The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-14 00:00:00

debate by stern patriots like the right hon. mem-
ber for Stroud, like the hone gentleman the
member for Stockport, like the hon. and learned
gentleman the member for Sheffield, and other out-
speaking, but in-voting chiefs among the Liberal
Independents. What matters it to Ministers how
adverse the "opinions" expressed in regard t 3 their
foreign policy, so long as the persons so condemning
that policy support it vigorously and energetically

by their "votes" ? No—upon second thoughts, upon
calm consideration, upon deliberate reflection—
Ministers aro clearly enough proved, by the result,

:o have been " wise in their generation"—in carry-

ing on the business of the nation precisely in the
very way in which they have been carrying it on.
And that chosen pathway—that selected policy?
Don't we all know it by heart by this time ?
This foreign policy that the House of Commons
pronounces to be so odious and so intolerable, and
yet accepts and endorses, so to speak, upon the
division list! What does it not include as among

its distinctive characteristics? No one can find it
very much of a difficulty to enumerate at least
a few among the more salient and more con-
spicuous of those characteristics. For it is
wholly undeniable, it is universally admitted, it
is perfectly legible, in fact, upon the blue books
—that it includes, among other charming peculi-
arities, the following :—The repeated encourage
ment of the hopes of Denmark that England would
afford her material assistance, under certain dire
contingencies, and then, when those contingencies
actually did arise, the leaving Denmark in the

lurch after all! The throwing out again and again
of the most alarming threats against Germany
as to what England would feel constrained to do
under such and such circumstances, and then, when
those circumstances actually did come to pass,
pocketting the threats, eating the big words, and
meekly backing out of it!! Those were the two
principal horns of the dilemma upon which
the Mi'nisterial policy may be said to have
been impaled and held up to the scornful
gaze of Christendom—" which," as Mrs. GAMP
might say, in the words of the convivial chorus,
" nobody can deny !" But—beside these, beyond
these peculiarities, glaringly conspicuous upon "the
head and front" of the ministerial "offending" in
the matter of its Foreign Policy, there were others
quite as readily distinguishable, and in a great
measure what we might designate " all of a piece !"
There was the elaborate preparation—with the
brand of inevitable failure upon it from the very
commencement—the elaborate and ostentatious
preparation ~by England, at the instance of Minis-
ters, here in Landon, of the abortive Conference!
As there had previously been the unnecessarily
discourteous rejection, by England, or at least in
the name of England, on behalf of Ministers, by
Earl RUSSELL as Foreign Secretary—the unpro-
vokedly discourteous, not to say wantonly im-
pertinent rejection (by Earl Russell as the
mouthpiece of our Governmcni) of the French
EMPEROR'S proposition of an European Congress.
Sweeping aside all other peculiarities, there were
at least those four very unpleasantly conspicuous
peculiarities indelibly stamped upon the Foreign
Policy of her MAJESTY'S Ministers! Yet—
looking at the decision of the House of Commons
—who shall say that it was not a wise policy for
Ministers to have selected, or rathor to have
fabricated? It may be a notorious failure in itself.
It is admitted by Ministers, indeed, to be a note-
torions failure. But—what matters that ?—seeing
that the House of Commons is ready to accept it, is
eager to approve it, is prepared deliberately to
support Ministers, in spite of this their Failure
of a Foreign Policy by a victorious majority oi
Eighteen !

roe English peop!e generaliy pride themselves
on their power of self-discipline. We are not ac•

customed in this metropolis to see public order
maintain( d by the bayonet, or to entrust the guar-
dianship of our streets in times of peace to arized
men. Foreigners unfamiliar with our ways express
extreme astonishment when they first mingle among

an English crowd, on the day of some grand festival,
at the immense bodies of people whu are kept in

order by a limited number of quiet blue...coated offi-
cials. We have always been proud of a liberty
which few continental nations would know how
to use if they had it, and our authorities know they
may generally trust with perfect safety to the good
sense, good temper, and fair play of an English
mob. Very recently, however, there has been an
unhappy exception to this order of things, which is
the more to be regretted, as an enterprising and
talented gentleman, whose exertions have long been
known to the public, underwent great risk and
annoyance, as well as heavy personal loss, and his
valuable property was entirely destroyed, It ap-
pears from his own account of the disaster, which
is corroborated by an eye-witness, that Mr. COX-
WELL, the well.known balloonist, was engaged to
attend with his balloon at a grand fete of the Fong.
ters, held at Leicester on Monday last. The
gathering was a very large one, the num•
bars present being estimated at 50,000,
and great preparations had been made for it,
fifteen acres of ground having been temporarily
enclosed on the racecourse. The principle of leav-
ing the mob to control themselves was, however,
i carried on this occasion to a most imprudent ex-
tent, if it be true, as Mr. CoxWELL heard it stated
that only eight policemen were engaged to main-
tain order and protect property in a mob of 5,000
persons. This number was quite insufficient to
defeat the machinations of pickpockets, and, as the
event unhappily proved, it was totally inadequate
to the necessities of the occasion. Mr. Cox YELL,
whose name has been so often associated with Mr.
GLAISIIER in his recent scientific explorations,
and who is among the foremost of our aeronauts,
prepared for the ascent of his balloon, which was
unfortunately his newest and largest, together with
the car used by himself and Mr. GLAISIIER in the
scientific ascents. The beginning of the confusion
was, that some person, from what motive it is diffi•
cult to say, gave it out that it was not Mr. COX-
WELL'S best balloon whose ascent they were about
to witness, but a small one. Of course the crowd

could not ascertain the fact from inspection, but an
angry feeling manifested itself, and very soon a
body of persons broke into the enclosure made for
the protection and inflation of the balloon. It was
in vain for Mr. COX.WELL to entreat the crowd to
give him more space., and for several persons to
second his efforts and endeavour to clear the
ground, the hoarding having been broken down.
The mob pressed on, and wir,Dn at last the balloon
was taken out, being necessarily rtmoved into an
open space before the ascent was possible, " a sea
of clamouring spectators pressed around it, all
angrily vociferating for an immediate ascent, and
refusing to hear or to beiiere that their pressure was
the obstacle. A certain number of tickets for the
ascent had been sold, and the holders of these
tickets soon made matters worse by getting into the
car in so unceremonious a fashion that all opera-
tions were stopped. One man, who thus himself
was hindering the ascent, excited the mob, and
made them believe that the aeronaut was unwilling
to make the ascent. This offers no excuse to the
people, since they had no reason to suppose a gen-
tleman of Mr. Cc ',toyed experience and