The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-24 00:00:00

IYtPERIAL E

HOUSE OF LORDS.—Last Evening.
Lord REDESDALE, in the absence of the Lord Chancellor,
touk his seat on the woolsack at the usual hour.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The Yarmouth Gas Bill was read a third time and passed.

POLAND.

Earl VANE presented a petition from the county of
Durham in favour of Poland, and, in particular, praying
that England would use her influence to produce non-inter-
ference on the part of Prussia.
SALMON FISHERIES.

The Earl of MALMESBURY presented a petition pray,
leg for the protection of fisheries and against the imports•
tion of salmon.

THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY.
Lord STRATHEDEN, in calling attention to the
question of the propriety of acknowledging, in concert with
other neutral Powers, the Southern Confederacy as an in-
dependent State, said he had not been able to state on an
earlier occasion the exact view with which this subject was
about to be submitted to their lordships, owing to the ab-
sence of the noble earl the Secretary for Foreign Affairs,
whom he was glad to see now in his place. It was not his
intention to raise any question as to the past proceedings of
her Majesty's Government in reference to American affairs,
his proposition had relation altogether to the future, and to
facts well known. About the close of last session it was
generally:alleged, and no doubt with truth, that the Govern-
ments of France and England were acting simultaneously
and in concert with regard to the difficulties which existed
in America. Since that time the policy of the two Govern-
ments had in some degree diverged, or, in the memorable
phrase of a noble earl not now in his place (the Earl of
Derby), the two Governments had seemed to drift from one
another. In November last the Emperor of the French de-
sired to make a proposal, but was held back by the decision
of her Majesty's Government. In January the Emperor en-
tered upon another line of act ion, framed with a view to
terminate hostilities, but the Government of this country
were again unable to agree with him. Neither of these pro-
positions having led to any practical result, all attempts at
intervention, mediation, and remonstrance were ex-
hausted by the reply of Mr. Seward to the despatch of M.
Drouyn de Lhuys. The French Government, however,
being still, as ever, anxious to bring the civil war to a close,
the question of recognising the independence of the Southern
States might an any moment come before this country, as
the question of obtaining an armistice came before it in
November. Were it not for the space which Poland now
occupied in the cares and councils of the world, the neces-
sity of giving a decision on the independence of the South
would probably have arisen ere this. Whenever the
moment arrived at which the Government of England must
act, it was to be feared that there would be found no definite
conviction either in Parliament or out of doors as to the
course to be pursued: We should then be taken at a disad-
vantage. It was with a view, therefore, to a distinct and
practical result that he had wished to give the noble earl at
the head of the Foreign-office an opportunity of expressing
his views on this subject. This object could not be attained
in any other manner, because a resolution or an address to
pledge the action of the Government would be resisted, and
its withdrawal would be thought disastrous by the 8,000,000
of men whose case he now brought before their lordships.
By an acknowledgment of Southern independence he meant,
in accordance with the authorities on public law; the send-
ing an ambassador to those States or receiving one from
them, the negotiation of a treaty, or the granting exequaturs
to Consuls. Such an acknowledgment ought not to be con-
founded with interference, intervention, mediation, or pro-
ceedings of that kind. The noble earl opposite (the Earl of
Malmesbury) had expressed an opinion that the acknowledg-
ment of the South would be attended by no material result
one way or another. But if the acknowledgment of South-
ern independence were wholly immaterial, how cameit that
the South had never ceased to ask and the North to depre-
cate that acknowledgment? How was it that the Southern
Confederacy had sent envoys to the great capitals of Europe
to demand their recognition, and that the North had endea-
voured to intercept these envoys at the risk of war ? He
had heard, and the statement might have reached their lord-
ships also, that the planters a year ago, looking to the pro-
bability of the acknowledgment of the South, began to sow
their cotton crop, and that they began to plough it up as
soon as that hope ceased. An acknowledgment by the Great
Powers of Europe would in the first place remove whatever
hope might still linger in Northern minds of bringing the
South into subjection. In the next place it would take
away from the Northern press the power of describing the
people of 11 great Southern States as rebels. The acknow-
ledgment of neutrals would remove the chance of conquest,
and the victories already achieved by the Southern armies
would be still more irresistible. Besides this a separate re-
sult would be obtained, for when neutrals had acknowledged
the belligerents to be in a position to negotiate it would put
an end to all claims to reconstruct the Union which might
prolong the war. It would also emancipate the Government
of Washington from the hard necessity of carrying on a
hopeless war, which at present weighed upon them. Their
lordships would remember the mode in which the diplo-
macy of France and England in 1609 succeeding in extin-
guishing the civil war between Spain and Holland, which
had lasted the greater part of half a century. If they would
remember what then took place they would know in what
form and by what means the present war in America might
be adjusted. That diplomacy wouta not have been attended
with such brilliant sueasee if the European Powers had not
acknowledged the insurgents. He now approached theardu-
one taak of pointing out the conditions under which neutral
Powers were entitled to acknowledge insurgent nations. At
the beginning of the sessicn their lordships had been told
that acknowledgment might happen with propriety in two
cases—where the recognising Power was about to give ma-
terial support to the insurgents, and where, through the pro-
longation of hostilities, arms had fallen from the exhausted
hands of the belligerents. Whatever might be thought of
the justice of that principle, it certainly was not one on which
the Powers either of the Old or the New World had acted ;
for a cessation of hostilities had generally followed, instead
of preceding, the acknowledgment by neutrals. The United
States acknowledged Nicaragua, under the government of
Walker, before hostilities had ceased; the United States
also acknowledged the independence of the revolted colonies
of Spain before the efforts of the mother country to reduce
them had ended ; and the same Power despatched an ambas-
sador to Hungary in 1848 or 1849, invested with large discre-
tionary powers, which he was to use or reserve according to
the progress of the insurrection, lie would notdwell further
on examples taken from the New World, although he might
enlarge the illustration by referring to the conduct of Brazil,
which, from being placed in the midst of civil wars and
insurgent Governments during the last 30 years, had con-
stantly cases of this kind brought forward for its decision.
Passing to the Old World, ho found that the French ac-
knowledged the independence of the British North Ame-
rican possessions long before the efforts of the mother
country to reconquer them had been exhausted. It was
idle to remark that Lord North, the Minister of the day,
went to war with France on that account; it was well
known that the cause provoking to war was very different.
But even granting that it were so, was a war denounced by
CU who formed the glory of that epoch as wicked, which
marred the reputation of the Minister and depressed his
character, to be cited as an authority on international law
and public proceedings? Was the Minister of that day, in
conjunction with the reigning Sovereign, to be regarded as
the heir, virtute (dial, of the influence and the wisdom of
Grotius and Vattel? Of the independence of the South
American Republics the acknowledgment had, no doubt,
been tardy, But that tardiness did not entirely express the
judgment of the country, for it was reprobated by the
brilliant and enlightened Opposition of which the noble
lord, now the Secretary of State, was at that time no incon-
siderable ornament. Any one, not grossly ignorant of the
difficulties which at that time hampered our foreign policy,
must admit that there never was an occasion when acknow-
ledgment had been decided less in accordance with principle
or th© dictat.,,a t— va uy
views of prudence. There was another authority, surpassing
all others, and tallying in nearly every point with the ques-
tion now under consideration. In 1641, the independence of
Portugal was acknowledged by France, Great Britain, Swe-
den, and Holland, within 12 months after the Duke and
Duchess of Braganza renounced their allegiance to Spain,
notwithstanding that a quarter of a century elapsed before
Spain herself consented to join in the recognition, At that
time Prussia had not come into existence. Russia had not
begun to mingle in European affairs. Austria was leagued
with Spain by ties of kindred and of policy, so that the four
recognizing Powers might be said to form a general Euro-
pean tribunal. The decisive battle between the celebrated
Schomberg and Don John of Austria was fought in 1665,
but it was not till 1668 that the belligerents negotiated. He
had examined all the great writers on international law to
discover whether there had been anything in the circum-
stances of the recognition of Portugal of which they either
expressed disapproval, or which would be reprobated by the
principles laid down in their works. He had these authori-
ties with him, but would not inflict them on their lordships.
But he might refer to the authority of Sir J. Mackintosh,
who in the year 1824, when introducing the question of
acknowledging the South American Republics, alluded with
satisfaction to the instance of p
principle for which he was
wthoirtnld conteaandatrinegagthening the
. Sir James
Mackintosh, their lordships remember, was the dis-
ciple, the successor, and the equal of those great writers
who moulded public law into a science.
recognition
only thing
required by Europe at that time to justify was
that there should be no hazard of reconquest. It was not
correct to say that according to the law of nations hostilities
must have ceased, and the last shilling must have been spent,
and the last drop of blood shed, before recognition could
take place. 'What indeed could be more cruel than thus
unnecessarily so prolong hostilities ? The examples of the
civil wars between Switzerland and Austria, Spain and Hol-
land, Spain and Portugal, Great Britain and her North
American colonies, and Spain and her South American co-
lonies, all showed that you were entitled to acknowledge
i nsurgents when it seemed to you that no hazard of their
reconquest any longer existed. It might be asked could you
reoegnise a country while hostile armies were encamped upon
its territory ? It you could not, neutral powers would be
compelled to withdraw their Ministers from any country
which became the scene of war, or of which the boundaries

were unsettled. We ought to have withdrawn our Minister