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

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PAPER

) VA,'
‘',r44
04
4-'77.

ht be useful when the
but-we should be prepared
tO•sea at any moment to
engages in war with trust ns.
of Old Englam (ale rs 43
approachNfrrvoehi
te t
armyeth,tdf.
sta. hsoel
6,e
ras
114)
c- troyorafetesosts
'TieVent tiom reaching the shores of our island—
. ". That
~;recious gem, horn o f the silver.sea."
• He forgot the context at the moment, but he knew
that it applied to the important matter of the pro.,
of our sea-girt isle—(cheers)—which we
should make defensible against any fleets that
AcnoFdurldntehhß possiblyleaNv?coa actually
be put to sea. • In the seven Years
war of 1763 we, had 113 sail of the line, and Par-
lia,ment voted 56,626 seamen and. marines, araln
those which followed the figures were as under
Russia
Ts
hhitaoipolsslneya
synh.h Seamen and
American
dDISaO2.
great d Sail.ffil2 co y. Marines.
American
With Prance
a itphsBesl6laN s,
et [..flit
tt:a n
i.fricr6srec sh9oaf
'o'llSitVhaittmhheeßlus'3')3Bi
condition as to inflict a positive injuk*, on th e
brave officers in command of them ; and,it it lr Ad
not been for the efficiency of the latter and the w av
their crews were disciplined they might as v rell
have stopped at home. In all probability the
statement . he was now making would go 1.0 the
public, and he was sure all who read it would
join him in a prayer to the Government and the
country for grants for the purpose of puttim fig on its
legs that force which alone could insure. the pros-
perity, the welfare, indeed! the safe',---
of the
uuntry. (Cheers.) The next question to which
they should turn their minds, supposing the fleets
provided, was to the stout hearts who -wore to man
them, which had been a subject of great import
ante in the minds of all the governing powers for
many years, for, from 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 m.eommission, even wi k
the ample time 'afforded under ordinary eireum;-
stances, the ships being gm-dually rigged and fitted.
The prevision - nn-this respect, then, for a sudden
emergency, was, and had been for:years, the question
of the day. In, times gone hy, when tho..nublie
mind was riut-so'powerful Or inquiring; and the
press was riot the great and almo st all-ruling power
it had since- become, it was the custom m. such
emergencies to la- pan embargo our ports, and take
the seamen by -the Strong_ hand to man our fleets.
lint- in the progress of time ihe 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 momentrtind 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 noblespcAker) at the head of a com-
mission, with a view-of seeing if anything could be
laid before her'MajeSty•te solve this great problem
the, case of need they should be enabled
at short, notice to mare' 30 or 40 sail of the line.

He felt that the undertaking *as a:grave one, -afia
he addressed himself theretb:with the greatest pos-
sible desire to .bring it to.VSAlisfactory conclu-
sion. He did not thinkihe QOwn should abandon
that great and important right it had ever exercised
for the purpose of the defence of the country,
,of
taking yersonsivhb haa.been bred up to the naval
profession, whether merchant seamen or otherwise,
',and compelling those_persons to stand, forth in the
defenee of the country. -There'was not a man inTng-
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 bur ports and seizing
sailors for the defence of -tho country. He knew

the exereisu 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 preperty,
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 twa great questions being
_placed in juXtaposition. The mode of taxing was a
difficult matter to decide on—whether by a ballot'
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 liCing an island, and
considering that, though at I 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-
minatecl:

THE BRITISH GOLD DIGGINGS.

(Front the Pananta Star)

Our dates from Victoria, Vancouver Island, arc
to the 27th A ngitA ; 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 tinee
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 mere 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 prties, have been murdered. To
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
theminerS all along the "banks of the river, and in
Victoria, when the account of the mass acre reached
there. The miners held meetings, memorialised the
Governor for arms, organised companies, and pre-
pared themselves for a war of extermination. •
Many were disposed to censure the Hudson's Bay
Company, and the most serious difficultiesiverlei
apprehended all around. While mattersin
this
as posture,
massacre_
cc. alteheinwtiliiiqte telowmapcaciol37wt
1;f wereut
he
true.
The 'companies that had • started out had found
peaceably disposedc,
camped
ehdialedouosn7efooefredtthehdee.
itnheeff Indiansect
.ing
a trea
subsequently
with'them.
nightenpa withsh t wTei r new Indian friends, (mar party
of savages, who had not heard of the. treaty, re- .
Ihwiittshheeesfinnii
el
turned, and seeing t,hleaeyndNatN
ieZuht e
nk illedAhe
cfiliadiins,chonale.gGedraahavionl out-
right, and wounded someof tl
attacking party to desist, men. The f,iiiendly
Indians
.at the camp succeeded in •
sprnalii g the
make, and sorrow expressed for •
the mistake. 'This
was the foundation for the story
of the massacre.
Since the f •
ormati
been on of the treaty no outrage had
committed. But as the- pi •
esence of the miners
on the bars and banks of Fraser River interfere
with the, salmon fisheries, which are the chief depen-
dence- of the savages for food, it is certain that seri-
ous difficulties must hereafter be continual bet Ween
*in 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 diggingP have been
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,reportcd gold discoveries on Van-
couver Island, north-west of Victoria from five to
25 miles. 'As many as a thousand people had rushed
there and " staked off claims ;" but the latest ac-
counts represent the whole thing as a humbug.
Gold was found in minute particles, but not in suffi-
cient quantity to pay the kliggers. Business was
very dull at Victoria, and property there had greatly
depreciated in value. A few of those who went up
to Fraser River, and a large number of those who
proceeded no further than Victoria and Bellingham
Bay, have returned to California.

FIRE AT STIRLING CASTLE.--About , q .....15 p.m.
nt observed h great deal of snu ke
of the passages . ea in,to the .officers' mess-room
1 1. ".
which licit* under repair is na occupied;-
i d
Stirling
Castle,
iounotnhee 13th inel., a servant
I) e /
and on examination found that a room used for staling
extra mess property was on fire. By the greatest exerticn
12:generally the:fum_vas extinguished in about
-inthout spreading or damaging more than the
room otmhh'e andogar its contente,