The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-16 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

THE " SATURDAY REVIEW" ON PROFESSIONAL
SPOUTERS.—At the rrinirose-hill meeting there
were comparatively few who looked at all like those
to whom, in business and the affairs of ordinary life
the title " working man" would be applied. Consi-
dering its object and nature, the number of boys
who had felt their duty to attend was remarkable.
A. considerable fraction, perhaps even a fifth, seemed
to be under the age of 20. This perhaps was owing
to a lurking hope in the breasts of these young
champions of liberty that there was going to be a
row. To the lively imagination of youth, the glazed
hat of a policeman is as typical of tyranny as that
of Gesler, and the chance of dancing oa it in

a melee would naturally prove a strong attrac-
tion. Their enthusiasm, however, cost them

dear, at least some of the smaller ones who
got embedded in the crowd. It was
touching, wren there was any allusion—as there
was frequently—to Denmark crushed to death be-
tween Austria and Piussia,or,.to Poland trampled

under foot by the iron heel of the depost, to hear
these small friends of freedom shrilly crying "'ear,
'ear." They, at any rate, fully sympathised with
Denmark and Poland. Another remarkable feature
wls the number of unattached spouters who, as
their names were not in the programme for the

evening, were anxious to get an innings before the
regulate began. One poor man had been at the
pains to write out his sentiments in a good stout
manuscript-book, which he endeavoured to read.
But the crowd apparently did not consider it re•
spectful to address them out of a written document,
and treated his arguments with ridicule, putting
qu'estions to him which more frequently referred to
his mother than to the right
.of public meeting; and
he was left addressing empty daisies—or what is
the equivllent for benches in the case of an open,
dittermien--the moment the real Simon Pares
appeared on the scene, which they did arm-in-arm.
Why do committee-men proceeding to business
always walk arm in arm? Is it meant to symbol 'se
perfect unanimity ? If so, the Committee (or the
Comity, as the persons who cleared the way in-
&isted on calling them) were as unanimous a body
as could-be dtfsrec. As we have already said that

real working men were not very plenty, it is only fair
to stare that these gentlemen did their hest to point

out the distinctive character of the meeting by
putting an instance of severe physical labour in the
van of the procession. This was a membl-2 oarry-

ing the Italian tricolor. The filgcaff was heavy
the evening warm, the ascent steep, and he perspired
freely. The subject of these irregulars and of the re-
them was the same, and the
style
ers who followedveryeiiar.Any
one who had ever listened
for five minutes to a
debate in the Discussion
Forum or any similar school of oratory might have
easily recognised the tone of the professional
spouter. Beginning by dilating on his own grie-
vances—the tyrannical eanduct of his employer, for
gentleman gets known among
binisutertontneep-o:tahtios soruur;;: 0;
" fellow that has the gift of
the gab ;" then, trying a higher flight, he seeks the
bubble reputation even in Coger's Hall, and perhaps
gains it-to an extent that makes it worth the land-
lord's while to enter into an arrangement with him
relative to refreshment on advantageous terms,
and so by degrees
comes to be a confirmed
public deliverer of well rounded platitudes. It
is easy to conceive gentlemen of this sort
being driven to the verge of desperation by
the grievance-famine under which they have, suf-
fered for a long time. There has been such a total
want of any good subject for jaw that but for Gari-
baldi they must have burst. We do not for amoment
mean to say that the speakers deputed to address
themeeting on Primrose-hill were necessarily per-
sons who had received their oratorical education in
this way. We wish
heartily that it had been so,
because, however pardonable in a pothouse Cicero,
it is painful when a man of education talks blatant
bunkum to a crowd of people less qualified to dis-
tinguish between right and wrong than himself.
As to Mr. Washington Wilke, we have nothing to
nay. A man with such a name can hardly help
himself; he may be almost considered as having
been predestined to a career of declamation. But
there was no reason why Mr. Beales should in-
sinuate that there Was a desire on any one's part
to inter fere with the privilege of free discussion, or
why he should invite a crowd of uneducated, or at
least slightly educated men to " allow no profane
hand to bo stretched out against this ark of nag
tional liberty." He knew perfectly well that it
was no question of the ark of national liberty—
that nobody wanted to profane it. He knew that
the only question was whether the ark aforesaid
was to be carried about by any selfeconstituted
David and sot down in any place where he might
think fit to dance before it " as one of the vain fel-
lows," with more or less indecency and disregard of
the public comfort. Nobody wants to interfere
with the right of Mr.
Beales's "people" to bold
open-air meetings; but, unfortunately, Mr Beales's
people want, or at least he says they do, to inter-
fere with the rights of the people in general in
m to address meet*
the Perks. Unless listening to a speech of Mr
Beales's can be fairly described a.s public recreation,
the Parks are not kept UP for him
ings in, Nor is it a question of law, in the sense
phieht h
toe
pGovern-
ment,rt
as trustee for th© beu
ntn
in which Mr. teaks would have it understood, It
is a question of order. It is a question of the come
fort and convenience of theun, i
ptuilihps
boundby such means as may be necessary. There is no
positive law against bathing at noon-day in the Ser-
pentine, but Mr. Beales and his friends could
hardly complain if Mr. Cowper took steps to
prevent their coming en Mate, and going throtigh
an operation, healthful and invigorating in itself,
and in its proper place highly commendable,
but, under such circumstances, quite out of plece.
The comparison is not an eitrethe title. If Mr.
Beetles and his friends are to hold meetings about
9aribaldi in Hyde-Peak, there is; of course, no rea-
son why the admirers of the Pope ehorild tat also
assemble to discuss the effairs of that other eminent
Italian. The meetings—such is the Celtic tempera-
ment—'.might happen to come a simiiltaneously,
and, in that case, we think most of the quiet fre-
quenters of the perk would much prefer the spec-
tacle of Mr. Beales and a bevy of working men in
the costume of nature, to the treat which his anxiety
in the cause of public speaking had provided for
them.

THE " SPECTATOR" ON M. TRIERS' GREAT
SPEECH.—His magnificent speech, upon the Budget,
magnificent because, like Mr. Gladstone, he makes
long columns of figures as interesting as a dis-
eoure upon foreign policy► or internal reform, is a
mere flash in the pan. He depicts the enormous
expenditure of the empire in colours which might
make en economist shudder ; but then he has no