The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-03 00:00:00

exhibited a consideration which can scarcely be
justified by precedents in reference to revolution
and Governments de facto in other parts of the
globe where we had no interests at stake, and where
our acceptance of the revolution was not at all con-
ducive to the British influence. Judges, lawyers,
jurists,—Puffendorf, Grotius, Vattel, and Wheaton,
—settle it as you may, there is no escape from
this dilemma except in the humiliation, which
may be honourable, though it be to the dust
of the one ; or the disgrace, which cannot be ren-
dered tolerable, though it be gilded by apology and
concession, of the other. Why not s( ize Mr.
Yancey in his lodgings in London ? Why not let
the detectives drag away Secessionists from Mor-
ley's or It adley's, in London and Liverpool ? Why
not at once admit that the United States' Govern-
ment in this war against the Confederates shall be
permitted to treat all the nations in the world as it
pleases, and to call on all the peoples to stand by
and applaud while, in the interests of its vaunted
liberty, it outrages every guarantee which man-
kind in civilized countries, by the blood of many
generations and the struggles of many years, have
extorted from despotism and political hatred. Let
the Caroline and the State of New York, let Kosta
and the Cabinet of Washington, be remembered to
show how Americans would act in such a case.
NOVEMBER 18.

'I he National Intelligencer, which is .a journal of
respectability, entitled to consideration, contains an
article to-day which has been furnished by the State
Department, is reference to the seizure. It is fairly,
ably, and temperately written, but, unfortunately,
it is not applicable to the case at all. If the United
States admitted that the States in revolt against it
were a "belligerent" Power, and that Mr. Slidell
and Mr. Mason were " ambassadors" from that
Power in a neutral ship, the arguments of the writer
might find some support in the language he quotes
from Wheaton; but the United States expressly
deny that the Southern States are a belligerent
Power, or that they have belligerent rights ; nay,
get very angry with us for admitting them as
having belligerent rights to a certain extent;
threatened us with war, and now treat Messrs.
Slidell and Mason not as " ambassadors," but as
rebels. But it is very doubtful, indeed, that
Wheaton's words apply to the case of " ambassa-
dors" travelling as ordinary passengers in a ship
belonging to a neutral Power engaged in the car-
riage of mails and passengers; the context would
rather imply that this portion of his remarks re-
ferred to the case of a belligerent Power hiring or
employing a vessel to carry ambassadors or contra-
band of war.

TUESDAY, Nov. 19.

Up to this date Lord Lyons has received no com-
munication from the State Department in reference
to the arrests of the " Confederate Ambassadors," as
we must now call them. Indeed, the correspondence
will probably be opened by communications from
London, as Mr. Seward may not feel inclined to
broach the subject. The agitation created by the
event has not subsided,and I am satisfied that there
is much secret apprehension of a serious breach
with England in consequence of the seizure, not-
withstanding the assumption of perfect ease,
founded on legality and right, which is made for
external use. There is popular passion and ven-
geance to be gratified by the capturing and punish-
ment of Mr. Mason and Mr. Slidell, and I believe
the Government will retain them at all risks, be-
cause it dare not give them up, not being strong
enough to do what is right in the face of popular
sentiment. Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward—the mem-
bers of the Cabinet generally must feel a certain
personal satisfaction in having these gentlemen in
in custody, whom they can scarcely be induced to
part with on easy terms. The national prejudices
of the two empires will be appealed to and aroused
by this act more forcibly than by anything which
could have occurred short of the seizure having been
effected by force on board of a British man-of-war.
The mob here are at once rendered aggressive and
insolent. They say the prisoners must not be given
up. What the English people will say in the matter
we do not know, and it would ill become any one
by word or deed at this moment to intensify the
passions which will no doubt be aroused angrily
and furiously enough when the news reaches Eng-
land. I was much struck with the deep spirit of
animosity displayed by some friends of mine, for
whom I entertain a great respect, in speaking of
the probable action of Great Britain :—" If we are
forced now, in our hour of weakness, to give up
Slidell and Mason, I trust to God that every man
in America will make a solemn resolve to
let England feel the force of our resentment
and an undying revenge when next she is in-
volved in any difficulty." One of the gentlemen I
allude to is a naval officer of high distinction, well
known to all of us in England, and he, no doubt,
spoke in the bitterness of knowing that the United
States could not pretend to offer any resistance to
the naval forces of Great Britain. He was moved
probably rather by the importance of getting hold
of the prisoners than by the mode in which they
were taken, the latter being as new to him as it must
be to every naval officer.
The Prince de Joinville speaks of the transaction
with the profoundest regret, and evidently regards
it as inexcusable, and the Orleanist princes share
the sentiments of their uncle. In the Cabinet there
is division, it is said, of opinion in reference to the
course to be pursued. The President, Mr. Blair, and
Mr. Chase are said to be in favour of giving the cap-
tives up. Mr. Seward and others are believed to
resist this, and to sustain the capture: Major-Gen.
McClellan is easier in his mind now that the law has
been laid down to him, but regular officers of expe-
rience in the army and navy view the pleas in justi-
fication, and the cases in point, if any, with great
suspicion. It is to them as if an officer who should
seize M. Kossuth in his London villa by order of the
Emperor of Austria were defended by a long legal
argument to show that he was quite right, or as if
any other violation of accepted principle were to be
vindicated by lawbooks and the authority of prece-
dents. " The only thing that could have settled this
matter properly," said an eminent person to me yes-
terday, " would have been the instant release of
Messrs. Slidell and Mason, with an ample apology,
and the dismissal of Captain Wilkes. But the Go-
vernment of the United States dared not do so."
When I called at the State department yesterday
I found Mr. Seward was detained in his house by a
severe cold caught on 11'.s trip to Annapolis on Sa-
turday, which may account for his silence, though
I believe the Secretary of State will not make a
sign tilt lie is addressed on the subject, Cap-

tam Wilkes is already the subject of biogra-
phies, and of demands for photographs and
autographs. Ho acted without instructions—so it
may be inferred from his words when ho landed at
Fortress Monroe, for he expressed apprehensions of
being cashiered. In the camps, among the common
soldiers, there is a feeling of pleasure, as I am as-
sured, at the seizure; but many of these men have
been taught to believe that this campaign was but
a training for a great war with England. The re-
view which is to take place to-morrow will not
diminish the arrogance of the anti-British senti-
ment in the ranks. General M'Dowell has made
his arrangements for the march and concentration
of seven divisions of the army of the Potomac,
which will be reviewed by the General, by the
President and his Ministers, and by the diplomatic
persons who feel inclined to go, as well as by a
crowd of strangers and residents in the city, to
whom passes will be freely distributed for the day.
It is supposed upwards of 65,000 men and 200 guns
will bo on the ground near Bayley's Cross-roads
(marked on the maps near Arlington, and beyond
Fort Corcoran), massed together in columns—a
sight such as has never been seen in the United
States of America before, and which it might do
some of our English-America maniacs great good to
gaze upon. Whether Mr, Chase will regard it
with particular pleasure is doubtful—he knows
what it costs. There are at this moment 600,000
men in the service of the United States, who, if not
soldiers in its best sense, are certainly drawing pay
at the rate of nearly £6O per annum, with rations,
clothing, &e., taking the pay at that of privates
alone. There are upwards of 600 pieces of artil-
lery in the field, which costs something also. As to
Generals, brigadiers, officers of rank, and the like,
their powers of drawing pay are beyond the concep-
tion of us poor Europeans, and show how much