The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-28 00:00:00

THE SUN LONDON, SATURDAY EIENING. JUNE 28, 1862..

five miles from the Confederate capita where with
his telescope he may count the very ciinneys of the
house, the Federal general is brought I a stand. He
is again reduced to the necessity of de.anding large
reinforcements, from which it seems ,o follow that
he considers the army opposed to hii as at least far
too numerous, and in too efficient state to be at-
tacked at present. Thus, unless MJLELLAN him-
self be deceived, which is quite pssible, for the
South has shown great skill in imosing on their
invaders, the campaign would see' to be brought
to a close for the summer. It is nt probable that
either army will attempt much duing the very hot
weather, which is close at hand, ad it is quite a
possibility that M'CLELLAN may pend the whole
summer before Richmond, as he di the last before
Manassas, and then find, when he as made himself
strong enough to be sure of victoy, that he must
march another fifty or a hundrd miles south,
through a hostile country, to find Is foe.
In the West, in the States brdering on the
great river, the Federals are the onfessed victors_
But one place on the Mississippi Vicksburg, has
yet refused to surrender. Bat t e Federal fleet
from the North, which has just detroyed the Con-
federate fleet and taken possession of Memphis, is
descending the stream to join tha of Commodore
FARRAGUT, and there can be no dabt of the result_
On laud HALLECK is completelytriumphant, and
that without a battle. BEAUREGIRD has evidently
been compelled to retreat by twc difficult enemies
to contend with, hunger and cisaffection. The
j accounts of the destitution in wlich the Federals
found:the inhabitants show that ,hose who reduced
them to this condition must themselves have been
reduced to great distress. BEAIIREGARD would
certainly not have allowed his men to plunder the
Confederate State of Mississippi of all its food unless
he had been reduced to extrimity. There is also
no doubt that his regiments, which belonged to
Tennessee and Kentucky, lad no mind to fight for
the plantation States, and the story that they had
to be escorted south when the movement was made,
is every way likely. But for the fear that they
would be added to the Northern army, it is probable
they would have been left bEhind, as BEAUREGARD'S
object was to feed his troops, who were already too
numerous for his means. He is reported to have
still a large army in the heart of Mississippi, but of
his means of keeping it together there is much
reason to doubt.

The fighting elsewhere is indecisive and of little
importance. To us, while the skill and courage
which the South has shown in defending the " chief
corner-stone of the Confederation, the Divine Right
of Slavery," does seem worthy of a better cause,
we must confess that, were they fighting simply
for independence of a domineering North,
the spirit and energy they have shown with
such limited resources, would have commanded
the sympathy of all Englishmen. The dark crime
on which they base their whole action—the right
to hold 4,000,000 of men in the condition of
cattle, and next to curse and blight the yet free
territory of America with the same iniquity—this
it is which compels us to look with indifference on
the subjugation of 350,000 slaveholders by Northern
freemen. Not that those Northern freemen are
guiltless in the matter. They have nursed in the
South the hated institution which they have ex.
pelled from the North. Still, the North does, at
least, believe in free soil, and the two Houses have,
we just learn, passed a noble bill for the prohibition
of slavery in all the territories of the United States.
For this—also for hanging the slave captain, for
enfranchising the district of Columbia, for opening
diplomatic relations with two black Republics, for
offering compensation to all States which abolish
slavery, for all these things every one of which the
,Txlrl 1,5+1-.1-Iyr nrsr,ruar. v-nwd. wish Raimpgß
to the North. Whether we wish it or not, it will
however fight till it conquers ; and it is perfectly
vain to think of intervention.

We do not doubt the loyalty of our soldiers and
sailors, however much they may have been wronged
by those in power. Still if there be any body of
men who ought to feel assured of the most honour-
able treatment from the country it is those who
fight its battles. A little wrong rankles injuriously
in every mind far more than any of the unavoid-
able hardships attendant on any service. Even in
civil matters we see how the little injury of Church-
rates raises implacable hostility, out of all propor-
tion to its importance, in the minds of Dissenters.
In India, the wrong of not asking the consent of
troops enlisted to serve the Company under
her MA.TESTY, was so resented by the men that they
demanded to be sent home, and we had to lose the
pith of our Anglo-Indian army. Surely there is
danger of the same feeling of wrong resting in the
hearts of the men to whom, by the confession of all
parties, the Kertch prize money is due.
The case was brought before the Lords last night
by the Earl of HARDWICKE, and it cannot be said
that even Lord GRANVILLE denied the right
of the men. Our readers may remember the ex-
ploit—an equal number of French and English ships
appeared before Kertch on the QUEEN'S birthday,
landed some troops, took the place by surprise, and
captured guns, coal, steam engines, and other pro-
perty which were used in the public service. Ac-
cording to the terms of the QUEEN'S proclamation,
this was prize property. The captors were entitled
to its proceeds But, not to enter into details, the
case was banded about between the Admiralty and
the Treasury, the result being that the men were
hindered from seeking redress at law, while the
Treasury evaded the payment of any sum as a com-
promise. It is, indeed, well enough for the Trea-
sury to be economical on behalf of the country, but
the country will agree with Lord DERBY that it
does not wish for economy at the expense of plain
justice. Much less, we would add, does it wish
that our sailors and soldiers should ever doubt that
a proclamation of their SOVEREIGN'S, intended to
stimulate and reward their courage, may not be
relied on to the letter.

COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS' BENEVOLENT INSTI-
TUTION.—The half-yearly court of the governors of the
Commercial Travellers' Benevolent Institution was held
yesterday at the London Tavern, for the reception of the
report and the transaction of the ordinary business. Mr.
B. J. Cherer presided. The report congratulated the sup
porters of the institution on its increasing prosperity. The
gross receipts of the half-year had been £BBG 18s. 61, and
after defraying the expenditure and making an addi-
tion to the stock, a balance of £2lB 15s. 2d. remained in
hand. The annual festival of the institution would be held
on the sth July, at the Crystal Palace, under the presi-
denoy of Sir James Duke, and it was to be hoped that it
would be highly successful. The income of the half-year
had enabled the board to add £250 to the invested property,
which now amounted to £3,750. It was earnestly hoped
that the institution would receive increased support. Tho
report was unanimously adopted, and after some routine
business had been transacted, the meeting proceeded to the
election of one annuitant.

THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY ACCIDENT.--
Although the waters of the Fleet Sewer now flow freely
along the completed portion of the new trench or grip, a
large stream still finds its way into the railway cutting.
On Thursday evening Mr. Jay, the railway contractor, had
a large dam constructed at the mouth of the tunnel, which
has effectually prevented any further flow of the water into
that portion of the work, and yesterday a powerful steam
pumping engine was set to work, which has already relieved
the tunnel of a great portion of the water accumulated in
that part, which after being pumped up is discharged into
the Brook .hill district sewer. The grip will, it is expected,
be completed by Monday or Tuesday, when the flow of
water into the railway will be entirely stopped. The large
main pipe of the New 4tiver Company has now been safely
removed from its hitherto dangerous position.