The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-16 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

Major-General . Bloomfield and Major Teesdale,
C. 8., have left Falmouth, the General having com-
pleted his inspection of the artillery in the Western
District.
The powers of attorney at present held by Com-
manding Royal Engineers arc cancelled, and simi-
lar powers issued to Controllers of Army Expendi-
ture, as it has been decided by the Secretary of
State for War that it is the especial duty of the
latter officers to enter into all contracts, and • sign
leases for letting War Department property at fo-,
reign stations. The division of duties laid down in
circular 360 is in no way interfered with by this
arrangement.
The General Commanding-in-Chief having con-
curred with the Secretary of State for War in the
desirability of a more complete examination of the
Ordnance, mounted or on service at home and
abroad, being made• at the inspections, in order that
the decision respecting it may be founded on satis-
factory: data, directions arc issued from' the War-
office for the guidance of officers commanding Royal
Artillery' aid military storekeepers.

IS CONSUMPTION INCURABLE ? —lnvalids labouring
Under Consumptive MaladieS, and families who have
suffered from the ravages of Consumptio a (and what
family in the empire is there who has not to deplore a
loss caused by this scourge of the . human race ?) will find
a satisfactory answer to the qnestion, " Is'Consumption
curable," In an original article by Dr. Dusts CRONIN,
M.D., 35, Bruton-street, Berkeley-square, W. Published in
the "Household Physician," in numbers, one penny each
by G. Berger, 19, Holywell-street, Strand. From Ito 9 now
ready.

The corporations of Ipswich and Harwich (says
the limvichfournal Journal), by bringing to the notice of
the Government the very deficient condition of the;
defences of the latter town, have taken .a step -Which-
we trust will be. productive of- Much Sdeurity the-
eastern counties'. Harwich harbour way. indeedhe
said, to be the .key to the Eastern Counties.
army once in possession of either of the shores whibh
are washed by the Orwell and, Stouri•could; by a
rapid march upon Ipswich, cut off. all communica-
tion between. the.camp at Colchester and tile eoun-
ties Suffolk and Norfolk ; or, if in sufficient fOrce,
could at once march ufion Colchester, and drive it.;
garrison of.recruits back ,upon -London.. It there-
fore behoves every, borough iu East Anglia to join
with Ipswich and Harwich in insisting on the Har-
wich fortifications being at once.placed in a proper
condition. ,For in what state are they at present.?
As regards Landguard Fort, we believe that it could
not withstand the fire of the ordnance of the pre-
sent day for five minutes ; we .are even doubtful
whether tae concussion consequent upon. firing from
its brick embrasures the 68-pounders now in use
would not of itself suffice to render its ramparts a
ruin. So well aware .of .this were the authorities
that sonic years ago an earthern battery was
erected outside the fort., but the encroach-
ments of the German Ocean are. alrcady,.begin
ning to tenon this, and in a few short years it will
have totally disappeared. Then, again, the im-
portant positions at Walton and Shotley Ferries,
from which good roads lead direct to. Ipswich,.
through an exceedingly rich country, have each
but an old Martello tower to defend them.. Except

in a`country like ours, who ever heard of a harbour
like that-at •Harwich. with a magnificent opening
into it, with a divtli of water available at all times
to vessels of large tonnage, `having such points as
those at Walton -and Shotley totally unprotected ?
It is all-very well to say that oar fleets protect our
shores; to a certain extent they do so, but let us
suppose for a moment that a Continental war had
broken out, that the French had invaded Belgium
and occupied Antwerp, and that, while a French
fleet from BreSt was making a feint towards the
coasts of Devon,. real expedition of some 20,000
men from Antwerp should steer for Harwich, occupy
it, and send its main body to take Ipswich. What
would be the position of the eastern counties under
such"circumstances ? It is true that the traops in
camp at Colchester might hastily march to Ipswich,
but in the meantime the French would have reached
Bury, perhaps -&orwieh," and would have destroyed
every wheat-rick and factory on their road. Again,
let us suppose, what is very _probable, that the
French fleet which had sailed from Brest hail been
driVen back there, and. that the whole available.
forces of England bad been directed against the ex-
pedition which had effl cted a landing at Harwich,'
and that before very long the invaders were sur-
rounded and captured. In what condition should
we thenba?. Our prestige would be gone, numbers
of people would have been ruined, and all we should
be able to shoW as a counterpoise would be soma

thousands of-prisoners of War, who would be made.
perfectly :happy 'till ~hey, should be exchanged.
There. is nothing improbable in all this ; are
Merely describing, as applicable to the eastern coun-
ties,. the French expedition under Humbert, which
landed in ;{eland ill 1793. But it will be asked, if
Harwich is a point of so much importance, how is
it that its defences are such as they are ? . This is a
question which we are not prepared to answer.
All we know is, that in the time of the Spanish
Armada Lord' Burleigh laid great stress on
the . necessity of-. fortifying it; that in the days
of Marlborough a great deal of money,was expended
in purchasing land there for defences ; that at the
beginning of the present century its fortifications
were sufficient to withstand the gunnery of that
day, and that there were large garrisons at Ipswich,
Harwich, and Woodbridge ; while in the year
1859-60, if there be a redoubt at Harwich there is
no garrison beyOud a few infantry, and on the other
two sides there are neither redonbts nor garrisons.

It may be that we have been as lax in reference to
the coast defences as until recently we have been
with regard to the volunteer movement ; but in the
coming session of Parliament we hope that the
matter will be. effectually taken in hand by the
representatives both of our counties and boroughs,
and that the people of East Anglia will back them
'fit their efforts, whatever may be their political
creeds. It mav, we think, be taken for granted
,
that volunteer artillery corps cannot successfully
defend our coast if earthworks be not provided, and
if the means of communication between the cliffs
of Essex and those of Su folk be not of a description
to admit of rapid flank movements. s•