PUBLIC OPINION ON NATIONAL DEFENCE.
LORD ELLESMERE'S letter places the question of national de- fences on a new footing : he gives undoubted authenticity to the statements of " P." respecting the Duke of Wellington's letter; which is now reported to exist in the form of an appendix to a pamphlet privately circulated by Sir John Burgoyne. And Lord Ellesmere's earnest appeal also attests the strong feeling that has spread among those who have the safety of the country at heart. A man of sincere nature, of cultivated intellect, of a mind not enfeebled but rendered doubly contemplative and observant by ill health, this nobleman, beat because longest known as Lord Fran- cis Egerton, represents a very large and admirable class of Eng- lish gentlemen ; and the position that he has taken is a guarantee that the subject will not be suffered to drop : the influential class represented by him must be satisfied first. There are other proofs that the subject will be fairly discussed. It has become a standing topic in the journals. Some make light of the danger ; but the Leading Journal, which at the first blush of the newly-revived discussion began in the slighting vein has adopted a tone more in accordance with the general feeling. Others persist in elaborating the truism that there is no imme- diate prospect of an invasion from the Continent. One journal, disposed to historical reviews, observes that such danger as exists is not new, but has existed for the last thirty years ; which also, with some modification, is a fact.
The improvements in steam navigation have proportionally derogated from the advantages of our insular position. The ex- haustion left by the war in foreign countries has been replaced by accumulated resources, and by a spirit in the new generation unsobered in the experiences of the field. An ingenious compu- tator has observed that the duration of a peace has usually coin- cided with the degree of exhaustion in material resources pro- duced by a war ; and according to his computation, the guaran- tee for European peace expired last year. The Prince de Join- vine's note on the steam marine of France, on which we com- mented two or three years ago, was a warning that the bel- ligerent spirit in France is considerably restored. When he pointed out that a French commander could now appoint the very hour for landing his troops independently of wind and tide, he warned us more than he has roused his countrymen; for it is not understood that the Prince's counsels have been adopted. On the Other hand, we have secured no start in the race. In proposing
that strengthening of our dockyards which has been the first contribution to a better state of national defence, Mr. Ward de- scribed the immense naval works in progress at Cherbourg., Brest, and other French ports : according to Mr. Ward, even in 1845 all the available coast of France was thronged by the apparatus of naval preparation ; Paris has been fortified—and "Paris is France," to say nothing of the provincial fortifications ; and the army of France, at home, is computed at 300,000 men, besides her immense militia: she can at any time concentrate 50,000 trained regulars on a single point.
The Cannel, no doubt, lies between us and these formidable works, and some count on the policy which would make us fight the battle of defence there : but are we prepared to do sot Is our steam marine equal to the service? Are our war-steamers as good as can be made, or rather is not the very reverse notorious Do they work well? Are they fully manned ? True, the invader cannot come upon us in a moment., but could we resist in a mo- ment? The question is, not whether we could make a shift to scramble through by a desperate effort, but whether we have yet done our best to render the issue in our favour certain? The thing that is new is, not the danger, but the fact that that question has become a popular inquiry.
And the rational object of awakened attention is, not so much to turn back the invader, as to deprive him of that temptation which is at present offered by our notorious wealth and scarcely leas notorious weakness to resist sudden attack.
Of course, a popular demand occasions a popular supply, and suggestions for strengthening the country begin to abound. Be- sides Sir John Burmoyne's pamphlet, which is said to advise an in- crease to the regular army of 30,000 men, other pamphlets appear. One gentleman of practical military experience suggests a new mode of embodying a militia, which looks to our unprofessional eyes as if it would be effective, without being vexatious or onerous to the lieges.. Another proposes to enrol all able-bodied male per- sons applying for parochial relief, with an especial eye to railway navigators4 A pauper army is not a promising idea; but some- thing is to be said in favour of the discharged railway naviga- tors and labourers—already an army, undisciplined and lawless, whose bodily energies are likely to prove a pest to the country during the suspended activity of railway works. It has been a question what to do with them. We have heard it proposed that they should be enrolled as a special force and kept as a re- serve in Ireland. Anything to bring them within the re- straint of discipline would be a gain ; and the absorption of a considerable number into the home army seems a very fit desti- nation for them.
But whatever the particular value of such suggestions, their most useful- function just now is to prove the degree to which public attention is awakened. Ministqs will make their state- ment, after the' recess to a public fully alive ; no part can be slurred over ; and if the Government would avoid disgrace, they must, with the help of Parliament, manfully encounter the diffi- culties and trouble of doing what is needed to secure the safety of the country—no more, but also no less.
• "A Militia, its Relation to the Regular Army. The Unjust, Partial, and Oppressive nature of the Old System. A new System developed, sad Its tendencies. Inscribed most reapectllilly to the Secretary at War. By W. R. Bustin, Esq., II. P. 10th Foot." Published by Mr. 011ivier. t "Letter to the Hien Honourable Lord John Russell, First Lord of the TreasurY, tee., are.. Stc., on the Defence of the Country, and on the Expediency of Training, as auxiliaries, able-bodied Male Persons applying for Parochial Relief." By John Waal°.
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