The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-17 00:00:00

once. They could, under it, remain slave states as
long as they pleased ; or could take, if it should
seem good to them to do so, a splendid sum as com-
pensation any time within thirty-seven years.
Mr. LINCOLN presses his plan on the considera-

tion of the country with the earnestness of a man
sincerely desirous to heal its bloody quarrels, and
to restore peace on a sound and lasting basis. lie
argues, in which we agree with him, that compen-
sation would be cheaper than war, setting aside its
more humane character. That every other plan
which can be proposed is beset with greater diffi-
culties than his, that the grand question all the-
States have to ask themselves is—" Can we do bet-
ter ?" He thinks it needful, however, to threaten
os well as to expostulate. He foregoes neither the
war nor his proclamation. The adoption of his
plan would stay both ; but if the rebels will have
war and military emancipation, they must take the
responsibility of their choice. He offers them re-
union, peace, equal position, voluntary emancipa-
tion, with a splendid and profitable reward, or
retention of slavery as long as they like. What

could they have more in separation and rebellion ?
We fear their answer will be—first, we will admit
no such dealing with the " Divine institu-
tion" of slavery, by compensation or other-
wise, as shall imply that this gift of
Heaven is a social or political evil. And
secondly, we, the politicians of the South, do not
mean to humble ourselves to form again part of
a Congress, in which Yankee shopkeepers are all
powerful. " Better to reign in Hell than serve
in Heaven." We mean to be the leaders of a new
nation, not the minority partners in an old
The pride .of power, fanatical devo-
.ion to slavery, determination to retain absolute
and irresponsible power over the bodies and souls
of an " inferior race," and bitter hatred and con-
tempt for the North, will lead JEFFERSON DAVIS
and his fellow men-dealers, to spurn to the last the
most conciliatory offers. Surely, however, their
doing so will reveal to all the world the vileness of
the cause for which they persist in bloodshed—
he cause of independence for irresponsible tyranny.

one.

As to the unanimity of the Greeks in their de-
mand of Prince ALFRED as their new Sovereign,
thus writes, but a few days since, at Athens, an
eyewitness as dispassionate as the special correspon-
dent of our chief morning contemporary :—" The
whole country, almost without the exception of a
single town or province, had raised his voice in
favour of Prince ALFRED. High and low, town and
country, civilians and military, the clergy and the
municipalities, had all joined. such was, indeed,
the unanimity that it was likely to deaden all sti-
mulus for further exertions. Every one seemed
content to wait for the meeting of the National
Assembly, sure as every one felt that no Assembly,
however composed, could disregard or oppose a
popular wish so- loudly expressed. When, there-
fore, the idea was put forward to open lists all over
the country, and collect signatures in favour of
Prince ALFRED'S candidature, it was approved;
but not much passed, for it was looked upon as a
superfluous exertion. No dissentient voice had
been heard; so what more proof was there required
to show the feeling of the country ?" One only
anxiety remained : it was seen upon the instant—
namely, a profound solicitude on the part of
the Greeks to hear what view England would
take of this Greek view of Prince ALFRED'S
candidature ? Buoyed up with high hopes at first,
the people of Greece found those hopes speedily
enough dashed to the very dust by the intimation
simultaneously coming to them that the election of
an English Prince to the throne would never be
recognised by the French or the Russian Govern-
ment. As might have been expected, however, the
more the conviction grew that the choice of the
Greeks themselves would be opposed by the
chief Powers of Europe, the more firmly
resolved are the Greeks themselves to avow
their determination to have his Royal Highness,
and no other than his Royal Highness.

Bewildered by the perplexity of his position
between the enthusiasm of the Greeks on
the one hand, and the enigmatical re-
ticence of his own Government on the
other—Mr. SCARLETT, the British Ambassador to
the Court of Athens, or rather to the Revolutionary
Provisional Government of that Metropolis, could
only extricate himself from his dilemma
by answering the deputations that waited
upon him from time to time at the
British Legation, most oracularly ! Oracular in its
ambiguity had been the telegram received by him on
the 16th of Nov. Oracular, too, had been the in-
structions, dated on the following 20th, from Down-
ing-street. Consequently, his Excellency had
nothing else to do in his turn tut to speak oracu-
larly. His instructions were, nevertheless, signifi-
cant in their very ambiguity. They amounted to
this—the respecting of the freedom of the Greeks in
electing, and the non-interference with them in any
way whatever. Knowing this, listening to Mr.
SCARLETT, learning how it was the English Go-
vernment still held themselves aloof from the ex-
citement, the Greek blood was up. " Greek met
Greek"—in amity ! Aud " then came the tug of
war"—against all their foreign opponents ! In a
single night, as the Times' correspondent remarks,
the whole people seemed to have undergone a sud-
den and complete metamorphosis. All hesitations
and doubts as to their choice of a King appeared
to have vanished :—" What had been yesterday a
question of policy, of interests, of expediency, had
changed to-day into a question of principle and of
national honour. They had asserted their claim as
an independent people, and how could they expect
this claim to be recognised if at the very beginning
they showed that they either did not know their
own minds or that they shrunk back at the very
first appearance of a difficulty ? It was sufficient
to seal their fate for ever after, and re-
duce them to the same system of tutelage from
which they had only just emancipated themselves.
They understood that it was unworthy of a people
which claimed to be independent to be swayed, as
they had been hitherto, by the good pleasure or
displeasure of patrons, and that their first comi.
sideration ought always to be their own well under-
etood interest. This once brought home to them,
all hesitation ceased, The unanimous conviction
of Greece was that Ler interests will be best secured
under an English Prince; consequently the duty
of every Greek was to bring about this solution,
without allowing himself to be deterred or swayed
by any other consideration. Once the election
over it will be for England to decide whether
she thinks fit to accept the offer or not. This
resolution once taken every one was anxious to
press matters
allatte fursarir itrig n
ntdiebrinngtheeme, A final to an issue,nal dnpta
soanst!
tion to the Provisional Government indicated to
the latter the
them under the circumstances.
A decree in the the -
only course really left open to
was drananme of the Provisional
up
and published,
Government
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hn
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ihirnee
calling upon the
Hellenic Race to rise and
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world—to make their own free choiceofwaordnse—w
Sovereign. It was an ordering in
other
p/ebiscite for the election of
this notable Decree—of a