The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-01 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, MAY 1, IBEX

The
.House of Commons has nobly discharged
its duty. Thanks to the independence and ene; gy
. _
of many of its leading members, England will
still retain a Free Press. Even Sir GEORGE
CORNEWALL LEWIS, in bringing forward his ill-
considered and dangerous preposition for a
"copyright in news," was obliged to make admis-
sions which completely destroyed his case ; in-
deed the:Manner in which he introduced it showed
that be had not the faintest hope of success, and
that he threw it out merely as a sop to some one
or two of those who had previously supported
views that met with very general condemnation
throughout the country. It would have been
well for his own character had he avoided the
subject, or yielded gracefully before his pre-
sumptuous ignorance, recklessness, and instability
had been so unsparingly exposed by many honour-
able gentlemen.
His lame and impotent attempt at apology
materially aggravated the censures to which he
has so improvidently exposed himself, and
exhibits his original folly in a stronger and clearer
light. Because, forsooth, it had been asserted
that the measure which he had brought forward
would afford unfair facilities to the class of cheap
publications that might spring into existence
under its provisions, because they might possibly
abuse the privileges which he was about to confer,
then every newspaper proprietor in the United
Kingdom was to be deprived of the rights of a
British subject; and placed at the mercy of the
stipendiary and unpaid magistracy. In other
words, because he had fallen into an error in one
respect, he was to repair it by an act of the deepest
injustice towards a large and influentiakbody, who
had invested considerable capital in public jour-
nals. This was the reasoning of a Cabinet
Minister—a man who aspires to the reputation of
a statesman—who has been appointed to preside
over one of the most important departments of the
Government ! We have frequently heard of the
"little wisdom " with which nations are governed,
but never more forcibly illustrated than in the
deplorable exhibition of Sir GEORGE CORNEWALL
LEWIS last night,
'Vie Right. Hon. Baronet freely admitted that
" if- the clause should be rigidly or texat. 1 1011 S y
enforced by the leading metropolitan newspapers,
the rights which have by consent hitherto been
exercised. by the London evening and weekly
newspapers, and by the country newspapers,
would be materially abridged." Ho then added-
-46 The practice has grown up, and has been acqui-
esced in by the principal newspapers for a long
series of years ; and it certainly would be a consi-
derable detriment, to the public at large it any
attempt should now be made to abridge the rights
thus conceded by practice." After this acknow-
ledgment, Cadit qucestio. The rights conceded for
a long series of years, and-which it would be a
considerable detriment to the public at large to
abridge, were ta" be not merely impaired,
but absolutely destroyed, because the Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer was desirous of trying
his hand at experimental legislation, and was
willing, when all the resources of the nation were
taxed to the uttermost, to give up 200,0001., or
more probabll€2so,oool., per annum—the interest
"11014,e eight millions of money—for the chance.
But he justifies it, in the belief that the powers
thus '29lrieTred would not be exercised in any
"harsh or Oppressive manner "—that "the clause
would be merely brought into use in cases where
a nesxspall"
rtiltiat be oft up with the deliborai
intention of
ptrasit,
5g
news pa pers qa,a,,tthet news of the
, r principal
intelligence, articles of transferring to its columns
original composition, and
other communication •
7no
delibera,te,intention making furana—with the
the profits of the
newspaper depend on"such
aff
that were indeed his belief, xvh
fen crains
not limit t"'"r he
remedy to such cages ? Why confer extensive!
powers which were not to be brought into ePeraticsi?
Why place a fearful weapon in the hands of p„..
ties who were expected not at all to use it ? The
articles which have appeared in some few journals
clearly proved that they bad
not the slightest no-
tion of abstaining from exercising any authority
that might be
Never b9fore wa.syslQ:ll.
conceded.an argument used- in a deliberative assembly.
Never was a'penal clause supported 011 the ex-
press ground
that it would be suffered' to remain
a dead leti4r
, a mere brutum fulMen, wrth ou t
efficacy or vitality.
It was iroposffible to •conclusive and
„
unansweribla arginnents— 117
13 ITES IDE on

the point. The Honourable and Learned Gentle-
man clearly and distinctly pointed out not merely
the oroblble, but the almost inevitable, results of the
contemplated measure. Indeed if any disinterested
and uiipiejacliecd poi 6011 could have had any doUhL
on the subject it must be completely set at rest
by that brilliant speech. He showed that under
the baleful operation of the enactment the Pro-
vincial Press could easily be suppressed. And it
would be so ; aye, and a majority of the metropo-
litan journals. In fact, in a very short time, a
virtual monopoly would be created in favour of
one leading journal, which, however ably it might
be conducted, could not supply the wants of the
country, and which, when every attempt at com-
petition was suppressed, might not make such ex-
traordinary efforts to obtain early intelligence as
at present.

The Honourable and Learned Gentleman was
ably seconded by members of all shades and
varieties of political opinion, who unsparingly ex-
posed the absurdity of the attempt. Lord
STANLEY particularly, in a few wurds,
placed the matter in a nutshell, and showed
that the Financial Minister had attempted
that which was utterly and completely
impracticable. We regret to find that the Hon.
and Learned Gentleman the Member for Bath, in
his anxiety to support Ministers through thick
and thin, should have indulged in such ridiculous
fallacies, which out-heroded the absurdities of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer. We may, however,
now congratulate the community in general, and
newspaper proprietors in particular, at having so
effectually, and, we believe, permanently, got rid
of the most injurious and reckless proposition
which has been submitted to the consideration of
Parliament for a long series of years. The Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer has obtained the opinion
of the House of Commons, and it is scarcely pro-
bable that he will venture to repeat the experi-
ment by which his character as a publio man has
been so seriously, so irreparably, damaged.

The wanderer has returned to his disconsolate
friends ! The missing Minister has returned to
the department from which he was so long
absent ! The Secretary of State for the Colonies
is once more in London—has appeared in his
place in the House of Commons—and would,
doubtless, have told the story of his adventures,
but that, like the " needy knifegrinder," he
might have exclaimed—

" Story, GOD bless you, I have none to tell."

The statement of the ex-Plenipotentiary
certainly adds but little to what was pre-
viously known. It unquestionably proves
that there was greater apathy and careless-
ness displayed by the representatives of the
Western Powers than could previously have been
deemed possible. The protocols of the Confer-
ences are, it appears, shortly to be produced, and
they may convey information of the substance of
the negotiations. But we fear that all the infor-
mation, voluntarily given by the Government,
will be barren and worthless. It is, however,
composed of " squeezable " materials, and some-
thing as to the disposition of Austria may possibly
be extracted if Honourable Gentlemen prove
themselves to be in earnest in the inquiry.
At present we are told that the first
meeting was held on the 15th of March, and
that the negotiations on the first two points lasted
until the 26th of the same month. Then came
a viatus valde deflendus. From the 26th of March
to the 17th of April nothing of any kind was
done. Twenty-two days were wasted waiting for
instructions from St.-Petersburg to the Russian
Plenipotentaries, as to.the nature of the proposal
which might be brought forward on the part of
the AUTOCRAT. On the 17th it was answered
that Russia declined to take the initiative, and the
Representatives of the Allied Powers had to de-
mand an adjournment of 48 hours, to consider
the form in which they should make their
proposal ! The whole of the previous three
weeks was passed over without that important
point being disposed of, or its being decided how
they were to act in the very probable event of
Russia refusing to make any proposition.
On the 19th the Plenipotentiaries of the
Western Powers submitted their propositions,
which were supported by the representative of
Austria. The Russians, however, in turn re-
quested 48 hours for consideration, and on the
21st peremptorily rejected the propositions ten-
dered for their acceptance ! They, however, then
brought forward suggestions, which were considered
so totally unacceptable that th ey were not even consi-
dered in detail. Thus ended the transparent hum-
bug, for although the Austrian Plenipotentiary sug-
gested a hope that all the means of reconciling the
belligerent parties by peace hid been exhausted,
the French and English Pleiti poteutiaries refused
to be bamboozled any longer. Lord JOHN Rcs-
SELL departed on his homewoo.d journey, and was
speedily followed by M. DROVYN DE L'Huris, who
waited for final instructions from his Imperial
master.

Well, the solemn mockery is at an end, but we
know nothing more than befo re of the probable
in tentions,or even professions ,N 'Austria. There is no
information whatsoeverrespeci ing the deliberations
that were to have taken place as to the mode by which
the views of the parties to the 'Treaty of the 2d De-
cember should Le carried int o execution. Lord
JOHN RUSSELL has carried his diplomatic reserve
to a very extreme point ; beat we can scarcely
suppose that Parliament wil I tolerate any pro-
tracted silence on the import; ant topic. Austria
must at length declare herset f explicitly and un-
equivocally. Doubt or hesin ition can no longer
be tolerated. She must b e either for us or
against us—must refrain from " blowitg hot and
cold," and striving to keep wi 311 with both sides.
It is by no means difficult to :indicate the course
which her honour and her interests alike point
out. She has gone too far •to be permitted to
back out of the question as .Prussia has done,
even if she could consent to b placed in such a
disreputable position as that power has volunta-
rily assumed. For her, neutrality is impossible ;
and, as we have repeatedly stated, she must at
once arrive at a definite conclusiic m, one way or the
other.

We still believe that Austria will maintain Jier
old policy to the last—that her duplicity will at
length be apparent—ta.- even- tihe most purblind
of Ministers-. . The silence of :cord Jourr Rus-
SELL was peculiarly ominous. 31-ot a single word
was uttered as to her good faith or integrity. All
we know is that she joined in tile propositions of
France and England, which, from their very
meagre and diluted character, ware probably sug-
gested by herself. On their rejection she ought
to be prepared to act with vigour and energy.
She has not done so. For we may feel well
71Tedi,,that had the slightest h hit been dropped
t an intention, it would have been
loudly and
Goveinment.
Too much time
triumphantly' vaunted by an imbecile
Let there be no further delays.
season for actiona: already been wasted. The
ob-
tain by the strong has
arrived, when we must ob-
,will not be accorded to that which has not and
version—a lasting, honourable,
milder mode of per-
peace. The contest a, id
ed on pdeiffrmerasnteontot
now enter
dein from that which has hitherto
.I. must be our motto, and when,wa ged• -1708 victis
after a further ex-

Ipenditure of men and money, Russia becomes a i
s!liter for peace, much more onervus term 9 will

be demanded and enforced than those which ',sere
tendered by the Allies before her hardness of
heart and obduracy of purpose placed her
completely beyond the pale of indulgence.
It is not in the Euxine only that she will be at-
tacked. It is only her means of defence that
must be crippled. The Baltic provinces must be
restored to their rightful owners, and regenerated
Poland interposed as a barrier between the un-
scrupulous'aggressor and other nations with which
she has been brought into dangerous proximity.
We have already suffered enough for the mistaken
leniency which spared Odessa. Henceforward we
Must not attempt to wage a " rose-water war,"
or heap courtesies on those who do not appreciate
our kindness or forbearance.

If Lord PALMERSTON manifested one-half the
concern for the feelings of the public he has dis-
played for the vindication of the aristocracy we
would not at this moment be unable to give -any
positive intelligence as to the real state of the
siege of Sebastopol.

Here is an event in the development of which
the entire community is more or less directly in-
terested—an event respecting which the most
painful rumours are everywhere current, and the
deepest anxiety is generally entertained, and yet
no trustworthy information about it is forthcoming,
though, by means of the electric telegraph, de-
spatches are transmitted from Balaklava to the
War-office in twenty-four hours !• Really such a
lordly indifference to public opinion, such disre-
gard for the feelings of the middle and lower
classes more especially, is unpardonable.
Were anything to be gained by concealment
the reticence of which we complain might be ex-
cusable ; but whatever be the nature of the" in-
telligence received we can discover no valid reason
for withholding it. If the bombardment has en-
tirely failed, if the guns are used up, and nothing
has been effected, what harm can be done by
saying so ? If, on the other hand, the prospects
of the siege are in any degree encouraging, why
maintain a silence that conveys a different impres-
sion ? The people of England are not children to
start at their own shadow, or fall prostrate and
enervated before the breath of misfortune. If
the news be bad, the sooner it is communicated
the sooner the public will rally from the shock,
and rise responsive to the magnitude of the emer-
gency. _ _

Not that we would have it inferred that we
give credit to the rumour adverted to. On the
contrary, from Lord RAGLAN'S inquiry respecting
the sailing of the Sardinian contingent, and the
contents of the despatch from St. Petersburg,
published in another part of our impression, we
are inclined to hope all is going on more or less
satisfactorily. What we have off-handedly at-
tempted to show is, that no colourable excuse
exists for a concealment we cannot but attribute
to a culpable indifference deserving of severe re-
probation.