The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-05-19

civilization, that we are continually obliged Il
revert to the works and discoveries of the an
clients for the first principles of most Of oul
modern inventions. In the fine arts not only d.
we derive all the elements Of our knowledge
from period which, in other respects, may b.
said to have been allied with barbarism, bal
we have succeeded in making no advance upor
the models bequeathed to us by the pure and
classic taste Of the Greek and Roman schools
The mechanical skill displayed in the colossal
structures of the Egyptians and Assyrians, are
even at this day objects of wonder and admira
ton whilst in the physical sciences the Arab.
and Hindoos had trenched closely upon
some Of the most valuable discoveries of ouI
own day. In chemistry, more particularly, the
Hndoos attained an early proficiency, the
use and properties Of most Of the metallic OK
European nations were wholly ignorant Of theil
properties Although they have made little OF
no progress since the period we refer to- their
dyes compounded of the same chemical agents
that were used centuries ago, are still unsur-
passed for their purity and brilliancy; whilst
the productions Of their looms exceed in deli
cacy of fabric and harmonious distribution
colors all that the multiplied mechanical re
sources Of European or American manufacturers
have been able to produce
The same remark which applies to the useful
arts, would seem to find illustration in those
alleged modern discoveries which are destined,
we are told, to alter the whole system Of mo-
dern warfare, and scatter destruction and death
by wholesale, where heretofore the results were
only partial. In the same benevolent spirit
10 doubt, which led an amiable and philan-
thropic French ply stefan to invent the machine
Of which such terrible use was made during the
first revolution, and which has conferred such
an unenviable immortality on his name, the
ingenuity Of certain curiously constructed
minds has, ever since the last war, been per-
severingly directed towards the discovery of
new agents, or the perfection Of old ones, by
which the process Of determination might be
rendered more extensive and certain in its eff
fects. These destroyers of the human race
claim the credit of philanthropic motives; but
we never could appreciate the value of the ar
guments on which this assumption is founded
They say that by rendering war more certain
and terrible in its effects, they will increase
the reluctance Of mankind to embark in it; but
they forget that the ambition Of rulers, and the
thirst Of conquest on the part Of warlke ma
tons, will never be arrested by humane calcu-
lations, and that unless the common sense Of
the world combines to impose limits to these
hmm isac all 9th md Is az
fail.
In these terrible inventions, however, re-
specting which SO much vague apprehension
and curiosity exist, and which, II we are to be-
ieve their authors, will do more to establish
the real equilibrium Of power than all the pre-
have been called into action to maintain it, may
be detected the same plagiarisms from the So
called barbarous and crude notions Of the an
clients that are traceable in most other modern
Inventions. Our readers no doubt recollectal
the fuss and noise that was made few years
ago about the alleged discoveries of Captain
Warner, which it was asserted would blow up
and destroy, at some incredible distance, not
only whole fleets, but the strongest fortifca-
tions, and which were to confer the mastery Of
the seas on the nation that would give the enor-
nous price stipulated for them. The subject, after
occupying the attention Of the English Parlia-
ment, was referred, if we recollect rightly, to
commission composed Of military and naval
officers, who reported unfavorably upon il.
Although the present Earl Talbot attempted
several times since to revive it, and even threw
out limitations that there was danger Of these
inventions being offered to other Powers, the
whole affair was treated with contempt, and
Captain Warner himself consigned to oblivion.
His name has, however, again been lately
brought into notice by the fact Of large
number Of mysterious looking tin pack
ages having been shipped on board the vessels
composing the Baltic feet, and which the
ready imagination Of some London penny a.
liner sent down to Spithead to chronicle the Incl
dents Of the departure of the feet, converted
into stock Of the captains death-dealing mis-
siles. They viii no doubt turn out in due
course to be as effective materiel of war, but
moteriel composed Of preserved beet, with .
due accompaniment of that new item in the
commissariat ist-concentrated beer.
Although Captain Warner endeavoTed to sur
round his discoveries with all the mystery and
secrecy which their alleged Importance and
the modest amount Of the purchase money de-
manded from the English government rendered
consistently prudent yet it soon leaked out
that they were nothing more than notifications
of a fire missile invented as far back as the
seventh century, and which, although described
by historians as being most destructive in its
results, is, in this age Of effective artillery and
steam, totally inappncable to the purposes Of
modern warfare. The objects Of Captain War
ner's adaptations were to carry out the spirit
Of Mrs. GLASS; celebrated receipt, and 10 catch
his hare before he cooked it, by bringing the
enemy within range Of his Internal machines
but he failed utterly to convince the thick