The Sun.
London, England, 1860-06-19 00:00:00

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An accurafe—local knowledge
which the advance of a hostile
vantageously disputed, and the mei* bpi-I/hick
the whole disposable force of the country could be
rapidly concentrated upon his line of operations, is
in this point of view a most important consideration.
It may be sufficient for the purpose of explana-
tion to take one section of the country, and assume
that one or more heavy columns, having landed
somewhere between Portland and Ramsgate, are
fighting their way on for the only prize worth con-
tending for—the possession of London, the electric
telegraph disclosing their movements and proceed-
ings to every part of the kingdom.
.Excepting in the open chalk country, which is
favourable for moving troops, they must have roads
by which to travel ; and there are positions on every
one of the roads by which an enemy could possibly
advance, possessing certain advantages with re-
ference to some general plan of operations for not
only disputing his advance, but compelling him to
fight a general action.
To provide for the contingency of a reverse it
would be necessary that our forces should have time
to fall back in good order upon the lines prepared
for the more immediate defence of the capital, and
it would therefore appear prudent to make the first
determined stand at a distance of not less than 30 or
40 miles from London.

In looking out for a line of operation with this
object in view, it so happens that some of the
strongest and most favourably situated ground to
the south will be found in the escarpment of the
chalk range running westward from near Maidstone,
towards Reigate, Dorking, Guildford, and Farnham.
At the latter point this general line, after including
all the strong ground in front of Aldershott, might
be advantageously thrown back in the direction of
Odiham and Reading, resting its right on the
Thames.
This line of country is full of strong positions,
and may not inaptly be designated the Torres Ve-'
dras of London. Chatham and the River Medway
lie on the left, and would compel a hostile force
marching in haste from the south-east to take the
road , passing through Maidstone. Keeping this
road they would soon find themselves at the foot
of Wrothana:lill, and would not be likely to
diverge to the right, because in such a case
they would come upon some of the proposed
Chatham defences, near Cobham. The whole of
the ground also on the left bank of the Medway is
very defensible; and, as the proposed work at
Shooter's-hill lies upon the old Dover-road, it may
be assumed that the high ground at Wrotham-hill
might be taken as the left of a line which in its
course westward intersects every road by which an
enemy could march to London from the most ac-
cessible parts of the coast.
It may be said that the choice of a field of battle
rests with the assailant, but this is not by any
means true. With proper precautions he might
leave a fortress with its garrison locked up in his
rear ; but if there be a moveable force in the field at
all equal to cope with him he would hardly under-
take.the dangerous enterprise of a flank march in
its presenCe. He must fight where he can find his
antagonist.
The field of Waterloo was chosen long before it
was wanted.
In any extended line of operations, freedom of
access to all parts of it, from the flanks and rear, is
an essential condition.

In this point of view this part of the country
possesses peculiar facilities, for all the roads from
London lead directly up to it. The left is open to
Essex and the Eastern Counties by Gravesend, and
the right is open at Reading to the rest of England.
The South-Western Railway, with its branches,
together with the Portsmouth, the Brighton, the
Dover and Chatham lines, also contribute their re-
sources for locomotion. So far as regards the means
of quickly assembling or reinforcing an army in
that situation nothing, therefore, is wanting.
Neither is the position entirely deficient in lateral
communication to enable troops to move rapidly
from one part of the line to another, which is also
an object of primary importance.
The railroad which runs from Reigate by Alder--
shott to Reading would be available for this pur-
pose to a certain extent. The great desideratum,
however, would be to improve the roads and com-
munications across the country from point to point
in rear of the general line.
As regards the positions which might be selected.
on this line, it may be sufficient for the purpose of
conveying a general idea to assume that there are
some six or eight principal roads, by one or two of
which an enemy would be obliged to advance.
It is to the particular points where these roads
intersect the defensive line, and have to ascend a
steep hill, or pass through a narrow gorge or defile,
that attention might be directed.
If small, heavily-armed field works, secure from a
coup de main, were placed as points d'appui in the
most favourable positions for disputing those roads
cr denying them to an enemy, a great advantage
would be gained ; and in case of an action being
fought there, open batteries and intrenchments
made at the moment would materially strengthen
the position and afford the *means of utilising the
services ()Harp bodies of men, who might not be
sufficiently drilled to manoeuvre in the open field
against a highly disciplined and enterprising
enemy.
Independently, however, of the natural strength
of any positions selected on this line, or of any
other of its assumed advantages, one of its recom-
mendations is that nearly the whole of it is on the
chalk, which affords facilities for executing defen-
sible works of any description at a comparatively
trifling cost, and in the shortest possible time.
Every railway cutting shows the chalk standing
perpendicularly. A ditch, therefore, would require
no artificial scarp or counter-scarp, but might be
rendered secure from a coup de main by the simple
excavation, and in less than a month might be made
to assume a very respectable aspect.
I would particularly dwell upon this advantage
from thinking that if our army and navy were
otherwise occupied on the coast or elsewhere, it
would be quite possible to execute in a very short
time any works of this description by the labour of
soldiers encamped on the spot.

LIFFBOATS AND SHIPWRECKS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—The severe loss of life occasioned by ship-
wrecks off the coasts of the United Kingdom dur-
ing the last year ought to direct the attention of
every friend of humanity to the most efficacious
means of preventing such lamentable losses. No
less than 1,646 of our fellow creatures met with a
watery grave in that year, to which number must
be added those who have since perished in the
fearful, and, for the season, unprecedented storms
of the last few weeks. We cannot prevent the re-
currence of such visitations, nor stem the fury of
the tempest ; but it is in the power, and is the duty
of man, to mitigate the calamities that result from
them. It appears from the annual official return of
the Board of Trade that 2,332 lives were saved in
the past year, of which number 291 were preserved
by lifeboats; and the total number of persons
rescued from shipwreck since thefirst establishment
offor rt
euniary rewards, amounts to 11,401.
ehsecuNinagtiwonhalLiitfehbaosagt InstitutionrantedhonorianrylBa2n4d, apned.
At present the number of boats belonging to the
institution amounts to 101, but many more are re-
quired. The Coastguard officers and Lloyd's agents
reported last year that upwards of 60 more were
needed ; and, although several new boats have since
then been placed on the coasts, there are still very
many exposed localities, especially on the coast of •
Scotland, where hardly a year passes without a
great loss of life, which might be to a great extent
prevented if lifeboats were stationed in the vicinity.
In the single gale of Aug. 17, 1848, the results of
which were so ably inquired into and reported on to
theor Housedamaged,
dn
diminishing
ifn involvingiCsho im nmg othn
esamb.y pecuniaryerrahp et .firWlsotsascsohsointfgo7an,o,
ulnel
less than 100 men were drowned, and 124 boats lost
fisher-
men, mostly in the prime of life, perished, and no
fewer than 27 widows and 79 orphans were left to
as to
sympathise with the sufferings of
and in that of the 23d November, 1857, 44
bewaileltotioefswhesilifeboat
occurrence,enaa
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life-beltsrgeac,
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boat-house,
easqbstue:ahhrireonee u
sbttoohoef
aebtif:erntepdhqoeu car-
riagewe statednee rt
£has
0. taken place,
annum.
um
Board . averages
en-
able one of these
to convey the boat to
eavniddeitnscesubsequent
sufficient funds will any spot wher'e a wreck"
maintenancewreck
-charts
The
pub-
lished by therbadeefegritvheeemmienlgantcoholy
themessspeontgserws. heefreli.fethaensed bsafoaettsatroe
required; and trust that
. in this age o.f philan-
thropybe stationed on all exposed parts of our shores
where they can render succour to the wrecked
mariner.—Your obedient servant,
Vere-street, June 16. MONTAGUE GORE.
lil

SAD ACCIDENT ON BOARD THE ROYAL ALBERT,
AT LEITH.—On Saturday afternoon, while the decks of the
Royal Albert were thronged with visitors, the dress of a
lady, in passing one of the signal guns, caught the percus-
sion hammer and brought it over upon the fuse. The
gun, which was loaded with blank cartridge, went off, and
one of the crew, who unfortunately was either standing in
front of the gun or had been working about it, had his arm
blown off close to the shoulder. The poor fellow was
promptly attended to by the medical officers of the ship,
and was, we believe, brought to Leith Hospital in tliseven-
ing. The sad event caused much consternation as well as
regretits
us
amcoangoainthfe visitors,tedAsco and the lady who bad unwittingly
been