The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-11 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 1866.

One of the saddest things in this disastrous war
in Germany is the letter of the Emperor of AUSTRIA.
In this communication to his people FRANCIS
JosErit has to dwell on most melancholy themes ;
but notwithstanding the danger of his position, and
the perils that environ his possessions, he displays a
spirit worthy of the occasion, and shows that the
reverses he has met with have not made him un-
mindful of the solemn responsibilities that rest with
a monarch. We find no word of fear or proposals
for safety in this manifesto ; but instead there
is an earnest appeal to the peoples under
his rule to do their utmost to avert disgrace.
After the dreadful defeat of the army of the North
the Austrian Government wisely sought to do what
they could to prevent further calamity, and, as the
honour of the Austrian army had been vindicated,
they were willing to come to terms of peace ; but,
according to appearances, the ruthless foe will stop
short of nothing but the virtual dismemberment of
the Austrian empire. To this crowning act of
spoliation, which through generations still unborn
will tell of the indignity of his proud empire,
the EMPEROR is naturally most averse, and
calls upon his people to make any sacri-
fice rather than submit to the outrage.
Nothing fairer could possibly be met with than this
statement of one in so critical a position. "I am
Prepared to make peace upon honourable conditions,
in order to put an end to the bloodshed and ravages
of war." This is all that can be expected or
ought to be desired by the conquerors, but the
Prussians neither make war, nor carry a peace in
accordance with the dictates of honour or the rules
of chivalry. They are merciless and unscrupulous,
and seem more bent on the destruction of their ad-
versaries than on h
t eir war gains. The EM -
PE n on, in presence of this threatened evil, declares'
But I will never sanction a Treaty' of peace by
which the fundamental conditions of Austria's posi-
tion as a great Power would be
shaken. Sooner
titan that should be the case, I am resolved to carry
on the war to the utmost extremity ; and in this I
am sure of my peoples' approval."

However imprudent some may deem this declara-
tion, it cannot be denied that it is a grand
one, and
worthy of a great Sovereign in the hour of adver-
sity to the people who are threatened with danger.
It is to be regretted that the EMPEROR did not adopt
this bold course at an earlier period, and not allow
ignorant advisers to hamper the movements of his
troops, and lose the advantage he might have gained
by numbers. It is difficult to decide which of the
allied Powers now in arms against Austria is the
most to be censured for its unwarrantable assump-
tion, but bertaiuly Italy has the least excuse of the
two, for Prussia has gained a proud position as
victor, while the Italians have nothing to exhibit
for their efforts. The consequence of their arbi-
trary demands will doubtless be that they will raise
in Austria a spirit of resistance they will find it

difficult to overcome. It is not all likely that the.
Austrians will readily give up Bohemia, or sub-
mit to the extravagant claims of Italy. It
will be one thing to defeat an army that was
badly conducted, and another to crush out al
national spirit and independence from a people who
have more innate determination than themselves.
Nothing can be more inconsistent than the tone
adopted by the Italians in discussing the question of
the cession of Venetia. Instead of rejoicing at the
prospect in a spirit worthy of its national impor-
tance, they seem on the look out for flaws in the
affair, and make some of their conditions to be that
if Venetia is ceded to the Emperor NAPOLEON the
final transfer must be made by Austria with no
conditions respecting Rome. The question of
the district of Trent is to be recognised as one to
be discussed. Altogether, we may safely assert that
the combined Powers of Italy and Prussia are doing
their utmost to incense and exasperate the Austrians,
and they seem to forget that they are by this un-
scrupulous conduct lowering themselves in the opi-
nion of the nations of Europe far more than they
can degrade Austria in the eyes of the world.
Honour is due to those who have displayed gallantry,
whether they are victorious or vanquished, and mag-
nanimity has always been the quality most re-
spected in the conqueror.
We may, perhaps, venture to hope that the re-
monstrances of others and their own observations
will induce the Prussians to lower their expectations,
and then the Italians must follow suit ; and if so,
it will, indeed, be fortunate. There can be no
doubt that the renewal of hostilities will be an
event greatly to be deplored in every respect, but
there is no doubt that such will be the consequence
of the unwise and unfair decision of the Prussians.
They have yet to see what the French EmisEnor,
will say to the encroaching demands of
the victors. The Emperor of AUSTRIA states
that Louis NAPOLEON has offered to mediate
with Prussia for a suspension of hostilities, and this
of his own accord, to prevent further bloodshed.
This is satisfactory intelligence ; but if Prussia ac-
cepts his mediation, she cannot afford to slight his
requests or turn a deaf ear to his advice. In the
wisdom and decision of the French E3IPEROR must
rest all hopes of the preservation of Austria in a
state anything resembling its former independence ;
and much depends on this, for the welfare of Eu-
rope will be affected accordingly as Prussia may
prosper or recede in her aggressive policy.

This glowing summer weather reminds us that
the season has come for fetes and holidays and
excursions, days which are long looked forward to
by school children and others whose daily routine
is somewhat monotonous. Many of our refuges
and asylums keep some such holiday, which is to
their inmates the grand event of the year, and few
of these could present a more interesting spectacle
than the Earlswood Asylum on the occasion of its
annual fete a week or two since. The name of
this noble institution is peculiar to many
who are unacquainted with its working, and
we therefore propose to give a brief account of the
object at which it aims, and the spirit in which it
is conducted.

The Earlswood Asylum for Idiots was opened by
the late PRINCE CONSORT in 1856, andit has there-
fore been in existence just ten years. It was not
the first establishment of the kind in this country ;
a smaller asylum, under the same system, having
been previously in existence at Highgate. The
whole movement owes its origin to the benevolent
efforts of the late Dr. ANDREW REED, who made a
powerful appeal on behalf of these unfortunate in-
dividuals, who had previously been regarded as en-
tirely beyond the pale of charitable efforts. Dr.
11,r.nn, in his ea nest
nest anoeal for nu-1,1;r. ~,,nnort for
his scheme, asked how itwas that while we relieved
every other class of misery nothing had been done
in this country for the idiot, and could only attri-
bute the neglect to the conviction that idiotcy was
an affliction without remedy. He went on to show
that the experience of those who had made the.
effort in other countries contradicted this belief, and
added these significant words :—" There can be
no doubt that the evil, in this case as in that of in-
sanity, is wholly physical. We cannot even conceive
of mind, apart from the body, as either idiotic or
insane. In itself it is neither, and it only becomes
so from imperfect or distorted manifestations
through a diseased or defective organisation.
If this is correct it is evident that the earlier we
attempt the recovery of the idiot the more hopeful.
In fact the young—the very young—are greatly
susceptible of improvement. "If they are re-
garded as hopeless, they no doubt will
fulfil the anticipation, for their natural
tendency is to deteriorate ; but if taken
in hand early and carefully trained on the principle
that there is mind, and that it only demands physi-
cal manifestation, their improvement is almost
always great, and, in some instances, astonishing.
No doubt it is a labour which demands the utmost
care, tact, and judgment, as well as a high degree
of physiological and psychological science ; but what
effort can be too great for such an end? To raise a
human being from utter degradation to a sense of
the pleasures and the duties of life, to teach
the dull eye to recognise what it sees ;
the stammering or silent tongue to speak
intelligible language, to train the listless, feeble
hands to active and profitable employment, to rouse
the dormant faculties of mind, and heart, and
soul; to give to the poor object of pity, contempt,
and ridicule, a sense of his immortality,
surely such a work is worthy of the
thought and study of the highest intellects.
The plan adopted at Earlswood has, as we have said,
proved wonderfully successful. Nothing like force
or severity is attempted, in fact the servants are
liable for dismissal for any attempt at violence.
No strait-waistcoat, strap, or chain is used,
and yet perfect order is maintained. Great sur-
prise is often manifested by the friends of the in-
mates when they see their docility and obedience.
Kindness and firmness combined are all powerful.
As our popular poetess has sung of the Idiot—

Use him fairly he will prove
How the simple heart can love,
He will spring with infant glee
To the form he likes to see ;
Gentle speech or kindness done
Truly binds the witless one.
The great means of education is employment, on
" every good, voluntary, muscu-
ltahremporvinemcipenlet
require
s the exercise of will and atten-
tion, and so promotes the health of the mind."
Thus gymnastics and out-door games and exercises
of all sorts, singing, dancing, and easy occupations,
such as splitting rods for baskets, unravelling cocoa
fibre for matting, &c., are all valuable. It will
be seen that the latter are of great utility, and help
to profitable employment. They are excellent and
attractive substitutes for the bad and destructive
habits which idiots often have of tearing their
clothes and destroying things. The worst cases
are the utterly vacant and inert, and these some-
times show a kind of sullen apathy which is very
difficult to deal with. Some of those whom the
asylum is most justly proud of belonged originally
to this class, and it is only by the closest watch-
fulness that they have been drawn from it. One
boy would do or take part in nothing till one day
he was observed playing with a straw. This showed
he had the power of motion, and proved the step-