The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-13 00:00:00

own resources. This party is happily in a decided
minority among our colonists, and it is not difficult
for the far larger body who still cling to the old

name and the old ties to dispose of their arguments.
The days of buccaneering may be over, but if we are
to trust the experience of the last ten years, the days
of wholesale aggression on weak and unprotected
States are by no means numbered with the,rst. The
Danubian Principalities and the Schleswig-Holstein
Duchies are, one would think, sufficiently notable in-
stances to the contrary, and prove conclusively enough
that right must still rely on might for mate4al
support. The fertile and gold-bearing colonies of

- -
he Southern ocean would certainly offer as tempt-

ng a prize to the cupidity of unscrupulous Powers,

as the North American provinces would present to

the eager aggression of the 'United States. Our
dependencies had better not indulge in dreams of
their fancied security when once severed from the

terror of the British name, for the wolf never lacks
an excuse for devouring the lamb. As for the
plea that in case of war the mother country would
be unable or unwilling to assist her dependencies,
such an argument is evidently unsound, since what
a powerful protection to her commerce would be
afforded by the open harbours of the South. Sup-
posing th,:ties between the two nations to be broken,
England would certainly not suspend her commer-
cial dealings with Australia, and therefore
when a European war broke out she would be under
the necessity of protecting this large and valuable
branch of her foreign trade. By far the greater
proportion of our exports goes to the dependencies
of Great Britain, and surely the best way of pro-

tecting our commerce is to secure both ends of the
journey. Australia has often proved her loyalty to
the mother country by her ready contribution of
funds for the relief of exceptional disasters, and we
have no doubt that if they were needed she would
supply us with a troop of hardy volunteers to defend
not only her own shores, but those of other parts.
She has just furnished valuable assistance to her
sister colony of New Zealand, and will at any rate
be prepared to take an active part in her own pro-.
tection. Despite any passing differences with the
mother country, and despite their mixed population,
the Australians are fully sensible of the blesSings
which they enjoy under our Government, and the
large amount of individual freedom and constitu-
tional liberty which they are able to possess. The
histories of young communities generally show
wild disorder and semi-barbarism, or the strict rule
of a despotic Power. Our colonists, on the other
hand, while enjoying an amount of public and per-
sonal freedom which the older nations of the world
look upon with wonder and envy, live under an
effectual and orderly administration of the laws.
They have, of course, found the course of their self-
government not altogether smooth, but the fluc-
tuations of policy to occasional extravagance, and
all other blunders which they may have made or be
making are only part of that very necessary
and wholesome experience which all States
must acquire before they can govern themselves
well and wisely. Thanks to their connection with
this country, they have learned their lesson in pacific
times, with no outward alarms to disturb their
equanimity—no foreign foes to profit by internal
differences. Should they be cast adrift and left to
their own resources the case would soon be altered ;
but, despite the ingenious logic of a small party on
both sides, such an event is, we trust, still far
distant. The separation from our colonies, however
eventually probable, is far from being wished for
by Englishmen, however much such an idea may be
fostered by the enemies of this country, who desire
to see her strength impaired, her influence
diminished, her reputation lowered, and her com-
merce lessened in importance—all which events
would he the more than probable results of a
wholesale curtailment of our national dominions.

Now that Parliament is almost on the point of i
assembling, it is curious to observe how many M.P's ,
are rushing in to make their appearance before their
constituents, and fire away their diatribes upon past
and present affairs, and give their opinions upon
public and political questions, good, bad, and
indifferent. Mr. FORSTER has made a long dis-
course at Bradford, and certainly delivered an ex-
plicit avowal of his sentiments, without reserve or
reticence. He plunged in medias res at once by
entering into that vexed question, par excellence, the
Danish affairs of last year. This matter, as he truly
said, haunted Parliament from the beginning to the
end of the Session, under the form of an enquiry as
to whether we should or should not have interfered
in the quarrel between Denmark and Germany.
Although decidedly averse to a war, Mr. FORSTER
appears to entertain a very correct notion of the
faulty manner in which our Government carried on
matters, of the empty bombastic tone in which they
indulged, and of the humiliating position into which
they plunged themselves and the country when they
withdrew from their embarrassing situation. He
also had the sense to speak the truth which his
discrimination had taught him, and not to be bam-
boozled by the pretentious subterfuges which appear
to have warped the judgment of so many persons
concerning the inexpediency of driving this present
Government from office. After the absurd statements
that have been made respecting this alternative, it

[s positively refreshing to find a member addressing

his constituents in the following decisive tone :—" I
must candidly confess, that liberal as I am, the
question of whether the present Government
would be displaced or not did not weigh very
much with me." Had this idea prevailed
to a greater extent it is very likely that a different
result would have followed upon the great party
debate and division of the session. A heavy respon-
sibility rests with those members who, believing
public affairs are misconducted, persist, when the
test is applied, in supporting the Government whose
acts they virtually censure, and whose policy they
are always calling in question. Mr. FORSTER found
fault with the treaty of 1852, and declared that it
was very unwise for the ambassadors and represen-
tatives of England and the other great Powers to
meet and decide the fate of other people whose
views and sentiments they did not know. So far as
the event has proved, it seems true that it was an
error, but no one then supposed that the day would
come when the great Powers would repudiate their
own words, and allow the stipulations of their
treaty to be violated without attempting a re-
monstrance with the aggressors, that was
of any avail, because twheouldoffebe ndersmadkenetow
too well that no effort
verify the expression of •
,st pmreotetrthec:
nihil might well be ca
ileodpiniEuonl.
lIITT's7osIELe:
and bitterly has his country had cause to rue the
day when he adopted it. Mr. FoRSTER is quite
against our meddling in foreign affairs, but he has
discernment enough to see that the desired point
has
not yet been reached of gaining all public
°pinion in this matter. Well may he declare that
the intellect of the country must be convinced, and
its conscience at rest, before it can change its course
with regard to fo •
zdt.he
lNenevgtehr
reign affairs,
deside-
ratum has not yet been and that this
saying uttered, for throZoi
of the land there prevails • andwas bar ea truerd
th
a universal feeling of
condemnation concerning the ruthless manner in
which our Administration led Denmark to suppose
she would not be left alone, and the
cruel