The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-30 00:00:00

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THE NA
A correspondent at Alalta, u,
24th of December, announces the --val re a
the Psyche, despatch-boat, Lieut. Commander
S'

erne, on the 21st inst., from Alexandria, whither
she had conveyed the Countess of Elgiu, who is on
her way to India, The Magicienne, 16, Capt. his
Serene HighnesS the Prince of Leiningen, arrived
at Malta on the 24,h inst. from Naples. The Marl-
borough, 131, Capt. W. H. Stewart, C 8., returned
into port on the 21st inst. from a few days' cruise
off the island, and rehoisted the Commander-ia.
chiel's flag, which had been temporarily transferred
to the Phoebe, 35, Capt. T. Fortesque. This vessel,
as well as the Chanticleer, 17, Corn. C. Stirling, has
been out of port for gun exercise. The Liffey,, 3tl,
Capt. G. Parker, has conveyed the lion. H.
her Majesty's Charge d'AffAirs at Athens, from
Marseilles to the Pi:ens. The following ships et'
war were at Malta on the 21th Mirl-
borougl), 131; the Hibernia, reciiving,ship; tlie
Pt eche, 35; the Chanticleer, 17 ; the Magielenn,..,
16; the Firefly, surveying•vessel; the Psyche, di-
spatch boA; and the tenders Boxer and Growla-.
The Meeanee, 60, Capt. Wodehouse, and the Id e-
gzera, steam troopship, Corn. Henderson—the former
to join the Mediterranean Let and the latter on
her way to Corfu—were shortly expected at Malta
from England.
Admiralty instructions have been received at
Chatham dockyard directing all 51-gun screw
frigates of the Liverpool class to be fitted similarly
to that vessel.
On the 13th September last Mr. Roper, of New
Cross, repaired to Portsmbuth, by direction of the
Lords of the Admiralty, to prepare a sample of his
coating for iron plates to prevent oxidation and to
keep clean the bottoms of iron ships. An old and
decayed, boiler plate was selected for the purpose,
coated With Mr. Itopees preparations, and after-
wards sunk within the piers of one of the dockyard
jetties. This plate was yesterday raised and ex-
amined by the master shipwright and his staff, and
found to be in a very satisfactory condition. Owing
to the shortness of the time which the plate has
lain under water it was agreed to prolong the fur-
' ther test of the plate to three months, when more
definite results will be obtained. A second plate
is also to be prepared by Mr. Roper in order
to furnish the Admiralty with further proof
of the anti-corrosive qualities claimed by him for
his patent composition. A plate tested at Sheerness
dockyard, and reported upon by Mr. Moody, master
shipwright, has, we are informed, been attended
with highly favourable results. We have before
referred to the numberless inventions of this kind
which have been brought under the notice of the
Admiralty, and the failure of the greater number.
In fact, no one system has yet been found to possess
all the required advantages, and it is now being
urged by scientific men that the only plan for
securing these advantages, is by a system of elec-
trotyping—by depositing zinc, brass, or Bey alloy
upon the plates with a bright enamel surface. A
proposal of this kind is now being brought under
the notice of the Admiralty. The failure of other
protective compositions is, however, no reason why
the Roper system should also fail.

so partially applied as a supplement to the last call,
must now become a stern reality if the army is to
be recruited at all. But how is any future draft to
be carried out The leading states of the Union,
the great centres of population throughout the
North, are now in the hands of the Democrats, the
sworn foes of all compulsory enlistment. Is it
likely that they will now permit 50,000 or 100,000
citizens to he torn from their homes and their fami-
lies against their will, to perish in a war which
they dislike, and to support the authority of men
whom they despised ? No; the army which Gen.
Burnsitie led up the bilis of Fredericksburg to their
destruction constituted the last reserves of the Re
publicans. President Lincoln has played his last
card. Maddened by so many previous lossss, the
President and his advisers staked their fate on vic-
tory or ruin, and they may well stand aghast now
that the cards have turned up against them. If this
war were like any other we might be content to let
it run its natural course without the interference of
foreign power-. The defeat of one party would
mean the victory of the other, But in America it
is not so, for though the Confederates have over and
over again obtained decisive victories they have
never been able to follow them up or otherwise to
turn them to practical account. When Pope was
driven in headlong rout under the guns of Wash-
ington, the Southern leaders profited by the occa-
sion to make a dash into Maryland. But no sooner
had they assumed the offensive than fortune deserted
them; and though ever victorious in the field, they
were obliged to relax their grasp on their con-
quests and recross the Potomac. And now in this,
one of the greatest battles of the war, though the
Federals were soundly beaten, yet they were able
to carry away from under the very presence of the
enemy their wounded, sick, provisions, and guns,
without the loss of a single man. The two parties
seem to be so equally matched, numbers and valour
on the one side against valour and skill on the
other, that it is impossible to predict when the
conflict will end. We see well enough that the se-
parate independence of the South is assured—that
behind their stubborn courage, more strong by a
thousandfold than if their land were bristling with
fortifications, their national freedom ' sits confi-
dently secure; but we see too that they are un-
equal to more than the defence of their own land,
and that they are as powerless as their adver-
saries when they in their turn become the as-
sailants. The two parties resemble two equally
matched and infuriated combatants who get
locked in deadly embrace, and spend their last
strength in tearing at each other's throats. And
of how much misery is all this the index. Think
of that pretty town of Fredericksburg shelled
by both armies as they are s wayed on the one side
of it or the other in the eddies of war. Multiply
the work of devastation so graphically set before us
by a hundred such bombardments all over the
South and West. Add to this the misery of this
war carried to every household on the continent, in
the loss of relatives, the stagnation of trade, the
unnaturally high prices, the threatened invasion of
the tax-gatherer, the actual discomfort attending a
paper currency, and the complete disappearance of
the great standard of value. All this might be
borne by either North or South if victory were in
prospect. But to bear it without hope, to know
nu prospect of success, to go on in the dreary con-
sciousness that neither can subdue the other, but
each must hold its ground and tighten its grasp till
both drop from utter exhaustion, this is misery in-
tensified. We ask again, are the nations of Europe
to ook calmly on and witness it ? Lord Russell
might with some degree of plausibility shelter his
own infirmity of will under the plea of waiting to
see the issue of an expedition in course of prepara-
tion ; but when that expedition retires bofiLd,
beaten, broken, decimated in numbers, and bUnk-
rupt in spirit, what plea can be urged for further
delay ? The North can send out no more armies.
The remains of those in existence may be made, by
being kept At a judicious distance from the enemy,
to maintain the show of resistance, and in this way
the war may linger on for years to come, a running
ulcer, draining the health and energy,:the very life-
blood of both North and South, but incapable of
accomplishing one decisive stroke for the accom-
plishment of the purpose for which it is kept in the
field. Now, if ever, surely is the time when the
voice of friendly mediation would have a salutary
effect. The pride of both parties will probably
prevent them from being the first to pronounce the
words of peace ; it is for Europe, and above all it is
for England, to interfere. We do not expect that
service at the hands of Lord Russell. The great
feature of his policy is to let events drift as they
will and to call it non-intervention ; but in this, as
in so many other cases, the nation is wiser than its
rulers, knows its own mind more clearly, and will
shape them to its designs, or, if they prove like
Lord Russell, worthlessly brittle, will replace them
by better men.

MORNING POST.—M. Fould states that the ave-
rage increase of taxation in France, upon the same
scale of pressure, during the last ten years has been
38,000,000 fr. annually. This is about L 1,1500,000
of our money; and, estimating the French revenue
at about £75,000,000, it is at the rate of 2 per cent.
of annual increase. Such figures as these speak
volumes for the growing prosperity of France under
the empire. In the year 1863 M. Fould reduces
his estimate of increase on this head to 30,000,000 fr.,
in deference to the distress prevailing in the French
manufacturing districts. At present, indeed, it

appears difficult to compute what this distress will
amount to for the coming year, even assuming the
American war to continue ; and the same difficulty
holds with regard to our own country also. But
it is possible that the aggregate capacity of the
population to consume exciseable articles may be
very much reduced ; and it would not surprise
us to find the NN hole of this usually anticipated
38,000,000 fr. of increase disappear from the
actual receipts for the year when they shall be
announced twelve months hence. What is con-
ceivable of our own revenue is conceivable also of
the French under the influence of a similar pressure.
But we are glad to perceive that, however unex-
pected events may have disturbed the original com-
putations of M. Fould, the principle of restricang
the power of opening extraordinary credits without
the sanction of the Chamber, on which M. Fould
based his appointment as Minister of Finance, has
been in the main preserved. It is true that the
Mexican war has exceeded the vote of the Chamber
by 24,000,000 fr.; but it is a necessity that wars
shall not be starved; and it does not appear that
Ithe condition which M. Fould held sacred on his
accession to office has been invaded in any domestic
transactions. We trust that he will persevere in a
principle which is absolutely essential to affording
the Corps Legislatif the slightest control over the
public expenditure, or even the Minister of Finance
himself the means of learning the pecuniary position
of the Government, for the credit and solvency of
which he is immediately responsible to the Emperor
and the nation.

GLASGOW, Dec. 27.—Cotton.—There was a good
demand for cotton in the fore part of the week at an
advance of id. per lb. Goods and yarns.—There has been
little doing in our market for goods and yarns this week.
Producers in every department are firm in holding out for
advanced prices. Iron.—ln pig iron there has been com••
paratively little doing during this week, as usual towards
the close of the year. Prices inclined slightly downward
for the first two days, but yesterday and to-day the tone has
been firmer, probably on account of the American news.
To-day there has been few parcels on sale, and 545. 11d. and
545. 3d. cash have been realised for warrants, the latter
rate obtainable at the close. The annual circular will show
again a considerable increase of stock, which may tell
against prices ; but, on the other hand, there is great ac-
tivity in the foundries, malleable ironworks, and ship-
building yards. For shipping parcels the quotations aro :
G.m b., No. 1, 545.; No. 3,.525. 3d; Gartsherrie, No. 1,
575. Cd. ; Coltness, 575.; Calder, 655. 3d. ; Glengarnock,
54e. 3d.; Fvrth, 54e. ; Jinneil, 54e.

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