The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-14 00:00:00

official ovewhi
shall be done to
without license,
"No money i.
money and mai
of 10 Geo. 4, ca,
nary expenses
man Dowling,
sal, :Major Cart
Superintendent
1820 in Governs
By virtuti Vic%
4th Geo. 4, cha•
extended acrosf
lieutenants eith
jurisprudence oi
colleague, as
Forbc s, as extai
in consequence,
savings, £1,700,
(all parties beim
t,‘ carry the Stet
and '2B La Egy•
the I ndian cl,
Almighty prott
by fiends, as M._
"That palters with us in a double sense,
That keeps the word of promise to the ear
And breaks it to our hope."
PETER BASQUET, ne' Nwl'warr de Brant.
At, 5, Swallow-a,reet. London, March 15, 1863.

PosT.—Rear-Admiral Robinson, the Controller
of the Navy, observes that—" The iron ship of to-
day, for which so large a price has been paid,
may not be the weapon we require to-morrow. It
may therefore prove wiser and more economical to
supply the want of the moment by a cheaper and
less durable structure, which at least is of the same
quality as those with which we contend." In this
suggestion we fully agree; for if it to be admitted
that the larger class of iron vessels is unsuited to
chasing fast wooden vessels upon the high seas, or
through intricate channels in distant latitudes,
then it becnrnes a question whether for °tiltr pur
poses the larger iron vessel is the more desirable
f- to lt h 'to be proved that for de-
.l iron vessel on the turret
is effective. For if these
le invulnerable in the tnr-
r,, then it is evident that
isiderable advantages over
will be able to manoeuvre
shallower water, and can
'y and for very much less
ane to another part of the
utmost importance. We
limited time, money, and
nor the creation of an en-
fore becomes our business
we can adopt under the
our present position. We
of wooden line:of-battle
let is to become of these
id by as useless, broken
)e converted into floating
irotection to our harbours,
a good.4l4(evito te,Q4c.
e trunk there should be'ncitwo opinions
regarding the course which ought to be pursued
with respect to these vessels. Every one must re-
member the sensation caused by the appearance of
the Merrimac, and the extraordinary achievements
of that vessel. For some unaccountable reason very
little attention has been directed towards the science
and skill which was displayed in the design and
construction of that vessel, which WAS a wooden
vessel converted into a most formidable engine of
war. It has been the fashion to speak of her as a
mere hastily constructed iron-clad. Now let us
fairly consider this matter for a moment. If this
hastily constructed iron-clad was able to sink a fine
American frigate like the Cumberland by a single
blow, and defy all the ships and batteries of the
Federal fleet, and fight an action next day, which
ended in a drawn battle, with a new and formida-
ble antagonist like the iron-clad Monitor, we think
we must have rather underrated the value of a vessel
of this description. Gen. M'Clellan reckoned the
possession of the Merrimac as equivalent to an army
of fifty thousand men. Now, if this was the true
value of that vessel, of what value then would be our
whole fleet of wooden line-of-battle ships if converted
into iron-clads upon the plan of the Merrimac, with
such improvements as we should derive from our
greater leisure and superior means ? Such a form
of vessel would answer admirably for defensive
purposes in our harbours if fitted with a double
screw, which would give them the necessary power
of mancenvring rapidly in a confined space, an ad-
vantage which, if the Merrimac had possessed in
her combat with the Monitor, would probably have
changed a drawn battle into a decided victory. A
certain number of our line-of-battle ships might be
sent in their present form to distant stations, and
there converted into armour-plated vessels upon
this simple but most effective principle. There can
be no doubt but that they would be quite formida-
ble enough to deal with any vessel that would be
likely to oppose them in those distant regions. As
it would be too long here to examine into all the
arguments brought forward in the paper presented
to the Admiralty by Admiral Robinson, we shall
confine ourselves to merely remarking that the evi-
dence appea.s conclusive upon the little dependence
that is to be placed upon the quality of work and
material supplied by the firms that have contracted
for the building of our iron ships. We arrive,
therefore, at this conclusion—that if it were even
desirable to build many more large ships en-
tirely of iron, it would be advisable to build them
in the royal dockyards, where only we can rely
with confidence on securing sound material and
good workmanship, without which combination
the vessels would be worthless,

TIMES.—How are the railways to get into the
metropolis? Are they to capture it, like a foe,
with sapping and mining P Are they to light, like ,
winged Mercury, on the tops of the houses ? Are
they to walk in like citizens ? Must they occupy
the open square, or clear away the crowded courts
and lanes? Are they to be trusted right in the
heart of the city, or must they be restricted to a
fauhourg, as the Danes were once inside of Temple-
bar? One thing is certain—they cannot come in
without, being a uui-ante, of one sort or another, to
somebody. Perhaps the people who would be the
best content to let them abide by their present ter-
mini are the shareholders themselves. The Great
Eastern proprietors, as Lord Shaftesbury tells us,
have been a long time making up their minds to
borrowing at 5 per cent. in order to get into Fins-
bury-circus and make a station there, when they
have just divided 1 per cent. for half a year. No
doubt, if the travelling public would only be so good
as to think the cab journey to Shoreditch an amuse-
ment, and so ingenious as to do it from any part of
the metropolis in a quarter of an hour, the company
would be glad to see their dividends rising without
further outlay. But other companies are stepping in
befure them, and ready to grasp the prize their own
modesty denies them. There are many hundreds of
young married couples discussing at this moment
the interesting question whether they shall make
their start—say, at Sydenham, or Blackheath,
or Stamford-hill, or Tottenham, or towards
Epping Forest. Foremost among the pros
and cons is the distance from the city to
the station, and London-bridge is a good
deal nearer than Shoreditch. Then the West-end
people can go through the Borough to London-
bridge, and what is more they can get to any part
of the South-Eastern Counties from Victoria Sta-
tion, and will soon be able to do so from Charing-cross.
They have no strong prejudice in favour of the East-
ern Counties, and they feel the last mile from the
city to Shoreditch as an aggravation of their civic
progress. So,on the whole, the shareholders of the
Great Eastern, as the company now calls itself, con-
clude they must throw more good money after bad,
and centralise their metropolitan terminus. But
when they have slowly made up their minds, the
merchants and professionals who have taken posses-
sion of Finsbury-circus claim a voice in the matter.
A strong opposition has been organised, and the
rights of ventilation and circulation warmly main-
tained in behalf of children, nurserymaids, young
ladies, invalids, and the proprietors of the London
Institution. The rights of the former are before the
world and appeal to all. The last mentioned have
not had full justice done to them. How is a man
to study the Greek Plays, topography, and inter-
national law, in which that library is so rich, if a
train is to rumble, hiss, shriek, and whistle over
his head every five minutes, and if tt ere is a
never ending stream of cabs coming and going
under his feet? Two other remonstrances have
now been put in, no doubt encouraged by the
favourable hearing given to Lord Derby. The
Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital is close to the
proposed extension. It is a bard case when a hos-
pital is only near a line, without being touched, and
has therefore all the nuisance without redress.
Even if the hospital could move away into the
country, it must be considered that we still want
dispensaries which ought to be accessible, and, if
possible, united with hospitals. We fear, however,
that it has long since been ruled that a hospital shall
not stop a railway. As for the poor journeymen
tailors who have placed themselves under Lord
Shaftesbury's benevolent protection, and who don't
want to be driven further from their employers,
hom they have to visit seven times a day, we can
only suggest that their employers had better find
workshops for them, or follow them into the coun-
try. We cannot regard a little thinning of the East
London population as an evil so great that the
House of Lords must step in to avert it. There
never was a q'aestion which brought out more
strongly the want of some Board or other authority
charged with a representatation of the public in-
terest upon every railway project. It appears that
the students of the London Institution, the nursery
maids, the ophthalmic patients, the journeymen
tailors, and other equally interesting or important
classes have hardly a locus standi in the Committee
'on this bill. Finsbury-circus and square are the
only habitable places of the fashion which London
loves within half a mile of the Bank. The Circus
is a decidedly pretty place, and is remarkable for
the number of institutions, public edifices, and
chapels of all nations and creeds in it and about it.
Whoever has walked round it will grudge its
threatened appropriation. Of course, a fine gen-
tleman will smile at the idea of anybody having a
sentimental attachment to a circular row of smoke-
stained houses, with a few lilacs and plane trees, in
the thick of the City. But it is not everybody who
can walk or sleep even three miles out of town,

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in this lice for your constables' mileage
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;ap. 44, t&Carter in 1842, under extraordi-
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of Liverp'ool, in 1851; whence, on this refu-
bweitbh:igiirtematueer
twright's fruccessor to the Crown and Colonial
Lt of the Indian Tribes on £'so per year since money. But we now corm
nor's Lt.. iteputy C. H. Ackerley, R N.,
question which is of the u
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of the Crctik colony of Newfoundland under to consider the best course
Deputy '-fearamissioner Chief Justice F.
ended to '.. South Wales by sec, 60, who, peculiar circumstances of a
possess a large number c,
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ships ; the question is, whe
0, to aid''. t support his Indian colleague
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