The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-02 00:00:00

arose between the neutral and belligerent Govern-
ments, but the narrative which was addressed to the
meeting at Manchester, though perhaps not con-
sciously untrue, was entirelyimaginary. Mr.
Beecher is one of those placable disputants who are
willing to forgive an adversary, while they are in-
capable of admitting they were themselves origi-
nally in the wrong. When he professes to leave
England in a More amicable state of mind, he by no
means conceals his belief that in every dispute or
conflict of opinion America has been fully justified.
The enthusiasm of Exeter Hall against slavery is
allowed, in some degree, to atone for the recogni-
tion of belligerent rights, and for the demand of
satisfaction after the outrage on the Trent. Yet
the Manchester audience by no means expressed the
sentiment of the country if they were content with
the condescension of a pardon which is neither
asked nor required. Mr. Beecher's version of the
story of the Trent has the merit of originality, and
the defect of utter variance from the truth. He
asserts that the English precedents were confessedly
in favour of the lawfulness of the seizure, while
the American doctrine was opposed to the claim
of the belligerent. Mr. Seward, with a refined
courtesy, waited to know whether the. English
Government would renounce its own principles
by demanding satisfaction, or acquiesce in
the enforcement of a law which had been
deduced from its owe practice. As soon as it appeared
that England preferred immediate success to legal
consistency, Mr. Seward conceded the surrender of
the prisoners; and the nation, though taken by sur-
prise, unanimously accepted the decision of the Go-
vernment. It is hardly necessary to say that the
demand of the English Government was exclusively
founded on the law and supported by the precedents
which are accepted by the courts of both countries.
Admiral Wilkes thought fit to declare that the
Southern Commissioners were embodied despatches,
and no American lawyer succeeded in inventing a
more plausible excuse for the capture. Mr. Seward
deserves credit for the pressure which he exercised
on his colleagues and on the President himself in
favour of law and peace; but he thought himself
compelled by popular opinion to pretend, in his ela-
borate communication to the English Government,
that he only surrendered the prisoners because they
were personally unimportant. Two days before
the final decision, the rest of the Cabinet was una-
nimously opposed to concession, and the English
Minister at Washington warned his Government
that the preparations for war must be pressed for-
ward with the utmost vigour. In the meantime,
Admiral Wilkes had received the freedom of a dozen
cities in reward for an exploit which was important
only as it was offensive, and the Governor of Mas-
sachusetts publicly congratulated him on the affront
which he had offered to the English flag. At this
moment Mr, Beecher would fail to find a lawyer
either in England or in America who would venture
to defend the interference with the Trent ; yet, after
two years spent in urging his countrymen to avenge
their miscarriage, he is now prepared to extend a
tardy forgiveness to the community which he has
done his utmost to injure. Philanthropy and piety
are not sufficient excuses for the indulgence of spite-
ful passions, and those who incessantly describe
themselves as ministers of the Gospel ought to re-
member that even white men have, rights and feel-
ings which are entitled to respect. Mr. Beecher
may be in some degree excused on the ground of
professional laxity, as the trumpeter in eE3op may
perhaps scarcely have been conscious of the sangui•
nary tendency of his performance; but the indis-
criminate severity of the ancient court-martial has
been perpetuated as a moral precedent by all collec-
tors of fables.

EXAMINER.—Prussia is in the throes of a general
election. Those delegates who are to choose the
actual members have been already designated, and
they consist of all the more eminent citizens op-
posed to the Court throughout the kingdom. Can
or does the army reject and remain a stranger to
those sentiments which pervade the whole mass of
the Prussian nation ? That is the question, A soh
dier cannot alone fly in the face of the order and
discipline which fetter him, and it takes a consi-
derable lapse of time to render general that feeling
of disaffection which would throw obedience off;
but an accident, a position, might occur or be offered,
that would render it much easier for the Prussian
soldier. In face of an armed and turbulent insur-
rection he would, no doubt, do what he still holds
to be his duty. But as things go he will soon be
called upon to put down passive resistance and shoot
unarmed fellow•citizens. The general refusal of
taxes by not only a whole town, but a whole district,
would severely try Bismark's authority over the
army. Such things, we hear, are mooted. The feel-
ing in great towns may be judged from that of
Cologne, where the King dared not be present at
the inauguration of the Cathedral. El berfeld is the
Manchester of Prussia ; what if it refused, as it
should, to pay taxes which have been as yet un-
voted by the Parliament ? In the meantime the
other Powers and Princes of Germany, great and
small, are making preparations so as to be ready
for the great catastrophe. They expect nothing
less than a revolution in Prussia,--a new 1848.
They entertain very different views on the subject.
Some dread lest the conflagration should extend to
their territories, and set their ill-ordered houses on
fire ; whilst certain princes, who feel themselves
strong, and are, therefore, sanguine and arrogant,
think only of taking advantage of the utter break-
up of Prussia to appropriate to themselves some of
the fragments. This may seem very absurd ; but
nothing is too absurd for some small German Courts.
A happy pretext for covering and concealing all
these designs, these hopes and fears, is offered by
the Danish quarrel. All the northern Princes, and
some of the southern, have seized the opportunity
to arm and swell their contingents to the full. Han-
over and Saxony have each got up a corps darmee
under the plea of entering and occupying Holstein;
yet the Kings both of Hanover and Saxony have
dealt less liberally with their subjects than the
Danish King can have dealt with the Holsteieere.
However, Savons aiid Hanoverians are armed and
mustered on the frontiers. Prussia and Austria
have undertaken to support the two others by
corps of reserve. This enables Prussia to keep a
large force in disaffected Westphalia; and Aus-
tria, at the same time, to mass her troops in
Bohemia: Austria has collected all the minor
Powers, with three or four exceptions, in her
scheme for the reorganisation of the Confe-
deration, They have just passed resolutions
which amount to a new Confederation, leaving out
Prussia. If this is to be the case, what is to be-
come of the Zollverein ? what of the political, mili-
tary, or commercial union of Germany ? All
threaten shipwreck and dispersion. In fact, Ger-
many is a chaos, and an irremediable chaos, if in
the opinion of its own Princes it were not on the
eve of revolution.
French LONDONpolicy
R EVIEW. —There are signs tbat the
development. in Mexico is about to receive its final
The ostensible design of founding
miiin
an independent empire under the Archduke Maxi
has always been hard to understand. That
it would entail an immense sacrifice of blood and
treasure was quite apparent, but it was difficult to
see in what mode France was to derive any material
compensation. If, indeed, the enterprise had been
popular, another and an adequate compensa-
tion might have been found in the gratifica-
tion of the national vanity and love of glory.
But, in spite of all the laboured productions
of inspired writers, our neighbours have mani-
fested an unmistakeable repugnance to making war
for so singular an idea as the establishment of a
Latin empire under a German emperor. It appeared
clear that sooner or later this dislike would become
a source of embarrassment to the Government, and
it was difficult to suppose that the Emperor was
blind to the danger or to the necessity of averting
it. Many shrewd observers have, therefore, long
maintained that the project of conferring the crown
on an Austrian prince was only a cover for the real
intention to convert Mexico into a French depen
dency. These suspicions derive some confirmation
from the fact that while the Archduke has been
induced to make the acceptance of the throne de-
pendent upon guarantees which he is not likely to
obtain, the official organs of the French Govern-
ment have ceased to chaunt, as they did but lately,
the popularity of his candidature, and hints are
already being thrown out that, after all, the true
desire of the Mexicans is for annexation to France.
As the Emperor Napoleon has now ascer-
tained that no one but the Federal Government
would raise any serious objection to his acquisition
of an American province, it is probable that he will,
before long, take steps for convincing his subjects
that their resources have not been wasted on a purely
philanthropic enterprise. He may, perhaps, safely
rely upon their readiness to make the far greater
theirs i n
athne.
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negation to the kingdom of Greece.
to surrender the protectorate would be met by
au equal readiness on their part to concur in such
measures as might lie requisite to satisfy our fair
claims on account of money expended in the
improvement and defence of the islands,
to disarm the apprehensions of foreign powers
whose concurrence is necessary for their transfer to
Greece, or to meet the natural anxiety of the Danish
Royal family in regard to a suitable provision for
maintaining the dignity
requisite, of the new throne. It was
however, to ascertain in the first instance
by an authoritative vote of the assembly if they
desired to join their kinsman on the mainland, and
the Lord High Commissioner therefore proposed
that that body should first decide this point, leaving
other roßtters for subsequent discussion. Nothing