The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-25 00:00:00

i A-,-,521-0,„„,:x...,...p.Er,
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(memo; of such a revolution in the rules of war: It is ~ ..-:-..--:-..,...-sift:Viesl,
I be;ieSe, the first time in the annals of the world tba -,7 iltis'ir" ‘'''a-
the powers of belligerents will be restrained and define f +l4frttiKtias:-... i
ic
A,,,
in the interest of individuals by written internationa ;41tii't ''''''''''''7l4
• lair. Who cm tell in what other direction the rece• - ,-c-...,•.C.,:-:7.-.1.--7'
dent may be follosed ? Wars will henceforward paitike - ',....2.wr
snore of the character of duels between Governments - P
than of the old contests cf nations. Private citizens will
cease to be held responsible, or liable to injury, unless
they become participators in the strife. There will' no
longer be plunder and prize money to add the - stimulus
of cupidity to the passions of hatred and revenge ; and
we shall have one pretence lessf or constantly increasing
the burden of war navies in proportion to the growth of
foreign commerce, on the plea of protecting our mercan-
tile marine. These are some of the obvious consequences
of this proposed innovation upon the traditions and pre-
cedents of the last century. The mercantile world will, I
trust, allow its voice to be heard upon the question by
Government and Parliament ; and it is in the hone that
the chamber will throw the weight of its great influence
into the scale of humanity and progressive civilisation
that I have ventured to trouble you with this letter.
"I remain, very truly yours,
" RICHARD COBDEN.
" Thomas Bazley, Esq., President of the Manchester
Chamber of Commerce."

4
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( From the Times. )
Nobody can be surprised to learn that Mr. Cob-
den has accepted without reserve the proposition
of Mr. Secretary Marcy with regard to the rights
of belligerents, for it is well known that if that
gentleman were our War Minister he would proceed
at once to disband our army, to discharge our navy,
to dismantle our fortifications, and to dispose of
our stores at Woolwich to the dealers in old iron.
We, too, have all along confessed to a strong leans
ing in favour of Mr. Marcy's proposal, and we
should as glad if we could see our way to an un-
qualified approval of what, on the surface at least,
appears to be so fair. " There is no such gain of
time," says Lord Bacon, "as to iterate often the
state of the question ; and it may therefore be well
to rewind our readers that at the Congress of Paris
the Plenipotentiaries assembled declared on behalf
of their respective countries that privateering is
abolished, and that (always excepting contraband of
pd neutral -
go c -en SSe , a're' exempt froni.
teen. It was supposed that when the great Euro-
pean powers were willing to mitigate the horrors of
war by voluntarily waiving their undoubted rights,
the whole civilised world woull be ready to give in
their, adhesion to an agreement so honourable. It
was found, however, that the United States hesi-
tated as to the first clause of the declaration,—
namely, that which related to the abolition of
privateering. Only on one condition was Mr.
Marcy willing to accede to this abolition—
" that the private property of the subjects or
citizens of belligerents on the high seas shall be
ex4npted from seizure by public armed vessels
of the other belligerent, except it be contraband."
The proposal, therefore, is that maritime warfare
shall become a mere duel between the hostile
Governments and their forces, no private parties
being attacked or allowed to attack. We have
several times expressed some surprise that our
Americsn friends have been unable to see the dif-
ference between the depredations of privateers and
of a regular navy. War becomes necessarily inhu-
man when every person is permitted to take part
in the strife ; not subject to command, unaccus-
tomed to discipline, under no restraint, having no
hope of superior reward, and looking only to the
present, it is fearful to contemplate the excesses to
which privateers, far more than regular combat-
ants, are tempted. All this, however, Mr. Marcy
has overlooked ; he insists upon the right as a most
important one, but he is willing to sign it away on,
the above condition,—that private property on the
high seas, whether an enemy's, or in neutral ves-
sels, be respected. Hereupon Mr. Cobden takes
up the tale, and draws a pleasant picture of the
world at peace and leaving Kings and Govern-
ments 'o settle their quarrels as best they can,—
something like the prize-fighters, who, with some
score of two of their friends, hire a special train,

go twenty miles out of town, select somo quiet
field, and there,

"The world forgetting, by the world forgot."
fly at each other without fear of the police and
without thought of life. For the first time in the
history of the human race the rights of individuals
are to be re-:pected. There shall be no more plun-
der and prize-money to stimulate cupidity and to
give a zest to cruelty ; there shall be no fewer
taxes to sustain great armies and to increase great

navies ; and, in short, trade will flourish more and
more, war will gradually cease from the earth, and
thd Peace Society, having done its work, will be
dispersed, even as the Anti-Corn Law League.
All this is very fine, and as a mere matter of
theory wa are willing to go pretty far with Mr.
Cobden. We do not, with him believe it to be
possible to abolish war ; but it is possible to reduce
war to the condition of a duel between respective
Governments ; and who would not welcome any
expedient that is likely to save the unoffending,
people from the crimes and miseries of such a
"fierce arbitrament ?" But evidently, if war is
to be reduced to the limits of a duel, the duel must
bc on fair terms. It is not fair for a man who has
all his life been accustomed to snuff out candles
with hi:: pistol to summon a poor fellow who knows
not where the trigger is to an exchange of shots ;
it is not fair for a man who is a perfect fencer to
cross swords with another who pretends to be no-
thing better than a good boxer ; and, if close at-
tention be given to the tendency of this discussion,
it will be found that, while the proposal of Mr.
Marcy is most specious in theory, its practical re-
sult must be to make us fight a duel on unequal
terms. For let us carry out the theory to its logi-
cal consequences. If we are to respect private
property on the high seas, why not the coast?—
why not on land ? It is impossible to draw a line
of distinction that shall have any ground in reason.
The rule must be made universal, and, if so, it is
quite arparent to what object we are tending. We
are tending to the disarmament of our principal
force in the interest of our continental Powers and
of America. We rely upon ouisnay.y, and we aro
told to abolish it, and to light our battles with our
weakest arm against the strongest arm of our
neighbours. It may suit America, with her vast
seaboard entirely unprotected, it may suit the
continental States with their immense armies and
feeble navies, to adopt Mr. Marcy's proposition,
and among themselves it may be quite fair that
they should fight in this fashion. The question is,
no one be surprised if the whole civilised world be
are we willing to fight a duel on these terms ? Let
against us, and in favour of Mr. Cobden's policy of
peace. All the civilised world will be gainers, and
we the only losers, as we alone have a formidable
navy; and if we accept the terms we shall be able only
to dash our ships against stone walls. Of this kind of
warfare we have had experience enough in the late
conflict, and it is not likely that we shall, for the
benefit of our enemies, consent to fight at such a
disadvantage. The truth is, indeed, that carrying'
this principle of Mr. Marcy's to its legitimate conclu-
sions, we should have in the end to abolish
blockades, and there would be absolutely no reason
for the erection of fortifications en an enemy's
coast, save for the protection of arsenals or for the
purpose of preventing an army from landing. As
it would be useless to attack such fortresses 'as
Cronstadt, our fleets therefore would become null,
save for cruising on the high seas, where there is
no other navy to oppose, all
aipnpceoanrssetnotiunsg,
behind impregnable walls. being snugly laid up
taftero
re
sreconsidering
privatet h e
psruobpjee ty,
rt
thaltt,
of neutrals in an
enemy's vessels, and the private
property of an enemy in neutral vessels, we have
granted all that we can afford. Mr. Cobden argues
that the result of such a regulation will be sini,_,PY"
that enemies' goods will be transferred to neutral
vessels, and that we shall be so far losers in trade.
In so ou the
arguing, however, he goes entirely ,
assumption that there is no blockade of the enemy s
coast, and that we have not a navy adequate to
the protection of our mercantile fleets. The wish
is father to the thought. He shows, for example,
that if we were at war with France we should have
four times the amount of property on the sea that
the French merchants have ; we should therefore
be four times as much exposed to the depredations
of Government cruisers. What an
alluring
vision
for those wh6 inspire the lucu into
Mr. has not rations of the
Assembles Nationale ! entered
Mr. Cobden's exceedingly pacific imagination that,
if our property afloat would be four times as
valuable as the French, it would also in the same
proportion be better protected. And the hon.
I wrong in his anticipation of
gentleman is not on y
trade the declaration
evil consequences to our from
of the Paris Congress, but wrong also in his anti-
cipation of a glorious future as the consequence of
Mr. Marcy's proposition. If that proposal might
tend to alleviate the ills of war, it would certainly
not tend to diminish the armaments and to abolish
the wars of different countries. War, on the son-
trary, would be proclaimed more frequently than
ever, because it would be possible to wage it on
easier terms. It is the fear of destruction to pro-
perty that ,continually restrains us from appealing
to the force of arms ; and, if that restraint of self-
interest were removed, why should not the nations
freely indulge their pug •
naci y b y resorting on
t
every idle occasion to blows !

UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.

OXFORD, Nov. 24.

The Reader in Moral and MetaOrli"' Philosophy
will deliver his first lecture on the phenomena of con-
sciousness on Wednesday, the 26th of November, at twe
o'clock, instead of on Tuesday, the 25th.