The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-16 00:00:00

noble earl at the head of the Foreign Department ?
It could not possibly be attributable to a delighted
sense on his part of a most adroit avoidance of
parliamentary annoyance in connection with the
,ittle fami'y incident already referred to. That
was a thing already past and done with.
Neither could it well have had reference to-day, in
any way, to what was yet more remotely past and
done with—to such incidents, let us say, as the
arrogant bearing assumed, by him, at different
tivaes and in various degrees towards Den-
mark, towards Mexico, towards Brazil—towards
any State, in fact, that a British Foreig❑ Secretary
might safely treat with arrogance. No, the sourca
of these sudden high spirits at Dundee must
surely be more recant. It must, clearly, be
some incident much more suggestive of a sense of
personal exultation. 'We have it ! Earl RUSSELL'S
vivacity is traceable to nothing less than a delighted
consciousness of his having again ventured, during
the holidays, upon doing what he could never have
had the hardihood :o attempt during the sitting of
Parliament—the truckling to the North, the
knuckling down to the insolent threats so often
indulged in from 'Washington, the perverse deter-
mination to interfere, at the behest of Mr. ADAMS,
in the business arrangements of Mr. LAIRD, the
shipbuilder, by detaining upon, a bare suspicion,
the steam rams, called for the nonce, El Toussoun
and El Monassir.

Among the many changes produced by the Ame-
rican war, the position of the Western States is not
the least interesting. While other States are com-
plaining loudly of the demands made upon them,
and depreciating the continuance of hostilities ;
while the fertile plains of the South have suffered
all the horrors of invasion, the Western States are
ready with their men and money, are rapidly deve-
loping their resources, and are willing enough to
vote for the carrying on of the war. By one of
those curious turns of the wheel of fortune that are

sometimes to be seen in our prosaic age, the war,
so disastrous in its results, and so lavish in its
expenditure, has been to these Western States a
source of profit and prosperity. These agricultural
districts were in no flourishing condition at the
beginning of the war. Excessive speculation, that
bane of American trade, bad harvests, and other
causes had combined to load almost all landowners
with heavy mortgages. A sudden turn of the wheel
brought to them this opportune and profitable war.
The produce of the soil was :eagerly sought for,
there was no fear of lacking customers for pork and
breadstuffs ! The change in the currency was still
more important than the increased demand for com-
modities. The easy terms on which money could
be obtained worked wonders for the embarrassed
farmers. Oppressive debts of long standing were
swept off in " greenbacks." No matter as to the
real value of the money tendered, the 'account was
paid in the currency of the realm, and no complaints
could be made. In other ways, too, the effect of
Mr. Chase's system has made itself felt. Ten years
ago there were not 100 miles of railway in all the
State of Illinois—there are now more than 3,000.
Building and planting, scheming and speculating,
are going on on all hands. On every side are the
signs of that busy commercial activity which tells
of a prosperous and thriving State. Still there is
no question but that these energetic and enter-
prising traders are going on, morally and politically,
as they do practically on their cars and steamboats
—going at a degree of high pressure that ensures
rapid progress, but also entails the risk of sudden
collapse and disaster. That the day of reckoning
must certainly come, perhaps at no distant
date, is an indisputable fact, and whether the
war will look equally attractive then, may be more
than questionable. Still it has been justly observed
that, however great or disastrous the crash may be,
the material evidences of prosperity will remain.
The lines of railway and other substantial improve-
ments will be there, whatever-party rules at New
York and Washington, whether Union or Seces-
sion be triumphant. At present the motto seems
to be " take no thought for the morrow ;" and it is
no great wonder that, amidst such brisk and
thriving trade, and surrounded by the evidences of
commercial and industrial speculation, the go-a-head
New Englanders from the leading circles of the
West should be fully satisfied with the aspect of the
present. When the bubble bursts there will be, no
doubt, it revulsion of feeling; but, as yet, there is
no hesitation in paying the taxes, which are not,
indeed, rigidly enforced in the West, while Illinois
had contributed 135,000 men to the army up to
last December out of a population of 2,000,000. A
firmer) who was the father of ten sons, declared
that he Lad sent seven of them to the war, and such
sacrifices in an agricultural population are not
without their effect. 1.17 hen once the tide has
turned, however, and in place of a liberal supply of
paper money, always obtainable on easy terms, the
weight and burden of taxation begins to make
itself felt, and the enormous expenses of this ruinous
war are pressed upon the nation, there will be a
new element in the American strife and struggle.
The North-Western States, with all their agricul•
tural wealth and most natural resources, will begin
to feel that they have separate and individual
interests, entirely distinct from those of the North.
They will probably refuse to bear their share of the
expenses so rashly and lavishly incurred, although
they have not failed to profit by the tide at its flood.
The dismemberment of the once mighty United
States has become only a question of time, and
it is not unlikely that the unwieldy nation'
may break into three—the North Western
provinces forming a State by themselves_
which, from size, wealth, position, and resources,
they are very well qualified to do. The centrali-
sation system which is being stretched to such un-
reasonable lengths is manifestly failing more and
more every day. Mr. LINCOLN may dream of abso-
lute sovereignty over South and West, but he had
better make the most of his dreams, since they will
never become reality. The secession of the West
has been talked or thought of—probably from
the prosperity it is now enjoying, and the conse-
quent content of the great body of the people.
England, however, is not the only country in
which the real test of conviction is to make a
demand upon the pocket. The Americans, reck-
less and lavish as they are of their money, re-
garding tremendous commercial panics, which we
look upon as unmitigated and exceptional calami-
ties, as are casual depressions of trade, will yet
e
be
r eof very
taxation,
unwilling to see their new found pros-
Petite' and importance melt away under the pres-
sure
and the collapse of Governmentcredit.
Should the Confederates capture Wash-
ington, Mr. CIIASZ'S thing like the greenbacks would be some-
fairy
money of the old legends,
turning into thorns
and shrivelledof
the leavestheir
disa disappointed
idn at
eyd-
break, to the consternation
possessor. The owner
of a handsome fortune in
these questionable securities may, by one of the
and find his greenbacks are veritable
extraordinary fluctuations of war, rise up one
morning
fairy money. Still by that system of compensation,
which runs through the universe, bringing
evil
out of good, and chequering good with evil, the
horrors of this most deplorable strife have not been

altogether without elEcting good. Apart from the
larger questions of social, political, and moral in-

finence, tho large 511 M of piper money afloat has

unquestionably given a stimulous to enterprise in
quarters where it was needed. The Western
States have been among those who have profited
most largely by it, and it is some satisfaction that
works of an enduring character, and of permanent
benefit to the people, have owed their existence to
the blood•stained struggle of the last two years.

The Bishop of St. BAWD'S made a very interest-
ing speech at Swansea, on nationalities. The dis-
course of the right ree. prelate is well worthy of
perusal, and will afford gratification from its elo-
quence, as well as instruction from its details. He
said, to commence with, that much diversity of
opinion had prevailed with regard to these " Bardic
assemblies." He cited the authority of the ancient
Greeks, who held their national Eisted-dfodan, the
most celebrated of which were Olympic Games.
These games were most valuable, as they were a
" centre of national unity" for the Greek people,
and they also stimulated the progress of literature,
since the victories there obtained inspired the muse
of PINDAR. But, said the Bishop, you have the
advantage in your Eisted-dfodan, as compared with
the Olympic Gaines, for they were all feats of bodily
activity. It belonged to a totally different order
of entertainments to that which they were assem-
bled to enjoy. Dr. THIRLWALL then entered at
some length into the disputes that arose regarding
the question of the maintenance of the old form of
speech. He said that these disputants were exag-
gerating the effect of language, good or bad. If
they crossed the Channel and went to France, they
would find a portion of that great country, called
Brittany, whose inhabitants spoke very much the
same language as themselves. In regard to this
place, the greatest unity subsisted between it and
other parts of the empire. There was no part of
France where the spirit of nationality prevailed to
a greater degree than in Brittany, and hence it was
apparent that all did not depend upon language to
such an extent as some erroneously supposed. In
Ireland, the greater part, indeed, nearly all the
people spoke the English tongue. Hence it could
not be said that the small remnant preserved of old
language cause any of the disturbances that arose
occasionally. There were sad proofs how little
a unity of language was instrumental in pre-
serving a unity of nationality. Need he take
them across the Atlantic and ask what had been
the effect of a common language there ; it had not
prevented " two sections of the same great people
from breaking out into the most dreadful civil war
which has been known in the history of mankind."
At all events, said the speaker, let us not exagge-
rate the effects of language, but reduce them to
their true value. This little sketch of the most
striking instances of different tongues not prevent-
ing unity from existing, and also that the same
tongue does not deter from the most violent alter-
cations arising from among those who speak it in
wide domains, was most appropriate. It reduced
the question to its true bearings, and confined it to
its just limits. Dr. THIRLWALL rendered essential
service to the cause he then represented by his able
arguments and forcible expositions of the compli-
cated subject before him. It is surprising what
people will find to dispute about at times, and how
angrily they will pursue their details, and with
what zeal carry on their opposition, when all the
time they have meat likely no case to make out,
and had much better have remained quiescent, and
not made any hostile move at all. Dr. THIRLWALL
said that those who were so much against the
Welsh language might believe him that it was not
so great an obstacle as they supposed. As to
those on the other side, he would say that they
had no reason to be over-anxious and so easily
alarmed. " Depend upon it, so long as the great
body of the Welsh people continue to value and to
love their ancient language it is impossible that
it can die out." This is essentially true, and the
experience of all time attests its veracity and
bears out its authenticity. What is engraven on
T
the mind of a nation cannot perish, what is
cherished
heart of
by tte B
of a people must sur-
vive.adtvicee given ishopof St.
DAVID'S he in h
.
DAVID'S was very wise, and it is to be
hoped that many who heard may take heed to
it. He said he wished that every Welshman should
have something added to what he possessed, and
not taken from him. He wished him not to lose
the chance of exercising his talents
and cultivating
his faculties, so that he might pursue a career of
useful activity and honourable ambition in all parts
of the world, which advantages he could not expect
to realise if be only carried about his ancient
tongue. He wished that in this generation
it would
cease to be necessary to employ an interpreter in a
court of justice. He thought the people of Wales
were threatened with a new Saxon invasion. It
had begun, it was spreading, and it would reach
the remotest corners of the land. There was a dif-
ference, however, in this second approach of the
Saxon. He " came not now with mailed troops for
the purpose of devastation and plunder, but to pour
his riches over the whole country." Whoever,there-
fore, stopped the progress of this invasion, and
sought to limit the people of Wales to their own
tongue, to the single use of their own language, was
an enemy to the interest of Wales. Dr. THIRL-
WALL concluded his able address by stating that he
hoped he represented the opinions cf many in his
views such as he had just expressed them. He
thought the subject he had referred to was one
which required grave consideration. This is un-
doubtedly the case, and he is deserving of thanks
for the pains which he has been at to explain
rightly the important subject before him. It is one
which is intimately connected with the interests of
the nation, and it is to be trusted that no mistaken
notions of independence will prevent the people
from benefiting themselves by it, and acquiring all
the additional knowledge in their power. It was a
true saying of CHARLES THE FIFTH that the man
who knew two languages had two hearts and two
souls. Let those belligerents as to nationality,
then, profit by this precept, and sec vexed questions
at defiance by being doubly armed; let them retain
the old and receive the new, thus setting a good
example to other people, and putting a stop in their
own domains to the strife which is engendered by
disunions of this class, to the detriment of social
advancement and the
hindrance of public improve-
ments of all kinds.
Shipbuilding for the Confederates.

The following reply to the memorial forwarded
to Earl Russell by the President of the Uoion and
Emancipation Society has been received from the
Foreign-office :

-o fi
Russell
e, Sept.
to state
s 1
tBa6t 3e
you,in r.
"S
iby Earl
memorialn of the I.st instant,
g
iI
reply an 3
to d
yirOe‘ rd
that her Majesty's Government have long had their
attention turned to the question of building and
fitting vessels of war for the so-called Confederate
States, and the subject will continue to receive
their anxious contideration.—l am, sir, your most
obedient humble servant, "E. HAMMOND.
" T. B. Potter, Esq., &e.,
51, Piccadilly, Manchester."

A monument is to be erected in America to the
memory of Samuel Colt, of revolver notoriety.
CHARLES DICEENS AT PARIS.—The English in
Paris, and very many of the French also, arc; in eager
expectation that Mr. Charles Dickens may again be pre-
vailed upon to delight theta with at least one maze of his
inimitable