The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-25 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,-At present everyone is turning his atten-
tion how to•resist a probable foreign invasion, and
rifle corps and artillery corps are springing up
like mushrooms in all parts of the country, and
thousands are flocking to the standard in defence of
their homes.

Though I do not doubt the ultimate result of any
such attempt, yet an attempt might (if the enemy
had sommand of the sea), in the first instance, prove
succcessful, and London, as well as a large tract of
country, might fall into the enemy's hands, and be
given over to plunder to a half-savage soldiery, and
property to the extent of two or three hundred
millions sterling destroyed, and the enemy might
then retire with immense booty ; but, even pre-
suming that the volunteers, wit"). the assistance of
that very small body of men, the army and the
militia, were able to defeat the landing of some
300,000 or 400,000 French troops, where would all
our splendid colonies be if our navy was defeated
and driven off the ocean ? Where would India be,
that country which, when we were at peace with
every other nation on the face of the globe, took
all the strength of Britain to put down the terrible
rebellion there, and which is even now a slumber-
ing valcano ? Where would all our other
colonies be ? With, perhaps, the exception of
Australia and Canada, all would be lost,
and perhaps for ever Aye, in spite of all our
brave volunteers. What would Britain be without
her Colonies ? She would fall to the rank of a third
class power, somewhat after the fashion of Spain
and Holland.

Presuming it possible that Napoleon would be so
imprudent as to attempt a landing with a large
body of troops, and did actually succeed in landing
some of them, we at the same time having a more
powerful fleet of fighting vessels than he, his situa-
tion with those he landed, would be worse than that
of his uncle at Moscow, for he would have no com-
munication whatever with his rear, and no means
of retreat; but it is simply absurd to say that he
could land 200,000 men before we could bring up
our fleet to prevent the most of them, the trans-
ports would be mere slaughterhouses for the troops
when exposed to the fire of line-of-battle ships, and
those who had succeeded in landing would not be
much better than prisoners.
No one knows the madness of the attempt at
throwing a large army across the Channel-in pre-
sence of a more powerful hostile fleet than his own,
better than Napoleon himself. The uncle did not
try it, nor yet will the nephew. He will first strike
a blow for the mastery of the seas, and if he is vic-
torious there, he will then attempt an invasion, but
if he is defeated he will give up the idea, if he
really has any.
I say, then, it is therefore to our wooden walls
we must look to uphold our national renown.
" Britannia rules the waves !" At least we once
did. We are essentially a maritime people. We
have our Volunteer Rifles and our Volunteer Artil-
lery Corps, why, then, not have our Naval Volun-
teers? I mean by that, those who would give their
services on the same conditions an the rifle. and
artillery volunteers. It is in the Navy that the
services of the volunteer is most wanted. Some
may say, that is all very good, but you will get
none to enrol themselves in that service. If the
movement were gone into in earnest in the proper
quarter, and seconded by those noblemen and gen-
tlemen who are in the habit of enjoying aquatic
sports by enrollinilthemselves as members, I ven-
ture to say that the Naval Volunteer Corps would
soon be the most:popular of the three services, and I
should not at all be surprised if great numbers
deserted from the Rifles and Artillery to join
the Naval
_Corps. If the Government stationed
vessels at the principal seaport towns along our
great extent of seaboard for the purpose of
training the volunteers, I believe that in a very
short space of time we would have that great
difficulty solved—the best, but not only the best,
but the cheapest mode of manning the Royal Navy.
Of course the volunteers would require to be dis-
tributed among the different vessels of the fleet in
a certain proportion to the sailor's.

I would propose to confine the drill of, tho.o
volunteers to gunnery, and sword exercise, as it
would, in these days of steam power, be a useless
waste of time to teach them to "reef a topsail in a
gale of wind," and besides that sort of exercise
might damp the ardour of .a number Who would
otherwise join the service. A great part of their
exercise could be gone through either on shore or

in harbour, and on the Saturday afternoons they
could go out to sea and practise with the great
guns.

If we get several thousands of these volunteers
traided, who could work the guns well, and in a
case of boarding, who would perhaps not be much
behind their shipmates, the real British Tar, I say
we have gained something worth having ; and in
these days of telegraphs and railways, within 24
hours of a hostile fleet leaving Cherbourg we could
have all these volunteers rattled up by, rail and
drafted on board the fleet at Portsmouth (or where-
ever the fleet might be lying) and be prepared to
meet the enemy on our own element.
Not being a practical naval man myself, I cannot
expect that all I have said in the carrying out of
the project would meet the concurrence of naval
men, I therefore refrain from trespassing further on
your valuablispace, by going into minute details,
my object being merely to bring the subject before
the public, through the medium of your widely-
circulated paper, and which may, or may not, be
taken up, improved, and acted upon in the proper
quarter.

I may mention that I would have troubled you
some time ago with these remarks, but I have al-
ways been expecting to hear some suggestions on
this important subject, from some more influential
quarter than from an humble

SCOTCHMAN.

Leith, Nov. 23, 1859.
[Our patriotic correspondent seems to overlook
or forget that we are raising a reserve volunteer
corps of seamen to the number of 30,000, but we
cannot have too many Naval Volunteers, and his
suggestion, therefore, is worthy of all praise.—ED
SUN.]

RUMOURED DEATH OF NANA SAIIIB.—A post-
scriptin the Lahore Chronicle of the 13th ultimo says :
" We have just received the following intelligence of the
death.of Nana Sahib from our Owls correspondent. The
letter is dated the 7th of October, 1559 :—' Important news
has just come in that the Nana died in the Dhang valley
(in the Nepaul frontier) on the 2d current. His followers
have all dispersed in several gangs. Banee Madho of Bys-
warrah is very unwell, and it is apprehended he will not
survive long. " Similar statements however have several
times appeared in the Indian papers, followed in a few days
by a contradiction.' ,

DEATH OF PROFESSOR GEORGE WILSON.—A
deep sense of regret and bereavement spread through the
City on Wednesday with the melancholy news of the death
of Professor George Wilson, which took place at a late hour
on Tuesday evening. The loss of a man so learne I and
able in his own department, and so universally regarded
with esteem and affection, is no common one to the city, or.
even to the c:untry ; and• it is apparently heightened by
the circumstance of his removal at a time when the pros-
pects of his usefulness wore greatly extending, as his
talents and labors were being more fully appreciated.
The technology class this winter was an unusually large
one ; and the Industrial Museum, in which Professor Wit.
son took so great and paternal an interest, seemed to have
passed through all the initiatory difficulties, promising
soon to take its place among the most prominent institu-
tions of Edinburgh. Professor Wilson, whose health, at
all times extremely delicate; had been further weakened by
overwork, died of an inflammatory attack of about a fort-
night's duration, though it did not assumd a serious aspect
till within a day or two of the end.—Scotsman.

- .
SMITHFIELD CLUB . CATTLE SHOW.—Yesterday
the galleries of the Baker-street Bazaar were, thrown open
for the reception of Implements, &c., to be exhibited at the
ensuing Smithfield Club Cattle Show, and a considerable
number of specimens have already been received. The en-
tries are so numerous that every available space will be oc-
cupied.. The last day for their reception will be Thursday
next. The cattle will comprise a large number of animals
now exhibiting, at the Birmingham Cattle and Agricultural
Show, and the entries which have been made must be in
the show-yard by Saturday, the 3d December. The pri-
vate view is fixed for Monday, the sth.

At Moelfra, on the 23d instant, the body of Dr.
Hatch was found with £l5O in gold, a watch, and other
articles. A male body was also found, having in its 1 ockets
a receipt for a registered letter for Wm. Rolandson from
David Bell, and some gold. Two other male bodies were
found, one supposed to be that of John Walsh. A female
body was picked up, with £37, some keys, a pair of spec-
tacles, an earring, &c.- The divers got £1,200. A male
body, with" W. Emery" marked on the drawers, and with
£2 7s. 6d. ; and two other bodies not identified' were also
found. On the 23d, in consequence of the heavy swell on
the beach, the divers were nit able to work. • •