The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-04 00:00:00

forward for the commencement of the enterprise ;
at its conclusion these same pretexts were disarmed,
the King of DENMARK'S right of succession to
Schleswig-Holstein was contested ; the KING, once
despoiled of the provinces he was accused of un-
justly holding, he was recognised as the sole legi-
timate proprietor of the territory he had been com-
pelled to cede." If this be not a mockery of justice
and a defiance to the public opinion of Europe,
it is difficult to say what is. A few years ago no
one could have been blamed for stating that such a
scandalous confiscation could not possibly occur in
the centre of Europe without a general protest
being made against it; but we live and learn strange
things, and it is a bitter mortification to know that
a great wrong has been done, and all that lookers-
on have done has made matters worse instead of
better. The King of DENMARK, at all events, is
not the only victim, and the others have been
made such dupes that in some respects their posi-
tion is worse than his, for they have made them-
selves ridiculous in the eyes of Europe, and had
to descend from the sublime to the ridi-
culous. The melancholy and yet ludicrous
part which the secondary States play in
this game is well chronicled here when the writer
observes, " Once in the House, the Court of Berlin
shut the door in the face of those to whom it had
declared that it entered on their behalf, and turning
round upon them, said, ' Now turn us out.' " Such
is, in truth, the exact counterpart of the manner in
which matters have been carried on, and it is quite
refreshing to meet with so plain a statement and
powerful a description of events that are too often
told in a garbled form, and related in a smuggling
fashion, with a whole catalogue of unmeaning
phrases and stereotyped expressions.
One thing is proved beyond a doubt in this
affair of the Duchies, and that is that a
great deal too much has been made of the
independence of Germany. No wonder that
the smart commentator of events in the Revue in-
quires if the public conscience and public spirit of
Germany have gone to sleep for ever. Instead of
seeing any proof of the progress which was so loudly
vaunted, we have a marked decadence to chronicle
in the retrospect taken of this Duchy question.
There has been certainly much ado about nothing
in the way of national demonstrations and such
like, and all has ended in an indecent haste to par-
ticipate in cheating others, and a tame submis-
sion at least in being cheated themselves. Many
a solemn warning may be taken from this
Schleswig-Holstein affair. Prussia has triumphed
so far at the expense of the rights
of Denmark, the consistency of Austria, and the
reputation of the minor States of Germany. It
remains to be seen, however, if a day of retribution
is not looming in the distance when that crafty
kingdom shall discover that other's losses have not
been her gain, and that by taking an unworthy
advantage of circumstances she has overreached
herself and precipitated her fall.

A remarkable letter on the threatening approach
of that great scourge of modern times, The Cholera,
will be found elsewhere in our impression of this
evening. We intentionally accord to it all
possible prominence. For, the subject, in itself,
is one essentially of national importance. It
comes home—to employ Lord Bacon's quaint
old phrase—to " men's businesse and bo-
comes," to the hearths and to the hearts of each one
amongst us. And the letter itself—besides this at-
tractiveness of it, by reason of the extraordinary im-
portance of the subject upon which it treats-'-is one
entitled to some more than usually serious attention
from the mass of the population, because of the
eminence of the names, respectively, of its author
and its recipient. The letter referred to, it will
be seen, is one addressed to JOHN Buion-r by DAVID
URQUHART. It is an appeal to the common sense;
to the sound judgment, and to the loyal civism of the.
foremost Tribune of the People now living, by a
man who is still (as he hasbeen now for some years
past) devoting the whole energies of his life to the
grateful labour of securing to the un-wise men of
the West one of the greatest benefactions ever con-
trived by some of the wisest among the wise
men of the East—a benefaction designed espe-
cially to secure to humanity the realisation of
the 7nens sans in corpore sano—a benefaction
at once grounded upon and enforcing the old
mediawal dogma about Cleanliness being next to
Godliness. The real value and significance of this
letter, addressed to Mr. BRIGHT by Mr. URQUHART,
upon the threatened approach to us of the
dread disease of the Asiatic. Cholera, lies
in the simple fact of its being from first to last in-
tensely practical and directly to :the purpose.
Hence, we publish it. Hence, while publishing
it, we thus pointedly call public attention to
the circumstance of its appearance. Mr. URQUHART
suggests a course of proceeding that, if adopted be-
times and acted upon energetically, we do firmly
believe, in our innermost conscience, would be the
all but certain means, under heaven, of saving
the lives of hundreds, of thouands, of tens of
of thousands of our adult and infant population.
That is to say, of course, if the fears latterly enter-
tained in regard to the probable advent, once more,
amongst us, of the Asiatic Cholera, should unhappily,
sooner or later, be actually realized. Whatever deci-
sion may ultimately be arrived at by the authorities
in regard to Mr. URQUHART'S suggestion—it is a
suggestion entitled at the very least (everyone must
allow that) to a calm, dispassionate, prompt,
searching, and most serious consideration. That
consideration we now demand for it in the
name of the threatening Epidemic, in the name of
Common Sense, in the name of Humanity. • In ad-
dressing himself, nominally, to one eminent Eng-
lishmen, Mr. URQUHART addresses himself to All
Englishmen—in addressing JOIIN BRIGHT he ad-
dresses JOHN BULL : and the least that JOHN BULL
can do in return is to give him a hearing.

The Reform League,

-0.-

The Executive Committee of the above League met at
their rooms, 8, Adelphi-terrace, Strand, on Friday evening
last; Edmond Betties, Esq., president, in the chair.
The minutes of the previous meeting having been con-

firmed,

The SECRETARY read correspondence from Glasgow,
Caine, blillwall, Poplar, Garndiffaith, Southampton, and
Greenwich. Ile also read the financial statement, from
which it appeared that the League is in a prosperous con-
dition ; its branches aro extending in every direction ; and
the friends of reform are showing their vitality and ear-
nestness, and displaying an amount of energy which can-
not fail to meet its reward.
The Finance Committee announced the kind offer of P.
A. Taylor, Esq., M.P., to add £25 to the funds of the
League, if seven other friends of the movement would do
likewise. Samuel Morley, Esq., M.P., being tho first to
res?ond to the offer, the committee was instructed to take
steps to obtain the other six names.
It was then resolved that the Finance Committee should
in future meet every Friday evening at 7 o'clock, so as to
examine the accounts weekly and certify thereon to the
Executive Council.

Various reports were given in from different parts of
London and the suburbs, each telling of success.
The sub-committee then submitted their report and sug-
gestions on the proposed metropolitan conference, which it
was resolved should be considered more at length at the
next meeting of the council.

The death of M. Napoleon Chaix, the extensive
printer of the Rue Bergere, has just taken place. Ho was
only 56 years of age. •
Several, journals have mentioned a rumour that
M. Paulin Talabot, Deputy of the Legislative Body, had
just died at Marseilles. We eau state that he was in Paris
yesterday, and in good health.