The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-10 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 10, 1864.

The Ministry, hesitating between the horns of a
dilemma, decline to impale themselves upon either.
Fast and loose we have been playing for some time
between those late diplomatic antagonists, those now
actual belligerents the Germans and the Danes, It
is not alone that dynastic considerations render the
situation of affairs, yonder in Schleswig-Holstein,
one for England of considerable difficulty. Em-
barassing, for example, the position of the
Sovereign herself must needs be in this supreme
emergency, when Prussia and Denmark are con-
tending with each other upon sanguinary battle.
fields, The Eldest Daughter of England being, not
only the wife of the Prussian Heir Apparent, bat
the mother also of the future rulers of that king-
dom ; the Eldest Son of England being the husband
of the fair daughter of King CHRISTIAN IX. of
Denmark, while the happy union of that young
couple has, only as recently as within these last few
weeks, been blessed by the birth of an heir to the
Heir Apparent to the Crown of England—of
themselves these two facts tend by necessity to ren-
der the position of Her Most Gracious Majesty
QUEEN VICTORIA one, just now, of exquisite solici-
tude. Apart from all dynastic considerations, how-
ever, it is, without doubt, the solemn and bounden
duty of the responsible Ministers of the constitu-
tional Sovereign of these realms to guard the
honour, to vindicate the dignity, to sustain
the rights of the Crown and country—
" come what, come may," according to our
own homely vernacular, :or according to that
of our Gallic neighbours coute qui coute, idiomatic
phrases popular on either side of the channel, and
strictly in accordance with the principle expressed
by that sublime old bit of threadbare Latin, " fiat
justitia ruat ecelum." Even when the sacrifice
of lives the nearest and dearest by all the tender
ties of consanguinity, appeared to be involved in the
maintenance of that same most sacred principle of
justice, the Pagans of old (instance alone
BRUTUS and his Sons) knew, full well, in
which scale to place the weight of their
final decision, whether in that of duty, or
in that of the affections. No such momentous alter-
native being now in any manner involved in the
decision (one way or the other) now looked for on
the part of England, it would appear to be at least
incumbent upon her responsible administrators—not
upon the august Queen of these realms herself, but
upon her Majesty's constitutional advisers, upon the
members of the Administration now installed in power
collectively as the British Government—it would
at the very least appear to be incumbent upon them
as patriotic statesmen, no less than as loyal sub-
jects, that they should at last, without any further
hesitaion, adopt some defiuite and comprehen-
sible policy—as betwee❑ Denmark and Germany—
now that among those Powers as belligerents the.
Schleswig-Holstein problem has been submitted at
last for solution to the supreme arbitrament of war.
To conduct the Dtplomacy of England pertina-
ciously, at junctures of supreme emergency such
Eta the one that has but just now descended like a
thunder-cloud upon the ill-fated peninsula to the
north of Hanover, to conduct the diplomacy of
England at such times, we say, perversely and per-
tinaceously, upon a system of weak and tedious
hesitation, is to confirm the rapid declension of our
influence, is yet further to degrade oar already
lowered and weakened reputation among the
great Powers of Europe. A policy like this,
if policy of any kind it can be called, is,
to the very last degree, unworthy of England.
While Right and Might are fiercely contending
upon European Battlefields, it is a crying shame to
England to stand aside, if not absolutely with an
air of apathy, with an aspect of manifest hesitation
and diplomatic bewilderment. An aspect so unbe-
fitting a Great Power like England, that unless
Ministers will make up their minds very soon to
tte adoption and the declaration of some bold, clear'
comprehensible policy in regard to this war in Den-
mark, the Opposition, at the risk of being vilified as
a Factious Opposition, will be constrained.to inter-
fere and teach them their duty.

Sir GEORGE GREY has lost no time in intro-
ducing the bill for the treatment of Criminal
Lunatics. In thus acting promptly the right hon.
baronet has shown great discretion, and he is
entitled to credit for being in earnest in his work,
and not dilly-dallying, after the fashion of many
in office, who promise a thing when any pressure
occurs, and when the excitement is over, either
forget their promise, or else contrive to put off
for an indefinite period its fulfilment. The right
bon. baronet explained the nature of the altera-
tions which he proposed to make ; one of the chief
changes is to do away with the present defective
arrangement, which allows so much power to the
agents of the prisoner. The authority in such
cases is to rest " exclusively " with the visiting
justices of the gaol, and instead of any two
medical men being chosen, as at present, the jus-
tices are to be responsible for the selection of the
doctors. As an important addition it is also pro-
vided that the decision of these inquirers shall
not be held as decisive, but submitted to the
Secretary of State, who will have the power to
order a further investigation if he so thinks fit.
All these suggestions seem to be very desirable
ones, and the chief recommendations which they
possess is that had the law been thus rectified
last session the case of TOWNLEY, with all its con-
tradictions and its errors, could never have occurred.
Indeed, it is only surprising that with the present
faulty arrangements more confusions have not
already taken place in the treatment of prisoners.
Doubtless some other improvements may be intro-
duced at a subsequent period, but for the present
this scheme of the Home Secretary seems to be
a very feasible one. If the amendments are strictly
carried out, the whole weight of responsibility will
fall
,on well known individuals, there will be no
shirking and shuffling, no screening of blame, and
no hasty venture made which would entail serious
consequences hereafter. The bill was well received
by the House, on the whole, and so far the Cabinet
seem to have made a hit. The question drew forth
some speakers, who entered into the details of the
subject, and their speeches will do good in proving
to the public that the point in which so much inte-
rest has been roused and so much indignation ex-