The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-09 00:00:00

NEW SCHOOL.

Guns. Tons. Cost when Per Ton. Per Gun.
launched.
Howe l2l 4,245 £190,257 £45 £1,572
Revenge 9l 3,322 149,089 45 1,638
Bacchante
Orlando
Mersey 40 3,733 133,930 36 3,348
Ariadne 26 3,214 121,590 38 4,676
Galatea
Not only is the item for building about doubled, but the
cost of maintenance is also increased. The wages of the
crew of every line -ot-battle ship are £9,600 a year more
than they were. Bedding, mess traps, and some articles of
clothing which were formerly paid for by the men, are
now supplied gratuitously; and the provisions are of better
quality, and larger in quantity,—making together, for these
items, about £4,000 a year difference in each first-rate.
The engines, on which the expenditure in 1851 did not
amount to £lOO,OOO, now figure in the estimates for
£600,000: and lastly, we now pay something like £300,000
for coals, against £92,000 in 1851. Nor is this to be won-
dered at when we are told that up io February last, the St.
Jean A'Acre had consumed 8,421 tons, and the Himalaya
had used 34,110 tons.

In " Discipline in the Army," it is maintained,
with what truth we will not say, that the cause of
the late frequent murders in the army is, to a great
extent, owing to the abolition of flogging ; be that
as it may, we quite agree with the writer when he
condemns the practice of sending soldiers, for solely
military offences, to county gaols, to associate with
felons, and to bring back to their comrades all the
vice which they have acquired among their late
companions_ We have a long review of the "Life
and Correspondence of Admiral Sir Charles Napier,
K.C.8." "Recent Explorations in Buster and
Kharonde" gives an interesting account of that
unknown locality. A paper on the " Mexican Ex-
pedition" furnishes curious details of that dis-
tressed country. That the national debt is not
heavy is to be attributed, not to the frugality of
the Government, but to the feet that nobody
will trust such a bankrupt country. In the " Editor's
Portfolio" a handsome and deservel tribute is paid
to Sir Howard Douglas. That gallant, we might
almost say amphibious, officer—for Sir Howard was
as much at home on one element as the other—has
passed from us, as almost the last relic of the iron
age which produced the Iron Duke. General
military and naval intelligence, &c., is of course
to be found.

Bailis Sporting Magazine.

The frontispiece this month is a portrait of Count
Frederick La Grange, followed by the usual bio-
graphy. "The Gentleman in Black" contributes
an article on " Woolwich and its Recreations."
The Military Academy is chiefly treated of, and
our author maintains that a want of proper hours
of relaxation is about the very worst thing for
which a large pablic institution can be censured.
We have ourselves remarked somewhat severely
on this subject; for it seems absurd to treat young
men like schoolboys, and the remarks of the " Gen-
tleman in Black" are so in accordance with our own
views that, for the benefit of our readers, we quote
the following :
" We are the last in the world to depreciate sound know-
ledge, and especially that which pertains to the professional
duties of an artillery officer, but we think they would be
none the worse for an hour or two's relaxation, and an op-
portunity of digesting the fool with which they are
crammed.

" Breakfast and inspection till 8.40 ' in study 9 till
11.30 ; clean and prepare for inspection at 11.45 ; drill till
12.45; dinner at 1 p.m.: in study from 2 till 4 ; parade
4.15; drill till 4,45; in study from 5 till 7 ; tea 7.15 ; lei-
sure until 10in an enclosure 200 yards by 50. At 10 o'clock
cadets answer to their names, the lights are extinguished,
and they are left to go to bed in the dark.'

" Here's a pretty state of things connected with the
training of British youth. In twelve good hours there ap-
pears to be about two hours allowed for recreation, includ-
ing dinner and tea. Do the authorities ever try this sort
of work themselves ? Are they aware that, under ordinary
circumstances, about four or five hours' study unremit-
tingly per diem would compass the highest honours of
either university ? That the head requires time for diges-
tion quite as much as the stomach ? Or are our artillery
officers henceforth to be employed on service of so impor-
tant a nature that, so long as they are conversant with the
laws of motion' and the 'science of projectiles,' they re-
quire neither health, judgment, nor energy to direct them ?
That their duties are more onerous, and their acquirements
are to be more varied and extensive, we are well aware ;
but on that very account a capacity for greater exertion,
and more active exercise of their faculties, should be in-
sisted on."
" Charles Thornhill; or, the Dunce of the Family,"
is a new tale, and promises fair to
i prove interest-
ing. School-life at Eton of course s well described,
and the character of the hero, who materially plays
a prominent part, is well defined. " Pro Bono
Publico," by Scrutator, maintains the superiority
of hunting above all other field sports, and shows
that while a man cannot intrude his company on a
coursing party, or offer to knock over a few birds
in a preserve for the owner, all are welcome to
follow the hounds. Among other amusing anec-
dotes which the author relates is that of a butcher-
boy winning the brush, and on being asked by
the master of the hounds, who had admired his
bold riding, which he would prefer the, brush or
half-a-crown, the boy answered eagerly, " Oh, the
brush, sir; it may be a long time before I get
another." This same boy has since become one of
the first huntsmen in the country. " Our Van,"
and the general news of the month are to be
found as usual.

Macmillan's _Magazine.
Macmillan's commences with a no doubt very
erudite essay upon " Social Science Congresses and
Women's Part in Them." It is certainly long
enough to furnish mach useful inforumAtion ; its

EXPLANATION.—B. Barometer, corrected and reduced
to 32 deg at mean sea level ; each 10 feet of vertical rise
causing about 1-100th of an inch diminution, and each 10
deg above 32 deg causing nearly 3-100ths increase. E.
Exposed thermometer in shade. Al. Moistened bulb (for
evaporation and dew-point). D. Direction of wind (true--
not magnetic). F. Force (1 to 12—estimated). C. Cloud
r lightning
; a., s
now ;
(1 to 9). I. Initials :—b., blue sky ; c., clouds (detached);
f
m., misty (hazy) ; 0., over-
cast t., thunder. S. Sea dis-
turbance (1 to 9).
,fog(Julh1)" ; hall;
r.,

THE MURDER OF COLONEL CROFTON AND CAP-
TAIN HANNIIAL—Patrick M'Caffery, the soldier charged
with the murder o' those gentlemen on the 14th September
last at Fulwood Barracks, Preston, will be tried at the
Liverpool assizes on Wednesday next. The grand jury on
Saturday found a true kill for wilful, murder in each caw,

CIVIL WAR IN' AMERICA.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Timec.)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22.

The American papers are full of arguments, in-
vsetives, and declamations concerning the seizure
of the Confederate ambassadors—who have, I ob-
serve, become rebels since they were sent to Fort
Warren—all to prove that it was and is EO clearly
right and proper that not a word need be said to
justify the act. "England cannot, dare not, will
not, must not, ought not—take any notice of the
matter." If she does, "we do not care ; we can,
will, must, and ought to resist her to the last."
But with all this use of the auxiliary verbs in words,
there is very little real contentment or satisfaction
felt in men's minds ; the share market at New York
certainly does not evince confidence or security.
" Capt. Wilkes," says one paper apropos of the
IVall-street fever, "had no instructions to board an
English ship for any purpose. He did so on his
own responsibility. The Government have not as
yet disavowed the act." No diplomatic comrsuni-
cation has taken place: Lord Lyons has no official
knowledge of the matter. Ho has not opened his
lips to any one connected with the Government or
belonging to the United States respecting it; and
the statements which have been made, ascribing
conduct, and language, and bearing of all sorts to
him, are the work of determined and incurable my-
thomaniacs. Messrs. Mason and Slidell, Messrs.
Eustis and M.Farland, have addressed a kind of
protest to the Government, and have also made
certain representations with respect to their incar-
ceration ; but there has been no official announce-
ment or action of any sort between the Cabinet
of Washington and the representative of her Ma-
jesty near the person of the President regarding
the question on which the minds and conversation
of men turn all over the States. As public opinion
in England will have been fully tested and esta-
blished before this letter can reach the metropolis,
it may be enough to observe that no authority has
been added to the arguments and cases originally
suggested in the American papers, and that the
seizure of Mr. Laurens and of Lucien Bonaparte,
and the destruction of the Caroline, do not bear
upon the question, and can be taken only to illus-
t rate essential differences between the present arrest
and the cases which are put forward as precedents.
According to the arguments now used—and they
ere furbished up from all quarters—it will hence-
forth be desirable to prevent any vessel sailing from
France or England from carrying arms, despatches,
or persons employed in the service of the United
States. In violation of the queen's proclamation of
neutrality, immense quantities of arms and muni-
tions of war have been contracted for and sent
to New York and other ports ; " but," says the
-Philadelphia Press, " the great principle is that no
neutral can do any act in aid of either belligerent."
The position of Lord Lyons is most difficult, but
there need be no apprehension that he will fail to
maintain the dignity of Great Britain in this re-
markable crisis. Mr. Seward, I believe, in speaking
of the arrest, did not consider it at all necessary to
allude to the mode in which the persons of Messrs.
Slidell and Mason had been transferred to the
custody of the Government, and the subject will
doubtless be approached with due caution and re-
luctance by the State Department, but I have the
best reason for thinking General M'Clellan not only
disapproved the conduct of the naval officer who
made the capture, but expressed his opinion that
the boarding and seizure could not be justified. The
intelligence has, indeed, been received with some-
thing like consternation by thinking and respect-
able politicians, and already there are men talking
of an " ample apology " and feeble reference to the
right of search which has been maintained by Eng-
land, and therefore cannot be, forsooth, objected to
by her Government when it is piactised by the ves-
sels of a nation which has always refused to recog-
nise it.

' The division in the Cabinet in reference to the
treatment of fugitive and captured slaves has now
reached such a point that Secretary Cameron does
not hesitate to lay down instructions to military
commanders which are opposed by his colleagues.
These differences were openly stated the other night
at a quasi public and semi-official supper to Mr.
Prentice—the Sydney Smith of American journa-
lists—whose paper, the Louisville Journal, has done
good service to the Federal cause ; and when Mr.
Cameron expressed his opinion that the negroes
should be rendered serviceable by putting arms in
their hands, Mr. Smith, Secretary for the Home
Department, declared his colleague's sentiments
were opposed to the policy of the Administration.
It may well be that Mr. Lincoln is obliged to act
with prudence in the face of the Democratic party,
which, stricken down for a moment and stunned,
has not only recovered life and activity, but is
rapidly assuming all its ancient strength and pro-
portions. It is idle to pretend for a moment, in the
light of the declarations of that party, that every
guarantee will not be given to slavery if the North
triumphs, so far as the influence of that party can
secure it. At present the cry for the Union over-
powers the voices of the contending factions ; but if
the South be subjugated there will be a renewed
struggle over the prostrate body; one will seek to de-
stroy, and then to incorporate the carcass—the other
by dainty treatment and caresses will endeavour tore-
store it to its former health and take it as a partner for
life. If failure ensues, then will come the fierce
recriminations of the disappointed, and there is
every prospect that in the Congress which is so
soon to meet the struggle will be commenced with
great asperity. Upon the most important question
which can arise—the very base of all adjustment—
the Government of the United States has no fixed
policy, and confines itself to vague generalities in
order to please both parties, while its officers act on
different principles in different States, and the Se-
cretary of War issues instructions to one General
'"-ah are counteracted by the proceedings of
another. General Hallock, the new commander of
the Western troops, has issued orders that no fugitive
slaves shall be allowed to enter the lines under any
pretence. At Fortress Monroe they are cheerfully
received. At Port Royal their presence is encou-
raged and their services freely used in the works.
At Boston a mass meeting of Germans has approved
Fremont's proclamation and policy, and others in
different places have done the same.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 20.

If any of the fathers of the Republic could have
been awakened this fine morning and told to get up
in order to see a review of some 56,000 men mus-
tered into the service of the United States in order
to put down a gigantic rebellion with far greater
evidences of strength, permanence, and unanimity
than were displayed by the " Continentals" during
heir early contest with part of the power of Great ,
Ilritain,
he would surely have doubted the utility
of his work, and have sighed in sadness of heart
and sorrow at the prospect of witnessing a spec-
tacle which afforded such pleasure and satisfaction
to so many modern Americansdisplayof to-day. In one
word, it was a
could not have been satisfoaetmoriyirttaorya
mpoilwitearrywchriitcihc
adopting the standard
t European
wan
hi
criticism in
reference to standing armies,
viewedch,
per se as a review of a force of volunteers collected
from a vast continent of different populations,
and turned into soldiers by the drill of a few
months in the face of an enemy, often, indeed,
interrupted by actual conflict, was exceedingly good.
The natural aptitude of the men for carrying arms
as infantry soldiers was indeed shown by the cir-
cumstance that the men were got there and handled
at all. The arrangements for the concentration of
the troops were made by General M'Dowell, and
were under his control exclusively, and it is no
small praise to say that seven divisions of infantry,
with cavalry and guns, were marched by four dif-
ferent and indifferent roads, through a country the
natural difficulties of which had not been diminished
by rough abattis marking where forests have been
laid low by the axe, along a narrow front to a patch
of ground, some three miles long by a mile broad,
were marched past without confusion, and got off
again without delay or intermixture. From Drains-
ville on the right of the line to the extreme left
11!•ez Alexandria the front extends some 16 or
tv__lees in irregular lines, and Divisions from the
11„',1,,,,vrev'a tcs
ilita:vtere marched to the space which
As to be abie to 0.110 review, near Alunson's-hill, so
0.
off the ground before the march

of the other Divisions brought them into position. The
Divisions were massed together in columns of bat-
talions, and occupied the limited area in a de, se half-
m uon with the horny prolonged nearly at rig ht angles
on the flanks. The day was exceedingly fine—one of
those fine, bright days, with an autumecl keenness
about it which contributes to the glories of the
Indian summer. All restrictions to the passage of
the Long-bridge were removed, and when I arrived
there it was impossible to push a horse through the
crowd of hacks, omnibuses, gigs, and light waggons
which were pouring out of the city, intermingled with
many pedestrians. People had come from distant
cities to behold a sight the like of which was
never seen in the New World, and, if political eco-
nomists indulged in private head-shaking the world
of Washington was, at all events, determined to let
no care sit upon its heart: Turning away from the
impasse of the Long-bridge, our party rode back
through by-streets of the village-like suburbs to-
wards Georgetown, and succeeded in getting over
in one of the ferry boats to the Virginia side along
with a number of vehicles and horsemen ; and a
smart canter past Fort Corcoran and Fort Albany
brought us soon into the ruck of vehicles which
were proceeding to Munson's-hill, some eight miles
distant, and not far from the outlying pickets of the
enemy, As the road crossed the summits of the small
mound-like elevations which do duty as hills, the
black dotted lines of carriages, horsemen, and pedes-
trians were visible seaming the landscape, and con-
verging on the ridge, crowned with earthworks
and surmounted by the Federal flag, which
was the rendezvous for the spectators. In the
hollow of the roads, where the soft earth was
churned into mud by the watercourses,
there were smashes and crashes not quite
unworthy of a Derby-day, and many an axle and
wheel and splinter-bar :testified to the tenacity
of the soil of the " Old Dominion." By the side
of the camps the guards and the men left for duty
turned out to gaze on the procession, and favoured
the passers-by with the quaintness of remark which
is a substitute for Landon " chaff" on such occa-
sions. Evidences of the skill of the men in pro-
viding for winter were visible in the log huts,
boarded and plastered, which could not be made
so readily by the men of any other army, and would
have been thought palaces by the occupants of our
subterranean holes in the first Crimean winter.
But the forests are all around them, and hundreds
of hands in every Division are familiar with the
axe. Soon spiral columns of smoke rising from the
midst of a black expanse, which looked at first glance
like an Irish moor, pointed out the position of the
troops and the camp fires at which they were cook-
ing their midday meal. The black surface was
specked with ;white, the glare of white flags, and
now and then a bright needle of light flashed out
of it from sabre or bayonet; nearer still, and the eye
catches patches of gray, blue, and neutral tint, and
a certain broken light playing over the inert mass
which had not yet broken out into the flickering
surf of bayonets and the life of the march. The
crowds of spectators blackened all the hill crests and
ridges, and the flood was dammed up near Munson's-
hill by a line of very dangerous light dragoons, long
haired, open-collared, strapless, with trousers well
up the calves of their legs, displaying great variety
of booting and hosiery, with ungroomed horses and
dirty accoutrements, who, after the fashion of
horsemen on such occasions, made small charges on
the public, and were never tired of shouting to
everybody to got out of every place and to go no-
where. It was very exciting to come near one of
these warriors, for it became a moot question
whether he was going to commit unintentional sui-
cide by falling on his sword, or whether he would cut
off his horse's head or your own, as he flourished
about on his steed, quite out of hand, but bent on
" keeping back" as long as he lived all who came near
him in reference to an indeterminate line of occupa-
tion, The passes for the inner circle underwent a
scrutiny by the officers on duty, whose views on the
subject were very infirm, as one " kept back"
those the other let in, and vice versa. But at
last that business was arranged, and we pro-
ceeded onwards without any obstruction, except
that caused by a sergeant of a Michigan regiment of
cavalry, who stopped me in order that he might let
his friends in England know through me that he was
quite well, which I hereby do, with the qualification
that I have reason to think he must have had
a headache next morning, Yes ! there was also a
friendly gentleman who insisted on shaking hands
with me on general grounds, and another who did
it for special reasons of his own ; but on the whole
we parted very good friends. The line of march of
the Divisions was indicated by flags of different
colours fixed on posts along the ground, and al-
though there were no police in attendance the lines
were very well kept, and there was no pressing or
crowding. The carriages were collected opposite
the head-quarters' flag, or at the other side of the
avenue, which was left broad enough for a front of
two companies to march abreast. General M'Clel-
lan, who had left the city with a very strong escort
—the M'Clellan Dragoons, one squadron, the 2d
Cavalry, and the sth Cavalry—attended by a large
staff, rode down the lines about 1 o'clock, and was
received with hearty cheers as he galloped
through the dense masses of the regiments. On his
right rode the President, with Mr. Seward, who
was on horseback fcr part of the day; the Duke of
Chartres, in the uniform of a captain of the United
States army, and with the star of the Legion of
Honour on his breast, the Prince de Joinville, and
General M'Dowell wore also in the General's suite.
As he passed round the left of the line the field bat-
teries on the hill fired a very irregular and ill-
timed salute, owing, I presume, to some misunder-
standing of the order of firing, but it was all the
same to the multitude, and through the hurrahs of
the soldiery, the noise of the guns and the cries of
the spectators, the idol and hope of the hour dashed
past, seated well, if not altogether gracefully, on his
charger. Every tongue was busy ;—" Where is
M'Clellan ?" or "There is M'Clellan !" or "Hurrah
for M'Clellan !" But the President was taken for
granted. On assuming his position at the flagstaff
the troops began to move, and the review com-
menced—a march past in heavy marching order, in
any " time," with haversacks and supplies of ball
cartridge in case of any demonstration from the
neighbouring enemy or any attack on the weakened
flanks. To European readers it would be of little
interest to enter into details or to attempt to discri- '
minate between the many Divisions or regiments.
It is enough to say that the cavalry were bad, slo-
venly, ill set-up ; in person, accoutrements, and
horses, showing a want of care ; not badly horsed
—light serviceable men on light active beasts, but
inferior in appearance and regularity to the Cos-
sacks of the Black Sea. There were exceptions to
the remark, but not to any great extent, and Lord
Cardigan would have evaporated at the sight. The
artillery was the best part of the display, looked as
if it was ready for work, but a considerable portion
of the guns were held in reserve along the front.
The infantry was varied in character and air; the
regiments with a large foreign element had the
most soldierly bearing, but were inferior in material
to the native regiments, some of which, such as the
44th New York, could not be exceeded in any
army in Europe. There is still a diversity of arma-
ment in the artillery, and of small arms and uni-
form in the other branches' of the service. As the
teen passed in close column of double companies
it was not possible to examine them very narrowly.
Sarommse reeigoiped,
men tssocmamee by carrying arms, some with
without
day hideous
; excellentsombeyhadtheitw
General Call's Division-12
went past was composed asc:frodii
infan-
try, 2 batteries, 1 regiment of cavalry.
General Heintzelman's Division-7
discord.
t.h fixed
bands,others
bayonets,thers
rendered
e nodt
ehreerds
owTsh:e_force which
regimentsryrea o.
regiments
e of
infantry, 2 batteries, 1 regiment of cavalry.
General Smith's Division-10 regiments of in.
fantry, 2 batteries, 1 regiment of cavalry.
General Franklin's Division-12 regiments of
infantry, 3 batteries, 1 regiment of cavalry.
General Blenker's Division-11 regiments of
infantry, 2 batteries, Dcckett's regiment of mounted
riflemen.
General Fitz John :Porter's Division-13 regi-
ments'of infantry, 3 batteries, 2 regiments of cavalry.
General APDowell's Division-11 regiments of
infantry, 3 batteries, 1 regiment of cavalry.
Making total of 76 regiments ofinfantry, 17 bat-
teries, and 8 regiments of cavalry.
infantry at 600 gtrgllB';
Takiug the regiments of

which, considering camp gmrds, reserves, &c., is
rather a high average, there may have been 46,000
or 43,000 men on the field, with 3,000 cavalry—the
average of the regiments of the latter arm being
high—and 100 guns. The American papers contain
long accounts of the affair, but I must beg to remark
there is not a syllable of truth in one " anecdote"
contained in one of them, where that article is, in-
deed, a rarity respecting myself.