The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY; EV ENIN 0, MARCH 16, 1861.

for differential dues should cease, and that in the,
meantime the sum to be paid should be the sum
!they had received on an average during the last;
tfive years. He thought that in this provision
the Government acted most liberally, and he hoped
that Parliament would help the Government
in relieving the general taxpayers of the coun-
try from a charge which in justice they ought no
longer to pay." And with those words virtually
terminated the statement with which the President,
of the Board of Trade asked leave to bring in his
benevolent and patriotic measure for the relief of
the shipping interest from a variety of unjust and
obnoxious charges, and the relief also of the public
generally from improper taxes hitherto levied
without necessity and without anything at all like,
compensative advantages ! The right hon. gentle-
man's bill effecting this twofold good, moreover,
without, while so doing, subjecting Vested Interests'
to any needless interference.

We tender our best thanks to Mr. DUNCOMBE
for commencing the interrogatories respecting
Austria and Hungary, or rather of the action of
our Foreign Office in regard to them, which we
have repeatedly urged upon the House of Commons.
It is of course far from easy to convict a Foreign
Secretary of Austrianism or of any thing else, if he
desires to shelter his action from public observation.
With resident servants abroad at every court, it is
so perfectly easy for him to let them know the
wishes of their master without writing anything
which could find its way into a blue book, that he
may be in reality working hard underground for
objects which he does not publicly avow. Of
course the superior and firmer minded of
our representatives at Foreign Courts have
always the means of maintaining their own
policy when they know it is in accordance
with the wishes of the people of this country, for
they can always require that communications on
which they act should be in the form in which
they can be at any time demanded for the inspection!
of the Legislature. But all our foreign representa-
tives have not a mind of their own, and we may
reckon ourselves fortunate that we have one at the
Court of Turin, who is not the minister of Austria,
but the servant of England, sympathising most
heartily, like the country he represents, with the
people to whom he represents us. Our Ministers
at Vienna have almost always been of quite the
opposite cast. They have, contrary quite to the
sentiments of Englishmen at home, sympathised'
with the Court of Vienna, which England detests,
against the Hungarians, whom we all desire to see
in possession of their historical rights.
It is quite possible that Mr. DUNCOMBE may
have been misinformed on some trivial points ; but
we cannot doubt, notwithstanding the jaunty
reply of Lord JOHN RUSSELL, that in all his ques-
tions he had substantial reasons for putting them,
although he might have reasons quite as good for
not disclosing the sources of his information.
Why, he asked, were nearly two months' despatches
to Sir JAMES HUDSON omitted in the last" Further
correspondence relating to the affairs of Italy ?"
Lord JOHN'S answer is, that " most of them"
related to trivial matters, such as how the Irish
Legion was to be got back, what had become of
Major O'REILLY, and other similar things, at
which hon. members could laugh, and we laugh
too. Lord JOHN had looked over the despatches
that morning, so we must, of course, take his word
for what they are, and with the important exception
indicated by the phrase " most of them," we are,
to believe that they had nothing to do with the
loves of Austria and our Foreign-office. But, though
we do not wish to appear captious, we should just
like to see for ourselves what the few important
but unpublished despatches are about. It is, per-
haps, however, of little consequence, since the ten
derness towards Austria was probably shown in
ways which cannot be made public.
Mr. DUNCOMBE asserted, what we believe to be
perfectly true, that our boasted non-intervention
policy was all reserved for Italy; but that the in-
stant Hungarian Rights and Austrian Despotism
became the question intervention was thrown to the
winds, and we intervened against the great and,
noble kingdom of Hungary in favour of its perfi-
dious and revolutionary oppressor. It was so in
1848-9, for the speeches and documents are on re-
cord which prove that ; it is so, we have the best
reasons for believing, now ; and will be so, unless
no one knows how, our Foreign-office can be
ompelled to represent the English nation in
respect to Hungary. Mr. DUNCOMBE, after several
illustrations of the pro-Austrian and anti-Hungarian
policy of the noble lord, asked, " Could England
be justified in acting in this manner, and then
talking of non-intervention ? Hungary was a
great country, with 15 millions of inhabitants, and
20,000 square miles, larger than the whole of the
United Kingdom. She was originally, and was
now, entitled to be an independent nation in
Europe. She was deprived of her rights by Aus-
tria, and was now on the point of regaining them."
The question will have but one answer throughout
the whole of the country; but Mr. DUNCOMBE
went farther and attacked the policy, the favourite
traditional one of our aged diplomatists, which]

•
(regards Austria as a " counterpoise to France."

Too old they must be to learn from facts,
since nothing is more obvious than that Aus-1
tria has always been beaten by France, when-
ever the latter choose to find a cause of
war against her. Mr. DUNCOMBE observed that
the interference of England in this underhand
manner, and then saying that Austria ought to be
supported as a counterpoise to France, was a policy
which could not have been expected from her
Majesty's Government. To talk of a counterpoise
to France could not but create a feeling of distrust
between England and that country. This is true,
but by no means the whole truth. It is not merely
irritating to France to see us thus openly plotting
to fetter her by the fear of Austria, but it is giving
to France the prestige before all Europe of uphold•
ing the better cause ;—the cause of old rights
and liberties against modern despotic revolutions.
In Italy we have gained universal good-will

because though declining to intervene mili
tarily, we threw the whole weight of our in

fluence into the cause of the people and their
rights, In Hungary, and we suppose it will be
the same in Poland, we are just reversing our
policy—and we are wickedly ready to sell the na-
tionality, the rights and the liberties of 15,000,000
of people to the vilest dynasty which yet survives
in Europe.

Mr. DUNCOMBE gave but exprersion to the uni-
versal sentiment here, when 'tic declared "We
wanted no such counterpoise as Austria, whose
soontaking h
days
nAginal position as a
free and independrat nation on the continent
of Europe. Let riot Hungary be driven into any
!premature action. He hag been informed
within the last few days that Austrian agents;

!were hard at work at that moment trying to incite!
tke Hungarians to rebellion. Let not Hungary!

'give up one iota of her rights, nor be driven into

any premature insurrection. Let her wait and,

leave the Government of England to do what they
liked—to conspire with Austria against her.
!Hungary would recollect that the people of Eng-

land were with her in sympathy—with her in
wishing to see her nationality restored, and also to
see her free and happy, and independent of Austrian
tyranny." His speech will, we hope, in spite of'l
censorship, find its way even into Hungarian papers,
where it may be justly believed that Mr. DUN-
CONDE represents his country bettor than does her
Foreign Minister.
Mr. DuNCOMBE called the noble lord, however,
to account for one expression in a despatch which'
he could not deny—the despatch first got out
through a continental paper in a translation, con-
sequently there was no avoiding its insertion in,
the Blue-book—we refer to that of the 31st of
August last, in which Lord JOHN, in evident terror'
lest GARIBALDI and the Italians shonld pay a visit
to Dalmatia, and so give Hungary an opportunity,
of rising—talked of Rtglish interests in thel
Adriatic which must to watched with care-
ful attention. We all of us, at first won-
dered what those interests could be—we bitl
our nails, and performed the usual operations of°
puzzled persons—till at last we answered that he
must mean Corfu. Yes, he said last night Corfu!
is what I did mean, and a very important interest°
it is, too. His lordship WES careful to explain that
it was not the great " currant interest " of the
" Sept-insular Republic," but that of our having a
garrison there and a harbour. These, it seems,
Lord JOHN RUSSELL sent a fleet of 800 guns to
take care of, when GARIIALDI seemed likely to'
invade Dalmatia!

We do not know whether the English
generally attaches the same importance to
the " Protectorate of the Sept-insular Repub-1
lic" as Lord JOHN RUSSELL does, but'
we rather think that the greater part of us,
• when the Greeks wished to join their fellow Greeksl
on the continent, wished them in return farewell'
willingly enough ; as to the currants, our cakes
would never want them while Greeks had them to
sell, and we had money to pay ; and as to the har-
bour—with Malta, not very far off, and Gibraltar
too, we might shift very well in the Mediterranean
even if we declined longer to stand in the way of
Greek unity, and of all the islanders enjoying the
blessings of King OTHO'S Government. Of one
thing we are quite certain—tho whole kingdomf
would vote as one man that we should give up
twenty Corfus rather than allow an English fleett
to aid Austria in keeping down Hungary, or in
retaining her gripe on any of her oppressed nal
tionalities.

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