The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-05 00:00:00

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2

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PRICE SD.

from the contiguous ground. If the French itittiandok;m4----N
in Bantry, after three days everything in Cork 14.1 been'
taken in six hours. It is impossible to conceive n. 117"
thing more indefensible, from the land side, than otil
establishments in Cork ' • neither is the vicinity of
population of 80,000 at all desirable to a fortified place.
The fact is, that the vast expenditure of public money
in Cork was a total waste, and part of the political job-
bing which prevailed in those days.
No place could be better adapted than Cork, with its
great commercial resources, for the provision trade, and
the supply of our fleets.
In exercising the great public trust of choosing, on
the assailable side of Ireland, such a position as will
combine naval defence with military facilities, the Go-
vernment will surely adopt a searching inquiry ; and
if the public money, more or less, be to be expended,
they will as surely take care that whatever public works
are established shall be in a position of unquestionable
security from internal commotion or external attack;
and that it is not from the eastern or southern side of
Ireland its western coasts can be defended, any more
than Cork could be defended from the Shannon.
England may, in another respect, condescend to take
instruction from France. She is about to establish four
distinct lines of packet communication across the Atlantio
from her western ports to America. Such a wise measure
will form a basis for an ocean steam navy. Yet France
has no possessions on the other side of the Atlantic. has
England no interest, colonial or imperial, in acting on a
similar policy? Is it that our Government can be in-
sensible to the vast importance of establishing a counter-
balancing force of steam navy on the North Atlantic?
Will England forego the advantages of our geographical
position, which so much abridges the transit of the
ocean. We have at least one harbour, six degrees west
of Brest, which can be reached by railroad Is the cir-
cumstance to be overlooked of placing the periodical
transport of our mails and troops remote from the cruis-
ing ground of an enemy's steamers, and on which it
would require the equipment of a consider-
able force at some hundreds of miles distance
to intercept our communications? But if, after
all, the Government shall deem the selec-
tion of the best possible packet station, and
the most suitable point for embarkation of our
troops, matters of subordinate interest, and shall prefer
some paltry economy of money to economy of the
soldiers' safety and comfort, and that all old establish-
ments, though erroneous, shall be continued, and the
public service sacrificed to monopolies, and a subser-
viency to large constituencies,*:there will still remain
one all-important subject, upon which the Government
cannot continue to delude itself.
A vast i sum of public money has been devoted to
fortify the English coast most opposed to the possible
enemy. In a former war the contemplation of an inva-
sion led to a plan of arming 400,000 of the population, to
meet such a danger. Are the British people so degene-
rate, that whilst her army has never been beaten in
foreign countries, they would not furnish a host of brave
and loyal hearts, sufficient to overwhelm any foe that
dared to violate their soil ? There can, at the same time,
be no doubt, that particular parts of our coasts may ad-
vantageously be provided with works and artillery to
embarrass, if not defeat, any attempt at a descent. Of
course all our arsenals should be placed in the best pos-
sible state of defence, and for that purpose, extensive
lines of fortification are requisite. But after all, an
attempt to invade England cannot contemplate more
than a temporary effect, or the destruction of some
public property, possibly of great magnitude. An occu-
pation of the country cannot for a moment be thought of
—not so Ireland. The popular press of Ireland pro-
claims that " England's adversity is Ireland's oppor-
tunity ;" that opportunity would arise in case of an In-
vasion, and it would be worse than childish to suppose
for a moment that a foreign force invading Ireland
would find itself in si an enemy's country." In the
summer of 1798, eleven hundred Frenchmen landed in
Connaught, and made such an impression, that Lord
Cornwallis found it necessary to concentrate all the dis-
posable force at his command, to defeat the French and
the rebels who joined them. Another expedition of
3,000 men was soon after on our coasts, but fortunately
captured at sea.
Under the present wise monarch of France, our rela-
tions with that country may be safe; but it is incumbent
upon the Government to prepare beforehand for a very
different state of things. The French blunder of in-
vading Ireland by Bantry Bay will never be repeated;
the armament was in truth intended for the Shannon.
Every possible motive, military and naval, indicates the
west of Ireland as the assailable line of invasion. If any
doubts existed on the subject, our most powerful enemies
have instructed us. Carnot and Napoleon not only con-
sidered that Ireland had very fine westerly harbours, but
they made a selection of the points at which it might be
desirable to pay us a visit ;f and assuredly the first
step to be taken by France in case of a war, would be
an invasion of the west of Ireland. A force for that pur-
pose will necessarily proceed from the western harbours
of France, and theirfair wind, viz., some point of the south,
shuts up Cork and Bantry ; and any effort, even by
steamers, from those ports, would be greatly retarded
and embarrassed in the attempt to get round the south-
western angle of Ireland. Even the limited experience
of the last two winters proves, what an immense " wear
and tear," and waste of fuel, has ensued from the mis-
chievous fallacy of connecting the western defences with
a " bead-quarters " at Cork. It may be measured by
the average of time passed by our steamers between
Cork and the Skelligs. The avowed hostility of Ame-
rica, at least its sympathy when occasion shall offer,
points to the west of Ireland. When an invasion comes,
it will come as a " coup de main," and it would be
madness not to prepare for it in time of peace, as what
is only wasteful and inconvenient in the operations of
peace, would be fatal in war. It is palpable to every
professional man, that for an effectual naval defence of
the west of Ireland, some position must be taken up
upon that coast. The proper force for such a purpose
would necessarily be a squadron of steamers of various
strength. The western coast of Ireland may be said to
begin at the Skelligs The choice of such naval sta-
tion would, therefore, be restricted to some harbour on
the coast of Galway, to the Shannon, and to Valentin.
If it be not intended to abandon Ireland, and to court
an invasion of its shores, a defensive position must be
taken up at some one or other of those harbours. It
will have to be considered whether any, and which of
these, can be rendered, in a naval and military sense,
perfectly defensible—from which the general line of
western coast can be most effectually watched and com-
manded—from which vessels are most quickly and easily
released by the prevailing winds—to which can be com-
municated by signal or telegraph the earliest intimation
of the approach of an enemy to our coasts 4 and, in
which vessels can lie in the best anchorage, with shelter
from all winds. These are questions which it is impe-
ratively the duty of the Government to investigate by the
most able and. impartial professional authorities.
As an essential feature in the western defence of Ire-
land, I would respectfully solicit a military and naval
examination of the question, whether Valentia does not
possess the means of being easily and effectually forti-
fied against any attatk, with ample anchorage for a
squadron, which could not be molested ; and a military
position on the island, commanding at once the harbour
and the opposite coast, and unattackable by an enemy,
either externally or internally. It is not easy to appre-
ciate the influence which the establishment of a strong
defensive squadron in the most suitable western port
would exercise on the internal :tranquillity of Ireland.
Under all the circumstances, I hope it will net be
deemed presumptuous for me to ask, at your Lordships'
hands, what your Noble predecessor promised me, viz.,
fair play and justice to Ireland.—l have the honour to
be, my dear Lord, faithfully yours,
THE KNIGHT OF KERRY.

* A powerful and well-paid agency has been for many
years exercised insidiously in hostility to Valentia. There
is not a department of the Government that has not been
masasaskileedd.by this agency, which one day or other may be un-
plan of attacking Ireland would
t the same time a diversion by
menacing Hulls an ty
simultaneously, Car not communicated to
idthbe
elaitne
tCohelonc
Shannon Shaw
atuhda that his a
wa
c creating
Napoleon, in his free discussions after
ohfiadesconation, stated that the Shannon was the proper point
The great Skellig is one of the most remarkable objects
in the ocean, rising near 800 feet above the sea, in 34 fa-
thoms water. It is one of the best possible points for obser-
vation of any approach to the western coast of Ireland.
Now that such improvements are contemplated iu the elec-
tric telegraph, it would not be extravagant to anticipate that
intelligence could be communicated in a few minutes to thio
Admiralty and Downing-street, from a station 10i degrees
and upwards of -two degrees nearer to
west
teriocf wi
aGthreanenCocit

kwurrom; on, THE SOLDIER AND STATESMAN, By
the Rev. G. CROLY, LL.D., Author of " Salathiel."—We un-
hesitatingly pronounce the romance of " Salathiel " to be the
most splendid and most powerful fiction that England has
given birth to within the last twenty years. Take it for all
in all, it is the master-piece of the age ; and we greet ;with
heartfelt satisfaction the publication of "Marston" from the
same rich, brilliant, and glowing pen. Intimately conversant
with all the horrors of the French Revolution—with all the
sanguinary and frightful scenes by which its earlier periods
were desecrated—Dr. Croly has here produced a work of ap-
palling power. It points an important moral to the world,
more especially to England—" That in all violent political
change the humblest ranks are sure to suffer most; that
their bodies are used merely to fill up the trench over which
their leaders pass to power; that their severest sacrifices only
turn a demagogue into a tyrant; and that the only alterna-
tives of a democracy are national decay or military despot-
ism." We doubt whether there be another writer living who
could so effectively have performed the task.—Naval and
Military Gazette.
[ADVERTISEMENT.] ROsHERTILLN GARDENB.-..
Messrs. Ross and Sons beg to inform the public, that they
have purchased the two bears, born and reared at these gar.
dens, and intend shooting one of them on Tuesday, the 9th
of June, when a grand gala is to take place; any one pre-
ferringmal do
applyn tgo haveon th thee 10 tfha t directof
Jnn efroamt
their
rani establishment,s°llb9y,
and 120, Bishopsgate-street. There is no doubt that bear's
grease, in its pure state, is decidedly the most nourishing ar-
ticle for the hair hitherto discovered, and used alternately
with their botanic water, is the only thing that will restore
it 1_,I•
azAT
numerous
TinnsEtancFeSßEofExwklisicohNs, occurilAdLaLil.3L.The damage
done to the gallery at the southern end of the Freemasons'
Hall in Great Queen Street is much less than the reports and
rumours originally described. The fire is supposed to have
originated from the pipe or tube which carries off the heated
air from the lights placed just above the statue of the late
Duke of Sussex having become red hot, and being in contact
with the timber or wood-work of the wall, to have caused
ignition. Fortunately the statue has sustained no injury,
and so little has the business of the tavern been interrupted,
that several public societies yesterday held meetings and fes-
tivals there as if nothing had.occurred.
TnE[ALITTEBERATI,InsEsaIoEmNATa.,]—cusAiD
iDANGEROUSnnowsoAisyO,7I,B
oDISEASEIane,
ANDmOet..
PILLS. Mx. Thomas Randell, 7, Cottage-place.
the liver and stomach, that he was
owi to a derangement of
recari°frequently seized with violent
hyoerrse,pfasonnt
heardlybeaenlaregee
veryfarm per, declares that hi neatth for twenty
often anticipated the
but spite of such dangerous
lab :red in the course of a month by rub-
sp a s
being ri Ili , whichfound
deadso nearly lybischoketviners, that he
' symptoms,
as:b
inPerratmtedfeceut into, his chest, stomach, and right side
Pills, which are sold by all druggist), and
We rroptilloto LotOUllimmt 214 x. and Lo on. •
, banciinetakitiouuowhisheye was

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