The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-13 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

TIMES.—When two neighbours fall out with one
another, they are sometimes more angry with those
who hold altogether aloof than with partisans.
They may find excuses for partisanship, such as old
connections, family ties, or a great similarity of
tastes, but they can find no excuse for the unfeel-
ing, or cowardly, or selfish bystanders who witness
unmoved what they think the perpetration of a great
wrong. That is the true source of the bitter feeling
betrayed by the Federals to this country. They
found very early that we had made up our minds
to regard the Confederates, not as a handful of
rebels, but as a belligerent Power, and that we
were taking the utmost pains to ascertain the
duties of a rigid neutrality. Even two years ago
they were endeavouring to shake us from this neu-
trality, sometimes representing it as partnership
in rebellion, sometimes spreading rumours that
we had refused to recognise the blockade of the
Southern ports, and were even about to break it by
force. This was at the very time when, so far from
charging us with fitting out ships against them,
the Government was in communication with the
correspondent of an English shipbuilder to supply
them with steam batteries and gunboats. It is im-
possible, indeed, to say how far back this suspicion
of England showed itself. When the Americans
found their immense empire crumbling to pieces,
like Alexander's conquests, it immediately occurred
to them what an immense relief this must be to
England, and how her rulers would breathe more
freely. What they bad felt or intended towards her
indicated too truly some of the reflections which the
separation of the States was likely to suggest on
this side. For a long time American pride would
not even swallow our decision that, be the Confede-
rates rebels or not, we could only regard them as
belligerents. The war once fairly begun, with all
its wonderful episodes, its startling reverses, its
unexpected display of energy and resources on both
sides, and its opening speculations as to the final re-
sult, it was impossible but that Europeans, espe-
cially Englishmen, should have their personal sym-
pathies with one side or the other. There is no
denying that the great majority of Englishmen, of
anything like position or education, seeing a large
and compact Confederacy bent upon independence
wished them success. There can be no crime or
r just offence in a wish so perfectly in accordance
with all our history and institutions. We have
wished success to every properly qualified combi-
nation for independence since the grand modern in-
stance of the American colonies taught even our
Tories, and our obstinate Tory King, that the
attempt was not a crime. The Americans them.
selves must be aware, too, that for many years the
tone of their Government has been aggressive and
insolent. It advanced claims, made interpretations,
and laid down doctrines which palpably assumed
the stronger hand. It weighted the scales of justice
with a continent of earth; it adjudicated with thirty
millions, soon to be a hundred millions, on the
bench ; and was ever ready to cut with the sword any
knot of diplomacy and criticism. On the contrary all
the instincts of this country have been in favour of
peace and quiet for many a long year, especially
with our own kindred. As a father or a brother
foregoes somewhat of his right, and even of proper
respect, we tolerated from the Americans what we
should have tolerated from no other country. The
Americans saw this, and acted accordingly. What
wonder,then, they thought, that all England should
feel an incubus off its breast when it saw North
America following the example of the old colonies,
and breaking into separate communities Fifty
years ago, the horror that possessed us all, and
drove us to efforts that taxed our whole strength
and burdened future generations, was the prospect
of a Federal Europe. Why should we be expected
not only to accept but even to sympathise, with a
Federal America ? The Americans are perfectly
aware of the liberty of speech and the supremacy
of law which put the British subject in a different
position from all other Europeans. They are aware
that every complaint by a foreign Power, however
natural, and even reasonable, must be referred to
our Courts, and that England will always stand by
their decision. They must be aware that the de-
cisions of our Courts have shaken our Kings on
their thrones, and that a Government had better
resign at once to avoid a worse fate, and a Sove-
reign had better abdicate, than overrule a verdict or
command a judgment. The thing is simply im-
possible here. Nor are we able to extend to any
foreign Power greater favour than to our own
rulers. If persons residing under the protection of
English law libel a foreign potentate, or plot to
assassinate him, or maltreat one of his officers in
our streets, there if no resource but to refer the
whole matter to our Courts and abide by their de-
cision. So, also, if English speakers and writers,
having taken a side, choose to run riot with their
tongues and betray all the vices of'excessive par-
tisanship, that is entirely their own afiair—there is
nobody who can stop them in this country—and if
their excesses are to be made a casus belli, then it
is in the power of any humourist, any orator, how-
ever unimportant, to plunge this country into
war. Over and over again, when we have simply
quoted, as matter of news, the rabid abuse and
truculent speculations of this or that New York
journal, we have been assured in reply that we at-
tached far too much importance to expressions which
represent only the opinions of the writer and a re-
stricted class of men agreeing with him. Certainly
no Cabinet at Washington would have listened for
a moment to a formal complaint that a Widely cir-
culated American journal had avowed its sympathy
with Irish rebellion, had exulted over our difficulties
in the Crimea, had gloated over the expulsion of
the British from Hindostan, and had anticipated the
ruin of our commercial system by the cotton block-
ade. Had such a complaint ever been made, the
reply would have been that words must be answered
by words, and that Governments had nothing to do
with the improprieties of irresponsible men. So far
as we are concerned, we really have no choice but
to give the same advice. No one expected that the
war would attain its present magnitude and lead to
the mutual infliction of such terrible injuries. As
the tide of success seems for the moment to have
turned in favour of the North, while the South is
not a bit more likely to give in, we may now con-
template the time when the South may offer the
simplest form of resistance to the North, such as that
which the Circassians offer to Russia, or that which
Spain and Portugal offered to Napoleon. The time
may come when the Federal Government, with no
other inconvenience than a heavy drain upon its re-
sources and the maintenance of establishments no
longer contrary to the national taste, will be
peg-
ging away" at the Confederate States, blockading,
annoying, devastating, burning, occasionally hang-
ing, making no real progress fur years and years,
but only incurring infinite disgrace and moral de-
basement. That is the prospect before us, on rather a
favourable supposition. What, then, does friendship,
what does common sense, suggest in such a case ? If
we wished ever so well to the Federals, ever so ill
to the Confederates, we could not urge the former
still to hope against hope for the restoration of their
lost ideal. They will not restore it, and the attempt
will cost far more than it has cost already; for,if they
persist, they will find their provocations, their crimes,
and their moral corruption increase in the ratio of
their physical superiority. A savage temper be-
tween equals is bad enough, but it is humanity
itself compared with the barbarity of the strong
when the weaker object of their vengeance rises
under their feet. It is, indeed, impossible to lay
down the future map of Amsrica. The Federals
may think anything better than the narrow strip
of a federation that would be left between Virginia
and Lake Erie. Instead of stretching from pole to
pole, and including a hemisphere, the " United
States" would be nipped to the breadth of the sing
State of Pennsylvania. That seems a very
smallle
basis for the holding of so vast an interior. We
see the difficulty, and wish, indeed, that the Conti-
nent could be divided more conveniently for the
different centres of empire. But Continents are not
divided in a day. It has taken 2,000 years to dis-
tribute Europe to the satisfaction
of its settlers, and
the division is not completed. There are some minor
atorraconngseimdeernattsioinn.
America be finished Italy and Central Europe still open
tbryi
nintruders,
e,
nor
yet Doctrine
Nyither the map of North
a day. The Monroe
was meant to prevent that process being interrupted
seem to stand.notln
We neither acquiesced in that doc-
prTohteesreteadreagoatih'eesrt
difficultiesi .
fact, the work is still to be done, and it certainly
will not be forwarded by the attempt of half the
Butit
also.dees
United States to depopulate the other half.
POST.—The day before yesterday a gentleman
named Alfred Styles. was brought before one of the
metropolitan magistrates, by virtue of a warrant
issued for his apprehension, and charged with
having endeavoured " to procure certain persons to
enlist as soldiers" for service in Poland against the
,Emperor of Russia. The prosecution was conducted
by agents of the Russian Government resident in
London. The evidence in support of the charge
Was to the following effect:—An advertisement