The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-21 00:00:00

NG, JUNE 21, 1864,

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE,

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

RAILWAY BILLS.

Yesterday the committee on the East London Railway

Bill visited the London Docks; and took Survey
the site
and route of the intended railway, so as to form, in, con-
junction with the evidence adduced, an opinion on the
question. Mr Rendel, the engineer of the London Dock
Company, was examined at great length by Mr Phinn,
Q.C., and Mr. Karslake, on the engineering objections to
the line, and as to the advantages of another proposed line
to be substituted. Mr Hawkshaw, the engineer, was sub-
sequently examined, and expressed an opinion adverse to
the safety of the Thames Tunnel for railway purposes.
Apart from its danger as an experiment, he was of opinion
that the price the company would have to pay for the ap-
propriation of the tunnel would be sufficient to construct a
new one.

Mr Rodwell, Q.C., stated the case of the Cannock Chase
and Wolverhampton Railway of ten miles between those
places, to make arrangements with the Great Western,
raise £lOO,OOO, and £34,000 by loan. Mr Merewether and
Mr H. Lloyd opposed for the London and North-Western.
The committee of which Mr Hassard is chairman con-
sidered the Bill for the Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway,
to take additional lands and raise a further sum of £lO6 000.
IN:lr Round having been heard for landowners in opposition,
the committee threw out the Bill.

Further evidence as to the traffic case connected with the
Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Company's pro-
posed establishment of steamboat communication with the
continent occupied Sir F. Goldsmid's committee all day,
The clauses of the Glocester and Ledbury, and Worcester,
Dean Forest, and Monmouth Railway Bills were settled.
In the Lords, the Bill of the London and South-Western
for additional works was passed.

a House of Commons in a state of agitat_on..Bo;
TIM Di
Gladstone rose to suggest that as Mr. ES.—ln the great crisis at which the country are perfectly helpless when they have to
ideal v
has now arrived it is natural that the leaders of the questions were of considerable importance be she Opposition should seek to learn
r
the authenticity e• '
• • - s put them on the paper for to-day. Mr. P. 13
•- rumour that has reached them ;itis e 11 qaa y eVee, _ -der the circumstances in asking tt.
‘l;nisters
natural that ee.._ • who know how warily they justified nee
repLd, amidst the cheers of the house, that .
Then Mr. Bernal Osborne int
must take every step, ..ehould shrink from utter- without notice. -
in his zeal for his Gera
ing a word which may inter,., with the irre- versed. That gentlemee, by the unmeaning
vocable decisions any day may reqn•.7 of the," clients, had been alarmed
mark of Earl Russell that the called upon
was fully
These considerations explain the little debate
ared for any services it might be
,:_eote woc
Conference in the House of Commons yesterday, i?
which showed the Conservative leaders more than render. He wanted to know whetherhe;
usually peremptory, and their Ministerial opponents were only anther idle threat, or whet
ry
,tus.
quite as evasive as, usual. The truth is that every vernment intended to commit the conhnet
would one who cares to inquire can learn the main inci- with Germany. The Chancellor of tiler's'
hequ
dents which have marked the last few sittings of the was unable to offer any explanation.
Indeed, '
Conference, and the Premier was unwilling to enter presume to answer such a question.
the
matt
into details which could hardly be separated from hinted that he knew nothing about , Gee
that lker.
an explanation of the future designs and policy of Mr. Seymour Fitzgerald observed t „now sit
the Government. We can well admit that it is stone, as a member of the Cabinet, must
.e;rd jot
the duty of an Opposition, when such rumours had taken place oa Saturday; and -bof the Gi
are abroad, to endeavour to obtain for the country Manners said that if only one member
seal ire,
the most complete and truthful information possible; vernment was competent to reply to e fere
but all that is necessary to be known had already tions he ought to have been peesent. hiller-Line,
been given to the world in the statement that at the sury Bench had by that time becomee
et, the
last meeting of the Conference, on Saturday, the The Premier was sent for, and by cse of whic
British Government, in accordance with the resolu- singular coincidences is the fortuitousne,s`„,,, hoer
tion come to at the Congress of Paris in 1856, pro- children and old women believe, enteren "
aloid!
posed to refer the disputed boundary between the just as Lord John Manners declared, thee
two German Powers and Denmark to the decision general cheers, that he ought to have beenthe oeoa
t
of a friendly arbitrator. It is difficult to conceive a The Premier, however, was enla- alto
case in which this principle of arbitration might be sion ;it had been arranged that no forieoar
more fit:y applied. As a general rule we have little should be given, and he took care to gipe_tion, tb
faith in it. Where there is a clear, definite issue He explained, for Mr. ,Osborne's edifleadoitaos
between the two parties—something that both can significance of Lord Russell's words in
w°r selle-tb
understand and do perfectly understand—something identical with those employed by Earle Rusruerit wil
that touches national honour or national existence— fleet is quite equal to anything the Gn „ft grea
it is of little use to send the matter before an aehitea_ ask it to do—and he declined, although. Vic" Thee
tor. To think of referringsuch a question as the union regret, to answer Mr. I)israeli's questrn°B4,B Dee(
between England and Ireland, or the right of the was, it seems, an agreement made—kept„--tha
Federals to invade the Confederates is plainly net say with great strictness by a.. partiesbe
wadi
absurd. The parties would never commit their what passed in Conference should tote of coax
dearest interests to the judgment of any man or public, and it would therefore be a breach of
in it or
Cabinet; and if they could be brought to consent, dente on his part to say what took plat h to se)
it is certain that the party decided against would be Saturday. But he was considerate Wag_ oo San'
irresistibly tempted to repudiate the award. Bat that, as the suspension of hostilities expires °n time
in this case there is no similar difficulty. It is just day next, if it is not prolonged before that iota'
such a question as may be examined by a competent war will recommence on Monday-1, Plefthe his duty
authority and fairly solved. It is one of detail, and mation which it seems he reconciled it Hone'
nothing more. It has been agreed on both sides to the Conference to give, and for which t,henoto,
that the principles which should guide the decision of Commons must have been devoutly tent lea'
are the prevalence of the Danish or the German Such is the fashion in which the GevernmAithovgb
population in such and such districts of the Duchy, tures to treat the House of Commons. . in the
and the securing of a convenient frontier between the issues of peace or war are now haegitl'easf be
the Germanic Confederation and what would then balance, and 'in a few days the countrYrace
and
become Denmark Proper. There is nothing in committed to. a coarse which may disgegle• the
dispute but the nationality and language of certain degrade it, or involve it in a gigantic aril:lces tbs
districts, which can be easily ascertained by inquiry, Ministry refuse to give its represente"eioatioa
and the districts then partitioned accordingly. A slightest information, or afford the faintestnre door
frontier line capable of serving as a barrier as well of their intentions. When the mischiefbi deter'
as a limit between the two countries may also be when the policy of the country is irrevoes :os in
drawn by any Sovereign or statesman who makes mined, the support of the House of Comm heoolieu
himself acquainted with the country. All that is be invited. Treatment like this might, "ministri„
to be done is to decide how a debatable zone of by the house if it could believe that tue
cp+ ash
thirty miles in width, inhabited by a mixed popu- had really determined upon a course of P Eagli'"
lation, shall be disposed of. That any Govern- were unitedly seekin the vindication of
e, soon
meat should prefer the chance of war to the honour and interests ;but when it is ke"rthe pro"
judgment of an impartial arbitrator on such a it is matter of as public notoriety as blast '
question is hardly to be believed. If, however, ceedings of the Conference, that the for poet
that should appear to be the case—if Prussia and divided, and that one section is anxious, a Jill'
Austria, which were actually parties at Paris to the at any price, whilst another, witt, prefer,
enunciation of the principle, reject it on the first gering sentiment of honour, would
al of All
occasion that it can be advantageously applied—it even war to a disgraceful peace—this reftistreat the
will indeed appear that violence and ambition not information is intolerable. The ministry 15
only bear down the defences of weak States, but re- House of Commons as if it had abdicated,
het
pudiate the humane conclusions at which the great tions, and the House of Commons, by its BP-.ißathyt tb°
Powers have arrived with regard to the government countenanced the impertinent assumption. tried too
of Europe. It is said that the proposal of arbitra- temper of the house and the country ma; beieesoa t°
tion was referred by the respective Plenipotentiaries much, and the scene of yesterday will be BA brod.
to their own Governments, and that to-morrow they the Premier, if he has Lot lost the tact ar1",,,t3 would
will annonnce their decision. To-morrow, then, we ness which once distinguished him. If career
are likely to know whether this last chance of peace not have an ignominious termination to "e,t sue'
between the contending parties is to prove fortunate. which, with all its great faults, has been It, with
The matter rests principally with Prussia, for it is cessful and most popular, he must deal frall'e',. but
not likely that Austria, if left alone, will refuse any Parliament, and not only deal with it hill; Vona
fair proposition for concluding a war in which she adapt his policy to the spirit which anitnebe'd Ger'
has no direct interest, and the continuance of which the countrye The war between Denmark an
s 9 the
exposes her to the gravest dangers. It would be many will break out again on MondaY• u° °wets
pleasant for us if we could express a confident ex- English Government gives the German would
pectation that the German Powers would Shaw plainly to understand that in that war theY.,. And
themselves wise and moderate at the eleventh hour; have to contend with England. Let Austria to
to
but the past behaviour and present temper of the Prussia understand that, and they will beeg;iii
Prussian people do not encourage a belief that they take that part of Schleswig which Denmark
will yield. There is, it is said, a violent war fever at posed to yield.
Berlin, an exultation which is caused by the
conquest of Duppel, and which makes those sub-
ject to it look upon their officers as pre-eminent
in skill, their soldiers as models of spirit and
courage. While, then, earnestly desiring
that better counsels may prevail at Berlin
that some memories of international justice and of
his own declarations to England six months since
may induce M. von Bisrnark to refrain from the
schemes which he has adopted from Bavaria and
Saxony, it is-we think time that this country should
make up its mind what its course must be if all its
nrprtores are rejected, all its advice despised, and
the unhappy people in whose behalf it has acted still
remain the victims of German violence and ambi-
tion. To-morrow the Conference meets—it may be
for the last time. Oa Monday next, if in the mean-
time no feelings of humanity or prudence prevail,
the war will begin again. On that day, assuredly,
new extortions will be made in Jutland, new prepa-
rations will probably be made for carrying the war
into the Islands, and no doubt the first political act
of the Allies will be to declare the whole of Schleswig
and Holstein permanently severed from the Danish
Kingdom and erected into an independent soya-
reignty by right of conquest. Together with these
wrongs to Denmark,there will be a demonstration of
defiance and derision towards ourselves. All the
patience and courtesy of the last half-year will be
ascribed to weakness. The speeches of our stater.
men, the cheers of our House of Commons, the
articles in our newspapers, the manifest sympathy
with Denmark evinced by all classes of society
will be taken to show that we are earnestly bent
on something which the vigour and boldness of the
German rulers pre'ented us from attaining. Nor
can we be surprised th,:.‘t foreigners should take such
a view when Englishmen can hardly refrain from it
themselves. The humiliation; and the consciousness
of failure which afflict the public mind aro the mea-
sure of the exultation of those whose policy has pre-
vailed so completelyover our own. No Ornew who knows
what has passed can fail to see that it this country
allows the Danish war to begin again, and- to be
carried to such an end as the German allies propose,
not only a grievous wrong will have been perpe-
trated in Europe, but the just influence of England
—an influence always of late years used in defence
of freedom and national independence—will be
seriously impaired. It is evident from the language,
and still more from the reticence, of Ministers that
they deeply feel the importance of the present crisis,
and are convinced that they can retain power only
by upholding the dignity of the country. What
their first acts may be we cannot presume to pre-
dict. But this is plain—that since England in her
capacity as a first-class State and a party to the
Treaty of 1852 entered into these transactions, and
was recognised by the belligerents as having claims
and interests of her own, we have now a right to
demand the forbearance of the two German Powers.
Whether it be prudent or not to interfere at once,
whether Schleswig, or a part of it, could be deli-
vered by British aid, are political or military ques-
tions which will require anxious consideration. In
the meantima we think that a suspension of diplo-
matic relations should be the immediate result of
the rejection of our last proposition for peace, There
can be no benefit in being represented at Courts
which have treated England with such contumely.
When this step is taken the Government will be
able to determine in what way material effect may
be best given to the protest on which they may
have resolved.
HERALD.—The House of Commons witnessed a
scene last night for which even the most indefati-
gable searcher into parliamentary history can find
no precedent. The members of the house had heard
from different sources accounts which, although not
official, were apparently authentic, of the proceed-
ings of the Conference on Saturday. They had
been informed that at that meeting the belligerents
maintained pretensions which were utterly irrecon-
cileable ; that the English Government, abandoning
again a position upon which it had professed its re-
solve to take its stand, had made a proposal which
was virtually rejected by all parties, although no-
minally accepted ad referendum; that the represen-
tatives of the German Powers indulged _
_n
in the most
unseemly threats against Denmark in thevent of
e and gland,
and even announced their intention,
the resumption of the war, to issue letters of marque
in defiance of the engagement not to do so which
they made eight years ago at Paris. The members
flocked to the house to ascertain from the responsi
ble Ministers of the Crown whether these grave an-
nouncements were correct. The leader of the Op-
position
rose at the time which the custom of the
house has consecrated to such inquiries, to ask
whether the Prussian Minister had made the
threat attributed to him, and whether hostilities
would recommence on the 26th, in the event of
the Conference breaking up on Wednesday. He
put his question without any comment; he made
no effort to exploit" the painful situation
against the Ministry he gave them an opportunity
of which men ;
conscious of the rectitude of their
conduct and resolved upon their policy would
have gladly availed themselves. But the Ministry
were determined not to give any information, and
they
thought that the best way to refuse it was to
keep the Premier out of the house, and pretend
that nobody else could answer a question Upon
such an important subject. The Premier, there-
fore, was kept out of the house, but in its neigh-
bourhood, so that if the "dodge" should not answer
he could come to the assistance of colleagues who