The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-16 00:00:00

TlMES.—Partly from its intricacy, and partly
from the comparative narrowness of the interests
involved, the question of Schleswig-Holstein has
never been much studied by the public of this coun-
try. It is a subject of which professed politicians
have made much, and respecting which the press
has accordingly been called at intervals to repeat
facts and to pronounce opinions; but the explana-
tions have, we fear, been soon forgotten, and the
public has altogether omitted to follow the question
through the weary disputations of later years. Yet,
though people may not care for the details of an
interminable discussion, there is a strong sympathy
for the gallant little State which has been engaged
in so unequal a contest. This feeling is naturally
increased by the alliance between the Royal Houses
of Great Britain and Denmark, and hardly less
naturally by the apparent recklessness of Lord
Russell in abandoning the policy of this country and
that which he himself formerly approved, in order
to lecture Denmark and bid her yield all that her
opponents demand. Hence our readers will hardly
fail to take some interest in the debate in the House
of Lords last evening. Lord Ellen borough thought
the time opportune for a recurrence to the subject,
inasmuch as it seems likely that the quarrel may
come to a crisis within the present year. Indeed,
for some time past the Federal Government of
Germany has been threatening an armed interfer-
ence with the Danish Monarchy. We well know
that the distance between the conception and the
execution of an idea is greater with Germans than
with most people, but it is not at all impossible that
one of the two great Governments may, sooner or
later, be induced to march a force into the Duchies.
Should future difficulties give France or Russia
the opportunity of appearing as champions of Den-
mark against its German foes, it will be impossible
wholly to acquit Lord Russell of having aided in
producing so untoward an event by his desptch of
a few months since, and by the attitude he has
assumed towards Denmark in the present discuss-
sion. As to the despatch, Lord Derby admits that
it was written, not on the mere motion of the Bri-
tish Government, but as part of a diplomatic corre •
spondence; that the interference was not forced
upon the contending States, bit was consented to
by them ; but it is not less the case that the lan-
guage of Lord Russell and the proposals he made
were wholly inconsistent with the former policy of
this country, and even with his own expressed opi-
nions. It is well known that Denmark, acting under
the advice of this country, as well as of France and
Russia, has within the last few years done every-
thing
this ngto content the people of the Duchies, so far
fcothnetemntomnaenrethwy.as
Acosnssiosothenatswtihthe
questionsthe i nte-
g r i t
connected with the succession were settled the King
of Denmark, though the ' of kingdom
much impaired, eudeavouurenditTnothdefaitoa was
a constitution to all parts of good
dominions." A
common constitution, in which Denmark Proper,
Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauen b
sented according to their poeulaur were reperde:
and no unprejudiced man will detiogn, was fram
deny that it might
have conferred liberty and security
upon all the
:übjeQtti of the Danish monarchy. That there was

P.oeT.—The achievement which M'Clellan, Pope,
and Burnside have successively failed to accomplish
is now about to be attempted by Gen. Hooker. This
gallant officer, on his examination before the War
Committee appointed to inquire into the conduct of
last year's campaign in Virginia, confidently attri-
buted the failure of both M'Clellan and Burnside to
take Richmond to the incapacity of those generals.
According to Gene Hooker, either of them ought
with the army at his disposal to have effected the
capture of Richmond. This confident witness now
holds the post of Generalissimo of the Army of the
North, and has an opportunity of proving the just-
ness of his conclusions in reference to the ductief
his predecessors by giving evidence of own
ability. He has, certainly, by implication, serted
his superiority to both of the disgraced geherale,
and must, in the language of the New York Herald,
" make good his pretensions, or sink into irretrieva- i
ble disgrace." It is probah:e that an opportunity
for showing his strategical ability will quickly pre-
sent-itself. After fire months' rest, the army of the
Potomac has quitted its cantonments. Those five
months have not been lost on the troops, and the
War Department of Washington must be even wot , ,
managed than we believe it to be if the army
which Gen. Hooker now takes the field is not in e
respect as .efficient as the most lavish expendi e
in supplying its wants could possitly make it.
Tne whole army is reported to be in metier,
and as it has crosaed the Rappahannock at fords
either above or below Fredericksburg, it would I
seem that General Hooker proposes to take the
same line of advance as that adopted in December
last by Gen. Burnside, One New York journal states
authoritatively that a portion of the Federal army
bad advanced to the rear of Fredericksburg, with
the view of cutting off the Confederate line of com-
munication, and that the position in which Ger.
Lee was thus placed offered him no other alternae
tive than that of evacuating his position at Frede.
riaksburg or fighting at a disadvantage. It is almost
needless to say that Lee is much too skilful a general
to allow himself to be taken in such a trap. The
fact is that the War Department allow no authen-
tic information of the movements of the army to
reach the press, and editors are obliged to devise all
kinds of military operations in order to satisfy the
craving of the public for news. In the columns of a
Philadelphian evening paper a terrible battle has
already been fought, in which, as a matter of course,
the Federals were victorious. The following morn-
ing, however, brought with it the official contradic-
lion of the gratifying intelligence. At Richmond an
opinion is prevalent that the Federal general is en
the point of changing his base of operations from
Fredericksburg to Yorktown, and that the move•
meats in the vicinity of the former place are merely
intended as feints to mislead the Confederates.
Although a change of base would in all probability
be the best move Gen. Hooker could make, we do
not believe that he could effect it with the slightest
chance of surprising his wily adversaries. We do
not think, therefore, that the present movements on
the Rappahannock are intended to mislead. If, in-
deed, Gea. Hooker had at his disposal a sufficiently
large force to admit of its being divided into two
portions strong enough to act independently of each
other, he might leave one at Fredericksburg and
transport the other to the peninsula. Were he able
to do this, he might compel the Confederate com-
mander-in-chief to retire on Richmond, and occupy
the same position held by the Southern Army when
the capital was threatened by M'Clellan last
summer. But the Army of the Potomac, great as
it is, could not be thus divided without considerable
risk of its destruction in detail. It is more probable
that Gen. Hooker has decided on advancing on
Richmond with his whole force from Fredericks-
burg. If so, he must force a passege through those
terrible lines which proved impregnable to Burn-
side. If the winter months have afforded breathing
time to the Federal troops, they have equally ena-
bled the Confederates to give additional strength to
the entrenchments covering the approach( s from
Fredericksburg to the capital. It is said that Gen.
Hooker's army has crossed the river without oppo-
sition ; but so did that of Gen. Burnside last winter.
The notion that the Confederates were surprised by
a movement which has been a long time in contem-
plation is too great an absurdity to be entertained
even for a moment. The story that a telegraphic
cable had been discovered conneeting the Federal
I with the Confederate camp, and by which informa-
tion was transmitted from the former to the latter,
has proved, as might have beets expected, to be a
canard ; but although telegrams were not trans-
mitted between the two camps, we believe that the
Confederates seldom lacked perfect information re-
specting the movements of their adversaries. The
Federal Army has been allowed to cross the Rap-
pahannock because it did not suit the Confederates
to oppose its p
_assage. The Southern troops have
been at the trouble of constructing formidable en-
trenchments, behind which they can fight in com-
parative security, and under such circumstances
they
would deserve to be called fools and nut sol-
diers if they gave the enemy the opportunity of
attacking them on an open plain.
HERALD.—The conduct of the Government in
the House of Commons last night was unprece-
dented in the annals of Parliamentary history. Mr.
Liddell brought forward the question of China in an
elaborate speech of great ability. Mr. Baillie fol-
lowed, and pointed out in forcible terms the dan-
gerous and reckless course of mischievous interven-
tion her Majesty's Ministers are pursuing in that
country. The house was thin, as it often is at eight
o'clock. Many members, however, on both sides
of the house, were in their places ready to take part
in the debate; among the number were Mr. Cobden,
Mr. Ferrand, Mr. H. Seymour, Lord Naas, and Mr.
Seymour Fitzgerald. Mr. Disraeli had only left
the house for a moment. When Mr. Baillie sat
down the debate had lasted two hours and a half
Every one expected that some member of the Go-