The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-18 00:00:00

A
And they actually. had
)n _-,-`f`l---•-.- U 1,4,60
g 1 i n
rfitting(Cries
f o
out the -33 ships in the- last instance.
(stanclet.
" Shame !") Those ships went to sea in such a
condition as to inflict a positive injustice on the
brave officers in command of theme; -said if it had
not been for the efficiency of the 14ttorand. the way
their crews-were disciplined theyrimight as well
have stopped at home. hi all Jprobability the
statement he• was now making would, go to the
public, and he was sure all who read it would
join him in a prayer the Government and the
country. for grants for the purpose of putting on its ,
legs that force which alone could insure the pros-
perity, the. welfare, indeed: the safety of the -
sountry. (Cheers.) The next, question to which
they should-turn their minds, supposing the fleets
provided, was to the stout hearts who were to man
them, which had been a subject of great import-
ance in the minds of all the governing powers for
many years, forjr,c-mi the nature and character of
our commerce, which extended over the Whole
globe, there was, always great difficulty in manning
the fleet of ships usually in commission, even witk
the ample time • afforded under ordinary circum"
stances, the ships being gradually, rigged and fitted.
The prevision in this respect, then, for a sudden
emergency was; and had been for:years, the question
of the day. In times gone by, when the public
mind was not so powerful or inquiring, and the
press was not the great and almost all-ruling power •
it had since becenie, it was the custom in sneh
' emergencies to lay an embargo on our ports, and take
the seamen by the strong hand to man our fleets.
But in the progress of time the public had decided
that this was a pains-taking, an unsatisfactory, and
a slave-making mode, which they would not put up
with any longer ; and consequently everything had
been done of late years to ameliorate the condition
of the seamen on board our ships of war, and to
render the service of the country more popular.
That was the course that had been and was still
being taken ; but, although he would not speak
disparagingly of the sailor, for without a charac-
teristic he was about to impute to them our tars
would not be what they were, their recklessness was
such that they only valued what was before their
eyes at the moment, and disregarded anything like
provision in the shape of pension in the time of sick-
ness or old age. Her Majesty had been pleased to
place him (the noble speaker) at the head of a com-
mission, with a view of seeing if anything could be
laid before her Majesty to solve this great problem
—how in the case of need they should be enabled
at short "notice to man 30 or 40 sail of the line.
He felt that the undertaking was a grave one, and
he addressed himself thereto with the greatest pos-
sible desire to bring it to a satisfactory conclu-
sion. He did not think the Crown should abandon
that great and important right it had ever exercised
for the purpose of the defence of the country, of
taking
.persons who had been bred up to the naval
profession, whether merchant seamen or otherwise, •
and compelling those persons to stand forth in the
' defence of the country. There was not a man in Eng..
land who was not compelled by moral law and con.
stitutional right to give up his blood for the defence
of the country ; and he was at a loss to understand,
that being the case, that merchant seamen should
not be compelled to lend their exertions to protect
the homes and firesides of England. While he felt
that every exertion should be made to ameliorate the
condition of the sailor, and to provide at the expense
of the State for his widow and orphans, he seriously
advocated that the Crown should never abandon
the right of impressment, but adhere to the prin-
ciple of laying an embargo on our ports and seizing
sailors for the defence of the country. He knew
the exercise of the power was painful, and should
only be used in cases of the direst emergency ; but
used it ought to be, when the lives, the property,
the wealth of the inhabitants of this great nation
Were at stake. When such sacred interests were at
stake the matter vanished before his mind as a
question of law, the two great questions being
;placed in juxtaposition. The mode of taxing w
difficult matter to decide on—whether by a ballo
as in the militia ; whether for a term of years, ac-
cording to the age of the parties : all these ques-
tions must be considered, this being an island, and
considering that, though at peace (and he prayed
fervently that this peace might continue), we should
always be prepared for war. The officers of the
navy were most anxious to be placed in such a po-
sition by the good understanding and right feeling
of the people of England, and when called upon to
shed their blood in the defence of their country,
weapons and means should be placed in their hands
not only to show their strength and ability, but
their readiness to meet the liberal expenditure of
the country by making the best use of those
weapons.
His Lordship resumed his seat amid loud and
continued cheering ; and after some other toasts
relating to local matters the proceedings ter-
minated.

THE BRITISH GOLD DIGGINGS.

(From the Panama Star.)

Our dates from Victoria, Vancouver Island, are
to the 27th August ; and from Fort Hope, Fraser
River, to August 23. The principal item of news
is the threatened breaking out of a serious war
between the Indians and the miners. Ever since
the white men have invaded the Fraser River
country, they have been made to submit to various
annoyances and outrages from the savages. These
have become more and more frequent and unbear-
able, and lately not a few white men, who have
been caught at a distance from the large camps,
alone or in small parties, have been murdered. T 9
protect themselves the whites at Fort Yale enrolled
into two or three companies, and started out into
the Indian country to fight, or awe the savages to
making a peace. A few days after they had left
Fort Yale (on the 18th August) a report reached
that place that one of the companies had been sur-
prised at night by a large body of Indians, and that
all but one or two had been inhumanly butchered.
This news created immense excitement among
the miners all along the banks of the river, and in
Victoria, when the account of the massacre reached
there. The miners held meetings, memorialised the
Governor for arms, organised companies, and pre-
pared themselves for a war of exterraination.
Many were disposed to censure the Hudson's Thly
Company, and the most serious difficulties Were
apprehended all around, While matters were in
this posture, news came in that the account of
withe.
wholesale massacre of the white company was

true. out
had hadsucceeded found
the Indians peaceably
.dihspos
The companies that had
in effecting a treaty wit them. While one of the died, rtanedd
companies was subsequently camped out for the
night with their new Indian friends, a war party
of savages, who had not heard of the treaty, re-
turned, and seeing the whites around the camp-
fire, discharged a volley at them, which killed the
captain, one Graham, and his first lieutenant, out-
right, and wounded some of the men. The friendly
Indians at the camp succeeded in signalising the
attacking party to desist, when explanations were
made, and sorrow expressed for the mistake. This
was the foundation for the story of the massacre.
Since the formation of the treaty no outrage had
been committed. But as the presence of the miners
on the bars and banks of Fraser River interfere
with the salmon fisheries, which are the chief depe
deuce of the savages for food, it is certain that seri-
ous difficulties must hereafter be continual between
them and the miners.

The mining news from Fraser River is still un-
satisfactory. The river at latest accounts was too
high to allow of profitable .working by a majority
of the miners. Some " dry diggings' have' bean
discovered near Fort Yale, but what is their rich-
ness or their extent is not yet known here. Consi-
derable excitement had also prevailed at Victoria'
concerning some reported gold discoveries on Van-
couver Island, north-west of Victoria from five to
25 miles. As many as a thousand p;eople had rushed
there and " staked off claims ;" but the latest ac-
counts represent the whole thing as a humbug.
Gold was found in minute pr.aticles, but not in suffi-
cient quantity to pay tlar. -diggers. Business -was
very dull at Victoria, trad property there had greatly
depreciated in valw%. A few of those who went up
to Fraser River.,
and a large number of those who
proceeded no
further than Victoria and Bellingham.
I:
Bay, have
"feturned to California.

---,-------
F17.E.,, AT STIRLING CASTLE.—About 9.15 p.m.
a servant observed a great deal of smoke
the officers'
u'.. one of themess-room
l'_..n-7ae 13th inst.,
Stirling Castle, passages leading to
Which being under repair is not occupied,
and on examination found that a room used for storing
extra mess property, was on fire. By the greatest exertion
of the garrison generally the fire was extinguished in about
two hours, without spreading or damaging more than the
room and its content.