The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-15 00:00:00

the sth, was that he was at Harrisonburg " pre-
paring to drive Early from Brown's Gap." His
cavalry had been destroying the bridges and rail•
ways in the neigbourhood, and Richmond papers
declared him retreating. There were not wanting
rumours of sinister import in New York, which
told that he had been defeated at Brown's Gap,
and the latest intelligence brought by the Persia
tells us that letters from his headquarters confirm
the Confederate accounts. There is every reason
to believe that such has been the case, for LONG-
STREET i 8 saki to have joined EARLY with 20,000
men, and to have assumed the command. We
may fancy the fresh vigour which would be infused
into the army by so seasonable a reinforcement,
while SHERIDAN will find more than his match in
LONGSTREET. According to Confederate accounts
the battle took place on the 26th, the very day on
which LONGSTREET is said to have joined EARLY.
We shall hear further details by the next mail,
details which the Government will be very unwil-
ling to communicate on the eve, as it were, of the
election. But all their efforts and exaggerations
cannot remove the distrust from the public mind,
and we learn that in the absence of official
intelligence from GRANT, Washington was filled
with rumours of disaster. For this there is at pre-
sent no foundation, though sooner or later the tug
of war must come. Even according to the New
York accounts GRANT has made no progress, for
they admit that attempts made by both divisions of
the army to carry the second line of the Confede-
rate works had been " bloodily repulsed," and that
the Confederate line of defenCes could not easily be
carried. Ile retorted proximity of the Federal
gunboats to Mobile has been contradicted by Ad-
miral FARRAGUT himself, while from SHERMAN
and his force nothing whatever had been heard. It
is no wonder therefore that the minds of men in the
North were filled with anxiety and misgiving; and
civil affairs are not likely to give them courage.
the ameunt of the public debt announced on the
30th of September was 1,960,000,000 dole., and
the Secretary of the Treasury was then advertising
for a further loan of forty million dollars. A panic
prevailed at Chicago, and large bank failures were
taking place. What can be the result of such a
state of things ? It must inevitably end in national
bankruptcy if LINCOLN'S Presidency is renewed.
For that the so-called Republicans are straining
every nerve, and had gone so far as to suppress
a leading Democratic journal. And so the war be-
tween the great contending portions in the State, as
well as between the armies in the geld, goes on re•
morselessly with a recklessness and a ferocity that
nothing seems to check. When and how can the
nation retrace the steps which are now leading her
to ruin ?

Very recently the wise and good of all denomina.
tiens have seen En Irish city convulsed by a series

of riots which disgraced the enlightenment of the
age. Within the last few days, however, another

city in the same impulsive country has witnessed a

demonstration of a very different character—one in
which all ranks and all classes, English and Irish,
Protestant and Catholic, could heartily combine,
setting aside for the time all local jealousies, sus-
pending all causes of dissension in the one common
sentiment of gratitude and veneration. It would
be strange, indeed, if the countrymen who owed
him so much should fail to do honour to the memory
of Father MATHEW, and, more especially, is such
a tribute due by the citizens of Cork, among whose
lanes and byways he laboured for the greater part
of his lifetime. It has long been their intention to
erect a monument of this great benefactor of the
poor, bat circumstances have delayed its execution.
Now, however, the task is happily accomplished,
and the calm benevolent features of the Apostle of
Temperance, chiselled by the gifted hand of Mr
FOLEY, now looks down upon the finest site in the
city. The enthusiasm manifested by the people on
the occasion of the unveiling of the statue was
something unusual even for Ireland. Streets and
squares, quays and bridges, were thronged with
eager spectators, while the procession included an
array of trades and societies worthy of the metro-
polis itself. Flags and banners floated on the air
amid the gaily dressed procession, whose length
was so great that it occupied nearly two hours in
passing over a mile and a half. Perhaps the most
gratifying feature in the affair was that, although
the numbers of persons in the streets were calcu
lated at 50,000, and although the residents of Cork
declare the demonstration to have been unparalleled
in its magnitude, not the slightest disturbance took
place during the day. No policemen, it is said, were
visible in the town, save at the platform, and even
there their pressnce, though desirable, was not
necessary. \Vcmen of all ages were especially
numerous in the crowd, present perhaps in grateful
recollection of husbands or sons reclaimed by Father
MATHEW'S efforts, of wretched homes and neg-
lected families restored to peace and comfort by his
unwearied exertions. The good work he did has
not died away ; its effects yet linger among the
people. Being dead, he yet speaketh to them
of temperance, of piety, of charity, of goodness.
Rarely has it been granted to any single man to
see so great results from his labours, rarely—more
especially in that most difficult if most desirable
work—the reclamation of the offender. But Father
MATHEW'S earnestness carried all before him. Hie
voice broke the spell of degradation and despair,
his hand snapped the chains of long-continued
habit. How far teetotalism is to be accepted as a
principle of universal application, and how far all
the conversions effected stood the test of time and
trial, are both questions open to discussion, but
there can be no doubt that a great work was actually
effected, that the tide of intemperance was stemmed,
and that the fruits of the harvest then sown will be
reaped in many a coming generation. That Father
MATHEW'S public success was chequered by con-
siderable private embarrassment and anxiety is a
fact well known and universally deplored, but it is
given to none to escape altogether from disappoint-
ment and trial. Father MATHEW'S bounty daring
the terrible year of 1847 cantributed greatly to
the involvement of his affairs, and produced those
harassing difficulties which so greatly embittered
the last years of his useful life. Oa all accounts,
then, he has a claim to the grateful remembrance of
his country, and the city which for nearly forty
years witnessed his toils at the "Little Friary " is
a fitting spot for its especial illustration. No more
worthy speaker could have been found to deliver
he address upon this interesting occasion than the
talented Mayor of Cork, not only in right of his
individual ability and his official position, but as
the friend and biographer of the apostle of tempee
ranee. It is no wonder, in reviewing the life spent
in labour for the good of his fellows, in recalling the
continuous exertion, the disinterestedness, the devo-
tion of this rerrurkable man, that the speaker
should be filled with enthusiasm, that the qaiekly
stirred feelings of the crowd should find vehement
demonstration. But such enthusiasm is not a mere
passing fervour; it is significant of that reverence
and affection for the really great and good which is
so ennobling a part of human nature, and the ob-
ject of it was worthy of the sentiments evoked. In
the words of Mr. MAGUIRE'S eloquent address,
.'The fight he fought was a great and noble one,
and he died in harness. He died as a soldier of the