The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-19 00:00:00

Spirit of the Public Journals.

colony, No doubt, under the protection of that character,
British interests have grown up that merit and must re-
ceive consi.leratien ; but their comper s ,tion would b a
much better solution of this difficulty than the indetin to
prolongation of a mistake which involves us io a contro-
versy with the United States, and deprives us of all influ-
ence in the State of Honduras. There is moreover a very
practical and sufficient reason why we should, on a general
arrangement of all other Central Arneric .n questions, re-
tire from the Bay Islands ; en lit is their position in refer-
ence to the contemplated inter ocelinic canal. Should that
great work ever be executed, the island of Ruatan would
command the Atlantic entrance to it ; and as we are
pledged to its strict neutrality, it would be wholly incon-
sistent with such an obligation to occupy a military posi-
tion, whence our power over the Atlantic entrance would
be complete. In resigning, however, the Bay Islands, we
ought to take ample guarantees against any cession of them
by Honduras to the United States, and to place there
under the safeguard of the Maritime States guaranteeing
the neutrality of the Canal.
The case of Greytown—the present Atlantic entrance to
the transit across Nicaragua to the Pacific—is mach more
difficult than that of the Bay Islands. Assuredly not on
account of any rights existing in the s.ecalled King of
Mosquitia—the half-savage chief of the paltry tribe of
Moscos ; but on account of the position of those European
and other settlers who have been euc,uraged by the Eng-
lish Governu ent to establish themselves in Greytowu.
We are bound to take care that their independence and
security are not impaired under any settlement of the
question that may be resolved upon. But having provided
for their interests, and obtained guarantees for the rights
of the Indian population, the sooner that we allow the Mos-
quitian coast to revert to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, or New
Grenada—whichever of these States can establish its title
to the whole or part of the district—the better. There
was a titers when it was open to England to claim Mosqui-
tia, but that time Eugl-rill has allowed to slip by. _Nor
does it appear to us that the omission is to be regretted.

OUR AMERICAN RELATIONS.
(Front the Times of this day.)
It is impossible to foresee the ultimate effects of the
Crampton quarrel. No one who is not profoundly igno-
rant of human nature can suppose that such an act can bays
no ulterior results beyond the dismissal of one Ambassador
and the toleration of another. Although diplomacy may
smooth the asperities of the rupture, and policy may dic-
tate acquiescence in Jan affront, there ara consequences
which, as neither of the two Governments has considered,
so neither of them will be able to modify or divert. When-
ever Englishmen and Americans meet—whether abroad or
in British possessions—there will be for some time to come
ill-disguised consciousness of a triumph on one side and
ill-smothered sentiments of resentful humiliation on the
other. How long feelings of this nature can predominate
without, leading to some awkward practical development
it is not for us to say; but it is clear that their long re-
prr,ssion during peace must add intensity to the exaspera-
tion of any future more open conflict.
That such a catastrophe would be embittered by the re-
collections of the recent dispute, and that these would tend
to magnify calamities in themselves sufficiently great,
seems to be the idea of a leading party in the 'United
States, who have taken an early opportunity to make a
demonstration a ;ainst the anti-English adherents of Mr.
Pierce. The Democratic Convention has nominated as its
candidate for the Presidency Mr. Buchanan, in preference
to the present occupant of the White-house. Although
this selection is not, indeed, so indicative of a pacific and
inoffensive policy as could be desired, it, at all events,
proves that the whole people of the United States are not
Inspired by that hatred of Great Britain which animated
the counsels of Mr. Pierce and his Cabinet. Of the two
men proposed for their selection. they are better pleased
with the cleverness of Buchanan than the open hostility of
Pierce. Buchanan has " done" the Britisher ; Pierce would
eat him, bones and all. The former accords better with
the present humour of the American people. They can
chuckle over the clever address which killed two birds wis h
one stone, and reconciled the amenities of diplomacy here
with the pretensions of patriotism there. But they ate
not at present disposed to sympathise generally with the
more truculent predilections which savour of the bowie-
knife and the rifle.
Fur this we may be thankful, not only on our own ac-
count, but on theirs too. The unanimity which would
would have re-elected Mr. Pierce to the Presidental chair
must have involved as a certain consequence the assump-
tion of a policy pregnant-with violence, aggression, and
insult. It would have proclaimed to the world that hence-
forth the Government of the United States was pledged,
and the people of the United States were devoted, to a
system which, while it defied or violated the usual laws of
international intercourse, at the same time coined fresh
laws for its own convenience or pride; and it would not
be difficult to foresee that such a system, once permitted
through weakness or encouraged by connivance, must
meter or later lead to a rupture with European states,
and, among them, with this country.
And what a war that would be ! We forbear to detail
the peculiar means of mutual annoyance which each of the
contending parties could bring into the field. We forbear
to compute the items of injury which they might respec-
tively inflict and suffer :—on the one hand, Boston, New
York, and New Orleans dismantled, shattered, depopu-
lated, and in flames ; on the other, Liverpool, Manchester,
and Birmingham subjected not to the same indignitiet,
but to equal misery, by the loss of their trade. We leave
to the commercial imagination—an imagination which in
our days is more active than any other—to reckon the
losses, the bankruptcies, the ruin of private families and of
associations, which must follow such a struggle. That
both counties could survive the strife and in a very short
time repair their losses is probable enough ; but what time
would suffice to heal reciprocated injuries and cool the hot
torrent of angry passions ? More important far than this
—for it concerns not two nations only, but ail civilised
Europe—after England and her Transatlantic chill had
inflicted these deep and searching wounds on each other—
when each had drunk madly of the other's blood—what
would be the prospects of European liberty? At the pre-
sent moment a dark thick cloud hangs over Italy, Ger-
many, Servia, and Turkey. It is or, the cast of the die
that they rise free from their time-hardened bondage, or
that their fetters be rivetted more tightly for ever. At
such a crisis is it of no alight moment that the two kindred
nations who enjoy the greatest freedom of speech, thought,
and institutions should be embroiled in a warfare which
would bequeath the bitter legacy of enduring and rancour-
OM hatred ? It is no secret that the great sovereign Powers
of Europe, who look with dread and detestation upon
those institutions which give to the governed a voice in the
government of their country—and this definition includes
nearly all the great powers—are meditating a project for
smothering the nascent liberties of those States where
thought is not yet stifled by the censor nor speech falsified
by the spy, A dexterously concerted plan of operations
may strangle the young liberties of Eur .pe, and throw its
people back into the darkness and degradation of the mid-
dle ages. Once done, this cannot be undone. But, to do
this, one thing is especially needful as a precedent condi-
tion. It is, above all things, necessary that England
should be either distracted or debilitated by some engros-
sing and dangerous contest. Whatever diverts her atten-
tion, drains her resources, or endangers her influence gives
an accession of strength to the monarch who hates liberty
and every tyrant who abuses his power. But how great
does this accession become if her energies are consume t in
a parricidal quarrel with that kindred race, which with
her language and blood, has inherited her traditions of law,
liberty, and self-government ! What would not the de-
spotic sovereigns give to see England and the United States
committed to a long and desolating war ? Such a strife
would seal the fate o free institutions for centuries ; per-
haps for ever. It would crush the germ of constitutional-
ism in Sardinie. It would consign the Lair provinces of
Rome and Tuscany to the eternal sway of a priestly caste
and Austrian solders. It would give f ull rein to the barb arous
caprices of the Neapolitan tyrant. It would strangle Pro-
testantism in Austria. It would destroy free speech and
action everywhere ' • and would leave no hope, no resource,
no redress, save in the wild outburst of desultory incur
rection or the capricious vengeance of the cowardly sti-
letto ! We know not if these things have beet, considered
by the American people. If they have not been so, they
are at least worthy of their meditation. Meanwhile, we
venture to regard as an indication of less pronounced hos-
tility the demonstrative preference which they have given
to the civil diplomatist over the martial and bellicose
President.

(From the Morning Herald of this day.)
Ministers have decided to submit to the affront offered
them by the American President, and accept the position
of hiainiJietion in which it places them ; and really we
cannot see that any other course lay open to them, as the
fact of their having provoked the insult admits ef no man-
ner of doubt ; while the affront, though sanglante, we
cannot think, considering the circumstances, such as to
warrant a recourse te a war of so fearful a nature as that
must be which must of necessity take place whenever Eng-
land and America commence a serious struggle.
We cannot, however allow that the necessity under
which the conduct of the English Government has placed
them of submitting to the fleets of the President, is any
reason why they should escape the censure which they de-
serve for having adopted a course which has lowered Bug-
land in the sight of Europe.
Moreover, they must not be allowed again to play the
game, which give .:00 members of the Commons, " who
found it inconvenient to go to their constituents," an ex-
cuse for a false verdict, by waking a scapegoat of Mr.
Crampton and the consuls, as they did of Lord Stratford
de Redcliffe in the disgraceful betrayal of Kers.
Tie people of Eag.and may excuse theme dyes from in-
volving the empire in a new war by assuming the line of
argument adopted by a gentleman who got kicked by en
ass, and declined taking any notice oc the assault by re-
f ering it to the igno:aoce of the aggressor ; but no such
course is open to their Government, who have brought
on this disagreeable transaction, in origine, by forcing the
Foreign Enlistment Bill through P trlistneat, in spite of
the ,ieterinined opposition and strongly-expressed opinion
of the nation.
We quite agree with the first leading article of the Times
of Tuesday, when it states that the acts of Mr. Crampton
ca rn t be separated from the instructions of the Ministry.
We are ceutioue in referring to the first leader of our
very consistent contemporary, because in the very next
column it asserts that it quite coincides with Mr. Marcy,
in exonerating the Government while it exculpates the
ambassador.
Our contemporary can afford to have two opinions ; but
we are unfortunately confined to a single one, and, there
fore, must reiterate our assertion, that there is no possi-
bility of separating the ambassador from the Ministry,
unless we adurit that Mr. Crampton was left for three
moe hs without those instructions which a fortnight
afforded ample time to convey.
Mr. Marcy states that the great cause of dissatisfaction
felt by his Government towards Mr. Crampton was, that
although the decision of the law courts of the United
States against the legality of the enlistment was pro-
nounced early in May, the ambassador continu- d to act in
defiance ef th tt decision up to late in August ; but still
Mr. Marcy exonerates from all blame the English Minis-
ter who could have checked these proceedings, but neglected
to do so for three long months.
Really the American Secretary must have taken a leaf
out of Lor Clarendon's book, in his proceedings in Dub-
lin, where the natives c impleined " that he insulted their
iutellect by the transparency of his postponements of
tru t h."
The real explanation, however, of this strong example
of the sauvitcr in modo et fortiter in re is, that President
Pierce anti his secretary are anxious to obtain political
capital by insulting the Britrehere, and, at the same time,
to v iid the consequences as far as a war is concerned ;
and in this matter they have received every assistance
from our own Cabinet. We believe, however, that a very
imperfect judgment can be f .rmed of all these apparently
amine %lons proceedings, unless we refer to the internal
coedit on of America herself.
The problem to be solved at present in the great Western
Republic is, "How to preserve the Milers from fall' tig to
p ces ;" and we believe that the mass of Arne 'lei as whom
tee Times sneers at as the " wise and good " are very ranch
puzz'ed to decide in their own minds whether this desira-
ole object is most likely to be forwarded by war or peace
with England.
The sacking of the town of Lawrence, in Kansas, and
the brutal assault upon Mr. Stunner, in the midst of the
assembled representatives of the states of the Union, are
simply signs more or less important of the spirit of ex.s-
peration which at this moment prevails among the anta-
grmist parties—pro-slavery and fr ee-soi!ers.
Or the two, perhaps, the most likely to produce lasting
ill-will is the attack upon Ur. Simile., a favourite o,ator
and influential delegate of the powerful community r f
nassachussets, which ha.s taken up the matter as a per-
sonal affront, and liar been joined in that view of the ease
by the New Yorkers and other northern states.
It will be easily understood that any alternative—even
a war with England —may be considered by a large num-
ber of American citizens as preferable to a break-up of
the Union, and that a course of action combining the
triple advantage of forwarding Mr. Pierce's re-election
views, of diverting attention from internal dissensions of
a nature so grave as to threaten the existence of the re-
public, as well as uniting the various states in carrying
out the Munroe doctrine, in,y obtain greater favour in the
eyes of a majority of Americans th in we at this side of the
Atlantic may be inclined to think possiele. That tne
American Govern:neat is waiting up in circumstances -
perhaps a collision in the Gulf of Mexico—and is willing,
in its doubt of coesequencee, to allow their course to be
guided by events, we can hardly doubt, wren we observe
the disimeeuuous way in which it acts. We allude to the
fast the even Mr. Crampton, as we are assured, was kept
in ignorance of the despatch sent off to Eaglet:el at fuer
o'clock on Tuesday, falsely stating what the President had
done, and that his letter of dismissal was only sent to Mr.
Crampton en Wednesday at four o'clock, when, as was
shrewdly observed, the Asia, which left New York at
twelve on Wednesday, was safe beyond the telegraph ht
Sandy ft olc. Mr. Crampton, we believe we may stree,
hail no notion of this decision before, and eve, thou kuew
nothing of the consuls being inclu tel in the ban.
The addition of the ctereuls arts evirieute, an after-
thought, and stultified the whole aim of the deep itch—
viz., to accept. herd Clarearlon's too concili eing letters,
as far as the English Government was concerned, and dis-
miss Mr. Cramp on upon separate grounds.
For ourselves, we believe that the retention of Mr.
Dallas iu this country will, from the peculiar tone of the
American mind, merely tend to make us more contempt-
ible in their eyes. They can understand the under hand
attempts of our Government to evade the neutrality laws,
but will despise us fur not having the courage to stand by
our revn wrong.
On the whole, we can only arrive at the conclusion that
the duty of the people of England et the prevent moment
is to prevent the Ministers escaping by the sacrifice of their
sehordinatee, who certainly did net .exeeeil their inetreic-
tioere and ono of whom, at least—if we believe the Phila.
delphia Erening Journal—entirely sueceede i in expoeMg
the conspiracy against biro, suborned and got up by Mr.
Cushing, the States Attorney-General.

(Prom the Daily News of this day.)
While thießritiah Government is content, as a measure
of peace and. an example of forbearauee, to continue,
through Mr. Dallas in London, diplomatic relations with
the Government of the United States, it will, we believe,
for the present at least, abstain from appointing any suc-
cessor to Mre Crampton at Washington. How long this
abstinence may be practised will probably depend on do-
mestic occurrences in the Uuited States ; anti, however
strong our desire may be to cultivate friendship and the
most intimate relations with the people of the United
States, there are, we should suppose, very few English-
men who wish to see another representative of their Sove-
reign and her Government sent to the Court of Mr. Pre-
sident Pierce, who has already shown how much he pre-
fers the advancement of his politics d ambition to concili-
ating by a moderate and temperate line of conduct the
good-will of England. When the forthcoming Presidential
election is fairly decided it will bo time enough for the
English Cabinet to think about having a Minister at
Washington ; for success in that contest may be expected
to sweeten the disposition of even the present Presiklent ;
while the choice-of any other man in the States .could
hardly fail to be a great improvement on the present state
of things at Washington.
Meanwhile„ the British Government will, it is to be
expected, at epee put to the proof the sincerity Secretary Marcy's avowed anxiety to come to a definite
arrangement abd final settlement of tho Central American
disputes. For, although anxiety as to the possibility of a
collision of the travel forces of the two countries before
Greytown is for the present removed by the prudent con-
duct of the captain of the small British frigate Eurydice
in fulfilment of his instructions from the Admiralty, anti
by the wise determination of the American Government,
in consequence of that prudence, n 4 to despatch any naval
force thither until the controversy is diplomatically and
conclusively settled, no one knows what a day tray ler ieg
forth. The very assistance( which the Eurydice is ordered
by the Admiralty to giie to freedom of transit through
Greytowu, may be misconstrued by perverse persons more
anxious-to increase than to allay local irritation : and any
attack by the forces of Nicaragua—its rulers are now re- _.....
leased from hostilities with Costa Rica—on Greytown, (From the it orning Post of th;s day
may add to theecomplication cf what is called, so far as In the discussiens that have taken place b tweet, the
England and the United States are concerned. the Central. British anti Arnerican Governmeuts relative to the inter-
American question, by bringing us into collision with gestation of the so-call el Clayton-Bel.ver treaty. frequeet
General Walker, whom we must now be prepared to see reference is made to the protector eta of the Mosquito
receiving direct assistance 'from the democratic party in coast The existence or non-existence of this protectorate
the United States, and moral support from their Go- •
is, in fact, ore of the chief points now in dispute with re-
Yernment.
serence to the treaty in question. On the one heist, Great
.
Hitherto, the English Cabinet has most properly kept Britain-mainteins that her interest in the Mosquito terri-
the question of Nicaragua quite distiect and separate from tury remains unaffected by the Convention of 1853; while
its disputes in Central Arnertea with the Washington Ca• the oppoeite view is no less strenuously supported by the
bind. It has indeed taken no past whatever in the dig- United States. We shall not recapitulate the arguments
orders or the quarrels of Nicaragua. The correspoudencte that have been used on
,either aide. Oar present object is
as to the sale cf fire-arms to Costa Rica laid before Path% simply to call attentiou to the political position and the
merit has, we (suspect, been much misunderstood. The natural c -pabilities of ‘he territory in question, as to which
truth is that the. War Dep•otreent has in store at present considerable misapprehension appears to exist upon this
an amount of old, and for British purposes wrthlese side of the Atlantic. Oar American neighbours, we have
F lEes. These it is desirous of getting rid of goo the best every reason to believe, are infinitely better informed upon
tarsus it can ; but so universal is improvement in fire-arms the subject.
that the market for "Brown:Bess" has becomevery limited. Filet, then, as to the political Irondition of Mos nito :it
So when the late Mr. Walleretein, Consul-General of Cost ,is still occupied by its aboriginal Joh .Intent , the Scipaniatels
Rice, applied for permission, to purchase part of this never having cerelnered, or at least, permanently anuexed
old stock, it
lose. The was soo good un opportunity to be it to their dominions in that quarter of the globe. This
_permission was accordingly granted, the circumstance, no doeht, attracted the attention of the nu.;
arms were selected, and the terms which they were morons Er tsh Av. aiturers who sought f 'me anti fur-
ter be furbished lee agreed ongnotn as.a commercial, tune in the West belies and in the Spanish Main in the
Not a politioal, transaction ; for immediately an inten- course of the seventeenth century. The Mosquito shore
tion on the part of the British Government to
the
epport was the only portion of the coast of Central Atneric?, over
st Nicaragua was inferred from
Costa Rica again
fell to the groued. andett. which Spainnot exteneed her doinion, and it was
tract for sale, the whole thing
naturally the, efore reset ted to by arc ountrymen, when
muskets hare, we hear, since been sold to merchants en- itt search of shelter or provisions, in preference to the ter-
gaged in the African trade.
ritories °fa rival, and, generally speaking, a hostile State.
The policy of our Government as to the ieterual ol• An intimacy was thas eeteblished between the ritish bee-
tles of Central America is, we may fairly presume, I?hali
caneers -for such they un ionbtally were—and the Mos-
foreshadowed in. the temperate, judicious, and useful' quite Indians, which led to snip recant results. The latter
speech of Lord John Russell on Monday evening—nee.".
uave!raten.gl,afil to avail themsel_ yes of. their European allies as._ a
terference in the most rigid sense of the word, and a frank
inemine tn ir territories against
the encroach-
acceptance of any government that may be 'formed, either
And in this thents of sent penish viseroy, an i eventually in the year
in Nicaragua or in any of the-other States.
1.,i8' the then King cf Mosquito with the consent of alt
view we must say
.that. the general interests of then world.
cita ; :
"Lief . made a fornaal ces,ion of his dominions to the
so far as the local.question is concerned, may be al). n 'King of England. Thus commenced our. political connec-
tally advanced by the complete success of GeneralWalker,tion with that e,inntry. The ilreal of Spanish tyranny and
if he has only the wisdom not to precipitate himself into a rapacity ineucsd the people of Mosquito to place them-
dispute about Greytowu. • Already his success at least has selves under the protection of a Power which had hi reps
had one good effect—hostilities with Costa Rica have tation for humanity 44 well tie strength. Nor has ths o'e-
r:leased, and it is more than probable that the superior tidence been ataed.
Nothing would have been easier for
force of Walker will compel Costa Rica to arrangeits long. E liand, att an time since the dae of the cession in clues
standing boundarfelispute with Nicaragua. irt is to be tion, than oha
lave seizet and din
I the Mt s mito e tun
hoped he may, for the longer these deeper .te and remorse- try. Th..t she " doce .0..110 that she has curs pulously
t faith with tne semi-b e•bartan tribes who c tnfided in
less internal and internecine quarrels rage in Central Aline- kap
rice, the more danger is there of other Walkers seeking in her power and generosity eeesky
two centuries ago, is
them a fortune inconsistent with their complete indepen I- circumstance which even Mr.
arty must admit is high',
ease and with their material improvement. It was to do creditable to this na,ron.
as we have emetic strife that Nicaragua owed the Walker interven- But we may be told,
worth havingeb"n
mistake.ish
told, that the
tion ; and similar causes will inevitably produce similar Mosquito country is not
-- and that
effects in Costa Rica. To come as speedily to terms with true cause of our forbearance. This is a gran i
President Rivas and General Walker as to boundaries is The territory over which our p ()rectorate extends abounds
nerefore as obviously sound olicy on the part of Costa in natur d resources, and from its geographical position, is
Rica, as it is for England and the United States to lose admirably adapted ter cone rierciel enterprise.. It possesses
no time in settling directly those parts of their controversy a sea coast of upwards of five hundred mines in length, ex_
which can be so arranged, and in agreeing on the terms of te d rig from Greytown, on the river S i Juan, to Cape
an arbitration and the person of an arbiter to which the Honduras. Between these extreme points there are several
points not susceptible of Inch a solution can be left. Dols are well
harbours, of which Truxillo end Graclas-a-
We have never hesitated to express an Opinionthat known for th •excellence t the
as their 0 •. e he adj
/foe uito
to the Bay Islands the United States Government hoe the ing seas. As regards its interred resources, the
thefaceci
best of the argument. Geographically the islands ought to territory is probably kit surpassed by •any country 0n..al
'l' T ntors of t
belong to the state 4 Honduras, which they adjoin, and of the globe. Toe ;1 sins are 'capable of raising ic.
not to the Belize Settlement, froni which they they are upwards produce of every description in the greatest abundance.i
of 200 miles distant,. Historically they formed part of the Sugar, coffee cotton, and tobacco, all grow as luxuriant 11
Vice-Royalty of Guatemala Netwithatan-ling, therefore, es the most fertile of the West Thais islands, and the
they had occasionally been treated as British territory by mountsins ire the interior are covered with valuable time
oar West Indian governors and admirals, it was it can her of nearly every variety. Several rivers of considerable
hardly be denied a very great mistake in Sir J. Pakington, magnitude take their rise in these elevated regions, and
when Colonial Secretary, to erect them into a British afford the means of water carriage through the moo 10114

3,12:3