The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-05-08 00:00:00

thankful that two-inch distinguished foreigners
who have come to this country on so very
important and dignified a mission—should have
been admitted to the immediate sunshine of
R.yalty, and hopes that there will not be found
to have been any mistake in the matter. For
mistakes, it appears—which will sometimes occur,
as we all know, in " the best regulated families,"
—do occasionally happen even in the Queen's
household,—the following instance of which was
thus advertised in the Gazette of last Tuesday,
under the heading of " Lord Chamberlain's
Office, April 28 : "
" Notice is hereby given, that the presentation of
Mrs. Duncan Stewart, at her Majesty's Drawing-room
on Saturday, the 24th of March last, took place through
inadvertence."
So that, as is shrewdly observed, " the fate which
thus mysteriously lay in store for poor Mrs.
Duncan Stewart may even yet overtake Messrs.
Rawlings and Wilkes." It will be something,
however, to have enjoyed, like that only too
briefly happy lady, the splendour and the repu-
tation of a Royal presentation, even for a short
season. Should there not have been any mistake
about it, we may hope to hear of the presenta-
tion, at the next levee, of Mr. Heenan, by the
said United States Minister, Mr. Dallas ; followed,
as a matter of course, by that of Mr. Sayers by
Sir G. C. Lewis, her Majesty's Secretary of State
for the Home Department.
A very remarkable practical illustration of Mr.
John Bright's regard for the working classes is
now being presented at Rochdale, where his
business operations are carried on. The work-
people of his own firm have never been paid as
one would have thought he, as their great friend,
would have taken care that they should be ; and
now it is proposed to reduce their wages still
lower. They are, not unnaturally, therefore,
resisting the proposal. And that they are, as a
matter of business arrangement, justified in doing
so, may be taken for granted from the fact, that
a few days since a deputation of three men went
to Halifax, and, with the permission of Mr.
Joseph Crossley, consulted 400 of his weavers,
who unanimously resolved to support them by
contributing is. a week each towards their
subsistence during the struggle. Hoping, how-
ever, still to bring the matter to an amicable
adjustment, they appointed a deputation to wait
upon the Messrs. Bright for the purpose ; but
they were most discourteously refused an inter-
view with those manufacturing magnates and
high-flown democrats. The cause of the poor
people is already taken up by the carpet-weavers
not of Yorkshire only, but of Worcestershire and
Durham also, who have issued a strong appeal in
their behalf. It is such a case as this that tests
most truly the real character of a politician like
Mr. John Bright.
The King of Naples and Sicily has evidently
had a narrow escape from losing the latter divi-
sion of his kingdom. Garibaldi had all but
embarked, it seems, at Genoa, for Palermo, with
a formidable force of veteran volunteers, and a
large collection of arms, when Count Cavour him-
self succeeded in arresting his movements. The
intended expedition had been got up with great
secrecy, and surprising despatch. But intelli-
gence of it having, by some means or other,
reached the Sardinian Government, its departure
was prevented just when all was ready for a
start. Had it once reached the Sicilian shores, it
is more than probable that such an impetus would
thereby have been given to the insurrection as
was alone wanting to promote its success. The
assistance Garibaldi would have carried with him
must have been highly conducive to such a result.
But when, in addition to that, the popular cause
was to be directed by one so brave and expe-
rienced in revolutionary warfare, its triumph, in
a short time, might have been safely calculated
upon.

The policy of Count Cavour in Italy is too
cautious, it would seem, for the revolutionary
party there—more especially the Garibaldists s
and he has therefore his enemies, who are said to
be craftily plotting his downfall. The Paris
Constitittionnel has come forward very warmly in
his defence, extolling his policy, and commending
him for his resistance of those who would exceed
it,—pointedly declaring, at the same time, that
" Europe, and France particularly, will ener-
getically disapprove aggression, and that the
work of Piedmont is no more to extend her
boundaries, but to assimilate herself with the
annexed provinces."

By later accounts from Copenhagen we learn,
that the nature of the negotiation entered into by
Denmark with France, is that of a treaty of alliance
defensive and offensive, and that Sweden also has
been induced to unite with them in it.

Already has the marked improvement in the
weather had the effect of largely reducing the
price of fodder, which before was rising rapidly
to a famine height. The price of hay has fallen
more than one-half in Ireland, under the influence
of the happy change.

The annexation of Savoy and Nice to France is
not yet completed. It has still to go through
another process,—that of the votes of the Sar-
dinian Parliament. There is no doubt, we believe,
that they will be obtained in just sufficient num-
ber to ratify the treaty. But until this ratifica-
tion is accomplished, the French Emperor, it is
said, will defer his intended visit to Nice.
The new French law altering the duties on
wool and cotton has now been promulgated ; and
it came into operation yesterday. It includes
the raw material, and also cotton and woollen
threads—the import duties on which are in due
time to cease entirely. The real object, of course,
is to promote French manufactures in wool and
cotton.

THERE are two considerations which make the
Reform Bill a very perilous measure in the hands
of such a Ministry as the present ; and it will be
well if they are allowed to exert the influence
they deserve to do in dealing with that measure
in Committee. The first is, that the only pres-
sure upon Parliament for Reform has proceeded
from those whom even this large and dangerous
concession to Radical and Republican clamour
will never satisfy, but only be received as a
means to still more revolutionary ends ; and the
second is, that its authors, or most of them, in
their hearts fear and dread, yet must persist in
sustaining it, not only because they committed
themselves to it as the condition of their restora-
tion to office, but because to play false upon it
would deprive them of that Radical support,
without which their Administration would soon
fall to pieces.
Now, this being the state of the case, surely no
hon. member of Constitutional principles —no
supporter of that Constitution under which our
country has been raised to so high a pre-eminence
among the nations of the world—can be indiffe-
rent to the tendencies of such a measure. It is
evident that they who seek to republicanise our
political system are satisfied that it will most
materially forward their object. And if they
want such a radical change—if they prefer a
Republic to a Monarchy—they are certainly wise
in their generation, in taking advantage of the cir-
cumstances of the times to further such a revolu-
tion. Only let it be clearly understood that they
are really aiming at such ends; and let be unmis-
takeably seen that they really calculate upon this
Reform Bill promoting them. More, than this,—
they are Close who insist upon representation as
a right—even a natural right; whereas, if it
were so, it would be equal—it would belong to
all alike—and be the right not of one sex only,
but of both : a sense in which even they them-
selves are not consistent enough to regard it,
since we never hear of their advocating as altera-
tion of the law which cuts off at a sikagle spoke,