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

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LONDON, FRIDAY, JULY 7, 1865.

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The conclusion of the Parliament of 1859 has
been long expected, and often threatened. The
dissolution has been held in terrorem over the
heads of refractory members of the Government
ranks, and the argument which lay in a new elec-
tion and possible loss of a seat was usually strong
enough to prove most convincing. But, however
amiable or accommodating the waverers might
prove on emergency the inevitable hour could not
be always postponed, and although it has been de-
ferred till the very last it has at length come.
Under the guise of 'the prorogation the members
were yesterday dismissed for the last time to return
to their constituents, and give an account of them-
selves and their proceedings during the last six
eventful years. It is along story that they have to
tell, both in the negative and the affirmative. The
six years from 1859 to 1865 have included the
whole story of the American war, which will hence-
forth occupy a prominent place in every modern
history. Six years ago the elements of strife
and discord were indeed rife in the great Re-
public, and wise men foresaw that the breach
must come sooner or later, but the tragedy had
reached no further than the prologue. The interval
from 1859 to 1865 has contained the whole of the
war, and although we cannot consider the drama
fully played out, or the curtain yet fallen over the
immediate consequences of the struggle, yet the
Parliament which has just expired has seen the rise
and fall of the Southern cause during its brief life.
how it has acted in that great and momentous
question, the part it has played, the influence which
it has exercised, will be one of the points on which
it will nave to take the opinion of the country. Many
of the members take credit to themselves for the
caution and prudence with which they have avoided
any discussion calculated to irritate or aggravate
the quarrel. Mere words are certainly never very
profitable, and in so delicate and complex an affair
rash and injudicious speeches might have excited
angry feelings, and have done mischief. At the
8,11110 time a more firm and resolute front might
have stimulated the Ministry to pursue a line of
policy more consistent with the wishes of the country,
and which might have averted much internal
wretchedness from the Americans themselves.

The affair of Schleswig Holstein has reached*
climax during the lifetime of this Parliament, andit
has little cause to rejoice over its share in the pro-
gramme. It suffered itself to be deluded with
official pretexts and diplomatic mystifications, and
frightened by the cry of non-intervention, until
England was exhibited to the world in the con-
temptible aspect of having promised support which
she was afraid to give. Relying on English aid the
Panes attempted to maintain their rights. Follow-
ing English advice, they resigned half of what they
laid claim to. Both advice and aid proved to be of
so flimsy and useless a character that it was evident
that Berlin had from the first been;better informed
than Copenhagen as to the intentions of the Cabi-
net of St. James's. :Yon-intervention has been, in
fact, the bugbear (4 the late Parliament, 10 that

Lord PALMERSTON has taken care that there
shall not be too much time for the study of his
address, for it is dated on the day of the dissolution
of Parliament ; not that there is much in it to
criticise, for the noble lord's statement is chiefly
remarkable for its omissions, and we learn sur-
prisingly little of any future policy. This reticence
is certainly peculiar, and from one in his position
it is inconsistent in the extreme. On the eve of a
new Parliament, especially after so long a suspen-
sion of active measures, one might naturally suppose
that the public might receive some intimation of
more energetic steps being taken, and some more
striking policy sketched out before them. The
noble lord seems to feel a dim foreboding of this
himself, for he says that if he were addressing his
constituents for the first time it might be necessary
for him to enter into some details, and " dilate
upon the future," but that, as circumstances are,
it is enough for him to refer to the past.

It must be confessed that this is an unfortunate
allusion, for the six years that have elapsed since
Lord PALMERSTON'S last accession to office have
not been such that they may be so complacently
referred to, and held out as a beacon for the future.
It is indeed melancholy to reflect that much has
taken place to tarnish the lustre of Lord PALMER-
STON'S reputation during the period referred to.
He gave the sanction of hi& support to a regular
trick which Earl RUSSELL condescended to play
respecting Reform; and, above all, the foreign
policy of the Government has been conducted
in a manner which Lord PALMERSTON would
never have consented to in his better days.
Nothing would have aroused his indignation to a
greater degree than the same tactics had they been
pursued by his opponents ; and had a political
prophet, in the zenith of the noble lord's reputation,
foreshadowed his closing career as Premier, no one
would have believed it. No wonder that in this
address Lord PALMERSTON is mute concerning the
course pursued towards Denmark, and the fatal
encouragement given to the designs of Prussia.
Silence is the most decorous mode to adopt when
such themes suggest themselves to the mind.
Neither is much said on the subject of the Ameri-
can war, nor the conduct of the Government to-
wards the belligerent parties.
As for the Premier taking credit to the Govern-
ment for the progressive prosperity of the country,
notwithstanding the distress in the manufacturing
districts, that is quite out of character, because it
was through the noble exertions of the community
at large that all impending danger was averted,
and private energy, joined to public liberality, sus-
tained the weight of the calamity, and carried the
nation safely through the crisis. It is very con-
venient, however, for Ministers to assume a virtue
if they have it not occasionally, and to take credit
for what belongs to others. This feeling is ably
satirized in " Sybil," where it is said that the
great measures of Sir ROBERT PEEL produced
three good harvests."

When Lord PALMERSTON declares that " Peace
has been preserved with foreign nations, and this
country has been exempt from the exertions and
sacrifices which within that period other countries
have been required to make, he forgets that there
are other things to consider, and higher objects in
view than mere material advantages and the con-
siderations of wealth. The chief questions to ask are,
Has the honour of the nation been preserved pure
and immaculate ? have we as a mighty people been
as sedulous to protect the weak as we were to
show the strong that we were indifferent to them ?
These are all-important inquiries to make at the
close of a new Parliament ; and if they were pro-
perly instituted what answers could be made to
them? Have not the most disastrous consequences
ensued because of tho tame demeanour of our Mi-
nisters, and has not England lost her rightful influ-
ence among the nations of theworld through the false
steps taken, and tho impradent schemes resorted to
by the advisers gi -t Crowip has a