The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-29 00:00:00

martial law, without occasion or justification,' I
"au essential prerogative of the Crown ?" Was
the letting loose of 18,000 armed men against
the unprepared people, to shed their blood with-
out mercy or forbearance. "Peaceable discussion ?"
Or did the firing on the members of the
Cortes, who were proceeding to lay their
just complaints before their Sovereign, more
appropriately fall within the terms ? It would,
indeed, be difficult to answer these queries in
such a manner as to remove the imputations to
which O'DoNNELL has rendered himself liable by
his proceedings from the earliest moment of his
conspiracy against his colleagues, and by this ex-
travagant and unwarrantable Manifesto.
There is, then, an elaborate attack on the
institution of the National Guard, which it
declares was, en the whole, "an element of un-
unceasing perturbation ; a constant opponent of
every established goternment," which " even had
the effect of preventing all salutary reforms.'
And this comes from O'DONNELL, from the very
man who within two short years assumed arms
for the purpose of re-establishing that institution
which he then asserted to be illegally and uncon-
stitutionally suppressed ! While he sought his
way to power, under the mask of liberalism,
he defended those whom he has now basely
deserted and loudly condemned.
He is, however, conscious that his own designs
of establishing a despotic Government, founded
on military force, is incompatible with the exist-
ence of an armed body of citizens. He felt from
the beginning that the programme which he
sketched out must be strenuously and energeti-
cally opposed, and thus he first stimulated to
resistance those whom he now recklessly slanders.
Like all absolutists he resorts to the slang
of " public order and tranquillity," which
he himself had disturbed. He has now clearly
flung aside disguise. He stands exposed before
the world in all his naked deformity, and leaves
no possible doubt as t• his flagitious projects.
Let him, however, beware, notwithstanding his
temporary success. He leans on a broken reed
in imagining the constancy of Court savour,
and may have the illusion painfully dispelled
ere many weeks have elapsed. He is but
the vile instrument that will be cast aside
without a moment's hesitation whenever the
dirty work has been performed. Although the
" Guard" has been dissolved, the men of whom
it was composed still remain, and the unanimity
which formerly existed will not be lessened by the
infamous libel directed against them. It is true
that they did not display the energy that might
have been anticipated in the hour of trial, but
there is "a good time coming," and we cannot
believe that Spaniards will patiently acquiesce
in the destruction of their Constitution by a
faction like that to which O'DONNELL has recently
allied himself.

The charter of universal dominion over the
waves, and of never-ending freedom for Britons,
with which, according to our great national strain,
Britannia is endowed, would seem to be accom-
panied by a licence, by way of drawback, of which
Britannia, or rather those who manage her affairs,
freely avail themselves, to her infinite detriment,
and that is evermore to subordinate merit to
favour, and keep the right man out of the right
place.

The perusal of a communication from Mr.
EDWARD CULLEN, which appears in our present
impression, describing the results of the late so-
called exploration of the proposed canal route to
communicate between the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans, furnishes a remarkable illustration in
support of our hypothesis—au illustration which,
taken iu connection with other circumstances,
goes fir to establish it as a fact. The world-
wide importance of a communication between
the two oceans is everywhere admitted, and
that it would be of immense value to us
is also placed beyond dispute. Under such cir-
cumstances, common sense, we imagine, must have
indicated the propriety of sending men of first
class and approved ability to undertake the
exploration required. How little common sense
had to do with the appointment of Mr. GISBORNE
and Capt. HANCOCK, let the readers of Mr.
CULLEN'S letter determine. Never, we incline to
think, did self-sufficiency and incompetency for a
peculiar task—we say nothing of their general
ability as professional men—more signally expose
individuals to the observation and the derision of
the world. The right man to have led the ex-
ploring party was surely one who, like Mr.
CULLEN, knew something about the country, and
had some inkling of the route to be pursued.
Perhaps on that very account Mr. GISBORNE, like
the donkey who the more lie was beaten the more
he wouldn't go, obstinately refused to avail him-
self of Mr. CULLEN'S experience at all, and the
more foolish appeared his resolve the more
pertinaciously persisted in it. The result
was, the party wandered in the first in-
stance in a circle, and on arriving at their
journey's end found themselves, not within sight
of the Pacific, but of the Atlantic—not at the
goal, but at the point from which they started.
Mr. CULLEN'S direction, ono would have thought,
would by this time have been in request. By no
means. He knew too much for official vanity,
and must have his presumption rebuked ! " Let
me guide the next party," was his entreaty. "By
DO means," exclaims Mr. GISEORNE. "No !"
thunders the illustrious Commander HANCOCK,
"Laud me three seamen and I will undertake the
survey myself." "My instructions," replies the
Commander with austere dignity, " are to pro-
tect a survey, and not to send exploring parties."
Admirable disciple of routine—judicious servant
of the public ! The resolute CULLEN resolves to
start alone, but the officers of the Espiegle, fearing
lest his life should be taken, as were the lives of
some of PnEvoses party, persuade him to revoke
his determination.

The great GISBORNE—for if self-reliance don't
make a man great, what will ?—starts on the 7th
February (the landing took place on the 24th
January) with a small party, under the guidance
of a native, on a second exploration. This time
he reaches the other side, and hails the shores of
the Pacific at the expiration of three days' walk.
How severely his engineering abilities were tested,
and how
signally they were manifested, let what
follows describe :—gg In crossing the Cordillera to
Sucubti, this party followed the ,Indian trail,
which passes over the highest ground, and traversed
the only portion of the country which presents
any engineering difficulties in a few hours ! From
these circumstances, and from their very cursory
and fugitive inspection of a country which is one
unbroken forest of heavy timber and tall brush-
wood, where the explorer can scarcely see ten yards
ahead of him, it __ was manifestly impossible for the
engineers to make any search for the valley which
transversely divides the Cordillera ; consequently
they were unable to form an opinion as to the
practicability of a canal. So thinks Baron Ilux-
BOLDT, and so will others beside the Baron. The
results were—the practicability of crossing the
Isthmus by the Indian track in three days was
established by Mr. GISBORNE, and the im-
practicability (?) of the proposed canal route
was made "as clear as mud." Th© remain-