The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-14 00:00:00

by no ordinary boldness. It is, in some sense, a great
liberal manifesto. It is, in its whole purport,
directly in harmony with that most noble, and,
indeed, we would even go so far es to say, most affect-
ing peroration of ADOLPHE TRIERS' " Histoire du
Consulat et de l'Empire," the closing words, the
crowning thought of that grand historic master-
piece—worthy at once of the genius of the histo-
rian, and of the glory of his Hero—where M.
TRIERS completes the record of the wondrous
career of NAPOLEON THE GREAT with—A Cry for
Liberty ! And; he is consistent—not only in echo-
ing now, with his eloquent lips, that cry from the
depths of his soul, inscribed in immortal words by
his no less eloquent pen upon the tablets of History
—he is consistent in identifying aiways with his full
and earnest appreciation of the Child of the R:volia-

don, his own persevering advocacy of those liberal
principles which iz was the office of true Revolutio❑
to inaugurate, and of which principles NAPOLEON,
as the great Revolution's Child and Champion, was,
in the very truest sense, the living incarnation.
They are no idle words, we may be certain,
these words addressed to the French Legislature
by M. THIERS on Monday, and published in extenso
immediately afterwards—not suppressed as in-
discreet, but printed verbatim et literatim—in the
columns of the lloniteur. Words, thoughts, con-
victions, the weighty imrort of which are com-
pressed within the compass of the final sentence of
M. TIIIERS' harangue—that last (accordingly as it
may be received between the Nation and the
EMPEROR) either formidable or auspicious sentence
in which M.THIERS said," Let it never be forgotten
that France, scarcely awakened, and with whom
the exaggeration of desire is so prompt, if she
now allows it be asked for in a deferential
and respectful manner, may, perhaps, one
day exact it." Or, to give the very words

in which this burning truth fell from the great
orator's tongue :—" Qu'on ne I'oublie pas, toutefois,
ce pays a peine eveille, ce pays si bouillant et chez
qui l'exageration du desir est si pre3 du revel], s'il
permet eujourd'hui qu'on demande pour lui d'une
maniere delerente et respectueuse, un jour pent-
etre it exigera !" The literal truth of which assur-
ance who is there in the wide world who shall
gainsay ? Certainly, for one—not the French EM
PER OR ! With his judgment chastened in the school
of adversity—with his intelligence, naturally large
and keen, enlarged by reflection and rendered more
penetrant by experience—with his dynasty to
con33lidate, with his throne to strengthen,
with his son's interests to cherish and

conserve, with every conceivable inducement
impelling him to undertake the realisation of the
designs he himself has been the first to indicate
as lying before him in the Path of his Duty—NAPO-
LEON 111, can only be in doubt, now, can only be

disposed yet to hesitate, as to the time at which, as
to the proportions in which, the imperial institu-
tions of France under his rule shun be widened,

deepened, elevated, according t 3 his own
projected scheme for their wise and ccnstitn-
tionally liberal development. Already he him-

self has put his hand to the work of
this development. Hence, in simplest truth, as a
pure matter of fact—an Opposition has been called
into existence in the bosom of the Imperial Legis-
lature ! Hence—all Paris has been enabled to
return the popular candidates, by preference to the
candidates proposed for its acceptance by Govern-
ment ! Hence—radiantly conspicuous at the head
of that compact bat powerful Opposition, appears
the oratorical and statesmanlike genius of
M. THIERS, the genius of that indepen-
dent and patriotic historian who, having
raised as it were a Temple of Fame, are
perennius, to the glory of NAPOLEON, did so appa-
rently in order that from the topmast pinnacle of it,
he might all the more effectively, in accents that
will resound through the hereafter, raise that one
dominant cry of his soul, that Cry for Liberty.

The news from Now Zealand is important, and
on the whole satisfactory, although in one respect
it leaves room for regret. The natives have suc-
ceeded in evacuating their stronghold at Mere-
Mere without coming into collision with the troops,
and notwithstanding loss of life has been thereby
avoided, the advantage of gaining a decided victory
over them has been consequently lost. It will be
remembered that the Maorees strongly entrenched
at a place called Mere-Mere,which was protected in
front by the river and in the rear by a labyrinth of
swamps and marshes. At this spot General CAME-
RON had concentrated his forces, resolved by a grand
coup to reduce the natives to submission, and an
attack was daily expected when the last news left.
It seems that the new iron steam gunboat lately
arrived from Australia arrived at the Waikato Heads
at the close of October, and occupied her appointed
position facing Mere-Mere. The Maories endea-
voured to oppose this prcceeding,and used their guns
with so much skill as to give rise to a suspicion
that they were directed by Europeans. The iron-
clad vessel, however,was proof against their salutes,
and remained ready for further operations. The
gunboats already on the spot commanded the river
and a small stream adjoining, so that it was con-
cluded that the M tories would endeavour to retreat
by the land, and accordingly the iroeclad steamer
proceeded a few miles up the river to land a de-
tachment of troops so as to frustrate any such at-
tempt. Ac attack was immediately made by the
natives on this position, but without success, and
arrangements were made for a united attack the
next day on the entrenchment from which it was
supposed that all means of retreat had been com-
pletely cut off. Native subtlety, however, and an
unthought of contingenoy frustrated the General's
plans, for before the appointed hour for the assault,
Mere-Mere was deserted, without, it is said, the loss
of a single man. The condition of the river had not
been taken into consideration, its swollen state
having converted the swamps into highroads for
the native canoes. It is said in one account that
they were seen taking their flight in 18 canoes,
but could not be followed. It is certainly im•
probable that the British forces had any boats of
sufficiently light draught to be able to pursue
them, while the skill of the natives in such a
case would of course be far superior, and would
probably have enabled them to baffle their pur-
suers, had their designs been discovered earlier.
It is a further proof of the quickness and handi-
ness of the Maories, and their readiness in taking
advantage of any chance that may arise in their
favour. It is certainly a great thing that they
should be dislodged from their strongholds, which
is new in the hands of our trcops, who have
taken possession of three pieces of cannon left
there, thus depriving the Maories of one of their
most formidable resources. The body of natives
who were encamped at Mere-Mere have disap-
peared from sight, having probably dispersed,
but the experience now gained by our men in
bush warfare, and the success of the flying
columns recently organised, gives no ground for
hoping that they will, before long, be forced to
lay down their arms. 'the difficulties they must
experience in procuring food in the bush, com-
pared with the arrangements for the supply of
our troops, adds another to our chances of speedy
success. One very satisfactory par: of the intel-
ligence brought by this mail is tee unanimous
resolution, in official quarters, to prosecute the