The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-01 00:00:00

FRASE

Fraser for this month opens with a history of the
recently undertaken Artic Expeditions, the writer of
which, who has evidently studied the subject carefully,
is, we rejoice to find, of opinion " that we are war-
ranted in hoping, nay, more, in expecting that the
autumn of 1848 will restore the gallant band headed
by Sir John Franklin to their native country." The
next article is an elaborate review of the recently-
published Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount
Castlereagh, and right glad are we to ,see that even
Tory writers are now compelled to admit that in
1814 and 1815 Lord Castlereagh "suffered himself to
be overreached by almost every potentate and minister
who attacked him on the side of the national vanity,"
and that the treaty of "Vienna was the most enormous
blunder ever perpetrated by an incompetent states-
man. Even the Tory writer in this most Tory of
periodicals is compelled to declare—
" Unwilling as most of us may be to admit the truth,
the truth still remains, that the late and present troubles
of Europe may all be traced back to the territorial ar-
rangements of 1815. What was it that gave rise to the
secret sccieties of Germany, and the Carbonari clubs of
Italy, five-and twenty years ago, except the impatience
of the German people under the denial to them of
political rights which had been promised; and the rest-
lessness of the Lombards and Venetians under the rule
of Austria? And now, see how the rope of sand has
melted to pieces. The kingdom of the Netherlands,
which the Congress erected as a barrier against France
on her northern frontier, seized the first convenient op-
portunity that offered of dissolving itself. Lombardy
and Venice have not conquered their independence, only
because their resources were inadequate to cope with
the strength of Austria, even in its decline. Genoa has
at length hazarded the revolt which the best of her sons
kept down for many years, in a mournful conviction.of
its hopelessness; and Berlin and Vienna are, while we
write, the scenes of events of which to read makes the
blood run cold. And all is undoubtedly attributable to
the narrow views of the princes and diplomatists who
composed the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Bad they,
instead of plotting to put down the spirit of liberty,
fostered its growth and guided it in a wise direction,
thrones, of which some have fallen utterly, while others
are tottering, would have stood at this day as firm as
our own."

Such being the case, it is to be hoped that those who
have succeeded Lord Castlereagh in the leadership of
the Tory party will not attempt to involve us in a
war in order to maintain this most unjust, tyrannical,
and impracticable of treaties. The fact was, Lord
Castlereagh, instead of studying the interests of his
country and of Europe generally, thought only how
he should best secure votes for the Ministry in a
boroughmongering House of Commons. The
" saints," at that time.a powerful party in.the House,
were coquetting with the Opposition, and Lord Cas-
tlereagh purposely abstained from entering into
commercial treaties " which every nation in the
world was ready to sign at our bidding, and which,
had they been wisely drawn, must have operated to
enlarge our trade and to compensate by so doing for
the sacrifices which the people of England had made
to carry on the war," in order to "induce (we quote
his own words) every power in Europe to pronounce
against the slave trade;" they pronounced, and nothing
more, for the traffic still goes on under the flags of
every European power, and with the hearty concur-.
rence of every nation in Europe except otirselves
And Lord Castlereagh must have been perfectly
aware that such would be the case (he at least was
no fanatic), but it mattered not; the Tory landed ans..:
tocracy were to be propitiated by the carrying of a
corn-law, and in order to secure the votes of OA
" saints" in favour of that most iniquitous measure,
this general " pronouncement," w, hick never has beeni
and which never was intended to be carried into exen
cution, was obtained, at the sacrifice of the great
commercial interests pf the country. We rejoice tcl
find that even Tories are beginning to .discover the