The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-14 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

TIMES.—The Opposition in the French Elective
Chamber seems determined to make its presence felt.
Tee discussion on the Budget has been opened by
M. Thiers with a speech, or what they would call
in America an oration, in which he embraces the
whole of the domestic policy of France, and the
history of the Governments which have swayed her
destinies, from the time of the First Napoleon to the
present day. We never remember to have read any
speech addressed to a deliberative Assembly which
attempted to go over so vast a space of ground, and
to exhaust subjects so important and so numerous.
Like a true son of France, M. Thiers begins at the
beginning, or perhaps a little before it. In order to
form an estimate of the present political situation of
France, he feels bound to investigate and deduce
for himself, from principles purely abstract and a
priori, the true theory of politics in general. There
are three things which he considers necessary and
fundamental principles of government—national
sovereignty, order, and liberty; and this liberty is
of five kinds—personal liberty, the liberty of the
press, liberty of election, the liberty of the repre-
sentatives of the nation, and the liberty of debating
such questions as may arise with the responsible
Ministers of the Sovereign. Having provided him-
self with this formidable logical apparatus—having
forged with his own hand, and in the presence of
his audience, the weapons which he is to employ in
the conflict upon which he enters—M. Thiers sets
himself to criticise the present Constitution of
France, and to show that each of the five kinds of
liberty of which he speaks is fettered or destroyed
by the existing Constitution. The task, as may be
readily inferred, is by no means difficult. It is
indeed so easy that it almost seems to cast ridicule
on the tremendous apparatus which is brought to
bear against it. There is little need of heavy guns
to overthrow a wall which is in ruins already, the
reality of weakness being concealed by a rampart
of pasteboard. That personal liberty is not fully
enjoyed in France, even up to what M. Thiers
calls the necessary point, results from the laws
which were passed after the attempt of Orsini.
That the liberty of the press does not exist
completely is shown by the fact that the press,
whose business it is to criticise the Government, is
itself placed under the power of that Government to
warn, to suspend, and to suppress. The reviewer
must take the author into his councils, criticising
with the utmost impartiality, but taking care, under
the heaviest penalties, to say nothing disagreeable
to the person criticised. The principle is admitted,
but nullified by the restraints under which it is ap-
plied. As regards electoral liberty, M. Thiers has
the game equally in his own hands. Universal
suffrage is the great resource of modern times. It
is permitted to decide on the fate of kingdoms and
dynasties. Italy, Greece, Mexico, and France her-
self have received their reigning dynasties from this
source. No wonder that universal suffrage is called
in for the smaller business of electing the French
Chambers. But when employed for this purpose it
is thus addressed—" Oh, you are very respectable,
but most frequently you do not know how to read or
write ; you are singularly credulous, and capable of
believing ell that the Opposition members tell you,
so that we find it necessary to dictate your choice."
The elector may elect just as the editor may criticise
—that is, provided the criticism is agreeable to the
Government, and provided the candidate is agree-
able to the prefect. As to the fourth kind of liberty,
M. Thiers claims the power of introducing such
questions as the Chamber pleases, instead of having
its proceedings traced for it by the Government, and,
moreover, that the Assembly should really have con-
trol over the finances and all other questions which
come legitimately under its deliberations. As to the
fifth kind of liberty, he asks for responsible govern-
ment, the abolition of the rule which vests the power
of acting in one Minister, and the duty of defending
what is done in another. All thesethings, M. Thiers
thinks, might be conceded by a few alterations
in law and in practice without materially alter-
ing the existing Constitution, and it they were con-
ceded he is of opinion that France wou'd have
little right to complain on the score of freedom.
He deprecates any attempt to depreciate his
proposals because they would bring the Consti-
tution into closer similarity with that of England.
lie says truly these are not the principles of Eng-
lish liberty only, but of liberty is general. The
abstinence of the Executive from any interference
with personal liberty, with the liberty of the Press,
the liberty of election, and the liberty of free dis-
cussion, and the Government by responsible Minis-
ters which renders it possible to effect a change in
administration without a revolution,—these are
truly the minimum, the very smallest amount of
powers and privileges which entitle a people to call
themselves tree. We should not do justice to the
speech which we are considering if we did not
not notice that M. Thiers justifies his return to
public life by the analogy of his conduct in the case
of the Republic,—a form of Government which he
did not approve, but under which he rendered the
public essential services. He further justifies him-
self by reference to the concessions in a lineral direc-
tion made by the Emperor, by the advice which he
had given to his friends to take the oath of allegi-
ance to the existing Government, and by the con-
sideration that at his age, and after the posts which
he has fill-d, he cannot he for a moment accused of
any personal or selfish object. The speech of which
we have just given en outline has been prepared
with much care, and, if a little more senile and dif-
fuse than the former efforts of M. Thiers, does no
discredit to his oratorical reputation. It is, per-
haps, difficult for us to estimate what is suited to so
peculiar an audience on so special an occasion. To
us it would seem that proof was wasted in demon-
strating that which no one can seriously doubt, and
that the real question is, not whether France is in
many essential respects deprived of liberty, nor
yet whether that liberty can be conferred without
overthrowing the existing Constitution, but rather
whether liberty, to give or withhold which is at
the present moment entirely in the power of the
Emperor, is from his point of view, with reference
to his antecedent acts and his present position,
an advisable step. What use would France make
of it? What profit would he or his dynasty
derive from it P Is the present negation of liberty a
greater evil than the state of things which would
ensue if that liberty were granted? On this point
the speech gives us no information, Such a speech,
made before an Assembly which has no power, even
if fully convinced, to give practical effect to its con-
victions, can hardly escape one of two dangers. It

will either be considered as a mere exercitation, the
display of a debating club, or as an attempt to rouse
the passions of the people, and induce them, in the
orator's own closing words, "to exact what they
now deferentially ask for." Such a positio❑ is
hardly suitable to the condition of the French
Chambers. They exist by sufferance. All the powers
they have are grants from the Emperor, which he is
just as able to recall as he was to make. He may
have parted with the shadow, but he has retained
in all its fulness the substance of power. Even were
all that M. Thins asks for to be granted, the liberties
of France would still depend on the head of the
Executive, who wields a power against which no
institution in France can for a moment maintain
itself. The same causes which enabled the President
of the Republic to sweep away the Assembly in 1831
—namely, the power of the sword and the indiffer-
ence of France for popular government—would
make such a feat much easier in the present year.
That the Emperor is under no apprehension from
M. Thiers is evident from the elaborate report which

his speech has received in the Moniteur ; were it
otherwise, the Assembly in which that speech was
delivered would probably not meet again. We ad-
mire the man who boldly exercises his rights in
behalf of his country, but we are by no means dis-
posed to identify the conduct of a representative
who defends established liberties with that Df an
orator who takes advantage of the indulgence
mranted by arbitrary power to assail the very insti-
-nder which he exercises it. The road by
geems to us, the French Chambers
'`—,t public estimation and
• of their powers
-,tention to
"wn

tutions u.,._

which alone, as iu
can win their way to L►.,.
confidence on which an extensie-
can be durably founded is by a close A•_
business, and by showing that within their
narrow sphere they are wise and practical, rather
than by any ambitious attempts to inetestigate the
theory and revolutionise the practice of a Oovern •
went with which they have very little to do.
POST.—The near approach of the next session of
Parliament lends increasing interest to a subject,
which is certain to be mooted at an early date, in
connection with the naval estimates. It will be in
the recollection of many of our readers that, in the
committee upon naval promotion and retirement, a
considerable body of evidence was taken, and
various suggestions were made with respect to
placing the present establishment of naval chap-
lains upon a more efficient footing. Of the impor-
tance of the office in question no one who has ever
studied the interior economy of a man-of•war will
entertain any manner of doubt. Paramount as the
authority of the captain must and ought to be in all
matters of discipline, it is hardly too much to say
that the influence among men of a zealous, earnest,
judicious, and wall-educated Christian minister will
be second only to that of the commanding officer
himself. In many respects he may be more the
friend of the sailors than a professional superior can
or ought to be—and if he be quick and ready to
seize the mollia tempora lanai, he will find " poor
Jack" neither an unwilling nor an unmindful
hearer. To those who know what sailors are it is
unnecessary to point out how often they need gui-
dance and council, or how rarely, under present cir•
cumstances, these inestimable blessings are practi-
cally attainc.ble by them. That tho present system
needs change of seam kind was admitted by almost
every witn9e9 examined before the committee,

There are three salient points which strike at once
even the casual observer as crying evils under
existing circumstances—these are—the absence of
any superintending head in the shape of a chapiain-
general ; the want of any specific official definition
of the duties of individual chaplains—and the too
frequent combination of the offices of chaplain and
naval instructor, to the serious detriment and secu-
larisation of the former. The office of Clasp;ain-
General of the Navy is no new one. So far back
as the year 1812 it was distinctly pro\ ided for in
the Regulations of the Navy, and has, in fact,
fallen into disuse only at a comparatively recent
date. At the time to which we refer no war-
rant was granted for the appointment of any
naval chaplain unless recommended by the two
Archbishops and the Bishop of London (through
the Chaplain-General) as in every way properly
qualified. In the absence of such an authority there
is literally no one (for the Senior Chaplain of Green-
wich Hospital is for this purpose entirely useless)
to whom the naval chaplain can apply, however
young he may be in his profession, for counsel and
advice under all circumstances, or for encourage-
ment and assistance in the doubts and difficulties
which surround the performance of what ought to be
a very arduous duty. The army has already such
an official to superintend the operations of a com-
paratively limited number of subordinates. Of the
one hundred and fifty-one chaplains at present on
the Navy List but seven are permanently retired,
twenty-three hold Admiralty livings or shore ap-
pointments connected with the navy, and the re-
mainder only are actively employed. Surely we
shall hardly be guilty much longer of the "penny
wise, pound foolish" economy of refusing to utilise
and systematise the efforts of a body of paid officials
for want of a suitable directing head. Again, with
respect to the nature and extent of a chaplain's
duties. These are supposed to be defined in the
" Naval Instructions ;" but will any sailor for a
moment maintain that they are either intelligible in
themselves or invariably carried out in practice ?
Is it not notorious that cases have occurred where,
for three years, Divine service has not been once
performed on board a ship upon a foreign station ?
Does not every zealous chaplain complain that little
or no opportunity is given to him of meeting his pro
to spore parishioners in a quiet way, or of inculcat-
ing those sacred truth which he is bound by his
ordination vows to teach always and everywhere ?
As matters stand at present, the chaplain's cabin is
so situated as to be neither approachable by the men
nor suitable for the purposes of study and retire-
ment. In the sick ward, and in the sick ward alone,
according to theßegulations of the Navy, can he visit
in any sense that is worthy of the name, although the
relaxation of the strict letter of the law by intelli-
gent ceraimanding officers has bees' attended with the
happiest effect. Lastly, out of the one hundred and
20 old naval chaplains afloat, 56 are qualified, and
mostly employed, as naval instructors, an office
which, except in very small ships, it is utterly im-
possible they can properly discharge, and which
should be filled by a paid schoolmaster. The pay
of a chaplain, varying: from £lB2 to £292 per
annum, would in itself attract earnest men into the
navy, without the additional stipend of from £9O
to £l5O payable to a naval instructor, were the
service placed upon a proper footing, with definite
duties, and under the superintendence of a known
and responsible head. In some instances it may
be impossible to separate the two offices. But such
cases should be emphatically the exception, and
not the rule, if the interests of the service are to
count for anything in the balance. As we have
said before, there is no indisposition in the navy
itself to the desired reform. Out of 10 witnesses
examined before the committee, no less than seven
were in favour of the appointment of a chaplain-
general if " an officer who had been a good chap-
lain in the navy were appointed, one who could
find good chaplains, and explain to them the na-
ture of their duties, provided all communications
to the chaplain-general should pass through the
captain as at present." As it is, any influence
wiiich may have been acquired during a cruise is
speedily neutralised when the ship arrives at
Portsmouth, to pay off in close contiguity to a sea-
port town which numbers among its population
4,000 of the lowest prostitutes. Every obstacle is
thrown in the way of the chaplain acquiring any
real control over his flock, and the result is shown
in the disbursement of £B,OOO a year payable for
the accommodation of patients in Hasler Hospital,
admitted on this ground alone, and constituting
35 per cent. of the total number of admissions. We
say nothing, in this calculation, of the large addi-
tional subsidies paid by the Admiralty to the local
lock hospitals, a sum which, from the deficiency of
regulations for its administration, is at present
prac ically thrown into the sea. The naval
barracks which are now in course of construc-
tion at our various seaports are equally in
need of the agency to which we have re-
ferred with our sea-going vessels, and would
benefit in at least an equal degree from its employ-
ment. In short, the case is one in which the argu-
ments are virtually all on one side, and in which
what opposition there is is only the old story of
official unwillingness to disturb the present order of
affairs. The subject is one which will undoubtedly
be fully discussed early in the present session, and
which deserves a far larger share of the attention
of the Legislature than has hitherto been bestowed
upon it. The more it is ventilated, the more, we
are persuaded, will the necessity of some change
being made in the direction which we have indi-
cated become apparent to all.

American Presidential Candidates.

(From the New York, lribtow)

There is such a thing as running men for the Pre-
sidency, and there may be such a thing as running
them into the ground. We have an illustration of
these two facts in the course of a leading sensation
journal of this city. Whoever will take the trouble
to tarn over its files for the last three months will
find that it has enforced the claims of half a dozen
candidates for Presidential honours with equal zeal
and sincerity, while distributing the damaging
effects of its advocacy among its several favourites
with an impartial hand. When we remember that
during the last three or four Presidential campaigns
it has supported the candidates who were defeated,
and that the stunning blows they received at the
polls were in exact ratio with the warmth of its
advocacy, it must be conceded that its modesty in
suggesting a successful name for the coming contest
is as conspicuous as was its wisdom in selecting
those of the past. Its embrace having always been
sure destruction to the unfortunate candidate upon
whom it forced its favours, one would think any
soldier or civilian who might venture to aspire to
the Presidential chair would, the moment it prof-
fered him its aid, cry out, in the words of the
Spanish proverb, "Deliver me from my friends, and
I will take care of my enemies."
The journal in question has, with the last few
months, alternately, not to say simultaneously, be-
stowed its laudatory commendations upon General
Banks, General Rosecranz, Gen. Blair, Governor
Seward, and Governor Chase, as suitable and hope-
ful candidates for the Whi to House. The favourites
upon whom it has longest and oftenest poured
the fulsome beslummerings are General M'Clellan
and Mr. Lincoln. Now, the ex-commander of the
army of the Potomac was the hero designed by Pro-
vidence to conciliate the insurgents, explode the plots
of the Radicals, crash the aspirations of the irre-
pressible negro, and bring order out of chaos by re-
storing the Union and reviving the good old times
when Davis and Seward hobnobbed in the Senate,
and Grow and Keitt exchanged salutations in the
House. Then, scanning the dark and troubled clouds
that lowered over the country, " Honest Old Abe,"
slow and sure, cautious and conservative, was the
only man to be dreamed of for steering the ship of
to through the breakers and reaching peace and
..v by the shortest cut—" the pilot for wea-
prospert., ("rm." -Whoever will run over the
thering the bb,
e neighbours during the times
columns of our versate—
eed not go back many
of which we write—and he
weeks—will, perhaps, at the first p; rural, be a little
confused at the " promiscuous and worrys:rae
to quote the words of Sarah Gamp, in whim the
names are mixed pp—as, for instance, Banks and
Blair, Rosencranz and Banks, Chase and Seward,
Seward and Chase, M'Clellan and Lincoln Lincoln
and M'Clellan, and so on. But to ring the changes
on candidates in this way is not as difficult as one
would. suppose. As Hamlet says, "itis as easy as
lying."

Having boxed the compass
with its old favourites
and run their names up and down the scale till
they grate upon the ears of its readers, this viva-
cious journal now seeks a new sensation in the per-
son of General Grant. The furore with which it lays
hold of its fresh victim indicates that its passion will
not last long; though perhaps it will be protracted
enough to kill off the man who could storm Fort
thnelson, vanquish Sidney Johnson at Shiloh, cir-
cumvent Pemberton at Vicsburg, and pass un-
scathed through the tempest of shot and shell at
Chattanooga. We have the highest appreciation of
the services of General Grant. We believe there
can be Fearcely any limit Bet to his powers of en-

durance. And, having as much confidence in the
sincerity of our contemporary as we ever had, we
beg leave to assure it that there are some things
which even Ulyeses S. Grant cannot survive_..viz•,
six articles per day in its columns in favour of his
nomination and election to the Presidency.

Scotland and the Shakespeare Tricentenary

Certainly Scotland ought to take the opportunity
of showing her own regard for a poet whose fame
is one of the noblest benefits in which the Union hes
enabled her to share. We are often amused to see
the Nationality men here talking of our Shake'
speare, our Milton, &c., yet jealously claiming
Barns and Scott as Scotch only, on every opportu-
nity all the same. The practice, however, does not
i
come only from their natural emptiness, but s a
valuable because unconscious and spontaneous tes-
timony to the reality of those English influences
which such men often deny with their tongues'
Now, Shakespeare is the very type of the highest
English influence—and of just that type of it which
is most wanted here. We have done nothing la
the drama. The theatre has been injured amongst
us by a narrow fanaticism. Our home literature
stands lower than at any time since Robertson pub'
lished his first historical work. And our tendency'
if we keep too much to ourselves, is to subside into
a fussy and controversial provincialism, favourable
only to illiterate radicalism and local bigotri:
Against all this kind of thing the literature °1
England is our best protection, and Shakespeare
the greatest name in the literature of England. 11'
we must have a direct connexion with him, we tasy
remember that one of his plays was founded on
ati
incident in Scottish history, and was perhaps sug,,
Bested by a passage in Buchanan; that James
Boswell, the youngest son of Johnson's biogra'
pher, holds a respectable place among his editors,
and that of editors living none stands higher
than Mr_ Dyce, a Scotsman and pupil of the :dlll-
- High School.
Bat these are parochial considerations; and tb°
greatness of Shakespeare is that of ages, and n°/1,0
tinents, and seas. Just because, however, the pot,
renown is unique, he ought to be honoured wittlire
celebration national in extent, or none at all.
must either leave his Scottish admirers to swell thi
different currents of the great English festival °
April next, or we must have a festival of our o*°;
comprising all that is best and most brilliant 1,
Scottish life. Anything short of that would be Ill3t
worthy of him, and discreditable to us. The greet
difficulty in the way is, of course, the want °flea&t,
ship. We have a certain amount of notable 150.e°4
But we have no men standing sufficiently ii
above the common level to compel general adhesl°/
by the mere force of their personal initiation of ,
project. The want can only be supplied 13711.°0
operation more zealous, hearty, and self- sacrifieln,
than is found elsewhere. Whether this is riio
sible in our divided society, and fragmentary Ptwoe
life, is a question of interest from more that'
point of view.—Edinburgh Courant.