The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-18 00:00:00

THE DEFENCES OF NEW ORLEANS.

A recent number of the Richmond Dispatch. says :
—"The Mississippi is fortified so as to be impass-
able for any hostile fleet or flotilla. Forts Jackson
and St. Philip are armed with 170 guns (68-pound-
ers, rifled by Barkley Britten, and received from
England). The navigation of the river is stopped
by a dam of about a quarter of a mile from the
above forts. No flotilla on earth would force that
dam in less than two hours, during which it would
be within short and cross range of 170 guns of the
largest calibre, many of which would be served
with red-hot shot, numerous furnaces for which
have been erected in every fort and in every bat-
tery. Between New Orleans and the forts there
is a constant succession of earthworks. At the
Plain of Chalmette, near Janin's Property, there
are redoubts, armed with rifled cannon, which have
been found to be effective at five miles' range. A
ditch 30 feet wide and 20 deep, extends from the
Mississippi to La Capriere. In the Forts St. Philip
and Jackson there are 3,000 men, of whom a
goodly portion are experienced artillerymen and.
gunners who have served in the army."
The same paper says—

" In a day or two we shall have ready two iron-
cased floating batteries. The plates are 4i- inches
thick, of the best hammered iron, received from
England and France. Each iron-caned battery
will mount 20 68-pounders, paced so as to skim
the water, and strike the enemy's hull between
wind and water. We have an abundant supply of
incendiary shells, cupola furnaces for molten iron,
congreve rockets, and fire ships. At New Orleans
itself we have 32,000 infantry, and as many more
quartered in the immediate neighbourhood. In
discipline and drill they are far superior to the
Yankees. We have two very able and active gene-
rals, who possess our entire confidence—General
Mansfield Sorrel and Brigadier-General Ruggles.
For Commodore we have old Rollins—a Nelson in
his way. We are ready to give the Yankees a
hot reception when they come. Around all are
mad with excitement and rage. Our only fear is
that the Northern invaders will not appear. We
have made such extensive preparation to receive
them that it were vexatious if their invisible ar-
mada escapes the fate we have in store for it."
There are also said to be other formidable obstruc-
tions of various kinds in the river to prevent the
passage upwards of a fleet. A correspondent at Ship
Island, writing recently, says :
" I have conversed with some prisoners recently
taken in reference to the obstructions placed across
the Mississippi by the rebels to prevent the passage
of Federal men. of-war. From them I learn there
is an immense raft of logs, containing 80,000 feet,
stretched across the river at a point called the
Jump.' The raft is secured to the banks of the-
river, on either side, by heavy chains, which are
dropped when any of the Confederate steamers pass.
This formidable obstruction is commanded by a
strong battery."
A New York paper says :
"New Orleans is the great commercial and finan-
cial emporium of the South. It is the great Southern
cotton emporium. Superior cheapness of transpor-
tation by water draws thither all the cotton pro-
duced in Middle and Western Tennessee, Arkansas,
Eastern Texas, and Mississippi. 'The tobacco, hemp,
and cereals of our vast Western empire find their
way thither from the same cause. Half a continent
pours its productive wealth into its bosom, and finds
thence its way to the markets of the world. It is
in brief the key to the wealth, the prosperity, and.
advancement of 15 States. Its possession would be
of vast material benefit. It would afford us at once
the means of forcing the States of Texas, Louisiana,
and Western Mississippi back to their allegiance,
and serve as the point from whence we could force
our other rebellious sisters of the South-west back
to their duty. The fact of its capture would inspire
the utmost terror throughout the entire South. A.
moral paralysis would fall upon the boldest spirits
of Secessionism.

" The population of the city, by the census of
1860, was 168,472. This has doubtless been greatly
reduced since that time; but, allowing for the opera-
tion of all reducing causes, it still probably numbers
considerably above a hundred thousand souls. If
we may not now daily look for news of its fall, we
may at least anticipate learning what is virtually
the same thing—that General Butler and Captain
Porter have captured all its defences, opened up the
river, and hold the contumacious city at the mercy
of the mortars."

AMERICAN VICTORIES.

TO TIIE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—The following Northern items, name to us
by the steamers from the United States, bringing
dates to the 23d and 26th of March :

1. Island No. 10 officially reported, by a Major-
General of the army, taken by the Federals.
2. Fort Pike, at the entrance of Lake Ponchar-
train, taken by the Federals, and new Orleans in
imminent danger.
3. New Orleans attacked.
4. New Orleans taken.
5. Beaufort, North Carolina, taken by a division
of General Burnside's army.
6. The town destroyed by the Confederates.
7. Fort Macon, commanding the harbour of Beau-
fort, abandoned and blown up by the Confederates.
8. At the same time and place the Confederate
steamer Nashville first burnt by the Federals, then
by the Confederates.

9. Fright and flight of P resident Davis from
Richmond, as reported by the New York Times.

Such was the appalling list of disasters to the
Confederate cause, which rendered the Yankees in
Paris and London jubilant, and caused some of the
more credulous Southerners to lock grave and
solemn.

Look on that picture, and on this !
One day less than a week elapsed, and the
Northern accounts, by the steamer of the 29th from
New York, without the slightest apology or ex-
planation, coolly send forth the following :-
1. Island No. 10 not taken.
2. Fort Pike not taken.
3. New Orleans not attacked.
4. New Orleans not taken.
5. Beaufort not taken.
6. The town not destroyed by the Confederates.
7. Fort Macon not abandoned, or blown up.
8. The steamer Nashville not burnt by Federals,
or Confederates, but gallantly gliding out of the
harbour (laden with cotton for foreign ports)
through the ponderous jaws of the veritable and '
" effective" blockading squadron at that port.
9. President Davis neither frightened, nor fleeing
from Richmond.

With such a record of misrepresentation and
contradiction from the same source, would it not be
wise in future, before yielding our credence, to
Paris, April M.
WAIT A. WEEK?

THE SOLDIERS' CLUB AT HONG KONG.—The
soldiers' club at Hong Kong comprises a skittle• alley, a
billiard- room, a racquet-court, and a newspaper room, which
contains a library under the special control of the ban ack-
master, consisting of more than 2,000 volumes. The sub-
scribers at present on the list are 178, and the number fluc-
tuates somewhat monthly. There is a cheerful fire in the
reading-room—a contrast to barracks—and smoking is by
no means prohibited. The club—distinct in some measure
from the library—is under the direction of a committee,
the president of which is always to be a field-officer when
circumstances permit. The rules to be adhered to are few
and simple, but unfortunately a large proportion of the
subscribers can neither read nor write.—London and China
Telegraph.
AN OLD COUNTRY MANSION.—Carved over the
park gateway and the porch on the terrace, but very worn
now, and moss-grown, and with orange lichen patches over
it, the crests of the Hadfields is still traceable. Let the
history of the county state it heraldically :—" A dove, ar.
beak and legs, gu. standing on a serpent rowed ppr. Motto,
Soyez sage et sample.' " And in that beautiful chamber
--(it is used as a library now, and it is the room in which
the medical gentlemen had their consultation and their
!Madeira)—wainscoted with carved oak of rich and elaborate
pattern and most skilful workmanship, is to be seen in
ad-
mirabled
eperoersaetrevd h
atoirttadrav
na,lniZnofunequalledthe
timespecimenof j
amofes I.ricely-
The chimney piece is decorated with the Royal arms and
the initials of James, while amidst the thick crust of orna-
mentation on either side are to be found the bearings Of
Sir Hugh, the builder,. and of the family of his wife, one of
—Once a Wok,
the sumo of 111116