The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-02-17

fest destiny at Sardinia, has already given us
touch OF his quality, in his detestation of the
country to which he is assigned-the Court the
garlick and the onion-eating nobility the
swarthy peasantry, the beggars, and all con-
cerned. Mr. Belmont, at the Hague NAV be
operating in stocks, consols and old clo'. as
the continued agent Of the Rothschilds, for all
that we know and would probably prove
himself more active in getting loan for Aus
tria than he is likely to do in securing the in
demnity due to Mr.. Seeley, Of New York, for
the recovery of the stolen jewels Of the Prince
Of Orange. Mr.. O'Sullivan, at Lisbon, if con.
firmed, may perhaps be useful to Mr. Soule at
Madrid, in getting up fillibustering Spanish
coup d'etat; but beyond that, from him, Judging
from his antecedents, we have little or nothing
to expect.
Nj. Mason, at Paris, is our last hope. Posi-
bly, he may conclude the commercial treaty
commenced by Mr. Sanford or Mr. Rives. He
has been duly presented to the imperial family
and Cabinet-he has been taken to q state ball
at the Tuileries in an imperial carriage, aud
home again by the same stylish conveyance.
He has been well received, is well pleased, and
has we suppose already made up his mind that
Paris is q charming place to live in, and, if ne
cessary, to die in. At the end Of two or three
years we may expect to see Mr.. Mason back
again, fatter than when he left, learned. per-
haps, in French, and perhaps, like Gen. Gads-
den, with treaty in his trunk and duplicate
copy in his pocket. We may also expect 10 find
him as partial to Louis Napoleon as Gen. Cass
was to Louis Philippe, for the Emperor is evi-
IDENTIFY disposed to conciliate the good opinion
Of the United States.
Still with all this, the field of European poll
tics, as far as our diplomatic corps and the for
eign policy of Gen. Pierce are concerned, il
blank. Nothing has been done-nothing is
foreshadowed- nothing is promised calculated
to lift this all-powerful republic to its rightful
position among the ruling powers of the earth.
Our European appointments, the result of sys-
tenn Of balancing the spoils among the various
cliques and stripes of the spoilsmen, promise,
at best, little or nothing. A policy which has
no general or fixed principles to mark it, except
the plan of parcelling out the spoils, viii most
probably end, as it mas commenced, in nothing
more nor less than the consumption of the plum
der. With such an opening as is now offered
for grand schedule of comprehensive negotia-
tions upon the most important commercial aud
political reciprocities with most of the powers
of Europe, if after the lapse Of year, we see
no signs of action in any quarter, we are free to
conclude that the foreign, as well as the domes-
tic policy of this admin stration begins and
ends with the spoils-the spoils-the spells
nothing but the spoils.
The AsHBURToN TREATY.-The case of He'll
bronn, fugitive from justice, charged with
forgery, and claimed by the British government
under the Ashburton treaty, is likely to be the
last of the kind our courts will be troubled
with. The point OF law raised in bis case is
novel. 1t appears that the peculiar forgery of
which he is accused is not held to amount to
forgery by the laws of this State, though falling
usder that denomination in Great Britain. Ac-
though the President has issued the
necessary warrant to enable the British consta-
bic to carry him off. and the latter announces
his intention Of leaving with his prisoner in the
steamer tomorrow, proceedings are pending
before the State courts, which are almost sure
to result in the rescue of Heilbronn from the
custody of his captor Should the constable
persevere in his intention Of leaving with him.
a very pretty conflict of jurisdictions will arise
though no one can doubt that the State autho-
rites will ultimately carry their point and the
prisoner be enlarged.
1t has happened, singularly enough, that in
almost every case where fugitive from justice
has been claimed under the Ashburton treaty,
some legal point has been raised. and the OBJ
ject of the treaty defeated. In some cases, no
doubt, the ground taken by the fugitive's coun-
sci has been sound and proper But in Others.
we fear, perhaps in majority Of the cases, some
pettifogging lawyer has seized hold of the fugi-
tive's wrongs and endeavored to make political
capital out of them; to the manifest detriment
ofjustice, and the injury of our own interests.
The prosecutions instituted at the instance of
the British government and resisted here.
have already cost frightful sum Of mo-
ney so large in fact tina. we are
pretty sure the expense and trouble will
prevent further applications under the treaty,
and render the latter an absolute dead letter
This is not alone due to the pettifogging in
stincts of few members Of the bar; fair share
OF the credit OF multiplying the treaty must be
given to the courts and that portion of the
public which haunts them. Brainless LAWYERS
may think it excessively fine to prate about the
tyrannical government Of England, and to plead
the faults of monarchy in extenuation of the
guilt Of a murderer; but they could achieve
little were those whom they address properly
convinced Of the Importance Of maintaining the
extradition law in full vigor.
We trust the time may never come when the
United States shall cease to be safe asylum
for political refugees But the sympathy we
feel for conscientious lover OF liberty who tails