The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-24 00:00:00

charge directed age dust King OTHO and Queen
AMELIA of Greece by no obscure, much less
by an anonymous, , accuser, but by one of the
most distinguished of the leading Ministers
of the Crown of I england. We pointed out
on Friday, we say„ how, curiously enough, it
came to pass that t this occurred on the 6th of
April in London, wh lie on the same 6th of April;
in Athens,, the Brit ish, French, Austrian, and
Swedish Ambassador abstained from attending,
with the rest of the diplomatic corps, at the Te
Deum always chante( i on that date, as the anni-
versary of the founda ;lion of Greek Independence.
This evening we w ould especially call those re-
markable facts to the popular remembrance. We
would remind our r faders thus pointedly of the
course recently pursue id at Athens by the Four Am-
bassadors, those of F igland, France, Austria, and
Sweden—of the errpl venation given by the Noble
Lord the Member for -the City of London in reply
to inquiries put to b am by the Hon. Gentleman
the Member for Pon' liafract—of the circular re-
cently addressed to o ear Consuls in the Levant by
her Britannic MAJES ry's representative at Con-
stantinople.

Having reverted t D which three incidents, we
would now allude to : another of a different kind,
mentioned in our in apression. of Saturday—an
incident which trans pired-' at Malta, and which
we are informed has thrown the Greek merchants
into the utmost con isternation. It is nothing
less than the revel ation of certain evil ma-
chinations in aid oft he Hellenic invaders of the
Ottoman territory. The diseovery, in fact, of
the circumstance of the resident Greeks of Mar-
seilles having subscri-led a large sum of money
to be sent to the insurgents I With
the amount we are not made acquainted : but
the Prefect does no t hesitate to acquaint the
Greek Consul with l ais determination that mea-
sures should be at once taken that the money so
subscribed should be intercepted before reaching
its destination. •

it really the carne that nearer home than
M4rseilles a similar s theme has actually been set
on foot—a scheme f( kr the practical aid of the
Greek insurgents, byithe trausnlissiou of 10,000/.
from London and Ma- achester ?

The question is worth putting to the occupants
of the Treasury Benclaes directly the Easter recess
is over—say even as early as Thursday evening,
as soon as possible of ter the reassembling of Par-
liament. We would. urge the matter seriously
upon the attention of our independent' represen-
tatives. The suggestion is worthy, for example,
, of the notice, either of the Member for Aylesbury
or of the Member for Pontefract. There are many
facts, indeed, that must be dragged to light
as quickly as possible in reference to much_
that has been doing of late by Orb and AmELra
in furtherance of the designs of the Northern
AUTOCRAT. Nay, Lord JOHN RUSSELL himself
may be said to have given the voucher for this
on the 6th of April, from the floor of the British
Legislature. The forthcoming blue-book in re-
ference to the recent conduct of the Greek Go-
vernment will, of course, abound with timely
revelations. But apart from this before
a syllable of these documents is officially
published—it is already by no means difficult to
recognise the turpitude of the Hellenic sympa-
thisers with the Czar NICHOLAS. The truth in
this matter is already, in a great measure, patent to
any impartial observer's. apprehension.' It cannot
hendeforth be ignored, or glozed over, or lost
-*red—for-a while from our remembrance. It is
altogether too glaringly demonstrated to be any
longer overlooked—demonstrated, if by nothing
else, by the deliberate assertions of the Noble Lord
the Leader of the House of Commons, by the
conduct pursued recently at Athens, not only by
the British and French, but even by the Austrian
and Swedish Ambassadors, as well as by the re-
markable circular addressed to our Consuls in the
Levant, by her MAJESTY'S diplomatic representa-
tive at Constantinople.

The first Russian prize has been brought into
a British port. The " Union Jack" floating tri-
umphantly over a hostile flag has been first exhi-
bited in English waters, and the first prisoners
of war have been placed under restraint in the
United Kingdom.
Her MAJESTY'S revenue steam-cruiser Argus,
Commander M. W. S. Grandy, was the fortunate
captor. Her officers and crew have realised the
first fruits of the existing "difficulty," and afforded
an example which will doubtless be so extensively
followed that prizes will speedily lose the charm
of novelty, and cease to attract attention on that
ground.

It appears that the Argus only left Southend
on Thursday, and that on Friday about noon she
fell in with the Froja, 440 tons, and fifteen
men, WEE ex master, bound from Lisbon
to the Baltic. She had left Lisbon on the 28th
of March—the day on which the declaration of
war appeared in the Gazette, and the one before
that on which the Orders in Council for reprisals
and embargo were made. It is possible, there-
fore, that the master and crew were ignorant of
the danger they were incurring, and ran unwit-
tingly into the trap. This view of the case would
seem to be supported by the fact that the Froja,
when boarded, was within 18 miles of Beechy•
Head, and that, although having two nine-pound
carronades and a supply of small arms and ammu-
nition for the crew, no resistance of any kind was
offered. On the other hand, the master asserted
that he was bound to Elsinore, and not to Abo-..
a matter of no real consequence so far as the
legality of the capture was concerned, but which
he might have supposed would have afforded a
chance of escape from condemnation.

An interesting question now arises. There are
fifteen prisoners of war, inoffensive seamen, who
were not taken with arms in their hands, or aim-
ing blows at the power and authority of this
country, but engaged in a peaceful and laudable
calling. How, then, are we to deal with these
persons ? By the laws of war they are unques-
tionably lawful prisoners, responsible for all the
untoward consequences of the insane ambition and
grasping cupidity of their despotic master, and we
would be justified in making them close prisoners,
and subjecting them to all the privations and suf-
ferings incidental to such a position. • But ought
we to act on these rights ? Would it be humane
or politic to do so ? These are questions deserv-
ing of mature consideration, and we earnestly hope
that the answers may be worthy of the noble cause
in which the Western Powers have engaged.
There can be no doubt as to the propriety of
exacting ample guarantees, that the skill and
physical power of these prisoners should not be
brought into operation against us. If allowed to
return freely to their own country, where their
position is nearly that of serfs, they may be pressed
into the service of their despotic master, and com-
pelled to fight against the generous enemy who
treated them with such extraordinary kindness.
seamen would be of the utmost
vFlaxlPuelbriteonccl
thee Avrocnxr, and it could scarcely be
anticipated that we could render any assistance to
provide him with the most useful, "munitions of
war." Nor would it be true kindnesstothe poor
t
fellows themselves to send them off, in order
they might be forthwith converted into " food
for gunpowder."
It would be little better than a mockery to
take their
_paroles against their serving in opposi-
tion to the Western Powers during the conflict.
The CzAn would deal very summarily with any
which would scarcely induce
such engagement,
him to dispense with services which might at the
moment be peculiarly valuable. Or were it other-
wise, and that the "Muscovite gentleman" actually
respected the honourable pledges givens these men