The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-15 00:00:00

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THE SUN.
LONDON, SATURDAY, NOV. 15, 1862.

Lord RUSSELL has returned to the French
Despatch the answer which the country had
almost unanimously counselled. The universal
' opinion has been that, however well meant, the
time has not yet arrived for European action, not
even for the most purely diplomatic and friendly
action. In the most courteous language the noble
lord, who is such a perfect master of the discourte-
ous, has told the French EMPEROR so. His lord-
ship has not contented himself this time, with the
usual diplomatic compliments, but specified at least
one instance in which France " nobly and emphati"

cally " asserted International Law in the interest of
England and of peace. Nor, is it more than the
truth that England is " desirous of :acting in con-
currence with France upon the great questions now
agitating the world." If, in such a case as that
of Rome, we cannot do so, the French Government
has, in one form or another, repeatedly confessed
that we have, at least, International Law on our
side. Lord RUSSELL, of course, acknowledges also
the humane intentions of the EMPEROR in wish-
ing to arrest the progress of the war by friendly
measures, but when be has done this much, he
feels compelled to ask with the whole press of
the country—" Is the end proposed attainable at
the present moment by the course suggested by
the Government of France ?"

That Russia, so far as is known, would be cold, and
barely an assenting party to any formal proposal,
has of course some weight. The CZARS have al-
ways been very much in the confidence of the PRE-
SIDENTS, and we should not fail to be reminded that
Russia was a far more disinterested spectator than
either France or England, since no great commer-
cial interest of hers was suffering by the war. But
on the substantial merits of the question, our Go-
vernment thinks it useless, perhaps worse than use-
less, to appeal just now to the-Washington Govern-
ment. All the information received by the Govern-
ment from America, which is we presume little more
than what we have all received, leads our Govern-
ment to believe that the Washington Government
would not accept the proposal ; but Lord RUSSELL
seems also to think that the reply would be in a
tone which should make any subsequent appeal on
our part impossible. From all we know of Ame-
rican temper this is no more than we should all
anticipate, hence it might be worse than useless for
England to join in the course now proposed by the
EMPEROR. .
"Not yet" is therefore the answer of Lord RUS-
SELL. But when is the time to come for the three
Courts to speak P When public opinion in America
has undergone some change, a change, he
thinks, there is "reason to hope for." We
shall not be surprised to find that this
one little sentence will be made an accu-
sation against Lord RUSSELL. He has presumed
to publish to the world that the Federal States
could change their opinion ; presumed to represent
that probable change as the proper time for expect-
ing a reasonable attention to peaceful suggestions.
It will probably be denounced as a British calumny
that any change on the question of fighting till the
great Republic again should form one Union, was
even possible. It will be represented as indirect en-
couragement to the rebels. All reasonable people,
however, in the Northern States, if they really

desire the neutrality of England, have nowcon.l-
elusive proof of it. She is asked to join i 1
a Purely friendly mediation ; but even this,
with the utmost good. will to the power mak-
ing the proposal, she declines to do. What can the
anti-English maniacs of the North say to this ?
If we could come at their inmost feelings, we be-
lieve they might be expressed somewhat thus—We
hate her the more for her very prudence, and for
puttingins so completely in the wrong.
What France has done will, however, have all
which could possibly result from
the good effects w