The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-17 00:00:00

.i

frankly and right manfully stated in an eminently
characteristic communication addressed by him to
Lord-PALMERSTON, in answer to the urgent request
that he should become a celleague,transmitted to him

immediately upon his arrival in this country from
America, by the noble viscount at the head of the
present Govornment. Added to those high-miaded

considerations which thus induced Mr. COBDEN to

decline the acceptance of the proferred seat in the
Cabinet—at the time of his so doing his health was

so far broke that it might almost be said to have
been then quite shattered. Nevertheless, very
shortly indeed after the rejection (thus peremptorily)
of Power, this same public-spirited politician
consented, apparently without a moment's
hesitation, to accept all those enormous labours
and all those solemn and weighty Re-
sponsibilities which were inseparable from the
office the peculiarly anomalous, and therefore
doubly difficult and singularly delicate office of
Negotiator of a Commercial Treaty, involving in
some way or other the revision of the whole of the
mercantile relations between France and England.
As to the Treaty itself it does not remain for us now
to remark that we have all along, from first to last,
regarded it with particular incredulity and especial
repugnance. A reciprocity treaty of any kind we
have insisted, and we are still disposed to insist, is,
instead of an advance movement, a movement, on
the contrary, of positive retrogression. The prin-
ciple of reciprocity. is, in itself, notoriously, has
always been notoriously, applicable rather to the
system of Protection than to the system of Free
Trade. Still persuaded of this we are yet inflexi-
bly antagonistic to the root idea of this newly or-
ganised measure of reciprocity ; more particularity,
remembering that we cannot but still recognise in
it a scheme for doling out reciprocity of the most
singular character surely ever yet dreamt of—a reci-
procity as Irish as reciprocity could well be—a
reciprocity all one side, in fact, as we have again and
again in these columns, had the melancholy task
of demonstrating. Convinced of this all along. con-
vinced of this still, we are yet ready to acknowledge
that-the NegotiatCr of the Treaty has all the while
had a perfect right, of course, to think quite other-
wise. his impossible, moreover, not to admit just
as frankly and unhesitatingly that he has spoken
and 'written only in reason when deprecating any-
thing like adverse criticisms upon his Treaty until
that Treaty should have been at length actually
brought to a state of completion. To that state
of completion it has now been brought—thanks
to Mr. COBDEN'S indomitable: energy, his self-
sacrificing devotion, and his unceasing applica-
tion. A little 'while more, now, and we shall at
last know all about it. Conjectures will then give
way to certainty. The Treaty itself in its entirety
will at length be lying before us for the impartial
consideration of all. Cntil then we may rest con-
tented with the knowledge, at any rate so far in, the
highest degree' satisfactory, that the task, what-
ever that task may have been, . is done, that
Mr. COBDEN'S labours are over; that, thenegotiations
are at an end. In regard to the lotlEitor we will
'yet most earnestly hope that self-'onigation
may have so far only exercised a prejudicial influence
upon his health, as to have, resulted in a merely
passing indisposition. GOD grant that this self;-
sacrifice manifested oh his part by RICHARD COB-
DEN at Parisi may never, prove :to have been as
diSastrouSti complete as that. other self-sacrifice
which very recently signalised So fatally e
laborious career of JAMES WILSON at Calcutta.
Among all' our' great public men we have no
second COBDEN., Among 'all of thein "We could
'better spare," we ' will not say. "a. better man,"
or an abler man, for a better* or abler we care
not to go in search of with that cynical lantern of
DIOGENES, but we will say we could any day
better spare an administrator of more versatile
aptitude and of more varied experience.

There is more than a rumour of news which we
hope will prove true. The POPE is treating with
VTCTOR EMMANUEL, it is said, for the sale of his
temporalities. CAYOUR and ANTONELLI are dis-
cussing the terms, of which the principal are these
—That the POPE should receive annually 1,000,000
Roman crowns; the Italian cardinals to enjoy the
dignity'of senators, with a yearly salary of 10,000
crowns. His HOLINESS is thus to become a purely
spiritual, prince, and his cardinals, we presume,
much'such dignitaries as our spiritual peers.

Whatever Aegree of exact truth may belong to
these - statements, no one, looking coolly at the
POPE'S position from a distance, would hesitate to
- •
pronounce that he was making 'a
wise arrange-
ment, Even -Protestants would respect him far
more as the purely spiritual head of such
avast proportion of, Christendom, and Catho-
lics would be certain to feel more in-
terest in him in that capacity, We at least
consistently think so; for we have,, always
considered that our own bishops would be far• more
highly regarded and useful, in their spiritual
capacity, if they had the magnanimity to with-
draw, by their own wish, from the House of Lords.
We can well understand, indeed, how a certain class
of Catholics could ill endure the loss of his tempo-
ralities by the POPE. 'We have seen what an out-
cry there would be here, from a large section of
Churchmen, were it seriously proposed to trench
on the temporalities of our spiritual peers; but
that does not alter the fact, to which all history
bears witness, that a religious chief is not religi-
ously influential in proportion to his temporal re-
sources, but rather the contrary. Few men have
exerted more religious influence in this country
than WICKLIFFE and WESLEY, yet both were,
absolutely destitute of property; and we should
like to know the value of LUTHER'S or of CALVIN'S
temporalities ! And so it has ever been, and so it
will ever be, where religion is a thing- of con-
science, that its leaders will be venerated
rather for poverty than wealth. It is needless to
remark how much their poverty has to do with our
veneration for the very founders of our faith ; it is

even a feature in that Divine character which we
are taught to adore, that "for our sakes he became

poor."

But will the POPE be impoverished ? We ima-
gine precisely the reverse. His resources for
spiritual purposes would be, we cannot doubt,
larger than ever. We should blush for English
and Irish Catholics if they did not do their part
towards such support as might be desirable for the
head of their faith. Indeed, they have already begun
to seek contributions for him, and revived a name
familiar to England's ears, and not perhaps with
very pleasant
is a
recollections from our history—that
of PETER'S Pence. But PETER'S Pence, as now
totally different thing from PETER'S
Pence demanded as a tribute. It were childish to
confound things so totally distinct. Cardinal
appeal here, or that of the
French Bishops in their country, is but an appeal
to the voluntary nci
; pr- ;
ple. The Liberation Society
of Sergeant's-inn itself must approve of the prin-
ciple. The proceeding of the French Government
strikes us as exceedingly outrageous and harsh. A
Government, indeed, which has just prosecuted to
imprisonment a tradesman who sold even photo-
graph visiting cards without a sanction from the
censorship of the press, might, perhaps, be auspici-
ous of the objects of those who arranged to collect