The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-10 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, °Cr. 10, 1863.

The broad arrow has at last sped to its destina-
tion at Liverpool. It was affixed yesterday after-
noon to the steam .rams recently completed by
LAIRD Brothers, and still in their ship-building
yard in the great Lancashire seaport. With the
flight of that arrow to the destination so often of
late anticipated for it, the Foreign Secretary may
say at length, in regard to his policy, as one of the
most confused and bungling of living diplomatists,
aleajaeta est. How often the noble lord has blun-
dered already as a diplomatist, who shall say ? But,
often as ho has done so, he has never done so yet
more flagrantly than in this instance. His notorious
despatch, addressed but a few months back to Den-
mark, in respect to that most vexatious—as it
would almost seem interminable—European grie-
vance, the Schleswig-Holstein difficulty, was a biun
der, in its way, unparalleled (at that time) even by
Lord RUSSELL himself. His inuddie of our foreign
policy a feel years barb when he unhappily went,
himself, over to Vienna upon a sort of extra-Extra-
ordinary Mission of Diplomacy, is an incident still
painfully within the popular recollection. It was
more of a failure in its way than even Mr.
GLADSTONE'S well designed but ill executed
expedition to Corfu ! An outline of an
enterprise, sketched though it was by the
hand of an eminent statesman, so indifferently
filled in, shaded and coloured by the tyro fingers of
a mere amateur plenipotentiary (as Mr. GLADSTONE
unhappily proved himself to be) that the brilliant
first effect was soon enough destroyed, and the ori-
ginal design alt hut obliterated. Far more to be
regretted, however, than that lonian Episode in the
career of the Homeric critic, now her MAJESTY'S
Chancellor of the Exchequer, was the Vienna mis-
sion undertaken—and " botched"—by the sometime
Prime Minister of the realms, then Lord JOHN
since Earl RUSSELL. The recent substitution of
on ELLIOT for the HUDSON at Turin, though
intrinsically a small matter of importance so far
as it can be looked upon as indication of
a change in the Italian policy of the noble
lord Her MAJESTY'S Foreign Secretary—that in
cident, though of itself one of a very subordinate
character indeed, affecting, as it does, rather the
mechanism of administration than the force of the
motive power animating it—has still its signifi-
cance, nevertheless, because, though a mere detail,
ono perfectly en regle, entirely characteristic, mi-
nutely con sistent with Earl RUSSELL'S whole career,
us a diplomatic blunderer. A meddlesome, often a
mettlesome, disregarder as Foreign Secretary, of
his former Colleague, Lord MELBOURNE'S favourite
warning query, " Can't you let it alone ?" For the
life of him, Earl RUSSELL cannot! Come what, come
may, he must be perpetually interfering, obtruding
his assistance, his advice, his positive, and actual
interposition, that is, in act. Addressing an out of
the ",at, gathering of tenantry down in the far
north there at Blairgowrie, only the other day, he
roust needs blurt out the wholly uncalled-for and
Wholly untenable, declaration that the English in
their sympathies are Federalists. That was, in itself,
a blunder on the part of Earl ItussELL so gross and
'3O gratuitous of its kind, that it is only to be desig-
nated accurately by saying - that it was—putting his
foot in it ! And now—perfecting his policy of blun-
ders__
tow, while Lord RUSSELL is probably exult-
'Anti), muttering to himself ('lea facto est (when
thinking of the " broad arrow" joss
affixed to the
steam rams down at Liverpool), has he no prescient
eri"Ove wonder, of that arrow being burled back
at himself elaortly after the meeting of the Houses of
Parliament, let as say, next February—of its
being
hurl"' back at him with fatal effect by an
eagle-eyed marksman on the front hooch of the
Opposition in the 1100s0 of Peers ? Has he no an-
ticipatory thought flitting across his conjectures at
this moment as to the probable incidents of this
next session,
that his own political requiem may
perchance then be chanted to - •
the measure of the
familiar and melodious verse of Lord BYR"—
" Keen were his pangs, but keener far to feel
He nursed the pinion that impelled the
steel
For it certainly does appear now upon the cards that
that broad arrow affixed by Lord Russ Ear, to the
steam rams may, before another half-year has
elapsed, prove the death of his foreign
policy, the
missile likely to prove fatal to the Government.

Earl RUSSELL'S note to ST-A-Li-XT—MALET clearly
and distinctly defines the boundaryir between justi-
fiable and unjustifiable
arinterference, and in this lies
the Federal Assembly migheelehnst;e
the strong point of his
upon the duchy of Holsteing assuming put their veto
and yet have It is true that
the right of
icated their claim
itexcused. any arbitrary
independence,
to such authority, and even
look to s quit©
another
measures issued thereupon.
dictate
question, however, when Nye
proceed-
ings relative to the Danish possessions,
is indeed:arsotrcaanrrgye
their interference into those territories, 0
has the eon.
terms to the Danish monarchy,
Our Foreign Secretary
proceeding.
currents of all independent men when he denouncof
this extraordinary line of action, and holds it up to
the scorn and contempt of the nations of Europe.
The arguments put forward in this despatch are
well-known facts, it is true; but then there are occa-
sions when it becomes imperative to remind persons
of circumstances that they may know full well in
theory, but ignore altogether in practice. Besides,
the reference to certain contingencies sometimes
assumes a significant form, and foretells momen-
tous consequences. The Federal Assembly must
b.:,
Denmark which "her :MAJESTY is
ve
themt6t l
The op,--ning of the Social Science Congress is cocpia.rye i
the passage which tells
gnorant, or else very infatuated, not to re-
every year a matter of general interest. The num-
importance of the p
ber and variety of the subjects touched upon, their dependence and in-
they are assailing the integrity
intimate co:anection with our social well-being, and bound by t
the high repute of the men who preside over the meaning
lr
of
this
oaf 1852 to respect." The
i:'
Patent
several sections, combine to render the annual • more is it appreciated to all lookers on, much
by those who are playing