The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-08-19

oVu PciiUuo "oec INC esSi uOe VI Tue btttHu up
par. Up'e's tn future is greatly belisd by the
present. John Bull may find that be has thrust his
bead into nest of hornets and cannot draw it
out
The Britlsh feet at Hong Kong, under the COM
mand of Sir Michael Sey mour celebrated the ar
rival Of the new Minister Plenip oteutiary, Lord
Eigin, by oombarding Chinese fort and barn.
ing and capturing aotila of small war juuks in
the Cantoo river. They were successful in all
their operations. They took the fort They
took the boaW What they chose they harnt,
apo what they cho'e they Carried away. But
aud this after all, is the important part of the
stofy-tne result Of 'he fight was q decided
change of opinion in the minds of the ASSISTANTS
a. to The capacities Of the Chinese tor fighting
The English were very severely punished, cud the
officers ALLOW that the Chinese veesels were de-
Tended with valot and skill
This IS the only item of the news from Coma
that is worth the least attention As to the Egg
lsh taking an armed fort and capturing few
dozen Canton boats, sucn an affair is not worth
a second thought 1t can neither hurt the Chi-
nese nor help their enemy. The government
al P.kin will not hear of the loss; the boats
will not even be missed the dead men will 0oly
make room for others. For the popularity Of
ChiDa-and that which makes q war with the
Chinese so different from any other warts the
fabulous number Of the people and the exhaust
lees resources Of the country. An army of a
million Chinese cut off to the last man, would not
impair the strength Of the government or neces-
state change of policy: and, as to gunboats
Why, China could afford to lose as many every
morning as the English have just destroyed in
this naval engagement, and never feel it. The
victory" then, must go for nothing, so far as
practical results are concerned.
But the newly discovered courage and skill of
the Chinese are very significant novelties For,
from the very same reason which impairs the eff
feet of British victories, If the Chinese have
courage and ekill, a war with them becomes
very desperate matter indeed. If they could
turn out as brave soldiers as those which have
just sailed from England and were they Differed,
as they may be, by graduates of the Russian
military schools, China would at once become the
foremost belligerent Power in the world. She
could aend into the field and replace at intervals
an army greater than the whole of the Russian
English, French, Sandman and Turkish armies
who fought at Sebastopd; and as all war, In toe
language Of Napoleon, is merely the science Of
numbers, and the gods are always on the side of
the largest battalons, she would Of course be
without ali equal in the world. 1t is the tendency
to that state Of things which looks 80 disqueting
for the English.
Sober second thought-on the files brought
by the last Indian mail-has satisfied even the
most English Of the English journals that the war
in India is going to be no chld's play. We are
still without reliable information rs to the cause
OF the revolt and it's origin. But the best autho
titles, both from Madras aud Bombay, assert that
the sepoy armies in these Presidencies only
await the signal to follow the example of their
comrades in Bengal To suppose, indeed that a
cause sufficiently potent to draw away from their
allegiance nearly the entire bcdy OF the Bengal
army could be without effect on the men in the
Southern Presidences would be unreasonable
whether the mutiny grew out Of outraged Hiadoo
superstitions CT ambitious Moslem pride, or ma
tive characterization under g foreign yoke, the
motive cannot have been local, but must have
been general throughout all British India. We
are therefore not dsinclined to rely upon the late
rumor that the sepoys Of Bombay and Madras
are waiting for the issue Of the fight before Delhi
to pronounce for or against the Indian govern
ment; and we greatly fear that the issue OF that
conflict may be such az to impel them to follow
the mutinous example Of their comrades
1t is possible, of eourse that Gen Barnard may
take Delhi. He is said to be man Of dash
fiery, headstrong soldier, who thinks
nothing equal to the charge with the cold steel.
lie may have storrned the ruined walls a day or
two after the astdespatcb left and. awaiting him
self Of the unwillingness with which native In
dions encounter Europeans, may have swept the
city with his little handful Of men. Blu. we are
bound to Say that the probabilities are not in ia.
vor OF this event The dsproportion between bis
numbers and those Of the insurgents; their excel.
lent position behind stone works in rich city;
and. above all, the terrible weather which has
usually proved fatal to European troops at this
season in the vicinity Of Delhi, aud the absolute
imposiblity Of reinforcing him, where be is, be-
fore the fall: all these reasons lead US to concur
in Lord Elenborough's apprehension that Gen.
Barnard is much more likely to fall back upon
the Gauges than to take Delhi.
Altogether the prospects of England in Asia
are gloomy enough, and might well warrant an
active effort on the part Of her friends here to
awaken synpathy-moral and physical-on her
behalf. Tie thing can be done, IL 1t be gone
about juGiciously
rbs Southern Commercial Convention.