The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-13 00:00:00

perial enigma of modern Europe, that inconsistent '
and incomprehensible Moderator of Revolution,
threw down at last a feather bed or two to break
the fall of young BOMBINA. The last of these
feather beds is now visible in the French line•of-
battle ship, the Muette, and all that we can at
length hope is that FRANCIS 11., late of Naples,
soon to be late also of Gaeta, may sleep well on it.

Since the above was written we have received
yet later news from Gaeta entirely confirmatory of
our anticipations, that the beleagured garrison has
nothing left now to do beyond yielding the place
up to the besiegers upon the best terms they can
contrive to negotiate.
Under date 12th February, that is yesterday,
RETYrnes last telegram from Mola di Gaeta in-
forms us, that--" General CIALDINI and the Com-
mandant of Gaeta have appointed a mixed com-
mission for the discussion of and drawing up
the capitulation of the fortresses of Gaeta."
In accordance with what we have already
intimated above, moreover, it is added, "The firing
has not, however, been suspended, but has only
slackened until the conditions of surrender shall
have been arranged." So that the next tidings
that can be looked for from that last standing-
ground of FRANCIS 11. will be the news that Gaeta
has been yielded up by its garrison to the Sardi-
nians, and that the young KlNG—Monarch then
no longer even of Gaeta—has again (this time on
board the French ship Muette) become a fugitive
and wanderer.

In the absence of anything whatever in the
shape of a Parliamentary reform bill, large er
small, good, bad, or indifferent, it is satisfactory
even to note an intimation like that down among
the notices of motion for to-morrow evening—Sir
GEORGE LEWIS to ask for leave to bring in a bill
for the appropriation of the seats formerly occu-
pied by the representatives of the disfranchised
boroughs of Sudbury an St. Albans ! There is
hope then, at last, for Chelsea and Kensington.
At any rate, to whatever locality in the three
Kingdoms those long vacant seats may be awarded
it is time that the hiatus long since left—here by St.
Albans, there by Sudbury—should be filled up with
the elect of semi constituencies ! Our Parliamen-
tary system, it might be said—hardly less than
Nature herself—abbors a vacuum. Yet how many
sessions have we not seen elapse since Sudbury
on one hand and St. Albans on the other suffered
the ignominy of their disgraceful disfranchisement!
It cannot certainly be pronounced a precipitate
movement on the part of the Right Hon. the Home
Secretary, to move now, formally, in the House of
Commons, for the appropriation of those
long vacant seats in the popular branch
of the Legislature. We shall look with eager curi-
osity for the right hon. gentleman's proposal for
their apportionment—sanguine that the need may
no longer be overlooked for the creation, at the wes-
tern extremity of the capital of the empire, of
another great metropolitan constituency. If wealth,
if intelligence are to be accepted as criterions in
the distribution of the election franchise, in regard
to what locality in the kingdom can they be more
readily applied than in the direction of that highly
educated and wealthy portion of the community
peopling the districts of Chelsea and Kensington ?
The claims advanced by those localities for a voice
in the councils of Parliament have been reiterated
more than once or twice, have been heard of further
back than merely yesterday. We are now anxiously
awaiting the announcement to be made to-morrow
evening by the Home Secretary—sanguine that
those claims will no longer be ignored, but that the
House of Commons may soon count among its
frequenters the hon. members for the metropolitan
borough of Chelsea and Kensington.

Singular indeed is the aspect now presented by
the American Union, as it was formerly called—
and the last advices render it more so than ever.
So far as we remember the present quarrel between
the States is the first of its kind in history. The
first in which an odious moral wrong, seen in its
true light by one half the federation, but caressed
as a Divine institution by the other half, creates a
repulsion of moral judgments, which manifests
itself in social and political life, till complacent
corruption separates itself from its judges. We
cannot say that the North is unimplicated, and
untainted. New York, the city at least, cherishes
as unchristian and unmanly sentiments towards
the African race as do the Southerners, though it
will not have them as slaves. And worse, if pos-
sible, than that—Philadelphia and New York
cities are almost crazy to carry some compromise,
are willing to put up with a fugitive slave
law, and to allow of the extension of
slavery south of 36 deg. 30 min. north,
provided they can but save their mortgages on
their trade in the South.
We have noticed, in more recent news from the
States, what we feared from the first, mean efforts
at compromise. The work has begun in several
States. Large meetings, and combinations of
bankers and merchants in the North are busy
striving to bring the many to believe that union
by compromise with slavery is essential to the
preservation of the New York shipping interest
and commerce, of Massachusett's cotton manufac-
tures, and of Pennsylvanian iron works. They
have a plausible case to make out. All these
interests have been sustained by a narrow•minded
protectionist policy, through which the agricul-
tural districts in the North, and the Slave States
in the South, have had to purchase, bad and
dear, in the Northern States what they might
have had better and cheaper in quality from
Europe. The numerous workmen, whose votes are
as good as any others in the ballot box, are taught
that protection is their bread, and that if secession
be accomplished, the South will declare its ports
free ports—will supply itself on better terms from
England and France—and will drive a splendid
trade in smuggling along the whole river frontier, till
the North must give up protection, and its artisans
migrate as farmers to the prairies and the far West.
Already the wealthy men of the North are suffer-
ing sadly. The following extract from a letter by
a Boston clergyman lets us behind the scenes a little
in a quarter of which we know but little in this
country :

You have no idea how strong the influence brought to
bear upon us in the North is. The business of the country
demands compromise, The Northern conscience cannot
compromise, and the pressure on the pulpit just now is
fearful. Many of the wealthy men in our congregations
will be bankrupt if things do not change, and the pastors
of our churches are placed in a very uncomfortable position.
All our pro-slavery divines are being brought out by the
crisis, and some who have been known as anti-slavery men
are yielding to the pressure. If things go on at the present
rate, I do not know but our English brethren will be jus-
tified in sending us an address on the subject. Every
bunker minister has gone to work preaching up compro-
mise, and urging the North to give in to the South. Dr.
CooKE, editor of the Boston Recorder, has preached a
sermon, in whieh he lays much of the blame on Northern
clergymen who have preached abolition."
The Border Slave States also, are naturally
making great efforts to effect a compromise. Vir-
ginia especially is taking the lead. No other
Southern State has anything like her influence and
Prestige in the Union, and she has gone so far as to