The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-28 00:00:00

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HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
0111111111.11110iimaig, 7h. 26m.—Afternoon, Bh. 6m.
Co-momiow.-Morning, Bh. 50m.—Afternoon, 9h. 36m.

THE WEATHER.—SUN OFFICE, SEPTEMBER 28, 166
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
61—highest since noon yesterday.
61—lowest this morning and during the night.
59—this day at noon.

_
BAROMETER-29.90.
WIND—Southerly; rather fresh, with dull weather.

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‘44 ,i.F
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eRD

THE SUN,
LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPT. 28, 1861.

October is not quite come yet, and American news
hardly reaches to the middle of September. We
must, therefore, patiently wait for another fortnight
before even the time fixed by the North for the
great advance arrives, and when it has arrived, we
must still look for the demand of a few days' grace.
Indeed, the two great actors seem to look on each
other like any other two combatants fighting with
weapons which will give the victory not to the first
mover, but rather to the second; and most certainly
to him who does not expose himself while attacking
his opponent. APCLELLAN, we read, has made a
reconnaissance, at the cost of two lives; BEAUIEGARD
is shifting aboat a little to his left—why, is not
known, unless it be to draw out his antagonist. For
the rest small battles in Western Virginia and in Mis-
souri, and successes almost entirely on the side of the
Federalists, bat of no military value, or of very
little, sum up the military news. Re-
membering how long we had frequently to wait
during the Crimean war for any achievements of a
striking kind, we must certainly not complain of
the doings or not-doings on the Potomac. Both
armies have indeed more than enough to do in con-
verting men into soldiers, and soldiers into an
army.

Missouri, and in some respects Kentucky, attract
most observation now. From the latter a recon-
naissance by means of two gunboats was made down
the Mississippi from Cairo. A battery of sixteen
guns was found not a great way down on the Mis-
souri side. It was silenced and a rebel gunboat
disabled. The latter escaped capture, because sup-
ported, we suppose by artillery, from Columbus,
' where 15,000 rebels were said to be encamped.
And thus from Fort Munroe, where they are
fitting out fresh expeditions to follow the suc-
cessful precedent of that to Cape Hatteras, to the
Mississippi, considerable bodies of troops are at
work, on either side of the grand armies.
The large State of Kentucky, on account of
its peculiar position, both politically and Geo-
graphically, is just now the object of special
attention, By the Census of 1860 it had a population
of 930,223 whites and of 225,490 slaves. Dr. Rus-
SELL compares it in importance with several small
European kingdoms ; but it is more to the purpose
to notice that it is inferior in white population to
Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio
and Pennsylvania, of the Northern States. Virginia
alone surpasses it in white population among the
Slave States proper, and Virginia is now split
into free and slave. And Missouri has
only about half the number of slaves, while she
has 1,058,352 whites. Missouri and Kentucky,
therefore, have but a comparatively small vested
interest in slavery. The former is the fierce battle-
ground of FREMONT and the Secessionists,
anxious to keep so large a State for the
South ; but the latter has up to the present
time managed to preserve neutrality. This,
however, must now come to an end. The Gover-
❑or, MACGOFFIN, is a hot Southerner, and
even vetoed a Militia Bill o❑ behalf of the South.
His Legislature repassed it once over his head, and
made it felony to aid the rebels by levying troops.
He has been obliged to order the Confederate troops
out of the State, who however refuse to leave, while
the Federals are allowed to fortify their fortresses

at leisure.
It will be remembered that the PRESIDENT
was fearful chiefly about losing Kentucky when
required to give his assent to the bill confiscating
rebels' slaves. And now we are told that he has
written to General FREMONT, requiring him to
tone down his proclamation to the Act of
Congress. Whether he will do this remains to
be seen. The first proceeding under it is worthy
of notice. It occurred on the 13th. Two
slaves, of one THOMAS A. SMEAD, of St.
Louis, were regularly manumitted, it having
been proved that their master has taken treason-
able action against the Government. May the
incident be the first of a series of similar ones,
which shall be multiplied by the ten thousand and
the hundred thousand, till they reach four millions.

The historian of Europe has said (chap. xxv. sec.
8.) it is in general safe to intrust arms to the people
when their national feelings are roused ; it is al-
ways perilous to do so when their social passions
are excited, and they see their real or supposed
enemies in a particular class in their own country.
" The italics are Sir ARCHIBALD'S own. And in
thus emphasising the antithesis of his dictum, ALI-
SON made reference more particularly to the con-
trast visible between the national rising in England
during the wars of the Great NAPOLEON and the
popular rising in France upon the downfall of
Louis PHILIPPE'S monarchy at the concussion of the
Revolution of February. The remark is eminently
philosophic and just. And like every remark bear-
ing that character it admits of very general ap-
plication. The accuracy may be illustrated from
almost any nation's history. It is demonstrable in a
remarkable manner, upon one hand, from all the re-
volutionary outbreaks in France, and upon the other
from the memorable incidents of the Volunteer
movements in the United Kingdom. Among our
neighbours, in each of the three great risings of the
people, the cry " To Arms" was essentially one pro-
voked by the "social passions" of the multitude. It
was—in variousdegrees of course—alike in 1789, in
1830 and in 1848. Nay, it is only necessary to bear
in mind the immediate cause for the summons to
arms upon the very last occasion (that of
February) in order to understand at once
that the population rose there because they saw
their real or supposed enemies in a particular
class in their own country." The Reform Banquets
were prohibited by the Government. Several of
the people were struck down and wounded by a
.Niintdischargeofiserfor Foreign musketry
Affairs, ffar
i n fronts, of the Hotel of the
M. GUIZOT, the King's
Prime Minister. The " social passions" of the mob
were excited. And the people rose and armed—
with the muttered cry " no mistake thIS time." It
was against no foreign enemy that
or 18 years previously a t
is
nui they fought
the
st
reosofpal.7
is
during that
during the three (so called) " glorious" days of
June. And as to the source of the popular arming
at the outburst of the First
Revolution, the Great
Revolution—has not that been, so to speak, eternized
in the refrain of the Marseillaise ?

Aux armes, eitoyens formez vos battalions I
Marehons qu'un sang impur abreve nos eillons:"
A shriek of imprecation, directed more against the

foes within than against the foreign legions banded
together under the standard of the Duke of BRUNS-
WICK.

In startling contrast to which perilous risings
and armings of a population, excited in its social
passions against internal enemies—there are our
three great volunteer movements here in England.
The two provoked by the successive armies for in-
vasion gathered together upon the opposite coasts of
the Channel under the standards of NAPOLEON
BONAPARTE. And this last, and we trust final,
(because, let us hope, permanent) volunteer move-
ment, provoked by the recognition of the people
of these islands of their comparative defenceless-
, nessif suddenly and treacherously attacked. In each
of these three renowned instances of popular arm-
ings we have seen, history has related how com-
pletely and how profoundly the " national feelings"
have been aroused. Upon the occasion of the FIRST
Volunteer Movement the Ministers of the time
co-operated with the multitude in calling the Volun-
teers together to resist the then imminent peril of
invasion. "Let us provide," said Mr. DUNDAS from
his place in the House of Commons, " Let us pro-
vide for the safety of the infirm, the aged, the
women, the children, and put arms into the hands
of the people." Within a few weeks from that
time 150,000 Volunteers were in arms in Great
Britain. That was in 1798 —when General BONA-
PARTE, the young Conqueror of Italy, was hesitat-
ing whether to conduct his army across the Channel
to the conquest of England, or across the Mediter-
ranean to the conquest of Egypt and Asia
Minor. ' Five years later came the SECOND
Volunteer Movement. NAPOLEON, then about to as-
sume the imperial purple, assembled a yet grander
army for the invasion of England upon the heights
of Boulogne. Whereupon King GEORGE 111. (em-
powered so to do by an Act of Parliament passed
for that purpose) called for the levy en masse to
repel the invasion of the foe. At that summons—
compulsory conscription came to an end, and within
an interval of a very few weeks 300,000 Volunteers
were enrolled, and armed, and rapidly disciplined.
The movement began in the July of 1803. In the
October of that year the KING reviewed 27,000 of
the Volunteers in Hyde Park. The capital alone
furnished a contingent of 46,000 to the whole body
of the new defenders of the nation. Historical re-
collections like these bring us down to our time.
And remembering that no positive t hreat of invasion
whatever has given rise to this THIRD Volunteer
movement in England, but that it has originated
simply and solely from the general recognition of
the possibility of danger to our national indepen-
dence—it must certainly be allowed that there is
visible no falling off whatever in the patriotic ardour
of the multitude at large. Enough in proof of this
when we can say that, with no enemy arrayed
against us, we possess at this-moment in a time of
profound peace, in addition to our Noble Army, in
addition to our Heroic Navy, a disciplined force of
very nearly 200,000 Rifle Volunteers. That soli-
tary fact alone is sufficient as a " Counter Blast" to
NI. LEDRU ltommes ungrateful and ungracious
diatribe, entitled—in a tone of sinister prophecy,
that Englishmen can now afford to laugh utterly to
scorn—La Decadence de l' Angleterre.

Mr. LUNG told the Manchester gentlemen that
he Government of India was willing to do its
utmost in regard to the public works, roads, and
canals especially required to make the produce of
the cotton districts available for Manchester, but
that financial considerations hindred them from pro-
ceeding as fast as they wished. Now there does
appear to be one mode of raising money which the
Indian Government has overlooked, though it would
seem to be the most direct and effective of all—we
mean the sale of waste lands, and the redemption of
the land tax. When we say that it has overlooked
this resource, we use probably too charitable an
expression. It has rather refused to look at it
It interferes so with the routine of Indian taxation,
that it is not easy to force the old Indians to depart
so much fl om their habits. There appears to be
every probability that heavy as the rent is, now
paid to the Government, the fee simple of the land
might, to a large extent, be sold at a profit. By this
we mean that it would be sold at a price which
would relieve the Government of more interest
on the Indian debt than the tax arising from
the land sold would pay. To some extent, till
the redemption of the land tax is offered for sale,
calculation must be conjectural ; at present, how-
ever, the best independent authorities are of opi-
nion that a considerable surplus of this kind might
be realised. All the civil service nearly would
cry out against it; but Mr. LAING will not, we
trust, be imposed upon by them. In India, as
elsewhere, the ruling desire is to have the land as
freehold; let that desire be fairly appealed to, and
from all we hear we are disposed to think that the
Government might by the sale cancel a large
amount of debt, and obtaia a considerable surplus
capital to apply to public works. The proposal is
at least well worth putting to the test. The Go-
vernment could always refuse to sell below a cer-
tain minimum, and also to sell too quickly for the
demand.

Mr. LAING tells us, indeed, that in regard to the
waste lands, they lie so far from the population
which should cultivate them, at the mouths of
rivers or the hills, that nothing can be realised from
them. This seems incredible after the representa-
tions we have heard. There is now before the coun-

Itry a public document, " The memorial of the
Landholders and Commercial Association of British
India," on the subject both of the redemption of
the land-tax, and placing the proprietorship of the
land in fee simple, and on that of the sale of waste
lands. The Association would be satisfied to grant
the fee simple to the natives or to any one, on the
extinction of a corresponding portion of the debt ;
trusting to the rapid improvement of the agriculture
of the country for the increase of native wealth and
al•ility to contribute to the general taxation. But
as to the waste lands, the whole amount realized
from land sales would go to increase the revenue
from what does not now produce a penny. They
propose that the upset Government price should be
the same as in America and Canada, five shillings
an acre, making allowance for absolutely unculti-
Table land included in the land sold. They accom-

pang their memorial with a series of rules, which

seem carefully devised to secure to the Government
the full value of any lots more valuable than others,

and to simplify the purchase and conveyance.
It is certainly disgraceful to the Indian Govern-
ment that the• despatch of Lord STANLEY should
not sooner have b.ocn acted oi. So long back as
his Indian Ministry has this very simple business
been hung up at Calcutta. And while it is clear

that the question of land tenure lies at the bottom

of all permanent improvement in India, the stupid
hatred of "interlopers"—that is, of intelligent al id

independent wealth creators, seems to be as strong

as it was half a century back. S o slow are all protected
bodies to upon their eyes to the general interests
of a country. There is one consideration which is

of the highest irnprtanu—ane which ought to

arouse the attention of our Parliament to the

necessity of action. Indian Railways, and
the Indian debt are, practically, a responsibility of
this country's. If India be silvered from England,
the dividends of both would, in all probability, fall
on our E=Leciusr, Thine is but one way of