The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-18 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—The House of Commons never appears
to so little advantage as when it is executing the
delicate and invidious task of acting as judge in its
own cause. Assemblies are not free from the weak-
ness of egotism any mere than individuals. There
is the same disposition to make the best of every-
thing they do, and to slur over and extenuate faults
and shortcomings, of which every candid person is
more or less conscious when he attempts to estimate
his own conduct. On Tuesday night the great and
important question of the private business of the
House of Commons was brought before the house
by Lord R. Cecil. The opportunity was ill-chosen.
A motion of the most momentous consequence was

introduced in a thin house, and the possibility of any
satisfactory result was at once prevented by moving
that motion as an ameiglment to a proposition,
not very important certainly, but to which nobody
had r,y objection. The debate which followed
the question thus strangely raised did, it must be
admitted, bring out very forcibly the main points
of th© subject, and also illustrated very clearly the
real difficulty, which undoubtedly is the indisposi-
tion of the House of Commons to part with any
portion of power or jurisdiction, even after it has
been conclusively proved that it cannot exercise it
for the public good. There was a manifest indis-
position to admit the grievance to its full extent, and
an equally manifest determination to refine away
the proposal for a remedy. The principal objections
to the present mode of conducting private business
are but too well-known. They are so over-

whelming that the continuance of the system
from year to year is perhaps the very best in-
stance that can be given of that tenacity of life
inherent in English abuses. In what other
country was it ever thought necessary that, before
people could be allowed to execute great public im-
provements, they should prove a complicated stare
of facts, and that when this had been done they
should immediately be c ailed upon to prove them
over again before a second tribunal ? What would
be said if no man could recover a debt till he had

obtained a judgment in two independent courts of
law, or obtain relief in equity without proving his
case to the satisfaction of two successive Vico-Cnan-

cellors ? Then, as to the tribunal, can anything be
more monstrous than that we should go on piling
decision upon decision and precedent upon prece-
dent without making the slightest approach to-
wards settling the principles upon which matters
of such immense importance to the community and
to all concerned are to be decided ? A decision in
a court of law is very often obtained with so
much expense, delay, and vexation that it can
be regarded as little short of an unmixed
evil to the litigants, vanquished and victo-
rious. But it is a great good to tho community ;
it binds future decisions, and prevents future
litigation by giving those who are in a similar
position to the plaintiff and defendant a rule by
which to guide their conduct. The decisions of a
committee of the House of Commons have no such
effect. Nobody knows on what ground they are
arrived at. The decision of one committee does not
bind another, and often in adjacent rooms contra-
dictory conclusions are drawn from the same state
of fects. As nobody is certain, so nobody need
despair. The decisions of one session are good for
that session and no longer, and the same attempts
are renewed from year to year, to the infinite vexa-
tion and oppression of such persons as are interested
in opposing them. Mr. Massey says, in answer to
this, that even the Courts of Westminster-hall
occasionally differ from each other. They do so.
But how vast is the distinction between the cases
The differences which exist between Courts are
differences as to the application of well-known
principles of law to a new state of circumstances.
The differences which exist between committees of
the House of Commons are generally caused by the
absence of any law at all. It is not, for instance,
settled up to the present day in what cases competi-
tion gives a right of appearing before a committee
to oppose a projected railway. Tne House of Com-
mons knows little or nothing of the proceedings of
its cem mit tees. The committees know ju,t as little
of the proceedings of each other, and each Bill is
regarded as a purely isolated venture, controlled by
no law, and regulated by no principle. On the
members the effec-s of the system is equally unfor-
tunate. They are overworked in the transaction of
business which does not legitimately fall within the
duties of a central Legislature. They are wearied
by speeches from counsel which they cannot cur-
tail , and by examinations and arguments which
they cannot control. It is becoming every day
more difficult to find persons to discharge this
laborious and unsatisfactory duty, and although it
has long been assigned to the younger or less pro-
minent members of the house, they are evidently
anxious to escape a labour from which little is
learnt, and from which neither position nor influ-
ence is gained. This is the state of the private busi-
ness of the House of Commons, and with such
machinery it is about to meet the crushing amount
of railway business appointed for the present Ses-
sion. Surely never were interests so vast so repre-
hensibly trifled with ? The position of a young
civilian in India sent to administer between the in-
habitants such justice as occurs to him is painful
enough, but that is a case of hard necessity, while
our Parliamentary Committees are placed in
nearly equal difficulty without any necessity at
all There is not an evil we have enumerated
for which a remedy might not be found, and
we should have thought that all parties would
be glad to be rid of a system fraught with so much
evil and injustice to all concerned,—to those who
form the tribunal us well as those who appear be-
fore it. This, however, is not the case. If it be
proposed that the double inquiry should be saved
by appointing a joint Committee of both Houses,
endless objections are raised as to their respectiv'
rights and privileges. If it be urged that a sepa-
rate legal tribunal might be formed to perform the
duties now intrusted to a Committee, as is the case
with Enclosure Acts, and that the duties of the
House might be confined to affirming or rejecting
the conclusionsof that tribunal, it is answered that
if the Report of the tribunal is to be final, the House
is deprived of its legislative powers, and if it is not
to be final, there may be a double inquiry—one be-
fore the tribunal, and one before Parliament, and
thus delay and vexation may ensue. Even if this
were so, we should be prepared to contend that it
would be better and more for the honour of Par-
liament to give up a jurisdiction which it cannot
exercise with satisfaction to itself or the public than
to cling to powers which its organisation renders
mischieveus. But, in truth, this is not the case.
Parliament ought by all means to retain that part of
its duties in the despatch of private business which
it is well calculated to discharge. It should lay down
clearly and watch vigilantly the principles upon
which private business is conducted, leaving the
labour of ascertaining facts to some less important
body. Parliament does exactly the contrary of this.
It wastes the time of members in the attempt to mas-
ter and adjudicate upon details which a fee inferior
tribunal could dispose of better than itself and it com-
pensates for this over diligence by neglecting to debate
or consider those principles which it above all other
bodies in the country is pre-eminently qualified to lay
down. There are several ways in which this singular
inversion of functions might be corrected. The tri-
bunal might be appointed to take evidence, leaving
the Committee to form its judgment upon the evi-
dence so taken. Mr. Gibson says, indeed, that the
tribunal would not know what evidence to take, but
this objection, if it were valid, would be fatal to our
whole system of administering civil justice, since we
can never be sure that the full court will hold
that
not
that the evidence taken in the inferior court was
addressed to the wrong point. Bnt as. in a civil
trial the adverse interests of the opapnotsemegjaatrt'es
ail
afford in practice a sufficient
will
things material to be proved. be proved, so would.
it be in proving or disproving the
.preamble. of a.bill.
We by no means wish to see Parliament divest itself
of its powers of legislation in private business.
We wish that the question should be sifted and
reduced to its simplest expression before Par-
liament is called upon to deal with it, and that
its interference should be confined to the correction,
either by way of appeal or decision on evidence
already taken, of any error which may have been
committed by tLe tribunal below. For this duty a
joint Committee of the two Houses is admirably
qualified, and it would not be too much to expect
that for such a Committee the House of Commons
would be willing to spare several of its ablest and
most experienced members.
POST.—It is gr ttifying to observe that the French
authorities in Mexico are accomplishing reforms
which cannot fail to conciliate the population,

when they contrast the system which is being in
troduced now with anarchy of revolutionary
demagogues and the tyranny of Ultramontane
rule. To establish liberty and order where confu-
sion and despotism of the usurper or the mob
reigned before, is as desirable as it is difficult ;
and those least friendly to the interference of
France must admit that a very important step in
the right direction has just been taken. The French
authorities had adopted measures framed to protect
the rights of the possessors of Church property and
the holders of the securities given for payment of
such property. This measure of justice was not at
all approved by the retrograde or Ultramontane
party. The Supreme Court, under the influence and
control of this party, refused to administer the law
in cases where these rights were involved, so that
there was a practical denial of justice. The Arch-
bishop intimated that it was his intention to frame
and promulgate an ordinance which was to settle
permanently the question of the rights of the
holders of Church property, and of the securities
given for payment. Upon this the Supreme Court
virtually decided not to entertain the claims of such
persons at all. This of course was a state of things
that could not be allowed to continue by any civi-
lised Government, and accordingly a circular was
directed to the judges reciting the ordinances and
the laws upon which it was their duty to act, and
requiring them to administer justice in the class of
cases referred to above. The Supreme Court, how-
ever, still under the influence of the Archbishop,
remained contumacious, and would not discharge
its proper functions. As for the Archbishop him-
self, that dignitary issued a protest of a very pointed
and energetic character against the just and reason-
able course taken by the Government. He did not,
however, stop here. The protest does not appear, in
his judgment, to have been sufficient. lie therefore
proceeded, in conjunction with his bishops, to com-
pose a sort of bull of excommunication, in imitation
of the bulls of the ancient Popes, for laying dis-
obedient countries under an interdict, and had it
formally served upon the Government, after the
manner of an attorney serving a debtor with a writ.
This literary curiosity, which ought to be preserved
in some museum devoted to the reception of
such rarities, extends to the length of more than
a couple of dozen sheets of paper, or, perhaps,
parchment, and is based upon certain resolu-
tions passed at the ancient Council of Trent.
It is most comprehensive and sweeping in
its denunciations, and directs the pains and penal-
ties it recites against everybody of both sexes and
all ages who may be, or have been in any way,
directly or indirectly concerned in or accessory to
the deadly sin of nationalising Church property.
So scientific is its construction and phraseology,
that nobody who has had anything to do with the
enormity it anathematises can hope, so far as its
interpretation is concerned, to have the remotest
chance of escaping the whole concatenation of pains
and penalties which it comprises. Indeed, it is
doubtful if the entire population of Mexico, men,
women, and children—of course with the exception
of the Ultramontane party—are not consecutively
liable under its damnatory clauses for sanctioning,
in the sense of not opposing by force, the terrible
sin which it denounces. But the wrath of the
Ultramontane party was not yet exhausted or ap-
peased. They next bethought themselves of fol-
lowing up this parody of Papal bull of excommuni-
cation by a sort of rider, in the shape of a secular
document, signed by all the judges of the Supreme
Court in their forensic capacity, in which these
functionaries declared it to be their intention not
to administer the unholy and unrighteous law at
all. Matters were thus brought to a climax, and
issue was joined between the Ultramontanists and
the secular arm, who thus put themselves upon
the country, as the legal term expresses it; and
there is no doubt that the country will be well
enough satisfied with what the Government has
done. What the Government did was to issue a
proclamation during the first days of the new year,
explaining the state of affairs to the people, and
also a decree dismissing the refractory judges of the
Supreme Court. This measure seems to have been
approved by the people generally. There has been
no difficulty experienced in finding judges who
underst Ind their duties, and that the interests of
the nation are not to be sacrificed to the selfish
wishes of the Ultramontane section of the clergy.
The real secret of La Bastide's opposition to the
policy of the Government seems to be that the arch-
bishops were twenty thousand pounds a year richer
before the nationalisation of Church property took
place. If this measure could be reversed, the re-
venues of the archiepiscopal see would be augmented
to that extent. It is perhaps to be expected, human
nature being what it is, even among such unearthly
and celestial personages as the Ultramontanist
clergy, that such a stake should provoke an obsti-
nate struggle for its recovery. Still, the interests
of the nation must prevail, Besides, what was the
use of 27 sheets of obsolete cursing, based upon a
substratum of resolutions passed at the Council of
Trent ? The day has gone by when people paid
any attention to fulminations of this sort. The con-
duct of La Bastille is a sufficient explanation of his
having been considered not a fit person to continue
a member of the Regency. It is abundantly clear
that no just and liberal Government of which such
a man, so circumstanced, was a member, could be
expected to work to the satisfaction of the more
sensible and enlightened portion of the people, or
for the real good of the country. The Mexicans
now see that the French are their best friends, and
that the system which is being caraied out is the
best adapted to save their distracted country, It
appears also that order is being restored throughout
the land. The followers of Juarez have almost en-
tirely ceased from resistance. Campeachy has pro-
bably been captured ere this. There is no fear of
the disturbing element which it was once thought
was to be foreseen in the advent of multitudinous
filibusters from the United States. The Federal
Government cannot get men for its own defence ;
and that the war next spring may become an
offensive one on the part of the South appears to be
the opinion of General Halleck, who recently ex-
pressed his apprehension that it would be " trans-
ferred to Northern soil." Besides, the North can-
not afford to !uarrel with France, and therefore it
is the intereAt of the Government to keep at home
out of harm's way any filibusters who might be in-
clined for mischief. The difficulties in the way of
helping Mexico to help itself out of the slough of
despond into which a succession of rival usurpers
and anarchists, with organised banditti for armies,
had sunk it, were great indeed, and apparently in-
superable. But the miracles of perseverance are
proverbial; and if the French, who have already
done so much more than many thought possible,
should be able—as it is to be hoped, and now in-
deed expected, they will be able—to restore that
unhappy country to even an approximation to
prosperity and peace, they will deserve the grafi-
, tude not only of the Mexicans but of the world.

COTTON SUPPLY ASSOCIATION.—At the usual
weekly meeting of the Executive Committee, held
on Tuesday, a letter was read from St. Thomas,West Indies,
stating that the cultivation of cotton is rapidly extending in
that island, and that good results are confidently anticipated'
Favourable accounts were also received of the crop now
growing in Barbadoes. A letter from Demerara reports
that the rains have destroyed an enormous quantity of cot-
ton, and that the planters by neglecting to gather it when
ready have sustained considerable loss, but have been taught
by their experience lessons which will be valuable for the
future. A letter was read from Corrientes, in the Argen-
tine Republic, stating that there is great activity in the cul-
tivation of cotton, and that should the season be propitious
not less than 300 bales would be produced in the province
of Corrientes alone. The Government is rendering every
facility, and proposals for establishing cotton plantations on
a large scale have been made, which it is expected will be
cordially adopted. Various measures arc in progress which
are likely to prove highly advantageous. Letters accompa-
nying applications for seed were received from the Consul-
General of Spain, stating that her Catholic Majesty's Go •
vernment is most anxious to promote the cultivation of cot-
ton, and has directed its special attention to the plains of
Motril, situated in latitude 36 deg. 40 min. on the shores of
the Mediterranean, and proposes to extend its efforts to the
neighbouring provinces and other 3 on the same coast. A
commencement has already been made with good results,
and further experiments on a large scale with various sorts
of seed are contemplated. No effort will ba spared to insure
success, and every assistance that the association can render
will be gladly afforded. A letter was read from New York,
stating that there is quite a demand there for cotton gins,
and that they have been sent in large numbers to South
America, the 'West Indies, Egypt, and other places, a fact
which shows that cotton cultivation is on the increase in
those countries. The opinion is confidently expressed that
the changes occurring in the Southern States must tend to
give permanency to the growth of cotton in every Other part
of the world. A letter was read from Turin furnishing in-
teresting particulars of the Cotton Exhibition now open in
that city, and it was resolved earnestly to request the pre-
sident of the association to become its representative at
Turin during the Exhibition, in compliance with the desire
of the Royal Italian Commission, This it is hoped will
greatly encourage and stimulate the efforts now making to
extend the growth of cotton in Italy.
SIGNIFICANT OF THE AGE l—l a book called
"The Science of the Soul," there is one erratum on
a slip, and, says the Athenceum, while directing attention
to this erratutn, we cannot pass it : " for God read gold."
This is indeed an erratum in vogue, and a corrigendum too.
The book certainly does not commit it ; the author seems a
real earnest Christian.

Persons in debt may obtain instant protection against
imprisonment or seizure of their goods, and an entire release
from all debts and lial;ilities without publicity, by application
to Messrs. Marshall, colic tors of the Court of Bankruptcy,
Charges under £5 payable by easy instalments. Offices—
(established 1830), 12, llatton-garden. City branch-0, Moor-
gate-street, Bank.—A.DVT.