The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-17 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON TnURSDAY EVENIN'G, SEPrEMBER 17, 1863.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

DONCASTER RACES—WEDNESDAY.
THE ST. LEGER DAY,
The contrast presented by the aspect of the gathering on
Doncaster Meeting within the last few years is a striking
one. Through causes which it is unnecessary here to dwell
upon, the races had assumed a purely business character.
The cow se was denuded of all those attractions which make

Ascot and Goodwood such delightful reunions, and the
meeting was rapidly loosing the prestige which its past glories
flung around it. But a change, going far to re-establish the
old order of things, has taken place. The zealous co-opera-
tion of all well-wishers to its prosperity has made Doncaster
what it used to be before the springing up of so many pro-
vincial meetings—the head-quarters of the Northern Turf.
True, its moor does not exhibit, at least in the same form,
the galaxy of rank and beauty that 50 years since gladdened
the eyes of our forefathers. The Fitzwilliams, the Stanleys,
the Vanes, the Saviles, the Dundases, and the Paulette do
not come in the pomp and pride of coach-and-six, and with
their families and retinue of servants, fill the quiet little
town for the week. This railway age has changed all that.
Still, the course to-day presented such a spectacle as Good-
wood only could rival, and in one particular not exhibit.
For here, in addition to the long array of grand seigneurs
and ladies of high degree, were the people, in densely-
packed ranks, taking as great an interest in " t'Leger" as
their betters, and having only the one object before their
eyes that had brought many of them such long distances
from their homes:

The distress in the North happily no longer tended, as
last year it did, to keep back the masses from the manu-
facturing towns, and the unmistakable type of that
class was present in great numbers. A larger assem-
blage has not been seen on the moors for some years.
Nor was the cause that had brought this great assem-

bly together unworthy of such a presence. Though
the lot was generally cousidered rather a moderate one,
still they were the progeny of mighty sires, whose fame
has been bruited abroad throughout the world. The sons

and daughters of Voltigeur, New Minster, Kingston, and
Blink Bonny, descendants of yet more illustrious names,

were met to contest for the great prize, as their ancestors

had done before them, and in presence of those whose fore-
fathers had witnessed their triumphs and defeat renew the
sti uggle for equine fame.
And that struggle promised to be an exciting one. The

changes that the leading favourites had gone through within
the last few months, tte equivocal position held by Lord
Clifden, the unceasing hostility exhibited towards him by
so many influential members of the ring, not to mention
the mystery attaching to the movements of other horses in
the race—all contributed to invest it with an unusual inte-
rest. The shuttlecock, as Lord Clifden had been termed,
seemel destined to deserve his name to tha last. Yesterday
fluctuating from 7 to 6 to 1, he this moi-ting was first fa-
vourite at 4 to 1, but a leading book-maker speedily drove
him from that position, and Avenger again took the lead, The
Ranger was firmer, and was backed fur some money at 6 to
1. Previous b the race, however, another change took place,

and Lord Clifden was again elected to the premiership,
Avenger and the Ranger being respectively 41 and 6 to 1.
A 9 they were mershalled past the stand in single file the

blooming condition of most of them elicited marked admi-
ration. Lord Clifden looked as well as horse could possibly

do. Blue Mantle's style of going was much fancied, and
National Guard's appearance won him many friends. Queen
Bertha and Ranger did not command any enthusiastic com-
mendation, and Borealis, though universally admired, was
admitted to be too much of a pony for a Leger winner.
Directly the flag fell, Lord Clifden was over one hundred
yards behind everything, and a derisive roar broke from
the members of the ring as they saw the horse, for another
mile, last of all. At this moment any price could have
been obtained about him, £lOO to a shilling having been
absolutely laid. He, however, showed himself not an-
unworthy of his blood, and Osborne, most judiciously
obeying orders, did not hurry him until he got over the
hill, when he began to act, and went through his horses
in an instant. At the distance he was in front, with
Queen Bertha and Borealis alone near him. On they came
amid the roar of many voices, and with the gaze of thousands
fixed on the struggle. Vainly did Wells call upon Queen
Bertha, and Challoner urge on the game little daughter of
Blink Bonny. It was not to be, and, amid great cheering,
Lord Clifden's number was hoisted as the Leger winner
of '63.

Lord St. Vincent, naturally overcome with excitement,
rushed down from the stand, shouting that " Lord Clifden
was the best horse in the world," and when he appeared in
the betting ring he was greeted with a tremendous ovation.
Lord Clifdenand Johnny Osborne, when they returned to
weigh in, were hailed with immense cheering, hats being
thrown up in all directions. Edwin Parr, as he led the
horse from the ground, was also enthusiastically congratu-
lated by the crowd.
It was doubtless felt that the race was a triumph over the
machinations of the bookmakers, and the ill-natured spite
of people who libelled the trainer and questioned his ability.
Singularly enough, the Marquis, who was second to Carac-
tacus for the Derby, like Lord Clifden obtained the first
place at Doncaster, Subjoined are full details of the run-
ning
The Municipal Stakes of 200 soya each, h ft, for 2-yr-olds;
colts, Bst tOlb ; and fillies, Bst 71b. Red House in. 5
subs.
Sir J. Hawley's Washington, Bst 101 b (Wells) 1
Lord Glasgow's Clarissa colt, Bst 71b (Aldcroft) 2
Betting--2 to 1 on Washington, who made play, closely
followed by Clarissa colt to the distance, where the favourite
drew away, and won very easily by a length and a half.
The Corporation Plate of 100 sous in specie, added to a
handicap sweepstakes of 10 soya each, 5 1t; for all ages.
Winners extra. The owner of the second horse to receive
15 soya out of the stakes. T.Y.C. 42 subs.
Sir J. Hawley's Columba, 3 yrs, 6st 21b (Loaf es) 1
Lord Bateman's Despair (late Fig), 4 yrs, (car 7,t 71b)
(H. Grimshaw) 2
Mr. R. Sutton's Man-at-Arms, 6 yrs, 9st llb .. (Wells) 3
The following also ran :—Tattoo, Waterwitch, Leontes,
Miss Armstrong, Stockinger, Maid of the Mist, Maurice,
Littlecote, Laura, and Neophyte.
Columba, with Despair and Man-at-Arms in close com-
pany, laid in front, and wide on their whip hand came Neo-
phyte, Tattoo, and Waterwitch, the latter apparently out-
paced. They ran thus to the turn into the straight, where
the two leaders drew away, and finished a close race home,
the young one holding her own to the end, and winning a
fire race in the last stride by a bead. Man-at-Arms, who
stopped under his weight, finished a bad third ; Water-
witch was fourth, Stockinger fifth, and Laura next.
The St. Leger Stakes of 25 soya each, for 3-yr-olds, colts,
Bst 101 b ; fillies, Bst 51b. The owner of the second horse
to receive 100 soya out of the stakes. St. Leger course.
204 subs.
Lord St. Vincent's Lord Clifden (J. Osborne) 1
Mr. T. Valentine's Queen Bertha .. (Wells) 2
Mr. W. I'Anson's Borealis (Challoner) 3
Mr. Beaumont's Golden Pledge (G. Fordham) 4
Lord Glasgow's Light Bob
Lord Glasgow's Clarior • (J. Doyle) 0
Mr. W. Ashworth's Doctor Syntax
Mr. J. Johnstone's The Serf (Adams) 0
Lord Stamford's Avenger
Count F. de Lagrange's Jarnicoton (Watkins) 0
Mr. T. Parr's Blondin (W. Boyce) 0
Capt. D. Lane's Blue Mantle
Mr, H. Robinson's Donnybrook (French) 0
Mr. Savile's The Ranger
Lord Stamford's Onesander
Mr. H. Stewart's Cairncastle (Foster) 0
Mr. E. W. Watson's Columbia
Mr. Watt's National Guard (J. Snowden) 0
Mr. Savile's Prince Lee 800 (J. Mann) 0
Midgley weighed for Amazonian,and his number was ex-
hibited on the telegraph, but was subsequently taken down,
and the horse did not start.
Betting-100 to 30 agst Lord Clifden, 9 to 2 agst Aven'
ger, 6 to 1 agst Ranger, 7 to 1 agst Queen Bertha, 10 to 1
agst Golden Pledge, 100 to 7 agst Borealis, 15 to 1 agst
Blue Mantle, 25 to 1 each agst The Serf and Donnybrook,
33 to 1 agst Cairneasele, 40 to 1 agst Onesander, and 60 to
1 agst National Guard.
'she race was set for 3.15, but it was nearly 4 o'clock be-
fore Mr. Marshall could persuade the riders to cbey hie
orders, when he lowered his flag, and the lot left the post in
very close company, Blue Mantle being in advance, but be.
fore they had proceeded many strides he was joined by Dr.
Syntax, closely followed by Prince Le 800 and Onesander,
the two latter foreleg a pace to serve their stable com-
panions; then followed The Serf, Cairncastle, National
Guard, and Clarior, several lengths in advance of the ruck,
who were brought up by Blondin, Jarnicoton, and the fa-
vourite, the latter, not appearing to act when the signal
was given, got badly off, and was many lengths in the rear
of the hindmost horses. Rising the hill Dr. Syntax drew
slightly in advance of Capt. Lane's colt, who was closely
followed by Prince Le 800, Lord Stamford's two, side by
si3e, Ranger, Queen Bertha, Golden Pledge, and Borealis,
in a body, the others as they reached the bottom getting on
better terms with the leaders. They ran in this order to the
mile-post, when Lord Clifden, who had gradually quitted
his rearward position, took his place immediately in the rear
of Ranger, Queen Bertha, and Borealis, the lot running in
company to the post, where The Ranger for a few strides
appeared in front; but, breaking clown shortly after, he
was headed by Lord Clifden, Borealis, Queen Bertha, and
Golden Pledge in front, to which lot the race was now
confined. Halt way down Queen Bertha came up next
the rails, and heving disposed of whatever Chum the game

little Borealis 'Assessed, made her effort opposite the
Stand to reach Lord St. Vincent's colt, but failed, and
was beaten in very clever style by half a length, amid
the most vociferous cheering heard for many years.
Queen Bertha defeated Mr. I'Anson's pony, who was com-
pletely outpaced at last by four lengths ; Golden Pledge,
evidently ridden home for a place, finished a bad fourth;
The Ranger was fifth, Avenger sixth, Clarior seventh,
Blue Mantle eighth, the next three being Dr. Syntax,
Light Bob, and National Guard; Prince Le 800, The Serf,
and Donnybrook walked in the last.
Handicap Sweepstakes of 10 sous each, h ft, with 50 added,
for 2-yr-olds. Winners extra. The owner of the second
horse to save his stake. Red House in. 28 subs.
Mr. Wood's Rose, 'let 51b (Cox) 1
n and Eugenie filly.
also ran:—Vanessa, Acolyte, Greville,
Mr. R. H. Jones's Kapunda, 7et (French) '2
Lord Westmoreland's Wild Thyme, 7st 31b , (Morgan) 3
LaTdhyemfaorlylowig ,
Oneida,
Betting-2 to 1 agst Wild Thyme, 3to 1 agst Eugenie
filly, 5 to 1 each agst Rose and Lady Mary, 100 w 15 agst
Oneida, 8 to 1 agst Kapunda.
The Eugenie filly took a slight lead, followed by Wild
Thyme and Oneida. They continued in this order to the
distance, when Lord Westmoreland's filly looked like win-
ning, but Cox brought up Rose, and challenging Wild
Thyme, won a good race by a neck ; a bad third ; Greville
was fourth, close up with whom were Oneida and Vanessa.
Sweepstakes of 10 soya each, h ft, with 50 soya added, for
2-yr-olds, 7st; three, Bst 101. The second saves his stake.
Red House in. 14 subs.
Mr. Phillips' Persuasion, 2 yrs, Est 111 b (J. Grimshaw) 1
Mr. Lincoln's Light, 2 yrs, 6st 111 b (T. French) 2
Lord Stamford's Livingstone, 3 yrs, Bst 101 b (A.Edwards) 3
The following also ran :—Midnight Mass, Crisis, Lady
of Coverham, Orphene, and Harvest Mell.
Betting-7 to 4 agst Livingstone, 4to 1 agst Light, 9to
2 agst Midnight Mass, and 6 to 1 agst Persuasion,
The three placed ran in front throughout, Light having
a slight lead, which she held to the distance, when Persua-
sion got up next the rails, and won, after a good race, by a
length and a half, a head separating the second and third.
Crisis was a bad fourth, Lady of Coverham was fifth, Har-
vest Mell next, and Midnight Mass last. Prior to the start,
which was delayed by the fractiousness of Persuasion, who
lashed out and struck Whiteley on the leg, but not suffi-
ciently as to prevent his riding in the race.
Her Majesty's Plate of 100 guineas; 3-yr-olds, Bst 31b;
4-yr-olds, 9st 71b ; 5-yr-olds, 9st 131 b ; 6-yr-olds and
aged, 10st. Cup course. Abaut two miles and five
furlongs.
Mr. S. Thellusson's Jack of Hearts, 3 yrs.. (Fordharn) 1
Mr. Merry's The Knave, 4 yrs (Edwards) 2
Lord Glasgow's Brother to Rapid Rhone, 4 yrs,
(Aldcroft) 3
Mr. I'Anson's Caller Ou, 5 yrs (Challoner) 4
Betting-5 to 4on Caller Ou, 4to 1 agst The Knave, 5
to 1 agst Jack of Hearts.
Jack of Hearts took a commanding lead, followed by
Lord Glasgow's colt, The Knave, and Caller Ou in the order
named. On coming over the hill Caller Ou drew up,
and at the two-year-old post The Knave also came to
the front, and at the Rod House Caller On slightly gave
way, and Jack of Hearts going on with the lead, won a
good race by a head, two lengths separating
second and
third.
The Stand Plate Handicap of 5 sovs each, with 50 added,
for 3-yr-olds and upwards. The second horse saved his
stake. Red House in. 16 subs.
Mr. H. floater's Creole, 3 yrs, Est (Mordan) 1
Mr. Watt's Newmarket. 3 yrs, Est 121 b .... (T. French) 2
Lord Westmoreland's Erin-go-Bragh, 3 yrs, 7et 81b
(A. Edwards) 3
The following also rsn :—Lady Clifden, Zora, Calabria,
Stockowner, Coulon, Canzonette, Disdain, Knave of
Trumps, and Curie.
Betting-2 to 1 agst Lady Clifden, sto 1 each agst
Stockowner and Creole, 100 to 12 agst Disdain, 10 to 1 agst
Erin-go Bragh, and 100 to 8 agst Newmarket.
Zora, with Lady Clifden and Newmarket lying up, got
away in company to the bend, where Stockowner obtained
the lead, which he held to the distance, where Creole joined
him, and shortly after came on in advance, and won by
half a length. The same distance between second andthird.
Curie was a bad fourth.

LATEST BETTING ON THE COURSE.

CESAREIVITCH.

100 to 6 agat Jack o'llearts (taken)
BETTING AT MIDNIGHT.
18 to 1 agst Jack o'Hearts (taken)
20 to 1 agat Drummer Boy (taken)
25 to 1 agat Umpire (taken)
33 to 1 agst Agag (taken)
33 to 1 agat Lioness (taken)
40 to 1 agat Odkapple (taken)
CAMBRIDGESHIRE•
100 to 6 agst Birdhill (taken)
20 to 1 agat Catch'em Alive (taken)
20 to 1 agat Borealis (taken)
33 to 1 agat Turcos (taken)
40 to 1 agst Merry Heart (taken)
50 to 1 agst Kemptown
50 to 1 agst Exchequer (taken)

DEBBY.
40 to 1 agst Claremont (taken)
ifden is struck out.

DONCASTE4 CUP.—Lord C

CHE CESAREWIYat
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OskapPle .. •• 3 6 4
KangarooLadyoft .. •. 3 6
the Isles.. 3 6 3
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The Plover 3 6 1
M. Philippe • • a 6
TICIT hielami ePt s.rt!a°rnwi sena. . 333
666 111
Springbok'sßSDiaaeunrce dbezpai:dtMuezzin
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Venison 3
Voluptas 3 5 9
Melandra
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Copenhagen a 5 8
Lady Frances filly 3 5 8
Adine filly.. 3 5 8
Luscinia 3 5 8

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—Among the many marvels and paradoxes
of the American Revolution there is none greater
than the part played by President Lincoln himself.
That such a man should have been called upon to

guide the destinies of a mighty nation during a
grand historical crisis is surely strange enough, but
that he should have blundered and vacillated as he

has, without for a moment losing confidence in
himself, or altogether forfeiting that of his coun-
trymen, is stranger still. His language on the
great questions at issue has varied so much at
different times as to show that he never can

have had anything worthy of being called a
policy, unless it be that which he described in the
wisest of all his homely sayings as a resolution
to " keep pegging away." It we compare his
early addresses and his first Presidential Message
with his subsequent letters and his speeches, or
with his last Message, we find a degree of incon-
sistency which is perfectly ludicrous. The great
problem with which he has had to deal has of
course been slavery, and it would be possible to cull
from his declarations on this subject passages in
favour of every principle from Abolitionism to ab-
solute non-intervention. Between the elaborate
compensation-scheme proposed in the Message of
December, 1862, and the Proclamation of January,
confiscating the slaves of all the seceding States as a
measure of military necessity, there is a theoretical
abyss which no argument can span. So far, however,
from seeing this, the President justifies both indis-
criminately in the letter to the" unconditional Union
men" of Illinois, which we published yesterday, and
manages to confound both with the arming of ner
groes on behalf of the Union, which has nothing:to
do with either. This letter is in otber respects so
remarkable a document, and so characteristic a
specimen of the President's style and habits of
thought, that we cannot do better than extract the
most ambitious paragraphs of it for the benefit of
our readers :

The signs look better. The Father of Waters again goes
unvexed to the sea, thanks to the great north-west for it.
Nor yet wholly to them; 300 miles up they met New
England, Empire, Keystone and Jersey hewing their way
right and le t. The sunny South, too, in more colours than
one, also lent a hind. Oa the spot their part of the history
was jotted down in black and white. The job was a great
national one, and let none be banned who bore an honour-
able part in it. And while those who have cleared the
great river may well be proud, even that is not all It is
hard,to say that anything has been more bravely and better
done than at Antietam, Murfreesboro', Gettysburg, and on
many fields of less note.
Nor must Uncle Sam's web feet be forgotten, At all the
waters' margins they have been present, not only in the
deep sea, the broad bay, and the rapid river, but also up the
narrow, muddy bayou, and wherever the ground was a
little damp, they have been and made their tracks.
Thanks to all for the Great &public, for the principle by
which it lives and koeps alive for man's vast future. Thanks
, to all.

Peace does not appear so distant as it did.
How any man in his sober senses could have sat
down to compose such a rhapsody as this, or having
composed it, could have read it over with gravity
and ordered it to be printed, passes our compre-
hension. It is something between a prophecy and
an oracular response, with a dash of Yankee slang
and terms of expression which remind us alter-
nately of Ossian, of the incoherent utterances of
the Maori Chiefs, and of schoolboy translations
of corrupt choruses in Greek tragedians. Crom-
well never spoke and Mr. Carlyle never wrote
anything so hopelessly obscure, and the persons,
if there be any such, to whom such a jargon
can appear impressive or even intelligible must
have faculties and tastes of which we eon form
n didea. One is really tempted to think that Mr.
Lincoln cannot have been himself when he penned
to grotesque a production. Herodotus tells us that
the ancient Persian deliberated drank as well as
sober on important affairs of State, but we may be
sure that the conclusion of a debate was conducted
in gas fatter condition. It is difficult to believe that
the American President can have observed this pi e-
caution, though he winds up with the timely injunc.
"Let us be quite sober," end solemnly warns his
readers not to be over-sanguine of a speedy triumph.
And yet it would not be fair to judge of the whole
letter by his wild and vague declamation. The
early part, though by no means free from faults of
grammar or compatible with our notions of lite-
rary dignity, is not devoid of a certain rough honesty
and force. It is this, tempered by a lawyer-like
smartness, that secures to Mr. Lincoln, in spite of
his arbitrary weakness, a certain popularity among
a people who enjoy a joke even when it is practised
at the expense of themselves or the dearest interests
of their country. In the address before us he
boldly takes the bull by the horns, and defends him.
self against the censures of the Peace party. This
defence deserves serious attention, inasmuch as it
purports to define the objects of the war for the
future. "I am as desirous of peace as any of you,"
says Mr. Lincoln," but how can we attain it ? Only
in one of three ways; either by forcibly suppress-
ing the rebellion, or by giving up the Union, or by
some compromise." The second of these expedients
he declines to discuss, and the third he considers
impracticable without adopting the second. "I do
not believe that any compromise embracing themain-
tenance of the Union is now possible. All that I learn
leads to a directly opposite belief." Nothing re-
mains, therefore, but to embrace the first course
and " keep pegging away." An European critic,
accepting this trilemma as exhaustive, would proba-
bly fix on the alternative which President Lincoln
dismisses so summarily, and endeavour to show that
the aim of the North, instead a refusing to contem-
plate final separation, should have been from the first
to dictate its terms. Let us look at the matter, how-
ever, from the writer's own point of view, andassume
that no compromise exc.uding a restoration of the
Union would be satisfactory to the North. Does it
follow that this restoration can be effected by force
of arms ? Mr. Lincoln's logic would have been
equally good, and he would have shown a higher
statesmanship, if he had demonstrated, as he easily
might, that no reunion worth the name could be
.brought about by war, and that consequently some
form of compromise must ultimately be enter-
tained, But no overtures of this kind, he assures
us, have yet been made by the leaders of the rebel
army or by any of those who control it. Can there
be a stronger proof of the indomitable determination
of the South not to have the Union as it was, and
can any State be compelled to be a member of a
Confederation against its will ? We cannot help sus-
pecting that Mr Lincoln himself feels this difficulty,
for he is at much pains to distinguish b tween the
Southern people and the Southern army, and to prove
that the true sentiments of the former cannot be as-
certained till the latter is annihilated. Two years ago
such views might have gained credence, but they
are now quite exploded. There is not the slightest
reason to doubt that the Government and army •
of the South represent the white population gene-
rally. It is conceivable that that population may
be exterminated or so crushed as to make such a
peace with the North as the Polish insurgents might
make with Russia, but it is inconceivable that they
can be beaten and insulted into loyalty. A still
deeper fallacy underlies the President's apology
for the Proclamation of Emancipation. He adheres
to the statement that it was a military necessity, and
appeals to the testimony of military commanders
in favour of its strategical value. But when
he comes to deal with the political objections to
it, on the ground that it substituted Abolitionism
for Unionism as the future casus belli, he betrays
a very shallow cunning or a strange blindness.
His argument is, that while some are fighting
for the freedom of the blacks, others may just as
well fight for the restoration of the Union, and
inasmuch as the success of both causes depends on
the same event, no antagonism between their par-
tisans should exist. " Whenever you shall have
conquered all resistance to the Union, if I shall
urge you to continue fighting, it will be an apt
time then for you to declare that you will not fight
to free negroes. ' Can Mr. Lincoln fail to see that
the Proclamation in question must have extinguished
any lingering spark of regret for the Union in the
South, and thus have rendered the chance of recon-
ciliation infinitely smaller than before? An Illinois
Unionist may well think, though we do not, that
the seceding States would have returned to their
allegiance, after all, had their rights over their
slaves been respected, but he knows that by obey-
ing the counsels of the Abolitionists the North has
now incurred their implacable enmity. Whatever
such a man may think of the President's confident
belief that " General Meade's army can keep Lee's
army out of Pennsylvania, and I think can ulti-
mately drive it out of existence," he must perceive
that in the meantime he is being taxed, and perhaps
made to servo in the ranks, to promote au end with
which he has no sympathy.
PosT. —The approaching Prussian elections will
soon show how wofully the Ministry have overshot
their mark. The ground on which the King pro-
fesses to have dissolved Parliament is that he is re-
solved to forget past differences with his people, and
that he cffers up the Lower Chamber as a common
scapegoat for both parties. He makes also, in his
recent declaration, other more direct constitutional
professions, and gives the public to understand
that he will listen temperately to their discus-
sion of his budget. But can his present
Ministers possibly take this part ? They have
hitherto only maintained their existence on the
supposition that the conformity of the King's
policy to their own outrageous demeanour
in the Chambers gave the presumptive shelter of
the Crown to the course to which they were com-
mitted. If, however, the King's announcement
has auy meaning at all, it imports that he is pre-
pared to make an honourable surrender of the un-
constitutional prerogatives to which he laid claim
during the sitting of the last Parliament. But he
cannot do this without first making s surrender of
the Ministers who it idersti,fied with tho4o 45041/ap-

tions, and who have stigmatised themselves by the
grossest and most deliberate insults to the repre-
sentatives of the people. Perhaps, however, on a
charitable view, we may exempt the Prussian
Ministers from responsibility for a great blunder, on
the supposition that their devoted loyalty led them
to love their Sovereign better than themselves. But
when an absolutist Ministry come forward as peni-
tent converts to a constitutional policy, they simply
find that there is no locus ponitentio for them. The
theory of the constitution at once offers up these
very Ministers as a sacrifice for the errors of the
Sovereign; who is supposed to have acted under
the influence of their advice. That is the only
safety valve for monarchy under representative go-
vernment. The alternative, therefore, seems to lie
between the abandonment by King William either
of his administration or of his constitutional pro-
gramme. But if, on the other hand, we are really
to suppose that Count Bismark intends to meet the
forthcoming Prussian Parliament as the imperso-
nation of a new and constitutional policy, we must
expect to see his Ministerial career cut short by the
verdict of the tribunal to which he will then have
acknowledged obedience. Probably, in three cases
out of four, the same representatives will be returned
by the constituencies to the new Parliament. These
gentlemen, on their return to Berlin, are not very
like:y to perceive the necessity of their having been
sent to the country merely to register the recan-
tation of an intriguing Ministry, who, after having
hoped to carry cut an absolutist policy with a high
hand, find themselves in the prececament of being
obliged to court the favour of the people. There
is little doubt that one of the first acts of the new
Prussian Parliament will be to ratify the positions
assumed by its predecessor, and to assert the rights
of the public on all those matters on which the King
and the late Parliament were at issue. This will
lead to a state of things which it is hardly possible
that the present Ministry car. brook, even if the
Lower Chamber does not go the constitutional
length of petitioning the Crown to dismiss its ad-
visers. It offends the first principle of parliamen-
tary government that the same administration, after
violating constitutional rights in one year, should
pretend to identify itself with them in another.
But whatever attitude the Ministers may assume
on the constitutional question that is at issue in
regard to the home government of Prussia, nothing
will be felt as more ludicrous by the whole Prussian
public than their ad captanduni effort to represent
themselves as the vindicators of Prussian dignity
against the reformers of the German Bund. The
Prussians too well know with whom the compro-
mise of their national dignity has originated. It
can have escaped none of them that but for the
dead lock to which the constitutional relations be-
tween the King au d the Parliament had been brought
by the folly and arrogance of the present ad
visors of the Crown, there would have been no
attempt made at Frankfort to legislate for Germany
without the concurrence of the Court of Berlin.
The dignity of Prussia, both within and without the
King's own dominions, has been simply betrayed
by Count Bismark, Gen. von Roon, and the other
members of the present Cabinet, who, in an incre-
dibly short space of time, have contrived to cut off
the Throne from all sympathy and alliance, whether
in the bosom of foreign Courts or in the hearts of
the Prussian people. The coldness with which Eng-
land, France, and Austria now regard the Prussian
Court is only equal to the animosity which its vio-
lence and faithfulness have provoked at home. If,
however, the Bismark Ministry innocently' antici-
pate that the new Parliament will accord the same
forgiveness to those who have so ill advised the
Sovereign, as that which they will doubtless be
ready to offer to the Sovereign himself, they are
perhaps really prepared to transfer their alliance
from the German Princes who have betrayed them
to the Prussian public whom they themselves be-
trayed. It will then be an edifying spectacle of
politicsl humiliation to see these Ministers wading
through the terrible quagmire of their own abso-
lutist pretensions, and calmly discussing first the
budget, then the reorganisation of the army, and
finally the period of military service in the Land-
wehr, with a retrenching, economising, and possibly
a domineering Parliament. There will then be no
limit to their career of eating their own words and
revoking their own policy. This is the phase which
one contingency will present. But it is quite as
probable, on the other, that Ministers will meet
Parliament with no direct concessions of questions
heretofore in dispute, but will attempt to turn pub-
lic attention to "Prussian ascendancy in the Con-
federation," and to put themselves forward as the
supporters of the traditionary pretensions of their
country. Should this bo the course they mean to
take we need hardly predict its certain failure. We
have no doubt that the Chamber will refuse to be
led away by specious arguments from the real ques
tion at issue at Berlin, which is whether the Parlia-
ment shall share in the government of the country,
or whether the Crovien shall dictate to the Parlia-
ment.