The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 2, ISM

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 2, 1863.

NAPOLEON has been magnanimous in words—
that is, ley volunteering this proposition of a pacific
Congress. Will he--now that his proposition has
been declined by the English Government—will he,
sponeaneously, go one step further, by proving
hineself to be magnanimous not in words only, but
in acts also : that is, to put it quite plainly,
I'7 taking the initiative in the diminution of the
costly and exaggerated armaments alluded to in
8 speech to the Legislature upon the inatt-
guratie, ,
chombeezt month of the new session of the French
to do it. _He can afford to do this—if he wills
The disbandment of his magnificent
army, the breaki
ttig up of his formidable fleet of
iron-clad Felipe
of war,
tar, are proceedings in the pro-
posed direction
for an instant dreamt of even
in the wildest
imaginings of the most Utopian
Peace-at-any-price
Bedlam, Y dreamer. There is not a
van, we take it,
out
of ala, or out of the Asylum
for Idiots, who would
ser
i IIY propound any such
insane proposition as that, set•.
is only a variable pro-
portion of the swords that
these Arcadian philan-
thropists of the Peace•at-asy,p_.c
party would
babble now about beating into
ploughshares. It is a
pere (ifeentage merely of the spearheads
there were
any nowadays, in any branch of the
military ser
Tice), that these Utopian politicians could
urge the
pourers that be, to have turned into reaping hooks,
A total disarmament is ea more mused
Over by any
.
class of men still retaining their senses, as a•r_
rangement, through any conceivable means
practicable, than is the opening 11P of serious at-
tempts to organise a millennium. It is simply the
exi,ravegant armaments, what Mr. DISRAELI hap
leiP,y dubbed, a session or two beck, the bloated
armaments of the last few years, that it is proposed
should be reduced in magnitude, in costliness, in
increasing and still increaeing elaboration. It
`would be the noblest, the most stately, haughty,
• imperial reply that the Emperor NAPOLEON
111. could now give to the rival Government which
has just declined to take part in his scheme of a
great European Congress—his demonstrating thus
in the sight of the whole world the perfect sincerity
0f his pacific intentions by doing what, we repeat
it, he can so well afford
to du, namely, himself set-
ting the example to an Europe by diminishing the
maguitude and moderating
the costliness of his
superb armaments be sea and land. In his so doing
there would be
70
o cling whatever of the Quixotic,
He is at the head
in
the
Wholeworld. f the greatest military power
He is at its head—so far
as any mere earthly power
He is, there, at the wer can be—supremely.
loftiest elevation—namely,
as an absolute Monarch
cealted post is Upon the broadest foundations—
namely, as the result of the choice, thrice pro-
nounced, of the whole French democracy.
there, in fact, as an imperial democrat as
He is
as a demo-
cratic lieeperer—it matters little how you
express
it—as a ruler having despotic power in his
hands,
while his feet are planted npon denaceratic institu-
tions. If the reigning Emperor of the FetE,wit is
to this day uncrowned and unanointed, being in

thy 3, unlike the rest of the Sovereigns of
E' arope, and especially unlike the Founder
01 f his Dynasty, " lui qui nu :Pape a couronnee,"
-1' irAPOLEON 111. has at any rate ascended step by

step to the eminence of his sovereignty upon the basis
(f a popular election thrice pronounced, in numbers
that no other ruler has had even once enrolled
in his favour. First of all, when his own powers
were not in the least, or but very dimly indeed, re-
cognised—first of all for the sake of his great name,
in memory of his immortal uncle, when the ballot-
boxes were in the safe keeping of the Republic,
nay, of his chief rival as a Candidate for the Pre-
sidency, General CAVAIONAC—then, even then, to
begin with, Prince LOUIS NAPOLEON was
eleoted by very nearly 6,000,000 Frenchmen.
Afterww:ds, for life, by nearly 7,000,000. After-
wards, as EMPEROR, by nearly 8,000,000. He
i ua►igurated his reign as EMPEROR by the declare-
trim that the revived Empire signified peace. To
this very hour he has remained faithful uninter-
ruptedly in a pacific alliance with the great neigh-
, bowing Power with which the deadliest warlike
rivalry had, on the contrary, been maintained dur-
ing the grand contest between Ail Europe and
France under NAPOLEON the GREAT. If the pre-
sent Emperor of the FRENCH has entered into other
wars, he has in every instance, save one only, entered
into them in concert with England. The one war
which was the exception to this rule being that war
in Italy, with the results of which England, of all
the countries of Christendom, the most heartily sym-
pathised. England having just declined to ac-
cede to the EMPEROR'S proposition of a peaceful
Congress, the EMPEROR now, if he should so please,
could put the sincerity of our own country, or rather,
we will say by preference, of our own Government,
to the test, by doing what he is strong enough to do
with perfect impunity—namely, setting the example
to England, to all Europe, of diminishing the
enormous warlike armaments under the stress of
which the chief among the great Powers of Europe
have so long been groaning. The Emperor of the
FRENCH supposing he were to act thus,
would in no way whatever be acting rashly, either
in his own dynastic interests, or in the far grander
and more momentous interests of which the NAPO.
LEONE are the Heroic Vindicators and the Im-
perial Representatives—the sacred interests of
France. For afterwards, at any moment, under
any conceivable juncture, in the sudden
presence of any untoward emergency, the ruler who
had acted thus, thus magnanimously, dauntlessly,
chivalrously in the name of France, and in the inte-
rests of the Human Race, would have but to raise his
hand in signal, to have his whole people in arms
under his banner, ready to vindicate, to the life or to
the death, the honour of the Crown with which
their own honour would be recognized as identified.

Lord PALMERSTON is always happy in his
speeches at public entertainments. He has some-
thing genial and gracious to say about everyone
and everything, and thus he affords general satis-
faction, and the entertainment passes off pleasantly
to everyone. Of late the Premier appears to
have taken up with Scotland, and on several oc-
casions has he been discoursing in that country.
It was therefore very appropriate that he should
preside at the anniversary of the Scottish Hospital.
This institution celebrated its one hundredth and
ninety-ninth anniversary on St. Andrew's Day.
In the speech proposing the army, navy, and
volunteers, Lord PALMERSTON made some suitable
remarks. He said that a state of defence was the
best security for a nation, and that the country
ought to be able to adopt the motto of the society,
Nemo me impune laceasit. The volunteers, of
course, came in for that share of honourable notica
which on these occasions is never withheld. Scot-
land has had her full share of honoured names,
and her soldier sons, who have crowned gallant
lives with glorious deaths, have been a goodly
array. Of those lately departed from among us
Lord PALMERSTON cited a few of the most promi-
nent—Lord CLYDE, DUNDONALD, and CHARLEY
NAPIER. The noble chairman introduced a striking
anecdote of a Highland sentry standing with his
heels resting on the brink of an abrupt precipice,
with the motto underneath, "Fear nothing for him,
he never goes back." In speaking of the institution
in whose honour they were assembled, LordePaL-
NIERSTON remarked on its truly national character.
Its chief merits consist in the discretion of its dona-
tions, not seeking to bestow a largess upon those
who should support themselves, but striving to find
the sick, the suffering, or the afflicted. Certainly
a charity of this sort is highly desirable, and it is
almost impossible tooverrate the incalculable benefits
that must accrue from such an institution. Some-
times a very small comparative assistance is worth
thousands to a man, and if in the hour of need a
friend comes forward at the right juncture ruin
may be averted and serious suffering saved. Another
advantage that is afforded by this charity is the
opportunity it gives to some wanderers on the road
of life to return to their native land. It is a strong
feeling with many men to desire to die at home,
but with the scotch this sentiment is peculiarly
paramount. It is satisfactory to notice that the
subscriptions of the evening were nearly £l,BOO,
and doubtless the presence of the Premier coutri bated
greatly to the success of the eetertainment. There
is something very interesting in the notion that
those who are strangers in a foreign land should
meet together and endeavour to assist each other as
far as possible, and the wealthy in this world's
goods lay by something in store against the evil day
that may shortly come for their poorer brethren.
There was great truth in the saying of the Duke of
ARGYLL, that the Prime Minister's idea of holiday
wets in working hard, for he seems ever at hand for
meeting, festival, or Cabinet councils—all seem
alike to him, he is semper para€us. In returning
thanks for his health being proposed, Lord PAL-
/IERSTON attested to the advantages he had derived
in Youth from being at a Scottish Academy. Ho
there
associated with PLATFAIR, GREGORY, and
rest] BtD OTEWART. There is something very into-
g and impressive in a veteran statesman re-
calling
the scenes of early life, and looking back to
the days of
auld lang syne." Lord PALMERSTON
also made some u
a morous allusions to the pecu-
liarities of the

Land of the
"Land of brown heathaby
the presence of the
racm,tai_andashaggy wood,
They who were gratified
Premier in Scotland during this
gear, will be glad
to find that he has not forgotten 11
c the oticlfrienda amid
the toils of a Ministerial career
an
London life, but can turn aside, en a turmoil of
n occasion like
the present, to lend the support of hie presence t
R
Society that is intimately associated with the ge:
of the country it represents, and a fitting represent
.1
tive of the spirit of the old adage, " Highlanders,
shoulder to shoulder." Speeches of one sort and
another are now the order of the day, and hoe.
members seem to vie with each other as to who
shall make the longest, the most striking, or the moat
animated oration. Mr. SOUTHERN ESTCOURT con-
trived to introduce a novelty into his address last
week at Chippenham by excluding foreign politics.
This must have been an agreeable change to his
hearers, and very likely they were well pleased to
be spared the tedious task that all audiences,
great and small, have now to endure. In-
of reaching the end of the journey
stead

with the desirable reflection that everything is
wrong, the agriculturists of Essex were entertained
by an ingenious comparison between the cultivation
of land in England and Italy and France. This is a
new notion at a meeting of this kind, and the con-
sideration of the subject must have afforded instruc-
tion and entertainment to his hearers. In the first
place, it appears that abroad there is hardly such a
thing to be found as a tenant-farmer. In some cases
the owner and the cultivator of the land share ex-
penses and profit, and,
as may be supposed, the re-
sult is most unsatisfactory. Even where this custom
is adopted, it is acknowledged to be a very bad one ;
but even here the glaring errors of such a plan
must be peculiarly manifest. There was some wis-
dom, then,
in pointing out to those connected with
agricultural pursuits that, many and great as were
their grievances in their own minds, and really un-
satisfactory as their positions might be in the opinion
of others, there were many worse than their
own, and men toiling and struggling in their voca-
tion, who by no possibility could gain their success
or amass their profits. As for " fixity of tenure"
Mr. SOUTHERN ESTCOURT pronounced against it,
and with some show of reason in his statements.
He had studied the subject attentively abroad, and
seen great industry and bad success; men either
could not, or would not, invest sufficient
money in their land. It is often proved,
indeed, in many places that where people
have the entire and exclusive control of their
own affairs, and the undisputed possession of the
regulation of their property, they do not attain
the same satisfactory result as if they were under
the guidance of those of more experience.
The very restrictions that fetter the free
course of action may be in some cases salutary
checks. Also, ou the other hand, individual
ideas may sometimes be too narrow, and at times of
uncertainty and periods of depression may draw
back too much, and fear to incur necessary expenses
at those critical junctures when to hesitate is to be
lost. All things taken into account, then, there
seems some foundation for the opinion expressed by
Mr. ESTCOURT that the mode from time immemo-
rial adopted in this country of cultivating the land
is the best, and the most satisfactory in the long
run. At the end of his speech the right hon. mem-
ber alluded to those striking points in which the
English character differed from that, of other
nations. One of these is a very noticeable one, and
doubtless a most influential agency in effecting the
good feeling that exists among the several classes
of the community—namely, the habit that prevails
of a general unanimity when once a disputed ques-
tion has been put to the vote and settled defini-
tively in some form; This is peculiar to this
country, and, doubtless, constitutes the seeming
anomaly which perplexes foreigners, of oonstant
discussion and yet general harmony. Unless people
can agree to differ there will be constant bickerings
among the most enlightened, and they are the
best patriots and wisest citizens who respect the
opinions of others, while they steadfastly act up to
their own convictions. Without being so dashing
in style or so brilliant in subject as the orations of
some of his contemporaries, Mr. SOTHERON EST-
COURT'S speech is distinguished for solid sense; and
the appositeness of his illustrations and the sober
advice of his remarks may do more practical good
to the class to which they were addressed than the
arguments and more specious themes, and the
vehement declaimers against some real or imaginary
evil that exists.

The aspect of affairs between Denmark and'Ger.
many is happily becoming less threatening. Su

long as the matter was left to the unreasonable ex
oitement of the German people and the aggressive
presumption of their rulers, with nothing to oppose
them but the resolute attitude of flab little Northern
kingdom, there appeared but a doubtful prospect of
a pacific settlement. It was known that the tvi
great German Powers entertained decidedly hostile
sentiments towards Denmark, notwithstanding their
treaty obligations of 1852, and rumour went so far
as to conjecture that a convenient pretext would be
found for getting rid of those encumbrances, and
openly espousing the cause of the Prince of
AUGUSTENBURG. So rash and reckless a course,
one, too, which would have been a direct affront to

the Cabinet of London, where the treaty was signed,
would, however, have been contrary to the usages
of modern diplomacy, which usually endeavours to
have, at least, a fair and plausible pretext for its
warlike " ideas." Till very recently the Great
Powers had made no sign, and the excitement
spreading through Germany, gave some grounds
for fearing that the certainty of popular support
might induce Governments of doubtful stability to
win favour by following a line of action that might
prove dangerous to the peace of Europe. Of all
the tangled questions that are just now engaging
the attention of statesmen and politicians, of all the
clouds that hang threateningly over the political
horizon, none has lately given grounds for more
uneasiness than the relations of Denmark and Ger-
many. It was impossible to measure the preten •
sions of the one or the defiance of the other, and it
was not improbable that the mad ambition of Ger-
many to become a naval Power might end in light.
ing up a war which should gradually involve the
greater part of Europe. Fortunately, however,
matters have changed considerably for the better.
The Great Powers have awakened to a sense of
their obligations and the serious results likely to

follow any recognition of claims directly opposed
to the faith of treaties. Austria and Prussia, on
Saturday the 28th, informed the Federal Diet

.hat they will abide by the Treaty of

1852, provided that Denmark fulfils the
conditions which were accepted by King
FREDERICK VII. It is not surprising, although it
is undoubtedly a matter of satisfaction, that the
German Governments should have taken this step.
To have done otherwise would have been a flagrant
trespass on the laws which regulate the conduct of
nations, and they must have felt that it would be u
slight which the most supine English Ministry could
scarcely tolerate. It is very certain that the Eng-
lish people at all events would not have submitted
tamely to the affront or to the injury inflicted on an
ally in whose fortunes they have always taken deep
interest. The action of the English Cabinet leaves
no room for misapprehension on the part of the
German Courts. On the 27th of November our
Minister at Frankfort received a despatch from
Earl RUSSELL which distinctly state' the course
which Lord PALMERSTON'S Cabinet intended to
take with regard to the Danish succession. The
despatch stated that the attention of the English
Govermneat had been attracted by the support
given to the pretensions of the Prince of AUGUSTEN-
BURG by several of the German States, and that
Eatl RUSSELL consequently thought it desirable at
once to intimate to :Sir ALEXANDER MALLET the
views which her Britannic MAJESTY had formed on
.the subject. Her MAJESTY would faithfully observe
the forms of that treaty by which King CHRISTIAN
IX.
unitewd
.z,:inndeeirr ttoheall
Danishthe tecrrroitwonri.es
ethEatngtliimsh
Government also ected,
right to expect, theaxtpaetel
their adhesion to that treatyt
ted, as it undoubtedly had a
those o
ha ae
vwiPowersno would
bd e
concur
nw who
mmh aei dnd gta
hi t vee el s
yne
sentiments. This despatch
communicated to the Austria'
doubtPrus Prussian,
produced
Bayarian Plenipotentiaries, n:

its effect, and it is only to be regretted that a fuller
and clearer declaration of the intention of England
to support her old ally did not earlier arrest the
mischief. On Saturday the great German Powers
communicated to the Diet their intention of abiding
by their engagements, and reminded the members
that the Duchy of Lauenbarg belonged indisput-
ably to King CHRISTIAN, independently of the
Treaty of London, so that the admission of a Danish
representative for that Duchy could not legally be
contested. On that very day, at the same sitting
of the Diet, the President proposed that the creden-
tials of the Danish representative should be referred
to a committee, and a resolution was actually passed
excluding Baron DIRKNICK from the Assembly.
Such sticklers about points of national law should
at least be careful that they do not overstep the
limits of strict legality, and this act, in the face of
the remonstrance of Austria and Prussia on behalf of
Lauenburg,is decidedly opposed to constitutional law.
The question of Federal execution is not, however,
disposed of, though the matter of the succession may
be arranged. In the debate on the question of the
Duchies, which came on yesterday in the Prussian
Chaatui thebe r
reasons
of
Deputies, Herr Von BISMARK stated
h the proposed Federal
execution into operation were still valid, and that
that carrying
Austria and Prussia have proposed to the Diet that
the measure should be forthwith carried out. Some
passages in the Prussian Minister's declaration seem
to indicate a desire to get rid of the Treaty of Lon-
don at the first convenient opportunity; but he
admits that, "for the present," the action of Prussia
will be identical with that of Austria. We may
therefore hope that the moderate counsels of the
latter Power, who is scarcely desirous of embroiling
herself with this country, may serve to keep a little
in check the restless ambition of the usually stolid
Prussian. It is almost amusing to hear Prussiana
holding forth on the civic wrongs of the Holsteiners,
while they are themselves enduring such notorious
misgovernment, and are suffering from an absolute
defiance of constitutional law. We cannot hope for
a speedy solution of this troublesome question ; but
we must look to a firm and yet conciliatory policy
on the part of the Danes, and a resolute and straight-
forward observance of old engagements on the part
of England for its eventual settlement.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AMERICA.
(Per the Bohemia.)

NEW YORK, Nov. 21 (Morning).

Private despatches from Gen. Burnside at Knox-
ville to the 19th, represent his position as secure,
but state that communication with Cumberland
Gap is interrupted.

Despatches from Parson Brownlow to the 19th
state that there is fighting all around Knoxville.
It is expected that Generals Meade and Grant
will immediately assume the offensive.

Advices from Charleston to the 17th state that
four monitors have passed up the Channel, appa-
rently to ascertain the depth of water. 25 shots
were fired into the city, doing no damage.
General Banks has occupied Brazos Island and
Bienville Point, Isabelle.
2,000,000 dollars in gold have been shipped from
here to Mexico on French Government account.
The United States marshal has seized all the
cotton in New Orleans.
The Persia and Teutonia have arrived out.
NEW YORK, Nov. (20 Evening).

General Longstreet's army crossed the Tennessee
River on the 14th. General Burnside fell back
before him, his rear guard skirmishing.
Upon the 16th General Burnside formed a line of
battle at Campbell's station. Here a fight ensued,
lasting from noon till dark, when Burnside checked
the Confederate advance and fell back during the
night, reaching Knoxville upon the morning of
the 17th instant.

Upon the 19th, General Longstreet opened fire
on a fortification in front of the city. The Federals
abandoned this position, falling back to stronger
defences.

General Longstreet has completely invested the
city.
Burnside's loss is estimated at 450, that of the
Confederates is much larger.
The report of General Forster superseding Burn-
side is doubted.

It is officially reported there are no more Confede-
rates in Western Virginia.

Sharp skirmishing has taken place upon the
Rapidan, in which the Federals were driven back.
Federal loss in the late attack upon Franklin's
forces near Opelonsas was 670 men. One regiment
was captured entire.
Franklin's troops will proceed by way of the
Gulf.

Federal General Macneil has issued an order,
stating that each time the telegraph is cut between
St. Louis and Fort Smith, he will hang a guerilla.

Since General Butler's arrival at Norfolk, a
merchant has been condemned to six months' hard
labour for smuggling whiskey.
I,;The Confederates have refused permission to the
Federal Government to send stores for the Federal
prisoners in Richmond.
President Davis has officially acquitted Bishop
Polk of mismanagement at the battle of Chicka-
mauga.
The Tribune denies that Mr. Lincoln declared the
emancipation proclamation to be the greatest folly
of his life, but the Herald asserts that Mr. Lincoln
has on many occasions expressed this opinion.
Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Seward, and the corps diplo.
matique were present at the dedication of the Get-
tysburg cemetery. Elward Everett made an ora-
tion.

The Rev. H. W. Beecher has received a welcome
at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He declared
that the great intelligent minds and labouring
classes in England favoured the North; all others
wished well to the South. He recommended
America to observe a friendly policy towards Eng-
land. He mentioned the Duke of Argyll, Earl
Granville, Lord Carlisle, and Messrs Bright and
Cobden as influential friends of the North.

The negroes in New Orleans have petitioned to
be allowed to vote.

The Richmond Enquirer urges a forced loan as a
remedy for the inflation of the currency.
NEW YORK, Nov. 21 (Evening),

(By Telegraph to Father Point.)

The Evening Post publishes the following from
New Orleans :

"General Banks has occupied Brownsville upon
the sth without any opposition.

" After Banks's arrival the Mexican General
Cabers crossed from Brownsville to Matamoras and
endeavoured to raise a revolution in favour of the
French, but was defeated by General Cortians, who
now occupies Matamoras with Juarez's troops.

" Cortians has placed four steamers at the dis
posal of Banks. _ _

,‘ A revolution in favour of the French was feared
at Matamoros, and as the American Consul was
fearing personal violence, a portion of Banks's
troops were in readiness to go to his protection if
necessary,"