The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SAIURDAY, EVENPIG, SEPTEMBER 6, 1862.

THE DISTRESS IN LANCASHIRE.

Mr. George Dixon and Mr. 3". Skirrow Wright, the gen-
tlemen forming the deputation sent from Birmingham to
inquire into the distress prevailing in the cotton manufac-
turing districts, have sent in their report. After pointing
out the fearful amount of suffering which exists, the report
proceeds :—" On tho difficult questions—Are the wealthy
people of Lancashire giving as liberally as they ought to do ?
and how far is it necessary to supplement their contribu-
tions ? your deputations have to report that they suggested
to the central committee that publicity should be given to
the subscriptions of those gentlemen who- were known to
have made large fortunes in the distressed districts, in order
that people at a distance might be able to judge therefrom
as to the amount they ought themselves to give. Liverpool
has already raised over £30,000, and should the distress
continue there seems but little doubt that this sum will be
more than doubled. In Manchester, in addition to the sub-

scriptions to the general fund, amounting to £25,000, LlO,OOO
has already been given to the Provident Society, in sums
that your deputation believe have not been published, and
. .

probably an equal amount has been distributed by benevo-
lent societies connected with places of worship. The Mayor
of Manchester wished it to be distinctly understood that

the city would contribute a far larger sum to the general

relief fund than would be granted by the executive commit-
tee to the local relief board. Several cases were mentioned

to your deputation of millowners who were nobly fulfilling
the duties imposed on them by the present crisis, and no
complaint against the manufacturers was made by the
various parties whom your deputation interrogated in
Stockport. How far this wealthy body is doing all that it
is called upon to do, your deputation could not of course cor-
rectly judge during a visit of only two days' duration; but
it must be remembered that their contributions will fre-
quently be made in a manner which no subscription list can
publish, and that they themselves will suffer greatly by the
stoppage of their trade, the lying idle and deterioration of
their capital, and the constantly increasing poor rates. Hard-
hearted selfish men exist no doubt in Lancashire as in other
places, but three cases are cited to show how carefully con-
demnation should be passed on wealthy men because they
appear to be giving less than their supposed riches would
warrant. The Mayor of Blackburn told your deputation
that one person, worth nominally £20,000 in house property,

was receiving scarcely any income at all from his rents. A
large millowner has lent to his workmen about £3,000, to
enable them to tide over the evil hour, and out of this more
than £l,OOO will certainly never be returned. The lord of

;he manor has put his name down on the public subscrip-

tion list for £lOO, but has actually spent more than £l,OOO
in unproductive labour, for the sole purpose of giving relief
without the usual evils of almsgiving. Such cases as these
are not recorded in the public papers. The necessity for
the largest possible amount of extraneous assistance being
rendered is evident from the two following facts. It can-

not ba escimated that the total diminution of wages in the

distressed districts will be less than £150,000 per week dur-
ing the winter months, and although it may not be neces-
sary to supply the whole of this deficiency, still it must be
admitted that an average of 2s. per head per week is the
smallest amount of relief that ought to be given to operatives
who have been accustomed to, and whose physical constitu-
titutions require, a high class of food. Estimating the
number of unemployed at from 300,000 to 500,000, the
BUM required weekly will before Christmas exceed the

ordinary poor rates by over £30,000. One Manchester
gentleman, who has had considerable means of inquiry esti-
mates that when the distress reaches its height it will
cost £lOO,OOO per week to keep the unemployed from
starvation. Can the rest of England require that the
whole of this burthen should be borne by the distressed
districts themselves, whose resources are affected by the
very calamity they are called upon to relieve ? And even
supposing that, when the full extent of the calamity has
overshadowed the land, there shall be foimd some amongst
those who have grown rich by the labour of the cotton ope-

ratives who neglect their duty—shall such uncharitable
conduct on their part be the model by which more remote
members of the same community are to mould their actions,
when 400,000 uncomplaining fellow-countrymen are suffer-
ing the last extremities of cold, hunger, and sickness, the
misery of hearts that cannot help those they love, and the
growth of evils which idleness and pauperism inevitably
bring—and all this in order that England may pursue what
she considers the path of duty. The second fact is one well
deserving of great attention. The oreration of Mr. Villiers's
Relief Act will do but little to mitigate the severity of the
pressure of the rates upon the class immediately above that

of the operatives, inasmuch as no one parish can claim
assistance from the other parishes of the union until 3s. in
the pound has been spent on the pcot ; nor can the borrow-
ing power be exercised until an amount equivalent to 3s. in
i,he pound on the assessment of the whole amount has been

collected in addition to the borough and other rates; and
lastly, the country cannot be called upon to contribute to
the relief of any particular union until ss. in the pound has
been actually spent upon the poor of that union. A very
high authority estimates that in many cases it will be neces-
sary to levy 6s. in the pound before 3s. can be collected ;
and the same authority admits that these clauses so far
neutralise the action of Mr. Villiers's bill that most proba-
bly the borrowing power will rarely, and the county rate
in aid elause never be put in force. It may appear to some
that 3s. or even 6s. in the pound is not a large sum to be
spent on the poor, but the real question is the proportion
that the future rates will bear to those of former years.
The Mayor of Stockport gave your deputation to under-
stand that hitherto there has not been more than about 6d.
in the pound spent on the poor, consequently, they will,
in that township, have to spend an average of four or five
times as much as usual, before being able to obtain assist-
ance from the remaining parishes of the union ;
and this average increase of four or five times means an
increase of eight to ten times in the case of those ratepayers
who continue solvent through the whole of the crisis.
There is no reason to suppose otherwise than that the ma-

jority of the other districts are in the same position. The
justice of throwing the burden of the heavy rates on such
a restricted area may well be doubted ; but, apart from this
question it cannot be difficult to see that the guardians will
find it impossible to provide more than the barest neces-
saries required by the law ; and there is evidence to show
that the operatives physically as well as morally deteriorate
under the poor law regime. Can the remotest districts of
England refrain from giving largely when these patient,
noble fellow-countrymen are pining away on paupers fare.
mustt ofbe
the
Hitherto their sufferings have been silently borne ; but
there is a point at which patience ceases to be possible, and
the intelligence as well as the benevolence of the country
tio disgracedwlioTleheciff3
case
otat point were allowed even to be
report, which recommends that the contalbu-
rrofoliSgtohetktoporptaisss stphercoivagllhythreefmerraned.
tacohPPeaurstadrejledthe:ral Relief Committee, •ds upwihm will
withw
with an, ex-
pression of hope that the inhabitants of
Bi i
neoontsaicdterasonlifythtehyeidroonwbtnedunthque charity
that generosity which is called for by a calamity of unpa-
ralleled magnitude, and which is last growing too great for
thmeeetpionwgetroorfailosecaal
Birminghamresources
fna iis to
tot o
be
meet. A. public
held
on
Tues-
day
next. The Mansion-house committee held their
usual weekly meeting yesterday, when the Lord Mayor
presided for the first time since his return to his offi-
cial duties. The other members of the committee present
were Mr. S. Dilberoghee and Mr. Howe, and Mr. Gibbs,
the secretary. It is to be regretted that from the communi-
cations received from all parts of the manufacturing dis-
tricts there appears to be no doubt the distress among the
cotton operatives is augmenting daily, and indeed almost
hourly ; and there were a number of applications for grants
from the funds at the disposal of this committee. A great
many suggestions are made as to the mode of increasing
the funds, and among them there has been one within the
last day or two from a respectable tradesman, proposing to
have a box at his place of business for the reception of
small sums, and suggesting that if this proceeding were to
be carried out generally in the metropolis, a very consider-
able sum might be obtained. The committee have not felt
themselves justified in authorising the carrying out of this
Plan, but in this particular case they have notified that
they see 'no objection to the proceeding, and that they
may be ready to accept any money that may be so obtained.
The total amount of money received by the Mansion-
house committee up to last night was £45,142 17s. 5d., and
the amount that had been distributed to differeni districts
is £23)753 35., so that a balance of £21,000 still remain in
their hands.

the son of respectable
attended the Ecole Chor Tying
. D--, 11 years of age,
A boy named Andrew
disap-
peared under the circumstances :—The boy
g people, has recently .
etienne in the rue des Recollects,
following
1--Hollowma
tilted at not getting a prize at the dis-
tribution
all his home,parents could
treated e 0
ua
Ipdp apparently
t lye
andi
greatnteripb.uw t iasHoneddoie eahntarpstehl
sincet it, :,
Wee refused to eat any dinner,
beennetr out of
any one who knows
console him was in vain
ut of doors without his
committed suicide.
anal on leaving the table
him, and it is believed he has
yeidukri relaxedail t.ehro
Ointment.—Throat
at,ircroinitaptliaoinn
ofts
cheat
rubbing this oint-
ment f fE eAc Dt
Affections.--All n 531 1.
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external ailments)
andtmen:st and supporting
By this. simple
mmmtheae
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rwderiinpeegaehtdtahihl
dye
braiayyan,uduspluieeeffnicathttlieeevden:l
destruction
theneytshwaville
have
v f o rt ht
the windpipe, quinsy, and all glandular
yheriermperdogry
for
rsarrested,ananddtheex
caused repaired. Holloway's ointment
all internal most trust-
arid may be safely and effectually employed
without. regarding season, sex, age, or conetitte9very case
highly extolled for its ready cures of spasmorn• it is
• le con
chronic hoarseness, and all disagreeable thee coughs,
egos from
, the throat and nose.

COMPARATIVE MILITARY STRENGTH
OF THE UNION AND !HE .REBELLION.

(From the New York Evening Post.)

That state of things cannot be called very unfortunate in
which the circumstances which appear adverse are such as
to give ground of hope. There are certain criticisms on the
conduct of the present war which, severe as they are, we
should hope are true. Let them only be just, let them only
be fair, and we should welcome them, because they show
that we have in our hands great advantages over the in-
surgents which, the moment we use them, will grind the
rebellion into dust.

Our arms have not made the progress we Expected. Why
is it so ? By the recent reverses before Richmond, following
the whole luckless campaign of the army of the Potomac,
and some unfavourable and disappointing incidents of the
war on the southern coastand on the Mississippi, the public
mind has been brought down from a state of almost exul-
tation to a state, we will not say of despondency, but of
great depression. When is the fault? Has this happened
because our armies were not large enough, because our navy
was not powerful enough to make any impression, or be-
cause our soldiers and sailors have not fought bravely ? If

it were so, if either of these alternatives were true, there
would be reason indeed for despondency. If we confess that
the rebels have excelled us in the vastness and completeness
of their preparations—in the perfection of their means of
offence—in the order, discipline, and numbers of their army
—and in the spirit, bravery, and endurance of their mea,we
must then admit that the future shows by no means an en-
couraging prospect. In that case the deficiency to which
our want of success is imputed would be somewhat difficult
to repair.
But if the fault lie with those who have had the direction
of our armies, the prospect brightens at once. If the rebels
have escaped subjugation thus far by favour of the superior
dexterity, activity, audacity, and presence of mind possessed
by those who directed their campaigns, and the ill-luck of
our own commanders, the remedy is easy. The same energy
and the same readiness in resources employed on our side,
with the superior means at our command, would instantly
turn the scale in our favour. The unlucky commander
should be laid aside. No matter what plausible excuses
may be made for his failures, the general who is always in
bad luck should be made to yield to him who is always suc-
cessful, and the tide of fortune will turn.
We propose to show, by computations arithmetically
exact, that the rebels now in arms are inferior to us in num-
bers, and to place before our readers a statement which
will demonstrate that we ought by this time to have put
them down effectually ; and we do this by way of making
it clear that, if we take the proper course, there is no ground
of despondency for the future,
The total population of the slave States is 12,260,298
Deduct slaves
~ free coloured

4,218,316

Making free whites 8,041,983
Of these 12,260,298 there are in Delaware, Maryland;
Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee, of loyal or neutral free
white inhabitants—say, 3,526,629. Deduct these, and we
have left, of disloyal persons, or persons in disloyal States,
4,512,354.
Here we have the entire population on which the rebels
must rely to recruit the gmylan aggregate of but little
over four millions and a half of white inhabitants. The
voters, or males of 21 years and over, in this population, are
one in six, or
To which add youths likely to enlist or subject to

- .
draft

Making the total number of white males 902,559
This, our readers will perceive, is two or three hundred
thousand less than the number of men called for by our
Government at different times, including the recent requi-
sitions. Of these 902,559, certainly not more than one-half,
and probably not more than one-third, have been forced
under arms.

But say one-half
Add Volunteers from Kentucky and other States
not out of the Union, probably ..

Total
prom these deduct killed, wounded, prisoners,
absent, unfit for duty, 1 in 4 (the number in an
army is nearly lin 2), say .

368,460

Deduct absentees fit for duty

Leaving a total active force, for all purposes, of
possibly
We have in this statement allowed more largely for the
resources of the rebels in proportion to the population than
we should have allowed for our own in a like estimate. That
the number here given is greater than the reality we have,
as we stated on the 6th of August, unquestionable testimony,
which we are not allowed to disclose. We then gave as a
fact, of which we were not permitted to doubt, that the effec-
tive force of the rebels has never, at any time since the be-
ginning of the war, exceeded 350,000 men. Death, sick-
ness, wounds, and other causes must have reduced it far
below that amount, and he would be a bold man who, pos-
sessed of all the information which it is possible to obtain in
these latitudes, should take upon himself to affirm that the
rebels have more than 250,000 effective men under arms.; i
There are to-day of Union men in the field not a man less
than 375,000 men, with not fewer absentees fit for duty than
65,000. This is no random estimate, but as exact a state-
ment as can well be given. In this force we do not include
a single soldier of the regiments stationed at forts and camps
north of Maryland and the Ohio, nor of new levies.
This will give us an active force of 375,000 men, and a
possible force of 440,000. To this should be added our
navy, which will counterbalance more than 100,000 men of
the rebel effective troops. A mighty force this—formidable,
almost irresistible, if ably and skilfully wielded, without
any addition of numbers. Can any man doubt that, by
the aid of these troops and all that originally
made a part of the loyal armies, if directed in their first
vigour and ardour against the enemy, with the requisite
enterprise and rapidity of movement, we might before this
have annihilated the rebellion ? Can it be doubted that with
half the number of additional troops recently called for we
might overrun the rebel provinces and crush the life out of
the Confederate government?
By rapidity of movement the rebels have effected all
that they have yet been able to do in keeping the rebellion
alive. They ha'e acted on a maxim somewhat like the
mercantile one, that the nimble sixpence is better than the
slow shilling. An army of a hundred thousand, manoeuvred
with skilful celerity, may effect more than twice the num-
ber under a sluggish number.

I HE NAVY.

The paddlewheel steam yacht Osborne, Master
Commander Bower, took up her berth yesterday at
the Royal Arsenal Pier, Woolwicb, in readiness to
receive his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales for
his voyage to the continent. The marked partially
manifested by his Royal Highness for the Osborne
has caused her to be called the Prince of Wales's
Yacht, and, from the important alterations and im-
provements which she is about to undergo, it is
stated to be the intention of the Prince to retain

her permanently for his own use. The design of
building a new yacht has in consequence been totally
abandoned ; and the Osborne, it is said, will shortly
be docked at Portsmouth, and stripped, in order to
her being lengthened 50 ft, at her bow and stern,
so as to give her a greater amount of cabin accom-
modation and additional berths for the officers and

crew. This will considerably augment her rate of
speed, and will afford the necessary capabilities for
stowage room, coals, &c.
Information was yesterday received at Woolwich
announcing the intention of their lordships to issue
an order for the abolition of the full-dress uniform
at present worn by officers of the navy, and to sub-
stitute in its stead a neat tunic, which is pronounced
to be a most satisfactory improvement and an eco-
nomy to the wearer, as instead of three coats, which
present constitute a portion of an officer's necessary
kit—namely, the full dress, only worn at Court, the
undress, rarely worn on duty, and the frock or great
coat in daily use, one coat will suffice, the difference
between dress and undress being the epaulettes only,
which it is stated are to be retained. It is sug-
gested that, to complete the comfort and advantage
to the wearer, a light and handsome headdress
might be adopted in place of the unsightly and
awkward cocked kat.

The Lords of the Admiralty have entered into an
agreement with the borough authorities at Cha-
tham for taking a piece of the vacant land at the
angle of the road leading from the dockyard to
Brompton, the site being required for the erection
of a police barracks to accommodate the married
men belonging to the Metropolitan Police who now
do duty at Chatham dockyard. The plans for the
proposed building have been prepared by Mr.
Rivers, under the direction of Colonel Greene, and
have received the final approval of their lordships.
Upwards of 300 tons of the forged 42-inch armour
plates for casing the sides of the iron-clad frigate
Royal Oak, 50, have been received at Chatham
during the past few weeks from the Thames Iron-
works, the Parkgate Foundry, and the other firms
under contract to supply the Admiralty. The whole
of these have been tested under the direction of the
leading officials of the establishment, and each
sub-
mitted to the annealing process in the factory
erected for that purpose, in order to render the
iron as tough as it is possible to make it. Although
the operation of plating the Royal Oak has been
suspended for the last fortnight, to enable the ne-
cessary arrangements to be made for her launch, the
preparation of the plates is still carried on in the
factory, where upwards of 100 of the large slabs of
iron are now accumulated. Each plate before being
affixed to the frigate's side costs, on the lowest esti-
mate, £2OO, the contract price at which they are
supplied to the Admiralty being £37 per ton. The
plates average a weight of 80cwt. each, which will
give an original cost of £l4B, added to which there
are the charges for annealing, bending, planing, bor-
ing, and otherwise preparing them, to accomplish
which the most costly machinery has to be employed.
The War Department transport Bomarsund was
placed alongside the Ordnance-wharf at Chatham
yesterday, and commenced shipping a quantity of
the cast-iron 10-inch and 68-pound-or guns for the
Pembroke, 60, 200-horse power, Capt. Fisher.

•
The appointment of Mr. S. Parsons, from Devon-
port dockyard, to be master-ropemaker at Chatham
dockyard, vice Mr. J. T. Taylor, superannuated,
was announced at Chatham yesterday. Mr. G. Cole-
gate, foreman of joiners at Sheerness dockyard, has
been promoted to be foreman at Chatham, succeed-
ing Mr. R. Edgecombe, who has been superannuated
after upwards of 40 years' service. Mr. Taylor,
the late master-ropemaker at Chatham, retires on

a pension of £204 per annum.
The paddle-wheel steam-sloop Geyser, 6, Capt.
Colin Campbell, returned to Plymouth Sound on

Wednesday evening, after accompanying to the
westward of St. Anthony's the coal and bread depot
Vindictive. The Geyser is now in position at the
east end of the breakwater for shot practice.

The paddlewheel steam-frigate Leopard, 18, is
now in the North basin at Keyham steamyard,
Plymouth, fitting for the first division of the Steam

Reserve.
The paddlewheel surveying-steamer Porcupine,
3, from Queenstown, arrived on Thursday evening
at Plymouth.
The lighter Falmouth, J. Carrich, master, which
left Plymouth on Wednesday, for Pembroke, having
reached as far as the Lizard, carried away the jaws
of her gaff, and was compelled to put back to the
Sound.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Lieut. M. L. Dunlop, to
the Narcissus, additional, for disposal ; Lieut. W.
M. Moger, to the Forte, additional, for disposal ;
Lieut. W. Binnington, to the Bacchante, additional,
for disposal; Lieut. W. H. Hall, to the Nile, addi-
tional, for disposal; E. B. Wallace and R. C.
Massie, naval cadets, to the Edgar ; A. Thomas,
master's-assist., to the Rattlesnake ; W. H. Purvis,
second master, to the Severn; R. Jackson, second
master, to the Rattlesnake ; J. G. Liddell, second
master, to the Liffey ; and W. S. Crealock, pay-
master, to the Virago.