The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-01 00:00:00

have perused his speech. This is always an advan.
tage, and the simplest form of discourse which is
easy to follow and appreciate is worth more than

the most elaborate flights of rhetoric, where the
principles of the speaker are enveloped in such
misty language that it is quite impossible to under-
stand them, or arrive at the true and exact purport
of the orator, allowing that he has one, which is
sometimes not the case. Mr BAZLEY was strongly
opposed to the system now prevailing of spend-
ing so much money on defences;' he said that if we
went en like this, " we must come back to Bishop
BERKELEY'S suggestion of having a brass wall
round the whole shores of the kingdom." This
may sound very well at a meeting, and provoke
that merriment that always ensures popularity to
the speaker, but sober, earnest, practical ob
servers must feel that it is idle to talk of our
abandoning the defence system altogether,
while other nations are progressing so fast
in that direction, and taking advantage
of the wonderful discoveries of modern science to
render themselves more impervious to attack than
they were in former days. Mr COBDEN, in his
speech the other day, made himself ridiculous, as he
usually does when he touches on these subjects, by
declaring that fortifications were the " greatest
abomination of modern times ;" but he will not get
the opinion of the country to side with him nor to
accord him that recognition which he boasts of
always receiving sooner or later, whatever views he
takes. Mr BAZLEY also deplored the large sums
spent on the engineers, whose experiments had been
the subject of so much attention; but how can a
thing be of use until its merits have been proved,
and surely, considering the immense sums spent on
other matters, we ought not to begrudge some por-
tions expended on a question of such vital import.
The fact is that a Liberal speech now-a-days is
generally a censure upon anything like a spirited
policy abroad or any warlike preparations at home ;
but this sort of thing may be carried too far, and
these zealous advocates of peace and retrenchment
will find some day that they have outwitted them-
selves and lost the confidence of the country by
propounding notions that are not in accordance with
the spirit of the people. If some stop is not put to
the spread of these utilitarian ideas we shan speedily
merit the sarcastic description given of us by the
First NAPOLEON, that we were a nation of shops
keepers. Prosperity in trade and commerce is
a great blessing, and peace an undisputed
advantage to a country, but these, like
other possessions, must be used and not
abused. If honour, truth, and justice are to be put
secondary to all considerations that may affect the
balance-sheets of mercantile profits, or affect the
wellbeing of those who wish to drive a brisk trade
in certain quarters, then it will be going too far and
paying too dear a price for such things, precious as
their intrinsic value may be. Another bar is, that
the cry has gone forth among the despots that
England is all for peace, and thus a tacit encourage-
ment is given to much that else might have been
prevented, had a different tone pervaded the tenour
of our public speakers, and animated our councils.
One remark of Mr BAZLEY'S was hardly fair in its
strict interpretation. He said that the promises
about Reform made by both political parties did a
great deal of harm, because they were not kept.
This is not the case exactly, because the Conser-
vatives did actually bring in a Reform Bill ; and
however faulty or incomplete it may have been, it
was un fait accompli, as they say, while their
opponents, not content with preventing it from
passing into law, declined to produce anything bet-
ter f)r themselves, thus politically illustrating the
fable of the dog in the manger. There was great
truth in some of the observations made by
Mr, BAZLEY upon the subject of Reform,
in the abstract ; and he wisely concluded
his observations by stating that more uniformity
should prevail in the representation of the country,
for some places were enabled to send members who
negatived the votes of others, while the former only
represented a number very inferior to those the
latter represented. "Let the masses of the people
elect their own members and then there would
be something of fitness, something of harmony,
existing among all classes of the community." A
unanimous vote of confidence was passed in Mr,
BAZLEY, and the speech of the hon. member ap-
peared to give great satisfaction. It is to be re-
gretted that dignity and decorum were alike
forgotten in the violent fracas which afterwards
took place on the occasion of Mr. CROSS endea.
vouring to address the assembly—such conduct
was unsuitable, and reflected disgrace on all
concerned.

The Manifesto of the Confederate States.

The Foreign Secretary has mado the following
reply to the Manifesto of the Confederate Stltes
which we lately published:—

"Foreign-office, Nov. 25, 1861.

" Gentlemen,—l have had the hoEour to receive
the copy which you have sent me of the Manifesto
issued by the Congress of the so-called Confederate
States of America.

" Her Majesty's Government deeply lamest the
protracted nature of the struggle between the
Northern and Southern States of the formerly
United republic of North America.
" Great Britain has since 1783 remained, with
the exception of a short period, connected by
friendly relations with both the Northern and the
Southern States. Since the commencement of the
Civil War, which broke out in 1861, her Majesty's
Government have continued to entertain sentiments
of friendship equally for the North and for the
South. Of the causes of the rupture her Majesty's
Government have never presumed to judge ; they
deplore the commencement of this sanguinary
struggle, and anxiously look forward to the period
of its termination. In the meantime they are con-
vinced that they best consul the interests of peace
and respect the rights of all parties by observing a
strict and impartial neutrality. Such a neutrality
her Majesty has faithfully maintained,and will con.
tinue to maintain.—l request you, Gentlemen, to
accept, Szc.,

" RUSSELL:
‘' J. Slidell, E!q., J. Mason, Esq., and
A Dudley Mann, Esq."

THE LATE MR THACKERAY.—The arrangements
have now been completed for the erection of a memorial to
Mr Thackeray in Westminster Abbey. The Dean and
Chapter have granted for this purpose a site in which
Thackeray's bust will appear in companionship with those
of Addison and Macaulay. The commission for the bust
h ts been given to Baron Marochetti, who had the advantage
of being his intimate friend. It has been calculated that
about £6OO will be required, of which a third part will, ac-
cording to rules of long standing, go in fees to the Chapter-
house. Subscriptions for the memorial may be paid either
to Messrs Roberts, Lubbock, and Co., the bankers, in Lom-
bard-street, or to any of the following gentlemen :—Sir
Charles Taylor, Sir Joseph Paxton, Mr Anthony Trollope,
Mr Robert Bell, Mr Shirley Brooks.
A RELIC OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.—The
Legitimist papers announce the death, in Touraine,
at the venerable age of BS, of the Marquis de Pay. The de-
ceased was a descendant of Raymond du Puy, the companion
of Godefroy de Bouillon at the capture of Jerusalem in 1( 99.
He was born on Oct. 24, 1776, and he was at the College
of Pontlevoy when his father and his uncle emigrated.
With his mother he was confined in the prison of Chateau-
roux, where, thanks to the ecclesiastics who shared their
captivity, he was able to continue his studies. They were
released at the death of Robespierre. In 1807 he married
Mdlle. de Wissel. In June, 1830, the King appointed him
to preside over the Electoral College of Loches, a mission
of which he acquitted himself to general satisfaction. After
the Revolution of 1830 he retired to his hereditary state of
La Roche-Ploquin, to the improvement of which and to
works of charity he devoted his life. He leaves a widow
I and oply daughter married to Cow Ludovio de Poix,