The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-01 00:00:00

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THE SUN.

LONDON, SATURDAY, FEB. 1, 1862.

Lord RUSSELL'S letter to the Lords Commis-
sioners of the Admiralty will have the hearty ap-
probation of all his countrymen ; but -we much
doubt whether it will not be inwardly resented.by
the hot Northerners. We have been far too in-
dulgent to both parties hitherto. The position of
the Nashville and the Tuscarora at Southampton
was one which, with any sense of prc►priety, the
belligerents would never have taken ; bat the
Americans have never been distiniPuished for
modesty and forbearance. Under the QUEEN'S
orders, just issued, we shall have no more of belli-
gerent vessels watching each other to turn the
vicinity of our ports into a battle-field for their own
quarrels. It has been felt very annoying that we
were compelled to admit into our harbours ships
entering them, as it were, red-handed—the Nash-
ville after having burnt a noble vessel, and the
Sumter, after following the example of the Nash-
ville. If, indeed, we considered the situation of
the Southerners fairly, as they had, no chance of
taking their captures as prizes into a Southern
port, and could not sell them in a neutral p ort,
they must burn and destroy if they wished to harrass
the enemy by attacking his floating property. Still
there is something specially revolting in the use-
lessly vindictive proceeding of burning in mere
wantonness such a noble proof of man's genius as a
good ship at sea ; it may be quite good war, but it
is hateful Vandalism. The loss inflicted upon the
enemy is not one which can affect his warlike ope-
rations, and there is nothing in the character of a
merchant ship to excuse the spite which can con-
sign her to the flames.
We shall, however, do now tho very best in our
power towards discouraging this brigandage of
war. Earl RUSSELL'S communication limits the
"comfort and aid.' to he afforded to either party to
the very smallest which can be bestowed on any
vessel whatever. The-i are all to be treated as bad
company. A beggar starving must be taken in for
the night and relieved, and a Sumter or a Tusca-
rora will be dealt with in like manner. Just
enough to enable them to go to sea again, whether
in provis )ns or coals, will be allowed and no more
—" what is necessary for her immediate use," is

the limit. And even if driven in by stress of wea-
ther, she is to leave again as soon as possible. The
24 hours' rule is also to be strictly enforced.
Only coal sufficient to take the privateer
or ship of war to the nearest port of
her own country is to be allowed—and no
more is to be permitted "tad three months after the
last supplied in British waters." American 'cute-
ness would doubtless, but for such a limitation of
time, have made short cruising voyages from some
of our ports, and have returned for fresh supplies
to commence another voyage. The new rules will
effectually clear our ports of such guests as have
long inflicted themselves on Southampton, and
ought to be taken as a proof of our wish to be
thoroughly neutral.
We quite expect, however, that there will be no
little heartburning in the North when these orders
are made known there. Our neutrality is our
offence. The more perfect it is—in the sense of
dealing out the same measure to Federalist
and Confederate—the more angry it makes
the North. Europe, they think, has no right to
regard and treat the two as belligerents—the Fede-
rals are the State—the Confederates are rebels.
Earl RUSSELL is careful to spare the pride of the
North in his phraseology; he speaks of the Southern
States, as " calling themselves the Confederate
States of America." That will please so far ; but,
in their hearts the Northerns will never forgive
treating alike in a British port the Tuscarora
and the Sumter. Is not the latter a notorious rebel ?
Ought not friendly States to treat her:as what she
is." Is it not giving them encouragement when
the rebels find their ships and the Federal ships
received with like respect, or like disrespect, at
Southampton or Portsmouth ? It is to little pur-
pose to allege the vast number of the Seceders, or
the size of their territory. The more the worse—
the diminution of Federal territory and population
is so much the greater ; and as the Yankee is the
more galled by the vastness of the rebellion, so
he thinks we ought to be ; or, at least, our
sympathy, should be in proportion to his calamity,
not in proportion to the claim which numbers give
to the character of nationality in the secession.
They may not like to say all this openly, but they
will feel it, and hate us for it. All honourable and
right they will think that rebel privateers should
be sent about their business from British ports as
soon as may be, but it is quite another thing when
the vessels of their Majesties, the 20,000,000 Sove-
reigns of the United Northern States, are ordered
off in the same manner.

W© are pleased, however, to see this fresh evi-
dence that our Government means to be firm in its
position of neutrality. It will, we trust, be equally
firm in its non-intervention policy. We did not
quite like Mr. BATLEY'S remarks at Manchester on
the " judicious advice" Lord RUSSELL was giving,
as being likely to break up the blockade. It would
be more judicious, we must believe, to proffer no un-
asked advice at all. Such was Lord RUSSELL'S
own opinion ; and, notwithstanding Mr. BAZLEY'S
remarks, we hope it is his opinion still. The
blockade, on the broad view of the case, we have
always held to be a very doubtful injury to us.
We question very much whether it will not soon
prove to be an advantage. France feels it much
more than we do. The superlative importance of
making India our cotton-field we have often ad-
verted to, and to us it still appears that some
privation of cotton supply for a time would
be a cheap purchase of that great political
as well as commercial advantage. It should never
be forgotten, that if we choose our Sovereign to be
Queen of INDIA, and to govern it without an Indian
Parliament, we are morally bound to look to the
welfare of our subjects there as much as if they lived
in Lancashire. We have, however, equal conviction
that fresh cotton fields will be as great an advantage
ultimately to Lancashire, as it will be to India to
render her our chief cotton grower. Never was
there a case, we conceive, in which our interest
more fully coincided with the international °blip-
, tion of complete neutrality.

It must not be imagined that the result of the
Oxfordshire contest yesterday is, after all, so com-
plete and unmistakeable a triumph for the Tory
Opposition. Sir HENRY DAsnwooD, the Liberal
candid ite, it is true, has been defeated by a clear
majority of 192—Colonel FANE having polled 1,914
votes altogether, and Sir HENRY DASHWGOD 1,722.
This was heard at length in Oxford at half-past
eight o'clock last evening, when the whole of
the returns had been gathered in from the
eight county polling places, namely, from
Oxford itself, from Banbury, Bicester, Witney,
Chipping Norton, Doddington, Tetsworth, and
Nettlebed. But, allowing this, admitting that the
Liberal candidate was outnumbered to the extent
described still it must be added that the
triumph is no such grand "catch" for the
Tory Opposition after all. For—is it not quite
vividly within everyone's recollection who stole
even the most careless glance at the preliminaries
of this smart contest, that Colonel PANE appeared
before the county constituency— Conservative
constituency though it is—but as a very half
and half Derby-Disraelite, but as a very milk-and-
water Tory in his way ? What, in effect, was about
the most explicit declaratiox put forward by Colonel
FAN E in his explanation here and there to the elec-
tors before the actual contest commenced, while it
was yet pending, while it was even matter of uncer-
tainty whether Sir HENRY DASHWOOD would, in
common parlance, come to the scratch, or so far show
fight even as to make his appearance as an opp:Aing
candidate upon the hustings ? Even when rumours
were about to the effect that it might be a mere
walk over the course for Colonel PANE, the Colonel
appeared before his future constituents—in what
light ? Is it not at this moment, down at Oxford,
within every elector's .recollection ? Avowedly,
and quite plainly, Colonel FANE announced that
he should go to the House of Commons, if elected,
not to oppose Lord PALMERSTON'S Government !
Conservative constituency though the Oxford-
shire constituency is, the Conservative can-
didate for the third seat—there are two
Tories in already—could not venture to appeal
to the electors for their suffrages without that
distinct declaration, without the positive and ex-
plicit announcement beforehand that if chosen
their member he would not go to the House
of Commons to be ranged among Lord
PALMERSTON'S opponents.
It is significant all this of the
strength of the present Government these
perpetual tributes of eulogium showered upon
our veteran Premier even from the side of his pre-
sumed antagonists. There is another and a very
direct illustration of the same fact coming to us
simultaneously with the announcement of the re-
sult of the Oxford County Election. 'We
allude to the Great Conservative Demonstra-
tion of Thursday last down at Exeter.
According to the lccal Tory organ, Woolmer's
Exeter Gazette, the meeting there on Thursday was
bath " large and enthusiastic." But it is as signifi-
cant in its way as was Colonel PANE'S avowal but
just now alluded to, that the principal harangue
addressed on Thursday to the Tory audience down at '
Exeter, the speech of Lord COURTENAY contained ,
within it a studied coloquium upon Lord PALMERS-