The Sunday herald., 1881-02-06
RrltlsN Defeats.

There are only two wars in our history in
which we can he said TO have withdrawn from the
field The Hundred Years War with France termi-
mated In the final and utter discontinue OF attempts
to establish ourselves In that country. We fought
seven obstinate years 20 prevent the Independence OF
the States, and failed. From all other contests We
have either emerged victorious or the affair has ended
TO endure in the course Of long is hardly realized
by members OF the "Rule Britannia ~ school, Pes
simsts, on the other hand, Should remember that
their oountrymen have speciality for retrieving dis
asters. Most true is It that Engshmen never know
mnlan considers that the naval glory OF England
first bo traced 'in continuous track OF light "
from the period OF the Commonwealth; and that Is
about the case. But the beginnings OF that period
sincuiariy inauspcious. II was on the 2sth of
November 1882. that Van Tromp surprised aud de.
feated our feet in the Downs. Next day he hosted
the broom at his masthead but we were not swept
long from the Channel. In February OF the follow
ing year Blake came up with the Dutch ute Adm,m ON
destroying eleven ships OF and thirty merchant
men. In June he again attacked them of the North
Forcland, when such spectacle witnessed rs we
can never hope to see In these days-two fleets OF
about 100 mem of.war each engaging. SIX Dutch
ships taken and eleven sunk. The rest escaped
into the Cail,s Roads. The Dutch were shown no
mercy. They braveiy reassembled the remains Of
their feet and sped ncrthward, but were attacked
on their coast In August In this action they
lost thirty ships, aud the gallant rromp was killed.
Other irumrhs followed under the rrotec!orae and
the earlier years on the Rcstoration hut Charles IT'S
government ended by SO scandaous mlsmanaging
things that lie Ruytcr one day sailed up the Thames
sound Of the cannon could lie heard at Whitehall; but
the King was amusing himself the while by chasing
blue. bottle ny, which, II Is understood, & he s,i nt,,
members OF his Court who have acquired an unen-
yiabe notorety. This was In 1867; but the Dutch
were not long to brag OF the humiliation they had
inflicted on US. The long conflict with Holland for
supremacy at finally decided six years later,
when she formally conceded us the honor Of the nag
| salute.
Tho French have occasionally beaten us at sea-
notably of Beachy Head IN 1000. an event which
caused panic In London nor was otr prestige reas-
sured TIL years later, when Admiral Russell gained
the great victory OF La Hogue. An Anglo Dutch
defeated OF ST. Vincent in the SUMMER Of ioos--an
afair much talked OF ut the time. resulting as 1t did
| IN the loss of eighty merchantmen of the smyrna
fleet but now forgotten. From the tate of the Seven
Years War the ohlectof all foreign admiras has been
to avoid contact with their English friends Two In
tratc the pitch Of superiority at which we had arrived
On July 20 Sir Robert Calder, with fifteen sail
attacked the Franco Spanish fleet Of twenty captur-
Ing two and forcing the rest to retire. For this ini-
perfect Victory. though gained against such serious
odds, he was tried by court and repinanded.
Another fact Nileneuve had to mediate In October
| as TO whether he should meet Nelson, and called
s e. wpt o him ns y an
ment unless lie had halt many ships again as the
English. Ultimately the want Of provisions compelled
the French admiral to leave Cali7 and his doom was
sealed. The figures of Trafalgar are these; English,
twenty seven sail out Of the line, four frigates,
three SAIL Ave fIgates, and two brigs. Their weigh,
| Of metal was :, 726 guns to our :, as.
On land we hal proved ourselves second to none,
without being able to claim decisive superiority ovei
| France. The principal defeats we have sustained
from the former power In modern times are at Steen-
III. The carnage was fearIul on both occasions,
about "a, 900 being put hors de combat on those
MANA G7o7 when French e M refugee S s Ruvgny n.y. Ear
Of English exile, Berwick, commanded the French.
Ina few hours Galway contrived to lose s, 900 men,
100 standards, and all his artillery and baggage.
next year, and Maplaqnet, the year after, were t.
efface the recollection OF this disgrace.
In the war Of the Austrian succession were
twice seriously beaten by Marshal SAKE, at Fonteno,
In l7i5, and ut Lafeldt In 1TiT the Duke of Cumber.
land being our commander on both occasions. He wa.
beaten at tIastembek. IN 1857. All Hanover was lost
by this defeat. The Duke, who had been Captair
| General since 1Tii, dismissed. And yet, IL
the opinion of able soldiers, the Duke was an un-
lucky rather than an unskiful general. Even In wal
said of Wellington: a. Fortune has done more fol
him than he for Fortunc.'' Those dark day
, for England. We had Just been shooting Byng fo
losing SIinorca when Cumberland came to Such sigma
grief In couple of years from that date thanks Y
the genius of Pitt we were at the head of the world
The separate defeats sustained by England In tn
first American war are not worth enunierating. ii
spite of some Victories we were finally beaten
and there was an end TO the matter In the secon,
American war both sides could claim equal honors
both by land and sea, though we marched vtctors t.
public we were defeated ofener than one cares to re
member. The Duke OF York displayed pcrfec
genius for being out manGuvreh. Ministers serlous.
Thought Of bringing him before court martial, bu
yielded to the entreaties Of the king that such dis
grace might be spared his house. They Insisted. how
ever. OI Ill III
field should he at the absolute disposal of the cabinet
instead Of being In the personal gift Of the sovereign
as they had hitherto been. In her contest with tn
empire aud its allies England suffered, at the most
two three reverses. The gravest was the failure o
the Walcheren expedition. The Turks also repulse
an attack Of ours on Constantinople In 1907, whic
year also witnessed the defeat of Gen. Whitelock b.
the spanlards at Buenos Ayres.
. | Nearly every barbarous nation with which hav
come into contact has had the homer to win one vic
tory Equally. of course, 1t has had to ru
Its triumph. The Asliantees, the Kattirs the Iulus
the kfplans. the Chinese all these TAUGHT
lesson that 1t Is rarely safe to despse your enemy
however contemplate he may appear.-Pau Mal