The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-25 00:00:00

THERMOMETER.

This day at Two o'clock ' .60
Barometer-30.11.
WIND—S.W. ; moderate breeze and fine, but cloudy
at times.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE,
THIS am—Morning, sd. 56m.—Afternoon, 6h. 20m.
Ta-monatow.-Morning, 6h. 45m.—Aftelmoen, 7h. 16m.

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LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 1864.

While we are, here in England, looking forward
to the imminent probability of war between our-
selves and Germany—the abortive Conference
holding its final meeting this afternoon, and the
Ministerial explanations therefore being pledged,
both in the Lords and in the Commons, for
Monday—tidings again
come to us from
Atlhntic of
beyond thethe steady and
fierce continuance of th.r...t dreadful struggle in
North America, that has now been going on
during these last four frightful years sonseentively.
" News of Battle" the American news still non_
Clines to be, with terrible earnf.istuess. Not—of
sham fights, or of mere skirmishings, or of bloodless
strategic movements. But—of strenuous col.
lisions between, cr of desperate shiftings
of, whole divisions, sometimes whole armies of
those living chessxnen! Every collision, every shift-
ing, marked in characters of blood at once upon '
the soil and upon the annals of that great republic,
known during the best part of a century, but
known now no longer, and we telly be quite certain
never to be known spin, as the United States.
°Lice more the tiiiiep brought to us from these

sanguinary battlefields are of failure and loss on
the numerically stronger side, the side of the
Federals—of success, of victory upon victory, on
the numerically weaker side, the side of the
Confederates. Says one account brought to us
per the Australasian—" The Federal expedition
under STURGISS, which left Memphis in SHERMAN'S
rear, was defeated by FORREST at Gantown, Ten-
nessee, with loss of his artillery and many pri-
soners." The telegram adding, "STURGISS was
killed." Another account of the same occu•:rence
making the result yet more unmistakably
one adverse to the Federal interests, and in the
interests of the Confederates. As thus :—" A
Federal expedition, 8,000 strong, under General
STURGISS, which left Memphis on the Ist instant,
has been defeated at Guntown, West Tennessee,
byiGeneral FORREST, with loss o: all its artillery
trains, ammunition, and many prisoners." This
fuller account, observing yet further that the rem-
nant of the expedition had returned to Memphis.
The "remnant" of it, observe ! All the military
trains, all the ammunition, and many prisoners,
having been captured—and a remnant (out of a
force of eight thousand) alone escaping from
of the victorious grasp of General FORREST and his
Confederates. Certainly, when the South does win
a victory it generally contrives to do so, in two
senses of the word, with a vengeance!

Few things are so unsatisfactory as when a dee
cided advance has been made in advocating the
claims of the oppressed, for a retrogado movement
to be taken, and much of the desired object to be
lest. It was felt by all competent persons that such
an untoward incident had occurred when Sir G.
GREY succeeded in getting his committee appointed
to consider the case of Mr. BEWICKE, instead of the
original intention of Mr. BERKELEY being carried
out to allow the House to pronounce an opinion on
the matter. The result has more than realised the
fears of the unfortunate sufferer and his friends. The
committee have virtually left things in much the
same state as they were before, or, if anything,
it may be said thet they have made bad worse by
thus sanctioning the measures take a by the autho-
rities, and establishing the dangerous precedent
that the State is not bound to compensate for inju-
ries received from the mistakes of the law or its
agents. Nothing can be more dislstrous in its effect
than for this notion to gain ground among us.
It lays the foundation of tyranny, injustice,
and oppression ; and abounds with dangerous
doctrines which are sure to make themselves
apparent in due course. The more the whole
features of the case are considered attentively, the
greater astonishment will prevail at the supine-
ness that has distinguished those who lave had to
deal with this affair. At all times it is a sad and
solemn business when a man has been unjustly con-
demned to a severe sentence, but in the instance of
Mr. BEWICKE every possible aggravation seemed
to attend his course. His life has been utterly
changed, his prospects rained, his property confis-
cated, and all for want of due care and consideration
on the part of those who should have known better.
In reply to the urgent appeal for justice, the victim
is to look for the " favourable consideration of the
Crown." This is not the way to deal with such a
matter. If an injury has been proved to have been
done to any one it is the bounden duty of all who have
been parties to its infliction to do their utmost in
the way of reparation and atonement. The words,
" If I have done wrong to any man I restore him
fourfold," are worthy tests for the contemplation of
all who call themselves Christians, and cannot too
often serve as models for example, and precepts for
guidance. Allowing that Mr. BEwICKE's conduct
was extremely foolish and decidedly unwise, the
follies and faults of one parson do not excuse or
justify the commission of crime and the committal
of injuries by others. The men who swore away
Mr. BEWICKE'S reputation had themselves none to
lose. One was, indeed, a defaulter himself, and had
bean convicted of perjury previously. No matter
how interest and prejudice may seek to hush up
mutters, these facts are known to be true, and it is
an insult to the common sense, the good taste, anti
the right feeling of the community to allow such a
course to continue much longer. We have all heard
a great deal of the merits of English law, but no
foreign land can excel such arbitrary regulations as
those enforced against Mr. BEWICKE. The secret
of nearly all this confusion ariees from the mistaken
idea that has gained ground in so many influential
quarters, that property must be protected at all
hazards, and for this purpose all the myrmidons of
the law seem to be considered saved in the execu-
tion of their duty. A more fatal blunder cannot be
made ; the very importance of the nature of their
office should call for attention and demand careful-
ness, and all who fall short of this desideratum
ought to be reprehended. Why does no one inquire
more particularly into the cause of the men employed
being so unfit for their position. It was the
bounden duty of the sheriff to look to this matter.
The rights of her MAJESTY'S subjects are at stake
if this laxity is to continue. There was great cul-
pability somewhere, and this seems to have entirely
escaped the attention of the committee. What the
magistrates were about, not to make themselves ac-

qr.ainted with the character of their witnesses is

also incomprehensible. The whole thing is most

mysterious from beginning to end. It is very
unfortunate, as regards the solution 'of the case,
that Mr. BEWICKE should have so compromised
himself by his strange demeanour on several oce'.i-
Blocs ;, but it,must be borne in mind that the ends
of iwitice will not be answered if due Care and
caution
The worki
be not exercised to meet the emergency.
Aga of the law are so often of a harsh and
arbitrary nature, that persons who have not been
in the habit ot
exercising eelf-control may very
1 readily make mistakes and fall into errors, from
acting on the impulse of the moment, instead of
conforming themselves to • .
ct.
roumstanoes. It is,
besides, an acknowledged f
•4Ct that Mr. BEWICKE
has been treated unfairly,
and
nn'
condemned
to losses and a 'lle dignity of the
nnoyances. , ,t,
State is seriously compreraisea I,
uy wrong being
perpetrated on the subject, and that subject being
prevented from seeking a remedy. i
-t is to the
credit of Lord JOHN MANNERS, and those who sup.
ported him, that they advocated a different
course,
and proposed that five thousand pounds abould be
paid to the injured individual. It is really nenee,

sary that all this unsatisfactory condition of our
laws and statutes be taken into consideration, for

no one can deny that as at present matters stand an
innocent man may be deprived of all that makes life

enjoyable, and when shattered in health, broken in
spirit, and penniless in means, be told that the

State, which was not too hasty to make a mistake,
❑or too harsh to drive matters to extremities, is too

mean to make reparation, and too self-conceited

to acknowledge an error, and in the only way that
it can to make restitution and atonement.

There is no part of our constitutional traditions
more zealously upheld and more resolutely dung
to than the privileges of municipal corporations.
We have in our own day seen the failure of sever
ral attempts at restriction and reform when they
trenched too closely on the rights of the City and
the citizens. The most remarkable of these efforts
was the Government measure for amalgamating the
City FQiica with the ;14trop4iiitua itxce, an effort ,