The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-14 00:00:00

five per cent. upon the usual guarantees. But'
then, perhaps, she might be able to do without a
loan. She would hardly need an army, for no one
dare to attack her. The States ofwhich she consists,
enjoying their rights under her crown, would unite
to drive off any invader.
All that fanciful kind of strength she now throws
to the wind. Her notion of strength is that which
proved the ruin of the Roman Empire—to keep
down one part of her Empire by troops drawn from
another part. Germans keep down Hungary,
Hungarians Italy, and so all round with her
thirty states and provinces. This she thinks
real, not imaginary strength. But how long will
it last P Evidently only so long as the army
can be kept in profound ignorance. Austria
does skilfully contrive that soldiers shall be as
much as possible mere animals or machines, but she
cannot prevent the truth reaching them some day.
Illiterate as they are, the truth may any day meet
them that they are all made tools for enslaving each
other's countries respectively, and when once that
conviction pervades an army, not of volunteers, but
of conscripts, it is all up. They will- dismiss or
shoot the officers who have made tools of them, and
march for their respective homes.

But the case for Austria does not close there.
What she chiefly fears is attack from without. She
dreads another Solferino if she does not dread do-
mestic military /a sistance. Her present confidence
is due to her belief that she is, at present, secure
against foreign war. France, she thinks, is now
indisposed to push Italy again upon her, and then
aid the attack. Does not even GARIBALDI himself
say, be quiet now—but arm—and as that arming is
a future thing, no one can tell what ma) turn up by
the time Italy is armed. But Austria must not be
too confident. The very straits of LOUIS NAPOLEON
may drive him to a war. If a half-starving popu-
lation begin to raise the dreaded cry of "bread,"
if socialism, and the Emperor himself is a Socialist,
has taught the distressed manufacturers, and the
pinched agriculturists, to look to the Emperor,
not to themselves, for help ; then, he may have
nothing for it, but .to divert popular atten-
tion by a war. He may not prefer it ;
but what would a NAPOLEON stop at when
the security or glory of the dynasty was at stake ?
Whence, if not from this conviction, arises the
general apprehension that we may have war in the
spring ? France uneasy through a bad harvest,
through stoppage of trade both in raw material and
in manufactures with America, and with a
clergy angry at the demand of freedom for the
Romans—that is of Rome for the capital of Italy—
France, thus disquieted, must, it is supposed, be
quieted ; and what quiets France so easily as glory
for her arms. The idea too—and France only en-
joys the honour of " making war for an idea"—of
liberating oppressed nationalities, is a favourite one li
with France. A war which was against Austria
and for the Hungarians and Venetians, with a
hopeful glance towards Poland, would arouse the
enthusiasm of all classes in France. It would
be said—England gives merely her cold sym-
pathy, but France sheds her blood that the na-
tions may be free !
It need not be said that with France in Croatia,
and thence on the Danube, with the Italians attack-
ing the Quadrilateral, and inviting the Hungarians
and Croats who defend it to use their arms not for
the oppressors of theircountrymen but against them,
Austria would fall like the walls of Jericho itself.
The Quadrilateral would be mined and breached
from within, and nothing would remain of the
Austrian Empire, but the name in history—a con-
summation which would gladden the heart of every
'over of the human race. We cannot indeed desire
a European war, yet we could not regret one in
the South and East of Europe, if it resulted in
a strong Hungarian kingdom, and annihilated that
grand foe of civil and religious liberty—the
Austrian Empire.

A gentleman from the Southern States of
America thus writes to us, in a letter otherwise
private, in reference to some remarks of ours the
other daf :
" For your own information, I also state that the
South is manufacturing all the powder and big
guns, and woollen clothing and shoes, used by its
troops—experiencing no lack of any of these articles,
except leather and blankets. It also has several
manufactories of muskets, though she chiefly relies
upon purchases in Europe for these. Will you
allow me also to state, that the South has ex
perienced no want of funds. She has not asked
Europe to lend her a dollar ; but, on the contrary,
it has already expended several millions in specie
in England, and has no reason to suppose that it
will become bankrupt."
We can have no reason to suspect our informant
of any intention to mislead, but we must confess
that all the facts we have seen from the South look
the other way. We have always been informed
that one of the essentials of gunpowder, sul-
phur, was not to be procured in the Southern
States, and we know that fresh supplies
of it could only reach them through the
blockade. Coarse woollen articles, we know, they
can manufacture, but great must be their suffer-

ings without leather and blankets; indeed, it is
a dictum of a well-known ancient wiseacre that,
for defence, the business of the South, there is
" nothing like leather."
As to the big guns, we have observed hitherto
that all the "biggest guns" have been those
prigged from the North by the grace of that
honest worthy, Mr. Secretary FLOYD ; the rest
seem to have been either got from Norfolk Navy-
yard, or captured at Bull's Run. We know of no
factory for either big guns or muskets worth
a moment's consideration as capable of pro-
ducing supplies for a long war; even the
raw material would have to be imported. How-
ever, our informant acknowledges that their reliance
is on Europe, which we believe to be the truth—
but they must not count on all ships being so lucky
as the Bermuda, or on her being so lucky a second
time. The exultation over the gunpowder and
guns she brought seems to show the condition
of the South in regard to military stores. It
must also be borne in mind that the pinch is yet
to come. The South has expended little ammu-
nition yet—when she has to do that she may find
herself much embarrassed.

As to the financial question—Mr. MEMMINGER'S
letter does not look as if no want of funds were
experienced; had any Chancellor of the Exchequer
of any European State to write such a letter, T
I should certainly think him very " hard up."lle
Ire
should smile at any of his countrymen saying that
they had never ale should asked any other country to "lend
v
them a dollar."
think we did not need
to be told the reason
why,t When planters were
asked to subscribe,na
ranthB
money, but " promises to
pay," not at a fixed date—six
'nine months,
or even a year or two, but whenever°
their cotton, and the Government was gtheyo'ngto u"
could
sell
these promises as money—it would certainly b
as
hopeless to get a loan for such a Government as tso
raise one for Austria herself. To Englishmen this
looks very much like being bankrupt, not
becoming so. Ana the fact that nothing but specie
would procure the acceptance of an order by an
English manufacturer, would also seem to imply
that those whom it most concerned looked on the
Southern States as already in the Gazette. We

have, indeed, little or no faith in the ultimate
safety of Northern Seven and a-half per Cents., so
that we are tolerably impartial. But, as a plain
business matter, we should deal with the South
precisely as we do with those gentlemen -who have
just " taken the benefit of the Act."

Perhaps no country can look with more impar-
tiality on the American quarrel than England does
—we have grave cause of displeasure with each
section, we have also a ground of goodwill towards
each. We like the actual freedom of the North,
and we like the free trade principles of the South.
But we abominate the negro slavery of the South,
and almost as much the negro hating and negro
hunting of the North. Again, we think it was
very mean of the South to concede a protec-
tionist tariff to the North as the price of politi-
cal ascendancy, and equally mean of the North
to sell their natural ascendancy for such a shabby
consideration. Yet further, we have—as some on
both sides have owned, by throwing the blame of
it on each other—good cause for displeasure with
both sections for their arrogant, captious,
ill-bred behaviour towards England, for
which, since their independence was recog-
nised, the States have had no fair excuse what-
ever, Unfortunately, just as trade and common
sense were mitigating this, the war broke out, and
since that time the North has, beyond doubt, been
the ruder and the more unreasonable in her con-
duct towards this country.

We have but one wish for both—that the war
may last till slavery is abolished ; if that be accom-
plished, for all it concerns us, they may become
two, or States twenty if they please.

The speech of the King of the BELGIANS at the
opening of the Chambers is remarkable for its
liberality, good sense, and moderation of tone.
King LEOPOLD has always been eminent for his tact
and for the skill with which he adapts himself to
the aspect of the times and the temper of the people.
His residence in this country probably assisted in
the extension of those liberal opinions which his
constitutional shrewdness must show him are in-
dispensable to his adopted country's prosperity and
to the development of its resources. The speech
delivered last Tuesday is encouraging in its tone
and highly satisfactory to those interested in
commercial prospects. After alluding to the fa-
vourable situation of Belgium in regard to foreign
Powers, and the neutral position she had main-
tained, the KING proceeded to speak of the
recent treaty of commerce concluded with
France. It will, perhaps, be remembered, on this
side of the Channel, that it was a reference to
this treaty in prospective which induced Mr.
COBDEN to agree to terms not altogether just to
our paper manufacturers. Negotiations are to be
opened with other States, with a view to the
establishment of more commercial treaties, and the
proposal to increase the means of communication
throughout the country will greatly facilitate
the extension of trade. The harvest, although
not favourable, is better than was anti-
cipated, and the KING congratulates him-
self that the adoption of Free-trade principles in
Belgium enables it to benefit by the import of foreign
grain. The disputes with Holland are satisfac-
torily terminated, and Holland and its Sovereign
are now spoken of as a "friendly nation" and "its
illustrious chief." An amelioration of the militia
laws is promised, which will assure an equitable
compensation to " those who devote a portion of
their youth to the noble career of arms for the ser-
vice of the State." This is no more than just, and
may well be spoken of by the KING as a reform
mueh needed. The consideration of abuses of the
electoral privileges call, we are told, " for repressive
measures, deserving the interest and approval of
men of every opinion." This has a somewhat
suspicious sound, bearing a resemblance to those
ingenious evasions which veil despotic intentions
in high sounding platitudes. We are inclined to
think that the proposed measures will by no means
receive the universal approbation which they are
said to merit. We trust King LEOPOLD'S com-
mon sense, if nothing more, will keep him from
endangering his popularity and irritating his people
by an attempt to follow the example of other con-
tinental rulers, whose tottering thrones and disaf-
fected subjects should be sufficient warnings of the
evils of a " repressive" rule. The allusions to art
and education are more satisfactory. The exhibi-
tion at Antwerp, observes the KING, threw addi-
tional lustre on the Belgian schools once famed
throughout Europe for the names a REUBENS and
VAN DYCK. Other measures are proposed for
the consideration of the Chambers for which
the KING invokes " the spirit of matu-
rity, of moderation, and of calmness," which
has hitherto distinguished them. The concluding
sentences speak more of the constitutional king than
of the exalted self sufficiency of a continental
ruler; thanking the representatives for their bene-
volent, support, and referring to the national soaks
undertaken in common and placed under the guar-
dianship of King and Chambers. There is ground
for satisfaction in the tone of this opening speech,
which acknowledges the.dignity of representative in-
stitutions, and proposes important reforms in seve-
ral departments. The prosperity of a constitutional
kingdom, however small, can never be a matter
of indifference to Europe, and we trust both the
Belgians and their Sovereign will prove worthy of
the advantages of their hardly won freedom, by
adding another testimony to the truth that the
firmest basis for a throne is in the affection and
support of an intelligent people.

The Warrior has proved herself to be, in every
sense, a first-class steamship. In fact, with the
exception of the Dublin and Holyhead packets,
and a few others, she is the fastest steamer afloat ;
but here her good qualities end. She is not a
handy ship under sail. It is quite problematical
whether she will stay or not, and, if she does come
round, it is more by good luck than management.
Why, in the name of common sense, must the old
rule of three masts be adhered to for all classes
of vessels. If three masts are sufficient for a
corvette, one hundred and fifty feet long, it does
not follow that they are enough for a ship of
upwards of four hundred feet in length, and of some
six thousand tons burdens. The new style of naval
architecture has upset the old rules, and the pro-
portion which used to exist between length
and breadth are now set aside ; at one time
one third of the length was considered to be the
measurement of the beam of a vessel, in feet, the
model of our fishing smacks. Now, however, the
proportion is eight or nine times to one; therefore
an extra mast or two is necessary to enable those
in charge of a ship of the size of the Warrior to
have her under complete control. It is not to he
expected that a long vessel like the Warrior can
be put !Wont in half an acre of space, but that
she should come round in one way or another
Is necessary ; and al though we deprecate
unnecessary
must be borneexinpe nmdiintau rei t h
atn t ourhe dockyards,wrarrior
is, af
after
all, an experiment, and as such it would be better
to bring her under the sheers and remast her, and
thus save the expense of altering at a future day the
ships at present on the slips. When the propor-
tions of ti vessel are altered to an extent which