The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-29 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 1864.

It must be confessed that Ministers are particu-
larly unfortunate just now. First one thing and
then another seems to conspire against them, and
all the unpleasant reports, disagreeable rumours,
and inimical hints that have been circulated, whis-
p:red about, and spread abroad, seem to be coming
true, and ihat at a very awkward time. In the
recess things can be smuggled over in a convenieet
fashion, and the most perplexing inquiries can be
shelved, as it were, with one device or another. It
i 3 quite otherwise, however, during the session.
Then all are on the qui rive for intelligence, and if
there are no reports afloat concerning an enemy,
a friend's reputation must be sacrificed, rather
than have nothing to find fault with or grumble at.
A few months age the sage or sapient adherents of
the Government would have scouted the idea of
their being worsted in so many encounters, and
quite ignored the notion of their being taken in and
duped on so many occasions. Experience that
teaches so many sad and stern lessons has, however,
imparted this direful information, and our present
advisers can neither boast of their wits or their
wisdom. Perhaps they have been willingly de-
csived ; but as they dare not confess such a thing,
the same blame must attach itself to them, as it
they had been really desirous of acting impartially.
Laid LYONS' despatch recently published is a very
curious communication, and even in these days of
remarkable cccurrences and astounding anomalies
it Is a very striking and startling affair. Perhaps
the most conspicuous part of the transaction is the
coolness with which the matter is treated by every
one. Does this quiesence show indifference to the
,
practised
cheatieg or fear of offending the parties
implicated in the concern? Either way the very
guardtd expressions made
use of seem quite out of
place. It is is a manner holding oat a premium for
trickery and deceit to allow such glaring instances
to pass by almost unaticed and quite uncensured.
At all events, euch slurring over grave offences
against honesty, is one of the innovations of the
new style of things introeuced by the disciples
of
progress of the present day. It Was a noble
saying of the French monarch, that if truth
and honour were banished from the rest of the
world, they ought to be enshrined in the hearts
of kings ; but there is no need for the sentiment
to die out in these practical times that have sue.
ceeded to the poetic days of ancient chivalry. In
all matters that are more or less national, and in
all transactions that have reference to the inter

a.ue

comtnunicatio❑ of State;, the greatest sincerity
should prevail, also the utmost care ought to be
used to prevent any false report gaining ground,
anti any unfounded charge being credited. The
same rule applies to the concerns of friends and
foes, lukewarm supporters, and devoted adherents.
Justice knows no distinction, and there will be
an end of all upright dealings and fair conduct,
if once the idea obtains that it is lawful to outs
wit an adversary at the expense of candour, and
through the violation of the laws of straight-
forwardness. Nothing can excuse Mr. SEWARD
for the part he has played in this disgraceful
affair of the forged despatch. It has been, indeed,
reported that he was aware of its peculiar cha-

ratter. That cannot be proved, and it does not
mend one serious error to make another mistake
in accounting for its origin. At all events those
who are kind Enough to give him the benefit of
the doubt cannot deny that he deserves the im-
utation, and if it is an unjust assertion, he should
fleet thst he had no right to be in such a hurry
to take away the reputation of others, and then
,on a supposition to do them a positive injury,
ork upon the credulity of too impressionable

s. It is a grievous blunder in his acts as a
ablic man. The American war has been rife with
e disastrous personal complications, but none of
receding affairs has at all come up to this last
dal. It is a very lame account of the proceed-

iuz, which is given in Lord LYONS' letter. Perhaps
he ,s ashaired of the whole thing, and, if so, it is
the arst sign of good taste and feeling which has
bcc. shown in the transaction from beginning to
or!. We have see❑ the most ignorant infatuation,
th_ yet indecent taste, and the moat unwarrant-

able i-mping at w3nelusions on all sides, as regards

WARD and his myrmidons, and Earl Rus
SEL., and his emissaries, but no trace
of consideration is anywhere discoverable
and no gleam of good will or generous forbearance
lights up the dark and devious track that has been
pursued. It is one of the many evils which accrue
from the influence of such narrow views, and the
constant practice of petty actions, that when any
mistake ie made there is nothing to fall back upon.
It is impossible for the politician, the diplomatist,
or the statesman to recover himself, because he was
only actuated by the most sordid and selfish motives.
He aimed at damaging his opponent, not at render-
ing the State a signal service. Those who make the
end justify the means can never hope to inspire
respect or to win regard. If they succeed, they
may forget all higher influences in the whirl of the
busy wheel of fortune; but if they fail there is
nothing to impart dignity to reverses or to take the
sting from defeat. It may be that some of those
connected with these forged communications may
stiltrejoice at the success of the manoeuvre, although
they admit the falsity of the reports that have
worked the mischief. If so, they ought to be
ashamed of themselves, for such a dastardly course
of action is a disgrace to a civilised state and would
be a stain in the annals of savage warfare. One
thing is worthy of notice—that the deceit has been
very lightly passed over by our Ministers. The
Attorney-General has admitted that, in his sim-
plicity, he believed the reports to be genuine; but
the other Ministers will not allow their wisdom to
be in fault, and prefer to allow the matter to drop
quietly. In tho name of English honour, and for
the sake of national credit, this should not be. A
wrong has been perpetrated, and our Government
have helped to do it; a gross injustice has been done
to a struggling State, and those who have been
active agents in assisting in the outrage should
come forward and disown the originators of the
base and ignoble transaction. if they d) not take
as much pains to circulate the denial as they did to
spread abroad the false accusation,tLey are compro•
wising themselves, and must share the disgrace, it
not the guilt, or We emspiracy. 'There is nothing
to be ashamed of in confessing a mistake, but
there is everything to blush for in keeping up the
game of subterfuge, and allowing things to
take their course when that course is a crooked one,
and such that will not bear the light of day shed
upon it. It is to be remembered that the subjects
of this realm have suffered great wrongs in conse-
quence of this shameful and scandalous proceeding.
It seems strange that so little care has been evi-
denced by those bound to protect them for their
unjust and unfair treatment. Those who review
the course of this American war from the outset will
assuredly trace this episode in dark colours, and no
triumph that the partial success of the nefarious
scheme has wrought out for political and party par-
poses can compensate far the mischief it has done
in destroying confidence and shaking our faith and
reliance in the goodwill of our Government. It is
too late to tell us to rest and be thankful when
there is no security that any day the garbled ac•
count, the false report, and the forged despatches of
an unscrupulous and unprincipled foreigner may
not actuate a Minister to adopt the most stringent
course, and to resort to the most extreme measures!.
Before Earl RUSSELL next presumes to address a
public meeting, and talk so glibly of the necessity
of altering our laws to suit the fancies of our sen-
sitive allies, he had better take the trouble to ascer-
tain whether he is not the dupe of an adroit
schemer, and the victim of some practical joke. It
is long since so flagrant an outrage has been offered
to the good sense, the high character, and the
honourable feeling of this country, and it is tco bad
for those who have done ea much harm to be too
proud to own their errors, or too wilful to do their
utmost to rectify the mistakes it has led them to
commit, and the injuries that it has been the means
of inflicting.

It is satisfactory to learn, by the news from Cal-
cutta, that recent investigations tend to prove that
tho outbreak on the North-West frontier was not
the result of so general a conspiracy as was once
feared. There is no doubt that the disturbances
were encenTaged, if not originated, by Mahommedan
agents, several of whom have been arrested at
Patna ; but it appears that nothing has yet oc-
curred to strengthen the belief of a widespread
Mussulman confederacy. On the contrary, it
would appear, from the trifling nature of the evi-
dence adduced, as well as from the relationship
proved to exist between the principal agent and
some of the frontier tribes, that the whole affair
was of a purely local and temporary character.
This is a highly satisfactory result of the investi-
gation, removing the uneasiness and suspicion na-
turally excited by a less favourable view of the
case. From Calcutta itself the news is cheering
enough, with one serious exception, the state of
the public health. Still, even the sickness and
mortality now so terribly frequent on the banks of
the Hooghly may in the end prove to be blessings
in disguise, by compelling the authorities to take
active measures of sanitary reform. The acknow-
ledged evils of the city have been suffered to in
crease with the increasing population until they
have reached a height and a virulence that threaten
most serious results, unless their progress be
promptly checked. 5,000 corpses, it is said, are an-
❑ually thrown into the river,:i to float among
the shipping, while the total absence of drainage
and sewerage increase a hundredfold the natural
unhealthiness of the city. When we add to these
evils the condition of the native town and the defi-
ciency of pure water, we shall not much wonder at