The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-19 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1864.

Whenever the Government have been pressed very
hard by the Opposition, of late, they have yielded.
In order to induce them to yield, however, the pres-
sure has required to ba exceedingly hard indeed.
So hard that it has been at moments painful merely
to contemplate. Very recently, for example, no less
than three members of the Administration—what
one at least among those ex-colleagues of Lord
PALMERSTON would speak of with a sort of MICAW-
BER hesitation of ostentatious modesty as—a-hem
--cg Ministers of the Crown," in point of fact—no
less than three of these Ministers of the Crown have
vary recently been driven so hard by the Opposi-
tion as, very reluctantly on their own part and on
the part of their more important colleagues, to be
ousted from any share whatever in the Govern-
ment. There is no getting over the fact that it is so.
And, equally, there is no denying the force of the
deduction consequent up.m its being so—that it is a
sign of extreme weakness on the part of the
Government. It is all nonsense, at the same
time, in regard to any one of these occur-
rences, to talk, as politicians have been
accustomed to talk hitherto, at similar party
crises about these things being simply attes-
tations of the spitefulness of a factious Opposition.
Look at any one of the three resignations of office
here referred to, and say whether anything of the
kind can be really and seriously insisted upon as
the true explanation.

Mr. STANSFELD'S withdrawal to a back bench
from that front bench where he occupied a
position of such disproportionate prominence
as to sit actually side by side with the Prime
Minister of England— Mr. STANSFELD'S with-
drawal at last very reluctantly to that back
bench, was a concession made at the eleventh
hour not to the Opposition, but to the Public
Oidnion which hehad been so flagrantly outraging.
There can be no question whatever about that. For,
otherwise, what upon earth could have induced the
Prime Minister, and so chivalrous a Prime Minister
too, as Lord PALMERSTON, to accept to-day, the very
resignation of his subordinate, he had so peremps
torily declined to accept only yesterday ? Had he
not previously intimated, as much, with a haughty
frankness of manner that won cheers from his
supporters—so grandly it sounded at the time
when he talked about taking the entire responsi-
bility of the proceeding upon himself ! That, it will
be remembered, was immediately before the Easter
Vacation. Afterwards a few trifling additional
particulars, documents, and so forth [Ah ! that
wretched truth about litera scripla »lanet .1] had
come out during the recess, again, as it oddly hap-
pened,in one of the imperial law courts in Paris—and
so—and so—what was not to be thought of imme-
diately before the Vacation was announced as
having been done immediately after the Vaca-
tion. Mr. STANSFELD hal tendered his resig-
nation, and Lord PALMERSTON had accepted
it. Now, it is only fair and right to remem-
ber, in regard to the Opposition in this matter—
to remember of the factious Opposition that is
charged with the responsibility of having brought
it all about—that between the two incidents referred
to, that is to eay between Lord PALMERSTON S
ostentatiously taking upon himself the responsi-
bility of retaining his colleague (M. MAZZINI'S in-
timate friend and injudicious letter-receiver)
and Lord PALMERSTON'S subsequently ac-
ceptance of Mr. STANSFELD'S tardy, but
by that time. inevitable resignation—the
Opposition had really and truly not raised
a finger—the Opposition had not breathed one
single syllable. They were evidently going to, if
you like. But they hadn't done so—nay, for that
matter, they hadn't had the opportunity of doing
so. The intervening between the two incidents of
the Eiger holidays, precluded them from doing so,
for the very simple but sufficient reason that Par-
liament was not then sitting. Directly Parliament
was going to resume its sittings, immediately after
the Vacation, they evidently were going to move,
and that, tee, rather decidedly, in the matter,
Henos—from a knowledge of this—Mr. STANS-
FELD'S anticipatory resignation. Hence--for the
self same reason—Lord PALMERSTON'S acceptance
of it, on second thoughts ! Concessions, these—not
to the Opposition, but to that Public Opinion
which it was felt certain by Lord PALMERSTON,
by Mr. STANSFELD, by every member of the Go-
vernment, big or little, would infallibly be pro•
concord against them as the consequence of any
adverse movement in this matter taken by
the Opposition. For, what, in point of fact,
would have been those certain consequences ?
The defeat of Ministers upon any new division
(after such very ugly supplementary documents
had been brought to light in Paris daring the
holidays) the certain defect of Ministers upon
any new division in the House of Commons in re-
gard to M. MAZZINI'S intimate personal friend, must
inevitably have led, thereupon, to the dissolution
of Parliament. And a nice cry, certainly, it would
have been to go to the country MAzzf

r alias FLOWER, and Secret Letter Writing !" To say
nothing at all about—Daggers—Blood Money—
Conspiracies—Assassination—and so forth. No—
it is simply idle, it is simply absurd and ridiculous
to talk about Mr. STANSFELD'S resignation, and
Lord PALMERSTON'S acceptance of it, as the result
of any mere factiousness on the part of the Opposi-
tion. The incident was—to express the fact a little
more truthfully—a prudent yielding, at last, on the
part of the Government, before the terror of that
Public Opinion that was felt and known (upon
second thoughts) to be at the back of the Opposition.
A Tory Opposition, if you will, or, at any rate,
a Conservative Opposition, but, at the least, an
English Opposition, not a Mazzinian Opposition.
And, so in the matter of those two other resig-
nations, Mr. LOWE'S and Mr. CHICHESTER FOR-
TESCUE'S. These also are concessions extorted
from the reluctant Government by exceedingly hard
pressure on the part of the Opposition—a pressure,
it is true, only partly brought to bear—but threaten-
ing to become excessively formidable. The Go■
vernment, in each instance, yielding, under ail this
hard pressure—not to the Opposition, but to the
irresistible force of the Public Opinion that was felt
to be at the back of it. Not a more unpopular man
held office under the Crown than Mr. LOWE. And
the fact of his unpopularity was a thing notorious.
Why, for that matter, time has been down in his own
borough when he has been nearly stoned to death !
He has the knack, somehow,of treading upon people's
corns in a manner the most excruciatingly offensive.
And hence, they come to like him so very much !
Why, we hesitate not to say that the personal un-
popularity of Mr. LOWE has for a long while past
bee❑ as prevalent on one side of the house es upon
the other—that it is up to this hour as intense
and unmistakeable outside the House as in it. His
career as an administrator has been one succes-
sion of defeats. And the defeat he has had at
length to enda:e at the hands of Lord ROBERT
CECIL has been such that very shame has at last
constrained the unpopular Minister to tender his
resignation. That resignation Lord PALMERSTON
has thought proper to accept. The noble lord
protests, while doing so, that if the House could
have only heard before the late division the
explanations given by his ex-colleague last even-
ing, it would have come to an entirely different
conclusion. If so—why not have tried it ? If so
—why accept the resignation when tendered,
why not fight it out, why not stand by your ill-
treated colleague ? Why ? Simply because Public
Opinion is against Mr. LOWE as President of the
Educational Board, far more than the Opposition is
against him. Meanwhile, in the 'natter of the
resignation just now of the Under-Secretary of
State, Mr. CHICHESTER FORTESQUE —that has been
consequent, no doubt, upon the very hard pressure
brought to bear against the Government by the
Opposition, nay, indirectly by the right hon. gentle-
man the loader of the Opposition—but it is at the
same time a concession resulting from the Mini-
sters' own violation of the rules of the House of
Commons, those sacred rules that are part and par-
cel of our Constitution—not a concession resulting
from the factiousness of the Opposition. But, while
it is precisely as we have said in all these instances
—the ineidentb referred to are at the same time
point blank indications of blundering and weakness
on the part of the Government.

There are few more distressing accidents that
occur in domestic life than those which ensue from
poisonous mixtures being taken by mistake. The
shock which such a calamity must cause to the
relatives must be great indeed, and it is quite time
that some very stringent measures be adopted to
ensure more care and caution on the part of che-
mists and their assistants. We are constantly
hearing and reading of such cases, and it seems
truly lamentable that all this suffering and sorrow
should accrue from what must be called, looked at
what way we will, most culpable negligence on the
part of those who make up the prescriptions.
Lately there has occurred at Liverpool a must dis-
tressing instance of this kiad. Mr. LINGARD, a
tradesman in that city, had been suffering from a
cold in his eye, and having received a prescription
from a doctor he sent it to a chemist's to be made
up. A part of the medicine was a powder, and
after taking this the deceased expired in great
agony, and appeared as if he had been poisoned.
This was the fact, and Dr. EDWARDS, the analy-
tical chemist, deposed that there had been sufficient
strychnine to cause death. It was attempted
be shown that great care was employed, in the
establishment where the poison was given by mis-
take to prevent accidents by keeping the bottles
that contained any poisonous and dangerous con-
tents on different shelves and using coloured
bottles. However, it afterwards transpired
that this powder in question, 6' James's
Powder," which had been prescribed by
Dr. NOTTINGHAM, was on the same shelf as the
strychnine bottle. This is of itself sufficient to prove
that great negligence is displayed by those who
have the care of these dangerous compounds and
made up medicines. This is no isolated case, it is
one that is constantly occurring, and no warnings
seem to produce impression enough to contribute to
salutary reform. The jury, in this instance,
have returned a verdict of manslaughter, and it is
to be hoped that the stringent course they
have adopted will be a warning to all in
Isimilar positions of trust and responsibility. Also
the jury made a presentment to the effect 6; that
there might be a better arrangement of the bottles
than that at present adopted by CLAY and ABRA-
HAM." This recommendation applies to all those
whose establishments furnish examples of heedless.
ness in this important branch of their department.
It would seem strange, at first sight, that risk to
themselves and great danger to others she old be in-
curred by chemists and their assistante, rather than
employ a needful caution and exercise a due vigi-
lance. When a little consideration has been given
to the subject, however, it will be found that pretty
much the same occurs in all classes and ranks, and
throughout all the various departments of business.
Use and custom make all things familiar, and the
assistant who at first may be nervous at the task
of managing the details of a business which
makes him dispense and deal with deadly
prisons will soon become accustomed to the
thing, and be quite at his ease in arranging
the matters which are to others concerns of grievous
anxiety. When we remember, however, that life
and death hang in the balance, and that the happi-
ness or misery of many families may depend upon
his exercising a due amount of caution, it is a matter
of regret that so much haste is used, and so much
carelessness allowed in the dispensation of medicines.
Some years since a lady sent to a chemist for a
black draught for her child, and one assistant called
out to another for it. In the confusion of the
moment the second thought he asked for '6 black
drop," and accordingly gave that. The first one put
the wrong label on the deadly mixture, and the result
of course was fatal. This constant recurrence of
fearful calamqies seems to point out that more
should be done than has ever yet been attempted to
ensure the proper exercise of care and caution. It
surely cannot be so impossible to make rules end
regulations to guard against the fatal bluudera that
are constantly being made; and if some attention
was paid to this most important question by the