The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-21 00:00:00

EVENING, JUNE 21, 1851.

LIBERT

GL AND.

TO THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD PIS•

(70UNT PAIMERSTO:N,SE- IiETARY
OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

My L)rd,—From the wise, thevirtu.ous, aly,l the
patriotic truth will nevr raj.). to oht;lin a calm and ai.-
passionit?, nt-,,arin.-7, however ;nable the, source from
which she may find utterance, and however imeongt-
nial may be her die:at:ea with the sentiments of the
passing hour.
There arc times and season:, in the annals of nations
(as well as in the lives of individuals) when her lessons
derive, from the force of contrast, a redoubled influence
over the minds of the reflecting and conscientious, as
the tread of the solitary sentinel sounds more distinctly
amid the solemn :;tillnEss of night.
We are in the midst of a great national festival, destined,
as we fondly hope, to disseminate throughout the globe
sentiments of amity and brotherly love, and to elevate
the British name in the general estintation of the civi•

lined world.
Will it produce those results? Let us cherish the
anticipation; but let us not allow the present to blind
us to the past and to the future.
Distinguished as this kingdom is by the advanced
state of the arts of civilization, it is not by scientific or
literary achievements that the British islands have ac-
quired the general veneration of mankind. The love of
hbcrty, justice, and humanity in its. inhabitants, and the
firmness and good faith of its statesmen, are the influ-
ences to which this empire owes its, greatness—are the
influences with which the confidence and respect of sur-
rounding nations will endure or pass away.
In these, the essential elements of true honour, this
kingdom is not richer than it was in the times of Hamp-
den and of Milton, or in the more recant days of Clark-
son and of Wilberforce. Can we afely assert that it
is not poorer ?
In minds rendered grave by experience, suffering, and
reflection, the wonderful accumulation of the fruits of
human industry and genius, of whi ;It our metropolis is
now the scene, will not fail to suggest sentiments and
recollections of it very different the sacter from the im-
pressions that will occupy the thoughts of the young, the
tight-hearted and the gay! Can the. patriot or the phi-
lanthropist, while contemplating these diversified trea-
sures, forget the recent misfortunes of the, lands from
which they have been sent, or blind 'himself to the pain-
ful contrast between the splendour of these noble pro-
luctions, and the gloom and sorrow that dwell among
the nations of Europe, who have rec ently passed through
the fiery ordeal of war and revolution, and are bowed
town by the yoke of oppression, aga fast which they have
as yet struggled in vain?
From this contest the people and. the Government of
Great Britian, however reluctantly,, stood aloof. Sym-
pathy and an ardent wish for the triumph of the cause
of liberty and justice were all they could give in a con-
test embracing so vast a field. But. there was one ex-
ception, which, for good or for evil, will form an era in
the annals of two great nations and in the history of
civilized man.
A lawless despotism, which had perfidiously crushed
the liberties and destroyed the happiness of its own sub-
jects, audaciously menaced the sacred laws of hospi-
tality and the neutral rights of au a:acient and unoffend •
ing ally who appealed, and not in 'vain, to two great
protectors.
The heart of every friend of liberty and of peace
beat high at the spectacle, when the fleets of England
and of France were seen joined in happy union, by a
mission devoted to the sacred claims of humanity, and to
the general welfare of the human nice. Like the bow
of heaven, in prinsval ages, this event was contem-
plated by the wise and good of hath kingdoms as a
symbol of future harmony and goodwill, as an augury
.hat the storms of war, which had so long desolated
two nations ,fitted by Providence fat bless and benefit
each other, and to advance the genarat welfnre of man-
kind, had passed away, and for ever.
I have touched oa the past. iy eed I dwell on the
precent? Is there a son of Britain or of France that
~:an contemplate the sequel without sentiments of sorrow
and of shame? It was not at Fontcsaoy, at Caubul, or in
Walcheren that the arms of England were tarnished—
and the honour of France was unsullied by Cressy,
Agincourt, and Waterloo: for the fate of war dues not
depend on the valour of armies, but on the decrees of an
overruling Providence. While the good and enlight-
ened must rejoice to behold two once hostile nations
more closely united together by those achievements of
human genius which connect the once rival shores, and
by a participation in the discoveries of science and the
productions of man's industry. It must be remembered,
nevertheless, that there is a still firmer and nobler bond
of international union, without which all others are
weak, frail, and worthless.
That bond is the sentiment of mutual respect—a sen-
timent which has never been extinguished by the
rivalries of commerce, or even by the deadly conflicts
of war. But this sentiment (the only true foundation
of friendship between either individuals or nations) may,
nevertheless, be dissolved in a period of profound peace,
devoted to the interchange of hospitality and the plea-
sures of' social intercourse.
Can we forget, amid the festivities of this transient
occasion, the tate of the most illustrious of the objects
of our joint intervention, and that his protracted cap-
tivity continues to form an insult to the general senti-
ments of humanity, and a shameless violation of the
solemn treaty to which we were contracting parties?
We may attempt to blind ourselves, but the calm
judgment of posterity will rightly appreciate the events
if the times in which we live, and the plain truths con-
veyed by this humble communication will find a response
in the breasts of those distinguished strangers who, from
every civilized country, now throng our metropolis.
" People of England and of France," they will say,
" had you never proffered your help nor promised your
protection, it is true you would have surrendered your
place among mankind as the guardians of civilization and
the laws of nations; but it would, nevertheless, have
been better for your reputation had you abstained from
all intervention; for to mock the victim by a vain inter-
cession, to fill the cup of hope to the brim, and then per-
mit it to be perfidiously dashed from the lips, is a course
that will render the name of the illustrious statesman
who still languishes in the dungeons of K'itaya en inde-
lible symbol of reproach, in the eyes of future ages, to
you and to the kingdoms to which you are proud to
belong."
I beg to conclude this letter with an expression of my
earnest hope that a renewal of your Lordship's humane
efforts, seconded and responded to by the English and
French nations, may serve to efface this stigma on the
fair fame of both.—l have the honour to be your Lord
ship's obedient servant,
June 12, 1831.

CAMBRENSIS.

ST. ALBAN'S ELECTION.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIR,—It was I, and not " William Prescott," as stated
in your paper of yesterday, who petitioned the House.
of Commons against Edwards's release from Newgate.
I did so to afford the respectable portion of voters an
opportunity of showing that they are undeserving of the
general obloquy cast upon the whole borough, and at the
same time of showing who are the delinquents.
As regards Mr. Edwards's health in answer to in-
quiries, I made yesterday of the Governor of Newgate,
I was assured that he was in as good health, and ate,
drank, and slept as well as he (the Governor) him-
self did.
Surely had it been otherwise, some medical certi-
ficate would have been produced to the House of Com-
mons of the fact.
' Your correcting the error of name will oblige,
Your obedient servant,
St. Albans, June 19. WM. GRESHAM.