The Sun. — London, England, 1864-10-28 00:00:00

Canada and the Confederation of British America. (From the Times' Correspo;?clent.) QUEBEC, Oct. 5. Though, as stated in my previous letter from this city, the Canadians have little or no fear that the Federal Government will have its hands free enough for many a year to incur the risk of a war with Great Britain to gratify the lust of dominion or avenge imaginary injury, the attitude assumed, or supposed to be assumed, by the Imperial Govern ment on the question of the military defenee of the colony has convinced leading men of all parties that there has been too much apathy on the subject, and that the time has arrived for a better understand• in g. After long cogitation they appear to have come to the conclusion that Canada has not done enough, and must do more if she would persuade the Go vernment and taxpayers of Great Britain that she values the connection sufficiently to fight for it, The people also are awakening to the truth that if their liberty is to be preserved under the shield of British protection they must pay some portion of the cost. A proof of their willingness to ;defend themselves against aggression is to be seen in the success which has attended the Volunteer movement, Twenty thousand of the young men of the two provinces have already enrolled themselves in the various Vo lunteer corps which have been organised in all the cities of the frontier, from Windsor in the extreme West to Quebec in the East, and their numbers are steadily increasing. It only needs the formation and drill of a sufficient body of militia, drawn, not only from the great cities, but from the towns and vile lages of the agricultural districts, to place the de. fence of Canada on such a footing as would effect• tunny warn the Americans of the peril:of poaching oa that manor. Leading Canadians insist that they are able and willing to perfect their militia system, so as to call out 100,000 men, or even double or treble that number if their conquest were attempted by the United States. They assert, at the same time, that the rejection of the Militia Bill intro• duced in May, 1862, by the Hon. J. A. Macdonald, Attorney• General for Upper Canada, was wholly misunderstood in England, and brought upon the colony much undeserved condemnation on the part of the British press and people. A short recapitulation of the intention and defeat of that measure, of the working of the new Militia Bill introduced and carried by the succeeding Ad ministration, and of the new and larger scheme by which it is proposed to meet the requirements of the Imperial Government will show what the Canadians have done and prefigure what they are likely to do in this important matter. Mr John A. Macdonald's bill proposed to enrol from 30,000 to 50,000 militia men, and to drill them for one month annually during three or five years. Ail hatever may have been its merits or de merits as a scheme, it was brought forward at a time when the budget of the colony showed a deficit of nearly one-fifth between income and expenditure, and the whole cost of the militia system, if it had been adopted, would have been added to a deficit already so large as to alarm the whole community. " Possibly," says Mr R. J. Cartwright, representa• tivc of the city of Kingston in the Canadian Par liament, in a recently published and very able pam phlet, " had a British Minister been obliged to come down to the House of Commons with a statement that there was an annual deficit of £14,000,000 sterling, for which it was necessary to provide by hying on fresh taxes, and a further intimation that would require about ten millions more for an en tirely new purpose, he, too, might have encountered similar difficulties." The measure introduced by the succeeding Mini stry under Mr Sandfield M'Donald is of little or no value. It simply permits the Governor to call out for drill during six days every year a portion of the unmarried militiamen between the eges of 18 and 45, and establishes a couple of military schools, to be attached to the British regiments serving in Canada, in which militia officers, if they choose to attend, may bo trained for two months. This mea• sure appears to have passed because its cost was so trifling. It is wholly inadequate to serve any tree- Sul purpose. As the financial situation has greatly improved and the deficit has disappeared, Canada is no longer in a position to plead poverty as an excuse for the non-establishment of an effective system of defence. Neither is she inclined to do so. Ail classes admit that Mr Sandfield M•Donala's measure is of no ac count ; and as Mr. John A. M'Donald and his col leoguqs are again in effiee, and well inclined to grapple with the difficulties of the subject, there is a likelihood that a much larger measure than that which frightened the Canadians in 1826 will be brought forward at the next meeting of the Legis-• lature. Mr. Cartwright, in the pamphlet already quoted from, thus lays down the leading proposi tions,which he has already snpported,and will agaic support in Parliament, as adequate, in his opinion, to meet the necessities of the situation both as re• Bards Canada and Great Britain. First—That,taking into consideration the peculiar position of Canada, it is indispensable to have a dis, ticct understanding or treaty with the Imperial Government, in which tho contribution which Canada as a province of the Empire ought to make towards her own defence shall be precisely defined. Second—That the Volunteers shall not form a part of this force, whatever it may amount to, but shall be auxiliary to and in addition to the militia. Third—That, as the number required will pro. bably be too large to be called oat simultaneously, they shall be drilled in annual detachments of so many thousand a year, each detachment to serve for six months in the open field. Fourth—That the militia after six months' in• struction shall be thenceforward free from all far ther duty in time of peace, bat shall be liable for a period of ten years in case of war, and that after tun years they shall be formed into a reserve, not to be called out except in extreme emergency. Mr. Cartwright is of opinion that it' the Imperial Government does not require Canada to contribute more than from 50,000 to 100,000 men as her quota, exclusive of the Volunteers, the militia to this ex. tent may be so organised and adjastified as to be meintained by the resources of Canada without extraneous aid of any kind. If, however, a sudden emergency should arise before the scheme could be fairly carried out,—if war vi ore made upon Canada, not because she was Canada, but because she was a portion of the British empire, Canada would not be able to train and drill so many men, on short notice, without the assistance of a loan at 3 per cent. (amount not stated) from the Imperial Government. MrCartwright sums up curtly the existing relations between Canada and the Imperial Government on the question of defence. "If Canada," he says, "is to be held coute qui coute, in the event of war, the Canadians will do their best and be willing and vigorous allies. If Canada will not, or cannot be kept, and England wishes the Canadians to ask for their independence, the Canadians ought to be in. formed of the fact without further delay that they may act accordingly. If, en the other hand, Eng land will stand by Canada to the last on certain conditions, it is time that those conditions should be frankly and fully stated. All this is reasonable, and it is utterly impossible to doubt the loyalty of the people and their earnest desire to maintain the con nection under which they enjoy so much true liberty at so little cost. It is to be regretted that upon the militia question, or any other, there should arise a misunderstanding which a little explicitness on the part of the Imperial Government would remove for ever. If it be distinctly told the Canadians that 100,000 men are in the estimation of the British Government necessary for their safety and defence, in addition to the military and naval aid which, in the event of war, Great Britain will be prepared to send them, Canada will raise the 100,000 men with all possible celerity, or double the number should circumstances ccmpel. Such, at least, is the impression left upon my mind as the result of my conversations upon the subject with all classes of the people, from the members of Government down wards. Bat the question of the Militia, important as it is, loses some of its present interest in the discussion of the larger question of the Confederation of British Americe. The project is not a new one, having been several times broached with more or less authority n the interval which has elspsed sine,: the Papineau rebellion a quarter of a century ago. It was not, however, received until recently with much favour by any considerable portion of the people of the colonies. The idea was proclaimed to be good, but impracticable, or, at all events, premature. Pert haps, had it not been for the American Civil War, and the eventualities that may grow out of it, the notion might still have slumbered in the minds of a few Canadian statesmen or journalists, or been mooted only to meet with the opposition of a large majority, inclined to believe that the ultimate and preferable destiny of Canada was peaceable incor• poration with the United States. But no such ma jority and no such minority now exist. Whether the Federal Union shall be restored, or the States shall resolve themselves into their original elements, the determination not only of the Canadians, but of the people of the maritime provinces is to maintain their connection with the mother country. If at tacked by the Federal Government they will defend themselves to the last extremity, trusting that in the day of peril Great Britain will not be so untrue to her old renown, her unsullied honour, and her high position among the nations of the earth, or so insensible to her own security, as to abandon, the faithful colonies that are willing to offer the blood of their sons in support of their own and of British rights, and to make their fields and cities tne brttle ground on which to decide not alone the liberty of the colonists, but the future status of Great Britain in the councils of the world. It is principally as a means of defence against the " Yankees" that the project of a Confederation has suddenly acquired popularity in British America, and that a task which six years ago seemed all but hopeless bids fair to be executed with as little diffi culty as attended the federation of the thirteen American colonies after the acknowledgment of their independence by Great Britain had left them free to shape their own destiny. A Convention of delegates to consider the subject in all its bearings, to hear objections, to be informed of difficulties, to suggest compromises, and to work the inchoate system into a consistent whole, meets in this city on Monday next, the 10th inst. New foundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the two Canadian provinces will be represented on the occasion. It is understood from the informal proceedings and the interchange of ideas between the leading men of the maritime colonies and those of Upper and Lower Canada that took place three weeks ago at Charlottetown that there are in reality no difficulties in the matter that threaten to be insurmountable, that all the colo nies are desirous of union if their local Legislatures be preserved for local purposes, and that all desire that the new nation to be thus formed shall stretch from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, and in• elude the Crown colony likely to be established on the Red River and the Jaskatchewan on the land of the Hudson's Bay Company; that the Confederation shall be known by one distinct name, and that it shall,if the Imperial Government raise no objection, be erected into a viceroyalty under the British Crown. The greatest difficulty yet started proceeds from the jealousy of the Anglo-Canadians in Lower Canada, who, in the necessary separation of the Canadas into two States, fear that they will be out voted in all matters of local self-government by the French Canadians. It has been suggested that the Canadas should be divided into three States to remedy this evil, thus placing the French Canadians entirely apart to manage their own affairs as their priesthood may direct. But, as this arrangement would meet with violent opposition on the part of the French, and perhaps produce now complica tions, the subject will be left for mature delibera tion, possibly for the decision of the Home Governs went. It is not anticipated, grave as the matter is, that the feelings engendered by it on either side in the Lower Province will be sufficiently envenomed to prevent or retard the establishment of the Con. federaey. Mindful of the awkwardness of the title, "The United States of America," which is a description rather than a name, and a description, moreover, which has temporarily, if not permanently, ceased to be accurate, it is proposed that the new nation shall be called either " Acadia" or " Canada." The latter suggestion meets with most favour. If adopted, it would be necessary to find other names for Upper and Lower Canada, which in that case might not improperly be designated—the one " On tario" and the other " St. Lawrence," leaving to the other States of the Confederacy the names by which they are now known. The advantages of the Union, in addition to those of defence against the world, would include free trade between the several pro vinces and a lower tariff on British manufactures than that which is now imposed in Canada. It seems to be the hope of all the provinces that a Prince of the Blood Royal of England will be deputed to rule over them as hereditary Viceroy. If they cannot be gratified in this re spect they are willing to pay a first-class man a salary of £20,000 or £25,000 per annum, if he will spend it freely—maintain a proper state and hospi tality—and govern them constitutionally and libe• rally, subj2ct alike to the action of their own Par liament and the suzerainty of the British Crown. They believe they have within themselves all the elements that will form in due time one of the greatest nations of the earth, and that their union under the protecting, but scarcely felt, influence,of the mother country will be the means of leading to their shores a large portion of the great stream of immigration that now flows into the United States. They believe that they will be able to offer to the emigrant a liberty more secure than can be enjoyed in Federal America for many years after peace shalt have been restored, accompanied by no such taxation as must oppress the Americans, if they do not avoid the evil by the repudiation of the debt. They also believe that they have within themselves such resources as need only men and time to make them a great naval as well as military Power, and enable them to hold their own against any enemy that may attack their independence or insult their flag. Their population at the present day exceeds that of the 13 colonies when they formed themselves into the United States, and in the course of a quarter of a century will probably amout to 10,000,000. Their climate, if severe, is more congenial and less debilitating to men of the European race than the warmer climate of the more Southern portions of the North American con• tineut, and even of the middle regions of Pennsyle vania and Ohio. The project of their Confederation commends itself se highly to the common sense and sympathy of mankind that even the bitterest ma• ligners of Great Britain in the American press forget their hatred of England to wish it God speed. It is not likely that either the Imperial Government_or the British people will wish it otherwise. Metropolitan Poor. The enclosed directions wore sent out yesterday evening to the guardians of the Metropolitan Unions and parishes with regard to the act 'provid ing for the Metropolitan Houseless Poor, passed at the close of the last session. The act has been re► ceived with great favour by all the union and pa• rochial authorities; but they 'applied to the Poor Law Board to issue a circular explaining the pro visions of the act : Poor Law Board, Whiteh4ll, S,W., Oct. 26. Sir,—On the 4th of August last the Poor Law Board ad dressed to the guardians of the several unions and parishes within the motrcpol!s a circular letter, directing attention to the provisions of the Metropolitan Homeless Po r Act, 1864, passed during the last session, and requesting to be informed of the nature and extent of the arrangements which the guardians proposed to make with the view of securing the objects of the Legislature in passing that mea sure. The Board have 'recently received several communica tions requesting information on various points connected with the act, and it appears desirable, therefore, that they should state, for the guidance of the guardians generally, their views upon the chief matters which have been brought under their notice. In the first place, it is important to observe that the poor persons included within the operation of the act are desti tituto wayfarers, wanderers,and foundlings, being the class of paupers provided for by the 11th and 12th Vic„:cap. 110, see. 1., and thereby rendered chargeable upon the common fund of unions. As the present statute only refers to paupers relieved during the night, the Bard think that there will seldom be much difficulty in deciding what cases come within its provisions. The objects to be re. lieved will be homeless persons, but the board think it right to observe that they were advised by counsel on a question rHE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, ocronEß 28, 1864. arising 'Under the former statute that no person could be con sidered as a destitute wayfarer or wanderer within its mer ,ning if he applied for relief in a parish where ho was leg Illy settled. 'l. 'he act does not extend to the resident poor, who ought als 'aye to be received into the workhouse in the usual man ner,, ;and should never, except under some peculiar circurn stanct :s, be admitted into the ordinary vagrant wards. In the next place, it is proper to remark that the relief for whicl i the guardians will be entitled to be reimbursed is such only as shall have been administered between the hours of 8 o'clock at night and 8 o'clock in the morning. But it is a condition before obtaining reimbursement under the act that the Poor Law Board shall have certified that proper wards or other places for the reception of the classes in question have been provided by the guardians. Without undertaking to prescribe with full detail what provisions should bo made, the Board desire to offer the fell owing observations on the subject : With regard to the nature of the accommodation, they consider it necessary that there should be at least two sepa rate, wards, ono for males and another for females and yor.ng children. There should be a yard containing a bath-room and water closet attached to each department, and in the yard of the male department a shed should be providel for the vagrants to work in. The most convenient form for a vagrant ward is, perhaps, a parallelogram, and each ward, besides being of sufficient capacity with respect to width and height to accommodate the number of persons required to sleep in it, should be fitted up with a sleeping platform or barrack bed, of ade quate depth along each side of it, with a convenient gang way down the middle. The platform should be divided by means of boards, and the space allotted to each person should bo at least 2ft 3in wide. Above the head of each plat form there may`be a shelf tke whole length of the room, and divided into corresponding spaces for the deposit of clothes. The ventilation should be effected by means of openings at proper intervals, and placed as near the ceiling as practi cable on each side of the room. Means should be provided for heating the wards in severe weather, either by hot-water pipes, gas, or other stoves. Hot.water pipes will be found preferable to open fireplaces or stoves. The bedding, which should be sufficient for warmth, may consist of clean straw or cocoa fibre, in a loose tick, with a rug, or rugs, for each person, but for the women and chil dren some additional covering should be provided. Where the additions are likely to be numerous, the wards for each sex should be placed under a superintendent, a male for the men and a female for the women, and the Board consider that a reasonable allowance for the necessary re • muneration of such superintendents would properly fall within the terms of section 4 of the Act, 'ithout more precise information than they now possess the Board are unable to lay down any exact rule as to the extent of accommodation which should be provided in each union or parish,but they may state generally that the wards should be large enough to receive such a number as,having regard to the peculiar circumstances of the locality, and the maximum number of applications on ordinary occasions, would be likely to require relief, If any excess over the ordinary number of applicants oc casioned by unforeseen circumstances should arise so that the accommodation provided by the guardians should be inadequate, and the guardians should have to provide tem porary accommodation for such cases by making arrange ments for their reception in lodginghouses, the Board would not recognize any such lodginghouse, as within the provi sions of the Act, unless it were registered, and thus brought under the inspection of the police. The food supplied to the inmates of the vagrant wards should be sufficient for their actual necessities, but not such as, either in quantity or quality, would tend to increase the number of applicants, or encourage imposture. The Board consider it expedient that a task of work should be required from each able-bodied person relieved, in return for his food and lodging, in conformity with the sth and Gth Victoria, cap, 57, see, 6,:and where the guardians have not prescribed a task of work, the Board recommend that they should at once do so, and forward their resolution to the Board for approval. The Board are enabled to state as the result of their ex perience that in those unions where a task of work has been systematically enacted, in pursuance of that statute, va grancy has sensibly diminished. In many unions, however, a practice has crept in of dis pensing with the task of work when the vagrant prefers to leave the workhouse without receiving an allowance of food in the morning. The Board considers this practice very ob jectionable, and calculated, as the result shows, to encourage vagracy, A task of work suited to the age, strength, and capacity of the pauper should always be exacted, whether food be required in the morning or not, and a notice should be hung up in some conspicuous place near the entrance to the wards, that any person rousing to perform such task will be liable to be imprisoned . under the act lastly referred to, and kept to hard labour for one calender month as an idle and disorderly person. The Board likewise consider it very advisable that the persons of vagrants should be cleansed on admission, ac cording to the regulations of the workhouse. Caro must of course be taken that no person who appears to b 3 in such a state of health as to be likely to suffer from b‘iag placed iu a bath should be subjected to that treatment. The Board think it expedient that a separate admission and discharge book should be kept by the master of the workhouse, or under his supervision, for this class of pau pers, in which the following particulars should bo recorded the date and hour of admission and discharge; the name, presumed age, and occupation of each pauper ; where the pauper slept on the preceding night, and where ho cr she is going to, and the quantity and cost of the food, or other relief, supplied to each person within the hours pre scribed by the act. At the same time it mu3t be recollected that no relief ix money given to any such person can be reimbursed under any circumstances. The Board having thus stated generally their views with reference to the provision which should be made for the re lief of the classes in question trust that the guardians will experience no difficulty in speedily making such arrange ments for that purpose as will enable the Board to certify that proper wards or places of reception, under suitable regulations, have been provided in conformity with the in tention of the Legislature.—l am, your obedient servant, G. Guxix, Secretary. To the Clerk to the Guardians of the 'Union. the corresponding passages from the Times, thus showing that they are both derived from the same source. Now, I do not complain so much of the parts of the quotation which, by changing the sense of what I said, supplies the whole and sole ground and pretence for all the misrepresentation which followed. Observe that in the Tunes lam reported to have said" You will find that people will resort to news rooms, &c. ;" whereas in your quotation I am made to say, People would resort to newsrooms," &o. By no other contrivance than thus making me speak of something con • ditional and prospective could the quotation have been made to fit in with your charge that I was " depicting ono of the blessed effects I expected to flow from a revolutionising of the newspaper system." From the moment that it is shown that I was dealing with the newspaper press as it existed when I spoke, and that mylcomparative estimate of the value of the two departments of journalism had reference to the press of that time, the whole fabric of misrepresen tation respecting my designs for the future, as based on that speech, topples to the ground. It is an old invention, I dare say; and I am as little dis posed as most men to concern myself about what is said of me. Indeed, it is coming to be a standing reproach against me that Ido not complain soon enough. But being put on the scant, I should certainly like to trace the author of this tory. I do not charge you with deliberately garbling my language, with the view of falsifying its meaning ; but you have assumed the responsibility by renewing the indictment in cold blood, and in the most offensive terms, many years after the termination of the controversy out of which the misrepresentation originally sprang. Yoa have referred me to an article in the Edinburgh Review for October, 1853, as the original source of the accusation. On referring to that publication. I find the above quotation in the Times garbled in precisely the same manner as in your recent article, by the substitution of the words "people would resort to news• rooms, d 0.," the rest of the quotations from that journal being given verbatim, without any of the suppressions which occur in your latest citation of the passage, thus making the alteration appear more flagrant and deliberate. Now, am I wholly at fault in the impression which I have always entertained, that the author of the article in the Edinburgh Ream is also the editor of the Scotsman? If so, in citing that article you are quoting yourself. I beg pardon in advance, if you will remove this impression by a sum mary disavowal; for I candidly confess I do not think any liberal-minded man could now feel himself complimented by being publicly identified with the authorship of that defence of the newspaper stamp. In calling on you again to substantiate or retract your statement, I will only add that I can draw no dis tinction, in such a case as this, between the responsi bility of a public man delivering a speech, and that of a well-known writer of a leading article in a newspaper. Were a member of Parliament to scatter accusations of a personal nature against a public man, and, when contradicted and challenged to the proof, he were to treat the remonstrance with levity, ho would soon lose all weight with the public. It will be for your readers to de cide whether their confidence is held by an inferior tenure. —I am, &c., R. COBDEN. [The difference of signification between the words "people would" and the words, "you will find that people will," is not obvious. The words reported in the columns at the time are those wa quoted last week, not those Mr Cob den finds in a report of the Times; but the point is of no im portance, seeing that both phrases alike might or might not have the reference now repudiated. Mr Cobden now says that, in then saying that the value and use of a newspaper press lie "least " in discussion, he was speaking generally, and was not indicating either the motives or the ex pected results of the efforts he was then making to revo lutise the press. No doubt, his words can bear the mean ing he now assigns to them ; but they can also bear the other meaning—and that other meaning was assigned to them at the time, and at many times afterwards, without Mr Cobden complaining of misrepresentation. Indeed he now admits, it will be seen, that the misrepresentation originally sprang out of the controversy—the controversy that termi nated, as he says, many years ago. Of course, people were then in a much better position than now for judging of Mr Cobden's meaning, especially as the speech followed seve ral others in which the same topic had been similarly dealt with, and Mr Cobden himself was in a better position to understand his own moaning when ho let the popular in terpretation pass than he is now, when he is angry at that interpretation being alluded to. If we do not greatly mis take, he will find in the Times in the beginning of Feb., 1853 (which he seems to have at hand) an article proceed ing upon that interpretation; and;we formerly referred him to others of the numerous similar instances. As to the authorship of the article in the _Edinburgh Review, Mr Cobden's inquiry is quite unnecessary, as he will see an avowal in what we said last week—that the article in the .Edinburgh was replied to by Lord Stanley in a pamphlet and letters addressed to ourselves ; and we did not quote the article as an authority upon any point whatever, but only as one of the proofs that the alleged misrepresentation of which Mr Cobden now complains must have come under his notice often and long ago, without his having chal lenged it, But the main question as to what Mr Cobden would have liked the press to be is not to be decided by a single passage from a single speech. If Mr Cobden now says that the passage was not intended to have the moan ing that ho formerly allowed to be attached to it, we are bound to take his word for it, though left to wonder why, if ho thought the matter worth speaking about, he did not speak a elczen years ago, when it was certainly much more worth speaking about, and could have been spoken about to much more profit and with much more case. But what of all his still broader allusions of a similar tendency made in those day s such as those to the superiority of the press of other countries, Spain included, in which discussion scarcely exists? If ho did not moan that he w like to see the British press like the press of other countries, and that he hoped the change in furtherance of which he made such allusions would pro duce that assimilation, what did he mean ? If ho will now say that he meant something ejuite different, or even that he meant nothing at all, we shall at once make the retractation he asks—but accompanied by the protest that our misread. ing of him was quite unavoidable and pretty universally participated in. Till then, we can no more sea our way to " retract" than Mr Cubden seems likely to see his way to sending the £2O ho promised to pay on conviction, ho him self being judge Conservative Politics in Essex. COLCHESTER, Oct. 27. The anniversary meeting of the Colchester Truo Blue, or Conservative Association was held last evening at the Cups Hotel, The chair was occupied by Mr C. 11. Hawkins, and there was a very numerous attendance. The chairman was supported by Mr C. Du Cane, M.P., Mr T. J. Miller, Mr P. 0. Papillon, M.P., Captain Jervis, M.P., Mr J. Goodson (chairman of the Great Eastern Railway Com pany, and Conservative candidate for Great Yarmouth), Major Bishop, the Rev, Dr Wright, Captain Pender, the Rev. L. W. Owen, &o. After the usual loyal and complimentary toasts, The CHAIRMAN proposed the " Healths of the Members for Colchester, whose past conduct he warmly eulogised, while at the same time he expressed confidence as to their future return. (Cheers.) Mr MILLER, M.P., responded, and observed that during the past session no question of great importance came on for discusion in the House of Commons; but nevertheless it was a session lull of business, embracing as it did a largo number of subjects of a social and sanatory character of in terest to the nation at large, and more particularly to a town like Colchester—such as drainage, the utilisation of town sewage, the bankruptcy laws, &o. The Marquis of Clanrioarde had also announced his intention to bring for ward a bill relating to oysters—((laughter)—which would, he thought, materially affect the interests of Colchester. The most important subjects which occupied the attention of Parliament last session were those relating ; to our fo reign and financial policy. Certain subjects, such as reform, church rates, So., were not brought before the House of Commons l ast session—unless through the medium of the bills introduced by Mr Baines and Mr Locke 'King—and if any proof were wanting of the growth of Conservative principles, he need only point to the fact that these subjects were omitted from discussion simply because their promo ters saw that they had no chance of success, and therefore wisely abstained from showing their own weakness. Dur ing the last session Parliament was anxiously and deeply interested in many subjects of foreign policy, and one which absorbed its attention was that which related to Denmark and Germany. Upou that question he believed there was a general agreement that this country was not in a position to go to war for Denmark, although the feeling for Denmark was deep and general, and the wish was equally strong that we were in a position to take up arms for that injured coun try and that old ally. At the same time he believed that it was the general feeling that we were not justified in plung ing this country into war on account of Danish affAirs, more particularly as it must be admitted, although with some re gret, that Denmark was in the first instance to blame in the conduct she pursued. It was felt, then, most unwise to in dulge in threats which might be suppOsed to give encou ragement to Denmark, and to lead her to suppose that if she plunged into war and bloodshed we were ready to take her part. (Hear, hear.) It was not because we had ab stained from war that we had sustained any injury: but if we had suffered in the est imation of foreign neighbours, it was because we gave them reason to hope for assistance when we know we could not afford it. He could not quit the subject without expressing the gratification which he felt at the manner in which Denmark had received the Prince and Princess of Wales, after the provocation which she had received to show something like rcsentme nt. We might hope that conduct like that which had been shown towards Denmark by Ausiria and Prussa would receive its retribution in the course of events ; and we might hope chat the time would come when we should soe that bravo and gallant country again occupying that place among the family of nations to which its valour entitled it. With reference to America, he must do the Government the justice to say that he fully approved its conduct in main taining a strict neutrality in its relations with that un• happy and distracted country. lie must d 3 his opponents the justice to say that they had on all occasions endeavoured to maintain a strict neutrality towards America, and he trusted they would continue to do so. lie wished that be could foresee the termination of this unhappy American war, but he feared from the papers which had reached Eng land that day that its termination eeerued 08 far off as ever. The same conduct which had been displayed in regard to Denmark had undoubtedly been pursued towards poor un happy Poland. Poland had again had the heel of :Russia placed upon her; she had endeavoured with aspirations of the most elevated kind to again raise herself to the posi tion which she in former times enjoyed; and this country, which had encouraged her in the course which she had pursued, had again abandoned her to her fate. The meeting would naturally turn its attention, and he thought it his bounden duty to turn his attention also, to financial subjects, which were now probably about the most important dis cussed in the House of Commons. A great deal of feeling had been shown in Essex with respeot to the reduction of the duty upon malt ; and he wanted to say a few words as _ - to the course which he had felt ft his duty to pursue upon that question. It would be remembered that the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that ho had a surplus of about £2,000.000 to dispose of, and the Chancellor of the Exche quer and the house generally were pledged to a reduction of the duties upon sugar and also upon tea. Well, he (Mr Miller) had felt that the house should at all events redeem the pledge which it had given in a former session with re spect to the sugar and tea duties. There was also an income tax of 7d in the pound to be dealt with, and he could only repeat what he said when he had first the honour of address ing a meeting in Colchester, that he had always looked upon the income tax as a war tax, and ho had always argued that the tax, if not abolished, should at all events be re • duced within very narrow limits. (Cheers.) When ho so expressed himself seven or eight years since, the Conserva tives of Colchester were pleased to receive that intimation with great satisfaction, and he gave something like a pledge that he would vote for a reduction of the income tax when an opportunity offered itself. Having received no informa tion to the contrary, he supposed last session that they were anxious for a reduction of the duties upon the articles of consumption mentioned, and also of the income tax. These views coincided entirely with his own, and as the matters which he had named absorbed the whole of the £2,000,000 disposable, he was anxieus not to disturb the arrangement which was about to be carried into effect. With this expla nation ho would say that no one was more ready than he was to support the reduction at all events of the malt duty, and now that the income tax was considerably reduced sad the war duties had been taken off tea and sugar, he thought the question of the malt duty had a fair claim for attention. Ho also thought the reduction of the fire insurance duty should have been more extensive. The great motion brought into the house by Mr Disraeli tested the Government on the subjest of their foreign policy, and also as to their strength in the house. Ho listened very attentively to the discussion on Mr Disraeli's motion, and he could venture to say that, although a majority of 18 decided in favour of Ministers, still if men had voted as they spoke and as they felt, Mini sters would have beerCsin a minority of considerably more than 18. Mr Horseman, Mr Roebuck, Mr B. Osborne, and several others spoke in language as strong as he ever heard in the House of Commons, and denounced Ministers very sharply, but afar they had made their eloquent orations they wound up by saying they meant to vote for Ministers. One could not be responsible for men who acted in this in. consistent manner, but such conduct was only a proof of that of which he had long been convinced, viz., that while the Conservatives were a united party, maintaining a policy and a principle in the house, the Government consisted of manyparties acting on no fixed principle, and he would ven ture to say that if any one party in the Government did act on any principle and adhere to it against the Government when their principles were opposed to the Government, the Government would not exist for a month. An extraordinary union existed, however, among the Liberals, and he believed that if it was necessary to vote black white in order to keep the Government in the vote would be given—(a laugh)—and this was the reason whyMinistera at present kept their posts, The strongest party in the house, acting in accordance with its own principles, was the Conservative party, and he be lieved the time was not far distant when that party would not only control the Government, but would be the Govern ment, and would maintain in that capacity the principles which they held dear. Alluding, in conclusion, to the gene ral election, Mr Miller said it must be gratifying to the club to know that they wore in such a state of readiness that they were not afraid to face the enemy. (Cheers.) Mr PAPILLON, M.P., also responded to the toast, and after alluding to agricultural and local topics expressed his approval of the repeal of the malt tax, as it would give the poor man a cheap and good glass of beer, to the tenant a good home market for his inferior barleys, while it would also benefit the landlord, as it would increase the value of his farms. The past session, he must say, he considered rather barren than otherwise of useful legislation. There was as usual the annual defeat of Mr Locke King and Mr Baines's county and borough franchise bills ; the latter occasion gave that erratic individual the Chancellor of the Exchequer an opportunity for an escapade; like a young horse he bolted in the race, astonishing his stable and his backers,more per haps than the other side of the house. With reference to that escapade of Mr Gladstone when he advocated a large extension of the franchise, he (Mr Papillon) could not do better than quote the language of a leading Liberal paper, the AS'peautor, which asked how could a gradual extension of the franchise downwards go on without:drowning entirely the voice of the middle and higher classes ? The article said it was not the working man which the writer feared, hut he wished to keep the House of Commons a representa tive of all the various interests and tendencies of the country. Mr Gladstone himself recently, when starring it in the north of England, spoke of the excellence of our representative system as at present constituted—explained how the excel lence of a representative system was measured by the fidelity with which it represented national opinion, and maintained that our precont House of Commons, constituted as it was, re presented as faithfully as possible the opinion of the nation at large, He thought the past session was remarkable for two things—the reticence and forbearance to the eleventh hour of the session of her Majesty's Opposition, end the complete retirement from the arena of the House of Commons of the Liberation Society, who, instead of political battles on the floor of the House of Commons, now seemed likely to carry on a sort ,f loose guerilla warfare in vestries, registra tion courts, and he supposed also on the hustings. With regard to foreign affairs there were a number of little wars which had always been going on, or going off, or coming on, as the case might be, during the last eleven months. In these small wars very great expenses were incurred, but very little renown or credit redounded to the British arms. With regard to the American war, he had always been a warm supporter of the Confederates. (hear, hear.) He attributed the whole position of Denmark to Lord Russell's not being able to resist the tempting opportunity to snub the Emperor of the French with reference to the Congress this year. This caused France not to join us resolutely or cor dially in reference to the Danish question. }lad it been otherwise, he felt certain that before France and England, cordially and resolutely united, Austria and Prussia would have recoiled. (Hoar, hear.) On foreign affairs Mr Papillon endorsed the views generally expressed by the Conservatives, and expressed his regret that Lord Russell tendered advice unnecessarily to other Powers. (Cheers.) Mr Du CANE, M.P., replied to the toast of "The County Members," and after touching upon the registration system, entered upon general politics. He said the policy Of Lord Palmerston's supporters, so far as he could understand it, was to insinuate that between the two sides of the house there was really a complete identity of opinion, but at the same time to insinuate rather more forcibly that because of their political principles the Conservative party were utterly unfit for office, ant unworthy of the confidence of the country. The question of the fitness or unfitness of the Con servative party for office was one which the country would have to decide, and which might be safely left in the country's hands. As regards the alleged complete identity of opinion between the two parties, he had recently pointed out that they were at issue upon many questions, and that in matters affecting the Church, the Constitution, and our foreign policy, their principles were indeed as wide as the poles asunder. But ho confessed it was somewhat difficult to understand what were the principles and what was the policy of Lord Palmerston's Government. If, on the other hand, there was any danger of Conservative at tack, then the cry was very different, and was something to this effect—" Don't let the Tories turn out Lord Palmer ston's Government, with Mr Gladstone with his great 'universal' principles. Lord Russell and peace-at-any price, and Mr Milner Gibson, the intimate friend and repro. sentative of the opinions of Messrs Bright and Cobden." (Loud laughter.) Most of those present might recollect the inimitable description of a contested election in the immor tal "Pickwick"—how the respective candidates, Mr Samuel Slumpkey and Mr Horatio Fizkin, expressed their views and policy. (Laughter.) Mr Slumpkey folded his arms and doggedly determined to do nothing that was wanted— (laughter)—and Mr Fizkin, on the other hand, expressed his perfect readiness to do everything that was asked. Well, when the Conservatives had to be kept in check, the policy of Lord Palmerston's Government approached that of the obstinate Slumpkey. (Laughter.) When the Radicals had to be cajoled it approached that of the open-hearted and generous Fizkin. (Groat laughter.) What had been year after year in the House of Commons would doubtless be repeated again on the hustings, and there would be Pal merston Tories setting up for the counties, and telling the electors that they supported Lord Pahnerston solely on ac count of his thorough Toryism, while there would bo Pal merston Fizkins—he meant Palmerston Radicals—starting for boroughs, and solemnly declaring that they supported Lord Palmerston solely on account of hisßadical connexions, The Conservatives would know how to deal with this double faced species of warfare. They would say in the counties to the Palmerston Tories, "It may be very true, as you toll us, that Lord Palmerston is a Tory, and whatever may have been hisyouthful indiscretions-- (laughter)—gentlemen who lived to the ego of 80 are pretty generally fond of having things as they find them. But still we consider it a safe and sound maxim that a man is known by the company ho keeps"— (taught er)—and that whatever we may say of Lord Palmerston we fear that he has around him rather a dissi pated set of colleagues. (Laughter,) We begin to watch the effects of bad company and irregular habits, which are undermining a cast-iron Tory constitution, and we think it better that if a Conservative policy is demanded by the country,thatConservative policy should be carried into effect by Conservative statesmen. In the boroughs again the Conservatives would say to the Palmerston Radicals, " We are tolerably content with our country and constitution, and wo do not wish to submit to those violent and organic changes which you so confidently recommend, and we have no wish to destroy the just influence of the landed interest in the councils of the nations, and to make the working classes the sole depositories of political power; we acknow ledge the growing intelligence of the working classes, and we would gladly, if we could, give to that intelligence some freer scope in our political system, but we are not inclined to hand over the wtiole power of making our laws to the originators of colliery strikes and trade combinations, and have no affection for any attacks upon the Church, and we do not think its destruction would in any way promote the oause of civil and religious liberty. (Cheers.) For these reasons the Conservatives would be on their guard, and would hold fast by their own true blue flag against Pal merston-Tories or Palmerston-Radicals; they would simply have none of them, but they would tell the first that he was sailing under false colours, and endeavouring to obtain their suffrages by a false pretence, and they would tell the latter that he was a dangerous innovator, seeking by organic changes to bring about a democratic revolution. (Cheers.) Captain jERVIS, M.P., briefly responded to the toast of " The Conservative Members for the Essex Boroughs :" and "The health of Mr Goodson, and success to his candi dature for GreatYarmouth," " The Chairman," and one or two other toasts, brought the proceedings to a close at rather a late hour. Mr, Cobden and the Newspaper Press. (From the Scotsman.) MlnunusT, October 22, 1861. Sir,—Absenee from home for a week has prevented me from troubling you sooner with this communication. In my former letter I invited your attention to a leading article in the Scotsman of the I I;h, respecting the agitation for the repeal of the taxes on knowledge, and I bagged to be furnished with your authority for the following kite* mea t But what were the anticipations of the chief agitators for the change ? Mr Cobden stated, over and over again, in public speeches, that his object or hope was to see a newspaper press which would abstain from discussion, and confine itself to reporting events, especially platform speeches and police trials," - Your response to this appeal is now before me. You say " Speaking at Holmfirth in Feb., 1853, he (Mr Cobden) thus depicted one of the blessad cffects be expected to flow from a revolutionising of the newspaper system : " People would [I ask the reader to bear in recollection this " would"] resort to newsrooms, not to read the leading articles—for I regard the leaders as of far less importance than the articles of news in the paper. I believe these ori ginal articles, so far as guidance and direction are con cerned, are the least useful and interesting parts of the papers—facts and intelligence being more sought after by readers. There aro far more newspapers in America than here, but they have less political influence." In my capacity of member for the West Riding of Yorkshire, I attended, on Feb. 3, 1853, the anniversary soiree of the Holmfirth Mechanics' Institution. On arriving at the place of meeting, I remember to have put myself in communication with some of its most active and intelligent members with the view of obtaining such information as would enable me to plead the cause before a large and re spectable gathering of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. I was informed that a newsroom had been recently added to the institution; and finding that there still lingered in influential quarters some cld-fashioned objections to this innovation, I endeavoured to remove them by a few obser vations which I copy from the very full report of my rather lengthy address which appeared in the Times of Feb. 5, 1853 : "I am glad to hear of this new feature the newsroom and have no doubt it will be one of tile most attractive features in your institution. This has been found to be the case in other places. For many years these institu• tions could not have newsrooms, because they were objected to by influential parties as being political. But there is nothing less political than a newsroom, if the newspapers are fairly selected, because you will have newspapers of all kinds. You will find that people will resort to newsrooms, not to read the leading articles—for, with all respect for the able writers for the public press, I regard the leaders as of far less importance than the articles of news in the paper. Take up a newspaper, and you will find news from all parts of the world ; 19-20ths of the whole paper consists of news, and only 1-20th part of original arti cles or leaders; therefore, with all respect for the editors of these papers, I believe the original articles, as far as guid ance and direction are concerned, are the least useful and interesting parts of their papers—facts and intelligence being more sought after by their readers. There are far ra.)re newspapers in America than hero, but they have less political influence." Now, let it be distinctly understood that the /meeting which I was addressing had no connection whatever with the agitation for the repeal of the taxes on knowledge; and that, so far from appearing there as an advocate for any such political object, I should have violated all propriety if, on the neutral platform of a mecharics' institution, in the presence of men of all shades of political opinion, and of a large number of ladies, I had introduced any topic of the kind. It w!ll be seen, on comparison, that the passages retained in your quotation from my speech aro a ver63tin copy of SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.—With professions of the most friendly understanding with each other, Austria and Prussia have nearly concluded the tret.ty of peace between Germany and Denmark. The peace is made in the name of the whole of Germany, though it is, in fact, dictated .by the two great Powers that hold the sword. The secondary and minor German States, and all the National party, have for some time sus. pected that their wishes would be as little consulted in the settlement of the terms of peace as they were in the conduct of the war. While the plenipoten tiaries of Austria and Prussia, therefore, have been arranging matters to their own entire satisfaction at Vienna, another Conference or Congress has held a sitting at Weimar, and, equally in the name of Ger. many, disavows and condemns most of the proceed ing. The feeling of discontent is not so briefly ex pressed in the document the disappointed National ists of Germany have published ; but under their superfluous verbiage, and the phrases that wind round a disagreeable topic so cautiously, it is easy to read their vexation, and something like despondency. As nothing connected with the Schleswig-Holstein question strikes a very deep root in the public me mory, distributed as it is by greater tempests from other quarters, it is necessary to explain what is the precise organisation of the malcontents who have now found a voice, and why they speak in the name of Germany. Before the war began the minor States could express their views in a formal manner by their votes in the Diet of Frankfort,to which Prussia and Austria pretended up to the last moment to yield obedience. The submission was complete as long as the policy the Diet approved was their own ; but when that body ordered the military contingents of Saxony and Hanover to form an army of execu tion in the Danish Duchies, the order was set aside in the most summary manner. Prussian and Austrian regiments undertook the work, and the armed forces of the two minor States were pushed into the background and kept there, not without slights and indignities very galling to the military spirit. The National party discovered it was equally powerless. The claims of the Auguste's burgs were quietly dropped by Prussia, which pur sued its course regardless of petitions, memorials, and protests, and, whatever may be its future objects, has succeeded in realising all its past plans. What is now the German Opposition soon perceived how the game was turning against it. But what could it do ? German armies had already been set at de fiance. If the smali States went through the form of meeting and voting in the Diet, their votes would be disregarded. They were reduced to watch and wait, letting things take their course, and recog nising where the material power of Germany really resides. This is exactly what the German National party has done. From the Chambers and legislative bodies of the small States deputies were named as a G;mmittce of Vigilance. It did not bear that name, but to watch the course of events was its function. Its duty was to report from time to time the state of affairs, and this duty was discharged by a manag ing sub-committee. What mode of proceeding they adopted we are not told. But we can suppose the members devoting their days and nights to the per usal of all the newspapers, in every known language of the world, in order to obtain a thorough and com prehensive knowledge of the opinions of the universe on the last phase of the Schleswig-Holstein guess tion. To be sure, the determining incidents of the war occurred almost under their own eyes, but opinions founded on mere observation are likely to be one 'sided, like an Englishman's, or superficial and French. We have no doubt that, however formed, the opinions stated in the debate on the report pre sented a few days since to the Assembly of the whole body of members of the German Diets are the result of mature reflection, and reproduce most of the views laid down in the report itself. Twelve German States were represented in the Committee, and the two cities of Hamburg and Frankfort. It must be borne , in mind that the delegates were not officially ap pointed, and in no degree represent the Government of the States from which they come. They are nominated by the local Chambers, in some cases only by the opposition in those bodies. This will be evident enough when it is perceived that there are in the Committee delegates from Prussia, which has grasped the largest share of success, as well as from Hanover and Saxony, which gained nothing but humiliation. The Assembly thus composed has taken into consideration the whole movement from the death of the late King of Denmark up to the present time, and likewise the results to be "ob tained by the impending conclusion of peace." It is a happy peculiarity of losers ',hat they can always find some grounds of consolation. Thus, the Ger man National party, though it admits it has failed to obtain most of the main objects of the agitation, cherishes a conviction that Prussia and Austria have always aced under the expression of the na tional will. The direction the two Powers took was wrong, and what they did and have left un done alike to be deplored, but this is no fault of those who gave the impulse. As an illustration, the delegates say Prussia and Austria began the war with the determination to enforce only the terms of the Treaty of London, and that they marched their troops across the Eider, " not to wage war against Denmark, but merely to take Schleswig in pledge upon the basis of the London arrangements." This was what the Prussian Go vernment professed, we know, bat it is a very con fiding simplicity indeed that can believe the pro fession to have been sincere. All the subsequent incidents prove that what Prussia has done she in tended to do from the beginning, and the avowal of the German patriots that they still believe Prussia was then an instrument in their hands appears to us to prove nothing but their own inveterate ten dency to become political dupes. They assert that the maintenance of the Treaty of 1852 was far less than the German nation required. So the Assembly just gathered at Weimar held.a sitting at Frankfort last December, and, by putting a " moral pressure" on the minor States, and through them on the two military Powers, "drove them further and further past their original limits, so that at last the loose tie of personal union was all with which they attempted to hold fast to the London Treaty. , ' Thus, the German Liberals actually claim the responsibility of having impelled Prussia to all that appears to Europe so violent and unjust in its conduct to Denmark. We cannot believe they are half so guilty as they paint themselves. Prussia set her army in motion with a full knowledge of what it would be ordered to do. The invasion of Jutland— of which the delegates say nothing—the exhaustion of the resources of that province by the Prussian troops, to the profit of the Prussian Exchequer, and the total prostration of Denmark, were all predeter mined measures. All the nationality movement did was to furnish Prussia a plausible excuse, and an opportunity of carrying into effect a long calculated policy. In fact, the minor States are beginning to discover that when they believed they were Powers they were only instruments that have been most unscrupulously employed. They still avoid acknow ledging the humiliating truth, and encourage every illusion that may veil it from their own eyes. But the vexation and mistrust running through the whole of the Weimar debate indicate a painful per ception of the real state of the case. After the first singular expression of complacency the discussion records little but suspicions, distrust, and a course of unavailing protests. Before the meeting of the London Conference, the delegates of this National Committee "protested" against any settlement of the " future of the Dachits" without consulting the opinion of the inhabitants. When it was proposed to divide the territory of Schleswig the Committee protested a second time ; and it made its third pro test when an Oldenburg set up a claim to the suc cession in opposition to the Prince of Augustenburg. The policy of Prussia having required three hos ile protests, the Committee, in consideration of the military services of that Power, expresses a faint general satisfaction as to the past, but ventures to suggest that this degree of approvcl "must not go so tar as to lead us to easy security, and tame resig nation to all that may happen." The sub-com mittee is ordered to continue its vigilance, and the national movement, which Las proved such a mate rial adventago to the military power of Prussia and its political reactionists, "is to be continued with all possible energy," for the exclusive benefit, we presume, of the National Committee. At least, that body expresses itself confident of ultimate success, although we cannot trace in the past any probable basis for its calculation. POST.—In the absence of war news (if we except the rumour that the Confederates have recaptured Atlanta), the Peruvian brings political intelligence which is far from unimportant. The results of the State elections in Pennsylvania and Maryland are now known, and with this knowledge the public equally acquire a certain conviction of what will be the attitude of those States at the forthcoming Presidential election. In Pennsylvania we are told that the Democratic party have earried the "ticket" by a majority so large as to render it in the highest degree improbable that the votes of such members of the State as are serving in the Federal armies will, when taken, turn the scale ; and in Maryland the elections have equally resulted in a majority against the Government, which it is • believed will not be shaken by the vote still to be taken in the field. In Indiana and Ohio we learned by the preceding mail that the Republican party • had secured the victory; but these successes have been more than counterbalanced by the defeats sustained in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The election of a President is made by persons nomia nated by each State specially for that purpose, and the States are entitled to appoint as many 'electors as they send senators and representatives to Cans gress. The number of senators nominated by each State is limited to two; but that of representatives is regulated by the population. Now, as the popu lation of Ohio is close on two millions, and that of Indiana nearly one million, whilst the population of Pennsylvania exceeds two millions and a quarter, and that of Maryland is about six hundred thou• sand, the aggregate population of each pair of States is nearly the same. Assuming, therefore, that the results of the State elections are now ac curately ascertained, the delegates subsequently sent to the electoral college by these four States will counterbalance each other, and the result of the Presidential election will depend on the votes of the majority of the remaining States, But, although the four States we have just named have, so to speak, paired off for the forthcoming election, the defeat of the Republicans in Pennsylvania and Maryland is not to be measured by the mere number of votes of which they have been thus deprived. The weight of these States in the Union cannot precisely be apportioned by the numbers of their population. Maryland is a slaveholding State, and no Unionist would seriously maintain that her adhesion to the Union was due to any other cause than the control which the Federal Government with their capital at Washington are enabled to exercise. That Maryland should sup. port the Democratic party is not, then, in itself very surprising; but the fact that the State in which Washington stands should declare against those who at present wield supreme power pos sesses no little significance. It is, however, the Democratic reaction in Pennsylvania which will supply the chief cause of apprehension to the Rea publicans. Pennsylvania is next, after New York, the most populous State in the Union; and in re. spect to mercantile prosperity, and the value of the stake which it holds in the Republic, it need not yield even to the State which contains the corumere cial metropolis of the Union. Pennsylvania sup. ported Mr Lincoln on the occasion of his election, and in no slight degree contributed to turn the scale in its favour. She has now with no less emphasis protested against the further prosecution of a policy which, after nearly four years' experience, she is convinced must end in ruin. It is notorious that the results of the local elections in the more ima portant States influence those which have yet to follow by the accession of strength to the party which is successful; and whilst success in Peensyl. vania would have rendered Mr Lincoln almost cer tain of re-election,, failure has to a considerable degree diminished his chances of again directing the destinies of what is still left of the model Re- - public of the West. There are but two candidates in the field for the high office of President ; and although to the parties whom they represent the pending issue is of vital importance, it is more than doubtful whether that issue in which Europe alone takes an interest will be seriously affected by the result, On the whole, it may be assumed that the Democrats are more willing to pursue a peaceful policy than their political rivals—or perhaps, to speak more correctly, they are not so utterly uncom promising. Bat it matters very little if the Democrats are willing to make more con' cessions to the South than the Republicans, if they nevertheless insist upon one condition of peace which the Confederacy cannot porsibly accept. It is perfectly idle for the Northern Democrats to offer to the Southern States the right to maintain intact the particular institution against which the Republican party have been unceasing in their attacks since their advent to power, if they require them at the same time to acknowledge a supremacy on the part of the Northern States which they are determined to disallow. The peace party form but a very small section of those who, if successful, will place George M'Clellan at the head of the Govern' went; and the indifference manifested for their opinions by him who still remains their nominee, proves how trifling is the weight possessed by those most desirous of putting an end to the present war. Indeed, by some it is believed that if the DLmecratic candidate succeeds at the approaching election, the war will be prosecuted, if possible, more relentlessly and more vigorously th an b e f ore . It. Is absurd to suppose that M'Clellan would express sentiments wheah he did nor entertain, and which would, as he well knew, estrange from him many of his partisans; and therefore it may be taken for granted that he will act in accordance with the policy set forth in his reply accepting his nomination by the Chicago Convention. If the South will reaenter the Union, then the Washington Government will entertain propositions for peace. This is the Democratic "platform," and it differs only from that accepted by the Republicans in the more favourable terms to which a Democratic Administration would assent than those on which the Government now in office would insist. But as it is precisely the re-establish. ment of the Union to which the South objects, and as it is for the maintenance of a national independ• cries that it has struggled successfully during the past four years, the Southern Confederacy will not do that for a Democratic President which it has refused to do for one who is a Republican. Whether, therefore, Abraham Lincoln or George M'Clellan is hailed as President on the 4th of March, 1865, the progress of the war will be virtually unaffected. We may, consequently, on this side of the Atlantic await the issue of the Presidential contest with in difference. We do not, we cannot, believe that the war can be protracted until the Americans are again called upon to elect a President: but the time of its termination will not be sensibly affected by the result of the voting next month in the electoral college. COUNTRY MARKETS. BIRMINGHAM-THURSDAY. A:fair demand for English wheat in our market to-day and last week's quotations were realised. Oats firm, but unaltered in value. Barley and beans made late rates. —English wheat was sold at 40s to 44s for white, and 36s to 41s per 36 stone for red. Barley, new malting, 30s to 36s per qr; grinding, 23s to 265. Oats, old, 24s to 30s per 30 stone ; Irish, 19s to 24e. Beans, 44s to 46s per qr. peas, 38s to 40s per 36 stone. MANCHE STER.-THIIRSDA.Y. There was a very fair attendance at our market this morning, and the proceedings were of a more active cha racter. Wheat, both English and foreign, sold freer, at about last week's prices. Flour was dull, and we quote former prices . Oats and oatmeal also in limited request, at downward rates. Beans in fair inquiry. Indian corn must be noted fully as dear as last market day. EDINBURGH GRAIN-WEDNESDAY. To-day there was a good supply of country wheat. Sales slow, at prices fully as dear as last week. Wheat on the top 3s Od down ..,average Os 3d down. Barley on the top Os Gd up ..average is Esd up. Oats on tho top is Od up. ..... .......average Os 5d down. Beans on the top 2s Od up... average 2s bd up. Total Supply and Sales. Wheat ...1073 qrs Sold 572 qrs 8ar1ey........1319 qrs Sold 1119 qrs Oats Beans 42 qrs Sold 20 qrs Average Prices. Wheat.. 4ls 7d I Oats, 2os 7d Barley 2Bs 9d 1 Beans 42s 7d Town made flour sells as follows :—White, 375; extra superfine. 35s ; superfine, 335; fine, 31s. Births. BRISSEL—On the 27th inst., at Fenge, Mrs. Frederic Brassey, of a son. NORTHCOTE.— On the 25th inst., at Pynes, Devon, Lady Northcote, of a son. SKELMERSDALE —On the 26th inst., at 1, Grosvenor crescent, Lady Skelmersdale, of a son and heir. WOMBIVELL.—On the 26th inst., at Newburgh Park, Yorkshire, the Lady Julia Wombwell, of a daughter. Marriages. BELL—CHADIVELL.—On the 26th inst., at Trinity Church, Gray's-inn-road, Mr. W. L. Bell, solicitor, of 3, Gre St. James-street, Bedford-row, to Eliza White, eldest daughter of Mr. Thomas Chadwell, of Peterborough. ELLIOTT—PASS.—On the 26th inst., at St. John's, Hamp stead, John Henry Elliott, of Adelaide-street,W. Strand, to Matilda Lavinia, only daughter of John rusk, of Ado' laide.road, Deaths. BRADBURNE.—On the 24th inst., at Lyndhnrst, Francis Bradburne, Esq. BROWNE.-0 0 the 2Gch inst., at Greenwich, Mrs. 'Wini fred Frances Browne, aged 92, DRAKE.—On the 22d inst., at Stoke Newington, Mr. Thos. Drake, aged 63, MORTLOCK.—On the 24th inst., at Brighton, Charles Mortluck, late 1.1.E.1.C.5., aged 82. RAMMELL —On the 26th inst., at b.turry Court, near Can terbury, Thomas Rammell, aged 57. SNEE.—On the 25th inst., at Islington, Edmund Leonard Snee, Esq., Secretary to the Regent's Canal, Company for upwards of 52 years. London: Prin:ed and Prnished by WILLIAM ANDREWS, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office No. 312. Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, n the Ccunty of October 28, 1.604.