The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-04 00:00:00

LONDON,
_FRIDAY, APRIL 4 1356.

It has for some time been notorious that a mar-
riage had been arranged between Prince FREDE-
RICK, eldest son of the Crown Prince, and conse-
quently heir presumptive to the Throne of Prus. si
and the Princess Royal of England. The tender
age of the Royal victim at 'resent is.little more
than fifteen years, azal the very equivocal
position occupied by Prussia towards England
during the progress of the War did not ptevent
the arrangements for this very unwise and im-
politic alliance from being entered into, although
the formal application has been withheld until the
patching-up of the Treaty of Peace, in order to
avoid the energetic remonstrances that might
otherwise be offered in both Houses of Parliament,
and the natural feeling of indignation that would
be excited throughout the length and breadth of
the land. There is, however, but too much
reason to fear that the nnfortunate marriage, on
which the Prince Consort is said to have set his
heart for the promotion of German, not. of Eng-
lish, interests, may be, regarded as one :Of the
causes that has led to the humiliating and injuri-
ous peace in which England has been made a party,
and that the possible prospect of Great Britain being
annexed to Prussia is the sole reward for the lives
of our myria Is of gallant soldier's, and the expen-
diture of tens of millions of capital uselessly and
improvidently sacrificed. Whether the British
people will regard it as a satisfactory equivalent
is another question. We should rather think not,
and that the voice of public eiiinion will make
i.self heard in the inmost - recesses' of Downing-
street, and even in Buckingham Palace itself.
No time has been lost in putting forward ,a
"feeler" on the. snbjeet. In the Economist of
Sunday last, the very day onwhich the Treaty "7"
signed at 'Penis, it was stated the Prince " bad
formally asked and obtained the sanction of the
K/NG (of Prussia) to his requesting the hand of
the Princess Royal," with a suggestion that
the'7P tiblicity of the proceeding' is 'Supposed tj
imply a knowledge that the English 'Court will
appiove of the union proposed." There :need
not be much doubt on this part of the case, for
it is, unfortunately, but too notorious that the
Matter had been arranged at Bilmoral last sum-
mer, at the- time of the visit of the Prince, which.
was so strongly' commented on by the Engliih
journals, and that it had-been: 9n the, tapls for
fiie years' previously, b4ore the'youngi Prince s
1434 ,attained the:mature age of ten years. The
opinion of the British Parliament will, however,
probably be asked, althou4h the announcement
will not be made until after the proposal has
been duly accepted, and then the inforthation
be. accompanied by
will probably a modest request
that a suitable appanage may belprovided at the
•XPreriss of the nation, to gild the bridal couch of
the illustrious victim, and to render the marriage
more acceptable to the good " Chleptot.”
tvist, however, that the representatives of the
Drit4sh people may exhibit. -some aPi)o34sike of

firmness and independence in the transaction,
Although they may not be able to put
a stop to the marriage, they may at least
button their pockets tightly, and declare that not
a single shilling shall be granted to forward a
match, of which every person, not affected by the,
sinister and unconstitutional influence that per
vades.eivery department of the State, must totally
"and entirely disapprove.
We have, indeed, but little reason to approve
of marriages of the female members of our Royal
family with the petty Princes of Germany. But
bad as they are, they would be far better than
that of a Princess, who personally, or whose chil-
dren, might .become entitled to the Throne of these
realms. It is by no means a far-fetched suppo-
• sition to imagine that, at no very distant period,
the thrones of Great. Britain and Prussia:might
bedtime- united, and that we should be governed
by a Prussian Viceroy, or, under tbe most favour-
able circumstances, by a Sovereign, who, like the
First GEORGE, did not understand our laaguage,
and 'who was not actuated by a single feeling in
Common with those whom he was called on to

It is a very different matter to give the Prin.
cesses of nations placed under the Salique law in
marriage to the Sovereigns of first-rate States.
No claim to the Crown can, under such circum-
stances, be put forward by the Consort. It would,
however, be very different in the present in-
stance ; and we merely ask what would be the
result of the union of the Crowns of Great Britain
and Prussia 'I A calm and deliberate considera7
tion of the inevitable
,consequences that must fol-
low such an uittowarc event Will be quite suffi-
cient to convince every disinterested and unpre-
judiced person of .tie vital importance of the
transaction, and of the urgent necessity of oppos-
ing, while there is yet time, the inatspicious.

marriage.

It is said that the circle from which a choice
can be mde is limited in the extreme—that it
has for the most part been limited to the
petty Protestant Princes of Germany. But why ?
Because, forsooth—marriage with a subject is as-
sumed to be out of the question ! This is a mere
petitio principii, a literal begging of the question.
It is the absurd and ridiculous prejudice that the
Divine ichor which circulates in the veins of
Princes could not be commingled with the puddle
of the lower classes, even of the most ancient
members of our nobility, It was this delusion
that destroyed the happiness of the brothers and
sisters and children= of GEORGE Hi., that has
rendered the legitimate descendants of GEORGE
11. so limited in number. We trust tkat it may
not be persisted in, and that, the happiness—per-
haps the morality of—another fine family may net
be sacrificed to the same most unfortunate pre-
judice.

The thanks of the public are due to the Earl
of ALBESIARLB for his motion in the House of
Lords last evening. Anything more revolting
than the act of atrocious cruelty to which he
drew attention it would be difficult to conceive,
unless it be the fact that it was part of a systeM
in vegue under British rule. Only fancy.fourteen
poor, lank, and -feible Indian weavers dragged, at
eight o'clock in the morning, before a petty Go-
vernment collector of taxes, for arrears ; and, in
default of payment, subjected to torture; and such
torture ! First, the spinal column bent inward ;
next,
..a native executioner and a 12lh. weight
suspended from their necks; and compelled to
stand in this constricted position for twelve
mortal hours ! Human nature sickens at the
thought ! Flow-far, however, are the dimensions
of this atrocity from being revealed. Oa., their
heads began to pour the fierce rays of a vertical
sun. Thirst, as a Matter of course, assailed
them.. ," Water ! water !" was their cry, J, Water
was refused them. Blighter still shone the
sun, and their whitened lips ' vainly strove to.
give'utterance to their prayer. Still no water.
Their drooping spirits sought refuge in unconsci-
ousness from the burden of their tortured frames.
Even that boon to suffering humanity was denied
them. A second, executioner was at the side of
each to aid his colleague in pinching to renewed
consciousness the tcrtured frame. And this from
eight in the morning until eight at night ! Even
then a disgusting indignity must be thrown in to:
increase the nausea with which they regarded the
refreshment , offered then. The infliction 'was
diabolical, but it served the collector's turn. The
wives of the poor victims had no money.wherewith
to discharge the pitiful amounts of taxation
owing ; but, like most Eastern arid Sotne Western
women, they had ornaments, dear to them almost
as life; and so, when they knew to what sufferings:
their husbands had been. exposed, they tore those
ornaments off to s we them from further oritrago,
and the claims of the Indian Government were
satisfied, ,but only for a time.. Even in India,
however, there is a public opinion, and the cJI•
lector's master, Mr. SIIIIBRICK, an Englishman,
collector and magistrate for the district, was com-
pelled to entertain a complaint against him. The
Indian monster was sentenced—to what does the
reader think ? some severe punishment doubtless
—to pay a fine of—ten, shillings ! That was all.
Let it be remembered India is a long way. off ;
and if Government must have its taxes, whether
the people can pay them or not, it won't answer
for the collector of a diStrict to be too severe on
a servant whose chief fault, in his eyes, is over-
-7400.1.! Noir, it will not do for the Indian.,Go-
vernment to say that this was merely an arbitrary
stretch of authority by a reckless official. Toia
is only ono instance out of many, and they know
it. Nor will it
.do, for them to say they have'
done their best to discountenance such a system,
but have no power to• extirpate it. They have
not done, their best ; and the proof is, though
their attention has long been called to it, it still
prevails--and they have the power-to put a stop
to it—such power being notoriously vested, in the
Legislative oJuncil at Calcutta. With what face
do they depose the worthless tyrant • of Oude for
his crimes, and suffer atrocities like these to be
'*)lnteitted by native' officPals in, their employ
Or how can they look for a perpetuation of their
power at the; hands of the British public, when
they 'suffer deeds like these to bs perpetrated,
revolting to every feeling of the British heart,
and disgraceful to the national fame. Look for
it, however, they will,
and the wrongs of Indial,klikoether thosnel
iosfcle:tie::apnrtos,
vinces, will go unredressed so long as the peeple
f.,rget that the honour and glory of the country
are, or ought to be, in their keeping.