THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “Verite sans peur” WANGANUI, JAN. 30, 1862.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 6, Issue 279, 30 January 1862, Page 2

THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “ Verite sans peur” WANGANUI, JAN. 30, 1862.

The European news this month is not of a very exciting nature. Hungary chiefly claims attention. The general opinion seems to be that a crisis has been reached, and that so so,on as spring allows of active operations, the Hungarians, Croats,-and Venetians will make .common cause against their oppressors. There seems now, indeed, to be no alternative for these disttracted countries. They are at present under martial law. Even the semblance of constitutional freedom lias been withdrawn, and a military despotism has been established, if not yet so rufliless, yet as real, as that of 1849. At that time the Emperor endeavoured to intimh

date the Hungarians into the acceptance of a constitution, to he conferred as a matter of grace. But they spurned the proffered boon, conscious that its accept* ance would imply a surrender of their political rights, and would place theni entirely at' the mercy .>■ of aii arbitrary ruler." Foiled in this arid other dastardly attempts to deprive a noble people of their liberties, the Emperor is now endeavouring, by the severity of a harsh military rule, either to cow them into an absolute submission, in which; of course he will certainly fail, or to excite them to revolt before they have the means which can alone insure tliem suecess ; but they have suffered patiently too long to be driven from their equanimity till the time come. That time .vill no next spring. The only other matter of importance, is the possibility of a rupture with the United States. The unconstitutional and arbitrary imprisonment of two British subjects, shows that there is no counting upon what the present Government of the Northern States may do, if’fear or hatred happen to direct it into an illegal course. According to the laws of the United States, the privilege of habeas corpus cannot be suspended without the authority of Congressbut according to the doctrine laid down by Mr. Secretary Seward, the greatness of the emergency places the Government above the laws, and justifies it in taking any course, legal or illegal, which the expediency of the moment may recommend. This is a doctrine •which, since the Revolution, has never been whispered in Great Britain, great as the exigencies of the state have sometimes been, and which must entirely destiny, confidence between’ one nation and another. It can scarcely be supposed that the last illegal act reported—the seizure of the Southern Commissioners when under the protection of the British flag—can have been done by the command of the Government. It has most probably been the mad act of one of those filibustering hemes, who, for a little nor. toriety, would peri! any interest, howeversacred, and it will no doubt be amply apologised for by the Government un~. der whose commission he was acting. But any more of such occurrences as these, although it may be, arising more from ignorance than from enmity, must be atoned for in some other manner than by an empty apology. The idea of the Union provoking intentionally a war with Great Britain is absurd. The Federal Government has already quite enough on hand in its struggle with the South, which as Punch says, is likely to end in a tar-, nation whipping and a heavy bill to pay-,.