The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-07-20
The Proposed Fortifica,ien of Londes

when in wrapper, ready for ma ling TO the
country.
The Proposed Fertilization of London.
We have never seen the work of Sir JOHN
BCRGoYSR, nor do We know whether or not II
has been decided to fortify London. We can
imagine, however. that to do so enectuaIi!,
would require amount of labor and capi'ai
of which it is difficult TO form conception.
OF course a continuous wall, like 'nat Oh ba'
byIon would not be attempted. Inc plan
would be, we presume, to SURROUND III win
Immensely strong fortresses. like those which
constitute the foruhcations of Paris, placing
these forlresses In such a position that tn.
guns of each could successfully clear the inter-
mediate space between itand its nearest neigh
Dor on each side Even then the cost and labor
would be gigantic. In one direction, we I'M
ders and, the traveller passes over eightepn
miles Of paved streets in going from one enc
OF London 10 the other; in the other direc.
zion, he passes over eight. This would give
circumference of fitty- two miles, aud IL the
for;resses were placed hatf a mile apart, it
would require upwards of one hundred
Of tnern to girdie the city. w,
should suppose that each one. Of these for
;resses ought ~ b. as stroIg as Fortress Mon-
roe, and to bearm med with ARMSTRONG guns, sa,
two hundred each. To man such Il system oi
Qualifications, 1t would require half million
of men. THIS plan is so expensive that We
presume it will not be adopted. Ye it wouio
be far better for EngIaL and the world thatit
should be carried out, than that London
should tall into the hands of AT enemy. The
CAPTURE OF London would give a iockjaw Il
the world Ii is TO be doubted whether tn
English peopIe-always jealous o! the mill
tary-woGld allow such an enormous system
of toriificaiious to be erected around the cali.
.aI The first NAPOLEON intended atone tim,
70 farlity Paris but the proposition was
tlistasiefuI 10 the Parisians that he aba ndone
A. The probability is that a system of earth
works is designed, such AS those which thc
Russians employ ed before S-bastopol. To de
femd Sebastopol by earth works, however, IL
Il We y different affair from defending LondoI
il he same way.
SebastopoI, us our readers know. is situated
en- the south size of the hay of Sebastopo
Wbjch runs due East, ten miles in to the conn
NV aud is eight hundreds yards wide. The
harbyr Of Sebastopol runs from the bay due
South, about a mile, as well as we recolect-
III mouth Is about halt mile from the seq
and ii divides the city into two parts ab, III
equal. so that the whole length of the city of
Sc has pol from the to its cas- tern extrem-
ity is about one mile only. At the entrance
of The bay, on each side of ii, is fortress de.
signed 10 defend the entrance into the bay
The two toge Their are constructed SO as to
bring 1000 guns to bear upon fleet coming
up TO the entrance, but none of these guns can
be brought TO bear on the land. On the har-
Dor again, at its entrance. is another fortress
OF great strength, which protects the harbor
but does not bring gun to bear upon the
approach by land. The city of Sebasto.
pol, in fact, WAS entirely undefended on
the land side at the time of the battle of
Alma, and the Russians say, if the Allies
had marched directly upon ii, they could
have entered it without resistance
Instead of that they passed between the re-
treating enemy and the head of the bay and in
place of turning down the bay and entering the
city, they passed on 10 Balaklava, where they
wasted fortnight getting their artillery on
shore, and preparing TO besiege the place. In
the meantime, MEhZiKoFF seeing they had
passed by Sebastopol, quietly followed behind
them, and with forty thousand men took pos
session OF it. He then commenced his earth
works, at the distance of more than a mile
from the city. They extended from the sea on
Oae side, To the bay on the other, thus forming
a seni-circle. In his rear lay the bay and
across it his communication was open with
thecountry and with his camp at Simpheropol.
To prevent the interruption of this communi-
cation, he occupied, with powerful force, the
strong ground formed by the almost inaccessi-
BILE heights that extend from the head of the
bayi southwark TO the sea. The enemy could,
therefore. attack him only in front, and before
they came on he had force nearly equal to
theirs behind his earth works, and doubIy as
numerous outside. He passed over the bay eve
ry day, as though on parade, whole army to
relieve those who had been on duty the night
before. This, in fact, was no siege for the place
never was invested and never could be, its rear,
formed by the bay, always being open. 1t was,
in fact, a series of pitched battles bst ween
troops defending themselves with breast
works. When the Malakof was stormed, and
The upper part of the town down to the har
Dor taken, the main difficulty was over. The
Russi could no longer receive reinforce
ments, The passage across the bay being swept
by the guns OF The Allies. The rest of the
town must soon have peen compelled to sur
render, especially the arsenal had been
taken, and the Allied fleet cut off all hope of
relief b. sea. Now IL is com paratively, an
easy thing 10 throw breastworks around
town only one mile long aud about half as
broad. But doing The same Thing wi h a city
elgh cen miles long and eight wide, is a very
different affair. The volunteer system, it
any system of Qualifications.