The New York herald., 1864-11-03

Au0ikeA OItcE-tu0 0o1ek0 0CbAOu VI b0O l040Ou0
rebel ram Albemsris. which has for 20 long .
time been occupying the waters Of the Sound
She was blown up by the explosion Of . tor
pedo placed under her by one Of our picket |
boats, under the command Of the gallant Cush- |
Ing. II will be remembered that the Tecum- |
sch was similarly destroyed while passing the !
forts In Mobile harbor by rebel torpedo an
chored in the channol. The torpedo is not .
new engine OF warfare; It is . Yankee inven-
tion, which was used In our Revolutionary war
ofl776, and subsequently In 1912. on both Of
which occasions British ships had pious hor-
ror Of the submarine Yankee devils.
It Is remarkable how many inventions and
improvements in warlke implements and ap-
pllances the American people have given to
the world-big guns, iron -clads, torpedoes.
rams, and eartbwork defcAcos Other nations
have not been slow to initiate, though they
cannot keep up with IN In inventing them.
Russia, during tho Crimean war. employed tor
pedoes In the Baltic while old Napier was
looking at Cronstadt. One Of them was taken
on board the ship OF Admiral Michael Seymour,
who while examining the "curiosity"a a little
too closely, nearly lost bis sight, one eye being
entirely destroyed; for tho "darned Yankee
thing took II into its bead to explode at that
iuopportunc moment. Alotl..r oiour inventions
was also used by the Russian government at
the same time, Wbcn they were in quandary
for tac means to protect Sobastopol-its atone
de.encos being regarded as nothicga young
officer offered to accomplish 1t with given
number of men to aid hiu' He got them
and went to work with spade and shovel
! throwing up earthworks around the city,
| MaakoGfs and Rcdans OF dirt. This was kind
| OF defcnce tho allies had not dreamed OF
| They forgot that George Washington adopted
| the same plan on Dorchester Heights seventy
wears before, and that the Yankees previously
used them on Bunker Hill. The first thing
Washington did when he took command near
Boston was to throw up earthworks by night
along tie bcights, and when the enemy dis
covered them in tho morning they had no
taste for 6ghtine; so they evacuated the city
| The battle OF Bunker Hill was fought by
the American yeomen behind brcastworis
hastily constructed, where they received the
advance Of the British until the troops came
| within close range, and then gave them such a
whitening Gre that the slaughter was fear ul I;
and had their ammunition lasted they would
undoubtedly have won the battle.
During the present war the new appliances
introduced both by ourselves and the rebels
have made profounaHensation in Europe. The
success Of our iron-c'ads and tie power Of one
rams astoaished them. Our huge guns, with
Their thousand pound solid slot made the
beams OF foreign war chips creak in advance.
Our torpedocs now prove that we cannot
only build rams that will cut through any
thing, but with the great improvement in iroI
and in pyrotechrics We gan Make implements
to blow ldem higher than kites. When the
contest between the Monitor and Mcrrimac
came OF ell the public works in the
navy yards and coast dcfences of England
were stopped. The government was getting
frightened at the amount Of money they were
spending upon works which, after all, some
Yankee invention might render worthless
The foreign Powers have been Initiating all
our warlike inyentlpp.-:ro1a clsds, guns, shells
and rams. They will, no douot, now GO to
work 10 initiate and experiment with our tor
pedoes and then with the thousand FOUNDER
guns. We shall soon have torpedo arsenals
oil over England. France and Russia.
The Resei PRESIDENT ON THE CHICAGO Plat
FoRx.-Jeff. Davis, ns we learn from the
Charleston Mercury, is in faYcr OF that prime
Chicago measure, " the immediate cessation oil
hostilities;" he will accept an arnistico and
consent to be let alone, If any accomplished
gentleman will profYer the said armisticc grace
fully, and accompany II with the usual diplo-
matte expressions OF admiration, esteem and
respect. He understands that the armistice
will raise the blockade and put all the
cotton in Rebellion In immediate relationship
with the markets Of Europe. BY that meaus
the rebel armies would get Immediately
the most complete equipment and armament
Gold, through the influence of the same cot
ton, would be plenty in the rebel treasury, and
the two or three hundred thousand descrters
from the rebel armies would return to their
regiments in the hore Of getting their pay
So the armisticc would give the rebels
new army and fresh start and fair hope for
final success Therefore Davis wants 1t, II Il
will be offered respectfully and politely. JEFF
has another reason for regarding an armistice
with favor Late advices from bis Northern
friends have shown him that the resistance to
annibilation" plan entirely knocked the feet
from under the peace party. Here. say the
Northern people, is party that wants to offer
the olive branch to the South, and all the time
the South swear terribly that II will not have
the olive branch At all. This little difficulty has
been pointed out to Jen and now JEFF, like
the supple politician that be is and always was,
has his face the other way He will not insist