The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-11 00:00:00

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LONDON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 1866

There is not generally much to be learned from
the text of a Royal speech at the close of a session.

At the beginning of the year there is some signifi-
cance in the stiff and stately phrases, and men read

it eagerly if only to discover what is left out from

the programme of the session to come, and to what
the powers that be think it necessary to pledge
themselves. At the close of the session even this
excitement has evaporated, and it sometimes hap-

pens, as it has done on this occasion, that the most
conspicuous features of the session have to be
omitted or slurred over. The chief incidents of

the Parliamentary campaign have been connected
with the Reform Bill. The great object of political
speculation at the present moment is the Continen-
tal War, yet an uninitiated spectator would hardly
gather as much from the Royal Speech. The first
paragraph, indeed, after informing the Houses that
Her MAJESTY'S relations with foreign Powers are
on the most friendly footing, goes on to say that
Her MAJESTY has watched the progress of the war
-with anxious interest, but that she has not deemed
it expedient to take part in the contest. The ear-
nest hope that the negotiations now in pro-
gress between the belligerents may lead to a
secure and lasting peace does not, in view of
the recent demands of France upon Prussia, appear
very likely to be speedily realised.
The Reform Bill having failed to assume a sub-
stantive form is not, of course, alluded to ; and it
will probably have to make its appearance in an-
other Speech, notwithstanding its many former ap-
pearances.

The troubled state of affairs just now is indicated
by the character of the Speech before us. It begins,
as we have said, with a reference to the Continen-
tal War ; it passes on to a couple of paragraphs re-
specting the Fenian conspiracy, and the consequent
suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act in the sister
country. After the reference to the Fenians, and to
the exceptional legislation rendered necessary by
their machinations, another unusual proceeding on
the part of the Government has to be alluded to—

the suspension of the Bank Charter Act, which the
financial panic made indispensable. The QUEEN'S
Speech expresses her MAJESTY'S satisfaction that
although the monetary pressure is not yet sen-
sibly mitigated alarm is subsiding, the state of trade
being sound, and the condition of the people gene-
rally prosperous, and her MAJESTY entertains a san-
guine hope that confidence will soon be restored."
-No one could expect such a wide subject as the cur-
rency laws to be opened up in the closing Speech
of a session, but if we are to avoid a recurrence of
those disastrous panics and prolonged periods of de-
pression we must have something more than tem-

porary measures or sanguine generalities.

After all these troubled topics there yet remains

two matters of anxious domestic interest ; one of
these is happily becoming less engrossing in its
nature, for the weekly returns of the cattle plague
give us grounds for concurring in the belief
" that its destructive effects have been in a great
measure checked, and that there is reason to
hope for its entire extinction at no distant period."
Its decrease is undoubtedly partly owing to
causes beyond our control, but it has certainly been
marked since the passing of the Cattle Plague Bill
at the commencement of the session. Had more
vigorous measures been adopted at the very outset
the disease might never have got to such a height.
Whatever may be thought of other epidemics,
this plague was undoubtedly contagious, and therefore
to allow cattle fairs and markets to be held, at which
• large herds of cattle were stationed and driven
about together, whether healthy or diseased, was
highly imprudent. The traffic of cattle on railways
was another piece of rashness, and as there will
always be found plenty of men who from ignorance,
recklessness, or from a spirit of speculation, will
avail themselves of the ordinary means of traffic,
and barter so long as they exist, there was no hope
of arresting the progress of the disease. We hope
that din precautions wilt be observed before things
go back to their old footing, and, as a general rule,
the less beasts are driven about the better, so that a
good many clauses of the bill might be entertained
a Perpetuite. More Eieriow and more threatening

is that human epidemic which, as many foretold,
has followed in the train of the Cattle Plague. The
Royal Speech expresses the QUEEN'S hope that the
local authorities will not be slow to exercise their
increased powers, and hopes that the recent mea-
sures adopted by her Parliament will tend
to the improvement of the public health.
In this respect, as in many others, this ses-
sion has left plenty of work for its suc-
cessor. Notwithstanding the bill for improving
the navigation of the Thames there remains much
to be done with regard to the protection of our
rivers generally. The system of poisoning our water
supply is a most suicidal one, and its mischievous
effects are already too plainly apparent. The
sewage, which given to the earth enriches its pro-
duction tenfold, when poured into another element
becomes a source of death and disease. The ques-
tions of the local government of our parishes
and of the unequal rating of the metropolis
are also matters which the present crisis will
force upon the attention of the Legislature, but to
those matters no reference is made in the Speech.
There is one topic of such widespread interest and
such great importance that it could not be passed
over, and this happily is beyond the reach of the
anxieties of the hour. The completion of the link
between the two hemispheres, the union of the
two great free nations of the world by
an electric band, is a. subject for unmixed
rejoicing, while the true Anglo-Saxon charac-
teristics of energy, enterprise, and persever-
ance, were never more worthily or more signally
displayed than in the prosecution of this costly and
momentous undertaking, in face of all disappoint-
ments and delays. Thus, notwithstanding all the
regrets for the past, the cares for the present, and
the anxieties for the future, the QUEEN is able to
close her address with a subject for general re-
joicing, in which not only her own people can
heartily join, but the citizens of another country
and another world.

The good people of Berlin have bad plenty of
excitement lately, and they seem likely, notwith-
standing, to have plenty more before they relapse
into a state of quiescence. We learn from Paris
that a telegram from Berlin announces that " great
excitement" prevails in that city, and we are not
surprised at the intelligence, for there is great reason
for cogitation, if not great cause for anxiety, in con-

sequence of the demands lately made by the French
Cabinet. We doubt if this new phase of the affair
will pass off so quietly as some imagine, for there are
many interests at stake, and the temper of
one of the parties concerned in the dispute is
more than doubtful. It is quite certain that
the present is a very unpropitious time for a demand
to be addressed to Prussia. Of course it may be
said that she can afford to be generous, and to yield

a small portion of territory cannot matter in corn

parison with the large gains she has made. This is
correct in theory, but it will not be borne out in

practice in the case of the Berlin Government.
They are so exceedingly obstinate that it is next to
impossible to convince them, even when it would

conduce to their own advantage so to do ; and they
are so grasping and covetous that there is no putting
limits to their expectations and desires. The latest

news is that M. BENEDETTI has left Berlin for Paris,
in order, no doubt, to explain matters to his Govern-

ment. The Moniteur states that the return of the
Emperor from Vichy has given rise to erroneous
suppositions, and that the cause of his arrival in
Paris is that the doctors ordered it. This may be
true ; but it may be also owing to other causes, and
at any rate no explanations can make it appear
otherwise than significant that he should have sud-
denly appeared at' Paris, in conjunction with the
request of the French Cabinet to Berlin. The Siecle
of yesterday declared that Prussia had not yet
thought fit to entertain the French propositions
which had been made in consequence of the consi-
derable aggrandisement of that Power.
It may turn out that BISMARCK will listen to
reason, and display on this occasion a moderation
and a magnanimity that are suitable to the emer-
gency. If so, of course all will go smoothly, and
Europe will witness a return to that general peace
and tranquillity which it has been fortunate enough
to enjoy, with scarcely any interruption, for so long
a period. Who can venture to predict, however, that
such will be the case, and in the face of all example
to the contrary to declare that the Berlin Goyern-
ment will be answerable to reason. There are many
things which have lately occurred to show that the
French are busy about something. Rumours of
all kinds have reached us of their preparations of
different kinds, and various occurrences took place
which could be interpreted as dangerous or other-
wise, according as it suited the wishes of the
moment. For politic reasons some people have per-
sisted in declaring that it all amounted to nothing,
and that there was no need for fuss and alarm; but
without seeking to make the most of things, we may
fairly state that the mists have now disappeared,
and that we behold a prospect that is not an in-
viting one. The French EMPEROR is one of the
most astute men of his age ; his foresight and pru-
dence are most considerable, and thus we are con-
vinced that he has weighed all things in his mind,
and that he has counted the cost of his venture in
hus making his demand to the Berlin Cabinet.

They may or they may not agree to his reques

If they do all will go on as before, but if they
do not, no one knows better than the EM-
PEROR that in the sight of Europe and the
presence of his people he cannot draw back. This
cession of territory to France must become un fait
accompli ; there is no other way of settling it now,
either as concerns the honour or interests of France.
This is one side of the question ; on the other, mat-
ters look equally unpropitious. We find a stubborn
Sovereign at Berlin, counselled by a dexterous
Minister, clever as he is unscrupulous, and con-
ceited and pretentious beyond all precedent. They
are now flushed with success, and elated at the idea
of the grandeur of their recent exploits, and the
magnitude of their dominion. By a series of timely
ability, the great military
Prussianchances,
army
rather r h
h atvea n
succeeded beyond all hope or
expectation. Many ca. übsu, es
t
have
only
e, one
reason is assigned by the Berlin authorities for the
brilliancy of their triumph, and that is their own
savoir- faire. There is great reason to suppose that
with all the prestige of victory, with an approving
Senate, an applauding people, and with many States
amalgamated
formerly hostile now seeking to be
with the Prussian Crown, the KING and his Go-
vernment will be disposed to have it out to the
last, and to believe that they will again be
able to hold their own against France as
easily as they were able to overrun Northern Ger-
many, and drive the Austrians from every strong-
hold they attacked. If this be their resolve, there
will be a renewal of the war, and a still more ex-
citing scene will be presented to our view than when
the nations of Germany rose up in arms against
each other, and civil war devastated the fatherland.
There are reasons on both sides which would go far
to make us regret a repetition of hostilities, and the
.
thousands who would suffer, and th homes that
would be thrown into trouble, mak one averse
to these fierce national displays of. strength.
For all that may occur, however, we hold ',raga