The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-26 00:00:00

and transgress the very broad limits afforded to
them. At all events the precedent will be useful,
and it will be found that putting gentlemen in irons
or damaging their nose,', may be luxuri too ex-
pensive to be indulged in whenever the master is
annoyed, or his wife is in hysterics.

"An INDEMNITY is to be paid to England and
France." So runs one of the sentences which we re-
ceived from Prince GORTSCHAKOPF and the Moniteur
on Saturday last. That sentence was no doubt read
with pleasure by thousands. From the Chancellor
of the Exchequer to the possessor of the smallest
salary which pays income-tax, it was gratifiying to
learn that we should be reimbursed the costs of com-
pelling Commissioner YEH and his superiors to
respect the rights of nations, and not to shuffle with
treaties. We many of us feel it, indeed, to be a little
hard on the poor EMPEROR, worried to death between
Taeping rebels and the gunboats of the two mightiest
kingdoms on the earth, to be obliged to promise to
pay so much of his good Sycee silyer, when perhaps
he scarcely knows where to get it; yet we are hardly
chivalrous enough to take on ourselves the burdens
which, but for his misgovernment, or his indulgence
of those who misgovern in his name, we need not
have incurred.

We confess, however, we did blush for ourselves,
and for France too, as we read the names of Russia
and GORTSCOAKOFF in connection with the news.
How the CZAR and his servant must have chuckled
with pleasure as they transmitted to us the
word " Indemnity." Pleasantly did GORTSCHL-
xorr smile on WALRWSKI, and perhaps the
Pole on the Russian, as the word " indemnity" was
read in the despatch from St. Petersburg. Pleasant
was it to think that Russia had paid no indemnity
by the peace of Paris; pleasant to remember how
Russia had previously exacted indemnity from the
weakness of Turkey, yet that it had not been re-
membered against her ; and very pleasant for Prince
GORTSCHAKOFF to lay his finger on the word, and to
say to WALEWSRI as he communicated the news—
" You too, then, exact indemnity when you can get
it from the helpless—good policy that, Monsieur—
so let us stronger powers ever fleece the sick men,
till we starve them into our hands, at their own ex-
pense."

One thing is undeniable—we have fined heavily

the half-innocent; we have let off with impunity the
atrocious criminal. We, of course, cannot excuse the
EMPEROR of China, except so far as he was ill-in-
formed of what was done at Canton ; or, on account
of the insurrection between Pekin and Canton, was
almost powerless in the latter place. Commissioner
YEH'S doings we condemned at the time, and should
do so again. Still it is but fair to remember that a
very large party in both houses of Parliament, able
orators, and acute lawyers, many of them now
able Ministers of the Crown, did pronounce
YEH and the EMPEROR in the right, and Sir JOHN
BOWRIRG and Lord PALMERSTON in the wrong. Be
it, that opposition tactics and peace-society crotchets
were largely answerable for this, it is but common
candour to admit that, if able and respectable men
here could take the Chinese side in the quarrel about
the lorcha, on the common principles of human
nature, the Chinese must be partly excused for seeing
their own conduct in the light in which even a large
number of our own senators saw it. The Emperor of
CHINA must be allowed the full benefit of this fact
when we are estimating the amount of his govern-
mental delinquency.
What, then, is his delinquency compared with
that of the Czars of Russia in the business of the
last war with Turkey ! No party could be found
bold enough to defend the most villainous, wanton,
unprovoked, territorial burglary in the history of

modern Europe. All the Courts of Europe, e'-en

the sycophant and selfish Court of Prussia, con-
demned it. Turkey had violated no treaty, had done
Russia no wrong, had injured none of her subjects,
had not gi'ren the shadow of a shade of provocation,
yet, that proud ambitious villain NICHOLAS, far

worthier of condign punishment than half the