The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-25 00:00:00

a
yin" renue.-
red •
pr
for
obability in this which it was actinignstance a certainty. . That expel Here wato
an expedition preparing to sally from oar Pl.bn
inflict terrible injuries on a frienelY power. ht.
Opposition lawyers grant that its destiiaati" Vaie
be not only notorious, which with theme xaccn";, to
gossip, but morally certain—as certain, thaVo.a
say, as that the convicted burglar who is 11°,,,,'0,*
about your premises with housebreaking 10"60$
meets intended to force an entrance. Govern°
was certain ; the Federal Minister was certain ;
atitta_a..
the world was certain. It was a simple reP
pegjOilf4 dill
of the former " scandal," with but a s
ference, and even with aggravation. On this roc%
certainty Governmect acted, and detained tire steal,.
r,:ule. No doubt it was an act of MtnisteriallesP°oo
sibility. As such, of course, i! is open to a Inetel if
for withholdin> Parliamentary coufldeece;
the House of Commons wishes, it can immedi4tortc
release the steam rams, and send them on heir..,,*ers
of death. Butt what has been done ? The 1e7.0
have been employed to vindicate the right c1,;„0.
Courts to dispose of this matter in their own faslot
If the Courts should decide, or never decide, that
the steam rams were only as the Alexandra, toot
the Alabama might have safely defied seizure' that
10 fine, t
the Oreto had been lawfully released,
nothing had occurred to take the two ste3"3 r:tia
out of the category of powder and small arrutif this
sent in shiploads across the Atlantic, then _ft
expeditioe should have sailed, and England
some day have to pay a heavy bill for had -a/
Such is a lawyer's view of the matter ; but PIT,
land wilt be glad to believe that in a question affect),
iog not only the peace and prosperity of this of the
try, but the lives of myriads and the peace °' ere
whole world, a statesman may act on a moral cto
tainty, even though he is not bound immediatlog,
publish the grounds of it, and lay his wilt° !tic
before the remonstrant Power and the ducc,Lsot
opponent and the rival faction. We '„rale
that we are not more ready than most Pe-seio
to submit to unlawful demands, or to shall
the law to satisfy pique or allay fears. Nor °. _s
bow to any in our reverence for legal thatinterprets
and judgments. But here is a case so pt ,
there cannot possibly be two /pinions abou it, acof
in fact, there are not two opinions. The fintt be
M. Bravay and the Pasha of Egypt can absolute
mentioned with a smile. Of college the tna
certainty of the case could not be alleged ex,che„P 010
the ground of the public safety, anZt °° '7,-Anse
responsibility of Government. But this 18 a, eta
peace or war—of life or death ; and with toed :w-
-as they are, posterity, we cannot doubt, Wou'7ols
tify the Federal Government in demanding ralf:i
for the damage done by these steam rants. VOL
course, is saying nothing about the Alabama, wi;bv
throws light on the steam rams, but received tic:lto
from them. What has been done, then, We sot
be quite within the competence of a GoVerarlipech
chargeable with the peace of the world. The eVtae
of the Solicitor-General is conclusive as tlf set
example the American Government has itsei a
us, and the treatment they have accordiug vat
right to expect from us. In what quaLter tl3ot
interest lies is manifest to a child. " lie to
has children," says Bacon, " has given WithPleug
fortune ;" and we have covered the ocean The
pledges to peace and international justice• bins,
coal
great ocean tracks are crowded with huge ships,
thousands of miles from home, but often for
to pass round stormy capes and through Orion
straits, laden with the most valuable proclune'° edr
with immense sums of gold, not always ew 11 fcn't.oo
and almost always undermanned. clin
Alabamas to wait for them, they would dtuP into
the grasp of the privateer like stifled pheasautsf,oo
the poacher's bag. Every day would bring 1,45-war
of a score of such captures, supposieg hau,j6;,,bed
with anybody whatever, and it had been estau7-nort
that an Alabama might issue from any neatra.'foe•
to destroy our commerce under the flag of our one
Accidents, of course, 'cannot be averted, and
atter
Government may be cheated as easily as either;
may be outraged without reflection upoa id,the
but if the outrage was foreseen by all the wolf worinog
cheat transparent, and a moral certainty
by an obstinate and perverse blindness, the'
efaso
may well doubt whether we should be able tc vr war
enormous compensation or avoid a sanguini/rrn'taeat
upon the evasive plea that the British -
had no power to interfere.