The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-03 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—The war and the negotiation which
Denmark has been carrying on against Austria,
Prussia, and Federal Germany for now nearly 12
months have at last come to an end, and we are at
liberty to close with indignation and disgust one of
the darkest pages in the annals of modern Europe.
The Danes must look back with very bitter feelings
of self-reproach and of indignation to the events
which have transpired since the commencement of
the month of November in last year. The Monarchy
then stood erect ; if not endowed with wealth, nor
powerful from the numbers of its people, it was at
any rate strong in its heroic traditions, in the
prestige of a long line of Sovereigns succeeding
one another with uninterrupted regularity, in
the success of its arms against its insurgent
subjects in the great battle of Idstedt in 1850,
and in the recent marriage which promises to place
one of her Princesses upon the Throne of Great
Britain. Now she is crushed by overwhelming
force, plundered of her provinces, compelled to pay
an enormous contribution, and confined to a few
islands and to the barren peninsula of Jutland. The
result is due partly to her own errors, partly to
adverse fortune, and partly and in by far the
greater measure to the bad faith, the cruelty, and
rapacity of the two great German Powers. A year
ago she was just about to experience that first mis-
fortune which brought all the elements of mischief
which were lurking around her into the fullest
vigour and most destructive activity. On the 16th
of last November the old King Frederick died; he
was a Dane, possessing the confidence of his people,
and able to restrain them by personal popularity
and the prestige of ancient authority. His suc-
cessor, descended from a different line, more Ger-
man than Danish, and suspected, though, so far as
it appears with little reason, of preferring the ins
terests of Germany to those of Denmark, succeeded
under circumstances which entitled him to every
consideration, both at the hands of his own people
and of the German Powers, who were then pressing
on Denmark with angry menaces a settlement in
their own sense of the Schleswig-Holstein question.
But that consideration which he certainly was en-
titled to from both the unfortunate King obtained
from neither. Only two days after his accession he
was compelled by popular demonstrations, which
seemed to leave him little choice between acceding,
to the wishes of his subjects and immediate deposi-
tion, to give his assent to a Constitution, not indeed
in violation of the Treaty of 1852, but of the under-
standing between Denmark and the German
Powers by which that treaty was preceded. For
an act thus extorted the King could hardly, under
the circumstances, be held responsible. A gene.
rons or even an ordinarily fair enemy would
have felt for the situation of a man who was
reaping a harvest of evil which he had not
sown, and would have waited to see whether,
when he became confirmed on his throne, King
Christian would not have found means to retract
the concession wrung from him at the first moment
by popular violence. But be had not to deal with
generous and fair enemies. Just six weeks after he
had succeeded to the throne, on the 27th of last
December, the long threatened Federal execution
against Holstein was put iato effect, and the coun-
try was invaded, not, as was pretended, in a hostile
spirit, but simply to enforce the judicial authority
of the German Bund over a refractory member of
the Confederacy. Such a proceeding closely re-
sembles a distress for rent, which gives no property
in the goods distrainod, bat only invests the land-
lord with a pledge that he will not lose his money.
So far there was great harshness, but no falsehood
or violation of legality. From this point every step
taken by the German Powers has been stained
with fraud or violence. The ice having been
broken by the entry into the Duchies under the
pretence of legality, the Federal force, which had
served its purpose, was rudely pushed aside, and
Austria and Prussia stepped boldly on the scene to
act for themselves. Oa the Ist of February they
entered Schleswig without, so far as we can see,
any shadow of justification for such a step, under
the worn-out pretext, if pretext that can be called
which is really nothing but a confession of the in-
tention to plunder, of holding it as a material gua-
rantee. Then followed a war in which all the ad-
vantage of numbers and of the quality of arms was
so clearly on the one side as to preclude the possi-
bility of acquiring the smallest amount of military
glory by the largest quantity of military success.
Next followed the invasion of Jutland, which, as it
could not be excused on the worn-out ground of
material guarantee, was coloured as being made
for strategical considerations. At Duppel the
Danes, worn out with fatigue and entirely over-
matched by the Prussian artillery, soon ceased to
offer effective resistance, and the place was stormed
with much ease, which did not, however, prevent
the most extravagant exultation and the employ-
ment of the utmost limit of the most extreme rights
of war against the conquered. It is needless to
dwell on the armistice, on the brief renewal of hose
tilities, and the ultimate submission of Denmark
to a power which she found it impossible to
resist. Since then she has experienced an
agony protracted through dreary months of
ncgociatlon, if that may be called negocia-
tion which consists of the most exorbitant
and outrageous demands on the one stele, and fruit-
lest appeals to justice and the law and usages of
civilised nations on the other. Peace has at last
been signed—such peace as is made between the
unhappy inmates of an Italian diligence and their
plunderers when they have given up their purses,
their watches, their rings, their bracelets, their
earrings, their studs, and their silver pencil cases,
and have thoroughly convinced their importunate
negotiators on the other side, by submitting to a
minute inspection, that nothing remains for the one
to lose or the other to gain. Denmark loses Schles-
wig and Holstein ; she pays eight millions and a
half of dollars, which must be wrung from a people
already ruined by unheard-of military exactions ;
and she is called upon, contrary to the law of
nations, to expiate a wrong by paying compensation
to Prussian shipowners for having exercised the
undoubted right of a belligerent to capture enemy's
ships in time of war. We are well used to see the
strong oppress the weak, but we never remember
an instance in which so much cruelty was blended
with so much perfidy, and the rights of nations so
glaringly violated by proceedings originating in a
pretended appeal to law and justice. It is incon-
ceivable how such an amount of territorial aggran-
dizement as has been obtained by the German
Powers—how any amount of popularity and influ-
ence could be thought worth buying at such a price.
Prussia has indeed obtained the petty Duchy of
Leuenburg ; and Germany, we suppose, must be con-
sidered to have gained, somehow or other, all that
Denmark has lost; but such acquisitions are dearly
purchased by the triumph of a policy which osten-
tatiously tramples under foot every consideration of
right and justice, and reduces what was once the law
of Eurdpe, understood and acted on between all
nations, small and great, to the simple question of
the longest sword. If Prussia is quite sure that she
will always have power on her side, that she will
never encounter any adversary stronger than her-
self, that she has established so firm a military
superiority over every other nation of the Conti-
nent as to be able to despise those considerations
of justice and mercy which are ever invoked by the
weak against the violence of the strong, she may be
wise in the course she is now taking. But if his-
tory, and above all her own history, admonishes
her how little trust is to be reposed in the perma-
nent possession of that strength which she is no w
abusing, she may do wisely to consider what mercy
she has in her turn to expect, should she be so un-
fortunate as to wage an unsuccessful war. The
treatment she received from Napoleon, and the out-
rage inflicted by it on the opinion ofEurope, have
been counted among the most prominent causes of
his fall ; and Prussia in her treatment of Denmark
has as much exceeded the severity of Napoleon to
herself as she falls short of him in all those attri-
butes of military power which were unable to pro-
tect him from signal reverses and almost unexampled
misfortunes.
POTEI.—The rumour that another bloody battle
has been fought in the Shenandoah Valley, which
reached us by the last American mail, is now con-
firmed, and the official report of General Sheridan
places beyond a doubt the authenticity of a telex
gram recently received in Manchester from a private
source, the genuineness of which has for the past
few days been warmly canvassed. Whether the
Confederates have sustained a serious defeat may
be open to question, but it is at least indubitable
that the Federal General claims to have routed his
opponents and to have captured a large number of
guns. The immense advantages arising from tele-
graphic communication are to some extent neutra-
lised by the uncertainty attaching to information
which is acquired with no less rapidity than it is
transmitted. A piece of intelligence can be flashed
across a kingdom in less time than it would take
to institute the necessary inquiries to establish its
accuracy when possibly incorrect, and hence arises
the natural temptation to announce first and inves-
tigate afterwards. This observation especially
applies to the reports of the operations of hostile
armies. The news of a victory or a defeat travels
fast, and furnishes food for comment long before its
truth or falsity is satisfactorily established.
But in our thirst for intelligence at the present
day we are not satisfied unless the mails
which cross the Atlantic contain the latestthe
rumours transmitted from the capital to
most distant headland which the steamers sight
ere they bid farewell to the American continent,
We We are therefore constantly compelled to
ow
subsequent mail before venturing to_
.express cone
fident opinion on the intelligence which reaches us,
and aro compelled to reserve our judgment until the

latest rumours circulating in New York or Wert
ton have been confirmed or disproved. Not
el
the only disadvantage at which we are Pi:4i
commenting upon the substance of the 11-es)
mails. .It is natural that the respective ge°,49
contending armies should give somewhat 'ol
accounts of the engagements which may ta,:eff
between them, and for such discrepancies e'vei
must be prepared; but it happens that the '0
Government and the Federal Generals hal,
such an invariable practice of giving the rn°l3lo
dacious reports of the battles in which tbelefo
have been engaged, that, unless where a 'ro,
admitted, or attendant circumstances ca"a'poi
announcement of a victory, one is ccoto
await the receipt of the Southern version ue Al
taching that credence to the statement,
under other circumstances, would be accordeaio
Government at Richmond is precluded frlft
mitting its war news to Europe simultanectleio
that of the rival Government at Washingt°l3lo
not unfrequently happens that the boasted Id
of the North are, after a short interval dep°'"ia
to be damaging defeats. Many consideration6o
to the conclusion that the recent alleged stlis
Gen. Sheridan will be found to belong t°t„100
It will be recollected that, after the 01)1140
of Longstreet to the command of tne CO di
army in the Shenandoah Valley, Sheridanho
it expedient to retrace his steps, and Wi'lli
treating devastated the whole region throng ego
he passed. According to the latest intellighol
had reached Strasburg, and having at t'old
secured a position which he believed he COie
against any attack on the part of the COOl5l
he seems to have left the headquarters 0f Rtil
and gone to Winchester, a town some tvie° 01
farther north. On the morning of 0:00
October Longstreet, taking advantage c'eottl
fog, attacked the Federal position with „101 l
success. The Federals were taken by Burr?
left flank was turned, and they fled in teebiel
disorder. The temporary earthworks If
been thrown up for the defence of their ill,
were carried by assault, and 24 guns fell li
hands of the assailants. By the time WO
General had repaired from Winchester to roi
which he ought never to have quitted. bl° AO
been driven more than four mites up the 1001
point between the villages of Middleton til i
town, and here he succeeded in rallying "00:
and making a stand against the advancing 00.*
rates. It was then 1 o'clock in the afterneto
hours later he, in his turn, assumed the
tiosi
and, if his report is to be relied upon, re,,,Pdco
adversaries, regaining his lost grounds l'" or
ing 50 guns, inclusive of those previousli /0
the Confederates. The Federals had 011:
killed and three wounded, whilst their lee efi
is estimated at 5,000. A Confederate Gel/00,
also amongst the slain, and Sheridan clait 0
oaptured 1,500 prisoners. For the data 101
engagement we must still wait; but Wethif
much surprised if it does not appear that tii
ral army has not sustained much greate,oo
than it has been enabled to inflict. Ibe"k
worthy of note in the military operations e
throughout the Confederacy. There l° 01/1
no news from the James River, the reler?,
tamed by Grant at the beginning of OctO otf,
to all appearances satisfied him of then R 1
attempting to carry the defences groin' Bi,
with the forces at present at his disP,10101;
continues to mancouvre in northern A'tiberlf,
Sherman still occupies Atlanta. despite t oare,
predictions of his opponents that its
0e fr,
would be inevitable. In Missouri Prinp
his triumphant career, and has added tiost
the list of towns which have alreadit;ooo,
his hands. No more State eleev-0, ,
taken place; but the Republican andn 04
parties are untiring in their efforts
~`° be ,0
prize at the great contest which wa,l'h'e eler-
in the course of the present month. 1"rtsi0111-
Mr Lincoln is believed to be almost coo 000{
President does not, however, neglect t de°
far as he is able, the immense constittleflof it
votes he must depend for the renevla' Oge f
of office. There is something very str.6 lug aoa
Iri
eyes in the Chief of the State Insl, 6 itlei
oration ; but it is in America as nitle'of tit
course as for a member of the liouse of I:-
t:ere to make a speech at the banquet the I,
cultural meeting, or in the town-hall ° eetoei
which sends him to Parliament. It es, bell
recent speech made by Mr. Seward he!' off j
preted as meaning that, in the event
,v:,, reFj
not being re-elected, he would, during wo 1310
of his term of office, endeavour, so far_olY
to embarrass, if not to ruin the Governwthe trit
others have inferred, from the fact ot OE4
Convention not being definitively adicl,
the Democratic candidate:were nonaitaft il, ,'
at once seize the reins of government vt:i' ~4\t'
ing until the time when, in conforLONV,6
3 Constitution, the present occupant wonlati,
t presidential chair. Mr. Lincoln has te.kPl
to assure his fellow-citizens that all apPf°lll
on either score are grounc.l!ess, because,,°,
► the will of the people, when constitutl°d.
pressed, must be law for all. If the KV
North, however, have no better ground 00
• for believing that neither party scilj r IV,
power entrusted to it, their guarantee 1°,00.1
nervation of order and the protection of t:ofst
I of the State is extremely insignificant. PWI
t are in a position to judge, we should 5110 f;
considerable time has elapsed since , eSlii
' population have had an opportunitY (0034:
s their will in a constitutional mane lief
' very long time must still elapse before '
enabled to do so.
----al

COUNTRY

HULL—TiiEspAS. mote;
At our market to-day there was a 173„/°`1;;00
English wheat of varied condition. .„," reisl3lo
pressed lower prices had to ba accepted. x
The price of all spring corn tended down
limited ii:quiry,

LYNN—TuEsDAT. tv of r
At our corn market to-lay the suPPA'(:OO9i,
middling, and sold at former rates. r and t,
trade, at scarcely so much money. °1"15 O'w
unaltered.
White wheat 43s to 45s 1 Barley ••"....
Red.. 3Bs to 39s I Grinding.'
Beans .36s to 37s I 0at5......
Old 40s to 42s I Peas ...... 300
Averages Wheats, 38s 10d—bad(/'
35s Od.
op,
TV lir
MARKET HARBOROUGII—; beao",
A moderate show of wheat, which sold 9/0,
recent currencies. Barley in tolerable 6t1.113:1 sty Irb:
a shade less money. Other kinds of griliVs 4Y
—White wheat, 41s to 45s red, 385 239
Malting barley at 31s to 33s per qr.; P"
per 30 st, Oats, old, 26s to 28s; OW'
st.; beans, 36s to 42s per qr.
NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE---' 00.0
The wheat trade was quiet, and late P I)6'
supported. Malting barley dull. In ostS)
no change. Flour in retail at late rates.

The local markets have been fairly
buyers and sellers during the last 81-1
Tit o
and there has been a considerable atn(*-",
The average quotations are as follows •
...1
Wheat, white 5s 3d to 5s Od Darla."
Ditto red..... Os Od to Os Od I Oats ...".

CORK—TUESDAY' .0
The following were the quotations thl9
wheat, 7s Gd to Ss•3d; white, 8s Od tt°lo,
6d to 7s 6d ; oats, 68 8d to 6s 10d ;
6s 6d; berg, --8 Od.

---
DUBLIN—TvEsDAI'vj
Supply of wheat small' oats and ber:po
freely at a slight advance. Foreign Ory
sellers asking 3d to 6d advance, which l'.ll/331
to. Maize more healthy than for some tl

s. d. s. d.
Wheat, white 24 0 to 26 6
Do., red 2l 6 to 24 0
Do., new ••• • 0 to 0
Barley
Oats
Do., black — 0 to 0

Oatraeff.L.::
Beaus..
.. . .
Bere . .. e,
..
RaPescrilloill
Bakers
llf__._.--,°113
Indi

Births. .„•
Age' i
ESSEX.—On the Ist inst., at Vallsli
00,
Wm. E. Essex, Esq., of a daughter' 0 41
GUANEY.—On the 2d inst., the wife of 11.,
,uor
Esq.., of Nutfield, Surrey, of a daughtc 0 P'
to 1
PORTMAN.—On the Ist inst., at Durvief3-
Portman, of a son, 164
Marriages.
at .' ,10 6d
LEIGHTON—LYSTEIL—On the 2d ills'"04llyilj
Hanover-square, Henry Leighton, i P j
daughter of Robert Lyster, EST, 6
ati
Brighton. at O 4
'l
SLADEN—Fnvaics.—On the Ist igst'' to C
dqSaltiauedgeehnnat, Esq., of Ripple Court. leat Pd'4's
etor won, of
Slarmelpansodn. T.
W.
Free
Attl4
Deaths. 011711
BINGHAIII.—On the let inst, at 3.5, - a Clr
'
grine Bingham, Esq , aged 76. c)ot''„ '
Boons.--On the 31st ult. Richard
near Northallerton, aged'7o. bettil
le TA ,y
ELETCTILEY. —On the 29th ult., at A-, 1' A
40
_tir
Edmund Bletchley, aged 32. " r
right°,,iii C°
BUILNEY.—On tha let inst., at B
Parr 13urney, D. U., rchdeacoa "
troll'
80.
„stoll
EAST,—On the Ist inst., at 37, Brii,;- , 6
square, Wm. East, sq., aged 4',,„,,t05,N1,
GODDARD.—On the 29th ult.. at Itc";ge:/,
cestershire„Charles Goddard, 854" -

P'
tot"
London : I'rinted and Prblished /Sr1:1;t/11 4
fa
of No. 112, Strand, Printer, t TO" "
.
Strand, 111 the Precinct of the Pa' agog'
Ilithagoex.:-Thuuday, Noiremper