New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-09-24


~ b's s.,yipe" Ana, iha be,nba'dment NJ FUsa
to,e lhsl rloe vas 81 ouu'se ~ az end
~, ia,nrs thought his pamn The mofo sure. aa hn
hal iaLan ila p,eoauion 81 MARI Inn all hia ottHfs
private wLiah wora likely 10 expose himself md
10 ,indionio bic intended victim A 10 Tho menn
ing 81 thai saofamental word "prvntr." Hlr James
himself when giving his evidence before Tho Hcyas
iopol Committee. stated that British Frat Lord 81
tho Admiralty ia wont 10 mnrk public Instructions
private" whenever he has good reason 10 with
hold them not only from tho public, but even from
Parliament.
With man like Sir James, who thinks himself
entitled TO turn private letters into public ones
il is quito natural 10 convert public documents
into private property. But this time he reck-
oned without his host. Sir Charles Napier by
boldly breaking through the shackles Of private
instructions" isperhaps exposed to the chance of
being struck from the British Navy list, and has
probably disabled himself from ever again hosting
his flag but, at the same time, be has not only
barred the entrance of the Admiralty Board to Sir
James, but also shown to the English people that
their navy is as rotten as their army. When the
Crimean campaign stripped from the British army
its time hOnored reputation, the defenders of the
ancient regime pleaded not guilty on the plausible
ground that England had never pretended to be
a frst-rate military power. However, they will
not dare to assert that Great Britain has
laid no claim TO be the first naval power of
the world Such is the redeeming feature of war;
it puts nation to the test As exposure to the
atmosphere reduces all mummies to instant dis
solution, so war passes supreme judgment upon
social organizations that have outliyed their vi.
tally.
This correspondence between Sir James Ora
ham and Admiral Napier, extending from the
oath of February to the 9th of November, 1851,
and denied a place 10 full in our columns only
from its great length may be summed up very
briefly. Up to the end of August, when the
Baltic season, as is generally known, has reached
it's close all went very smOothly-athOugh Sir
Charles Napier, on the very outset of the expe-
dition, had told Sir James his opinion that the
means which the Admiralty had provided for
fitting out and manning the North Sea feet were
insufficient for the occasion and unequal to an
encounter with the Russians on fair terms"
During all this time Sir James in his letters does
nothing but smile upon his Dear Sir Charles
On March II he "cOngratulateS' him on the
order in which the feet had left the English
shores on April 5 he is satisfied with his move
"ments;" on April 10 he is entirely satisfied
with his proceedings" on June 20 he calls him
. a consummate Commander Chief" on July
he is sure that whatever man can do
will be done by Sir Charles = on August % he
"congratulates him sincerely on the success of
"his operations before Bomarsund;' and on
August %, seized with sort Of pOetical rapture,
he breaks forth: 81 am more than satisfied
with your proceedings; / am delighted with
"the prudence and sound Judgment you
have evinced." During the whole time Sir
James feels only anxious lest Sir Charles, Sin
I" the eager desire to achieve great exploit and
"to satisfy the wild wishes of an impatient
multitude, should yield to some rash impulse,
90 and fail in the discharge Of one of the noblest
" of duties-which is the moral courage to do
what you know to be right, at the risk of be-
I" ing accused OF having done wrong" As early
as May ], 1884 ne tells Sir Charles: /" l believe
- both SweebOrg and CrOnstadt to be all but
impregnable from the sea-SSesborg more es-
pecally-and none but 8 very large army
81 could operate by land efficiently in the pre-
sence OF such a force as Russia could readily
" concentrate for the immediate approaches to
&C her capital" If Sir Charles tells him on
June II that "the only successful manner of at
" tacking Sweaborg that he could see after the
% most mature consideration, assisted by Admi-
" raj Chads, was by fitting out great number
" Of gun boats"-Sif James answers him on July
II: with $4,000 troops and 200 gun-bOats you
" might still do something great and decisive
before the end OfSeptember." But hardly had
tie Winter set in, the French army and navy
sailed away, and the heavy equine tiai gales
begun 10 lurrOw the Baltic waye,-hardly hadSir
Charles reported THAT our ships have already
been parting their cables; the Dragon was
" reduced to one anchor, and the Imperieuso
" and Baslisk lost one each the other night;
" and the Magicienne was obliged to anchor in
"a fog, and when she weighed in the night
"from Of Nargen found herself obliged TO anchor
O. of Renskar Lighthouse having drifted among
1" the rocks; and that the Euryalus lad been
ashore on the rocks, and that il was mercy
" she was not ost''-when Sir James all at once
discovered that ''war is not conducted without
"ri.ks and dar GERS" and SweabOrg, therefore,
must be taken without Il single soldier or sin
gle Gun or mortar boat Indeed, We can only
reyest with the cid Admiral: "Had the Em-
"peror of Russia been First Lord Of the Admi-
rally he would have written Just such
Letters"