The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-02 00:00:00

that fear or doubt has led them to that expression.
During the whole term of the war no such eentia
ments have emanated from the Federals. We have
heard of their fierce resolves to exterminate, to lay
waste, to destroy on all sides, but never has there
been the shadow of a promise, the ghost of a desire
put forward as to the advisability of peace and the
blessings of a reconciliation. It is impossible not
to recognise all this as we peruse the manifesto,
and it is something to say that the Southern cause
is always rendered more interesting when any de-
spatches or communications are made by its oppo-
nents, whereas the North never puts itself forward
in any prominent manner without compromising
itself fearfully both as to taste and temper. We
meet with a stern and well satisfied declaration of
security on the part of the Confederates that their
subjugation is quite impossible, and that the world
must now see that eight millions of people, in so
vast a territory, and animated with one spirit to
encounter every sacrifice of ease, health, property,
and life itself rather than be degraded from the
condition of free and independent States, into
which they were born, can never be conquered.
How true this is, and how ardently it is to be desired
that more prescience to recognise the fact of such
an important truth was apparent among the na-
tions, and more especially was discernible in Great
Britain ! A bold and yet eloquent appeal is made
to the opposite party in this declaration. It asks
whether enough has not been expended upon this
fruitless contest, and whether they wish to make
the continent, once boasted to possess such solid
and sterling advantages, the " theatre of the most
causeless and prodigal effusion of blood that the
world has ever seen, or a virtual relapse into the
barbarism of the ruder ages, and of the destruction
of constitutional freedom by the lawlessness of
usurped power. At any rut() the Confederates de-
serve to stand acquitted before the tribunal of the
world, as they profess it is their aspiration to do,
for provoking and continuing an unnecessary and
sanguinary contest. They have explained their
measures in plain terms, and. in so doing have
alike reflected honour on their cause and credit
on themselves. After dwelling upon the terms
employed in this manifesto it is impossible not to
feel convinced that it is the expression of opinion
on the part of mea who are determined to hold
fast to their own views, and not to swerve to the
right or left, however tried or tempted they may
be. The answer of Earl RUSSELL to this earnest
and eloquent address is as cold and stiff as can
well be penned. No one can accuse his lordship
of being entrapped into any sympathy with an
heroic cause nobly sustained, or of having suffered
himself to speak the words of hope, or utter the
language of promise. To be forearmed he begins
by acknowledging the receipt of the manifesto of
the " so-called " Confederate States of North
America. This is perfectly ridiculous, and it is
keeping up the farce of a neutrality to the bor-
ders of folly, for it would not compromise the
most unwilling Minister of the ungracious Go•
vernment to acknowledge certain events that have
taken place, and to concede to the truth of cir-
cumstances that all competent persons must observe
for themselves. It would be quite impossible to
imagine a more curt reply to a declaration that
is in some parts almost impassioned in its fervent
utterance. We are informed that her MAJESTY'S
Government has continued since 1861 to enter-
tain sentiments of friendship equally for the North
and South States. If this be true, it is also to
be added that the exhibition of these sentiments
has not been apparent in the same degree in tne
twe cases, for on one side no restraint has been put
on the practice of friendly, officious, and covert
assistance ; while on the other the most acute ob-
server could not discover any traces of amity or
proofs of good-will. The Confederate States may
well declare that England has dissembled her love
for them pretty forcibly, and has thus caused the
other nations to believe in her indifference, if not
her want of appreciation of the merits of their
cause. Of course Earl RUSSELL could not finish
without again announcing that her MAJESTY'S
Government is maintaining, and will always main-
tain, a "strict neutrality." This is an inevitable
result of the Foreign Secretary's putting pen to
paper or rising to utter a sentence on the subject
of America. Perhaps he is afraid that by his
acts we should not learn this all-important thing,
and certainly he has some cause for entertaining
such a notion. It is, however, glaringly false to
assert, as does the noble Earl, that by so doing
they best consult the interests of peace. Peace
would have come about long ago had our Govern.
ment had the wit, the wisdom, cr the courage to
recognise the South, and thus put their protest
in against a cruel and devastating war. This ge-
neration will not see the end of the real conse-
quences of this fatal error. All the misery of the
starving thousands of Lancashire would have been
averted, and the page of history would have lost
some of its darkest records if the great American
Republic had closed its warfare at an earlier period,
As it is, it is playing into the hands of despots, and
putting words into the mouths of the haters of free-
dom to decry and denounce free institutions and
independent Governments. The Manifesto of the
Confederate States deserved a better answer than
that which it received from the noble Lord, but
such as it is, it is no worso than we might have
expected.

Everybody knows that one of the chief wants of
India is water, notwithstanding its numerous and
extensive rivers. A plentiful supply of good, pure,
and wholesome water, at a low price, would go far
to diminish the unhealthiness and mortality of the
large towns, both among Europeans and natives.
Added to this important consideration, there is
another reason for desiring the extension of canals
and waterworks throughout the country, which is
the frequency of famine in the more remote and
drier districts. Famines of fearful character are no
uncommon things, and until very lately the defi-
ciency of the means of communication between the
different parts of the Empire, made the relief of
the distressed localities a matter of great difficulty.
Ofttn, in the inevitable delay, many thousands
perished ; and, indeed, it was almost impossible to
convey sufficient quantities of food for the starving
multitudes. It is certainly a great reproach to
England that she should have had her foot planted
in India for more than a century, by far the greater
portion of which she has exercised supreme domi-
nion, that these two great wants—the means of
communication and the supply of water—two of
the first necessities of any State, should be still as
pressing. Very little has been done towards sup
plying them, and it is only within the last few
years that any steps have been taken in either.
The mutiny of 1857 was in many respects a blessing
for India, by breaking the spell of the "Company,"
and by drawing the attention of enterprising, un-
prejudiced,
and intelligent men in this country to
the great negleot of our duties towards that im-
portant dependency of our Crown. Since then
things have moved on faster, and the railway
system is becoming rapidly developed, No one at
this day
requires to learn the vast advantages which
Ithe construction of railways will confer on a
country like India. They are so
manifest that is
only surprising supine the most or prejudiced
ruler could have
willingly withheld them.