The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-07 00:00:00

THE SUN,

sway as an insular power, because of her almost ,
instinctive recognition of that profound aphor-
ism of Lord BACON, that—" to be master of the
sea is an abridgment of a monarchy." Looking back
to the records of the wisdom of antiquity, we have
shown that the sage and golden truth pronounced by
the Founder of Inductive Philosophy was identical
with the opinion expressed by CICERO, acted upon by
POMPEY, and advanced by THEMISTOCLES. It were
well if the principle therein implied were borne now-
a-days more sedulously than ever in the remembrance
of the British Government. It were well if the say-
ing of BAcors were emblazoned over the vestibule of
the Admiralty, and inscribed—like " Frigates" on
the heart of NELSON, and " Calais" on that of MARY
—on the hearts, the consciences, and the judgments
of the Lords Commissioners. For assuredly, if in
the abstract "to be master of the sea is an abridg-
ment of a monarchy"—in the particular instance before
us it is infinitely more than "an abridgment of
monarchy"—it is an actual necessity for the conti-
nuance of the existence of England, for the enforce-
ment of her authority, and for the perpetuation of her
dominion.

There has long been a complaint, loud, general,
and just, against the waste of time in Parliament, by
speech-making. Could the fact be investigated, it
probably would appear that, in nine hundred and
ninety-nine cases out of a thousand, not niont evreandaiasminegnit,e
vote has been changed by a p
however eloquent. Members go into the discussion
of a question with their minds made up as to how
they shall vote. Parliamentary speeches have their
effect, no doubt, but in a circuitous manner. They
are spoken, reported, and read. They influence the
public mind beyond and out of the Senate ; and then
the electors influence the representatives, and thus ob-
tain a modification or change of opinion.
Mr. VILLIERS, in this way, annually made his
onslaught against the corn-laws. He got tew votes
in the House. His statements were read and dis-
cussed out of doors, and gradually influenced the
minds within.
At last the public became imbued
with his feelings,
and the repeal of the corn-laws
took place. It is rather to be reported in the news-
papers, than to gain converts in either House, that
Peers and Members of Parliament make speeches.
It has been discussed whether, in this country, as
in the ci• devant Chambers of Peers and Deputies at
Paris, and in Congress at Washington, what are culled
la cloture, and the power of stopping a speaker
after he had been "on his legs" for a specified
time (usually half an hour), should be intro-
duced into the British Parliament. No such sys-
tem has obtained among us. In America, where
it may be carried out, it is almost inoperative. There,
as with us, speeches may be of any length—though
the British Legislature certainly has a peculiar way
of its own of putting down a long-winded speaker.
It will listen to the flowing eloquence of DISRAELI,

the good sense of WALPOLE, the common-place
wisdom of Husiz, the hesitating sentences of Lord
JOHN RUSSELL, the dashing rhetoric of KEOGH, the
ready sarcasm of BEENAL OSBORNE, the eccentricities
of HENRY DRUMMOND, the acerbity of ROEBUCK, the
anti-episcopal attacks of Sir BENJAMIN HALL, the
sound common sense of CHARLES VILLIERS, the
vigorous declamation of Sir JAMES GRAHAM—
the boldness of BRIGHT, the clearness of COBDEN, the
classic elcquence of BUTT, or even the spasmodic
efforts of the immortal SIBTHORP—but it will not

listen to pompous platitudes or mere essays at speak-
ing from " honourable gentlemen" who wish to " air
their vocabulary" (as Lady MORGAN said) and make
the House of Commons a place for oratorical practice.
The moment one of these legislators attempts to "fly
off at a tangent," in a cut-and-dry harangue, carefully
elaborated and faithfully committed to memory, or to
blunder through an oration, as if it were a punish-
ment, the House puts him down gently by its own
unmistakable means.

Not so at Washington. There the pent-up crater
must have its way—let him who would stop it, dread
gouging and the bowie knife ! The long speech,
however weak or wearisome, must be spoken, in order
that it may be printed, to show the world how the
Member of Congress has distinguished himself in the
Legislature. "Mast be spoken ?" asks a little Asmo-
deus who has perched himself in our vicinity, himself
invisible, and overlooks what we have written.
"Must be spoken ?"—We admit that the remark was
inconsiderate. We have before us an American

journal, containing a report of the proceedings of the
First Session of the Thirty-second Congress. There,
under date the 12th of August, it is reported that, in
the House of Representatives—
" Mr. Freeman (dem.) of Miss., not wishing to trouble
gentlemen with a speech, obtained permission to print
one on the subject of the public lands."
What an admirable way of managing matters ! The
orator has only to bring down his speech in his pocket,
the House to take it as read ( just as our own Court
of Chancery does with documents), and obtain leave
to have it printed. Fancy what a relief to the legis-
lative mind if our own RICHARD SPOONER, the
atrabilious Member for Warwickshire, would
deal in this way with his tiresome in-
( tolerances. What a relief to the public,
if instead of lengthened and adjourned debates, some-
times occupying five or six nights, none but the
leaders must speak, all the rest, " not wishing to
trouble gentlemen with a speech," obtaining permis-
sion to print it! There is something novel and en-
tertaining, in this American " notion!,
We wish that
Mr. FREEMAN, the democratic representative of Mis-
souri, could inoculate our Legislature with his views
on this head. We have been doomed to listen to
absurd speeches, fired off in irregular vollies, like
the platoon practice of " the awkward
squad," until we have wondered, at last,
whether DICK MARTIN'S Act for punishing Cruelty
to Animals might not be enforced in such cases.
Oh, that Honourable Members would only consent
to print, not speak, their orations !
After all, the probability is that our present chance
of an occasional speech, too tedious or too dull, is
better than the " preventive check" as supplied by
the power of the cloture or the half-hour
limit. The newspapers brought over from
arrived
York, by the Africa steamer, which
at Liverpool on Sunday, supplied us
with one
fully too frequent those reports—unhappily and disgrace-
in
which in the Legislature at Washington__
indulged
the scoldingao c,
copied the re
no doubt,
thousand readers.
Tarsonfalities were exchanged and language
perftthtehesame character as distinguishes
naiiiis of Billingsgate. We
it
has intoutt The Sun of yesterday, where,
y declaration scene
Thracted the attention of many
opened, it appears, by
ex-President)
from Mr. W. H.
a smart and sane
IPOLK (brother of
"Forthe
CuLr.om, of fear of to General
tell the gentleman he
gentlenigaenn,lleman”
is a
larnimis,a,pprehension, /
whose
uture name Up
viously intimated that , 1 --he bad pre-
' the
Lid betrayed the
South. "The
gunpowder tendcnciersetaourtthe
doriztehalatis :Ir.
p'
be CuLnom-lirt,L,
ona. •was
himself "a liar." Mr. Poroc expressed a
Wish that
would come a little nea" the gentleman rer' —the
inviter, we presume, meaning within gouging dl5.
stuck to his assertion
"the gentleman" endea-
voured After many worth,
voured to explain, but FOLK
d said you were a liar, I
and insult, and repeated,
and I '.say so again." All this time the President of
the House vainly sought to 'maintain order the
report says, " Bang, bang went the hammer." It
would not do. The orators would have their scolding
match. COLLUM showed his wit (I) by advising
Pomi " to get some glue and stick himself to his scat,
and maintain his dignity I" Fancy the maintenance
of dignity in such an Assembly ! A " dignity-ball"

in Birbadoes (so humorously) described
by MAR-,
It'TAT; alone would suit such polite legislators.
After an hour's mutual insolence, the wordy belli-
gerents ceased, probably from mere exhaustion.
Comment is not wanted on such a scene. It is the
habit with some ultra admirers of

"Freedom far beyond the Atlantic waves"
to point to the United States as a place where liberty
is in full course, and the rights of man universally
recognised. For our own parr, without denying that
our own Administration may and must be much im-
proved, we prefer what we have to the " liberty "
which runs wild into license, and the " freedom "
which vents
.its exuberance of spirits by means of
Billingsgate in the Legislature, and the bowie knife
and revolver out of it.

to work thre...l
ata.ff is now in
THE TELEGRAPH.--A la
train-
be constructed in India. ectri c telegraphs about to
ing in this country