The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-25 00:00:00

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[PRICE 4D. STAMPED

ing one more to list of Sydney Smith's ' foolish, but
just and necessary wars,' and I am afraid we are now
investing more in l'arlike preparations than ever we di I
at any former period of peace; nor can it be denied that
never in my experience were we, as a nation, giving fe)
little attention to domestic reform as at present. It need
not surprise u?, then, if the improvement of the popula-
tion had not kept pace with the increase of our national
wealth. But this only tends to prove that the moral
fruits of our principles cannot be gathered by one nation
alone. It is only when freetrade shall have become the
i iternational code of the civilised world that its. highest
blessings will be realised in the purer spirit of forbear
ance and justice which Rill characCerise the intercourse
of nations. And how is this consummation, so d-ar to
the heart of every genuine Freetraler, to be attained 1
"I hal the opportunity, a few years since, of study-
' ing the position of the free-trade cause in nearly all Vie
countries of .Europe, and it was very similar to that in
which we found it in England before the agitation of the
League. Everywhere, as with us, there were three
parties to the controversy—the Executive Government,
the Protectionists, and the publio ; and everywhere, as
here, the monopolists, by pretending to represent the
interests of the public, had contrived to secure a
preponderance in the councils of the Government.
Those very fallacies, ' protection to nationality,' in-
dependence of foreigners,' &c., which it had required
a seven years' logical warfare to silence at home, I
found still flourished in undisputed authority In every
part of the Continent. But everywhere the Executive
Government appeared to be awakening to the conscious.
ness thit its interests were identical with those of the
people at larges'and that the Protectionist policy was
incompatible with the prosperity, of the public revenue.
I confess that my chief hope rests on the poverty of the
Continental Governments. The codtinual augmentation
of their military establishments will compel them to.
enter upon a reform of their tariffs, as the only mode of
enabling their peoples to support the c'nstant increase
of expenditure. There is scarcely a country in Europe
whose revenues might not be largely augmented by
aboliShing its prohibitive and modifying its protective
Custom duties. . In this way a Peel ;or a Huskisson
c3uld, in France, Russia, or Spain, increase the annual
income several millions sterling, and give an indefinite
expansion to the industry and wealth of the pe ,pie.
"I will only take the liberty of adding that if I cmild
have been present at your meeting, and my opi, ion had
been asked as to .the manner in which you way most
effectually forward the great oh], et you have in view, my
answer would have been—By exhibiting to the surround-
ing nations the practical results of free trade in Belgium
itself. I have watched with great interest the proceed-
ings of the Belgian Association, which remind me forc-
ibly of our own agitation. The speeches of your mer-
chants and manufacturers, with their practical arguments
and homely illustrations, cannot fail to enlist the mass o
the people in your ranks. PerseVerance alone is nece,

nary to insure success. The prosperity which will ensue
to your agriculture and manufactures and e-pecially te
those protected industries 'now arrayed against you, wi I
offer a more powerful argurnentin favour of free trade to
the great nations by which you are surrounded than any
that can be derived froM the reasonings of the econo•
mists. Let me not, however, be supposed to underrate
the importance of your Congress. It was a noble
idea which prompted you to throw open your stately
halls to visitors from all parts of the world, thus
evincing your faith in the universality of the truth
of free•trada principles, by offering to prove their adap-
tation to the circumstances of the earLh's surface and to
the wants of every race 'of men. Again accept my
cordial wish for the success of your demonstration, and
" I remain, very Sincerely yours,
RIOHABD COBDEN.
" M. Corr Vander Maeren' President of the Belgian
Association for Free Trade, Brussels. 7 • •
An international congress_ of homce-pathic doc-
tors opened to-day, and will sit till the 27th, in the
hall of the Philharmonic Society of Brussels, Rue
de l'Eveque. It is understood that the widow of
Hahnemann, the founder of the homoeopathic sys-
tem, applied to be allowed to take part in the
conference, but was refused on the ground that she
had no professional diploma., This exclusion has
provoked a rather animated discussion in certain
circles here.

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