The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-27 00:00:00

of the MAJESTY of France had been pledged

against it ! Without any exception, it was the
dirtiest trick that a great Prince was ever guilty

of. MACAULAY, in the last volume of his
"History of England," the fifth volume, pub-
lished the other day posthumously, has taken oc-
casion incidentally to speak of the partition
of Poland as the greatest crime ever perpetrated
in modern Europe. So—we may speak of this
I cession of Savoy and Nice to France as we have
spoken of it—namely, as, without any exception,
the dirtiest trick. Particularly after all that had
been written and all that been said. Nay, certain

are we that by nothing hail the Emperor NAPOLEON
M. damaged his reputation more seriously than
by this. For it turned out to have been from first
to last the merest shuffling, and shuffling too of the

most paltry and contemptible kind. After that--
who was to believe the most solemn and positive

assurance given to the world in the name of the
French Government?

Yet, here—with the most consummate effron-
tery the official organ of the French Go-
vernment comes forth as recently as yester-
day morning with an assurance just as
solemn, just as positive—and in the name of
decency in regard to what ? Why, actually in re-
gard to the very same question as to a further
cession of territory to Imperial France ! What an
exceeding probability there is upon the very face of
it that the majority of dispassionate observers
throughout Europe will believe what is said by
the Moniteur. Remembering that affair of Savoy
and Nice, we have much reason to be credulous !

Yet as we have seen the official journal o
France is not simply content with giving out
this plain denial (the value of which we have all
long since learnt how to estimate !) but it must
needs, while doing so, condescend, as we have ex-
pressed it, to give the " lie direct "—in the politest
way, of course—but still to give tha " lie direct" to
Mr. ROEBUCK.
Now, before we have done with this mat-
ter, it may perhaps be just as well to re-
peat here as nearly as possible the very words
uttered by Mr. ROEBUCK upon the occasion referred
to. That occasion, it will be remembered, was the
banquet given in the Free Library at Sheffield on
Wednesday last. When—upon a great variety of
subjects—JOHN ARTHUR ROEBUCK, M.P. for
Sheffield, spoke right out. Whether right or
wrong, at any rate he spoke right out : particularly
in regard to America, in regard to Austria, and in
regard to France. As to his remarks upon America,
we dare say if the hon. gentleman cared to afford
some of the free and enlightened citizens on the
other side of the Atlantic an opportunity at any time
for so doing, they would have the greatest pleasure
in life in providing him (in return for those observa-
tions of his about themselves) with a complete suit
of tar and feathers. In reference to what was said
last Wednesday down at Sheffield by Mr. ROE-
BUCK in regard to the Government of Vienna and
the Imperial house of Austria, we observe that one
of the Electors of Sheffield ingeniously proposes,
through the columns of our contemporary the Daily
News, that we should duly celebratet hose remarks
by providing Mr. ROEBUCK with some appropriate
testimonial. Whereupon he says, " I beg to pro-
pose that a subscription be at once entered into for
the purpose of presenting Mr. ROEBUCK with a
handsome suit of Austrian livery." As the Aus-
trian uniform is White—and if only Mr. ROEBUCK'S
coat be lined, as it ought to be, with that same
colour (supposing that white, can strictly speak-
ing be called a colour)—perhaps the simplest plan
would be for Mr. ROEBUCK to be quitehonest about
it, and just turn his coat inside out ! But now as to
the hon.and learned gentleman's remarks at Sheffield
on Wednesday last about France ! These remarks
in respect to which the 3loniteur only yesterday
gave so very coolly this plump denial. They are
worth giving, as we gave them in our own columns
yesterday, as nearly as possible in his own words.
They are these : Mr. ROEBUCK said (we doubt not
with an air of wonderful gravity) that "he would
now make known a secret ! He knew there had
been a compact entered into with the King of ITALY
that the Emperor of the FRENCH should have the
Island of Sardinia as soon as he withdrew from
Rome. He was stating a fact, not what he
thought but what he knew, and he knew also that
the people of England would not allow that.
There was hanging over us now a cloud threaten-
ing war, and that man at the head of the Admini-
stration was ready to battle against such aggran-
disement on the part of France. What he had said
wcnld be verified before many months elapsed."
Now, notwithstanding the positive denial given
to all this yesterday by the lfoniteur—we prefer
(remembering the affair of Savoy and Nice) to give
Mr. ROEBUCK'S assurance that margin of a few odd
months. Within which interval, he tells us, his
assurance will be verified. " I'll take the Ghost's
word for a thousand pounds, HORATIO !"