The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-28 00:00:00

men !

After entertaining his readers, as anyone might
be certain before-hand he would very readily con-
trive to do, with a picturesque and anecdotal narra-
tive of the Rise and Fall of these successive Panics
about a French Invasion, Mr. COBDEN thus gravely
sums up his argument :—" If," he writes, with
an imperturbable gravity that is almost
subversive of our own remembering what
the words are that we are about to italicise as really
remarkable words, falling from the pen of so keen
sighted and bold hearted an Englishman ! " If,"
writes Mr. COBDEN towards the close of his pam-
phlet, " the people of this country would offer a
practical atonement to France, and at the same
time secure for themselves an honourable relief
from the unnecessary burdens which their Govern-
ments have imposed on them, they should imitate
a frank proposal for opening negotiations between
the two Governments with the view of agreeing to
some plan for limiting their naval armaments.
This would, undoubtedly, be acceptable to our
neighbours as it worild be beneficial to ourselves."
Imagine _England drering a practical atonement
to France—for what ? According to Mr. COBDEN'S
own showing in this very clever but also very illogi-
cal pamphlet of his upon " The Three Panics"
—for what ? Literally, we repeat, according to
Mr. COBDEN'S own showing, for what not unna-
turally arose here in England out of—
First of all—the insolent and unprovoked war
brochure of the Prinne de JOINVILLE in 1847 !
Secondly—out of the astounding coup d'etat of
1851, the shock of which counter-revolutionary
thunderbolt, vibrated elsewhere than merely under
the waters of the British Channel !
Thirdly—out of the wholely uncalled-for recon-
struction of the French imperial navy in 1859: a
reconstruction that, unless answered, had certainly
an ominous significance, if only from the fact that
France herself had no remote colonies of her own
to defend, and no coast line in any way in
jeopardy !

Yet—for what arose out of these three assuredly
(at any rate two of them) all-sufficient provocatives
—England it is now gravely suggested by Mr.
COBDEN, would do well to offer to France a prac-
tical atonement !
After all, however—sweeping aside this ludicrous
suggestion as not worthy of another moment's seri-
ous consideration—the under current of Mr. COB-
DEN'S sparkling and flowing argument is worthy,
by reason of its depth, its swiftness, and its right-
onward course, of the nation's earnest and gravest
observation. It carries us irresistibly and directly
on to a conclusion such as every patriot in the land
must upon the instant accept with a glowing heart
and an open hand. The necessity of a reduction in
our expenditure ! The necessity of an early abolition
of the Income Tax ! The necessity of demonstrat-
ing by a rational economy the absolute truth of
Mr. GLADSTONE'S assertion, that these annual

incomings and outgoings upon an average of
£70,000,000 are abnormal and exceptional. Yes
—heart and soul in ell this, we go with Mr. COB
DEN. But—further than this, or rather parallel
with this—our hopes and wishes and resolves go
heart and soul also for the maintenance, both by sea
and by land, of our now, thank Heaven, strongly
confirmed sense of National Security.

The balance of news 'op the Niagara is, on the
whole, unfavourable to the Federals. And, it
must be remembered, with the loss of Mr.
RUSSELL we have lost one of our most valuable
critics, on the spot, of the accounts which we shall
henceforth receive. The Northern press is now
under a worse regime than that of France. Its corres-
pondents at the seat of war are those only whom Mr.
LINCOLN avows he can punish if they do net send
to their journals such news as the Government ap-
proves. Of course, therefore, we can have nothing
approaching to confidence in Northern military
accounts, and can only judge of their probable
correctness by considering ail the circumstances of
the case. To apply to the Northern papers M.
JULES FAVRE'S remark on French papers —" They
have but one editor, the President," or his Secre-
tary for War, Mr. STANTON.
The difference between General BEAUREGARD'S
acFederals iscount of the second day's battle, and that of the
great indeed. The Federals admit a
loss of 7,000_2,000 of these prisoners. BEAURE-
no means of knowing the
number o
edeir
rals; skilled and wounded, but the
GriilDhas,
°F
course,
has taken be can count—
prisoners and guns" he
and his inventory of
these is, prisoners from 8,000

Sir MORTON PETO'S letter, which appeared in
The Sun of Saturday, claims the immediate atten-
tion of the public. We are all interested in its
subject, for the question of national defence, not-
withstanding " the three panics" are past, will
not be thought unimportant by any considerate
person ; while the cheapest mode of securing it
appeals, of course, to every Income-tax payer. In
passing, indeed we ought to remark, that this is
become almost entirely an Income-tax payers' ques-
tion. That most incurably unjust of taxes is now
required solely on account of the extra naval and
military expenses the country has seen fit to incur
since the Russian war. Bring down these aristo-
cratical or departmental expenses to the still enor-
mous cost of twenty millions per annum, and not
cnly would no Income-tax be needed, but the
amount left in the pockets of the people would
swell the Customs, Excise, and other taxes, till a
splendid surplus would be left us. Income-tax
payers, therefore, should bear in mind that they
are directly interested in supporting Mr. LINDSAY,
Mr. OSBORNE, Sir MORTON PETO, and all who are
endeavouring to prevent the money of the public
being blundered away, instead of being appro-
priated to those defences, to which we must
come at last. We believe with Sir MOR-
TON PETO that when we have squandered
unknown sums on fixed forts, we shall still find
that they are next to useless, and that the money
spent on them would have given us an iron fleet
with which we could defy the world, and which
would be as good a hundred years hence as when
it was new.

Sir MORTON shows by the evidence of the highest
authorities what, from the first perverse resolve of
our well-meaning but misguided Premier to this
day, we have earnestly pressed, that ships not forts
must be the defence of Spithead. We need not
therefore repeat our illustrations of the fact, that
no fixed fort has ever done material damage to a
ship in motion, nor ever will ; unless, indeed, by a
lucky accident—but we do not expend our tens of
millions for accidental results. The ship is but a
small target for the fort, and shifts its position, say
266 yards per minute ; the fort is a large and fixed
1 target for the ship, which is not hindered by her
own motion from firing at the right moment to hit
with certainty. Even the citizen who never shot
a bird on the wing, can see in a moment the disad-
ivantage to the fort in places where the ship can, as
at Spithead, keep in constant motion, so that the
gunner, with his ponderous implement, has to hit,
as it were a flying object. Now Sir MORTON
PETO states his strong apprehensions that
our worthy Premier is, after all, very
reluctant to drop his early pet scheme, and we fear
he has too much reason for his apprehension. Not
only did the speeches of members of the Govern-
ment after the Shoeburyness experiments indicate
an indecent haste to reverse, if possible, the strongly
expressed opinion of the House of Commons, but
the subject is referred to the old routine Commis-
sioners who helped Lord PALMERSTON by their
first report, and who will as certainly repeat them-
selves. We all remember the late Bishop of LON-
DON'S attempt to please both the Puseyites and the
moderate Churchmen by sagely allowing the candles
to remain on the altar, but forbidding them to be
lighted. So the Defence Commission, seeing that
all persons perceived that iron ships were our only
trustworthy reliance at Portsmouth, yet that the
Premier was determined to have his forts, reported
in favour of both. That is, in addition to the indis-
pensable and sufficient defence of the ships, we
must pay as much more for fortifications as would
be sufficient to insure all the great harbours in the
kingdom without them !
We doubt not that Mr. OSBORNE and his compa-
nions will be at their post after Easter, but it will
require the strong support of the country to enable
them to retain it. All " The Services" sympathise
with each other in extracting money from the Trea-
sury for what they each, with professional one-
sidedness, think the all important object. Each,
therefore, comes to the help of the other. Then the
Premier must be pleased. Then the Tories are
always for spending, be it on what it may, and great
as the grief may be that they are not the spenders.
Then, again, hon. members are pushed on, indi-
vidually, by a few interested persons who get their
ear. Altogether, the advocates of economy, even
when, as in the present case, it is the economy of
putting the right means of defence in the right
place, are always at a disadvantage in the House.

to 10,000, 13111 s 35 ! Of course he adds that Hence the importance of the country itself making
the Confederates retired, not were " driven its decided opinions known, and not being deterred
and ranted" back to Corinth. The latter is from expressing them by the old cry- that it is pro-
the representaijon of the Federals, but it hardly fessional work which we do not understand. We
agreesA routed do understand it. We have the materials before us
and with
fleeing y o
prisoners.
The for understanding it. The professional men them-
other
sr them heavyea loss
noto keep
e e ppr i
its on e
prisoners.
unfavourable item from the North is the selves have furnished them, and the public, as a jury,
detention of MCLELLAN before Yorktown. We are quite competent to judge of their conflicting
have already described the strength of its defence, testimony.
and the Southern journals express their confidence We quite concur with Sir MOITON PETo that
that M'CLELLAN will be driven back to Fort Mon- the country ought to look with " extreme referred
roe. Even the journalists, however, whom Mr. faction" on any portion of this subject being referred
STANTON can punish, report that large Confederate back again to the Commission of routinists, who
reinforcements have arrived, and that the defence have already proved their incompetency. That the
and attack will be on an extensive scale. We begin, present necessity for reconstructing our navy is a
therefore, to think of a Sebastopol affair before fact which calls for the employment of a superior
M'CLELLAN can march to Richmond. The class of minds, very different from the old easy-
Southern papers also continue defiant. going officials whose " want of scientific and prac-
Let us, however, look at the other side. Corn- tical skill has already cost the country countless
modore FooTE is at work against the fortification treasure." We want a commission on national de-
next to Island No. 10, Fort Pillow. But those fences of "men of science, practice, and experience,
who will be at the trouble of consulting a good map at once unprejudiced and unpledged." Unless
will see that there is quite a series of forts, most of such a commission be appointed, we may rest
them well placed, to be reduced before Memphis can assured that the mere waste at the Admiralty will
be reached, after the reduction of which, five or six amount to a sixpenny, if not a shilling income-tax.
hundred miles of river navigation between hostile with, of course, nothing to show for it.
banks, supplying his steamboats with no fuel for It is gratifying naturally to us to find our general
their voyage, would lie between the Commodore views, so strongly supported by a gentle-
aml New Orleans. The most serious thing against man of such practical knowledge, and entire
freedom from theories and crotchets as Sir
the Confederates, if true, is that General
MITCHELL has occupied 100 miles of the Memphis MORTON PETo, backed as he is by the first
and Charleston Railroad. To understand the rate knowledge in purely nautical matters
great significance of this, the reader must remem- of Mr. LINDSAY. They are of the class of nien
ber that Corinth, BEAUREGARD'S position, is who tell us what can be done ; and how to do it
situated on this railroad—that it connects Missis- most economically as well as efficiently. It is their
sippi and Alabama, where BEAUREGARD is defend- daily business to judge of this kind of things, after
Fog himself, with the Carolinas, Georgia, and the conference with the first scientific men in each de-
Atlantic coast ; that therefore to occupy it is to eat ro. G,LCII-- thc tnanderine on of
lbo
completely all BEAUREGARD'S communications with old Admiralty Board, of honest men, it is true,
the Atlantic States—in fact, to isolate him—except but men without the requisite practice and know-
by a most circuitous route. And should the ledge, must be very provoking. Sir M. PETO is of
Northern reserves comes up in great force in Ten- opinion that our conversion of wooden vessels,
nessee, BEAUREGARD would have no alternative though necessary as a temporary measure, will ulti-
but to fall back along the New Orleans Railway, mately prove a costly inutility. The iron, first, adds
which crosses the other at Corinth. Fort Pu- nothing to the strength; secondly, weakens there-
laski, the outer defence of Savannah, in Georgia, fore by its weight; and, thirdly, will not work
is also reported to have fallen. But even with wood, without rotting and injuring it. Vessels
the loss of the city itself, which will be built of wood and iron will soon cost enormous sums
stoutly defended, would have no material effect on for repairs.
the progress of the war. The sum of all appears to Sir M. PETO, however, is not one of those who
be, that the Federals have received a fearful check censure without taking the reponsibility of saying
at Pittsburg Landing, near Corinth ; and are yet what should be done. Here is his practical plan—
unable to take the first step towards Richmond, " The olass of vessels which will in the end
which must be through Yorktown—two checks in prove the least expensive, and the most efficient
the most important parts of the war. On the other for purposes of defence, will, I believe, be found to
hand, the Confederates have lost Fort Pulaski on the be iron ships, of sufficient size to mount large
Atlantic, and Fort Pillow on the Mississippi is guns in central batteries protected by shields,
besieged. While more important than all, if correct, and fitted also to act as rams, by the aid of
General. MITCHELL has cut BEAUREGARD'S com- powerful steam machinery. Vessels of this
munication with the Eastern, and much stronger, class have all the advantages of forts, with
Confederate States. the additional all-important superiority of mo-

bility. They may be manned with the greatest
facility, and with the smallest number of men,
There would be no limit to their durability ; and
unless damaged in action, the only repair they
would require would be a coat of paint. A sufficient
number of these vessels for the protection of our
coasts and harbours might be constructed in two
or three years on the Tyne, the Mersey, the Clyde,
and the Thames, for a far less sum than that which
will have to be expended on fortifying Portsmouth
and the other dockyards. The Government would
find no difficulty in contracting for the construction
of the hulls of these ships at fixed and certain prices.
They could ensure perfection of material and work-
manship ; and the machinery and engines would be
supplied by makers of unquestioned reputation, or
furnished from the condemned vessels of the wooden
navy. Competition for the construction of these
ships would ensure, also, new designs and improved
forms, which it is hopeless to expect to obtain from
present sources."

We have not the least doubt that Sir MORTON
would be the best person to work his own plan. He
is not a man who has failed in achieving any engi-
neering object he has undertaken yet, and this is
entirely a question of engineering. We believe the
nation would save millions of money, and secure far
more efficient defences if Lord PALMERSTON were
to place the whole matter in his hands in connection
with one or two like-minded associates. Just as in
the case of Crimean railroad, they would know what
to do, and find the men to do it.

Lord CANNING'S arrival in England, it will be
seen, has come upon us all like a surprise. Upon a
day, and at an hour, when least expected, it was
announced that the ex Governor-General of India
has landed at Dover. Although an address of
congratulation had been prepared beforehand
by the municipality of that seaport—although it
was in readiness for presentation to his ex-Ecellency,
by the Dover Corporation—Lord CANNING'S arrival
came so abruptly to the knowledge of the Mayor,
that that functionary had but time to hurry down
alone for the purpose of at least offering his own
individual felicitations. There is no doubt what-
ever that the mere fact of the noble Viscount's re-

turn becoming known, will be enough to elicit
wherever he may go, the cordiality with which all
alike are disposed to welcome him. For, is not this
the Proconsul who held the fasces of our imperial
rule in Hindostan when all India was in open revolt
against our authority, and who continued in power
until long after that sanguinary rebellion had
been crushed out, and even the blackened and blood-
stained evidences of it entirely obliterated ? Surely,
if any ex-Governor-General from India deserves it,
he is entitled to an earnest welcome home again
upon the morrow of his arrival here in England.
The extraordinary reforms, moreover, that have been
introduced into the social, and political, and juridi-
cal, and moral, and intellectual systems of India,
during the period of Lord CANNING'S ever memo-
rable administration—give the noble Viscount a
direct title to any evidences that may be afforded
to him of the grateful recollection of his se/vices
during the last six or seven years among his own
immediate and appreciative contemporaries.
Already he has earned, and we hope before long,
will have obtained, his Earldom. As a signal token
of the approbation of the Crown, Lord CANNING'S
arrival in England is announced simultaneously
with the fact that he is at once to receive the Blue
Riband—the highest purely honorary distinction
within the gift of the SOVEREIGN. In the
same batch of new Knights of the Gar-
ter, together with Viscount CANNING,
all will rejoice to see numbered her Majesty's
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and, side
by side with Earl RUSSELL, one of the most noble-
hearted and gentle hearted practical philanthro-
pists in the land—who needs, when we have said
this, to be told that it is no other than the Earl
of SHAFTESBURY

Hurried and almost inarticulate though the
welcome given to Lord CANNING was at Dover im-
mediately upon his landing, we doubt not that upon
his lordship's appearance in the metropolis a demon-
stration, worthy of the man and of the occasion, will
evidence to all England, end beyond the furthest
confines of Europe, to our vast and remote pos-
sessions in Hindostan, the popular recognition of
the:great and good services done both to the Crown