WARLIKE TONE OF THE FRENCH PRESS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume III, Issue 114, 12 March 1853, Page 9

WARLIKE TONE OF THE FRENCH PRESS.

It is not at all unlikely that the death of the Duke of Wellington will revive the panic of a French invasion. "The Argus-eye," observes the Times, " that scanned every weakness in the State, and perceived the dire contingencies of a dark future, no longer watches for us. The man who gave timely warning of an ill-starred expedition, who advised the choice of commanders for;,services of difficulty, who planned the secret defences of the metropolis in an hour of need, who was believed to be capable of meeting at once any danger from within or from without with equal promptitude and success, and whose vigour of action no one could doubt, is no longer amongst us." The Constitutionnel publishes an article rather calculated to show that those who gave way to this panic were not quite such fools as some folks have represented them to be. Having gone over a description of the Napoleon steam-fri-gate, the Constitutionnel proceeds to discuss the invasion of England :—"ls.it true that the progress thus made menaces the maritime preponderance of England? May we say with truth that the steamer Napoleon is the first arch of the bridge which is to put us on an equal footing with England, and to make of Great Britain a Continental power ? Great question! one of the most important which merits our attention, for if it is resolved affirmatively, it is the restoration of the equilibrium of the powers which England has broken for her profit." The writer then, taking it for granted that a vessel like the Napoleon, carrying ninety guns, Avith her engines below the water, and worked by the screw, fulfils the conditions of security hitherto supposed to belong to a ship of war, argues, against the prejudice of the older members of the service, that she may enter squadrons as a line-qf-battle ship:—"ln the provision, then, of a maritime war, which ought as much as possible to be avoided, but for which we should be always ready, our sailors ought to have screw ships. Frigates armed and provisioned for six months might be despatched to distant seas to destroy the commerce of the enemy. With regard to such swift-sailing vessels as the Napoleon, their part would be in the seas of Europe—theatre of the principle struggle. If our fleet should wait in one of the French ports of the Mediterranean, it would necessarily attract the attention of the English fleet, .which, could not receive munitions and coal except from convoys sailing along our

western shores, and passing by the- Straits of Gibraltar. Now, our swift vessels, hidden in the ports of the ocean, and ready at the first signal, would fall on these convoys, disperse and destroy them, after haying fought the escort, which is often too strong for frigates. Their presence alone at Dunkirk or Cherbourg would be sufficient to keep the English on the alert. Fearing invasion the English would be obliged to guard their coasts night and day. They would exhaust their crews with fatigue, consume mines of coal, while our vessels, quiet in port, would be ready at any moment to embark troops. Invasion! may the misfortunes implied in the word be spared the English people, despite the iniquities of their policy and the oppression so long exercised by their marine on Europe. May we never be obliged to pass the flying bridge, which steam has thrown between that nation and ourselves, except for the purpose of giving a hand to the English, and expressing mutual satisfaction at the greater moderation and equity of their relations with other powers. But if ever the plague of war should break out between us, London would have cause to tremble. It is not fortifications on the coast nor the surveillance of a &eet easily deceived, that could prevent swift vessels, like the Napoleon, from throwing each 1500 men on any point of the coast at low water. The struggle would then be conveyed to land, where, thank God, we would combat with advantage."

The writer, having sketched a fancy programme as to the restoration to their proper owners of Gibraltar, Malta, Heligoland, the Cape of Good Hope, Isle of France, Aden, the lonian Islands, &c, the object of the whole being to consolidate peace, thus concludes :—" The Minister of Marine, who displays the most fruitful activity in all branches of the service, has resolved upon being present at the launching of the new screw steamer, the Austerlitz, at Cherbourg. This vessel will take rank amongst vessels of moderate speed, like the Charlemagne. As to the Napoleon, she is without a rival even in England. She is alone of her kind, and shows our builders the way to put ourselves on equality with Great Britain." This is the second article of a war complexion which has within a few days appeared in the Trench Government journals. The other day the Pays uttered a sort of half prophecy that France would be called on one of these days to assist the " Anti-Anglican party" in the Par-liamentary-governed countries of Piedmont and Belgium, and in Protestant Prussia. Now, the Conslitutionnel points to an invasion of the source of these twin evils—Protestantism and Parliaments. The French military and naval authorities think that the Miriie rifle would supersede the necessity of embarking and disembarking artillery—nay, they fancy that they could cripple the crews of a man-of-war vessel, moved by steam or sail, at a mile distance. These are points for professional men. A little fact, not hitherto noticed, may serve to induce reflection. On the 15th of August there was a mock naval battle on the Seine. A frigate was attacked by gun-boats, and the gun-boats were manned, not by sailors, but by Chasseurs of Vincennes, evidently trained for the purpose. How these were packed together so as barely to have standing room, yet continued to keep up an incessant fire, was' the admiration of the initiated in such matters.