The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-18 00:00:00

to insure its defeat, while Government opposition
giveh to the measure of a private member was per-
fectly certain to insure its victory." Such can
hardly be denied to be an accurate account of the
doings of the last Parliamentary campaign, and also
it can scarcely be said that such is the definition of
a stable Government, or one that can secure the
confidence of the country at large. It is a peculiar
feature of this age that so weak a Government can
retain cffice for so long a period comparatively,
but there are many secondary causes which con-
spire to secure their position. Therefore they
and their supporters are able to turn upon
their opponents every now and then, and ex-
claim, "If we are not strong, we are the
only party capable of retaining power." Mr,
Du CANE'S criticisms upon their career were apt
and appropriate, and there is no occasion to ascribe
his remarks to the ascerbity of party zeal or the
prejudice of a political adversary, for disinterested
observers of any side wou'd vouch for their accu-
racy. "If we turned from the Governments,
position to the Government's politics, their foreign
policy had been described in words which had be-
come at once proverbial and historical as " meddle
and muddle," while their domestic policy might be
equally briefly summed up as " rest and be thank-
ful for the sweets of office." The next argument
of the hon. member against the powers that be was
one of great weight, and perhaps more than any
other really carries force against them, for it bears
an evidence of their want of faith and eager craving
to get into office at any cost. Mr. Du CANE ob-
served that the Government had come into office
five years ago, in order to carry out certain liberal
measures which they affirmed that their opponents
could not tackle, but that these undertakings
had all been abandoned. It is true that
Mr. GLADSTONE observed the other day in the
north, that there was not the same excitement now
prevalent in respect to Reform as formerly ; but no
one heard much of that doctrine when the cry of
" Reform" was useful in sending out the Govern-
ment of Lord DERBY. It was then a case of min.
minent necessity that admitted of no delay, and
would brook no compromise. It may be a satis-
faction to Ministers that they have got into power
and through one thing and another are enabled to
keep in on sufferance as it were ; but they have
obtained this at a dear price. Their reputation is
tarnished effectually, and no one will ever again
give credence to their assertions, when they
declare that a particular plan is necessary for
the public service, or that any reform is
wanted. Mr. Du CANE'S remarks on the subject of
Schleswig Holstein were admirable, and exactly
explained the true state of the case. He declared
that the Government might have pursued one or
two different courses to that which they really did
with a better result ; the one which would have
been most successful and' praiseworthy was thus
put forlh. Ministers might have said, " Denmark
is our ally, and we intend to stand by her, at all
hazards; and the very moment that your armies
cross the Eider, we shall send a fleet to Copen-
hagen." 'Well might the hon. member say that it
they had done this in his opinion there would
have been no war, fur Austria and Prussia
would have held back, and their crafty
statesmen were too much on the alert to
provoke a quarrel with England, while France was
hankering after the Rhine, and while Austria was
dreading a revolution in Hungary and Venetia. It
is satisfactory to hear we are speaking out so
decidedly on this often misrepresented question,
although it is most irritating to reflect that the
time has passed when the adoption of such a course
might have rescued a gallant kingdom from ruin,
have stayed the advances of treacherous and un-
scrupulous nations, and, above all other considera-
tions to ourselves, have been the means of prevent-
ing an injury to the honour of England, and of
setting forth to the world the example of a country
that used its power to protect the feeble and op-
pressed, and considered it never so well spent as in
such employment.

Among the many important questions which owe
their origin to the American war the position of the
British North American colonies occupies a conspic-
uous place. For a long time the condition of these
provinces has been felt to be unsatisfactory. The)
are not separately and individually in a position to
protect their exposed frontiers, neither could it be
expected that help from this country could reach
them with sufficient promptitude to save them from
distress and possible discomfiture. It is tree that
the colonies have on former occasions not only
manifested a proper display of martial spirit when
needed, but have shown a readiness to help each
other which has been highly praiseworthy. Bat
in the case which every one has in mind when
speaking of an invasion of the British North Ame-
rican provinces, there would be the need of a pre-
viously organised system of defence and of a prompt
supply of men and stores to make success certain.
The employment of British troops in Canada and
the other colonies has often come under the con-
sideration of the English press and Parliament
since the outbreak
,of the American war; end,
according to the accounts received, the colonists
have shown a very becoming readiness for mili-
tary training. Naturally, from the age and posi
tion of their country, es a young and thinly-
peopled State, they are principally engaged in
the occupations of civil life; but, as we
have seen evidenced by our own volun-
teers, these do not prevent men from ac-
quiring a very fair degree of military training
in the intervals of their daily business. Canadian
life is even more favourable to rifle practice than
English social routine, and our colonial youth are
not likely to want for strength or courage. All that
is lacking in the North American provinces, then, i 3
that union which makes even weak States formid-
able, and this they are now disposed to seek in a
general federation. It has been proposed that the
two Canadas, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
Prince Edward's Island, and Newfoundland, should
form a united province under one central govern•
ment, with a view to the better preservation of their
common interests. It has been suggested that the
Confederation should consist for the present of three
sections—Upper Canada, Lower Canada, and the
maritime provinces, and that provision might be
made for the admission into the union of the great
north-western territory of British Columbia and
Vancouver's Island. It is no visionary project, for
the matter is now actually under discussion at
Quebec, and we shall probably not be long before
we hear further particulars. It seems that the
provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick. and
Prince Edward's Island—or as they are general')
styled, the maritime provinces—agreed that a con-
ference Should be held at Charlottetown, the prin-
cipal city in Prince Edward's Island, to discuss the
project of a union of their tortunes. The Canadian
Government, on hearing of this, requested permis
sion for its delegates to attend that conference, so fib
to invite attention to the larger question of a great
Federative Union.
The nec.ssary consent war
readily obtained, and the Canadian deputies were
very cordially received at the meeting which tool•
place on the let September, as we have said, a
Charlottetown. The Government o' Newfound-
land was not represented on this occasion, but it
expressed its sympathy with the undertaking and
its readiness to assist in the larger Conference.