The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-26 00:00:00

THE SUB,' LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 26, 1865.1

prevail in that quarter, repressed as they were, and
due consideration of consequences, and the cer-
tainty that little or no effect would follow upon the
most earnest remonstrances and the most energetic
complaints. Indeed the Ministers seemed to be at
great pains to assure both Houses that the intentions I
of the CROWN were fully resolved upon, and that
no change or alteration would or could take place.
Such a course at the beginning of the Session is
very ominous, and one cannot but ask, What will
happen before its close ? However short-tried may
be its term, thanks to the caprice of Royalty,
and the indignation of Ministers, it must sur-
prise many to mark the style in which Herr
VON BISMARK has opened the campaign. There is
certainly no attempt at the suaviter in modo, and
Iso it is to be presumed that we 113,14 only to
look out for the fortiter in re as the type of the
picture and the signs of the times. Thus, in the
Upper House, we find M. BISMARK declaring that
it was impossible to end the " altercation" by
altering the present organisation of the army ;
and in the Chamber of Deputies the Minister of
the Interior corroborated the statement, by saying
that the " KING would not yield a single point
on the question of military reform." It comes to
this, that all constitutional government is virtually
at an end in Prussia. It is all very well
to talk and argue about the due respect en-
tertained in high places for the rights of
the Diet and the liberties of the people,
but such language is mere clap-trap, and cannot take
in those who judge for themselves and watch the
course of events. If it is once laid down as an esta-
blished law at the outset of the Session, that the
KING and his Ministers have considered their plans,
laid down their laws, and definitely settled their
coming policy, of what avail is the wisdom of coun-
sellors and what effect will be produced by any
actors, however eloquent, or any senators, however
sapient ? It is merely to keep up appearances that
the Prussian Chambers are opened at all, and most
likely when the game has been played out the whole
affair will be crushed up, and the curtain will fall
upon the farce of legislation, that may, who
can say how, shortly be developed into a tragedy.
It is melancholy towitness such a degradation of the
liberties of Prussia, and such a decadence in the
policy of a country to which the surrounding States
of Europe looked with confidence and even hope,
believing that the day-spring of enlightenment and
the march of mind had dawned upon its course and
would adorn its progress. In all these bright ex-
pectations we can behold nothing but disappoint-
ment, and retrograde steps are fast undoing all that
had been effected in the right direction. It is in-
sulting to common sense for a Minister to address a
Chamber as Herr VON BISMARK does, and he lowers
his own reputation by doing so, while he cannot
possibly take in those whom he harangues. It must
be a dull mind, indeed, that cannot under-
stand the mortifying fact that from the
much vaunted Minister of State he can gain nothing
satisfactory, and expect nothing creditable. In one
respect he is candid enough when he states that had
they not entered into an affiance with Austria there
would have been war between the Federal Diet and
Denmark, for the " former would not have taken
into consideration our plans for the organisation of
the Duchies." Certainly there may be a great deal of
truth in this, for it is not every one who could have
patience to consider these said plans, and to tolerate
the impertinent assumption that has formed them.
The state of affairs in the Chamber of Deputies
proved how very insecure is the position that all
hold in that assembly, and the proposal made
to present no address, " since it would
have no result, and only tend to aggra-
vate matters, speaks volumes as to the
sentiments entertained by the Chamber.
of no use for the few and far between defenders o.
their rights to start up when such a fatal blunder
was made last year, in relinquishing the liberties of
home for the sake of promoting the war abroad,
and it will not be until after many a struggle that
the Prussians can reinstate themselves in the same
position that they occupied previously. Indeed the
chances are against their ever doing so, for already
are signs and tokens that herald an approaching
storm, and speak but badly for the future prospects
of Prussia, and her desire to keep her ill-gotten
possessions in security. France is not so supine
as England, and the day cannot be far
distant when new actors will appear on
the scene, and the tables may be turned upon those
who have so long set right at nought, and trampled
upon the liberties of their own people and the
sacred institutions of other States. M. DROUYN
DE LHITYS' last despatch concerning Schleswig-
Holstein is a portentous one, and may not be very
long in bearing fruit that neither of the allied Ger-
man Powers will much relish. He gives a hint
that means much, coming from such a quarter, that
France will not be satisfied' if Austria and Prussia
agree to dispose of the Duchies without first con-
sulting the wishes of- the German Confederation.
It is not probable that this communication will be
very graciously received by the august Powers to
whom it is addressed ; but there is no likelihood
that it will at all influence their decisions or change
their tactics. Spoiled by prosperity may well be
said of both these pretentious Powers, but more
especially of Prussia. It has been false kindness on
the part of her allies to allow her her own way
and she will soon be forced to tread in the paths
that have no affinity to those of pleasantness and
peace. Both at home and abroad this session has
opened very inauspiciously for Herr VON BISMARK
and his sovereign.

It is

The influence of the Manchester School has had
so considerable an effect on our modern politics dur-
ing the last few years that the utterances of its
leaders can never be regarded with indifference.
Their principles, it is true, are pretty well known
by this time, and if the line of action to which they
would commit the country be somewhat narrow and
selfish, somewhat short-sighted and- exclusive, it can
be so easily clothed in high-sounding phrases and
magnanimous platitudes that it passes muster very
successfully at public provincial meetings. There
is, of course, a good deal of common sense and of

truth mixed up with less
genuine matter, and an
ingenious infusion of liberality serves the orators
well with the manufacturing class, but unprejudiced
lookers-on who have heard the same thing over and
over again for a good many years, begin to ask
what it all comes to ? How is it that these gentle-
men, if they have the great question of Reform sin-
cerely at heart, and have, as we can see, so much
influence in official quarters, cannot succeed in get-
ting a Reform Bill even talked about ? They have
wrested the repeal of the Paper Duties from the
always reluctant Chancellor of the Exchequer for
the benefit of an indifferent people, who, if they
had been offered the choice, would greatly have pre-

fpearrpeeclr cheapwhile
the tax
tcaxheaopnspurugadre,
nceehe,alp.nbteheer, cshapheeaepf
the Fire insurance Duty is
far 4n
ore
than the so-called taxesre °b
oi
knowledge. It was certainly no regard for
the papermaker that influenced the abolition,
since whatever Mr. GLADSTONE gave with the right
hand Mr. COBDEN took away double with the left,
and the papermakers would very gladly have been
rid of tooth their bargains, But the Manchester

School, however active and ingenious in demon-
strating the striking difference between the virtue
of exporting arms and ammunition from Birming-
ham, and the wickedness of building unarmed war
vessels on the Mersey or the Clyde, have not been

. _
able to effect much on behalf of their unrepresented
or bribed and intimidated countrymen. They have
shown us that they can defy the commercial and
manufacturing classes when their industry is not of
a congenial character; they have declared themselves
regardless of any party considerations ; they are
always thundering away at the malpractices and

shortcomings of the aristocracy ; they have never
troubled themselves too much about the really poor

man. What is it, then, that paralyses their energies in
thematter of Reform ?—and since it seems that they
are the autocrats who are to decide whether the doors
of the temple of Janus are to be open or shut, what
prevents them from throwing the whole weight of
their Parliamentary influence into the scale of Re-

'orm?. Is it a fear that in that case OTHELLO'S

occupation would be gone, and public oratory be at
a discount ? Mr. AIILNER GIBSON at least pleads

guilty to no such impeachment. Everything with
him is couleur de rose, and if his constituents at

Ashton-under-Lyne are not thoroughly satisfied
with the excellence and efficiency of the present Ad-

ministration, it is certainly not his fault. As for the
aspect of commercial questions, all that is not now
absolutely perfect is in a fair way of being so. ',Every

- -
alteration that has been made in taxation has been

" wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best." In regard to
foreign affairs, every elector ought to rejoice that
this country had not been drawn into the struggle
about the Duchies ; and if Denmark chose to put too

much faith in the promises (of Whigs !) it was her
own fault. The newspapers, which are so busily

engaged in putting wrong everything which Mr.
COBDEN, Mr. BRIGHT, and Mr. GIBSON put right,

are also to blame for misleading the little kingdom

whose " gigantic opponents" must certainly be much
flattered by the awe which they inspire in the minds
of gentlemen whose ancestors did not trouble them-
selves very much about fighting two or three such
giants at a time. And history does not record that
they were much the worse for the encounter. The
much-abused newspapers told these nervous admi-
nistrators of ours that the simple announcement of
the British intention to regard the passing of the
Eider by German troops as a cases belli would have
not only stopped but prevented the war. Not a
shot need have been fired, not a life lost, nor a home
desolated. The Peace Party in England has to
answer for the consequences of that war, and its
final results are not yet seen. Like all injustice, it
will bring about more evil, and this generation may
probably see a struggle which shall involve half
Europe brought about by the cowardice and bad
faith which England has just shown to Den-
mark. When we come to Mr. CrinsoN's decla-
ration of his views on the American ques-
tion, we are no more sympathetic. By a most
unfortunate illustration he compared the South to
partners in a firm who had separated from the rest
without cause, but he did not tell his auditors by
what law it was possible or justifiable to retain such
receding partners against their will. If the Union
was a purely commercial connection founded on
mutual interest and advantage, it could surely be
dissolved when one of the parties thought it no
longer profitable, and the events of the last few
years have shown us only too plainly how little
sympathy of thought or feelings existed between the
North and the South. As for Mr. GIBSON'S going
back to the old platitude about the war being really
a struggle between slavery and freedom, we are sorry
to see it, since it either argues wilful blindness, or
very defective political vision. At a moment when
the North cannot pass an Abolition Bill through
Congress, and the South are discussing the enlist-
ment of their negroes with a view to subsequent
manumission and the gift of land, it is certainly
somewhat inappropriate to talk thus. His colleague,
Earl RUSSELL, put the case more truly when he said
that it was a conflict between Empire and Indepen-
dence, one of those aphorisms in which the noble
earl can put more spirit than into his foreign policy.
The Confederacy had not, said Mr. GIBSON, shown
signs of being able to establish upon lasting founda-
tions the empire which it shadowed forth to the
world, but it has shown signs of being able
to resist the dominion of the North with a
unanimity and a resolution which argues
well for its power of self-government. It
is the North, and not the South, that seeks for
empire ; but the edifice is shadowy, indeed, and
rests neither upon the cordial support of the people
nor the wisdom and sagacity of the administrators.
The member for Ashton concluded by professing,
on behalf of his colleagues, a desire for strict neu-
trality, and by expressing a hope that the close of
the war might see a permanent friendship estab-
lished between us and the States, and the abolition
of slavery. The last wish must be felt by every
Englishman, but it requires a very sanguine spirit
to infer a lasting peace from the present attitude of
the Federal Government, who, in any case, will be
very glad to employ their idle forces across the
Canadian border. The question is, whether we
shall have the Southern army engaged on a similar
exploit, or ready to assist us in the enemy's rear ?
But the peace party, of course, could not entertain
any proposition which hinges on the possibility
• of war.

LIFEBOAT SERVICES. - BERWICK -ON -TWEED,
Wednesday Night.—Yesterday morning one of our large
fishing boats having got aground on the rocks outside the
harbour, and being in danger of breaking up, the Albert
Victor lifeboat of the National Lifeboat Institution was at
once launched and went to its assistance, and succeeded in
getting the crew of six men out of the boat ; after which
they got the boat off, and brought it in here safely, with
but little damage done to it. The cost of this valuable
lifeboat, as well as of three others, was collected for the in-
stitution in Manchester by Robert Whitworth amongst his
friends and others, and the boat is named the Albert Victor,
after the infant prince, with the special permission of the
Prince and Princess of Wales, given at the request of the
Rev. E. Hewlett, of Manchester.

HARROW SCHOOL.—The new covered racquet.
court, built in the course of last year for the use o
the school, was opened on Saturday last. It has been
erected by contributions from old Harrovians and others
at an expense of about £2,000, the greater part of which
sum has been actually subscribed. The building was for-
mally inaugurated by a grand match, in which Messrs.
Dyke and Walker and the professionals Day and Ponten
took part. The gallery was crowded with visitors, who ap-
plauded untiringly now Mr. Dyke's brilliant bitting and now
a skilful "serve" of Day. At first the two gentlemen were
matched against the professionals, and defeated them in
three games out of five. Later in the afternoon, Mr. Dyke
played a single game against Day, giving him some odds,
but was twice vanquished. It is only necessary to add that
the court appears to answer its object in every respect.
A DAR ING B URGLA R.—On Tuesday night a some-
what singular capture of a burglar was effected in
Oxford through the instinct of a small terrier dog. Al-
derman Thompson and his wife, who reside in the
northern part of the city, retired to rest about their
usual time, but the alderman having occasion to go
downstairs again, the little dog got into his bedroom,
and soon became very uneasy, snarling and growling in
such an unusual manner that Mrs. Thompson was in-
duced to search round the room, and eventually under
the bed, .when to her horror she discovered a man,
crouched on his hands and knees. An alarm was in-
stantly given, and as soon heard by one of the univer-
sity police, who happened to be passing at the moment,
and, in conjunction with Mr. Thompson and his sons,
the fellow was dragged from his hiding place. Previ-
ous to his proceeding upstairs, he had left his shoes in
the front garden, and had managed to dose a large mas-
tiff with chloroform. On being searched a bottle of that
deadly- poison was found in his pocket ; he also had a
black bag with him, containing a complete set of house-
breaking implements. The prisoner, a young and power-
fully-built man, stated that he was a Welshman, and a
native of Cardiff,

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAM.)

AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY.

VIENNA, JAN. 26.

The Neue Freie Presse of to-day says :—" We
learn from reliable sources that the decree convok-
ing the Hungarian Diet will be promulgated on the
15th April, and that the Diet will be opened on the
15th May next."
The same paper states that the military tribunals
have been ordered to terminate the pending trials.