The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-14 00:00:00

FRANCE.

should have given one of the candidates
ofatallletahset
2,609,000 of votes and an absolute majority
suffrages expressed, even supposing.thatallthe electors
him, the Com-
mittee, of Algeria should have voted againsthe A
without waiting the ofreceipttthsesermetbulry.,ns, from
Algeria, shall present its report to
This article was the occasion of
a long discussion.
IL Fleury Didier and M. Bureaude Puzy contended
that the exclusion of Algeria, proposed by the Com-
mittee, was a violation of the Constitution, whilst others
invoked the plea of necessity, and maintained that it
was indispensable at this period of the year, for the be-
nefit of trade and manufactures, to put a speedy period
to the unsettled state of the Government.
The threefollowing articles wereafterwards adopted
without discussion :
.6 Art. 5. If one of the candidates hes obtained more
than the moiety of the suffrages expressed, and at least
2,000,000 of votes—if the conditions required by the
44th Article of the Constitution have been accomplished
—the National Assembly proclaims him President of
the Republic. He is immediately called upon to take
the oath required by the 48th Article of the Constitution.
" Art. 6. The President of the National Assembly, in
the name of the Assembly, acknowledges the taking of
the oath to the Constitution, and the President of the 1
Republic enters immediately on the discharge of his '
functions.

"Art. 7. In case none of the candidates should have
obtained the necessary majority, the National Assembly
shall proceed immediately to elect one of the five candi-
dates highest on the list. Immediately after the result
of the ballot is ascertained, the President makes it known
and proclaims the President of the Republic, who takes
the oath of office from the tribune."
The Bth Article was as follows :—" In case the Pre-
sident should refuse to take the oath his election shall
be immediately declared null and void."
M. St. Gauden thought that a delay should be assigned
to the President to take the oath.

M. Ducos observed that the President should be in-
vited by the Assembly to accomplish that formality, and
that if it be refused the Assembly could annul the elec-
tion.

The article was afterwards put from the chair, and
adopted.
The Assembly next voted the following and last
article:--

Art. 9. The Palace of the Palais National is appro-
priated to the residence of the President."
The 30 members of the Special Committee appointed
to count the votes were :—Messrs. Arnaud, Trouchard,
Cannot, Mole, Vaulabelle. Sarrans, Buchez, Waldeck
.Rousseau, Pleignard, Baune, Lichtenberger, Baroche,
Charton, Ferdinand Barrot, Conti, Feuillade de Chauvin,
Ducos, Beaumont de la Somme, Astoin, Richard, Nachet,
Abbal, Pellitier, Durand Savoyat, Charlemagne, Ceyras,
Wpirhaye, Chaffour, Laissac, and Sauteyra.
The Minister of Finance next deposited on the table
the budget of 1849, and the Assembly adjourned.

ITALY
The Concordia publishes the following letter, ad.
dressed by the Abbe Gioberti to the editor of thal
journal :

" I do not know for what reason I have been charged
with giving advice and uttering expressions which never
escaped my lips. I consider it my duty to declare that
none of the dtimonstrations which took place some days
since were suggested by me, and so far from approving
ethos, susceptible of receiving an unfavourable interpre-
tation, I formally condemned them."
Whe same journal contains the following, dated
Man :

*, Marshal Radetzky has ordered the Municipal Coun-
cil of our city to cut down all the trees which adorn
the public promenade round the castle. The Council
entreated him not to insist on an order, the execra-
tion of which would impoverish the city already so
much distressed by military exactions. The Marshal
returned the following reply to the Municipal
Councii:--' As I am in the habit of never suffer-
ing resistance to my orders, and whereas the city con-
tinues in a state of siege, I enjoin the Municipal Council
to remove all the trees surrounding the castle, to which
I have already directed its notice, before the 15th inst.
In that interval all the trees Must be felled and carried
away at the expense of the Council. The Council shall
be liable to a fine of 5,000 livres for every day's delay.
(Signed) " RADETZKY.'
The Nazionale of the sth instant quotes a letter
from Modena, of the 27th ult., stating that several
Austrian battalions, provided with artillery, had
marched towards the frontier of the Pontifical do-
minions. It was also rumoured that Bologna was to
be occupied by an Austrian force.

THE FOJZTIFICATION OF AUCK-
LAND, NEW ZEALAND.
The construction of fortifications in defence of the
liarbour being under present consideration of the autho-
?Wee, we trust we shall be held excused for venturing a
few suggestions on a matter fraught with such important
consequences to the public safety.
The absolute nakedness of every British possession in
these seas—the impunity with which they can be as-
sailed—the facility with which they could be laid under
contriubtiou—have all been,dwelt upon and reiterated
usque ad nauseam. A time of peace, when works of
defence should have been quietly and skilfully organized
—when means and munitions should have been unosten-
tatiously provided—has been suffered to pass by ; and
now, whetr a period of turbulence, if not of war, appears
to impend, attention is compelled where it was before,
in vain, solicited.
If. as we have been given to understand, the works to
be thrown up, far the protection of the harbour of Aucks
taut], are to be limited to land batteries alone, we
woad molt respectfully point out the grave error of
restrictions ; and to give more cogency to our
own. arguments, we shall cite the opinions of the most
practical warriors and demonstrate the incontrovertible
trait' of their opinions by a few of the most daring and
dashing illustratior a of the futility of stationary batte-
ries when opposed to the moveable and concentrated fire
of floating ones. We are far from despising land fortifi-
cations, or considering their erection as a matter of no
moment; quite the reverse—they are excellent in their
way, and are invaluable auxiliaries; but as isolated an-
tagonists to the broadside of a fleet we deem them un-
equal to the work—such at least as a British admiral or
commodore would cut out for them.
It is upon the authority of Lord Nelson we are able
to affirm that, " the fire of cannon once opened (from
a
ship) is terrible to town." The truth of that as-
sertion ttas been frequently and fearfully enforced—
not upon weak and powerless
.towns, but upon re-
nowned strongholds, bristling with guns and crowded
with batslements, esteemencll4
We have amongst us mmerieghtthaanli one witness of the
but impregnable.
Pnwertzlietsii of the
ramparts of Algiers
wheat cOokied to the compaarisaytoivoett petty squadron of
.Lord Exmouth- We have
behold St.
Jean d'Acre, that fortress which defiresdwh°most deter-,
smittßenutrasthtielhednst by the
rained efforts of Napoleon,
thanders of British broadsides.
rations edected by line-of-battle ships,. We
,111 ere ope-
to show what has been achieved by frigates; proceed
frigates, we surmise, in the event of war, Aucklandrworn
requireorimarily, to be defended.
tuly, 1810, Captain Christopher Cole, in the
Caroline, 3d-gun frigate, having under his command
the Pieelmentaise, 38, Captain Charles Foote; Barra-
catita, 18 gun brig-sloop, Captain Richard Kenagh; and
a transport- brig, made a dash at Banda Neira. In
despite of the manifold difficulties of an intricate and
hazardous navigation, and the dangerous approach to
a well-manned and strongly fortified coast, Captain
Cole effected a landing, and, with 180 men, mastered
fortresses deemed impregnable by the Dutch, and en-
forced the surrender of 700 regular troops and 800 mi-
litia, garrisoning a line of sea defences mounting 138
cannon, being little short of a gun per captor.
Magnificent us this affair was, it was probably ex-
ceeded by the capture of the Island of Curaeoa by
Sir C. Brisbane, with " the saucy Arethusa " and
three frigates, on Jan. 1, 1807, the chief port of
which island, St. Ann, art and nature had done much
to render strongly defensible. The entrance to that
harbour, according to James, " is only fifty fathoms
wide, and was defended by regular fortifications ; the
principal of which, Fort Amsterdam, standing on the
right of the entrance, mounted 60 pieces, in two tiers.
Athwart the harbour, which nowhere exceeds a quarter
of a mile in width, were a Dutch 32-gun frigate, a 29-
gun ship corvette, and two large armed schooners. There
*as a chain of forts on IVlisselburgh height, and that
almost impregnable fortress, Fort Republique, situated
upon a nigh hill at the bottom of the harbour, and
almost within grape-shot distance, enfiladed the whole."
Nptwithstanding these stupendous defences, the four
frigittos dashed into the harbour, opened their broad-
aides, boarded the Dutch frigate and corvette, and
stormed the town, the whole island submitting to the
British in the course of that day.
Onp more example of the powers of gallantly-com-
aliadnd Wastes, even against strong laud defences, and

Count Mole has addressed the following letter to
the Moniteur :
" M. le Redacteur,—Not having been able to attend
-the sitting of the National Assembly on Saturday last, I
have recourse to your columns to declare that I should
have voted with the minority on the decrees relative to
the organic laws. Notwithstanding my great respect
for the decisions of the National Assembly, I am con-
vinced that it is mistaken in this circumstance as to
the nature and bearing of its mandate. I do not
think that it has the right to delay putting the
whr,le Constitution into execution by prolonging its own
e-Aistence beyond the term fixed by those who elected
it.' I consider, in fine, that the majority of the laws com-
prised under the vague and and arbitrary denomination
fof organic' do not merit more than many others, and
that these laws would be more naturally the work of the
executive and legislative powers which the Constitution
has created than of a Constituent Assembly, the special
and high mission of which has been now accomplished."
At the sitting of the National Assembly yesterday,
M. Ducos presented the report on the project of
Decree for proclaiming the President of the Republic.
e three first articles were read by the President,
and adopted without discussion. They were as fol-
lows
" Art. 1. The minutes of the election of President of
the Republic, addressed from the departments to the
President of the National Assembly, agreeably to the
4lth article of the Constitution, and the Decree of the
28th October last, shall be forwarded without delay to
the Special Committee charged with counting the votes.
"Art. 2. Before breaking the seals, the Committee
shall ascertain that they are entire, and immediately
proceed to the successive examination of all the returns,
and establish their results.
" Art. 3. The moment the operation shall be termi-
nated the Committee shall present its report to the Na-
tional Assembly, which shall pronounce upon it without
adjourning.
" Art. 4. In case the returns of the 86 departments

amidst perilous waters, may suffice—that example is the
triumphant ascent of the Potomac, in 1814, by
Captain Sir J. A. Gordon, in the Seahorse, and (the
present Admiral Sir Charles Napier) in the Eurvalus
frigates, accompanied by the Devastation, lEtna,
and Meteor bombs. This enterprise was one of
consummate difficulty and danger, demanding an
extraordinary degree of nerve and ingenuity, as the
ships grounded repeatedly under fire, and were continu-
ally obliged to hoist out and to replace their guns, as
well as to tow and to warp, and yet the ascent was suc-
cessfully achieved and the descent accomplished, in defi-
ance of clouds of " regular troops, riflemen, artillerists,
and militia, who all flocked to the shores of the Potomac
to punish the base incendiaries." The American news-
paper editors, says James, for some days feasted their
readers with the anticipated destruction of the British
squadron. "It is impossible," they affirm, " the ships
can pass such formidable batteries, commanded by our
naval heroes, and manned by our invincible seamen."
But the British squadron not only did pass batteries,
heroes, and invincibles, but carried 21 sail of prizes along
with them, and that in spite of hot shot and cold, and
after 23 days of incessant strife with man and the ele-
ments. _ _ _

of pwl
seh ce
don cbeyi ves ,hincontestablef pr
triofioefds Hava it n gc
aand db ue c
ae
cd
c, ams
harbours—and strongly fortified ones too—we would
fain be permitted to point to the strongest and most übi-
quitous means of harbour defence—floating batteries.
England has shown the estimation in which she holds
the efficiency of such defences by conversion of four line-
of-battle ships and four large frigates into block ships,
arming them with guns of the heaviest calibre, and fur-
nishing them with auxiliary steam power.
Although we possess none of these appliances, the
construction of one or more most effective moveable bat-
teries is by no means beyond our reach. It is perfectly
possible to build and equip praams of great strength and
force, whose low mouthed, long, and heavy guns could
be made to follow up and play with the most destructive
effect upon any intruder.
We could suggest such praams to be built in several
water-tight compartments, the double vessels of which
each should be composed being of great beam, but little
depth, and united under one deck. In the absence of
steam as a motive agent, a central wheel might be worked
a la treadmill, with just sufficient power to enable the
vessel easily to overruu the tide, to shift her berth, and
to take up the most advantageous position to assail an
enemy. Her barricades should be made as substantial
as possible, and if stuffed with flax, they might be ren-
dered nearly bombproof. A wherry shaped stern and
double rudder would obviate the necessity of turning,
and if pressed by a heavy ship she could seek shelter in
shoal water, and cut up her antagonist with her guns,
which it would be well to have of Monk's long 56-
pounders.

In determined hands, and with an adequate number of
small-arm men to repel attempts at boarding by boats,
batteries like these would be of yeoman service in the
time of need. The shot of such shifty-sneaking craft
would be more infinitely telling than the uncertain
plunging fire of an elevated immovable fort, and would
stick to the haunches of any vessels foolhardy enough to
attempt a coup de main. Their cost would be compara-
tively trifling, their organization se simple, and their
services so effectual, that we look upon them as the fit-
test and easiest defence for a remote and infant colony.
—New Zealand Paper.