The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-25 00:00:00

had to contend ; and he very fairly stated that he be-
lieved the Conservative party were as indignant at
such an act as he and his friends could be. The
proceedings altogether went off very quietly, and a
good feeling was manifested by all sides, which
contrasted favourably with the disturbances that
took place at other elections throughout the
country.

In North Essex Major BERESFORD has lost his
seat, and Mr. Dunn, who was returned at the head
of the poll, paid a graceful tribute to his friend
and colleague. The hon. member declared that the
success of Sir THOMAS WESTERN was partly owing
to his having caught the sentries napping at their
posts, in the security of supposed victory. This is
very likely, because nothing is more unwise than to
neglect opportunities. Sir T. WESTERN had the
satisfaction of announcing that he was the first
Liberal who had been returned for that division of
the county since the Reform Bill ; so that his vic-
tory was of more consequence than an ordinary
election triumph. It is a curious circumstance
that the last time the Liberal party was
represented in that part of Essex was by a relative
of the hon. baronet's. In South Warwickshire the
Conservatives succeeded in preserving their seats,
although there was a sharp contest. Lord DUNCAN,
the defeated candidate, however, appeared a general
favourite on all sides, and both his successful com-
petitors testified to his merits. In North Wilts the
same happy unanimity did not prevail, and the
various arrangements of the " compact" by which
the representation was neutralised was sharply criti-
cised. On the whole, it may be said that more
changes of one sort and another have taken place
during this general election than ordinarily occurs
even at such important junctures.

The intelligence brought by the Moravian indi-
cates a crisis in the social system of the South. The
representations which have been made to President
JOHNSON respecting the exceptions to the amnesty
proclamation have unfortunately proved unavailing,
and the confiscation clauses are being carried out
in full severity. The United States and Federal
territories have been divided into five grand military
divisions, each under a separate general—Generals
MEADE, SHERMAN, SIIERIDAN, THOMAS, and lIAL-
LEOS being selected for the office—while these five
great districts are sub-divided into eighteen military
departments, each again under a special commander,
so that there are no less than twenty-three military
commanders placed in authority over the people.
This is a somewhat startling state of things for a
nation which used to boast of its exemption from
the evils and expenses of a standing army. These
military appointments have only been recently
made—the War Department promulgating its orders
on the 14th. Two days previously the work of
confiscation was begun at Richmond, where
a department " for the confiscation of the
property of persons who have aided the re-
bellion" has been established under Judge
UNDERWOOD. On its opening it seized the
Tredegar Iron Works, and served the tenants
of several large proprietors with notices to pay them
no more rent. It is not surprising to learn that great
consternation exists among the people, or that all
improvements and operations on estates are sus-
pended. No one can tell who may be the next vic-
tim, and, in fact, it is already plain that every one
whose property is worth confiscating will be included
in the sentence. It is so easy, after a time of general
excitement and convulsion, to substantiate a charge
of having by some act of omission or commission
favoured the rebellion. Private jealousy or preju-
dice, covetousness of his emoluments, or greed for
his property, may serve before so arbitrary a tribu-
nal to condemn a man on charges which it is impos-
sible to disprove after the lapse of two or three
years. When once the system of confiscation begins
no one knows where it may stop, and the people of
the South may well be terrified at the prospect be-
fore them. When a party professing to fight for a
principle takes care to turn that principle to their
own advantage, their conduct is, to say the least of
it, suspicious ; and the patriotism and humanity
that can overlook the crimes of the poor man, but
finds it indispensable to punish the misdeeds of the
rich, is very much of that character. Why is
the limit for clemency to be drawn so
rigidly exact that the man who owns $19,500 may
be forgiven, while the man who has $20,000 is
beyond the pale of mercy? We can imagine nothing
more fatal to the interests of the State, nothing
more injurious to the social welfare of the country
at large, nothing more suicidal on the part of the
Government, if they wish to rule a tranquil people
constitutionally. The embittered feelings of the
South will in any case be difficult to bear, and it
will be long years before the Confederate States re-
cover their former prosperity, even under favour-
able circumstances, but if such a course is pursued
as these Virginian proceedings seem to indicate
there is nothing but discord and misery to be looked
for, So that under the union which has been held
up to us as the most fortunate combination of civil
power with social freedom, we have an absolute
military government all through the country, with
a wholesale system of confiscation in the South
which appears to have been copied from the annals
of the Reign of Terror. Every one knows how the
evil grew when once the denunciations of interested
parties were listened to, and now it was quite enough
for a man to possess anything which his fellows
coveted to insure his arrest, the seizure of his pro-
perty, and perhaps his execution. We have not yet
seen that in America, but they are entering on the
same ruinous path. France learned her revolu-
tionary doctrines from the New World, and •she
appears to have paid back the lesson by teaching
them the lesson of anarchy and despotism combined
under the name of Liberty. The negro difficulty
does not seem to lessen. Fights have occurred
between white and black troops at Charleston,
where the military among the negroes still continues,
and the military authorities in the city found it
desirable to take measures against a slave insurrec-
tion. Great dissatisfaction is felt throughout South
Carolina at the garrisoning of the posts by coloured
troops, and their removal is loudly urged
Altogether, the prospect of America at peace is not
more hopeful than the picture of America at war.

The Prince and Princess of WALES have won
golden opinions everywhere since their marriage by
the affability which they have displayed and the
.readiness which they have manifested on all occa-
sions
to take an interest in what was passing around
L them. The visit which they are now paying in the
[ West of England has been a very successful and
brilliant one, and it is very fitting that the Prallo:
should visit Cornwall,
with which ho is so inti-
mately- associated. The present may be regarded
as his first visit to the place, and he could not have
made it under happier or more auspicious circum-
stances. It is also very fortunate that the PamcvsS
has been able to accompany him, as great disappoint-
ment must otherwise have been experienced. The
enthusiasm which was everywhere evinced proves
that there is no fault to find with the Cornish people,
and that his Royal Highness is high in favour in
that locality. At an early hour of the morning the
Osborne landed at Fowey, but the people as-
sembled to greet their royal visitors with a genial
reception. An address was presented to the
Prince from the inhabitants oZ the place,
-Much oet forth the pleasure tha: was felt by