The Sun.
London, England, 1865-11-30 00:00:00

quences of Chili= obstinacy. "We find ourselves,"
he says, " above every charge of precipitation in
our manner of proceeding ; we are exempt from all
accusation of want of frankness and sincerity ; and

we are, lastly, free from all responsibility as to the
eventualities which may arise from an enmity as
unjust as it is inexplicable, and from an incompre-
hensible obstinacy which refuses all agreement and
conciliation." If these words were uttered by the
Chilian Minister they might be appropriate enough,
excepting that the needs of the Spanish Exchequer
and the extortionate demands on Peru render the
conduct of Spain not altogether inexplicable. The
same story is told in the Spanish note, the same ac-
cusations reiterated against Chili, which may be
summed up in a few words. After the seizure
of the Chincha Islands by Spain, public
meetings were held in Valparaiso to denounce the
outrageous proceeding. A mob passed the Spanish
Consulate, and threatened to pull down the flag,
which they were deterred from doing by some by-
standers. A Chilian newspaper had used strong

Language in denouncing the Spanish aggression on

Peru. A Peruvian vessel, before the declaration of
war, was allowed to enlist for its crew in a Chilian
port, and finally the Chilian Government, after hos-

tilities had begun, declared coal to be contraband of
war, and forbade its supply to either belligerent.
To sum up, the offences of the Chilian Government
are permitting free speech, a free press, not antici-

- -
pating a declaration of war, and in preserving

neutrality during the dispute with Peru.

. _
sympathies of the Chilian people were no doubt
strongly enlisted on the side of the sister Republic,
but the only direct act that can be charged against
the Executive is a negative one, which was clearly

within the province of a neutral Government. The
grounds of offence being thus trivial, the line of

conduct adopted by the Spanish Admiral was extra-
vagant in the. extreme. Had the cause of complaint
been really serious and national, the course pursued

by Admiral PAREJA would have been unnecessarily
harsh and arrogant. The brief interval allowed for
consideration, the terms in which the Spanish
demands were couched, the humiliation demanded
from the Republic, the extreme measures adopted,
the disregarding the diplomatic protest—all indi-
cated a pre-arranged plan to extort, if possible,

from Chili the same humiliating sacrifices that had
been exacted from Peru. Fortunately, the aggressor
encountered in Chili a Government and a people of
another and a more resolute temper, and with a
unanimity which obliterated for the time all political
differences and party divisions. The Chilian people
rallied round their Government and defied
the threats, while they refused to submit to the
humiliating and extortionate demands, of Spain.
The Government of Chili has shown courage and
resource, and by the immediate removal of the
Customs dues and the arrangements for internal
traffic has endeavoured as far as possible to mitigate
the effect on Chilian commerce. But the mischief
done is, of course, very great. Valparaiso, the
great bead-quarters for the trade of the Pacific
coast, is now comparatively deserted, trade is at a
stand-still, and gold has completely disappeared
from circulation. The evil done as yet is only
negative, but the threatened bombardment of
Valparaiso is a different matter, and should the
Spaniards persist in such an unwarrantable
act of aggression the consequences will be serious
enough. The chief injury which Chili can inflict
upon Spain will be by means of attacks upon her
commerce. The escape of the Esmeralda, fully
armed and equipped, encourages the idea that such
a movement was intended by the Chilian autho-
rities, and should they succeed in getting Ameri-
can vessels to ply the same trade Spanish com-
merce will suffer severely.
The chief point for consideration now is the
course which should be adopted by our own
Government in such an emergency, for on the
conduct of the neutral Powers the fate
of Chili, in fact, principally rests. It is
very well for Spain to boast about her national
dignity and the impossibility of concession ;
but if England, France, and America chose
to unite in their representations, she will
very soon find it advisable to reconsider
the situation. But England need wait for
the decision of no other nation in a matter of this
kind. It is a simple case of unprovoked attack by
the strong upon the weak, for Spain is compara-
tively strong as regards the South American Re-
publics. English commercial interests are also
deeply involved, though that consideration, rightly
or wrongly, did not influence us with regard to the
American Civil War. It would be a disgraceful
thing if England suffers an independent and
thriving Republic to be sacrificed to the greed
or ambition of Spain after having shown by
the experience of fifty years that it can
administer its own affairs with prudence, ability, and
success. If Spain be allowed now to coerce Chili
there will be no more real safety or independence
for any of the Republics. A system of extortion
and tribute will be kept up, which will im-
poverish the Republics and cripple their energies.
There is reason to hope, from the line already
adopted by Earl RUSSELL, that he will not be re-
miss in coming to the assistance of the oppressed
State, but we hope he will not suffer himself to be
deluded by smooth promises at Madrid, while all
the time in the other hemisphere the Spanish fleet
s bombarding Valparaiso.

Accoling to recent accounts it does not seem
that the policy laid down by Austria is in a very
flourishing condition, or that the Imperial Govern-
ment will be able to realise its expectations. The
EMPEROR is to proceed to Pesth, and open the Hun-
garian Diet in person, which is no doubt considered
a very dexterous design, bat which, in all probability,
will not be of much avail. In the long run all the
partiescon
andcerned will most likely find out that they
have been made tools of, to suit the purposes of
statecraft,
consti-
tutional that national rights and
ges
privileges have been tampered with, in
order to gain time and
to carry opportunities to the autho-
ritiesout their schemes. The Diet of
Croatia has, we learn, rejected the proposition to
send an address of thanks to the EMPEROR for
This is significantesoe enough,
g theh ,
the September Patent.
in all conscience, and must be recognised
Government whether they acknowledge it or not.
The proposal of Count AUERSPERG, which declared
the September Patent to be in contradiction to the
ecnstitution, was agreed to, which is another notable
commentary on the conduct of affairs. This course
has been considered of so much importance that a
Council of Ministers has been held to deliberate
upon the recent proceedings in the Croatian Diet.
No doubt the Government will have enough, and
more than enough, to do in meeting the demands
that will be made upon it by these vexatious ob-
stacles, and they are likely to be numerous enough.
The Diet of Istria has proved an exception to
what may be termed the rule with re-
spect to the practice of the Diets, for it
has agreed to a vote of thanks to the
EMPEROR for the September Patent. The com-

mittee on the Constitution in the Provincial Diet of
Styria will, it is said, propose an address to the
E3IPEROR in opposition to the September Patent.
Therefore it may be safely inferred that a decided
opposition will be made to the extraordinary plan