The Sun. — London, England, 1865-12-20 00:00:00

THE DEATH OF GREAT MEN. The death of the King of the Belgians adds an other item to a year's list, in which were already included the names of the two foremost men of two Mr. Lincoln of the greatest nations of the wo rld. was assassinated at the very moment when his pre sence seemed to be mo st essential in the councils of bis country. Lord Palmerston died when his name represented to foreigners the soul of English politics. England, however, has moved on so far without any perceptible change. The United States have con tinned the perplexing work of re-construction under their new ruler as well as they could have prospered under their old. And it is not certain that the loss of King Leopold will greatly alter the course of events in Europe, or perhaps even in Belgium. Three of the men who, at the beginning of the year, were the most prominent in the world, have dropped out, and the political machinery continues to work much as before. If we listened to the ordinary common places, to say nothing of the formal compliments due to such events, we might have expected our whole system to be thrown out of gear. Whenever a pro minent man falls, and still more when there is a pros pect of his falling, we are told with every variety of emphasis, that his importance cannot be over-esti mated, that his loss will mark the commencement of a new era, and that a kind of moral earthquake will be propagated to the end of the world. Somehow or other the change is usually smaller than we expected, or professed to expect ; we get up the next morning, and find that our breakfast tastes very much as it did the day before and after a week or two the loss of the great m an becomes an old story, and t he new state of things is undistingnishable from the old. There is a very sensitive barometer by which the effect of any great event upon men's genu ine opinions, as distinguished from their expressed sentiments, may be tested. It must be a remarkable death which produces any effect whatever upon the funds. The men may be counted on the fingers whose loss would send the Three per Cents down by one-eighth ; and there is not more than one man, if there is one, whose loss would make them fall by a whole unit. If we mea sure a man's worth by the fluctations of Consols, we should find that scarcely any man can be esti mated at even the faint rumour of a war, to say nothing of a war itself. The subject is so far a trite one that moralists have often dilated upon the comprative insignificance of great men. But it may be worth while asking whether the cases we have mentioned are exceptional, or whether they are not rather instances of a rule which tends every day to become more generally true. A certain school of writers has been very much attacked for maintaining that the progress of the world is very little affected by any indivi dual, however conspicuous his position. The assertion is supposed to belong to the philo sophy which considers human history to be de veloped by " inexorable laws," and not by the action of free-will. The metaphysical question thus raised is in reality quite irrelevant. The most positive of positive philosophers must ad mit that a man might produce an indefinite effect upon a society, if only the society was ' small enough. If England were inhabited by a hundred families, instead of twenty millions of peo ple, we might be all dependant upon one man. The loss of a single battle might ensure our complete extirpation, and such a very minute army would be dependent upon its leader. On the other hand, every one must admit that there are are some limits to the influence of the most powerful of men. Louis Napoleon, with all his horses and all his men, could not materialy change the religion of his subjects, nor teach them all to write, nor even alter to any vital degree their laws of property and succession. There are limits to the power of every man ; the question of what those limits are is simply one of degree, to be decided by experience. The question of free-will and necessity has no more to do with it than it has to do with settling whether a man can walk a thousand miles in a thousand hours. The extent of the influence of a man upon his fellows is a problem of social dynamics, upon the solution of which, as upon the solution of most other practical problems, metaphysical disputes have little or no bearing. It is, however, true that as men have come to look into history more closely, and to criticise it more scientifically, there has been a tendency to diminish the value attached to individuals. It was inevitable that it should be so, from the way in which history was formerly written. Every great event was labelled with the name of the man who happened to be uppermost, because it is always convenient to assume that the ringleader of a mob is the sole cause of its existence ; it saves all trouble of investigat ing deeper causes, and gives a summary expla nation. On the same principles, every change was supposed to be far more abrupt than it really was, till the transitory intermediate phases which had led up to it had been thoroughly examined. Thus, for example, it was first assumed that the French Revo lution was a sharp line of division between two totally different periods, till people took the trouble to discover that many of the changes attributed to it, such as the sub-division of landed property, had existed to a great extent before the outbreak. It was next assumed that the French Revolution was en tirely due to Robespierre, or Danton, or Mirabeau, or some one of its most conspicuous leaders ; whence followed, logically, the conclusion that there would have been no revolution if there had been no Robes pierre ; and if Robespierre was originally irritated by an aristocrat splashing his stockings, we might say that if Robespierre's stockings had not been splashed there would have been no peasant proprietors in France. The disasters of the nobility, at the end of the fifteenth century, says Michelet, caused land to pass into the hands of the people. This happy event was called, in the monarchical stage, the good King Louis XI. The religious wars caused a similar re sult a century later. This time the era, christened by another royal name, was called the good King Henry IV. This opinion, doubtless accepted in good faith, has found its latest explosion in the theory of providential saviours of a people, as explained in the Preface to the " Life of Caesar." The doctrine that the great bulk of the human race is a passive bulk of clay, which is patted and poked into shape at rare intervals by a series of heaven-sent moulders, hadthe merit of being pic turesque. But it has already fallen i n some depart ments of thought. A great scientific discoverer is no longer a man who tells us a secret which, - without him, we should never have known ; he is one who is a year, or perhaps a month, in advance of his neigh bours. When a man inven ts somethin g new, it al ways appears some one else had invented it, bide- I pendently, though he had not published it so soon, and that half a dozen other men had been on the very verge of the discovery. The lucky originator has the pleasure of thinking he has snapped it out of the . mouths of a dozen hungry competitors, but he cannot flatter himself that his services were at all indispensable to the world at large. ' At least they have saved time. We are like travellers crossing an unexplored desert. It requires great qualities now for a man to precede his neighbours adently to discover the sources of rivers ; in a short time it will become a common feat, and before many years there will be railroads running to take every one who chooses. There was a time when a man might, like Columbus, discover entirely new continents ; b ut even Columbus would have been anticipated if he had waited a year or two longer. T h ere would probably be as many people in Ame rica at the present morneut if Columbus had been lost in his first voyage; and, if Newton had never lived, we should have known as much about the solar system as we do, or at least we should have but little leeway to make up. This truth, w hi c h would be generally acknowledged in scientific matters, does not meet with equal acceptance in the domain of politics. Such a man as Louis Napoleon or as Count Cavour, upon whom the limits of e ra _ pircs seem Ito depend, certainly appears to occupy a much more important position. So do great generals. If this or that or the other battle had bad a different result, as historians are so fond of saying, the fate of the world would have been different. If Charles Martel had not beaten the Moors, we should all have been Mahometans ' • if William had lost the battle of Hasti ngs, we should have been beer-swill ing Anglo-Saxons instead of Englishmen ; if Napo leon had not been defeated at Leipsic, we should all have been subjects of the French empire. It is quite true that, if something had happened which did not happen, a result would have foftwed of which nobody can trace the consequences. But, whatever may have been the case form.2r;y, it is evi dent that these possibilities are becoming gradually confined within narrower limits. The extent to which any man can move the world is diminishing, because, somehow or other, the vis inertia of the world has increased. There was perhaps a time when the fate of a war depended a good deal upon the personal prowess of Achilles or the ability of Alexander. Now we can prophesy with tolerable certainty that the richest and most numerous people will get the best of it. The end of a contest is gene rally pretty clear from the beginning, if we know the forces that are to be employed. The Danes might be as brave as they chose, but, in the absence of intervention, they were certain to lose Schleswig- Holstein, because one man nowadaysis always, in the long run, beaten by two. If it could havebeen fore seen that North and South would fight it out to the end, there could have been no doubt which would be crushed, because it was plain which had the overwhelming superiority in numbers, wealth, and material. In other words, the victory does not now depend upon any particular man, but upon general conditions which it is possible to calculate beforehand. A General Lee may delay, but he cannot finally avert, the inevitable effect of the strongest battalions and the longest purse. The same causes which lead to this comparative insignificance of individuals in warfare seem to operate in political affairs generally. The masses of mankind have been so systematically organised that their weight must tell. It tells as much upon their leaders as upon their adversaries. The most absolute of monarchs cannot act without constant reference to the will of his subjects ; he is, to some extent, confined by the completeness of the machi nery at the head of which he is placed. He is com pelled to set it working in the accustomed grooves. If he attempts to turn it off the rails of the regular track, he finds that it will not run. He cannot alter the conditions, any more than the commander of a civilised army can turn his men, at a word, into a horde of Tartars or Arabs. He has unlimited power, so long as he does just what is wanted. The Emperor of the French is absolute on con dition of being always popular. So long as he carefully watches the general desire, or keeps just in advance of it, he can do what he chooses ; but if he refused to be bound by the conditions of a Hobson's choice, he would soon find his power limited. He is fettered by the completeness of his own authority. And if one will not accept the position of being apparently the master and really the servant, it is not.difficult to find another who will. When the science of governing is re duced to registering popular edicts, it does not so much matter who is the registrar. And that is the position to which governors, whatever the external form of government may be, are being more and more reduced. In one respect this may be melancholy. If any man cherishes the ambition of altering the whole future of the human race, or even of one nation, he will most likely be disappointed. He will find out that the human race is very obstinate and stiff necked, and has a strong tendency to jog on steadily on its own path as it chooses. But a moderate man may be satisfied with what is still within the reach of many—affecting the fate of thousands, or even millions. A general may still throw away or save thousands of lives ; a governor may execute or par don a very fair number of rebels ; and a chancellor of the exchequer may lower or raise the price of the tea of a million of families. No one must be disap pointed if, notwithstanding this liberty of action, there is an enormously preponderating number of things which:will settle themselves without reference to him. And it is no small satisfaction to the mass of mankind to think that their happiness and pro gress depend upon something more certain than the chance of finding a great man to secure it for them. There is some pleasure in the thought that nearly everybody would continue, after a time, to get richer, and wiser, and better, without interruption, even if some new Guy Faux were to succeed in blazing up the House of Lords and Commons next session—lamentable as such an event would be.— Saturday Review. The Austrian Tariff. A deputation from the agricultural implement makers waited upon Mr. Milner Gibson, the Presi dent of the Board of Trade, yesterday afternoon, for the purpose of explaining the effect which the proposed alterations in the Austrian tariff will have upon agricultural implements and machinery. The deputation, which was introduced by Mr. Stansfeld, M.P., consisted of Mr. Clayton, Mr. R. Garrett, Mr. James Howard, Mr. Le Butt (for Mr. Boby), Mr. Head (Ransome and Sons), Mr. Exall (Barrett, Exall, and Andrews), Mr. Priest, Mr. Aveling, Mr. Craustoun, Mr. Woolnough, &c. Mr. STANSFELD, M.P., in introducing the depu tation, stated that they were a committee represent ing all the leading firms engaged in the manufacture of agricultural machinery and implements. Their attention had been called to the treaty now in course of negotiation between this country and Austria. They hoped that some advantages might be gained for British manufacturers by the treaty, and he re ferred to one or two points in which, instead of receiving benefit, they would sustain positive injury by the alterations which were proposed to be made in the tariff. Other members of the deputation having addressed the right hon. gentleman, Mr. MILNER GiesoN said that the conversion of the duties into ad valorem duties was not to take place until March next. A commission would no doubt inquire into this particular matter. The duty was the basis at present. No details had at present been settled. What they bound themselves to was the basis that the maximum duty should not exceed 25 per cent., and after a certain time 20 per cent. ad valorem, but pt did not follow that the duty would be placed at that amount. When the French treaty was under consideration, on the meeting of the commissioners to consider the duties that should be imposed ondifferent articles within the maximum the first resolution they' came to was that no exist ing duties should be raised. There was a treaty between Austria and the Zollverein, by which Aus tria was bound to raise no existing duty within 10 years, and the Zollverein was to have the benefit of the lowest Austrian tariff in operation ; and as we were among the favoured nation class with Austria, it was not possible for 10 years to raise the existing duties beyond their present amount. He could not I express any definite opinion on the subject, but he might state th a t t h e attention of the Foreign-office had been call e d t o i t. On receiving a communica tion respecting the allowancep of 50 per cent. draw back Lord Clarendon, being reduced who, to he was e s r a satisfied, he wrote givotetoe eve ry attention to the m a tt er. It was rather un fortunate that the deputation had not come a day or two later, because M. Malet, w h o was expected to return to-morrow, would have been able to throw some light upon the question. But seeing that the object of the Austrian Government was to reduce duties and open up trade, he could not imagine they were going to increase duties, andthus impede trade. I He did not think the manufacturers could be placed in a worse position than they were under this treaty. The reduction of duty was a matter on which he could not speak definitely. He could speak as to the duty itself, but not to any allowance to be made. The fixing of a maximum implied that the duty might be raised to that maximum ; but in the case of the French treaty the proceedings were com menced by an agreement that existing duties should not be raised. He should think that Austria was not likely to raise any of her present duties. They could not raise them violently, in consequence of the treaty with the Zollverein, but they might raise them by diminishing the allowance which was now made. That was a point to which the attention of Lord Cla ren d on h a d b een ca ll e d. It was an impor tant one, because the parties might be deprived of the benefit of the treaty. After some conversation, it was arranged that Mr. Clayton s h ou ld • communicate with the right hon. gentleman r • espectmg any further interview that might be considered desirable. Court of Common Council LAW IN .—.Dec. 19. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. Yesterday a Court of Common Council was held at Guildhall, under the Presidency of the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, for the despatch of business, and with a view to clear up, if possible, before the end of the year the several matters appearing on the agenda paper. The Council was very numerously attended, even though the proceedings commenced at the unusually early hour of 11 o'clock. The minutes of the last court having been read and confirmed, _ _ . (Sittings at Nisi Prins, at Guildhall, before Mr. Justice Blackburn and a Common Jury.) • TARNER V. WALKER. Mr. Sergeant Parry and Mr. Laxton were counsel for the plaintiff, and Mr. Digby Seymour, Q.C., Mr. Pearce, and Mr. B. Rigby for the defendant. This was an action to recover asum of money under the following circumstances : It will be recollected that a robbery was committed in February at Mr. Walker's shop in Cornhill, when an im mense number of watches were stolen. A handbill was then circulated offering a reward of £250 for such information as should lead to the conviction of the thief or thieves, and a further reward of £750 for such information as should lead to the recovery of the property, or in proportion to the value of the property recovered. The plaintiff is a watchmaker at 19, Wilderness-row, Clerkenwell. On the morning of the 14th of February a man, who afterwards turned out to be Roberts, called upon the plaintiff and produced a gold watch, stating that he wished to have something done to it. The plaintiff looked at the watch and requested Roberts to call again in the afternoon. Upon looking at the watch it struck him that it was one that had been stolen from Mr. Walker, and he went to Walker's and there saw his son, who said it was one of the stolen watches. Plaintiff then com municated with the police, and two police officers were placed in the plaintiff's back room. Roberts came in the afternoon, and was at once taken into custody. Upon Roberts being searched another of Mr. Walker's watches was found upon him. Roberts was ultimately convicted at the Central Criminal Court. The two watches were worth £lOO. The plaintiff brought his action for the share of the reward. The defendant paid £ll into court. In the cross-examination of the plaintiff he said that part of the name of the maker had been erased before the watch was brought to him. He swore positively that he did not himself erase the name. Roberts had bean a customer of his for 12 months. He did not know what business Roberts was. He did not ask customers their addresses. Knew Roberts as " the Quaker." He did not tell Roberts to go to any other person to have the name erased. Insured his stock of watchmaking materials for upwards of £5OO. David Roberts, who appeared in his convict's dress, said —I never was a jeweller. I was apprehended on the 14th of February. On the 17th of February I sent Mr. and Mrs. Adey (my sister) to tho city police, and in consequence the police came to me in Newgate, and I told them I had some valuable information to give them. They asked me how I came possessed of the information. Mr. Hicks brought it me. I told them the burglars were to be found at an eel pie shop in Whitechapel-road, No. 124. Foulger wrote it down. They said if that turned out to be true I should have a free pardon and some money to leave the country. I said I did not know who the burglars were. I have since ascertained who they were. Cross-examined—l was living at 45, Westgate-street Devonshire-street, Mile-end. I was in Carter and Co.'s employ. They are silk manufacturers in the city. I have known the plaintiff three years. I used to see him in Lever street, where he then lived. I took a watch to the plaintiff, and he said ho would buy it, and he offered me £9 for it. I said I could riot sell other people's property. I asked him to repair it and put a new hand to it. He took a screw driver and took two screws out of it. It then came open. He put something in the vice and screwed it up. He then gave me the plate to take to Hicks to get gilded. He had put it in paper upon which he had written something. I knew Hicks; he was a gilder. I gave it to Hicks, and left it with him. Re-examined—l told the plaintiff the man wanted two watches repaired, and would bring the other in the after noon, and I did so. I was afterwards convicted. Three others were convicted with me—Brewerton, Caisley, and Jeffrey. Roberts was convicted of unlawfully receiving the watches. John Moss—l am sergeant in the police. I went to the Whitechapel-road, No. 124, an eel-pie shop. I had been in the neighbourhood some days watching different houses. Three inspectors were with me. I had not received any instructions from any ono to go there. I had been watching these persons fromthe early part of January. Mr. Sergeant Parry—And you watched them so cleverly that while you were doing so they committed this bur- The Town Clerk communicated to the Court a letter received from the assistant secretary of the proposed Exhibition of National Portraits at Ken sington, of which the Earl of Derby is president, praying the assistance and co-operation of the Cor poration, by the loan of some of the valuable works of art of which they were possessors. The commu nication further stated that her Majesty had signi fied to the Earl of Derby her sympathy in the pro jected exhibition, and her readiness to co-operate with the object in view. The letter was referred to the City Lands Com mitte, to give such directions in the matter as that body might think fit. RAGGED SCHOOLS IN WIIITECHAPEL. The Town Clerk also read a letter received from the committee of the Whitechapel Ragged Schools, acknowledging the grant of £lOO made by the Court in aid of the funds, and expressing their thanks for the liberal contribution. The letter was ordered to be entered on the minutes. PRIVILEGE. Mr. RUDIZIN said that before proceeding to the business of the day he desiredp call attention to what he might apply the designation of a breath of privi lege. He desired to ask the Lord Mayor or Town Clerk how it was that the question of the special report on the Sewers Commission did not appear on the business paper for that day ? It would be remem bered that at the last meeting of the Court theques tion had not been finally disposed of. It would be remembered that an amendment had been moved and put, and declared to be carried, yet it had not been put as a substantive motion, and therefore he contended that the question of the reception of the report ought to have appeared on the paper for that day. The LORD MAYOR replied to the question which had been put by Mr. Rudkin, that late on the pre vious evening the Town Clerk had waited upon him with a note he had received from Mr. Deputy Reed on the subject of the report of Special Sewers Com mittee. He (the Lord Mayor) had conferred with the Town Clerk on the subject, and they considered that the question had been disposed of at the last Court. When the report was brought up, an amendment was moved that it would be inexpedient to make any change in the constitution of the City Sewers Commission. That amendment was, he believed, carried, and that he thought disposed of the original question. He (the Lord Mayor) gave his opinion unassisted by the law officers of the Corporation, who were engaged at the Central Criminal Court, but if he was wrong he should be happy to abide by the decision of the Court on the point. (Hear, hear.) Mr. MEDWIN gave notice that he should bring forward the subject at the next meeting of the Court. glary. lam a detective officer, and was in plain clothes. I re ported daily to Colonel Fraser. I apprehended Brewerton and Jeffery. I found there and at another house 52 gold watches, 146 chains, pins, and brooches, and a large amount of money. Cross-examined— Caisley and Jeffery lived in Mile-end road. There was no gold watch found at the eel-pie shop. There had been other jewellery robberies prior to this. I did not find anything from information given by the plain tiff or Roberts. W. Hamilton—l am of the city police. I report to Col. Fraser. I had an interview with Roberts in Newgate. A woman came to my office and sent me to Roberts, Ile told me he had heard something of a pie shop in the White chapel-road. I may have communicated that to Colonel Fraser. It was by my orders Roberts was arrested at the plaintiff's shop. Cross-examined—No information came to me from the plaintiff. I have no writing to remind me. Jane Atley-1 aui tho sister of itoborts. Ify husband is a commercial traveller. I sent the police to my brother in Newgate, as he said he wished to speak to them. They made an appointment to go on the 17th of February. For the defence it was submitted that there was no evi dence to go to the jury. The Judge said there was plenty of evidence that the plaintiff gave information which led to the apprehension of Roberts. A reward offered for information leading to the conviction of thieves did not extend to the apprehension of a receiver. For the defence it was urged that the jury should see plainly whether the plaintiff came within the alternative of the offer of the reward. The first thing was the conviction of the person who broke into his house. He drew the line between the information as to the burglars and the person through whose information he obtained a recovery of the property. His lordship was with him as regarded the re ceiver. Upon the value of the two watches the defendant had paid too much into court. Roberts had denied all knowledge of the burglars. The police were acting entirely upon other grounds, and not from any information obtained through Roberts. Inspector Potter in November, 1864, received information of a robbery at Abrahams', in the Strand. There were othe r robberies. Captured William Brown. Watched the persons who came to see him at the House of Detention, and fol lowed them, and then heard of the proposed robbery at Walker's. That was in the early part of January. Traced a dozen persons, first to the Waterloo-road, and direct from there to the eel-pie shop in Whitechapel-road. It was a girl who was a servant to Brewerton. We then watched that house. We saw others come to visit that house. Three other officers were engaged with me. We got all their ad dresses, and ultimately apprehended them on the 24th of February. Commenced the watching on the Bth of Feb ruary. The delay in the apprehension arose from the address of Caisley not being known. On the 24th we took Brewer ton and Jeffery, and then went to Ely-terrace, Bow-road, and arrested Caisley. We followed the men and their women from house to house. I know the plaintiff. It was not from information received from him that the men were apprehended. Cross-examined—Brown wasapprehended in December. The women came to him, not the men. We followed them to Shoreditch and Bow-common. I was told in January that a number of burglaries were intended in the city, and persons were cautioned no doubt. I did not hear Mr. Walker's name mentioned. Re-examined— One was always watching the pie shop. I knew Roberts as the Quaker. Inspector Brennan—l was engaged with the last wi4 ness in• the endeavour to discover the perpetrators of these robberies. Did not act upon any information received from the plaintiff or Roberts. Cross-examined—ln January I heard there was to be a burglary in Cornhill. If I had known the time I should have been there. I did not hear the name of Walker, or it would have been a shocking thing of me not to have named it to him. George Ranger—l am a police-officer, and accompanied the other officers. Was not indebted to the plaintiff for information. Mr. Walker, jun.-1 am the son of the defendant. I know these two watches—ono was of the value of £33, and the other £2O. The property lost was £6,000, and the reward being £750, we paid into court £11; the proper sum would be £7. Cross-examined—The selling price was £55 and £45. Ultimately the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff for £250, and a proportionate amount of the £750 reward for the recovery of the property found when the burglars were apprehended. THE LEITH MURDER.—On Monday, before the Lligh Court of Justiciary, Giuseppe Masselli, an Italian seaman, was charged with the murder of a fellow seaman, named Giuseppe Profumo, at the Victoria Dock, Leith, on the night of the 13th of November last. Both men, who belonged to the same vessel, had been drinking, in company with several of their messmates, at a dancing house near the dock, and were returning together towards their ship, when a foolish dispute arose between the pri soner and the deceased as to which of them was the stronger and the braver. They closed with each other, and, in the course of the struggle, Masselli stabbed Pro- Nino, who fell mortally wounded, and died in the hospital shortly afterwards. The jury found the prisoner guilty of " culpable homicide," and ho was sentenced to penal ser vitude for life. LADVERTISEMENT.]-11olloway's pills.—Low Tempera ture.—Cold and changeable weather is very apt to under mine the health unless the stomach be ke p t up to its highest state of efficiency. Holloway's pills improve the appetite, and so promote digestion that a large and strengthening supply of new materials is thrown into the blood after every meal, whereby fresh vigour and activity aro bestowed on every organ, and ability to resist disease is conferred upon the system. These pills thoroughly purify the blood when it has been tainted by fogs, un wholesome vapours, or other impurities. No medicine equals these pills for removing biliousness, suppressing nausea, checking flatulency, and acting as mild yet effec tive aperients, which are suitable for either sex or any age. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENINd, DECEMBER 20, 1865. MIDLAND CIRCUIT—LEEDS, Dec. 19. (Before Mr. Justice Shoe.) Eli Sykes was charged in one indictment with the wilful murder of Hannah Brook, and was further charged in another indictment with the wilful murder of her mother, Sarah Brook, at Batley, near Dewsbury, on the 19th of August. The prisoner was also arraigned for the same offences upon the coroner's inquisition. The prisoner having pleaded not guilty, was first tried upon the indictment charging him with the murder of Hannah Brook. Mr. Middleton and Mr. Whitaker prosecuted ; Mr. Camp bell Foster and Mr. Waddy were for the defence. From the opening statement of the learned counsel for the prosecution it appeared that the prisoner, who was 19 years old, was a cloth finisher and a member of the West Yorkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps. Hannah Brook, the deceased, was 18 years old, and lived with her deceased mother who was about the age of 60. All three resided at Batley. Prior to August last the prisoner had paid his addresses to Hannah, who had accepted him as her sweet heart. About the beginning of August last certain circum stances arose which led to a disruption between Hannah and the prisoner. A young man from Wakefield began to pay his addresses to Hannah. On the 13th of August, which was a Sunday, it appeared that Hannah Brook went to tea with Hurst, a neighbour, and about 5 in the afternoon the prisoner passed by Hurst's door while Hurst and Hannah were standing there. The prisoner came by again between 9 and 10 in the evening, and said to Hurst, " This young man that is coming from Wakefield shan't have her, and no one else shall." On the 19th of August, about half-past 10 in the evening, prisoner was seen in Commercial-street at Batley, dressed in Volunteer uniform, with his rifle and bayonet, having just returned from drill. He told a friend " that he was going to Hannah's ;" his friend said he had better not. About 11 the same evening a man named Pease heard a cry of "Murder" three or four times, and on going into the street he saw Sarah Brook bleeding from wounds and standing in the street in her nightdress. From something she said he entered the house and saw Hannah bleeding from wounds in the neck, leaning against the fire place. The prisoner was about a yard off, inflicting wounds with his bayonet on his own throat. Others then came in, the prisoner was thrown down, and the bayonet taken from him. During this time the mother came in saturated with blood, fell down, and died at the door. In ten minutes both mother and daughter were dead. A surgeon was sent for, and while he was dressing the prisoner's wounds, the prisoner said, " I feel easier in my mind now than I have felt for a fortnight before." The police came and took the prisoner to the lock-up at Dewsbury. The following witnesses were called : Hannah Hurst, examined by Mr. Whitaker, deposed, — I live at Batley. I have known the prisoner for two or three years. I knew the deceased Hannah Brook. The prisoner lives near me. I remember Sunday, the 13th of August. The deceased Hannah was at our house on that evening. The prisoner passed by about 5 p.m. Hannah was with me. She left at 6. After she left I again saw the prisoner between 9 and 10 that night. Prisoner asked me if Hannah had gone home. I said she went home about 6. Prisoner then said, "This young man that is coming from Wakefield shan't have her, nor any one els©" He then struck his hat against the chair. I said, " Eli, I think you are going out of your mind." Prisoner said, "You will see." He then left. Cross-examined by Mr. Campbell Foster—Prisoner was a little excited. It was that that made me say "Eli, I think you are going out of your mind." He hadibeen courting Hannah for two or three years, and was her accepted lover. They were always affectionate. I never heard of any quarrelling. I have heard Hannah scolding prisoner but he never said a word back. William Walton, examined by Mr. Middleton, deposed, —I have known prisoner. I was in Commercial-street in Batley on the evening of the 19th of August. About 25 minutes past 10 I saw the prisoner in rifle uniform with his rifle in his hand. There was a bayonet in its sheath by his side. I asked him where he was going ? He said, " I am going to see Hannah." I said, "I would not if I was you." Before that the prisoner had told me that she had told him to stay away. He said, "I will." I said she had gone by me about a quarter of an hour before. Prisoner said, " Was there any one with her ?" I said " No." Pri soner then left me and went in the direCtion of Hulme street, where deceased lived. Prisoner was sober. Cross-examined by Mr. Campbell Foster—Prisoner's corps had been out marching that day. He is a quiet and inoffensive man. Prisoner promised to meet me next day (Sunday) to congratulate me on my recent marriage. Robert Jones examined by Mr. Whitaker—l live in Hulme-street. I know the prisoner. Prisoner has been with Hannah for 18 months. I have often seen them to gether. I saw them at 10 o'clock on the night of the 19th of August on the steps of deceased's house. In consequence 9f something I heard in a quarter of an hour I returned to deceased's house. Joseph Pease, examined by Mr. Middleton—l live in Batley, next door to deceased. On the 19th of August I was at home. A few minutes after 11 that night I heard Sarah crying out " Murder" three or four times. I ran out. I saw Sarah in the street in her night-dress. In consequence of something she said I went into Brook's house. I found Hannah loaning against the fire-place ; blood was pouring from a wound in her neck. Prisoner was standing about a yard in front of her with a bayonet in his hand piercing her throat. I seized hold of him and threw him. As I threw him he struck at me with his bayonet. There was a little boy four or five years old in the room. No one else was present but Hannah and the prisoner. The little boy was at the far side of the bed screaming. Fawcett and Police-sergeant English then came in. Fawcett took the bayonet from him. I saw a rifle on the floor of the room. I noticed that the stock was broken. I saw Sarah again. She dropped down dead just inside the door. Hannah got past me and the prisoner. Hannah fell down about two yards from the door. Other persons came in. Hannah and Sarah were then laid on the bed. Hannah was given some water to drink. In two or three minutes Hannah died. JOURNALS. t~ - . - people living on the spot. The transit of the judges and the Crown officials from Dublin to Cork was, in fact, a brilliant military manoeuvre. As the train carried its precious legal wares from one garrisoned town to another, a pilot engine rushed on before lest at some lonely spot in the hostile territory the permanent way might have been broken up, and 3 fearful gulf should yawn to swallow the whole Irish executive bodily ; the carriages were crowded with armed policemen, and at every important station along the line the constabulary were called out in force. When the legal party had providen tially arrived in Cork they were convey through the city by a regiment of Dragoons, 101:c1 we read that the judges' lodgings are g,n od day and night by considerable bodies of troops!, whose numbers have been doubled since a p lacard was posted in the town, denouncing Judge Keog h as " Norbury the Second !" We learn also that th(.. Court-house where the trials are conducted is filleq with constables to the exclusion of the public, and its approaches are blocked up by soldiery, while an army of 4,000 infantry and cavalry, supported 11 several batteries of artillery, are scarcely suffiejen t to keep the peace of the city. Such a spasinewe exhibition of executive vigour, however necessary in the circumstances to which the country has bee n reduced, can have no other ultimate effect than t° bring the Government which resorts to it into con tempt. Such is the result of the policy that has fl 3r years traded in treason. To curry favour with cer tain classes of the rabble all displays of disaffection. have been winked at, while every exhibition of loyalty to the British Crown, and affection for Bri' tish institutions, was coldly received, o r even countenanced. Rebels have seldom been prosecutel at all, or have been prosecuted with half - h earted sincerity, and when convicted and condemned their sentences have in most instances been almost in stantly remitted. Agitators have been encouraged to talk and to print all kinds of sedition amongst the people, till the latter have learnt to believe that, they are the most down-trodden race on the face ot the earth, and that resistance even to dea th is 3 sacred duty. It is one thing in the case of a poptl' lation innately loyal to prove the power and wag nanimity of the Government by showing that it can afford to treat with contempt a few small traitors; and even in Ireland a lofty scorn of little enemies; and a high-handed impartiality, honestly adhered to and firmly carried out, would no doubt have at last made the Government that used it popular ana respected. But it is quite another thing in country where people have an hereditary pre" disposition for rebellion—an instinctive ten denel to defy all laws whatever—that those who preach discontent should be encouraged, and that,. those who openly proclaim revolution s hould be suffered to go unpunished. This is in fact to deVelop sedition into revolt, and to rear the manh i ; kin conspirator into the full-grown rebel. A s Iv ' get a better insight into the real origin of this O A ' fortunate Fenian movement we wonder more an more with what judicial blindness the Irish Govern ment can have been smitten, that a conspiral so wide spread and formidable should have bee n sn' fered to permeate all the lower ranks of so ciety without the smallest notice having been taken 0_ its existence, until it has been allowed to attain 11;:". importance that has rendered the ordinary a p p' d ances of executive justice insufficient, and has Pla c the two principal cities of the island virtually ia state of siege, We shall be curious to learn vih e 4 ,„ Parliament assembles what explanation will be, av tempted for such impolicy. Nor are the Irish i%e cutive much more fortunate in dealing with Fenis n i ; ism in its ripeness than they were in treating e during its growth. The acquittal of M'Afferty, first prisoner tried at Cork, was an amusing hit; stance of the total breakdown of the legal eoae but it has without doubt produced the worst P °s Bible moral effect in that city. This individual w, a native of Ohio, in America, and therefo re, course, an alien owing no respect to her Majesty s u a long as he kept clear of her dominions. He s aile from New York for Ireland laden with revolversci bowie knives, and Fenian despatches, but as be anh his luggage were seized before he touched Britis territory he was not afforded an opportunity i°; committing any of those overt acts of treason vtib',„o he no doubt contemplated whilst in America 'the was nevertheless solemnly brought up for trial, ttio indictment was duly drawn, and found by ten grand jury. But when the prisoner ha d been arraigned and the case of the Crown ha d been fully gone into, the judge who presided Wll4 it necessary to call upon the prosec u ti n g couns`lr to explain how they meant to sustain the indictment. They seem to have been quite taken by surprise, and to have been unable to give a n ,, explanation at all. The prisoner was according,?„, acquitted. It is scarcely possible to exaggerate tu:', evil which such a fi asco, combined with the many previous misfortunes of the Government dur ing these state trials, may effect amongst the good foi of Cork if they are really in the frame of m ind„ which the Governmant seems to suspect them. , the whole, this wretched Fenian business seem? almost the saddest of the many ev ils that from ep o e to epoch misgovernment has inflicted upon Irelan d. At a moment when, for the first time in a century+ prosperity seemed about to visit her shores ;when the beneficial effects of emigration were beginning to be felt ; when a series of go od seasons bad blest the labours of the peasant with plent if u l harvest s when crime was rapidly diminishing ; when inter; energy seemed about to revive, and even Engi the capital was almost tempted to venture int° country • then the masses of the people were si''t fend to 'drift into rebellion. The Irish Govern were, on their own showing, long aware of the ture and extent of the movement, yet, either fr° ( ;: i folly or from weakness, they allowed it to g° fo r and gather its present formidable proportions ; utterly powerless as is this Fenian conspirael is achieve the objects its leaders had proposed, 1:01 yet sufficiently important to do perhaps some ae'any physical mischief, and certainly to destroy, for in a year to come, all that sense of security and s.°°`;3o,l confidence which are the first conditions of natl. irogress. THE IRISH SOCIETY. Mr. FINLAY moved that it be referred to the law officers of the Corporation to consider and report, before the next election of the Irish Society, whe ther the election of persons not being freemen, or liverymen of some livery company interested in the Irish estates, is not at variance with the terms of the charter. Mr. RICHARDSON seconded the motion, with the object of showing its absurdity when the report was made. (Laughter.) The motion was put and agreed to. THE TRAFFIC IN TIIE CITY. Mr. Alderman STONE, as chairman of the Police Committee, moved the reception of a report from that committee on that portion of the reference of the 11th September last on the subject of the traffic of the city of London, and which related to the em ployment of police-constables to superintend that traffic, and recommending that for this purpose the force be increased by 50 additional constables at an annual expense of £3,300. After a discussion, in which Mr. M‘George, Mr. Deputy Bower, and Mr. Deputy Fry took part, the motion that the report be received was agreed to, and the report was referred back to the committee to carry it out. It was further ordered that the report, compris ing that of the Commissioner of the City Police, be printed and circulated among the members of the Court. THE MARKETS IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE. Mr. H. LOWMAN TAYLOR moved that the report of the Markets Improvement Committee, to whom, on June 25 last, had been referred the question of the Metropolitan Meat and Poultry-market on tho site of Smithfield, be read. The report, which was somewhat voluminous,was then read by the Town Clerk, and disclosed these facts :—That on the reference the committee had directed the City architect to prepare plans and estimates for the new market. Plans had accord ingly been prepared, and the trade had been invited to inspect them, and four days had been given for that purpose, and it had been decided by the com mittee that the new market should not be constructed as an open market. This was after two designs had been prepared, one with an open frontage with shops, and the other having no such frontage. The committee had been attended by a deputation of the inhabitants of the ward of Farringdon Within, who had expressed an opinion that the market ought to be open, free, and unrestricted, and therefore that the market ought to be constructed with an open frontage. The report added that the committee, having carefully considered the subject and the ob jects for which the market was required, were of opinion that it was not for the benefit of a mere district, but for the whole metropolis, and that the said market should be enclosed, but with every faci lity, not merely to the trade, but to the public) gene rally, to be carried on within the market walls. From the estimate supplied by the City architect it appeared that the expense of the erection of the market proper would be £161,700. That would not include the cost of the construction of the road ways, which was estimated at £B,OOO more. After detailing the area which in superficial feet was to be devoted to the new market, the committee concluded by recommending the outlay proposed. Mr. Deputy OBBARD presented a petition from the inhabitants of the ward of Farringdon Without, praying that the new market might, in all respects, be constructed as a free, open, and unrestricted market. Mr. Deputy CHARLES REED presented a petition from the meat salesmen and others, praying the Court to adopt the plan for an enclosed market. Deputations from the petitioners having appeared and been heard at the bar, Mr. 11. LOWMAN TAYLOR, in an elaborate speech, in which he reviewed the proceedings of the com mittee on this important question, moved the adop tion of the report, and that it be referred back to the committee to carry it into execution ; and further, that the committee be requested to confer with the Coal, Corn, and Finance Committee as to the means to carry out the works. Mr. It. N. PHILIPPS moved, as an amendment, unrestrictedmarket. i‘ d i Mr. Alderman W. that the ma r k e t b e constructe d for an open, f ree, an LAWRENCE, M.P., seconded the amendment. The amendment was opposed by Mr. Alderman SIDNEY, Mr. LAWLEY, and other members of the Court. After a protracted discussion, The LORD MAYOR put the question in the usual way to a show of hands, when a large majority was displayed in favour of the original motion. Mr. H. L. TAYLOR called for a division, w h en there appeared — For the original motion 67 Against it Majority The remaining business, which was of a routine character, was then disposed of ; and after a sitting of upwards of six hours the Court adjourned. COUNTRY MARKETS Weather dull, and IittIe BRISTOL—TUESDAY rain. No English wheat o , d a . Foreign slow sale, at Thursday's prices. 13arleY u vance. Maize, peas, oats, &c., unaltered. LEEDS—TUESDAY. There 5° Wheat trade quiet, but prices well sustained. ~tes a fair inquiry for the best qualities of barley , at late • - c i t ts, but secondary sorts meet a slow sale. Beans , P eas ' and other articles unaltered in value. The average prices for the week ending Dec. 181°110.0 Wheat, 51s 9kd per qr. ; barley, 37s 5d ; 21s Old. SHEFFIELD—TUESDAY. A Dlu i : The demand for barley was slow, and prices sver-od.Y the same as last week. The demand for oats Was at late rates. Beans firm at late rates. 19 0 C du ct i Red wheat, per load of 3 imp. bushels....l7B ed to 010 White do do —.los Oil ; 70 81 New red do do „ „t6s td ' 0 6a, IS ew white do do .... 8s 6d 1 613 Ot: Beans do do ....178 Od A 2 0 1 .. Peas, per qr. . Grinding bailey', per qr Malting barley, c o Oats, do F10ur....1a 9d to 25 2d per 111 23 1 8: 000 (idd ;3 QS : 0° ali a L IVERP 0 L—T UESDAY. We had a good attendance at to-day's mailt., e ‘?ch itdil n steady consumptive demand at previous rates • r e " ceo' 3 , l scriptions pressed for sale, at a decline of ld to 2d Pe r , thin on the week. Flour quiet, and 6d per sack cheaP e j3eaw" on Tuesday. Indian corn quiet and unchanged• and peas both unchanged. MELTON MOWBRAY.—TuEsDAY• A,,cidew Scarcely so much wheat as usual ; the trade was "- firm at last week's prices. 36 goo , White wheat, 48s to 52s ; red, 42 s to 45s per Bos P e , Barley for malting, 33s to 37s per qr; feed, 28s to oolit 30 stone. Oats, 20s to 325. Bean; old, 48s to Pi 43s to 46s per qr. NEWCAS TLE-UNDER-LYNE- 3 / 1079° ;io t t , :cl t Arrivals moderate. Wheat trade extrenae„C i deo a 7t Saturday's rates. Barley without alterati on. 6dr for oats continues large. Flour in limited request, sack reduction. Births. „ c e, _.., t er 0 APPLEYARD.—On the 18th inst., at 6, Westbotll4, " Hyde-park, the wife of R. Hall AppleYe r "' st daughter. w ee of f °l3 HAY. —On the 13th inst., at Carshalton, the """ 0 11. Hay, Esq., of a daughter. $.411 0 lIELLon.—On the 19th inst., at 15, Ashley-Pl aee ' wife of John W. Mellor, Esq., of twin sons. t, Otlf SOTHEBY.—On the 18th inst., at 71, Park-streeo3,, venor-square, the wife of Capt. Sotheby, 11 ' 141 a son. e i3 Marriages. cf. ' ,Ittf of LANGDON—BAKER.—On the 16th inst., at '',','' 3 5. A., of Church, Notting-hill, Augustin W. Lang i a ° o - t i, ;:c,lol%l'' li n urcb, Notting-a_ ~ ig, L coln's-inn, Esq. eldest son of A. Lang" o n ly ado, 38, Norland-square, to Catharine Henrietta, enl l y i''' ter of the late Major H. C. Baker, of v s---- 01 Lansdowne-road, Notting-hill. • e it tb fb e 0 MARTIN—PEACAN.—On the 18th inst., a t the - 31.Y1 .1. Marlborough-street, Dublin, W. Martin, , i l4 ,lllte r °' 12, Fitzwilliam-place, Dublin, to Ellen, ‘ ,31 I'eacan, Esq., of Boulogne-sur-Mer. vii 5 t Deaths. ii D.P' BALL.—On the 17th inst., the Rev. John D 3 --2 '• IP of St. Lawrence, Readig, aged 66. l a E. ijirY BIRKIN.—On the 18th inst., at Camberwell ' J.- -c ' I,io aged 79. 710. Olc iP . .10 KENDALL.—On the 18th inst., at BroadstaiA 1 111 '— Kendall, aged 76. Ch ef PEEL.—On the 16th inst., Ashley Lodge , a oe I at h 19 Major Laurence H. Peel, aged 43. PlTllLLotniress:—DOn on th , the 14th inst., ipnsicati,lipats,lrsciooraotbgoerr 6. London : Printed and Publish ed by WILLI.OI,I4' 102 Oli , oi of No. 112, Strand, Ptinter, at Sun in" 01 ,01. J Strand, in the. Precinct of the Savoy. the ffilldlosei.--Wedneadsy, December 20,1888' SPIRIT OP Cross-examined —The prisoner had kept company with Hannah for 18 months. He was always kind and affectionate to her. William Fawcett corroborated the last witness. William English, who corroborated Pease, stated that he took the prisoner to the lock-up at Dewsbury. Jchn Martin, superintendent of Police, deposed that the prisoner was brought to the lock-up at Dewsbury at 20 minutes to one o'clock on the night of the 19th of August. Blood was then flowing from a wound in his throat. Dr. Thornton was sent for. While the surgeon was dressing his wound prisoner said, " I feel easier in my mind now than I did a fortnight before." Patrick Murray, examined by Mr. Middleton, deposed— I am a police-constable. I had charge of the prisoner at the lock-up. Prisoner made a statement. Witness was about to read something, when Mr. Campbell Foster objected. It appeared that the police-constable at the time reduced into writing what the prisoner stated to him. The policeman afterwards made a copy of this statement and destroyed the original. His Lordship said that the witness could state from his recollection what the prisoner stated. The objections were disallowed, it clearly appearing that there had been no threat or promise to induce prisoner to make a statement. The witness then stated from his recollection as follows : —The prisoner got up on his elbow and said, " I feel easier and better in my mind now than I did before I did it. I went to Hannah Brook last Monday night, and we were on good terms. I went there last night. Her mother began calling' me and told me to go away, and would not have me to come there. I asked Hannah if she would ever go with me again. She said, No.' I asked if she was going with another man from Wakefield. She said, Yes.' She sat down on a chair and began singing, which aggravated me. I took hold of the gun and hit her over the head with the butt-end. She cried ont, 'Eli, let me alone, and I will go with you.' I threw the gun on the floor, and pulled out my bayonet and ran it into her. Her mother got out of bed and tried to prevent me. I ran it into her. I have told her many a time I would have my revenge, and now I have got it." William Bayldon, examined by Mr. Whitaker—l am a surgeon at Batley. On the night of the 19th of August, at 11.30, I went to the house of the deceased. I saw Hannah Brook laid on the bed in the house. She was dead. I examined her body. I found seven wounds on the left cheek, ono on the left side of the neck, one on the centre of the left shoulder, another behind the other shoulder, one in front of the chest, one on the left buttock, one on the side of the left thigh. They were all punctured wounds. The bayonet produced is a likely instrument to produce these wounds. I made a post-mortem examination. The cause of death was those wounds. One wound was mor tal, penetrating the heart. Cross-examined—l examined the body of Sarah ; she had nine wounds ; the prisoner had five. Mr. Middleton summed up the evidence for the prosecu- tion. Mr. Campbell Foster made an eloquent and able address to the jury. Witnesses were called for the prisoner, who all spoke in the highest terms of the quiet and inoffensive habits of the prisoner. His Lordship then summed up the law and the facts to the jury. The jury retired, and after an absence of half an hour returned a verdict of guilty of wilful murder. His Lordship then addressed the prisoner as follows : You have been found guilty of the crime of wilful murder. My duty is to pass upon you tilt sentence of the law. I would do simply this were it not that ono's feelings revolt at c onsigning a fellow-creature to death without one word of comfort and consolation. If you seek for mercy by prayer and repentance you will obtain forgiveness. I implore you not to harden your heart for a moment. All good men who hear of your sentence, and they will think it a just one, will doubtless pray that the Lord may be merciful to you. His Lordship then passed sentence of death in the usual form. Chappuis' registered whist-marker, for long or short, is now ready. Fancy card, is. the pair ; leather, 3s. 6d.; fancy wood, ss. Gd. Wholesale and retail of P. E. Chappuis, the registree, 69, Fleet-street, and of all wholesale and retail booksellers, stationers, and fancy dealers. N.B.—lt is pronounced the best marker out. TIMM—In the South Pacific Ocean, at no great distance from the eastern shores of Australia, lie two splendid islands belonging to the British Crown. Together they are more than twice the size of Eng land, one of them being only a little smaller than this island, the other nearly half as large again. The climate is delightful and salubrious ' • the soil fertile and adapted to many varieties of industry ; the mineral wealth of the country almost beyond calcu lation. Englishmen have colonised the attractive territory. A government upon the English model administers the affairs of the settlement, and the names of Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury, and Ply mouth perpetuate the traditions of the land from which the colonists have sprung. Two years ago the population amounted to about 116,000 souls, it now probably exceeds 150,000. The area and re sources of the country would suffice to maintain more than a hundred times that number, nor is there, except in one particular, the least impediment to the growth of the colony, But in New Zealand—for it is of that country we are speaking—there was a population, if it deserves the name, before our arrival. Certain barbarous tribes, who may un doubtedly be called natives, but who certainly are not aborigines, had hunted wild beasts and each other through the thickets of the land for, perhaps, a century previous, and these savages have not only kept the colonists in perpetual difficulties, but have caused no slight embarrassment and charge to our Government and taxpayers at home. The reader will probably infer from this description that we found New Zealandfully occupied, and were opposed by tenants who could not afford us any room. No idea could be more delusive. The native tribes roaming over these enormous tracts were never, as far as we know, equal in numbers to the population of Brighton. They are now less numerous, men, women, and children together, than the population of Bath. Any one of our coast towns in the colony might well expect to contain in a few years' time more people than all the tribes of New Zealand could show. Ten years ago the number of M aories, as the savages call themselves, was between 50,000 and 60,000, of whom 30,000 were males. They have since been decreasing , and it is scarcely possible that they could put in the field 10,000 men of fight ing age. Nevertheless, this handful of natives, with whose subsistence it might be thought we could not materially interfere, and whose opposition it seems almost impossible we should regard, have not not only proved our implacable enemies, but have at brief intervals waged war against us with practical success. They have done so, although we sent against them from this country to the Antipodes considerable armies of the finest and best equipped soldiers imaginable, provided with all the most for midable inventions of modern warfare. At this time last year, over and above the population of the colony, a force of 10,000 British troops was serving in New Zealand—with what effect let our intelli gence of yesterday declare. We now learn that 'whereas at the close of.last summer we declared the war at an end, rather because nobody saw how to carry it on than because it was really finished, the natives have contemptuously repudiated our assump tions of peace, and have deliberately murdered, after the custom of their kind, the envoys who were sent, at their own request, with the proclamations of the Government. How events so incredible could ever have occurred may easily be told, though it could never have been imagined. The natural impulse of all savages is to cling to the skirts of • civilisation. We found that out at the Cape, where there was territory in abundance both for the Caffres and our selves, if they would but have but retired a little from our front, as the Mormons did in America. In New Zealand, even the smaller of the two islands would supply ample room for a population ten times as numerous as the Maories, even according to the wants of savage nature; but the Maories, like the Caffres, refused to move an inch, and in this disposition they were confirmed by the influence of a certain agency entering very deeply into the question. There is a small but by no means silent party in this coun try which charges itself avowedly with the patron age of all natives or aborigines, whatsoever and wheresoever, against the interests of the British colo nist, and the action of this party was especially pro moted in New Zealand. The Maories were taken in hand more caressingly and indulgently than any other savages, and not altogether without reason. True, they were fierce and truculent cannibals — barbarians to the very backbone, but they were of fine physical and not bad intellectual development ; they were intelligent, apparently teachable and amenable to persuasion. Over such seemingly con vertible material our missionaries and ministers naturally exulted, and it was assumed that the na tive, savage as he was, need not, in this instance, either disappear or retire before a superior race, but might be received into the colonial population on favourable and ultimately equal terms. This was quite enough to keep the Maori where he was, and sufficiently accounts for his behaviour in contesting with us every acre of the settlement, instead of re cognising that the country contained land enough for all., But, how was it that when the savage was thus fastened on our necks, and showed himself in the event a savage and nothing more, the superior power of the whites could not at any rate restrain him from disorder? How was it that, even if he would conform to no other law, he did not conform to the law of 10,000 bayonets ? To this also a reply can be given. It was this very army which gave the Maories their advantages. Had the savage been left to the settler alone, like the Red Indian to the back woodsman of America, the inevitable struggle, severe as it might have been, would have had but one end —the end which has been witnessed and accepted in all countries and ages. But this was not agreeable to the patrons of the natives, or compatible with the theory of Maori civilization. It was preferred to garrison the colony, at a heavy charge to the tax payer at home, with imperial troops, who would be less vindictive, more considerate, and better dis posed to moderate the severities of war. That ac counts for the establishment of a British army at the Antipodes nearly as large as in some years we have maintained for the protection of this island. That it has answered its purpose in a philanthropi cal sense is plain enough from the evidence be fore us at this minute, which shows that the Maories, after a succession of wars, by which, on any other system, they would have been utterly crushed, are still so safe, so confident, and so im pressed with the helplessness of our policy that they are fiercely and disdainfully provoking us to a new campaign. In another sense, too, the system has, not been entirely unfavourable to the colony, for the expenditure of English money involved by the presence of an army has a pleasant and fertilising effect. Still, the settlement has suffered grievously upon the whole from these interminable contests, while as to ourselves at home we have had simply to pay our millions on the one hand and to pocket the discredit of failure on the other. It will pro bably, therefore, be not disagreeable to the public to understand that the end of this system is in sight at last. Authorities at home have become heartily tired of it, for it was impotent for good, though powerful for harm. The Government of the colony is equally tired of it, for the Imperial troops were under Imperial orders, and all strength was lost, as usual, through a divided command. Let the reader look at the brief description of affairs in New Zea land last October, after insults which would not be tolerated from the strongest Power in the world had been offered us by a band of savages. One of the military commanders thought his general " instruc tions" would not warrant any but defensive mea sures, though soldiers and envoys were shot down in open day. Another hesitated to commence a campaign without orders from the Governor. The Governor, representing the Cabinet at home, de clined to act without the advice of his Ministers, representing the colony, while the Ministry, which had just been compelled to resign, naturally waited for reappointment. So the Maories had their way, though nobody in the colony doubted for an instant that if the British army and its generals were but embarked for England, and the settlers left to pro tect themselves in their own way, the difficulties of New Zealand would be promptly terminated now and for all time. " When the troops do go," says our Wellington letter," and the colonists are allowed to fight as they please, short work will be made with the rebels." In fact, to crown the absurdity of our position, the Colonial Legislature has actually begged that we would be good enough to spare our selves the expense which we undertake, and leave them without an assistance which is of more harm than use. This time, at any rate, the proposal is not likely to be made in vain, and when it is ac cepted we shall neither hear nor feel much more of New Zealand wars. HERALD.—For nearly twenty years the " Great Liberal Party" have had it all their own way in Ireland, and their policy has brought that unhappy country to a fearful pass. The more we read and hear of the Fenian conspiracy, the more the convic tion is forced upon us that throughout all the southern and western portions of the island her Majesty's Government is not only hated, but also despised, and that but for the immediate presence of a considerable English army the administration of the law would be an impossibility. It may be said that the English Government has never been cor dially adopted by the lowest orders of the Irish people ; but granting this, we must add that if our laws have not been at all times loved, they have, at least, been hitherto respected, and their adminis tration has not until now been brought into abso lute contempt by feebleness and failure. The cir cumstances that have attended the speeding of the special commission to the south of Ireland, however ludicrous they may seem to us at a distance, indicate a state of affairs that must be very alarming to loyal _l 4 0 lii T hip Prize It i Sold the Ai ni 14, RI Freeh fee, el three diseou made 15 yea envoi( Obs "Ain: A' Into (Lind The day, must 'West! previc amen! • 5, IN T' Thi cantil DE P( For of Th of th( tachc - 27, 1 N( Is. 6d th s C By NOR' Minh Thi tan 13ouu The XR4,I £10,21 kor streel J. whi perfe Passe A' and 1 and titre el A' A' A J. J. J. New J. J. J. J J brit flay the No. es; the