The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-23 00:00:00

LONDON', WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 1855.

Your own son, Mr. CEUZZLEWIT, your Own
son !" The exclamation of poor old CHUFFEY
may not be exactly applicable to Queen ISABELLA,
but she may be regarded as a veritable Bourbon of
the Neapolitan line. She proves herself pos-
sessed of the qualities for which her Uncle, King
BOMBA, has acquired such painful notoriety, to be
equally insensible to the obligations of an oath,
and incapable of profiting by the lessons of ex-
perience. The same mischievous cunning, with-
out the power of taking a large or comprehensive
view of the state of public affairs, are charac-
teristics of both Sovereigns ; and both the
Spanish and Neapolitan dynasties are, at this
moment, greatly endangered by the flagrant dis-
regard and repudiations of the constitutions which
they had respectively sworn faithfully to observe.
In some respects it is difficult to say which of
the illustrious pair has proceeded to the
greatest lengths in violation of the rights
of their subjects, or which has incurred the
greatest odium in the cause of absolute
and irresponsible despotism ? BOMBA has the
advantage of age. He has been longer in the
field and has contrived to inflict more protracted
torture on his victims. But it is a labour of
love with ISABELLA. She is a worthy niece to
FERDINAND, a true daughter, in every respect, of
MARIA CHRISTINA. To judge from the mode in
which the conspiracy against the Constitution
was conducted she has even more cunning than
BOMA, and is, therefore, the more dangerous of
the two. Besides, as we have already stated,
her only claim to reign is based on the Constitu-
tion. It is the foundation on which her throne
rests. She has, therefore, exhibited at the same
time greater courage and greater ingratitude in

so deliberately kicking down the ladder to which
she owes her elevation. It is, therefore, difficult
' to decide which is the more objectionable of the
two. They are apparently arcades ambo—a phrase
of which Lord 13vRoN has offered an appropriate
translation.
There has as yet been no eruption of the slum-
bering •volcano at Naples ; but the dangerous
character of the ground on which BO3IBA is re-
posing is too well known to need description.
The Western Powers, who have ample means of
enforcing obedience, have in vain remonstrated.
He shuts himself up in the peculiar obstinacy of
his disposition, and treats with contumely nn-
pleasing advice. Even the recommendations of

Austria are equally disregarded, although it is
solely on the Austrian bayonets that he can
depend for a single week's security. lie has
hardened his heart against the consequences--
which ho will be the first, and probably the only
one, to deplore when things have taken their
inevitable course.

There can, however, be no Garman interfer-
ence in the affairs of the Iberian Peninsula.
There is no pretest arising from previous occu-
pation, or possible dangers to neighbouring I
doing so he was guided very -
in the Indian papers; but he was luippy to find tnat Lne
Itstome4 wile corroborated by the opinion of Lord Dalhou-

gates in which Germans are interested. The
matter is one for the decision of Spaniards, and
Spaniards only. England will keep aloof from
the contest, but it will be her duty to see that
others display similar impartiality. We may
pity the Spaniards, but they must assert their
own privileges, and display the indispensable zeal
and energy, if they hope for ultimate success.

The cunningly-devised scheme, in which ISA -
DEMI enacted the chief part, has obtained a
temporary triumph at Madrid. But. it remains
to be seen what will be the results in the Pro-
vinces. As we stated yesterday, no less than 85
members of the Cortes have found their way to
Saragossa. And the Assembly thus constituted
must be regarded as the legitimate Parliament of
Spain. The treatment accorded to the members,
who at Madrid held a meeting under their
legitimate President, General INFANTE, shows
that many others participate in the feelings
of those who have seceded- to Saragossa, and
would, if possible, join them in their delibe-
rations. It will be seen that O'DorrNEnn refused
the meeting claimed by the Deputies, declining to
recognise its legality, on the extraordinary ground
that it had not the liberty necessary for delibe-
ration, "in consequence of the pressure which may be
exercised on it by the insurrection." Surely this
is rather a strange assertion, when, at almost the
very same moment, they state that " the rebellion
is overcome and terminated, and the empire of
the law is re-established." The authority of the
Cortes is just as legitimate as that of the SOVE-
REIGN, and when she choses, in the effort illegally
to attain absolute power, and to set aside a co-
ordinate authority, any resistance that may be
offered to the illegal proceedings is fully anal
completely justified.
In the telegraphic despatches from St. Sebas-
' tian, which we published in our impression of
yesterday, it was said that "at Saragossa matters
were in a fair way of arrangement." It must be
re9ollected, however, that this was altogether a
one-sided statement, and that the telegraphic
communications are still interrupted, which proves
that the Constitutional party are still in the
ascendant in that city. Unless, then, ample con-
cessions are made, we cannot anticipate an early
- restoration of tranquillity, or suppose that civ 1
strife can be averted, the flame whereof will spread
through other parts of Europe, until a general
entest shall arise between the conflicting prin-
ciples of Liberty and Despotism.

What we have a right to ask from our diplo-
macy is, that we have timely cognisance of its
doings. This practical demand implies all the
principles which are most important. Nearly at
the same moment a noble protest comes to us
across the Atlantic, from the pen of Col. FREMONT,
against secret diplomacy ; and Lord MILMESBURY,
in our House of Lords, gives a provoking practical
illust'ration of its oversights and incompetency.
The British public is taking at the present an in-
terest in foreign politics beyond anything it has
felt during the present generation, and now,
therefore, seems to be the proper time to arouse
public attention, if possible, to the rottenness and
mischievous working of the system on which our
foreign relations are managed. I t has already re-
ceived some rude shocks by its miserable achieve-
ments at Vienna, Berlin, Paris, and, indeed, almost
everywhere ; but, above all, in the discreditable
termination of the CramrroN affair. Mr. M.
GIBSON seems very desirous we should be at the
expense of another secret service agent at Wash-
ington, but will his triend COBDEN not tell him
that he would never be worth the cost of his
voyage across, and probably, sooner or later, get
us into some fresh scrape ; unless, indeed, he be
charged to become livery-servant to the next Pre-
sident who may want one behind his chair whoa
he canvasses for a renewal of his office.

1001. FRE3IONT says plainly, " Internation 11
embarrassments are mainly the results of a secret
diplomacy, which aims to keep from the know-
ledge of the people the operations of the Govern-
ment. This system is inconsistent with the ch 1-
racter of our institutions, and is itself yielding
gradually to a more enlightened public opinion
and to the power of a free press, which, by its
broad dissemination of political intelligence, secures
in advance to the side of justice the judgment of
the civilised world. An honest, firm, and open
policy in our foreign relations would command
the united support of the nation, whose de-
liberate opinions it would necessarily reflect."
In America, it is a hopeful indication, that the
COLONEL'S views are not without vigorous support
from the press of his country ; the New York
Tribune argues for dispensing entirely with high-
paid representatives at foreign courts, and in this
country we have had a journal adopting the same
strain, which a short time back would have sneered,
at the suggestion, as the last barbarism of the
Manchester School. We certainly have not been
scholars in that Academy since it effectually taught
the country the single lesson it ever was master of,
but we are happy to acknowledge its merits as a
denouncer of the uselessness and mischievousness,
as well as cost, of our secret diplomatic system,
and indeed of the system altogether. Mr. GIBSON,
in his love to Messrs. PIERCE, MARCY, BUCHANAN,
and the other Ostend appropriators of Cuba,
would desert the standard of the great cotton-
mill members, and send the States another Minis-
ter. Perhaps, however, his cotton manufactur-
ing constituency share his inconsistency.
The fresh exemplification of secret-service do
faults is the destruction by the Russians of the
fortresses of Reni and Ismail, on the Danube,
before they left that district. Lord MALMESBURY
justly pressed upon the Foreign Secretary the
injury thus done to Turkey, and the alter-
native that either he and Lord COWLEY
had ill performed their part, or that Russia
had acted with perfidy. Let us note the answer.
It is in brief that Russia was perfidious to an un-
doubted understanding that the forts were
to be preserved, but that it was so well
understood that he (Lord CLARENDON) should
have been ashamed to require of Russia written
stipulations. Ashamed to bind Russia by a
written undertaking ! Had our plain men of
business seen what was going on what would they
have said to omitting from the bond anything
they wished to be binding on the other party ?
But had Lord CLARENDON himself forgotten
the value of au understanding with either
Russia or Austria ? Had he forgotten the
infernal massacre of Sinope perpetrated in
violation of an express understanding, indeed
of a verbal pledge ? Had he forgotten the
cowardly shirking of the understanding of a
written engagement between the. Allies and Aus-
tria by that power ? And, after such experience
of what an understanding with heartless, selfish,
despots, with no standard of honour but interest,
is worth, could he be so unbusiness-like, for we
acquit him of complicity, as to omit from the bond
anything of serious importance ? Timely pub-
licity would have corrected this. Might we
but have seen the stipulations before they were
unalterable hundreds of Englishmen would have
demanded an engagement, in a form which even
Russian perfidy could not evade, so soon after it
was made, and before the Crimea was evacuated.
The blunder is, in truth, a eOrioll3 one. To a

moue; Luurenuio, 1114 uvr
must be taken to vindicate British honour am& to yAr.,