The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-22 00:00:00

gjig Suu,

'LONDON, FRIDAY, JAN. 22, 1861.

places, and whether some few of the fair promises
of retest years are at last to be carried into
effect. During these past months "her MAJESTY'S
Opposition" (that important instrument of adminisr
tration peculiar to this country) has been steadily
and quietly gaining strength. The Government,
with a total obliviousness of the hazards of their
own position, have played into the hands of their
opponents with a fatal persistency. Any popular
question that may now arise will perhaps open their
eyes when too late to the warnings they have
neglected, and the opportunities they have thrown
away. There is yet time for amendment. It
remains to be seen whether the Government will
learn wisdom or the People lose patience.

Some public questions of great importance are
put aside with little or no consideration, which

nevertheless are very deserving of attention. Such

a one is the manner in which our criminals are
treated. The convict discipline, in as far as re-
gards penal servitude, is lamentably deficient, and
for some time past its blunders and its failures
have attracted universal reprobation. The graver
question of criminals doomed to capital punish-
ment now demands the most serious consideration,
and calls for deliberate reflection on the part of
those best qualified to judge, and most likely to
influence others by their decision. The case of
TOWNLEY is fresh in everyone's recollection, he
was the villain of the autumn, the subject of con-
versation in all circles, and the topic that attracted
the attention of those who did not ordinarily
bestow much regard on such subjects of horror.
It is diffion't to define when one case of murder
worse than another ; some peculiar appanage of
horror, some grim distinction of guilt attends
each in turn ; but if one instance of crime more

than another stands out es atrocious in the annals
of infamy, it is especially that of the man who
deliberately took away the life of one to whom
he professed himself to be attached. There were
no palliating circumstances connected with the
deed, and therefor 3 it came the more startlingly
on the ears of the outraged populace that such a
miscreant had been allowed to escape. The con-
venient cloak of temporary insanity which now-
adays is to cover a multitude of sins, indeed, was
spread over him, and he was removed from the peri-
lous position in which he was placed by the sentence
of the law. It is at all events desirable that some
protest should be made against such a pro2eeding,
and that the authorities should at least be told how

little they ha 3 e represented the tone, or satisfied
the temper, of the country in their extraordinary
arrangement of affairs with relation to the criminals
arraigned for murder. The reply of the Derbyshire
magistrates to the Home Secretary's communica-
tion is well worthy of notice, and should meet with
due attention, alike from the exigency of the case
referred to, and the right view which is therein
taken of the matter. In one part of the reply we
find the following important statement :—" The
report made to yon by the Danacy Commissioners
seems to the magistrates not to support the certifi-
cates of the two justices and two medical men, but
to show that TOWNLEY is now, by law, criminally
responsible, and that the further inquiry sought by
the magistrates ought to be made." This is strictly
to the point, and exactly expresses what ought to be
dcne. Of course no one can expect the advice to be
taken, or the suggestion to be attended to; but at the
same time it is very satisfactory that these gentle-
men have had the sense and spirit to take up the
case in a bold and determined manner. They have
at least done their duty to their country, and de•
serve recognition for it. No one who peruses the
remarks here made in a dispassionate spirit but
will agree in their reason and acquiesce in their
justice. A more made-up affair than the alleged
lunacy of TOWNLEY has never been the means of
saving the life of a prisoner, and it is therefore the
more incumbent un all who are able to put them-
selves forward to make a decided stand against this
encroachment, and to vindicate the majesty of the
law, which is set at nought by such senseless inno-
vations and unwarrantable infringements. The
last paragraph in this reply is particularly worthy
of notice, as it aptly suggests a remedial measure
of great value and manifold importance. It is
stated that, if the existing legal machinery is not
deemed sufficient, Parliament will soon meet, when
the deficiency will be rectified. If there is one
thing more than another which should meet with
prompt attention and receive requisite alteration,
it is the system now in vogue in regard to capital
punishment and the manner in which the preroga-
tive of mercy is applied. Lord HENRY LENNOX
has given notice of a motion to inquire into the
exercise of that power. This is very desirable, and
it is a matter of congratulation that the noble lord
has taken up the case in earnest, and so promptly
found an occasion for its discussion. It is too
im-
portant to be neglected, too solemn to be trifled
with, and concerns a question of too grave an im-
port to be left any longer at the discretion of those
who seem quite unfitted to exercise their lofty trust
with meet discernment and impartial conduct. It
must not be permitted that the law should rest in
the state it is now, for in a short time the deleterious
effect of such a procedure would be painfully visi-
ble, and the increased number of murders would
swell the aggregate of crimes to a fearful extent.
All who had rich or powerful friends at hand could
easily put forward the plea of insanity ; and a little
stretch of ingenuity and a small share of invention
would make a very creditable case for court, and
furnish ample evidence to swear by. Such devices
may suit those who practise them, and serve the
ends for which they are designed, but they never
can be consonant with the spirit and the sentiment
of a virtuous people, or enable our lawyers and
judges so to administer the law and deal out its
pains and penalties that vice and wickedness may
be punished as they deserve, and finally, so far as
possible, be uprooted from their stronghold among
us. This ought to be the object borne in mind by
those who attempt altering and changing the sta-
tutes, more often, it is to be feared, to Bait their own
fancies than the national interest.

The meeting of Parliament, which is now close
at band, may iraturally be looked forward to
with greater interest than ordinary. It
is true that, of late years session after
session has ,dawned upon us bright with
good prospects and fair promises, and again and
again, year after yew:, the fatal hour of prorogation
has arrived without witnessing the fulfilment of
those promises or the realisation of those anticipa-
tions. Procrastination, the proverbial " thief
of time,' continually robs 113 of our immediate
requirements, and puts us off with empty
asiurances about the good time that is coming.
There is an old fable, and those old fables contain
for the most part, a wonderful deal of truthfulness'
which tells of the warning fate of the boy who
cried " wolf " once too often. Even the most
credulous and patient will give way at last.
" Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia
rostra ? Once, again, the country on the assembling
of the Legs,slature may address this interrogation
to their do-nothing Government. While around
us foreign nations, our friends and allies, are
mk‘tu,cecl with w;Ar or torn with interne:l disaffection,
cur 11-vourite.yulicy of lettiug ill alone only in-
creases the disasters which we aro cal!ed upon to
hewftil. If u Congress is proposed for the cousi-
derarion and probable amelioration of difficulties,
we will have nothing to do with it. We
will neither "strike" nor "hear," With re-
g trd to our foreign relations our Govern-
expect

c7nnot
ment

The addresses of oar popular representatives have
lost much of their interest, now the armistice in the
battle of politics is so nearly at an end. Neverthe-
lees the opinions of a member of the Government
are sufficiently important to form some exception
to this rule, and the speech of the President of the
Board of Trade will certainly attract a good deal of
attention from the general public, as well as from
his audience at Ashton-under•Lyne. The right
hon. gentleman touched upon many topics—ou the
cotton trade and the American war, first and fore-
most, as befitted his constituency ; on the state of
trade generally, on reform, and on the Danish ques-
tion—on the latter displaying a due amount of offi-
cial ambiguity and reserve. His opinions on some
of these subjects must have been at issue with those
of many of his hearers—still less will they commend
themselves to the general sense of the public. In
the question of the great civil war, which is now
desolating the fairest portion of the western hemi-
sphere, his sympathies are entirely with the North,
He adopts that construction which the friends of
the Federals are so eager to put upon their unrea-
sonable persistence in this cruel and hopeless
struggle—he regards the war as a war for the ex.
Unction of slavery. It is fervently to be hoped

to receivo many
c anpliments on the results of their favourite non-
intervention policy.. Oa the other hand, what have
they to show by way
of compensation in the admini-
stration of horse affairs? What reforms were carried
out last scsiion, or are likely to be carried out,
judging from present appearances, in the next ? It
remains to be seen, and a very few weeks will
demonstrate it, whether time and experi-
ence have at length " worked wonders" in high

that, by whatever means, in some form or another
the country may reap that fruit from the long
and terrib'e sufferings inflicted on them by
this war, by slow degrees great good may work
out of the disastrous evil ; but the boasted
Emancipation Proclamation itself is a standing
proof of the insincerity of the President and his ad-
visers. If slavery is indeed regarded by the North
as so great a crime, so vast a national misfortune,
how is it that the slaves of the loyal States were
not emancipated by the same stroke of the pen ?
Were President DAVIS to propose reunion with the
North, on condition of the " domestic institution"
remaining in statu quo, who can doubt the ready
acceptance on the part of the Federal Government ?
But Mr. GIBSON is still sanguine of the future. He
does not consider the restoration of the Union im-
possible. The statistics he quotes in order to show
the flourishing condition of Northern fortunes are
some what curious. According to the report of the
Commissioner of Agriculture in the United States,
the crowds of emigrants who seek their shores are
attracted, not by the large bounty offered to recruits,
and the certainty of immediate employment in the
ranks, but by the desire "to enjoy independence
and quiet, and to make happy the humble homes
for theniselves and their children." Truly if inde-
pendence and quiet be their object, they would have
done more wisely to have remained at home.
People do not usually hurry into the midst of a
civil war to seek peace and quiet, nor is a land torn
by internal dissensions generally considered the
most favourable spot for the culture of domestic
happiness. Independence would very probably ter-
minate in a visit to Fort Lafayette. We suspect
that were the bounty now offered to recruits by the
Federal Government suddenly to collapse, the num-
bers who go "to fight sincerely the battles of free-
dom and equality," and to enjoy these marvellous
blessings of peace and quiet, would show a com-
mensurate diminishment. A country which calls
for a million volunteers is scarcely to be cited as
a specimen of the attractions of war! With regard
to that aspect of the war which more nearly con-
cerns ourselves, Mr. GIBSON'S views befit the col-
league of Earl RUSSELL. He dilates upon the im-
mensity of our commerce, and then draws from it the
inference that we should be very careful with regard
to the laws respecting neutrals and belligerents.
His theory is that armed steamers like the Alabama
bear a sort of charmed life, and that it is perfectly
impossible to capture or overtake them ; conse-
quently if we admit the right of neutrals to supply
such vessels to belligerents the tables may one day
be turned upon ourselves, and two or three such
predatory vessels supplied to an enemy by a neutral
power may play havoc with our shipping? Some
persons might suggest that, seeing the Alabama
was launched from an English dockyard it might
not be altogether impossible to match her. It might
also be thought that the introduction of steam in-
stead of putting it " out of the power of navies" to
interfere with such vessels, just supplied the speed
necessary for overtaking them. But this excess of
prudence, according to Mr. MILNER GIBSON, has
been the cause of our Foreign Secretary's extreme
anxiety about the building of these ships. We doubt
whether such a reason will find mulch favour in the
eyes of a people who have generally proved tolera-
bly competent to protect themselves and their pro-
perty, without troubling themselves to twist inter-
national laws to suit their possible necessities. If
common sense tells Mr. GIBSON, as he says it does,
that the Confederate Government are the parties
who have, directly or indirectly, caused these ships
to be built in this country, and that in so doing they
entered upon a deliberate course of violating and
evading the laws of England," what does it tell
him about the large exports of arms and ammuni-
tion made from this country by the agents of the
Federal Government ?

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

LRETJTER-S TELEGRAM.]

THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION.

HAMBURG, JAN. 22.

Several members of the Diets of Schleswig and
Holstein arrived last night in Altona, by railway.
They were received at the terminus with music and
great cheering. They reached Hamburg during
the night, accompanied by immense crowds of peo
ple, and alighted at Zingg's Hotel, where they will
deliberate upon the course to be taken in the pre-
sent state of things.

STOCKHOLM, JAN. 21.

The threatened occupation of Schleswig has given
a great impulse to the movement in favour of Den-
mark throughout Sweden and Norway.

Addresses have been voted, committees aro being
formed for collecting subscriptions, volunteers are
enlisted, and military armaments are continued with
increased activity in both countries.

KIEL, JAN. 21.

After the departure of the Saxon battalion the
fire brigade of the Turners occupied all the mili-
tary posts of this town. 4,000 Austrian troops are
expected here to-morrow or on the following day.
Culonel Wuplat has arrived in Kiel from Gotha.

SPAIN.

MADRID, JAN. 21.

Th© Minister of Finance will present to the
Cortes an exact statement of the receipts and
expenditure of the State in 1864.

Of the prospects of the cotton trade Mr. GIBSON
entertains the same views which we have always
advocated. From the information he can receive
he thinks we may look with confidence to a revival
of the prosperity of the cotto❑ trade! " The in-
crease in the imports from India, from Egypt, and
other places show a tendency to make ns almost,
if not altogether independent," and as time goes on
those most qualified to judge confirm the accuracy
of these anticipations. On the question of Reform
Mr. GIBSON' s views are sounder than on the foreign
policy. He still upholds undaunted the principles
of which we have been the staunch adherents. The
ballot, he maintains, ie indispensable to the expres-
sion of the pure and genuine opinion of an electoral
body. He says very justly, " There may be coun-
tries in which the classes are so equal in social
position—there may be circumstances in which the
ballot is rendered a question of no moment ; but I
believe there was never a country of our social feel
ings, our sense of caste, our aristocratic predilec-
tions, our gradations of wealth and poverty—there
never was a country in the world which requires
for the eliciting of the genuine vote of a constituent
body the power of secret voting so much as Eng-
land." It is satisfactory to find that the President
of the Board of Trade still keeps such principles
unshaken and unchanged, though the benefit which
Reformers hoped to receive from his presence in
the Administration has been more than counter-
balanced by the prevailing influence of the " Rest
and be Thankful" faction.

Are we to Reward Murder with a Corn-
fortable Provision for Life 3

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, TANUARY 22, 1864.