The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-14 00:00:00

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//..e79 I - -;-,- ''
- .---7...: seat on one eve* g, alld rescinding them before a couple
of weeks have passed. There is a dangerous spirit
r-• ..4ke
abroad. Mingle with what class of society you may,
'-'?',--- ---- ~ .: 4' ei.,
' I,l'es•-•::.ietie ', 1 ' -'-!'e 1 ~t you find it pervaded by a vague and aimless sense of die-
, Yi i
.. 4 ..4 satisfaction. All men feel bitterlythat the war has been.
--- '.. 4, ) . • - 4 !..`e N' + mismanaged ; and that, in consequence, many valuable
lives have been wantonly and unnecessarily thrown
away, and disgrace brought on the national arms. But
they know not exactly whe ought to be blamed, or how
the evil can be amended. They aro in a mood to be
angry with everything and everybody. They rail at the
Peelites as the main Pause of the misehief ; they rail at
the Liberals who have stuck by them, for lending theta
countenance ; they rail at Lord John Russell, both for
adhering so long to his ex-colleagues and for leaving
them. It is easy to say that all this is very unreason-
able ; it is not the less dangerous of that account. But
it is not altogether unreasonable. It is the natural
temper of a nation suddenly awakened to the conscious-
ness that those whom it trusted with the conduct of its
affairs have led it into a position of extreme peril, and
unable, at the moment, to discover any means of extri-
cating itself from the danger. It is exactly the mood in
which a people is in danger of being betrayed into rash
and destructive courses, unless it can find clear-sighted
and fearless leaders.
And the aristocratic graspers at a monopoly of poli-
tical power, who are the principal cause of the danger,
are awakening to a sense of the peril to which they have
exposed themselves and the country. You may read it
in their tremulous tones and pallid faces. They see that
a great crisis is impending : theycannot divine its nature
—they cannot conjecture its results—and the darkness
and mystery that obscure their own and the nation's
future appals their souls. The only persons among theta
who remain imperturbable are the Peelites ; and their
self-possession is simply the result of that intense self-
conceit which blinds them to the feeling the country en-
tertains towards then).
The crisis is indeed full of danger ; but the country
has passed through many that have been snore dan-
gerous. Some such rude shock as they have received
was necessary to awaken Englishmen to a knowledge of
the precipice upon which they have been slumbering.
The unmanly social of aimless, universal grumbling will
not long possess them. Their confidence in their own
good sense and in the country's resources will soon
restore them to a snore worthy temper. In the
alliance of Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell
they will see a ray of hope. They know that the most
prominent feature in the Premier's character is a Fan-
-I;nine defiance of dangers, owing to which he is never
more thoroughly self-possessed than in extreme emer-
Lencies. In his eagerness to obtain the services of
ord John Russell at Vienna, they will sec the high.
estimation in which the Court and his late colleagues
hold that statesman. They will feel confident that
Lord John proceeds to Vienna with the view, if possible,
of makin , au honourable peace (and no peace that does
not give Eui one entire security against the inveterately
aggressive propensities of Russia can be honourable) ;
or, if that be impossible, of carrying on a more exten-
sive war. So long as Lord Palinersten and Lord John
Russell remain united, they aro mutual guarantees for.
each other's good faith.
Every possible obstacle will, no doubt, be thrown in
their way by the friends of the Czar—by the Peelitee,
the mammon-worshippers, and the puny eclectic politi-
cians of the Cornewall Lewis school. But the people
wid support them. And to be able effectively to sup-
port them, the people must be girding up their loans for
attrufierstthwatiththae
tahnreaaptproifiaacnhineglecgte;onnerwalaseleocnt
view to scare mutinous members of the House of Com-
lioyn.uttlertedis
mons into good behaviour. But every day adds to the
evidence that it is the only means by which a Ministry
that has at heart the interests and honour of pritain can
obtain the requisite power to carry its policy into effect.
Let all who sincerely wish for a thorough reform of our
military and naval establishments—all who wish to see
the people take their legitimate share in the administra-
tive as well as the legislative branches of government—
all who do not wish to hear the Reform Act of 1831
read backward, like a witch's prayers—be on the alert.

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FPRICE SD.

' OF TRE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

( Front the Tittles of this day.)
In the lift of every man there are certain periods when,
overcome b y some bodily weakness, led aside by sonic
strong pass iou, or engrossed by some fa,votarite pursuit,
he seems to lose his grasp over his destiny, to relax his
efforts after the end at which he is straining, and to sink
back into et Ise, indolence, and self-complacency. Much
such a perio d has this country passed through since the
establishmet it of Free Trade in 184 G. Immersed in the
pursuit of na aterial wealth, proud of the extension which
our noble pr liciple gave to our commerce, and happy in
the relief fro: n pauperism and the increased facility of
finding erripl :)yment, we have been only too well content
with things; as they were, and too little disposed to in-
quire what t hey should be. The revolutions of 1848,
and the mire es, miseries, and absurdities to which they
gave riser, it ad produced a reaction against liberal sym-
pathies t ;tad. opinions, and a tendency to submit without
inquiry t o v ;hatever authorities might be placed over us.
The else tiou of 1852 was a struggle for a principle vir-
tually co.nd emned already, and practically obsolete, arid
the nation only sought to strengthen the hands of those
in whose ad. hosier' to Free Trade they felt entire confi-
dence. Fri rm different circumstances it came to pass
that at no. 3 teriod since the Reform Bill had the ari.,to-
cratic fare ili es obtained so firm a hold on office, place,
and patroma ge as in the commencement of the year 1854.
They had Inducted our basirress for many years with-
out any ex-1 raordinary miscarriage or misfortune, and
we were col itent to leave them the field of politics as
their pecidir tr vocation and monopoly. But war has al-
ways been. •ncyted as an unsparing innovator, the de-
stroyer of mayentional respectabilities, and the over-
thrower of alt manner of snug and comfortable cliques
and cat( Ties. The experience of the last few mouths
has aws keacaL the people of England
_from their dreams
of w„itli at,-al. prosperity, from their .triditional self-gra-
tulaticns: Qier the naval and Military exploits of the rate
war, and. irom the supposition that men invested with
high ran!t t and clothed with great office are possessed of
faculties equal to the directiou of cur affairs whenever
there is nto re than an ordinary strain on the vessel of
the Stat.?. Our eyes ars open, and we behold that we
are naked. We ask f.r talent sufficient to conduct great
affairs to. at tcceasful conclusions, and instead of talent we
are offered titles and pedigrees. We ask for merit, and
we are rife' ed in exchange high connexion.=, or, at best,
seniorit2r. The cold shade of aristocracy is over us all,
and notliing can grow beneath it except the offshoots of
the tree itself. Up to the middle of November this
country believed itself to have armies, generals, state;:-
men, departments, all equal to their several duties, all
of the v Nry best the world could afford, and now, in the
middle )1" February, in tlire short months, all is changed,
or rathe r all is reversed. We have awoke from our
dream hope, prosperity, and success, to disaster and
dismay. Our generals have turned out, worse than use-
less, our Ministers something more than incapable, every
public d tpartment has been crushed into hopeless im-
becility 1 )y the weight of unbending routine and worth-
less form alities, and on no one occasion that we are aware
of has Cu right man been selected to fill the right place

EverytVing7 has been mismanaged to a degreOwhlcb, if
predicted, would have been deemed incredible ; yet, so
far as tb.e public are aware, no single official has yet
been rec alte (I, and, after a week's interregnum, Govern-
ment has been reconstituted and strengthened only by
the oinis.sio n of three of its leading members, and the
promotion.. •of one who is at least as guilty as any of thoze
omitted.

THE WEATHER, THE PARKS, de.

The people of England have remained quiet under all
these thiins. They have felt—as how should they not
feel ?—the mortality which has brought mourning to
every he: trth. They have noted—as how should they
not note .!—the incredible and inexplicable confusion and
stupidity which have presided over every department,
giving re silty to absurdities such as the most extrava-
gant imagination could never have painted, and occa-
sioning n tiserics such as the gloomiest prophet could
never he, re foreboded. Why the people have been so
long silerrt has been to most reflecting men a matter of
wonder and astonishment. They feel most acutely, but
they have remained hitherto passive spectators of the
method in. 'which their best hopes and dearest interests
have been. squandered and betrayed. Perhaps they have
cherished a hope that at the meeting of Parliament all
things wo ufd be well. Perhaps they have been content
to read ti zeir sentiment/ faithfully reflected in the co-
lumns of the press. 'Whatever be the cause of the
silence, that cause exists no longer, and .ve have to look
for an expression of public opinion from one end of this

The various Royal parks during yesterday presented
more the appearance of as many fairs in honour of some
great national event than the usually quiet promenades
set apart for the enjoyment of her Majesty's subjects.
The ice was literally covered with human beings, who
were amusing themselves by either eliding or skating,
and, as will be seen from the subjoined, a number of seri-
ous casualties occurred, which in all probability will
compel the sufferers to keep their beds, either in the
hospitals or at their respective homes, for the remainder
of the skating season.
The thermometer at the Royal Humane Society's re-
ceiving-house in Hyde Park, during the night of Mon-
day, fell as low again as 23, being 9 degrees below the
freezing point. Yesterday morning the quicksilver rose
to 25, and even at noon it rose no higher than 27, being
then 5 degrees below the freezing point. Towards seven
o'clock in the evening the mercury commenced to fall
rapidly, indicating a continuance of the present severe
weather. The barometer stood at 29.42. The wind,
which was north-east, was piercingly cold, and was ac-
companied by slight snow-storms, and in many places
the congealed substance was sent over the country dis-
tricts in such bodies as to cause great inconvenience to
pedestrians or persons passing along on horseback or in
vehicles.

country to- the other which will convey to our governing
classes a i nest clear and intelligible warning that the
patience of, the nation is exhausted, and that the neces-
sity for widening the area from which our Executive is
to be take tre is great and paramount. The enthusiastic
meeting at: the town of Derby has lea the way, and the
remaining towns of England will not be slow to follow.
The cry is, for practical statesmanship, for opening a free
career to talent, for placing our resources in hands equal
to the emergency. The Derby petitioners hold no ex-
travagant .or exaggerated language ; they declare their
conirimnoo. in the juotioo of the war, they express their
humiliation and regret at the disasters which have oc-
curred, they pray for a searching inquiry into their
causes, and suggest remedies adequate to the emergency
we have to meet. 'While Ministers are debating how to
fill up the most important offices with theleast competent
persons, avid considering the claims of rank, of family,
and of connexion—of everything except merit and capa-
city—while the friends of "rising young statesmen"
of the tree, breed are indefatigably soliciting their ad-
vancement from office to office, the people of England,
who care for none of these things, are gravely taking the
matter into their serious consideration, and coming to
conclusions but little favourable to the stability of the
present governing classes. We have been ready to
allow place and patronage to be monopolised by a few
great families. We have been content to live in our
own country, strangers to our own Governnient, ex-
cluded from the working of our own institutions, but it
was only on condition that oar national pride should be
respected, and our interests and position in the great
family of nations remain inviolate. This our aristocracy
have failed to secure to us, and therefore the people of
England will, we hope, deniand, in no spirit of wild and
theoretical levelling, in no spirit of hatred or animosity
to any portion of the community, but in the spirit of
practical reform of an urgent and intolerable grievance,
that the system which excludes plebeian talent from j
high office shall henceforth be discontinued, and that in
the army, at the desk, and in the council, those men
shall be called to the public service who are best able to
serve the public. We wish all success to this inovement.
It has been our painful lot to witness more nearly than
others and to obtain more ample information as to the
manner in which dais war has been conducted, and wed,,
not hesitate to express the opinion that without an entire

The Thames about Richmond is completely frozen
over, and no craft, even of the smallest description, can
either pass up or down the river. As low down as
Blackfriars-bridge a large surface of the water was yes-
terday covered with ice (on the upper side) to the width
of two of the centre arches, which extended many yards
from the piers of the bridge. This prevented any de-
ecziption of vessels from passing under that part of the
bridge. Nearly all the steam-vessels plying above Lon-
don Bridge have been compelled to be laid up for the
present, and strong fears are entertained, that, if the
present severe weather should last another week, a fair
will
in
iu the
syt.ea
Jr
almBles4
be able to be held on the Thames, as was the case
'a Park about 15 000 persons amused
themselves on the ice, which is now six inches thick. A
very novel scene took place in the enclosure, which drew
many thousands to the spot. Between 2 and 3 o'clock
a performance, termed the "Express Train," came off.
This consisted of 300 or 400 men, who extended back to
front nearly 100 yards. Having seized each other's coats
they started at a given signal, some whistling the " Rail.
way Overture," and others making a noise resembling
the blowing off the steam of a locomotive. This large
body of men who were at certain distances joined by
some of the Foot Guards, glided over the ice at the rate
of three-quarters of a mile per minute. Owing to the
exertions of Deputy Superintendent Parsons and the
icemen under him, the performance went off without
any of those engaged in the affair meeting with any
serious accident ; but owing to the continued crowding
of the spectators, about thirty persons were either
knocked doen or fell upon the ice, by which they sue-
tamed serious outs on the head and other injuries.
They were taken to the society's marquee, where their
wounds were dressed, and they were enabled to he sent
home ; but several other; by falling upon the ice, sus-
tained broken arms and legs, and these were forced to
be removed to the hospitals.
The Serpentine River in IT,lfde-park had upon the ice
about 8,000 sliders and skate rs ; amongst the number
were several members of the nobility, gentry, and clergy.
Five persons were run down, and had their heaths
cut open by falling on the points of the gentlemen's oer
ladies skates ; of the latter sex there were some hun-
dreds disporting themselves. It is here necessary to
state that the Serpentine River in Hyde-park, as far as
the bridge which divides Kensington-gardens, is under
the direction of H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge,
the ranger ; whilst the other part of the river, in the
gardens, is under the control of her Majesty's Commis.
sioners of Woods and Works. To prevent persons pass.
ing from the Park to Kensington-gardens iron chains
have been affixed to the middle of the arches, and car-
ried right across. In each link of the chains are heavy
spikes as sharp at the point as a bayonet. Owing to
the intensity of the frost these have become frozen, and
in some parts only the points of the spikes can be seen,
and when any ono is passing over them with great ra-
pidity along the ice, it is almost impossible to see the
spikes until in contact with them. This was the case
yesterday with Mr. Leslie, the honourable member for
Monaghan County, when the peak of hiv skates caught.
the projection, and ho fell upon the spikes with such
force that one of them entered the fleshy part of his
thigh, causing the blood to flow most copiously. Great
as the pain must have been, the honourable gentleman
had the presence of mind to take a silk handkerchief
from his pocket, and, after placing it round the wound,
with the aid of his walking cane he wound it up so tight
as to stop in a great measure the hmmorrhage. Some of
the icemen, under the direction of Mr. Williams and
his deputy, Mr. Murphy, took the sledge to his assist-
ance, and placed the sufferer thereon, intending to re.
move him to the receiving-house until his carriage to
take him home could arrive. Fortnnately, a cab came
along before he could reach the receiving-house, and
he was forthwith driven home, and was immediately
attended by Dr. Guthrie. The spike, being in such a
rusty state, it is feared that the hon. gentleman may
be laid up for some time. A female, with a child in
escaped a similar fate, as she fell
of one of the spikes, and if she had
hweirt
hairnmhsa,
fn aa ins oi
nwelhy
dropped upon. it she would have been injured for life.
It is the opinion of Mr. Williams that the chains and
spikes' ought to be removed forthwith, for if they are
allowed to remain until Sunday, presuming that the
frost should last so long, it will be next to an impossi-
bility to prevent several serious, and, perhaps, fatal ac-
cidents.

change of system, a substitution of youth and energy
for age and decrepitude—unless some plan can be hit
upon by which merit shall be the only criterion in the
filling up of civil and military offices—without, in fact,
a complete al,andonment of the claims of wealth, of
family, and of intetest, in favour of that higher nobi-
lity which the hand of God Las impressed on the fore-
head of every man of talent, it is vain for us to continue
the present contest, and better to accept any conditions,
however degrading and however humiliating, since no

degradation and no humiliation suffered at the hands of

the enemy can exceed those which our own ser►ility and
meanness have inflicted, and are about to inflict, upon

ourselves.

theO 0 O
Skating
The Long Water, in Kensington Gardens, had about
1,
sliderscainudb,skbnatterns,o including
dseevseerryalingmeamdbeetrasileodf
notice occurred during the day.
The Round Pond was patronised by not snore than
500 persons, and no accidents occurred.
The Regent's Park had about 12,000 persons upon
the ice, and several ladies and gentlemen were severely
injured by falling or being run down by the skaters.
The Crystal Palace Company of Syclenham have also
afforded a beautiful sheet of water for some of the meta.
bers of the Skating Club and others to enjoy the exhila-
rating exercise without any risk of being drowned; and,
moreover, the ice of this place is in a far better condition
than in any of the Royal parks.
The Victoria Park in the east was also crowded with
sliders and skaters, but no accident of a serious cha.
racter, beyend a few cut heads, took place.

ARRIVALS OF GOLD.—The arrivals of gold yesterday
consisted of 60,0001. by the Canada and 6,0001. by the
Hermann, from New York, together with 8,0001.` by
the Candac,,, from Africa, making a t0".,a1• of 74,0001.
The Solent has taken out 24,0001. in gold, and 13,0001.
in silyer, for Lisbon, Brazil, eze.

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