The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-27 00:00:00

conduct in many particulars, but those who scan
events with a critical eye must observe the strange
course of things. Thus a retributive justice seems
avenged in the circumstances that surround the
whole of the proceedings connected with the
Alexandra. The last intelligence is certainly of a
very conclusive character. It informs us that the
Collector of Customs at Liverpool was served with
a writ from the Court of Exchequer, ordering him
to deliver up the Alexandra to her owners. On the
day when the order came from the Government tor
this vessel to be seized, and in the plenitude of power
those dressed in a little brief authority proceeded
to carry out the arbitrary enactment with all due
expedition, how mortified would the mighty ones
in office have been had they been told of the end
that was to follow on their grand beginning, the
ignominious failure, the complete discomfiture, the
regular break-down. All possible means were
tried, unlimited expenses incurred, the interests of
individuals sacrificed, for what ? That an oppres-
sive policy should be carried out, and a tyrannical
edict enforced. The whole procedure from first to
last has been characterised by a spirit quite out of
character with the feelings and sentiments of the
nation. The devices and stratagems resorted to
were unworthy of British statesmen, and the very
Ise ture of the affair was an utter eioletion of British
rights and national independence. So far as the
question can be regarded in every sense of the
word, the defeat of the Ministers has been
a triumph to freedom, a victory for fair
play, and a success in a right cause.
The excitement that the contest occasioned
has now subsided, and the effects can therefore be
quietly scanned and calmly regarded. Those who
win are to receive back their rightful property,
torn from them by the ruthless grasp of men as
oblivious to the claims of consideration as a maraud-
ing army, and as devoid of any sense of justice as
any despotic envoy, or emissary of an absolute mo-
narch. So far the honour of the nation has been
vindicated in the sight of men before the nations of
the world. The dwellers in the cities beyond the
broad Atlantic have learned that matters are not
quite so easily settled in England as in some coun-
tries that are near, and some that are remote from
her: The subjects of our land may rejoice that the
laws are so franked that they can be put in force
against those who think themselves capable of
controlling and regulating those laws. A
serious matter has yet to be thought of. The
expenses incurred in this contested case will be
enormous, and the loss to be made good to the de-
fendants very considerable, and on whom will this
fall ? On the Government ostensibly, but on the
nation really; and is this right ? Ought sums to
be squandered for the purpose of gaining time
to prolong a disgraceful struggle, and persist in a
suicidal policy that rightly applied might have been
made the means of benefit to many, and the source
of blessings to those in great need of help. Every-
day we hear of some sad case, some deplorable
calamity, or some desirable undertaking unfulfilled,
because the Government cannot possibly afford to
do so much. They are stowing up their ammunition
to fight the battles of the stranger and the foreigner.
The sums that are wasted in these degrading con-
troversies might have done good service to those
who are sinking under their exertions to aid public
works of usefulness, and private missions of charity.
It is impossible to over estimate the vast signifi-
cance of the proverb " One sows that another may
reap." It is hard that money should be so reck-
lessly squandered for purposes for which it was
never meant. It is easy to go on in the way of ex-
travagance if once it is fairly launched into, but in
the name and for the sake of these hundred interests
which devolve upon Ministers of State, at every
period of their probation, let not a similar escapade
occur. Let it not be said that personal claims, pri-
vate rights, and public claims were all counted as
dross in the balance when politicat purposes were
at stake, and party prejudices ruled the hour. Such
a consummation bodes ill for the reputation of a
Minister, and betides dark things for the Govern-
ment that unscrupulously embraces such a line of
action. The Alexandra had better be a warning
for the future, as it has been a temptation in the
past, and a humiliation for the present. In such a
cause defeat is better and safer than victory, and
the discomfited party who have had to give up
their much coveted prize must take heed lest riches
and greater things are not claimed from them by
way of forfeit.