The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-14 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS•

FROM TES MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
(From the Times.)
The geographical position of France, joined to her
comparative weakness as a maritime Power, evidently
confine her means of aggressive warfare to within cer-
tain limits, or to certain portions of the Continent. Ac-
cordingly, the whole history of French wars in Europe
is a history of struggles for territory or for influence on
her own frontier, in Flanders, in Spain, or in the north
of Italy : and the gigantic expeditions of the wars of
the empire were not dreamed of until this border war-
fare had ended in the subjection of all the minor adja-
sent States to France. The expedition to Egypt was,
indeed, an exception to the prevailing rule of French
policy ; but it was an unwise experiment, which the
maritime resources of the country were unable to sup-
port. We endeavoured to show, some little time ago
(see the Times, Oct. 31), that upon a wise principle
of mutual security, a number of minor States had
been interposed between France and the other great
Powers of Europe by the great territorial settlement
of 1815 ; and we adverted to the neutrality of those
States as the primary guarantee of their existence and
of the safety of Europe. Indeed, if Prussia be dis-
posed to join a species of neutral league with the minor
Powers for the simple purpose of maintaining their ter-
ritory inviolate ; and if she succeed in upholding that
pacific policy to which she so long adhered, even after
the outbreak of the revolutionary war, it is evident
that France can scarcely begin hostilities—still less hos-
tilities for any purpose of territorial aggrandisement—
without committing in limine an enormous outrage on
some unoffending neutral country, whose neutrality she
has herself sworn tb observe. There is, however,
nothing extravagant in the hypothesis that same such
outrage would be committed by the men who are ca-
pable of plunging Europe into war. The French are
apt to practice their own proverb, that to make
omelettes you must break eggs ; we may add, that
to break eggs you may also have to rob nests. The
first rumour of war is accompanied by a plan of
operations which would strip Belgium of territories
recently secured to her, in full neutrality and indepen-
dence, by France herself, conjointly with all the other
Powers ; and we are somewhat startled by a direct
avowal on the part of the two ex-Cabinet Ministers,
that the first exploit of their fleet would be to wrest
from another friendly and neutral Power the Balearic
Isles. Even the Journal des Debuts, which usually
reprobates such barefaced pretensions in others, dis-
cusses with perfect calmness the uses of the Belgian
territory to one or the other of the contending parties
in the event of a war. ‘• If," says that paper, " there
is no railroad from Paris to Lille, the Belgian system
of railroads must become a powerful instrument of of-
fensive warlitre, to be used by Germany against us ;
with such a railroad the Belgian system of railroads is
for us." What becomes of the neutrality and inviola-
bility of Belgium, which 1:oin the first to the last were
made tile fundamental principles of the treaty of separa-
tion, established by the most pos,itive declarations in
the protocol cf the 19th of February, 1831 (Art. 3),
and by the treaty of the 18 Articles as well as by the
treaty of the 34. Articles, if at the first onset even
the roads which the industry and enterprise of the Bel-
gian Government have multiplied over the territory are
to be dealt with as " powurful instruments of offensive
warfare for us or against.us,"—mere appendages to the
military lines of France or 41 Prussia ? The answer to
this question may be very-satisfactorily gathered from
Belgium itseP.. We have read with interest an able
statement of the neutral policy of Belgium, and of the
means she has for defending her neutrality. This docu-
ment has been republished in the .31oniteur Beige, and
it affords abundant evidence that the question Ili-13 al-
ready excited much patriotic ardour among that people.
The neutrality of a country is an excellent gicund of
defence, but it requires to be manfully defended. Even
the neutrality of Switzerland ws not respected when,
from their intestine dissentious, the cantons had ceased
to present a unitel barrier to the luvAde.r. In a word,
the neutrality of a territory is only secure when much
is to be lost or ri,Lvi by a violation of it.
What are called the necessities of war overleap
restraints of international law and justice ; and there
are, it would seem, politicians in a neighbouring coun-
try whose schemes are to be set in notion by these
limiest necessities. Belgium is well supplied with rail-
roads ; but she is equally well provided with fortresses.
The question of national existence for her is whether
these railroads and fortresses arc to serve 03" powerful
instruments of offensive warfare" to her neighbours, or
whether they are to be toe powerful instruments of
her own defence. Is thigiuni strong enough to wield
these instruments, tnat is, to garrison these great and
f-ormidable places ? Tnere are no tees than t.)..2 for-
tresn's o more or le.)s i np:Alauce bet,veco
.Luxein-
burg and Antwerp ; many of them are of great •
and all of them have been put into an mimirable state
of defence since 1815—very different from the
dismantled condition in . which they were left
Flanders was wrested from the house of Aus-
tria. Garrisoned by an army of at least 50,000 Belgians,
there can be no doubt that these positions would be
suSiientiv etrote to ,fetsr any enemy trout a wanton
'attack. Iu the M:11(13 of a German Power they open
the frontier of Franco and the roast to Paris ; in those
of the French they undoubtedly become a puwertui
iii-
stremeut of offensive warfare both by sea and land : in
either case Ouse very fortresses, which ought to protect
the independence of Befg-ium, Mould become the curtain
means of her subjection, and her territory would once
more be made the cockpit of Europe. iVhatever sacri-
fices the defence of these place may demand, they must
be made, in the event of a war, or Beigicee will cease to
exist ; and the good sense and spirit of the semioafficial
document to which we have already referred lead us to
expect that they will be made cheerfully. The nationality
of Belgium is youngi but the people of Flanders have au
old character to defend from foreign aggression, and they
have nothing to gain by flinging their new institutions
under the interested protection of their neighbours.
As our attention has been directed to the military
preparations an the Belgian frontier, which may be
demanded by the present state of things in Europe,
we cannot altogether pass over in silence the strong
language in which the pacific and ministerial Journal
des Debats suggests and encourages a project for re-
establishing a great naval station at Dunkirk, by way
of supplying the French fleet with a fortified har-
bour in the Channel and in the teeth of England.
The position of Dunkirk is such as to render its
marine strength a subject of great moment to this
country. The sale of the place to Louis XIV.
was one of the worst acts of a shameful prio(l of our
history ; and during the whole of the war of succes-
sion the commerce of England and Holland suffered
greatly from the Dunkirk privateers. At the peace
of Utrecht the demolition of the fortifications was
exacted from France at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle
the stipulation, which had been evaded, was peremp-
torily repeated, though still only partially obeyed.
In 1763 Lord Chatham declared that the destruction
of the fortifications of Dunkirk was a matter of such pa-
ramount importance, that an English Minister who
should listen to any other terms would deserve to lose
his head ; and by the 13th article of the Treaty of
Paris it was expressly agreed, that " the cunette, as
well as the forts and batteries commanding an entrance
towards the sea, should be destroyed," in conformity with
the stipulations of former treaties. An English Commis-
sioner was appointed to see the clause fulfilled, and Dun-
kirk ceased to he a place of formidable strength, though
it was still sufficiently defended to repulse the Duke of
York in 1793. The present state of the port may be in-
ferred from the difficulty which the Veloce steamer had
in making good her anchorage in the gale of last August,
for the marine resources of the place have not been re-
stored or improved, and Dunkirk was neglected by
Napoleon, who directed his chief attention to Antwerp.
As Antwerp is now no longer either a naval arsenal
or a French port, Dunkirk might, in case of war, re-
surne much of its priatine importance, at least as a
station for privateers and steamers. The Journal dam
Debals urges the Government to take vigorous mea-
sures to forward these views. If such projects as
these have been mooted at a moment of excitement, we
would willingly consign them to oblivion, with all the
other phantoms of th war fever ; but if the Journal
des Debate gravely discusses and recommends such
topics, we must take leave to say that the worst way of
promoting a good understanding with the English
people, who have not the slightest desire to find an enemy
in France, is to plant a maritime fortress opposite the
Norc. Dunkirk, converted into a strong naval station,
would no longer be a position of just and reasonable
defence to France, but of obvious and extreme offence
*.o England.

(From the Morning Adverti.ser.)
So deeply is hatred of England incarnated in a cer-
tain portion of the French press, that it labours to
make the return of Napoleon's ashes, with which
should be inhumed all national animosities, the occasion
to excite some marked expression of vengeful hostility.
Fortunately, however, the incendiary press is likely to
draw even less profit than the incendiary ex-Minister
from its infernal occupation. lie had his profits on the
Stock-Exchar:,,c to console him under his officislale-
gradation and the contempt of Europe, but his incen-
diary organs of the French press lose in trade as v; ell as in
reputation, and it affords a cheering itni:cation that their
inflammatory sentiments are but little cheriehcd by the
French
people,to perceive that as they increase in the
iolence of their denunciations they uneunish in circula-
tion. inc correspondent of a Contemporary writs—
" Melancholy as it is to how the doctrines
and the grossest falsehoods of the incendiary press arc
iist,.:aed to Lay the multitude, it is still a satisfaction to
know that, with the re:4ly thinking portion of thc na-
tion, falsehood aod violence do not prevail. The war j
and republican journals
do not find agita6on quite so
plrftn hie as they hoped. The C'onstitat,Stinnel, in order
fall, has I?cc.n con, d -pe:e to adopt more mo-
tnii et
hC'eo
i,i,Lonptcerecoiti
aa sv compelledtota ex.
resneetahle
i
t(toloy,paprrtoceesdvi prevent
ilneoaetnngaiittlsoaugprer7,eacii7 IS again beco„,ic
pca• naps, is the
tMction ; theSationaldoes not thrive viva nvfolicanism,
C —rnmcnt does not p tut the laws of
reason why the
and the L'a pile; le lies ceased ta ox:st.
September in !:orce. It 1:01'),:s for a Ij 11,71 of public