The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-30 00:00:00

no personal j-atoasies that will be allowed

to stand in the way, and if the results
of the general election should be such as the results
of the recent elections have latterly given us some
reason to hope, you will then see that the Conser-
vative party in this country will be placed in a
position such as it has not occupied for eighteen
years past." Confidence the most complete and
absolute could not have more articulate expression
given to it than is here given to it—in the interme-
diate lull of the Roster Holidays—by the hon. baro-
net the member for the borough of Stamford—ac-
cording to common report, the skilled financier, who
may, in the event of a Conservative Government
being formed, succeed the leader of that Govern-
ment in the House of Commons in the onerous
post twice before now dauntlessly undertaken by
that responsible leader of the whole Party in the
House of Commons (undertaken by him in
addition to his supreme and surely sufficient
responsibility) the difficult and laborious
dace of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Now,
what is especially noticable in this confidence of
the Conservative Party, as expressed in pretty
plain words by Sir STAFFORD NORTHCOTE, as one
of its recognised spokesmen—what we regard as
especially and peculiarly noticeable in it, (apart
from the fact that it is a confidence justified by
every political portent visible around us)
is the fact that it is emphasised, as we may say by
the very apathy, confusion, and inertness appa-
rent upon all hands on the side of our
Government. Ministers, in the thick of all
these sinister omens, of all these alarm-
ing tokens of a coming struggle, remain ob-
durately, both within the House and out of the
House, as it were, sitting mumchance ! They really
seem as though they had not a word to say for
themselves. Remembering what they used to be,
in the way of out-speaking, one is almost disposed
to muse over them as HAMLET mused over the skull
of YoRICK—" Alas ! how chapfallen !" And the
worst of it is to us, looking at the present " situation"
of men and measures quite dispassionately—not as
partizans, for partizans we are not, but purely as
advocates of a liberal and enlightened and secure
advance, and as conservators of all that is worth
conserving—the worst of it is, that the so-
called Great Liberal Party those men who met five
years ago in a west-end concert room,
to arrange their plans for the future, have them-
selves alone to thank for the change that has by
this time, quite visibly, quite obviously, come over
the spirit of their dream ! They have—for this
change, we repeat, to thank themselves exclusively:
not their opponents. Not the Conservative (and
now formidable) Opposition. That Opposition all
this while, all these five years past, has been simply
biding its time. Government has been left pretty
well to itself. It has had its full fling, and,
in availing itself of it, it has floundered
into these difficulties, both at home and abroad—
difficulties at once social, political, and diplomatic.
Things have gradually, in point of fact, been
brought, under these auspices, to such a pass, that,
among ourselves here at home, we have long since
come to a dead-lock in the matter of Reform, while
abroad our foreign Policy is little better than a
fiasco. One way or the other, the country wants
to get out of this dead-lock, and to get well rid at
last of this
,fiasco. One way or the other—that
is, either by a change of the Government, or by a
change of the downward course DOW being pur-
sued by the Government.

It is doubtful whether many of the warmest sup-
porters of Parliamentary privileges among us were
a few days ago aware of the existence of a very
curious specimen of representative government still
extant in one corner of these islands. We have
all of us heard of the three estates of Kings, Lords,
and Commons, and have heard also of the honorary
title bestowed upon the goodly broadsheets of the
daily and weekly press, but most ordinary English-
men had yet to learn that there existed a Fifth
Estate, no mere name or shadow, but an actual
potent substance flourishing in this oar nineteenth
century, exercising supreme and irresponsible
powers, and in virtue of those powers committing
QUEEN ,VICTORIA'S offending lieges to the safe
keeping of four walls during the good pleasure of
their offended majesty. Such an assembly is,
however, to be found, and a recent arbitrary exer-
cise of its real or pretended power has brought it
into collision with the popular feeling in a manner
that is likely to bring about a change. It seems
that the little Isle of Man, which up to a compa-
ratively recent period boasted a king of its own,
has even now a separate and independent Legisla-
ture. The number of this august body is not
formidable, being four-and-twenty, but they make
up in arrogance for what they want in amount.
There is a mystery about their nomination and
their origin. We are only told in the present re-
velations that they are self-elected, though why
the number is so limited, or what class of people
possess the happy privilege, is not stated. If our
House of Commons were constructed on any such
principle as self-election, we apprehend that the
necessary six hundred and fifty-eight would be
nominated two or three times overt The Parlia-
ment of the Isle of Man is, however, conducted on
exclusive principles, and is styled the House of
Keys, which, considering its fancy for locking
people up, is no inappropriate cognomen. All laws
for th 3 regulation of the internal affairs of the island
must receive the sanction of the governing body,
but it is somewhat unfortunate that this
governing body is by no means in harmony with
the temper of the times. The members are prin-
cipally agricultural persons, " almost ignorant,"
according to the account, " of sanitary regulations,"
and not at all inclined to work amicably with the
more enterprising and progressive townsmen. We
have lately had one or two antagonisms between
the Executive and the municipal authorities, but
matters in the metropolis never proceeded to the
serious lengths which the dispute attained in the
chief town of the Isle of Man. This same city is
called Douglas, and is known as a place of summer
resort by tourists. Perhaps from this communica-
tion with the outer world its inhabitants have be-
come sensible of the advantages of those sanitary
reforms and improvements which are so offensive to
the formidable membors of the House of Keys.
The town commissioners, a body elected by the
people, which undertakes the management of the
lighting, sewerage, and paving of the town, laid
before the Keys a bill to obtain farther powers for
the improvement of Douglas. The people of the
town were, very justly, to bear the weight of the
taxation; but this did not serve to mitigate the
wrath of the offended Legislature, to whom uirt and
darkness were apparently dear. Country roads
were not paved, and why should town roads be?
We may suppose they propounded this problem
without discovering any solution, for after a long
discussion on the bill it was decidedly rejected.
The vexation of the public found its usual expres-
sion in the channels of the press, for it must not be
supposed that .Mona, which possesses so many in-
dividual powers, is without its organs of popular
feeling. The Isle of Man Times and the Mona
We may conciuue that their offence
• exPrss,,d ir views with
some severity.
lay less in tae actual language than in the dis-
paragement of the big h snd migh`y sovereignty