The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-07 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1845,

Whilst the admirable editorship of Sir 1-la Eras NICOLAS, in
giving to the world the " Nelson Dispatches and Letters," is
vindicating the memory of the greatest of all British heroes
from many most serious but utterly unfounded imputations on
his moral and political integrity, the accomplished biogra-
pher is also rendering a service to the nation at large
of incalculable value. Sir Mums is reviving that
generous enthusiasm which, kindled by similar labours
on the part of SOUTHEY, has secured to:the naval service
of the kingdom many hundreds of gallant and enthusiastic
sailors, whose youthful imitation of our indomitable captain
of the seas gave an irresistible direction to their future des-
tiny. But, whatever less elaborate care in the collection,
extent, and digestion of authentic materials, on the part
of the late Laureate, had left imperfectly developed, has been
admirably supplied by the greater industry and judgment of
the more recent historian: Ills views of the principles that
governed NELSON'S conduct in some of the most memo-
rable passages of his eventful life are not obscured
by the same occasional prepossessions or prejudices
of a purely conventional character which some.
tithes disfigure the opinions advanced by SOUTHEY,
and which all the matchless charms of his style of composition
cannot compensate for. But we do not intend to enter in
this place into any formal or controversial parallel between
the two historians, nor to enlarge, even, on the successful ex
planations, as we are clearly of opinion they must be consi-
dered, which Sir HARRIS has now supplied on the nature of
the earlier period of Lord NELSON'S connexion with Lady
flAuturow, and in exculpation of the hero. from that
ungenerous and vindictive instrumentality in the
terrible fate of Prince CannAcclotr, which has been so
confidently but so unwarrantably attributed to the British
Admiral. Our present purpose is to offer the humble
tribute of our praise and congratulation to Sir HARRIS NI-
COLAS, for having, by his very opportune labours, placed the
greatest naval chief who ever astonished mankind by his va-
lour and his prowess, his disinterestedness and his success, his
genius and his fortune, in a right position before the eyes, as
it were, of the present generation and of posterity. Judging
of others by ourselves, we are convinced that the same
thrilling emotions of admiration, respect, gratitude, and en-
thusiasm will animate every British bosom for the memory
of this: immortal leader with which the perusal of these
records of his inmost thoughts, of his heart's own elequence, as
well as of the great acts of his magnanimous intrepidity,
have inspired our own. The study of the themes we allude
to is a- pleasure of the very highest order, modified only by the
bitter indignation with which we trace the shameful story
of the wrongs he was incessantly experiencing at the hands
of superior authorities, through the base influences of proles-
sional envy, and the contemptible niggardliness of political
partizanship ; and the peculiar:ty in his career, whilst living,
seems to attach to the honours paid to his memory after
death. To sum up the complexion and amount of these in
one fact, we need scarcely remind the public that the column
reared to his memory, in Triafalgarseirze,thsetvilile,%7omfahiniss
unfinished, still hoarded up, n part,
compatriots.
On several former occasions we have animadverted from
time to time on the contemptible conduct of the Government
of Sir ROBERT PEEL with regard to this national monument.
We exhibited the Premier gravely upholding the report, of
one of those Committees (of taste, the fine arts, &c.) whose
decisions and recommendations are generally the subjects of
merriment or compassion to all the refined capitals of
Europe. We adverted to Sir ROBERT'S concurrence in
the announcement to the House of Commons that it
had been judiciously determined to reduce the architect's
original design for a Corinthian column of a given dimension
of shaft, &c., (1.) because in case of any accident to it, it
might cause great destruc'ion of life and property in so
densely crowded a thoroughfare; (2.) because those original
proportions would throw into absolute insignificance the low

facade of the so-called " Natio
p.,nal Gallery" (a monstrosity
due to the designs of Mr.WlLics and the purblind patronage
of Mr. SPRINGI RICE). The "National Gallery,"it is
edifice;evi ndesnt,
the Premier, at the time, considered a very fine
for fear of destroying its " effect," the column was actually
redncedn(by some 13 feet or more, if we rightly remember)
in height, and t 1 impaired, in order to meet the views of
Boards of Taste and Boards of Woods and Forests,
Then name Lord Lutcotx with his petty quibblings
and evasions, as manifested in his correspondence with the
NErsorr Column Committee ; his undecided and wavering
intimations
at of consent to " allow" a Trafalgar festival to be
celebr inauguration of the column, and the
ludicrously offenaive apprehenaious which he had the bad

taste—and, we will add, the presumption—to intimate of
the danger of disturbances from the jollity of a re-union of
the few surviving veteran heroes of the mighty victory of
Trafalgar. We have over and over again adverted to the
Wretched puerilities, the disgraceful make-shifts, the
asphalte-substitutes with which the same utterly in-
competent management (participated in, we presume, be.
tween the two wooden jurisdictions, the Board
of Works and the Board of Woods and Forests)
have disfigured, according to the tardy admission
of the Premier himself, " the noblest site offered
by any capital in Europe." But the deformities of
Trafalgar-square exhibit their culminating enormity in
the still unfinished monument to the ill-requited but illus-
trious saviour of his country, the immortal NEt.soN—to
that sublime genius, and that undaunted spirit, which pur-
sued the naval power of the most victorious enemy we had
ever coped with, over every sea, to every shore of the habit-
able world in which the standard of France was successively
unfurled, in flight or in aggression, and broke and triumphed
over all its might and all its valiant resistance;
—to him whose crowning victory rescued this
mighty kingdom from becoming a mere province
of that universal empire, which, but for this over-
throw of the combined fleets of France and Spain, the
stupendous ambition of NAPOLEON would have achieved and
established.

But these are not times when either the aspect of our foreign
relations, er the relative power and state of preparation in
which foreign powers are maintaining their forces—especially
their maritime service—will tolerate any longer any indig-
nity to the memory of that great man, whose renowned
name alone wilryet ael as a spirit-stirring spell, a trumpet-
tongued inspiration to the navy of Great Britain, under all
circuntsturtz;es and in every exigency. The common sailors
will rash into action, whenever the fatal necessity for action
mall arrive, with the indelible name of "Nelson " engraven
on their memory, as the undaunted and affectionate com-
mander
,who led their fathers and their brothers into every
engagement with the assured confidence of victory, and
the irresistible determination to distinguish themselves. The
young officer and the veteran commander will be animated by
the same impulses, heightened by reminiscences of the tena-
cious :generosity with which this illustrious Chieftain—far
from coldly discouraging the just demands of his brothers
in arms for distinctions in proportion to his own rewards—
warmly, importunately, fervently pressed, even to his own
prejudice and the incurring official rebuke, on the reluctant
attention of Lords of the Admiralty, Prime Ministers, and
even the SOVEREIGN, the ample rewards and honours due to
those whom his heroic affection always designated as forming,
with himself, " a band of brothers." Let this signal reflection
on the national gratitude, on its sense of true glory, its sense
even of its own political interests, be instantly effaced, we say,
by the completion of the "Nelson" memorial. And since Chan-
cellors of the Exchequer, And First Lords and First Commis-
sioners seem inaccessible to anything like kindred emotions of
sympathy in that feeling which first prompted, among private
or professional "individuals," its erection, let all the great
communities of the kingdom repair the evil by furnishing the
supplies vainly demanded of the Government. The spirited
little town of Greenwich, dignified as the locality of the
noblest home and retirement which public gratitude has yet
provided in this country for our decayed sailors, has
set an admirable example, that may be instantly
and efficiently followed by every other town in Great Britain.
It has originated a penny subscription among its 14,000 in-
habitants. A penny subscription among the millions of our
large marts of manufacturing, and even agricultural and com-
mercial industry, would realise ample funds for the comple-
tion of this monument and the erection of another, which, in
point of gi andeur, extent, utility, and beauty, might put to
shame all that the Legislature has yet decreed er the Execu-
tive erected, to do honour to the greatest hero of all naval
story !

The vast extent of the British possessions in India, their
wealth, population, and growing power, as well as their
supply of native productions to this country, and the con-
sumption of articles of British manufacture, must place
them in the highest rank among all our foreign possessions.
Indeed, England, so famed for her system of colonisation,
and so successful, especially during the last two cen-
turies, in establishing her sons in almost every
clime of the habitable globe, can boast of nothing at all to
be compared with her dominion in India. It is altogether
an anomaly in every point of view. Such a cluster of great
states—many of them large enough for kingdoms--attaching
themselves to a foreign power, and remaining faithful tribu-
taries, almost without compulsion or restraint ; more anxious
for admission within the English pale than to remain subject
to their native chiefs; requiring but a handful of European
troops, rather as models itor imitation than as guardians of
public order or instruments of subjection, altogether exhibit
a picture of Government hitherto unknown in the his-
tory of the human race. The Romans extended their
conquests only by force of arms ; the Greeks were
more civilised, planted colonies, and made progress
rather by the influence of arts and sciences and their superior
skill in civil policy, than by their warlike habits, and in this
respect formed a precedent for the progress of British power
in India ; but the extent of their colonial possessions was
nothing' compared with the vast expanse where the
English language is spoken, English habits in-
troduced, and bonds of friendship established which
hold out fair prospects of long and uninterrupted
duration. A speedy and secure communication, therefore, be-
tween these countries and the parent state, is of the very-
first importance, and ought to occupy the serious attention
of the Government. Even within a few years, entirely by
means of steam, a vast change in that respect has been
effected. Formerly the time required for a voyage to
India was between three and four months--now it
is accomplished in one month, and by and by we
shall have monthly, or weekly, if necessary, intelligence
from Bombay in about the time which travellers in
weeks of yore required to pass from London to Edinburgh.
Mr. WAGUORN, who has already done wonders, engages,
to complete the journey at an average of three
weeks from Bombay to London, and, we have no
doubt, when such great interests are at stake,
he will receive the utmost support both from the East India
Company and her MAJESTY'S Ministers. Speedy intelli-
gence from that quarter must be obtained. We have
lately acquired a large territory to the north of Bombay. A
new source of trade and commerce has been opened up with
the inhabitants on the banks of the Indus ; the Pun-
jaub itself is a kingdom now of primary influence
in our operations in the north, and more particularly in our
relations with the Affgbans and Persians. An Anglo-Indian
army of fifty thousand men is about to assemble on its fron-
tier, for purposes which will require not only all the calm
reflection and ability of Sir IL HARDIKGE, but the early and
positive instructions of the Home Government. Rapid
communication with that army becomes absolutely indis-
pensable, and a few thousands of pounds wisely expended
in furthering such an object may save as many millions.
To be niggardly in such an undertaking is not only mean, it
is impolitic and dangerous, and neither Parliament nor the
country would grudge any expense to render quick andpunc-
tusj the intercourse with such distant countries, and with coins-
tries, too, in which not only the India Company, merchants and
traders, but every inhabitant of the United Kingdom, have i
more er less interest. The route taken by Mr. WAGItoRN
with the last overland mail has long appeared to u.s prefer-
able
lations with that country, which, we hope, will
long remain uninterrupted, are not, it must be
admitted, so little liable to be disturbed, as those
with Germany, where there is much less jealousy of
England, and where the people are more commercial and less
warlike than their excitable neighboure in the west. The
Governments, too, as will be seen from Mr.. WAG-
HORN'S letter, are fully disposed to render every facility,
and even break through their ancient laws a lad cue-
toms (a vast concession for an Austrian Cab met), in
order to establish a line for the Indian mail, through
their States. The following extract, confirms the ass( srtion and
describes one of the many wonders of the day : —"I may
mention," says he, "an extraordinary instance of Austrian
alacrity and attention. His Excellency the G svernor of
Trieste, Count STADION, Chevalier DE BRUCK, t. ae head of
the Austrian Lloyd's Company, and all the elite of the met.,
chants, &c„ of Trieste, were waiting for me set Dwino,
though at the hour of half-past twelve at night.; and one of
the darkest I ever experienced ; we were guides 1 only to
Dwino by the rockets sent up by them. My pal sport was
given by order of the Emperor of AUSTRIA, and cote stersigned
at Vienna by the representatives of Belgium, Prussia, Baden
and Bavaria, countries through which I passed ; indeed'
I was not asked a question throughout the journey.';
The French journals, in order to create a counter-
balance to this, are urging the Government to I 'eaten the
completion of the Lyons and Avignon lines, bees use, when
these are finished, the passage will be made in muck t less time
than through Germany. But the German, as w( 11 as the
Italian States under the dominion of Austria, as .3 also ac-
tively engaged in forming railways; that h.( s In Ostend
to the Rhine has long been completed, so is one fro si i Bruschel
to Manheim, and it is not too much to anticipate,
in these days of improvement and change, that t In ire will, in
a short time, be a continued railway route from fbe English
Channel to the Adriatic. Even in the present a tate of the
roads, the journey was performed with most ex i xaordinary
speed, when it is known that on the voyage fro a a Alexan-
dria to Trieste the steamer experienced a tempest
which caused her to be a day and a half h lit Ter than
usual. With the plans now in progress fur sh( nu fling the
time occupied in the journey between Bombay end Suez, no
doubt can remain that the whole journey ma j • be accom-
plished in twenty-one days, and, with the aid o t": railroads, in
a fortnight. News thus could be brought fine a Wuhan,
onto tßhoembboaryd e
irns often the iPtuwnejlayueb, by steamers dove i the Indus
from Ferozepore to London made littleiynN d
more et'
11111 ane a i urnmonth.e ---,as_
_ _

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Madrid journals of the 29th October have sn received.
The Gazette of that date contains a royal bP
-di dunce b
which two Spanish officers, SANDOVAL and Isl4°l DEnaDA, who,y
had been serving with the French army in Africa, are
directed to join the Russian troops in the Cau
us, and re-
port upon their operations: The arrest of Coll nel Solite, commanding the Regiment San Fernando, in
the public
streets, by orders of NARVALZ, had given rise i a ) some talk
in the metropolis. The story is, that the Comm a der of the
Forces had intimated his intention to review the , e giraelltlM
the 28th, but not arriving at the time appointed, the colonel
had left, concluding that the inspection would not take place.
It appears that the priest who had been order V d to quit
Madrid in twenty-four burr, Wad tha confessor of Don ,