The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-31 00:00:00

Meantime there is the agreeable fact before us that
Mr. BERNAL OSBORNE is once more in t'o,e House,
and that he is there, as we might say oF Mr. SIMS
REEVES, in capital -voice, and with a ptrfect readi-
ness
to signalise the truth that he is s to the satis-
faction of all listeners. Of this, last evening afforded
proof positive. There was a discussion going onyee-,
terday in the Commons upon what one might reason-
ably have deemed to be one of the most unpromising
themes in the whole world for a joke—the proposi-
tion moved by Mr. GLADSTONE, as Chancellor of
the Exchequer, for the reappointment of a
select committee "to inquire into the manner
in which: contracts extending over periods
of years have from time to time been formed
or modified by her MAJESTY'S Government with
various steam-packet companies for the conveyance
of-mails by sea ; and likewise into any agreements
or other arrangements which have been adopted at
the public charge, actual or prospective, for the
purposes of telegraphic communications beyond
sea, and to report their opinion thereon to the
House ; together with any recommendations as to
rules to be observed hereafter by the Government
in making contracts for services which have not yet
been sanctioned by Parliament, or which extend
over a series of years ; and to report from time to
time." Where upon earth could one hope to
get the ghost of a joke out of that ? But
Mr. BERNAL OSBORNE did it. The House had
been addressed in succession by the Chancellor o
the Exchequer in support of his motion—by Sir
JOHN PAKINGTON in shrewd commentary upon it
—by Sir FRANCIS BARING in defence of the course
adopted by the committee last session—by Lord
JOHII MANNERS complaining that the committee
had inquired-into the conduct of private individeals
in a manner which was pre-eminently unfair—when
Mr. BERNAL OSBORNE, with another wild shriek of
liberty, celebrated his re-appearance as a debater
within the walls-of Parliament. Throughout his
speech the House was enlivened by much hilarity
—towards the close of it, nearly convulsed
with laughter. As the• theatrical critics
used to say some thirty years ago, "- We
can never do without LISTON," so might the
frequenters of the House of Commons declare
now, "We can never do without BERNAL OSBORNE,"
At any rate we are heartily glad he is back there
once more in the House of Commons. And hiow-
ever he may whimsically aver that, for his own
part, he is exceedingly grateful to the right hon.
baronet, Sir. JonN PAKINGTON, for having got rid
of him out of Dover, we do cordially hope that it
may be long before the House of Comm Ons is rid of
him in like manner.

If the Rifle Volunteers are sneered
-at by Lord
MELvHLE, they are heariCned on by General
GARIBALDI. There is no foreigner perhaps who
could speak to our riflemen at this moment upon
their discipline in accents so-welcome, or so trum-
Tet-tongued. Evtry volunteer in the United King-

dom'ought to have a copy of that remarkable corn-
munication penned by General GARIBALDI and
transferred from the columns of the court Journal
into our impression of yesterday. These opinions of
the Great Italian Patriot, and one of the world's
great military adventurers are at once timely,
and fraught in their every syllable with encourage-
ment. What has the Scottish Commander•in-Chief
thought of such words as these from the lips of
GARIBALDI ?—" As regards the volunteer fofce, I
believe that England has done the best thing pos-
sible in availing herself of such an armament, and
that this wise measure will render her territory
impregnable agai,tst any foreigninvasion. Would
country- would f)llow the example." Or,
Above ail theory in the art of warfare,

n

pr,,ctical fact reigns triumphant—' defeat the
—a truth that will alWhys triumph over all
theories." A remark at once illumined by the
following reminiscences :—" The retreat of the most
disciplined troops of Austria before the less disci-
plined Zouaves proves that a man may be a soldier
without wearing a white tunic or a tight cravat.
The shepherds of Paulus Emilius, armed only with
daggers, rushing on the Macedonian phalanx, those
terrible conquerors of Asia—the clouds of French
Voltigeur of the Army of the Republic—and,
lastly, the Bersaglieri and Zouaves at St. Martino,
Magenta, Solferino, and Palestro—proVe that
masses are not alone useful in battle fields, and
that Volunteers, Bersaglieri, and Zouaves need not
learn how to fight in close order, like troops of the
line." GARIBALDI adds, of course, that "Discipline
is, no doubt, the basis of the organisation of all
armaments, and without it war cannot be correctly
carried on; but," he asks, " why should not volun-
teers, who have sworn not to abandon their stan-
dards during the :danger, of their country, have the
same discipline as regular corps ? Are patriotism
and enthusiasm such despicable and heterogenous
sentiments as to destroy regularity in na-
tional, troops ? Certainly they are not
despicable, since, in every war, a wise
chief derives , adVantages from them in
his harangues and his proclamations ; and the First.
NAPOLEON, who was master of half Europe, and
the best army in the world, was defeated by the
Patriotism of the English so-called shopkeepers,
of whom he appeared to have no great opinion."
What is General GARIBALDI'S ultimate view, then,
of our Volunteer Movement ? It is this—"lf
Great Britain_ organises,", he says, " her 200,000
[she has already, by the way, even now or-
ganised very nearly 100,000 j volunteers, it
will form the nucleus of a million of armed
patriots, in case of need, if she continues to
train them (and that will not be difficult for the
English), so:that. they become as disciplined as
regular troops—we shall then see who will dare to
invade the asylum of all, and the protectress of the
universe.": Those words are of themselves a suffi-
cient set-off for the sneer of Lord. MELVILLE.

nony'-

But to return to GARIBALDI'S letter, we there find
the following all-important considerations :—" I
believe," writes the General, "that the theory of
great regularity of the masses and lines is generally
carried too far, and that the open order of battle, is
too much neglected, as it has-become necessary,
through the perfection of fire-arms, and. through the
obstacles that cultivation has accumulated at every
step." Adding, "If there is a country in Europe
that has served for fields of battle, and continues to
do so, that country is certainly and, unfortunately,
Italy. How many places are there in Italy where
sonadrOn formed in a line, or a regiment in
square, could fight ? I believe that there are
.very
few. On the other hand, places may be found in
all directions which are adapted to the Bersag-
Inshort, I think that several lines of Ber-
saglieri sustained by a few masses of troops, would
be the
emost convenient order of battle in our
ry,
and in many others ; and that vclun-
teers can be adapted, for this end, to the same
kind of manoeuvres as the troops of the line." The
Italian Condottiere thereupon refutes the argument
recently put forth by one of the most skilled and
experienced of all . English soldiers now living,
the argument, we mFail, advanced by Sir JOHN
BURGOYNE in thein't. 1 number of Mr. THACKE-
Ia
RAY'S brilliant Cornhill Magazine
read," writes the Conqueror of the Aus-
trians, " the valuable paper by
_Sir jog