The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-14 00:00:00

ME SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVEN

there is no more reason now than before
.why she
should take what does not belong to her by right,
It will be a most mistaken policy for the Powers of
Europe to adopt to permit Prussia to take the lead,
as she seems likely to do, and if they think by so
doing to avert the horrors of war, and to patch up
a peace, they will find themselves most grievously
mistaken. An error of this kind was committed
ten years ago in the Schleswig-Holstein affair ; and
the consequences, this time, will be more serious, as
they extend in a further direction, and involve
more important interests. Besides, who shall say
when or where Prussia will stop on her mad
career. Last year, most probably, we should have
said that if Austria yielded the Duchies up to her
without stint or reservation, she would be satisfied;
but now we see how far short we should have come
of the mark. If we now declare that all Northern
Germany would content her, very likely next year
she would demand some part of the Austrian do-
minions for some purpose or other. The Emperor of
the FRENCH is not likely to depart from his course
so widely as is imagined by those who think armed
mediation unlikely. No doubt he is greatly averse
to war, and would greatly prefer any other mode of
settling the difficulties, but he is not so short-
sighted as to overlook the consequences of the
success of the places sketched out by Prus-
sia. It will be wiser to look the future boldly
in the face, and not to think that the
policy of Prussia will be different to what it has
hitherto been. It will be one thing now to inter-
fere before Prussia has got a firm hold of the pos-
sessions she now craves for, and quite another to
drive her from them if she is found troublesome.
Besides she will have acquired a sort of claim by
being allowed to make a peace with Austria on such
terms. The Germans are so fickle that there is no

knowing what they will do in the event of war.
They are very likely to side with the victor of the
moment, and thus no dependence can be placed upon
them. At the outset of the war nearly all Germany
was against Prussia, and sworn.foes to the project
of domination, but now we shall very likely find
that they will enter into the views of the winning
party. They will soon repent their bargain, it is
true, but a foreign power can gain no possible ad-
vantage from their discontent. If Austria be now
put out of the Germanic Confederation there will be
no check upon the machinations and manoeuvres of
Prussia, and we shall in a few years' time find our-
selves involved in a general European war.
It is too much the fashion with the politicians of
the present day to tide over events, and to allow
things to take their course. We have a notable
instance of the error of such a course in the war now
raging in Germany. We heard a high authority
the other night, that of Earl RUSSELL, that these
hostilities have arisen entirely out of the SchlesWig-
Holstein question. Those who protested against
the latitude then permitted to the two great Ger-
man Powers were met by strenuous assertions as to

the expediency of peace at any price. And how long
has this peace, so dearly purchased, lasted? Scarcely
two years have gone by since the good faith
of nations, and the honour our forefathers called
their dearest possession, were sacrificed to pacify the
claims of usurpers, and to :content the lovers of
non-intervention, and we find a furious contest
raging which will long live in the history of Ger-
many as a sad household wrong, and a record of
the horrors of war to thriving cities and flourishing
States. Of course it is quite out of the question
that England should interfere ; we are too deeply
compromised in the case. But France has no check
to retard her progress, and if the Emperor NA-
POLEON be wary he will not let things, alone, as
he did in the case of Denmark. We have yet to
see what his decision will be. lle spoke so sternly
at the outset of the war as to his desire for the
maintenance of peace in France that he will not
_ readily depart from his previous plan ; but circum-
stances must arise in any war that materially
changes the necessity for action. had Austria
succeeded in maintaining her position, or had the
combatants been equally successful, France
might well have remained a looker on ; but
now it is far otherwise, and if she re-
main inactive the map of Europe will be so re-
modelled that it will seem to have been transformed
by the touch of a fairy wand. It is to the results
that we must look in passing our judgment upon a
great change in the political situation of nations ;
and if the present tactics of Prussia succeed, all we
can say is, that the balance of power in Europe will
not be equally divided, and that we should be per-
mitting a most dangerous intruder to come in,
who may not be willing to listen to right or
reason. It is true that Prussia was allowed
to sacrifice Denmark, and, according to the same
reasoning, she may be permitted to sacrifice Austria ;
but two wrongs do not make one right, and who
can say which is to be the next victim to this mo-
iern Gorgon. It is impossible to overrate the in-
juries that will accrue to France if the war, now
again to be renewed, results in the complete dis-
comfiture of Austria, and she is compelled to sign the
treaties dictated to her at the cannon's mouth. A
timoly, interfrence now may prevent the perpetua-
tion of the worst evils ; and although Prussia
will of course reap substantial benefit from the
successes she has gained she may be compelled to
act in accordam.e brinciples of moderation
and the rules of reason. It has not been the pott—j-
of LOUIS NAPOLEON to hold back when the decisive
moment for action has arrived, and he will entirely
have altered his mode of procedure if he allows so
large a Power as that of Prussia to become the
rival of France for want of the exercise of that de-
cision he so well knows how to employ. .

The arrival of the China from Boston and Halifax
on the sth brings us news of some interest and im-
portance. The House of Representatives has shown
its good sense by rejecting the resolution in favour
of according belligerent rights to the Fenians.
Certainly nothing could have been more ridiculous
than such a proposal, which besides being a direct
insult to England, and an open affront to the PRE-
SIDENT, would not even have the dignity of being
really mischievous. Mr. SUMNER himself could
hardly consider the Hibernian heroes to be very for-
midable foes. The Democratic and Conservative
members of Congress have issued a call for a
national Convention to be held atPhiladelphia on the
14th of August, to determine the course to be taken
to secure the complete and immediate restoration

of the Union. It is to be hoped that a powerful
and united expression of national feeling will be
evoked on this occasion. It is more than time that
the injustice of excluding the Southern representa-
tives from the popular assembly was removed, and
it cannot be supposed that the country will much

longer tolerate the unnecessary and humiliating
division. The Southern Governments appear to be
acting on the whole fairly. enough ; and as time
goes on, and the prejudices of the people are
suffered to die out, they will no doubt be
ready to acquiesce in every improvement.
The North Carolina Legislature has just shown a
sign of increased toleration towards the negro by
rescinding the act which excluded negro testimony
from the courts in cases which affected their inte-
rests. This is a step in advance, and we hope every
other Southern State will follow
the example of
North Carolina. It is unsatisfactory to learn