The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-28 00:00:00

guilty of crime, but also to give up any one who
has been convicted, upon receiving an authenti-
cated copy of his conviction. This last clause
gives no power to us to review the grounds
of the conviction of the accused ; and when we
couple this with the mode of legal procedure in
Prussia, the serious character of the addition is ap-
parent. A person accused of crime may be sum-
moned to take his trial, and upon his non-appear-
ance proceedings may be taken against him in his
absence, and he may be convicted en contumace. A
mere political offender, an inhabitant of Prussian
Poland, for instance, engaged in a fatal affray with
the police, and escaping, might, in his absence, be
convicted of murder, and there would be no answer
to a demand for his extradition. The action of the
proposed law will be seen if we imagine that such
a clause had occurred in the American Convention,
and the American Courts permitted proceedings par
contumace. It would not have been necessary to
submit to the Canadian Court any evidence of the
nature of Anderson's offence ; a mere certificate of
his conviction, accompanied by proof of his identity,
must have secured his surrender. We have said that
there is a complete parallel to the Convention be-
tween Prussia and England, and the advocates of
the Extradition Bill now before Parliament are en-
titled to the benefit of it: The Convention between
Denmark and Great Britain, signed in April, and
ratified in May, 1862, and confirmed by an Act of
Parliament of the same year, is in its terms pre-
cisely the same as the Convention with Prussia.
The objectionable clauses of the latter are copied
word for word from the former: But this is an
argument for putting an end to the Convention with
Denmark rather than fer seconding it by adopt-
ing the Convention with Prussia. Either of the
high contracting parties to the Danish Convention
is at liberty at any time to give notice to the other
of its desire to put an end to the agreement, and in
such case the agreement ceases and determines at
the expiration of six months after the notice.
Now that our eyes are open to the danger of being
bound to surrender a convict without inquiry it
would be proper to give notice to terminate the
Treaty, with a view to obtaining a withdrawal of
the objectionable clause. In any case we ought
not to repeat our error. The AttorneyeGeneral
confessed the weakness of our position when tie
became eloquent on the love of freedom which
characterizes our Judges. No one will dispute the
truth of the digression, but it was niltzl ad rem.
The Judges are doubtless jealous of Acts of Parlia-
ment of this kind, and would take care, if pos-
sible, not to assist in the surrender of persons as
criminals -who are not criminals, but they would
have no choice. The words of the proposed statute
are express. An authenticated copy of the con-
viction and proof of the identity of the person
convicted being produced, a magistrate is bound
to commit the fugitive as a step to his extradition.
There is no room for inquiring whether the acts
perpetrated make up the crime of which the accuse d
has been found guilty. Such a state of the law is
one which can be tolerated with difficulty, and
which certainly should not be extended. We have
made a mistake in entering into such a compact
with Denmark; let us not wittingly confirm another
such mistake in a compact with Prussia.
DAILY NEWS.—Austrian politicians are com-
plaining loudly of the arrogance and rapacity of M.
do Bismark, who displays in his dealing with Ger-
many the same qualities which they applauded
in his treatment of the Danes. No power in
Europe has done so much as Austria to aid M. de
Bismarck to attain a bad eminence. Its Govern-
ment has abetted all his plans, and lent him mate-
rial help to carry into execution designs as inimical
to the liberty of Germany as to the independence of
Denmark. He is now sorely trying the temper of
the people and governments of Germany, and having
once proved how far unscrupulousness and audacity
will carry a statesman in these days, he is not likely
to desist until he encounters German statesmen witty
perceptions as c:ear and a will as resolute as his
own. The complaints of the Austrians relate to the
political and military attitude of Prussia on the eve
of the negotiations for peace, and are shared by the
smaller German States. The pretensions of Prussia
as to the Duchies wrested from Denmark are
not as yet fully and definitely avowed. But M.
de Bismark is clearly seeking to give his King
the exclusive control over the destinies of their
inhabitants. He endeavours, in the first place, to
diminish as much as possible, with the ultimate
intention of excluding altogether, the authority of
the Germanic Diet to deal with the question.
Already the Diet is shut out from the negociations
for peace: There is no chair at the green table at
Vienna for Baron Beast, who so ably represented
the German Band at the London Conference.
Peace, it is pretended, concerns only the bellige-
rents, and the cession of territory will probably be
made to Austria and Prussia. The Natienal
Verein and the Frankfort Diet, the democracy and
the States of Germany, have now to learn that
this Schleswig-Holstein business is no concern of
theirs. In the next place, Prussia proposes a form
and mode of administration in the Duchies which
would necessarily throw the government into her
hands for a long time, and enable her to
exercise a decisive influence over their for-
tunes, and perhaps to appropriate them to
herself. Instead of either inviting the Diet
to pronounce on the succession to the vacant
throne, or referring the choice of a Prince to the
States or people of Schleswig and Holstein, M. de
Bismark proposes the institution of a provisional
government, to be exercised by Austria and Prussia.
The competence of the Diet in this matter again is
denied. M. de Bismark knows that in the uncer-
tainty which would be the result of this arrange-
ment the real power would belong to that govern-
ment which should hold firm military possession of
the territory, and that, firmly established in the
Duchies, Prussia would have nothing to fear from
the Emperor of Austria, who has too much on his
hands elsewhere to permit him to embark in a seri-
ous quarrel with Prussia about a duchy or two,
which in no case could become his: Accordingly he
is taking measures to obtain for Prussia complete and
exclusive military power over Schleswig and Hol-
stein. •Itis in view of this intention that the recent
arbitrary and high-handed proceedings of Prince
Frederick Charis of Prussia at Rendsburg must be
regarded if their full significance is to be understood.
So brutal treatment of a Confederate has never been
heard of since the institution of the German Bund.
The fortress, on the possession of which the King
of Prussia has set his heart, has been held by a Fe-
deral garrison, compesed of Saxon and Hanoverian
troops, under the command of Gen. Hake, from a date
earlier than the commencement of hostilities between
Germany and Denmark. Since the outbreak of the
war the Allies have had their megezine and hospitals
there. It is not surprising that a bad state of feeling
has for some time existed between the Prussian
and non-Prussian troops at Rendsburg. Prussian
valour is not fitted to bear more than a very
moderate degree of success, and the Saxon and
Hanoverian soldiery were not disposed to
bear with the airs of the conquerors who had
returned from Dy bbol intoxicated with glory. From
these dispositions arose offence given and taken, and
frequent collisions, such as any barrack_master of
tolerable capacity would have soon put an end to.
This, however, was not the policy of the Prussian
Government, and accordingly, on the 20th instant,
General Hake received from Prince Fredk. Charles
a note of a most extraordinary character, announc-
ing that " the King, his master, had ordered him to
take possession of Rendsburg, and make himself
master of the place," and that on the following
morning General Graeben would present himself
with 6,000 men and two batteries for that purpose;
It was nearly in these words, and entirely in this
style and tone, that the Danish General Meza was
summoned to evacuate Sleswig. But Prussian pride
scarcely distinguishes friends from enemies. General
Hake appears to have taken a somewhat mean and
timid view of his duties, for, instead of pointing out
to Prince Frederick the serious character of the step
proposed, remaining firm in a defensive position,
and referring the matter to his political superiors,
he took the easier course of throwing the responsi-
bility upon Prince Frederick, and while declaring
that he could not consent to give up Rendsburg he
announced that he should withdraw. The Prussian
corps arrived punctually on the following morning,
and the Federal troops marched out, dispirited and
humiliated, to bivouac outside the town, as no quar-
ters had been provided for them. This transaction
has caused a most painful feeling throughout the
Fatherland, for it is felt that all Germany has been
insulted and injured. But what can ardent patriots
expect when they take for their champion, and offer
to Europe as their representative a man who con-
ducts the affairs of a first-rate European State upon
the principles of the burglar and the brigand P Our
German friends may rely on it that they will have
much to do, and a great deal to suffer, before they
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Irish judges queer characters, who occasionallyst the
did
very queer things. Up to the commencement of the
kcennotwuirnyg, theyp er h weape
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fellows, t
exceedingly punctilious as regarded honour. They
pre s present
were then almost invariably men of good family,
for at that period it w
that a judge of the landasshe
oounlsrered indispensable
possess
social posi-
tion as well as legal knowledge. They were belli-
cose—when the Lord Chancellor
exchanged shots
with the master of the Rolls, and when old
Norbury, after h •
eying literally fought his way
to the I jadie. la seat, was always prepared, when
on it, to afford personal satisfaction for his
judicial acts. " Off the bench, my lord," cried
Colonel
-Myth, "you dare not use such language
towards me," " Crier," exclaimed Norbury,
"adjourn the court for an hour." Looking at
WO watch, and addreesins the complainant, " Si.
' 3 • -.1