The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-24 00:00:00

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EWSPAPER

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out stating drunkenness ; but (I said) we Eland hive -,Te,;,%,,,..% i.-,3.4,
it, clash with this meeting, but at another'," 4s Oh ,-.,-S;;J:4"-it7\%--1
),
(said be) you are going to have another meeting 1" -e',%`"' .., :.,. 4
Yes (said -I) and another after that ; and I can tegmisi47l4;ll) 17
.47
another thing," I said, " there are many woyek'Wha-71.,
could do better in the House of Commons thanwrizot4 = ~-,s'
the noblemen, as.they kre called, that go there, linst-I ri s
do not know why they should not go into the house and z
state their grieirancee as well as the ineti'l" but he seemed
to think the women hall a right to do_just as they were- '
bid, and he turned away from the' stitilita back to his
hempeiance notion. There is a pawnbroker, who is •
Teetotaller, and aminister made presents of Bibles and
Prayer-books to the Militia, and this pawhbroker bor. ted
tbat be had taken three parts of them in as pledge,-, or
"pawns," as we call them. Why, he knew that a soldier
would never pawn his Bible but for drink, and yet he
calls himself a teetotaller. His principle is wrong. I
did not know of this till afterwards, or I should have
told the agent of it, (A. Voice—"'l Wilk' you bloomed
him up pretty well. If he is a Teetotaller be is no good.")
I am glad we have met such a good company to-night, as
the men have exercised such authority over their wives.
It seems to me that mother Eve has not lost . her natte
yet, for if she bad we should be sunk lower than we are. If
we go on,and are mother Eves, not in name only, we shall
keep the men behind us, er at all events we shall and
must k(ep level with them. I shall do my best
towards it, ands if possible, keep them a little behind us.
(Loud cheers.) M 4
r. John Biggs has treated us kindly,
and I should wish to give him a vote of thanks for his
kindness. (A. Voice—" Well done, misses.")
The vote of thanks to Mr. Biggs was carried by acolas
oration.
Mrs. WIGF. lELD—Being, as we are, loyal, andailvs-
have a sovereign for a Queen, I propose that we singtho
National Anthem.,

Mrs. Bunain on---And T beg leave, Mrs. Chairwoman,
to second, and to propose a vote of thanks to the Chair.
woman. -
This was seconded, and both resolutions were passed.
A vote of thanks was passed to the Iteporterslor their
attendance, and the proceedings concluded with the
eitt_al Anthem, Mr. Emery being- called upon to
Yit. - -

A collection was made at the doer towards defraying
the- expeiriles of printing, &c.
•

Spirit of the Public Journals.

- (From the Morning guald of this day.)
When the, future historian of these times comes
to relate how the desperate struggle we have' Wit-
nessed arose, progressed, and terminated—when he
has recorded the desperate valour, the heroic en-
durance, the sublime devotion of that army which
two yetirs ago was thrown into conflict with the
armed hordes of Russia an the steppes of the OH
mea—wheri justice has at length been done,- aiid
the blame of disasterfixed 6nally where it must rest
for ever—when the terms of that peace which were
yesterday given to the world have been reviewed
with judicial gravity, the annalist will arrive at the
magnificent and memorable display-of yesterday—
the closing scene of the great drama, at sight of
which all Europe has stood oppressed with awe-
struck interest.

The naval might of England is the growth of
three centuries, and has been. the gradual but most
intelligible expression of her expandingconsequencis
and dignity. It is in the highest degree interesting
to trace the gradual development of this matchless
power, from the time it took its rise in the dawn of
our commerce, until it won for the " meteor flag "
the empire of the seas, and brought the distant isles
under its successful dominion. When two hundred
and -sixty-eight years ago the Spanish Armada,
numbering 160 sail, moved out of the Tagus, the
naval defences of England consisted of a fleet of
light vessels at Plymouth, some thirty ships sup-
plied by the loyalty of the good city of London,
and fleet of forty sail, English and Dutch, which,
under the command of Lord Henry Seymour, kept
the coast of Flanders, and watched the move-
ments of the Duke of Parma. The names of
Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher' and Lord Howard
of Effingham are familiar to every schoolboy,
and the dispersion of the Armada has supplied
a subject to the chfonicler, the poet, and the
painter, which never has, and never can lose its
interest. Two centuries bad well nigh elapsed,
when shortly after the accession of George 111. the
peace of Fontainebleau gave the nation rest after a
prolonged war, and enabled it to contemplate the
maritime resources which had accumulated in. the
interval. England then, in the year 1763, pos-
sessed a fleet of 412 sail, and mounting 2,522 guns,
of such calibre as were considered most formidable
at that period, and the names of Hawke and Bos-
cawen are found amongst her dauntless comman-
ders ; but a time was approaching when her rising
supremacy at sex was to be questioned, suet to au
extent by no means anticipated. During the
American war, which shortly afterwards broke out,
the defective dieeiPline of our fleet cost us dear,
and afforded to the inferior navies of France and
Spain a passing success. But it has ever been the
characteristic of England that she learns wisdom
from disaster. One of her bold sons undertook to
redeem the character of the service to which he
had devoted his gallant life and energies. At
Martinique, at St. Eustatia, and in the celebrated
sea fight with Dc Grasse's. squadron, Admiral
Rodney justified our former renown, and established
our maritime supremacy. Thenceforth our naval
power has steadily, and, in our own day, marvel-
lou-ly increased. In 1792, the year before the
outbreak of the French war, our navy numbered
sfiG saili of which seven were first-rates. In 1815,
notwithstanding the demands and losses of the
war, we bad a fleet of 789 sail, of 'which 218 were
actually in commission. Forty-two years ago our
fathers witnessed a demonstration of the sam. cha-
racter as that which was yesterday graced by the
presence of our Queen, and which assembled at
Port ;mouth an eager and delighted multituie.
We shall not attempt to add to the graphic de-
scription of our correspondent. It will be , read
with vivid.and sustained interest, for, apart from
its merits, as a narrative, it is the record of the
most transcendant display of the " might of Eng-
land flushed" ever witnessed; and such an exhi-
bition as no other nation on the face of the earth
could produce. There were present, doubtless,
a few who could call to mind the review of 4814,
when fifteen or sixteen line-of-battle ships-r-a fleet
mounting some 1,800 guns—was regarded, no
doubt, as a most imposing demonstration'; but
such a sight as they witnessed yesterday could
never-have occurred to their wildest imaginings.
In the 40 years of peace we have learned almostto
workeniracles. We have learned to avail ourselves
Of a mighty agency more potent than the fabled
Titan and more ductile than the feeblest slave, and
now, instead of 18 liners and a few lesser craft,
capable at most of-throwing at one discharge some
16 tons of metal, and dependent on the winds of
heaven for power to manoeuvre, we have " one
great dark line of line-of-battle ships, frigates, and
corvettes," in all upwards of. 300 sail of men-of-
war, representing 150,000 tons, manned by 40,000
seamen, carrying 3,800 guns, and capable of dis-
charging at once on a given point 90 tons of solid
iron at a single broadside ! Such is the wondrous
advance of the naval power of England within half
a century—a combination of power, and resource,
and skill, such as the world has never looked upon
—the solemn growth of centuries—the magnificent
development of the practical energy and devoted
industry of the British people. If Luvois believed
us invincible—if Richelieu sighed in vain to make
France our rival on the sea—if Napoleon himself,
after Trafalgar, utterly despaired of meeting us on
that element which we seem to have peculiarly
mastered and appropriated—what would those great
intellects think could they contemplate the ;display
of irresistible and of almost fabulous might which
England now puts forth, and which fifty years
hence may as much transcend what was witnessed
yesterday as that display transcends the demonstra-
tion which preceded the peace of 1815 ?
With such wondrous means at our disposal,
some future historian will perchance ask what we
did during the war now brought to a close ?
Whether we impressed upon the mind of Europe
the belief that we possessed a power which we
knew how to use for other purposes than display?
Let those who have had the conduct of thii war in
hand answer the question, those who thwarted our
admirals; just an nearly a century ago the Rock-
ingham Ministry 'thwarted Rodney. " The star
of peace returns ;" it rises clear and beautiful
upon the graves of a gallant army and the rugged
Scenes of deadly conflict. Let thoSe who will take
it for the "star of victory"—those to whOm Eng-
land committed her honour—who know how to
parade it better than to defend it ; but e, day of
reckoning is 'at hand.