The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-11 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1856.

Corporations are said to have no souls. The
hypothesis is certainly favoured by the well-ascer-
tained fact that Government, which, under our
aristocratic regime, is a corporation trading in
place and power, has no conscience—at all events
in its dealings with commercial matters. We do
not mean to adduce this or that blunder, or graver
error in proof of the latter assertion ; that were
unphilosophical. The proof is here ; commit what
blunder or error Government may, it manifests
a sublime incapacity of repentance in the cool in-
difference with which it disregards expostulation,
and persists, as far as it dare, in its misdoing.
A case in point is adduced by a respected cor-
respondent- in mr present impression. It relates
to our postal intercourse with Australia. The
reader will remember that shortly after the com-
mencement of the war the imperfect postal
system in operation was rudely and un-
hesitatingly put a stop to, on the plea that
the vessels of the contractors were required
for the transport service. Untenable as
the plea was, the act of itself might pass
for a blunder. Time, however, wore on, and no
symptom of restoration was forthcoming. It was
bad enough to interrupt the regular postal com-
munication with colonies whose exports amount
to some seventeen or eighteen, and whose imports
to some nineteen, millions annually, for however
brief a period. But it grew beyond a joke when
upwards of a year el.ipsed and there was still no
regular postal cornmunicatjon. The colonies mur-
mured—the Anatrali tn merOiaiits at home mur-
mured—the colonis's held meetings, and, by way
of temptation to Government to do its duty by
them, offered to c,:ntribute largely towards the
expenditure. Cloven:mien; went on " not doing
it," until the scanaal became so menacing that it
was voted nern. con. " soinethingmust be done."
That something resolved on, as a matter of course,
fall far short of what was required, supposing it
to be duly carried out. What pains Government
has taken to as:,,nre its boing so, and what pros-
pect there is of such a result, will appear from
the letter to which we have referred.

Mr. SPLATT calk attention to tho fact that
though the service to be rendered is contracted
for at the very large amount of 185,0001. per
annum for a term of five years, Government
refuses to test the speed of the vessels prior to
their leaving this" country, and professes itself
content to rely on the penalty of 501. a-day for
the due execution of the contract ! What can
be anticipated but failure? HOT can such a
procedure be regarded but with iadiguation ?
The interests at stake enormous, the remuneration
excessive, the route to be traversed ten thousand
—nay, sixteen thousand miles, the time limited,
the speed of the packets unknown, the means of
asc,:.rtainiug that; speed at baud, no objections on
the part of the owners, if acting in good faith,
to be anticipated, ally objection on their part a
fair ground of suspicion, and Government refuses
to apply so simple a test! It is satisfied, forsooth,
with the penalty. It is content to rely on that,
as if one lived in the golden age, and all was
primeval innocency. As if such a thin,' had
never been heard of as individuals deliberately
incurring prescribed penalties because it
was more profitable to them to do so
than honestly to fulfil their engagement.
As
if the penalty of 501. a-day could be anything to
a nation that expended a hundred millions in the

late war—threw them away, in fact, never asking
the CZAR for repayment, because the Coburgs did
not want to press a foreign friend. As if the
exaction of the penalties by Government could
meet the justice of the case ? The plea is insult-
iagly absurd ! Imagine an umpire holding him-
self justified in pocketing the stakes because the
challenger struck below the belt, or otherwise
violated the regulations of the ring ! Why, he
would be hooted as a knave or a fool. The in-
jured party, it would be said, is the party en-

titled to them. Government, that will suffer
nothing, is content with the penalty ; but
who or what will content commercial men
here and at the antipodes for the losses
they will infallibly sustain by tlll failure
of the contract ? The injury inflicted on
commerce by such failure, as compared with the
amount of the penalty, is " all the world to a
China orange !"
The conduct of Government is so outrageous,
that we feel warranted in inquiring—ls there a
Scotch electioneering job at the bottom of the
contract ? Rumour attributes to Mr. JAMES
WILSON the intention to vacate the representation
of Westbury, and try his fortune at Glasgow on
the dissolution of Parliament. The reader may
draw what conclusions he pleases from the fact, if I
it be a fact. All we have got to say is, Mr. WILSON
is secretary to the Treasury under Lord PALMER-
STON, the contractors, in whom Government repose
such implicit confidence, belong to Glasgow, and the
Peninsular and Oriental Company, whose tender
was rejected on thefrivolous plea that their vessels
were engaged in the Government transport service,
from which a stroke of the pen could have re-
leased them, don't.
This much may be taken for granted—Mr.
JAMES WILSON has a great deal to answer for in
this left-banded contract, and stands a fair chance
of being brought to book at the opening of Par-
liament, and taught a lesson he will be slower
than usual to forget. In the meantime, i t may
be an act of charity to remind him that the Aus-
tralian colonies need more than one route, and
that by the Honduras Interoceanic Railway pas-
sages can bo made, at the present rate of speed,
in forty-five days.

The abortive insurrection at Neufchatel, which
could only be classed with the affair in the Bailin-
prry Cabbage Garden, or the ridiculous invasions
of Strasburg and Boulogne, appears to have had
more serious foundation than at first was deemed
possible. There is but too much reason to be-
lieve that it was fomented and encouraged by the
" Angel of Peace," in order to obtain an excuse
for interfering and crushing the liberties of the
canton ; nay, more, it is stated, and, we re-
gret to add, with some appearance of truth,
that the good CLICQUOT did not stand alone, but
that he had previously received an Imperial ap-
proval of the project, if not the promise of
Imperial co-operation. The scheme was deeply
laid, but, fortunately, it broke down, owing to
the promptitude and resolution of the patriotic
Republicans. Could the insurgents have main-
tained their position even for 48 hours Prussian
troops would have marched to their aid, and it is
more than hinted that the Prussian Envoy at
Berne would have declared that any assistance
rendered by the federal troops would be regarded
as a cams belli. As this insolent communication
would necessarily have been treated with the
contempt it merited, hostilities would follow that
might have overthrown one of the few Constitu-
tional Governments in Europe. It would have
been difficult for Switzerland to maintain its
position when placed between two such fires
as those of France and Prussia. From its
peculiar position England could not have
rendered much aid to the aggrieved parties,
and the conspirators probably considered that it
would not have quarrelled with Prussia, while
the matrimonial alliance of the heir presumptive
to its Throne with our own PRINCESS ROYAL was
on the tapis. On this point there might be some
slight mistake. The contemplated match is not
so very popular in this country as to induce either
the Parliament or People to yield a single
point in order to promote it. On the other
hand, it would be more likely to lead to
the complete abolition of the inauspicious
connection that may end in the government of
the United Kingdom being carried on under a
Prussian Viceroy, and an unholy alliance of
banded despots to enforce submission to the hated
yoke.

That Prussia was concerned in the attempt
seems certain. It will be in the recollection of
our readers that the subject was ventilated by
Baron MANTEUBFEL at the Parisian Conferences.
But the position occupied by Prussia on that
occasion was not such as to allow any great weight
to be attached to his requisitions. It is more
than probable that he received a hint not to press
the matter too urgently, and the assurance that
he could better succeed by means of a private ar-
rangement. It would not do to add to the excite-
ment occasioned by the lame and impotent conclusion
of the war, the ferocious onslaught on the liberty
of the Press in Belgium, and the wanton and un-
called-for surrender of the rights and privileges
that consolidated the maritime power of Great
Britain, the palpable conspiracy against the
freedom of a small but independent State for the
aggrandisement of the Royal faineant of Berlin.
The introduction of the topic was peculiarly in-
convenient at the time. It was therefore sum-
marily shelved. But, the seed thus sown pro-
duced its (happily withered) fruit in the hoisting
of the Royalist fin, and the temporary seizure of
the town and citadel.

The prompt suppression of the emeute has,

however, shown the absurdity of the pretext that
any considerable portion of the citizens were
tainted by Royalist principles. The insurgents
succeeded but for a moment. They gained pos-
session by surprise ; but they were speedily
ejected, with considerable loss, and the chief ring-
leaders killed or made prisoners. There was, in
fact, no response, even of the most trivial cha-
racter to the insurgent manifesto. The bombastic
appeal on behalf of CLICQUOT was universally ridi-
culed, but a sterner feeling was entertained
I against those who disturbed the tranquillity of the
Canton, and shed the blood of some of its peaceful
citizens by their puny and futile effort.
If such an outbreak had taken place in one of
the States ruled by despotic authority, the halter,
the axe, and the fusillade would be speedily re-
sorted to. But the Republicans can afford to be
generous. They know that their cherished insti-
tutions cannot be endangered by such proceedings.
They can be magnanimous and spare the guilty
from the extreme punishment. Any attempt,
however, on the part of independent Govern-
ments to interfere with the domestic arrangements
of other States should be regarded as an invasion
calculated to disturb the peace of Europe; and
meriting the censure, and, if persevered in, the
castigation of every other nation. Europe must
be preserved from the intrigues of Crowned
Despots, who are not contented with the positions
they already occupy, but are instigated to impro-
per acts either by ambition or cupidity.

While affairs are in this state we should be

careful of reducing either our naval or military
force to too low an ebb. We cannot tell at
what moment or from what quarter a quarrel
may be forced on us. We place not our faith in
Prince:', Kings, or Emperors, but depend on our
own prowess to defend our rights and privileges,
and to prevent wilful wrong from being inflicted
on the weak and innocent in any quarter of the
globe.

THE AUSTRALIAN MAIL CONTRACT&

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—Among the many blessings which this
highly favoured country possesses, that which is
most highly prized by those who look deeper than
the surface is its enlightened, free, and independent
press, to whose powerful aid the aggrieved can at
4.11 times appeal ; and if abuses are not always re-
dressed, they are at least ably exposed, and aro
thus deprived of half their malignity.
Permit me, then, to call your attention to what
is likely to prove a grievance of no ordinary kind
—no less than the almost certain failure of the
Australian mail contract, owing to the want of the
necessary speed of the ships intended for the ser-
vice, for which the Government of this country
have agreed to pay for five years the very large
amount of 185,0001. a-year.
One would naturally suppose, that when so large
a sum is to be disbursed, that every possible pre-
caution would be taken to insure success ; but, in-
stead of pursuing this reasonable course, it is
understood that the Government intend to rely on
the penalties only, and have most unwisely re-
fused to test the speed of the vessels, prior to their
leaving this country for their distant stations; and
I do not hesitate to say that, if this refusal is per-
severed in, the Government will neglect the only
real security the public possess for the due perform-
ance of the contract ; for, as to relying on penalties
only, past experience is sufficient to convince all,
except those who are wilfully blind, that penalties
alone are not only insufficient, but are positively
mischievous, inasmuch as they operate as a pre-
mium on a low rate of speed ; or, in other words,
it pays better to forfeit a few days' penalties on
each voyage, and maintain only a low rate of
speed, than it does to incur the necessary expen-
sive outlay which alone can secure a high rate of
speed.
It i.-.: probable that the company who have secured
this contract rely with confidence on other ships ;
if so, they will not only offer but insist on testing
their speed in the most public manner possible,
and thus convince all interested that the vessels
intended for the service are reasonably qualified
for their work ; on the other hand, if the necessary
tests should not be afforded, it will be the strongest
possible confirmation of the apprehensions already
entertained that the vessels will prove unequal to
the speed required of them, and the Australian
colonists, and also the people of this country, will
look upon the contract as certain to fail.
But, sir, what will the colonists, what will the
public of this country, think of the conduct of the
British Government in this matter, who, by timely
and obvious precautions, might have secured the
fulfilment of the contract in all its integrity ? I
will answer for it, that the colonists will justly
consider that their interests have been grossly ne-
glected, and that they will justly and properly re-
fuse to pay their moiety of the contract.
It is, however, most lamentable to think that
colonies so valuable as those of Australia are to the
mother country, and exporting, as they do, an an-
nual value nearly equal to the entire exports of
British India, should, in the year 1856, be abso-
lutely without the benefit of steam postal commu-
nication with this country, and, as far as can be
seen, are likely to continue so for an indefinite
period. Meanwhile, great and bitter will be the
disappointment felt at this last failure, which has
been looked forward to, and with reason, as likely
to succeed, and succeed it must if the British Go-
vernment would insist that no ship should be de-
spatched for the service without previous proof of
adequate speed.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,
VILLIAM F. SPL ATT.
Combo Honiton, Sept. 8, 1856.

THE ROYAL BRITISH BANK.