WAR IN DISGUISE.
THERE is something odious in one government carrying on an underhand war with another. Professions of neutrality on the part of a state which is covertly supplying one of the belligerents with the sinews of war, in the form of money, troops or ammuni- tion, are a pitiful combination of falsehood and cowardice. Even toleration of recruiting within its territory for the service of one of
the contending powers is blameable in a government. The govern- ment is the representative of the great corporate body of the nation, and ought not to allow any private citizen—any one of its members—to do to a neighbour state what it could not with pro- priety do itself. On this-eccount, we think the Whigs were wrong
r in their violent clam te _against the Foreign Enlistment Act. There was some apolo .!' them : the time selected for passing that act gave it the appear— le of being levelled against the Con- stitutionalists of the Corizthe,et. But more deliberate reflection ought to have taught themat the principle of the measure was just, and that it held the bluhe fairly between Liberals and Legi- timists. A remark which appeared .a the PALMERSTON paper on Monday last,* might have passed for an adoption of sounder views by the small section of the party it represents, had not the object of the paragraph been palpably, under pretence of enunciating a general truth, to imply a specific lie. The fact mentioned by the Spectator of last Saturday, that there was every reason to fear that the French and Russian Governments might resort to this method of annoying England if the war with China continued, is represented as an advice to those Governments to do so. Even had there been the inclination to give such advice, it would have been super- fluous. Both France and Russia knew that the thing could be done : both have practised it before now. But the British na- tion, lulled into security by the uncalculating rashness of the late Ministry, needed to be reminded of the danger. Mean though such conduct is, it has been invariably pursued by European Governments. ELIZABETH sent assistance in an under- hand way to the Dutch when there was no open war between Eng- land and Spain. France supplied the Americans with men and suns before she declared war against Great Britain. More than one European Government encouraged the marshalling of young en- thusiasts to harass Turkey in Greece and Russia in Poland. The practice, though dishonest, is known to exist ; every Minister who engages in war must lay his account with it ; and he is culpable if be omit such an important element in his calculations. Any man can see the rocks above water, but he only is fit to be a pilot who knows the hidden shoals. Lord PALMERSTON and Sir Jolts Hon- Nouse either could not or would not see this danger when esti- mating the risk of a Chinese war ; and this is one more of the many proofs of their incapacity as statesmen.
*" A PATRIOTIC SUGGESTION.—A weekly Tory paper, the Spectator, in the course of some remarks on the Chinese war, throws out the following becoming suggestion. . If the animosity the French bear us is as great as some say and the language of their journals would imply, here is an easy method of venting it. By encouraging vo- lunteers to China, the French Government would at once help to prolong a struggle which must employ our armies at a distance and drain our treasury, and rid itself of some of its most troublesome subjects. lithe Russiau Government wishes to distract OM attention, and render us powerless to prevent any acquisition of new territory it tray contemplate in Asia, it has only to send the Emperor of China some good drills ands few artillery officers." "And if either of these Governments should adopt this advice, and while pretending to be our allies engage in such mean, unprincipled hostility, let them by all means adopt our weekly contemporary as the appropriate organ for the defence of such tacties."—Morning Chronicle, November 14.
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