The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-17 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—It would be a great pity if any legal
scruples were allowed to spoil our interest in the
exploits of the Bulldog, which was destroyed in the
harbour of Cape Haytien. Capt. Wake, her com-
mander, who has just been tried by a court-martial
at Devonport, has really told his story so well, and
is so evidently a naval officer of the right sort, that
one would be glad to waive all misgivings as to the
propriety of the course which he adopted. Being
off the harbour of Cape Haytien, on the morning of
the 18th of October he observed the Voldrogue, a
steamer belonging to the Haytian insurgents, to-
gether with three schooners, chasing a vessel bearing
English colours. He promptly hastened to the
rescue, and found that the ship pursued by the in-
surgent'flotilla was the Jamaica Packet, which had
been chartered by the Haytian Government. He
thereupon sent a lieutenant on board the Voldrogue
to explain that he would himself examine the papers
of the Jamaica Packet, and should feel bound to

protect her in the event of her proving entitled to
carry the British flag. This incensed the captain of
the Voldrogue, who used violent language to the
lieutenant, and afterwards nearly ran into the Bull-
dog in his attempt to close with the packet, despite
Capt. Wake's message. The Voldrogue then sheered
off, and Capt. Wake, after satisfying himself that
the packet had a claim to his protection, in vain
signalled to the Voldrogue to make known the result
of his inquiries. On the morning of the 19th he re-
turned to Cape Haytien, and informed the Revolu-
tionary Council, through Mr. Dutton, the English
Vice-Consul, of what had taken place, and of the
grounds upon which he had acted. The Council
received these representations, according to. Cap-
tain Wake, in a manner so insolent and defiant
as to leave him no alternative but a resort to

force. To the reasons which he alleges in support
of this opinion we shall presently revert. Suffice
it now to say, that on the 22d of October his

patience was exhausted, and that, having first
communicated with the President at L'Acul,
taken on board the Vice-Consul and a British

merchant, and advised all foreigners to seek refuge
oil board the American ship Da Soto, he prepared
for action on the 23d. His plan was to run down
the Voldrogue, partly because it would take less
time, and partly because he " disliked extremely the
idea of firing into a ship so very inferior in force,"
to bombard Fort Picolet, and then to return to
Jamaica. Unluckily, during the night of the 22d,
while the Bulldog was off L'Acul, the Voldrogue
had shifted her anchorage.iCaptain Wake, who had
carefully studied the soundings beforehand, and
knew that there was no shoal water between him-

self and the place where he had left the Voldrogue,
but who had failed to detect the change in her posi-
tion, ordered his ship to be steered directly at her.
The Bulldog was close upon the Voldrogue, and
already within reach of grape and musketry from
her decks, as well as of the fire of the shore bat-
teries, when a sudden shock was felt, and Captain
Wake found himself aground in 12f feet of water.
He had, in fact, run upon an unseen spit of shoal,
behind which his enemy had craftily retired. In
this emergency he seems to have displayed the
utmost resource and gallantry. Stranded as he was,
he managed to sink both the Voldrogue and a large
schooner, and to silence all the batteries except one.
He then waited anxiously for the rise of the tide,
with " the water started in the tanks, the foremost

boilers blown out, the port guns run aft, the steam
got on, the stream cable laid out astern, the ship's
company sent aft with shot in their hands, and the
engines reversed, but all to no purpose." Then,
and not till then, he decided on blowing up the
Bulldog, under cover of the night, rather than risk
her falling into the hands of the insurgents. Of
course, the two questions for the court-martial were,
whether Captain Wake was to blame for the
grounding of his ship, and whether he afterwards
employed all possible means of getting her off
before sacrificing her. The last is obviously a ques-
tion for seamen, and the court-martial have decided
against him, but few landsmen will be inclined to
impugn the captain's defence. The Bulldog was
imbedded two feet deep for two-thirds of her length
in a bank of sand and coral ; she was short of
ammunition, provisions, and coal ; her boats were
much disabled with shot, and her crew were too
imielLfatizued even to go through the labour, pro-
meantime she wi tifrea2L-endeen.inthe night. In the
the shore, and was certain to be exposed to a ri-
newed. fire in the morning, which, for want of
ammunition, she would soon have been :unable to
return. Assuming that he evinced no discretion in

getting into such a predicament, he seems to have
got out of it like a brave and resolute man; but we
must candidly own that Captain Wake's six reasons
for " taking upon himself the responsibility of vindi-
cating the honour of the British flag" do not appear
to us as conclusive as could be desired. " Refusing
to allow an officer of the Bulldog to land on duty,
and repelling his landirte b_v_an_ar pd 17
an act of gross discourtesy, no doubt, and so was
the notice given by General Salnave that Captain
Wake himself should not be permitted to come on
shore, on peril of his life ; not to speak of " hoisting
the red flag, and pointing guns at her Majesty's ship
Bulldog." Still graver outrages were the invasion
of the British Consulate on two occasions by an
armed force, and the seizure of political refugees
there. On the other hand, it must be a very extreme
aggression which can make it proper for a naval
officer without instructions to commence war against
a de facto Government. The Haytian rebels are, in-
deed, entitled to so little respect that we can hardly
bring ourselves to regard thorn as a civilised nation,
but the same zeal for the honour of his flag
which prompted Captain Wake to chastise General
Salnave and *his followers might compromise us
very seriously if it were displayed against the sub-
ject of a great European Power. If one of her
Majesty's ships be deliberately fired upon, or if
violence be offered to her accredited representative,
and no redress can be obtained, it may be right and
necessary to enforce satisfaction on the spot, but in
most cases it is far better to wait for orders from
home. While, however, we entertain much doubt
as to the regularity of Captain Wake's proceedings,
but one opinion can exist as to the spirit which ac-
tuated him throughout. His fault, if it be one, is
so entirely on the right side, that few of his country-
men will join in the " severe reprimand" which the
court-martial has felt it its duty to administer. The
courage which he showed in encountering, with a
sloop of six guns, so many ships and batteries, of
which the collective force must have greatly over-
matched his own armament, and the humanity
which led him to save the crew of the Voldrogue in
his own boats when he was himself in a position of
the utmost difficulty, are worthy of the best days of
our navy. He erred, indeed, as a diplomatist, but
he more than repaired his error in his proper capa-
city of a naval officer.
POST.—The meeting of the Prussian Chambers,
even if it be a mere matter of form, witnesses to an
intelligible hesitation on the part of the Government
to commit itself to a direct and overt violation of
the constitution. Substantially it amounts to an ad-
mission which the deputies are not caned to express
any opinion upon, but to the import and significance
of which they cannot be insensible. With Govern-
ments as with individuals, the reluctance to deviate
from a lawful course, whether it be motived by a
sense of right or by an apprehension of the conse-
quences of wrongdoing, indicates a perception of the
equity of things that may eventually be turned to
good account. Probably the influence of the Court
has in some degree controlled the policy of the Ca-
binet. The King of Prussia may doubtless feel bound
to consider suggestions that could not be suitably
addressed to his Ministers ; and political questions
when they, relate to the prerogatives of the Crown
must necessarily be looked at from a personal
point of view. The doctrine of divine right, how-
ever it may be propounded in public discourses, ad-
mits of colloquial argument, and, after all, in their
family councils, Sovereigns are much as other men
are. It is well for the nation, too, that the inte-
rests of the reigning dynasty are identified with its
welfare and security. The King and his Ministers
may entertain little if any respect for the constitu-
tion, and may entirely fail to perceive the utility of
Parliamentary government ; but that which possi-
bly appears to them to be an idle and troublesome
ceremony is not practically a serious inconvenience ;
and if it pleases or deceives the country, and serves
to inspire confidence as regards the future, they may
well be disposed to let it alone. There are trees
and branches of trees in the political forest that it
would be rash to attempt to break, but which, with
care and perseverance, may be bent to the desired
end. Count Bismarck is a diplomatist as well as a
soldier, and he has established a reputation which
must be sustained by elasticity as well as by effron-
tery. From the concluding sentence of the most in-
teresting paragraph in the royal speech it may, too,
be inferred that the Government does not despair
of effecting a reconciliation with the Chambers on
a basis that would materially diminish their weight
in the scale. It must be remarked that all through
this protracted struggle the King has confidently
presumed upon the unfaltering support of the peo-
ple, and, though patience may be misconceived,
the assumption seems to be founded on facts which
cannot be controverted. The Gastein Convention
is certainly regarded by the Prussians as a diplo-
matic success, and the Government may not un-
reasonably conclude that measures which give
general satisfaction to the nation will ultimately
bring about the union of parties. No doubt the
deputies can deal with the budget as they
have dealt with former budgets, but, if they
refuse to vote supplies for the construction of the
North Sea and Baltic Canal, it will be perfectly
understood that they all the same desire to see the
Duchies of the Elbe annexed to Prussia. This cir-

cumstance would, however, deprive their vote of
the moral force it might otherwise possess, and in-
deed go far to justify the proceedings of the Minis-
try. Count Bismarck looks to the end without
considering the means. If his policy commends
itself to national approbation that is all he has to
care for. He must be satisfied that, in any contin-
gency which may be contemplated, Parliamentary
support would scarcely answer to his purpose. If
the Prussians allow their Government to settle its
own budget and to collect the taxes, there can be
no difficulty about money; and if Russia and Aus-
tria should be exacting or obstinate, their opposition
must be met by action to which the Chambers could
only be consenting parties. The strength of the
position which Prussia has taken up consists simply
in the understanding that she is prepared to defend
it, and the King reckons upon the patriotic ambition
of the country. Count Bismarck's policy—the po-
licy of territorial aggrandisement—presents some-
thing that is really tangible, whereas the constitu-
tional policy, as it is philosophically expounded, is
an unproductive and inanimate theory. Moreover,
upon the whole, the government of Prussia may be
supposed to correspond with the requirements of the
people. If there are any grievances they are worn
carelessly, and do not touch the heart of the nation.
At all events, if the Prussians have domestic wrongs,
it is manifest that they are content to bear with
them on conditions which are not irreconcilable
with political immorality. It has become evident
that they would compass land and sea to enlarge
their borders, and those who fail to respect the
rights of their neighbours can hardly complain if
their own rights are withheld from them. Nor is it
altogether compatible with the common sense of jus-
tice to tolerate a Government which ministers to the
passion of aggrandisement with the deliberate inten-
tion to dismiss it when the process of annexation
has been carried as far as it may be. The Prussians
are looking forward to a change which will, they
believe, place them firmly on a constitutional foot-
ing, but meantime they are getting all they can out
of despotism. When they have rectified their fron-
tiers, absorbed some adjacent vineyards, and cut the
famous canal which is to open the Baltic, then—
like those who, having acquired wealth fraudulently,
practise righteousness when the temptation to sin
may be comfortably resisted —they purpose to enter
into the full enjoyment of Parliamentary govern-
ment. We can only hope that they may not be de-
ceiving themselves. It is, however, an exceedingly
dangerous game to play. Wrongdoing has already
had an unusually long innings. Count Bismarck
may advise the King to declare that he will maintain
the claims of Prussia under all circumstances, but
there are Powers that may think they are entitled
to be consulted, and it is not even certain that Aus-
tria will make further concessions. Policy and
sympathy have combined to interest Russia in the
question which the Gastein Convention has not
solved, and the Governments of Paris and Vienna
may, sooner or later, come to an understanding on
other matters. But, given that Prussia is permitted
to satisfy her claims, and it does not fellow that the
enlarged State would be a sonstitutional State. On
the contrary, the authority of the Crown might be
consolidated by an extension of territory and by the
prestige' of success, and, if Parliamentary institu-
tions are inoperative in the present comparatively
limited area, it may be doubted if they could cover
the space to be occupied by a great North German
kingdom, constituted upon the principle of conquest,
and which must therefore be constantly ready to
vindicate its title by the sword.