The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-17 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

SATURDAY REVIEW,—The —The appointment of the
Archduke Maxsinai
lin
the accomplishmet
an Imperial h
in Mexico is a ertr t both i n
itself
rl terone
a.sinftog even
pea
occupy
project which seenmdeacts
wholly chimerical. Napoleon 111. belongs to the
highest order of thaumaturgic performers. Not
contented with the mere display of unexpected skill,
e apro j
he challenges the scepticism of his audience by an-
throne of F
nouncing beforehan the almost incredible feat
which he afterwards proceeds to perform. When
Mr. Disraeli became a leader in the House of Corn.
111°1381 when Prince Louis Napoleon asc.nded the
rance
ments was enhanced by the recollection that neither
aspirant to power had ever doubted of his own ulti-
mate triumph. The Emperor of the French has
, the adroitness of both achieve-
since that time ventured upon many enterprises,
without wearing out his astonishing good fortune.
When he embarked, against the wish of his subjects,
in the Mexican speculation, and more especially
during the long delay of his forces ou their way to
the capital, it was thought by many that his demon
or guadian angel had at last deserted him. It is
still by no means obvious that any solid advantage
will accrue to France from the expenditure of trea-
sure and life in a superfluous conquest ; but the
army and the people will exult in the power of a
a crown from a Napoleon as that a
Sovereign who can create and give away empires,
It was as unlikely that an Austrian Archduke
should accept
French garrison should occupy the chief city of
Spanish America. The splendour of the transac •
Lion will compensate for its inutility or improvi-
dence, and now strength will be added to
the popular belief that civilisation is borne°
round e a theg iee . the Impe-
rial
new Monarchy must neces-
sarily as
Austria has neither ships nor money to send'
.013
crusading errands across the Atlantic. It '
is said
sarily rely on the
world on the wings of
indeed, that Frenchmen hope to be relieved by '
Austrian force from the burden of the Mexican an
eupttion • but even if the Emperor Franc; Joseph oc-
and the 'Council of the Empire were 's
disposedG to
undertake the task, the appearance of erman
army in Mexico would be a curious a mode of com-
mencing that eetabliehment of a great Latin and
Celtic State which Napoleon 111.
proposed in his
letter to Gen. Forey as the main object
It is not by Austrians that the Teutonic of the war.
of the United States can be balanced supremacy
on the Western
Continent. The Archduke or
eEmperor Maximilian
must be content to acknowled
g the patronage of
the real founder of the new d
A. fellow ynasty.
EXAMINER.-- gets into a railway car-
riage, and presently indecently assaults a married
woman. The husband interferes
with chastisement if he
u;f does not i, threatening him
t
kn
sist. The ruffian
pulls out a clasp -e, and makes a dash at the
husband, and a desperate struggle
ten minutes. Fortunaty el follows for about
there is
ass
the carriage who as ets thehusband,a passenger in
and between
the two the ruffian is everpow
custody. Such was the Brighton overpowered and
case, theg last out-
rage of the kind that we ha
but not the last we shall have to notice if it be true
ppen to be informed of,
that lenient punishments encura
Finegan was brought before
ege offence. James
magistrates (Messrs. Scott and the Sussex county
Warner) for exami-
nation, and the charge of outrage was f
For the defence drunkenneully proved.
of prison er was s
bs
Was
pleaded, and the
hismaster the
man a good character. Ne mark what follows :
rought forward to give
‘‘ Mr. Scott, in passing sentence, w
of the offence, and saidit had
dilated on the enormit
magistrates if they ought not been a question with the
to commit him for trial, but
taking into consideration his previous
the fact that ho was drunkgood character, and
had determined to treat theand did not injure any one, they
him to two months' offence summarily, at d sentenced
It would have been imprisonment with hard labour.
dilated on the much better if Mr. Scott had not
tended to treat as enormityof of an offence which he in-
considerations vebieh no. enormity whatever. The
pass so light a sentenceinduced the magistrates to
offence were, for so wanton and savage an
Let us askpreviouswhether
good character and drunken-
ness.weight and Borth, ether the two were of equal
to character is of value, In cases of doubt, evidence as
proof of the most ue, but when there is positive
duct, previous blackguardlygood and ruffianly con-
show that the priso character will only serve to
he was—in a
word, that
had passed for better than
But that he was a successful hypo-
crite.character was not the magistrates' only
reason for dealing mildly with the offence. The
worshipful bench had to consider that Finigan was
drunk, for it seems that, in Sussex, drunkenness is
accepted in mitigation of punishment. Here, then,
gross all who may be desirous of com-
mittingthey have by oatshypocrisy to get better characters than
they deserve, .)
and
by these two next, they must get drunk, and
recommendations together, deceit and
drink, they will
secure lenient treatment. Yet a
few days ago
authority, the Chief
saw it laid down by the highest
Chief Justice of England, that
drunkenness was
an aggravation of offence. The
midwife, and
sicharge of unskilful treatment by a
r A.
Cockburn directed the jury that
if they believed the
cause to be drunkenness that
fact aggravated
sound is the the offence. And thoroughly
reasoning, for the wilful act
of getting drunk
A too,
worked the incapacity causing in-
jury.nd so, ein Finigan's case, the wilful act
f getting drunk made a filthy and dangerous
But the Sussex justices, instead of
regarding drunkenness _ as aggravation of offence,
vol.
or, in other ds, wilful cause of indefinite offence,