The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-02 00:00:00

LONDON. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1855.

Elsewhere we publish in our impression of this
evening the record of a rather significant incident
which transpired only yesterday, upon the occa-
sion of an educational meeting held at the little
market town. of Fakenham clown in Norfolkshire.
It will be observed that this incident was nothing
less than the reading by the Chairman (the hon-
ourable representative for the borough of Tam-
worth) of a very mysterious communication
ddressed to Sir W. JONES, Bart., by the
Noble Lord the member for Lynn Regis. The
cireurestanze out of whi©h the epistle itself may
be said to have emerged can no doubt be readily
enough explained and appreciated—namely, the
disippointrnent of L)rd STANLEY in consequence
of his unavoidable absence from an assemblage, to

the' originators of which, ii; appears, be had pre-
viously prozni•ied whatever advantages might ac-
crue from his personal attendance. That, to be

sure, is a matter, so to speak, of every
day recurrence. Every one is liable, at
all times, to these kind of unforeseen and
wholly fortuitous disappointinents. It is
scarcely, therefore, in the simple announce-
ment, rude by Lord STANLEY, of his incapacity
to fulfil his engagement to the promoters of the
cause of education in Fakenham and its neigh-
bourhood, that we can find reason for conjecture,
or subject for bewilderment. It is rather in the
enigmatic manner in which the Noble Lord con-
veys to the meeting, through its Chairman, his
scrupulous anxiety to evade, if possible, the ne-
cessity of anything like particularity in the
wording of his explanation. So solicitous is the
Noble Member for Lynn Regis that the cause of
his absence last evening from Fakenham should
be overlooked, that the mystery of his " letter"
results only in the awaking of the very liveliest
curiosity, not in Fakenham alone, but throughout
the length and breadth of the United Kingdom.
Young though he is, his remarkable abilities have
already rendered him so truly a man of
mark among his contemporaries that the
heir to the House of Derby mug needs
already pay the penalty of personal distinction
and political eusinencs. It h because of the
largeness of the promise afforded by the career of
Lord STANLEY during the seven years which have
elapsed since the date of his entrance into the
House of Commons in the December of 1848—
that the glimmering prospect discernable through
this problematic epistle of his possible assumption
of the responsibilities of office under the Premier-
ship of Lord PALMERSTON, becomes at once, on
tke first whisper of it, a matter of very consider-
able interest to the great mass of his fellow-coun-
trymen. During the lapse of these seven momen-
tous years the Noble Lord may be regarded as
laving more than creditably served the full term
of his political apprenticeship. Anticipations
might not unreasonably be formed, consequently,
as to the chance of his ulterior advancement to
higher posts than that modest one occupied by
him during the brief but memorable nine months
in 1852, when his father grasped the helm of
the State, and carried the good ship Britannia
from 1851 to 1853—from the culmination of the
star of the 40 years' peace in the glories of the
Great International Exhibition, almost to the
earliest apparition of that cloud (at first no bigger
than a man's hand) on the extreme verge of the
eastern horizon, that cloud destined so soon to ex-
pand into a tempest of war, overshadowing the
world with its gloom, and shaking Europe with its
sudden concussion.

Since the period when Lord STANLEY honour-
ably acquitted himself of the duties devolving
uP°II as Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
while the Earl of MAL3IESBITRY continued at the
head of that important department, the former
has occupied no obscure position among the more
liberal members of her MAJESTY'S Opposition.
Already when ranked in the DERBY-DISRAELI Ad the official phalanx of
ministration he was recog-
nised as anything rattler than a mere partisan,
although himself the heir of the Noble Earl then
Prime Minister of England. lle was known, for
instance, to ho earnestly favourable to the admis-
sion of Jews into Parliament. Ho was known to
be an energetic supporter of the principle upon

which there is voted an annual grant to the Col- i
lege of Maynooth. He was known to be a reso-
lute advocate of the exemption of Dissenters from
Church Rates. This was no mere party man, no
mere narrow-minded champion, through thick and
thin, of Conservatism and nothing but Conserva-
ism. Lord STANLBV was known to entertain
liberal opinions such as those we have here enu-
merated, even at the very time of his occupying
the position of Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
in the ranks of the Earl of DERBY'S Government.
Since then the Noble Lord the member for Lynn
Regis has allowed his views to expand and ripen
upon many subjects of great public import in the
comparatively calm and sunny leisure of Opposi-
tion. He occupies, for example, though still very
young, a foremost post among the more eminent
labourers in the great cause of National Educa-
tion. And it is in regard to Lord STANLEY as a
promoter of the interests of popular improvement,
as an avowed enemy of religious disabilities, as
an earnest friend of religious toleration, as an
open foe to the levying of Church Rates
upon Nonconformists —in other words, as a
Liberal Conservative or a Conservative Liberal,
—designate politicians Of-this particular genus as
you please—that rumours are now rife as to the
chances of his accession to power under the Pre-
miership of Viscount PALMERSTON.
In the mysterious missive to which we have
already more than once referred, the Member for
Lynn Regis observes, in reference to his compul
sory absence last evening from the meeting held
at Fakenham—" The reason of that absence I
cannot at this moment fully explain"—adding,
I will do so when permitted, and in the mea❑
time I must beg you to believe in my assurance
that it is of a nature to leave me no option
whatever as to coming or staying." And further
—" I go down to Knowsley to-night" [Oat. 31]
—remarking to his correspondent in conclusion,
" I telegraphed to you within half an hour of
being made acquainted with the circumstances
which changed my plans." All which, we take it,
is sufficiently significant. So significant, indeed,
that the Chairman of the Fakenham gathering,
Captain TOW:`.7SnEND, M.P. for the borough of
Tamworth, ventured to suspect, after reading the
letter aloud to the meeting, that there was some
" State occasion" for the Noble Lord's non-
appearance. The Times itself becoming so
explicit in parenthesis, when announcing the
incident to its readers this morning, as to de
dare in so many words—" [We believe it is not
impossible that Lord STANLEY may become a
member of the present Government] "—a declara-
tion of some import as coming from a sort of
demi-semi-official organ of the present Cabinet, one
that acknowledged only the-Other day that it de-
rives some few secrets, every now and then, from a
"little bird" straying at odd moments, with a
garrulous beak and an erratic wing into the urban
seclusion of Printing-house-square. It is an im-
pression not by any means restricted to that one
locality—this impression that the Noble Lord
the member for Lynn Regis " may" "not im-
possibly " " become a member of the present.
Government." Remembering his ability, the
liberality of very many of his prin-
ciples, his undoubted popularity, and his
youthful but already extended reputation,
we hope and believe that these rumours have
beneath them something like a stable foundation.

The lamented death of Sir WILLIAM MOLESWORTH
has left a grievous vacancy in the Colonial De-
partment. Besides which there is, virtually,
another hiatus of some magnitude in that occu-
pied by the Postmaster-General, a position held
now for some time past merely pro tempore by
Viscount CANNING—a statesman nominated, as we
all know, long since by the Leadenhall-street:magni-
ficos, as thesuccessor of the Marquis of DALHOUSIE,
as the ruler of the British Empirein Hindos tan. The
Cabinet has from the first sadly wanted an infusion
of fresh blood—that want is now more than ever
imperative. The PALMERSTON Administration has
been oppressed from the outset, by the not easily
ponderable weight of its uniform and stolid medi-
ocrities. Now that Sir WILLIAM MOLESWORTII
has passed from amongst us in the very fullness
of his powers, now that Viscount CANNING sug-
gests another vacancy by the approach of the
time of his departure for Calcutta—the necessity
for important changes in the Ministry becomes
more urgently than ever thrust upon the patriot-
ism and sagacity of Lord PALM EASTON. LA us
cherish a hope that the residue of the
Whigs may, at length, be cast aside,
that the tail of the Family Party may at last fol-
low its head to the limbo of the back benches,
that the political monster-born of Incapacity an I
Nepotism may thus in the end be ignominiously
extruded from the labyrinths of Administrative
Government—and its place occupied by true Libe-
rality and genuine Statesmanship impartially se-
lected, no matter whence. The realisation, in
short, of the day-dream of every right-minded
patriot—not through a nefarious Coalition like
that of old between the Shelburnites and the
Rockinghamites, or later on between the Aber-
deenites and the Russellites, but rather through
the nomination of the right men to the riglit
places under the influence of a fusion of parties
effected by no unprincipled compact, but by a
natural and patriotic amalgamation.

The full particulars of the capture of Kinbourn
are now before us, and they not merely confirm
the first vivid impression of that brilliant per-
formance, but place in a more striking light the
extraordinary skill and judgment displayed in
all the arrangements for the important operation,
and the great efficiency and zeal with which the
orders of the Commanders were carried into prac-
tical execution by officers and men. England
may well exclaim that "evernd the result was not
A y
the less acceptable because it was achieved with
comparatively trivial loss on the part of the
Allies. A good commander is always chary of
the lives of those for whose welfare and safety he
It is a sacred trust which should
is responsible.
not be lightly tampered with. He will know
when there is a necessity for extraordinary risks,
and will not hesitate to face dangers in which
officers and men alike participate. But true
courage is very different from a reckless indif-
ference to the destruction of human life. The
most unflinching bravery is invariably associated
with the utmost humanity.
All the arrangements were perfect, and we
freely and willingly render to all engaged/ from
the Admiral and General to the humblest sailor
or soldier, the thanks and gratitude which they
have so well deserved. But we will also confess
that the glad tidings have only whetted our appe-
tites for other exploits of a similar character.
The capture of Kinbourn, the evacuation, and
voluntary destruction of the Forts at Otchakofi;
are chiefly valuable as a means to what should be
the great end and object of the expedition, the
seizure of Nioo]aieff and Kherson, and the vast stores
and materials accumulated in these most important
towns. It would complete the humiliation of
Russia, and give the AUTOCRAT additional reason
to deplore the ambitious and grasping infatuation
which created the difficulty, and the ridiculous
crrogance witich induced him to reject the too

lenient terms tendered for his acceptance at
Vienna. The !.cork so well begun should be
fairly followed -up. The legitimate fruits should
be fully realised. The occupation of Kinbourn
may be a great feather in our caps. But we
want a more substantial acquisition—something
that will bring solid rewards, as well as laurels
and decorations. If nothing more be achieved it
will be but "a left-handed " triumph, that
might just as well have been left alone,
inasmuch as its chief effect will be to open the
eyes of the Russians to the nature and extent of
the impending danger, and direct their attention
to the necessity of making adequate preparations
for the inevitable struggle. " The blot" so dis-
tinctly pointed out, if not at once covered, will be
rendered far more difficult to hit. We have
seen, by the protracted siege of Sebastopol, the
mischief of giving time to an enemy so energetic
to repair their previous errors, and we may rest
assured that if breathing time be given to TODLE-
BEN he will prepare " a nut by no means easy to
crack,'' even with all our forces.
Besides, the sources of supply for the Crimea
will still remain intact. The channels of commu-
nication being open may possibly enable the enemy
to retain possession of a portion of the Crimea,
and to maintaii, some remnant of their quondam

prestige.
It is certainly late in the season for such im.
portant operations ; but even in the time much
may still be accomplished. Ia place of months
we have only weeks in which to work. But
we know what even a few hours, pro•.
perly disposed of, may effect, and we
may, therefore, reasonably hope that there will
be no further procrastination, that the curse of
being "too late," which has so long attended all
our operations by land or by water, may no
longer impair our most brilliant perform-
ances, and that the portals of Nicolaieff
and Kherson being thrown open, the en•
trance in our own hands, the road may be
followed up to the extent of our most sanguine
anticipations—so that henceforward there may be
as little to fear from Nicolaieff as there now is
from Sebastopol—once " the standing menace of
Constantinople and of Europe."

If the War should not end in the emancipation
of Poland, it has begun the emancipation of our
peasants. We learn from Mr. PACKE that the
labourers of Devonshire are showing rather an-
noying symptoms of independence. "If a master
says a word to a man he demands his wages and
forthwith seeks a new place, leaving the master
in a disagreeable position." The disagreeable po-
sition being that the master finds the serf-market
changed into a free-labour market, through the
competition of the recruiting serjeant. The change
is indeed a great one ; two years ago, in the same
part of England, the case was just reversed—if
the man said a word to the master he was dis-
missed, and well if his wages went with him, to
find himself in the "disagreeable position " of re-
jection for impertinence by all the farmers of the
village ; and with no alternative but the work-
house, until he was supposed to be sufficiently
subdued. "The young active man, however,
who would have become a labourer or a mechanic,
is now hurried off (ho should have said, he hurries
off) to the Seat of War." Hence the lament that
" the farmer has lost the control over the men
which he formerly had."
The remedy seems not to have occurred to Mr.
PACKS, and the hundred gentlemen and farmers
who sat down to the " substantial dinner at the
Globe Hotel, Newton." In some cases no doubt
the roving or excitable temperament of youth
may have been the reason why the serjeant's
bounty and drill were preferred to the farmer's
"control" and wages ; the grand reason, however,
in most cases, might have been suggested by the
"substantial dinner "on which the speaker and
the audience had previously feasted. The lads
well knew that from the day they commenced as 1
soldiers they too would have substantial dinners,
and songs, if not speeches, after them.
We should like to know the rations obtained by
proper demeanour under farmers' control. How often
in the week did the Devonshire lads feed on any-
thing beyond bread and cheese ? How often did
the smallest slice of bacon flavour the huge family
dish of potatoes ? How much, after the substan-
tials of bread and potatoes, was left for condi-
ments—such, say, as the Duke of NORFOLK'S
curry powder! How much more to pay for rent or
lodging, four in a bed and eight in a room[?
How much for fire, c4ndle and soap, shoes and
clothing? The- answers to these questions, we
fancy, explain the majority of cases in which the
stalwart half-fed lad of twenty exchanged the
blessings of Arcadian control for those of military
duty.

The truth is that farni wages have been de-
plorably low. The screw has been turned from
above till the unhappy labourer has been com-
pletely squeezed ; and so long has this been done
that it was supposed all independence had been
squeezed out of him for a generation or more.
The vitality of independence in human nature
seems quite to have surprised the magistrates and
yeomen. They gaze on it with the wonder of
the philosopher, when, at the presence of mois-
ture, he sees the dried up anirnalcula resume a
vigorous life. What hopes does the faeb suggest
of what the result might be were the nations
now crushed by Russian, Austrian, and other
despots enabled to develope the undying principle of
our nature ? To return, however, to our peasants.
The multiplicity of farmers' sons bidding for
farms, with the consolidation of small farms into
large ones, enabled the landlords to screw the
farmers. These, in turn, screwed the labourers.
The additional profit thus gained, or rather ex-
torted, served the landlord's purpose again
to give the screw another twist ; the farmers,
of necessity, did their part again ; till what
between superabundance of farmers, and still
greater superabundance of labourers, the latter
have been gradually squeezed till animal existence
was compressible no further. We have our-
selves heard a farmer in a large mark 4 town
telling another farmer that his labourers wanted
eleven shillings a week I—it was with pre-
sent prices,—and denying with oaths that they
should ever get it of him. Our town readers may
shhaorrdtlytcimree agditito, bmuute Devonshire
lowerevonsh thanirew that,agesand w
werebut ae
doubt whether they reach it even now.
tersl thiasvpel
tahine, then,reme
(y
1 hatt
in thesetheir
oc owmn m ser
handsat e. d ma--
remedy
of England raises the rate of interest when
ita r would keapst gold from going abroad ; the
m
the rate of wages if he would
fermust,
ura
is itse
keep at home those who fill his coffers. Control
also will return easily enough to those who pay
their labourers what would nake it worth while to
bear control. As a general rule, men do not
lightly throw up situations when they cannot
better themselves ; and the farmer, who, deter-
mined to have men worth paying well, would not
long be in want of thorn. The farmers, after
two such harvests, and such prices, both for I
flour and meat, will not easily grumble us into

the belief that they cannot afford to better the

condition of their labourers. Bafore the War
emigration was in some places mulcting the sub-,