The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-16 00:00:00

There would seem, then, to be no dificulty in the way of
Great Britain's revoking her unjust and nnnerftral orders
in Council and returning to a sense of justice. lf indivi-
duals are bound In conscience to retract their errors when
once discovered, how much more are nations bound to do se,
the consequences of whose errors are an much more wide-
spread ? By doing justice to the Confederate states Great
Britain will not be doing injustice to the Federal States. If
she gives an asylum in her ports. to the former, she wiii
equally give it to the latter; and if she should work an in-
cidental advantage to the Confederate states, why should
this he objected to more than the opposite rule, which has
worked them so many disadvantages? And will it be less
graceful in Great Britain to perform this act of justice
because one of the parties in the forum is struggling against
odds, while the other has become overbearing—nay, trucu-
lent and defiant. from a fancied excess of brute strength?
It is never safe for a nation, any more than an individual,
to temporise, especially with a bully, and at the cost of in.
justice to a weaker party. Great Britain innocently fancies
that she is "laying up against a rainy day"—that is to say,
that she is concil ating the "universal Yankee nation" by
her present one-sided course, and establishing wise and safe
precedents to be followed by that people hereafter when she
shall herself become a belligerent. But I warn that it is all
fancy, and that she will reap the reward of her timidity in
the usual way—timidity on the part of nations always in-
viting further insult and outrage. A people who have be-
come so lunatic as to destroy a constitutional Government
and voluntarily submit their necks to the yoke of coarse and
illiterate tyrant for the sake of butchering, in gratification of
their revenge, eight millions of their former fellow-citizens,
will hardly permit themselves to be ruled by English prece-
dents, to be calmly quoted to them by some future peace-
loving Earl Russell from ponderous blue-books.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—We find ourselves at the present moment
engaged in a discussion which once more repro-
duces the arguments and suggestions of a con tree
versy long gone by. The problem of Manning the
Navy was accomplished some years ago; but the
topic, it seems, has only been dropped to make room
for the question of Manning the Army. Those
who remember the former discussion will recognise
in the correspondence which we have recently pub-
lished all the old familiar statements and opinions.
We are now told, precisely as we were told ten
years since, that the Queen's pay is good pay, if it
were but properly applied; that what the public
provides for the maintenance of the service consti-
tutes a liberal provision, if the soldier did but know
it; that he actually receives, in one way or another,
far more than could be earned by an agricultural
labourer, but that his receipts are so confused be-
tween " pay" and " allowances," and so curtailed
by stoppages and deductions, that the liberality of
the nation eludes his perception. A soldier, we are
assured, actually costs the country between 14s. and
15s, a week, whereas he obtains in the shape of
money only 2d. a day. This is one of the old
arguments, revived and repeated word for word ;
the moral, of course, being that we should reform
this part of the system, and pay the soldier in a coin
which he understands. He knows the difference
between ls. and ls. 6d. a day, but he takes little
account of cheap supplies and contingent privileges.
Give him his dues in ready money instead of dis-
guised advantages, and he will be able to compare
his earnings with those of a ploughboy or an
apprentice. A second argument is this—that a
distinction should be established between ordinary
and able-bodied soldiers, We borrow the terms
from the Navy for application to the Army ; but the
meaning is, that in the profession of arme; as well as
all other professions, a trained and experienced
man is worth more than a young beginner. That
this is actually the case no one can deny, and yet
we act as if no such difference of values existed. A
soldier es ho has sere ed for ten years, who is well
disciplined, thoroughly acquainted with his busi-
ness, and inured to all the trials of a military life,
is held to be worth no more than a raw recruit.
We have repeatedly explained that the bargain
offered by the State to the recruit is in reality a
good one. It must be remembered that he is an
unskilled labourer, taken to learn his trade at the
public expense, and charged nothing for the in-
struction ; indeed, we can hardly put this plainer
than by an appeal to the very examples anticipated
at this minute. We are told, and with apparent
reason, that we cannot expect many of our soldiers
to be content with their position at the expiration
of their first term of enlistment. The ten years'
man is a very different being from the raw lad
picked up by the sergeant. Besides his mastery
over his immediate profession, he has been educated
in mind and body. He has been to school, and has
been well taught. His ideas have been enlarged,
and he has acquired habits of discipline, obedience,
and fidelity. Such a man is of, value anywhere,
and may look for more than his 13d. a day from an
appreciative master. Granted ; but then let us
inquire who made this man what he is. At whose
expense and by what agency was the village scamp
or the loutish farm servant turned into the trained,
intelligent, and trustworthy man. All this increase
of personal value was given by the State, and the
difference between what the man was and what he
is is simply the measure of his actual gain over and
above his daily pay. We are convinced, however,
that it is worth our 'while to buy this man at his
proper value. We must buy the recruit first and
the soldier afterwards—first get the men, and then
keep them. If necessary, we must offer better
terms, but though there is no doubt about the
increased demand ,for labour, and the improved
remuneration which it commands, we are assured,
nevertheless, that the amount actually provided for
the soldier under various forms of pay and allow-
ances is sufficient for the purposes of first recruiting,
if judiciously applied. The trained soldier may
fairly look at the expiration of a given period of
service for better terms than he got at first. That
is so plain that it needs no argument. No doubt
the improvement has been accomplished in the ser-
vice itself, but that does not affect the fact. A com-
plete soldier is worth more to us in common market
value than a recruit. He can get more—at least, so
;,,* is thought—in other callings, and it is reasonable,
therei;:sre)
that he should look for more if ho con-
ones in ;.;.4.9 own. At all events, here are two
n
plain principles inviting notice and trial. Give the
young recruit in a tan;ible shape what you intend
to give him; and when he has acquired skill in his
calling give him something more. We think these
suggestions are very likely to assis: us materially
in manning the:army.
POST.—The Conference is again adjourned till
Saturday, and it is felt that the motive of these re-
peated delays is the understanding that nothing can
yet be accomplished to reconcile these two opponents.
A few days will bring a resumption of hostilities,
which will oblige this country to determine once
for all how we are to act at this crisis. We must

either abandon Denmark or stand by her. In the
meantime, as we feel ourselves drifting, we may pass

our time in hoping against hope and arguing against

our knowledge, and in looking out for some Heaven-

Borst Solution to arrive. But the inevitable hour must

come when dreams give way to realities—when, if
we are to hold our place among nations our iron-
&aids must resolve other questions than those of

steering and rolling—when our soldiers must occupy
other camps than Aldershot, and our engineers again
play out in earnest on a European stage the tragedy
rehearsed the other day at Chatham, We are quite
aware that these words of ours will be received with
mockery by the German Press: They will be com-
mented on as more bombast of the Morning Pose,
and we shall be `reminded of similar expressions
aften used during the last few months. It is very

deplorable that, in consequence of the anxiety dis-
played by our diplomatists to avoid war, or even the
semblanee of it, the voice of the Press is thought to
be sham thtinder, Foreigners think that this great
country is really the slave of the Peace party. Theain
delusions Which preceded the Crimean war Aral
articles of belief to us, in this
again to be dispelled.
foreign capitals, and, alas
France leaves to
araehgeaxv-e
instance, the initiative and
matter As
The
she acted in Italy alone, so ntohwe., responsibility.
pected to take our own line
I? elves. wea
which is supposed chiefly to concernof
e'
outi
Coil it Bis-
Pruesians, as, if we are not misinformed,
marck has recently informed the Prussian Minib:er
at Vienna, count on the abstention of France, at the
price of accepting some suggestions as to the appli-
cation of universal suffrage, and he has warned the
Austrian Government that Prussia will insist on a
radical solution, and will, if necessary, act alone, sup-
ported, as she expects to be, by the general public
opinion of Germany. As to Russia, Count Bismarck
considers himself perfectly secure as to her views,
and has assured the Austrian Government that in
no eventuality will she be found contrary to Prussian
policy. The meeting of monarchs which is about to
take place at Kissengen will probably ratify thess
conclusions, and the alliance which the Morning
Post pointed out as already existing months ago
will probably be solemnly renewed. Prussia helped
Russia to crush Poland. Austria has recently also
put her hand to that work. The Germans have
fought side by side in Denmark, the conditions being
Austrian concurrence in the North in return for
prospective Prussian support in the South. Both
have aided Russia in expectation of her connivance
in their schemes and her aid in their difficulties.
The allies presume that England and France are
estranged, that France will not act alone, and that