The Sun.
London, England, 1855-10-22 00:00:00

of Free Trade shall apply to money or not.

Whether a giant monopoly shall 901 be at the

head of the Money Market, or all banks stand
upon the same footing. Whether we shall be
condemned or not to carry sovereigns in our
purses, although, like our neighbours across the
Tweed, we may prefer one-pound notes. Whether,

if there is to be but one sort of paper enjoying
the privilege of being legal tender it shall be
Government paper, the nation reaping the benefit
of the transaction, or that of a clique of interested
proprietors ? Whether Government shall not
conduct its banking account on the same simple
and well-defined principles as any commercial
house ; or whether, indeed, Government shall
not be its own banker ? It will be a deep
disgrace to a commercial nation like ours if these
great questions be not now fully discussed, their
bearings made evident to all, and the right course
honestly settled for ever. To us the main point
appears to be as simple as the principle of Free
Trade itself. But not to dogmatise, or even to
argue now, it is time to decide the monetary
principles which shall guide us, and with this
before us all, the leading men on this subject
however diverse their opinions, should have a
place in the Legislature.
The War is, of course, more in most men's
thoughts than the currency ; and how supremely
important are the questions now opening to the
public view. Ere long the winter must stop all
important operations ; we earnestly hope not till
Kherson, Nicolaieff, and Odessa are deprived of
their power to barrack and feed a Russian army ;
and with winter will come, in all probability,
Prussian, Austrian, and Coburg intriguings for a
despots' peace. Well, if the nation has pronounced
beforehand, by its elections, what kind of a peace
it will tolerate. Most probably, perhaps, the
CZAR will neither wish, nor be able to ask for
peace, while Warsaw and Cronstadt are untouched.
We hope he will not ; but then we do need an
election which will compel Ministers to give up
the detested Hapsburgs and Hohenzollerns ; which
will bid them prefer Scandinavia and Poland, as
allies, to the neutral hostility of the despotic Ger-
man Courts, and convert the War into one for
driving Russia out of all her much-abused and
nefarious conquests, and restoring the nationalities
to their long-trampled-on rights. Premiers, cx
or in, may, and do, deride the cause of the people
abroad as a missionary crusade ; but an election
might tell them that this nation sympathises not
with courts, but with nations ; that it cares not
a straw for " Russian honour," and for what is
miscalled Russian territory ; but that it does care
for the honour of European civilisation and
liberty, in its conflict with Asiatic barbarism and
despotism ; and cares very much that territory,
which the wicked Congress of Vienna gave to
Russia, or left in her hands, should return to its
rightful owners. We believe the verdict of the
election would be, " emancipate Sweden, Ger-
many, and Denmark, as well as Turkey ; the
Baltic as well as the Black Sea, and then we may
reasonably hope for growing popular liberty, and
'or permanent peace."

It has come at last ! The turn, we mean, of
ilr. DRUMMOND. Better late than never. An
autumnal political curriculum without a lecture
of his would, as everybody knows, be somewhat
" flat and stale," however profitable. The jingle
of the cap and bells, the play of impudent
grimace, and the flow of " pestilent" buffoonery

—welcome all of them ! Welcome nonsense—
welcome " half-and-half "—welcome censure, flat-
tery,:ltild slander, pure or adulterated--welcome
the latest instalment of the best thousand and one
manifestation of morbid vanity and apostolic in-
fallibility extant. Welcome, thrice welcome, Mr.
DRUMMOND ! After the heady wines of his pre-
decessors, his brisk bottled pop can do us no
' harm, but may relieve us of the headache. We
have fairly earned a little relaxation ; let us
enjoy it.

We are, or suppose ourselves to be, which is
perhaps quite as good, at the annual dinner of
the Chertsey Agricultural Association for the en-
couragement of deserving farm servants and agri-
cultural labourers. The cloth is removed, and
we have time to gaze on our agricultural friends
in Chertsey, and to rejoice in their well-to-do
appearance and looks of cheery good-fellowship.

Barely, for the " watch of his wit " being already
wound up, off goes our versatile friend as the
" apostle of the LORD " on the claims of " the
LORD'S anointed." Presto ! and with a fine sense
of the appropriate, and a relevancy really surpris-
ing, apart from the mode of treatment, he dis-
courseth on matrimony ! The gentlemen of the
agricultural interest look amazed—after such a
proem, to be told that " the Royal Family was
nothing more nor less than like the family of any
farmer now hearing him." They are propitiated
a little, however, and have begun to think him
" a funny fellow," when their attention is arrested
by a perplexing question. "He should like to
know what any one in the room would say if an
impertinent neighbour (Mrs. GRUNDY to wit), OR

learning that a young man had fallen in love with
his (the farmer's) daughter, were to turn round
and remark that it was a very improper mar-
riage." The cautious parents of bouncing young
ladies look down at this and murmur indistinctly,
" Why, that would depend upon circumstances,"
as the likeness of some fine sprout of ruddy hu-
manity in their service passes before them. But
no time is allowed them for deliberation, for an-
other question, and a leading one, is propounded.

" Would he not instantly tell such a meddler to
hold his tongue and mind his own business ?"
" Parients" still in a state of dubiety. Some sort
of an answer is, however, expected, so one if not
two of the least reflecting " hear, hears," and an
agricultural young waiter, incontinently laughs.
The speaker is encouraged, and, with imposing
dignity, remarks—" He asked simply that the
same degree of forbearance should be evinced to-
wards the domestic affairs of the Royal Family as
a man in the position of a farmer had a right to
claim." The farmers, who are loyal to a man, and
stick by their rights, fancying this should be a
clincher, look grave. He (Mr. DRUMMOND) looked
upon any interference with the matrimonial affairs
of the Royal Family as " a most abominable
act—(a gentleman in black shaketh his head,
and the waiter looks virtuous indignation)-_
and" inexorable logic ! "if they (the meet-
ing) would not suffer such meddling by
strangers with their affairs, upon the same prin-
ciple they
ought not to allow it in the affairs of
others," and down sits the versatile speaker to
prepare for another change, with a "Hear, hear,"
from the parson,
and a jingling of glasses as his
reward.

We by no means wonder at his disappointment,
however much we are grieved by it. It was not
the sort of nonsense suited
for his audience. It
waydangerous matter, and they could not
laugh
at,
or assent to, -it—much,
isinnedeveotelidvie,eid'i to
in one point of view, to the credit of their
plain blunt good sense. They were not to be made
merry with what they did not like, and if he was
serious they were not to be hoaxed. They had
some glimmering that there was a serious difference
between the two cases—that the Royal Family
was kept by the taxes of the nation, for the ad-