The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-26 00:00:00

The Weather—Sun Office, Aug. 26, 1863.

THERISEO3IETEIt.

This mornfru.P. CS
This day at Two o'clock 65
Barometer-29.52.
Wind—S.-Easterly ; moderate, and cloudy, with rain.

Wgt 11C'' A'
kt
SUM

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1863,

The autumnal season is, this year, not only more
than usually interesting by reason of the abundant
intelligence now dropping in upon us of affluent
harvests and fruitful vintages, but by reason also
of the extraordinary variety of the aggregate meet-
ings of various kinds held in these later months of
1863, at home and abroad, here in England or be-
yond the Channel in various parts of Christendom.
SHAKSPERE'S year, 1864,islikely to beat least among
lettered Englishmen. This—acccording to the
reasonable anticipations of our contemporary, the
Atheive um, the principal director of which organ,
himself an accomplished man of letters, has from
first to last been conspicuously instrumental in pre-
paring the way and forwarding the general move-
ment for the national celebration, on the 23d of
April next, the tricentenary of the Poet's birth.
Mean while it might also be said that 1863 has claims
to be borne in remembrance henceforth tis the year
of Congresses. Simultaneously there have been
holden, there are still being held, upon the European
Continent, two perfectly distinct and yet singularly
congenial Congresses, one political, one religious, the
former affecting diplomacy, the latter education—
this at Mechlin, that at Frankfort. Perfectly dis-
tinct, though they are, in purpose, in character, in
origin, they are yet very signally and quite unde-
niably as we have said, of a distinctly congenial cha-
racter. They are each of them, more essentially than
the majority might in any way have been disposed
to anticipate, in accordance with the free and en-
lightened principles of the age. Liberty must be
recognised by Royalty, the Peoples by the Kings !
Those are the avowals of the Austrian EMPEROR
himself—his MAJESTY uttering them in the pre-
sence of three-and-thirty of the Sovereign Princes
of Germany, assembled for that very purpose,
at the KAISER'S behest. Liberalism must be recog-
nised, must be accepted, must be acted with harmoni-
ously, by Catholicism ! That is the no less solemn
and explicit declaration uttered in words of burn-
ing eloquence from the tribune at Malines—in the
presence and hearing of Cardinals, bishops, and
other ecclesiastical dignitaries assembled from all
parts of the Coatinent—by no less remarkable a
man than CHARLES, the Count DE MONTALEMBERT.
Of course, in both instances—there is still left to
the choice of their hearers by the Count and by the
KAISER—the alternative ! Liberty must be recog-
nized, Liberalism must be accepted, or In
each instance we may rest perfectly assured, the
utterance, whether by the EMPEROR or by the
orator, is the utterance purely of common sense.
From the lips of FRANCIS JOSEPR the
avowal made by him to the assembled Kings, and
Princes, and Grand Dukes of Germany, comes in a
great measure as a novelty. From the lips of
MONTALEMBERT, the accents listened to once more
only the other day in Belgium, accents echoed im-
mediately afterwards in our own columns, will have
fallen familiarly upon the hearing of Christendom.
The devotion of MONTALEMBERT to the interests of
Liberalism is not of yesterday. The cherishing of
those interests has been, it may be confidently
asserted, in a manner, the passion of his life. It
guided his hand years ago, w hen be held the pen as
one of the three redacteurs of L'Acenir. L'Are-
nir, it is true, has long since been of "the
past "—but not in any way of the past, not in any
Way as what was but is no longer, is the love of true
liberalism that now glows, as then glowed, warmly
and earnestly in the heart of MONTALEMBERT. If
in. 110 other way productive of advantage, in the
311,1" t of the conflict of opinions in Europe, the
Congress
will have
eat Frankfort, the Congress at Mechlin
inasmuch as
respectively resulted in good, for
eachl conduced to the enunciation of
the simple
ttutia. already specified, as having been
uttered, almost
simultaneously, at Frankfort by the
Emperor of
AtsA, at Malines by the Count de
MONTALEMBERT, I
each instance the utterance,
we may be certain, has been most opportune. Let
those truths be
la well to heart by those
whom they concern.
Theiract: being so laid to
a
heart, their being so
upon, as indicated,
hero by the Count, here by
the KAlSERthatcould will tend
interests
be
.while more effectually than anything
One
instance pro-
jected
otherwise, to further the in
se-
curing the tranquillity, in the
of all
Germany, in the other of all Christendom.

The organisation of grand international exbibi.
tions appears to have becoine a recognised feature
in our social life. Twelve years ago the idea was
so novel, and the success attending its embodiment
so complete, that is was not surprising that other
nations were inclined to enter the arena, or that
the attempt should have been repeated in our own
country. Paris summoned the idlers of the world
to her gay and pleasant city—Manchester called on
all dilettante to witness her gathering of works of
art. The mighty metropolis itself resolved to test
the progress made in the last decade, and so the
Great Exhibition of 1862 was decided upon, whose
official history is now being laid before us. It is
true that the ruling mind, the presiding genius,
was gone, and the calm judgment and comprehen-
sive knowledge of Prince ALBERT no longer
i
silenced the disputes of rivals or disposed of the
narrow jealousies and obstinate prejudices of
cliques and partisans, The shadow cn the hearth