The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-14 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 1856.

A preposterous rumour, to the effect that we
were to have public rejoicings in Hyde-park and
elsewhere upon her MAJESTY'S Birth-day in honour
of the Peace, has already elicited an official con
tradietion. Germinating on Friday, it was nipped
in the bud on Saturday ! It was so short-lived
as to.have not the smallest pretensions even to the
dignity of a nine-days' wonder ! It was a little
gad-fly brag of-the race of the ephemeridm 1 The
statement was circumstantial enough, too,
for that matter. It began with the
announcement .of a review of troops to the
number of more than 12,000 men in Hyde-

park, in the presence of her MAJESTY and

his Royal Highness. It eves particularised
several of the regiments expected to be then and
there marshalled before the SOVEREIGN. It spoke,
among other things, of the 3d Dragoons, and of
the 11th Hussars, and of the 17th Lancers, of
household infantry and cavalry, of field and horse
artillery, of veterans
,who had borne the brunt of
Alma and Inkertnan, of gallant fellows who
had gone through the terrible ordeal of the
Trenches, and of others who had been fortunate
enough AO- participate in some measure in the
final capture '(as
far as it went) of Sebastopol.
The poor. little yobs-moyche
of this idles who had set the game
rumour a-foot went so far even as to
add a few more particulars, to the foregoing by
way of making the whole affair more pleasantly
not to say ridieulously, circumstantial,
'
. with this amiable According
to. the addenda indulged in
view to particularity, the morrow of the Birth-
day 'was rstill to find Hyde-park the arena
of some excitement, consequent upon its being
rendered the scene of various games and amuse.
ments, the evening being crowned with a grand
pyrotechnic display simultaneously with a general
The whole paragraph glared upon
the town on- Friday like the veriest Vauxhall
transparency. On Saturday, however, as Jack
would have it, the glim was doused with a
vengeance. It was no better, after all, than
an exploded firework—a swinging skeleton of
charred laths and blackened brown-paper, reeking
with smoke and smelling of gunpowder. Scarcely
had :the more credulous swallowed it, illumina-
,
tions and reviews, " and all manner of games"—
including even a fair, and we don't know what all
—than it Proved to -be nothing more nor less
than a deliberate fiain,” what Brother
JONATHAN calls a " barn," no doubt from
the circumstances of its being the means by which
the majority are at all times the most
effectually bamboozled ! And so ends the cock-
and-bull story of a series of public 64 Rejoicings'.
upon her MAJESTY'S Birth-day, in honour of the
Hocus-pocu4 Pacification
_811(14st:11y conjured up
out of the Paris Conferences.

Rejoicings ! In the name of fortune we should

like to know for what ? For a Peace which
is the source of such very natural exul-
tation to the Russians ? as those who
run may read if they list in the Imperial
Manifesto issued on the Ist of April by the Czar
ALEXANDER. For the ignominious termination
by France and England of a War, all the perils
and expenses of which the German Powers have
adroitly contrived to evade, to the end that their
diplomatic representatives may be admitted at last
upon a footing of equality with the rest of the
Plenipotentiaries gathered together in the sanctum
sanctorum of the Parisian Conferences ?
Rejoicings I In the name of common sense,
we repeat, for - what ? For Austria's having all
along retained—for her still retaining up to this
present moment inclusively—undisputed posses-
sion of the Danubian Principalities For
Prussia's having made money " galore,"
through her sinister monopoly of the Russian
markets while the two years' struggle lasted—
at the close of which profitable interval the Cabi-
net of Berlin is rewarded for its selfishness and
pusillanimity by an invitation to take part,
through the person of its ambassador, in the pre-
liminary arrangements for the Premature Pacifi-
cation, as well as immediately afterwards by the
prospect of a dynastic alliance, to be effected by
means of an union cunningly arranged between
the heir of King CLICQUOT and the Princess Royal
of England ?

1 Rejoicings, ye Gods !-=---rejoicings for what I` For
millions upon millions sterling spent for no purpose
whatever ? For hundreds, and thousands, and tens
of thousands, of brave fellowsperishing on the shores
of
.the Black Sea to no end at all that any one
' can discover beyond that of adorning the Tale of
this deplorable Conflict, and pointing the Moral
of our most criminal Mismanagement ? Rejoic-
ings—can they be---:for the bones of those struck
down by pestilence at Scutari ? For the ashes of
those dying in the trenches- through privation? For
the dust of the gallant veterans killed, in vain as far as
the glory of the West is concerned, among the
hills and valleys, among the rivers and ravines of
the inhospitable Chersonesus ? Rejoicings !—Are
we to hear of rejoicings for a Peace sneaking into
existence out of a Diplomatic Palaver !
Instead of a Peace dictated by the
conquering power upon the historic field of
some supreme and ever-memorable victory !
Never—we undertake to aver thus explicitly what
the annals of the world everywhere demonstrate
beyond the possibility of contradiction—never has
a great international permanent Peace been accom-
plished otherwise than in the way we have here last
mentioned. A Peace to be secure even for a few
years, must be aPeace so obtained—a Peace won by
the edge of the sword—a Peace the fruit of some de-
cisive triumph—a Peace the result of a grand and
crowning Battle, a Waterloo, or an Austerlitz.
Effect a Peace, or what you call a Peace, by a few
scratches of a Pen—(no matter whether you carve
it out of the quill of an Eagle or pf a Goose !)
and at best it will only be an unsafe Truce conse-
quent upon an uncertain Compromise !
And surely we have no such crowning vic-
tory to boast of—no great battle won, upon
the morrow of which we could dictate, not
"arrange," but dictate, terms of peace to
an . enemy effectually vanquished. In this
way, indeed, we cannot even now exult over
the complete and final capture of Sebastopol—
the huge Northern Forts being still resolutely
retained in the possession of the stubborn and
unyielding Muscovites ! While as to the other
scenes of conflict illustrating the prowess of the
combatants during this last two years' struggle,
we cannot by any means boast of them as in any
essential particular in any way decisive. The
Alma was glorious, no doubt, but it was
so far from being a consummation that it was lite-
rallyonly a commenceteient. Inkerman ?—Well, we
all know that was a Surprise—splendidly repulsed
beyond all question—but still a Surprise. Bala-
'Maya ?-that again was worse than a Surprise ; it
was a Blunder—but a Blunder glorified into the
Heroic by a valour of unparalleled magni-
ficence. Traktir:bridge or The Tchernaya—which-
ever it may be called—it was merely a brilliant
episode. And as for the Redan—well, the failure
at the Redan was just redeemed, fortunately, by
the success at the Malakhoff ! At any rate,
nowhere throughout all this terrible conflict
of two years in the Crimea, nowhere is
there discoverable for France
.and_England, for
Turkey and Sardinia, for Europe, for Christen-
dom—nowhere is there discoverable what has
already - been here mentioned as the only
sure basis for the building up upon it,
of anything at all pretending to the gran-
deur and solidity of a Permanent Pacifi-
cation. Matchless feats of aims there have
been during this War both for France and for
England, and let us add too for Turkey—but not
one decisive victory, not one victory that could
be taken as the foundation for a lasting Peace.
And therefore it is that we cannot Rejoice. Re-
joice ! Remembering all that has been squandered •
in blood and treasures upon this deplorable be-
cause wholly futileand bootless struggle with a law-
less aggressor—rather than cause for rejoicing we
can only discover in this most destructive War,
and in this most despicable Peace—reason for
bitter and profound lamentation !

' While the attention of the Congress at Paris is
directed to the Italian question it is more than
- hinted that Austria meditates an armed occupation
of Parma, in the immediate vicinity of Piedmont.,
Stich an act could only be regarded as a direct
menace against our magnanimous and faithful
ally the King of SARDINIA, that it is, in fact, in-
tended to avenge the disgrace which his prompti-
tude and fidelity to his engagements cast upon
Austrian procrastination and duplicity. If this be
so, and the statement possesses a vraisembtance
that entitles it to consideration, it will be impos-
sible for France and England to abstain from
affording the direct and tangible assistance to
King VICTOR EMMANUEL to which he has pre-
eminently entitled himself ; and it may be found,
as we stated on Saturday, that complications will
arise to which the Eastern difficulty was compara-
tively a trifle.
It is manife2t that Austria is by no means satis-
fied with the existing state of affairs—that-she had
calculated' en
retaining her hold on the Danubian
ages for herselafiltdha
PrinCipalities,
and was by no
l
great y
.result, and it is positively
deavouring to carry oat her
atcqshueiring considerable advan-
had not fairly earned,
means entitled to. She
has, however, beet
disappointed at the
asserted that she is en-
objects by isolated
movements no less dangerous to the tranquillity of
Europe than the passage of the Pruth by the
Muscovite troops. She may possibly calculate on
the extraordinary deference hitherto displayed on
every occasion, and which she had done so little
to merit, or the prevalence of that unfortunate
spirit of Germanism to which we have so fre-
quently alluded. She may -suppose that Coburg
and Belgium being made safe that she has nothing
to fear from that England which has been so
virulently abused by her journalists and her
military men. But in these matters she may
possibly reckon without her host. It is not easy
to excite the English people ; but when their ilv.

dignation has been thoroughly aroused it does
not speedily or easily subside, and in such case no
secret or unconstitutional influence, however great,
could guard her against its natural consequences.
The time may not be far distant when the
feelings and wishes of the various constituencies
may be more fully and fairly represented in Par-
liament than at present. A general election is
"looming in the future," and we believe
that when the inspiring cry of " England
for the English, and not for the Germans," has
been proclaimed from the hustings—when candi-
dates must speak out boldly and intelligibly, in
order to have the slightest chance of election—

the results will be such as to convince the uncon-
stitutional intermeddlers that they must sink back
into their legitimate positions, and abstain from
interference, highly prejudicial to the safety,
honour, and welfare of our SOTEREIGN and her
dominions, and very dangerous to themselves, and
to those whom they fancy they can shield from
the natural consequences of their own misconduct.
Nothing is more objectionable to the English
People, nothing should be more so to the FrenCh
EMPEROR than foreign interference in the internal
affairs of an independent State. Had it been
attempted in France Louis NAPOLEON might have
held a situation very different indeed from that
which he now occupies. If the present Congress
be anything better than a conspiracy of
crowned heads against popular liberties, such
armed intervention should be expressly and
unequivocally prohibited, and every nation
should be allowed to arrange its domestic affairs
and all relating to its internal government, with-
out the presence of foreign troops striving to con-
trol and smother the voice of public opinion.
Now military occupation is the favourite specific
of Austria, she fancies that it is the panacea for
every disease, and that as she was enabled to
rivet the chains on the gallant Magyars by the
assistance of Cossack hordes, without which they
would speedily have shaken off the detested yoke,
she may in like manner crush liberty in every
neighbouring state.
We have already seen that she regards Italy as
completely her own, its nominal Princes as her
mere satraps—We witnessed last year,the course
adopted in Tuscany, which completely ignored
the claim of the so-called Grand Duke to any ves-
tige of independence. A similar movement to-
wards Parma now appears to be in contemplation.
The question arises, and it is truly moment-
ous, is the attempt about to be made with the
sanction and connivance of the Congress, or of any
and which of its members ? or is it merely by Aus-
tria, in the hope of bullying the other members,
and by a step so decided getting rid of the very
distasteful topics that have been introduced by
the Sardinian Plenipotentiary, with, as it is as-
serted, the full assent and unvalified approval of
Louis NAPOLEON ? We should earnestly hope
that the latter may be the correct solution of the
all-important problem. A short time since we
should not have had the slightest hesitation on the
point, or imagined for a moment that the Monarch
who owed his exalted position to the suffrages of
his people would for a moment tolerate the inter-
ference of other Sovereigns with the most sacred
and inalienable privileges of a free community,
viz., that of selecting the form of Government
suited to their wants and wishes, and best calcu-
lated to develope the national. prosperity. Unfor-
tunately, however, there have been too many
recent symptoms of undue weight being attached
to dynastic considerations, and a desire to
strengthen a throne founded on the popular will
by the aid of despotic rulers. There are too fre-
quent allusions to "the Union so happily re-esta-
blished between Sovereigns," and far too few to the
friendly and cordial feelings between the Peoples.
We therefore anxiously look forward to some 'de-
cided demonstration that may dispel the mystery,
and enable us once more to place implicit reliance
on 'the Imperial Ruler of the French. Should that
demonstration be in the right direction, as we
fervently pray may be the case, he should
abstain from any objectionable proceedings
himself, and not strive to prop up any
foreign power by the aid of French bayonets.
He should be enabled to come into court with
clean hands, and carefully remove the beam from
his own eye before he endeavours to purify the
vision of others. Italy cannot always be coerced
—the quondam Mistress of the World cannot
for ever be kept in a state of thraldom. A libera-
tor may arise—the oppressed nationalities may
put forth their mighty, although dormant,
strength, and woe to those who endeavour to resist
the torrent, and render the contest one of the
most formidable that has ever occurred—a War
to the knife between the conflicting principles of
liberty and of despotism, of civilisation and of
blind and degrading barbarism.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL has been used to defeats, but
we question whether in his long Parliamentary
eareer he has sustained one so signal as that which

.erminated. the Education debate. In a house of
418 members it was decided, by a majority of
260 against 158, that the first of his long string
of resolutions should not even be put to the com-
mittee ; for such was the meaning of the vote,
that " the Chairman do now leave the chair."
Such a minority has no parallel with those in
which the Noble Lord so frequently found him-
self in his younger days. When fighting for
liberal principles in a House composed of the
nominees of rotten boroughs, and country squires,
the smallness of his minority was then but the
measure of his superiority to their Tory ignorance
and prejudice. On Friday night his small mino-
rity did but measure his own retrogression from
the English principles of self-government to those
of German bureaucracy. The two leading orators
of the debate, Sir JAMES GRAHAM and Mr.
GLADSTONI9, convicted him, to the satisfaction
of even Conservatives themselves, of trenching
most dangerously upon the dearest privileges and
rights of Englishmen.
Vain were the attempts of foes and friends, as
well as his own, to rescue him from utter defeat.
First he threw away all the more offensive resolu-
tions, retaining only those which appointed the
regiment of sub-inspectors, and gave power to
form school districts. Hereupon Mr. HENLEY
compassionately offered to withdraw his motion,
and to allow the comparatively harmless first re-
solution to pass. This resolution, it will be re-
membered, only asserted that it was " expedient
to extend, revise, and consolidate the minutes of
the Committee of Privy Counsel on Education ;"
Mr. H. admitted that there was neither much harm
nor much good in this. Just before the decisive
vote Laird PALMERSTON also came to the rescue of
his old Whig colleague, but came in vain—the
House would vote upon Mr. HENLEY'S resolution,
and refused to endorse even the proposition designed
in honour of the Privy Council. It rightly judged
that it was also designed as the basis of all the
subsequent mischief. It was either useless, for
the committee is increasing its operations rapidly
enough in all conscience, or it was mischievous by
meaning more than it said. The Parliamentary
grants for the committee began with 10,0001., and
now have reached 451,0001. a-year, all disbursici,„
be it observed, irresponsibly by the class who used
our money to such good purpose in the Crimea