The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-06 00:00:00

naturally feel it a great hardship to be kept out of
his money without anyreasonable pretext whatever.
Setting ;aside the unwarrantable delay which oc-
curred between the capture of the fort and the
distribution of the spring before last, there
can be no possible excuse for waitirg twelve
or fifteen months before giving the men
in England (who probably need it the most)
the portion which properly belongs to them. Such
ungracious acts as these make our service unpopu-
lar ; they disgust the men, who feel as if they were
kept out of their rights, and make them suspicious
that the real object of delay
is the hope that the
claimants will die off. Certainly, with an annual
death rate of 69 per 1,000, seven years would make
a considerable change in a body of 2,000 men, but
the principle is carried out in every latitude and
is every department of the united services. It is
quite time that a better system was in-
augurated, and that our men were made
to feel that their claims, when just, were as promptly
and readily acknowledged as those of their superiors.
Our Indian veterans have had good reason in seve-
ral instances to complain of the treatment which
they have received, and the tardy and unwilling
recognition of their services. The grand achieve-
ments of HAVELOCK'S army and their fellows in
the great struggle of 1857 were apparently forgotten
by the authorities when the dispute arose.about the
transfer of the Company's troops to the QUEEN'S '
service. The men might have had no official
claim to the bounty, but it was a harsh and
ungracious act on the part of a wealthy
country to refuse it to men who had borne and
achiefed so much. It would have been easy
to have pointed out to them that it was granted es
a matter of grace, not as a right, and that the
authorities were willing to stretch a point in their
favour in consideration of their services. The guess
tion was one into which a thought of precedent
could not enter, being so entirely an exceptional
case. That paltry saving disgusted many of our
best men, who refused to re-enlist, and cost the
country considerably more in the transport of troops
than the bounty would have done. It is quite time
that these things were looked to if we hope to main-
tain the spirit and efficiency of our army, and to
keep up its popularity among the people.

All that tends to raise th© character of the work

ing men is eminently worthy of support. It is a
proud characteristic of this country that the work.
ing population of the community occupy so ele•

vated a position, and are so thoroaghly indepen.
dent. The petty interference and the great re-
strictions that abound abroad are totally unknown
here, and the working man of England has his

rights and privileges that appertain to his order
as clearly marked out and as well secured as those

of the affluent merchant or possessor of rank and

itle. This is as, it should be, it is an integral

part of our social system that foreigners have
admired but utterly failed to understand, and that

right thinking members of society have alwsys
appreciated and recognised as essential to the
welfare of the State. There have been of late
some Working Men's Exhibitions, and these are
specially worthy of notice, for they reveal a cha-
racter that is to be respected. These affairs are
entirely stif-emanating, they do not spring from
patronage ncr take their rise from a fancied
attempt at display, but they are entirely the con-
sequence of the resolutions of their immediate
agents. It is fit and proper that they who are
the foundation and the mainstay of the greatness
and the wealth of the land should occasionally
Come prominently forward and exhibit them-
selves in their true colours as sentient and primer.
dial agents, not as mere machines or instruments,
no matter how extensive the one nor how fine the
other. It appears, then,lupon taking a comprehensive
view of the matter, that this incident of Working
Men's Exhibition has a significance that cannot ba
passed over, and possesses a claim on our regard
that may not be gainsaid. At the great exhibitions
the masters necessarily came forward and received
the guerdon of their merits in the token of appro-
vals vouchsafed by the judges of the competitive
displays. The men were rather disappointed at
being so completely in the background, but the old
adage that one sows that another may reap was
true there as elsewhere. It is bat just that the
other side of the page be turned, and that those
busy workers in the hives of human industry should
manifest themselves, and appear from amidst the
shade that unavoidably is often cast over their
careers. There have already been two of these dis-
plays, and a third is forthcoming. This continua-
tion proves that it is no mere illusion that has
given rise to the suggestion, and no evanescent

outbreak of enthusiasm, because the effort would
have expended itself before this had such been the I
case. It is at once curious and interesting to trace
the progress of these endeavours from the outset to
the conclusion. In studying these details the
looker-on may learn more than he bargained for at
the outset, for there is ample evidence and abun-
dant illustration contained therein of the spirit
and genius of the country. The chief difficulty was
the want of necessary funds to defray inevitable
expenses, but in this dilemma the projectors
copied their illustrious predecessors, the
promoters of the Great Exhibition, and
among themselves guaranteed a certain
sum to cover any risk incurred by losses that might
supervene. The course of the affairs is arranged by
a committee, so that it is evident that a general

system pervades the whole, and that due ?Are and
caution are observed in the proceedings. Independ.
ence is the watchword of the affair, and thus no
assistance is asked, but all voluntary contributions
are accepted. This is just the right way to adopt,
since it avoids churlish isolation and dependent in-
security. The object of all such industrial exhibi-
tions should be to unite interests apparently diverse,
and to awaken sympathies that are the sure and
strong support of society. This circumstance of
the working men combining to render themselves
conspicuous by their attainments is a proof
that needs no comment. Those who could
not take part in them have yet, in some
degree, caught the spirit of emulation which
it was their great object to inspire, and have inns
bibed the desire to excel, which it was the primeval
purpose of the affair to promote. It must be cone
ceded that so far the results of the great natioum
undertakings have surpassed the expectations and
exceeded the desires of their founders. To inystil an
elevated idea into the minds of the worki-,.q, men,
to infuse the notion that work contains a glorious
pri,,ilege, as well as an imposing burden that, cannot
be shaken off, is something to have effected
that cannot be too greatly prized nor too
lightly valued. Another point worthy of at•
in the affair, is that, ;:c is really the
producetentik)ri of
the exhibitors which is put forward.
In most cases, too, this resrlit is only accomplished
by sedulous efforts on the part of the manufacturer
of the exhibited article. Generally it is only after
the day's work is done that the time can be spared,
thus it is a genuine love of the thing which calls
forth the eart. There is more likelihood of Ole
undertaking prospering when it is carried on by
those who have to make sacrifices for its support,
because their wishes are true and their desires are