The Sun. — London, England, 1870-08-10 00:00:00

TFIORLEY'S HORSE and CATTLE SPICE, In Penny Packets only, of all Corn Chandlers in London, and Of all Grocers, Druggists, and Corn Dealers in the Country. EVENING EDITION. LONDON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1870, MOSES and SON, CORNER of MINORIES and ALDGATE. NEW OXFORD-STREET, CORNER o f HART-STREET. CORNER of TOTTENHAM-COURT-ROAD aud EUSTON-ROAD. B RADFORD, YORKSHIRE. E MOSES and SON'S PRICE LIST of GENTLEMEN'S CLOTHING. Frock Coats. Dresi Coats. Oxfoid Coats. Also at other prices. Also at other prices - LI MOs' • that till quality, and th 4 is sonsiderably ho Ise in Engla] ES and SON. beg to remind the public Le cheapness of an article depends entirely on its ,ey venture to affirm that every article sold by them cheaper than what can be obtained at any other dad. 19 MOSES and SON'S PRICE LIST of . Also at other prices. GENTLEMEN'S CLOTHING CONTINUED Summer Suits. Tourist Su its. Summer Trousers. Dress Trousers. Also at other prices, Also at other prices, Also at other prices, Also at other prices ORDERS by post are attended to with care and punctuality, and the easy and accurate system of self measure introduced by E. MOSES and SON enables them to guarantee a faultless fit. "LI MOSES and SON'S PRICE LI iT of E BOYS' CLOTIIING : Knickerbocker . Eton I Brighton I Harrow Suits. Suits. Suits. Suits. Os. 6d. 153. I 18s. 18s. 13s. 6d. 19s. I 235. 235. 16s. 6d. 21s. I 265. 265. 21s. 265. I 325. 82s. 265. SOs. 365. 363. 30s. 365. 48s. 48s. Also at other prices. Also at I Also at Also at other prices. other prices. I other prices. yiMOSES and SON supply every description of 'Ji • clothing, ready-made, or made to measure, for all ages, all occasions, and all classes ; also Hosiery and Drapery, Hats and Caps, Boots and Shoes, and complete outfits for all climates. All Goods marked in Plain Figures. Any article exchanged if not worn or injured. List of Prices, with Rules for Self-measure, Patterns, and Fashion-sheet, gratis and post-ire E. MOSES and SON'S Establishments are closed every Friday evening at sunset till Saturday evening at sunset, when busi ness is resumed until Eleven o'clock. due LloLltiViLlig are I,lle (Ally 21.4.1Uleabtles vi a.. 4.4.a...m.." guata. LONDON. CORNER of MINORIES and ALDGATE. NEW OXFORD-STREET, CORNER OF HART-STREET. CORNER of TOTTENHAM-COURT-ROAD and EUSTON-ROAD. COUNTRY BRANCH. BRADFORD, YORKSHIRE. VAUDEVILLE THEATRE, STRAND.- Lessees—Messrs H. J. Montague, D. James, and T. Thorne.—THlS EVENING, at 7 30, CUPBOARD LOVE, by F. Hay. After which, at 8, a new and original Comedy, in Three Acts, entitled TWO ROSES, by James Albery. To conclude with the new and successful Burlesque. DON CARLOS ; or, The Infante in Arms. Supported by Messrs. H. J. Montague, H. Irving, G. Honey, W. H. Stephens, and T. Thorne ; Mesdames ,Nelly Power, Amy Fawsitt, T. Lavis, and A. Newton: Doors open at Seven. COmmenee at 7.30. N.B.—Mr. DAVID JAMES having terminated his engagement at the Strand Theatre, will have the honour of appearing on Monday next in a new and original Farce, entitled CIUSELLLNG, at the Vaudeville Theatre, Strand. NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE. AGUA AMARELLA restores the Human Hair to its pristine hue, no matter at what age. JNO. GOSNELL and CO. have at length, with the aid of one of the most eminent Chemists, succeeded in perfecting this wonder ful liquid. It is now offered to the public in a more concentrated form, and at a lower price. Sold in bottles, 3e. each; also 55., 7s. 6d., and lbs. each, mind ng brush,. Red Bull Wharf, Angel-passage, 93, Upper Thames-street, Lon• don, E.O. - JOHN GOSNELL and CO.'S CHERRY TOOTH PASTE is greatly superior to any tooth powder; gives the teeth a pearl whiteness, protects the enamel from decay, and imparts a pleasant fragrance to the breath. Price is. dd. Bed Bull Wharf, 93, Upper Thames street, London. RUPTURES-BY ROYAL LETTERS PATENT -NATHITE,s MOC-MAIN LEVER TRUSS tPcrfected and Exhibited in the Great Exhibitions of 1851 and 182), is allowed by upwards of Five ?Hundred ?Medical men to be the most effective invention in the curative treatment of HERNIA. The use of a steel spring, so often hurtful in its effects, is here avoided—a soft bandage being worn round the body, while the requisite resisting power is supplied by the Moc- Main Pad and Patent Lever, fitting with so much ease and cicse ness that it cannot be detected, and may be worn during sleep. A descriptive circular may be had, and the truss, which can not fail to fit, forwarded by post, on the circumference of the body, two inches below the hips, being sent to the manu facturer, Mr. JOHN WHITE, 228, Piccadilly, London. A Single Truss, 165., 215., 26e. 6d., and 31e. - 6d. Postage, is. A. Double Truss, 31s. 6d., 42e., and 525. 6d. Postage, is. Bd. An Um bilical Truss, 425. and 525. 6d. Postage,le. 10d. _ _ _ Post-office Orders to be made payable to John White, Post office, Piccadilly. NEW PATENT ELASTIC STOCKINGS, KNEE-CAPS, &c., for Varicose Veins and all cases of Weakness and Swelling of the Legs, Sprains, &c. They are porous, light in texture, and inexpensive, and are drawn on like an ordinary stocking. Price 4s. Gd., 7s. 6d., 10s., and 16s. each Postage, 6d. JOHN WHITE Manufacturer, 228, Piccadilly PARTRIDGE AND COOPER, MANUFACTURING STATIONERS, 192, FLEET-STREET (CORNER OF CHANCERY-LANE), LONDON (E. 0.), THE PUBLIC SUPPLIED AT WHOLESALE PRICES, . AND - . CARRIAGE PAID to the COUNTRY ON ORDERS OVER 20e o. d. Fine Cream Laid Note ; a cheap pap e r. .. . 3 0 Superfine Cream Laid Note ; much approved Superfine Thick Cream Laid Note ; especially recommended 5 6 gatra Superfine Double Thick Cream Laid Note .... 7 0 Straw Paper, " Patent ;" adapted for rapid writing ........ 2 6 ..... Large Commercial Note Papers 88., 4s. 65., and 6 0 Foolscap Papers, bins or cream.......... 105. 6d., 1.28. 6d., and 14 6 O u tsides Foolscap Letter Paper for scribbling plain, 48.; ruled ditto, 4 6 Tinted Lined Note ... five quires for ls. 6d., or 3 8 New Vellum Wove "Club House" Note, five quires for 2s. 6d. Superfine Cream or Blue Envelopes, 4s6d, 38 6d, & 6s tid .. Large Blue Wove Commercial Envelopes , 4 s 6 dl ...... ..... i p er Im o Cheap Buff Colour, for circulars, &c., as. COLOUR STAMPING (Relief) reduced to is. per 100 . . Polished steel dies sunk by the best artists in the trade at about half the price. charged by the retail houses. An ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE, containing full descrip tion, with prices of Account Books, Copying Presses, inkstands, Stationery, Cabinets, Postage Scales, Despatch Boxes, Travelling Writing Cases, Desks. post free. Established 1841 T HE BEST and MOST NUTRITIOUS FOOD for Infants, Children, and Invalids. CHAPMAN & CO'S ENTIRE WHEAT FLOUR contains all the constituents of the grain in perfect purity, and is perfectly easy of digestion CHAPMAN & CO.'S ENTIRE WHEAT FLOUR contains a larger percentage of phosphates (bone earth) than any other food, and is -therefore invaluable to Children while Teething. CIIAPAIAN & CO.'S ENTIRE WHEAT FL OUR promotes a vigorous and healthy growth of the bones and teeth, and prevents premature decay. CHAPMAN & CO.'S ENTIRE WHEAT FLOUR. PROFESSOR' ATTFIELD, Analyst to the Royal Pharma ceutical Sbciety of Great Britain, reports as follows :---" Its rich ness in gluten, or flesh-forming material and phoshates, or bone and teeth-forming substances, shows it to be a very valuable and nutritious food, especially for children. It is incomparably superior to arrowroot, corn-flour, And other forms of starch, which contribute butlittle to the growth o renew,' of bone or muscle. As Spain has been the cause of a stupendous com motion, Belgium, in its turn, has been the cause of profound solicitude. it matters little that a more careful examination of the Treaty of 1839—the treaty which was supposed to guarantee its indepen dence—in no way pledges England or Russia or the rest of the great Powers of Christendom to maintain in tact the Belgiankingdom and the Belgian sovereignty. The vindication of the rights of Belgium as an inde pendent state may not be assured, in fact are not assured, by any clause in any treaty now produceable as in force among the European nations. Such a clause did exist in the treaty of 1831, but the treaty of 1831 is obsolete, is abrogated, has ceased and determined. But, for all that, Belgian independence is far more secure than any international treaty would have rendered it, affecting as it does the honour and conscience of the leading Powers of Europe. There can be no doubt whatever upon this point, after the emphatic utterances of Mr. GLADSTONE in the House of Com mons, and Earl GRANVILLE in the House of Lords on Monday evening. According to the PRIME MINISTER and the FOREIGN SECRETARY, the neutra powers are prepared, are, it may even be said, pledged ; to maintain the cause of Belgian, independence Meanwhile, upon that same day, Monday, the Bth of of August, the KING of the BELGIANS, was opening the Belgian Chambers in his capital with a speech from the throne, in the course of which his Majesty adduced conclusive evidence of the fact that the constitutional rights of Belgium are recog nised not merely by surrounding neutrals, bat equally, not one jot or iota less emphatically, by the two great belligerents no— dAndlv collision upon the immediate borders of the little kingdom. " The Emperor of the FRENCH has written to me," said his Majesty, "that it is his formal intention to conform to his international duties and respect the neutrality of Belgium. At the same time," added the KING, " his Imperial Majesty expressed to me his desire to be confirmed in the opinion that Belgium would herself make her' neutrality respected by all the means in her power.' In answer to which inquiry, added the KING, " I was happy to be able to state that the EMPEROR. had not been misinformed as to our intention." No less satisfactory, his MAJESTY went on to shew, had been the communications which had recently taken place upon this matter of vital interest between the Governments of Berlin and Brussels. The neutrality of Belgium is to be respected by the belligerents. The independence of Belgium is to be vindicated and maintained by the leading neutral powers of Christ endom. For forty years, for more than the life time of a whole generation, the rights of the Belgians have been enjoyed. The beacon light of Parlia mentary Government, so to speak, during all that interval has burnt brightly at Brussels, burnt through all the revolutionary storms of 1848 and 1849. Remembering the inti mate relations which have all along been maintained between England and Belgium since the first inaugu ration under the existing regime of the Belgian Sovereignty, it is not without emo tion that Englishmen will read the KING'S expression of gratitude for " the solicitude of the Government of her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain for the interests of the Belgian neu trality and the generous support with which those sentiments were received in the Parliament, and also by public opinion in Englaud"—words received in the Legislative Chamber at Brussels on Monday night with enthusiastic shouts of " Vivo l'Augle terre !" IF time were measured by events the session just come to an end would be well-nigh the longest on record. It has been long even according to the almanac, but there have been many longer. Few have been more eventful. On February 8, when Parlia ment was opened, the Speech from the Throne spoke of profound peace and diminished armaments. To-day finds us spectators of a conflict between the two greatest military powers in the world, which has brought one of them to the very verge of utter ruin ; to-day sees us arming in haste with the consciousness that we may be involved in the struggle. In other respects the first and the last days of the session present a melancholy contrast. The programme of measures announced in the Speech was long and most important. A great majority of those measures remain merely " projects of law " to borrow an expression from the French. Religious tests are still imposed at the Universities, thanks to the obstinacy of Lord SALIS BURY, the Chancellor of Oxford University. The Mines Regulation Bill has never got beyond a second reading ; the Liquor Licensing Bill, and the Trades Union Bill have not even got so far, thanks to the supineness of Mr. BRUCE. The Ballot has not yet become a part of our electoral system, though the Marquis of HARTINGTON has taken the matter out of the hands of Mr. LE4TILIAM and though Mr. GLADSTONE has announced himself a convert to secret voting. The Law Cburts are still unreformed, and that fusion of Law and Equity which has been prontised suitors, to the great relief-of their pockets is still - an unaccomplished fact. Two measures having for their object greater freedom in dealing with the land, the Transfer of Land Bill, and the Intestacy Bill are not yet entered upon the statute book. The question of local taxation is still in the same unsatisfactory condition that it was before. A vast crowd of measures brought in by private members, and espe— cially those affecting the Church have suffered ship- 10s. ed. 12s. 6d. 15s. 6d. 17s. 6d, 16s. 6d. Also at other prices OPERAS, THEATRES, AND AMUSEMENTS. PRINCE OP WALES'S—A 7.30. Quite by Accideht: M.P. Deares Mamma. QUEEN'S—At Seven, My Wife's Dentist. 'Twixt Axe and Crown. VALTDEVILLE—Cupboard Love. Two Roses, Don Carlos. CHRISTY MINSTRELS. St. James's Hall, Every Night, at 8; Wed nesdays and Saturdays, at 3 and 8 all the year round. ZO LOGICAL GARDENS, Regent's-park. Open daily (except Sun days). Admission, Is. on Mondays, 6d. Children under twelve, 6d. MADAME TerssAlM'S EXHIBITION, Baker-street, from 11 a.m. till 3.0 p.m., and from 7 till 10 p.m. Admission, 1C; extra 6d. Camb. Coats. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE THIS DAY. Morning , 1 after 1 I Afternoon ..... ...29 after 1 rAI , s ; _Sum THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EN EN ING, AUGUST 10, 1870. wreck, some, it must be admitted without much regret on the part of the spectators. And yet never was there a session in which the working House worked so hard. Never did session before witness the passing of two measures of such magnitude as the Irish Land Bill and the Education Bill. It must be borne in mind that legislation is now no longer destructive, but constructive. It was easy enough to frame measures for the abolition of this or that ecclesiastical or class privilege. It is quite another thing to devise elaborate schemes such as those contained in the principal acts of the present year. It required a bill of only one clause to•abolish church rates. The Merchant Shipping Act has more than 800 clauses. Thus the 'work of legislation has ever a tendency to become More minute and more laborious, and Ministers be they Liberal or be they Conservative must uo longer be judged by the bare number of the measures which they pass ; the nature of the measures must L be taken into account. Tried by this test, 1870 is a superlatively productive year. Even if there had been no other result than those measures of which Mr. CHICHESTER FORTESCITE and Mr. FonsTEnhad charge, Parliamentwould have deserved well of the country. Unfortunately these were not the only first-class bills which had to be passed. Early in the session the Government was compelled by the continuance of sedition and agrarian outrages in Iretand, to introduce a Peace Preservation Bill. It was a measure of great severity, materi ally restricting the liberties of ;the individual and of the press. But it was intended to be only for the lawless and the disobedient ; it was meant to be a terror only to evil doers. The fact that this measure exists, that the executive possesses extra ordinary powers, has provedquite sufficient. There has been no need to use those powers. The "Nationalist" press has ceased to publish treason, agrarian murders have stopped. The other special measure to which we have referred is the Foreign Enlistment Act. This measure need, indeed, excite no regret, however much the circumstances which have given rise to it may be lamented. It was always intended to amend the laws which regulate our duties as neutrals ; but it was thought that this might be done in a less busy session. The Franco-Prussian war has compelled the Government to introduce it at the close of the session, and to hurry it through with all possible haste. The Irish Land Bill was introduced on February 15 by Mr. GLADSTONE, in a speech that must rank among the very highest efforts of parliamentary elcquence. Two days later Mr. FORSTER introduced the Education Bill in a speech that without being highly eloquent, was most interesting and lucid. It induced a political opponent to declare that he had never during the many years he had sat in the House listened to a speech with greater satisfac tion. The expressed approval of Sir JOHN PAKINGTON with regard to the latter measure, and the intimated approval hinted by Mr HARDY with respect to the former, seemed to promise an easy passage for both. That promise was not fulfilled. It cannot be said that the Conservative party shewed any factious opposition to either. The second they supported with all their strength. The first contained provisions which were certainly contrary to the general notions prevalent with regard to the rights and privileges of landlords, and it was, there fore not surprising that the representatives of the class affected felt bound to contest those provisions. The Land Bill had the priority. A mea sure involving such a multiplicity of detail necessarily offered scope to amendments from all sloes, font au oii slum Luey were nearly five hundred iu number. They were of two classes. The Conservatives wished to expunge certain novel principles; the Irish Liberals wished to extend them further. The opponents of the Bill being thus even more strongly opposed to each other, Mr. GLAD STONE was able to carry out his own scheme, and to maintain in the division lobby the majorities which he had reckoned on in the Irish Church Bill. There was never any fear of the Bill being rejected : there was at one time very considerable danger that it would be talked out; and although morning sittings began at the unprecedentedly early date of April Ist, so little progress was made when the House adjourned for the very late Easter that the Liberal journals took fright, and told LiberalM.P.'s that henceforth they must " keep silelice in the ranks." If the fate of the Land Bill was then dubious, that of the Education Bill seemed something worse. But after a little while the prospect cleared. Amendments were withdrawn, or rapidly disposed of; and on the 30th of May, on the eve of the Derby and of the Whitsun recess, the Land Bill was read a third time in the House of Commons amid much cheering, and without a single dissentient voice ; even Mr. BRYAN, the bold mover of its rejection on the second reading, with drawing his opposition to it. In the Upper House the measure met with some rather severe treatment. Lord SALISBURY insisted upon dividing against a vital clause of the bill, and in spite of the advice of their leader, the Duke of RICHMOND, sufficient Conservative peers followed the Marquis to reject the clause. When the Government made it known that this rejection could not be allowed, most of the Conservative Peers thought discretion the better part of valour, and as the head of all the Owns persisted in a second trial of strength, they forsook him, and left him in a miserable minority. The opposition to the Education Bill was a much more serious matter for the Government. This opposition came from their own side of the House. They yielded to it so far as to recast their measure, omitting some of the provisions which had displeased the Radicals, such as the year of grace. But Ministers insisted upon preserving the existing right of the Privy Council to aid denominational Schools, and this persistence was deemed a great grievance by the Dissenters of Mr. MIALL's school, and by the Secularists of Mr. VERNON HARCOURT'S. They united to support an amendment forbidding the voting of State money to the teaching of religion, but were beaten by more than seven to one. Their defeat was certain under any circumstances, but it was rendered the more signal by the division of opinion which took place among the Dissenters, some of the most eminent of whom, including Mr. MonLEY and Mr. BAINES, refused to support Mr. RICHARD'S amend ment. The Conservatives gave a hearty and patriotic support to the Government, and thereby increased the wrath of the little band of Irroconcilables who sat below the gangway. Their indignation found a spokesman in Mr. MIALL, who made a solemn, and almost savage, protest against the manner in which the Nonconform istshad been treated by the PREMIER. Mr. GLADSTONE eplied in a speech full of fire, telling Mr. MIALL, in Gon's name, to withdraw his support, and that as for himself and his_colleagues, they had been bound to set before themselves a higher task thail pleasing a•• sect, that they , had been bound•' t 6 seek no 'meaner object than doihg justice to the nation For twenty-one nights was - the religious question discussed in the Lower House, the House exclusively of laymen. In the Upper House, where there is still a goodly phalanx of peers spiritual, the bill passed almost sub silentio, and with a minimum of altera-. tions. That it should satisfy the bishops is an addi tional aggravation to men of the disposition of Mr. MIALL and Mr. DIXON, and the latter member has already given notice that he will next session intro duce a bill to amend the Education Act of 1870. It is to " be presumed that he will spend the handsome balance which the League has in hand in stimulating the listless attention of a country that is just now occupied by far other matters. To follow the example of PENELOPE, to undo at night the web that has been woven by day, is not the custom of the English Legislature nor of the English people. The financial policy of the Government would have had a better chance of fair appreciation a month ago than it has now. The hos tile critics who are reproaching the Go vernment for the retrenchments which were made in the spring, and tauntingly exult over what they consider confession of error, forget that Europe in the first week of August was in a very different state from that which it occupied in the first week of March. When Mr. CHILDERS shewed a reduetiOn of three-quarters of a million . , and Mr. CARDWELL one of nearly a million and a quarter, not only was the world supposed to be at peace, but war seemed to be especially and peduliarly - , improbable. Military estimates in time of hostilities must necessarily be higher than in time of peace, and it would bo as absurd to blame the first DERBY - DISRAELI Administration for not having provided in 1852 estimates on the scale required in 1855, as to blame the present Government for having proposed in March to save the very amount which they find themselves obliged. to spend in August. It is possible that all the details of the reductions have not been wisely arranged; this, in fact, is only probable when we remember the opposition which the chiefs of the spending depart ments have had to encounter in their warfare with reckless extravagance and criminal jobbery. It is too soon yet to say if the supplementary estimate of two millions voted last week will suffice for the present emergency. Should it do so, Ministers will have a most effectual reply to all accusations; they will be able to say that they have put the defences of the country in a position capable of sustaining the attack of an enemy for considerably less than tile sum that was spent upon them by their predecessors in time of profound peace. More over, the additional expenditure just incurred has not involved an immediate addition to the taxa tion of the country. The four millions taken off by Mr. LowE have not been reimposed, and unless we should be involved in actual hostilities there is no reason to suppose that he will have to increase the national burdens next year. The worst that can happen will be that he will find himself unable to give fresh relief. In close connection with these changes are the mea sures, especially the Army Enlistment Bill, for in creasing the effectiveness of our military resources, for giving us the reserve force which is so great an element of national safety. The ecclesiastical legislation of the year has been scanty. It has, in fact, been overshadowed by the religious controversy attendant on the Educa tion Bill. The Burials Bill—a measure intended to give Nonconformists access to churchyards, after having had its principle affirmed by a large majority in the House of Commons, has, if we mistake not, failed to pass the ordeal of the Lords. Mr. WATKIN WILLIAMS'S motion for disestablishing the Church in Wales was rejected by 209 votes to 45, Mr. GLADSTONE taking the opportunity of resolutely setting his face against all motions of the kind. The University Tests Bill was made a Government measure, and passed the Commons with such large majorities that it was thought the Lords would not venture to reject it again. They have not ventured, but they have disposed of it for the year by referring the whole question to a Committee. The Marriage with a lhoo.nood Wife's 3iztor Bill passeci the coninious iu spite of the opposition of the SOLICITOR-GENERAL; in the Lords it was lost by only four votes. Among private measures there is none that has made so much progress as Sir Wu- FRM LAWSON'S Permissive Bill. In 1864 there were only 40 votes and pairs for the Bill, and there were 257 against it. In 1870 the adverse majority was only 31. This fact cannot but have a powerful influence upon Mr. BRUCE, when he introduces his promised Licensing Bill. The Married Women's Property Bill, introduced by Mr. RUSSELL GURNEY, was rejected by a large majority; a less satisfactory measure, giving married women protection over their earnings, has been passed under Ministerial auspices. Mr. SA con BRIGHT actually succeeded in obtaining a majority of 126 for his bill to admit women to the franchise, but his triumph was short-lived, and the bill was ultimately rejected. Another measure, about which the female portion of the community have been greatly exercised is a bill to repeal the Con tagious Diseases Acts. The two debates which took place upon that topic were signalised by the absence of any proper report owing to the exclusion of strangers and reporters. This right of exclusion has hitherto been in the power of any individual member, but it has been very rarely used, and Mr. HENLEY being deter mined to take it away rendered it ridiculous by ex cluding strangers and reporters on going into an Education debate. Next session the privilege will doubtless be transferred to the whole House Other matters which have been discussed—Colonial Policy, Emigration, Life Insurance Offices, Monastic Institutions, Ecclesiastical Titles, we can merely mention. ---- The last-mentioned measure had passel through both Houses, yet has been withdrawn because certain peers chose to leave London before the end of the session. Until the month of June foreign affairs were scarcely noticed. The massacre of British sub jects in Greece first made them prominent. It was while endeavouring to enforce justice upon the murderers that Lord CLARENDON died almost suddenly; and Europe lost one of its mast accomplished diplomatists on the very eve of a great Continental crisis. Lord CLARENDON'S death occurred ou June 27. Just eight days afterwards Mr. HAMMOND. informed Lord CLARENDON'S successor, Lord GRANVILLE, that he had never known so great a lull in foreign politics. That same afternoon, as the new FOREIGN SECRETARY was sitting in the House of Lords, he received a telegram announcing the aelec• Lion of Prince LEOPOLD of HOHENZOLLERN as a candidate for the Spanish Crown, and ten days later _ _ war was declared, in the French Chambers, against Prussia. The conduct of the negotiations which pre ceded the war have added greatly to the high reputa tion which Lord GRANVILLE had previously enjoyed, and on Monday night Mr. DIsnARLI, no less warmly than generously, congratulated the Government upon their "wise and spirited policy." Mr. GLAD- STONE has also, by his moderation and tact, recovered somewhat, in the opinion of his political opponents, though ho has alienated some of his more extreme upporters. Mr. FORSTER has she wn himself a statesman of the bighestiorder, and has won his en trance -into the privileged circle of the Cabinet. Mr, LQWE has improved his position as a financier, by malting large reductions of taxation without any of those ingeniously tormenting expedients which - - - spoilt last year's budget. Mr. CARDWELL and Mr. CHILDERS have shewii what they can do in the way of economy. • They have now to prove if their The Irish Land Bill, nevertheless, was in part his handiwork. There is no reason to suppose that he would not have supported his friend, Mr. FonsTER, with regard to the Education Bill. It is not easy to surmise the course" he would have taken with regard to the supplementary estimate. TOPICS OF THE DAY. IGNORANCE WHICH IS NOT BLISS. The painfulvosition in which the French people find themselves at the present moment is materially aggravated by the uncertainty which they feel. They have no, confidence that they have been told the whole truth, and the suspicion that -they have not been fairly dealt with increases their mortification and distress. French authorities, Eke most other despotic agents, are never very willing to communicate unpopular news to the people. During the first Empire some of the most notable successes of the English fleet and arms were kept concealed until long after they occurred, and though we may exonerate the Government and the Empress Regent from any share in the false news of victory, which produced so deep a disappointment on Saturday, the Parisians are still doubtful whether they may rest assured that all will be told them. On Sunday the perplexity and distress in Paris were very great, as the usual sources of information —the English papers—were not forthcoming, owing to the day, and the wildest speculations were afloat. The worst news would have scarcely produced so bad an effect as the ominous silence of Government. According to the Gaulois, the Minister of the Inte rior at least was not to blame, for he was so indig nant at the reserve maintained towards him by the military authorities, that he has given in his resig nation. So great and so general is the popular indignation at the uncertainty and hesitation with which the news is communicated to them, that even the Imperialist sympathies of the Telegraph have failed, and Paris correspondent declares there is danger of a riot in the streets, not because the French army is defeated, nor because the Prus sians may be marching on the capital, but because the people will not believe that communications have been broken, and they, suspect that worse news is Withheld. THE WAR SONGS OF FRANCE. It is an admitted fact that the French possess the finest war-song in the world. " The Marseillaise" is the most inspiriting of tunes, and although attempts have been repeatedly made to vaunt the music to the derogation of the words, the latter possess con siderable merit. "Scots wha hae," and "The Men of Harlech," are compositions of a very high order, but they are infinitely inferior to Rouget de L'lsle's famous verses. In his "History of the French Re volution," Carlyle calls it the "luckiest musical com position ever promulgated : the sound of which will make the blood tingle in men's veins, and whole armies and assemblages will sing it, with eyes weeping and burning, with hearts defiant of Death, Despot, and Devil." One might almost venture to assert that the "Marseillaise" has been the upholder of revolution in France the Watchword of Republicanism. The contest between Prussia and its brother country, has once more brought it from the hiding-place to which it had been consigned by Imperialism and be would be a bold prophet to predict that the immortal song will ever be suppressed again. But beyond the Marseillaise, there is "Le Rhin Allemand" of the late Alfred de Musset, which is peculiarly appropriate in French mouths at the present moment. Its history has been told within the past fc,rtnight, hat it will bear repetition. A French translation of the Ger man "Lied" of Becker was once the subject of dis cussion in the salon of Madame Emile de Girardin, and that lady expressed a wish that it should be answered by a true poet. M. de Musset, who was one of the party, asked for a cigar and ten minutes' leave of absence, and his request being granted he descended into the garden. When he returned the cigar was not finished, but the song was. economy has been consistent with efficiency. Mr. BRUCE has been a conspieumis failure of the negative kind, Mr. AYILTON a still more conspicous . . failure of the positive kind. Lord KIMBFILEY has to win his spurs in a , new office. Mr. BRIGHT has unhappily been absent from Parliament on ac- count of serious illness throughout the whole session. MAKING THE BEST OF IT. While the Emperor is being borne down by the reverses of his army, and the heart of France is send ing its pulsations from the Pyrenees to the Rhine, the unfortunate (or fortunate) soldiers who were made prisoners at Weissenburg are being lionised. About 600 passed through Frankfort a few days ago, and the population turned out en masse to see the men, who not many weeks ago entertained strong hopes of entering the city ‘, conquerors. The prisoners were received well, and an eye-witness declares that " they were treated just like our soldiers, and got plenty of beer, sausages, and cigars." To be marched through an enemy's city would try the dignity of the most humble, but with the exception of one old captain, who remained sulky and refused everything, the prisoners were not at all ,backward in accepting the good cheer provided for them. The Turcos had few punctilios, and with the easy philosophy of children of nature, tried to make the best of their position. They offered their epaulettes for sale, and then the buttons of their coats, when they saw what good customers they had. Happy Turcos ! what are epaulettes and buttons to them now, com pared with beer and tobacco ? THE PLOT AGAINST BELGIUM. The Wiener Tagblatt of Vienna contains a state ment from General Stephen Turr, on the subject of the proposed Belgian annexation. He says that before the battle of Sadowa the Emperor Napoleon had been repeatedly urged by Count Bismarck to annex Belgium and Luxemburg to France, but the Emperor refused to do so. As might be expected, this announcement has caused a great sensation. In referenco to the late disclosures which have been made by the Cabinets of Paris and. Berlin, the Belgian Government has expressed its thanks to Count Beust for the part he has recently taken, and for his intervention in the late dispute with France about the German railways. THE MILITIA ACTS. Everything connected with our Militia Law is at present of great importance, and the Bill amending the existing Acts relating to it deserves attention. Under the present law the Militia can be drawn out and embodied only in case of actual invasion or im minent danger of it, or in case of rebellion, or insur rection, or of foreign war. The new bill provides that in case of imminent national danger or of great emergency, the occasion being first communi cated to Parliament, or declared by proclamation, if Parliament be not sitting, her Majesty and the Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland shall be empowered to draw out and embody the respective Militias of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and to raise additional Militia. When this is done during the Parliamentary recess, Parliament must be summoned within ten days of such proceeding. It may be noticed that the Irish Militia is put exactly on the same footing as those of England and Scotland ; so it may be hoped the sus• ceptibilities of our friends across St. George's Channel. mly be satisfied. THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION. The Select Committee appointed to inquire into the cause of the increased expenditure in the prose , cution of the Abyssinian expedition have concluded their labours and issued their report. They have decided that the nature of the work assigned to the expedition, and the peculiar circumstances under which England made war in Abyssinia rendered even an approximate estimate of the cost utterly impossible at any period. Large allowance must under these circumstances be granted for the excess over the first estimates. It may be recollected that on the 20th of November, 1867, a vote of £2,000,000 for the undertaking was asked for from Parliament, and it was then stated by the Go vernment, that they did not contemplate the possi bility of an expenditure at greatest of £4,000,000 and that probably all cost would be met by the first-men tioned grant. Shortly afterwards it was found, how ever, that owing to payments required for the Indian forces, and needed in Abyssinia itself, the cost would be higher -than this estimate, and further votes of credit were demanded. Finally it was found that the total expenditure reached to exactly £8,800,000. The select committee have discovered that whereas it was at first supposed that the expenditure would be completed in April 1868, the lasetransport ship was not paid off till the September following, and the troops were not back at their stations in India till October. From April till September, therefore, money was being expended which was not properly guaranteed for in the estimates. It also was made apparent to the committee that the first estimate at all events, namely that of November, really was no estimate, but a "memorandum for the information of the Secretary of State" prepared "only as a matter of official courtesy and convenience " by an Officer of the Indian Department who was not then under the impression that he would be responsible to Parliament for it. IRISH SYMPATHY WITH FRANCE. The Fenian French sympathisers in Dublin have become very excited and incensed at the French reverses, and as an Irish mob when infuriated is a most dangerous one, the peaceful-minded among the citizens are exceedingly anxious that the processions should be pronounced illegal. General opinion, indeed, throughout the kingdom favours this view, and not a little surprise is expressed at the leniency exhibited by the Irish Executive in the matter of these disturbing and inflammatory ambulations. On Monday evening, until midnight, bodies of men in numbers from 500 to 1,500 marched through the streets preceded by bands playing the " .Marseillaise and Fenian airs alternately. Occasionally howls and execrations were heard from a hundred throats. This was notably the case when a crowd of pro cessionists arrived at the _Wail newspaper office in Parliament -street. This building is di rectly opposite the old Irish People news paper premises, and the windows were placarded with the announcement of tho Prussian victory. The old associations connected with the People office, and the glaring manner in which the Orange news paper made the French defeat known, jointly in duced the fierceness and dissatisfaction exhibited. The bands were played. with increased vigour and cheers were raised, as the mobs passed Coffey's Hotel, where Dr. McHalle, Bishop of uam, and late of the Irish College, Paris, is stopping. TEMPLE BAR. This historically interesting monument is shortly to be removed from its place in the leading thorough fare of London. Too long has it been allowed to impede the traffic, and threaten danger to the lives of human beings and horses. Its present unsafe condition may be judged of when we re mind our readers that so far back as 1868 it was pronounced to be in a most perilous state of derapidation, and nothing has been done to it in the way of renovation since that time. Even ,Mr. Ayrton, the Chief Commissioner of Works, is alive to the importance of its withdrawal from Fleet-street. One of his statements on Monday, that " everybody felt that the arch was devoid of all interest, artistic, or otherwise," may be ques tioned by the Archmological Society and by anti quarians less ostensive, but considerations of its value as a relic ought to become subservient to the need of open communication through a great city. Temple Bar, as a place of positive use, seems only suitable to the hairdresser who has a small shop in one of its pillars, or to Members of Parliament who refer to it when making speeches with refer ence to the difficulties of getting half a dozen bills through the Legislature at once. The old City arch, it may be stated, is chiefly interesting as the work of Sir Christopher Wren; and as Londoners seem, justly, very anxious to preserve the works of so dis tinguished an architect, its removal, it may be ex pected, will not mean its destruction. Temple Bar was completed in 1672. THE SCOTCH UNIVERSITIES. MM. Demogeot and Montucci, the gentlemen appointed by the French Government in 1866 to examine the different systems of teaching in Great Britain, have just issued their report. A previous volume was devoted to the examination of the system of secondary education; in the present one is a long and detailed account of the system pursued at her different universities. Special Attention was paid to the Scotch Universities, and, although the verdict of the French commissioners is decidedly in favour of the system pursued in ScOtland, they call attention to what, in their opinion, is a grave defect. Every one knows that the entrance to the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, or St. Andrews is extremely. easy. The terms are low, and it is not at all un common to find horny-handed working men sitting on the college benches, listening to metaphysical 'disquisitions, and quenching their thirst for knowledge at the shrine of Greek philosophy. The Scotchman, who is nothing if not metaphysical, does not shrink from very hard work in the summer months in order to attend classes during the winter; but the majority of the students are drawn from a class a step removed from the working-man. Farmers' sons, who are ambitious to have a kirk, are to be found in considerable numbers, and one might almost venture to say that few farmers fail to send one at least of their sons to college. But this facility of entrance, MM.Demogeot and Montucci consider, " lowers the character of the teaching, and it is necessary to give quite elementary lectures in Greek and Latin grammar, in Euclid and algebra, in order that they may be within the comprehension of the ignorant classes who listen to them. The result of this is, that a great many good mechanics are spoilt in order to make of them bad men of learn ing. The already overstocked professions are recruited with inferior men, who would engage with far more advantage to themselves and others in some kind of trade or handiwork ; and the Universities are lowered without any corresponding advantage accruing to the country." This is the dark side of the picture. On the other hand, in noticing the superiority of the Scotch to the old UniVersities of England, these gentlemen say :, "In Scotland, men do not come to the Universities to win boat-races and run into debt, but to work hard and put themselves in a position to earn their living." If the Northern Universities were better endowed, .the defect noticed by the Com-, missioners would probably be lessened, if not alto gether removed. THE COMMERCE OF THE EAST. While we in Europe are engrossed with the horrors of a devastating war our fellow subjects in the East are rejoicing over the more peaceful triumphs of human skill, science, and resolution. The Anglo-Chinese papers are greatly impressed by the advantage con ferred on commerce by the S uez Canal, of which one of them mentions - a striking illustration. Some samples of cloth and of cotton yarn were brought. to the Secre tary of the Chamber of Commerce at Hongßong, by the steamer Danube, made from the very cotton which that vessel took to Liverpool from Bombay on her previous voyage. The Danube left Bombay on the 12th of February, with 4,000 bales of cotton, and arrived at Liverpool on the 22nd of .11Iarch.- Her cargo was unloaded in nine hours, ,and part of the cotton was immediately bought ' on behalf of some cotton spinners at - Huddersfield, reaching their mills on the 25th. It was immediately taken in hand, and four days later, seven days after its arrival in England, samples of the- Were on tt of Chain Kong, obseri cling i Bomb: Canal, voyag, origin; made return the Tc rialisir edueat or fiv meetir Severs effect 1 or dim to Er declarE rioted. of Sta accoun Europ( rnemor for In tile de Allahal has eni not vei Mont real poi whole 1 that gr, acular single first to The Panied Colonel horsebox Prine( Worth. Her I compani The Q the Earl Glacletm Lowe. Durin l Sir Geo: InernberE and took The E E. Glade Mr. 11 Baron Galvez, Previo introduc( and Rip c State fo The ] the Earl tials. Mr. Aladesty'l absence State for of knight Majesty'; received Her it th e cet en Lord .1 tendance Sir The G• and N Queen ax Viscous THE the Lona Majesty'i the Crow defining 1 building, CRYsT terday,or Payment, An ex the capita Products of agrieul together N of life an( r egions. The dc Wood, g, 4413 ashire entered ti 97 , se dition tom of battle of 1808-9 u og, The tiei t: C hen o : n s l ° ° o roe last two arrived al actively 1 aVailabie jUdicious I Illet1.1114:3(111" attentio A braha n a " 'Hann With a Castl e qua Ce, an c on auth donsh e w - ajesi a 's go i n domestic, g A u astle. uocto r at o Aerty in hi the no 4,more 1:3 / 1 UNVI] loot whisky in t he media pli ed in me i; 1111 a PPlicati eri es Bel ,vv.c THE WAR.—TELEGRAPHIC NEWS. All im portant events telegraphed DAILY, from 8 a.m, to fi p.m., to Newspapers, Clubs, Exchanges, and Reading Rooms, for THIRTY-NINE SHILLINGS per QUARTER prepaid. Two or more telegrams sent every day. Commercial News and Markets on moderate terms. CENTRAL PRESS, 112, Strand, W.C., and 2, Telegraph-street, E.C. THE EUROPEAN WAR THE SUN, which is Published Every Morning at Eight o'clock, with SOME HOURS' LATER NEWS than any other paper, will always give the LATEST NEWS of the WAR, and of all other events.