The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-24 00:00:00

TON almost alone perceived the merits of Sir R.
HILL'S plan when others, Sir R. PEEL included,
either opposed or coldly supported him." This
proves the importance of master minds being en-
trusted with the affairs of the nation, and demon-

strates how much perspicacity and foresight may
accomplish in the way of invention and improve-
ment, when mediocrity is altogether at fault and

meaner capacities are quite incapable of grasping
at the idea suggested to them, and are only alive
to the impracticability of its execution. It is

another advantage of a man of Lord BROUGHAM'S
age presiding over such an assembly that he is
stored with the treasures of experience, and memory

carries him back to a tame almost remote to the
minds of some of his hearers. He brings names out
of the buried depths of the long silent past, and
makes them again capable of instructing and in-
forming his hearers. He compares the present with
a period which some of us can dimly remember and
others have just heard of, but which he can people
with statesmen, sages, and philosophers ; so we can
put the various links together by hie aid that join
the different states of the then and the now.
During the lifetime of the noble lord the, changes
have been so numerous and so rapid that have
taken place in the conduct of daily life that it must
be a strange and startling thing for him to take a
glimpse of the days that are o'er, and recall what
took place around him when he entered upon the
stirring scenes of life in which he played so distin-
guished a part. Lord BROUGHAM'S remarks upon
foreign nations and our connection with them, im-
mediate or remote, are of course very suggestive
jest at present. He does not enter so much into a
discussion of the political excitement of the Lour,
as he discusses the general principles which should
guide the course of nations and rule the conduct of
their affairs either as relates to interference or non-
intervention. These doctrines are sound enough to
all appearance, and fe ?v will hesitate to concur in
the statement that " the greatest crime in modern
ages was the partition of Poland ;" also that the
wars and intrigues of peace, after the revolution,
had a pernicious influence, seems a point that admits
of no denial ; but it must seem that when the noble
lord comes to the really engrossing topic of our, day,
he fails to apply the moral he has taught us by his
earlier deductions. Thus he denounces Prussia in
no measured terms, and declares that "from all her
profligate aggression Prussia has gained not the
shadow of glory, though she has grasped the sub-
stance of plunder." This is true enough, but it is
mortifying to find Lord BROUGHAM join the ranks
of those whe declare that it is the misfortune and
not the fault of England that she has done nothing
to help the gallant Danes. The rule that is laid
down for us Lord BROUGHAM does not apply to the
French, and he considers that the interference of
the French at an early period of the war could
have been very effectual. This may or may not be
true, but it ill becomes us to pass an opinion, and
still less to utter a censure upon the short•
comings of others when our own deficiencies are
so plainly apparent. It must have been with
feelings of great interest that the noble lord referred
to the question of the slave trade, and the measures
taken of late for its suppression. With one excep-
tion, the repeal of the Aberdeen Act, the noble lord
does not seem to see that any immediate change is
required. Concerning extradition treaties—he de-
nounced the insiduous attempt of Prussia to make a
treaty by which persons tried in their absence must
be surrendered. Truly did the noble lord declare
that " No extradition of pet sons charged with po-
litice.l of:formes can ever be thought of, and yet
such offences might be the ground of sentence in
absence." No one better than the veteran speaker
could tell how contrary was such an act from the
spirit of the laws of Eagland ; and indeed, with all
their effrontery, it seems strange that the Prussians
should have attempted to put such an affront upon
us. The absurd notion that some have put forward
of late as to the propriety of our giving up our
colonies to avoid expense, was treated in a fitting
manner by the noble lord ; but he added that wise
and temperate measures might be adopted, so that
in the event of a separation hereafter becoming
inevitable, the change might be brought about by
no angry feelings on either side. It seems almost
incredible that one of the years of the noble lord
should thus grasp at the topics of the day, small
and great, political, social, foreign and domestic,
and take all in turn, with no difference as to the
ability with which he treats them, nor the compre-
hensiveness with which he discusses them. His
discourse is a mirror of the times, in which he sets
forth the chief points of interest and importance,
and no one can fail to glean knowledge from the
stores of such a treasure-house, nor to derive great
benefit from the vast experiences set forth Nith so
much wit and wisdom.

The great number of preventible accidents tha'

are continually occurring among us seem to indicate
great want of proper caution. We are constantly
hearing of death and injury resulting from heedless
attempts
&to get
l,
boitn or
h enotuhte ofp twarratiof ay
pastereanignesr, teho rosocdosf
employed on the line. Last week an intel-
tpheersloioness,
ligent lad, who was employed on one of the Glas-
gowslippery,
similar
lines as telegraph clerk, lost his life through
incautiously jumping on to a train in motion on a
sweeatredealyy a
day, which rpeansdseesre
withoutd carriagethesome
i-
dent. But there is one class of accidents becoming
SO very common that it. is quite time that greater
care and caution were observed, or the list of
casualties will grow to something frightful. We
allude to those accidents which result from the
careless use or carriage of fire-arms, and of com-
bustible materials generally. The heedless use of
guns has led to so many fatal disasters that one
would think people had learned something by ex-
perience, but the news of almost every day proves
the contrary, A few days ago, a little and lost
his life by his uncle's gun, the uncle having
foolishly allowed him to fire, and forgetting it
had been borrowed by a neighbour, who had re-
turned it loaded. The common trick of pointing
a gun at another party for a joke is so extremely
silly and dangerous, that it is really almost in-
credible that it should still be so frequently played.
To increase the poignancy of the regret, which
must be felt by the unfortunate originators of such
catastrophes, their victim is usually some near
and dear relative, who is killed or maimed
for life by one of the most absurd and
perilous and practical jokes. In these days of
volunteering it is nseeesary to impress caution, for
rifles are in so many houses, and, indeed, in the
heat of circumstances so often placed in inexperi-
enced hands, that ac,eidents are likely to become
frequent. The fact of so many learning to use the
rifle is not of itself likely to create danger, since it
is almost always the ignorant who are the mischief
makers. Boys, servants', and children are commonly
the originators, and firearms should, if possible, be
kept out of their reach,. Especially they should
never be used to amuse children, nor should chil-
dren be suffered to hand le them. A due precaution
on the part of every oue who uses a gun would be
to see that it is properly unloaded before it is out
of his own hands, and it is not too much to expect
every nonprofessional tuarkbenan to do this while
bringing his gun inla the reach of idlers. The
careless use or abuse or combustible msterittle is