The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-01 00:00:00

PRICE 4d.
STAMPED sd.

the case of Consul Cameron, the English missionaries, and
the other British subjects who have been in captivity in
Abyssinia during the last 18 months. Admitting to the
fullest extent that the acts done by the King Theodore
were a violation of the
.principles of international law,
there could be no doubt that there had been a certain
amount of neglect and indecorous treatment by our Foreign-
office of a sovereign with whom we had a treaty of alliance,
in having refused to answer the despatch which he bad
sent to the Queen for nearly a year and a half, and he
thought the time had arrived when a mission of a charac-
ter that would be acceptable to the King might be sent
to him with the view of obtaining the release of the
prisoners.

ifto thisthee rn
subject,ln en
t haitdwraeh-
futhllayt,inpainfulG ov
ffrraoXimnre.ndLofArdoeYnisiAreeßntDtoersis'acnrigdeen themselves or avoid full inquiry
into the facts of the case. The reason that Earl Russell in
the House of Lords, and be in the Commons, had declined
to discuss the matter was simply this : the fear lest any-
thing should be said which, being conveyed to the King of
Abyssinia, might conduce either to the unfortunate captives
being treated with still greater severity, or even put to
death. Moreover, it would have been scarcely fair that
any statements should be made until a full explanation had
been received from Consul Cameron. After the speech of
the hon. and learned member, however, and the.gross mis-
representations of a portion of the press, he could nolonger
remain silent; but he disclaimed on the part of the Foreign
Office all responsibility for any unpleasant consequences
that might ensue. The hon. member then went througha
lengthened narrative of the circumstances which had led
to the imprisonment of the consul and missionaries, and
which unhappy result he attributed entirely to constant
unauthorised interference in the internal affairs of Abys-
sinia by Consul Plowden and his successor Captain Came-
ron, and to the proceedings of r ' missions. With regard
to-the relations between this -,!-ountry ariu-the King, tho
fact was that the latter had annulled the treaty we had
concluded with his predecessor, and was desirous of extend-
ing his dominions by aggressions on his neighbours, and
especially by exterminating the Turks ; and her Majesty's
Government had refused to receive a mission from him un-
til he had renounced his ideas of conquest. He should say,
therefore, that if the letter containing that request were at
this moment to be put into his hands, that it required no
answer. The proposal had been made by Sir W. Coghlan
to send him with some ships of war and a numerous suite ;
but what was to be done, if the Government acceded to the
suggestion and the entire suite were seized and imprisoned
by the King ? Were they to march a British army over
the arid sands of the desert to the capital of Abyssinia,
which, according to the latest intelligence, was in pos-
session of a body of rebels ? He had it on the very
highest authority that if a mission were sent out, it
would at once be thrown into prison by the King. For
what the King wanted was to bring such a pressure upon
the British Government that they should assist him in
carrying out his designs upon the Turks. Everything that
could be done, he assured the house, should be done to ob-
tain the deliverance of the unfortunate captives. Infor-
mation had beenreceived from them up to the end of May,
at which time, although in confinement, they were all in
good health. Captain Cameron was even in good spirits,
and there was reason to hope that we should shortly hear
of their release.

Mr. LIDDELL could not help thinking that King Theo-
dore had heard something of British policy in China and
Japan, and that this was the true cause of the jealousy he
entertained of us, and of his ordering Consul Cameron to
quit Gondar.
After a few observations from Mr. H. SEYMOITR, who
inquired in vain what steps the Government intended to
take, the subject dropped.
Mr. HENNESSY called attention to the delay of justice
in the Arms (Dyce Sombre) suit brought against the
Indian Government, and a recent proceeding of the Secre-
tary of State for India in endeavouring to overrule a deci-
sion of the Queen in Council.

In the course of the discussion which succeeded,
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL stated that the whole
question in dispute was whether certain property was
public or private, and that from a communication he had
lately received from Sir John Lawrence he had reason to
believe that the suit would shortly be brought to a conclu-
sion.

Mr. AYRTON suggested the expediency of apointing a
select committee to inquire into the course being pursued
for the establishment of a line of steam transports between
England and India, and into the postal service between
England and her Majesty's Eastern dominions and China
via Alexandria.

The Admiralty Acts Repeal Bill, the Dockyards Ports
Regulation Bill, and the Admiralty Powers Bill were 'read
a third time and passed.
The other business on the paper was also gone through,
and the house adjourned at five minutes ptst eight o'clock.