The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-05 00:00:00

TtiE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 5, 1866

LONDON, TVEDNESD,II; SEPT. 5, 1866.

Peace has now been signed between Prussia and
Hesse-Darmstadt, and we may certainly consider
that the course pursued by Prussia towards this
State is a very fair sample of the manner in which
the Berlin Government conduct affairs. We might
have thought that more respect would have been
shown to Hanover, but the close connection of
Hesse-Darmstadt with the English Crown ought
certainly to have insured it better treatment. It
appears otherwise, however, and the unfortunate
little State is to meet with as hard a fate as
the rest of them. According to the intelligence
conveyed by the New PreussieBche Zeitung the
original demands of the Prussian Government
have been complied with, and Hesse-Darmstadt has
to pay an indemnity of three millions, and cede to
Prussia a portion of the northern part of Upper
Hesse. Hamburg will also be given up to Prussia.
Our Uoyal Family have great cause to appreciate
the goodwill and courtesy thus shown to them in
this transaction ; but, far from making any abate-
ment in their demands, it seems as if the Prussian
authorities went out of their way to show their
perfect indifference to the claims of others, and
were resolved to treat with contempt any
nation that might suggest reticence to them.
Perhaps, however, we ought to admire their
moderation, in not taking the whole of the
State instead of merely claiming a considerable por-
tion. We know that they have the power to do so,
and have great reason to wonder that their assur-
ance does not lead them to do their utmost. It is
quite out of
.character to suppose that such a course
of oppression can continue, and that in an age
so advanced as this states and peoples will con-
sent to be kept under the domination of so arbi-
trary and dominant a power as that which now
tramples under
.foot the liberties of Germany.
It is quite idle to talk of any improvement tak-
ing place in consequence of all these changes and
alterations. The best proof of the selfish views
of Prussia is given by the fact that in all her
plans she monopolises so much to herself, and as
for the idea of unity, that is quite impossible.
There will be about as much unity as ever existed in
any part of the world in places where might triumphs
against right, and where free expression of thought
and liberty of action are sacrificed to the wishes of
the conqueror.

The instances of Prussian insincerity multiply
themselves so rapidly that it is really difficult to
keep pace -with them. It is now said by the
Faddrelandet of Copenhagen that last week a
numerous deputation from the inhabitants of
Schleswig proceeded to Berlin in order to present a
petition for the re-union of Holstein-Schleswig with
Denmark, but Count BISMARCK either refused to
receive the deputation, or, according to one of Mr.
REUTER'S telegrams (just received), " was too much
engaged with his Ministerial duties [among which,
by the way, that of receiving precisely any such
kind of deputation as this might reasonably have
been supposed to be numbered !] to attend to their
petition." The airs and graces which this man
gives himself are quite astonishing, and more in
keepinc, with the extravrzaut course pursued by the
favourites of Eastern Kings than the conduct which
characterises the Ministerof a constitutional monarch.
Nothing would be less surprising than to find that
by some means or other the Berlin Government has
shirked the duty devolving upon it of giving up
Northern Schleswig to Denmark. It is not likely
that they will readily part with anything they have
in their possession, no matter how much they may

be bound in honour and honesty to do so ; and we
may rest assured that if dexterity can contrive an
excuse it will not be found wanting to the restless
individual who now sways the destinies of Prussia.
There is one fact worthy of notice just now when
so much is said about the great military skill of the
Prussians, and that is the immense number of pri-
soners which have been given up to the Austrians.
It is all very fine to talk of prisoners and the like,
but all we can say is that if the Prussians engage
the French they will not have so many prisoners to
dispose of. The Austrians evidently fought as men
who are without a particle of hope, and this, com-
bined with their general mismanagement, brought
about very disastrous results. In fact, we do not
consider that there was any great display of bril-
liant qualities on the part of the Prussians in the
late war. They had every advantage on their side,
with the aid of their wonderful weapon they suc-
ceeded in gaining their object; but it is idle to talk
and write as if we had just witnessed one of those
hard-fought campaigns which call forth all the
energy and endurance of which human nature is
capable. Such is false reasoning, for the whole affair
was quickly over, and the results are not so wonder_
ful when we take all things into consideration. The
Austrians have indeed a great deal to learn from the
report of the numbers exchanged, and it behoves
them to be more on the alert when they next ex-
change the pursuits of peace for the hazard of war.
Whether they .fight for honour and for safety, it
will be well for them to change their plans. A
greater mistake was never committed than that
made by the Vienna Government in refusing to
have the Congress assemble at Paris, because then
the other Great Powers would have been able to
interfere in some way or other, but as it was all was
left in the hands of Prussia. Disastrous as the
issue of this affair has been to Austria herself, it has
been still more so to Germany, for time and trouble
will be required to do away with the effects of all
the recent changes and disturbances that have taken

place.
The retirement of M. DROCYN DE L'HuYs
has, of course, given rise to a great deal
of speculation in various quarters, happening
as it has done at so very critical a juncture ;
and the prevailing opinion in Paris is now that it
was not about the Roman question that he resigned,
but that the frontier affair was the immediate cause
of the Government losing the services of so able a
Minister. In consequence of the EMPEROR'S deci-
sion that peace should be unshaken between Prussia
and France, it was no doubt found desirable that
one who had been very active in the attempt to
restore the Rhine provinces to France should retire
for awhile. The latest exploit which is said to be
occupying the attention of the Berlin statesman is
to get Luxembourg into his possession, on the pre-
tence that it belongs to the German Confederation ;
and this may be true iu one sense, notwithstanding
sundry objections to tho scheme that suggest
themselves to the experienced. It seems as if
this crafty and cunning statesman, of whom,
in the dearth of great men, the nineteenth
century has made a hero, were determined to ape
the semblance of those who have really achieved
wonders, and to shape out his course in apparent
imitation of that career—

" Whose game was empire, and whose stakes were thrones,
Whose table earth, whose dice were human bones."
BISMARCK can do the mischief part of the business ,
in a minor degree, at all events, without affecting
any of those grand results which turn the scene of
carnage into the field of glory, and convert the sup-
pression of freedom into a change that adds lustre
to the wonders of a mighty empire. Notwithstand-
ing all the accounts of treaties signed and of settle-
ments made, we doubt if the peace now cele-
brated will be of very long duration, for it
rests on no solid foundation, and has the impress of
waste in its style and appearance. We know that
the speech of BISMARCK to the Prussian Deputies
contained much earnest exhortation to the effect
that no time must be lost, and doubtless he was in
earnest and spoke the truth then. He knew full well
the importance of consolidating his conquests before
too particular an inquiry was instituted into the
manner in which he had obtained them. He may
yet be called to account, however, for the part he
has played when and where he least expects a day of
reckoning.

We have now before us the full text of the im-
portant speech addressed by President JOHNSON to
the Committee of the Philadelphia Convention.
Mr. JOHNSON has never professed to be an orator,
though his speeches are always straightforward,
sensible, and to the purpose ; but his address on
this occasion was one of which the most expe-
-rienced statesman need not have been ashamed.
The independence and resolution of the speaker,
his strong attachment to the constitution of his
country, and his courage in facing oppposition and
detraction within and without, are all strikingly
displayed. The strength which a good cause
gives to a courageous man is forcibly illustrated
in the situation of the American PRESIDENT. A '
short time ago his veto was overridden in the Con-
gress, he was threatened with impeachment by the
fanatics, and, what was worse, the great body of
the people were somewhat alienated from him in the
belief that he was inclined to exercise his preroga-
tive in an arbitrary and tyrannical manner. A man
of a different stamp might have been overwhelmed
and driven into an attempt to conciliate the Radi-
cals by a compromise or by the surrender
of some of his own convictions. Happily
for the future of America, ANDREW JOHNSON was of
a different calibre. He at once perceived the dan-
gers of the situation, and saw that under the guise
of free and liberal measures the rights of the people
were seriously imperilled. He refused to abandon
any of his Presidential privileges, and boldly told
the country the true state of the case. As he said
to the committee, all that was necessary was for
the American people to understand the struggle that
was going on, anti when they did they pronounced
unmistakably on the side of the Constitution and
the President. Mr. JOHNSON denied thetruth of the
charge brought against the Executive of tyranny.
Such accusations were, he maintained, simply pre-
ferred to delude the public
erinwthoothe walaselusiefurtphiant thgaenrde
was some one
trampling upon the rightsin P ow
and perverting the
prin-
ciples of the constitution. Mr. JOHNSON, however,
carried the war into the enemy's camp. He showed how
the Congress had gradually encro aPhed step by step
upon constitutional rights, and violated day after
day and month after month the fundamental
principles of the Government. " We have seen,"
he indignantly exclaimed, " a Congress that seemed
to forget that there was a constitution of the
United States, and that there was a limit to the
sphere and scope of legislation. We have seen a
Congress in a minority assume to exercise powers
which, if allowed to be carried out, would result in
despotism or monarchy itself." The representative
body assumed, said the PRESIDENT, to be the Con-
gress of the United States, butin reality it was only a
congress of part of the States. It assumed and
pretended to be for the Union, while its every act
tends to perpetuate disunion, and make disruption
of the States inevitable. This was one great na-
tional danger happily averted by the P... RESIDENT'S
known clemency and desire for. conciliation.

' With an assembly whose legislation partook
"of the character of penalties, retaliation, and re-
Ivenge," it needed a very strong counteracting in-
flittmce to prevent the smothered flame from burst-
inf ; out afresh—the mortified and indignant popu-
lat ion of the South from throwing off all external
allegiance to the hardly restored Union. But
there was another danger more insidious if less ap-
parent, a danger which few men in Mr. JOHNSON'S
position would have had the penetration to detect,
;and which fewer still would have refused to profit
by. That danger was centralisation. The Radicals,
if they bad had their will, would have thrown such
power into the hands of the Governmentpro tem. that
popular liberties under an unscrupulous President
might have been grievously curtailed, and the State
rights, which form so important a guarantee for
American freedom, must have been infringed. If
the Radical estimate of ANDREW JOHNSON had been
correct, if he had been the man they took him for
when they elected him Vice-President, it would
have been a sad day for the great Republic. Had
he been dazzled by power or cajoled into concession
he might have secured a temporary triumph at the
risk of the country's future. "If I wanted autho-
rity," he said to the Committee, " or if I wanted to
perpetuate my own power, how easy it would have
been to hold and wield that which was placed in my
hands by the measure called the Freedmen's Bureau
Bill. With an army which it placed at my discre-
tion, I could have remained at the capital of the
nation, and with its fifty or sixty millions of appro-
priations at my disposal, with the machinery to be
worked by my own hands, with my satraps and de-
pendents in every town and village, and, then, with
the Civil Rights Bill following as an auxiliary—in
connection with all the other appliances of the Govern-
ment, I could have proclaimed myself Dictator !" Such
are the risks to which men blinded by prejudice
and carried away by party feeling expose their
country. The great evil of the American system
has always been the manoeuvring for places, and
the pledges given by the President elect before he
gets his office. Yet these gentlemen would not have
scrupled to have increased it indefinitely, to have
thrown into the hands of the Executive this danger-
ous power, careless as to the risk they ran so long
as they secured their object of humiliating
the South and strengthening their own politi-
cal position. But they were completely
defeated by the integrity, the public spirit, and the
firmness of one man, and that man the very one
who might have profited by their manoeuvres to
secure to himself an indefinite tenure of irrespon-
sible power. Unhesitatingly ANDREW JOHNSON
rejected the tempting bait, and faced opposition,
contumely, threats, reproaches, and calumnies un-
moved and unshaken. He was accused of political
ingratitude, of meanly deserting the party to whom
he owed his elevation. He was threatened
with impeachment, and even reminded of the
untimely fate of his predecessor in office.
lle was accused of tyranny, and rumours
were industriously circulated of his despotic ten-
dencies. The Congress was in open rebellion against
him, and listened approvingly to the most un-
sparing abuse, and took every opportunity to in-
sult and to thwart him. His Cabinet itself was
disaffected ; while the American press outdid itself
in intolerance and virulence. But the PRESIDENT
remained unshaken. As he himself said, in the
darkest moment of the struggle he felt convinced
that all would be safe in the end. He had faith in
the great mass of the people, and they have not dis-
appointed him. They have rallied to his side,
and, through the Philadelphia Convention, have
proclaimed their approval of his conduct and
his principles. And well may they do so, since
he declares it to be his highest ambition to occupy
that position which retains all power in the hands
of the people. " I acknowledge no superior
except my GoD, the author of my existence, and
the people of the United States." He has for him-
self nothing to gain, he has passed through every
successive office, from the alderman of a village to
the Presidency of the United States, a proof that
his countrymen of every rank instinctively recog-
nised his capacity for government. The task which
Mr. JOHNSON has set before himself, and which he
has well nigh accomplished, is, however, one
which might content the proudest ambition. To
heal the wounds of a distracted country, to restore
constitutional freedom and civil law in place of
military dictatorship and social disorganisation, to
preserve the rights and liberties of a great people
from being undermined by faction or overthrown
by violence,—these are great aims, and need great
abilities, and no ordinary force of character. The
Radicals, who scruple at nothing, have endeavoured
to profit by the Fenian conspiracy, and to turn the
PRESIDENT'S interference in the frontiers against him
at the elections. We are glad to see our Govern-
ment have promptly despatched, not only men but
horses, which will render the troops at once avail-
able for action on their arrival. Armed with
the improved weapons our cavalry will soon
startle SWEENEY aqd his followers into a sense
of the folly and extravagance of their attempt,
while their early arrival at the colony will not only
encourage and assist the Canadians, but will relieve
the American Government from an onerous and
invidious duty.

The PRESIDENT'S address was received throughout
with warm applause, and the crowds without took
up the cheers within, giving token that his policy
commended itself not only to the reason of the few,
but to the hearts and consciences of the many.

ALDERSHOT' CAMP.—•It is stated that scarlet
fever has broken out at Aldershott, especially among the
children in the married men's quarters, and the Medical
Times states that the cubical space allotted to the women
and children is even less than that given to the inmates of
the worst managed workhouses, and adds the necessity of
some one in authority noticing the matter.

FLOODS.—The continuous rains of Wednesday
for the second time this summer cauged great dis-
tricts of the North Riding valleys to be inundated, causing
a destruction of farm property from which the country has
not suffered since 1857, when a similar flood occurred. The
late rainy season had so saturated the land that the whole
Of the extraordinary rainfall of the previous 48 hours ran
rapidly off into the streams, and in that short period the
North Riding ravers rose from summer level to• a state cf
' flood. So heavy had the rains of Wednesday been that the
return railway journey from the Whitby agi:cultural show
to Malton was made through an infinite array of cascades,
every glen of the romantic Newton Dale being overcharged
with water from countless contributory streamlets. On the
eastern side of the moors the waters drain to the sea by the
Yorkshire Esk—a meandering stream which the Mahon
and Whitby Railway crosses some dozen times in half a
dozen miles. This stream receives the drainage of the Eller-
beck and the Gothland valleys, and rose to a state of flood
in a few hours. The wooden bridge No. 9, from Whitby,
being old, was about to be restored or replaced, and the
railway company had commenced operations for a perma-
nent structure. This bridge was watched with anxiety
all Thursday night, the traffic of Wednesday (much of it
excursion traffic) having all passed the bridge in safety.
OnMonday, however, the flood was found to have literally
floated the bridge and drawn the piles, therefore trains
could no longer pass. Tho traffic is being worked from
Mallon to the bridge, where passengers eau walk over.
Trains are consequently late, and are likely to remain so
until a new. bridge can be built. In Ryedale the rivers have
risen rapidly, and above Newsome-bridge have either burst
or overflowed the banks. Here largo tracts of country
under crop were flooded, and in some places so deeply that
the heads of the growing crops were only just above water.
Of course all pastures are again spoiled for a time by the
mud left by the flood water. Tho old Derwent, with the
rapid flow of the moor streams, has again overflowed, and
a railway journey to Pickering showed the extensive
grazing lands ono sheet of water for miles. At noon the
waters were still rising, and it was feared the country of
the Derwent proper, from Milton downward; would also
become extenoively flooded.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, Tuesday Evening.

Reports have been prevalent that some negotia-
tions were in progress between the Cabinets of
Florence and Rome with a view to prolong the con-
vention which expires on the 15th of September.
Tho Nazione officially denies the truth of any nego-
tiation on the subject, or of any communication or
change of views on the part of the French Govern-
ment. The Italic confirms this statement, and
adds—" The Italian Government will execute the
condition with the most complete and scrupulous
good faith. It will also use its influence to prevent
any interruption of tranquillity at Rome, and then
in its turn it will await events."

A letter from Berlin, dated September 1, states
that the negotiations with Saxony, in reference to
which so many rumours had been in circulation,
had only just commenced, M. de Bismarck having
been desirous to wait for the exchange of the ratifi-
cations of the treaty between Austria and Prussia.
At the interesting sailing match at Cherbourg on
Sunday the chief prize was won by Bayonnette, be-
longing to M. Dufour d'Alaric. The competitive
boats were French, English, Russian, and American.
The sea was very heavy, and some accidents oc-
curred, but of very trifling character.
A French writer enumerates various important
events which have taken place in the mouth of
September. The Vasco de Gama returned to Lis-
bon after a voyage of exploration on the Ist of Sep-
tember, 1503. It was during this voyage that the
passage to the Indies by the Cape of Good Hope
was discovered. It was in September that Louis
XIV. was born and died. Ramean, the originator
of the opera in France (called the Newton of Sound)
was also born and died in Sept. The Emperor Titus
died in Sept. The great fire of London took place
on the 13th September, 1606. It was on the 27th
September that Crebillon inaugurated his election
to the French Academy by a celebrated speech.
In this month also died Ci sini, the celebrated
Italian astronomer, the Count de Caylus, Tristan
l'Hermite, William the Conqueror, Charles the
Fifth, and his son Philippe the Second, Montaigne,
Dante, Virgil, Clement XIV., St. "Vincent de Paul,
Massillon, and Isabella of Bavaria. The first eclipse
observed in France was on the 3d of September,
1457. There had not been any record of ono since
the year 890. The 'lonians celebrated some remark-
able fetes during the month of September. In France
several imposing religious fetes are still celebrated
in this month.

During the prevalence of the cholera in its inten-
sity at Amiens several young doctors went thither
from Paris to give assistance. Among them was
one who was particularly successful in his efforts to
save life. By his care a rich gentleman and his
wife were restored. A day or two afterwards the
daughter, a beautiful girl of 18, was attacked. She
also was saved. The doctor's attention first excited
gratitude, then led to love, which became mutual.
The doctor has since returned to Paris, where, in
the course of a few days, he is to be married to the
lady who was so recently his patient.
A balloon ascent was attempted on Sunday from
the Hippodrome by M. Dutois, whose balloon was
of a new form, being cylindrical instead of spherical.
It had reached a height of 1,500 metres when the
torrents of rain caused the evaporation of the gas.
The presence of mind of M. Dutois saved his life.
He managed to reach the hoop which held the rope
of the car, making a sort of parachute of it, and
jumped out when it neared the ground, sustaining
no other injury than a sprained foot, from which
he suffers little inconvenience.
The departure of the Indian mail from Paris
always excites considerable interest, and on the
27th of each month there is a large assemblage of
the curious near the Circular Railway between La
Villete and Bercy. Soon after eight o'clock a.m.
a train, composed of a locomotive and two car-
riages, is seen to dart like an arrow along that part
of the line,which it traverses at the rate of some 70
or 80 miles an hour. This Indian mail, the most
important postal service in the world, as well for
its length as for its rapidity, traverses the whole of
France from Calais to Mars€illes. When it reaches
the northern station it goes by the circular railway
to Bercy, where it proceeds upon the Lyons branch.
Upon all the great lines where the Indian mail is
telegraphed great vigilance is employed to keep the
line free.

Again we are under the reign of unsettled wea-
ther. All day there has been a very violent wind.
The sun has been seen only at rare intervals, and
dark, angry-looking:clouds betoken more storms.
Heavy rain has fallen from time to time during the
day.

Rarely are the Paris papers so destitute of inte-
resting matter as to-day. Some of them indulge in
speculations as to the cause of the resignation of
M. Drouyn de l'Huys, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, but as I happen to know that many of their
statements are unfounded, I forbear giving publi-
city to them. The most cordial feeling continues
to prevail between the Emperor and his late Minis-
ter, whose resignation was induced rather from a
desire for repose than inconsequence of difference
of views in regard to any important point of foreign
policy.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

HUNGARY.

PESTH, Sept. 4.

The rumour of Baron Sennyey's appointment as
President of the Hungarian Ministry is not yet
confirmed. There are still prospects of the Deak
party being victorious, and that Count Andrassy
will be appointed President.
Cholera only prevails here to a limited extent.
VIENNA, Sept. 5.
Count Moritz Esterhazy, Minister without port-
folio, is said to have resigned.

The Emperor of Austria has granted permission
to Franz Fulszky, a Hungarian exile who held a
ministerial position under Kossuth in 1848, to visit
his sick daughter in Hungary.

ITALY.

FLORENCE, Sept. 4.

L'ltalie asserts that the Italian Government,
without awaiting the signature of the treaty of
peace with Austria, will dismiss to their homes
120,000 men from military service.

FLORENCE, Sept. 4 (Evening).

Letters received here from Venice announce that
the negotiations for the transfer of Venetia have
commenced between General Leboauf and the
Austrian authorities.

The Austrians have began to evacuate the
Quadrilateral.

AMERICA.
[BY ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.]
NEW YORK, Sept. 4.
The Hamburg and American Company's steam-
ship Allemannia has arrived out.