The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1861-01-07 00:00:00

step:' This leads us td .re6ollect that, although
Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT has acted With the Coali-
tion Ministry,
,he is IV no fneanS at heart a
Whig, and there are certain events looming
in the distance of the coming session which
might take a turn likely to
,try rather severely
the continued adherence to the present mongrel
ministry of Mich meinbers as Mr. SIDNEY HER-
bEnt. Originally a sound Conservative, his first
ethineetion with official life Was undei Sir ROBERT
PEEL'S Government; in 1841, When he was
appointed. Becittary to the Admiralty; the duties
of which office he discharged until February,
1845, when he became Secretary for War. In
that department he continued until Sub-, 1846,
*hen Lord took the place of Sir
Rbßhiti PEEL at the helm of affairs. Again, in
December, 1852, Mr. lIERBEtirr returned to the
War-office, undei the late Earl of Aberdeen; an
office in which he rehlaitied until the disruption
of that Coalition Ministry. After holding for a
few weeks the office of Colonial Secretary, he
was appointed to the position he has since held as
Minister of War, under the present Whig-Radical
Administration: lit tinizitbtibli With these ante-
ebablitS; boiisidek the Ostioti ilia pFo§i)tbts at the
present Coalition: Mr. & HERBERT, as a " lieelite,',
is no doubt a constant admirer of Mr. GLADSTONE.
It is notorious that there is an entire want of
syrdpathi bei*een such nieniberg of the existing
dabinet as Messrs. eit,ADstort and if
and those who have been nefariously trading
upon the cries of last session about Reform,
Church-rates, and the like. In all probability
these party topics will still continue to be thurns
in Lord PALMERSTON'S side; and there is no
saying What coiirse Mr. SIDNEY lIERBERT might
ultimately have taken, in concert with Mr.
GLADSTONE, upon these and other vexed
dons; on which herd PABitittoN and Mr.
GLADSTONE differ; had he continued a member of
the Lower House'. It has been deeined the safest
plan to remote Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT out of
hania's Way; and transplant him to another
region, where it may be hoped a sense of grati-
tude will bind him irrevocably to• the fortunes of
the party to whom he owes his elevation.. More-
over, the ranks of the Whig peerage have of late
been considerably thinned by death, and they stand
much in want of being reeruitedL There is thus
a double object attained by this attenipt to Bolder
tip the tottering Weakness of " the administration
of many talents." Here we have an excellent
and highly charaCteristic illustration of the
truckling adroitness of Lord PALMERSTON in
propping up his rickety and anomalous govern-
ment.

Another observation seems unavoid'able while
vie hapiien to he engaged in the conteMplation of
Mr. SIDNEY HERBET'S removal from the House
of Commons. It has been remarked, somewhat sar-
castically, that in tendering his thankS to the elec:-
tors of South Wilts) for having so long returned
him as their representative, he performed a mere
act of grace, since he really owes them nothing
for a position said to have been secured to him by
our " aristocratic " constitution—his seat for
South Wilts, say sneering Radicals, having been
as much his by birth as the reversion of the
Earldom of Pembroke, Of • course, this is
meant as a quiet kick at our present representa-
tive system. Now, we think a more unfortunate
occasion could scarcely have been selected for
indulging in adverse criticism on that part of the
system which, to many, appears its most objec-
tionable point, We are willing to assume, for
the moment, that young SIDNEY HERBERT first
obtained admission to Parliament as the nominee
of a dominant family influence. Nay, we will go
further, and take for granted that he has not
always truly represented the opinions of his con-
stituents, although his seat may have been always
secure. What, then P Has the country lost or
gained by these supposed facts? Is it not
admitted on all hands that he has, with infinite
credit to himself, and benefit to the nation,
devoted himself with . unmeasured zeal to the
public service F Are not men of all parties wil-
ling to acknowledge the justice of his claim,
when ho says t " I have never made a toy or a
pastime of my position, but have laboured con-
stantly, assiduously, and to the utmost of my
ability, so to discharge its duties as best to 'ensure
what appeared to me to be the public good," The
heir to a wealthy earldom did not require, for any
paltry, personal consideration, to spend his health
and strength in constant and assiduous labour for
the public good. If the system, th-ough which
alone he could so early, if ever, have entered the
public service, is, according to Radical theory,
defective, will it be denied that, its practically
working is sometimes, at least, fraught with ines-
timable blessings ? To attempt to recapitulate
Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT'S leading services would of
itself fill a column. His efforts in behalf of our
soldiers in the Crimea ought never to be forgotten.
In the cause of emigration he has been not less
eminently useful to the working classes. The
Volunteer Movement, in a great measure, owes to
him its practical value and importance. His fore-
sight and energy in the conduct of the recently-
concluded Chinese war have marked him as a
Minister far superior to the class of men with
whom, in these latter days, he has been tempo-
rarily associated, For the future career of Lord
HERBERT we confidently entertain high hopes.
We believe that the trickery and cajolery of Lord
PALMERSTON will fall short of its object, and that
the new peer will, sooner, or later, return to his
first love as a sincere and consistent supporter of
the Throne and the Constitution.

ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHING FOR THE
MILLION.

To ask a friend to accept a trifling present in the
shape of a rhinoceros, or a hippopotamus, or an
elephant, were scarcely more ridiculous, according
to our very recent notions of things, than to ask
him kindly to receive a gift of an Electic Tele-
graph—and yet it requires but a few words of
explanation and a little foresiglA to be convinced
that, by and by, the presentation of an entire
Electric Telegraph will not be so astonishing an
event as the announcement of the gift of a
" sewing machine " would have appeared some
few years ago, and, perhaps, as commonplace as
the donation of a writing desk at the present
day. This may seem startling, wonderful, and
incredible ; but, let us see.

Recent experiments have proved that, by a
very simple and effective plan, an illimitably
increased amount of electric communication may
be established everywhere, not only between
distant towns, but from street to street, house to
house, and room to room. In the first place, as
to what is called the insulating medium—that
covering in of the wire that prevents the escape of
the fluid—it has been found that a thin film of
india-rubber—so thin, indeed, as to be almost
transparent—is perfectly sufficient forth° purpose
of insulation. This extraordinary commodity,
india-rubber, is capable of being drawn out to the
thinness of tissue paper, and yet retains its effici-
ency. Is it not strange that so fine and clear a
film should suffice to chain the most powerful
influence in creation ? In the second place, as to
the conducting medium, it has been demonstrated
that a thread of copper wire, no thicker than a
piece of fine thread, is perfectly adequate for the
passage of electric messages over a distance of at
least twenty miles. This fine wire-thread is sus-
ceptible of an equally fine coating of india-rubber,
and thus we have an insulated medium of com-
munication no grosser than the thread used in
fine sewing. The third point is this—that so
many as thirty of these insulated copper wire-
threads may be coiled and twisted into a cable
not thicker than one's finger, and but little