The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-18 00:00:00

THE SUN.
LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 1862.

Another arrival from America tells of more fight-
ing, and this time the balance of success is doubtless
with the Federals; but as usual, their gunboats are
the chief victors. In Virginia they appear to have
suffered even more than was at first reported—the
announced losses of 300 and 3,000 have now
swelled to 7,000, and as the information is from
Northern sources, and there has been time to ascer-
tain pretty exactly, we fear that these last figures
do no more than represent the least loss suffered by
the Federals on the last of May and the first of
June. Well may the Confederates claim the vic-
tory, for if to have killed or disabled 7,000 of their
opponents, and to carry off all their guns and bag-
gage, although they could not eventually drive them
from their ground, be not a victory, we hardly know
what is. In the valley of the Shenandoah, iu West-
ern Virginia, from which Gen. JACKSON had driven
BANKS, the Federal General, has again gained an
advantage by his skill. BANKS returned reinforced
to the south of the Potomac. FREMONT, who was
"over the hills and far away" south-west, by forced
marches and with his wonted energy, crossed the
mountains and offered battle to JACKSON, who re-
treated, and FREMONT occupied Strasburg. He
then followed JACKSON to Harrisonburg, further
south in the valley, but the retreating General led
him into an ambuscade, and inflicted "heavy loss"
on him. FREMONT has daring and energy, but,
as so frequently, the Southern General shows supe-
rior skill.

But it is in the West, this time, that the Fede-
rals appear to have the success altogether on their
side. It must be remembered that the accounts we
have are wholly one-sided, and not only are they
from Northern sources exclusively, but they are all
such only as it pleases the Government and the
War Office to publish. According to these ac-
counts the Federals are completely triumphant on
the Mississippi. First we have some account of the
army which evacuated Corinth, and we are told that
General POPE, who is certainly one of their abler
men, had come up with the retreating Confederates
thirty miles south of Corinth, and was "pushing
them hard, and capturing prisoners" in large num-
bers. But on the Mississippi itself the Federal
success is complete. They have taken, or what is
the same thing, the Confederates have evacuated
Fort Wright, and the Federals have steamed on
past Fort Randolph and two other forts to Memphis
itself. It would seem from this that all opposition
is now crushed along the shores of the river from
Ohio to Memphis, the commercial capital of Ten-
nessee.

But we are told that Memphis did not fall with-
out a naval battle, which resulted in the complete
destruction of the Confederate fleet—one boat
only escaped ! If so, the Federals are now com-
pletely masters of the Mississippi, for nothing is
left on its waters sufficient to withstand for an hour
the Federal gunboats from New Orleans and Cairo
united; indeed, it is doubtful whether the Confe-
derate fleet destroyed did not consist of all their
Mississippi gunboats, which remained, united. The
remaining forts on the banks are of no importance
whatever before such a naval armament as can now
be brought to attack them. We shall probably hear
that, at Memphis, as at New Orleans, the anti-
Union feeling is very strong. Preparations had
been made, we know, to destroy the sugar and
cotton there, but whether they were carried out, we
are not yet informed.

There is a little information also from Richmond
and Charleston, but it is somewhat obscure or unre-
liable. Report says that the Monitor has forced
;the obstructions by which the Confederates delayed
the Federal gunboats under the guns of Fort Dar-
ling, about seven miles below Richmond on the St.
Tames River; but the report rests as yet only on
the authority of one Philidelphia paper. Another
piece of information is from Southern papers, and
tells us that the Confederates had repulsed
2,000 Federal troops, who landed on " James
Island, opposite Charleston "—an island on the
south side of the harbour, opposite to the
city, and from which it could doubtless be
bombarded, if the Federals could be guilty of
such an act of barbarism. The account says that
the enemy was repulsed; but a later despatch, from
the Confederate General, describes the " enemy
as in front of him, under cover of his gunboate.
What do not the Federals owe to their gunboats !
This looks, of course, as if the North had at last
determined to atta►k Charleston itself, the prime
mover of sedition. The reason they have left
both it and Savannah, in Georgia, so long, after
they have apparently been in their power, is said
to be the diversion of Confederate troops from
Richmond. They keep force enough near both
cities to compel the Confederates to maintain yet
larger armies there.

Ono piece of intelligences occupying but pailt of
a line, ought to be printed in letters of gold, were
it not that the results will chiefly be in paper. At
last we read—" The Tax Bill is passed !" We all
began to think it never would be. We are curious
to'see how it will work; but that cannot be known
till months, and quarters, and half years, and even
Years have gone by. Nearly everything conceiv-
able le taxed—domestic now, as well as foreign ;
and the old story of the Englishman taxed into his
earn° itself will be repeated in American taxation.
A perfect army of excisemen must cover the land if
the taxes are
to he levied, and the cost of collection
must be enormous,
patronage....,,,
Government will tow
and,r a splendid part of the Fe-
derallls spoils of office." The
have ,t ob
usvt receivedatesab taxes
e,os
fresh
eandaas
lemur
uleaci
incon-
vertible calculation
its own inconvertible pl„er.
'Led to sustain the
the windbag of
estimates the prioudsutcesotifilthbee
at all beyond the interest of the
pricked we cannot yet foretel;
paper
war. How long it will be before
iGtosvuerrenlymeeanntneortedbiet
visery
long. , ,

At the close of the recent session of the Social
Science Congress, the members held a convivial
meeting at the Crystal Palace down at Syden-
ham. Such, in effect, is the order of the day
now in England at the end of all sessions, Social,
Scientific, Charitable, or Parliamentary. A dinner
is the one inevitable sequence. There are always
"Pippins and cheese to come" whenever the 1a•
hours of any body of Englishmen are drawing
near their conclusion. All the eleemosynary in-
stitutions in the country celebrath the anniver-
sary of their foundation, respectively, by a ban-
quet at the London Tavern, at Freemasons' Hall,
tr at some other well-known place of public en-