The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-21 00:00:00

opinion. That was at Richmond, in Yorkshire.
At Plymouth, in Devonshire, the new Solicitor-
General " sniffed a tainted breeze" of a different
character. It was necessary, there, to be
a little less reserved, and rather more popular ;
so, as the Attorney-General had been all in favour,
throughout the various speeches of the North, the
Solicitor-General, in order to keep up the neutrality
and impartiality of her Majesty's Government, was
bound to be all in favour of the South. In delight-
ful dissonance with his learned colleage he declared
that the North was not fighting for the abolition of
slavery ; he thinks, or affirms at least, that the
South are fighting for independence and the North
for a centralising Union ; he appeals to six millions
of people in New York habit of styling them rebels;
but then, keeping in view his new appointment, he
veers round, after admitting as much as the
Southerners could °desire, and :declares that Great
Britain has preserved a perfect and unimpeachable
neutrality. Where is the evidence? Mr. Collier
is reedy with it. " Both sides are offended with
us." Now, we are not to suppose that Mr. Collier
believed what he was saying. Might no the North
be justly dissatisfied while the South was unrea-
sonably discontented ? " The South," continued
Lord Palmersion's new Solicitor-General, " is a
great nation waging War." But he goes on, escap-
ing from the consequences of this admission, to
urge that the Confederates must clear their terri-
tory of the Federal forces altogether before they
can claim to be recognised us independent. We
knew not upon what basis the argument rests. Cer-
tainly not upon historical precedent. But, beyond
doubt, Mr. Collier, in the unspotted robes of his
virgin' Solicitor-Generalship, thought it incum-
bent upon him, firstly, to echo the national senti-
ment with regard to the Southern States; eecondly,
to apologise for Ministerial defalcations in their
diplomacy with America; and, thirdly, to assume
an independent part, and promise that justice
should be done, though the heavens should fall. So
far the Solictor-General.
TIMES.—From the beginning of the American
war: the Federal Government has shown itself
equally anxious to inspire fear and goodwill among
the English people. Under the impression that there
existed among the politicians of this country a de-
sire to irecognise the seceded States at the first
opportunity, if not to aid the establishment of their
independence by force, the rulers at Washington
have, by themselves or their emissaries, made use
of two kinds of reasoning, and sought to appeal
to two different instincts. One class of orators
and writers will tell of nothing but the power of
the Union, the speedy collapse of the insurreetion,
and the final punishment which is to overtake all
who refuse their sympathies to the North in the
hour of trial. England is to be deterred from any
hostile act by the fear of offending an irresistible
nation, which its representatives declare to be even
now kept with difficulty from resenting the insults
we have offered. Mr, Seward's verbose despatches,
Mr. Sumner's bitter invectives and misrepresenta-
tions, and generally the whole current of public
speaking in America, are addressed to this object.
But, at the same time, there have not been wanting
men to work for the same purpose in a different
manner. While those who take the defiant line
have been exclaiming, " Only wait till our civil war
is over," another class of persons have been intrusted
with the task of friendly and fraternal expostula-
tion, and have endeavoured to bring public opinion
in this country to their aide by appeals to political,
or religious, or philanthropic feeling. It need
hardly be said that these attempts have failed. The
Liberal party, identified as it is with the cause of
popular government and negro emancipation, has
not from its long list of eminent men given a single
supporter to Mr. Lincoln's confiscations and con-
scription's. But, rejected by the educated opinion
of the country, the Federal emissaries think that
they have still some chance of success with the well
meaning but narrow-minded class which can see
nothing ;n this war but a question of slavery
against abolition. To enlist the feelings of the
emancipationists on behalf of the Northern invasion
and to exhibit England as approving the war by
pointing to the sentiments that were uttered and
cheered at crowded meetings, would be a triumph
for a Federal orator, and we cannot wonder that we
have had a number of them in succession playing
the chief part at Abolitionist and philanthropic
gatherings throughout the country. The most im-
portant of these gentlemen appears to be Mr.
Henry Ward Beecher, who has been lecturing at
various places to a more or Jess discordant audience
on the great question of the day, and who spoke at
Exeter-hall last evening under the patronage of
the Emancipation Society. Mr. Beecher comes
from America with the best of all credentials as an
orator. The sittings at his church are regularly put
up to auction, and produced last year the sum of
18,549 dollars, That he is possessed of gifts
of speech such as are appreciated highly
across the ocean is evident from these figures ;
but whether his oratory is suited to the colder
Briton, accustomed to associate elevated sub-
jects with a chaste and decorous language,
we are inclined to doubt. Indeed, in his own coun-
try there are malevolent critics who object to his
style and deride the taste of his congregation. From
his late orations we are now able to form an esti-
mate of his talents; and certainly in our judgment
he is not the man to convert the British public to
the Federal cause. Unless his speeches here are
very unworthy samples of his genius, we must con-
clude that the religious politicians of America are
pretty much on a par in conception and language
with the politicians proper, and that the pulpit is
not more intellectually elevated than the stump.
Last evening he made a summary of the argue: ents
which, he tells us, ho has used since he has been in
this country, and added others which were to com-
plete the impression in his favour. Mr. Beecher's
audience heard again the whole story of the politi-
cal conflicts which preceded secession, and were in-
formed that it was impossible for his Government
to draw back from the work it had begun until the
devastation of the; South was complete. War had
justified the proclamation of Mr. Lincoln, and was
itself justified by the necessity of maintaining entire
the territory of the Union. We should have ex-
pected that in this the final address delivered in the
metropolis and in the traditional temple of Aboli-
tionism, there would have been something more
original and more humane than is produced by the
ordinary Federal politicians. But Mr. Beecher's
address is but a repetition of what may have been
read in the Federal newspapers anytime since the
outbreak of the war. For instance, somebody had
asked Mr. Beecher:why he would not let the South
go peaceably. " Oh," he answers, "if the
Southerners would only go, we would furnish them
with a free passage ; but then we say, That terri-
tory which you inhabit is ours, and we do not
choose to have it wrested from us.' " This argu-
ment, which would exactly suit a Russian discours-
ing of Poland, or an Austrian official defending the
tabula rasa in Hungary, is the most convincing that
the speaker can find for a London audience brought
together foialleged sympathy for human freedom.
Again, the war which has already filled a continent
with mourning is to be persisted in that a flagitious
violation of the freedom of vote may not be suffered
to pass with impunity. In order to make the
matter clearer to the English intelligence, this
group et American States, coo taining six or seven
millions of white people, and extending over nearly
a million of square of miles, is compared to the
county of Kent ; and the Exeter-hall audience are
seriously asked whether they would suffer Kent to
set up for itself as an independent kingdom on the
speakerand
nwdho neweris conversantsrgom ent
arguments
with e
oh itshseus be j hastehocats nproduceo
southern coast. It need hardly be said that when a
et better
there is evidence that the question been
ucmidra.tßiosne.
thoroughly examined and is not likely to receive
saon
cheWese llioposkwi
which
ovain h forool anyshould
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us to sympathise with the objects for which his
party are striving. He makes great efforts to show
that this is a struggle in which
we and Europe gene-
( rally are interested; but he
involuntarily and un- I
onsciousily returns from general interests to those
whieh are exclusively American and sectional.
" Feel for us', applaud us, pray for our success," such
is his revest to the English religious would, "for
we desire to keep our large territory, we desire to
increase the strergi.h of the Federal Government,
States ri hts as danger-
to put down the theory oft
. g
" Such is the sum of his
One to our nationality.
'l,:deed, can he say Can
argument. What else, 1 .
ne before his eyes pre-
he, with the events of the tie
eovernment Which
tend that the principles of Belie:
e dv
make the safety of England, can ..ancetary rud b
ley
i
the subjection of a large population to . 1
for an indefinite term ? Already the will example
of the Federal States is seen in the boldS.'eee with
which the Russian Government in Poland braves
the censure of the world. The recognition of the
principle
that we are to applaud the repression exet'-
cised by established Governments on unwilling
populations, on the ground that the territory belongs
to the ruling Power, and that the only right the
inhabitants have is to expatriate themselves, would
he equally baneful in its effects on other parts of
Europe. We leave out of account the arguments
which Mr. Beecher both last night and at other tunes
has addressed to our material interests. He told us
last night that division in America would tend to
keep up armies which would be formidable to us.
He told the people of Liverpool a few days since that
when the South is conquered there will be a better
market than ever for our cottons. All this is en-
tirely useless for the purpose of obtaining the good
will of the English public. All through this war our
conduct has been regulated by a strict regard to
law, and our sympathies by what we conceived to
be the rights of the contending parties. We have
acted and felt with as little selfishness as is possible
to a nation. History has proved—the hiA,tory of