The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-21 00:00:00

THERMOMETER.

This day at Two o'clock 4B

Barometer-30.47.
Wind—S.-W. ; light, and cloudy.

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LONDON, MONDAY, DEC. 21, 1563.

While the general public finds an object of in-
terest in following the vicissitudes of the American
armies, and speculating upon the next move, or
counter move in that perplexing struggle, the poli-
tician and the theorist discover an absorbing
source of contemplation in pondering over the
merits and demerits of the Republican form of
Government as evidenced by the result of the
American Union. A thoughtful writer, who
has meditated on the question, and whose
opinions, although from his national and natural
partialities they must be taken cum grano salis, are
worthy of consideration, has just furnished ns with
his individual theories on the rise and fall of the
Model Republic. a The so-called Model Republic,
as this -writer truly reminds us, has long
bi_eett the favourite example triumphantly
brought forward by the advocates of
v De-
mocracy,ht. to illustrate the practical advantages
now,
art
ta.'yourite theory of Government. Whereas
Present moment, their own words are
in the mouths_
et their opponents, and " Behold the
Model Repuba, m .
is the derisive retort of the anti-
democrat. The present disastrous disturbances, how-
ever, with all their complicated evil consequences do
not, as tie author of this
work justly argues, affect
the
prinples of democracy, or afford any conclusive
against the
evidence
Republican form of
Administration, " because in a thousand in-
stances similar results hay% 'h ;
gualised the career
of monaTchies, and other oi
-"srnments." Every
human institution is necessarily imperfect and
carries in its very constitution
the elements of
its de struetion. The principles, h
give vitality
-cwever, by
whick/ oar human systems should a
-0 animated
if tbey are true, are like the souls which
to our bodies, undying and unaffected by any teal.
porary mutation of affairs. It is not to-day, or in
this country, that there is any occasion to
Justice,'
upon those great principles of liberty, j and
and the greatest good of the greatest number, which
alone can give life and longevity to any form of
Pcrwer, whether its name be republican or monarchi-
sel, elective or hereditary. We will hope,
nay more,
we feel persuaded, that, when the dark tempest cloud
has cleared away and the temporary insanity
of civil discord has subsided, our Anglo-
Saxon brethren on the other side of the Atlantic
will be true to their ancestors and their antece-
dents, and give to the world an illustration, not in
tame but in reality, of the beneficial influences
of liberty, and, above all, of liberality !
It has always been an anomaly—a source of indig-
nant grief to the levers of freedom, and of mali-
cious ridicule to their opponents—that spectacle
to which We have been so many years familiar of a
Slave holding ltepublic. While t he American retains
the scourge in the one hand, nu wonder that sceptic's
look semewh
at askance at the banner of liberty
lie so ostentatiously flourishes ix the other !
Such doubts, however, are far from suggest-
ing themselves to this writer on the model
aef public. He is a Southerner, and conefquently
slavery is innocuous in his sight. We may indulge
the aspiration, nevertheless, that in their day of com-
ing triumph and national independence the film may
fall from thn eyes of his gallant countrymen.
The main cause of the disruption
of the Union,
as set forth in this very able work, is, neeordint4

* The Rise and Fall of the Model Republic, j;;;-----
Williams, late American Minister to Turkey; autiZens,
" The South Vindicated." 1 Vol., p, 424. Bentley,

to its writer's opinion, the Presiden-
tial election. With many elaborate and
unanswerable explanations, he demonstrates
the demoralising effects of the four - yearly
election, and declares that the panacea for every
evil would be a President without an Elec-
tion. In order to obtain this desideratum he
suggests that the Presidential term of office
should ba fixed at eight or even ten
years, and that at the expiration of that period the
Senator who had served in that body for the greatest
length of years should become President, and the
Senator next below him Vice-President. While
dilating upon the merits of this plan, its
advocate is not blind to many objec-
tions which may be raised against it. What-
ever the future may have in store, whatever may
be the issue of the struggle, one fact is certain,
and it constitutes the first and the last sentence of
the book we have been referringio—" The American
Union, as it existed in the days of WASHINGTON, is
no more and never will be again."

The troops of the German Confederation have
commenced their march, according to the lates t
intelligence, and the crisis of this long-pending die.
pute is now becoming imminent. The Hanoveriree s,
having been addressed by their King, who exh'a,:ted
them as if they were about to enter on th a most
glorious campaign—and the Saxons, have passed
Magdeburg with all the pomp of war, 'The Aus-
trians—who as yet number but 5,500 m er,, althcagh
reinforcements to the extent of 15,000 are in readi-
ness—are also on the move, though in a quieter
fashion. It is said, and the ruraour is gaining
ground, that the Danish troops have orders to
retreat peaceably on the approach of the Federal
troops. But on the other hanii it is asserted that
the Danes will oppose the German invaders by
means not less effectual than -a recourse to arms, by
cutting the railway communications and by de-
stroying bridges. The Danes will probably retreat
beyond the Eyder, which divides Schleswig from
Holstein, as the Elbe separates Holstein from
Hanover ; but further they must not go. The King
and his Ministers will probably endeavour by every
reasonable means in their power to avoid those open
hostilities which might probably foreshadow a long
course of struggle and years of warfare, destructive
alike to the comfort and social welfare of the people
and to their moral and material progress. But their
concessions should not go too far. The right of
Denmark to exercise jurisdiction over Schleswig
must be maintained at any odds, and the insolent
pretensions of the Diet must be curbed. It is
but too probable that the more the Danes
yield to their demands the further will they en-
croach, and will construe attempts at conciliation
into signs of weakness. We have just had a nota-
ble example of this. It was immediately after the
promulgation of the decree of the 30th of March,
granting Nolstein its separate constitution, that
threats of Federal execution were first talked of.
That decree, although outstripping the claims of the
Holsteiners, excited the greatest indignation and
opposition in Germany, as most politicians and jour-
nalists in England foresaw. It was at once seen by
the Germans that the proclamation, while fully sa-
tisfying the legal rights of Holstein, left them no
plea for interference in the neighbouring duchy.
Accordingly, the complaints and remonstrances
with which the King of DENMARK had been fa-
voured for a good many years rose into threats, and
the proclamation became the grand cause.of com-
plaint. Since the late KING'S death his successor
has withdrawn the offensive manifesto, thus alto-
gether removing the plea for armed intervention.
But this concession has produced no effect whatever
on the excited Germans ; now it is contended that
the new constitution for Denmark and Schleswig
should also be withdrawn. It has been rumoured
that the KING and his advisers have contemplated
taking this step, but it is very mach to be hoped
that they have no such intention. The Germans
can have no possible right to interfere in the inter-
nal legislation of the Danish kingdom, and if the
Danes claim the Duchy of Schleswig as an
integral portion of it, it would be a:great mistake to
revoke an important act like the granting of a con-
stitution at the bidding of a foreign Power. It
would be at once admitting that the Diet possessed
a right to legislate for Schleswig, and most as-
suredly such an admission would be only the pre-
cursor of further troubles. It would need but a
pretext, easily found, to dispute the succession of
King CHRISTIAN, or to declare him unworthy of
his throne, and then a fresh effort would be made
to place Denmark altogether under German control,
and appropriate her ports and her fleet as elements
of German power. One of the first acts of King
CHRISTIAN on ascending the throne was the sign-
ing of the constitution, which had been already
approved by the late Monarch, and this act was
joyfully hailed by the people as an earnest of his
liberal views and his intention of abiding by the
public acts of King FREDERICK. His popularity
wo'ild suffer a sensible diminution were it known
that he had revoked an act so recently passed, and
so well pleasing to his people at the bidding of the
Germans. Denmark must take her stand at the
Eyder, and there, if necessary, must England sup-
port her. Our sympathies as well as our political
interests are all on her side, and it is plainly our
duty, as well as our advantage, to come boldly for-
ward on her side. Without our aid she has no
friendly and powerful ally. Sweden, it is
hinted, is not altogether disinterested in her
views, and has visions of a grand junction of
the three neighbouring countries of Sweden,
Norway, and Denmark into one Scandinavian
power as of old. Germany meanwhile, like the dog
in the old fable who lost the substance for the
shadow, has put aside for the time being her efforts
at national unity, and the Prussians are growing
°l test indifferent to their great battle of civic and
cheatrhatiotuurtional right in their eagerness after this
wild Scheme of subduing Denmark and gaining the
of Kiel. In their domestic struggle, Eng-
land might
and would have helped them with the
whale
weight
ru
of her moral power, but her sympa-
thies are
°re Danish than Prussian, and in
Spite of dynastic alliances and diplomatic entangle-
ments the Engll,4
People will not suffer Danish
independence to be fiEtorice
France
ex
eus
o meanwhilef
rt i
dislodgingo n
vn
di
at dn transforming tao
etc) reedtic
persist
their
et,oi Pysr:,regi, uhsftsorase:niiebiatei.i.
r Germansrtothitlg betterfrom
theirthan p
pre-
sent
h
II
ld
Rhinie)o"ii,ittnatl3o:ll3onndary of
tlher a
PGesrm a
territories.n
their singu-
lar
that
headlongtlleGecromuarilse. Knowing tiat)
ctoragft:jy-efoheimwheovleircy,a to.
were,
iiila)iourbtuusnhityfortothiemalt,
aS it
the.weapons for their own disgraceandbe disd deserving
into his hand. Truly, they will not
of much pity, whatever the resnitoftolbutiarint
iT:
prudence may be, nor will they be likely to
Italy will, of course, hurry to the aid
Venetia.
of France,
delighted at the opportunity for freeing
The Diet, it seems, does not seo the risk run by so
many individual members of its body, or each is un-
wil'ing to believe the misfortunes will be his own,
and secretly indifferent to those of his fellows.
Certainly the dream of German unity does not seem
very near its realisation any more than the mil-
lenium of universal peace, of which we heard a good
deal some time ago. The fate of many States is

trembling in the scale, and it is but too probable
that the sword will be the weight to settle the

balance.

It is much to be regreted that the site of St.
Thomas's Hospital cannot be settled without so
much trickery and debate. On Friday a deputation
waited on the Attorney General relative to the
affair. It was shown on the part of the City Cor-
poration that the charter conferred upon them by
EDWARD the SIXTH authorised the erection of the
Hospital in a place that would serve the interests of
the poor of the borough of Southwark ; also that
the proposed erection of it 'would prevent the poor,
for whom it was intended, from receiving any be.
nefit from it. This is surely a very important point
to consider, and it behoves those who are to settle
the matter to reflect seriously upon the consequences
of the arrangement now proposed. It seems a very
hard thing,
and a very unfair one too, to take away
from a clfass or body the rights to which they are
entitled, and, moreover, to deny them the privileges
tow Filch they can justly lay claim. It does not appear
twat any valid reason has been adduced to account
for the extraordinary change of tactics that has been
adopted. It stands to reason that for an hospital of
this class, to be rendered permanently useful, it
should be situated in a locality most accessible to
those in need of it. To change the site from a
populous neighbourhood to a more secluded locality,
is in itself a great mistake, and it has been shown
that such a plan will militate greatly against the
carrying out of the objects of the Institution. Dr.
RENDLE put the case very fairly in these words—
We therefore held that, while they had the site of
the Surrey Gardens, comprising 17 acres, which
could be got for £107,000, and while they had the
site of Bethlehem Hospital still in prospect, we
could not see the wisdom of paying £95,000 for the
privilege of building an hospital on the muddy
banks of the Thames." This seems so far a most
conclusive argument, and it is difficult to divine what
inducements can have led the Governors to form
such a project. There have been no less than three
sites put before them for selection, each of which
presents more claims for consideration than the one
they have chosen. Of course they have found
something to say against each of them, but the
question is whether their arguments are valid ones,
and whether their view is the correct one. As for
the locality of the Surrey Gardens, they say it is
low-lying and unhealthy, but that objection applies
also to Stangate. Dr. RENDLE cited the opinion of
many medical men to the effect that the position
there was most unsuitable, and that there were in
the vicinity so many deleterious and unwholesome
manufactories that a hospital would be quite out of
place in such a neighbourhood. Without inspect-
ing minutely the vicinity, all who have travelled
constantly by the South-Western line will confirm
and ratify the remark. With regard to the site near
the Elephant and Castle, the speaker for the Go-
vernors deposed that they would have great diffi-
culty in their arrangements, as a considerable extent
of new road would have to be made. This may be,
but the end in view would be worth the risk of
great expense and much trouble. It comes to this.
if a hospital is to be for the benefit of the many, it
must not be situated where only a few in comparison
can readily gain access to it. This is a mistake
that too often exists among those who are conduct-
ing the preliminaries of a great public work ; they
prate about the impracticability of this plan, and
declaim against the impossibility of that scheme,
and are thrown into great consternation concerning
the enormous expense that both would entail ; while
all the while there is some little pet project kept in
the background, some working notion or other of
their own which comes out just at the right moment,
and subverts all other ideas. Now the fitting
plan for such an undertaking would be to
weigh well all propositions, and form as carrect a
notion as possible, as to what will the most effec-
tually promote the public benefit, and confer the
most solid advantages and lasting good on the
classes in whose behalf such institutions arc erected.
When this important fact is ascertained, all other
objections should be treated as secondary subjects,
and dealt with in a right spirit. The negative put
upon the attempt to construct the new Hospital at
Bethlehem is a strange one, and the reasons ad-
duced are, if possible, more untenable than the
pleas urged against the other localities under consi-
deration. In the first place, it was said that there
were great doubts as to the propriety of removing
that institution into the country. This is remark-
able enough, when so many competent judges and
experienced persons have given it as their opinion,
that the interests of the unhappy inmates would be
best consulted by a removal to a more secluded
locality, where they could have the benefit of
fresh air and exercise out of doors. The best illus-
tration of the case consists in this view of it. Would
any rich individual consign any afflicted relatives
to an establishment that was situated in a crowded
part, instead of fixing upon one that presented
the attractions of quiet, and the opportunities of
what recreation and amusement their sad state re-
quired, and on the enjoyment of which their partial
or complete cure mainly depended. It seems a con-
tradiction in terms to declare that an asylum for the
insane should be placed in a crowded noisy part,
and that an institutioa for the relief of accidents
and other casualties requiring immediate treatment
and rest should be situated in a spot not easily
attainable. It is to be hoped that this subject will
receive due consideration, and that the justice of the
claims of the poor of the borough of Southwark will
be fully taken into account. Hospitals are institu-
tions that are the honour of this land; they evince
the benevolent spirit of the country, and may with
just pride be regarded in a national point of view.
They are the handmaids of mercy; but before all
ideas of this kind it is of paramount importance
that they should represent justice. Fair play to all
parties should be accorded, and more especially the
managers should bear in mind the rights of those for
whom any particular institution was founded. To do
good abroad by neglect ing those at home, is contra-
dictory charity, and in this case the positive benefit
to any large section. of the public has not been
guarded, so that the affair more than ever de-
mands caution and consideration.

We have much pleasure in stating that Mr. W
N. Rudge, stock/ )roker, has collected upwards of
£3OO in the Stor ;k Exchange during the last two or
three days for '1 he National Lifeboat Institution.
'I HE NATIO7.iAL SHAKSPEARE COMMITTEE has
during the past week received the following accession :
The Mayor of B olton, the Mayor of Chichester, the Sheriff
of Mid-Lothiar Sir F. Madden, Prof. Goldwin Smith, J.
W. Davison, 5.;5q., G. H. 'Wright, M.D., Otto Goldsmith,
Esq., Thou iron Hunt, Esq., J. Bernard Davis, M. 1)„
Warren Do La Rue, Esq., Theodore Martin, Esq., Dr. It.
Angus Smith, E. IL Lawrence, Esq., and Prof. Tycho
Mommsoi .1.
COLT ‘EGE OF PRECEPTORS.--At a meeting of the
Council of this Corporation, on the 19th inst., the following
Zrtlefxtizi were elected members of the college :—Mr. R. J.
Cardi tr; mr
(le, Adelaide•road Harn stead • Mr. J. J. Caine,
villas, Wandsworth ; Mr!, B. T. Ellis, Cromwell.:
vittas„ eroydo
Mr. W. Snaith, tShaw'
Somerset 3._-grove; Rev. E. A. Green, Windsor-place,
Mr. ip. Marc.uTtgh Hastings, University College School ;
P ONE OF
E.
laced the tem
; Mr: Briornsgro ve ; Mr. Joseph Palmer, Wells,
friars, and intended to
ttening
liltCastle,inobiblyntgomeryshire.
pormy
br.(3,1 IRDERS upon
8.A,, Tulse-hill School; and
which is to be
liiege across the Thames at Black-
Blackfriars-bridge, has beetidufirxinj the construction of New
DELICIOUS !--Mr. Bagshaw, of Norwich,
on his premises
the present moment 10,000 geese fa. . has at
for the London clubs and markets.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AMERICA.
NEW YORK, DEC. 11 (Evening).
(Per City of New York,)
President Davis' message to Congress is said to
be desponding in tone. He declares that European
nations have assumed a positively unfriendly cha-
racter towards the South, and that England has
shown a marked partiality to the Federals.
Gold 501, Stocks steady.

....1....• .....

THE POLISH INSURRECTION.
WARSAW, DEC. 17.

Advices from Konin forward the following pro.
clamation recently issued by the military com-
mander of that department :
"1. Since the commencement of the winter
season the forests are no longer used as places of
refuge by the rebels, who hide for the most part in
the towns and villages, where they quarter them-
selves upon the inhabitants. It is therefore here-
with announced that, if rebels are found quartered
in the house of any person who has not given in-
formation of the fact to the military authorities,
such guilty persons will be immediately brought
before a court-martial, to be dealt with according to
the several measures applied against the rebels.
" 2. A pecuniary fine will in addition be imposed
upon the inhabitants of such towns and villages.
" Tailors, shoemakers, and other handicraftsmen
are most strictly forbidden to keep goods by them
in stock. Should such be nevertheless discovered,
they will be seized, and the proprietors, as well as
the mayors or communal wayts of the respective
localities, be held to account.

" 4. The mayors and communal wafts are strictly
prohibited from furnishing the rebels with means of
transport or with horses; any official transgressing
will he removed from his post and brought before a
court martial.

" 5. The inhabitants of towns and villages who
shall furnish the rebels with the means of transport,
or with horses, shall be arrested and brought before
court-martial. A pecuniary fine will be imposed
upon the place to which the guilty persons belong.
" 6. As the rebel bands are at present of small
importance, the inhabitants, arming themselves
with scythes, axes, pitchforks, bludgeons, or any
other convenient weapon, may encounter them suc-
cessfully, and even succeed in dispersing small
parties, even if armed. They must also in every
case warn troops stationed in the vicinity of the
presence of rebels.

" 7. The mayors and communal wayts are bound to
organise guards for public security in villages and
towns.

" 8. All Polish rebels captured are to be delivered
up to the nearest military post.
" 9. If any inhabitant 16 at present in possession
of horses, arms, or other objects belonging to rebels,
such must be at once delivered to the nearest mili-
tary commander, or their whereabouts be notified to
him. Should any such objects be nevertheless
found in the posession of an inhabitant, he will be
dealt with according to law.
" All persons failing to observe the above regu-
lations will be treated with the utmost rigour of the
law, no excuse or evasion being held valid."
An address to the inhabitants of Warsaw was
recently issued by the revolutionary Town Captain,
detailing the proceedings of the National police,
and naming several spies, against whom the inhabi-
tants are warned.