reignb
among the councils of the Conservatives is strangely
opposed to the eonstant bickerings that disturb the
ranks of the Liberal party. Mr. DISRAELI reviewed
the condition of the party in whose honour they had
that day assembled, and skilfully contrasted their
present position with their former discomfiture.
Some years ago, he said, "There is no record in the
history of England of a political connection
so utterly forlorn, so hopeless and so pros.

trate, as was then the Tory party. There was
no one who believed we would ever rally," truly
observed the right hon. gentleman, " and it was
a question which of the political sections should
obtain the greatest portion of our plunder ; we
were like a vessel stranded on the beach, and it
was a question who should rifle our stores." With
laudable pride Mr. DISRAELI pointed out the great
difference that now existed in either House of Par-
liament; they confronted the Minister with at
least an equal power. He then adverted to the
opinions some expressed as to the incapacity of the
party to retain power, and observed that the won-
der was not that they should not have retained
their places, but that they should ever have ac-
quired them. He gave a brief but impressive
account of the difficulties that Lord DERBY'S Ad-
ministration had to contend with on both occasional
when it was formed, and forcibly exposed the in-
sidiousness and subtle machinations of coalitions.
" We fell before the most peculiar coalition that
ever existed, and that probably ever can exist in Eng-
land; the Liberal party defeated us in 1862, because
they coalesced with the pupils of Sir R. PEEL, the
Liberal party defeated us in 1859 because they
coalesced with the pupils of Mr. BRIGHT." The
moral of this, Mr. DISRAELI proceeded to explain,
was that the powers of coalition were exhausted.

"In the purgatory in which the Liberal party
found themselves they first applied to the celestial
archangels, and then descended into the lowest
abyss of Hades." There is great truth in this state-
ment, fanciful and figurative as it may appear; The
last condition of the Coalition is certainly more
unstable than the first one, and it does not need a
very great share of the spirit of divination to fore-
tell its ultimate downfall. It is through circum-
stances out of the control of those who direct
public affairs that so long an immunity has been
enjoyed by the powers that be. When a re-
action comes there will be seen a change.
The Conservative party has in all human
probability a great future before them,
and it behoves them to profit by the experience of
their past days of defeat and despondency, that
when they pass from the cold shade of opposition
to the more genial atmosphere of the Treasury
benches they may improve the opportunity allowed
them for the benefit of their country. Their present
position is a striking warning to those who despair
at difficulties. How would Mr. COBDEN and Mr.
BRIGHT have ridiculed the idea some years ago of
Mr. DISRAELI addressing such a circle of his
followers. They would have considered the idea as
a delusion, but no one can judge of future events who
narrows his mind to the immediate contemplation
of the events before him, without taking a more
extended and a more lofty view. The leaders of
the Conservative party are eminently deserving of
the enthusiasm with which their names were received
last night. No men could merit more appreciation
from a party. It is in the day of doubt and the time
of trouble that the great qualities of a leader are
fully displayed and conspicuously brought to light,
and in these important features Lord DERBY and
Mr. DISRAELI have not been found wanting.

LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS FOR THE
ENSUING WEEK Wednesday—Horticultural, at 1, Great
Exhibition. Friday—Archaeological Institute, at 4. Sa-
turday—Horticultural, Promenade.-21thencum.
THREATENED DETENTION OF ANOTHER SHIP AT
LlVERPOOL.—lntimation having been given that it
is intended to export two of Blakeley's large guns onboard
the steamship Gibraltar, bound for Callao, notice, we be-
lieve, has been served on the owners of the vessel by the
Customhouse authorities at Liverpool to the effect that if
the guns are put on board the ship will be detained on the
suspicion that they are destined for a Southern Confederate
American port. This proceeding is deemed extraordinary,
as the guts from their vast size, each weighing about 21
tens, and being capable of carrying 7001 b. shot, it is consi-
dered perfectly clear that they cannot be used in the arma-
ment of ships. It is further deemed singular from the fact
t_ortlrras are shipped, and the ships cleared almost daily
in_erfoerzthern Federal States ports. It is allegei that the
t mice in the case of the Gibraltar and Capt. Blake-
ley's gum, h._
represen-
tations of th:aUl been made
eten
made in consequence of the atatea 4inioter is London.