The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-06 00:00:00

REPRESENTATION OF SOUTHWARK.

Last night another muster of the supporters of Sir C.
Napier took place at the Literary and Scientific Institu-
tion in the Borough-road. The assemblage was as large
as the dimensions of the building admitted of, and there
was apparently about the same proportion of electors to
non-electors as is usually to be met with at such gather-
in7s.

The chair was occupied by Dr. EVANS, who opened
the proceedings by expressing his regret that there was
not in the borough a room sufficiently large to accommo-
date those who were desirous of being present. He then
observed
i upon the circumstance of there being two can-
didates n the field, and, while eschewing anything like
personalities with reference to the other candidate, he
urged in strong terms what he conceived to be the claims
of tLe gallant Admiral. He preferred the representative
of public interests to him who represented local interests
alone, and he put it to the meeting what sort of a place
the House of Commons would be if every borough in the
kingdom sent only local representatives to the great con-
gress of the nation.
Sir C. NAPIER, who was received with the enthusiasm
of a popular favourite, said that he did no conceal from
himself the position which he was in. If they did him the
honour to return him to Parliament, it would perhaps be
one of the greatest triumphs that ever a gentleman or as
officer had achieved ; but if, on the other hand, he should
not be fortunate enough to be returned, he confessed that
it would be " a heavy blow and great discouragement."
He did hope, however, and he should say that he was
almost certain, that they would return him to Parlia-
ment with a triumphant majority. (Cheers, and cries of
" We will.") lie bad seen in a newspaper of that morn-
ing's date a letter, addressed to the editor, asking whether
he were not a decrepit old man l He asked them, did he
look very decrepit'? (" No.") Five or six years ago, when
the Government thought proper to intrust him with the
command of the Channel fleet, they did not think him de-
crepit ; and again, in the year 1854, when they sent him
to command a fleet which was manned by 20,000 men, he
was not thought very decrepit. At any rate, he had been
able, in spite of storms, fogs, and tempests, to conduct that
fleet through the Baltic Sea and into the Gulf of Finland.
(Cheers.) He was not ashamed of his age—far from it.
Thank God, he had good health and strength, and be had
no doubt, if they sent him to Parliament, that he should
be able to do his duty as well as many a younger man.
(Cheers.) He understood that his opponent (Mr. Scovell)
was about to adopt the plan which he (Sir C. Napier)
had adopted from the first—that of holding open-air
meetings. If Mr. Scovell began holding meetings, he
trusted that none of his friends would go there to disturb
there. Such conduct was un-English and unfair. Every
man, friend or foe, was entitled to a fair hearing, and, if
they wanted to beat a man, the best way to do it was to
be open and aboveboard with him. (Cheers.) However,
if Mr. ScoVell held an open-air meeting, he (Sir Chas.
Napier) would be there to hear what had to be said ;
because it was best to hear what every one had to say,
and then at future meetings he might be able to give to
any statements which might be made a triumphant an-
swer. (Cheers.) After going through the principal
points of his address, the gallant Admiral said, with re-
gard to what was called " Administrative Reform," that
he bad been an administrative reformer before the term
had become almost a byword. So long as 1816 he had
written letters on the subject of naval reform, and he
had gone with it almost ever since. He was happy to
say that many things which he had recommended had
since been carried out ; but, asthey had not been adopted
at the time, they were not allowed to appear as reforms
of his suggesting, but as emanating from the Govern-
ment of the day. (Cheers.) He declared that be was
not a factious man, that he did not wish to disturb the
Government, and that if a Tory Government were in
power to-morrow, and conducted the affairs of the coun-
try properly, he would support it as readily as any other.
He believed that on Tuesday next the Speaker's warrant
would be issued, fixing the time for the election. The
writ would be returned in three days ; it then remained
for the High Bailiff to appoint what day he pleased for
the election ; and so far as he could judge, he did not
believe that it would take place before next Monday
week. There was ample time in 14 days for a people
to
do a great deal towards securing the return of a ca.. his°P
y
date. Ho trusted and believed that no friend of
would use undue influence to insure his success ; for
if
he thought that he could only be retur' el by undue or
unfair means, he would much rather not be returned to
Charley Parliament at all. (Cries of " Bravo !")
Unfortunately, the country was not so far
advanced in
a
i electors
th e
poll.
Parliamentary reform as it ought to _
0, OOO
to
be ; and,and a
Southwark
of thi sn,
not
te
abovebel ev
,doot that out
ever of
gone
That could not be called a full and free representation
of the people. Ho hoped that the forthcoming elec-
tion would be of a different description, and that more
electors would be polled than had ever been before. At
all events, if a good proportion of those who had stayed
away before' voted now, he should be returned by a
triumphant majority, even though Mr. Scovell polled
considerably more than at the last election. (Cheers.)

So far as local interests were concerned, he really did
not see why he should not be able to represent them
quite as well as his hon. opponent. It was not very dif-
ficult to " know" what was wanted—the difficulty, un•
fortunately, was to "obtain" it. (Cheers.) He promised,
if returned, to be always at his post, to give every at-
tention to the subject of local interests, to have his door
communicationoever, h whiche
always open to his constituents, and to reply to every
the country was for war, and he trusted that it would
be carried on with a vigour which would inflict such
heavy blows upon the enemy as to compel him, before
mustm might
tthbas t thesent generaltnhim. feelingßeyenodf
this,
hw
the end of next year,- to come forward and sue for peace.
(Applause.) He had' seen with pride and satisfaction
the success with which his friend Admiral Lyons had
carried on operations in the Black Sea, .and he had no
doubt, if the Government came forward as they ought
to do, and sent an overwhelming -force to the Baltic,
that we might be able to strike such blows against the
Emperor of Russia as would make him tremble for him-
self even in his own palace of St. Petersburg. (Immense
cheering, accompanied with .ws.ving of hats and other
demonstrations of approval, followed the conclusion of
the gallant Admiral's address.)
Air. GREGORY moved, and Mr. BRITTEN seconded, a
resolution expressive of confidence in Sir C. Napier, and
after a brief interval allowed for questions, in the course
of.which nothing of any importance was proposed, it
was. carried with entllpsiaßtiojkip.,:.,y;,l.,:,,,---H
--The isioesodiego-teratiniesMAllW-W,l
ihe ehairman,'and an itlivinctioi to the electors to "go
early to the poll"

Spirit of the Public Joiumals.

(From the Times of this day.)

The vacancy created in the Cabinet by the death
of Sir William Molesworth remains still unsup-
plied. There are circumstances which render the
selection of a Minister for this important office pe-
culiarly difficult. Sir William Molesworth was
not only thoroughly versed in colonial affairs, and
better qualified than any other statesman of the
day to inaugurate the new imperial policy with re-
gard to the foreign dependencies of the Crown, but
he was also what we fear at this moment is regarded
as even of more consequence—an honest and con-
sistent supporter of the war, ffrmly determined to
listen to no terms of peace which should not secure
to this Government the most emphatic admission
that every object for which we took up arms had
been fully and completely obtained. The reputation
of his Government, and the credit which he has
justly earned by strengthening his Administration
with all the available talent that could be found,
forbade Lord Palmerston to neglect either of

,hese considerations. Ho must also have been, we

imagine, anxious, if possible, to find the new
Secretary of State in the House of Commons,
where his Ministry certainly requires strength,
in order to meet the very powerful opposition
that is sure, whatever disclaimers we may now
hear, to be ranged against it. If the faculty
of speaking well were coincident with that of
sound judment, we should certainly have
reason to be intimidated at the large amount of
Parliamentary talent which is arrayed in favour of
a dislionourable peace, and this fact, though it does
not shake our conviction, certainly imposes great
difficulty in filling up the ranks of an Administra-
tion. In this position of affairs Lord Palmerston
offered the seals of the Colonies to Lord Stanley.
The ordinary view of such an advance would be to
consider it as a means of breaking up and disunit-
ing the Opposition, as a Machiavellian policy the
aim of which was to draw from the side of Mr.
Disraeli and Lord Derby a young nobleman who,
independently of his rank and prospects, is cer-
tainly by far the most promising member of the
House of Commons of his age. It has been thought
that such a step would break up the Opposition
and very materially strengthen the Government.
If these were the grounds on which the Colonies
were offered to Lord Stanley, we confess we should
think the appointment hardly defensible. Public
office is not merely the reward for party manwuvre,
and ought not to be put up for sale either for
money, for Parliamentary influence, or for any
other consideration than that of fitness. To appoint
an administrator for fifty dependencies and a coun-
sellor in a crisis of so much difficulty and danger
is too serious a duty to be mixed up with consi-
derations of so low and grovelling a character.
We doubt very much whether it be the interest
of the present Government to seek at this time ma-
terially to weaken au Opposition the greatest part
of which is prepared to give them a fair and honest,
support on the one question of the day—the vigor-
ous prosecution of the war with Russia ; and
whether such a course would not be calculated to
create new combinations by which Mr. Gladstone
and his friends might turn out to be the only
gainers. It may also be a question whether the
separation of Lord Stanley from the Tory party—
an event sooner or later absolutely certain, from
the entire discrepancy of sentiment and opinion
which exists between them—would have the effect
imputed to it ; or whether any considerable portion
of the Conservatives would follow a man whose
sympathies carry him far nearer to Mr. Bright than
to Lord Derby or to Mr. Disreali. Still there are
reasons which make the offer of the Colonies to
Lord Stanley both a wise and a creditable pro-
ceeding to Lord Palmerston. Lord Stanley is
not yet 30 years of age, but nobody doubts his
talents or his liberality. With a physical defect
which places mere oratorical display out of his
reach, ho has nevertheless contrived to win
the attention and command the respect of the
House of Commons. Nobody doubts his ability,
his industry, or his honesty. Nobody doubts that
in him we have a man destined to play a very
remarkable part in the history of the coming time.
To have selected such a man for high office, instead
of going back to that ever ready depot of recruits,
the fourth row behind the Treasury bench, was
both bold and wise. It was a gallant attempt to
emancipate the Government from mere family con-
nexion, and give it a basis worthy of the thoroughly
popular and liberal principle on which it is founded.
The worst that can be said of the attempt to
obtain the assistance of Lord Stanley at the present
juncture is that it has failed, and there aro some
things in which a want of success is a strong argu-
ment against the wisdom of the attempt. Lord
Stanley was at first, wo understand, undecided.
but ultimately ho took Lord Derby's advice, and,
that advice being adverse to acceptance, he de-
clined. We are not apprised of the grounds of
difference ; but certainly, when we remember the
speech made by Lord Stanley on Mr. Disraeli's
motion with regard to the Vienna Conferences, we
should not be surprised to learn that the refusal
arose from the inability of Lord Stanley to
acquiesce in the warlike policy of the present
Government. If that were so, we can only regret
that the prospect of obtaining Lord Stanley's ser-
vices for the country at the present moment
should be lost to us, but we must render justice
to the honourable consistency which induced so
young a man to refuse so high a position----3
posi-
tion which many holding similar sentiments would
f
not hesitate to fill. It is the practice of most of
our contemporaries to produce candidates of their
ir
own for every vacant office, and on the present
oc-
casion Government has been favoured.
with S
very singular suggestions on the su b j
e e some
we do not conceive to be the duty of a journauch list.
It is the business of Government to choose ; it is
ours to offer an opinion on the choice. But this
we have certainly a right to expect—that, to whom-
soever the seals of the Colonies shall be delivered,
he shall be a man in whom the country may
thoroughly confide as tot the a
e Coloniesquestionsre
t rathero Lo
of
inclined
war and
d Stan-
ley t peace. If by offering the
Lord Palmerston, .as w
o
believe, placed a seat in his
Cabinet at the disposal
of one who does not go heartily with the people in
their anxiety for the prosecution of the war and
their
aversion from a re-opening of the Confer-
ences of Vienna, let not the error be committed
a second time. We are most anxious the Colonies
should be properly administered, but at this mo-
ment we are still more anxious that the honour of
the country should be sacredly and inviolably
maintained. A man who aids us on this subject
is our friend, be his antecedents what they may ;
the man who thwarts us on this subject is our
enemy, be his professions and principles never so
specious on all other points. We have had enough
of divided counsels, and cannot afford to risk the
manifest danger to our safety abroad and the
stability of our Government at home which will
be sure to arise if the people should once
more begin to doubt the firmness and unanimity of
the Government. We are preparing ourselves for
battle, and may reasonably ask that the trumpet
we are to follow shall give no uncertain sound. The
appointment of the new Minister will be regarded
throughout Europe as an index of the present state
of opinion in the British Government. No mani-
festo in favour of war could be so powerful as the
appointment of a Minister thoroughly committed
to its prosecution. Nothing could be done which
would so effectually encourage the schemes of all
those who hate and fear us as to raise to high office

(From the Morning Herald of this day.)
Not long since a committee was appointed by an
eminent scientific society to ascertain and report
on the best methods of drawing the patronage and
consideration of the Government to the pursuit of
science under difficulties. It was hoped that I-y
urging the claims of men who had devoted time
and fortune to pursuits unremunerative to them-
selves, but of great national importance, the Go-
vernment might be induced to extend to scientific
attainments some portion of those golden smiles
now wantonly and exclusively lavished on mere
political services. We have no fault to find with
the proposal ; whatever is done to urge the claims
of genius, literature, or science on the attention of
a nation, notoriously indifferent to these claims in
its collective capacity, shall command our respect-
ful consideration. At the same time, we think
that such an intention would have had a far bet-
ter chance of success, and been more likely to gain
general sympathy, if, instead of confining its efforts
to one class of literary men, it had extended those
efforts to all, and used its best endeavours to urge
the necessity of some better provision for literary
and scientific merits—we are ashamed to add—
literary and scientific destitution.
These remarks have been drawn from us'. by a
correspondence which has taken place between Mr.
Hallam, Mr. Macaulay, Mr. Dickens, and others,
and the head of her Majesty's Government, rela-
gtiovdedtaougtwhtoorof thegentlewomen,
D r. Samuel Johnson,sisters,oneofthe thmao
lexicographer. Singularly enough another letter
appears at the same time from Walter Savage Lan-
dor, in the columns of a contempora, calling at. • ' ' • yY
tention to a James j:),fpe living it:4

Mizreteazs. and. 'smilragees
tha.l:lsarnLyotnwdoonp"rlaevgodzvii:
the language. It appears that the Misses Lowe,
the two ladies alluded to, and James Defoe, have
been left friendless and helpless ;—like some few
others, they have no stay but the noble thoUghts
of their connections and the remembrance of
names that England would not willingly let die ;
noble but inadequate guardians against those ills
which fall hardest on the solitary and the aged.
Lord Palmerston, in his reply, did not consider
that the Literary Fund, under his disposal, "could
be meddled with for a pension to the goddaughter
of Dr. Johnson"—and, perhaps, in the strict letter
of his interpretation, he was right. It might lead
to more trouble than Governments are generally,
willing to undergo if the relatives of deceased lite-
rary men were put forward as objects of the national
bounty. And consequently au appeal has been
made to the nation ; happily, it may seem, with-
out Miss Lowe's privity—for age has not been
without its effects—to raise in her behalf 4001.
That the result will be successful we cannot
entertain a doubt ; and, therefore, it would seem
superfluous to recommend this proposal to our
readers. But we hope that this appeal will not be
lost on the nation, and that the efforts of Carlyle,
Dickens, and Forster, may lead to some more per-
manent and extended good than—good as it is—
the present case commends. Let any man consi-
der, for a moment, the literature of this country ;
let him consider what it has done for us as a
nation—(take that side only)—and then consider
what the nation, as such, has done for its literature
and literary men. It is not only that we have a
larger, a nobler, a purer, a more connected body ( f
literature, than any other nation ever had or has,
past or present; on this bead we might dilate
" until the crack of doom ;" and all this is patimt.
What we now insist upon is, that as a nation—and
in the lowest national point of view the literature
of this country has done more for its well-being
and the well-being of its Government than all
the laws, the police, the constitutions and.. in-
stitutions of it put together. As a body the lite-
rature of this country—all, at all events, which
has left any permanent impression on the pub-
lic mind, has been ou the side of law, of order, .
and we are bold to say it, of religion, if that word
be truly interpreted. How many feelings of our
better nature have been called by it into vigorous
and' successful combat against our worse ones ?
How many hours otherwise doomed to be wasted
in dissipation, in the streets or in the watch-house,
has this same literature of ours with noblest
alchemy converted into golden moments ? How
many riots has it kept down, or moderated when
afoot But it is not our purpose to launch out
into a needless eulogy on that which every man
praises and most men value. What we urge is—
that Government, as a Government, is incalculably
indebted to it—that but for this literature—with
our strong political tendencies and strong political
excitements, Government would find it very hard
to get on at all. It would have to multiply, its
police and double its files of soldiers. Not a dirty
job would it do, and hardly a clean one ; did not
men know that their own fireside, and locked
up in a small bookcase, there was a sedative for the
ills of life far better than beer, opium, or politics ;
glimpses in comfortable nooks and corners at the
invisible world ; prophets and poets, who, had
diviner things to tell of law, order, and govern-
ment than the loudest or the longest of parliamen-
tary orators. As the best kind of police there-
fore, we do think that literary and scientific ni•a
are fully entitled to their retiring pension, moz•
than all the civil or military services in the world.
Why, then, are they without it ? And why does a
nation, not ungenerous in rewarding those who
serve it, grudge the least token of its liberality- to
those who are at once its best of servants and wisest
of masters ?