The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-14 00:00:00

MR. GLADSTONE AT CHESTER.

The Right Hon.. VT. E. Gladstone, M.P., 'lectured
before the Chester Mechanics' Institution, on Monday,
again taking the colonies for his theme. But for the
decided opinions on the war which divide the right hon.
gentleman from Lord Palmerston, this public recurrence
to colocial affairs would seem remarkable under present
circumstances. The lecture took place in the Royal
Hotel Assembly room, which was fully crowded long
b, fore the hour appointed foi the commencement of the
proceedings. The chair was taken at 8 o'clock, by John
Williams, Eici. The room was then densely crowded
in every part. Among those up mi the platform. were Sir
Stephen Wynne, Lord Lyttelton, the Dean of Chester,
Col. Elliott, Dr. Davis, etl. On the appearance of Mr.
Gladstone upon the platform he was received with loud
and enthusiastic applause ; he took his seat at the right
hand of the chairman.

The CHAIRMAN, in a few introductory word?, pre-
sented Mr. Gladeone to the audience.

Mr. GLADSTONE then rose, and was received with re-
newed applause. The right hon. gentleman reviewed the
history of our colonies and the principles upon which
their administration had been conducted at various
epochs, this part of his lecture hearing a close resem-
blance to that delivered at Hawaiden. Mr. Gladstone
then pr• ceeded—Well, now, these are all reasons which
have prevailed at different times, and have been the
basis, in a great degree, of the colonial policy of different
sta,;esmen, in different ages, and different times. It is
but fair that I should endeavour to state why I think
colonies are desirable for a country circumstanced as
England is. I have stated, that Ido not think them de-
sirable simply to puff up OUT reputation. It is plain that
they are not to be desired for revenue, bosauso they do
not yield it. It is plain that they are not to be desired
for trading monopoly, because tlpit we have entirely
abandoned. It is plain they are not to be desired for pa-
tronage, because they will not allow us to exercise pa-
tronage, properly so called, within their limits ; and I
am bound to say, I do not think the public men of this
country have any desire so to exercise it. With respect
to territory, it is perfectly plain that mere extension of
territory is not a legitimate subject of ambition, unless
you can show that you are qualified to make use of that
territory for the purposes for which God gave the earth
to man. Why, then, are colonies desirable ? In my
opinion- -and I submit it to you with great respect—they
are desirable both for the national and the moral and
social results which a wise system of colonisation is cal-
culated to produce. The effect of colonisation undoubt-
edly is to increase the trade and employment of the mo-
ther country. Take the case of the emigrant going acrcss
the Atlantic. Why does he go across the Atlantic ?
Because he expects—and in general he is the best judge
of his own interests—to get better wages across the
Atlantic than he can get at home. Well, then, if he goes
across the Atlantic to get better wages, he leaves in
the labour market at home fewer persons than before,
and consequently raises the rates of wages at home by
carrying himself away from the competition. By going
to the colony and supplying it with labour, he likewise
creates a demand for capital there, and by this means he
creates a trade between the colony and the mother coun-
try. For you will almost find that a colony is founded
ander circumstances where the country to. which the
settlers go produces the very commodities' which are
wanted in the country which they left. Therefore,oo.
far as trade and the gain connected with trade arne
oesna
cerned, it is perfectly obvious that the foundatioi
colony, where it is the natural result of
circum-
stances of the country—for I am no
arbitrary foundation by any artificial efforts
where it is
govern-
ment, irrespective of all circumstances—
ad advocate
sc theatfe f o the
the natural and spontaneous result of the circum-
placed—is the great stances in which the countryisen-
largement
of the material resourucureseuol
increased
the country.
unyone
re i
Trade and employment may b
of three ways. They vbe
increased
by the opening
of new fields in foreign countries; they may be increased
in your own country ; or
by the opening of such. fields
they may he increased by the opening of them in your
colonies. If the employmentu and trade with foreigrf'
you countries are increased,
get the profit of the trade.
But then you are undoubtedly liable to the disadvantage,
that the passing of unwise and bad laws in these foreign
countries
may greatly restrict and hamper the extension
of your trade.
, Thus you are exposed to the utmost dis-
advantage, not because it makes the trade with foreign
countries less lucrative than the trade with the colonies,
—there is no such thing as two trades lucrative in diffe-
rent degrees ; if the trade with the colony is more lucra-
tive than the trade with a foreign country, it is quite
plain that the balance will soon be restored, because
those who carry on the worse with the foreign country
‘N ill go into the better trade with the colony until
the gains of the two are equalised. But the difference
is this,—in the case of a foreign country your trade
often may be injuriously crippled and kept down so as
to suffer by the bad laws of the country with which you
are trading, while with respect to the colony, you have
no such danger because the commercial laws are under
the control of the mother country ; when you found
colonies, and trade with them, you are perfectly sure
that that trade will have fair play, and that the natural
field which is open for its extension will not be narrowed
by the unwise proceedings of men. Tbat is the great
advantage of colonial trade; 'An immense advantage it
is. The consequence of it has been that your colonies,
although- they contain but a very small proportion of the
inhabitauto of the countries with which you trade, yet,

...
notwitbetaoding, supply you with ae-very considerable i
proportion of that trade. If; upoif 'the other hind, you
open new fields of employment at home, such as the
creating of a new trade—suppose, for example, we take
such a case as happened in Scotland not so many yeas •
ago, when the great iron district which . atirrounds
Glasgow was discovered : well, that is an. event which
(
has happened within the memory of man ; it was
the opening of an immense new field of employment, and
the creation of an-immense now trade. Well 1:1111V, -when -
you open a new field of employment at home you give
a profit to trade, you give a security to trade that it will
not be interrupted or hemmed in by bad laws; and
likewise when you get that increase of population, to
which increase of trade cannot fail to lead, you also get
the additional advantage that those who carry it on .be-
come part and ra-cel of the same community, with your-
selves, and directly contribute towards bearing the lour-
dens necessary for the support of the country. But I
do not concede that the material . benefit of colonies is
the only consideration, but that we ought alio to look to
their moral and social advantage. If we are asked why
on these grounds it is desirable that colonies should be
founded, I answer by asking another question—Why is
it desirable that your populatkon at hOine, should
in-
crease ? Why is it that you rejoice in an increase of po-
pulation at home? Because an increase Of Piipeletiou is a,
increase of power, an increase of strength and stability
to the state, and because it multiplies the number_ of
people who, as we live under good Jaws, belong to a
country to which it is an honour and an advantage to
belong. (Applause.) What.can be mere to be desired than
that we should have the means of producing in different
portions of the globe something as like as may be to that
country whieh we revere and honour. I think it•is in a
' book of Mr. Roebuck's that the expression is to be met
with, " that the object of colonisation is the creation of so
many happy Euglande" It is the reproduction of Eng-
land—the reproduction of a country in which liberty is -
encircled with order, in which ancient institutions stand
in harmony with popular freedom,: and a full recognition
of popular rights, and in which religion and law have taken
deep and permanent root. (Applause.) Well, as it thet. des-
tiny of man to live in society under laws andinetitutione, •
it is to be desired that he should live under good laws and •
institutions—(hear)—but if we suppose the case of a
country with very bade institutions, colonisation by such
a country would be a curse instead 'of a blessimg—the -- ---
repseduction-ofits—ty- lon Other.' 'ehiiiiii. *---413-4- •7 - :',
' ' 41drilektiiiii ItagrintrttriantritfiliP"'-''-- -"--, - ,
tion : if it be desirable upon the grounds that I have
'stated that a - country circumstanced as England is,
.should be possessed of colonies, in what manner ought
ha
•
those colonies to be founded, and in what, manner go-
verned ? And I think that this questioa, will be exa-
mined in the form most interesting and instructive if I
try it by reference to the standards which history af-
fords ; and there is one people famous in ancient times
-I mean the Greek race—to which we all of us owe in-
finitely more than we aro really aware of. The right
honourable gentleman then described the character of
ancient *Greek colonisation, and referred to its al-
most incredible growth in Thessaly, Asia Minor, and
Sicilly. He said that its character might be sum-
med up in one word—it was perfect freedom, per-
fect self-government. They carried with them
their mother country's laws, its religion, its
language, its manners, its institutions. It never inter.
fered with them, or undertook to show how their affairs
should be managed, and the consequence was that al-
though there was no administrative connexion between
them they were yet to be found warm in heart and cha•
ratter. The right hon. gentleman then came to the his-
tory of English colonisation, which he divided, following
the example of the old poetic fable, into four ages—the
age of gold, the age of silver, that of brass, and that of
iron. Re defined the golden age as the nth and part of
the 18th century, when the idea of a colony was a sub-
altern corporation, comprehended within the great cor-
poration, according to the true spirit of British freedom.
There was shown what Burke called "a wise and
ejalutary neglect, through which a generous nature had
been suffered to take her own way to perfection." The
silver age, he called that immediately preceding the
American war, and he drew an eloquent picture of the
legacy of evil consequences bequeathed by the policy cf
that time. The right hon. gentleman then continued :
Now, I want to try to impress that which I have said,
that the true value of colonies, fir moral and social jour-
poses, arises in the unity of character and affection.
There are 30,000,000 of people, or something near, con-
stituting the Great American Republic. It is doubtful _
whether the influence of England in Europe, and in the
world at large, is greater, because there are 30,000,000
of Englishmen in America. It is very hard to say whe-
ther the existence of America,. upon the whole, takes from
or adds to the weight of England as a member of the
great family of nations. In some respects it takes from
it, in others it adds to it. But Supposing that instead ofa
bloody struggle, supposing that instead of a violent lacera-
tion of the ties that bound the colony to the mother
country, America and England had separated as friend
from friend, breaking only the link of administrative con-
nection, but retaining the warm feelings of the heart,
and carrying with it nothing but the recollection Of the
benefits she had received, and the laws and institutions
she bad inherited, do you not think that then the exist-
secs of America, allied to us by language and by laws,
would have immensely increased the influence of Eng-
land in the world ? But now, let us consider, and if it is
to lie a lesson to us, is it importaut that we should do so,
how it arose, and whose error it was ? It arose, first, out
of the at:et-opt to levy certain taxes upon the people of
•
America, not for purposely properly and exclusively Eng-
lish, but for tie purpose of defraying part of the expense
of a war into which England hasi entered, for the benefit
lof America as well as herself. But some people think
"tha.ti that was not the error of the English people. Now
let there be no mistake about this—that if there be one
thing more clear than another, it is this, that the Eng-
lish nation at the commencement of the war were en-
gaged almost to a man in the iroseention of that war.
All ware almost without exception have been popular in
this country during the first two or three years—(hear)
but the Aiiirican war especial), was popular in its com-
mencement, and of that I will give you a most conclu-
sive proof from the history of Mr. Burke. Mr. Burke
was elected for Bristol in 1774 ; he was rejected in
1780, when he went next to present himself to his consti-
tuents,
and in Lis speech to them on that occasion he
explained
he hod net visited them in Bristol as often as they thought
lie ought to ha7e ',lime. Before the people knew which
way the f irtune of arms would turn, 'here was a deal of
difference of opinion in Bristol, and it was natural that
that should be t'leir state, because Bristol carried on a
very large and extended trade with America. But
directly they saw that the English were successful in the
del I that party was entirely put down ; ancl.you should
recollect that England was usually successful in the
field during the American war. It is not necessary to
inquire into it. I must say that it implies no reproach
to our American brethren, because America had none
of the advantages of a military establishment. The
military organisation was on the side of England.
Bit it was not want of success in the field that de.
:=troyed us in the American war ; it was this, that
though we beat the Americans in the field, we were not
:s bit' nearer the subje.ation of their country. We owned
the ground on which our camp was pitched, but we
owned nothing else. Tho enemy was in the heart of
every man, woman, and child in the country, and &iv-
'log their soldiers out of the field did not establish us in
the affections of a people who were fighting for freedom.
(Applause.) But let us see—was the error the error of
the government, or was it the en-or of the people ? Lis- '
ten to Mr. Burke speaking in 1780. The right hon.
gentleman then quoted from the speech of Mr. Burke,
delivered in Bristol in 1780, in which the frenzy which
seized the English people in favour of the American war
in its early stage was described, and pointed• out that
from it We should learn a lesson of circumspection, of
caution, and of moderation. He then passed on toutlis
consideration of what lie called the "silver age'
which was between the peace of 178 S and 1840,
nB4O,
wlren we began to have dawn of better things;
intelrn.
this age he showed how a vicious systemver ofirment was
ference in colonial affairs by the home g
pushed to an extreme. He eloquently portrayeda
the evils
arising from this intermeddling, a
considerable length, to point out the then proceeded, at
consequences of the
system pursued towards Canada,
which its result placed,the gover and the dilemma in
nment. Having gone to
war with Canada for the assertion of demands which
afterwards were conceded,
o not from terror, but from a
they saw themselves stcom-
pelled to pass a reue
consideration of their
t iuiion i
loss bill, indemnify parties
indemnifying
for the loss they had incurred white resisting with
arms
the authority and the troops of England. He showed
how the British Government in Canada had too frequently
supporters there, will), perhaps, a
only a. litti.lenrktn.woot,c,wf while on the other aide was the -
whole
newspaper . ,
of the colonial population. There however, he
mass were, owever,
said, many statesmen in this country who had been very
far in advance with regard to colonial government. He
mentioned them because they were for the most part men
with whose political opinions he frequently differed, and
also because, as in the reign of Charles- 11., the states-
men who most advocated colonial freedom were Tory, it
was fair to render equal justice to Radical members of
the British Parliament. He mentioned particularly toe
late Mr. Tune, Mr. Roebuck, and one whose name
had only within the last few days been added to the list of
the departed, Sir Win. Molesworth, all of whom had
been, in his opinion, great benefactors to their country, .
by telling the truth upon the right method of colonial
government at a time when that truth was exceedingly
unpalatable. He then bore testimony to the justness of
views of the Radical members of Parliament on the sub-
ject of colonial.policy, who, he admitted, in this partied:
lar, were far ahead of all other parties in the State. I!:
the character of Sir Win. Molesworth hespoke iootoff
of unmeasured eulogy, and acknowledged thtstb
learned much' from the speeches which that statesman
uons.
delivered on colonial subjects in the IX°_;"b: geld, that
llt was now coming to be understoeseat :transacted by
the affairs of the colonies were
'thel) slain; of Eng.
the colonists themselves, just -
by Englishmena
. .
land were best transacted
And in an eloquent perorationee he rejoiced that a change.
b brought about, which he
promise of advantage to
in colonial policy
thought was full of
claimsllliarodfitand
on mankind aa, E l d
ng an
a country having such
in which we have made a tiansition
a change of system,
from misfortune, from evils, and
.almost from madness
and from crime, and returned to the rules of justice, of
• reason, of nature, and of common sense. (Loud and
long continued applause marked the close of the right
gentleman's address.)
heOn. n the motion of Mr. HICKLIN, seconded 1:1, Dr.
Davis, thanks were voted by acclamation to Mr. Glad-
stone. He briefly acknowledged the compliment.
On the motion of Mr. AXON, honorary secretary to '
the institution, thanks were voted to the chairman, and
the proceedings terminated shortly after ten o'clock.

.1
- The Governor of the Bank of England and the Deentr
Governor
bad an interview with the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, yesterday, at his offioial residence, in Down_
~
inotreet.

FuRNisRED HOUSE.—To be LET, situated ( .dui ces a little rational consideration to remove
in one.of the best streets, close to Warwick-square, Belgrave;
_l:t
og
ether.
road, containing drawing-rooms, dining and breakfast rooms,
..tlar 4
But were it even otherwise, and that the ob-
bedrooms, including servants' room, excellent kitchen and cell
s ruction and difficulty were much mole se •
accommolation, with convenient pantries.
The furniture is good, having been only a short time in use.
m ty, 1 hd formidable, should we sacrifice the • t
The house will be let for three months at the rate of 300 Z. a-year,fu TIMIS
rnatio:te2resTt
The
or for six months at the rate of 2501. a-year, or for nine monhs at
our own people to those of other likely to suit any a
the rat., of 2001. a-year, and will be found
.se eriods.
requiring a moderate town residence for either of th 11 garment-,
home demand is far more extensive thitt that o 1
Applications in writing may be addressed to N0..0, a,
, ,-
street, Westminster.
London, Nov., 185 i.

-- ---
31 JIILLIEN'S CONCERTS. - ROYAJ ~,
OPERA, COGENT-GARDEN. Madan le
ITALIAN
Gassier—This Evening.---a t night but one of the British Arc ay
ram Le
fors THIS EVENING (Wednesday, N or.
Quadrille.—The FrgLl-tarrae, Euryanthe ; L'Etoile du Nord Quadri Ile ;
14) will include z
tit
0 Roch Albert's Swiss Symphony ; Una Voce And
the Andvtilaise,
The Forest Fairy, sung by Madame Gassier ; X.
Venzonsi 'V
, New Valse, La Belle du Village; Solo, Cornet a Pistons, by
Juellrir/trenig ;
the Moldavian Schottische ; the British Army Qua& f Ile
(last time but one), assisted by the Military Bands; Grand Opera ic '
selection from Meyerbeer's Opera, Roberto it Diavolo (first time t D ,Is
season) ; the Sleigh Polka ; the Allegretto from Beethoven's Sys 1-
phony in F ; Solo, Flute, by Herr Reichert ; Galop, Vive I'Empereu r;
God Save the Queen ; Partant pour la Syrte, &c.
Prices of admission :—Promenade, upper boxes, amphitheat re
stalls and amphitheatre, Is.; dress circle, 2s. 6d, ; private boxes, 121 '-,
11. Is., and Si. I Is. 6d. Places and private boxes may be had at tt e
box-office of the theatre, of Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Hammond, Mr. Hook. -
ham, and Messrs. Andrews, Bond street ; and at Messrs. Juilien at d
Co.'s, Regent-street. 111. Jullien's New Descriptive Military Qui -
drille, entitled the Fall of Sebastopol, will positively be performed fo r
the first time on Friday next, Nov. 16. N.B.—The theatre being let
at Christmas for dramatic performances, the Concerts (after thE ,
present week) can continue for three weeks only.

THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY-LANE.
Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith.
THIS EVENING,
Wlll be performed AN IMPUDENT PUPPY.
After which, TWENTY MINUTES WITH A TIGER.
To be followed by NITOCRIS. Characters by Messrs. E. F. Ed-
gar, Stuart, B. Sullivan, G. Wild, C. Vincent, &c.; Miss Glyn, Mrs.
{Selby, Mies De Vere, Miss Anderton, MiS3 Cleveland, &c.

THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET.
Under the Management of Mr. Buckstone.

TITIS EVENaTG,

Will be performed GUY MANNERING. Characters by Messrs.
'Villiers, Compton, and Howe; and Miss Swanborough and Miss
Cushman.

Followed by THE LITTLE TREASURE.
To conclude with A KISS IN THE DARK.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET.
Under the Management of Mr. Coexist., 'Wag.
THIS EVENING
Will be performed DON'T JUDGE BY APPEARANCES.
After /Web, KING HENRY THE EIGHTH.
To conclude with A GAME OF ROMPS.

TiIEA.TRE ROYAL ADELPHI,

Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster.—Dtrectress, Madame Celeste.

THIS EVENING,
Trill be performed MARIE DIICANGE ; or, The Jersey Girl.
Follewed by VALENTINE AND ORSON.
After which, the Farce of THE £lOO NOTE.

ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.

Lessee, 3fr. J. U. Anderson, 18, Norfolk-street, Strand.
Increased A.ttractions, and SUCC3SS in equal ratio
THIS, AND EVERY EVENING, at Eight o'Clock,

Will be presented, with entirely New and Magnificent Appoint-
ments, MAGIC: and MYSTERY, in twelve acts, arranged in two
parts, by Professor Anderson.

- -
After which. the startling illustrations of Spirit-ltapping. HALF-
AN"-TIOUR \vim THE SPIRITS, being the most surprising an:l
interesting series of experiments ever given within the walls of any
theatre.

_
Matters should necessarily be put inZUmpetition
there can be little doubt to which side file scale
should incline. But, as the one may be rendered
perfectly independent of the other—as there
need be no clashing whatever, we may look, in
the first instance, to our own affairs, and let other
points be accommodated, as they speedily would
be, to the altered and greatly improved state of
affairs.

Revival, in an improved form, of the astounding novelty which
atartled London 10 years ago, the GREAT GUN TRICK
Prices of admission:—Private Boxes, 1/. Ils. 6d. and 1/. Is. ;
Orchestra Stalls, 45.; Dress Boxes, 35.; Upper Boxes, 25.; Pit,
Is.; Gallery, id. No Half-price. Box-office open from 11 to 5
daily.
- -

Grants Morning Performance on Satarday Next at Two o'Clock.
Doors open at Half-past One.

ItOYA.L ST.r..AND TUEATEE.
Under the direction of Alr: Payne.
THIS EVENING.
Will be performel Tat EAGPICKEit OF PARIS.
Followed by NITOCRIS.
To conclude with THE LADIES' CLUB.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITIIEATRII
Lessee and Manager, Mr. Wm. Cooke.
Appearance of the World'. Proll,zy, Mlle. CLEMENTINE
SOI7LLIER.

Mr. William Cooke acquaints his kind patrons that daring his re-
cent visit to the French cal•ital he formed an en;ageme•it, for a
limite4 number of nights, and upon exorbitant terms, with the first
equestrienne in the world, 3111 e. Clementine Smaller, who will
appear

the nations of the eart)j

lilt to;

ether If these

Looking, then, to a currency perfectly adequate
for all domestic purposes, the questions that natu-
rally arise are-Ist. Through what agency should
that currency be supplied ? 2d. By whom should
the profits arising therefrom be realised ? The
first point is that of paramount importance,
for however desirable it may be to gain a million
of pounds sterling per annum, and to be enabled
to afford proportionate relief to the overburdened
taxpayer--the mere question of profit is alto-
gether secondary to that of procuring a safe and
comparatively steady measure and representative
of value, by means whereof the whole internal
commerce of the country might be carried on.
We may again resort to the columns of the
Times to discover the correct solutions of these
interesting problems, the proper answers to
the questions-Ist. Who is justly entitled
to the privilege of sending out a legal tender
currency ? 2dly. How could that currency be ren-
dered certain of unhesitating and universal ac-
ceptance amongst the people and inhabitants of
Great Britain ?
On the first point the Times itself may be the
judge. It has laid it down, ex cathedra, that
"the power of creating money is an undisputed
prerogative of the Crown." Any others who
obtain so great a privilege can only do so as the
delegates of the Crown and on certain conditions
previously arranged. The Bank of England has
obtained that right for a time, and has largely
profited thereby, and if the National Exchequer
can supply, not only as good, but a far better
article, there can be no reason why the people
should not keep the profits, estimated by the
Times at a million sterling per annum, for their

own use.
Now, what is the security given by the Bank
of Englam; for the redemption of by far
the larger portion of its issue Simply
a charge on the nation itself, the pos-
session of a certain amount of the public
debt. That debt may be practically " inconvert-
ible." Under circumstances of peculiar pressure
it may not find purchasers, save at such a depre-
ciation as would leave the " Old Lady " literally
bankrupt. But that could not be the case with
a national note, based not merely on all the rea-
lised property of the country, but on the industry
of its active and energetic citizens ! Surely there
can be no comparison between the two. One
may, the other must be sufficient for every legiti-
mate purpose. We have thus reached an
important stage in the argument. We have
seen that the privilege belongs to the Crown, i. e.,
to the nation, and that the national note would
be even better than that of the Bank of England.
We then repeat the interrogatory put forward by
the Times in April, 1854 :—" Why Government
should make a present to any corpor alien of the
profits derived from the issue of twenty or thirty
millions of paper money, when it would be just as
easy to appropriate the sum thus created to its own
use, and thus cancel by a stroke of the pen some-
thing like a million a year from the charge of the
National Debt 1'

LONDON, NVEDNESDA.Y, NOVEMBER 14, 1855.

It should be continually impressed on the pub-
lic mind that tho Bank Charter Act of 1844, the
terrible cause of so much national embarrassment,
only exists on sufferance, and that it may be ter-
minated at twelve months' notice, given any time
subsequently to the Ist of August, 1855. The
remedy rests in the hands of the people, and if
the Currency Reformers be only true to themselves
and to the best interests of the country—if they
maintain a vigorous and energetic agitation on the
all-important topic, keeping it prominently before
the community, the greatest nuisance that ever
afflicted a nation will speedily be abated, and the
circulating medium--" the life-blood of industry''
—be placed in a sound, and healthy con-
dition. Not at one time flushing with railway
speed, producing and fostering undue speculation
and bubble schemes, at another creeping slug-
and scarcely sustaining a mere
gishly along,
vitality. Something between fever and atrophy is
required. But that cannot he obtained under the
existing law, which renders inevitable the alterna-
tions of plenty and want. Similar to the condition
cif savages, who are either gormandising or starv-
ng, indulging in
brutal repletion, or en.,
(luring the most stringent privations. It is
surely time that we should resort to a
more enlightened system, one more in accordance
with the advanced intelligence of the age, and
better calculated to provide for all the reasonable
exigencies of the commercial, manufacturing, and
working population of the country—the bees in
the national hive.

Her MAJESTY'S ship Resolute has been picked
up in Davis' Straits, of the Atlantic. This was
the ship that Sir EDWARD BELCHER insisted that
Captain KELLETT should desert, and Captain
KELLETT, it should be said to his credit, has en-
tered his protest before a Parliamentary Commit-
tee against so wanton an act. The drifting of the
Resolute is the most extraordinary instance of
drifting on record. Loosened by nature from its
icy prison in the pack ice off Cockburn Island, the
island next akin to Melville Island, the land on
which the cache, called Parry Sandstone, the Post-
office of the North Pole exists, the Resolute makes
its own way into Davis' Straits. By what Pas-
sage ? This must ever remain a mystery. The
most likely route is that of Barrow Strait, but Sir
E. PARRY has placed it on record, and it remains
uncontradicted, that there is no current in that
strait. Has the Resolute, then, drifted into the
Atlantic through Jones Sound or Smith Sound ?
Has it passed through that magnificent sea of
3,000 square miles, just discovered by Dr. KANE,
the American ? What an interesting tale the
Resolute could tell us if a single human being
had been on board. And while we are on the
subject of Dr. KANE, we may mention that Sir
EDWARD BELCHER not only deserted the Resolute
and four other of her MAJESTY'S ships, but he put
a positive veto on the offer of Dr. MCCORMICK
to make the survey which Dr. KANE has just
made. Just as Captain Austen put a positive
veto upon the proposition of the enterprising Capt.
PENNY to ascend Wellington Channel, who would
thus have anticipated Dr. KANE in that direction.
It was from the Parry Sandstone help was sent to
the discoverer of the North-West Passage, he
himself having given up all hope, not only of re-
ward for his great discovery, but of his own
natural existence. It was from this well-known
cache—aye, and from this very ship, that Lieut.
BEDFORD PIM sallied forth on his arduous journey,
unparalleled in arctic travelling, at the low tem-
perature it was undertaken, and thus saved the
gallant discoverer of the North-West Passage from
the death that a/rafted him. The late Admiral
Sir GEORGE COCKBURN was not far wrong when
he side
,to his will the memo-
randum placedndum sideofby
his l 8 years experience as a Lord of
the Admiralty, that constituted as the Board is it
would never purposeservethemenew fu
ofe feature
rearises
great nav
to
power. Day day so
y after
confirm this opinion.
The recovery of the
Resolute is but another
Respo
1 routeo f
is ofth.eAdfimrsit-
ralty inefficiency,
recovery of the five ships
d
EDWARD BELCHER. It will not be thbey Sir
last.
Her consort, the Intrepid, was so whenclosebe
she
was deserted, that she may very shortly
ex-
pected in her wake.

and rendered utterly useless. If in anything we
might have been supposed likely to surpass our
ally it would have been in shipbuilding and iron
works of any kind. How is it we had not more such
batteries at Sweaborg than the French at Kin-
bourn? Is it, as Field-Marshal H.R.H. Prince
ALBERT would have it, the fault of constitutional
government ? Had he a carte blanche as Impera-
tor, should we see differences so the reverse of
all expectation between England and France ?

The other day a letter in the Pays told us of
an American who had gone straight to St. Peters-
burg with a new cannon, which is to carry an
unheard-of distance, and no doubt to annihilate
our three-deckers at long range. Straightway he
is taken to the EMPEROR himself, the foundry
placed at his disposal, and a model sent to the
distant Ural, to have a cast of it made. Only
fancy an inventor being introduced at once to her
MAJESTY, or even to Field-Marshal H.R.H. Prince
ALBERT ! Or suppose him even courteously received
at Downing-street by my Lord PANMIIRE. We read
also of horrible new rockets, which are to burn our
ships at fabulous distances, of muskets that will
almost need a telescope to take aim with, and of
infernal machines which are to accomplish what
last year failed in. Inventors and inventions are
rife in Russia—and by Russian policy, as by
French policy, they are encouraged. An inven-
tor is sent for, in these countries without consti-
tutions, by Royalty. That is something to most
men. It might be worth while, now our consti-
tution is on its trial, to try whether the Royal
branch of it might not be worked with greater
efficiency to encourage inventors in England.
Her MAJESTY could at least depute her Field-
Marshal and Royal Consort to represent her in
these matters.

It is truly mortifying to think howmatters stand
in this country of mechanical skill and invention.
No doubt an inhabitant of the great Slave Re-
public naturally prefers Russia to the land of
the free, still JONATHAN would stop at London
on the road to St. Petersburg if he thought it
would pay better. Dollars are everything with
him ; for them alone is he content to buy and sell
bodies and souls of men. No ;he knows that
Russia is the best market for him. Weeks and
months of official snubbing he must endure in
England ere he could get a fair hearing ; and he
is too 'cute, as well as proud and vindictive, to
stand that. Why, here is Lord DUNDONALD with
his invention—its efficiency attested by the safest
judges, naval, scientific, and engineering. If the
man would turn traitor and take it to the CZAR it
would be in operation next summer against u;
and he would be made a Prince of Holy Russia.
Liverpool, and perhaps London itself, might soon
show hOWALEXANDER or CONSTANTINE had learned
their lesson from our sparing Odessa. Lord DUN-
DONALD'S experiment would cost perhaps half a
million. More than four times that sum was spent
this year in sending superfluous ships to the
Baltic. A trial of Lord DUNDONALD'S plan would
have cost far less than that of Sir C. WOOD'S has
done. It could not have effected less.

We have recently had some valuable admissions
from the bullionist organ, which should not be
lost sight of in the discussions that must speedily
ensue. The Times has virtually confessed that
bullion is only required for our foreign trade, but
that for all domestic purposes a paper currency—
cc worthless rags," as they were once accustomed
to style it, " for which the butcher would not
,:vo his meat or the baker his loaf "—would be
amply sufficient. " Supposing," said the Times,
ill its City Article of the 26th ultimo—" Sup-
posing this circulation to be required solely
for internal commerce, no necessity could
exist for gold being
held against any portion
of it ! A deposit of Government Stock, or the fact
of its being receivable for duties, would at all times
The ground
is thus
keep it from fluctuations in
manifest that
value."
materially cleared, and it is
all the perturbations of our domestic trade are
occasioned solely by the desire to avoid a very
trifling difficulty to those engaged in the foreign
trade of the country. It might easily be demon-
strated that the trade in gold could be carried on
as easily as in other articles of foreign production,
and that an ample supply for every demand could
be maintained. The notion that we could not
carry on a foreign trade without being compelled
to deal in gold at an alarming sacrifice, is of the
chim 1 21.ca_ character, and one that only re.

Much as the inexorable necessity for the pre-
sent War may be deplored, and great as are the
evils immediately resulting from it, the fault will
be our own if to the mad ambition of our adver-
sary we have not hereafter to ascribe an awaken-
ing to our own interests and a discharge of
imperial obligations which have added mate-
rially to the welfare and stability of the empire,
and been productive of incalculable blessings to
untold millions of our fellow-creatures.

Our colonial dominion, as every one knows,
embrace a great number of territories scattered
over the face of the globe, some of them of amaz-

ng fertility, and next to inexhaustible resources,
and all of them, as every one should know, capa-
ble of being made subsidiary to our greatness and
wellbeing to an extent which as yet has been,
comparatively speaking, unapproached. Look at
India, for example. Set aside as mere delusion
the romantic stories that at one time abounded
of the barbaric splendours, suggestive of boundless
wealth, to be witnessed there, and come to facts.
Inquire into its capabilities, and, fresh from the
perusal of a mass of indisputable testimony to its
multitudinous resources, take into consideration
how far we have availed ourselves of them. There
may be had nearly everything we import from
foreigncoun tries essential to our prosperity, and the
supply of which is necessarily stopped to a greater
or less extent by hostilities, and yet we suffer our-
selves to be dependent for these articlesof daily need
on the caprice of mobs or of despots. We are at
war with Russia, and the cry instantly is, What
is to become of our supply of hemp, tallow, dr.c. ?
An ambitious President, eager to be re-elected,
puts himself into a warlike attitude and talks big
to our Minister at Washington, and the cry
goes forth, What is to become of our supply of
cotton ? An adventurer rises against the Impe-
rial Tartar of China, and the deepest anxiety is
expressed with regard to our supply of tea. Some
harvest turns out deficient ; corn does not come
in well from the Danube ; there is nothing for us
but enormous supplies from America—which pos-
sibly can't send them—or starvation. Some
beneficent scheme is in contemplation which calls
for a large amount of iron, and it must be thrown
aside because of the high price of that metal.
Yet all this while, instead of being victims of
circumstances, our necessities and anxieties are
the consequences of our own neglect. An im-
mense colony and more than a hundred millions
of suffering people have long been waiting our
counsel and the employment of our capital to en-
able them to make us independent of foreign sup-
ply, and relieve our enterprise from the burden of
local pressure. All the hemp we need, and of the
stoutest fibre we can require, is to be had in India.
All the cotton our manufacturers can consume,
and all the silk also, are to be had there. Tea of
a quality and in an abundance China never
succeeded in producing ; rice that might
feed our entire population ; iron that
might serve to make the island bombproof,
all are to be had in the regions of India, if we go
the right way about it.

Our Government must beware lest friend and
foe alike distant e us in the mechanical inventions
of war. We have just had to record the great
success of the Frelch floating batteries at Kin-
bourn ; they fully answered their purpose ; they
carried metal heavy eLough to render them real
breaching batteries, awl the solid as well as
hollow shot rattled off the massive iron shell
which protected the gunners as the musket balls
from the cuirasses of the EMPEROR'S cavalry at
Waterloo. They appear to have been " a great suc-
cess." Respecting our own batteries, of like con-
struction, we have heard no more. What is become
of til:M we Lardly kovr, ;CVO that one was burnt

We would by no means have it inferred that
nothing
er
oa su
rbeeees no df olnned
ao. w aor
On
s t
hteh
ce
ndevelopment
has been effected of late years, but in no propor-
tion to what remains to be done. Railway commu-
nication is merely in its infancy, and the great
rivers, those natural highways, aro more or less un-
navigable, while not only are there immense areas
uncultivated, and mineral riches:untouched, but
the knowledge required for successful cultivation,
and the means to render the mineral riches avail-
able, are to a great extent wanting. If we would
reap the benefits which India is capable of be-
stowing upon us we must cultivate the soil and
sow the required seed. Among other things
agents should be despatched to the cot-
ton and districts, to instruct the native po-
pulation inemthe growth and preparation of cotton
and
Europeanand
hemp
hp
for our markets ; and, at the same
time, every encouragement should be given by Go-
vernment to European enterprise, whether directed
to the extension of internal communication
or to the more direct development cf the various
resources -of the colopy. India may become the

• 5.,-L got

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 14, 1855

gem of our colonial empire, the very salvation, in•
deed, of the country, if we embrace the oppor.
tunity still left us to do it justice.

THE TBEATRES.