The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-24 00:00:00

BEN _M
SON, J. W., by Special Appointment to visf Prussia ;no one at all cognisant of Herr s-
Li.R.H. the Prince of Wales. MARCE'S policy can fail to comprehend what this
means. It must, be indeed, an enthusiastic
and sanguine disposition that believes in the pro-
bability of anything like freedom under these
ausrzAces. Of course Prussia will assume the right
o,i supervising all things herself, and under her
" vigorous leadership," as the official journal of
Berlin has styled it, there will be no progress made
in social advancement or national prosperity. The
South of Germany is to have the option of forming
itself into a union as an independent international
body, which is doubtless considered a great boon,
although what benefit it will be to them remains to
be proved. The Elbe Duchies are to be annexed
to Prussia with the exception of the Danish

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portion of Schleswig. One of the most un-
conscionable demands of the whole is that there
should be " part payment" by Austria of the Prus-
sian war expenses. This is quite inconsistent, when
we remember that it was Prussia who declared
war in the first instance, and must thus bear the
chief responsibility of the act. Besides, Prussia has
been the aggressor throughout ; and if she has in-
curred enormous expenses, she should not grudge
the cost when her gains have been so great. The
maintenance of the integrity of Austria, with
the exception of Venetia, is one of the con-
ditions. Very fine sounding, no doubt, but
devoid of much foundation. No one knows
better than the Prussian authorities themselves
how much the proposals here made will weaken the
influence of Austria, and injure her in various ways.
We have not yet reached the limits of the demands
of Prussia, however, when we close the chapter of
her requests from Austria. Apart from these we
learn that Prussia intends to annex territory con-
taining about three millions of inhabitants. We

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LONDON, TUESDAY, JULY 24, 1866

The proceedings at Hyde Park last night could
not have been very satisfactory to the leaders of the
Reform League, as they certainly were not very
creditable to the followers, or gratifying to the rest
of the community. The affair, whatever its original
character, came at length to a trial of strength be-
tween the civil authorities and the mob, and resulted
in the solution of the question whether London was
to be ruled by law or by numbers. There was no
fear, at any time, that any very serious consequences
would ensue. Englishmen have a natural respect
for the law, and respectable men of all ranks are
usually prompt to combine in maintaining order,
and the police are generally very careful to avoid
unnecessary collisions. But it is very much to be
regretted that the name and principle of Reform
should be brought into disrepute, that its advocates
should be associated with all the rioters and loiterers
who form the larger portion of every street mob,
that they should have succeeded in defying the
law, in damaging the beautiful Park, and in
throwing the whole western part of the metro-
polis into confusion for many hours. If this
is a specimen of the sort of legislation which
Mr. BEALES, Mr. MASON, and their colleagues
think desirable, they are not very likely to convince
their opponents. It is a very poor sort of logic
which has to fall back upon physical force, and the
first step towards gaining political liberty is appa-
rently the destruction of property, the infraction
of law, and the infringement of the rights of others.
The park belongs to the people who pay for it, say
these heroes, but we have a suspicion that very few
of the gentlemen who pulled down the railings and
brickbatted the police had much to do with paying
for the park. But allowing that each contributed
their quota, how many other taxpayers of London

may well ask what is to be done next, and feel
surprised that anything is left to Austria at all.
As for the unfortunate city of Frankfort it has,
indeed, fallen upon evil days, and will long
have cause to rue the day when the chances of war
gave it up to the tender mercies of the Prussians.
According to the last accounts received, we find
that the most extortionate demands are being made
upon the inhabitants to pay enormous sums to the
invaders. In consequence of the refusal of the
over-taxed-citizens to comply with these unwarrant•
able demands, GeneraIMANTEuFFEL has shown him-
self in his true colours, and declares that he wil:
reiterate the demand, and in the event of its meet-
ing with non-compliance he will deliver the two
up to pillage. So much for the inauguration of
the wise rule and benignan t:sway of King WILLIAM ;
and how cheering an example must this afford to
the North of Germany, which is to be under the
military and diplomatic direction of Prussia. The
consternation that exists in Frankfort may be ima-
gined ; many of the inhabitants are leaving it, and
the Bourse and warehouses are closed. In order to
intimidate the inhabitants, twenty-four cannon have
been sent to a hill that commands the city. What
makes this conduct still worse is that the
city has already paid some immense sums
to the Generals in command of the troops,
and, therefore, this arbitrary course that
is being pursued looks very much as if an excuse
were desired for destroying the place altogether.
Already there has been paid to General FALKEN-
STEIN six millions of florins, and to General MAN-
TEUFFEL the further sum of 25 million florins, and
besides these enormous advances the inhabitants
have had to furnish horses and provisions to a very
large amount. Nearly all the newspapers in Frank-
fort .have been suppressed, which speaks strongly
as to the policy which will be pursued by Prussia.
Thdse who expect that there will lie any change for
the better, compared with the tactics recently
carried on in Berlin, will find themselves
very much mistaken. It is a curious fact, well
worthy of notice, that the Prussian Chambers, of
-which we heard so much a short time ago, have not
been allowed to meet. Now that the work is pretty
well over, we find that an official decree, dated
Brunn, has been promulgated at Berlin, in which
both Houses of the Prussian Diet have been con

also paid their share also, and why are they to be ex

eluded from the enjoyment of a place of recreation by
a noisy and boisterous crowd ? :Le droit du plus fort
is the beginning and ending of the doctrine of
Messrs. BEALES and MASON, and are apparently
not aware that they are carrying out the doctrines
of the King of PRUSSIA and Count BISMARCK.
If our parks are to be given up to the demagogues,
mob orators, and field preachers, who will not fail
to throng there, if once the prohibition is recalled,
we need not have laid them out with skill, taste, and
expense. They had better be built upon and con-
verted into streets and squares, for if mass meetings
like last night are to be the fashion there will be a
serious interference with the trade of London as well
as with its politics and its fashion. It is quite a new
doctrine that the mob has a right to every open space,
be it square, or park, or garden, and it is one which
will, we fear, prove more favourable to the pickpockets
than to the Reformers. No doubt Mr. BEALES,
COl. DICKSON, Mr. JONES, and others sincerely
regretted the riot of last night, but that does
not exonerate them from blame in the mat-

ter. As men of the world they might have known
that it was both foolish and dangerous to convoke
a meeting like the one in Hyde-park in defiance of
the law, and that the men and lads who were most
certain to take part in it were precisely those who
would be quite beyond their control. The
love of order and obedience to law which cha-
racterise the English working man have formed
one of the strongest arguments in favour of the
extension of the franchise, and such scenes as those
of last evening are not very likely to support that
argument. There is a good adage which tells us
that none are fit to command but those who have
learned to obey, and this the heads of the Reform
League would do well to remember. Until they
can learn to obey existing laws they are not
fit to propose new ones. The plain English of the
proceedings which they inaugurated last night is that
they want to govern by numbers, or, in other words,
by force. If the Government of the day, be it
Whig or Tory, does not maintain social order, it
fails in one- of its first duties. No one dreams of

yoked for the 30th instant. Of course neither
KING, or Minister has had any wish to hear the
opinions of the representatives, and are only
willing to let them assemble when any
remonstrances on their part will be useless.
It is certainly a relief to hear that the
horrors of war are over, or, at all events, nearly so ;
lint, at the same time, we cannot see any cause for
satisfaction at the charges wrought in Germany.
The old things that have passed away needed no
doubt to be relinguished, but the new order of

things that are to success them is by no means pro-
mising. Nothing that has no true foundation can
be expected to have a permanent existence or to
flourish, and while wrong and usurpation are the
ruling spirits in the Berlin Government, no one
has a right to suppose that their efforts will be
crowned with success, or conduce to the well-being
of the States they govern.

The alteration -which the Chancellor of the
Exchequer proposed last evening in the Budget of
his predecessor was received with general favour.
However just and reasonable was Mr. GLADSTONE'S
suggestion for the reduction of the .National Debt,
there were many doubts even at the date of
the proposal whether it was a suitable and conve-
nient time for carrying out those intentions. Sub-
sequent events have more, than confirmed this
opinion, since, in the presence of continental
disturbances it is evident that this country
should be fully prepared for any casualty, however
desirous she may be to keep out of war. Men of
all parties agree in the necessity of an immediate
outlay for the equipment of our troops and the
increase of our navy, and therefore it is certainly
unwise to select a period of such heavy exceptional
expenses for the settlement of long-pending claims.
A rash and reckless system of expenditure is very
much to be deprecated, and we have had, and still
have, a great deal too much money spent in many
public departments. But it would be a very poor
saving to impair our national defences, and
to run the risk of having to send
.our
troops to battle with an inferior gun, or our sailors
to an armed engagement in ships that are unequal
to those of other nations. Austria has paid dearly
enough for her mistake, and although many other
circumstances have helped to cripple her strength,
the battle of Sadowa is a warning to us as well as
to others. The action of the Government in con-
verting ourEnfield;rifies into breech-loaders has met
with general favour, and will certainAlyddnedot btoe
condemned as a needless outlay.
this expense there were supplementary estimates of
£200,000, which the late Government were about
to bring forward, and these, added to a quarter of
a million necessitated by the alteration of the guns,
the additional expenses to the sum of
ibr4i
9135g,s poouo. The £502,500 proposed to be devoted
to the Terminable Annuities offered therefore a
very tempting means of getting out of the difficulty,
and however sincerely Mr. DISRAELI may lament
that his first act should be the ungracious
one of proposing an addition to the Budget,
he may be thankful that he has so easy a
way out of the labyrinth, since the imposition
of new or increased taxes would be a far more

denying the right of public meeting, and if any
Minister dared to do so there are plenty of men in
the House of Commons Who would call them to ac-

count, and, if need be, remove them from their
offices ; but the idea of the League monopolising
the very Park in which meetings are forbidden by
general consent is simply ridiculous.

The chief matter of regret about last evening's
performances is the discredit which it will bring on
the cause of Reform, and for this Mr. BRIGHT, Mr.
BEALES, and others, may thank themselves. If these
are the best arguments they can bring to convince
the upper and middle classes of the improved legis-
lation likely to follow the extension of the franchise
they are not very likely to obtain their object.
Working men who wisely held aloof from such
an ill-judged and foolish proceeding may well feel
justly indignant at such disturbances being asso-
ciated with their name. If the Parks are to obtain
the for which they are preserved—the
health oblthaiecndt recreation of all classes of the commu-
nity—Parliament must see that they are strictly kept
for that purpose, and not suffer them to become in-

stead a source of public disorder and annoyance.

The preliminaries of Peace now engage attention,
and the news from Paris seems re-assuring in that

important respect. Those who anticipated that
Prussia would show any moderation must have been
very much disappointed when they read the con-
ditions she has made, and upon whose fulfilment
depends the ratification of peace. As to talking of
any consideration being shown, we do-not see how

Prussia could have asked for more, especially when
France was a sort of arbiter to judge between the
contending parties. Of course we were all aware
that Austria's exclusion from the new Confederation
would be the chief object in view, but it now ap-
pears that there are many other things that must be
obtained by the arbitrary Government of Berlin
before the affair is settled. So far as we can judge
from the outlines afforded us in the programme,
Prussia will gain an immense accession of power by
these conditions, and Who can say how she will use
that power ? The North of Germany is to form a
union under the military and diplomatic direction