The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-17 00:00:00

The world wonld think that France gives up the idea of being
a maritime power, or at least of taking part in the great
clit,stionawhich are in Cgitation at present."
The Courrier Francais is the only parr which seems
to recollect the imporwnt fact that ships &one do not

constitute a navy, It does not join in the cry raised by
the other journals. On the contrary, it says:—

"Of what service can be the immense material which is
amassed at the cost of millions in our building-yards? Has
our mercantile marine increased to such an extent that we
need additional ships of war for their convoy ? Have our
colonial possessions increased and enlarged insomuch as to
render it indi,pensable that the effective force of our naval
stations should be doubled? Oh, no; our mercantile ma
rine is rather lessened than augmented, and, as to our co-
lonial possessions, not an inch of land has been added to
them for ten years past ! Under such circumstances we ask
again—of what use will be a new fleet of war-ships? Pro-
bably to make pageants on the seas—unless, indeed, they
are left to rot in their ports. Again, were such a fleet only
useless! But it would not be only useless—it would be in-
jurious even to the development of our naval power. It
must be manned and armee. Besides, a fleet, as all the
world knows, requires a great number of able sailors to man
it. To provide these our merchant ships must be stripped
of their best seamen. Is our mercantile navy in a condition
to support such a privation? According to M. Gustave
Brunet, one of the causes of the decline of our navy is the
numerical superiority of our crews as compared with the
crews of the ships of other nations. Thus—the Russian navy
reckons only one man for every 22 6-10 tons; the navy of
the United States one man for every 21 tons; the Austrian
navy one man for every 16 tons; while the French navy has
one man for less than every 10 tons. Hence aria s a consi-
derable difference in the expenditure, and consequently in
the charge for freight. Would it be prudent to aggravate
still more this cause of inferiority by depriving our merchant
ships of a greater number of able seamen than they have
been accustomed to supply? Would it not be infinitely
better to increase our steam-ships, which require many more
good engineers and good soldiers than good sailors, and re-
duce rather than increase our sailing ships of war? Acting
thus, much money would, we believe, be left in the pockets
of our tax-payers, and an element of success, too much want-
ing to it, would be left to our mercantile navy, by leaving to
it its able seamen."

The probable result of the debate will be, that the
steamers and the ships of the line will both be voted,
and the Minister of Mariue‘will have given to him more
than he asked for, or expected.
The Government had received the following telegra-
phic dispatch from Toulon:—
" The Russian squadron was in sight off Toulon in the well-
ing of the 11th ; at half-past six it came to anchor in the
roadstead. On the morning of the 12th, the Maritime Pre-
fect paid a visit to his Imperial Highness the Grand Duke
Constantine and to Admiral Lutke. Salutes were exchanged.
The sub-prefect, the general commanding the department,
and the mayor of Toulon, also went on board the vessel of
the Prince. His Imperial H;ghness, wishing to preserve the
incognito that he has maintained everywhere else, requested
that no official honours might be shown to him. The Grand
Duke has landed. He went first to the Maritime Prefec-
ture, and was next to visit the arsenal of Mourillon and Fort
Lamalgue."
Count Kisseleff, the Russian Charge d'Affaires, passed
through Marseilles on the 10th, on his way to Toulon.
Algiers journals to the 7th had been received at
Nlarseillea. Marshal BUGEAUD had been so ill that he
was unable to leave Algiers for Oran on the sth, as be
had intended. ABD-EL-KADER, it appears, has again
escaped the pursuit of General JUSSUF. While all the
world supposed he was retiring towards the west, he
suddenly re-appeared in the east, and General JUMP
had, of course, to retrace his steps in that direction.

The nineteen workmen who had been buried alive in
the tunnel at Gmircelles for ten days, were rescued from
their perilous situation at two o'clock on Sunday.
The following-are miscellaneous extracts :-
"M. Francoise Jean Sevestre, a member of the National
Convention for the Department of Ille et Vilaine, died at
Tournan on the 6th inst., in the 94th year of his age. M.
Sevestre was one of the most energetic members of that assem-
bly. He voted the King's death, and, having been appointed
one of the Commissioners of Public Safety, he was charged
with the surveillance of the children of Louis XVI., confined
in the Temple. It was be who made the report on the de•
mise of the Dauphin. M. Sevestre was subsequently at-
tached as state messenger to the Council of Five Hundred
and the Legislative Body; he was banished in 1815, and
only returned to France i;f; er the revolution of 1830, when
the Chamber of Deputies decreed that he should he paid up
all the arrears due to him during his exile, and granted him
a pension of 3,600 f.
" The venerable M. Dupont de l'Eure experienced on Satin,.
day afternoon a very serious indisposition, supposed at first to
be caused by congestion of the brain. An active course of
treatment was immediately pursued, which produced a satis-
factory result, and on Monday he was considered out of
danger."
The prices at the opening of the Paris Bourse :on
Tuesday were tolerably firm, but afterwards declined.
The Three per Cents. closed at 83f. 60c.; the Five per
Cents., 12Uf. 5c.; the Orleans Railroad shares, 1, '26f. 25e. ' •
Rouen, 1,040 f.; Havre, 7471. 50c.; Great Northern, 7671.
50c. ; Avignon, 9181. 75e. ; Vierzon, 672 r. 50c.; Bordeaux,
G 301.; Boulogne, 5101.; Troyes and Montereau, 422 f. 50c. ;
Basle, 2321. 50c.; Paris and Strasburg, 523 f. 75c.; Tours
and Nantes, 548 f. 75c.; Paris and Lyons, 580 f.; Spanish
Domestic Dent, 30.
The following are the quotations in the new lines :-
Bordeaux and Cette (Mackenzie), 502 f. 50e ; ditto (Espe-
leta), 5101. ; ditto Charleroi, 4951.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, APRIL 15.
Boulogne and Amiens, 12-Dutch Rhenish, 5% - -East Indian,'
-Great Northern of France Constituted, 14;74-Jamaica South
Midland Juuctioil, 1%-Luxembourg, IN-Namur and Liege, 1%-
Oyer Yssel, 3% dis. - Paris and Orleans, 49-Paris and Rouen, 4054
-Paris and Strasbourg Constituted, SN-Rouen and 'lane, 29N-
Sambre and Meuse, 3.