The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-21 00:00:00

ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE.

Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan.
THIS EVENING, OCT. 21,
Will be performed THE CAMP AT THE OLYMPIC. Charac-
ters by Messrs. A. Wigan, Emery, F. Robson, Cooper, and Galli ;
Mesdames A. Wigan, Stirling, P. Horton, Chatterley, E. Turner, and
Wyndham.
To be followed by PLOT AND PASSION. Principal characters
by Mr. F. Robson and Mrs. Stirling.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.
Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. W. Cooke.
FIFTH APPEARANCE of Miss KATE COOKE
On her milk-white Charger, Snowdrop, expressly trained for her
by hlr. W. Cooke.
The LAST NIGHT of the Battle of Waterloo. Mr. W. Cooke, ever
anxious to present the Patrons of this popular Theatre with every
possible Novelty the Continent affords, has, at an enormous ex-
pense, entered into an Engagement with Mons. CLEUSH and his
Extraordinary ACTING TROYPE of DOGS and MONKEYS,
whose wondrous performances abroad have been the theme of
universal astonishment and admiration. They will appear for the
First Time on SATURDAY, October 22.
THIS EVENING, OcT. 21,

And during the week, will be presented (the 43d time) the New
Classical Burlesque, entitled JUPITER'S DECREE, AND THE
FALL OF PHIRTON; or, THE FIERY COURSERS OF THE SUN
—supported by the entire strength of the Company.
To be followed by Mr. W. Cooke's matchless Scenes in the Circle,
Introducing, for the Fifth Time, Miss KATE Coosa, and those asto-
nishing Artistes, Signor CARLOTTIE and Signor FRANCOIS on
LA PERCHE.
Concluding with (110th time) THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.
Box-office open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W.
West.

DAILY WEATHER TABLE.

FRIDAY, OCT. 21, 1853.

State of the wind and weather at each of the following
places at nine o'clock yesterday morning. The stations are
arranged in order of latitude.
SOLITHAUTTON—N.W., strong breeze—partially cloudy
FOLKESTONE—N., gentle breeze —overcast.
Turumn)GE—N., strong breeze—overcast.
GREENWICH-N., strong breeze—overcast.
SrßooD--S.W., gentle breeze—rain.
SWINDON—N., fresh breeze—partially cloudy.
CAMBRIDGE-N., gentle breeze—cloudless.
YARMOUTH-N.W., hard wind—rain.
The returns from the following places indicate the state
of the weather on Wednesday morning at nine o'clock
LIMERICK—E., calm—overcast.
MIILLINGAR—N., calm—foggy.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tess DAY —Morning 5 min.after 4 I Evening 19 min.aft. 4
To-Momow—Morning 35 min. after 4 Evening 51 min.aft. 4

THE WEATHER.—Su Orrice, OCT. 21.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
57—highest since noon yesterday.
45—lowest this morning and during the night.
57—this day at noon.
BAROMETER, 29.88—still rising, and yet rainy weather,
WIND, S.W.—Dull weather.

~~~~,~

glary ? A mighty semi-barbarous, semi-Asiatic '
Power may " intervene" in the " domestic affairs"
of another weaker semi-barbarous, semi-Asiatic
Power, may seize its most fertile provinces till it
has gained the object of its intervention, may ag-
grandise itself at will at the expense of the weaker
Power, may thus augment its offensive resources
till it is competent to the subjugation of the ter-
ritories or the liberties of the remaining nations,
and, are we to behold the commencement and
continuance of this process without interposing,
and best at the outset, the whole strength of the
community of nations ? Are we to leave each
nation to fight by itself the battles of its inde-
dependence with the universal foe ? The divisions
of the Grecian States were the strength of PHILIP
of Macedon ; TAerrus exults that the same cir-
cumstance placed the tribes of our forefathers in
the power of the Romans, dam singuli pagnant,
says he, universi vinettntur ; indeed, it is but the
dictate of common sense, and of all history, that a
disunited and apathetic Western Europe must
speedily become " all Cossack."
Even suppose, however, that the duty of Eng-
land and France were less clear in the present
painful emergency than we hold it to be, our
Peace friends are still bound to show us where
they would place that compulsory power which
should enforce the decision of their arbitrators.
The disgrace of violating solemn treaties Mr.
COBDEN speaks of as the punishment of the un-
manageable nation. Why, in the name of com-
mon sense, what disgrace can be greater than that
now incurred by Russia ? Yet deceit, fraud, low
chicane, and burglarious violence, all exposed in
the face of the civilised world leave that Power as
unabashed as ever. The consciences of nations
and their ambitious Governments, like the con-
sciences of corporate bodies, are of well known
robustness. Success, the indemnity for too much
individual crime, is notoriously the indemnity for
political crimes. Russia, for instance, if success-
ful in the present case, would soon, instead of
blushing for it, glory that she had outwitted
Western Europe, and robbed the Turk.
There must we conceive, therefore, even
in fair theory, be always sufficient dis-
posable force in the hands of the nations to
uphold the law of nations against the attempts of
any nation to break it. In practice we are quite
confident that statesmen will never feel secure on
any other footing. We have always felt, too,
that by far the strongest case, irrespective of con-
sequences to the balance of power, is the claim of
weaker nations on the help of the strong. Sup-
pose, for argument's sake, that the Divine precept
" not to resist evil" should be interpreted as
literally as Mr. JOHN BRIGHT or Mr. JOSEPH
STURGE desires—suppose we, in consequence, all
felt bound religiously to abstain from self-defence
by force, it would be quite another question
whether we were to abstain from defending
against violence our helpless wife or child. We
hold that, in every honourable mind, the instinct
that impels to protect weakness is of a nobler,
more sacred, and more imperative kind than that
which bids us protect ourselves. If the most
elevated Christianity teaches us to bear much evil
patiently ourselves, it does not teach us to bear
patiently the sight of others' wrongs. It rather
summons us to hazard our lives for their deliver-
ance. We have never seen this argument fairly
met by the peace men, yet it is a most important
one. Few of them will deny the duty of dying,
if needful, in defence of our country's liberty;
hardly second to this, 'not second in the noblest
minds, is the duty of risking everything rather
than see a weaker nation's liberties murdered be-
fore our eyes. We cannot wish for our own
country a more honourable, and, as we think, a
more Christian mission in Europe than that of
the protection of the weaker States. Not of the
despots against the peoples, but of the liberty of
the States themselves ; and especially their liberty
to settle their own domestic quarrels, as we did in
the times of the Commonwealth and of WILLIAM
111. This can never be unless we are as power-
Ul as we are wealthy.

The Chaplain of the Winchester prison has
rushed into print apparently for the purpose of
defending the system under which Mr. MILLAR,
whose name has recently been brought promi-

neatly before the public, languished in strict con-
finement for nearly forty consecutive years.
The Reverend Gentleman seems to think that
" his craft" as a gaol official may be endangered
by the strong impression created on the public
mind by the extraordinary and harrowing reve-
lations elicited during the inquest on one of the

victims of Winchester discipline. In the same

spirit, then, as DE3IETRIUS the Silversmith, he ispre-
pared to exclaim, not " Great is the DIANA of the
Ephesians," but " wise and laudable are the rules,
the conduct, and treatment of prisoners for debt
in the New County Prison, Winchester." As,
however, he could not directly controvert the
fact that the unfortunate sufferer had remained
for more than thirty-nine years a close prisoner,

without once breathing the free air of heaven,

and subjected to all the vexatious regulations
framed by men, who clearly thought debtors more
deserving of punishment than felons—kept during
that weary and protracted period on a scale of
diet which brought one strong man to the grave,
and reduced another to death's door—he endea-
vours to ride off on a collateral issue—and to show
that it was MILLAR'S own fault that he remained so
long in the " D wing, under the felons' gaol."
Such was the singularity of his taste, that he
could not be induced to abandon the tempting
retreat provided for his reception by the humanity
of the British law !

Mr. WRIGHT assures the community that
" MILLAR was imprisoned 39 years ago, by a
regular process for debt !" We believe that no
question was ever raised on the point, although
from what subsequently falls from the Rev.
Gentleman, it appears that serious doubts may
be entertained of the validity of the pro-
ceedings. If there had been an illegal in-
carceration, some recompence might have been
obtained by the wretched man for his protracted
sufferings----that is to say, if the vindictive Cre-
ditor were still alive to pay in purse or in person
for the false imprisonment of a fellow-creature.
But it was because the grievous wrong was with-
out a remedy—because men of humanity, pos-
sessing bowels of mercy for their afflicted brethren,
were excited on account of the lingering torture
under which a Christian man, a citizen of a country

claiming to be " a land of liberty," lingered for
forty long years in hopeless solitude--enduring un-
paralleled privations, debarred from seeing or
communicating with his kind, without money, or
necessity for money—for it appears not from the
clerical revelations, but from the sworn testimony
of one who had nearly fallen a victim, that " money
was of no use whatever, as they would not allow
prisoners to purchase anything !" We may rea-
dily grant the first position assumed by Mr.
WRIGHT, that the " process was regular," al-
though it appears from his statement, that there
was something in the case to take it out of the
ordinary course, and to prove that poor wretched
MILLAR was anything but insolvent.
It appears then that the victim " received a
small property from his father, with a bond or
mortgage upon it nearly to the amount of its
value, and that the rent of the premises paid the
interest of the debt," so that if Mr. WRIGHT'S
statement is to be credited, MILLAR had no privity
of contract with his detaining creditor. He merely
inherited a property subject to a certain charge,
the interest whereof it was sufficient to pay. It
has been stated that the creditor entered into re-
ceipt of the rents and profits of the premises, and
thus became mortgagee in possession, and
bii ound, to account to the inheritor therefor.
If so
it is difficult to say why he should
arrest his person as well as seize his property—or
1 what right he had to resort to the double remedy,
even if MILLAR had madewi hhimself personally re-
sponsible for the debt,
h
by the operation of the law,e and s cast upon him
which in his case
truly }?roved to be a damnos
a htreditas. If such
were the case, we can easily understand the re-
luctance with which the wretched man would
yield to the gross injustice to which he was sub-
jected. He must have felt that the moment he
could have found the means to go into court
he would have obtained ample reparation, It