The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-29 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 29, 1862.

attached a corn doctor and assistants, who will do
their part to keep the feet of the men in order, either
to overrun the South or run away from it, as strategy
may compel. But perhaps if the Federal army
were treated to a little wholesome neglect in this
matter, and forced to fight shoeless on half rations,
like " Stonewall" Jackson's men, it might convert
some of its drawn battles into decided victories.
Who knows ? Ragged men, with a patriotic pur-
pose, are not to be judged by their clothes, but by
their deeds ; and in this respect " Stonewall" Jack-
son and Gen. Lee—who want no corn doctors for
their troops—might set the Federal Government an
example in economy as well as in dash, and prove
that a pampered army is not necessarily the most
efficient.

Some of the Pennsylvanian Quakers and New
York Shakers have pleaded exemption from the
draught in both States on the ground of their reli-
gious scruples against war. The plea has been al-
lowed in both instances. Emboldened by their suc-
cess, a few Jews of New York city have petitioned
either for exemption or for a change in the diet of
the army. Pork and beans being the staple dish—
four times a week in some divisions, and seven times
a week in others, they claim that compulsory ser-
vice with such food is a violation of their religious
liberty, and that their objection is as valid as that of
the Quakers. Possibly, if the Hebrews were poor
enough to be unable to find substitutes glad to feed
upon pork and beans, or numerous enough to form
a separate corps, the Government, so careful of the
soldiers' feet, would take the point into its careful
consideration with a view to a remedy. But as it is
the plea will stand as a joke, and the Hebrews will
find substitutes should they be draughted into the
doubly unpalatable service of the Government.
Much dissatisfaction that does not find its way
into print, for fear of the penalties of that elastic'
offence," the discouragement of recruiting," exists
throughout the army. Not only has the bountymoney
due by the Government not been paid in thousands,
or it may be tens of thousands of cases, but the pay
of more than one-half of the army is in arrear. It is
the rule of the service, and the expectation of the
soldiers, that payment should not be delayed beyond
two months, but there are many regiments in the
field which have not received a cent. of pay for
eight months. The soldiers during all that time have
been running up bills, at enormous rates of over-
charge, with the camp sutlers and other leeches, who
suck them to repletion. Mr. Chase, it appears,
cannot get notes or bills printed fast enough to
meet his liabilities ; and it is of no use to print
those for the larger amounts of twenty, fifty, and
a hundred dollars, unless there be a sufficient sup-
ply of small change to meet the small but multitu-
dinous and, in the aggregate, large demands of
retail trade, in military as well as civil life. The
sight of a soldier begging in the streets, though not
frequent, is not altogether unknown in this city;
and the charge against some of the officers of new
brigades in process of formation of having re-
ceived the funds to pay their men their bounties
and having neglected to do so, in order to have the
use of the money in the meantime, or to advance it
to clamorous applicants at a heavy discount, is so
frequently made as to justify the belief that there
must be fire somewhere to account for so much
smoke. A Washington paper states that there are
requisitions for 45,000,000 dols. (nine millions
sterling) lying unhonoured at this moment in the
Treasury Department, for want of funds to meet
them ; and that this large amount is not only due
to contractors for supplies, but to soldiers for pay.
When soldiers fight out of hatred, vengeance, or
patriotism, as in the South, the pay is a small
matter; but when Irishmen and Germans engage to
fight for money, as in the North, the pay is a matter
which the Government is most unwise to neglect,
and which may cause mischief at a critical period.

Prince Arthur from Ostend, was yesterday docked
at Woolwich, to be overhauled and make good the
damages susta:ned during the voyage. On leaving
en
the harbour of Ostend she struck on the b and
otherwise suflere,`!
shipping a good deal of NC.;ter in her hold, and
damaging her bulwarks, Sze.
The despatch vessel Psyche was yesterday un-
docked at Woolwich, and is under orders to pro-
ceed to the Mediterranean to replace the Caradoc,
now undergoing repairs at Woolwich.

—lat-

The whole of the men employed in armour }..
ing the Caledonia, launched on Friday at Wool-
wich, were yesterday ordered to work overtime un-
til 9 o'clock at night, in order to hasten the vessel
towards completion. Orders were yesterday issued
at the Royal gun factories, Woolwich, to reduce the
staff of the establishment by notifying to 30 of the
temporary clerks, termed writers, that their services
would not be required after the end of the month.
500 of the artisans and labourers have also received
notice of dismissal, thus reducing the department
from 2,900 (which was the total number employed
at the time of the American commotion) to about
1,500. The other departments will be reduced in a
similar ratio.

An increase is expected to be made shortly in the
force stationed at the camp at Colchester, and pre-
parations are being made for their reception. The
route marching of the troops during the winter
month will commence next week.

The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Lieut. Thomas F. Studdert, to
the Hawke ; Lieut. Robert R Scott, to the Russell;
Henry S. Hutchings, midshipman, to the Trafal-
gar; James A. Allan, assist.-surg., confirmed in the
Emerald ; Silas Wayincuth, assist.-paymaster in the
Royal Adelaide, to be secretary's clerk ; and Geo.
S. Cornish, acting second-class assist. engineer to
the Indus, for the Thais.

LORD PALMERSTON ON COMMERCIAL
RELATIONS OF .E.NOLAND AltiD 41UST.R1A.

We yesterday give a brief account by electric
telegraph of the visit of Baron Thierry, the Aus-
trian statesman, to Southampton, and the proceed-
ings connected therewith, Lord Palmerston being
present. We now give at length the noble lord's
speech on the occasion of J. R. Stebbing, Esq., the
President of the Chamber of Commerce, proposing
his health.

Lord PALMERSTON, on rising to respond, was re-
ceived with renewed plaudits. He said—Gentle-
men, I am so accustomed to the kindness of my
neighbours at Southampton that though I may be
gratified, I cannot say that I am surprised at their
taking this opportunity of evincing their goodwill
and kindness towards me. It is quite true, as your
President has stated, that not only I, bat all my
colleagues—and I may say every enlightened man
who now has anything to do with the Government
of this country—must feel it to be their duty to re-
lieve commerce from those shackles which the igno-
rance or the prejudices of former times imposed
upon it—(hear)—to give free scope to industry by
allowing and encouraging the most ample exchange
of the produce of industry and of nature between
this country and all the other countries of the
world—to increase our own prosperity, and by so
doing to increase the prosperity of every nation we
trade with. (Cheers.) It was an old prejudice, and
I am afraid a still ptevailing one among many per-
sons on the continent of Europe, that commerce is
a one-sided operation ; that in proportion as one
country gains, the other country with which that
commerce takes place must lose. I speak it in the
presence of a very distinguished Austrian statesman,
and he will forgive me for stating that which he
well knows to be true, that in Germany there was
great alarm among the manufacturing interests
lest the opening of trade with England should
ruin the country with whom he had commercial
transactions. They said we were to deluge them
with our commodities—as if we were t o
present them with those commodities—as if we
were to give them to others without re-
ceiving value in exchange, and as if the value
which we were to take in exchange could, upon a
large scale, be anything in the world except the pro-
ductions of the industry of the country to which we
send our commodities. Those feelings, however,
have altered. (Hear.) We have conquered those
feelings in our treaty with France. (Hear, hear.)
Even that was a triumph over prejudice, which was
accomplished only by the strong arm of what I may
call, for that purpose, despotic power. If the Em-
peror had submitted that treaty of commerce to his
Chamber it would have been rejected by the force of
opinion clinging to the doctrine of protection.
(Hear.) Well, by the constitution of France he was
enabled to sanction that treaty by his own supreme
act, and now I believe the French nation find they
derive as much advantage from it as we do—(hear,
hear)—it being, in fact, as clear as the sun at noon-
day that commerce must be equally advantageous to
both parties, or it would cease to be carried on.
(Cheers.) Well, in Germany there is still a great
reluctance to see the benefits which free trade affords
to both sides when it is established. I believe—in-
deed I know—that Count Rechberg is a very en-
lightened statesman--that he is fully alive to the
advantages of the most perfect freedom of commerce;
Emperor of the French, pos-
d of authority to overrule and override
1 aes buts
ehe is not
supreme
like t h e
I all parties ; and therefore, if we do not get at once,
especially with Austria, those commercial advan-
tages
which would be so much for the benefit of
Austria and of England, we must ascribe it, not to
any slowness on the part of the Austrian Govern-
ment, but to the nature of things—to the fact that
whereas here in England, enlightened as we are, it
was a long time before we were able to carry those
doctrines into practice, so also with Austria—we
must bide our time, and wait till the Austrian
Government is able—and I trust it soon will be
1 able—to extend and liberalise its commercial inter-
' course with other countries, and to take a wide
step towards rendering perfectly free the com-
merce between
is the two countries. (Cheers.) I
much agree with what has been said—for I be-
lieve there no country in Europe with which
England could have a commerce so extensive and
advantageous to both sides. (Loud cheers.) Aus-
tria abounds with things which would fetch high
value here. The natural resources of Austria—the
productions of all kinds, either from its surface or
from its mines—are really something wonderful—
not known enough in England, but well known to
those who have studied the statistical resources—
the treasures above ground and below ground of
Austria. (Cheers.) Well, then, Austria has not
made the same progress which we have in manu-
factures. We make a great number of things
which would be highly useful to the people of Aus-
tria ; they would gain cheaper things ; they would
gain better things, which they cannot at present
make. (Hear, hear.) Therefore, an extensive com-
merce between the two nations would clearly be
more advantageous both to England and to Austria
than an extended commerce between England and
any other country in Europe. (Cheers.) That is a
doctrine which we have long held, and I believe
the enlightened statesmen of Austria are quite alive
to its truth. Well, I hope that the visit of your
distinguished guest will tend very much to
strengthen Count Rechberg and his colleagues in
the enlightened views they entertain. (Hear, hear.)
He will be able to tell them in Austria what won-
derful progress this country has made within the
last few years by reason of the freedom which has
been given, and the development which has been
given to commerce, to industry, and to manufac-
tures ; and he will point out that Austria would
derive equal benefit by following the same course.
(Cheers.) When, some years ago, it was said that
the restrictions upon the importation of corn ought
to be removed, all the agricultural interest imagined
that they would be ruined. (Hear.) It was feared
that America, and Poland, and Hungary, and all
other places would deluge us—for that was the fa-
vourite expression—(laughter)—would deluge us
with corn, and that the land would go out of culti-
vation. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) Well, the very
reverse of that happened. (Hear.) Our agricul-
turists were stimulated to exertion by having their
monopoly taken away—the land is better cultivated
than it ever was before—every year additional tracts
of land are brought into cultivation instead of being
thrown out of
cultivation—and the agricultural in.

terests have found that they are far better off than
they were when that protection was taken from them.
(Cheers.) So it has been with all our manufactures.
We were formerly very bad hands in making silk.
There was then a very high protective duty on
French silks, and when there was a question of tak-
ing it off, or bringing it down to a reasonable
amount, people said they must take off their looms;
but instead of that, very soon after the monopoly of
our silk manufactures was taken away—whereas
before our silks had been rejected in every foreign
market as being inferior in quality and higher in
—very soon after that monopoly was taken
the French in their own markets.
away we bet._ - were bought in third markets
(Cheers.) Our silks -^ nce because they were
in preference to the silks of 1, -1 cheers.) So
better and they were cheaper, (Lot._
time in
it will be with Austria. (Hear.) At one
Portugal there was a prohibition against importing
foreign hats—(laughter)—there was a hat interest,
and the manufacturers of hats in Portugal said they
could not live if foreign hats were imported. Well,
the consequence was that the Portuguese wore very
bad hats—(a laugh)—and as it is an emblem of rank
and pedigree in Portugal very often for a man to be
entitled to wear three hats, you may conceive how
much the Portuguese, and especially the nobility,
value an accumulation of hats—(renewed laughter)
—and of course suffered from that restriction. (More
laughter.) Well, that restriction, I believe, has
been taken away, and anybody who walks the streets
of Lisbon may see gentlemen wearing very smart-
looking and very good .looking hats. (Laughter.)
However, that is only one instance. I am quite
sure it is greatly to the interest of Austria to en-
courage the utmost possible freedom of interchange
and exchange with England ; and it is unnecessary
to say it will be greatly to the interest of Eng-
land that that system should be established, as I
trust it will be. (Hear, hear.) Home politics
and trade are different things. And it is non-
sense to say, as some people do, that if you only
establish free trade and extensive commercial inter-
course between two countries peace will be everlast-
ing, and that there will be no more war. That I
know is the doctrine of some very respectable gen-
tlemen amongst us ; but it is a mistake. Interest
is a strong motive, but passion a much stronger, as
we have seen lately with the Northern States of
America. It was said that it was impossible for
England and America to quarrel, because there was
so great a commercial intercourse between the two.
Well, but the moment the passions of the Ameri-
cans were excited—first by the civil war, and then
by that unfortunate escapade of Captain Wilkes—
(cheers)—at the moment that happened, away went
all thoughts of commerce and commercial relations,
and the people, as you know, were all throwing
their heads up and saying " Let us have war with
England," on a matter in which they were entirely
wrong. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Therefore, Ido
not say that greater commercial intercourse with
Austria would make secure our political relations,
but it would improve them—(hear, hear)—and I
do not foresee any subject of presupposed difference
between the two. (Hear, hear.) Therefore I take
the liberty of impressing upon our distinguished
guest that by increasing the commercial intercourse
between the two countries we are not only adding
to the wealth and happiness, and prosperity of
both, but that we are to a very great degree cement-
ing the political ties by which the two countries
are bound together. (Loud and continued ap-
plause. I only hope that Baron Thierry will give
me an opportunity at Broadlands of more distinctly
enlarging upon that theme; and as I left a note
at Radley's Hotel just now, inviting him to dine
with me this afternoon, I hope you will let him
go for that purpose. (Enthusiastic and sustained
cheering.)