The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-27 00:00:00

1.R0.2V-CAST,D SII2P-

It is extremely undesirable that the public mind
should be kept any longer in suspense on the sub-
ject of iron-cased ships. That question involves
the preservation of our maritime power, and with
it the safety of the nation. The French have solved '
it one way ; we, if not utterly apathetic in the
matter, appear to have solved it in another. One:
must be right, and one wrong.. i.
the mistake is on our side, we may lose the com-
mand of the seas for such a time as would place our
trade at the mercy of an enemy. The question, in.
fact, in its broadest form, is nothing less than this'
—whether a certain ship of war recently con-2
strutted by the French is not of such a build that
no ship in the British navy can stand against it?
We are certainly not quite prepared, even vet, to
answer that question with an unqualified affirma-
tive, but the information we have received, coupled
with the professional opinions put on record in
onr columns, induces us to believe that the new
invention is really a most important matter.
e
experiments •ur Adrn Admiralty y
many authorities
months have av
paste been eneinu conducting. ct ing
capa-
city of iron for repelling cannon shot. They appear.
to have concluded and probably with reason, that
no plates of this metal, howeverf manufactured, can
At a long range the elongated resist the effects of artillery
tordarly length of time.
nosy and
e bolts.anodf o6unrterrifithede
cannon will certainly
atrhme then,esuorll d thoughshoo
of
not.a
always, pierce this species of
vessel. At a shorter rangew
05-cwt. gun may be relied upon for shattering
after a few rounds, the defences of the ship ; s
that iron-cased frigates cannot be pronouncedi2-
pregnable. Acting apparently on this conclusion,
which, thus stated, is probably sound, our naval
authorities have continued to build wooden ships
I yp a
spsreod:
ealsaibme feodrei
hwaht i lteh
eth
de
ayF roefn cshu
chhavfeabreixeus 1 thi na fss
away, andthat
of which h
the command of taheseas willpresentfollow
a new invention
possess
the only example. Can that assumption be recon-
ciled with the results of our own experiments ? We
think it can, and that here lies the whole secret of
the case.
The French have not constructed an absolutely
invulnerable ship, but they have built a frigate
which is less vulnerable, and therefore propor-
tionately more powerful than any vessel in the
British Navy. IVe do not believe that the sides of
the Gloire would repel cannon shot much more ef-
fectually than the sides of our own target-ships.
As these were pierced, so would those be ; but this
admission leaves a great deal still to be said for the
French frigate. Our experimental targets were
battered by the very heaviest guns—such as few
ships carry excepting here and there on a pivot.
These guns were fired at the very shortest ranges
—such as could not necessarily be commanded in a
naval action. Their effects, again, were not pro-
duced immediately, nor until after the target had
resisted for a certain length of time. Apply these
facts to the case before us, and what do they prove ?
They prove that an iron-cased frigate might engage
an enemy, however powerful, with impunity to
herself, for perhaps some 10 or 15 minutes, whereas
that time might be sufficient with modern artillery
for the decision of a battle. They prove that,
except when opposed by such guns as are not
always carried at sea, and are rarely found on.
shore, such a vessel would be practically invul-
e
ifawnmonereypreaae:abndniteeittle,aronaguaabongbl
antagonist
tthbahaelea
fdt:
her
bhe yer
sidess
m i
thoughge rmi
choosingl
mercy.
yae
ys.
she t
nThoei advantage
The
range,bGel o
Gloire,
rbeos,tfoo
tisuhphteeoerell
eyad_
might possibly
be overpowered in open fight by a first class
frigate, frigate, may be still conceived to possess advan-
tages of no trilling kind. To nine ships out
of ten, in ninetem cases out of twenty, she might
be perfectly unassailable ; she might lie alongside
a shore battery and sweep the artillerymen from
their guns ; in the worst of cases she would have
the first five minutes of the battle to herself; and,
above all, though not proof against the heaviest
shot, she would be proof against shell. None of
those terrible projectiles could find their way
through her plated sides, and the value of this
P'

iroteCtion will have been seen from the communi-
cation of " A Captain, R.N.," which we published
on Monday.
This, it seems to us, is the true solution of the
enigma before us. Our authorities appear to have
proceeded on the assumption that marine armour
was good for nothing unless it could be preyed ab-
solutely perfect, and as they found no iron plates
through which, in the long run, and under condi-
tions of their own arrangement, they could not suc-
ceed in driving a hole, they jumped to the conclu-
sion that the invention was a fallacy, and that the
French were building upon a false security. They
forgot that there might be a good deal in the 117 W
theory, even if there were not quite so much as our
neighbours imagined, and that an iron-cased
frigate, without being actually invulnerable, might
nevertheless possess a formidable superiority over
a vessel built of wood. Even imperfect armour
may be better than no armour at all. If a
species of tunic could be invented which would
protect a soldier from a rifle:bullet unless he were
struck once or twice in the same place, and from
a very short distance, we should certainly think tho
discovery important, and should hasten to provide
our troops with the new garment of its not being
altogether ball-proof.
We must not, however, exclude from our survey
certain points which still remained to be considered.
Speed must be a vital element in the question, for
superiority in speed means choice of range, and
choice of range means command of the field. Give
an iron-cased ship this choice, and it is agreed on
all sides that she is mistress of the sea. Give it to
t her antagonist, and she may find her armour of no
avail. Are we to conclude that a vessel cumbered
with all these tons of iron can be as swift, of course
`ceteris paribus, as one carrying no such weight ?
Supposing that of two ships one took out her ton-
nage in armour and the other in armament—that
one had such heavy casing that she could carry no
large guns, and the other such heavy guns that she
coald carry no casing—which would have the ad-
vantage? Again, are we rightly informed that an
iron-clad vessel, though more secure than a wooden
one at the beginning of an engagement, is far less
so as the engagement advances ? We are told that
when the metal shell of these new ships has with e
been cracked it is all over with them atnda:
wve
every soul on board, whereas heart
smashing and riddling without being
very well know, will take a prodigioeufs eam
worse for it. too, must all be
• ts
These, and perhaps other poin
matter is really
taken into consideration; but the _
now arrived
eenxalacti
lave° muchu
nnittul ofset
needsin-g e urgent, tt,h
think
kdt
htaitm time
our
rs
ye know not how to
at some conclusion, and yet 1 _
down
understand it. As n
beyond the four which
on the new principle
presume that, if
. were
dockyards are still expended
dlyas in
on
resources of our
put out to contract some time ago, and as all the
eust necessarily authorities oerilPtiPeT igiabvye.
deckers
wooden three- i. rso ships
a n d frigates,
ia:
ae
teb
se,
.
former years,
we
ebmen
any decision has
,eformed, it is adverse to the
new tl e
invention. that decision,
new ihowever, we find it
impossible reconcile
• ssible to with the
evidence of facts
and the opinions of professional men. . Still, as
there may be evidence of an -
opposite character yet
unrevealed, we might feel no great uneasiness were
it not for the bad name wl •
earned in matters of this kind. When we recollect
that sailing ships were built in our dockyards for
years after steam had become a palpable necessity,
we cannot be sure that wooden ships will not be built
long after the scale has preponderated in favour of
iron. This is the •
point at which we have got into
such scrapes. We
short of the article wanted, but heavily stocked with
that which has become obsolete. We go on the old
paths too long, and are then driven to tremendous
efforts before we can recover ourselves. If we had
commenced even in January last to build iron-cased
frigates, not as an extraordinary investment of our
money, but simply with the available funds of the
current year, we should already have been abreast
of our neighbours; but if we allow them again to
get two or three years' start of us, we shall find
our yards once More encumbered with useless
fabrics, and all our work requiring to be done anew
in the alarm and extravagance of a panie.—Tinzes.

" It has been erroneously stated," says a Turia
letter, " that M. Maximi d'Azeglio has resigned the Go-
vernorship of Milan, because he disapproved of the conductO
of the Cavour Ministry. The truth is that he has clon.o_ean
been
on account of indisposition, under which he has tifat,
labouring for some time ; but the hope is entertain a
rnment
when his health shall be re-established, the Gavrevices to
will again employ him, as be has rendered great.s.echhe has
the country. He is at' present in a little villa,. 0::,,
built for himself near Canero, on Lake gagiglsrn
QUEEN VICTORIA AND THE
i.; bniiiGatmunicated by a
—The following simple story, wwc- -rye illustrates a trait
correspondent to a Scotch conteniPlici; explains much of
CHILD .
in the diameter of our Queen, and v forher by all classes
the feelinm of fond regard enteFtaninthe
:I '1 le nbnr iyn ..--a-p'r eithtey
Court was at Bal-
d her sAects. One year wn , T
al neighbour, and who was
thought little more of, at least
an especial favourite weloainno
back next year." The Court
toy for yeti when w.eso
was
moraldaugh theerrofMaajlieustzbimea.rdeS
that year went to Paris to visit
on one side. HofetrhoAl
French, amid all the pomp and state of
the Emperor.
erialty, and there was enough in the • is
royalty and traperally pera
joe: iys :
to drive many others besides el'
en
5
of the Year genthoughts of the Sovereign the pea-
of from the of Great Bri-
went, and the proraia
jesty
sant welt, next season came, and 'with it the Court re-
tain. 1. The n •
d to Balmoral. -lken, in making her rounds,
turtle her little - • •
soon called on . pi otege, and with a "Now, I
you, exhibited hau'n't forgot , the promised present. Whle
Queen Victoria was in the French capital, amid all the
din and distraction of French state pageantry, she found
time to think of her favourite, the little Highland girl on
the banks of the Dee, and
then and there selected and
bought
an article 0 plettso and gratify the unsoph,igitieated
little botlie,

................ •-

-TIE AFFAIR AT YOLTO.RIfO.

(Fri .m the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
'SANTA MARIA DI CAPUA, SEPT. 20.
After almost a month of silence, there was yes-
terds y, in honour of San Januarius, musketry and
cannon firing. While the blood of the saint graci-
ously liquified in the Cathedral of Naples, fresh
blood, rosier than that in the bottle, flowed on the
banks of the Volturno.
In order to explain how this happened, I must
tell you about the military movements which have
taken place since the arrival of the army at Naples.
The Neapolitans, before withdrawing in the direc-
tion. of Capua and Gaeta, had taken dispositions to
get up a reactionary movement in the eastern pro-
vinces—in the Principato Ultra and in the Capita.
zata—where the old regime thought to have par-
tisans enough to insure success. They had chosen
as the centre of this reaction Ariano, situate in the
high Apennines, not far from Benevento. To give
strength to this reactionary movement the Brigade
Bonani was left in that part to organise a popular
levy, for which everything had been disposed be-
forehand by the clergy and the landed proprietors,
who possess considerable influence in those parts.
Garibaldi, apprised of this scheme, ordered Gen.
Turr, who had just arrived with a part of his divi-
sion from Salerno, to go and stir up that nest of
reaction. It was important that this should be done
as quickly as possible, in order not to leave time to
the intrigues of priests and employes to produce
their effect on the ignorant population. The diffi-
culty was only to get the troops there, the distance
to Ariano being wellnigh 60 miles. The railway
goes as as far as Nola, and of this, naturally, advan-
tage was taken. Arrived there, all disposable carts
and carriages were collected to the number of 60
or 70, and about 900 men put on them, the remain-
der receiving orders to follow as quickly as possible.
On the road from Avellino towards Ariano there
is a cluster of small towns situated just about mid-
way between the two places. Dentecano, which is
one of the post stations, and Montemiletto and
Montefusco, which lie on both sides of it. In these
the seed of the reaction had taken considerable
root ; the tricolour had given way to the white
flag of the Bourbons, the National Guard had
given way to an armed levy which was organising
for resistance. This cluster of towns became na-
turally the first object of attention to the flying or,
better, coaching column. One day was sufficient
to damp their ardour, but it was difficult to dis-
tinguish the guilty from the innocent and to single
out the ringleaders. According to one half of the
population the other half ought to have been
hanged, so 150, about whom the testimony was
tolerably unanimous, were sent under escort to
Naples.

This done, the expedition proceeded at once to-
wards Ariano. General Bonani had taken up his
position at Campo Reale, behind Ariano, keeping
in the town a small garrison and the two squadrons
of cavalry which he had with him. Arrived in the
neighbourhood of Grottaminardi, the last station
before arriving at Ariano, General Turr sent a
herald to ask about General Bonani's intentions.
The answer was that his wish was to join the
King's forces at Gaeta, and that he hoped to be
allowed to go there unmolested with his force.
The answer was that this could not be done ; that
the conditions were to lay down their arms and
leave the material, the men go to their homes, and
the officers to keep their swords and have the
liberty of going to Gaeta or wherever they pleased.
After some pourparlers which took place at Grotta-
minardi, all this was agreed to, and besides, the stipu-
lation made that the cavalry should take the horses
as far as Nola. General Turr, without waiting for
the carrying out of the capitulation, went alone
with an aide-de-camp to Ariano, where, in spite of
all evil predictions, he found people as tame as in
the other places. The spoils of the capitulation
were four guns, 150 horses, and above 1,000 stand
of arms. Having arrested some more ringleaders,
reorganised the National Guard, and put the place
into safe hands, the expedition returned as quick
as it had come.

Gen. Turr had not returned from Ariano when
some movements of troops took place in another
direction. You will remember that the general im-
pression, not unlikely strengthened by a wish to
this effect, was that the King would give up the
game as hopeless after the loss of the capital, the
adhesion of most of the continental provinces, of
the navy, and a large portion of his army. It was
known that there was great dissatisfaction and de•
spondency among the troops which still remained,
and that it was only the erroneous reports about
the treatment of those who came over which kept
many from following the example of their com-
panions. The foreign regiments had shown them•
selves almost mutinous, and most of the higher
military authorities were of opinion that further
resistance was useless. It became, however, soon
apparent that this impression was wrong, and that,
owing to some influence or other, or to some hope
of foreign assistance, the King had taken the reso-
lution to prolong the resistance within the rayon
which still remained to hire.

About 25 miles to the north of Naples runs
down to the sea one of the greatest rivers in the
Neapolitan continent, the Volturno. Coming from
the heart of the Abruzzi down in a southerly direc-
tion, it takes about the height of Alife (the old
Alifa of the Samnites) a sudden bend to the south-
east, skirts the group of the Monte Matise, and
then turns near Cajazzo, another Samnite town, to
the south-west, and flows through the plains of the
Campania into the sea. A couple of miles from its
entrance into the plain lies the fortress of Capua,
which is the great centre of the chief roads from
north to south. This river line has been chosen by
the Neapolitans as their line of defence. With
Gaeta, a considerable fortress and the greatest ar-
senal of the Neapolitan army and navy to fall hack
upon, the river line itself is by no means despicable.
With the fortress of Capua as a pivot for their ope-
rations, and an always ready tete-de-pont to de-
boucher to the south, they are protected by the
river, which is, even at this time of theyear, scarcely
fordable, except above Cajazzo. With their superio-
rity in artillery, and good roads of connection be-
hind the river, it was not difficult to concentrate a
sufficient force on any point threatened. This line,
then, was chosen fur defence, and on it, and in its
neighbourhood, all the remaining force concen-
trated. In order to be secure against any popular
movement, which might render the defence of the
line more difficult, the National Guard of Capua,
Cajazzo, and other places, was disarmed. They had
broken down the bridges both above and below
Capua, keeping for themselves only the passage
through Capua, and here and there a few boats on
the right bank of the river. Having no one against
them, they pushed forward their patrols into the
vicinity of Santa Maria, and in the direction of Ca-
serta. This could not pass without alarming the
good citizens and National Guards of these two
Places, and already, on the 11th inst., message was
sent after message to Garibaldi to inform him of the
dangerous
position in which, above all, the town of
Santa Maria known for its Italian, tendencies,
found itself. The next day the pressing became so
great that Garibaldi decided on sending a force in
that direction,
All the troops arrived
e fatigued by the long
and forced marches the point of the
hopedr
continent, and hadto have at least some
Adiort time to repose and to repair the mighty havoc
in :!otli
hCalabria.
made the rovin
campaign g
But, by
asl have often
in gt
through
and
ug
told you, Garibaldi, knowing himself no fatigue,
judges others after himself. On the 12th, the
which Brigade Eber, of the Division Turr, had
arrived the day before, received orders to go next
morning to Caserta by rail. The instructions were
to leave the main body at Caserta and push forward
a body of men as far as Santa Maria, watch the
movements of the enemy, and protect the town.
The Brigade Saulis was to follow later in the day.
When the advanced guard of the Brigade Eber
arrived at Santa Maria, the town was in the greatest
excitement and fear, owing to considerable bodies of
itnhfean7y and cavalry having shown themselves in
Partly on this account,
account of the length of the of
and partly on
Capua and the line outposts towards
riNer, was found
.expedient to send
for the rest of the it
Afternoon by
rail. brigade, which arrived in the
Garibaldi himself arrived soon after from Naples,