The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-17 00:00:00

:'=.)'AtAt

LONDON, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1845.

The public is so apt to forget, in the easy enjoyment of
any novel, but very signal advantage, the price which may
have been paid for it through the personal experiences, inces
sant fatigue., and inflexible perseverance of some individuals
endowed with more than the ordinary average of moral
cour;rge, that we are very unwilling to see it relapse into
this evil habit—for it is not a question of bad feeling—in re-
ference to one of the most remarkable persons among our
townsmen of this metropolis. We have very recently, and
on many previous occasions, seized the opportunity of di-
recting attention to the extraordinary merits of Lieutenant
Waunonx, R N., in devising, accomplishing, and organis-
ing the rouse for the overland mail between India
and Great Britain. It is scarcely possible for any
01T3 to doubt the vast importance to be attached to
the achievement of this great object, which, by bringing,
so to speak, Great Britain and the noblest of her depen-
d. ncies tie; ee months nearer to each other—(and this is no
imager a solecism either in expression or in faot)—has opened
a new channel, developed new methods, and created new in-
terests of communication, of a value and significance pro-
portioned to the magnitude of the results which are bound
up in the intimate and perfect connexion of those two noble
regions, so remote from each other in geographical position
—so singularly identified in the evolution of political events,
and the collision both of European and of Asiatic interests
with one another. If any disparaging estimate could be
gravely entertained by any of our countrymen of
the high character to be attached to Mr.• WAG-
ifoßN's services to the commerce of the East with
this empire, we should refer such sceptics to the
earnest, yet temperate, discussions on the subject, that from
time to time appear in the French newspapers. The topic is
ably handled by our Contemporaries on the other side of the
Channel ; but all of them, of whatever shades of party or
opinion in the political contentions of the day, are una-
nimous, and unqualified in the praise they award to Mr.
Waolionsr; and in the zeal with which
.they press the
momentous sequences that may ensue on the full . esta-
blishment and working of his lately tested route
to England rid Trieste, on the profoundest deliberation of
Louis Finial-or; and his Ministers. Far from affecting to
undsrraluel. the interest of France in retaining the trans-
mission of the overland mail, they plainly treat it as an inte-
rns' of mast extensive relations that must be absolutely sacri-
ficed, if the Executive do not forthwith so materially im-
pro \ e their steam service and packet flotilla as to accomplish
the distance from Egypt to Malta, and from Malta to Mar-
seilles, in a period of time abridged to an extent greater
even than the difference between the present route yid Mar-
seilles, and that which hag just been so successfully tested by
Mr. Wac;iiones, rid Trieste. Independently of the incalcu-
lable advantage realised by his overland mail to our
commerce with the East, we must remember
that he has achieved a benefit for universal
civilisation and peace, by the influence which he, of all Euro-
peane, first practically exercised over the powerful mind, but
strung will, of the Pacha of EGYPT, in not only convincing
that Illustrious Chief of the feasibility of the plan, and the
advantages to be derived from its operation to Egypt as well
as to England; but in holding the PACIIA steadily to the
same poirte until the route was laid out, secured, and worked
on the pretest system. To the Pacha MEHEMET Au, him-
self, we must all comsede the distinguished praise of having
recognised the paramount claims of peaceful commerce to
protection through his own territories, at a time when he

The great changes which have been effected by steam
within only a very few years have turned the attention of
other persons besides the Prince DR JOINVILLE and M.
TIIIERS to the means thus afforded for attacking the shores
of England and to the present state of our national defences.
The plans formed by BONAPARTE for the invasion of England
were complete abortions, and though the ex-Minister may
contend that the fate of the country was all but decided, and
would to a certainty have been decided in favour of
France, had her admirals displayed more courage, and the
great man himself left a little more to chance, no doubt can
remain, even from M. THIERS'S own showing, that with all
his vast preparations he was completely foiled by the spirit,
energy, and skill of the British admirals, and that the attempt
would have ended in the destruction or capture of the in-
vading army. BONAPARTE, from experience, had learnt
that the flat-bottomed boats and the other small craft, to
which he proposed to entrust his veteran troops, could not
resist the force which England had collected in the Channel,
and he had only the alternative of giving up the scheme, or
beating all the British vessels of war which swarmed from
Brest to Portsmouth. To cover his disgrace, he pre-
tended that he had been betrayed by his admirals,
that they were cowards, and could risk nothing,
while he knew, as well as they, that had they
approached the Channel at the only moment when,
according to his own account, he was fully ready for the
descent, a defeat would have ensued to which that at Tra-
falgar was but a mere shadow. Since then, however, cir-
cumstances are much altered. The French have a large
steam navy, and by means of merchant steamers and other
craft could convey across the Channel an army of 100,000
men, probably in one-tenth part of the time which would
have been requisite in 1805. It is possible, too,
that they might succeed—at least, to a certain
extent—even in the face of a superior English
steam navy, and the consequences to England would be, pro-
bably, most disastrous. In order to guard against such a
possibility, various plans of national defence have been pro-
posed by different writers, and, among the rest by Lord RA-
NELAGII, in a pamphlet just published. His Lordship takes
a calm and rational view of this important subject; and after
admitting the vigilance and bravery of our admirals and
seamen, he supposes, however, that the enemy might
elude them, and land an invading force of 100,000 men
on the coasts of Essex, Kent, and Sussex, and then
asks :—" What are our preparations on land for
their reception.? Our coast batteries,l such as they are,
are without artillerymen, unarmed, and useless. We have
no trained militia, and our yeomanry are few, and necessa-
rily slow in collection. Our population, even if they possessed
arms, are ignorant of their use ; and our regular troops, which
are scattered at great distances over England and Scotland,
would not, were their disposable numbers collected, muster
more than 10,000 bayonets. To these we may add the
very important and useful body of soldiers which have been
enrolled from the pensioners, amounting to 10,000 men. But,
while this defensive strength, amounting on the whole to
about 20,000 men, is being summoned from all parts:of the
country, our arsenals, miserably deficient in fortifications, in
soldiers, and in artillerymen, invite the enemy's attack; and,
before we can give anything like shape to our preparations
he has marched upon and destroyed Chatham, Sheer-
ness, and Woolwich, taken military possession of the Thames'
and threatened, or laid, an embargo on London."
It would not be the first time that Chatham and Sheerness
had been insulted, but under circumstances, it is true, of a
much more favourable character for England. The Dutch
had no troops to land—they could only bombard oar dock-
yards and forts, and, after doing a great deal of mischief,
were of course obliged to retire. But the case would be different
with the French, and it cannot be denied that in the present
undefended state of the country, and with the vast wealth
which it contains, even 40,000 or 50,000 French troops eager for
plunder would, before any sufficient check be given, cause
an immense loss of property. It is the duty of the Go-
vernment, therefore, to prepare against such a contingency,
and not leave England undefended, while she is within
three hours sail of a country that possesses an army of
400,000 men, and a well-trained militia of nearly
1,000,000. Lord RANELAGH recommends five m?asures

as indispensable to our native defence. " The first and
most important consideration," says he, "is the condi-
tion of our arsenals. These must be strengthened by syste-
matic fortifications, garrisoned by adequate troops, and
amply manned by practised and able artillerymen.
In all these respects they are at present so wretchedly
defective as to be totally unable to resist any land
attack. To this sad description not one of our
arsenals affords an exception." The next is the
enrolment of the militia, or an organised force of some kind,
whether as militia, or fencibles, or volunteers, ready and able
at all times to repel an unexpected attack. A third point
for consideration is the artillery service, and to meet our im-
mediate and direct necessities in this respect he thinks an
addition, amounting to one-half of our existing force,
would be requisite. The only other means of defence of
importance relates to our commercial ports, and on
that point he says :—" To defend such points of
attack, and to guard the vast accumulated wealth,
so tempting to our friends across, the Channel, nothing
can be more effectual than the employment of steam block
ships, forming a floating battery, equal in strength of
artillery, and in rapidity and precision of motion, to the
exigency of any probable attack. Such defences before the
ports of Liverpool, Hull, Bristol, Sunderland, Leith, &c., &c.,
seem to me not prudent only, but essential to that feeling of
security which always adds so much to actual national
strength." His Lordship thus concludes a brief sketch of
much interest in these words:— •

"Let a military commission be at once appointed to inquire
into this momentous question ; let such dispositions of the incal-
culable niaterial strength of the country as I have ventured
to suggest be adopted; let our arsenals, the vitals of
our navy, be protected ; let our artillery be greatly in-
creased, our militia organised ; our population prepared, and, with
the facilities which steam power affords as, both for coast defence
and for internal communication—England, against any invading
force, will continue to vindicate the integrity of her sea-girt terri-
tory, and the glory of her ancient renown."

We have received Madrid journals of the Bth and 9th
inst. The resignation of General CORDOVA had been ac-
cepted by the Government, and General °num appointed
Captain-General of Madrid in his place. The mutiny at
Valencia appears to have been a very absurd affair. The
ringleader was a sergeant, who had by some means or other
contrived to seduce a few of the soldiers to attack the bar
racks, though they were not one to ten. It was reported at
Madrid that he had been captured and shot, that several
soldiers have been condemned to death, and that the Com-
mandant of the Gerona regiment, whe had his arm ampu-
tated, in consequence of a wound received from the rioters,
expired soon after the operation was performed. The
Heraldo infers, from a letter received from Valencia, that the
scheme had been formed by NOGUERAS and Ruiz, now
residing at Marseilles.
On the Bth the Spanish Funds declined a little. The
Three per Cents. were sold at 3534 ; the Five per Cents. at
241, 3A ; Coupons, at 251,E N ; and the Debt without Interest
at the prices of the preceding day.

The Paris papers are chiefly occupied with articles on the
late amalgamation of railway companies, and the prospects
of the pour for the winter. According tosome of the journals,
there is every probability that the price of bread will ad-
vance considerably more, as there is a deficiency of grain
in nearly all the States of the Continent. Bread at Paris is
higher than usual, but a rise is anticipated, as a sort of panic
had manifested itself in some of the provincial towns. The
Semaphore of Marseilles, of the 11th inst., says :—" There is
a perfect panic in this city, not merely among the poorer
classes, but even among some of the tradesmen. People
there are laying in a provision of bread, as if they were
menaced with a siege, and saw no prospect of fresh sup-
plies. The bakers' shops are beset with customers, and such
is the eagerness to obtain it, that increased prices are paid,
in order to be able to carry off a large quantity at once as a
store for the future." The same journal states that the
police, in searching the house of a woman, suspected to
have secreted some stolen jewellery, found—not the stolen
articles—but 100 lb. of bread, which this woman had
purchased, and stored up, under the apprehension of an
approaching famine. The Semaphore at the same time
asserts that there is no just cause for 0? excitement. The

The Constitutionnel says—" Letters from the frontier of Ro-
magna, dated the 4th inst., state that in the evenings of the Ist
and 2d a sanguinary conflict took place at Bologna between the
Swiss, on the one part, and the Pontifical dragoons and custom.
house guards on the other. The troops were subsequently con.
fined to their barracks. Cardinal Cazonl, legate of the province,
wished to bring the volunteers of the country into the town, but
the municipal authorities gave him to understand that this would
increase the disturbances, as the Bolognese were ever adverse to
this corps. In its stead, they proposed to call the citizens to arms
in the form of a civic guard ; but as the formation of such a guard
is one of the demands comprised in the manifesto of the insurgents
of Rimini, the Cardinal became alarmed, and refused the offer, but
at the same time relinquished the idea of calling in the volunteers.
It is also said that disturbances have occurred at Perugia, towards
which town a column of Swiss was on its match. The sentences
of the commission at Ravenna, anterior to the late disturbances,
have been confirmed at Rome. More than forty persons have been
condemned to the galleys for various periods."
" A letter from Toulouse announces the death of Lieutenant-
General Count Compans, at Blagnac, near that city, after a long
and painful illness. He entered the array as a simple volunteer in
17P2, and in four years beeame a general of brigade. He was
made general of a division at the battle of Austerlitz, and so con.
ducted himself in Russia, and afterwards at Lutzen and Bautzen,
that Napoleon, in one of his bulletins, called him ' Un general de
bataille du premier matte.' After 1814 he retired, and was made
A peer.

The Orleannais states that the Orleans and Tours Railroad will
not be opened to the public before the month of March next.

" We learn from Copenhagen, Nov. 6th, that great embarrass.
ments have been created in Denmark by a deficiency of the cir-
culating medium, and that the National Bank of Copenhagen has
contributed to them by restricting its discounts. It was reported,
however, that the Bank had received from Hamburgh a large
quantity of bars of silver, for the purpose of coining four millions
of rix dollars.

" A Constantinople letter of the 2ed ult . in the Augsburgh
Gazette, states that the Porte has agreed to give an indemnity of
70,000 piastres to France for the pillage of the two convents during
the late insurrection in Syria, and also an indemnity for the ex-
penses of the French, who were compelled to quit the Lebanon by
the order of Chekib-Effendi."

The railway share market continued in a very unsettled
state, and the few companies that had announced their in-
tention to offer for the Paris and Strasbourg, and the Tours
and Nantes lines, on Saturday, caused an additional impulse
to the downward tendency. Only two companies out of
twelve for the first, and two out of nine for the second, had
been announced. These facts are thus stated in the Journal
des Debats

" The period fixed by the Minister of Public Works for sending
in the registers and other documents of the companies determined
to tender for the Paris and Strasbourg and Tours to Nantes Rail
ways expired last night at twelve o'clock. The companies which
have deposited the necessary papers are, for the Paris to Stras-
bourg line, first, that represented by the Duke de Galliera, General
Cubieres, M. Blacque Belair, and M. H. Pellapra; and the next
company represented by Count d'Anthouard—in all two companies
out of twelve announced at the Bourse. For the Tours to Nantes
line, there were, first, the company represented by MM. Dailly,
Lippmann, Muret, Degenete, Fanchet, Martin, Jourdan, Caillard,
and Dailly, jun., Meares de Poste; and next, that represented by
MM. Mackenzie, Drouillard, O'Neill, Dufeu, Lecroix, Leroy, and
Surville ; in all, two companies out of nine announced at the
Bcurse."

The Journal des Chemins de Fer gives the following as the
state of the fusion of eight of the Tours and Nantes. Railroad
Companies :—Mackenzie, £000,000f.; Carrette and Minguet,
6,000,000 f ; O'Neill, 5,000,000 f. ; Drouillard, 5,000,000 f.;
Raigecourt, 5,000,000 f. ; Lefebvre, 5,000,000 f. ; Delamarre,
4,500,000 E; Basse-Loire, I,soo,oooE—total, 40,000,000 f.

On Saturday the Three per Cents. closed at 82f. 45c. ; the
Five per Cents. 117 f. 70c. ; the Orleans Railroad Shares,
1,151 f. 25c. ; Rouen, 9801. ; Northern, 731 f. 25c.; Havre, 7751.;
Avignon, 950 f ; Vierzon, 687 f. 50c. ; Bordeaux, 6181. 75c. ;
Boulogne, 532 f. ; Troyes and Montereau, 4601. ; Basle, 256 f.
25c. ; Spanish Actives, 37%; ditto, Three per Cents., 38%;
ditto; Passives, 7.

The following are the quotations for other lines :

Paris and Lyons Railroad (Laffitte), 15f. premium •, ditto
(Calon), 4f. ; ditto (Ganneron), 6f. 50c. ; ditto (Lapin
31. ; ditto (Hinguerlot), 6E 50c.; ditto ( Bechet), 3f. ; ditto
sonniere), 21. 50c. ; ditto (Mornay), If. 50c. ' • ditto (Rosamel),
50c. ; Paris and Strasburg (Ganneron), 6f. ; ditto Messageries,
(Aymard), 7f. ; Tours and Nantes (Mackenzie), 7f. ; ditto
(Drouillard), 4f. 50c.; ditto (O'Neill), 6f. ; ditto (Lefevre),
4f. 50c. ; Lyons and Avignon (Talabot), 22f. 50c. ; ditto
(Lecointe), Bf. •, ditto (Compagnie Meridionale), 4f. 50c. ;
Bordeaux and Cette (Mackenzie). 50f. ; ditto (Espeleta), llf.
75c. ; Creil and St. Quentin (Carette), 6f. 50c. ; Dieppe (Sel-
lieres), 10f. ; Caen (Delamarro), 31.
hLutsEtuzs, Nov. 11.-Marseilles and Avignon, 950 f.;
Boulogne, 5421.50 c. ; Vierzon, 708 f. 75c. ; Orleans and Bor-
deaux, 612 f. 50c.

LYONS, Nov. 13.—Marseilles and Avignon, 946 f. 25c. ;
Paris and Orleans, 1,132 E 50c. ; Paris and Rotten, 943 f. ;
Orleans and Vierzon, 690 f. ; Northern, 718 f. 75c.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, Nov. 15.
Anglo-Belgian — Namur and Liege
Boulogne and Amiens.. 91,4 North Jamaica
Bordeaux &Medtterraa Orleans and Vierzon 17%
Bordeaux and Toulouse Orleans and Bordeaux 1114
Do. & Cette (Espeleta) Over Yssel
Do. ( Mackenzie's) .. Paris & Lyons (Laffitte)
Central of Spain .. — Ditto (Ganneron's).
Ceylon . — Ditto (Calon's).... -
Demerara
_ _

Dendre Valley ...... Paris and Orleans 453/4
Dutch Rhenish ... ...... 7% Paris and Rouen .
Dieppe & Paris Janet. Paris and Strasburg
Dijon and Mulhou2e (Ganneron'a)
East Indian
Fampoux & Ilazebrouk Do. (Cotapte de L'Est) 23/4
Grt Northern of France Paris and St. Quentin.
Constituted l4 Rotten and 11avre......
Do. Pepin Ic llalleur — Royal North of Spain.
Great Paris and Lyons — Sambre and Meuse .... 6
Great Western Bengal S:frasburg and Basle ...

Great Western Canada 31,4 ITournay—,Jurbise, Lan-

Jamaica S Mid. Junction dent; and II assel t...
Do. North Midland Tours and Nantes
Do. Extension

. _
Jersey — Do. ( Lefebvre's)
Louvain and Jemeppe.. Do.:(o'Neill's) 2
Lyons and Avignon.... Verona and Ancona —
rg Luxembou
_ . West Flanders —