The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-20 00:00:00

NEW SOUTH WALES V. VICTORIA.

The Australian children of the great Anglo-Saxon
parent are beginning to feel the ill effects of restrictions on
commerce. The pressure of ad valorem duties is found to
be molt ii.jarious both in Victoria and New South Wales.
What is required is a system of taxation which will raise
a revenue without interfering with commerce ; but what
is also required is a strong government with the ability to
devise, and the courage to propound, a u. table plan. In New
South Wales, at least, it does not seem feasible to substi-
tute other taxes for the ruinous duties on commerce, unless
a considerable reduction be effected in public expenditure.
The more farsighted portion of the Australian community
live in the hope of a Customs Union between New South
Wales and Victoria ; but this hope is by no means
unchequered. The fact is that young as the colonies
are, a sort of rivalry has already sprung up between
them ; the object of each is to draw to its
ports the rapidly-increasing commerce of the Southern
Seas. The Sjjdney Morning Herald urges the people
of New South Wales to try to win the race by adopting
the lightest possible system of Customs' duties, by abolish-
ing, in fact, all levies except upon a few articles of general
consumption. The people of Victoria, knowing full well
that their commercial system, which is one of Protection,
would speedily throw them behind, are growing alarmed
at this feeling in the neighbouring colony. It is not
improbable that the rivalry of the two settlements may
secure the adontio- -"ref, Trade in bal.

than he had anything to do with the motion so long
standing in his name, for the British House of Com-
mons to recognize the independence of the Confe-
derate States. That sin and folly—he almost admits
it to be such—was his own bantling ; opposed
alike by the most prominent Whigs and Tories,
and scouted by the House, wherein he thinks he
could not have obtained 25 supporters. Mr. Roe-
buck's motion, made later, fared as badly; the
sense of all Englishmen being dead against any
such move at any period of the war.
A very able letter from an " American Citizen"
appeared in the Times last Wednesday. He
enumerates seven points, all of which we en-
dorse. The first is, that for fifty years there
has never been less disposition to go to war
than at present :—the vote of the Senate did
not signify agreement with Mr. Sumner's argu-
ments, but with his conclusion : —the removal of the
injunction of secresy is always granted to a Senator
on his request, and this was an elaborately pre-
pared speech, taking weeks for its composition.
Some unwise declarations made in the British Lega-
tion in Washington conspired to secure the rejec-
tion. England's offence is, that the Alabama wag
never anything but a British vessel, built, manned,
equipped by England. She sailed from an English
port and was supplied by English ports, where hos-
pitality was denied to American cruisers ; her only
home was Liverpool, her original port of departure,
and in law and conscience she had no other till she
sank beneath the waters of the Channel. This is
the grievance ; all else being the embellishmect of
the advocate and orator. The next statement is
worthy of special notice, for it is that the North
Western States desire the annexation of North British
America, to control the St. Lawrence, and get un-
interrupted water communication with Europe, but
for that reason some of the Atlantic States oppose
it. The West, believing the colonies to be an ele-
ment of expensive weakness to Britain know that
England will eventually tire of the connection, and
that the colonists really desire, and will express the
!esire, to enter the Union when their public men, who
derive all the benefits coming from Europe, cease to
stand between them and the free expression of their
opinion. There is not a respectable minority, the
writer adds, of any party in any State who would
attempt to wrest the Canadas by force. The latest
news bears out " An American Citizen" in what he
believes to be Mr. Motley's instructions. They will
be of the most pacific character, but it may be that
he will not be empowered to take the initiative in
negotiating a new treaty.
Following this is a letter from R. De Tracy Gould,
an American citizen, though we believe practising at
the English bar. He deals with Mr. Sumner's
speech and Mr. Goldwin's Smith's letter, and,
although be does not mince matters in discussing
them, we are constrained to say he is justified by
the facts. Mr. Sumner be calls an impracticable
theorist, though gifted with great eloquence, one
to be listened to, but not followed, whose " splen-
did madness" was to be beard, but never obeyed.
This is the American's estimate of that great orator,
and he explains how Mr. Goldwin Smith might be
deluded into the belief by the praise and admira-

tion they expressed, that praying, God-fearing
New Englanders, might be so bereft of sense
and conscience as to follow such doctrines to their

inevitable consequences. Ile shows that " printed
by order of the Senate" means nothing, giving no
official character, " Sensationville " friends being
always at hand when a member speaks to "Bun-
combe" to move that the speech be 'minted. As to Mr.
Sumner being a personal friend of the President, or
in any way representing him, Grant's views are too
decided, his will too strong, to be led by any one,
and he is too prudent, too deliberate, and above all
too great an enemy of " tall talk " to be influenced
by the wild imaginings of Mr. Sumner. The chief
magistrate and the people are pre-eminently prac-
tical, and are the last on earth to permit themselves
to be drifted into the false position erroneously sup-
posed in England. Mr. De Tracy Gould lost no
time in expressing a very decided opinion on Mr.
Goldwin Smith's letter, for he wrote on the Bth inst.
when it first appeared. He terms it singularly ill-ad-
vised, and calculated to produce the state of feeling
he professes to deprecate, while strangely inconsis-
tent. The folly of supposing that a position is to
be reached wherein there is to be an exodus from
America and from England is well exposed, as it is
evident Mr. Goldwin Smith had no idea about what
he was writing. Mr. De Tracy Gould then sketches
an outline of what war between England and the
United States means.

There was a curious article in the Times last
Tuesday on the action pending in the Court of
Queen's Bench, wherein the United States attempt
to recover property as successors to the Confederate
States, their only means of success being in estab-
lishing the de facto character of that Government.
The difficulty is that the Union can only sue as the
representative of the Confederate States, and the
defendant, knowing the weak point, has pressed
it to the utmost, putting twenty very awkward
questions. lie asks who the plaintiffs are, and in
what capacity they sue him ; and if his questions
were permitted in an English Court, the legal right
would be argued in London of the Confederate
States to separate from the Union, and erect a Go-
vernment of their own. In suing Sir Peter Tait
the Republic had first to prove that the Confederate
States were a de facto Government, and to do this
they handed into Court her Majesty's Proclamation
of Neutrality. The Lord Chief Justice of course
recognized the Queen's Proclamation, taking the
fact as there -stated ; " but," retorted the Queen's
Counsel, " the United States will not, and ought we
to be bound by it while they are not su ? " Three
question are admitted by the Court for the plaintiffs
to prove : the duration of the de facto Government
--its termination—and the authority of its agents.
The 7 imes cannot conceive how the American Govern-
ment CAII succeed both in its suit with Sir Peter
Tait and in its controversy with the British nation.
If it establishes that the Confederate Government
could invest its successor with the rights now
claimed, Lord Clarendon will have arguments made
by it ready to use against it ; for it will have proved
to the satisfaction of the Court of Queen's Bench
that the Confederate States constituted a (le facto
Government competent t 3 make contracts and
acquire rights by its duly authorised agents ; that
a state of war occurred, and the United States
subdued that Government, succeeding by right of
conquest to its property, and that held in its behalf. 1

OPINIONS OF THE AMERICAN PRESS.
The Round Table considers it to be altogether
improbable that any better settlement of the Ala-
bama claims—any settlement more favourable to
the substantial interests of American citizens—will
ver peaceably be effected by Mr. Motley or any
one else. The general persuasion of the London
press, which has been of late put forward with con-
siderable bluntness, is that Mr. Reverdy Johnson
cajoled the English Government into granting bet-
ter terms than were strictly consistent either with
the rights of the case or with the honour of the
English nation. The news of the rejection would,
it considers, be received in England with profound
astonishment, and it anticipates correctly the course
likely to be taken by the English journals. If
Americans want war at any price they can without
doubt be accommodated, but Mr. Chandler, of Mi-
chigan, would in such a case be a more suitable
Minister than Mr. Motley. A peaceful settlement,
more advantageous than that promised by the re-
jected Treaty, cannot he looked for, by means of a
line of offensive diplomacy the opposite to that
by which it was negociated, through which Eng-
land holds she was wheedled into undue concessions.

While acknowledging the unjustifiable arrogance
with which England has often treated America,
and the animosity it has generated, the Round
Table would prefer, if enmity must lead to war,

the United States shoul I have a sounder cause
of quairel than is now likely to grow out of the
Alabama claims. '1 hat astute journal forts .es that

English obstinacy will interpose a very considerable
difficulty to a more advantageous settlement than
the one offered, indeed it rather anticipates that
Mr. Motley, clever as he undoubtedly is, will fail
to make any better, if as good an arrangement, as
did the much-reviled Mr. Reverdy Johnson.
The Albion thinks Mr. Galt's speech in the Do-
nainiQn House of Commons ou the 26th April to have

been ill-advised, though his assertions were based Ott
facts. Mr. Chandler is unworthy, even of the brief
notice vouchsafed, and Mr. Sumner's arguments
can be disposed of by the British Parliament. The
United states laugh at the wild utterances of 3-11'
Chandler, though there is sufficient indiscreet talk
in the Union to afford an example to the Canadians+
who ought to see that it is best to allow their Awe*
rican cousins to enjoy a monopoly of it. " Ger'
tainly, neither the laboured eloquence of Yr'
Sumner, nor the senseless fanfaronade of Mr'
Chandler, arc a sufficient excuse for embittering
the relations of two kindred nations, whose evert
interest points towards peace. . . . It would
have been more consistent with the dignity of the
Dorniuion Government had they suffered the utter
ances of the sanguinary Chandler to pass tor
noticed." A Nova Scotian, writing in that journal,
strongly advocates annexation, which he maintallo
to be the desire of most of his countrymen.
The New York Tribune, which publi.hes a colu°4
and a half of extracts from the British press of the
30th April on Mr. Sumner's speech, thus commds
upon them :

" We are not surprised to find the English journals unAlii'
mons in their condemnation of Mr. Sumner's speech (mill
Alabama claims. It is net the first time they have greet.
with unqualified condemnation positicns they have after
ward found it convenient to accept. To call his vied
unreasonable is the least they could say. To protest ibt•
they will never acknowledge that they were in the wroog
is only to be British. To admit the danger of leaving ill!
question open is to show that, notwithstanding all thelf
brave words, they comprehend the situation. It is m°ll,
to their interest than ours to have the question settle*
They are in the wrong, they cannot afford to remain
and they see in the action of the Senate an assurance tb
l_.
delay only increases their difficulty. They protested
long ago that the idea of any payment for the damages
the Alabama was preposterous, and were soon after neg°'
tiatiag for payment. They protest now that our tern°
are preposterous, and will soon after be ready to consider
them."
Among these extracts is the following account °I
a Cabinet meeting :—" At a Cabinet meeting bell
yesterday the subject of the speech was informail
discussed. Mr. Bright declared that this embar
rassment served England right, but he agreed tbal
he would not consent to entertain the terms fore'
shadowed in Mr. Sumner's speech. Lord Clare°.
don expressed his belief that the actual negotiatioo
on the part of the American Government would b;
far less extreme in character than speeches Oti
Senators and articles in the press. He hoped to fin
Mr. Motley as courteous as Mr. Johnson. Th°
present Administration, he said, is as eager as the
last for the continuance of friendly relations. Ntr.
Gladstone ptofessed to have good assurances fr°ll/
reliable quarters that the rejection of the AWAIT°
Convention was purely a political stroke. The
present Administration will endeavour to settle the
question on liberal and honourable terms. 111/8.,
popular feeling here is anti-American, and it b'
increased since the publication of parts of 2tlr.
Sumner's argument."

MORE TERRITORY AND WAR.

(From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.)
For years past there have been a class of pe°_,lP/6
in this country who have an idea that the Unto
States would be vastly benefited in some way
have
other by a foreign war; and another class who bs'„"
a notion that the highest evidence of our proglS
and development is furnished by continually addlyg
great expenses to our territory. Sometimes 61
ideas meet with but a small degree of poptll3
favour, but there are other seasons when thef
spread rapidly, and take strong hold of considerable
numbers of our people. Just now they seem to
have a good many disciples ; but a close observation
will show that they are more active and demonStrt'
•
tive than numerous. Some of them talk 013 a
act as if they believe that the best way to sett'o
the Alabama difficulty is to have war with Eug,
land. Others of them speak as if it would be a cheap
way of getting Cuba if we can find some pretest
fur a war with Spain. These ideas generally °TIP,
nate in the excited political atmosphere of Wsfaj
iugton, and there are always a sufficient number °f
restless spirits about that city to spread them aril
the newspaper correspondents, and to promulgate
them through the lobbies .A Government der;
meats. To these influences we attribute the rumou
which prevailed during the early part of last Reeky
to the effect that great pressure was being brour
to bear upon the Government, not only to reed;
nise the independence of Cuba, but to bring abeed
an armed occupation of the island by the Unite
states. These rumours did not reach the masses eo
the public as fully as they did some of those viltej
are obliged to keep themselves thoroughly inforalo
as to what is going on in the national capital. It 11,,
not only claimed that such a pressure was in strong
operation, but that it was becoming effective. UPS
inquiry we could hear nothing to justify this assat9P;
tion of success. It was clear that there was Or
sympathy for Cuba pervading nearly all circles gt
g
at Washington, as there is nearly everywhere atn()/1
0
the people; but the idea of an armed occupattli
did not seem to have any practical headway at l'e;
A Senator of more than twenty years' experiel3,,io
in the national councils, speaking privately on
subject, expressed his strong belief that the 02;
vernment of the United States could not be indtl7
to depart from the honourable course it has here°.
fore observed in its relations with foreign power 3;
and he put his view of the case very tersely by saYl
What the country wants most of all is continued
peace ; it should not think of war, nor of acidly,:
any more territory just now, especially if t
addition to our territory will involve us in
The Senator referred to is a distinguished Republic
can, but we do not know how far he expressed the
sentiment of his colleagues. However that nig
he spoke what ought to be the sentiments of they;
all, and of the other side of the Chamber, too. vu,
citizens, in their individual capacities, have a Per
feet right to express their sympathies with eceil
oppressed people. It is natural and commend°,
in them to do so. It is not at all to be woodere
at that we all have warm feelings in favour of the
struggling Cubans, and that a desire for their sue'
cess shows itself in a hundred ways. But the 60;
vernment of the United States, acting as a member
of the family of nations, has to be more circumspect
in its actions. It has always observed a decent re,
spect for the opinions of mankind in its intercourse
with other nations, and all citizens should wish It to
continue to do so. It has a most honourable Oa
cord, which should be maintained unsullied, sti
which it should never think of staining because o
few restless people have a hankering after more ter'
ritory, or who think they can make most reoneJ,
when the country is at war. It is a bad day for
both nation and people whenever either gets aeetlso
tomed to looking upon war in any other light thee
a dreadful necessity, only to be resorted when then
is no other mode of settling a difficulty.
(-1

OD'
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e
al'
GREEN - On the 18th inst. at 36, St. George's-road. f
ston-Fquare, the wife of Sir Henry Rodes Green, °
daughter.
'
PRESCOTT_ On the 18th inst., at Sydenhani, the w;f —e° 1;
G. Prescott, Esq., of a sou.

111 21R11.IAG ES.
rr h 11199
COTTON—HOrCRAI'T —On the 18th inst. at Penge,
Jag. Cotton, Lieut. Madras S.O , son rii of the late I,!ea
General NV. Cotton, to Ad; second daughter of illf
Hoperaft, Dq., of Oak Lawn, AnerhT, Surrey.
vcr od-
WoOLSTEXTUCLME - BROOKS —On the 18th inst., at
groen, Thomas John Woolstenhultne, Esq. of °T,IdOIOIO,
Lancashire, to Mary, youngest daughter of' G. -L'r
Esq., of Christ's Hospital, London.

EATIIS. F.
Du VERNET—On the 16th inst., at Bath, Colonel Joh°
Du Vernet, late 87th Begt., aged 64.
SALTOUN -On the 19th hist at 9, Great Stanhope-strecti4
Marjory A. Louisa, second daughter of the Lord a°
Lady Saltoun, aged 14.

London: Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDlib
of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tua SUN Mee, N 0.112. Strcin.:
,in he Precinct of the Savoy, in the ,ounty of 31iddle"4.
Thursday, May 1569. •