The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-08 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVE NTINti, 001013 ER 8,

MALTA AND ALEXANDRIA TELE-
GRATE.

Another great and important work has been ac-
complished, and it is satisfactory to know that so
far success seems to have favoured the carrying
out of the Malta and Alexandria Telegraph.
Taking into consideration the failures that have
attended the permanent working of long submarine
telegraphs laid in deep water, we must guard our-
selves from being too sanguine in this instance ;
but let us hope, from the extra precautions taken
both in designing, making, and testing this cable,
that former causes of failure have been guarded
against, and that previous experience has been fully
brought to bear in this instance—the result of
which, we hope, will be to restore confidence in
similar undertakings.
This is but the second instance in which her Ma-
jesty's Government have ventured to expend pub-
lic money upon undertakings of the kind. The
first case was the temporary line laid for war pur-
poses from Varna to the Crimea, and although its
existence was short it did good service, and tended
in a great measure to shorten the duration of the
war, and thereby saved the country much treasure
and many valuable lives. Much experience has
since been gained both scientifically and practically,
and therefore it is natural to expect that this
second venture of the Government will not be less
remunerative than the first.

The public at large are, perhaps, not aware that
this cable, which has been laid between Malta and
Alexandria, was originally designed and intended
to be laid from Falmouth to Gibraltar; in fact, its
destination was not altered until many miles of the
cable was manufactured. For reasons best known
to the Government, it was subsequently determined
to lay the cable from Rangoon to Singapore, and
the whole length was made with that end in view,
and some of it was actually shipped for that desti-
nation ; it was only at the commencement of this
year that a final decision was come to, and orders
given to lay the line from Malta to Alexandria.
Deep-sea lines were then out of favour, owing to
the difficulties that had occurred in repairing faults
in deep water; it was therefore determined to lay
this line on the principle of a shallow water line.
To carry this into effect, orders were immediately
sent from the Admiralty to the Commander-in-Chief
in the Mediterranean to despatch two surveying
vessels to take detailed soundings of the proposed
course for the cable.

Capt. Spratt, C. 8., of her Majesty's ship lledina,
and Commander Mandell, of her Majesty's ship
Firefly, were selected for that purpose, and com-
menced their labours as early as p ebruary last.
These duties proved long and arduous, the season
of the year being about the worst in the Mediter-
ranean, and the scene of their operations was on a
coast but little known, exposed to nearly every
wind that blew, and almost devoid of good anchor-
ages or harbours ; in fact, the Firefly had been but
three days at work on the coast, near Alexandria,
when a gale from the south-east blew so strong that
she was forcibly taken possession of and blown off
to Malta. The Firefly, having other important
duties to perform on the coast of Syria, was kept on
this service but a short time. It is therefore due to
Capt. Spratt and the officers of the Medina that
they should have the lion's share of the credit of
the admirable soundings and corrections of the sur-
vey of the coast that were made previous to the lay-
ing of this cable.
The result of these soundings proved that the bot-
tom of the sea along the coast of Africa for several
hundred miles—in fact, as far as Benghazi—was
most irregular, and in places rocky and dangerous,
and very unlike all preconceived ideas of that coast.
It became absolutely necessary to work with the
greatest caution, and therefore Capt. Spratt devoted
the best part of his time and attention to this por-
tion of the route, the value of which was felt when
the time arrived for laying the cable in this locality.
This cable, owing to the different changes of
destination, has up to this time been two years and
a half in hand ; but it was stipulated by the Govern-
ment engineers, in drawing up their specification,
that it should at all times, both at the manufactory
and on board ship, be kept constantly immersed in
water, and frequently tested in that way, it will
be seen that the period occupied in bringing it to
maturity has not been detrimental to it. On the
contrary, considering it has been from early infancy
kept in its native element, it is to be presumed that,
had inherent defects in the gutta percha existed,
they would in all probability have shown them-
selves in that time, as the tests applied during manu-
facture are much more searching and trying to a
cable than those applied afterwards, and are more
likely to find out its defects and weak points, if
any, than ten years of constant work in the despatch
of messages.

The vital part of this cable—viz., the gutta-
percha-covered conductor, technically called the
core—was contracted for, and supplied to the Go-
vernment, by the Gutta Percha Company, to whom
too much credit cannot be given for the manner in
which they performed their work. No exertion or
expense was spared on their part to secure perfect
workmanship. The contractors for the covering
and laying of the cable are Messrs. Glass, Elliot,
and Co., the well-known submarine telegraph cable
manufacturers, of Greenwich.
The first portion of this cable left England on
board the steamship Malacca last May, and on the
:.'Bth of that month the laying of it was commenced
at Malta.

The direct distance from Malta to Alexandria is
about 850 nautical miles; but, as it was considered
desirable to lay this as a coast line, it was taken
direct from Malta to Tripoli, and thence round the
coast to Benghazi and Alexandria, a distance of
about 1,300 miles. It was also very desirable to
divide this long length of cable into three sections,
and therefore Tripoli and Benghazi were chosen as
the most suitable localities for stations—in fact,
they are almost the only places along that coast
where they could be established.

The first portion of the line laid was the section
from Malta to Tripoli. The end of the cable was
landed in Marra Scirocco harbour (at the east end
of the island of Malta) on the afternoon of the 27th,
and about midnight her Majesty's ship Medina,
commanded by Capt. Spratt, C. 8., and accompanied
by her Majesty's ship Scourge, Commander Jones,
got under way, to guide the paying-out vessel
over the course laid out by Mr. Forde, the
Government engineer. The only deep water to be
traversed in the whole of this line was that portion
nearest Malta. The Scourge was, therefore, ordered
by Capt. Spratt to proceed in advance and take up
a certain position, about 70 miles from Malta, where
the line first strikes the shallow water on the Lam-
padasa-bank. All that night the paying out of the
cable proceeded with the utmost regularity; in fact,
like clockwork, and the deepest water, 430 fathoms,
was passed over with as great ease as if the cable
was being laid across
the
sos the river Thames at Green-
wich. Soon after n
sarneday (May 28), the
scourge was sighted right ahead,
racy with which the ships traversed3trhoving the accu-
e pre-arranged
course. The soundings displayed by signal from the
Scourge, compared with the distance tun
and her
observed position at noon, denoted thatthrigheit'
ship was in the right place ; and this position
BO well defined that it was deemed prulent toNvdae3
viate a little from the course in the form of the
letter S, so that in case of future repairs the cable
might be grapnelled for and, with plenty of slack,
ec' brourrht to the surface.
From this position to Tripoli the cable only passed
over depths varying from CO to 100 fathoms. The
drag behind the ship becoming'much less, she soon
began to pass her leader, although her pace did not
exceed six knots per hour. This speed, although
not great, proved too much for the old Medina, who
was soon seen fast dropping astern, occasionally fly-
ing the signal, " Will you follow me ?" However,
it appeared by the report of the chief engiocer of
the Malacca that her speed could not be reduced
without coming to a standstill, which latter might
have proved fatal to the cable. The Medina was,
therefore, obliged to light up another boiler or two,
and send the Scourge ahead to try and keep the
Malacca as much in heck as possible.
•lt Was however, noon the following day
before
the Medina joined company,
and,
shaping a shorter course, by the dint of
led the way triumphant'ionc- e more drew ahead, and
triumphantly Tripoli, where the

expedition arrived about 8 p.m. of the 29th of May,
paying out about 230 miles of cable in 43 hours,
equal to a rate of 51 miles per hour. This wai; done
without a check of any sort or kind, or even 'with-
out a kink, or anything in the shape if a misad-
venture which previous submarine ca'As had been
so liable to.
The Scourge did good service on this occasion, as
she was sufficiently fast to proceed ahead and raark
and buoy fixed positions.
Two days were spent at Tripod making the land
connexions and giving time to the engineers and
electricians to satisfy themselves that the cable was
good and in thorough working order.
The Malacca brought from England 518 miles or
knots of cable ; 230 were expended, leaving; 288 yet
to be laid ; but to reach the next station, Benghazi,
required upwards of 500 miles of cable. It was
therefore only possible in this trip to lay a portion
of the section.

About 1 o'clock a.m., after the pre-arranged sig-
nal was made from the Malacca, the ligiats of the
Medina and Scourge were seen steadily to draw
ahead and take up their respective positions, by
which time the Malacca's anchor was up and a
second fair start made. On both occasiolas it hap-
pened that operations were commenced at night, but
so perfect was the machinery, and so well trained
were the hands employed in the execution of the
work, that not the slightest inconvenience occurred.
Once a start was made, all went merry as a mar-
riage bell.

During the night, as well as the day, watch a after
watch was kept both by the representatives of the
contractors and, the Government engineer and his
staff.

At night nothing was seen but the Medina's two
lights at the peak, faithfully followed by the cable;
the light of the Scourge on the starboard or port
beam, or wherever she was most required; and a
brilliant illumination on board the Malacca, lighting
up the paying• out machinery and all parts of the
ship.
In the stillness of night on board the cable ship
almost the only noise heard was the constant buzz
of the cable steadily rising, coil after coil, out of
the hold, and proceeding on its way along the ship
until caught and kept in check by the paying-out
apparatus. This at last becomes monotonous, with
brakes all eased, when suddenly the revolutions of
the drum beein to quicken, and from 25 revolutions
per minute, 36 revolutions are reported to the engi-
neer on watch—evident signs that the Medina had
strayed from her course in the darkness of the night
—a gradual strain is brought to bear, the ship re-
ceives orders to go inside the Medina's course, and
soon after, and some time before the Medina is s.:en
to stop, take a sounding, and take the hint herself
and proceed into shallower water. Daylight at last
comes, and then all positions arc clearly seen. We
are now passing along a coast once famous, but in
times long gone by. The ruins of Lebidah or Leptis
Magna are passed about 3 p.m., and from time to
time ancient remains of cities famous in classic
times are seen, but now scarcely an Arab inhabits
these shores ; at least no signs of native boats could
be discovered.

At 4 o'clock in the morning of 3d June the Ma-
lacca signals to the Medina that at the end of three
hours she will be at the end of her tether; where-
upon it becomes the duty of Capt. Spratt to lead her
into a suitable depth and position to buoy the end.
This is done before 8 o'clock. A buoy is dropped to
mark the site ; bearings and observations taken.
The Malacca soon after returns to Malta ; the Me-
dina to proceed to take more soundings previous to
the arrival of the next ship ; and the Scourge, with
a portion of the Government staff, instruments, and
other materials, to Benghazi, to be landed there.
The time occupied in laying this portion was 55
hours, giving a similar average per hour as that
between Malta and Tripoli.

Thus during 98 hours occupied in paying out
518 miles of cable were successfully laid at the
bottom of the sea.

This, however, was considered the easy portion
of the work; the difficulties, according to Captain
Spratt and his soundings, were yet to come.

As it has been before mentioned, the uneven and
rocky bottom lay west of Alexandria ; in some
places a mile one way or the other would take you
either into a few fathoms or into nearly a thousand.
Nevertheless it was determined to stick to the shal-
low water principle first laid down and acted upon,
To accomplish this more detailed soundings and
connections of the coast on a large scale had to be
prepared, and, in additions to her Majesty's ships
Medina and Scourge, the Mohawk gunboat was
ordered by the Commander-in-Chief, Vice-Admiral
Sir W. Martin, to accompany the expedi-
tion. This was a liberal and wise policy, and much
praise is due to the Commander-in-Chief for adopt-
ing it.

About the Ist of July the Rangoon, a sister ship
of the Malacca, and built purposely for this cable,
arrived at Alexandria with Mr. Forde, the Govern-
ment engineer, and his staff, and Mr. Canning, the
engineer of the contractors, with his assistants.
The Medina, Scourge, and Mohawk had previ-
ously arrived. The weather was then a little un-
settled, and it was not until the sth of July that
the sea was sufficiently smooth to admit of the
landing of the shore end.

This was accomplished in the New Port, and about
8 in the evening the end was introduced into the
cable-house by Mr. Colquhoun, her Majesty's Con-
sul-General in Egypt.

At daylight the next morning the ships got under
way, and continued on their course until 3 p.m.,
having paid out 67 knots of cable.

At this place all came to anchor for the night, as
ships and all might be risked by undue haste by
proceeding in the dark.

On the 7th, at daylight, blue peters were seen
flying from each masthead, and all hands were busy
raising their respective anchors. The Mohawk got
off first, and took a good lead, to do as she had done
on the previous occasion—viz., lay down buoys in
fixed positions.
These were strictly followed by the Medina, who
proceeded ahead to point them out to the cable-ship.
The Scourge took up a position about two cables'
length abeam of the Rangoon, sounding at intervals,
and giving the engineers the benefit of her informa-
tion, which was most important, as many miles of
cable, weighing as much as seven tons to the mile,
had to be laid on the most uneven bottom along this
course.

The ScourgQ had also to pick up all buoys previ-
ously placed by the Mohawk. She had, therefore,
like the other ships, no idle time.

Eleven hours were occupipd this day in payingout
48 knots of cable, or at the rate of about 41 knots per
hour. At 7 p.m. all ships were again at anchor.

On the Bth the bottom was so—irregular and in-
tricate there were only 23 knots of cable paid out but
more buoys laid down than on previous occasions.
On the 9th 33 knots of cable were laid.

Oa the 10th, during the whole of which day cable
weighing seven tons per knot was being paid out,
45 knots were laid.

On. the 11th of July, after 12 hours' work, and
paying out 62 knots of cable, the Rangoon per-
formed her duty by discharging the last of her cargo,
the end of which was carefully sealed and dropped
in a well-known position.
The Rangoon and Malacca have since made
second trips, carrying the remaining portion of the
cable. On the. 15th of September the former left
Malta, and proceeded to the buoyed end of the
Alexandria cable, and completed that section to
Benghazi on the 931.
The Malacca joined the expedition at Benghaz,
and proceeded on the 25th to the buoyed end of
the Tripoli cable, and, notwithstanding that the
buoy got adrift, and the cable had to be dredged
for, this section was completed to Benghazi on the
afternoon of the 28th September, the end being
landed the same evening under a Royal salute of 21
guns to do honour to the completion of a great
undertaking. On this occasion the Scourge being
employed on other important duties, her place was
filled by her Majesty's gunboat Assurance, under
the command of Lieut. Seward.

It is an interesting fact to know that this line,
owing to its peculiar construction and more than
usual perfect r,=o:•kmansliip, tests far better than
any other previously laid cable, and the amount of
battery power used in the transnssion of mEssages
has been roluccd to a minimum i for instance, the

Malta and Tripoli section, 230 mileslong, is worked
practically with only three cells, and that at the
rate of 25 or 30 words a minute ; in fact, as fast as
a clerk can send signals.
No line previously laid had ever before had the
course so well sounded and surveyed. This is a
avast important item in securing success, especially
if repairs ~,hould ever become necessary, and there
is no doubt it has been laid with less strain and
has received fairer play in every way than any
other.
The tests from the commencement of the line to
the finish were of the most delicate and searching
kind that science and previous experience pointed
out; and;above all things, this cable was not only
constantly kept submerged during the process of
manufacture, but was actually carried out under
water, so that if faults did occur they were sure to
be detected before passing into the sea. In fact,
on this cccasion it appeared but a matter of form
having engineers and electricians on board, so well
and so perfectly did all things work together.
Once the ships were started they were never stopped
on account of defects in the cable.
Let us hope that this important work is the com-
mencement of a new era as regards telegraphs, and
that her Majesty's Government will have the credit
of resuscitating such a wonderful and useful agent
as the submarine electric telegraph.

THE CIVIL TVAR IN AMERICA.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, SEPT. 19.

There has been a considerable outcry in the
North in reference to the means whereby several
States have been what is called " forced out of the
Union." But it is not to be expected that in the
struggle for States between the Confederation and
the United States, some acts should not be com-
mitted by the latter which have very much the look
of " forcing them not to go out of the Union." The
practice of calling things by their right names,
though morally commendable, is socially disagree-
able, and, in certain conditions of affairs, it ren-
ders a man liable to be considered as " a
nuisance" by one side or the other. But I shall
proceed, nevertheless, to make some remarks on
the state of Maryland, based on a previous
visit before the coup d'etat of the Government
at Washington had extinguished the Legislature.
All the troubles in this State may be said to
have commenced with the lawless outrages of the
Baltimore mob always of evil repute on the
Volunteer regiments passing to Washington from
New York and Massachusetts, in obedience to the
summons of the President. It is contended by the
Marylanders that the case should have been treated
as an ordinary riot, but the sympathies of so many
of the people were clearly with the Confederate
States that an act which, in peaceful times might
have been dealt with by the tribunals, assumed an
aspect of grave political importance, and indicated
such a serious disaffection to the North that it af-
forded the Government when it was strong enough
fair grounds for occupying Baltimore with troops,
overturning the civil power, and ruling the State
by martial law, which, however, they have not, as
yet, formally proclaimed. The leading men in the
State were understood to be friendly to the South,
a large portion of the press advocated Southern
views, and the authorities were actuated by similar
opinions. In tke name of States rights they received
nearly all the Acts of the Southern Confederacy as
justifiable in the abstract, though they may have
dissented from the expediency of their extreme
measures. Had the authorities of Baltimore, how-
ever, shown vigour and decision in punishing the
offenders, in hunting them out, and in securing the
peace of the city at once, it would have been diffi-
cult for the Government to have found any excuse
for the manner in which they acted, until circum-
stances had proved that it would not be safe to leave
Maryland in a condition which would have led to
her withdrawal from the Union. Bat their mea-
sures, if any, were lukewarm. It could not be tole-
rated that the rabble of a city should be allowed to
oppose the passage of the troops summoned by
the Federal Government. Those who permitted
such proceedings were so far responsible for them
that if they could not punish and prevent them they
could not blame the Government for supplementing
their want of power. It is said that the President
promised he would not send any more troops through
Baltimore, but military exigencies are imperative,
and General Scott, on that point, must have been
master of the situation. Here, in fact, was one of
those instances in which State rights doctrines must
be completely annihilated when brought in contact
with the necessities of the Federal Government.
That which could not be done in South Carolina for
lack of force was done in Maryland by means of
force. There was little temporizing or negotiating.
Troops were at once poured in ; the best points were
occupied ; General Banks was appointed. The State
was held in an iron grasp; notorious sympathizers
were arrested, habeas corpus was suspended, the re-
turn to the writ of the judges showed the people
what they had to expect, the Police Commissioners
Board was dissolved, the Marshal was arrested, the
Federai General in command appointed a citizen of
Baltimore in his stead, and men who are, it is said,
persons well-known to the old police and of indif-
ferent local reputations, were substituted for the old
police, and proceeded without either .uniform or the
exhibition of warrant or authority to search houses,
to seize upon persons and to institute a rigorous
system of surveillance extending itself to the colours
of children's dresses and the trimmings of ladies'
gowns and the neckties of passers-by in the streets.
The Legislature of the State condemned the early
steps of the Government, and in a well-written and
a very able report, which was adopted by the large
majority of both houses, denounced the suppression
of the Police Board and the usurpation of the civil
power by the military as illegal and unconstitu-
tional. Perhaps they had the best of the argument,
quoad premisses and conclusion. On a Vauxhall
masquerade night, long ago, I heard a controversy
between a gentleman attired as Charles 11. and a
person who had, by the exercise of some city influ-
ence, obtained the loan of the Lord Mayor's suit of
armour, in which his knight is dressed—the unmis-
takable brass habiliments of our annual Feast of
Chivalry. The dispute was about a seat in an arbour
and the payment of certain moneys for creature
comforts; and Charles 11., wise and witty, had suc-
ceeded in showing his antagonist he was completely
in the wrong on every point in hypothesis and in
fact, when the knight, suddenly lowering his vizor
and exclaiming, "Now, then, take that !" struck
out with his left, and, hitting the successful contro-
versialist between the eyes, wrested victory from
his grasp, and walked away with it. The satisfac-
tion of being right, no doubt, is something, but in
the present instance there are millions of people in
the United States who will not give the vanquished
of Maryland such a melancholy consolation. But
they persisted in their course. They cried aloud,
" Why do you treat us as if we were enemies P We
are still part of the Union. We are not out of it."
To which the Government replied, in effect, " We
regard you as people who would be open enemies
if you could, and who would go out of the
Union if you had the means. Hence, M•llenry
and Lafayette ! We are determined not to let
you go cut of the Union, and to prevent your
passing any resolution to that effect." Some days
ego I heard that the members of the Legislature
hostile to Government would be arrested before
the session opened at Frederic, and on Monday
it was announced that 22 of the most prominent
men in the State and in the city of Baltimore had
been taken prisoners on the authority of warrants
from Washington. Some cf those gentlemen pro
bably expected that such would be the case, but
only one or two succeeded in keeping out of the
way. Still, I thought the Legislature would meet,
but I am now informed there is no possibility 01
oft,
tiin l
e thete
e daysiara
obtaining a quorum ; and it seems probable that ,
other members, and the officers of both Houses, will
I be taken into custody as soon as the doors are open.
I
toiofoat the lrishong, Pa
no.:
01 ,Parliament,
, talement ,Eantgtihiseht ime
Go-
vernment had by
arrested Lord Chaa arlseutna
upon all who were
Gn sudden
and iseized
nidi ann suebi zi iend
prioffsVolunteers and their supposed to be in favour of theciples, including the o
eers of the two Houses of Parliament, they would
NYC furnished some type of the treatment of Mary-

land, always supposing there ever have been such
things as State rights. England, however, never
could have taken such steps, and in those evil days
when habeas corpus has been suspended the arrests
of State prisoners have always been made upon
proper warrants, duly e2Libited to the accused.

It is impossible, I think, to deny that the great
majority of the landholders and of the respectable
classes of Maryland are in favour of Secession prin-
ciples, and that they hate the New England States
as cordially as the Southerners detest the Yankees.
It is not that they are slaveholders so much as that
they maintain slaveholding is guaranteed by the
Constitution, and that those who attack it are not
gentlemen. Your Marylander is a very high aris-
tocrat. If his ancestors did not come over with
Lord Baltimore to escape religions persecution,
they were actuated by similar motives. He is
generally Catholic and anti-Puritan, as his fore-
father was two centuries ago. In no part of the
Union has slave labour been so profitless—nowhere
will so many men be found ready to condemn
slavery on principle, though it may be legally right.
They say, " We keep on our slaves because we can-
not get rid of them at once. Leave us alone, and
the thing will die out of itself." And then they
are fond of enlarging on tho vulgarity of Black Re-
publicans and Abolitionists, and on the curses of
universal suffrage. To the commercial classes the
prosperity of New York, attained, as they aver, by
unfair uses of political power, is also a grievance.
The anomalies arise out of an aristocratic sentiment
founded on pride of birth and extent of possessions,
fostered by slavery, and aggravated by the oppo-
sition of neighbouring States on the one hand, and
on an ignorant impatience of a result of republican
institutions, which, however unexpected, was per-
fectly legitimate. A man who holds his lands by
virtue of a charter signed by Lord Baltimore him-
self is as great an aristocrat in feeling, and resents
as keenly the rule of the many as though he were
owner of estates recorded in " Domesday," and de-
scended from Dives.

The great merchants are affected by the atmo-
sphere in which they live, and Baltimore has some-
what the pretensions of an old cathedral town in
England struggling against manufactures and
Chartism. Some considerable towns have sprung
up in the State recently, which are the rallying
points for the Union men, and which are thorns in
the side of the country gentlemen, but, generally
speaking, the majority of the people in most of the
counties are opposed to the Government, and there
are few landed proprietors who are not Southern
Rights' men, Many families have representatives
in the army of the Confederate States, and all the
efforts of the Federalists have not sufficed to pre-
prevent intelligence and aid being sent across the
Potomac into Virginia, and could not frustrate the
attempts of bodies of armed gentlemen and others
on horse and on foot to join their friends. It
was only the other day I was speaking to a gen- i
tleman who mentioned that he had a large num-
ber of relatives in the Southern army, as if it
were a matter of common notoriety; "And how
did they get there ?" Why, they belonged to a
body of cavalry which we have had for many
years, composed of the young gentlemen of the
county to keep down negro insurrection. They
heard one night that the negroes were going to rise,
and appearances justified the rumour. So they
assembled and sent in word to the General at Balti-
more that they had met, and that they would pro-
bably require some aid. He ordered them at once
to disband or to wait till ho sent out an officer to
make each of them take the oath of allegiance.
Deeply offended by this conduct nearly all of them
rode off, crossed the river that night and joined the
enemy. The women have embraved Beauregardism
with the greatest devotion, and their beauty and
grace render them powerful proselytizers. It may
be true that the State has been nearly disarmed by
frequent and rigid searches ; but, if there are not
bows and flags and resettes of the orthodox colours
forthcoming in profusion whenever the Confede-
rates make their appearance, I am much deceived
in the ingenuity and zeal of the fair Marylanders.
On my first visit to Baltimore there was a report
that the South Carolinians had opened fire upon
Sumter, and the feeling which displayed itself
was certainly not one of regret. On my second
visit, on my way from Fortress Monroe, Balti-
more had the air of Warsaw; pickets at the street
corners, patrols in the thoroughfares, camps on the
hills, soldiers cooking in the public places, the
people sullen and angry. The report had been
presented to the Legislature respecting the sup-
pression of the police, and the inhabitants were
satisfied they had been very badly used. But from
the first there were strong hopes that " the tyranny
would be overpast" when the Confederates invaded
Maryland ; and it must have been a bitter dis-
appointment, particularly after the battle of
Manasses, to find there were no traces of their
deliverers' footsteps, and that their voices were as
distant as ever. General Scott's foresight, in fact,
was never better exhibited than in the measures he
took to secure Maryland at a time of ,enormous
difficulty. Notwithstanding all her writhings and
convulsions the State is so firmly manacled
that nothing short of a victorious army's strength
can liberate her. It would not have been
possible to let Maryland go, nor can any one,
I presume, suppose that in any contingency the
United States could ever resign tho seat of their
Government, the Potomac, and the waters of the
Chesapeake, to an independent Power. To do that
the North must be subjugated as thoroughly as she
intends to s'ibjugate the South. But has the North
ever considered that in Maryland, where there are
many Union nun, she is obliged to use the means
which probably will be needed to a greater extent
in the South, and then calmly considered what
those means are ? There are 10,000 men in and
around Baltimore; the General, Dix, in reply to
certain representations, has stated that, if the city
fails into the hands of the enemy, he will be forced
to lay it in ashes from his batteries. There are
probably not less than 25,000 troops in other parts
of Maryland. The social and political condition of
the State is best estimated by these facts, notorious
toNorth could but
make aEnngegliusahtiopnu,blaine'd see thewhether she has the
force to act the same part in the Southern States,
it is not reasonable to suppose she could any longer
deny that her mission is one of conquest and sub-
jugation, in which success is not certain, and in
which it is impossible to persist permanently.
Conquest may be achieved. By some extraordinary
effort of military spirit even an armed occupancy
of the seceded States may be effected for a time.
But what becomes of the Constitution, of Republi-
can institutions, of the Federal compact, of the
rights
internal people, and of the undoubted States'
rights
government? There is, I know,
o
a pretence that there is Union sentiment in solution
in the South which will tumble down in a thick
precipitate on the head of the Confederates the
moment ic • is stirred by a Federal bayonet ; but
there is no trace of foundation for the hypothesis.
Look at North Carolina! Even the ultra-Union
papers ridicule the " bogus," or sham member, Mr,
Foster, and his claims for stationery, and the autho-
risation which has been issued for the creation of
one regiment of North Carolinians is regarded as
a matter of form, not likely to be of any great
use. If the expectations be unfounded, what
course will the Government pursue ? Acknow-
ledge their error, and agree to a compro•
mise ? They dare not in the present temper
of the people. Accept the situation, and make
a Maryland of every State ? Even the wealth
and the energy and population of the North might
well shrink from the task. But will South Caro-
lina, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennesse be
more at the mercy of the United States in the full
development of their programme than Maryland is
now ? The future is full of difficulties, which even
faith, the evidence of things not seen, cannot pre-
tend to solve.

It is but a month since I was driving through
magnificent undulating fields, hemmed in by broad
belts of forest, and heavy with crops of Indian corn
and tobacco. The rough wooden and brick huts
huddled together in the neighbourhood of the coun-
try scats were peopled by men; women, and
dren with black faces, but for which they might
have done duty easily for Hungarian or Lithuanian
peasantry, attired in uncouth clothes and great
luMbering boots, shuffling and hulking through the

1861.

fields as if in search of moonstones. Their master,
a good, easy, kindhearted gentleman, polished and
well read, looked on them very much as the Irish
squires of the old time regarded squatters—crea-
tures who ought to be made useful, who were not
profitable, who had no business to be where they
were, and who, nevertheless, could not be got rid of
without imputations of cruelty which would make
him odious in the land. He was perfectly satisfied
the free labour of whites would be more profitable;
but what was he to do with his blacks ? where
was he to get even the white labour he wanted ?
With these sentiments, he felt bitterly the insults
of the Nbolitionists, who called him a slave-driver
and a nigger breeder. In his ease most of the fathers
of these blacks had been transmitted to him by his
ancestors, and had lived as families on the estate
for several generations. To look at the fields, luxu-
riant with weeds and filled with stones, was to be
satisfied the system of agriculture was patriarchal
if the system of labour was not. But, in fact, their
condition was very different from that of the
slaves on the Southern plantations. Th 3 pro-
prietor of these broad domains is, like many of
the Maryland gentry, a Roman Catholic, and a
priest, belonging to a religious and educational
institution founded by the piety of his fore-
fathers, is engaged to look after the religious
welfare of his flock, and I saw a full congregation of
the slaves trooping throw,vh,the meadows to chapel,
looking, in their gay dresses, and natural group-
ings, very unlike the beings who are cribbed up
like rabbits in hutches in the South. Then, after
service was over, came flocks of woolley-headed
children of both sexes to the priest for examination
in the Catechism. The houses in which they lived
were larger and better than the slave quarters on
most plantations, but were not cleaner or more
tidy, and it appeared to me as if the inhabitants
were a little less respectful in their demeanour.
In the name of crinoline, yellow shawls, pink
and white dresses, wonderful bonnetry, and very
quaint booting, how did the proprietor afford to
turn out such gay nymphs of Africa ? He did not
afford it at all. Granted that home-reared chickens
and pigs paid for some a it, still enough came
out of his pocket, in addition to feeding and sup-
porting them, to leave very little between their
labour and positive loss. It was no use to call them
early, for they dawdled about the fields all the
more. Here, in fact, was a state of things which
would soon cure itself if let alone. The greater part
of the estate, indeed, was farmed out to others on
the principle of one•half or one-third of the produce
in lieu of rent, and I suspect that was far
the most profiitable mode of dealing with these
widespread acres. lam assured that there are
many estates in Maryland in the same condition.
It may be imagined how their proprietors resent
the propaganda which threatens to ruin them
utterly, and how this last blow, dealt at the Legis-
lature of the State in which they feel so much pride,
is felt by man as tenacious and haughty as any
Magyar or Pole who ever lived. If there be any
large Union'element in Maryland, let it be developed
now, or the world will not believe in its existence.