The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-02 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tins DAY.—Morning, lh. 24m.—Afternoon, ]h. 46m.
To-MORROW.-Morning, 2h. 13m.—Afternoon, 2h. 39m.

THE WEATHER.—SUN OFFICE, DECEMBER, 1, 1661.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
53—highest since noon yesterday.
41—lowest this morning and during the night.
45—this day at noon.
BAROMETER-50.08 ; rising.
IVo-D—W.-N.-Westerly ; fresh and squally, with fine
weather, but cold.

DEC. 2.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHIM
47—highest since noon yesterday.
32—lowest this morning and during the night.
40—this day at noon.
BAROMETER-30.47.
Wurn--N.-Westerly ; light, with fine frosty weather.

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THE SUN.
LONDON, MONDAY, DEC. 2, 1861.

We did not need the telegrams just received to
convince us that the conduct of Captain WILKES
and Lieutenant FAIRFAX would be hailed by the
American press as " spirited," and deemed worthy
of testimonials from the public and promotion by
the Government. It was spirited no doubt; not
spirited in the military sense—even the Yankees
will hardly see much pluck in a vessel with 13 guns
with a company of marines on board, attacking a
peaceful trader which relied on her character solely,
and not on her force. No, the " spirited conduct"
was shown in the defiance of England; in taking
doubtful law, as even he must regard it, into his
own hands, and without troubling himself about
prize courts or any such antiquated checks upon
passion and violence, hauling the Commis-
sioners and their secretaries out of a British ship,
while a British captain and a naval officer stood
vainly protesting, " raving" they say, at the illegal
violence perpetrated on their ship. Commander
WILKES is to be placed on a level with the com-
mander of Fort Sumpter—the only point of resem-
blance being that neither of the commanders lost a
man ; the "spirit" in each case cost nothing ; but
there was at least the difference that one incurred
no risk, while the other had a hard fight, although
a lucky one, so far as life was concerned. It was
no doubt a spirited thing to bully the great British
nation ; to try how much she would submit to
without fighting, and to presume to the uttermost on
the forbearance which has been hitherto shown by
us to our national offspring. It was spirit too to
show in dealings with England that America still
has citizens " who dare do more than may become

a man."

From the accounts received, it would appear tha
Captain
WILKES acted very much on his own
responsibility. If the account of the interview with
Gen. WOOL at Fort Monroe be correct, it would
seem that this must be the case. The General
pronounced him right, but added a supposition as
to the personal consequences to the Commander of
having gone too far. This would, of course, prove
that the Captain of the San Jacinto acted under no
special instructions from Washington, It seemed,
indeed, from the course of his voyage that this
could hardly be the case; and the probability is,
that having heard at Havannah of the Commis-
sioners being there, he at once had the " spirit" to
perceive that now was the time to glorify himself
with SEWARD and the Sovereign mob ; the right
might be very, very doubtful, but the praise at New
York and Washington was very certain. And it
was also certain that the greater the wrong—if
only it could be got over without entailing worse
consequences—the greater the praise. Even at the
worst, he would be a gre der man, both at White-
house and with the multitude, if he had to be tem-
porarily cashiered for his brave illegality against
unarmed vessels of neutrals.
We can hardly believe, however, that Lord LYONS
has given public expression to an opinion, that
Messrs. SLIDELL and MASON would be given up to
England, as stated by the Washington correspondent
of the New I ork Times. It is one thing for him
to feel, no doubt, of what the American Government
ought to do under the circumstances, and quite
another for him, without instructions from home in
so grave a case, to promulge his opinion in the
American press. The New York Herald
quotes a singular precedent as applicable
to the present case, and tells us how
far it thinks its Government may concede, it says :
—" We have a precedent in the action of the British
Government itself in a precisely similar case in the
Irish Rebellion of 1848, when the person of TERENCE
BELLEW M`MANITS was forcibly taken from an
American ship in the harbour of Cork, where he
had taken shelter under the stars and stripes. But
it is evident Commander WILKES was not autho-
rised to make the arrest on board of a British ship:
and it is more than probable the Government will
disavow the proceeding, apologise for it, promise
never to do it again, perhaps reprimand the naval
officer for permitting his zeal to outstrip his dis-
cretion. This is all, we think, the English Govern-
ment can fairly demand, if it ever does make any
demand on the subject. As for giving up MASON
and SLIDELL, now that they are in the hands of
our Government, that is another affair, altogether
out of the question."
But it is not denied that had the Trent been in
New York harbour she would have been subject to
the laws of New York. Indeed, since the war,
arrests have been made in that very harbour on
board a British steamer and the authority not chal-
lenged. If that be the best precedent to be found,
the Americans will find themselves utterly without
excuse, though very likely the distinction they take
may be one which Mr. SEWARD will take also. There
must have been great eagerness indeed to catch the
persons when a commander could be guilty of such
breach of courtesy at least to get them. The fruit
of the insult seems to be the chief object in Ame •
rican eyes; if they can but run off with the sub-•
stantial gain of forcibly subtracting two able men
from the South, they do not seem to mind a
little apologising. Fair words would be a cheap
price for the persons of Messrs. SLIDELL and
MASON and their secretaries. Our Government will,
we cannot doubt, think it far too cheap. The two
gentlemen trusted themselves to our protection, not
for a moment doubting its sufficiency, nor can we
allow it
similar
sufßeieat.Net a state
attack on its right
tection to whoms
Americans will find th
them every Power which h
whose rights it will maintai
soil itself of its country. The
riven up, as well as an apology made, before the
sense of justice throughout Europe will be satisfied.
For us to accept anything short of this, would
be simply to expose ourselves to general contempt.
The Americans have a strangenotion that we would
put up with anything rather than fight with them.
It is, no doubt, due to the strange extent to which
we have put up with all kinds of fraud and violence
at their bands; and, doubtless, we have had self-
a
command enough to decline fighting to punish every
have taken With
rudeness and every liberty they