The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-23 00:00:00

TSB SWISS PROGRAMME.

Never was a people called upon to play a more impor-
tant part, morally and politically, in the affairs of Europe
t han are the descendants of Tell and Baumgarten at this
critical juncture. Never have the despots. of Europe
attempted a more impu 'ent and open violation of the
inalienable and legal rights of nations than this demand
made by the King of Prussia, and supported by the
man of the 2d of December, for the release, without
trio,' or parley, of the Neuchatel conspirators, simply
because they conspired for a king, and not for a nation.
Take the French, Polish, and Hungarian, Italian his
tory for the last 50 years. Count up the list of victims
ex,cwed often without any form of trial, still oftener ,
without legal defence, simply because they conspired
sometimes in act, often only in word or thought, to win
back their own God-given rights that usurpers bad
wrested from them. Now, take the case in qstion :
Neuchatel is a Swiss canton, geographically, politically
bolanging to Switzerland. In 1814 the Holy Alliance
gr *fits to the King of Prussia certain privileges which in
1848 the inhabitants of the canton withdrew, and to
which withdrawal the King of Prussia makes no demur,
neither at the time nor during the eight years that have
intervened since then. Here in 1850 certain wealthy
men conspini, not to restore those said privileges to the
King, but actually to hand over bodily the canton of
Neuchatel to Prussia. The attempt is suppressed by the
p ipulation, the leaders of the insurrection are arrested
and remanded for trial, the crime laid against them
being that of conspiring against the Swiss federal go.
vernment, the acknowledged government of the country,
Aire idy the heads of that government, either from w
ness or generosity, have allowed the chief
patriots are
conspiratorsak.
to remain at large until their trial—a thing unheard of
, they are re-
in despotic governments when conspiring
im.tnediately and
cqouieicseterdnedto. g
ißwiu t u
p thin
all dtobees
snao ntc suffice
tionprisoners
by allowing insurrections got
uw
pi ~ hboyu tthtrial,
retrograde
dthus a
rttoy
unpunished and untried -in short,
d'encouragement to any royal
I remains to be veen whether them to pass
) to offer a prime
conspirator for the haters.
the Swiss federal Government .
Lion. If they remain fir
the population will rein in
andare equal to their eitua
the men who comrose
'zee—
retwial. So touch disgust has
the population will remain resolute in their refusal,
peaceful and obedient. Nei•
they I 9 it pr liable that the despots will persist m their
poleon—Swi 6EI the conduct of Lows Na-
casioned, that the co:
so enthu:i ' ,
_ asticallywhom the Swiss
• Confederation
F protectedrench a gr sleets, h
as Louis
buretP h i
itslip p eb—o
node;
with Russia, forf au instant, and outspokenpitee true mind. Logically—
or sooner or later he must enter into a close allianc-
opvieearratteoo
peror had
a, Prussia, and Austria—the French Ern-
" choice hut to act as he has
acted, and
support the Prussian King. But (or we
his powers of calculation) he has studied ths
map of Europe and the spirit rife among the pea
act, whatever however the federal government mayact,
attentively to force the Swiss into open
warfare. For,
discrepancies, whatever elements of disso-
lution may exist in Switzerland, national pride still live.
in the people, and however they may wink at conces•