The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-31 00:00:00

CHINA.

We have received our usual despatches in antici- '
pation of the overland mail.
News of the death of H.R.H. the Prince Consort
had reached the north of China, and produced a
profound impression of grief among the British re-
sidents. By the same mail our merchants had re-
ceived intelligence of the Trent outrage. Shanghai,
after an interval of quiet, was again endangered,
In the Daily Shipping News of February 7 we
read :

"Now that the weather has cleared up and the
paths in the neighbourhood becoming passable, we
are likely again to be disturbed by the marauding
bands of Taiping rebels hovering on the outskirts of
the city and settlement. Yesterday at noon a small
body of the insurgents were seen on the Pootung
side of the river, nearly opposite the French cathe-
dral of Tong-ka-doo. Amongst them were several
men on horseback. They were seen attacking the
harmless inhabitants with spears in a most savage
manner, These poor people, to save themselves
from merciless slaughter, rushed towards the river,
into which many were plunged headlong, and
several of them drowned. Many of the wounded
were saved and brought across to the Catholic
cathedral, where they are well taken care of by the
benevolent padres. After this 'short but sanguinary
demonstration of their presence, those blood-thirsty
scoundrels disappeared from the river bank.
" Under these circumstances the authorities
should be vigilant in the foreign settlement, and our
gallant allies on the qui vzve at the gates of the city,
for it is evident that they meditate an attack before
long."
It was believed at Shhnghai that the precautions
taken against attack were ample and certain. The
North China Herald says :
So rapid have been the construction of our defen-
sive works, se excellent has been the organisation
, of our military, naval, and volunteer forces, and so
obstructive has been the snowstorm to the attack of
hostile marauders, that we are now secure against
a hundred thousand armed Taiping rebels.
Almost in the centre of our limited boundaries we
have the better half of Bradshaw's battery of artil-
lery, which we may consider as our citadel. Along
the harrier rand, or inner line of der:met', strong
barriers with gates have been erected a short dis-
tance up the approaches from the westward. nr-
yond this the Shak-100-road is being cut through
from the Yang-king-pang to the Soochow creek,
with an immensely strong barricade at the Maloo
approach, and smaller ones at the lanes leading
from this line. With these inner defences on land
to the westward, we have our naval forces on the
river in the shape of her Majesty's ships Centaur,
Coromandel, Bouncer, Flamer, Starling, and the
Imperieuse frigate of 51 guns and 500 men ; his
Imperial Majesty's ships Forte and Hong Kong,
besides a Russian gunboat and steamer, for our line

of defence to the eastward, and to the north up the
Soochow creek. A short distance beyond these
inner defences to the westward our outer line
oldst racecourse, forming
and south. Our local readers have
doubtless looked with astonishment at the hills of
mud thrown up from the
s they
would
crt eek on the
be
s formidablesitetooftthhee
obstacles to the
a
defender a apparently
attacking force. Though not ourselves learned in
the practice of warfare, yet under the instruction
of an intelligent bombardier, we have endeavoured
to comprehend the method in Which these mounds
of earth are to form a bulwark, and one of the safe-
guards of the settlement. commencing at the Sco-
chow creek we find a large mound of earth close to
the boundary stone. On this we understand will
be placed a 32-pounder gun, which will speak to the
rebels should they appear on the other side of the
creek, in language not to be misunderstood, at a
distance of 2,000 yards. From this point trending
southwards we find a parapet or mudbank, seven
feet high, six feet wide at the top and 13 feet at
the base, bordering on the new canal ; and at a dis-
tancewca coursershoaessrwee soaoliftl
another
hOuc yards from the large gun, an angle is
formed in which one of the artillery field pieces can
be placed when required. A similar arrangement
is also in progress where the Bubbling Well-road
i
eat outside
construction.adl
e 2,
t.a whichhe odF rerrkopw.
mo:Bihn
Before
fre:;:theTgarrivingedrawbridge
ara
ast
c. s.
tonhnin
e-
tinues at a slope towards the ditch, leaving a space
pots
pment grand stand the canal, taiccs

the stand another drawbridge loins-thaold and new
race courses, with a convenient platform for a small
gun. Between this and the Yang-kiang-pang Creek
the parapet continues in a zig zag form, having
three places for guns to be properly mounted. At
the embochure of the canal with the creek another
32-pounder is proposed to be placed, so as to sweep
the country round with a clertr range of 2,000 yards.
The entire length of this outer line of defence is
about three-quarters of a mile, which it is calcu-
lated that 600 men with guns in the various spots
appointed for them could defend the settlement
against any number of the Taeping rebels. When
to these details of the state of our inner and outer
defences, we add that we could muster on an emer-
gency an armed force of foreigners—military, naval,
volunteer, and civilian—of nearly 4,000 men, we
consider ourselies in a comparatively strong state
of defence to that which we have been against the
insurgents, should they dare to attack Shanghai.

CAPE Or GOOD HOPE.

PORTSMOUTH, SATITRDAY.,

The Union Company's Cap Royal Mail steamer
Cambrian, Captain W. Strutt, arrived here this
morning with the usual monthly mails. She left
Table Bay Feb. 22; St. Helena, March 3 ; Ascen-
sion, March 7. She brings 75 passenger's, among
whom are the Lord Bishop of St. Helena (appointed
to the diocese of Colombo) and family. Her cargo
consists of 720 bales of wool, 15 cases of feathers, 4°
packages, 1 case, 300 tusks ivory, 505 bags copper
ore, 14 cases aloes, 132 bags of argol, 3 hogsheads,
8 .quarter casks, 5 'Limns, 4 half aums, 1 anlr, 2
kegs, 2 casks, 14 cases wine, 313 hates' Wes, and
several cases of sundriei. She had very fine weather
all the way home. _ At the Cape the leading topics
were the death of the Prince Consort, and the
probability of an• American war. The last mail
steamer,, the Dane, arrived out on the 15th of ,Feb-
ruary, but • her news of the death, of the Prince
had been forestalled by the Jin Kee, a paddle-
wheel Dutch' steamer from England • for China,
that put into Table Bay Jan. 30, with Engliih news
up to Dec. 24. Heartfat sorrow and sympathy
for the Queen and her children*Were expressed by
all classes throughout 'the colony. The. melancholy
event was feelingly alluded to by the ministers in
the various places of worship ; meetings.were held_
"and addresses of condolenee to be-17M9Wfy agreed'
on, the Dutch reformed church taking the lead
among the various religious bodies in Cape Town.
The probability of an American war had occasioned
prompt preparations for defence in the colony. New
batteries were being erected at Cape Town and
Port Elizabeth, and the Cossack, 20, screw corvette,
Captain Moorman, was stationed in Table Bay.
Troops had been ordered down from the interior to
reinforce the garrisons of the two principal seaports.
The whole of the volunteers had offered their services
to the Government, and had been accepted, and
they, in company with the soldiers of the line, were
being drilled to artillery practice. On the frontier
native affairs were quiet; peace had been established
between the Basutos and the Dutch republics. The
separation movement had been extinguished, the
league committee having resigned, giving as a reason
the very sufficient one, " because they no longer
found any sympathy and support from the people."
A deputation of Eastern Province gentlemen had
waited on the Governor to claim compensation for
losses sustained by Kaffir wars. His excellency
promised to give the subject his serious considera-
tion. The annual session of the volksraad com-
menced on February 3. The colonial parliament
was to meet April 24.

The long-deferred judgment in the Supreme Court
in the case of Long v. the Bishop of Cape Town had
been given in favour of the Bishop, together with
costs; this decision being given by a majority of the
presiding judges, viz., the Chief Justice and Mr.
Justice Watermeyer, against Mr. Justice Bell, who
held in favour of the plaintiff. A subscription was
being got up to assist the plaintiff in an appeal from
this decision to the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council. The Cape Town and Wellington Railway
was opened a distance of 21 miles on the 12th of
February. Much comment was made on the new
Governor's conduct in this matter. The Governor
had previously agreed to open the railway publicly
and officially. But on the news of the death of
the Prince Consort reaching the colony his Excel-
lency announced that he " could not, after the
melancholy news whieh had just been received,
take any part in any public rejoicings, and could
not therefore open the railway in state." No pro-
vision was therefore made for the public having a
holiday on the occasion, yet the railway was opened
in a semi-official way on the day originally named,
and his excellency, with his staff and the various
heads of departments, passed over the line in a state
carriage, examined the various stations, and then
partook of a champagne luncheon.
The railway was paying far beyond the most
sanguine expectations. The crew of the American
barque Waverley had been brought into Table Bay
from the waterlogged wreck of that vessel ; the chief
officer and a seaman had been washed off and
drowned. Part of the crew of the ship Asia, of
Glasgow, had succeeded in reaching Saldanha
Bay is a boat, she having been abandoned inka
lea
sinking condition through having sprung a
The American ship A. H. Stevens was wrecked on
Robben Island when coming into Table Bay in a
very leaky condition.
the
and trade was brisk. The colonial banksng
h month
just
t ,
published their annual statements, which were very
satisfactory as to profit to the shareholders and
security of the business do„o •
Discounts had adm
Business had much improved during
5 and 6 per cent. for deposits,. a
groat dearth felt of loanable c,:,piffift .or iiryrstrneT!,
her mails here and
on mortr ges. There was
I'll o ?ring in ihe
inc.,,;
vanced during the month. The banks were NrVee rweasst offering
.I
ilniagdlar.necdtelfined.
part of her passengers, proceeded on this afternoon
for Southampton.
of
The freights,Cambrian'
v

The Kreutz-Zeitung states that a committee has
accotinosntiotuflaeldl, having for its object the union of a
the adversaries of the progressionist
Pl:asnirttFoenill'he committee is not composed of the chiefs of the
feudal party, but the above-named journal, the organ of
that opinion, declares that it looks upon its formation with
pleasure.

TO THE EDITOR OE THE TIMES,
Sir,—At this moment, when tl to reconstruction
of our navy eppears inevitable, eve to to the greatest
disbelievers in iron-cased ships, i behoves us to
ponder well upon the revolution • these iron-ez.sal
ships will create in warfare gen ar ally, bet more
especially the defence of our islani 1.
For years we have very judicicu sly been making
various experiments upon every sort of iron-,clad
targets, sections of shies, sections' ad forts, even aid
floating batteries, and, latly, with s: hields erreyolv-
ing towers on then. Valuable as th ese experiteents
may be, the one on the other side cif the water that
•-
has taken place in the natural course of events is
of more value than all. Let us, than, banish all
old prejudices and take advantage of what ee neei-
ence shows us, for if we only have cour age to ace' it
may save us millions 0:4-* money and, its may he, ce en
the deepest. humiliation. - •
An ironclad duel has been fought; ,vootl(e ships--
have been destroyed and proved worse ;lan
An iron-clad steamer, after baying first: sunk cad
dispersed a wooden squadron, passes through the
fire of forts, then fights a close action widt anothen.
iron. clad vessel of five hours' duration,lu.id after pa-Fs-
ing through this ordeal swims—we heir site with-
drew apparently but little damaged. May not her
withdrawing have been in consequence of txr
munition or fuel having run .short ? From this we:
learn that supremacy at sea belongs to those iron-el ad:
ships which have the best protection, the strongest -
prow, the heaviest ordnance, and the best filled
magazine. Again, last, thought not least, this prece.
tical experiment solves another all-invortant ques-
tion—viz., how are we in future to ,protect (Air-
harbours from iron
.marauders and our Aocicyariii
from being destroyed ? At preset wet are 13ixendeile.
millions upon stationary forts i the 'total
"estimat=e 3".3:;
which, according to the ,CommissiOnere' .14TOr0.
•141-46040 t (Pai1!graP11121)3,,""1641.119-visiOk:
paragrliih'.l72F46:Vre ebnipitG'cdnif
task assigned to us by your Majesty's Royal Com-
rmeissesrvioinnegrsotnolythe
fora
subsequent extent
übs
eoqf
uoeunrtprreepsoerntt
(and outlay) instructions,
" the question of an internal arsenal. We subma our
unanimous recommendations to your Majesty's
gracious consideration with the firm conviction that
their adoption will place the power of this country-
for self-defence on a par with its other elements of- .
greatness and strength ; will give security to its
industry and commerce, afford a guarantee for the
maintenance of peace, and add a new glory to your
Majesty's reign." But mark how contradictory to
this was the effect produced upon the people of
New York when it was known that one solitary
iron-Clad vessel, the Merrimac, had passed the fire of
the Federal batteries, armed with the " heaviest
Columbiads," without having received the slightest
damage, had sunk and dispersed a wooden squadron,
and had gained for the time entire command of the
coast. A panic :was the consequence. They felt;
at New York., their batteries were useless against,
a monster from. whose sides the heaviest balls
glanced off like hailstones,t and they were only
:restrained frOM the desperate and degrading alter-
native of blocking up their harbour by the "tele-
gram which informed them that the progress of
the iron monster had teen arrested by 'another
iron ship, the Monitor. Let us pause for a moment„
and transfer these scenes to our own shores ; let us
imagine.; -a Portsmouth or London, for instance,
the Intelligence has been received of the approach
of one of these iron monsters ; let us suppose that
the forts upon which semuch is to be spent and
upon which our security is to be based have been
erected, and that the fleet (one of the conditions
urged for their erection) is absent ; where, I would
ask, would be the feeling of security which the
Commissioners exult in when we have these facts
staring us in the face ? What protection would
these forts at Spithead be against such vessels,
which need never come within 1,000 yards of these
forts, and at the same time be within good bom-
barding
distance of the dockyard ? I maintain, as
I always have done, that these forts will be worse
than useless, for they would only'add to the smoke
and confusion of action, and exhaust those resourecs,
which the nation supplies for the security ,of- ite
' industry and commerce. This action, sir, has
proved every word that I wrote advocatieg on
organised coast defence_.(or petrel) of -ieeti-Oaeer;
'Ships, in lien'ofilioWditriinia. W-fcits-,:Whieh-elpV
if ever we possess them, must not permit a vessel',
to come near our ports, but must grapple with and
arrest her as the Monitor did the Merrimac.

I will, therefore, merely draw your attention to
the late Admiral Sir R. S. Dundas's letter to
the Royal Commissioners, wherein he shows that
for the estimated expense (£840,000) of these
three forts at Spithead 20 of our screw and
now useless line of battle ships could be converted
into most efficient iron blockships. It must be re-
marked that the Monitor, which is described by
the Times' special correspondent as fitted with a
revolving tower on my principle, and carrying
only two guns, drove the Merrimac of 10 guns off.
It is not my wish now to advocate my principle,
for after the complete success of my experiments,
and the achievements of the Monitor, it is unne-
cessary; facts speak for themselves ; but I will un-
dertake to show that I can convert into a shield
ship any of those screw line of battle ships.• She
shall be practically invulnerable, and she shall
carry a broadside according to her tonnage of from
12 to 11 guns, 110 or 68 pounders ; if 300 pounders
are brought into use she shall carry a broadside of
from five to six of them, and that these ships shall
work those heavy guns when the Warrior and
such like vessels dare not open their ports. Let me
again ask if a coast patrol as I propose of these con-
verted vessels, with others carrying from two guns
recoeustnitmryated more
tsecu-
rity
mil-
lions, but may cost any amount before completed,
and then only serve as unmistakeable beacons for
o
the enemy's ironclad ships to pass between ?
up
p t
than 1 2,
would
these fortsnot
givew h e thish a
Your obedient servant,
COWPER P. COLES, Captain, R.N.
2, Clarence-parade, Southsea, March 27.

Estimate is ono thing, eventual cost is another, parti-
cularly as we now talk of casing these forts with iron.
t DESCRIPTION FROM AN EYEWITNESS.---The Timcg, •
March, 27, 1862.
" The water battery of heavy Columbia& on the point
commenced playing upon the monster in a way which must
have given those on board a very good idea of a very severe
hailstorm ; but, bless you, the only notice she took of them
was to occasionally throw a shell or two into or over the
camps" (or into Portsmouth dockyard, if at Spithead.)
" She entirely ignored the existence of the American fri-
gate Congress."

MODERN ImPOSTORs.—In these
daysxeet thatof
books and almost universal education, it is somewhat start-
ling to observe how large a leaven of suporsition still lurks in
the popular mind. One might reasonably p
the march of intellect, of which so much is said, eall witches
would have taken flight on their broomsticks, and that Guides
to Fate and Oracles of Fortune would have long ago passed
out of print and credence. Not so, however; " knowlcflgo
comes, but wisdom lingers ;" and although the black art has
decayed sadly in dignity and profit since the days of the re-
nowned Mother Shipton, it has numerous votaries to this
hour, not only among the lonely
cottars of Dartmoor, or in
other remote, sequestered parts, but within hearing of
Bow bells, and in the v
have only very centre of our civilisation. Xou
to take up ono of the weekly newspapers to find
advertisementsofmystetio 9 v
in which the modern
seersn N ording and eccentric grammir,
n le ab trial of their skill, and
intimate where and how they-
the old women 'alio perambulatemay theectozulted.tc, Manyi of
buy old bottles. and candle-ends, are adeptsni,nlt'rletee'ra( craft, and
employ it to gain an influence over weak-minded servant-
maids, and induce them to connive at the rubbery of their
wasters. Others are to be found in the cellars of Lanibelh
and St. Giles, where they give audience to many simpletons
of low degree, if not, as is currently believed by the neigh-
bours, to ladies of quality in the disguise of charwomen.
Ther,,,, are men, also, in the profe,,ion, and I am told that
if you knock at the door of a (-Train hr tae in Sonthwarlc,
bearing a large brass plate inscribed " Engineer," you w ill
be introduced to a dirty old man with a long beard and a
catty pipe, who casts nativities and unveils the future o
the most moderate terms, varying from 2s. to 55., accord..
ing to the presumed station of the visitor. Since the
gipsies were ousted from their favourite camping ground at
Battersea, the fortune-tellers of that race have foniaken
London, but they aro still to bo met in unfrequented eouli_
try lanes. The Spiritualists may also be reckoned among
the modern false prophets. Although they find their dupes
among the upper ten thousand, their quackery is as
vulgar,
and generally more blasphemous than that of the '
sibyls of
more humble life.—Ono a Week.

4, •
,
M 114.4

CI ANTERBURY HALL AND FINE
ARTS GALLERY.

The renowned ROCKY MOUNTAIN WONDERS, at ten
o'clock, for a few evenings only.
Grand Selections from " La Sonnambula" and "Dinorah,"
by Mdme. Negri, Signor Tivoli, and Mr. Raynor, with Band
and Lull Chorus, conducted by Mr. JonfThmans.
The COMIC Department by Mr. Hollingsworth, Mr. J. G.
Forde, Mr. W. Randall, Messrs. Hildebrandt and Ormond,
and Miss Caroline Parkes.
The miraculous STECKEL, from the Cirque Napoleon,
Paris, will make his first appearance on Monday, the 14th