The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-23 00:00:00

fully impressive significance of their own. 7
The four remarkable particulars above enue
merated and thereupon grouped together, dif.
ferent though they are in their character
and in their bearing may with a homely force of
truth be said in one sense to be all of a piece. %-
conclusive, though they may be deemed by the
more infatuated believers in the eventual supremacy
of the Federal Government over the so-called rebels
or secessionists—even if they are thus superciliously
to be depreciated as so many mere straws upon the
surface—they are at the very least singularly noee-
worthy if only by reason of their indicating, fetch
and all of them together, not merely the motive
ea which, but the increasingly accelerated
pace at which the tide of events is running there in
North America. Instead of its being the Confede-
rate capital of Richmond that is threatened—it is
the Federal capital of Washington. Instead of its
being any one of the wealthier Southern towns
that seems doomed to fall into the grasp of a Nor-
thern army of invasion—it is a Confederate force
that appears to be advancing steadily to the capture
of the Federal city of Baltimore. So far, again,
from its being the South that is, so to speak,
in any very dire extremity financially—it is the
North, that after watching the fearful rise of gold
to the unprecedented extent of 270 per cent. has,
thereupon, beheld its modelfinancier, as if in de-
spair, vacating his high post, and withdrawing
into seclusion, after the manner of NECKER or of
COLONNE. Finally—it is not the Confederate
President, it is the Federal President—it is not
JEFFERSON DAVIS, it is ABRAHAM LINCOLN who
seems to be eager at every opportunity for so doing,
more and more wantonly to violate the public
liberties, to sweep aside the baubles of the civil
authority, to fling the sword of the State, as it
were, whenever the whim of the moment prompts
him to do so, into the delicately balanced scales of
justice, to seize with the ungainly grasp of a sort
of a Burlesque Despot, now the rights of individuals,
now again what might but yesterday have been
deemed the inalienable prerogatives of the Courts of
Law. The Governor of New York, Governor SEY-
MOUR that is, having declined to enforce the
Federal army (the army of defence, as it may be
called) at Washington, has followed up his refusal
so to do, by calling out seventy-five thousand men
to withstand the summons of the PRESIDENT by en-
forcing the process of the State Courts in opposition
to the rule of the military Government. The civil
authority thus rising in vindication of its rights
and privileges, Mr. LINCOLN, according to his
arbitrary wont, his now directed General Dix,
as his armed representative, to set at open de.
fiance the majesty of the courts of law by coolly
ignoring their civil jurisdiction. It is as flagrant
an incident in its way as though the old Roman
Senators had been bearded, not by foreign invaders
like the soldiers of BRENNUS, but by the lictors of
the Consuls themselves or of some temporary Dic-
tator. The situation, in truth, if less momentous,
is almost, we might say, more interesting at this
moment, between Governor SEYMOUR and Presi-
dent LINCOLN than between General GRANT and
General LEE -K and this chiefly by reason of its
profound significanee.

Mr. AIRTON'S remarks were very appropriate
the other evening, The hon. member addressed
himself to a very ungracious task, for it is well
known that from our present Government we can
get neither assistance nor sympathy when the sub
ject treated of is the claim of the oppressed, and
anyone sufficiently self-sacrificing, or possessed of
hardihood enough to throw himself in the breach
must perforce expect to meet with very cavalier
treatment; or, what is worse, he is almost certain
to fail in attaining the result of his efforts. It is
nevertheless very desirable that some. protest
should be made about the actual state of
affairs and some remarks uttered, or else the
world will think that we are all grown indiffe-
rent to the cause of justice, the claims of labour,
and the fair and equitable adjustment of the
rights of nations, Mr. AYRTON called attention to
the balance of power in Europe, and certainly it is
a question which almost before all others ought to
occupy notice and engage deep concern. The pre-
sent prospect of the politics of Europe is so ex-
ceedingly unsatisfactory, and the prevailing course
that is adopted by our Government so tame and in-
conclusive that notably at no period of our history
has there,been more grave cause for disquiet than now
exists, touching ourjust influence with other nations,
secure as we may feel of our own intrinsic resources.
For a country like this it is not enough that we are
not molested, or treated with open defiance; it should
not suffice that we are left alone, but we ought to
keep up the position to which we are entitled.
Other kingdoms not so great or powerful, and pos-
sessed of far fewer resources, contrive to do more
and exert a more potent influence than we do, and
if in one thing more than another the rulers of
affairs seem to fail it is in matters relative to the
balance of power. There is a great deal of talk, an
immense number of despatches written, but all ends
in the same unsatisfactory conclusion, that we can
do nothing, and no matter how aggressive is the
proposal, how unfair the demand of our neighbours
or allies, it is sure in the end to be acceded to than
because we are tco unwilling or unable to meet the
case in a proper attitude. It is often better to state
things in a plain form, and this Mr. AYRTON did
very effectually when ha observed that the sum of
fifteen millions was voted for the standing army, and
we were told that this was kept up for the purpose
" defending our colonies, the safety of our own
country, and the maintenance of the balance of
power in Europe. " Certainly so far as regards the
tatter purpose we might as well save the expense, for
no one can say very much is being done to secure
that desirable end. There is great truth in the re-
marks of Mr. AYRTON, that Prussia is now assum-
ing a position totally at variance with the princi-
ples of the Treaty of Vienna. Lord PALMERSTON,
however, declares that we are bound by all the sti-
pulations of that treaty, while he allows the Prus-
sians and Austrians to fulfil their designs and to
break the treaty of 1852. Mr. AYRTON forcibly
concluded his speech by saying that the people of
England had spent during the last six years a
hundred millions for the purpose of maintaining the
balance of power in Europe, and in favour of a
Power which did not scruple to break the peace of
Europe for its own purposes. Lord PALMERSTON,
as usual,made a very ineffectual attempt to disguise
his real object, and stated that he was not there as
the champion of Prussia. This is very absurd when
all his actions tend to that direction, and it would
really be more straightforward if he boldly and
openly avowed his predilections, than thus shirk
responsibility by attempting to disharm criticism.
The result is ever the same in regard to all matters
that relate to the German Powers. Nothing
whatever is to be done to thwart their
views, wishes, or intentions, and their rup-
ture of treaties, tho non-fulfilment of engage-
ments, and the provocation of hostilities on the
part of these favoured States are all condoned,
while in all affairs that concern their interests, we
must keep to the letter of the law, and be sure to
fulfil every part of the engagement. All this
sacrifice to an aggressive and overwhelming
power will not answer in the long-run, and it