The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-12 00:00:00

thoroughly as they are enslaving it at home. The
observations which the Earl of Carnarvon made
on the behaviour of M. de Bismark and his
colleagues with respect to their Convention with
Russia, express with accuracy what English-
men of all classes and all parties say and feel.
It plainly appears from the explanations given to
our Minister at S. Petersburg, and from all we
knew of the state of things in Prussian-Poland,
that the Convention with Russia was neither an
act of good neigbbourship required by a powerful
ally, nor a necessary measure of self-defence, but
simply the expression in its foreign policy of that
blind and fanatical fear and kiatred of free institu-
tions which constitutes the whole statesmanship of
the Prussian Government, and which at home is
seen in the suppression of the Parliament and the
press, and even of the right of petition. Lord Car-
narvon observed that the only explanation of the
origin of this Convention was a jealousy or fear of
the establishment in Poland of some Government
constructed on free
principles with a liberal consti-
tution ; and he most truly remarked that " this con-
duct is alienating from Prussia the sympathy of
those nations which acted with her in former times,
and carries her back in her policy not by years, but
by generations." But if the policy of the Conven-
tion was despotic, the low cunning, the conceal-
ment, and prevarication with which its execution
has been attended is still more despicable. Truth
and frankness constitute the one virtue of which
absolute governments are capable, but to neither of
these has M. de Bismark the prudence, much less
the grace, to aspire. The Prussian Minister being
asked, on behalf of the Queen's Government, for
information on the subject, pretended to excuse
himself by the unwillingness of Russia ; but the
Russian Government has assured us that it had no
objection to show the document apart from the
strong wish of Prussia. Next, M. de Bismark pre-
tended, and for a moment induced our Government
to believe, that the Convention had become a dead
letter; but after this it was treated as a living
reality in the Prussian Chamber; and the Queen's
representative sent word home that it was still sub-
sisting. In February M. de Bismark produced and
read to our Minister at Berlin a paper purporting
to be the Convention, which subsequently turned
out, to be nothing but a draft. At a subsequent in-
terview the Convention itself was read, as was again
believed. But here again equivocation and conceal-
ment were resorted to, for, as was discovered at St.
Petersburg, there existed a " secret article," of
which no hint had been given by the Prussian
Minister. As Earl Russell was compelled to ob-
serve, " there has been every kind of contradiction
and concealment with regard to this Convention."
A Government capable of such conduct destroys
that confidence which is of the essence of friend-
ship, and Prussia is at this moment at once the
most exposed and the most isolated State in
Europe.
HERALD.—According to the latest accounts
Vicksburg had not fallen. The attempt to storm
had signally failed, and the coup de main was to
be converted into a regular siege. If the town is as
well fortified and provisioned as it is said to be, the
Confederates ought to have ample time to relieve
it and drive Grant's army once more to its gun
boats. The Federal army is said to number 60,000
men, and reinforcements are reported to be con-
stantly arriving. The Confederate garrison is at
the outside 15,000 strong. There are long lines to
defend, and many batteries to man ; there is an
active and enterprising enemy to watch. Still
Vicksburg was not invested on the Warrenton side.
The assailants were evidently not inclined to throw
out their left at too great a distance from the
friendly stream of the Yazoo. And if it be true that
Johnstone had already collected 15,000 men near
Jackson, and that Confederate forces were marching
from all quarters to his aid, we are likely very soon
to hear that the siege has been raised. What is to
be feared is that reinforcements will not be forth-
coming. Nothing but the absolute want of men can
justify the smallness of the force with which the
defence of the state of Mississippi has been con-
ducted. General Grant's army was, no doubt,
overwhelming in point of numbers. But this must
have been perfectly well known to the Confede-
rate Government ; and we are rather inclined to
attribute the numerical, inferiority of the Confede-
rates at Vicksburg to the urgent needs of their
position in Tennessee, South C Aralina, and Virginia
than to want of foresight. tirenepl Johnstone is
stated to hove promised 100,000 men within a
certain interval. Half t hat numbs/. will drive every
Federal soldier out of Mississippi ; and we know no
quarter in which a decisive success would be of
more vital importance to the South than at Vicks-
burg. Another fortress might rise up in the course
of a few months, rivalling Vicksburg in its natural
strength. But it is not to be doubted that the
capture of this town, which President Davis has
distinctly pointed to as the key to the defence of
the South-West, would be a tremendous triumph to
ethome vineanr psataertpyriensitdheenNt
Loritnh, eotannfdorwhouisldilimsnoereeestshaonn
the Rappahannock. We await the result with some
confidence. Things look well for the South. The
great hope of the Federals evidently lay in the
suddenness and rapidity of their blows, and this
man to give themrttehhseeu
mareda
enebdo a:
thae :nor
uympfreshpo lne chance.complete
fortifications
elucidation
hope has failed them. General Johnstone is not the
matter
tishat
owf
veryout
hl de
e
Ships v. Forts" would be acceptable.
problems tendhePrt lsyo towardsfAb s,
With this object in view we have examined the
accounts received on the arrival of each fresh mail
from America, but have been unable to discover
any indications of a renewal of the threatened attack
upon Charleston being likely to take place. And
from the length of time that has now elapsed since
the first announcement by the New York journals
of the intended repetition of Admiral Dupont's ex-
periments, we may consider this prospect et an end,
or only to be placed on the same list as the other
aggressive movements announced for the purpose
of concealing Federal disasters. The minds of the
most experienced tacticians have long ago been
satisfied that it is impossible for any fleet of ships,
without the co-operation of an army, to effect the
ground a
tindPur9pPrlY defended seaport ; and as
oenwhich it was attetnpted to
reductiont
h e
ony
reopen an argument upon this well-established point
was based upon the alleged superiority of attack
afforded by Captain Ericsson's turret ships, we are
compelled, under these circumstances, to fall back
upon our ;past experiences of the performances of
these vessels in order to show how little reason
there is for assuming that any alteration or delay
ought to take place in carrying out the system of
defence laid down for the protection of our dockyards.
In the first place it will be necessary to separate
two points which many persons are apt to confuse.
First, the application of steam power to ships has
enabled vessels to run the gauntlet of the guns of
a fort with more or less impunity. But the ex-
pectations that had been formed, in the second
place, upon iron plating have not been altogether
attended with the results which were anticipated.
Vessels are not enabled to batter down the fortifi-
cations which they can so easily run past in conse-
quence of being armour-plated. Captain Ericsson
has clearly failed to establish the claim of invul-
nerability for his iron-clad vessels, and the asser-
tion that no lives were lost on board of them during
the period of their recent engagements was a state-
ment furnished from a Federal source of which
we have no positive maans of ascertaining the
truth, and can only put down the alleged
immunity of life upon that occasion as something
marvellous considering the damage which was in-
flicted upon these vessels, the sides of which, it was
admitted in many instances, were pierced through
and through by the steel-headed bolts and other
projectiles launched at them. The loss of life which
may or may not have taken place on board these
vessels does not, however, affect the main point at
issue, which rests upon the acknowledged fact of
these vessels having been withdrawn from the
attack in a sorely discomfited state after an engage-
ment which lasted only 30 minutes. Let us com-
pare for a moment this account with what we know
of the performances of wooden ships. The Aga-
memnon at Sebastopol remained at anchor exposed
to the fire of Fort Constantine for four hours, and
the damage to the fortifications of Sebastopol by the
combined fleets w,as far greater than the damage
inflicted by the American iron-clads on the defences
of Charleston. It must not be supposed that, in
citing this particular case, it is our intention to assert
that wood is a substance better able to withstand
the effect of shot than iron. The failure of Capt.
Ericsson's vessels, when brought to the test at the
late bombardment, was chiefly owin—
g to the mis-
taken principle of their being armed with few guns
for the business they bad in hand, and not to the
material of which they were composed The evi-
dence given by Capt. Hewlett before the commis-
sioners appointed to consider the defences of the
United Kingdom on the subject is worthy of notice.
-eas asked if he would prefer to man 20 guns
"^ trained crews, or 40 gum with half the
''plug but untried men. His reply was
the greater number of guns-
small vessels with' nine
-"as found in the last
blunder, bat to

He N.
with futi,
number of
in favour of having
Tne fault of overcrowdinb
and twelve pounder popguns
Amtrioan war to, have been a great

• •

run into the opposite extreme of reducing the arma-
ment of large vessels to only two or three monster
guns will, we feel assured, turn out to be A still
greater mistake. It having been proved that any
vessel propelled by steam, end more especially if
plated with iron, can with impunity run past a
battery, the system of defence which, under these
circumstances, appears the most natural and ad-
visable to adopt is that of making the channel
through which the vessel has to run the gauntlet as
long as possible, with the object of keeping the
vessel exposed so much longer to a destructive fire.
To accomplish this it is necessary to have an ex-
tended system of advanced works covering the ap-
proaches of an exposed harbour like Portsmouth.
If with what we now know of the capabilities of
attack posessed by armour-plated steam-vessels, we
were going to construct an entirely new dockyard,
it is only reasonable to conclude that we should
select a site as much inland as possible. Ports-
mouth, however, is our chief arsenal. Immense
sums of money have been expended upon the place,
and it is our duty, therefore, to do the best we can
to make it secure. The advantages of increasing
the capabilities of Chatham with a view towards
lessening the importance of Portsmouth is a matter
also worthy of the highest consideration. When
the works are completed at Portland we shall be in
the possession of a far more commanding position
in the Channel for the location of a fleet than any
point which we possess at the present, and with the
increased advantage of having no building yards
and other establishments that require protection.
Portland is essentially fitted to become a war port.
Naval stores of every description can be accumu-
lated in an impregnable fortress, and supplied to
ships with the greatest facility by means of a rail-
way communication from the crest of the. hill to a
fort at the extremity of the breakwater. If the
advice of an old and experienced officer of engineers
had been followed in the Crimea, we might at once
have occupied ground which it required afterwards
much blood and treasure to secure. Let us profit
by past experience, and not neglect to take advan-
tage of a point situated in the centre of the only
line of attack upon which an enemy could have any
reasonable hope of obtaining success. We can
imagine the President of the Southern Confederacy,
or the National Government of Warsaw, feeling
relieved when their generals succeed in placing
their foes upon the edge of a shallow river, and can
understand how they must envy the natural posi-
' Lion of defence of which we, in our insular position,
are in possession ; but that is no reason for our
neglecting to take such measures as will prevent
the lessons of our past history being repeated in
' the present Cu.

The Prince of Wales at Merchant Taylors'

Hall.

The grand banquet of the 11th June, on the ex-
amination of the school by the President and Fel-
lows of St. John's College, Oxford, is regarded as
the chief annual event in the register of the Mer-

chant Taylors' Company ; and it is, besides, an
occasion of marked interest in civic annals. This

year the great festival of the livery of Merchant
Taylors has derived additional public interest from
the fact of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales

being present as the chief guest. It is generally
known that, as the great Whig company is that of
the Fishmongers, so the Merchant Taylors' enjoys
a reputation for old-fashioned Toryism ; but a more
valid appeal to the Royal sympathy and regard
would be, that the excellent school maintained by
the company sends many scholars to Oxford. The
occasion of the Prince's visit was the presentation
to his Royal Highness of the freedom of the guild ;
and this ceremony took place in the Picture Gal-
lery overlooking the ancient hall in Threadneedle-

street.
The Prince of Wales arrived at half-past six, and
was received at the entrance by Mr. T. B. Spence
(the master), Messrs. Alfred S. Pigeon, Thomas B.
Pugh, Chas. Rickards, and Richard B. Boyman (the
wardens), and Mr. Samuel Fisher (the clerk to the
company), and conducted along the corridor and up
the staircae to the Picture Gallery, which over-
looks the ancient hall, where he was received by a

distinguished body of honorary members of the
company, by the Court of Assistants, &c.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge was
present at the ceremony of presenting the freedom.
The Prince of Wales was accompanied by the Earl
of Mount Edgecumbe, Major-General Knollys, and
Col. Keppel ; the Duke of Cambridge was accom-
panied by Col. Tyrwhitt.
Mr. FISHER the clerk, proceeded to read the re-
solution of the Court of the 22d December last, con-
ferring the honorary freedom of the company upon
his Royal Highness; after which the clerk admi-
nistered the oath in the customary form, much of
whose meaning is obsolete ; calling on the Prince
to swear fealty to our Sovereign Lady Queen Vic-
toria, and further adjuring him to be good and true
unto the Merchant Taylors of the fraternity of St.
John the Baptist, in the City of London, to be obei-
sant to the wardens, and not toconcealanydfoepreairgtninegr
using the handicraft of tailory or merchandise,
l
man's appren-
tnieciethneorr toco
covenant
en enticean t nor
servantwithdrawt
i any
lreasonable
may be made. These quaint obligations having
been duly subscribed by the Prince of Wales, whose
signature was added to an illustrious list of royal
names, including that of his revered father, his
Royal Highness was presented by the Master with
a magnificent casket in ebony and gold, with the
arms of the company on the top and the Prince's
on each side, containing a copy of the resolutions
beautifully illuminated upon vellum, and was ad-
dressed as follows :
" May it please your Royal Highness—As Mas-
ter of the Merchant Taylors' Company, it is my
pleasing duty and high privilege to present to your
Royal Highness the honorary freedom of the ancient
corporation, and to express our dutiful acknowledg-
ments for the distinguished honour which your
Royal Highness has conferred upon the company by
becoming one of its members. Your Royal High-
ness will pardon me for reminding you that from a
very early period this company has been honoured
with royal patronages. King Edward I. granted a
license which recognised its existence as a guild.
King Edward 111. granted its first charter, and tes-
tified his regard for the company by becoming the
first of its royal members. His grandson, and
successor, King Richard 11., and all the Sove-
reigns of the houses of Lancaster and York
(excepting Edward V.) became honorary free-'
men of the company. They also con-
firmed its charter and extended its privileges.
King Henry VII. re-incorporated the company'
under its present title, and presented the new char-
ter to the master and wardens from the throne. He
afterwards conferred upon them the great honour of
presiding as master at a festival held in their hall.
At a subsequent date King James I. was entertained
by this company on his accession to the English'
throne, and his Majesty's two sons, Henry Prince of
Wales, and Charles Duke of York, afterwards King
Charles 1., were enrolled as honorary members!;
and it may be interesting to your Royal High-
ness to be informed that the National Anthem was
composed expressly for the occasion. and performed
for the first time in Merchant Taylors' Hall. King
James 11. and Prince George of Denmark were also
honorary members of this ancient fraternity. At a
much more recent date the company had the privi-
lege of admitting to its honorary freedom their
Royal Highnesses the late Dukes of York and
Cambridge, and the great captain the illustrious
Duke of Wellington ; and the entertainment given
on that occasion was honoured withth the presence of
aerl
distingu.shed honour of
period the company had ih©
honorary freedom on
being permitted to confer its
yourll gh Royalness the Highness's
late Dk e t haisstilitt 113;
gorfa
Kn de fna . e. r
your Royal Highness's beloved and lamented father,
omte Prince Consort, whose
his Royal Highness the
la
ntiring exertions to promote in eve way ver way the wel-
Ifiare of his adopted country call forth the warmest
gratitude—waose thoughtful and earnest words,
spoken here and elsewhere, have left a deep and
lasting impression, and whose memory will ever
live enshrined in the hearts of a grateful nation.
With these precedents on record, and influ-
enced by the feelings expressed in the resolution
which has just been read, the Master