The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-08-03

1t1OA AOUOOA ~ AOOOs
The Hews from Denmazk-Thc Sound Dsss'
Denmark begs for more time. The Danish
government complain that ct the present mo-
mest, the loss Of the revenue from the Sound
dues, amounting altogether to abOa. three mil
lions a year, would cripple their resources,
harsssed as they are by the war in the Baltic.
By the treaties at presen. in force with the
United States and all European nations except
Portugal, the Papal States and Turkey, Dem
mark binds herself TO place each aud all Of
them on the footing Of the most favored nation,
30 far as the dues are concerned. II therefore,
the United States persist in refusing to pay
the dues hereafter, as they cannot be coerced,
all the other nations will be ipso facto au-
thorized to cease paying them likewise.
| The consequence Of this would probably be
he ruin of the House of Oldenhurgh, and re-
| volution in Denmark, for the dues are the main
stay Of the throne and the dearest portion of
| its income. At the present moment the King
is in desperately tight place. A few months
| ago, crisis which might almost be called
| revolution took place, alternating the people
| from the sovereign. Then quarrels broke out
| between the British Admirals and the Danes;
the latter being naturally inclined to join Rus
| sia in the war, and being really forced to aid
| the Allies. On the other hand, it is understood
! that the Russian party are dissatisfied with the
neutral attitude of the Danish government
They desire that it should seize the opportunity
| Of the winter to pronounce in favor of the
Car; in which case, the Sound might be SO for
| tilted that the Allies would find Elsinore and
| Cronenburg as impregnable as Cronstadt, and the
blockade be confined to the Cattega. Alto
ed state even in the old wars, when Charles
the XII. nearly made it 8 province Of Swe-
den, or when Nelson blockaded Copenhagen.
| This ia the time which the United States
| government has chosen to bully Denmark out
| Of the few hundred dollars paid her on our
commerce with the Baltic 1t is impossible to
refrain from thinking instantly Of Geeytown.
| There is similituds between the two cases
which must strike every one at the first glance.
In both cases, the United States government
had substratum of right on its side. On
BOTH it contended with an antagonist unwor-
thy OF its strength. On both, it advanced its
claims in arrogant language, and, we may take
it for granted that at Copenhagen as az Grey
town, it will enforce them with unseemly
violence. Independently Of the war, peculiar
| causes have for some time diminished the
arrivals of American shipping in the Baltic.
! In lS49, one hundred and .wenty-one Ameri-
can ships paid the dues in 1853 only ninety-siS
| were taxed. In 1854, the whole export from the
| United States, in foreign and domestic bot
| toms, to the Baltic ports-Russian, Swedish,
| Norwegian and Danish--was less than $1,750,-
! 600. Yet it is for the trife paid On these
ninety odd ships, and the one or two per cent
| levied on million and three quarters Of
| American goods, that the United States is
prepared to cause the downfall Of one of the
oldest, most liberal, and most gallant monarch
les of Europe.
Granted that Denmark has no right to levy
the toll. It is not clear that her right is bad;
usage consecrates it; she raised the light houses,
and set up the beacons; and though other ma
tions in the like case have foreborne to tax pass
ers by, their selfdenial cannot be quoted as a
law for Denmark. But granted tia. the exac.
ton is uDjustifaole. Is it pleasant to find the
United States, SO boastfal Of their progress
and wealth and power, the only civilized ma
ton which ressts this claim, and, like the surly
curmudgeon who will not pay sixpence that
he can save by clustering, openly setting Den
mark at defiance to economist few hundred
dollars? II Mr.. Pierce were one Of those inex-
CRADLE answering men whom we have had,
who meted out equal justice to all around, and,
from sheer principle, spoke in the same tone to,
| and expected the same consideration from great
and small; if he were ole o. these iron holdfast
men, we could understand his harshness to
Denmark, and excuse it. Jackson, who did
not spare Denmark OF even Naples, was still
more unbendiDg when his antagonist was
France; and we never think Of blaming him 10
the former cases on account of the latter. But
the very smallest bark from even Spain fright
ems Mr.. Pierce into silence. He singles ont
Grey town--which, as he says in his message,
had no friends--an1 bomts-ds 1t. Es roots
out this petty case Of exzcsion on the part of
Denmark, and chooses the hour Of her proxi-
mate dissolution to challenge her, and offer to
fight Russia Prussia, England, Norway. Swe-
| den, Holland, France, and other countries suf
/ fer each more than ten times as much from the
| tolls az We do; out they submit, and are espe-
| cially silent when it would be cowardIy to
speak. 1t was reserved for The United States
| to wait for DenMark's hour CT trouble, and
then to put forth their strength to eAort
| from the wretched monarch surrender
OF q claim which to US was Insignificant to
him VITAL