The Express.
London, England, 1866-11-09 00:00:00

THE CHAIRMAN OP THE NORTH BRMSH RAILICAT.

The exculpatory letter of Mr. Hodgson amounts, in the
opinion of the Times, to the virtual admission of every one
of the accusations brought against him, though he adds for
his justification that all his acts were in pursuance of a
wise and necessary policy ; that they were less irregular
than the acts of others in his position ; that
I they were for the real advantage of the com-
pany ; that the good fruit is visible at this very
moment ; and that the results would be still more
unimpeachable had it not been for the " impatience
and irresolution" of the shareholders themselves.
The shareholders have got their " property ;" they could
not have got it except at the cost which they now com-
plain of, and they must set one side of tho question against
the other. It was absolutely necessary, he represents, to
"cook the accounts ;" it was equally necessary to conceal
the cooking ; and now this triumphant policy would not
have plunged the company into the slough of insolvency
had it not been for the ominous split in the company
itself. The collapse on this account came, and with it the
catastrophe and its attendant revelations. It will not be
difficult either for railway shareholders or the outside
Public to apply the moral.

MISCELLANDIVS
Quoting colonial papers both for and against the project
of confederation, the Doily News asks that facts and argu-
ments shall be deliberately examined, and an independent
judgment be formed by the imperial legislature, as it is
sufficiently clear from the manner in which the
question is discussed in Canada that, whatever
else confederation may be, it is a device for esta-
blishing a yet firmer bold on the imperial treasury. Those
Englishmen who know the provinces and care for the suc-
cess of free government tremble as often as they hear that
its public men are on their way to England, knowing that
th,y never come without some financial project. Whether
these men know it or not, they are piling up materials for
a grand explosion which will some day rend the colony

from the mother country.
The Times agrees with "S. G. 0." in the contrast
which he has drawn, so much to the annoyance of the
Bishop of Salisbury, between that prelate and his ritualistic
clergy and the bishops and priests of the Roman
communion. The assumptions of the bishop can
neva- be more than the creed of a narrow clique
of clerical and semi-clerical society ; and they arc
rejected by the vast majority of those who adhere to the
church of England. The tendency of the English people
it more and more to avoid sacerdotal forms of religion, and I
it would be a serious consideration for the high church
party that they are giving the church a character which
takes away the sympathy of all who desire intellectual
advance. Let them beware lest the church of England
should become, under their guidance, like the church of
France in the indifference of the educated laity and the
. .

gulf between them and the clerical order.
The Pat and the Tettyraph are much dissatisfied at the
Republican BUCCeiilleS in the American elections, the for:lhr
saying plainly that Mr. Johnson would have law on his side
if he refused to acknowledge a body composed of the repre-
sentatives of the Northern States alone, as such a congress
is not contemplated by the constitution. The Telegraph '
laments the days of Southern and pro-slavery ascendancy,
and cannot note without regret the contrast between the
time when every American was proud of his country and
had a share in its govern:nent. and the present condition
of affairs, when two-thirds of the people look with distrust
and suspicion on the remainder.
The Herald professes to know that Mr. Gladstone went
to Italy with the purpose of reconciling the Pope to the
loss of his throne ; and that the Pope in the interview
showed that he duly appreciated the " consummate imper-
tinence," and sent his visitor away with a Ilea in the ear.
The Herold then goes on to argue that the catholic powers
and the protestant powers with catholic subjects have the
deepest interest in the maintenance of the Pope at Rome,
with a temporal autho-ity of a greater or less extent.
What will Rome itself—what will Italy be—without the
Papacy? There is not an Italian who can contemplate
such a state of things without the greatest apprehension.
The only mediator who could succeed, the Herald con-
alders, is the Emperor of the French.
Vice-Chancellor Stuart having declined to interfere be"
tween the rival publishers of the Belgravia, the Star ad-
vises them to submit the question to the arbitration of one
or two literary men or publishers, and argues that there
ought to be a statute of limitations to fix a time, and that
not a long one, after which all claim to a registered title
if unused must lapse ; also that there ought to be a
prompt and easy way of ascertaining whether the title one
is about to register has been registered before ; and, in-
deed, that none should be received at all if the same title
had been previously registered by some one else, and was
still valid.

Mn. J. S. MILL AN D THE LATE MR BIICKLI.—
We learn, from the best authority, that the state-
ment which has appeared in several newspapers,
that Mr. J. S. Mill is engaged in editing either
the entire works or the posthumous papers of Mr.
Buckle, is unfounded.—Daily News.
On Tuesday night Professor Blackie delivered
the first of two lectures on "Plato" to the members of
the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution. The lecturer
was accompanied to the platform by a number of the
supporters of the institution, and the hall was filled by
lug. attendance of members.