The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-08 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 1864.

It is arnuhing to note the extraordinary out-burst
cf excitemen among our gallant neighbours on the
other side of the Channel, litiause of Vermouth, the
winner of the ,trend Prix da Paris, so winning that
great race as actm lly to beat Blair Athol, the win-
ner of the Derby. That the lovers of le Sport in
Frfince should be greatly delighted at this double
victory is only natunil, and what might in reason
haute been expected. Our one surprise, and not
cn'y our surprise but regret, is this—that they
sihonld kayo shown temper in giving utterance
to their exultation. Hitherto we have always h6,d
the highest possible ollinion of the good taste, not
only of a Frenchman, but of a great throng
of Frenchmen. Their politeness has heretofore
bt e P such that we sb Quid hardly have been disposed

to dub any crowd of them a mob. Within the last
few days, however, we have had reason to revise
this long cherished opinion of our neighbours. And
to revise it very much indeed to our regret. The
fact being simply that the excited multitude
who hailed the triumph of Vermouth the other
day with so very blatant an enthusiasm, did so in
a manner characterised by the very worst taste
imaginable. Not satisfied with cheering the victor,
they must needs revile the vanquished. And this
not simply by sarcastic or sardonic looks, or by
ironical implication. Nothing of that kind—no:
but—wonderful to tell of a French crowd, for once
we must say of a French mob, admirably well
dressed, and talking that politest of lan-
guages with the best possible Parisian accent—
wonderful to tell, we say, in regard to such a throng
of well-equipped and well-educated Frenchmen
their excitement was manifested by a djsplay of the
e i
vilest and varigarist possible bad taste. Cheering
Vermont .laind his rider, of course, was all well and
. ,
good, perfectly en r egle with the usages of
Vermont
civilised society upon a racecourse. But hissing with
a storm of hisses Blair Athol and his jockey CHAL-
LON ER! Well, really one would hardly have looked for
worse taste than that at a donkey race got up some-
where upon a bit of waste ground at Hockleysin•the-
Hole at a gathering of costermongers. Cheer as
loudly asyou like, 0 polite Frenchmen! But—hiss the
stranger who comes amongst you as your guest,either
to triumph or to bo vanquished, according to the
chances of the turf—well, in honest truth, we should
never have given you credit for it ! That the win-
ning of a great prize like this one of 100,000 francs,
and winning it, too, over the Derby Winner, should
have roused the unsophisticated sportsmen of
Fiance to a singular pitch of enthusiasm, is only
what might have been looked for. Nay the patriotic
significance of that enthusiasm of theirs, even in
their pastimes, we frankly and heartily sympathise
with. Insomuch that we read, if not with a sense
of complacency, with a feeling of very sincere
satisfaction, what is thus remarked upon
this point by our able Parisian con-
temporary the Constautionnel • where we find
it said—" Popular enthusiasm is a:ways a touching
spectacle, and a fact worthy of attention. The
great topic of conversation at present is the
indescribable scene which took place on Sunday
on the racecourse in the Bois de Boulogne. In-
deed, not to bs struck at so marked a demon•
stration would be impossible. Above all was re-
marked the spontaneous expression of the na-
tional feeling, exalted by one of those successes
to which patriotism is never indifferent, and to
which it was still more sensible on Sunday. The
cry of ' Vive l'Empereur!' was raised by every
voice, and it was to the Imperial stand that the
unanimous acclamations of an immense popula-
tion were directed. The more sudden and spon-

taneous th© demonstration, the more was it a
touching homage to the Sovereign whose name is
for the people the natural formula of every
joy, as it is the symbol of all greatness."
But—the turning of this into an anti English
manifestation again we say it —is the worst
possible taste—is the vilest, vulgarest act well
imaginable.

The Ministers may find that they are not let off
so easily as they imagine after all about the Con-
ference. On Monday they were in a very awkward
position, and not all the savoir faire of the noble
lord at the head of the GovErnment could extricate
him from his difficulty. Times are sadly changed
from the goad old days when the Premier's speeches
were always received with cheers and enlivened by
laughter. Now we meet with ominous expressions
of dissent, and frequently the very decisive remark
of " oh, oh," is beard in the full flaw of his elo-
quence. Aspiring statesman and ambitious novices
may learn a useful lesson from this peculiar state of
things, and discover that the most popular Minis-
ter may presume too far on the forbearance, kind
ness, and partiality of his immediate adherents and
of the public generally. Nothing could be more
unsatisfactory than the tone in which the noble lord
replied to all the inquiries put to him on a subject
of vital interest to so many. First of all, he did not
know, or would not tell if he did know, the leading
points on which information was desired. It seems
more than probab!e that the armistice will not con-
tinue much longer, and then all this delay and

hindrance in the prosecution of the business of the

' Conference will have answered its purpose and
gained the wished-for delay. Indeed, it seems
doubtful if the plenipotentiaries will again assemble
before the expiration of the term fixed upon for the
continuance of the armistice. It is too much to
expect the members of the Legislature tamely to
submit to all this subterfuge and not to take heed
to the ways of those who seem to hold out delusive
expectatioas to all within their reach, and then to
fulfil no fair sounding promise, but to allow it to
wither and droop for want of realisation.
Mr. DISRAELI'S speich was an entire success from
beginning to end. It was one of his happiest
efforts, when he showed forth in striking colours
the shuffling policy and unequal conduct of the
Government, and exhibted the wrong system on
which all their plans were founded. First of all he
explained the importance of the House maintaining
its reserve upon the question of peace or war
when the Government have that weighty matter
to discuss among themselves. This rule, however,
may be carried too far, and as there are limits to
all things, so the extreme reticence that has
hitherto marked the House on both sides must be
considered, in order to take cognizance of
matters which are of most grave importance, and
intimately connected with the honour of England,
the well-being of other nations, and the general
character that we have to uphold before the nations
of world, as to our will or efficiency to protect an
a dangerous and destroying enemy. The
day
yy
ofrofgmrace is past, so far as relates to the secrecy
all should be enveloped in
that eternally pervades this
Conference. There
mason why
It is
cansue
such
Cimmerian
noomrecrai
not at all the way
to impress the foreign plenipotentiaries with a
notion of our vast consequence and immense in
finance if they find that the English Ministers dare
not allow the public to hear what they are talking
about, and that all must be done of any conse-
quence before a whisper transpires which might
arouse and excite the public attention, and Wake
the slumbering wrath of the community. Those
who planned the delightful surprise for us may
find a change is also awaiting them, and their
maeceavres may fail after all, nor bear the garish
light of day when at last it falls upo n their re-
condite structure.

Mr. DisRAELI's speech may well serve for an
analysis of the whole affair of this Conference, and
if anything was wanting to complete its triumph, it
was the very indignant manner i❑ which Lord
PALMERSTON replied to the strictures of his political
opponent. The most important point in this mat-
ter is, that the House is not aware of the principles
upon which the Government are now acting. Mr.
DISRAELI remarked that they had frequently been
told that it was the intention of her Majesty's
Ministers to maintain Vie Treaty of 1852 ; they
went into the Conference to maintain it inviolate,
bat now there was every reason to fear that the
very men who were ready to go to war some months
beck for the furtherance of this o .set were now

N,

sacrificing this principle, and giving up the integ-
rity and independence of Danmark. The right hon.
gentleman delivered some warnings to the Treasury
Benches, which it is to be hoped that they will
heed, if not, the day will come when the country
will call upon them to deliver up a strict and solemn
account. Whether their mischievous polcy be
checked or not, in time to avert the worst
consequences from Denmark, they will not escape
with impunity for their unworthy course of action,
If they aro not conducting the momentous affairs
at this critical juncture after the fashion they de-
) clared it was their intention to do, they are deceiving
the country and trifling with Parliament. Honour
demands that they should keep all their promises
to a foreign State who has trusted to their honour
and relied on their goodwill, but they have also
duties to perform to their own people. The House
of Commons, which is the tribunal that judges of
their actions, is the last place where mystery and
reserve should reign paramount. The best way to
judge of the merits of a particular course of pro-
ceeding is to consider its effects. Suppose the direful
reports we hear on all sides are correct; suppose
the rumours that reach us from neighbouring lands
not so restricted for information as we are, are
proved to be genuine, what will be the result ?
Denmark will be ruined, and chiefly through the
instrumentality of England. Meanwhile there is
nut a public meeting that takes place, there is no
affair of moment that occurs, where some tribute is
not paid to the Courage and constancy of the Danes,
and the most striking testimony afforded of the
earnest and heartfelt sympathy which the people of
England feel towards the oppressed and injured
country of Denmark. All this goodwill is to be
useless, all this kind sentiment is to be thrown
away, tecause the Government are resolved to carry
out their own peculiar notions. If they are put in
office to represent the wishes of the people and carry
out the policy of the House of Commons, they are
bound to let it be known what is their policy and
what not. Mr. DISRAELI truly stated that if her
MAJESTY'S Government " were themselves partici-
pating in the partition of Denmark, which only five
months ago they were stirring up an European
war to prevent, then it was a mockery of the House
of Commons if, under such circumstances, Lord
PALMERSTON remained silent. The noble lord might
raise laughs from his own supporters, who app ar
to think life or death, the prosperity or adversity of
nations are alike the legitimate subjects of ridicule,
but he will find himself grievously mistaken in the
long run. Mr. OSBORNE, who is always a sharp
observer of events, and can chronicle them in a smart
style, has foretold the doom of the Ministers in his
laughable simile of the monks of La Trappe. He
said the noble lord and his friends were emulating
them in silence, and he did not know if they were
also digging their own graves. If so, they will not
have the satisfaction of saying, with the French
monarch—" All is lost but our honour." 1

Metropolitan improvements are the order of the
day, and the relief of our crowded thoroughfares is
a ms tter that is continually before the public in
some form or another. The lines that are running
to and fro and frightening London from its pro-
priety, are all projected, professedly, for the public
convenience. They turn people out of doors and
bring their houses about their ears entirely to save
them the trouble of going an extra mile when they
want to travel, They were so anxious to consult
the convenience of the City, more especially, that
they were quite prepared to swallow up one-eighth
of its whole surface for the good of the remaining
aeven parts. Citizens, however, took objection to
this very wholesale way of doing business, and were
as loth() to be dispossessed of their grim offices and
dusky marts as any landed proprietor of his old
estates or belongings. Westwards, however, the
state of things is different. There the complaint is
iot of over interference, but of too little. The
aristocratic denizens of the localities where Temple
Bar is out of sight and hearing, are beginning to
discover that their part of the metropolis has had
no share in the changes of recent days. They are
unwilling that affairs should so be left, and that the
busy rival worlds of North and South-west should
have no means of general communication between
Bond-street and Kensington. This grievance has
long been greatly felt by those residing in these
localities, and it was brought prominently forward
by Lord LUCAN the other night in the Upper
House. The noble earl, not content to complain of

an evil, without at the same time suggesting a

remedy, proposed that Hamilton-place, now looking
on with stately indifference on the bustle and con-
fusion of Park-lane, should bo opened as a thorough-

fare for carriages and cabs, which, in those aristo-
cratic quarters, are the principal means of convey-
ance. This would certainly relieve the crowd and

the pressure en one particular street, although it
does not tend much to shorten the distance at pre
sent existing between the two nearest available
highroads. Nobody proposes to send the stream
of business vehicles pouring through Hyde Park,
where, indeed, they are as likely to come to a dead-
lock on a gay afternoon in the season as they are
in Park- lane itself. As, then, the park tenet be left
altogether out of the calculation, it would be wise
to secure the line of communication nearest to it.
At least we should have fewer complaints of the
perils of Park-lane, through whose winding and
narrow entrance now pour the omnibuses coming
from the Great Western and Victoria Stations, be-
sides the cabs that are bound on the same journey,
and a myriad of other vehicles on varioua errands.
To add to the general confusion there is a corn-
chandler's establishment in the narrow part of the
lane, with carts perpetually loading and unloading ;
and two public-houses, before which Lord LUCAN
declares he never passes without seeing a gentle-
man's carriage standing blocking the road; and
this declaration is very easy of belief. For a dis-
tance of one hundred and fifty yards from
Piccadilly the width from kerbstone to
kerbstone, of this disputed passage is
according to the noble earl's statistics, only 18 feet
6 inches. This, as will be at once apparent to the
most uninformed, is a width totally disproportionate
to the demands of the traffic. The Duke of CAM-
BRIDGE observed that since he bad lived where he
does this traffic had enormously increased, owing
chiefly to the Victoria Station. Formerly there
were no omnibuses passing up and down Park-lane,
whereas now there is a regular service of them, and,
as may bo easily imagined, the communication be-
tween the. two western stations is constant and

extensive. Railways, while they relieve traffic it,
one way, greatly increase it in another, and when
the only means of communication between two such

busy and important stations as these two western

ones is restricted virtually to one street, and that
oae with an entrance two narrow and crowded to
be convenient for the purpoEes of ordinary traffic,
the confusion and annoyance that results may be
easily imagined. At the time of the first Exhibition
Park-lane presented a curious spectacle. So great
was the commotion and so intricate the stoppages
and deadlocks which the vehicles arrived at, that

it was found necessary to station no less than
three policemen at the part where it joins Picea.

dilly. The plan of opening the top of Hamilton-

place could bo Effected without much expense,

delay, or trouble, and it would at ones relieve the

pressure by giying Rnother entrance, It would no