The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-02 00:00:00

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and of the impious—it is that which has herespoken,
and which has spoken thus—alone—to tho nation
that is being crucified !
Turn by turn, however, in the sequel of his argne
ment, the Count de MONTALEMBERT arraigns, as
we have already expressed it, the greet nations of
the west, to whom, collectively and separately, the
Victim Nation has during these last 18 months of
her agony appealed, but, as the world knows', altoge-
ther in vain. France, England, Germany, Italy—he
takes them one by one into painful and k filicted con-
sideration. What we of course have most to do with,
here, we turn to at once with all eagerness. " Eng-
land!" exclaims the Count DE MONTALEMBERT, in
anguish—he who best, we believe, among all living
Frenchmen, possibly among all continental Euro-
peans, appreciates us English and our political
institutions—" England!" exclaims this conspicus
ous friend and admirer of England and of English
Institutions—" how, can I paint here the mournful
pity with which the lamentable decrepitude of her
foreign policy (the foreign policy of this England
we were so proud of) inspires nowadays
even her best friends, even her moat faithful
admirers ? Day after day they speak to us
exultantly of the incontestable progress of dee
mocracy in the bosom of this great free people.
But what matters that, if these advances
are only simultaneous with the decadence
but too clearly manifest now (through her foreign
policy) of her energy, of her capacity, of her integ-
rity in the management of the affairs of Europe."
And so forth. We care not to continue, here, the
bfilicting remonstrance. The decadence of our
national influence, as represented by our foreign
policy, is only too painfully apparent. It admits,
in simple fact of no denial. But, the responsibility
of it appertains—this in effect is our one consolation,
as it is also our profound and ineradicable convic-
tion—the responsibility of it devolves, not upon
the Nation! It devolves solely and exclusively upon
the Government, by whom the nation is misrepre-
sented at so many points—all of them of gigantic
importance—in regard to the Poles, in regard to
the Danes, in regard to the Confederates.

The second reading of the Penal Servitude Acts
Amendment Bill was not achieved without a dis-
cussion, in the course of which some very wise
suggestions were made, but they do not seem to
have been paid much heed to. Lord CRANWORTII'S
motion was the wisest of all—that transportation
offered the best means of disposing of the convicts
generally; It is very much to be regretted that it
was not contrived in some way or other to carry
out the recommendations of the commissioners—
there are so many reasons in favour of the plan,
and it seems to offer an ac;vantage to all sides.
Here in this country we are set free from the
great anxiety of watching these men, and are re-
lieved from the fear of their renewing their depre-
dations, which brought them originally into trouble.
The men themselves are no doubt greatly benefitted
by the change. They can lead a new life, in the
strict and literal acceptation of the term. If disposed
to redeem their evil ways, they meet with encou-
ragement on all sides; if inclined to relapse into
wrong paths, they ere saved the great danger of
their former companions in vice surrounding them,
and danger is put far behind them. As for the
colonists themselves, they would be the gainers in
acquiring so much more assistance in their numerous
undertakings. It is inconsistent for them now to
raise such an outcry, when they were at one time
most glad to meet with the aid of those they now
sc3rn. The chief absurdity of the clamour that
has been made regarding this proposition is, that
there would be no likelihood of the convicts escap-
ing from Western Australia. As the inhabitants there
did net object, it was an arrogant assumption, and
a piece of unjustifiable interference on the part of
the other colonists, to make themselves so disagree-
able and unaccommodating. Lord GRANVILLE said
that "from each of the colonies, except Western
Australia, there came the strongest remonstrance!'
This affirms the report that has already been cir-
culated concerning the idea that it was prejudice
which urged the minds of those who put so decisive
a negative on the suggestion, and made their veto
of exclusion the signal that doomed hundreds of
their fellow creatures to a wretched fate at home.
instead of entering on a new existeece in distant
lands. Lord GRANVILLE'S arguments on this point
are very inconclusive, because a Government is not
bound to attach importance to the unreasonable
demands of colonists, although their unjust repre-
sentations should never be overlooked. For this
reason it appears that a mistake has been made in
ignoring the request of Western Australia to allow
the convicts to be sent to a greater extent, and in
acceding to the overbearing request of the other
colonies to desist from the enterprise determined on.
One of the first fruits of the pernicious workings of
this act has been to give up the proposal of the
commissioners to make seven years the minimum
term of a sentence to penal servitude. It has been
reduced to five, and thus an important feature in the
disciplinarian system has been changed through the
' unwise acquiescence in a chimerical notion. Lord
CARNARVON'S opinions oa such a subject
as that of this debate are always worth

listening to, and it is satisfactory to
find that to a great degree he approved of this
measure, although he also was disappointed at the
turn events had taken respecting the plan of trans-
portation. He very forcibly illustrated his view of
the subject in contradiction to the arguments used
by some, regarding the universality o? the Austra-
lian settlement which was opposed to it, by saying
that " So far from their being a universal concur-
rence of opinion in opposition to it, the district of
Moreton Bay had itself petitioned for an increase of
convicts." Very true were the strictures passed by
the noble lord on the style of the systems which
have hitherto prevailed in this country regarding
the convicts, and the notable failure of their work-
ings. Certainly there can be no doubt that they
have not accomplished two very important deside-
ratums; they have neither bestowed safety on the
public, nor exercised a check on the offending par-
ties to restrain them from further mischief, and on
others to deter them from following so very per-
nicious an example. There have been some grievous
errors extant in the old plan, and the prospect of
their being early partially rectified is at any rate
satisfactory in its way. Lord CARNAP.YON stated
that‘the princip!e of the Bill was to inflict "sharp
and certain sentences," and he did not deny
that he approved of this notion. It has been proved
by experience that it is a positive cruelty to the
unhappy
individuals themselves to pamper them
in such habits of luxury, and to afford them
first one relaxation and then another, so
that they quit their prisons in some respects
yoneentetroedthite, bcommission
n gotfh
ei errorr
pa s
stihoanns
morewhen
thper
subdued by stern treatment and their period of
durance rendered, in reality, a penance, as it should
be in all things consistent with the preservation of
their health and strength. Nothing has been of
more detriment to society than that specious senti-
mentalism which transferred to the criminal the
sympathy and consideration which belonged of
right to his victim, and so confused the relative
bearings of things, and the issues of right and wrong
that caricaturists were not out of place in repree