The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-18 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 1864.

The Government is certainly acquiring for itself
a most enviable character! Abroad, it is treated
alternately with insult and with ridicule. At
home, as a rule, if a Liberal constituency is ap-
pealed to, it answers the appeal by returning a
Conservative. The Foreign Policy of the Cabinet
is a complete enigma, ts diplomatic interposition
is every where powerless in its results, and is,
besides that, everywhere regarded with jealousy
and suspicion. Parliamentary Reform, which the
Ministry was expressly formed to carry out, has,
by this very Ministry, been completely shelved for
the time being. What Ministers are in office for,
except it be selfishly to enjoy the sweets of
power, place, and patronage, together with all
the perquisites, pecuniary and otherwise,
appertaining to our administrators, is fairly
incomprehensible. They are not there as Reformers.
They care not twopence for Reform. Even Lord
RUSSELL, now that he has his blue ribbon and his
Earl's coronet, has stopped shedding tears for it.
Instead of that—now that he is a K.G. and an
Earl—he tells us complacently to "Rest and be
thankful !" And, looking to his colleague, what
era some among the charming ministerial spectacles
presented to our observation ? Why, just for a
~meet, let us enumerate a few of them. We have
a Leader of the House of Commons—as proof of
what we are going here to say, we have only to look
to the proceedings in the House last evening—we
have a Leader of the lleuse of CJlnmen3 who
if ha cannct exactly be said to "forget himself," at
any rate so far forgets Lis own privileges, responsi-
biiities, duties even, we may say, as Leader, that he
has to be reminded of them by the Leader of the
°?Pasition ! Insomuch that Mr, DISRAELI is actu-
ally constrained, as Leader of the Opposition, to
vindicate the privileges of the Leader of the present
Government. Lord PALMERSTON, thereupon, but
not until then, doing,
at the instigation of Mr.
D:snesEnt, what the
noble lord (now nearly, it it
true, eighty years of
age, and therefore perhaps a
little oblivious), h
said only a few minutes previ-
oesly that he couldn't do.
We have a Chancellor
of the Exchequer who can indulge by wholesale
gross that, (46 the
and by retail in personalities

answering it. We have a Secretary for Ireland so
exactly fitted for his position, as euch, that when
discussing the affairs of that still afflicted sister
island, he can indulge in buffooneries about the
Fenians or what not, thereby exciting a
sympathetic House of Commons to shouts
of laughter. We have a Postmaster-General
who, whether rightly or wrongly, has acquired
for himself at any rate the credit of having
worried out of his position as Secretary at St. Mar-
tin's-le-Grand—that man of men as such, Sir
ROWLAND HILL, the Right Man in the Right Place,
if ever there was one, the instant acceptance of
whose resignation upon the " plea" of ill health
is never once hesitated over by Lord STANLEY of
Adderley. We have a Duke at the Head of the
Board of Admiralty so intensely unpopular in that
official capacity of his as First Lord, that upon the
earliest vacancy in the representation down at Devon-
port the whole country awakens to the ignominous
rejection of the Government candidate by the con-
stituency, and the election in his stead not simply of
a Tory, but of the truest blue Tory among Tories,
of Mr. BUSFIELD FERRAND, in foe, who comes in
triumphantly at the head of the poll as M.P. for
Devonport. And now as the youngest member of
that same Board of Admiralty whom have we ? Is
it not Mr. JAMES STANSFZLD, M.P. for Halifax,
Mr. JAMES STAN SFELD, Brewer, Mr. JAMES STAN S
FELD, of 35, Thurloe-square, Brompton, formerly
of 2, Sydney place, ditto, now for several
months past, and still (let us give him
his full title as be himself rather osten-
tatiously claims it) " Minister of the Crown"
—Mr. JAMES STANSFELD, who, for eighteen
years past has been, and still is, the intimate
personal friend and associate of one whose name
is an object of abhorrence throughout all Chris-
tendom.

With Mr. STANSFELD'S fair fame, as the inti-
mate friend and associate of M. Meeetee, the
Government last evening may be said fairly and
plainly to have identified themselves. They
evidenced their readiness not merely to stand by him,
but to stand or fall with him. When he made his
appearance in the House last evening he was cheered
vociferously. What for,it would be difficult to con-
jecture! Unless it may have been for' his intimacy
with M. MAZZINI, or for hie indecent panegyric
the other evening upon that apologist of assassina-
tion. Itr reference to the charges directed against
Mr. STAN SFELD by the Attorney-General of France,
the late Procureur Imperial, there was in point of
fact not only a rather serious discussion last even-
ing in the House of Commons, but, at the close of
that discussion, a rather momentous division. Out
of a House of 332 members, exclusive of the
tellers, Ministers pulled through by a narrow
majority of just nine. Rather a close shave of it—
under the circumstances ! If we could only offer
them our congratulations upon it ! Yet, how, in-
deed, under those circumstances, can it be in any
way possible to offer them our congratulations ? Sir
JOHN PAKINGTON last evening put the matter at
issue as clearly as a few simple words could put it,
in the manner following :—" What," he naked, " are
the facts of the case as they stand. Signor MAZ-
ZINI is the avowed associate and adviser of
the assassin GRECO. Signor Memel is
also the avowed associate and adviser of
the assassin GALLENGA, and for years the hon.
member Opp asite has been the intimate associate of
the friend and adviser of assassins. These
arc the plain facts befo)-e us. Something," added
tho right hon. baronet (and surely with reason),
"something is due to the dignity of this house;
something is due to the feelings of our French
allies, who are naturally irritated and angry at
finding these foul plots being one after another
brought to maturity in this country. And it must
be painful to find that a gentleman holding the
high position of member of Parliament and mem-
ber of her MAJESTY'S Government has lived
for years as an intimate associate of this
Signor MAZZINI." Her MAJESTY'S Ministers
however, think not, and their supporters in the
House of Commons coincide with them last night
in eo thinking. It is, to put it in the mildest pos
sible phrase, a decision—on thehiart of the Csbine,
and on the part of their thick-and -thin supporters
in the House of Commons—profoundly to be re-
gretted. As to Mr. STANSFELD'S reply (so-called)
last evening—Lord PALMERSTON actually avowed
(aot, however, without provoking by his avowal in
dignant cries of " Oh, oh !"), Lord PALMERSTON ac-
tually avowed that it appeared to him "satisfactory!
Satisfactory ? Yet, what—among other agreeable
little things—transpired through that sc-called re-
ply of Mr. STANSFELD'U ? Recollect, that the Pro •
cureur Imperial had so spoken the other day upon
the occasion of the trial of GRECO and his accom-
plices that everyone's impression, here in England,
there in France, had come to be this—that letters
intended for MAZZINI, addressed to a person of
the name: of FLOWER, were transmitted from
abroad, through the Post Office, directed to this
"FLOWER" at Mr. STANSFELD'S house, 35, Thurloe-
square, Brompton, S.W. Well—and in regard to
this, what are tho facts cf the case as they were
actually extorted at last, yesterday evening, from
the naturally reluctant lips of Mr. STAN SFELD 9
He was going to sit down quietly after a few, as it
appears to us (begging Lord PaeetEßSTOil'S pardon
for venturing to say so)naost unsatisfactory remarks,
neither here nor there, in any way to the point—
Mr. STANSFELD was positively going to sit down
quietly last evening without uttering ono syllable
about this Deadly Nightshade—that iti to say,
about this" FLOWER." Some hon. members, how-
ever, not unnaturally indignant at so very gross an
evasion, could not resist calling aloud that same
obnoxious pseudonym " FLOWER!" Then, it
was that—after a little further parrying and par
leyieg—at last—out it all came! ' I have had
letters addressed to my house," says Mr.
STANSFELD, " under the name of nonE, " And the
hoe. gentleman himse,:f obligingly adds—" The
came of FLOWER, as every member knows [we
wonder if Mr. P. A. TAYLOR did, by the way P] is
only the Italian translation [Mr. STANSFELD
means, of course, though in his flurry he does not
say it, the English translation) of that name." Bat
even this is not all. After the discussion of last
night was pretty well over—just immediately before
the House went to a division—the inexorable
member for Finsbury, drives Air. STAINS
FELD yet more closer up into a corner, wire
this query " I wish to know - hether this
Mr. FLOWER was tot, in truth Meeznet P.
There is no getticg over Mat at any etc. And so,
what—at last—does Mr. b'TA,IiFELD say, tinny,

diately just before the division ? We listen eagerly—
and among his remarks we hear him uttering these
rather notable words :—" A.elAzziNt's letters were
addressed to my house under the name of Fiore."
He had previously reminded the house that FIORE
expressed in English meant "Flower." Nay, he
reminds his interrogators, " I said Flower was the
English translation; but," he adds immediately—
" BUT, I said to my knowledge, no letter addressed
to Mr. Flower had ever come to my house."
as pretty a piece of prevarication, that, as
we should certainly wish to see for many
a long day ! He has had delivered at his house for
MAzzitit, letters directed to FIORE FIORE
meaning FLOWER—but, to his knowledge, no
letter addressed to Mr. FLOWER ever came to 35,
thurloe-square, Brompton. Ahem ! And Mr.
BRIGHT, fOrsooth, in a burst of generous, not
to say virtuous indignation, could not help
deprecating the notion of any one striving to make
his way to the Treasury bench over the character,
the reputation, the happiness, and the future
of the last appointed and. the youngest
member of the Government ! The said in.
genuous youth, this "youngest member of the
Government," having been for the last eighteen
years the intimate friend and associate of M.
MAzzim! Well, really the iees that is said by
Mr. STANSFELD'S vindicators about the "reputa-
tion," &e., that he has himself laid down in
the dust by the side of M. MAzzlNl—everything
considered, perhaps—the better. The upshot
of it all last night being—that we have
now to regard as distinctly characteristic
of the Ministry (among other agreeable little
reflections), that literal truth just now—a truth
that Ministers generally, from Lord PALMER-
STON downwards, deliberately recognise, resolutely
stick to, and complacently make the most of—that
among the "Ministers of the Crown" we have an
avowed Mszzinian.

A very interesting meeting took place on Wed-
nesday evening, in Exeter Hall, which, although it
may well be overlooked is the crowd of more attrac
tive and engrossing topics, was not without import-
acce as affecting our national welfare. The efforts
of the Ragged School Union, whose tenth annual
prize meeting was held on that occasion, are directed
to the benefit and training of what are called with
truth " the dangerous classes." It is difficult, as
every philanthropist and social reformer knows, to
deal with men and women, whose vagrant habits
and unsettled ways of living are alone a formidable
barrier against their following any decent or re-
Apect4ble mode of life. The task is, indeed, almost
hopeless, for the old habits and essniatiOns form a
bond too strung to be broken by exhortation,
entreaty, or warning. 'rho plain inference then
remains, that if we are to deal with these classes at
alt in the hope of permanent end extensive success,
we must begin with the young. We must not, of
course, relax our efforts on behalf of the
elders, hoping against hope in the good work ;
but the old time-worn adage, which tells
us that " Prevention is better than cure,"
is never more forcible in its application than in this
case. Every influence of opening life is against the
children of the Ragged Schools; their parents, their
homes, their associates, their tasks, and their plea-
sures, all alike drag them on the downward road.
Setting aside the cases in which children are trained
as thieves, utterers of false coin, &c., the chances
are a thousand to one against the boys and girls
who play about our courts and alleys growing up to
be respectable members of the community, if left to
themselves. Yet their numbers are yearly on the
increase, and every addition to the "dangerous
classes" represents an expense to th 3 country which
would startle the uninitiated, besides the heavy
❑ational responsibility incurred in leaving these
poor children to be led captive by ignorance, vice,
and crime. In this dilemma the Ragged School
Union came valiantly to the rescue, and it has done
good service for many a year among the moral

wildernesses of oar mighty city. Not only
does it provide these poor little way-
farers with the rudiments of sound instruc-
tion and religious and moral training, bat it
watches over them as far as possible when the
schoolboy days are done, and the boy or girl is
sent out into the trials and temptations of the
modern Babylon. As a large proportion of those
who leave school do so to enter service of some
kind, prizes and testimonials are given by the
society to those who have remained with the same
employer for more than 12 months, and receive
from him a good character. Every succeeding year
in the same place claims a testimonial card which,
of course, is very valuable to the receiver as a
badge of character in getting other places. The
ages within which the candidates' years must be

reckoned are 12 and 17. We should imagine that
the higher limit might he advantageously extended
year or two more, since, however much the first
live or six years of the " teens" may tend to form
ne character and habits no one can prete ad to
say that the temptations of the young lad or
girl are over at 17. Oa the contrary, the most dif
ricult and dangerous years are to come, and if the
rewards offered by the society have any effect in
'aducieg recipients to remain steadily in one place
luring that critical period, it is certainly a pity
teat its beneficial influence does not extend a little
farther. The number of claimants who come for-
ward for these tokens of approval is large, and it is
ioubly gratifying that it should be so, both as show-
ing that the prizes and cards are valued, and as
proving that many of these ragged echolars are
going on well in life. Daring the ten years of these
prize meetings, more than six thousand prizes have
been distributed, and 530 claimants have come for-
ward this year, 430 of whom receive their rewards
for the first time. But it is pleasing to know that
of the remaining hundred, many have kept the
same place for six or seven years. From such a
start, there is good reason to hope for
a useful and honourable career, since, if steadinesss
and self respect are cultivated at so early an age
there is a good substratum laid for all future life.
The good that has been effected by the little
brigade of ahoeblacks in connection with the
Ragged School Union is a recognised fact, and the
sums saved by many of these industrious little
fellows is something wonderful when we consider
the small amount of their earnings. It would be a
good thing if it were possible to establish some
kind of little savings bank for these ragged school
scholars, which should encourage in them habits of
providence and self denial. Much amusement was
created at the priz meeting by the presentation of
one of the testimonial cards to the noble Chairman
and President of the Union, whose services in the
cause certainly entitle him to receive any token of
merit connected with it. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY
has continued to add to the laurels so worthily won
by Lord ASHLEY, as knight champion of the poor
forlorn, neglected, or oppressed, the helper of those
who cannot, from ignorance or weakness, raise a
voice on their own behalf. His public appeal for
aid to the funds of the Association, exhausted by
temporary pressure, brought forth a hearty response
Thiel quickly placed in a very different position.
!'here is surely no reason to fear that the good work
will be suffered to languish for want either of funds
,r of pereonal inspection, when the good it ha,
Petted is so manifestly apparent, and the numbl-x,
it has trained and taught are reckoned not by
huo:azde but by thousands.