The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-09 00:00:00

THE SUN,

England, both as an evidence of the indomitable
prowess of her sons, and of the generosity of her su-
preme
rulers. At that famous battle there was, as
the Earl of HARDWICKE truly observed, more ter-
rible bloodshed than at any other sea fight on re•
cord, with the single exception of the victory at the
Nile. Under NELSON, off Aboukir, the average
slaughter was sixty-four men per ship. Under
PELLEW, off Algiers, the average was sixty-three
men per ship. Brilliant as was this triumph
of our navy conceived to be at the period of
its achievement, the gallant seamen and officers
who served under his pennant on that me-
i morable occasion are denied the distinction of

a simple medal, while those testimonies of merit

are about to be bestowed, as the Earl of HARDWICKE

indignantly expressed it—for actions "comparatively
trumpery." " You granted," continued the Noble
Earl, "you granted twenty millions for the emanci-
pation of the black slaves in the colonies ; will you

be so inconsistent as to refuse a bit of ribbon to those

who, serving at the cannon's mouth, tended to the
liberation of the white slaves in Algiers ?" There
is no Administration, however niggardly in character,

but would eagerly repudiate v such an ignoble
kind of parsimony. To the Russell Administration,
therefore—an Administration rather profuse in its

munificence than otherwise—the inquiry must have

sounded abhorrent. Hence was the reply of
Lord AUCKLAND of an unusually explicit
and conclusive character. We have remarked
that the remonstrance came with felicitous
forcefulness from Lord HARDWICKE, because
that Noble Lord in his youth shared in the
dangers and glories of Algiers. If our memory is
not wonderfully deceptive, the naval historian JAMES

declares that the vessel which suffered the most

frightfully at the battle of Algiers was the frigate
Leander, commanded by Sir EDWARD CHETHAM,

now Sir EDWARD CHETHANI STRODE. Such was
the havoc among the crew of the Leander that we
believe we are correct in asserting that in one berth
of thirteen midshipmen, eleven out of the thirteen
were either killed or seriously wounded the
Earl of HARDWICKE and a brother reefer being
the two who escaped uninjured. Of all the
glorious sea-fights recorded in those annals of
heroism—the history of the British navy—the battle
of Algiers was fought in the sublimest cause—the
vindication of the freedom of humanity ! Of all
actions, with the exception of one, it was the
bloodiest. Shall the survivors of that extraordinary
engagement, where a fortified city, mounted with
one thousand pieces of cannon, was quelled, and its
battlements beaten down into ruins by a fleet of
English sailors and marines—shall the survivors of
that extraordinary engagement still go unrewarded
by a scrap of ribbon and a medal, while others are
decorated who have shared in actions " comparatively
trumpery ?"
What we have observed with reference to Algiers
might be urged with similar reason for Navarino,
for Copenhagen, for the engagement of the Fisgard,
for the retreat of Lord CORNWALLIS, for the gallant
deeds of Sir WILLIAM HOSTE, of Sir JAMES DE
SAIIMAREZ, and of many other distinguished officers.
We have merely selected Algiers in particular, as it
is unquestionably the most daring and the most un-
paralleled, as it certainly was the most bloody and
the most generous, of the unrewarded battles.
Let it not be imagined for an instant that in de-
manding so urgently the bestowal of these badges of
glory upon those who have smelt gunpowder under
the banners of the nation, we are arguing merely,
as it were, for the distribution of a few straws
or a handful of Brummagem buttons. The insignia
of courage are, in the majority of instances, merely
an inch of silk and a pewter medal, it is true ; but
that pewter and that silk are things worthier than
toys or baubles. They are sublimated by the grandeur
of their associations. Listen to the words of a great
captain now living; listen to the expressions of Sir
CHARLES NAPIER, the Conqueror of Sinde, who speaks
thus upon the advantages of such rewards (see his
" Remarks on Military Law," p. 210) :—" Let me ask
any man conversant in human nature whether the
grandson of a soldier, whose Waterloo medal [or the
grandson of a sailor, whose Trafalgar medal, or whose
Algiers medal] hangs over the cabin chimney, will
not feel an honest pride when he looks upon this tes-
timony of his progenitor's bravery ? The youth
may be a weaver, a ploughman, a smith, an any-
thing ; but he will still feel proud of the medal ; and
the less he is connected with the army [or the navy]
the higher will his veneration be for the
military [or naval] character of his ancestor."
Further on this eloquent warrior continues—" Such
honours tend to improve the feelings of our children ;
it brings some prominent era in the history of their
country home to them ; they become identified with
her battles ; her glory grows more dear to their
hearts, it enters into their family, and clothes with its
brightness those dear to their affections" Let the
Government take these sentences, as well as the
Extraordinary Gazette, into their consideration ; let
them bestow the medals—and bestow them speedily
—upon the survivors of Algiers and similar unre-
warded engagements.

The statement which the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer made last night in the House of Commons,
when proposing what he expressed a hope would be
the last vote which it would be necessary to submit to
the House for the purposes of relief in Ireland, will
be perused with peculiar interest, not only by the
people of that country, but in all parts of the kingdom.
We trust that the anticipations of the Right Hon.
Baronet may prove well founded, and that the favour-
able character of the ensuing harvest, and the in-

creased exertions of the landed proprietors, ren-
dered practicable by the assistance afforded from
the national Exchequer, will restore to their
country the ability to provide for its own desti-
tution, and enable it no longer to need that help
which we so readily bestowed in the dark hour
of its adversity. That statement not only related
to the progress of the relief already afforded, and
what its amount has been up to the present time, but
also as to what we may reasonably anticipate with
respect to the future. Nothing can afford a stronger
proof of the real character of our feelings towards
our Irish brethren than a plain and simple statement
of the operations carried on from the time of the first
indications of an insufficiency of food, occasioned
by the failure of the potato crop, until they are again
restored to independence. It should be appreciated
by the high-minded people of that country, and if
they are not sufficiently grateful therefor, we are
convinced that it is because they are deceived and
led astray by those who, actuated by what has
been well termed the " Anti-Russell mania," have
viewed everything through a distorting medium, and
conceived most erroneous and exaggerated ideas of
the duties and the acts of Government. The simple
figures now cited, the pounds, shillings, and pence
expended, will furnish the most triumphant answer
to the complaints of these calumniators, the perfect
vindication of the Ministry from their charges.
It is unnecessary to follow the Right lion. Baronet
through the several details, suffice it to say, that of
the ten millions of pounds sterling placed by Parlia-
ment at the disposal of the Government for that pur-
pose, 3,3q0,0001. has already been expended, or is
about to be expended, for the relief of Ireland; and
that a reserve of 640,0001. is still retained, in order
to provide for any contingencies that may arise
before the next harvest. The whole sum applied up
to the
advanceds bythe harvest of 1846 was 734,0001., of which 368,000/.
residue 364,0001. by way of loan, and the
grants from the Imperial Trea-
sury. A great change however,
the potato failure which,' d then took. place ;
versal throughout the'entirec
had only been partial,unfortunatelyout became urn-
urmg the preceding year,
oin f
thethat
calamity. fearfully
The
gentryaggravated th eofn awful A
consequences
country, with
some honourable exceptions, became paralysed—they
felt the inadequacy of their means to provide for
the
helpless sufferers ; and, because they couldnote do
all that was required, they abandoned every
exertion, and flung themselves upon thery
national resources with a despairing recklessness.
Although the statute authorising the advance of money
for the purpose of carrying on the public works that
might be sanctioned by the ratepayers and the Board of
Works provided that the same was to be fully repaid by
the several baronies, sums were presented, the re-
payment (.f which would have absorbed, in many in-
stances, the entire rental of the districts for several
years.. Intimidation was suffered to prevail until it