The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-10 00:00:00

within very narrow limits. She has a Chinese foot,
and cannot stray far from home.
It is the fashion to talk of stewur its- having
superseded sail. This is a 1; rtat mistake as re-
gards vessels of war.
of coal is so limited.. e rapacity for thestowage,
Lat the main dependence
must be on the
s-w- At the end of eight, nine, or
at the utmostea '-
Uas, the vessel the motive power
of which i
•Leam only lies a helpless log on the
water''
.But much might be done within that time
'lle narrows of the Channel. True, but it must
be by vessels which can open their ports in a breeze,
and face the chances of weather where it is perhaps
more uncertain than in any other part of the world.
It seems all but certain that the problem of iron-
cased ships proposed by France will not he solved
by France. If iron, and iron only, be the material
to work it out, ours should be the land for the
success.

The retirement of Sir Baldwin Walker from the
Surveyor-ship of the Navy offers an opportunity for
a great improvement in the organization of the
Admiralty. A successor equal to Sir Baldwin
Walker himself can hardly be found, but was Sir
Baldwin Walker himself, with all his ucdoubted
merits, equal to the duties of his office, or could
the combination of experience and knowledge now
requisite for the business be found in any one, or in
any three men ? The qualifications-which sufficed
for the Surveyor even 20 years ago have been ren-
dered obsolete by the progress of steam and iron
architecture. The iron must enter the soul of the
Admiralty, and how is it to be introduced ? Few
indeed are the naval officers who have any know-
ledge of shipbuilding ; but is there one who is
skilled in iron ? The question of iron-cased ships
must have made felt what is wanted in the Survey-
orship of the Navy, and cannot be supplied by any
one head, such as heads now in the service, belong-
ing to the age of wood. Excellent officers abound,
but without the iron specialty.

GARIBALDI ON IRELAND AND THE

LATE IRISH BRIGADE.

The following letter has been received from Gen.
Garibaldi, by an Irish gentleman, who wrote to
explain that it was Popery, and not Ireland, which
sent a band of misguided youths from these shores
to uphold slavery in Italy. The following is the
translation :

" Caprera, Nov. 12, 1860.
"Much esteemed Sir,—Who could ever think
that your fellow-countrymen were not deceived,
when they served the cause of the Pope under
Lamorieiere ? Every one in Italy knows the heavy
burden of oppression under which your country as
well as ours is still groaning. The offspring of
ignorance and imposition—Papacy—dwells unfor-
tunately in the powerful with hypocrisy, and in the
poor with the concomitant evils—prostitution,
degradation, and misery. Albion became great and
prosperous when she courageously cut off that
cancer. Rome ! she ceased to be great, she con-
tinued to be prostrate, and still lies in that filthy
sink, because the Almighty was pleased to visit
the queen of the world with that scourge. We
pity the deceived ones of Ireland, as well as those
of Italy and other countries ; but we know indeed
that the hearts of the millions in your noble country,
as well as all over the globe, beat for the liberty of
nations. We know but too well that, if 400 deceived
youths were compelled to take service under the
most despicable Government, it was not with the
consent of the brave and generous Irish nation,
with whom we are united in bonds of brotherhood
by a community of misfortune, and by the same foe
still frowning on us.
"The time is not far distant when this people
will inflict the last blow to its sacrificers and
tyrants. In that solemn combat we shall decide,
not only on our.national existence, but the founda-
tion will be laid for the rising of kindred nations ;
then the Italians, together with Hungarians, Eng-
lish, and other brothers, will joyfully and gratefully
see the sons of Ireland whom you shall lead to the
holy banquet.
" Affectionately and gratefully yours,
" G. GARIBALDI."

HORRIBLE MASSACRE OF A CREW
OF d SOUTH SEA WHALER.

A fearful outrage has occurred in the port of
Buckatoo, at the island of Isabella, in the Southern
Pacific, by the horrible massacre of most of the crew
belonging to the whaling ship Henrietta, Captain
Brown, whose log-book furnishes the following
details :—" 7th of June last, vessel at anchor off
Buckatoo. At daylight pumped ship, washed the
decks, and sent the small boat away for two casks
of fresh water. At eight a.m. the boat returned.
During the morning and forenoon several canoes
came up and pulled round the ship, for what object
the master at first could not define, In the forenoon
the carpenter and five of the crew left the ship in a
small boat to cut firewood, and also two spars, one
for the maintopmast, and the other for a spare main
gaff; with the exception of one man, he never saw
them afterwards. Tho man, who swam to the ship
from the shore, informed him (the master) that they
had been attacked and murdered by the natives of the
island. Shortly afterwards the ship was suddenly
boarded by a number of natives, who attempted to
take forcible possession of her. The number of
hands on board besides him was five—the cook
and four seamen. He had his wife and two chil-
dren on board. The natives first endeavoured to
secure him and throw him overboard, but he
managed to break away from them, and rushed to
his cabin for firearms. They next attacked the
wife, who also succeeded in escaping their ven-
geance, and sought refuge with her husband in the
cabin, where they kept up a constant firing on the
natives, who, failing in their object of capturing the
ship, jumped into their canoes and made off, carrying
with them one of the children, a fine little boy,
about five years old. He (the master), with the
surviving portion of the crew, afterwards pursued
some of the canoes, in the hopes of recovering his
child, but failed to do so. Next morning got under
weigh and proceeded to Russell's Island, where the
chief of the natives, on hearing of the occurrence,
offered to intercede, and, if possible, obtain posses-
sion' of the child, but with no better result."