The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-25 00:00:00

THE WEATHER.-SUN OFFICE, NOVEMBER 24, 1861.

THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
42 —!.ighest since noon yesterday.
28—lowest this morning and during the night.
32 —this day at noon.
BAROMETER--30.04; a rise of nearly I of an inch.
WlND—North-Westerly ; light, with fine frosty weather,
but bitterly cold.

Nov. 25.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE,
38 —highest since noon yesterday.
28—lowest this morning and during the night.
44—this day at noon.

BARO3IIZTER-20.90 ; falling.
WIND—S.-Westerly ; rather fresh, with mild dull weather.

OV
.1-4•% 2A.

THE SUN.

LONDON?, :MONDAY, NOV. 25, 1861.

Speculation is now become certainty—we were
not far from the mark in our first conjecture that
South Carolina, the leader of Secession, was to feel
the first stroke of Federal chastisement ; for, if
Charleston itself has not been directly attacked, a
harbour and fort only second to its own in import-
ance, and about fifty miles from it, is now in the
hands of the North. It can be little doubted that
the mortification of the Carolinians is very great,
and their fears may be almost as great as their
mortification, since the North has it in its power to
ruin the State without firing a gun. The mine is
ready at any time. The Federalists have but to
spring it, and Carolina would be a Secession Slave
State, minus its slaves.

The details of the success are few; but that
the success was complete is certain. A few hours'
bombardment sent the Confederate defenders of
the fort flying in all directions ; and so assured
did they feel that they were not soon to be again
in possession of their summer residences, that
they consigned them to the flames rather than
let their conquerors find comfortable quarters in
them. The loss seems to have been small, the
landing effected, of course, without further trouble,
and from the mention made of guns and military
stores, the Carolinians, thanks to arch-conspirator
FLOYD, appear to have been very well provided
with the munitions of war. The North will
doubtless have its rejoicing this time. There was
a kind of Confederate Bull's Run, and that is
something, Besides, this is the first serious at-
tack on " Seeessia." The Cape Hatteras affair
was but a spree, and does not appear to have
had the effect intended, of checking the Southern
operations with small craft along the coast
and inside the sandbanks. But Port Royal
is a good port, accessible to large ves-
sels, and hardly inferior, in this respect, to
Charleston itself. Nor can it be denied that the
expedition was well managed. It encountered a
heavy storm, and one or two of the smaller vessels
were thrown ashore, and fell into hands of the
enemy, but the main body of the expedition kept
its course, and safely landed its charge in the face of
the enemy, There seems to have been fierce oppo-
sition enough to add some of the eclat of victory to
the affair, without much of its hazard, if the report
be trus of a loss of one hundred Confederate lives,
and of but eight Federals killed.

What the Federals will make of their polsit ion is
now the question. It is, of course, much too far
south for any direct action on the Confederate army
of the Potomac; but the indirect action of compel-
ling the withdrawing part of their troops there
seems already likely. On the afternoon of the day
ou which the attack was made on Port Royal we
find the Confederate troops on the lower Potomac
rapidly falling back; this was doubtless in conse-
quence of telegrams from the South. The North
seems to have sufficient men to spare to organise