New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-09-22

naval establishment solely or NANNY VIII vie" I"
their defense. Neither ia any such laval establish
ment q. al needed for the protection Of France
bersef az .D.t foreign attack or Invasion. Shoaii
that be attempted BY any Of the Continental Powers
Of Europe, it would be exclusively by l.nd force
Even il operations by sea might be expected, 8 far
lees numerous aid costly navy than th,t "hi'n
Frarce keeps up would render her more than mitch
on that element f)r any Of the Continental Powers.
As TO Great Britain no MISTER Whist her superiority
a. se,, her gres. inserority to France IN hhd
forces is enough to preTent any attempt st INVASION
on her part or should such 80 attempt be made, 10
insure its failure.
There being thus no defensive objects TO Justify
the maintenance Of such feet IL must be sup
posed to be kept up mainly with view to ohen'
siye operations And how serViceable It ia for such
a purpose has been strongly Illustrated IN the case
of the French army sent to Sevastopol and more
recently to Italy. In case Of war between France
ard La gland, what more probable than tha. France
mish. a.temp. to make available her ackno .ledged
superiority on land BY employing her powerful
bsvy 70 transport an invading army to the Eng's
coast The general introduction of steam
for the propulsion Of shipsOfwar and army trans
ports and the facility furnished by railroads f)r con-
centratpg at the shortest notice great DO lies OF
men, hsye almost snnihllated tie natural obstacles
to such 40 enterprise. Delays, contrary winds,
and storms such as proved the ruin Of the famous
Spanish Armada are no longer serious i'm pedi-
ments. The isolated position Of Crest Britain, and
the seas which surround her, have ceased to be the
natural bulwark they once were, and with the
progress Of naval and military ,cience are every
day becoming LET'S so. The apprehension that
Russia might employ her vast army to invade aud
attack the provinces Of British India not
standing she was separated from them BY thou.
sand miles or more Of intervening deserts, and the
desire Of being beforehand with her in occupying
the mountain passes iato India, plunged Great
Britain into the disastrous WAT With the Afs hans
A similar apprehension Of possible danger to her
IIdian posse ssons stimulated the ste war With
Russia If the Russian army, so far off, was con-
side,ed by Englishmen an object of terror for In
da, is it surprising that the French army, so much
nearer, so much more efficient, and which has
lately given such incontrovertiole evidence as we'll
Of its facility and rspdlty OF movement a. OF its
proves on the field, backed As it is by powerful
navy, should become an object of terror for En-
gland
Tie present position of France as to its internal
affairs is also such to give new impulse to this
alarm, and sufficiently 10 explain why it should
come to crisis at this particular moment. Since
the close of the war which resulted in the down.
fall Of the first Bonaparte, the rulers Of Frame,
till within very short period, have had too much
to do with maintaining their position at home to be
an object of very serious dread to their more pow
erful neighbors. Such has been the case with the
present Bonsparte till within a year or two past
The friendship which he so zealousy cultivated
with Great Britain might be the more relied upon
since it seemed prompted, at least in part, by
doubts 40 to his own position At home, and unTI-
lngness to expose it to the shock Of exterior hos
tilIty But, st length, the Imports. throne appears
to be firmly established. France, as at present gc7.
erned, possesses power Of acting with energy and
concs ntration such as has not belonged to her at
any tine for o generation preceding, and which
makes Der army and navy vastly more formidable
than it would be under ruler less assured Of ais
position.
1t does rot therefore, seem so remarkable that,
in this changed state of the case, artificial means
of resistance to invasion, hitherto deemed ample,
should no longer be regarded as sufficient 1t is in
vain TO suggest with Count MMigny that the
French Emperor is very reasonable man, who
cherihes no national, family, or Evolutionary prejl
dces, WHO disregsrds the past except for the les
cons and the warnings that il. gives who looks
only to the present, and whose policy has in
view not foreign conquest, but the internal de-
yelopment Of France. Granting all this, yet there
will still remain the possibility of war between
France and England, possibility the more likely
to become reality the more England msy appear
open to a sudden and vigorous blow. Besides, il
10 not in the English character TO rely greatly on the
forbearance of others. Forbearance is not much
of an English attribute and to this matter, the
English appear to judge Others BY themselves.
Nothir will satisfy them bat TO feel strong as TO
put AZ invasion out of the question: aud If the con-
clu.on shall be reached tina. the presen. defensive
means ale lot of this character, additions Will DO
made to them, regardless of expense.
"
The brutal assault of McCabe upon Mr.. Thomson
Of The Daily Ners, from the effects of when we