The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-02 00:00:00

yet they held ob.,

hasten rather nrgenti,

that relief might come, Sho,

fight as resolutely, M'CLELLAN'S tae_
long one; CORNWALLIS, after nearly three
siege, had but a hundred shot and shell when he
surrendered, and it would have been mere cruelty
to require his men, sickly and wounded so many of
them, to bear a longer bombardment to which they
could not reply, or to fight in assaults and sorties
with a force, at least, more than three times their
number, If MAGRUDER holds out till his 100,000
are in the same condition as CORNWALLIS' garrison,
M'CLELLAN has his summer's work before him.

It will be seen that if, as has been suggested, the
American Secretary of War is beginning a canvass
for the Presidency by showing as much rudeness
to Englishmen as he can without being amenable to
Lord LYONS' remonstrances, he is taking the right
course to do it. Not only a newspaper correspond-
ent of the highest position, but an English Colonel
of the Royal Artillery, is handled in the same pro-
voking manner ; and without the shadow of a pre-
text. Another correspondent from America ex-
pressed the general regret that Mr. RUSSELL did
not apply for the hospitalities of her MAJESTY'S
ship Rinaldo, which lies :in Hampton Roads, to
watch the next engagment between the Monitor
and the Merrimac; Mr. RUSSELL replies to-day, I
wished to go but was refused permission ! He
could not go by the usual conveyance without a
permit. Permission was refused. He then wished
to charter a small schooner, but was told she
would not be permitted to pass Fort M'Henry.
Colonel ROWAN, an officer in her MAJESTY'S
service, with Mr. RUSSELL, was equally refused any
means of visiting Captain HEWITT, of the Rinaldo,
to whom they were both personally known. Some
gentleman, " with Southern proclivities," offered
to what may be termed smuggle them quite safely
on board; but, we were going to say, unfortunately
Mr. STANTON had to do with gentlemen, and they
declined the tempting kindness. We wonder what
"'cute Yankee," in a similar position, would not
have gloried in " dodging" a British Secretary for
War.

There can be no kind of comparison between either

the power of the artillery of the present day, or the
numbers now engaged, and those which CORN-
WALLIS had ; but the attack does not appear to
surpass the defence in this case, as it did when
WASHINGTON, ROCHAMBEAU, LA FAYETTE, and a

Large French fleet under DE GRASSE, combined
their forces against the British general. Had in-

deed the fleet promised by CLINTON arrived from
New York, or had the French been absent, Lord
CORNWALLIS would have soon scattered a much
larger American force. It was in truth not an
American but a French victory.

It seems to U 3 to augur ill, when the best Mr.
STANTON can say—for we must remamber
the press writes to the dictation of the
Washington War Office—is that " the siege of

Yorktown makes no progress." The Confederates
doubtless well understand the importance to them

of the post. It is much the narrowest and mos
defensible part of the peninsula which leads up to
Richmond. A kind of wicket-gate to the capital for
an army advancing from Fort Monroe, as M'CLEL•
LAN'S now does. The river too, narrows, as well
as the peninsula, so that Gloucester point, across it,
was used by CORNWALLIS as an outwork to York-
town, and to this we observe the Confederates are
fully alive. JEFFERSON DAVIS, who has more than
any living man to gain by the success of the rebel-
lion, and who is its soul, is said to have arrived at
Yorktown himself—he believes himself to be an
able general, and certainly in other matters he has
shown ability worthy of a better cause. Rich-
mond, the capital of Virginia, is not a place,
indeed, in itself of military importance. If
M'CLELLAN can reach and capture it, the
military strength of Secession will be hardly
affected. The whole north of Virginia will then
be in the hands of the Federals, that is all, and the
strength of the Confederates will be brought to bear
on the defence of a smaller circle of operations. It
is the adventitious circumstance of the rank of
Virginia—the mother of Presidents—among the
States ; of the Confederates having made her the
grand object of contention ; of her capital having
been adopted as the capital of Secession ; of the loss
of prestige therefore which must be incurred by its
fall, which makes the North so eager to secure, the
South so earnest to defend, the prize.
We now learn that what turned the Merrimac
back in her late reappearance was not the bursting
of a shell merely, but of the gun itself. It is
astonishing what an effect the fear of her has on
the Federals. It must be owing to this
that we hear nothing of the presence of
a fleet even of gunboats at the siege of Yorktown;
the Merrimac, if she could pass Fort Monroe and
the Rip Raps as easily as it seems likely she could,
and steam round to York river, could then run down
the whole besieging fleet, and send some compli-
mentary shell, too, into the Federal camp. We
strongly suspect, however, that the Merrimac, after
all, is afraid to trust herself far from Norfolk navy
yard. She has been hastily refitted and equipped
by the Confederates with very imperfect means.
She did not quite relish her first engagement with
the little Monitor, which coolly lies on the watch
for her, in a favourable situation, aided this time
by another iron-plated gunboat, the Naugatuck,
and it may be that the famous huge gun at the Rip
Raps, and the two small opponents, are together a
gauntlet she does not wish to run. To Fort Monroe
itaclf cl2o occtnecl laiat times to pay littla s►tton-
tion. The Potomac flotilla do not appear to
have been altogther idle. If it takes no
part in the siege of Yorktown, it has
made a move up the nearest river to the
Potomac, one which runs parallel to it, and behind
which the Confederates attempted to form their
first line of defence after they left Manassas—the
Rappahannock. It took possession of Tappahan-
nock, on its banks, a considerable way from
its mouth, without opposition, the Confederates
being doubtless withdrawn from the whole district
for the defence of Yorktown.
In the West, now the seat of such furious war,
the Federals do not advance on the Mississippi.
Commodore FooTE is still busy with Fort Pillow,
below which we may see in the maps at least four
other forts to be reduced before be can lay his gun-
boats abreast of Memphis, and summon the great
river port of Tennessee, and the left wing of BEAU-
REGARD'S defence, to surrender.
No information seems to have been yet received
of any movement by either BEAUREGARD or BUELL;
probably both have suffered too much to be ready
for action again so soon. General BANKS turns up
again, however, on the north-western side of Rich-
mond. He is reported to have taken Mount Jack-
son, and a great battle is said to be daily expected
between him and the Confederates opposed to him.
Somehow, at every point the Confederates appear
to be strong enough to bid the Federals to halt ; and,
if they are often beaten, yet, as in the old revolu•
tionary war with England, their comparatively
ill-provided armies seem to spring out of the ground
again in sufficient strength to make the Federal
advance hazardous or impossible. Hitherto the
Federals have had the great advantage of the heavy
artillery of their gunboats in all their operations.
These will aid them less in future, and the result

The husband of our young PRINCESS ROYAL is
receiving one of those practical lessons in Consti-
tutional Government, which we believt he is not
disinclined to learn, and which, if thoroughly
learned, may fit him to become the Le&der of the
German States—a post for which his rather has
quite disqualified himself. The young ?rince has
seen his father refuse to his Parlitment the
very reasonable demand for an itemised
budget—such a one as every Chaneelor of the
Exchequer in England presents as a matter of
course—has seen him dissolve his Parlitment and
break up his Ministry rather than concele it—has
seen him humble himself to offering .eductions
of taxation to purchase votes in the new
Parliament—and now, as the result of all,
he sees a Parliament returned more literal than
the old one ! The Constitutional, or moderate
party, is in a considerable minority, the Fmdalists,
the KING'S favourites, nowhere ; the Radicals
triumphant. The primary electors, wilt are to
elect the representatives everywhere, hive been
chosen, and the " pragressists" have a large
majority. They have even in the capital,
and in its most aristocratic quarter ; and thtreturns
are of such a cast as this—at Konigsberg tlere are
344 primitive electors ; of these 287 are fol " pro-
gress ;" 27 Constitutional, and 13 Consevative.
Prussia, we are happy to see, has some rolitical
life in her people.

DANGEROUS POSITION OF THE KING CF WUR
TEMBERG.— A letter from Stuttgardt of the 28ti says :
" The King of \Vurtemberg was last evening in a situation
of some danger. He had just passed in his cariage the
railway bridge near the tunnel of Rosenstein, whoa another
carriage, the horses of which had bolted oft, dashd passed
him at a furious pace. The King's horses, alarned at the
noise, shied, and went very close to the edge of the bank
leading down to the Neckar Canal. Fortunately the coach-
man was able to pull them up in time to prevent the carriage
going over the bank. The King then alighted and walked
for some little distance, and afterwards re-entering the
carriage returned to the paßre."
Um. M niESTY'S Tist F.Anct.—Last night the
sisters Barbara and Carlotta Marchisio made a most suc-
cessful debut in Rossini's long dormant " Semiramide," the
former as the Assyrian Queen, the latter as Prince Arsace.
The leading pieces were followed by calls. The rich,
powerful, and round contralto of Carlotta, the brilliant and
resonant soprano of Barbara Marchisio drew down the
house, which would take no bows, courtesies, or acknow-
ledgments in place of a repetition of the duo "Giorno
d'orror," at the close of which cam) another call. The duo
in the second act was followed by a floral shower ; and
every method of demonstrating delight and approval in
vogue among opera audiences greeted the triumph of the
sisters Marchisio.

Mr. George Linnaeus Banks, known as & lyric
poet, journalist, and public lecturer, has been places on the
recommendation of Lord Palmerston, on the Civil service
List for £5O, in acknowledgment of his literary and public
usefulness for many years past.
After a strike of 12 weeks, the colliers is the
Morley, Gildersonse, and Adwalton districts have resumed
work, at the old terms of 4s. 6d. for a day of eight hours.
It is stated that a total cessation of the strike funds has
been instrumental in bringing about the present seftlemen
and, to add to the misery which such a statement mplies,
the employers will not be able to take on mere, tian half
their old hands.

THE TERRTBLE EXPLOSION AT BUSTON.--
Yesterday the inquest was resumed at Bilston ipon the
bodies of the unfortunate deceased killed by the toiler ex •
losion at Millfields, near Bilston (who number 28}, before
Mr. T. M. Phillips. Mr. hose, the employer of ihe de-
ceased, was present, and also his counsel and solicitor, with
Mr. E. T. Wright, the endneer, who made the official
examination ; and Mr. A. Bourne, the travelling agent of
the Steam-boiler Assurance Company, of Manchester, who
produced, for the assistance of the jury, some phctographs
of the riven boiler. No additional evidence of inipottance
was given. The Coroner, in summing up the case, said
that the jury could not return a verdict of mantlaughter
against the engineer, because of the ruling of Baron Chan-
nel at the last assizes at Stafford, to the effect tha: an en-
gineer who had left his engine could not be found guilty of
that offence, unless it could be shown that his boiler which
exploded was short of water. The jury, after a lengthened
deliberation returned the following verdict :•—•' That the
boiler exploded from an over pressure of steam, bow how
caused there was no opinion to show." The *ors ex-
pressed a strong opinion that boilers of this size and de-
scription should not he made or used for high-pressure
steam.

may be accordingly.
The Federalists are not quite free from political
anxiety. The late Secretary, Mr. CAMERON,
whom the Emperor of RUSSIA did not wish for,
has been arrested at the suit of a Mr. PIERCe
BUTLER, for illegal imprisonment in Fort La
Fayette. If, however, the law courts decide
against these imprisonments, the PRESIDENT, and
not auy of his subordinates ought to be the victim.
It will be a curious result indeed, if the PRESIDENT
should be proved to have done what his own courts
cannot sustain, and it is very likely they cannot.
.He will then have to cut the Gordian knot in the
old fashion. But what puzzles the Washington
politicians most of all, is the reported visit
of the French Ambassador there, to Richmond.
M. MERCIER, from the beginning, has disliked the
war, and been strongly opposed to the blockade
interfering as it did with the industry of France
as well as of other countries. He is known to have
held it to be, morally, unjustifiable, however it
must be politically endured, and hence the
Northerns are in a perfect fever respecting his visit
to the Southern capital. It seems all our own
own operatives are not quite such believers in the
doctors ou International Law, as those of Man-
chester, to which we adverted yesterday. Some of
their neighbours, unemployed also, at Ashton-under-
Lyne, had their open air meeting too. But they
did not think our Government ought to take things
so quietly. A resolution was carried that the Govern-
ment ought to recognise the Southern Confederacy,

ARMY SCHOOLS.--The report of the Council of
Military Education for 1861 has been published. It appears
that for more than 38 per cent. of the men in the ranks the
most elementary education is required ; 19 per cent. can
neither read nor write, and abovo 19 per cent. can only read
and not write; 7.44 per cent, have a superior degree of edu-
cation; the remaining 54 per cent, can read and write, The
great hindrance is in irregularity of attendance Attendance
of soldiers at school is no part of military discipline, and can
not be legally required. The Council submit tkat there
would be no hardship it its being made obligatory upon
every recruit to learn to read and write before lie is dis-
missed to duty, and becomes less able to give regular at-
tendance at school. School fees for adults have been already
abolished, except for the more advanced classes; lut to re-
tain fees for these is a tax upon progress, and as it is found
that the men generally leave school as soon as they are
called upon to pay, and only return in order to qualify for
promotion, the amount received is not considerable, and the
council are of opinion that the sacrifice of the fees would be
more than compensated by the advantage which the ser-
vice would derive from having in its ranks a large number
of men possessed of a respectable degree of education. In
the Royal Artillery and the Foot Guards education has re-
ceived due attention of late, and the result has been that the
proportion of men unable to read and write has been reduced
nearly one-half since 1858—in the artillery from4oper cent.
to 25, and in the Foot Guards from 20 per cent. to 11.
Where the officer in command affords to the school his coun
tenance and support, the result is that the educational sys-
tem attains its full development, non-commissioned officers
and men alike profit by it, and a taste is acquired for other
pleasures than those of the public-house. The Council
report that the machinery for education is good and ample
and they are confident that the extension of elementary
education among the men will be carried far beyond its
present unsatisfactory limits, as soon as the one great im-
pediment which now exists, namely the irregularity of the
attendance, shall be wholly or even partially removed. This
report, the first since the transfer of the supervision of the
schools of the army from an inspector-general to the COllll-
- is signed by Liiute-Gen. linollys, Major-Gen, Port-
lock; Canon Moseley, and Cols, Elwyn, and Addison,

-*4 till WASHINGTON was obliged to 1 but an amendment wasmoved, and largely supported
AT E
LT N
1,, the negotiations, fearing I that we ought to aid the north, crush the rebellion,
S E WS
-'ild the Confederates and so open the ports. Slowly as cotton arrives
A must .be a from other sources, it is by no means impossible that
weeks' the Governments of France and England may 1e
I
compelled to adopt measures from Which, at present,
—.ld 511 of us shrink. Mr. COBDEN'S theories
b e c,o :.I:3:rotne dt
h,
en
pn
adretr 0 tf ho eu
rp rpeesospulree,
we shin.
on blockade may
of this fra-
of unendurable privat.
and sacrifice of national revenue, into facts. This
would be indeed an unlooked for reiZ.l4
`xicidal war.

PARIS, MAT 2.
The dloniteur of this morning publisl7.:s a letter
from Mexico, commenting upon
fle intolerable con-
duct of the Mexican G'..rernment, and the proba-
bility that tb French troops will not delay march-
i3g on the c'4iy of Mexico.

The journal L' Esprit Public of to-day says—
" There 14 a question of sending Marshal Niel
to Rome, with military and diplomatic powers. It
is said that he will be charged to conciliate, if pos-
sible, the protection which France owes to the
Holy See with the rights of the Italian nation."

LISBON, MAY 1.
The King has officially announced his approach-
ing marriage.
The new Ministry is finally consolidated.

BREST, MAY 1.
Further reinforcements of troops and supplies of
war materiel are to be despatched to Mexico.

TURIN, MAY 1.
The Turin papers state that the conspiracy at
Milan is exaggerated.

NAPLES, MAY 1.
The King continues to be enthusiastically re-
ceived.
His Majesty will proceed next week to Palermo.

ROME, MAY 1.
The whole Neapolitan Royal family have gone to
Porto Anzio.
They have dined with the Pope.
His Holiness will return to Rome on Saturday
next.

BERNE, MAY 1.

According to the favourable declaration of the
Japanese Government, the Federal Council has
given orders that a Swiss Embassy shall be de-
spatched to Japan as early as possible.

PARIS, MAY 1.

The Paris evening papers publish news from
Vera Cruz, stating that the Spaniards had executed
the same movement towards the city of Mexico as
the French. The Mexican troops had re-occupied
the mountain gorges on the road to Mexico. The
greater part of the foreigners engaged in trade were
leaving the country.

ST. PETERSBURG, MAY 1.

The journal de St. Petersbourg of to-day doubts
the probability of the Western Powers intervening
in America.

The same paper contains the appointment of
Prince Gortschakoff as Vice-Chancellor of the Em-
pire, and states that Baron Goltz, the Prussian
Ambassador, has been received by the Emperor, to
whom he delivered his credentials.

ATHENS, APRIL 26.
The blockade of the Gulf of Argos has been
raised by the Government.
The soldiers who received amnesty have been
re-drafted into the Royal army.
The corps d'armee employed in the siege of
Nauplia has returned.

VIENNA, MAY 1.

A communication was made by the Government
to the Lower House of the Council of the Empire
to day, stating that a bill on Ministerial responsi-
bility was to be discussed by the Chambers accord-
ing to Constitutional rule.