The Express.
London, England, 1867-10-24 00:00:00

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to•mogickar—Slorulng. oh.WCI2OOII. oh. 3las.

LONDON, THURsDA Y, OCTOBER 91.

A orannm., which we should hesitate to call
by that name had not one of the parties so
described it, has broken out between the Hon.
Mrs. Noirros and the T The main question
is whether some of the characters in " Ohl Sir
Douglas," Mrs. NonTo.s's latest novel, are true to
nature and life. A reviewer has been permitted
by our contemporary to say that James Frere,
one of the personages of the story, is a "dis-
tortcd shadow," a " conventional puppet," and
that :mother, Lady Clochintben, who is represented
as an astute Seotchwoman, is made to act with
impulsiveness and want of caution. The authoress
retorts that the reviewer cannot have read the
novel. The reviewer replies that he has read it
"painfully through from beginning to end"—the
only unkind remark in his rejoinder. All this is
very amusing to those who have time for it, and
we hope the contest, if it should go on, will retain
its present mild character. We trust, however, that
novelists generally will understand that Mrs.
lionros's example is not to he made a precedent.
Much may be conceded to the gifted grand-
daughter of SHKRIDAN, but, as a rule, literary
criticisms must be left to find their own level ;
it would be too terrible for newspaper readers
to think of if writers of fiction were to acquire a
right to criticise in turn every unfavourable review
of their works. Mrs.N..r.r.):i observes that she finds
great comfort in the extraordinary diversity of
the criticisms upon her writings : ono reviewer
finds tame and vapid sentiment where another is
delighted to recognise tragic force and wondrous
skill ; one declares characters to be mere conven-
tional puppets which another thinks are only too
literal copies from life. No doubt of it, and if the
question were one of literary principles this diversity
would be a striking evidence of the want of any
settled canons and methods of criticism; but when,
as in this case, it is one of observation upon matters
of every-day experience, it is only a natural
result and illustration of the freedom with which
the diverse habits of thought and fueling of the
public find expression in critical literature. The
prodigious mental activity which this freedom en-
sures is the best condition which any author
could desire, became it is that which gives the
greatest number of readers ; and novelists, whe-
ther distinguished or otherwise, cannot do better
than surrender their works unreservedly to the
free play of the opinion thus produced.

Foa the sake of a large number of English
creditors of the United States, it is necessary to
correct a somewhat serious mis-statement made
yesterday by the Times, respecting the attitude of
the most powerful party in the Union towards the
public debt of the country. Having described in a
leading article as being now in full progress a repu-
diation movement which was in fact nipped in the
bud, the Times observes, "So mach have the people
"to thank their Radical leaders for." Those who
read the letter of our able and trustworthy
New York correspondent which we published
on Tuesday know what to think of a represen-
tation which connects the Republican party in the
Union with a policy of repudiation. That our
contemporary should know better is shown by his
admission that General BUTLER is the only advo-
cate of the proposal referred to—that of paying the
interest on the Five-Twenty bonds in currency
rather than in gold—and that the public journals
of the party have instantly denounced his
amazing act of folly. The fact is, that BUTLER
bad no sooner ventilated his ideas than the Re-
publicans turned round upon him everywhere, and
reduced him to silence if not to shame, and, as
our New York correspondent wrote on the 10th :
" The discussion about the public debt still rages,
" but rather for the punishment of the would-he
" repudiators than for the purpose of guarding the
" public against their wiles." It is not true that
General BUTLER is the original advocate of repu-
diation. That character had been previously and
appropriately assumed by Mr. Parourroe and
Mr. VALLANDIGHAM, who, it will be remembered,
opposed the war for the Union in all its stages.
General BUTLER',, conduct has provoked more
indignation than theirs, because it was at once felt
that a proposal which would be consistent
with the principles of a peace Democrat or a
beaten Southerner was scandalous in a professed
Republican. In making these remarks we confine
ourselves to a simple statement of facts. 'Whether
the United States are likely to pay the in-
terest on their bonds in currency or gold, or at
all, is a question on which opinion will be much
influenced by the estimate antecedently formed of
the American character. It is one on which Mr.
BUSIER or Mr. Thomas CARLYLE would be likely
to make a forecast very different from that of
Mr. FoRATER or Mr. BRIGHT. All we wish to
point out is that the party which carried the
nation through the war is pledged by its spirit, its
character, its hopes, and its interests, to the
equitable treatment of the national creditor. We
may add, that the highest financial authorities in
the United States agree with all men of honesty
and intelligence everywhere in holding that the
Government is bound to pay the interest in gold.
Upon these data the public must form its own
judgment.

A supplement to the London Gazette was put.
Idled last evening, containing an order in council, laying
down certain quarantine regulations for vessels arriving
from the West Indies and parts of the continent of
Awasiwa.

()UR CONTEmI,ORARD2i.
(THIS DAY.)

.si

observing that the failure of t:aril al ire par-
ticin•, md the ability of the government to do
melee pressure that which a few days ,t.nce a professed
its: if un.ible to do, havo oio,litied most of the impressions
recently preeritirx on the subject, tie Ti,.• , nevertheless
1. t:iiits tile opii.iou that the P.m!, ear policy is
marl to Italy and periluiti to Europe, i;hoot being
v.intrgeous to Frmice. It .3 by no taro,. au:, yet that
thi+ storm has missed over ; it is perfectly certain that
wary :ire storm must mine. What we have seen
daring the Wit fortnight may lie expected any week in the
}e.rr, and the insurrection may not always be no partial, or
ii, Pontifical troops so fortunate. Ilehieles this, the
strait, tiro the young kingdom of Italy i.n!inost too
never,' to be endured, while the provisional arrangement
satisfies nobody. Pet haps Itattazzi, no lens than Garibaldi,
bet on this occasion been reckoning a little too fast; but
the calculation, for all that, was bilged essentially on
political reason.

TUE rool,

The Timex expresses its surprise that with the harvests
of the world at our disposal, fleets at our command, and
the !imam; of instantaneous communication always every-
where at hand, prices should nevertheless have risen, till
last week, to a point only accountable on ignorance and
miscalculation. Of four or five hundred grain-laden ships,
more than a hundred have arrived within a few days ;
more than fourteen thousand quarters of foreign wheat
arrived in the port of London last week, and wheat bus
fallen rather suddenly Js. id. a quarter. There is no
reason why this conclusion should not have been fully
anticipated, and why the public should not hate been
spared some needless anxiety as to our " food prospects"
for the coming twelvemonth. Even if we had to adopt
the estimate of the harvest of the world which allitlrlief it
to be no better than ours, yet we need not apprehend a
scarcity, inasmuch as we should outbid other populations,
who would be unable to pay 70s. a quarter.
The British farmer, the Daily Ne✓'a says, finds a bad
harvest in France a good thing, and the calamity of the
cattle plague was such a godsend to the butchers that they
have never known bow to make enough of it. Indeed had
any individual butcher not fulfilled the general expecta-
tion that he would raise the price, the public would have
suspected his meat. The ordinary principles of trade come
into play more slowly in the supply of the necessaries of
life than they do in other matters. Retail mices respond
readily enough to any upward tendency in the wholesale
market ; but they always lag behind it when its tendency
is downwards. Neither co-operation among customers,
nor vain attempts to do without meat, nor grumbling. at
butchers' bills, will effect a reform. But we have fre-
quently observed that when the difference between the
price of the loaf and that of wheat at Mark-lane has
become very considerable, the public discussion of the
subject has usually resulted in a reduction in the price of
bread. We meat rely upon the effect of similar publicity
to ream* the price of meat. The butchers will soon find
it to be impossible to keep up their prices when the public
know them to be extravagant.. Thu present prices are the
result of a panic, and the 1k3.4 News believes that the
butchers will see that the time has come fur a large and
general fall in the price of meat.

THE CoNNERVATIVE srERENDER.

!l6 The Daily IVrp.s thinks thellameittations of the Quarterly
Reeler, over the latest betrayal of constitutional principles
deserve greater respect and sympathy than such wailing*
usually meet with. The conservative surrender which is
deplored is a surrender of political and almost of personal
honour. The conservative leaders have recklessly flung
away all confidence in their political integrity, and have
exchanged the character of volunteers fighting in a cause
to which they wets devoted for that of mercenaries
anxious chiefly for pay and plunder. Lord Derby has
elevated (political profligacy to the rank of a principle
co,lly avowed and deliberately practised. Ravin; taken
office for the sake of his party, he uses his party simply as
a means of keeping office. Office on these terms, and for
these ends, will more rapidly disorganise by demoralising
the conservative party than a half century of opposition.
The Herald and Standard comment on the political
article in ,the Edialmrolt Berle,. The Herald declares
that it was the liberals and not the tories who threw out
Mr. Gladatont's bill, and that the passing of the bill last
session was the symbol, not of Mr. Bright's victory, hut of
his defeat. According to the Standard no conservative
really asserts that the settlement of the question of reform
is final ; he can only hope it is, and he oan say in justifica-
tion of his hope, that be has done his best to discourage
further agitation. At lead the Reform Act of this year
has done more in this direction than any other measure
that was ever proposed by the liberals. It is not perfect
and it is not complete ; but it is as near a conservative
measure as the liberals would permit it to be.