The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-01 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 1884.

The marriage of the exiled heir of the House of
Orleans with his fair cousin, one of the Princesses of
Spain,which took place onMonday last at Kingston-
upon-Thames, excited very naturally profound
sentiments of interest and sympathy. It is an
event in the present day of no political importance
whatever. So little does the Imperial party ap-
prehend
at the hands of the House of Orleans
that some little time back, when the approaching
marriage of the heir of the fallen house was first
announced, the Emperor NAPOLEON volunteered
the offer of his congratulations. It was an event,
therefore, of no political importance, but it was
nevertheless an incident of deep historic interest
that was Witnessed on Monday in that little English
ehalel. To the mind of the politician it might
not unnaturally recall the very different scenes of
the two marriages of the Raze-its of the bride and
bridegroom, the eldest and the youngest of the
8013 S of LOUIS PHILIPPE. The marriage of the
Due D' ORLEANS was an event of natior al interest
and hope. The city of Paris presented magnificent
gifts to the young bride, who was then
reasonably enon,gh regarded as the future Queen
of the FRENCH. A double misfortune put
an end to these anticipations. The bereaved
Duchess of ORLEANS had to deplore the loss of her
husband, and then of her son's inheritanoo. The
regal splendours of those nuptials were full ROOO
indeed overcast with disappointment.
The ether
wedding, that of the Duo D 3 NI ON TP EN sI E R, was
too much matter of notoriety to be eisiiy forgotten.
It was the culmination of the crafty ambition of
Louls PHILIPPE, end also the " catastrophe" of
his " sinister career." That marriage was intended
to render the O:lears influeccs paramount in Spain
as well as in France and once more, as in the days
of Louis XIV., to annii!ate the Pyrenees. "11

n'y a plus de Pyrenees"—was the exclamation of
Louis XIV. on a similar union between
the royal families of France and Spain. And
so in the pride of his heart thought
King Louis PuiLirrE. And now—alas! for human
hope and human ambition I—the daughter of that
Spanish Princess is united to the exiled heir of his
own fallen house. Such lessons are almost of too
common occurrence to excite much remark. The
vanity of human ambition has long been proverbial,
and the lesson is also equally vain. A more pleasant
subject for contemplation is presented by th© other
side of the picture. If the ambition of the kingly
head of the house has proved utterly futile, very
different has been the result of the higher ambi-
tion of the royal mother. Queen MARIE AMELIE
had chosen for her family inheritance "that better
part," which is not dependant upon the passing
breath of popular applause, even under must ad-
verse circumstances. The domestic virtues of
the Orleans family have been proverbial ;
and those virtues which adorned them, amid
the splendours of a court surrounding them, still in
exile and misfortune, have been happily rewarded
by the full enjoyment of teat—
" Only plant of paradise that has survived the fall."
The wedding at Kingston was rendered especially
interesting by the presence of the venerable lady
who is less remarkable for her royal rank than for
her great misfortunes and her greater virtues. She
has seen her children "rise up and call her blessed,"
and the best prayer that can be offered for the
young bride and bridegroom is that they may
follow in her revered footsteps.

Public expectation is to a certain extent satisfied.
The long pending question of the rams is Mai.
Lively settled. Those black sheep which, if the
threats and remonstrances of Mr. ADAMS, and the
big words and truckling actions of Earl RUSSELL
have any significance, were to involve this country
in a war with the 'United States, have been peace-
fully folded with the flocks of Great Britain. This
is a third instance in which the Government have
been defeated, for if, as in the present instance, the
case be settled by compromise, the contest ends in
a drawn battle, the aggressor must of necessity be
considered to have failed in his attack. So it has
been with each and every attempt made by the law
officers of the Crown to show that there was just
cause to detain vessels building in our private yards
for foreign nations. In the case of the Alexandra,
after " fighting back in fierce delay" from court to
court, the House of Lords decided against the
Government; but, after all, this victory was to a
certain extent gained upon technical grounds rather
than upon the real merits of the case, although
borne out by the original verdict of a jury. In the
case of the Pampero, which was tried in Scotland,
a compromise was come to, the prosecution not
being strong enough to ensure conviction ; and now
in the cue of the notorious Birkenhead rams, at the
eleventh hour, her Majesty's Government are fain
to purchase those very ships which were seized with
so much ostentation last year, and to render which
seizure certain the anxiety of the Admiralty jeo-
pardised the safety of a fine frigate and her ship's
company. The Attorney-General admitted in the
House of Commons that, although the law officers
of the Crown relied upon the goodness cf their
case, they were by no means confident of obtaining
a verdict, and that they therefore considered dis-
cretion to be the better part of valour, and
bought up their opponents. This was perhaps
the wisest course for both parties to pursue,
for although it is more than probable that M.
BAAVARY, who is now admitted to have been the
bona fide owner of the rams, no matter to whom he
was afterwards to transfer them, would have ulti-
mately carried his case; the tedious and expensive
delays to which the law officers of the Crown could
have subjected them would most probably have
virtually frustrated the purpose for which the vessels
were built. A favourable verdict by an impartial
jury in such cases is of no immediate benefit, for ,
the Crown prosecutors, like GOLDSMITH'S school-

master,—

"Even when beaten, can argue still "

The Frenchman, no doubt, having learned to his
cost what influence Mr. ADAMS exercised over Earl
RUSSELL, reluctantly relinquished the contest, and
disposed of the two splendid ships which were all
but completed for him by Messrs. LAIRD, and in all
probability gave orders for similar craft to be built
in the yard of one of his countrymen, who, if he
possessed not all the appliances and resources of
the great Mersey firm, could at least trust to the
protection of his Government, which, however
exacting it might be in its own requirements, was
not to be intimidated by any foreign Power. It
M. BRAVARY was, as is generally supposed, com-
missioned by the Confederate Government to cause
these vessels to be constructed, and has followed
the course which we have suggested, and have
every reason to believe to be the fact, he has acted
wisely. President LINCOLN and Mr. SEWARD are
too wise in their generation to use the language to
the French EMPEROR which they know they can
employ with impunity and also with advantage to
the English Government. There was great bluster
and talk both in Washington and New York
about the New Mexican Empire, but it all
ended in smoke. The Americans, with all their
bounce, are quicksighted and intelligent people, and
they know full well that the reply of LOUIS NAPO-
LEON to an insolent message would have been the
immediate raising of the blockade of the Southern
Ports, and the closing of those of New York and
Boston. This would not suit their views, and al•
though it was safe enough to talk large on American
soil, it was deemed prudent for their representative
to be civil in the French capital. If Southern re•
ports are to be credited, and although all American
reports must be taken cum grano salis, the South-
erners are less given to mendacity than the North■
erners, they will be furnished this summer with
some twenty steamers from Europe. We hope that
this is no exaggeration, but we regret that the
pusillanimity of..our Government has deprived our
shipbuilders of the undoubted right to sell their
wares to any customer not at war with this country.
The Foreign Enlistment Act is a dead letter as
regards the interests of the Northern States, it is
strained to the utmost against the Confederate,.
Let England be again involved in a European wee
and we shall soon see how the Americans will
repay our truckling policy. We have earued their
contempt, and they will then laugh at all laws of
neutrality, and shape their course as it best suits
their own interests. With regard to the purchase
of the rams by the Government, it is in one respec.
highly satisfactory. These vessels are pronounced
by competent authorities to be models of naval
architecture. No Government surveyor or ad-
miralty constructor has bad a hand in drawing
their lines, and as they have been built in one oi
he first yards in the kingdom, and are in tot.
Advanced a stage to be spoiled by official inter-
ference, there can be little doubt that they wil,
realise all that is expected of them. Here, then
we shall have two fast well armed turret ships tt
compare with the Prince Albert recently launched
from the yard of Messrs SAMUDA, and the Boys'
Sovereign being converted at Chatham. Tht
Prince Albert is said to be a very handsom,
s lip, with fine lines, hut if report be true her en
giro power will nut enable he: to a►ttaiu a greater

speed than nine or ten knots. This is, of course,
no fault of the builders, but rather a crotchet of
the Admiralty. Mr. REED, the Constructor of the
Navy, exercises great influence, and although he is
undoubtedly s man of considerable talent he seems
entirely to forget the interests of the Navy in car-
rying out his own pet projects. He has certainly
succeeded in constructing ships of only one thousand
tons, capable of carrying four•and-a-half-inch
armour plates, and drawing only some fifteen feet
of water—namely, the Enterprise and the Research ;
but in so doing he hes limited their speed to under
ten knots. These vessels carry 400-pounders, and
would be, no doubt, formidable antagonists, pro-
vided the enemy would consent to give them battle
on their own terms, but they could neither overtake
a flying foe, nor avoid an action with La Gloire or
any other large and swift cruiser. This is a great
mistake, and we trust that the trials of El Monas-
sin and El Toussin, or whatever their Christian
names may be, will prove that it is possible to com-
bine strength, speed, and light draught of water;
and if this desideratum be once established, public
opinion will compel Admiralty prejudice and inte-
rests to give place to common sense and activity.

Reformers will be disappointed at the prefatory
apology which Mr. GLADSTONE has thought fit to
prefix to the issue of his famous speech on Mr.
BAINES'S motion. They thought they had gained
an important auxiliary—one whose eloquence in
the Senate and whose influence in the Cabinet
would prove of material assistance in smoothing
away those unaccountable obstacles that always
seems to intervene between Whig promises and
performances. The conversion of so distinguished
a member of those haltandehalf Liberals, of which
we have only too many among our public men, was
hailed with acclaim by genuine Reformers, and as
much importance was attached to the unexpected
adhesion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the
Liberal side on the debate and division respecting
Mr. BAINES'S measure for the Extension of the
Franchise, as if some part of the scheme had actually
become law. Bat, alas, for these sanguine antici
pations and confident rejoicings ! The valiant
leader, who was to rout the forces of the enemy,
seems very much inclined to retract the steps he has
already taken, to surrender the point which he has
gained. Instead of bringing up an unexpected
reserve on another occasion, he is much more likely
to appear on the opposing side, or at best to hover
mid- way between the combatants, while he exhausts
all the resourcesof his subtle logic in showing to the
bystanders the pros and cons belonging to each party.
Our quick-witted friend Punch was apparently very
near the truth with his formidable pencil. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer has made a false start
and come back again to the starting place, but we
very much question whether by his return he has
improved his chance in the race. Is it that he
really thinks it is, as his pictorial mentor tells him,
too soon for a profession of democratic principles,
or is it that he was unprepared for the importance
attached to his words, and, consequently, dis-
inclined to support them unqualified ? It is cer-
tainly strange to find a man like Mr. GLADSTONE
attributing to the heat of the debate the expres-
sion of his views on a question like the franchise.
The particular passage in his speech which Mr.
GLADSTONE thinks it necessary to qualify appears
to be a very just and moderate one. In it he
maintains that exclusion from the franchise
should only be based on two grounds—the unfit-
ness of the non-elector, personally, and the possible
political danger arising from his admission. These
two reasons comprise all the arguments upon which
objections are based, and it is difficult to see what
other grounds can be stated for the most wholesale
exclusion of classes- Personal unfitness is the
objection of the prudent Liberal ; constitutional
disturbance and consequent political danger is the
argument of the Tories. The manner in which
Mr. GLADSTONE endeavours to qualify his state-
ment, to prune away its dangerous Liberalism, and
to retain his position among the quasi supporters of
Reform on the Government benches is more in-
genious than satisfactory. A proposition of eeeme
ingly wide scope is often, he tells us, reduced by
large exceptions to narrow limits ; and he evEently
wishes us to infer that his proposition belongs to
this class. It is as well, perhaps, that he says inci-
dentally, that these " large" exceptions are also
" scarcely definable," since even his subtle skill
might be puzzled to define them. Of what nature
are these exceptions ? Are we to exclude from the
franchise on account of particular trade, or profes-
sion, or even creed ? Are we to restrict the exer-
cise of the right of voting to those classes who have
hitherto taken part in the representation. But if,
on such grounds, we might reverse many of the
most enlightened measures of modern times, and
oven in these cases personal unfitness or political
danger must be the real objections. If we are to
accept an educaticnel test, or a warrant of character,
as security, it is personal unfitness that must ex-
clude the unsuccessful applicants. If we make pro-
perty or rental the rule of admission, we are desirous
of preserving the preponderance of power in the
hands of the wealthier classes and of avoiding
political disturbance. Mr. GLADSTONE says, truly
enough, in defence of those wholesale
that theesalestat ements
which he is now inclined to qualify,
oppo-
nents of Mr. BAINES'S measure assumed in
their arguments against it, that the present
limitations of the franchise required no
defence but were to be accepted without in-
quiry. Such is certainly not the opinion out of
doors, and judging by the faint and feeble manner
in which Parliament represents the popular feeling
about Denmark and Prussia, there is need of a con-
siderable alteration in the number or the character
of our constituencies. Perhaps the least satis-
factory passage in Mr. GLADSTONE'S preface is that
in which he declares that he spoke chiefly in respect
to the past, and that neither time nor reason per-
mitted him " to attempt the solution of problems of
real intricacy, which belong wholly to the future,
and which are little likely to become practical
except for another generation. Certainly our re-
forms are likely to be only theoretical as long as we
have a Whig Cabinet at the helm ! But these
questions do not belong exclusively to the future;
they are pressing for a solution, and, Sphinx-like,
will be the ruin of the Statesman who cannot, or
will not, answer them. It would have been better
for Mr. GLADSTONE'S reputation had he boldly
stood by the principles he upheld in that eloquent
address which reflected so faithfully the sentiments
of a large body of the public. By his flinching
from his colours he will not regain the confidence
of those whom he has startled by his outspoken
tshpeectpewphulicahr
mseingtiments, but he will
advocacyforfeit thel)
!e
he boldly maintained his groundht ahnevdeybieelednedhitsohtande
claimsfter b
ofe ceded to h
rightandjutste xen
justice, that
of political
:expediency. must here-
after
expediency.

THE MONTMORENCIES AND THE TALLEYRANDS.
—An Imper;al decree has conferred the title of Duke de
Niontmorency on young Prince de Talleyrand. The Mont-
morency family and their collateral branches—the Roche.
foucalts, the Beauffremonts, and the Rohan-Chabits—have
lost nu time in applying to the competent tribunal for what
we woald call a rule nisi, calling on the Prince to show
cause why he should not be prohibited from assuming a
name to which he has no claim, and which, not being in
abeyance, it is net in the Emperor's power to give. MM.
Dafaure, Berryer, and Andral; are to support the rule.
There is also a rumour of a duel between the head of the
L1Q142.0 of Montmorency and the Prince de Talleyrancl.