The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-03 00:00:00

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[PRICE SD.

defects Mr. Cobden has combined ; and, in virtue
of that extraordinary qualification, claims to be
the founder of a policy never yet dopted in the
annals of the human race. He is the censor of all
past ages, and " the guide, philosopher, and
friend" of ours. His system, as a practical or
established fact, is found nowhere in history since
the world began. Now we propound to him a
dilemma, ono alternative of which must make him
despair of his project, if he is not a fool ; and the
other, if he is not by far the greatest man that ever
lived. Either that project is not practicable, or it
is. In the former supposition there is an end of -
the ques-cion. If it be a practicable project in it-
self, as not one among the myriads of illustrious
minds who have detested war, nor any number of
them combined, have ever been able to devise
means for ensuring the impossibility of its occur-
rence, the inference is evident that there never yet
lived men on earth whose talents could be com-
pared to those of Mr. Cobden, and that what no
other virtuous men possessed skill to'accomplish, he
knows how to effect.
When it is remembered that the moral government
of the world is not, like the physical sciences, intrin-
sically and necessarily progressive, requiring ages to
accumulate their materials, and to continue and
develop their application, but that, in the earliest
community, all the data already existed on which
the political philosopher could found his operations,
it will be found that the dilemma we have just
proposed is entirely unanswerable. In the me-
chanical arts and the physical sciences it isarattrral
and reasonable to expect that there should be an
enormous superiority in this generation over men
who lived two thousand years ago, and that there
will be a similar superiority in our posterity over
this generation. But, in virtue and in wisdom,
such, a progress is not equally certain ; nor is it
equally natural or equally reasonable to expect it.
It is not surprising that no person in ancient Athens
should have posSessed the means of traversing the
Atlantic as quickly as Mr. Cobden can. But it would
be justly surprising if no person in ancient Athens
understood the passions of the human heart as well
as Mr. Cobden understands them—nay, it would sur-
prise us if it could be proved that there had been no
one in that intelligent communitywhose ideas on poli-
tics, and on the management of men, were as en-
lightened as Mr. Cobden. Solon himself, long ago
as he flourished, was, probably, not much inferior,
in that respect, to the member for the West Riding.
We can understand why it should have been im-
possible for a Christian in the days of the Apostles
to procure as good a razor at Damascus (if he could
get any) as Mr. Cobden can procure at Sheffield ;
but we cannot understand why it should have been
impossible for such a Christian to have been as wise
and as virtuous as Mr. Cobden, as adverse to war,
as mighty in words and works, as likely to effect a
moral revolution in men's conduct, as able a speaker,
as safe a guide, as enlightened, and as profitable an
instructor. But we are almost ashamed to squan-
der arguments in refuting theories which all per-
sons instinctively feel to be fallacious, hopeless,
witless, and ridiculous. The Peace Society will
not do what Christianity has failed to do.
But we are met by an ingenious illustration of
Mr. Bright's. He says—" Look at duelling ; a very
few years since, it was an almost universal practice
—it has almost wholly disappeared. Why not hope
for a similarly blessed result in the practice of war
fare ?"
We fear that but very little cheer can be ration-
ally derived from the example cited. The cases are
anything but parallel. Duelling, though an ancient
abuse, was not primaeval. War unfortunately is.
Men may reasonably hope for the termination
of that of which, as a general practice, they
have seen in the midst of history the beginning.
Thousands of years existed without duelling. War
is as old as society itself. But independently of
that reasoning, :which is superior or exterior
to the passions, and against which they eternally
rebel and intermittently prevail, there is a logic of
the passions themselves ; and this logic duelling
did not satisfy. War does. In that court where
revenge, or cupidity, or ambition sits on the bench,
war urges pleas more valid than duelling could
prefer. A. man wrongs you—therefore ho must
shoot you. He has treated you as he would not
have bv,d you treat him—that is, unequally ; there-
fore, ra u must furnish him with the strictest equa-
lity o terms in a mortal combat, intended as re-
.
tributAve measure. - -
In the end, the passions themselves would reject
such logic. They will never reject the logic of war.
Such a province is rich—we think we can take it—
we will try. Such a nation has insulted or wronged
us, we can avenge ourselves—we will. In all this,
be it remembered, we argue on the supposition that
war is always unjust. There may be a just war on
one side of the quarrel. While wickedness exists
anywhere upon the earth, the good may be forced to
defend themselves, to protect their possessions from
rapine, their families from desecration and mur-
der. In the comity of individuals there is a higher
earthly power, that of the State, which discoun-
tenanced duelling. No similar supreme authority
exists in the comity of nations actively repressing
war.

No one ever denied that war is an enormous
evil ; but to be unprovided with the means of re-
sisting an attack is to invite attack. To be pre-
pared for it is not the worst method of preventing
it. A sufficient national armament has a direct
tendency towards the prolongation of peace. The
real question is not about the evils, but about the
possibility, of war. So long as it is possible, the
worse evil it is, the better and the stronger is the
reason for establishing defences. If anything can
avert the visitation they will avert it ; and, if it
must come, then are they necessary indeed.