The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-26 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Times' Correspondent.)
NEW YORK, June 12.
"All is progressing favourably at Vicksburg."
" General Grant has no fears for the result of his
operations." " The President is in excellent spirits."

" Influential members of the Government are of

opinion that at no time since the commencement of
the war did things look so favourably for the Union

cause as now." " General Hooker will speedily make

an importaamovemontY Charleston will be-trap-
tared before the Ist of July." Such are but a few

of the sanguine announcements that are daily made
by the Northern press to keep up the courage of the
people, and lead them to expect victories which
Northern generals are unable to achieve. But
whenever the President is represented to be in un-

usually good spirits, and whenever the "backbone"

of the Rebellion is declared to be within an inch of

being broken, the very cautious and prudent people
who speculate in stocks and gold make up their

minds that something wrong has happened—and
act accordingly. It is at such times more than any
other, that the money-market is perturbed, and
Mr. Stanton and the military censors of the tele-

graph add to the perturbation by refusing to sanc-
tion the promulgation of such news from the seat
of war as is in their own possession, and which it
would be important to the public to know at the
earliest moment. Such has been the case during
the whole of the week. The perverse multitude,
told to expect good tidings, has obstinately ex-
pected evil; and the town has swarmed with
rumours of every kind of calamity to the armies of
the Republic, both on the Mississippi and in
Virginia. Amid the multitude of such reports—
launched one hour and discredited the next—it

appears from a variety of corroborative evidence
coming in from all quarters that the army of Gen.

Lee, fully a hundred thousand strong, supported by
an immense cavalry force under Gen. LE. B. Stuart,
is on the move towards Winchester and Harper's
Ferry. The greatest alarm prevails in Pennsylvania
and Washington, and it may perhaps be added with-
out much or any perversion of the exact and strict
fact, that equal hope prevails in Maryland and Bal-
timore that the Confederate generals will make a
suecessful foray, and that not only Baltimore and
Washington, but Philadelphia are in danger of ex-
periencing some of the miseries as well as the pomp
and circumstances of war. The Governor of Penn-

Sylvania has issued a proclamation, calling upon the
people to organise a sufficient force to repel inva-

.. _
sion ; and Gen. Conch, who has been assigned by
- -

the Federal Government to the command of a new
military department, with its head-quarters at
Chambersbnrg, has called out for the defence of the
State all ablebodied male citizens between the ages
of 18 and 60, to be organised into regiments of ca-
valry, infantry, and artillery. This measure shows
how imminent the Government considers the danger

to be, and what stringent and rapid measures they
deem necessary to confront it. The encounter be-
tween the large body of Federal Cavalry under Gen.
Buford, despatched by Gen. Hooker to surprise Gen.
Stuart, reported to be at the head of at least 12,000
well-trained Confederate horsemen, has served no
other purpose than to prove the strength of this
arm of the Confederate service, and to delay for a
day or two the departure of that dashing and hi-
therto successful cavalier into the rich and as yet

untroubled granaries of the prosperous State of
Pennsylvania. Whatever direction he may take,

it is certain that stirring achievements on the one
side or the other will mark his progress ; and that
a "raid" on a scale of such magnitude will take
rank among the most romantic, if non among the
decisive events of the war.

No one is surprised at the enthusiasm and unani
mity of the great Democratic Convention at Colum
bus, in Ohio, by which Mr. Vallandigham was
nominated without a dissentient whisper as the
Democratic candidate for the Governorship of Ohio.
Blundering General Burnside and equally blunder-
ing Mr. Lincoln have, by their unwise persecution,
converted the most eloquent and fearless opponent
of their policy into the most prominent and power-
ful man in the West, and brought the question of
State rights and Federal assumptions to a practical
issue, of which it is not easy to overrate the im-
portance in the future history of the North. If any
Republican candidate should be nominated in oppo-
sition to Mr. Vallandigham, the smallness of his
minority will only serve to bring into greater relief
the popularity of the Democratic candidate and the
determination of the Western Democrats, whatever
may be their opinions upon the policy or the con-
duct of the war, to suffer no infringement upon the
right of free speech and free printing within their
boundaries. Almost as significant as the nomina-
tion of Mr. Vallandigham for Governor was that of
Mr. Pugh, an ex-member of Congress, for Lieut.-
Governor. Mr. Pugh had no intention of becoming
a candidate, but he made a speech so thoroughly in
unison with the feelings of the immense assemblage
that he was unanimously nominated for the office,
and somewhat reluctantly consented to stand. " We
cannot," said Mr. P igh, " agree on terms of
peace or anything else unless we have freedom of
discussion. We cannot undertake to decide for
peace or war until we can achieve our own liber-
ties. When the military power tells me or Mr.
Vallandigham that we cannot speak, it is a farce
to speak of a free Government. A man can die
but once, and it is glorious to pay the penalty of
life in defence of liberty. I spurn Burnside's
Order No. 38. I trample it under foot. Come
what will—imprisonment, exile, or death—l defy
the military power and its minions." Upon the
strength of these and other expressions, Mr. Pugh
was nominated. Upon the strength of them he will
assuredly be elected, even if the Government be mad
enough in his case to repeat the error committed in
that of Mr. Vallandigham. Should the Governor
himself be unable to make his way to New York or
Canada, or other wise escape from Northern territory,
upon Mr. Pugh, as Lieutenant-Governor, will de-
volve all the duties of chief magistrate of the Sove-
reign State of Ohio, and commander of its Militia.
Should any conflict of jurisdiction occur, he may
have it in his power to mete out to Gen. Burnside
the measure meted out to Mr. Vallandigham, and to
commence a very startling chapter in the great book
of American liberty. Will Mr. Lincoln under the
circumstances annul the sentence upon Mr. Vallan
digham, and allow him to go home ? Yes ; if he he
ordinarily wise and prudent—but not otherwise.
It is not often that anything is heard of the pri-
vate opinions—or what may be called the "inner
life"—of the President—unless the workings of the.t
simple but singular mind may be traced through
the application of the last well-worn story, or the
fresher Western joke that he has narrated, to point
the moral of public events or rid himself of an im-
pertinent or importunate questioner. A few facts,
however, were divulged yesterday in the Church of
the Puritans, and to-day in a statement published
for the behoof of the Germans of the State of Mis-
souri, that throw considerable light upon the
present aspect of affairs, and upon Mr. Lincoln's
personal share in the perplexities of the hour. At
the meeting at Dr. Cheever's church, held on Thurs-
day, to take measures for advancing the enlistment
of au army of 10,000 negroes, to be commanded by

work and give it effect, on account of his pcculiari•
ties and those of the coloured peor le." Displaying
a map, i❑ which the dark parts represented these
portions of the Southern States which were most
largely inhabited by coloured people, Mr. Lincoln
drew the attention of the committee to the country
around Vicksburg, and remarked " that he hoped

for co-operation from the negroes to take Vicks-
burg and to bold it." Mr. Chase, who was present
at the interview, never spoke, but Mr. C. Sumner,
who manifested great interest in the proceedings,
expressel his belief " that the greatest name to to
written in the itibtory of the war was to be written
by the hand of that man who should organise the
coloured people into an army for their own delive-
rance and the restoration of the Union." The dcpu•

ation withdrew, with the impression that lkir.Lin.

coin desired to see Gen. Fremont at the head of
the black army, but could not, for personal reasons

offer him the appointment ; and that he would be

grateful if Gen. Fremont would solve the difficulty
by volunteering his services. The second glimpse
afforded into the workings of Mr. Lincoln's mind is
suggestive of the source of the perils that beset the
country and that must continue to beset it as long
as he remains in power. A German gentleman
named Taussig, who had been deputed during a pro-
fessional visit to Washington to present to the Pre-
sident a copy of the resolutions adopted at a mass
meeting in St. Louis, on the 10th of May last, tells
the story. Mr. Taussig having been admitted and
stated his business, the President read the resolu-

tions in a loud voice. When he had concluded he
entered into a voluntary discussion, which lasted
two hours, on the various subjects which had been
thus brought under his notice. Mr. Taussig on
leaving the White House wrote down from memory
the substance of what Mr. Lincoln said, and pub-
lished it in one of the newspapers of St. Louis.

The chief points in the curious document are that
Mr. Lincoln admitted that it might be a misfortune
for the nation that he was elected President, but
that having been elected he meant to be President,

and to act as such, even if he had to die for it; that
he would not remove any Generals or make any
changes in his Cabinet to suit the views or wishes
of any particular party, or faction, or set of men ;
that General Halleck was unjustly accused by public
opinion ; that Generals Fremont, Butler, and Siegel
were not systematically kept out of command ;
that they had placed themselves where they were
by their own action, and that he was willing to
employ them again, but that at present he had
more pegs than holes to put the pegs into. He
refused to admit that there was a want of unity in
the Cabinet, though he confessed that each Secretary
was only responsible for the good administration of

his own deparment, and that there was no cen-
tralisation of responsibility except in the President
himself. With regard to the state of affairs in
Missouri, consequent mainly upon the Proclamation
of Emancipation, and to dissensions which it had
created among the Unionists, the President dec'ared
that both parties were wrong, " and ought to have
their heads knocked together ;" that each of them
would rather see the defeat of the other than that

of Jefferson Davis; and that those among them who

were in favour of the gradual emancipation of the
slaves more nearly represented his views than those
who insisted apon their immediate manumission.
At the close of the interview the President re -

marked that there was evidently a serious misunder
standing springing up between himself and the
Germans of Missouri, which he would like to see
removed. It appears from these admissions that
Mr. Lincoln has great confidence in himself, and
almost equal confidence iu his Ministers; and that
nothing less than some great and overwhelming
calamity to the national arms willcause him to yield
to public opinion in the matter of any Minister now
in office, or any General now in command, "fight-
ing Joe Hooker" included.
The working classes in this city, as far as any
jndgment can be formed of their opinions by their
presence in large numbers at meetings in favour of
peace, by their patronage of journals opposed to the
Administration, by their conversation among each
other at places of public resort, or by the chance
remarks which they let fall in the presence of their
employers and others, are strongly opposed to the
war. Though led away, like the majority, in the
burst of passion that followed the bombardment of
Fort Sumter, they gradually lost their interest in
the war as it proceeded. The first cold fit that came
upon their enthusiasm was caused by the President's
Proclamation of Emancipation, for the working
classes, as a body, are not Abolitionists, and the
Irish more particularly are notoriously opposed to
the competition of negroes with white labour. The
second refrigerant of their zeal, more effectual than
the first, was the depreciation of the currency caused
by the enormous issues of paper money, and the
simultaneous rise in the price of food and all the
necessaries of life. The last and, perhaps, the sorest
trial of their patience with a war which they have
ceased to approve or to hope any good from, is the
threatened conscription. The abolition question was
more or less a sentimental one, but the questions of
the currency and the conscription are practical. They
appeal to the pocket and person, and under their
combined influences the working classes of this city
have wrought themselves into a state of discontent
which the Government will do well to study if it
wish to prevent mischief. Hitherto labour, in con-
sequence of the scarcity of workmen, has been so
well paid that the working man's paradise, if any-
where on the face of the world, was to be found in
the United States. With provisions at only half of
the British and European prices, and wages at a rate
double at the very least, and in some instance treble
that of the Old World, the working man found his
position not only comfortable, but highly prosperous,
inasmuch as he could live well and save one-half of
his income. The war, however, has effected a change.
It reduced, through the agency of Mr. Chase's
superabundant greenbacks, the value of the dollar
to about 60 cents, while at the same time it sent up
the price of provisions and other articles of prime
necessity to the extent of 20 or 30 per cent. ; virtu-
ally reducing the working man's income to less than
one-half of what it used to be in the ancient days of
peace and prosperity when James Buchanan was
President. As there was in no trade any rise in
wages in consequence of the enhanced cost of living,
and no disposition on the part of the " bosses" (as
employers here are called, to avoid the use of the
unwelcome word " master," which goes against
stomach of a free and enlightened citizen) to rais•
the wages to a point at which the labourers could
live as comfortably as before, a series of strikes has
ciiticle
taken [lace in almost every trade in
shi t
p he
builders, F.
rs, The
stevedores, e e
stevedores, the longz=hore-men, the
ship painters, the ship joiners, the house carpenters,
the sawyers, the builders, the painters, the tailors,
the shoemakers, the hatters, the compositors, the
pressmen, the pianoforte makers, the scavengers,
and several others are mow on strike for au advance
of wages. The ship painters demand 21, dols. per
diem, instead of 11 The longshore-men, or dock
labourers, demand 25c. an hour for 11 hours per
diem, or 2 dole. a day, with 50c. an hour for extra
work after 6 o'clock in the evening ; and all the
other trades make corresponding'.demands upon the
"bosses," which they justify by the assertion that
the price of food is so high in depreciated dollars
that they cannot support themselves at the ancient

N E WS PAPER
K. 5
re
,V 7711; ~,,
•"-z-e -'''.---- -'7--,;lseeie
rates, and are reduced to the Euro _ tki,,ltiplke'i's
unable to lay by a shilling for a rainy elfgseatihkk&
instances the masters have yielded to t'Ut**:',.e -901
the men, in others they hsve resisted anliiitbAiiral
resist,more especial ly the contractors for the Aram:ll3Z s
of the streets. The consequence is that the fiitL:y
garbage of the city, exposed in barrels upon the
foot pavements for the contractors to clear away,
has been left untouched for nearly ten days, seething:
and simmering in the rays of the hot sun, and emit-
ting such foul odours as compel the unhappy way-
farer to hold his nose as he passes, and deprecate
in silent prayer the pestilence which is but too likely
to flow from the dense malaria that reeks on every
side. The prices of provisions and necessaries are
calculated by the retail dealers at a far higher rate
of increase :.hag thet which would be warranted by
the rise in gold. Three months ego gold seas at a
premium of 73 per cent., and it now stands at 42
a difference of 34 per cent., but the upward start iu
prices, taken at the high rate of gold, has maintained
itself at the lower, so that the poor labourer suffers
a double loss. Every night meetings of the ,vorkiep:
men are held to debate the conditions which labour
is to o:ictate to capital in a country where labour
is so scerce as to be virtually the " boss" of the
" bosses ;" and every night an attempt of scene
kind or other is made on the part of tile employers
to give the meetings a political character, with the
view of defeating or weakening their original pur-
pose. But, as a rule, the men are too earnestly
alive to their own interests to allow themselves to be
diverted from the business which they have most at
heart, and persist in ignoring all party speeches and
party issues. It is asserted, however, that the orga-
,r,Littion,was commenced, and re ;03614'
- &nib ft-of'airthetradea it* iniittitit pthr .
etithr agai I, a
the lowering of wages, has another and equally im-
portant object—that of resistance to the conscrip-
tion. This charge is not easily proved. It may bo
utterly unfounded, or it may be quite true; but en
the latter supposition it is not likely that the pro-
moters will suffer the facts to become public with-
out strenuous denial. The probabilities are, how-
ever, that some such action of the working classes is
meditated, or has already commenced ; and that, in

-~::.:~:

the present temper of the Democratic party through-
out the State as well as city of New York, the
Government will not force the question to an un-
pleasant issue, by insisting upon a draft that might
be violently resisted.
Already, in other parts of the Union, the prelimi-
nary enrolment of the names of citizens liable to
military duty under the Conscription Act has led
to breaches of the peace, and in Indiana to the
assassination of the enrolling officer and his assistant.
Under these circumstances, the voluntary enlistment
of the black population and the manner in which the
negroes behave in the battle- field become questions
of the highest political in:portance. Mr. Lincoln
and his principal advisers seem as if they despaired
of any further white aid for the conquest of the
South, and the white labouring classes, in their de-
testation of the conscription, favour the black en-

lis'ment as greatly as the President himself, for the
selfish reason that the more numerous the negro
armies the less likelihood there will be of any further
drain upon the blood of the whites. As yet the
negroes have had but three opportunities of showing
their military prowess in the field, or their military
obedience in circumstances of danger—first, in
Florida, under Col. Higginsou ; secondly, at Port
Hudson, under General Banks ; and lastly, at Poca-
taglio, under Colonel Montgomery. On the first
occasion, under Colonel Higginson, when the das-
tardly white regiments set fire to the beautiful city
of Jacksonville and destroyed the churches and
chapels for mete wantonness of mischief, and the
private houses of the citizens for the purposes of
plunder, the negroes took no part in the outrages,
but loudly expressed their disapproval and disgust.
At Port Hudson, under General Banks, they were
led against the enemy's work and purposely placed
in a post of danger. They fought with the most de-
termined bravery, and were met with the most deter-
mined resistance. Out of a regiment of 000, 600 were
stain. Gen. Banks reports of them that " they an-
swered every expectation, and that in many respects
their conduct was heroic. They made during 11:o
day three charges upon the batteries, suffering very
heavy losses, and holding their positions at nightfall
with the other troops on the right of the lines.
Whatever doubts may have heretofore existed, the
history of this day proves that the Government will
find in this class of troops effective supporters and
defenders. They require only good officers, com-
mands of limited numbers, and careful discipline to
make them excellent soldiers." General Banks is a
cautious man, wbo makes few, if any, mistakes, and
praise from him must be held to be well deserved,
wherever it may happen to fall. The third and
most recent achievement of the negroes is the occu-
pation of the railway bridge at Pocatiligo—between
Charleston and Savannah—an important military
point, the capture of which cuts off the communica-
tion between those two cities. It appears to have
been effected with so little difficulty as to lead to the
supposition that such large reinforcements have
been sent from both places to Vicksburg and Port
Hudson as to have left them without adequate de-
fence against a surprise of this kind. It is so mani-
festly impossible that the Confederates can allow
this position to be held without an attampt to dis-
lodge the captors—whether black or white—that
stirring events may immediately be looked for in
that quarter. In accordance with the avowed policy
and determination of the South, every negro cap-
tured in arms will be hung. If the threat be exe-
cuted, will Mr. Lincoln and his Government—who
have officially proclaimed that a black soldier in
their uniform is as good as a white, and has the
same rights as a prisoner of war—retaliate by the
execution of a corresponding number of white pri-
soners? They have solemnly and repeatedly de-
clared that they will do so. if they do, the war on
both sides will degenerate into one of unmitigated
barbarity and ferocity, and outraged Christendom
will be called on to interfere in the desecrated
names of religion and civilisation.
Whatever may happen, it will be remembered to
the eternal shame of the Federal Government that
it set the first example of this odious warfare, and
that it deliberately strove to excite the slaves to
murder their masters. On the 3d of this month,
nine days ago, this same Colonel Montgomery,, the
hero of Pocatiligo, and one of the' rowdy' officers,
first brought into notoriety by the border atrocities
of Kansas, led his black troops up the Coosaw
River, in South Carolina, in several steamers, to
proclaim freedom to the slaves. Landing his men
without opposition--for them were none to oppose
him—he proceeded to the nearest plantations, and.
made what he calls " a successful haul" of upwards
of a thousand able-bodied negroes, for the recruit-
ment of the Federal armies. The Abolitionist
journals of the North applaud the act ; but they
say nothing of the shameful episodes of the main
negroesliing-
story. Colonel Montgomery and his
Vir e
hburnt
s
to the ground upwards of 40 private dwelling-houses
belonging to planters—many of which were in-
habited by women and children only, the owners
having gone to the war. he loaded his steamers
with pianofortes, bedding chairs tables books and
looking-glasses, and
an, rs,
quantity of
household
" furniture," and y o
the
darkness of the night, only
illuminated by the blazing ruins that his incendiary
torches had left on every side, embarked his recruits
and his plunder, thinking, perhaps that he had done
his little best towards
restorationof the Union.
The N irthern people should not deceive themselves
in this matter. They desire to stand well in the
world's opinion ; but they Null forfeit the little
•,3.tripithv that still attaches to their cause they
ignorantly or wilfully allow the wfir to assume the
~nape that such men as Col. Mentgomery are itn-
NI h. en a people, fighting for in-
pressing upon it.
dependence,
only desirous to be let alone, are in-
vaded upon their own scil and in their own homes,
the worid looks with C0111:`a rative leniency upon any
vengeance—even though it transcend the ordirary
h-,unds which they may wreak upon the in-
vaders. But the same leniency is not tlti cannot
be extended to the invaders themselves. He who
kills in self-defence is exonerated by the sympathr
of the world, and is at worst guilty of manslaughter..
lie who kills as an aggressor is a murderer. Upon
this principle any severity, or apparent cruelty, that
may be exercised by the South in its resistance will
be condoned by the heart, though it may be deplored
by the judgment, of the nations ; while any similar
cruelty or vengeance exercised by the North will be
received with a universal hiss of reprobation that no
nation or Government, however proud and Powerful'
can withstand, without present and future injury
and losa of casts, r;onsideration. and &Kra, ter,

rirT-1
,41
'7, t.,'J'"-•
• A •

LONDON, FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 1863.

The advantages accruing from the mere discus-
sion of a grievance, were recognisable last evening
in the House of Commons while sitting in Corn
mittee of Supply. This, moreover, although
merely about eighteen members were present dur-
ing the discussion. The occasion for it was fur-
nished by the committee resuming the consideration
of the vote of £236,016 for educational purposes in
Ireland. Whereupon, to a superficial observer, it
might have appeared nothing less than an incom-
prehensible anomaly to find the young member for
King's County actually rising in his place to ex-
plain his reasons for withdrawing a motion of
which he had previously given notice, for
the reduction of that same vote by £lOO,OOO.
That an Irish representative—this uninstructed
observer, whom we are imagining to have been
looking down amazed during the discussion of this
vote last evening in the House of Commons' Com-
mittee of Supply, might have thought to himself in
utter bewilderment—That an Irish representative,
among all the members of the House of Commons,
should dream for one instant of lopping off a clear
£lOO,OOO from the vote proposed to be accorded to
Ireland during the current year for the purposes
of National Education ! That his hands should be
extended to snatch off and fling away the crude
" plum" before it could ripen upon the veritably
"plum"-bearing Upas Tree of Taxation—before it
could drop mellow into the mouths of the poor
little children of his own fatherland ! Such, at a
superficial glance, might have been the first
momentary marvelling of this merely casual ob-
server. But—the wonder could only have been
momentary. The discussion of the vote speedily
enough accounted for this apparent, and merely ap-
parent, anomaly. In the seeming madness of the
member for King's County, there was a method,
and a method, too, that, when looked at, must, by
each and all of us, whatever our religious views or
theological predilections, certainly be recognised as
instantly comprehensible.
Mr. HENNESSY spoke and argued throughout,
simply because of the one obvious meaning attached
by himself and by So many of his compatriots
--and it must be allowed not quite unnaturally or
unreasonably—to certain extraordinary discre-
pancies observable upon a comparison of the educa-
tional grants and the educational attendance here
in England and there in Ireland.
These discre-
pancies, it must frankly be allowed, bear about
them a very flagrant significance. There is but one
deduction that can be drawn from t'.? em.
dis-
crepancies referred to, however, being in the first
instence, it should be stated explicitly, these.
Whereas in Ireland, during the last few years, the
annual educations' grant has increased mull
fester than the number of children receiving
instruction under it in England during these
sate c few years, last past, the grant has declined,
while the number of children receiving education
has been all the while considerabiy increasing. As
Mr. HENNESSY reminded the committee, twenty
years ago the sum voted to this end in Ireland
amounted to I;ss,ooo—while this year there is the
proposal for a vote in all of £305,000. Simultane-
ously the decrease in the grants here in England
was only last year a:one a decrease by £38,000, at
the very same time when there was shown to be an
increase by 28,000 pupils in the aggregate attendance.
Tears being during that same twelvemonth in Ire-
u increase of 320 in the number of pupils at-
tending for instruction, and an increase in the grant
as well, to the tune of an additional £16,000. The

The administration of our naval affairs has long
been a public grievance. An immense outlay, a
cumbersome Government machinery and un-

limited authority produce results that are by no
means satisfactory. Vast sums of money are
annually required and given, but when a question
is raised as to how they have been expended, it is
impossible to obtain a clear account. An imposing
array of officials, some temporary and some per-
manent, do not contrive to do much work among
them ; every inquiry is referred to some one else
until the result amusingly described by Sir H.
WILLOUGHBY is arrived at, that with an expendi-
ture of £4,000,000 no person can be found to account
for its management. It is no great wonder that
between a First Lord, an Accountant-General, a
naval lord, a Controller-General, and a host of other
dignitaries all ready to pass the responsibility from
one to the other, a sum of money should have dis-
appeared on its account. A spell seems to be cast
over all connected with the establishment. No
sooner are they enrolled among its members than
their eyes are suddenly opened to its merits and
capabilities. Ali is perfection, and interference,
either with the system or the executive, neither
necessary nor tolerable. There is, however, an un-
comfortable saspicion in the mind of the public
hat neither economy nor efficiency are duly con-
sidered—that a system of favouritism and prejudice
prevails, which refuses to acknowledge independent
merit and turns a deaf ear to every suggestion of
improvement or reform. It is in vain for Mr. BER-
KELEY to tell us that the constitution of the Admi-
ralty has been found to work well of old in times
of danger, and must therefore serve our purpose
now. The English crossbow decided many a hard-
fought field, but that is no reason we should not use
firearms. Our nation, under all the disadvantages
of incapable or tyrannical Kings, interested
Ministers, and supine or corrupt Parliaments, has
risen to her present greatness, but would that
justify us in continuing the old abuses ? Neither
are we convinced by Sir F. BARING's argument that
it is better to leave the Government to manage
affairs their own way, and to hold them respon-
sible for any misconduct. Why, that is precisely
what we are doing now with most unsatisfactory
results. With an enormous expenditure, we have
comparatively little to show for it. Ships are
built, pulled to pieces again, and rebuilt, to suit the
whim of the moment, while the scanty pay and little
consideration bestowed on our sailors have disgusted
some of our best men with the service. The public
will not be satisfied without a radical reform, and
the old excuses and remonstrances will not avail
much longer. There are no doubt serious errors in
the construction of our Admiralty system. In the
first place, it is a great mistake, and one which leads
to much mischief, to make the office of the head of

r the Admiralty a political post, changing with every
change of Ministry. The appointment thus be-
comes one of the political prizes of the day, and is
likely to fall to the share of any RUSSELL, GREY,
or ELLIOT, whom it may be necessary to conciliate
at the moment. It is true that the Duke of SOMER-
SET is an able and energetic man, but have we
not had Sir CHARLES WOOD in the same seat ?
Sir JOHN PAKINGTON did good service in his time,
it is true ; but that is no proof that every country
gentleman would be an efficient controller of the
greatest navy in the world. Why should we not
have an able, unprejudiced, and energetic naval
man as the permanent head of an establishment
whose welfare is so vital to the nation ? Surely the
wide ranks of our naval service can furnish such men
without difficulty, and they would bring to the post
that thorough comprehension of the business without
which no head of an establishment can command

the respect and attention of his subordinates.irstLord
Itd
makes very little difference whether the First
of the Admiralty be Whig or Tory, Radical or
Liberal-Conservative, if he knows his business. A
difference of opinion on Free Trade will not affect
the construction of ships, apposite views as to the
duties of Churchmen will not alter the requisite
qualifications of sailors and shipwrights. The
whole system wants remodelling and reforming—
the expenses must be reduced and clearly Lie- i
counted for, the responsibility attaching to each
department must belong to some one especial per-
son, whose business it is to see that his subordinates
do the work, and to account to Parliament and the
public if it be not properly done.
There is some-
thing radically wrong in au establishment which is
always needing commissions and committees of
inquiry, and which is not averse to sending gen.
be
tlemen, whose evidence might inconvenient, on
trips to Africa and elsewhere at special junctures.

The first step towards reforms is now postponed till.

another session, but, although delayed, the Admi-
ralty may rest assured that the matter will not be
suffered to drop until the managemeA. of our ships

and sailors is conducted in a fashion more satisfac-
tory to the public and more worthy of the mistress
of the seas.

The case of MARY ANNE WALKLEY was again
considered yesterday at a vestry meeting in the
parish of St. James's, Westminster. Dr, LANKES-
TER read the report in reference to the sanitary
state of the West-end workhouses. He did not
make any special remarks on the case of the young
woman who died, but confined himself principally
to the general system adopted in reference to the
crowded establishments. He said that St. James's,
Westminster, ought to be especially interested in
this question, for there was a greater number of
persons working in shops and workrooms than in
any other parish of the kingdom in proportion to
its population. He added, that in establishments
like that of Madame ELISE it almost was impos-
sible without professional oversight to prevent over-
crowdiog. Neither the heads of houses nor their
employ es possess sufficient intelligence to be able to
provide for the proper ventilation of the apartinents
employed as warerooms and workshops. He stated
that there could be no doubt that the employment
of young persons for 10, 12, 14, or 16 hours a day
in close workrooms was most detrimental to the
health, and no amount of sleeping space could com-
pensate for such injurious toil_ When, he added, in
winter it is considered that some of these rooms are

lighted with gas, and each gas burner destroys as
much air as five persons, it is not to be wondered that
sometimes a young person dies, but that the human
system resists so often such destructive influences
as it is subjected to. The Chairman inquired
whether Dr. LANKESTER possessed at present suffi-
cient power to enter workrooms, or if he desired
additional powers to inspect such plazes. Dr.
LANKESTER said that they had no power at all to
enter private houses, except they had grounds for
supposing that there was anything in any way
injurious to health or life. IF a young person came
and complained that he or she was occupying a
badly-ventilated apartment, he thought that he
should have the righrto enter, but they all knew
how difficult it was for a young person to inform
against an employer's premises. A vestryman said
he was glad that Dr. LANKESTER had pronounced
upon the bad effects of making young persons work
for such tremendously long hours. The Chairman
trusted that some practical good would be the
result of this melancholy affair. It was not the
first time that such an event had occurred in their
own parish. He also observed that he should like
to know if a proper time was given for the meals
of these young people, or if they had to swpllow
their food hastily and return to work immediately
afterwards. He regretted to say that in many
West-end houses neglect and overcrowding took
place to a lamentable extent, but some were better
arranged in every respect. Dr. LANKESTER made
an excellent suggestion, which was that there should
be a system of registration for houses in which
more than a certain number of persons were em-
ployed, or in which more than a certain number
slept, he thought something of the kind might be
done without rudely interfering with the rights
of proprietors." The Chairman suggested that the
subject should be referred to the sanitary com-
mittee to consider and take what steps they
thought proper to carry it into effect. A resolu-

tion to that effect was then moved, seconded,
and eventually agreed to. It is the
more satisfactory that some such decided plan
should have been agreed upon, for it is evident that
the Government are most supine in this matter,
which affects so much the health and comfort of so
many of the population. Indirectly this question
concerns many others besides those who are imme•
diately concerned or actively engaged in the
unwholesome atmosphere of the crowded workroom
for the health, and sometimes the lives of all in the
neighbourhood are in constant jeopardy, through the
risk of infectious fevers breaking out in such locali-
ties. Before this malady could be checked in its
progress it might make fearful ravages in a crowded
locality. It seems as if fey, were inclined to do
anything until some such calamity has forced them
to do so. Sir G. GREY, in the House last night
was most indifferent concerning the whole affair.
He seemed to say that it was next to impossible
for interference to take place in private houses.
He would not even promise that the Government
would support a bill introduced for such a purpose ;
all he promised was that they would not oppose its
introduction. This is not what is expected from

those who are vested with so much power, and the
public have a right to demand that the Government
should come forward in this matter and seek to
alter the law if it is not sufficiently stringent to
prevent such abuses from taking place instead of
availing themselves of its supposed inefficiency to
shun inquiry, and thus satisfy their own inertness
of action and unwillingness to suggest a remedy.

Sudden Death of Sir Joshua Jebb, K C. 8.,

at Charing-cross,

Great consternation has been created this morning in the
neighbourhood of Charing-cross, by the sudden death of
Sir Joshua Jebb, under peculiarly melancholy circum-
stances. It appears that Sir Joshua was proceeding with
a friend from his residence, The Elms, Parson's-green,
Fulham, towards his offices in Parliament-street. They
were both seated on the outside of one of the Fulham omni-
buses, and when, at about 11 o'clock, the vehicle had
reached the Haymarket, Sir Joshua complained of being
unwell. It was considered advisable to continue the journey
to Charing-cross, and, indeed, he expressed a desire to do
so ; but on approaching Charing-cross Sir Joshua fell back-
wards and became insensible. He was immediately raised
by the outside passengers, lifted down, and conducted to
Mr. Starkie's, the chemist's, at the corner of Northumber-
land-street, where, in a very few minutes, he ceased to
breathe. Summonses was immediately sent to the afflicted
relatives of Sir Joshua, whose body still lies at Mr.
Starkie's, until steps can be taken to remove it to some suit-
able place, with a view to the coroner's inquest, which will
necessarily be held upon Sir Joshua's remains.
Sir Joshua Jebb was born in 1793, and is therefore 70
years of age, and his widow, Lady Amelia, is the daughter
of the second Earl of Chichester.

AN ECCENTRIC EXHIBITION is now being per-
formed at the Hippodrome. A German named
Tolmaque, presents himself to the public, apparently like
any ordinary man ; he sits down on a chair, to which he
permits himself to be attached by cords or ropes in every
possible manner, round the arms, legs, body, and even
round his neck, to an extent by which an other person would
be suffocated. Any one may tie them t hat has the strength
to do it, and any amount of untieable knots may be made.
A sheet is then thrown over his head, and at the expiration
of three minutes the sheet is removed, the man getting up
free. All the ropes are loosened, but none of them cut.

- .
PETROLEUM EXPLOSION.—A great petroleum
explosion and conflagration took place a few weeks since at
Oil Creek, Penn., by the petroleum in some boats catching
fire. Oil Creek Town was shaken by the explosion, as by
an earthquake. The noise was heard 20 miles distant, and
the conflagration was seen as far. Great damage was done
to property by the fire. No other substance, it appears,
gives cut such dense smoke as burning petroleum.
LISE URN ELECTION. LISBURN, Thursday.—
Mr. Barbour has retired. Mr. T, T. Richardson has come
forward in his place. The state of the poll at noon was—
Verner (Conservative), 146 ; Richardson (Liberal), 85.
There are now about 30,000 coloured troops in
the Federal army, and 5,000 coloured men in the Federal
navy.

LORD WILLIAM LENNOX'S FIFTY YEARS'
BIOGRAPHICAL REMINISCENCES. 2 vols.—Among other
celebrated and remarkable persons of whom anecdotes are
given in these amusing volumes, will be found the Em-
perors Alexander of Russia, Francis of Austria, and Na-
poleon III.; Kings George IV., William IV., Louis
XVIII., Frederic William of Prussia, William of Holland;
Hooke. Pitt, Durham,
the flukes of York, Kent, Cambridge, Richmond, Beaufort,
Wellington. Lords Castlereagh, Fitzclarence, Worcester,
FstoornteesciT, Bentinck, Hill, Derby, Fitzhardinge, Elphin-
cester, Richmond,.Devonshirlle,a:ordAenng,leSste.yAl,
Hook, •
Batt: F.-.
A Disraeli, Thomas Moore, Theodore
Matthews, andrao Kemble, Kean, Smith, Duncombe,
G} La
Catalini, Melibran, Veatris, Grie•
'ant D' Oraay ; the Duchesses of Glou-
land • Lad BI
,angrsce:mßo nutt
, y easington ; Mesdames Fitzherbert, Patter-
son,