The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-19 00:00:00

THE SUN,

enunciated at the Conference of Paris, to submit

these rights to the arbitration of an impartial

Power. Where, on the other hand, there was I
ground to believe that, although morally right, we
had in any degree, however trivial, exceeded our
legal authority, he was ready at once to make the
amendc honourable,"and strive to obtain, through
friendly representations, the means of obtaining a
great benefit to humanity at a very trifling incon-
vGnience to any. It is needless to say tn, ' -itich
Lth - -zany- or-osition, however fac-
iit 0.,-m,.,'l',lned r,".ctih'ied, as /6 ... ,- - ;,' deserved, the
unanimous 'approbation of Parliament ana 4 the
country. tither firmness and vigour have been
essential, the e lities have been clearly, although
:3 -
temperately, displayed ; bui DO ' enable posi-
tion was defended, nor was there any attempt to
sustain by bluster and violence what could not be
supported on the principles of equity and justice.
Although the details of the cases so loudly com-
plained of in the American journals and in Con-
gress are not yet fully ascertained, and although

it is possible that too great zeal and energy might

have induced some of our officers to exceed the
limits indicated by discretion, there is every
reason to believe that the facts have been grossly

exaggerated by those who wish to remove the

obstacles which have hitherto impeded the nefarious
traffic, or to bring on a quarrel between the two
great nations of the Anglo-Saxon race. The
grievance seems, in the majority of instances,
merely to have been making certain inquiries, to
which no master possessing a bona fide right to
display the American flag could fairly object, and

which did not occasion delay or damage to the
extent of the smallest coin of the realm. We
have it on the authority of respectable trans-
atlantic journals that the behaviour of the parties
iu one case, that of The Charles F. O'Brien,
" was civil, and that no threat or intimidation
was used." In another, Captain BRYANT, of the
United States' ship Escort, declared that " from
first to last the conduct of the steamer,her officers and
men, was friendly ; that the ship's hold might
have been filled with negroes for aught they
seemed to care. His visit was not prying in any
sense." Captain HAWTHORN, of the brig Pulaski,
one of the cases complained of, explained that he
was hailed from a British war steamer, and
asked where he was from, and bound, but
was not requested to heave-to, nor was
she boarded, nor did the steamer fire at her.
The commander conducted himself as every de-
cent shipmaster would when speaking another
vessel at sea. Captain GORDON, of the Elizi
Merrithew, " was not troubled by the British,
and believed that two-thirds of the stories in cir-
culation about outrages, drc., were made out Of
-whole cloth," or, in other words, were unmitigated
falsehoods. The most important testimony, how-
-1 ever, was that of Captain CLINE, boarding-officer
of the Merchants' Exchange at Boston. He said
that, "he had conversed freely with the officers
and crews of every vessel from Cuba which had
arrived at this port, and he declared that not one
of them considered himself damaged to the amount
of one cent. Many of the stories about having
been fired into need confirmation. In two cases
where the captains report having been fired at,
neither the crew nor the mates knew anything
about it ; and the nonsense about the overbearing
conduct of the officers was too often invented.
Frequently a man-of-war's boat has dropped
alongside, and the officer, without boarding her, has
asked questions and shoved off again. Those who
wish to create a sensation, and see their name in
print, make outrages of common courtesy. The
I British officers generally, the crews of our Cuba
trade report, appear anxious to avoid giving
offence." We have cited this irresistible evidence
to show that the general conduct of the officers
and men on the Cuban station was perfectly cour-
teous and unexceptionable in several of the cases
that have been tortured into " wrongs." And
there is reason to believe that a large proportion,
if not the entire of the others, have been,
in like manner, more or less exaggerated.
The American flag has been prostituted
by parties who had no right to use
it. Those miscreants have degraded the Arne,
rican standard, not the parties who have endea-
voured to ascertain their title to display it. The
law officers of the Crown have declared that
English vessels have not the right either "of
search or visitation" in time of peace. And,
under these circumstances, it was an imperative
duty that the British Government should at once
issue instructions to their officers for their future
conduct. And that has been promptly done, and
n such a manner as to remove any just cause of
complaint on the part of the Government of the
United States.
General Cass has himself laid down a prin-
ciple in his letter to Lord NAPIER ; and on that
the British Government are ready and willing to
act. He says—" A merchant vessel upon the
high seas is protected by her national character.
He who forcibly enters her does so upon his own
responsibility. Undoubtedly, if a vessel assume
a national character to which she is not entitled,
and is sailing under false colours, she cannot be
protected by this assumption of a nationality to
which she has no claim. As the identity of a
person must be determined by the officer bearing
a process for his arrest, and determined at the risk of
such office roso must the national identity of a vessel
be determined at the like hazard to him, who,
doubting the flag she displays, searches her to as-
certain her true character. There, no doubt,
may be circumstances which would go far to
modify the complaints a nation would have a right
to make for such a violation of its sovereignty.
If the boarding officer had just grounds for sus:
pis ion, and deported himself with propriety in
the performance of his task, doing no injury, and
peaceably retiring when satisfied of his error, no
nation would make such an act the subject of se-
rious reclamation."
The question of the propriety and expediency
of maintaining the squadron on the coast of Cuba
is under consideration, and communications have
been made to the American Government. The
chances of collision will be reduced by the instruc-
tionsroeding that have been sent out, enjoining the
greatest caution and prudencein
th
any proceeding
that might, by a possibility, injure
suscepti-
bilities of the Cabinet at Washington. We trust
that the temporary annoyance has now blown over,
and that the American Government will treat the
question in an equally frank and generous spirit,
so that arrangements may be arrived at equally
satisfactory to the people of both nations.

We hope Lord GREY takes a look sometimes
across the globe, such a ono at least as he cm
give by the aid of the Australian journal.:. For
uld acquaintance sake he must hko to have a peep
now and thou at our colonies, although west of
them, and mostof all, those in Now Holland, have
been found so unmanageable on his principles,
that he must regard them as rather saucy daugh-
ters of the mother country. The mother country
herself, however, has happily become rather proud
of her daughters, especially since the persevering
exertions of Sir WM. MOLESWORTS induced her
to treat them
as adult children. Indeed, like most
fond mothers, she is now disposed to permit them
to be as wayward as they will, and to let them

know by experience, that they may do pretty

much as they please.

We sadly fear, however, that Lord GAry will
knit his brows indeed when he reads the extraots
from the Melbourne papers which we published the
other day. To find that not only are convicts for
ever excluded from the colonies ; not only has
the Ballot put the vote of every man into his own
hands ; not only has the suffrage become as nearly
as may be household suffrage ; but that a some-
what hang-back Ministry has been ousted and
a thoroughly honest Reform Ministry installed.
A Reform Ministry where they already pos-
sess the Ballot and well towards, Universal
Suffrage 1 What can the madmen want ? Well,
they do seem to want a little more. They want,
a:. Mr. DISRAELI does, a " fairer distribution of
the representation, one taking population as the
basis," and not, as we believe the present distri-

bution of members stands, largely in favour of
the squatter interest. They have thrown aside,
too, the notable Minority representation, and ob-
viously moan to have the people themselves repre-
sented. Mr. O'SirirrAssY, a name we have so
often heard in connection with Australian Legis-
lation, is the premier who is to inaugurate complete
representative reform in Australia ; and he does
not falter in his task. He announces that he
means to push his Bill through the Houses, to
dissolve immediately, and to have an assembly
elected on the new plan.

That he will succeed appears to be morally cer
tain. The Bill was introduced on the 13th o
April, and on the 14th the second reading was
carried by thirty-seven votes to five. It would seem,
therefore, to be quite safe. The personal alterca-
tions between the Outs and the Inns, seem to have
been of a very bitter—too bitter character ; but
there appears to have been reason for it. One of
the first acts of the new Ministry was the " ex-
ploding" a job of their predecessors. We may
imagine what fights there would be even in our
aristocratic Parliament, had not our aristocracy
the superior wisdom to act on the very op-
posite principle. Here, if at 11b. 59m., as
Bradshaw would put it, a good job for
a client is effected by the outgoero, the in-
comers never meddle with it. They prudently
consider that their turn to go out must come,
and they too may want to bless some of their
dependents with a few fat things just before
they hand over the seals of office.
There can be no doubt that the state of the
land question is the cause of the chief excitement
in the colony. They want a fair representation,
because the appropriators of land, now quite a
minority, have contrived to override all reason,
by very questionable technical interpretations of
their licensed right of pasture. They have en-
grossed all the land along the rivers, and the
rivers in Australia are pretty much what the
Nile is to Egypt, for nothing can be done far
from water ; and it has become, therefore, im-
practicable to form around the town a colony of
agricultural settlers, because the great sheep-
keepers have literally engrossed the available
land for sheep walks. Those colonists who have
acquired wealth, of course desire to settle down
in the enjoyment of it ; and no enjoyment of
wealth to Englishnsen seems greater than that of
owning, and frequently of farming an estate.
The colony, too, needs agricultural produoe ex-
ceedingly ; but all agriculture is hindered by the
great shepherds. The new ministry, therefore,
announce a new, popular, and thoroughly liberal
land bill. It is needed more than anything in
Australia ; and it is obvious that, in granting
license to pasture, it was never originally intended
to create a vested interest, especially one obstruc-
tive to agriculture.