Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-01-09 00:00:00

—appears to receive countenance, if not confir-

mation, from.t*faetthat the news is sefid to
have. produced a ;veri-
.painful feeling of alarm

and_consernation. in the mind of Pius IX. . We
learn thai, last Saturday, his Holiness,. on receipt
of the intelligence, summoned around, Liu the

principal members of the Sacred College, and
addressed them on the subject of the- change in

, the French Cabinet, in the -most lachrymose
The Pope evidently, regarrds the

manner.

removal .41 Cgant Walewaki from the• French

Foreign. Office as a calamity to the Popedem.
He declared, however, notwithstanding this

ominous and significant eveht, that "he

would never fail in the mission which God
has intrusted to him : and that, like his.
predecessor, Pius VII., he would rather suer
exile, and even martyrdom." There does not,.
however, at present, appear to be any necessity
for his suffering either alternative, if he will only
remain content as he is. Nor is it very clear

what is the other alternative scr magniloquently
rejected by the Holy Father. Does he mean that

for-him to accept the proposals of the pamphlet

on "the Pope and the Congress" would be to fail

in the mission God. has intrusted to--Itim-?---Can
he, "the common father of all the faithful," mean,
by these words, that the maintenance of his tem-
poral power in-the Romagna, in spite of the revolt,
is essential to the fulfilment of his ft! great and
holy mission ?" If he really thinks so, we need
not wonder, in the circumstances, that he should
feel and express great concern for the future—but
surely this is one of those points to which the
dogma of the infallibility of his judgment may
safely be held not immediately to apply.
It is now pretty evident that Louis Napoleon
is very desirous of dragging England into a
treaty with France for the armed protection of
'the Italians. Indeed, it is rumoured that Lord
Cowley has come from Pdris to London with a
proposal from the Emperor to that effect—a pro-
posal which is,' of course, meant to carry with it
a.pledge of forcible resistance on our part, if need
-be, to any contravention of its terms. This is
rather a' delicate point ; because, while,- on' the
one hand, all our sympathies are undoubtedly
with the Italians, and we are most willing-Wdb
anything in our power to promote their cause,
:consistently with our own honour,' dignity, and
interests as a nation,—on the other hand, we can
never consent to an armed intervention in a diffi-
culty which is not of our making, and in a matter
with which, after all, we are -in no wise imme-
diately concerned. Moreover, we are inclined to
think that such a treaty as the French Emperor
is now undertood to propose to England is, in
the circumstances, not more strange and impolitic
than it is, at this time of day, unnecessary and

impossible.
The Times would not appear to set much store
by Mr. John Bright's reform speeches. The
report we were enabled to give, on Saturday
morning, of that which he delivered at the.great re-
form meeting at Birmingham the night before, was
quite as ample, we observe, as that which the lead-
ing journal has given. The Morning Herald, on the
other hand, although, of course, as a Conservative
journal, much less interested in the proceedings
of such reform meetings, gave about five columns
of closely printed matter as a report of the
meeting of Friday night, the greater part of
which was Mr. Bright's speech. The speech,
however, after all, contains little or nothing but
what Mr. Bright had said a hundred times before.
He advocated a measure of reform which would
throw the political power of the country so com-
pletely into the hands of the democracy, that our
present Constitution would have no chance of
sustaining such a shock as it must thereby re-
ceive. It is on this ground that all parties who
do not wish to see a revolutionin this country,
the issue of which would be to republicanise our
institutions, must combine to resist the machina-
tions of such psuedo-reformers as Mr. Bright.
The appointment of the Rev. Mr. Beckles to
the bishopric of Sierra Leone is one of great
interest. The district in which the bishop-elect
is called to labour has, from its well known effects
upon Europeans in time past, been graphically
denominated " the white man's grave ;" and
already three English bishops have, within a
comparatively brief period, paid the sacrifice of
their lives in the noble effort to confer on the
inhabitants of that sunny clime the benefits of
the Gospel, and of a pure Church of Christ. The
death of the late pious prelate, who last year fell
a victim to the insalubrity of that tropical region,
must still be fresh in the minds of our readers.
We heartily-wish the newly appointed bishop
" God speed," and much success at his glorious
work, in the sphere to which he is about so
faithfully to devote himself.
It will be noticed with regret that an English
brig, named the Eting, has been wrecked on the
coast near Cadiz. No further particulars are
given by the telegram which conveys the
melancholy intelligence.

Another of those serious occurrences which have
of late been. only too numerous, arising from want
of caution in heating church flues took place yes-
terday in Dublin, where St. Andrew's Church,
immediately after Morning Service, took_ .fire
fronythis cause, it is supposed ; and we regret to
learn, that, in , consequence; the edifice has been
utterly destroyed—nothing
but bare walls having
been left standing.
. We publish to-day another valuable communi-
cation from Professor Houghton, on
Tidal-
Currents. This is the fifth letter with which
the Professor has favoured us ; and, in a practical
point of view, it is perhaps the most important of
the series. Professor Houghton, it must be re-
membered, is a gentleman of the highest scientific
attainments, and:one who has devoted very great
and special attoution to the subject of Tidal Cur-

rents. His views are, thereforeilentitled to the
utmost consideration of all who are concerned jo
the interesting subject of which 'he treats.

WouLto it not be a strange• thing if, after having
affectedly lamented his inability to handle or. see
that supposed entity called the British Constitu-
tion, the member for Birmingham were, at this
eleventh hoar of Reform anticipation and pre-
paration, to come oat a, Constitutionalist ? Is
Said also among the prophets Do we hear Mr
BRIGHT pratingin old-fashioned vein about the
integrity and stability' of the Constitution?.
We must enter a cavrat against this malappro-
priation of character. Small as our stock .of
admiration is, it is a; shock to' the very little• we
have left, to see, the relentless democrat forget-
getting or simulating his part: If we. could
suspect him of acquaintance with' anything
ancient, we might remind him of the ancient,
maxim, Si quid iitexpertuta c.,servetwr ad. iinunt.
Now that BRIGHT. is- getting well to, the
depths of his formidable theories, the least lve
expect of him is, no hesitation or &kering: of
speech. If the- world finds him—otice so supreme
in his confidence and thoroughness, so. entirelf
self-possessed and self-poised—feeling about for.
a footing, looking anxiously for a twig .to' hold en
by, and preparing nervously for some last resort
in case of a possible collapse in his gigantic
schemes, the, small flock that has begun to follow
after him by habit, will lose faith in their
liel-
wether, and gradually slink off into any: chi-ince
hole or corner by the way. Even his critics,. who
have been accustomed to take it as a very solid
diversion "to track the political monster. to the
scenes of his savage recreation as to a beer bait,
will scarcely wish to see him bereft all at once of
that last virtue which belongs to political as to
other forma of lunacy, and which consists in
certain rage and fever heat of consistency. We
have quite a disinclination to see the object of so
much of our most dignified and solemn reprobation
lose that respectability which has been hitherto
preserved to his character by its rude and daring
strength, and invincible self-belief. We would
still have him a fit object for our opposition
and in some "sense worthy of our weightiest
blows. We are much mistaken if Mr. BRIG;IT
does not dread indifference and contempt_ more
than anything. Let him pluckup courage, then,
and never give in. If we once see him creeping
to our feet with a leer upon his countenance, and
balm upon his lips, we have nothing for him but
a shrug and a pshaw ! It is all over with him.
No,--whatever amount of equivocation or conces-
' -sion, or willingness to come to terms, or hear
reason, there is in the world,—give us, p give OP
JOHN BRIGHT "game to the last." Serretur a&

mum.
Yet what are we to say ? The Cynic of old,
who lit his taper in the broad day, knew his busi-
ness too well, ever to admit that he had stumbled
upon the object of his search. Furnish DIOGErmS
with " asMan," and his _occupation is gone. He
can no more rail against humanity. His vanity,
has no longer any capital of affected pre-eminence
to draw upon. Let him no longer wait in his
tub for ALEXANDER to visit him, nor think that
his own name outweighs that of the conqueror of
the world. But in what quarters has the political
Cynic been peering with his farthing rush-light
to fall so suddenly upon that undiscoverable and
unrealised thing, a Constitution ? We had never
expected to see Mr. BRIGHT turning aside from
his majestic march into the gutter where lie in
ugly and indistinguishable confusion those ruined,
playthings and idols of clay, kings and aristocracies
and their political abortions. We shall next have
this virtuous despiser of contemporary greatness
admitting the English aristocracy to his level, and
talking nonsense about the institutions of his
country. Fancy the revulsion of feeling on con-
templating DIoGENES kicking his tub into the
kennel, and with combed locks and sleek apparel
bowing down before ALEXANDER ! If we want a
modern realisation of the idea, we have it in the
virtuous republican at Birmingham last Friday,
whose demagogic roar has sunk into a modest
justification of " the fundamental principles of
the Constitution," the monarchical and aristo-
cratical Constitution!
It must be confessed that Mr. BRIGHT
has fairly puzzled us. The most satisfactory
feature in this man's history had been, the admi-
rable transparency of his motives,. the easiness, to
a fault, of understanding him. It is not of many
of our leading politicians that the like can be
said. The professions of Lord JOHN RusszLl
come to us in a very snspicious guise, when
coupled with the easiness of temperament he has
displayed towards everything which is most
questionable and most dangerous in the political
movements of the day. The doubtful position of
the Peelites, and the very uncertain sound with
which they summon their followers to no very
definite contest, is one of the most embarrassing
features in the aspect of politics. But at 'bast
Mr. BRIGHT has always stood out in the boldest
relief. No one had any doubt as to his position,
or intentions. If he supported measures which
he accepted without enthusiasm, he made no
secret of telling us that he did so only as instal-
ments. He always avowed the most extreme
designs with a charming abience of reservation,
or affectation of respect for our young and un-
fledged ideas. He did not scruple to warn us of our
imminent danger by confident predictions of
ultimate success, and stout resolutions never to
stop short of that decisive issue. Now do we
. really discern signs of Mr. BRIGHT'S drawing
back a little, and hinting at compromise ? Has
a little of his ice melted within him, and is his
• faculty of reverence beginning to have freer play ?
Or is he becoming a tactician, and adopting the
artifices of the conspirator who means more than
• he says ? Certain it is, Mr. BRIG= has affected,