The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-05 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

HERALD.—it would probably be unjust to attri-
bute to any wilful intention of c-mfusirg and mis-
leading public opinion the confusion manifest it
most of the arguments put forward by those who,
in the interest either of the Northern States, or of
their allies in the English Cabinet, declare that this
country is not entitled to recognise the independence
of the Confederate States. But, nevertheless, there
is a constant confusion apparent in their reasonings,
and its effect undoubtedly is to give the semblance
of justice and impartiality to a course which is really,
as it appears at first sight, unjust and extreme y
partial. As we have shown already, the refusal by
Europe to recognise the Government at Richmond
not merely encourages the prolongation of the war,
but enables its promoters in America to justify it
by an argument which appeals with great force to
the patriotic pride of their countrymen. "We can-
not be the first to blazon the news of our own defeat;
we cannot take the initiative in acknowledging the
hopelessness of an enterprise which Europe admits
to be hopeful; we cannot recognise the independence
of a State broken off from our own empire while
Europe still tacitly confesses that it still forms a
part of that empire." As the refusal of Europe is
the work of our Government, it follows that those
who direct the policy of that Government have—
involuntarily and unconsciously, as we hope and
believe—rendered themselves not merely the allies
of the North, but the accomplices of the war party
at the North ; that neutrality without recognition
is a virtual state of antagonism to Southern inte-
rests, and to the interests of the North also, as re-

gulled by a large and growing party among its
own citizens. This is obvious to ail ; and the answer
of the Cabinet—the only answer which they could
make—is an appeal to the principles of international
law and to the traditions of English policy. They
hardly deny the tendency of their conduct ; but
while regretting its effects, they declare that no other
course was honestly open to them. "We have
no right to recognise a State, formed by revolt
from a friendly Government, which has not yet
established its independence." The whole value
of this argument turns upon a misconception of
the nature and meaning of recognition; as is
forcibly shown by the fact that those who use it,
when hard pre,,sed, bring in the "frontier question"
as relevant to the matter in band. Now we would
remind our readers that, although an ousted Sove •
reign may be called upon by a formal act of renun-
ciation to declare that his revolted subjects are tree
and independent, and thereby to release them from
all claims of his and all fealty on their part, nothing
of this kind is required or is usual when foreign
Powers recognise a newly-erected Government. In
the present case what is it that we are asked todo ?
Not to declare that the States of Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, and so forth, are free, in-
dependent, and sovereign Sates, as did King George
III.; not to declare that we acknowledge Mr. Jef-
ferson Davis as President of a Confederacy consist-
ing of 11 or 13 such States; but simply to receive
Mr. Mason as the ambassador accredited to her
Majesty by the Confederate Gevernment, and to
send to Richmond an ambassador, with credentials
addressed to the President of the Confederate States

of North America. We recognise, not the territory,
but the Government. We do not define the fron-
tiers, but acknowledge the national existence ofthe
South. We do not mark the limits of the C3nfede-
rate jurisdiction; we simply admit that such a juris-
diction is possessed by it in such a manner that it
can properly hold relation with foreign Powers. It
concerns us not whether that jurisdiction does or
does not extend to the Ohio and the Colorado. It

may or may not, for aught we care, be bounded
by the Mississippi and the Cumberland. It is suffi-
cient for us that it exists, and unless we undertook
the office of mediators we could have no possible
concern with its extent de jure. Therefore the oc-
cupation of portions of territory belonging to States
included in the Confederacy by the public enemy
has no bearing at all on the question of recognition
if it be indisputably clear that the subjugation of
the Confederacy, as a whole, is beyond the bounds
of practical probability; and of this few sane poli-
ticians entertain any doubt whatever. The ques-
tion is simply whether there be, or not, an inde-
pendent power ruling over a great country under
the title of the Confederate States. Now, no
one who knows anything at all about the South
can question the independence of the Con-
federate Government within certain and very ex-
tensive boundaries. And, therefore, the assertion
that the South has not established her independence,
is either untrue or irrelevant—untrue, if it be meant
to imply that there is no independent Government
in the South ; irrelevant, if it be meant simply to
call attention to the presence of an enemy's troops
on certain portions of Confederate territory. What
we are asked to recognise is not the undisturbed
possession of an extensive empire, but the indepen-
dence of an established Government. And from
this point of view it is important to remember the
fact that the status quo of the several States is and
always has been that of independence.
POST.—The contradictory accounts which have
reached us from the Mississippi render it impossible
to say with certainty whether the late operations,
of the Federal forces have been crowned with suc-
cess. Vicksburg has been so often reported to be
in the possession of the Northern army that we
should not be surprised at finding that the report
that General Grant had at length succeeded in at-
taining the object for which he has laboured so long
should prove as groundless as those which have pre-
ceded it. It is certainly true that the Federal gene-
ral has succeeded in taking Jackson, the capital of
the State of Mississippi, and has thus placed him-
self in the rear of Vicksburg and in the direct line
of its communications. But although by the ma-
noeuvre General Grant has placed his opponents at
a disadvantage, he has been obliged himself to in-
cur considerable risk. By advancing so far inland
he has abandoned the aid which he has hitherto de-
rived from the gunboats, and has endangered his
own communications. If his force be sufficiently
strong to overwhelm the Confederate army under
General Johnston, and take Vicksburg by a coup de
mum, this consideration may be of little importance ;
but: if otherwise, he may find that he has placed his
army in considerable jeopardy. According to
the latest intelligence he had suspended com-
munications with the Grand Gulf, which
had previously been the base of his opera-
tions, and, with provisions sufficient to last his
army for eight days, and pushed on in the direction
of Vicksburg. The experiment is doubtless a bold
one, and will need for its justification the most
complete success, It is supposed that the combined
armies of General Pemberton, the Confederate com-
mandant at Vicksburg, and of General Johnston,
will give battle to the Federal General in the ,neigh-
bourhood of that town. If the Confederates should
prove victorious, General Grant may find it difficult
even to emulate the Fame of Burnside and Hooker
by effecting a masterly retreat. Except or the
banks of the Mississippi, the war now languishes,
and in all probability will continue to languish for