The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-11 00:00:00

PARAGUAY.

The Minister of the Argentine Republic has re-
ceived a letter from his chief, the Minister of Fo-
reign Affairs, announcing the termination of the
Paraguayan war. It is not easy for us to unravel
the truth about Lopez. Of course, those who have
conducted the war against him as strenuously en-
deavour to defame his character as to destroy all
his material prospects in life. The Minister of
Foreign Affairs writes in the bitterest strain of the
monster of cruelty and cowardice who has fled,
after his horrible excesses, instead of falling like a
brave man at the side of his victims. "We have
avenged," he says, " the honour of the nation, we
have liberated Paraguay from its tyrannical ruler,
and we have spared South America the shame of
having at the head of one of her States a man of a
more ferocious character than any of the many
tyrants that have so much afflicted her." He ad-
mits that there would have been a degree of gran-
deur in Lopez's defence had it not been for the hor-
rible means he used to obtain it. He "has re-
spected neither weakness, family ties, nor the laws
of war ; shooting his prisoners, the wives of his chief
officers when their husbands were defeated, and
even his own brother and sister." He promises to
send an enquiry, carefully compiled, which will con-
firm what he says, and "clearly prove that the great
energy shown in this war by the Paraguayans, far
from beifg the effects of a lofty spirit, is nothing
but the material force of a despotized people sus-
tained and encouraged by tnereterror." If we wanted
to get the true character of a man the last person
we would go to would be the enemy who had ruined
him, and Europe is not likely to attach much
portance to any testimony about Paraguay reported
by the Allies. There never was a defence yet made
by a people which the despot and,tbe conqueror have
not thus stigmatized. Every invaded people bring
a pressure to bear on their own inhabitants which
compels all men capable of bearing arms to rise in
defence of their country, and that very compulsion,
perhaps -.nest strongly exercised by the women,
furnishes the ground for the invader's charge. We
continue to regard the defence of Paraguay as one
of the most noble recorded in history, and the at-
tack on it by almost a combined continent as a wicked
and wanton invasion, which will require a very dif-
ferent justification from anything yet advanced.
At the same time we freely admit that Lopez must
be judged by his acts ; and we, in common with the
world, will listen to no excuse for wanton and bar-
barous cruelty bat we prefer to await the report of
the American Minister, General M'Mahon, who ac-
companied Lopez in his retreat, before we form any
opinion, more especillly on the conspiracy con-
cocted by the Allies among the Paraguayans against
the inderendence of the State they had invaded,
which Lopez took such summary and perhaps un-
justifiable means to supprcrs. The Argentine Le-
gation furnished the following as the latest intelli-
gence :—" The former news is confirmed. Lopez
is in hiding. The Councillor Paranhos, Minister
for Foreign Affairs, has left for Asuncion, and the
Minister of Marine, the Baron Cotegipe, fills his
place temporarily. Caxiaß, Herval, and Admiral
Juhanoma have already returned from Asuncion.
General Souza has been appointed Commander-in-
Chief of the Allied Forces in Paraguay. The
greatest harmony exist between the Allies. Ex-
change, 19d."