The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-22 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
This DAY.—Morning, Ga. Dm.—Afternoon, 7h. 10M.
XO•liOnnOW.-Moming, 7h. 40m.—Afternoon, Bh. 15m.

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2.4 j

LONDON, SATURDAY, OCT. 22, 1864.

It is the fashion among many persons to declare
that the present race is deteriorating, and that men
nowadays do not exhibit such powers of mind and
body as formerly; also that they soon spend their
energies and become "used-up," A striking cone
tradiction to these remarks is to be met with in the
rerson of Lord PALMERSTON, who has just com-
plated his eightieth year. It is interesting to
dwell upon the epitome of such an extended career,
especially when we reflect that the subject of study
now holds the office of First Minister of the
country, and thus forms a connecting link
between the great ones of the past and the most
importont events of the present. Deep set in tho
ranges of history are many of the names with which
the world was ringing when Lord PALMERSTON
was born, but now the shifting scene has so often
changed, that to all intents and purposes they
might as well belong to the seventeenth as the
eighteenth century, for any affects that they pro-
duce upon our affairs. When we remember that
PITT, Fox, e
QIIERIDAN, BURKE, and IWILBER-
Foncz were then either entering on their
careers, or then flourishing in full vigour,
that Louts XVI. was reigning peacefully on the
throne of France, and that the great French Revo-
lution was yet to come, we may feel almost tempted
to exclaim, in the words of the poet—
" Antiquity appears to have begun
',Nig after thy primeval race was run."
regqrds ther
Who, for iustunce, trial 0, WARREN
HASTINGS as anything but a very ancient affair;
yet our present Premier was then in Exidence.
Some may be surprised to notice the many exciting

• ta.

and interesting events that have occurred durityi
the career of the noble lord, and they are a:oly
set forth in a striking sketch in the Western
Morning Neu's. A more appropriate article could
not have been penned for the natal day of the octo'
genarian, and many associations and reflections
combine to impart interest to its recapitulation.
Not only has the noble lord lived ever this long
period, which has seen the crash, of empires, the
wreck of states, and the overthrow of destinies, bat
he has taken for a considerable space of time an
active part in the affairs of the nation. Few,
if any, can boast of having been so long
in harness as the present First Lord of the Treasury,
Many of his colleagues have departed this life full
of honours, if not of years, and peer le have said
that they were worn out with the cares of State
and the toils of office, but meanwhile the ruling
power has gone on, and in the whirl of existence
lookers on have been too busy or too ignorant to
reckon that he was in office when some of them,
supposed to be exhausted with their efforts, have
sunk by the wayside, weary of the march of
life, as it is well put in the notice re-
ferred to, Lord PALMERSTON, during this
recess, has been at the city of Hereford,
" inaugurating the statue of a departed colleague,
who was born in the year he himself entered
Parliament. Yet again he is down amid the
chalky plains of Wiltshire, where, at the former
residence of another departed colleague, who was
an infant when Lord PALMERSTON was vigorously
carrying on war against the first NAPOLEON, he
gives sound advice to a portion of our great
volunteer army." Surely such things are as
strange as any of the incidents that are sedu-
lously sought for in the pages of fie,
tion, and the representations of the drama.
May we not learn, not only the uncer-
tainty of life in its length as well as in its
shortness—may we not feel the incompatibility
of our frail judgments and erring calculations to
compute the span of existence, and to measure
out what this man shall do and the other man
cannot. Had a mysterious reader of future events
in some of the marvellous fashions of the present
day declared, half a century back, to his audience
that at this especial juncture the noble vis-
count would be at the helm of affairs,
and that so many of his friends and colleagues
would have been laid low, would not the most
willing of his auditors have refused credence
to the tale, and supposed that the narrator was
indeed dreaming. One should be taken, and
another left, is a well-known description of human
events; but not often do we find that one man
survives so many younger and apparently longer-
lived men than himself—survives them, too, in the
active performance of laborious duties—in the
anxious cares of a responsible position, and in the
full discharge of those public, private,
and political duties which ceaselessly re-
volve around a career so elevated. It
cannot be said that the noble lord shirks his
work, and did they not know the fact from the
register of incontrovertible accuracy. The lookers
on of public affairs would certainly have no right
to suppose that he lived in the days when the
young Pretender was existing in Rome, or that
" the Premier of to-day was an active War Secre-
tary ere Lord WtLLINGTON baffled MASSENA
before the lines of Torres Vedras. Such
records and reminiscences put aside the
discords of the present, and from the
mighty events that seem lost in the twilight
of fable they carry us on to the great future, in the
light of which the posteritics of distant nations and
the children of unborn generations shall scan our
actions and discourse of our doings. Greater and
more distinguished men have illumined our epoch
and adorned our age ; but Lord PALMERSTON may
lay &aim to the merit of making his vocation his
pride and pleasure—of entering upon his work
with zest that gives it spirit, and with vigour that
imparts vivacity. It is the feelings of
men that really alter and influence them ; some are
never young in the true sense of the word, and
some are never old in the real acceptation of the
term, but surely :those who meet their task in
the genial and gracious way are the wisest, the
happiest, and the most successful. We are told
that a merry heart goes all the day, and through
the years of his pilgrimage Lord PALMERSTON has
proved the truth of this adage. In the summary
of his career before alluded to, it is truly remarked
that it can never be said that "Lord PALMERSTON
has stood idle in the market-place of life, it can
never be said that when called upon to serve his
Sovereign in the political crisis and exigencies of his
couatry, he has been weighed in the balance and
found wanting." This is an honoured and honour.
able reflection for a man to carry with him to
retirement. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
the other day seemed to be getting weary, and spoke
of a future unconnected with the turmoils of politics)
but in this nation he found no encouragement from
his leader, he is firm at his post, true to his colours,
and faithful to his calling. Various ways conduce
to the same end ; there may be some who pass their
last years in happy retirement in atium cum
dignitate, and recount to wondering listeners the
thrice told but ever welcome tale of the glories of
their prime; but there are others who go on till the
last working at the plough, from which having put
their hand they have not looked back and content
to wait firm at their post until the Great Master shall
summon them to receive the eternal wages of their
earthly toil. Of such we may reckon our Premier,
and, as Mr. DISRAELI once said that the career of
Lord RUSSELL was among the precious possessions
of the House of Commons, so it may appropriately
be observed that Lord PALMERSTON'S history is
among the honoured trophies of Ministerial records.
He has shown how a man may hold an onerous
task with credit to himself, and fulfil important
duties with a willing mind and a cheerful heart.
Surely this is a lesson that youth may mark and
manhood notice. It is always difficult to spend old
age happily, but to spend it heartily and honour-
ably is still more rare. This need not be if right
feelings influence the mind, and an earnest spirit
impress the actions. The ruling spirit strong in
death may be strong while life lasts ; and when
we notice that attention wanes, interest flags, and
affection dulls, as years increase, it is often
because the root was not deep, nor the appearance
genuine. Amaranthines and asphodels can only
flourish on indigenous soils, and if the energy be
not strong, nor the endurance perfect, they will fail
as life progresses; but if they are solid and can
weather the storm, they will last in perennial
vigour, and blow in unfading splendour until the
shadow feared of man proclaims that the night is
far spent, and tha day is at hand. A better defi-
nition of the endurance of deepsrooted sentiments
was never given than in these expressive lines of
WORDSWORTH
Thy thoughts and feelings shall not din,
Nor leave thee when grey hairs are nigh
A melancholy slave,
But an old age, serene and bright,
And lovely as a Lapland night,
Shall light thee to the grave.

There is a certain sort of Nemesis which
always overtakes evildoers in some form or another.
True, it may not always be in the particular way
ouPposed by lookers-en, or it may not suffice to

•
render justice to the injured parties, but still a cera
tain amount of inconvenience and non-success often
appears to wait on the footsteps of wrongdoing.
Thus it is with Austria and Prussia, who are now
on anything but amiable terms; and although no-
thing decided is allowed to appear to bear witness
to this fact, it is nevertheless true that minor
events testify strongly enough as to the
want of concord. Like straws, which show in
which direction the wind blows, do these little
things display the beginning of the end, when these
rapacious Powers will find it impossible to arrange
things according to their mutual satisfaction, or to
gain the proposed end which they had in view from
the outset, to make a common cause of warfare and
a common system of plunder. All foresighted
parsons saw this from the outset of the affair ; but
still, at the same time, the entente cor-
diale might have been supposed to last a
little longer. This peace, that is no peace,
may bring some startling circnmstances in its train,
not only may it alienate for ever the respect cad
sympathies of England from the German Powers,
but it may also sow the seeds of lasting discord be-
tween those very countries that began the war in
such apparent concord and fair-seeming vigour. The
official organs at Vienna are assuming rather a pe-
culiar tone towards M. BIsMARK and Prussia.
Either they see through his designs or they
are irritated at the confusion into which
things have been brought, and they are
annoyed at the injury to the reputation
of their land which the late events has wrought ;
at any rate the Berlin Cabinet must be vexed at the
aspect of affairs, and the very questionable appear•
ante which this" glorious alliance" now makes to
the world. A feeling is manifested in various
quarters that it would be better for Austria to give
up such very close connection with Prussia, and to
turn her attention towards France. If this should
be the case eventually it will be all for the best.
The French Government are incapable of sanction-
ing the treachery which appears the vital
principle of the Prussian Cabinet, its informing
influence and its ruling spirit. Prussia, though
she may take the lion's share of the spoil, cannot
notwithstanding do so much mischief nor under-
take so much when she has lost the excuse of works
ing with and for Austria as well as for herself. We
know that " union is strength," and if so the re•
verse is true, and disunion is weakness, or compa-
rative inability or incapacity. It may then be con-
sidered that the want of unity between the great
German Powers is a good sign, and indeed we
require some auspicious augury after all the
sinister forbodings that have had too much founda-
tion in fatal experience.

At the annual gathering of the members of the
Chertsey Agricultural Association, yesterday, some
subjects were discussed which have lately attracted
a good deal of public attention. Politicians of all
sides are awakening to the conviction that, what-
ever opinion they may hold as to the Parliamentary
reform necessary for the enfranchisement of the
working classes, or as to the inequality of the
burdens on land and agriculture there are some
practical social reforms which all must admit to be
indispensable, some grievances which most imperae
tively demand a remedy. The condition of the
agricultural cottages in too many parts of the rural
districts is one of these evils, and if we are
to hops for any substantial change for
the better in this respect, it must be
brought about by the agency of public opinion.
There is no statu'e that will reach the case—no
legislation however arbitrary that can compel a
landowner to lay out his money in rJbuilding or
repairing cottages. The great difficulty we have
to contend against is the want of will ; and the
obnoxious law of settlement and the dread
of the poor rates stand
_fearfully in the
way. It is idle to assume, as some pereons
seem to do that the full evils of the case have only
to be stated to obtain immediate attenaion. It is
very easy, as we know, to indulge in fine phrases
and charitable aspirations in public ; no one in these
days would acknowledge to any want of respect
or care for the necessities of the humbler
classes. But too often the real sentiments of the
landlord on this matter would not bear in-
spection, and the fewer cottages on his
estate the better he is pleased. There is another
evil in the want of encouragement thus given to the
building of suitable tenements by the proprietors of
land, which is, that the trade of building falls into
the hands of ignorant or inferior persons. As a
speaker at the Chertsey meeting observed, in allud-
ing to the deficiencies often visible, the builders
often knew no better. " They did ,sot think
that fresh air and good water were necessary
to healthy human life. But if our great men
—our landowners and rich people—wished to
benefit the poor working men, and the whole com.
munity, let them build cottages for the poor man,
not in another parish, not at the far end of the
world, but upon their own estates, and show the
peasants, not by talking but by deeds, that their
sympathy was with the labouring man." This,
as he justly added, would be the way to show
their attachment not only to the soil, but to the
men they employed upon it ; and surely, if our
landowners are proud of boasting of their allegiance
to their mother earth, they should ba still more
tenacious of their sympathies for the noble race
of working men who tread it. But, as we
have said, there will always be recreants in
the cause, and the only means of inducing
them to do their duty is by exercising the pres-
sure of public opinion upon them. Happily, the
rights of the case are now so generally acknow-
ledged that no man would at the present day
admit his share in the duties as well as in the
rights of property. We must, therefore, hope for
the gradual extension of the good cause, and all
who are interested in its furtherance must take
care that it is not allowed to drop out of sight.

TILE REPRESENTATION OF TYNEMOUTIL—The
contest between Mr G. 0. Trevelyan, author of the
" Competition Wallah," the Liberal candidate, and Mr
Richard Hodgson, the Conservative member for Tynemouth,
for the latter gentleman's seat at, the general election, is
likely to in a very close one. Mr Trevelyan and an active
Liberal committee have been canvassing the electors of the
burgh, and they declare themselves highly satisfied with the
result of it. Mr Hodson has addressed two be
on on Saturday, the other on Wednesday evening.He
came unwell after the Saturday's meeting, and ho has not
been able to make a personal canvass, but his friends have
ady
been very active in his behalf. Both parti are alre
extremely zoalous in procuring pledges from the electors.—
Scotsman.
MAGNIFICENT METEOR.—A mqgnlficent meteor
was observed at Melton about 8 o'clock on We ices-
day night. The moon had not risen when suddenly a
blueish light spread around, sufficiently bright to allow of
persons recognising one another's faces. Across the sky
from N,N.E. to S.S.W. what bore the exact resemblance
head
of
an inverted rocket was seen to shoot slowly, only the
or nebula was intense 4 bright, of a blueish whiteness, leav-
ing a long train of "sparks" resembling a comet's tail,
which were discernible for some seconds. The meteor re-
tained its brilliancy for some seconds. The meteor retained
its brilliancy till it (apparently) neared Vac earth. So bril-
liant a meteor, and of such magnitude and durat'on, is quite

unusual.
YELLOW FEVER AT BERMUDA.—The Montreal
Gazate publishes the following telegram from
Halifax,
where the news bad just arrived from Bermuda Hali-
fax, Oct. s.—Yellow fever abating at Bermuda and
re metodical
officers all recovering. Those that can be spared a re-
turn in a few days to Canada. All the effective troops sta-
tioned in the islands have been removed to Ualifax,-a guard
and the convalescents remaining."