The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-27 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

TimEs.—We recently announced, though not with-
out some natural hesitation at the importance of the
step we were taking, very grave doubts as to the wis-
dom of the course adopted by our Government,
together with the Governments of France and Aus-
tria, on the Polish question. We showed the ex—
treme improbability that the Emperor of Russia
would really and sincerely acquiesce in the proposals
of the three great Powers, and how unlikely it is that,
even if Russia should be willing to entertain these
propositions favourably, Poland would rest satisfied
with them. We have not had long to wait for a
confirmation of these opinions. The letter of our
correspondent from Brody, which we published
yesterday, supports them in every particular. The
Powers must, one would think, have had in the
proposal which they made one of three objects in
view. They must either have meant to satisfy
Poland, to satisfy Russia, or to satisfy both Poland
ar.d Russia. It is only too clear that the policy
we prop ,se will not attain any one of these objects,
Our correspondent is of opinion that the Russians
will never willingly introduce a Polish adminis-
tration into the Ruthenian Provinces, and yet this
must sooner or later follow from the concess'on
which we demand. Russia cannot afford to esta-
blish on her western frontier a kingdom like Poland
speaking a different language, administered by
a different race, endowed with those free Parlia
mentary institutions to which Russia does not pre
tend, and animated by a spirit which, if it failed to
be intensely national, is perfectly certain to be in-
tensely anti-Russian, Still less is Russia likely to
do this when she is aware that the language and in-
stitutions of this neighbouring State must, by an
inevitable consequence, extend themselves to the
vast contiguous provinces which orce formed part
of the as yet unconquered and undivided kingdom
of Poland. Russia, it seems to be thought, may
temporise, may acquiesce for the moment in condi-
tions pressed on her by force, which she feels
herself u❑able to resist; but it will be with no
sincere and bona fide intention of giving effect to
those conditions, but only to tide over a crisis
in her affairs, and wait the opportunity of taking
back what sho has conceded. According, how-
ever, to our Correspondent, the difficulty of ob-
taining the consent of Russia to the proposals of
France, England, and Austria is as nothing compared
with the difficulties which are to be encountered in
obtaining the assent of Poland. Poland is not fight-
ing for a Constitutional Government under the Em-
peror of Russia, nor for the use of the Polish lan-
guage in judicial and official proceedings, nor that
she may be governed by Polish officials, nor for
an amnesty, nor for a suspension of hostilities. The
nation has been stung to the quick,—has been
goaded by a sense of intolerable wrong to a
point of desperation, recklessness, and fury which
leaves it little disposition for caref illy weighing
diplomatic proposals. This heroic people are
playing a last and desperate stake ; their lives,
their fortunes, their hopes, their memories, are
all staked on the issue of battle, and of battle
fought under every possible disadvantage. But,
if the stake be high, the prize for which they play
is high also. That prize is nothing less than com-
plete and absolute independence—emancipation
from the detested bondage of Russia or annihilation.
They will not accept any compromise ; they do not
desire the restoration of the Constitution of 1815 ;
they are quite aware that the causes which made
that experiment fail then will makeit fail now ; they
trust nothing to Russia; they do not believe that a
man will be an absolute Monarch on one side of a
river and a constitutional Sovereign on the other.
They have lost all faith in promises so often broken,
constitutions so often cancelled, treaties so often
torn up and thrown to the winds. They are ready
to die, but to submit again to a proved and ascer-
tained imposture they are not ready, Whatever
be the reply to the Western Powers, our cor-
respondent assures us the Polish Insurrection
will continue, and only when the land is de-
vastated will the proposals we make be accepted
from sheer inability to refuse them. If this be a
correct picture of the feelings of Poland and Russia
the effort to mediate between them will be fruitless
indeed. Neither party will listen to our proposals,
and those who agree in nothing else will at least
agree in rejecting them. Surely it was scarely
worth while to pat this vast diplomatic apparatus
in motion for a purpose so little satisfactory as this P

IWe are bound to consider, before we make a pro-
posal, whether it is likely to be accepted ; and we
are also bound to consider Ne hether, supposing it to
be accepted, there is any probability of its effecting
the t exult we have in view. Lee us adroit the strange
and almost impossible proposition that Russia and
Poland join in accepting terms from which each is
so entirely averse. How long dose any one sup-
pose that the state of things which we would have
created could possibly endure? Would Russia, with
the sword in her hand, with Poland in the occupation
of her army, bleeding from a recent war, and smart-
ing from the terms imposed upon her by the Western
Powers, be very nice in observing the conditions of
a constitution after the pressure which had imposed
it had bean taken off ; and would Poland, even were
Russia so wise and so moderate as to abstain from
any encroachment, permanently bow her head be-
neath the sovereignty of the House of Romaneff ?
All that could have been obtained would be a hollow
and hostile truce, in whica each party would be
watching the other in order to plant a deadly blow
et the first unguarded moment. Have v. e any reason
to suppoae—do the events even of the present war
countenance the notion—that Poland has outlived
her old and deplorable tendencies to domestic fac-
tiou and aristocratic rivalry P Is there in the con-
ditions offered to Russia anything upon which we
can build the hope that, even if those conditions
were fully granted, we should be able to found a
better and more permanent state of things, and thus
end the protracted agony of an expiring nation ?
And yet, while the prospect of the acceptance of our
proposals is so remote, and the chance that if ac-
cepted they would work any part of the good we look
for from them is so problematical, their rejection
would nevertheless place us in a position of the most
extreme embarrassment. We have repeatedly ex-
pressed our conviction that, come what may of our
proposals, this country has never seriously enter-
tertained the idea of going to war for the sake of
Poland ; and we have reason to believe, notwith-
standing some loud talking and violent writing, that
the same thing is true with regard to the great
mass of public opinion in France. We seem to
have made a demand which we do not expect to ob-
tain, in order to receive a rebuff which we do not
intend to resent. To our mind, the position we ap-
pear to have chosen for ourselves is neither agree-
able nor dignified. We ought to demand nothing
but what is right and reasonable, and, if what
is right and reasonable is refused us, we ought not
to rest content with the refusal. The present case
is very different from a discussion of the affairs of
Poland which might have been brought on at an
ordinary European Congress—at the Congress of
1856, for instance. We are not revising Europe
in accordance with the faith of existing treaties ;
we are intervening in a struggle inspired by the
bitterest hatred on both sides, and prosecuted on
both sides with the most unsparing ferocity. We
have allcwed the memory of the violated Treaty of
Vienna to sleep for thirty years, and now we wake
up from the grave in which it has been so long
buried solely, as it would seem, to show that, while
we have not forgotten its provisions, we are unable
or unwilling to enforce them. We do not blame
England or France because they are unwilling to
plunge Europe in war for the sake of a forlorn hope
like the Polish insurrection, but we have un-
doubtedly a right to object to such proposals which,
besides being unacceptable to the contending par-
ties and inefficient for the settlement of the pending
dispute, expose us to the alternative of a war which
we ought not to undertake, or a peace which our
own conduct will have made discreditable.
DAILY NEWS.—It must be admitted that Lord
Palmerston has displayed his usual gallantry in his
endeavour to defend the purchase of the Exhibition
buildings at Kensington. With the confident air
of an experienced auctioneer he has pointed to the
hideous cupolas of the Exhibition, and asked his
opponents whether they do not recognise the well-
known types of St. Peter's and St. Paul's. It is
true, he candidly admits that the walls are blank
and bare; but then, he says, you forget the virtues
of stucco. Walk through London—look at Pall-
mall, the street of palaces—what would they be
without stucco? There is no material more admir-
ably adapted for ornamentation than stucco; and if
you will only allow Captain Fowke to plaster his
walls with stucco—or cement, if you like the term
better—l think, said the lively Viscount, that the
building will turn out a very handsome thing.
There is at present in the neighbourhood of
Bond-street an ingenious French lady who has an
establishment for renovating dried-up ladies of
fashion. By balm as miraculous as that of Gilead
this enchantress can recall the bloom of youth,
smooth the wrinkles of age, and send forth into the
whirlpool of London life worn•out matrons of fifty
in the likeness of girls of eighteen. Does Lord Pal-
merston propose to do the same thing for the hideous
architectural skeleton at Kensington P Even if ha
were to succeed as well as Madame Rachel, the re-
sult must be loathsome. And in all probability that
result will only be obtained with the same disagree-
able incident which always accompanies the efforts
of the French Merlin—an enormous bill. Courts
of justice have furnished abundant proof of the in-
convenience endured by the husbands of those who
have paid their court to Madame Rachel. Should
the public allow themselves to be persuaded by the
plausible audacity of Lord Palmerston, they must
make up their minds to endure a similar inconveni-
ence. The joke of plastering a continent of bare
wall into a Palace of Art is too practical. Lord Pal-
merston can put the best face upon most things.
But the transformation of Captain Fowke's shed is
beyond his powers. It was hoped that after the
debate in the House of Commons last week the pro-
ject would have been withdrawn. Unfortunately
the new estimate, or rather memorandum, drawn up
by Mr. Hunt, almost forbids the expectation. But
further, it must be admitted that the obstinate
boldness which both Lord Granville and Mr. Glad-
stone have displayed in answering questions con-
nected with the project tends to the conclusion that
the Government are resolved to persevere in the de-
sign. It is now pretended that the removal of the
building will cost the public more than it will cost
to pull it down. Lord Derby, indeed, says that this
seems scarce') intelligible, because, according to the
contract, the contractors arc bound to remove th

old materials at their own expense. Well, says Lord
Granville, that may be so, but then the ground
must be made level and fitted to receive other struc-

tures. That, too, replies Lord Derby, is provided for
by the contract. But the retort of the ingeni,us
Chancellor of the Exchequer was that if the
contractors are bound to do all this at their
own expense, the clearing awey will occupy a
a long time—prohahly two years—during which
period the public will be kept out of the property
which has been bought. These are strange diffi-
culties. It is admitted that the contractors are
bound to do certain things at their own expense,
and the obligation in this respect must be defined
by the contract. The terms of that contract must
be, or ought to be, known to Lord Granville, because
he has filled the position of Commissioner in both
the great Exhibitions. Let us, then, look at the
contract Let us see what are its terms. If it pro-
vides, as Lord Derby sec ms to think, for the removal
of the building, for the restoration of the ground to
its original state, and for thess acts being completed
within a reasonable time, then it is obvious that the
objections of Lord Granville and of Mr. Gladstone
at once fall to the ground. Now, at the same time
it is clear that both of these Ministers are less fully
informed upon the subject than the public have a
rigbt to expect that they should be. If, on the other
hand, the removal or the restoration of the ground
to its original condition is not provided for, or if the
time at which this work is to be completed is not
defined, then the persons who drew the contract
and the Commissioners who sanctioned it have been
guilty of the grossest neglect. In short, one of two
things must be. true. Either the Commissioners are
misinformed, or they are very bad men of business.
Let us clearly understand how the matter stands;
and for this purpose let the contract with Messrs.
Lucas and Kelk be produced and laid before Par-
liament. Even if Lord Granville and Mr. Gladstone
had been less hazy in their view of the nature of the
contract, this ought to be the course pursued. It is
utterly impossible to form a correct opinion as to the
propriety of the bargain proposed by the Govern-
ment without the position of the contractors being
precisely ascertained. It may be that the contract
is so imperfectly drawn, and so ambiguous, that it
cannot be enforced against the contractors. On the
other hand, it may be that the contract is perfectly
clear, and that the contractors are bound to do much
more
than they are now called upon to do. The
public is entitled to know, accordingly, how the
matter stands; and therefore no time should be lost
in insisting upon the production of the instrument
in question.

POST.—it is one of the misfortunes incidental to
the commercial greatness of this country, and the
multiplicity of its relations with every portion of
the globe, that there is at all times somewhere or
another a disturbance of that harmony which, as
an eminently commercial State, we would most
willingly maintain with those who are in any way
connected with us. British trade and British enter-
prise penetrate everywhere, and there is scarcely a
land on the face of the earth, whether civilised or
uncivilised, where British interests do not need pro-
tection. It should then surprise no one that our
complicated and extensive foreign relations do not
universally exhibit that appearance popularly
known by the expression couleur de rose. The
Foreign-office cannot govern events—it can only
make the best of them when they occur. A chance
shipwreck on a desolate coest may, as we have re-
cently seen, disturb the relations—nay, for a time
completely suspend the connection—between two
States which not only nominally, but actually en-
tertain towards each other sentiments of the most
sincere friendship. A short time since the storm

was in the western hemisphere, now it is in the
eastern. The efforts which we have made to open
communications with Japan, and, at the same time,
to develop the resourefs of that country end create
a new field for British enterprise, have not been eei
successful as we could have desired. Japan was,,
until within a few years past, completely close&
against the rest of the world. Its Government be-
lieving that, within ha own confines, it possessed
all the elements of wealth and happiness, obsti-
nately and persistently refused to open commercial
relations with other States. At length, however,
he perseverance with which both Eogland and
America endeavoured to divert the Japanese Go-
vernment from its strange resolution met with
its reward. The barriers which had so long been
opposed to the entrance of strangers were thrown
down, and after a short time the representatives of
foreign States permitted to take up their residence
at the Japanese capital. It was idle, however, to
hope that the prejudices which were fostered
during centuries would instantaneously disePP"r-
We have been received by the Japanese, it is true,
but our position has been that of persons living in
an enemy's territory. It would be needless now
to recapitulate the outrages which not only our
merchants, but even our representative, have expe-
rienced at the hands of the Japanese. On one
occasion the embassy was attacked, and the greater
number of its occupants either killed or wounded.
At the close of last year an English merchant was
foully murdered on the public road at mid-day by
the retainers of one of the native princes whom it
was his misfortune to encounter ; and, if we mis-
take not, his wife, who accompanied him, narrowly
escaped the same fate. In faot, never during the
brief interval which has elapsed since our settle-
ment in Japan have our relations either with its
Government or population been otherwise than ex-
tremely precarious. The news brought by the In-
dian mail which has just arrived indicates that
matters ere far from mending. We are, in fact,
drifting into what may become a petty war, which,
however slightly felt its consequences may be in
these islands, may bring to a close our commercial
connection with Japan. Her Majesty's Govern-
ment found it absolutely necessary to demand from
the Japanese authorities reparation for the several
outrages committed upon our n enchants, but with
these demaLds the latter hesitated to comply.
Under these circumstances orders were transmitted

to the English admiral on the station to employ
coercive measures; and in accordance with these an

ultimatum was communicated to the,• Japanese'
Government by the British Charge d'Affaires on the
6th April, with an intimation that if within twenty
days reparation was not made Admiral Kuper would
have recourse to force. In accordance, however, with
the wishes of the Japanese, this time was extended
by 15 days, viz., until the 11th of May. It would
seem, however, that this delay was demanded, not
for the purpose of reconsidering the expediency
of complying with the British demands, but simply
with the view of maturing preparations for war.
When the mail left on the 28th of April the
Japanese were said to be busily engaged in collect-
ing a considerable army. Arms and ammunition
have for some time past been imported in large
quantities, and it is said that since hostilities were
resolved upon by our Government, in the event of
reparation being refused, the American merchants
resident in Japan have largely srpplied the native
Government with munitions of war. Assuming
that this report is correct, it must not be supposed
that the Americans have violated any moral or
'egal duty. The possibility of an interruption of
amicable relations between ourselves and the
Japanese could of course give us no right to inter-
fere with the trade of another nation. It may,
however, be questionable whether the Americans
acted with prudence in placing the means of resist-
ance in the hands of our probable adversaries. In
the present instance England is virtually taking up
the cause, not of her own subjects, but of the entire
foreign mercantile population of Japan. The out-
rages of which we have bad to complain were dic-
tated not so much by a dislike to ourselves as by et
general antipathy to the interference of strangers.
Indirectly we were maintaining by our remons-
trances and demands for reparation the interests of
American as much as of English traders. The po-
sition in which the foreign residents were placed
when the mail left was critical in the extreme. The
commands to the admiral were said to be peremp-
tory—to proceed to hostilities in the event of com-
pliance with our demands being refused. In a com-
munication addressed to the residents Admiral
Kuper stated that it was not in his power to afford
them protection, and consequently no other alterna-
tive was left them than to embark with all their
effects before the time granted by the British repre-
sentative had expired. With regard to the parti-
cular measures to be taken by the admiral, it is
supposed that, with the force at his disposal, he
would blockade or possibly bombard some of the
principal seaports. From Yedo, the chief seaport
town, the Daimios have, however, departed, and,
with its exception, it is not believed that the Japa-
nese Government care very much about the damage
which can be effected by a naval force. If war un-
fortunately does ensue, the employment of a land
force will become absolutely necessary, and the
troops now stationed in India must supply the con-
tingent necessary to vindicate our rights in Japan.
It is very unfortunate that this collision between
ourselves and the Japanese should have arisen, but
however much it is to be regretted it was inevit-
able. None could be more desirous than the British
nation of cultivating to the utmost amicable rela-
tions with Japan, but all our efforts in that direc-
tion have been frustrated. Our grounds of com-
plaint were such as the government of no State
should have refused to recognise, and the repara-
tion we demanded such as none should have refused
to accord. The refusal of the Japanese Government
to entertain or satisfy our demands leaves us no
option as to the course to be pursued. If an Eng-
lish admiral should find himself compelled to bom-
bard the seaports of Japan, or an English general
be forced to lead an expedition into the interior of
the country, the fault will be entirely that of the
Japanese themselves. We are desirous of living on
terms of amity with all the world, and more espe-
cially with semi-barbarous nations, but we cannot
be expected, for the sake of avoiding hostilities, to
submit patiently to outrages as barbarous as they
are unprovoked,

COUNTRY MARKETS.

~..____.

LIVERPOOL-FRIDAY.

At this day's market there was a small attendance, with
a retail demand for wheat, and late prices receded id per
cep tal. Oats and oatmeal very dull. Beans neglected, at
9d per qr decline on the week. Indian corn in better de-
mand. Flour 6d per barrel cheaper.