The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-17 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MOBiDAY EVENING, JUNE 17, 1861.

ARMSTRONG v. IRON PLATES.

A writer in a contemporary says :—Only a few
days ago, in company with a naval officer of distinc-
tion, I examined the iron plates on the Ceres hulk,
upon which experiments had lately been tried. I
was not prepared to find my expectations of the in-
vulnerability of iron-clad ships so miserably disap-
pointed. The starboard side of this strong ship
had riveted to it plates of almost every description
as yet invented, varying in thickness from four to
six inches, and every one of them had been riddled
and rent, and literally smashed to atoms in some
places, by the experimental projectiles. Not only
were the plates penetrated, but the sides of the ship
were torn and crushed, the very beams in frag-
ments, and the iron knees and fastenings blown
away, broken, and crumpled up. Inside and out
the ship was so frighfully a wreck, that there could
be little doubt that rolling in any sea there would
be difficulty in keeping her afloat.
One of the plates, if I may so call it, was formed
of closely packed layers of chain to the thickness
of 12 inches. Through this the shot had passed as
through so many twigs.
Yesterday I witnessed the practice from the Ex-

cellent, and, immediately afterwards, the experi-
mental firing of the gunboat on plates more recently
sent in and affixed to the port side of the hulk. The
gun used was a new Armstrong 200-pounder, and
the rang; I believe, from 200 to 400 yards. I had
an opportunity after the practice of inspecting the
result on the side of the ship and between her decks,.
and I am compelled to dismiss, utterly, the confi-
dence I had previously in the invulnerability, or
even comparative resistance, of iron-plated ships.
Not only does the projectile penetrate the iron,
punching it out, or grinding it up, but the concus-
sion on the timber within is so great that the de-
struction to the ship's sides, her planking, ribs,
beams, and iron work, is threefold that which
would be made by any ordinary round shot in the
unprotected timber. The long plate, by Messrs.
Beales, had 10 shots more or less effective—some
breaking the plate, some penetrating clean through,
and others tearing away with them large fragments.
Both plates had their bolts started, and projected
loosely, and of one plate the two ends were curled
up from the ship's side several inches, and the
centre driven in. The wreck within, as by former
trials on the other side, was fearful ; the portions
of timber so riven and shattered appeared to be
perfectly sound.
After what I have seen I can no longer believe
that existing ships covered with iron plates will
provide any addition of strength to oar navy. To
be safe from the destructive effect of such ordnance
as that which modern invention will everywhere
supply, a ship must be able by her superiority in
speed to maintain her own distance, and to choose
her own range. Anywhere within 600 yards she
will fight an uncoated enemy with guns of equal or
greater destructive power at a decided disadvan-
tage, for the effect of her iron plating will be similar
to that which, in close action, is caused by the re-
duction of the charge. The crash within will be
more destructive than on the timber of her oppo-
nent, through which her shot will pass with small
and comparatively clear perforation.
I do not think we must indulge any hope that the
ships which the Admiralty are appropriating for
plate armour will be able to maintain their distance
with the sailing of the ships of other Powers. Their
speed in their present condition has not been ex-
cessive, and when the weight of the iron casing► is
to be carried under disturbed conditions of water

line and draught, there must be a serious sacrifice
of the present rate of sailing, and, what is also of
consequence, of facility of movement.
Ships built and designed expressly for the iron
coating may hereafter offer different results ; but,
after what I have seen as the effect of the twenty
rounds on the Ceres yesterday, I am reluctantly
one of those who do not believe that any amount
of substance, or any perfection of texture in iron,
will be able to resist the ordnance which modern
science is daily producing. Mathematical principles
in the angles or sections which these plates may be
made to offer may obtain modifications of the de-
structive force of the projectile, but the sides of
your ships must then also be constructed on totally
different lines and curves to those which are as yet
recognised in naval architecture.

NAVAL BESERYE.

Capt. Stuart, RN., in a letter to a contemporary,
says :—" My apology for requesting a space in your
columns for this article is that I know it will reach
influentials as well as professionals, and may serve
a really valuable undertaking.
" What I have to advance is the result of long
servitude afloat, improved upon by ten years' ser-
vice, in which I am still employed, under the Board
of Trade, each mixing me up a great deal with offi-
cers of the mercantile marine, who number at pre-
sent in the foreign going trade' about 22,000
skilled seamen—that is to say, they have received
! certificates of competency' ,after an examination
in seamanship and navigation, strictly scientific and
matter of fact. The above number does not include
officers who took out ' certificates of past services'
nor those on home trade.' The latter have only
to undergo examination confined to a knowledge of
tides, lights, coasting difficulties, the lead, seaman-
ship, &c. _ _ _

"'That such a body of men, experienced is the
management of shipping and sailors, should be
omitted in any system of national defence, would
argue a great want of foresight and common sense
in ruling powers. Their professional character and
well-known loyalty point out what value a State
ought to set upon their ce-operation, especially in
times of emergency.
" In the first place, they are all able seamen, qua-
lified navigators, and many of them possessing
extra certificates,' which can only be obtained by
undergoing an examination in the philosophic (I
may say) branches of the profession, such as the
' law of storms,' great circle sailing,' &c.
" In the next place, they are all well read, well
educated, and gentlemanly men, fit to associate, as
they always do, where their duties admit, with the
highest members of society, found, at all events, in
the nautical and commercial world.

" Now, these facts being admitted, I will take it
for granted that they are known, or ought to be
known, by naval officers, and to Lord Ilardwicke.
His Lordship has to bear in mind that the 270,00.0
seamen commanded by the officers of the mercantile
marine are to be wooed into harmony with our naval
institutions. I therefore respectfully submit that
the best way of doing it effectually is to begin at
the proper point, with the shipowner and his prin-
cipal officers. Does his Lordship know that up to
the present moment only 5,000 out of the 270,000
registered able seamen of our country have enrolled
themselves, within 18 months since it began, in the
" reserve ?" Does his Lordship feel that some sort
of a naval " reserve" should be created and kept
growing into efficiency, and by what better mode
can it be carried out than by identifying the em-
ployers and rulers of seamen with the movement ?
" We Laubt throw overboard all private or class
feeling in. dealing with what concerns the public
good. I therefore assume that officers of the navy
will readily prepare themselves to harmonise cor-
dially with officers brought from merchant ships to
co-operate in any system tending to strengthen our
naval forces.

" I do not see that either the active, reserved, or
retired list of naval officers have so many to spare
for training or commanding merchant seamen as
would justify an exclusion of volunteers ; more-
over, I consider that, even if we had, it has nothing
to do with the grand scheme of establishing a re-
serve among our 270,000 registered seamen.
As to jealousies arising from any amalgamation
of the two services being prejudicial to either, let
us for a moment take a view of what such frailty
18* Do we not see it between men of war and their
crews lying
side by side, often animating each
other very seriously both in exercising and trying
rate of sailing ? We see it between the Guards,
Cavalry,
and Infantry ; between the Militia and
Volunteers. Woman is said to be a sad victim to
its influence. Man is not altogether free from its
baneful effects. 'Tis a frailty of human nature that
we blush to acknowledge, and which wisdom should
instruct usin disregarding.
" I sincerely hope that the Duke of Somerset and
Lord C. Paget will be cheered on in this matchless
and patriotic measure, which, with the barrack
system for seamen, will immortalise their adminis-
tration."

PAUPERISM.—The poor-law returns continue to
contrast unfavourably with those of last year. In the last
week of April the number of paupers relieved in England
and IValcs (except a small fraction not under the new poor-
law) was 836,035, and in the previous year only 806,232, an
increase of 3.69 per cent. The increase was greatest in the
north midland and west midland counties and in London,
but it was considerable also in Yorkshire and in Wales, less
in the eastern counties and in Lancashire and Cheshire,
least of all in the south-western, the south-midland, and the
extreme northern counties. In the more fortunate south-
easter 4 district the valance W"lightlyen the ether °icle'

TILE DUTY ON RAGS.

PARIS, SATURDAY.
The resumed debate in the Legislative Body on
the vote for the Department of Agriculture, Com-
merce, and Public Works was opened by M. Kolb-
Bernard, who read a speech in which he recalled to
the memory of the Government their promise to
abide faithfully by the traditional policy of France,
firmly protective and prudently progressive. He
complained that the commercial treaty with Eng-
land had not been preceded by an inquiry. The
Superior Council appointed by Imperial decree of
the 11th April, 1860, limited themselves to receiv-
ing declarations and obtaining answers to questions,
without arriving at any practical deductions, though
it was imagined they would have fixed the princi-
ples for the conversion of ad valorem into specific
duties, and it:was to be regretted that so illusory a
character should have been given to an institution
which the country regarded as a tutelary one. The
speaker took exception to the treaty having been
negotiated without consulting the Chamber, and to
the substitution of an export duty on rags of 12f.
the 100 kilogrammes (not quite £5 per ton) for
absolute prohibition. The recent Belgium treaty
upsets and aggravates many points in the one con-
cluded with England. It reduces the duty on linens
28 per cent., on cotton twist 40 per cent., and on
spun wool by the same amount. In Burgundy and
the Upper Marne a great number of iron furnaces
are blown out ; prices have fallen lower than were
previously known—so low that English iron, with
the exception of pig-iron, cannot come in ; and M.
Kolb-Bernard concluded by expressing a hope that
France would follow the example of England, and
confide the protection of her interests, not to Am-
bassadors and Ministers, but to a simple citizen
like Mr. Cobden, sprung from trade and commerce,
and supported by chambers of cqmmerce.
M. Baroche differed from the preceding speaker as
to the value of deliberations previous to the con-
clusion of treaties of commerce. lie held them to

be completely beyond the range of possibility and
utility. He could understand that there should be,
as in England and Belgium, after the conclusion of
a commercial treaty, a legislative deliberation to
give approval to what had been concluded. He
could understand that the Constitutions of certain
countries admitted discussions on the ratifi 2ation of
treaties, but he could not understand what were those
discussions which M. Kolb-Bernard contended
should precede the negotiation of commercial trea-
ties. The Superior Council that had been referred to
was competent and impartial, and it was not needful
that a Superior Council of Commerce should be exclu-
sively composed of commercial men ; for however
great might be their loyalty, probity, and eminence,
personal interest will exercise its influence. It does
not follow that merchants and manufacturers should
be systematically excluded ; but the Council should
not be composed of them wholly, or for the major
part ; and it bad not been consulted upon the treaty
previously to the signatures being affixed. In mat-
ters of this kind there are two dangers to be avoided.
If the parties whose trades are affected arc consulted,
great excitement ensues. Some demand that the
conditions should be most liberal ; others that liberty
should be bestowed on their neighbours' trades, but
not on their own. A second danger is, that during
the period of indecision or transition speculations
are organised which produce results baneful to
trade, and particularly to consumers ; or else a state
of stagnation is produced, and labourers are thrown
out of employment. M. Baroche next gave a de-
tailed explanation of the treaty, and excused the
imposition of differential duties in favour of Bel-
gian linens, because to subject them to the same
tariff as English linens would be to charge them
with a heavier duty than they paid under the treaty
of 1854, which allowed Belgians to import 2,000
tons at 28 and 70 francs duty, according to
quality. Nevertheless they were never able to im-
port more than half the quantity allowed. It is too
early to indulge in prophecies, for the major part
of the English treaty will not come into force till
next October. The lamentations of the iron trade
have been heard often enough. Wheu it was pro-
posed to fix the duties at 70f. and 25f. the ton for
wrought and pig iron, it was repeatedly said, and
with violence, that France would be invaded by
English iron, and her metallurgical establishments
destroyed. Seven months have elapsed since Eng-
lish iron has been admitted under the treaty, and the
excess of these importations, as compared with the
importations
_under the old system, has been 140
tons of bar iron ! It is as if prohibition still ex-
isted. Of pig-iron the importations have been
30,923 tons, against 850,000 tons manufactured in
France. The proportion of English pig-iron im-
ported is, therefore, infinitesimal. The trades of
Mulhausen and Roubaix are prosperous ; large or-
ders have been given, the workmen are not idle and
their wages have been augmented, although they
have to compete with 60,000 Belgian workpeople,
it never having yet been proposed to prohibit
foreign workmen.

The Count de Flavigny
believed
modifica-
tions of tariffs might be effected by treaties, legis-
lative intervention was necessary to remove prohi-
bitions on exportations.
Government, t that
yi ft
courseho
they took on several occasions, appeared to have
thought so themselves. When the bill for removing
the prohibition on the exportation of drills was
presented to the Chamber some excitement was
created, because many of the members knew that
the French paper trade had for years past made
cwvaissisi.n
Ga
osvteartnemoefntgrpeartopsousffeedriaung
great efforts: to support foreign competition, and
-e—xaplornr°tstdutayt ofa
120 f. the 1,000 kilogrammes. The commission
proposed, and the Council of State accepted,
an augmentation of the export duty to 1801. the
1,000 kilogrammes ; but it was not sanctioned by
law, and the treaty with Belgium reveals the fact
that Government, after conceding the higher duty
to the Chamber, subsequently reduced it to the origi-
nal and lower amount. The speaker allowed it to
be inferred that Government had been wanting in
regard for the Chamber, and said that, if the reports
of debates in the English Parliament were to be
credited, Mr. Cobden had said—what Count de
Flavigny believed to be an error or misunderstand-
ing—that while the Government were negotiating
with the Chamber, and had consented to the duty
of 180 f., they had promised him to reduce this duty
to 120 f., and had declared to him that they would
introduce it into the Belgian treaty, in order that
England might profit by it. He consequently deemed
an explanation necessary, in order that no doubt
might rest upon the loyalty of the French Govern-
ment.

M. Baroche replied that in the treaty of the 23d
Jan., 1860, there was no question of rags; there was
no question of them at any period of the negotia-
tions. When the treaty was submitted to the Eng-
lish Parliament, the question of rags, or rather that
was raised on that occasion, and
procede) the French Govern-
mentaoaf pa afpaevro an nr
idar
ri
bs
0, n
took one engagement alone towards Mr. Cob-
den, or rather towards the English Government,
and that was to present a bill to the Legislative
Body. The bill was presented. At that time Belgium
and the Zollverein prohibited the exportation of
rags. Under these circumstances for France to have
taken the initiative in permitting the exportation
of rags would have been somewhat chivalrous with-
out compensation, and going beyond what liberal-
ism in Custom-house matters could require. When
it was proposed to arrive at the lowest export
duty on rags six years hence Government thought
it better to do so immediately. The crisis in the
paper trade had nothing to do with rags, for their
price had not risen since the conclusion of the
treaty. Its true cause was over-production last
year and the state of the American market.
M. Paul Dupont said that the over-production of
last year was an evil that would soon disappear;
but England and Belgium would carry off French
drills, France produced more rags than any other

country, and he greatly feared that England, with
her superior capital, would buy up and monopolise
French rags. Already manufacturers are closing
their works, for the trade will not be able to sustain
the struggle. He was satisfied to hear M. Baroche
declare that, previous to the Belgian treaty, no
engagement had been entered into on the subject;
but then there was a very singular incorrectness in
Mr. Cobden's language to the English Parliament
when he said, in answer to the accusation of having
neglected the paper interest in his treaty, that he
had a promise of the French Government on the
subject in his pocket.
_ _

M. Baroche said Mr. Cobden had Hot said so ; he
did not say that he had an engagement of the French
Government when the treaty was concluded. The
speaker did not give the lie to Mr. Cobden, but
said he had not pronounced the words reported.
M. Dupont quoted our report, translated into the
Moniteur Industriel, of Mr. Cobden's speech, in
which Mr. Cobden said the French Government had
taken special precautions that no misunderstanding
should exist upon the question of rags, and that
with his entire consent they had retained the ques-
tion in their hands.

M. Baroche replied that the passage stated the
French Government to have retained the question
because they would not discuss it beforehand, but he
did not explain or attempt to reconcile this state-
ment—that the question was kept in hand—with
his previous statement that there had been no ques-
tion of rags during the negotiation and conclusion of
the treaty, and that it was not until after the ques-
tion was raised in the English Parliament, upon the
approval of the treaty, that the French Government
took an engagement towards *the English Govern-
ment to submit the question to the Legislative
Body.

After a discussion of various matters, principally
of local interest, the Chamber adjourned.

OUR IIODE.RN SOCIAL ECONOMY.

The present has been called the Age of Great
Cities. The title is a great mistake. Babylon,
Nineveh, Carthage, Damascus, Rome, were as vast
as the most populous of our time, and were much
more emphatically the centre figures of history,
inasmuch as they formed States in themselves,
communities from whom all power and government
radiated to the outlying provinces, colonies, and
subjugated territories of their respective citizens.
We should rather call this the Age of Great King-
doms. It is emphatically the era of territorial
absorption. Theitendency is to'consolidate regions
into one great political whole. The Gothic system
has been worn out. Feudal superiority, with tribu-
tary Princedoms, has given place to the sway of a
single Monarch, before whom all the rest are equal.
Principalities, feudatory States, have been super-
seded by vast nationalities, empires measured by
many geographical degrees. The Grand Duke of
Muscovy has crawled up to the Czar of Russia—
the House of Hapsburg has gone on to the Empire
of Germany—Burgundy, Lorraine, Normandy,
Provence, and many other Sovereignties, but make
up one huge France ; within twelve months a dozen
independent Monarchies go to constitute but one
Italy ; and these kingdoms of ours, with enormous
outlying dependencies, go now to be the aggregate
of one vast British Empire. But Vienna is no more
Germany than Paris is France, or Rome Italy.
Petersburg and London are only units in many
communities, each of which has its own influence
upon the whole.
The American system is an experiment of this
sort on the vastest scale. The statesmen of the
model republic aim at nothing less than the ulti-
mate expulsion of every rival Power from their
whole continent. They claim the New World all to
themselves. They will be bounded only by the
oceans of the torrid and the temperate zones.
Nothing less than all that lies between the Atlantic
and the Pacific will satisfy the cupidity of their
ambition. "We are thirty-one millions ; by the
end of the century we will be a hundred millions—
who can then say to us, What doest thou ?' "
Made up of the adventurous spirit, the restless dis-
content, the fugitive rascaldom of all nations, a
scratch pack of the contributions of every people
from Norway to China, the last refuge of the human
race, already it is only by diplomatic poltroonery,
and submission disguised under the euphuism of
moderation, that the rest of the world can keep at
peace with her. Even now she is not only ready
but eager to take offence at us. The quarrels of
spouses are made up by mutual hatred to some com-
mon enemy. What would become of the rest of the
world if there were a hundred millions of republi-
cans united under the star-spangled banner ? Con-
tinual war alone could cement the heterogeneous
elements of so prodigious a compound ; and we can-
not avoid the conclusion that the existence of such
a Power would be a curse to the human race.

Practically we have abandoned that system of
absorption. Each of our colonies is independent of
the mother country—is a law unto itself—has a
Legislature of its own—is tributary in nothing to
Imperial objects. Even from India we draw no
revenue, the whole taxation contributed by the peo-
ple being spent in and on the country. The pro-
blem is solving itself on the other side of the
Atlantic. The American statesmen dream of uni-
versal empire, and awaken to Secession. The
natural history of society unfolds laws which are
offended by this vertex theory of empire—this
attempt to. make of Government a maelstrom
whirlpool, tnat can suck into its current every ele-
ment of this world. The republic is falling to
pieces by the very magnitude and antagonism of its
proportions. As some monstrous planet, in its cen-
trifugal momentum, throws off huge fragments,
which, by the impetus of their speed,direction, and
attraction, revolve of themselves and become worlds
of their own, so, if the politicians of the New World
could only be brought to think it, there is material
for a dozen great empires in the territory and
population, over the division of which only into two
they grieve with such frantic rage. They would
see that even already their community was becom-
ing too unwieldy for efficient government, and too
diverse and antithetical in circumstances, sympa-
thies, and ways of life to be homogeneous or to be
capable of harmonious action.

This tendency to centralise and absorb many
regions, sometimes diverse tribes, into one great
kingdom, if it have its advantages and conveniences,
also has its evils and its Ferils. Under such a dis-
pensation the individual goes for nothing; humanity
therefore goes for nothing. Society becomes unman-
ageable; incapable of being really governed. The
significancy of a human soul with its hopes, and
fears, and rights, becomes faint and impalpable.
Individuality is lost, absorbed in the monstrous
aggregation. Life becomes of little account even to
the liver. The Chinese, the Hindoos, the Japanese,
are so accustomed to regard man by millions, that
the fate of one, of a thousand, is of no more account
than the myriads of animalculie we inhale at every.
breath. The sympathies arc hardened by the vast-
ness of multitudinous life, just as the financial
millionaire thinks nothing of throwing away sove-
reigns. The feudal chief of the scanty tribe knew
every member of it ; was akin to every unit of the
whole. Clansmen were the relatives of the head
of them ; fought for him ; were fed by him. When
the common people were serfs, each family owned
was claimed by its proprietor. In the mountainous
districts of India to this day communities are divided
into villages each with its officers, its castes, its
known members, mutually responsible to the King
or Rajah for the whole. Alfred divided his people
into hundreds, each unit familiar to every member
of the century, none of whom would be owned by,
or could enter unobserved,any other of the hundreds.
In the middle ages, every handicraft had its guild
and its officers, its apprentices, its widows, and
decayed members—a real brotherhood and fraternity
which took a corporate cognisance of every family.
An army without regiments is but a horde—a regi-
ment without officers is a rabble and incoherent
mob—what is society, so huge and multitudinous
that no man knows or cares anything about his
neighbour ? Vet that is clearly the tendency and
effect of this comparatively modern system of aggre-
gating and absorbing many independent communi-
ties into one vast state. The crowd is so vast, and
the crush so pressing, that no note is taken of those
who fall, and are trampled under foot. We ask our-
selves what is one among so many ? We say, where
the multitude is many millions, how can we fix our
regards on individual neighbours, or do anything
to leaven so huge a lump ? Our free development,
our abolition of serfdom and dependence, our re-
moval of restrictions, monopolies and privileges,
castes, guilds and exclusive corporations—these, if
they have done much to emancipate us from ob-
stacles to individual progress, have also loosened
our sense of mutual social obligation and our sym-
pathy of neighbourhood. The Catholic priest, tile
parish Papist ci.rate, or pastor father, who h_eahrcol
every one confess to him his secret theughtst "