The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-31 00:00:00

Tiit 'SUN, LONI)O,N, SATURDAY 'EVRIONG,i-2,-,, OCTOBER 31, 1863.

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LONDON, SATURDAY, 002. 31, 1863.

Non-intervention—admirable though it is under
the majority of circumstances as a guiding principle
of international law—becomes almost a crime on
the part of great Powers like France and England
when carried out obdurately to the very last ex-
tremity. "A clear stage and no favour" is the meaning
of Non-intervention. But when—as in the instance
of thu United States of North America, a wealthy
and populous nation becomes split asunder, rent
suddenly in twain, divided upon the right hand and
upon the left by a line of demarcation as distinct
as that destined to be drawn between the goats and
the sheep in the symbolic language of the Apoca-
1311)8e—when a vast country is abandoned thus to a
brutal carnage, giving no augury whatever of
its termination, until either side shall have
been utterly destroyed and swept from
the face of the earth—the dogged main-
tenance of the principle of non-intervention,
coute qui coute, by great nations looking on, becomes
worse than Quixotic, becomes, as we have said,
little less than a Crime. It is all idle, to talk per-
petually about the sacred duty of neutrality. The
relations of states, n
ow-a-days, have come to be SO
intimate, commercially, politically, even, be it said,
socially, that no country can suffer from the devas-
tations caused by a sanguinary and protracted civil
war, without surrounding countries suffering more
or less in consequence. It is
Preposterous, there-
/ore, to say that an internal war like this one in
North America, though one conducted on the
other side of the Ocean, is
no affair of
ours. It is an affair of ours. It affects us
intimately, painfully, disastrously iu many ways.
It affects our pecuniary interests. It affects our com-
merce. It affects our manufactures. To maintain
otherwise would be simply an absurdity. The
Cotton Famine in the north of England emphases
every syllable of what we have here been asserting.
We owe to the insensate folly, and to the brutal
arrogance, out of which this deplorable civil war has
grown, the lamentable sufferings endured by our
own inoffensive manufacturing population, or
rather, just now, our would-be•tnanufacturing
population, in Lancashire. Between the bel-
ligerents in America, when regarded by us
in the abstract—that is in refereuce to the
origin of this war still raging there to their
mutual destruction there is for us but
little indeed to choose. They are to U 3 but
*Asia and half-a-dozen. For inasmuch as Slavery
as upheld as an institution by the Southern Govern-
ent, we have no sympathy whatever, upon that
one vital point, with the Southern Government. It
is in the circumstance that the war was begun by
the North--not for the purpose of putting an end to
Slavery (thetr 1.1. e.
instant that even then we cannot think for one
the triumph of the Abolition Cause is
one to be brought about by
the brutal agency of main
force, at the point of the
at the muzzle of the sword and of the bayonet,
rigs and of the cannon, at the
e e plosion of shells, and at th
a hellish raging of Greek
Fire)—it is becaustehethvised
by the North, b eeara_
sable war was begun
y
not for the emanci-
pation of the Negro, but for the •
auhlugation of the
white freemen in the South,for thebr-
'aging of them
back to the Union they had with perfect right b
reason that
-3oned and repudiated—it is for that one
the feelings and sympathies of England became
at the very outset of the struggle, alienated
from the Government at Washington. The extra-
ordinary contrast pA se4ied to view subeequently
by the belligerents, in their very opposite modes of
carrying on the war—into which, remsnber, 'the
South had been dragged by the North—alienated ,

the popular sympathies stilt further and further from
the Federals, and drew those sympathies more and
more closely towards the Confederates. And it was
so far natural, to begin with, that it should have been
thus—the conflict when it commenced being one in
which the combatants were so disproportioned to
each other. " Hit one of your own size" seemed
to be the instinctive remonstrance floating across
the Atlantic from Europe, certainly from England,
towards Washington. It was (so far as appearances
went) an attack made by the strong upon the weak,
by the armed upon the unarmed, by the great
(in size) upon the small, by the score upon
the unit. Subsequent events have tended only to
enhance our admiration of the assailed, by reason of
the astonishing manner in which they have con-
trived to hold their own, and more than merely to
hold their own, against their numerous, gigantic,
fully armed, and in many ways (certainly in wealth
and in numbers), formidable assailants. Neverthe-
less, for all that—marvellous as the stand taken kJ.
the South has been and still is—the war into which
they have been dragged by the North seems now as
far away from its termination as ever it did. The
bloodshed still continues, there, at a fearful rate.
The squandering of countless lives and of incalcul-
able treasure still stretches out before us in
a perspective that has its vanishing point
in the vague future. Non-intervention, as a
rule, we still regard as a principle very admirable
and very beneficent. But it is a rule, like all other
rules, having exceptions—to prove it. Insomuch
are we beginning to realise this truth in regard
to the principle or rule of non-intervention that we
are every day beginning to recognise more and more
clearly the possibility of the time coming in the pro-
gress of this miserable war in America when the
duty for Entland and France will be—intervention.

There seems to be some infatuation in the minds
of Ministers with regard to the steam rams in the
Mersey. It was quite against the popular feeling
that any interposition was made at all in regard to
these vessels, but to proceed to such extremities as
have lately been adopted is really quite uncalled for.
It would appear as if our Government were trying
to copy the manners of continental despots in their
harsh and hard proceedings in this unfortunate
affair. After Mr. LAIRD had given his word that
no steps should be taken in the matter of these
vessels in dispute until the affair had been properly
adjudicated, it is an unwarrantable insult to take
them out of Messrs. LAIRD'S hands, and still more
to put in armed men. We have come to something
certainly when to suit the fancies of fatuists for
peace at home, and answer the ends of bullying
tyrants abroad, the premises of our merchants are
to be taken by storm. " The officers and marines
entered Messrs. LAIRD'S yard fully armed." No
wonder that a protest has been made against these
uncalled-for measures, and that the general feeling
about the place is extreme indignation. It seems
such extraordinary conduct that it is hardly to be
credited. It often occurs that when a party or a
Government feel particularly safe, and their tenure
seems well established, that by a sudden caprice or
ill judged act all strength and stability vanish,
and the immaculate and impregnable ministry be-
come like the baseless fabric of a vision. Lord
PALMERSTON some time back was in the position of
one of these invincibles, but he so mismanaged things
that, in the House, which he led with a majority of a
hundred at his beck and call, he could not obtain a
hearing. Let Earl RUSSELL look to his position,
it has become insecure, for he is presuming upon it.
He is old in experience, and skilled in politics, but
he has yet to learn the temper, and study the spirit
of Englishmen if he imagines that they will tamely
submit to these insults, and brook this impertinent
interference which, .at the bidding of ill-advisers,
he is putting upon us. The general sentiment of
the people will be against him, and no Minister can
stand such opposition. Because the Americans
cannot manage their own affairs, and regulate the
principles of the Constitution of their own country,
is that a reason why their wishes are to reign para-
mount here, and their influence to be insinuated
into the Council Chambers of our Ministers, and
rule the decrees and regulations of our statesmen.
If he is to become the exponent of such principles
our Foreign Secretary has degenerated from the
spirit of his race, but at any rate he had better take
heed to his ways, for when the Parliament reas-
sembles it will not sanction his present proceedings.
It is one of those extravagant notions that from
time to time gain the ascendant among politicians,
but while statesmen who represent the spirit of
their country with accuracy and intelligence, will
always decline to take up, believing them to be
" inimical to the independence of a community,
and interfering unduly with the liberties of the
subjeet."

It is quite time that some inquiry should be
made about the very arbitrary and tyrannical
conduct pursued by the Dake of SOMERSET at the
recent election for Totnee. It is true that the
Ministers who came in on purpose to pass a Reform
Bill found it very convenient not to do so, but still
did not think it worth while to go out and make a
disturbance again. The great pioneer of progress,
the Whig champion who had resolved to remain in
the House of Commons until he had reformed its
abuses and changed its mechanism, thought fit to
retire from the sphere and to proceed to the " prim
benches of the upper school;' Still there must have
been some infatuated individuals who thought we
were much safer with the present Administration
in power, and all that sort of thing. Let these
learn that the darkest days of Toryism cannot
show more strange devices to terrify and to in-
timidate. When a man is literally turned out of
hie house it seems as if things had, indeed, pro-
ceeded to extremities. The coolness which dictates
such a tonne is most unaccountable, and yet there
are not wanting many proofs of this harshness. It
would have been bad enough in any man holding
large estates to use his power like that, but in the
case of a Minister • ' •
it is quite distressing. He can
entertain no idea of
his responsibilities ; all he
thinks of is the political influence to be obtained.
One poor man asked for time, but
ut was told that it
was impossible. His pathetic
appeal to past ser-
vices only called forth the retort—"1 expect you
to clear out to-morrow." Those who think every-
thing is secondary to power may call it a joke when
the unhappy victim is thrust forth ; but they who
rightly estimate personal influence and public
morality will tell the haughty landlord that this
is a question of grave consequence. It is a sad
thing to be driven from one's home to suit the fan-
cies of a prejudiced politician ; and the voice of Mr.
'rums, as he utters his pathetic appeals, may find
an echo when and where it is least expected.
It is a matter of notoriety that the once great
Liberal majority is of the decline. Sometimes, at
elections, one candidate after the other is returned
who is adverse to this Administration. Only the
other day the possessor of a large estate, and one in
some way connected with the Ministry, used im-
mense influence to return a candidate of the right
sort. He failed utterly, and sad were the disasters
he encountered in the fray. Is this to be wondered
at when, among the actual member of the Cabi-
net, there is found such d. ' f •
a isregar., eir play,
and Such an- attempt to browbeat and intimidate
the very men who are called
el: tions free-born

Englishmen, and the men .7hose birthright is in-
dependence. If a Conservative peer or a wealthy
commoner had comported themselves with the
vehemence and violence of the two here cited, what
would have been said ? There is a great virtue in
consistency, and let some of the rhetoric that would
have been showered plentifully upon these sup-
posed delinquents, be employed against the present
innovators of the system, as at present constituted.
It is bsd enough to employ stringent measures to
induce "votes" to be registered, but to act in a bitter
and revengeful frame of mind is a solecism in good
feeling, and perfectly inimical to the tastes and
temper of the nation at large. It is to be hoped
that some zealous P. n d honest reformer will turn
aside from the attack upon the lawful enemies, and
direct their energies to the best purpose, of expos-
ing the process by whica free and independent Eng-
lishmen are not allowed to possess the right to vote
as it suits their wishes. If the management of Tot-
nes is a matter for officials to plume themselves
upon, no wonder Earl RUSSELL so readily with-
drew his Reform Bill, for he could hardly have
put in a clause about the "regulation" of such
convenient little boroughs, for fear of exciting the
ridicule of unreasonable and impertinent opponents.

The accounts received from Japan are not with-
out importance. Against our will almost we have
been drawn into a war which is certainly not of
our seeking, but which we could not possibly have
avoided, unless we meant to leave every European
resident or visitor in Japan to the mercy of a gene-
ral massacre. It will be remembered that subse-
quently to the signing of the treaty matters ap-
peared to go on smoothly for a time, but it was not
long before the hostility and treachery of the na-
tive feelings towards us began to show themselves
unmistakably. The murder of the sentries, the
attack on the Consul's house—above all, the unpro-
voked and wanton assassination of Mr. RICIIARDsON
by the retainers of one of the great Daimios, all
tended to convince the unprejudiced observer that
English life would not be worth much in the
Japanese Empire, unless some means were found of
overawing the treacherous and inhospitable inha-
bitants. Formal complaint, accompanied by a
demand for compensation and the punishment of
the murderers, was at once laid before the ruling
power. Less could scarcely have been done, whether
from regard to the injured relatives, or from the
desire to extort the respect due to the representa-
tives of the Western Powers. Still, moderate as
the demand must have appeared to the Eastern
imagination, it was not granted. The Tycoon got
out of tae difficulty by assuring the English repre-
sentative that he would have been most willing and
eager to redress his wrongs and to obtain compen-
sation had one of his meaner subjects been involved
in the tragedy ; but the fact was, that over the
great Daimios or powerful nobles he had no
power, and however ready he might be to pay the
fine demanded, he could not undertake to surrender
the assassins. Upon this it was determined, very
wisely and justly, to take the punishment of Prince
SATSUMA into our own hands; and accordingly the
fleet under the command of Admiral KUPER sailed
for Kagosima, his stronghold. The Bay of Ka-
gosima is represented as a most beautiful spot,
being from seven to eight miles broad at the en-
trance, with a deep channel. The vessels anchored
off the town in 21 fathoms of water. There was
a long line of forts visible, which were full of
men, SATSUMA'S flag was flying over them,
and behind them lay several large junks.
It was not long before inquiries Logan, alio
several communications passed between the Ad-
miral and the shore, but no satisfactory terms could
be coma to. There was consequently no choice left
to the Admiral but the literal fulfilment of his
orders, and accordingly three screw steamers lying
in the bay were seized and brought out. As a
further proof of the natural quickness and adroit-
ness of the Japanese, we may mention that they are
no contemptible gunners, and that during the short
but sharp passage of arms between us their firing
was rapid, and made with excellent precision. The
Japanese English papers give, as might be expected,
very full accounts of the expedition, which must
have produced a forcible effect on the Daimio and
his retainers, having resulted in the total destruc-
tion of Kagosima and the firing of the shipping.
It was expected that the seizure of the vessels, which
were new and valuable ones, having lately been pur-
chased from ourselves, would have intimidated the
enemy ; but no sooner did they see the screw
steamers towed off than their batteries opened fire
upon the fleet. Upon this the Admiral signalled to
the vessels in charge of the prizes to burn them
an. 4 come into action, which was accordingly done.
The value of these steamers, without their cargoes,
was 300,000 dollars—a loss which cannot be very
agreeable to Prince SATSUMA.' Having fornied
into line of battle at about 400 yards'erange, the
English ships opened fire, and in three-quarters of
an hour the Japanese deserted:their guns. In the
course of the engagement thby town'. took fire, and
five largo junks were also',hiek by one of our
vessels. They were moored of soma. factories,
which took fire also. Towards night, wh9 the
high wind had fanned the flames, they are described,
as extending over a mile in length, cod being :of
considerable breadth also. On Suoday morning the
scene was one of desolation anctinid: The town and'
factories were still burning.: The steamers and
junks had sunk, and all aropn4l were, traces of the
work of destruction, kis unfortunate that, in all
such cases the innocent must sulfas with the guilty,
and that the inhabitants of Ke'gosima should have
had to bear the consequences of their master's
wrongdoing. If he and his retainers could have
been bombarded in their retreat, if the 103 s of life
and property could have been restricted to his ports
and vessels, it would have been more just as well
as more humane. Still the attack was not under..
taken without reason, nor was it commenced with-
out giving fair time for compromise and surrender.
When the fleet anchored off Kagosima, two days
were given to the Daimio to come to an agreement.
Secure behind his forts, as he thought, he would
not assent to the English terms, and the conse-
quences must therefore rest with him. On our side
we have to deplore the loss of many brave officers
and men, two of the former—Captain SOSLING
and Commander WiLetur —being killed on the
bridge of the Euryalus as they stood beside the
Admiral, who narrowly escaped. The flagship
suffered most severely during the engagement, but
her greatest disaster was the loss of these two able
and respected officers. We must hope that this
severe lesson will bring the Daimios to reason, and
secure foreign residents from attack and murder.
There is always much to regret and contend against
in the just dealings of civilised nations with such
people., as the Japanese, whose semi-civilisation
renders them more insolent and more utterly renationsabflauittehbaoll.batrreiaantise.s andrrhe
pthreiolcaewsof
nations than of the
so
SAT-
SUMA must now bitterly repent his cruelty in the
first place, and hii presumption and obstinacy in the
second; and we trust this encounter may have so
good an effect as to obviate the necessity for any
further bloodshed.

EFFECTS OF THE GOLD DISCOVERIES.—The total
produce amounts already to r: early 5300,000,000, and of this
our trade with the East alone hAs already carried off about
£120,000,000.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

[REUTER'S TELEGRAM.]
AMERICA.
(Per the Persia.)

NEW YORK, OCT. 21 (Morning).

General Meade is advancing from the front of
Washington. General Lee is retreating, but his
object is not positively known.
General Rosencranz has been superseded by Gen.
Thomas. General Grant has been appointed to
superintend all further operations.
President Lincoln has called for 300,000 volun-

teers.
Gold has declined to 46. No special cause is
assigned, except speculation.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
NEW YORK, OCT. 19, 5 p.m.

It is still asserted from Washington, under date
of the 17th and 18th inst., that no general engage-
ment had occurred between the Armies of the
Potomac and Northern Virginia.

During Saturday and Sunday Washington was
filled with conflicting rumours of General Lee's
whereabouts and intentions, as well as those of
General Meade. At one time General Lee was
report€d to have crossed the Potomac near •Lees-
burgh, and to be advancing into Maryland, but this
has since been contradic'ed. Another account
stated that General Meade's whole army had re•
tired within the defences of the capital. This also
has been denied ; the belief, however, exists that
the lines of the two armies are but little changed
from their positions of Friday last.

The cavalry under Mosley continue to operate in
the rear of Gen. Meade, capturing solitary officers
and small squads of men.
Mr. Lincoln, notwithstanding his assertion in
his correspondence with Governor Seymour, in
August last, that the volunteering system had
been proved so far exhausted as to be inade-
quate for procuring soldiers, issued a proclamation
on the 17th instant calling upon the Governors of
several States to furnish immediately their quotas
of 300,000 new volunteers to serve for three years
or the war. The necessity Mr. Lincoln assigns for
this fresh demand is the depletion of the armies
which will occur during the coming year through
the expiration of the terms of service of the troops
now in the field. The proclamation adds that
should any of the State fail to raise the quota
assigned to them before the sth of January, 1864,
a draught will be made on that day in such States
to make up the deficiency.
The New York Times, in support of the call, says:
—4. Even though Rosencranz had defeated Bragg at
Chattanooga—even though Meade had met and dis-
comfitted Lee on the Rapidan—even though
Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, and Wilmington
were in our hands,--it would not be safe to permit
our armies to lose their strength. We should still
have heavy bodies of rebels posted through the
Rebel States, at points from the James River to the
Mississippi, and even beyond it ; we should still
have to show a front of power in the midst of a re-
bellious and disaffected population.
The moneys received by the Government in pay-
ment of the 300 dots. fee for exemption from the
late draught are said to already amount to 9,000,000
dols., which it is thought will be increased by
2,000,000 dols. additional.

Report alleges that the whole sum will be applied
to recruiting purposes, under the present call of the
President for volunteers.

Buis has been suspended by President Davis, and
themselves ordered to quit the Confederacy as
quickly as possible.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Gold, 1494. Exchange, 1641.

United States' Sixes, 1881, 108 ; Treasury 7.35
Notes, 107+ ; New York Central Railway, 1351 ;
Erie, 108+ ; Illinois Central, 1241. _ . .

Cotton, 86c. Breadstuffs irregular. Provisions
less active. Sugars quiet. Coffee inactive.

WEDNESDAY, (JCT. 21, 11 A,➢S.

The latest despatches from Virginia report that
General Lee's whole army has returned to the
south side of the Rappahannock.
The Confederates here so thoroughly destroyed
the Orange and Alexandria railway, from Manassas
to Rappahannock Station (a distance of 20 miles),
that the repairs can only be effected at the rate of
one mile per day.
It is stated that Gen. Burnside has possession of
40 miles of the East Tennessee Railway, and is ad-
vancing upon Lynchburg, Virginia, Gen. Lee's base
of supplies, having already reached Abingdon,which
has necessitated the hasty falling back of Gen. Lee.
Despatches from Louisville, of the 20th, declare
Gen. Thomas the successor of Gen. Rosencranz.

Gen. Grant has been put in supreme command
of the departments and armies of the Camberland,
the Tennessee, and the Ohio.

Gen. Rosencranz is ordered to proceed to Cin-
cinnatti, and report by letter to the Adjutant-
General at Washington.
The steamer Fulton, from Charleston bar, 7.30
p.m., on the 19th, reports no change in the quiet
state of affairs.

Governor Seymour yesterday issued a proclama-
tion in the response to the President's call for volun-
teers. He asserted that the Federal military situa-
tion in Virginia and Tennessee was most critical;
that the armies were threatened with serious dis-
aster fcr want 3f adequate force, and declared that
it was the duty of all citizens, and that he should
expect it of them, as well as of all State officials,
to give efficient and cheerful aid in the furtherance
of the appeal of the President.
Mr. Vallandigham has addressed a letter to
the democracy of Ohio, urging them to bear their
recent defeat with patience, and to preserve their
interest in the principles which they have declared.
He affirms that he will ever be stedfast to those
principles and true to the Constitution and to the
State and country of his birth.

Gold, 146.

The Persia takes 294,516 dols. in specie.

THE POLISH INSURRECTION.
THORN, OCT. 31.

A❑ imperial ukase, dated from Livadia, the 13th
inst., assigns pensions to the widows and orphans
of officials assassinated in Poland.

bT. PETERSBURG, OCT. 26.

The Incalide Busse publishes advices from War-
saw stating that on the night of the 20th inst. the
police in that capital surprised a clandestine litho-
graphic press at work for the National Government.
Seven lithographic stones and four workmen were
seized.

Th• same paper publishes reports of numerous
encounters between the Russian troops and the in-
surgents upon the Bth inst. on the left bank of the
Nimen, near the village of Ritnitz. A large num-
ber of the insurgents perished in the flames. On
the 10th, in the forest of Borki, upon the boundaries
of the districts of Priyany and Kobryn, near
Onikchty, a convoy was suddenly attacked by the
insurgents. After killing and wounding several
soldiers, they succeeded in obtaining possession of
the convoy and baggage. Some thirty trailleurs,
escorting Colonel Trofimoff, were also attacked by
the Poles,but the Russians received reinforcements,
and the insurgents were repulsed.

Lieut.-General Balaklanoff has sent several
columns through the majority of the districts com-
posing the Government of Augustow. A column
of the Guard, commanded by Major-General Baria-
tynski, encountered a band of 200 insurgents, led
by Ostrog, near Lake Pszerinki. The Poles lost
30 prisoners, besides five killed, and many drowned
in the lake. The Invalide states that the Russians
did not lose a man.

The Russian papers announce that the Heredi-
tary Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrowitch will
arrive at Moscow from the Crimea on the 29th,
and at Tzirskoe-Selo on the Ist or 2d November.
It is believed that he will be followed in a few
days by the Emperor Alexander and all the Court.
POSEN, OCT. 25.

The Warsaw correspondent of the Posener
Zeitung states that General Berg has given orders
to stup the issue of passports for foreign parts.
This measure is felt as a peculiar hardship by men
of business who have taken out passports within the
last few days. These persons have vainly appealed
to M. Ostrowski, the Minister of the Interior, for
permits of departure, alleging that no law can
have retro-active force. Young Count Plater, who
was upon the point of leaving with a legally-
obtained passport, has been arrested at the railway
Station. It is said that the police found upon him
'pr'ohibited books and photographs.
Three spies have been poignarded in Warsaw
during the last week, but the assassins contrived to
escape. The Russians threaten to make a terrible
example. It is feared that their vengeance will
fall upon Count Stanislas Zannoyski, son of Count
'Andrew, whom they accuse of a guilty knowledge
of the recent attempt upon the life of Gen Berg.

CRACOW, OCT. 27.

The Warsaw correspondent of the Czas reports
as follows of the state of discipline among the Rus-

slim troops :

"A soldier left the ranks yesterday in front of
the railway station, and going up to his captain,
abused him in the most violent terms. The cap-
tain ordered the man to be silent and return to his
duty. The order not being obeyed, the officer
called upon the comrades of the mutineer to arrest
the delinquent, but no one stirred. The captain
was obliged to procure the assistance of another
company before he could get the man away. It is
by no means rare for the Russian soldiers to retort
upon their officers the coarse and brutal language
wllich the latter use. Occasionally also they have
recourse to their arms. The men accuse the officers
of appropriating an unfair proportion of the booty
taken from the unfortunate Poles.

PRUSSIA.

BERLIN, FRIDAY.

The result of the elections of 34:.: members to the
new Prussian Chamber of Deputies is uow known.
The numerical strength of the different political
parties represented among this number of members
is as follows :
Liberals

Conservatives
Clerical
Polish members
Uncertain
The result of seven elections is not yet known.