The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-06 00:00:00

mation than the London-press ? Those gentlemen
who have been as eloquent in .their lamentations
over the death of Mr. GORDON, and so liberal in
their anathemas against his " murderers," will be
probably still more incensed when they learn that
it has been formed necessary to hang the overseer
of his estate likewise. " Several letters found in

LAWRENCE'S possession afford additional proof of
how deep had been the traitorous machinations of
the rebels, at whose head stood, G. W. GORDON."
Litera scripta mallet, says the old Latin adage, and
perhaps when our English humanitarians see
these letters with their own eyes they may
believe the truth of which it is impossible
at present to convince them. The same
account says—" It has been ascertained beyond the
shadow of a doubt that GEORGE W. GORDON was
the person who wrote, got printed, and circulated
among the peasantry the seditious and treasonable
placard inciting the people to rebellion." Thus we
find that this man, who has been held up as the
martyr of an unfounded panic, was really a prin-
cipal agent in a movement which was directed
towards the entire overthrow of English authority
in Jamaica. No doubt those who were instrumental
in stirring up the negro were not in every case fully
aware of the mischief which they were effecting ;
but the man who plays with fire is not to be excused
because he did not accurately measure the full
amount of destruction he would work. The recent
events in America, and the establishment of negro
dominion at Hayti, all tended to fan the flame and
the instigators to rebellion, and the declaimers about
negro rights found very ready materials to work
upon. We may depend upon it that the conspiracy
was as extended as it was dangerous, and that had
it not been for a happy accident hastening the com-
mencement of the outbreak, we should have had
scenes of bloodshed and cruelty such as are only
witnessed when uncivilised man breaks through the
restraints which a superior race has imposed on him.
Among the partizans of Governor EYRE, whom
the late unwarrantable and unjust attacks have
called forth in his defence, we may now rank his
sister, Miss EYRE, who has addressed a contemporary
in terms of indignant remonstrance. She reiterates
the assertion, already made in several quarters, that
Mr. EYRE has all his life been a consistent advo-
cate of the coloured race, and as such held the
office of Protector of the Aborigines in South Aus-
tralia. She adds that "in all his previous Govern-
ments he has never been charged with abitrary
conduct or injustice," from which she draws the
very natural and reasonable conclusion " that his
revilers ought to make so much allowance for a man
placed in a very difficult and dangerous position as
to wait till they have full evidence that he has been
criminal before they condemn him." Miss EYRE
asks, as she has good right to do, what would have
been said of Governor EYRE if he had really " lost
his head with fright" and lost England Jamaica?
And she gives us an interesting piece of family
history in the reminder that Mr. EYRE is the lineal
descendant of that Sir GERVAS EYRE, the Governor
of Newark in the days of CHARLES 1., of whom it
was said that " had the KING had many such sol-
diers he would neither have lost his crown nor his
life." Similar praise will, no doubt, be accorded to
the Governor of Jamaica when the whole truth is
unfolded.

It would seem as if a decided settlement of affairs
and a perfect entente cordiale are never to be reached

by the two great German Powers in respect to the
vexed question of the Duchies of Schleswig-Hol-
stein. As time passes, and people naturally expect

that some final arrangement will be come to, we

only hear of proposals being made, and schemes
propounded by one side and the other, and, after a
decent interval has elapsed, they fall to the ground,
either from meeting with a decided refusal,
9r from being disregarded and treated with
contempt. So will it be for some time to
come, no doubt, for the arch - conspirators
have got themselves into a complete fix, and,
for the present at any rate, no solution is likely
to be found. The last intelligence of a definite
nature that reaches us is to the effect that the Prince
of IIOIIENZOLLERN-SIG3IARINGEN, who is a distant
relative of the King of PRUSSIA, has been sent to
Vienna with an autograph letter from King WIL-
LIAM to the Emperor. The purport of the despatch
is said to have reference to the question of the
Duchies. The Emperor and his Govern-

went are now, however, a little more alive
than they used to be to the danger of con-
ceding too much to the tactics of Prussia,
and it is noticeable that for some time past very
little heed has been paid by the authorities at Vienna
to the suggestions of the councils at Berlin ; so

that we need not look for much to arise out of the
transaction. The doings of the candidates for the
honour of ruling over the realms is really ludicrous,
and the manner in which they put forward and
withdraw their claims reminds one of the game of
hide-and-seek. It is said that the Duke of
OLDENBURG has announced his determination to
renounce his claims on the Elbe Duchies, because
he has not met with much encouragement
on the subject from the CzAR, but he has not with-
drawn his previous application to the Diet. We
may fairly conclude then that he will keep his
claims in reserve to be pressed forward at any par-
ticular juncture that he may deem expedient or
propitious. The decision of the court-martial that
has been held on Count EULENBERG will fill the
minds of the people of this country with indigna-
tion, although we cannot think they will be
surprised, judging from the tone before
taken in high quarters on the subject. The
dastardly attack made on harmless men, by
a party of lawless individuals, is still fresh in the
recollection of all ; and to crown the catastrophe
this Count EULENBERG killed M. OTT, a Frenchman
in the service of our Royal Family, then proceed-
ing to fulfil his duties at Coburg. From the
first moment the scandalous outrage became known
great
indignation was expressed in England and
France ; but in
G
ference pervaded. lelr
amd a nlyi mo oTs iTt
killed sul t i gin
the
Count
no doubt language would have proved inadequate to
declare all that was felt on the subject by the inha-
bitants of the Fatherland. As it is, however, they
have all along given us and the French to under-
stand that they thought too much fuss by half had
been made of the affair. The court-martial that
has been sitting in judgment on the offender evi-
dently acquiesces in the national opinion, which is a
mockery of justice to have arrived at the decision
they have come to. The Count is sentenced to
nine months' honourable imprisonment in a casemate.
Comment on such a decision is hardly necessary,
but it may surely be said that the pursuance of such
a course is not likely to prove deterrent to those
who may be tempted to emulate the conduct of the
Count. It is holding out a premium to young
German nobles to treat thus tamely and unsuitably
the unpardonable outrage referred to. Why the
imprisonment should be classed as " honourable"
passes the understanding of impartial judges, but it
is to be presumed that it is done for the sake of
letting clear the culprit easily, and for the purpose
of sustaining the dignity of the country, which has
been assailed by the unceremonious remarks made
in various quarters. The time may cane when this
Affair of DI, On may be remembered to the disad-