The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-30 00:00:00

an absolute minority than that towards the
close of his illustrious and patriotic career so foul a
blot should be fixed in perpetuity upon Lord PAL-
MERSTON'S reputation. Besides—it could have no
good result lastingly even as another of those
flagrant Ministerial dodges, the first of which led to
the formation of the present Coalition Goverment.
It would render inevitable the speedy breaking up
of a Cabinet that would thenceforth be nothing less
than a scorn and an opprobrium to all iight-
minded Englishmen.
____

A long letter from a contemporary which we
have transferred to our columns, has an interest
very much like that of a communication from the
interior of Africa, with the additional zest imparted
by our old and present relation to the people from
the midst of whom it is written. It has indeed been
long getting to us. From the Northern States we
have information direct up to the 18th, but from
Montgomery, almost now as much out of the way

of intercourse with Europe as Timbuctoo or
Linyanti, we have only, and that by special good
luck, information of what was doing up to the 4th

of May. The writer tells us indeed " That his
communications are cut off, and that to re-open

them, he must get farther away from them." He
could heat nothing of what was going on in the

North, and even in the South he could not learn
what was doing " out of eye-shot." We are glad,
however, to obtain from him such knowledge as he
has of the now isolated South.
For one thing we know as facts what bad been
merely rumours before. He has noticed the change

of tone since it has been found that the North is

vigorously arming. Reasons are now assigned for
leaving alone Fort Pickens, although with
the Tortugas and Key West it is the key
of the Gulf of Mexico ; but it has been
strongly reinforced from the North, and it
is now asserted to be an advantage that it keeps so
many Federal troops idle and ships occupied !

General BRAGG did not seem, however, to have
perceived this advantage till the fort was too strong
for him. As to Washington, the Capitol, and
Faneuil Hall, all that was merely a joke, never
seriously thought of ; not thought of, the writer
seems to think, after their capture was impossible.
Now the universal language is that they only ask
to be let alone. They do not wish to meddle with
the Northern States, and the latter have no need
to meddle with them.
If, however, the tone of the South, in regard to
attack is very much moderated, all the zeal and fire
once expended in that way is now centred in
defence. All classes are described as determined to
die rather than allow themselves to be subjugated.
The ladies are even more enthusiastic than the men,
and their fair hands are employed not only in
scraping lint, but in the tougher work of
making uniforms and sandbags. The men are doing
their part organizing and drilling regiments, and
erecting batteries on the banks of the Mississippi to
command the passage of that great artery ; though
at present the more important point would seem to
be to get down its stream the vessels with supplies
of food and contraband of war which are detained
by the Northerns at Cairo. They fully expect after
a short war, one of less than a year, to become a
confederation of 15 States, and a power quite com-
petent to command the respect of foreign nations.
It is not unnatural that cotton should be their
chief reliance. This time it is to be used, not as it
was against us when our men paid the penalty of
attacking ramparts of cotton bags—they intend to
give a lesson to our currency doctors. Bullion in
our sense of the word is hardly known in the
Southern States. They intend to make bullion of
cotton. The Government is to buy it up, and to
issue bonds to the amount of its value at a fair
market price, and these bonds, which are to bear the
attractive interest of ten per cent., are to be legal
tender on the Southern States. The much talked
of tax of oLe-eighth of a cent. per pound, export
duty, is to raise the money for liquidating ulti-
mately these bonds, What the bonds will be
worth if the cotton cannot be shipped—what it
will be worth, if by a war protracted beyond the
cotton season a vast supply for Europe has been
stimulated elsewhere—they do not tell us. One of
the most beneficial result to be hoped for from this
quarrel, is that Jamaica and India may
be stirred up to supply the deficiency created
by the failure of American supplies, and
that the free labour of our own colonies may
thus enter permanently on the production of cotton
in quantities sufficient for us. This is the most
peaceful blow which. could be struck against Ame-

rican slavery.
One use of their cotton power they have great
hope from. They propose to starve Low ell and
glut Manchester. It is to be confiscation and
death for all who send a bale of cotton
to the Northern States; and thus Manchester
is to be enabled to supply the Union while its own
mills are thrown out of employment. How Man-
chester is to get their cotton, however, while the
Niagara keeps guard at Charleston, and the Minne-
sota at the mouth of the Mississippi, they do not
tell us. A few cargoes smuggled out would be of
no use for our cotton mills. The cotton crop
for this year is shipped, but if the war last
through October, as it is almost certain to do,
neither Manchester nor Lowell can benefit much by

the next crop.
Already, as the intelligence we have to publish
alish
to-day shows, the blockade is no longer
paper one. The Niagara is of rather more
formidable material than that, and she is
doing duty actively in the shape of sending
away even English ships which would enter the
port at Charleston. Ships were allowed 15 days
to load and to leave, but none were permitted to
enter. The Bay of Chesapeake is also closely
blockaded, and the Minnesota is .proceeding
to her destination in the Gulf. American trade
will soon be confined to the Northern ports, and,
with the present tariff, much cannot be expected
there. We must leave the South, therefore, to its
blockade and its consequences—among which will
probably be compelling it to act northwards,
and to come into collision with the Federal army.

Pleasant and accessible watering places are one of
the wants of London. We have, it may be said,
already several, one a Leviathan in that way, and by
express train but an hour from London-bridge, and
others accessible both by river and rail. Still the
more the better. The tastes as well as the wants of
a population of three millions are so various, that
we need not fear having too many varieties of that
grand remedy for the sanitary ills of London life
and business—the seaside. The Eastern Counties
line already furnishes us with one of the liveliest
sea-side scenes, so far as shipping is concerned, at
Lowestoft and Yarmouth, with abundant accommo-
dation for visitors, and an air which, after the
spring east winds have given way to the summer
breezes, leaves nothing to be desired.

But the Eastern Counties seem likely very soon
to furnish even London with another delightful
country watering-place. A small unopposed railway
bill is quietly making its way through Parliament,
to give us direct communication with a little vil-
lage on the coast, about 15 milts on the other side
of Lynn, hardly known, except locally at preNent,