The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-09 00:00:00

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warfare. Fredericia, on the south-east coast of Jut-
land, and but a few miles distant from the fron-
tier of Schleswig, stands in precisely the same re-
lation to the island of Funan which Duppel does
to that of Alsan. Fredericia, like Duppel, is
strongly fortified, and possesses all the natural
advantages which we have already noticed
es pertaining to the latter. With a strong
force posted at Fredericia, no invading army could
enter Jutland without incurring considerable risk of
finding its retreat to the South cut off, whilst attho
same time the occupation of both Fredericia and
Duppel would enable the Danes to attack both in
front and rear any army which was so rash as to
enter the northern section of Schleswig. Believing,
as we do, that the line of the Sehlei, together with
the defences of the Danewirko and Alissunde, were
untenable with the limited farce at the disposal of
the Danish. Commander-in-Chief, we cannot help
thinking that he exercised a wise discretion in aban-
doning them and withdrawing his army to positions
in which they can be employed without the certainty
of gradual but sure annihilation. Such being the
present state of affairs, we must continue to watch
their progress with the same curiosity as heretofore.
Each succeeding day serves only to give birth to
new complications. The little Duchy of Lauenburg,
which together with Holstein, sent a joint represene
Wien to the Diet, and which, in the universal hubs
bub, was generally overlooked, has now been taken
under the special protection of the Confederation.
Lauenburg, with a loyalty and gallantry which
stand in bright relief when compared with the con-
duct of both Holstein and Schleswig, refused to de-
sert its Sovereign, the King of Denmark, in his hour
of trial, and could neither be cajoled or bullied into
making popular demonstrations in favour of the
Duke of Augustenburg. The Diet have now re-
solved on undertaking the administration of the
Duchy, waiving for the present the consideration al
the title of the two claimants to its sovereignty. At
Berlin the semi-official organs of the Government
have hastened to disavow the interpretation pntupon
its intentions by Lord Palmerston in the course of
the debate on the Address. Nothing, say they, can
be farther from Prussia's intention than to recognise
the integrity of Denmark, The announcement cer- •
tainly does not take us by surprise, though it affords
a singular illustration of the anxiety which the
Prussian nation evince lest they should for a mo-
ment be supposed capable of acting with good faith.
Events are rapidly hastening onward, and the cur-
tain has just risen on one of probably the most ter-
rible dramas which have been played out in Europe
during the past half century.
HERALD.—The old story that when the defend..
ant had no case the plaintiff's attorney was to be
abused, is receiving some kind of illustration in the
progress of the Townley case. Sir Georg Grey,
being put on his defence for letting Townley escape
his proper doom, turns round and taus the blame---
not exactly on the lawyer, but on the law itself.
When we inquire out of doors " Wno took Townley
from beneath the gallows," men will point to the
Home Office ; but when we consult a Ministerial
oracle we are told " It was Mr. Leech, or Mr. Leech
and a bad law that wants mending." If wo could
persuade the working men of Lambeth that the
blame was simply to be shared between a shrewd
attorney and a blundering or mischievous act of
Parliament, it would be all very well; but the fast
is, that the unsophisticated logic of the working
classes is not to be eosily persuaded out of its appre'
ciation of palpable facts. These people know eery
well that Townley was as sane as Wright, and no
less guilty; but they see that the most frantic efforts
failed to rescue the latter, while the former was saved
from the gallows by a faulty certificate under a
permissive act of Parliament. In the case of 1% right,
we have a tragedy, while in regard to Townley,
whose own crime was tragic enough, we have a
comedy of errors, followed up by a farce in which
Parliament is expected to take its part and keep its
countenance. Sir George, having hung a bricklayer
and spared a gentleman, comes down to the House
of Commons to set matters right by amending the
law. In order to dislodge the Home Secretary from
behind his stalking-horse it is not necessary to
show that he wilfully favoured the life of Townley
because in that case the criminal was a gentleman,
or that he left Wright in the hands of the execu-
tioner beceuse the Lambeth murderer was a brick-
layer: We need only say, in the first place, that
the conduct of the Home Secretary has sufficed to
make things present this ugly appearance. Among
the ruder class of men, such an appearance of things
is taken for the reality, and hence the law is
brought into disrepute where it is most important
that it should be respected. Having, therefore,
referred to this deplorable fact, we need only
show, in the second place, that if the Home Secre-
tary had simply been as shrewd as Mr. Leech, he
need not have allowed that gentleman to mike him
a species of catspaw for pulling the respectable Mr.
Townley out of his mortal predicament. In short,
we need not undertake to prove that Sir George
was intentionally partial in his administration of jus-
tice. It becomes a statesman not only to mean well
but also to do well. The Home Secretary has simply
blundered ; but then the blunder happens to be
serious. The Home-office pleads that the law is
defective, and to give that plea a semblance of
reality Sir George comes down to the house with a
measure which is professedly designed to make the
law as good as it ought to be. Of course we have no
objection to see the law amended, but no alteration
in the law will settle the question as to whether or
not Sir George " made a mess of it" in dealing with
the affair of Townley. There was an extraordinary
want of caution displayed by the Home-office
throughout the entire proceedings in the Townley
case that it is only a fair inference on the part of
the multitude that Sir George was a willing captive
in the toils of the prisoner's lawyer. " I could'nt
help it," says Sir George. " You didn't try," re-
spond the populace. And the question does not end
here. The Home Secretary has not only to settle
accounts with the working men of England, but he
has given affront to the country magistracy. Some-
how or other—and we do not undertake to explain
all the mysteries of the Home-office—Sir G. Grey
and our municipal institutions do not mix up well
together. Whitehall is hostile to the Mansion-
house, and the fountain of honour is intercepted
from flowing through the precincts of the City.
Not content with snubbing the Lord Mayor, Sir
George has got himself into a wrangle with the
Derbyshire magistrates, and bids fair to come to
a misunderstanding with local authorities gene-
excepting, perhaps, the Metropolitan Board
ca' Works, who serve as a very !-good foil against
the eivio corporation. However, Sir George is
going to amend the law in relation to lunatic
crimineds, and in doing so he seems to think that
he is rr eking matters decidedly pleasant. It is
to be eloped that Parliament will not be
thus readily diverted from dealing with a grave
question. The eccentricities of the Home-
Office call for serious consideration, especially when
they go to such a length as to weaken the confi-
dence of the public in the impartial administration
of the law. It is daily felt with increasing force
that the criminal law of England is being brought,
to a very great extent, under the control of the
Home Office. A great constitutional principle is
thus placed in danger. Such being the serious
state of affairs it is mere trifling to suppose that the
simple modification of a statute which has been
been made to bear a great deal more blame than
belongs to it will settle the real question At issue.
It is for Parliament to ask whether the action of the
law is to be made partial and unsatisfactory by the
idiosyncrasies of a Minister who seems to experience
a peculiar pleasure in going out of his way to do
some stupid thing which shall
any good. So far as the case give
gavastatamount
of annoyance without the
possibility of achieving
present
before Parliament it cannot be said that Sir George
Grey has at all improved his position, although he
adopted the strategic movement of addressing the
house before the papersmanceavre were in the hands of the
members—a
in vain
in endeavoured to prevent. Mr. Macdonogh
did well urging
which Lord Henry
existingLesntaaoktxe
itself thoroughly
that the House should
make
acquainted with the
of the law, and took the common-sense and only
correct view-of the case in urging that the existing
statute did not reduce the Home Secretary to a mere
automaton, and that therefore, Sir George Grey's
first line of defence was altogether untenable. In
his other comments on the case Mr. Macdonogh
has only echoed the general sentiments of the coun-
try ; and we venture to say that Sir George Grey
never made a greater mistake than when he ex-
pressed his belief that the course which ho had
taken was in accordance with public feeling. Oa
this, as on other points, the Home Secretary needs
to be enlightened, and we trust Parliament will
dispel a little of the mist which has gathered
around the official eyes,

MR. MAPLESON meditates, it is reported, ptc-
clueing " Tannhauser," at Her Majesty's Theatre, during
his Italian season.
Mr. Cecil Smith has been appointed Vice-Consul
at Granville, Franco.
Mayhew has been appoint
e
A statement has been erroneously- made in some
of the papers that Mr.
Consul at Copenhagen. That gentleman has not received
any appointment from the Foreign-office. Mr. Turner is
d BritiTh.
the British Vice-Consul at Copenhagen. We have no Con-

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