The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-16 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, FEB. 16, 1864.

The result of. the Brighton election is a great
triumph for the Conservatives. It shows clearly in
what direction public opinion now tends, and how
little support the Ministers can have a right to
expect should they fulfil their threat of appealing
to the country in the event of an adverse decision
being recorded against them in the House. There
could hardly have been a more difficult or unlikely
place to select for a trial of strength than Brighton,
which is proverbial for returning Liberal candi-
dates, and has been regarded as a sure stronghold
against the inroads of Conservatism. Mr. MOOR'S
success was a decided one ; but, notwithstanding
that he came in at last by a decided majority, this
election is not to be regarded so much as a Conser-
vative triumph, as a Liberal failure. It is not that
the country care for all the tenets that are held
dear by the Constitutional party, as they are called,
so much as they are thoroughly disgusted with the
hypocrisy, and the inertness or inefficiency of the
popular section of politicians. What is there to in-
dueo a constituency to return a supporter of Lord
PALMLRSTON,
a devotee of this Cabinet, a professor
ul Liberalism ? Those who look on at the game
from
will not bs influenced by any pre-
judices or confused with conflicting statements-
They saw the plain unvar:iished truth, and not the
embroidered facts which are presented to those who
are dragged into the vortex of public affairs. In
the many and surprising successes which have of
Conservative late distinguished the
party at elec-
tions throughout the country
hey recognise a marked
changteh
cinhmthperehpeunbaliethgaetoiterias
safe
and wiser
re
toelect
begin-
ninglt
men who make but few professions, and afterwards
fulfil them faithfully, than to put their faith in
thos e
would-be reforming and impetuous candidates
whose
actions so seldom keep pace with Words. Vox
preterea nail may well be the criticism of theiret
careers. It must be a great mortification to mini-
sters thus to witness their spoils taken from them,

THE SUN, LONDO

and their rivals coming in with flying colours on
the spot which they might with acme good show of
reason have considered their lawful property, and
sure and certain to return them a supporter. If the
policy of the Cabinet is to be indubitably fixed to
the sketch which has been graphically drawn for
us in one House by Earl RUSSELL, and in the other
by Lord PALMERSTON, he need not be a renegade,
but a patriotic lover of his country, who will wish
that the example of Brighton may be widely fol-
lowed, and a sort of precedent thus established to
send to Parliament none but those who declare for the
true and tried policy which has always distinguished
our country, amid all the earthquakes and hurri-
canes that have upset thrones and dynasties
abroad—double-dealing will infallibly fail in poli-

tics, as in everything else in the long run. The
people of an intelligent and cultivated community
will inevitably inquire what is our object, and
whether are we tending. To such queries at pre-
sent the most unsatisfactory answers must begin.
The Government came in through a successful
dodge, and their sinuous policy has landed them at
last among doubts, dangers, and difficulties that
would be enough to appal the boldest, and affright
the bravest. Our foreign policy is a disgrace to us
at home, and of the most disastrous issue abfoad ;
our home tactics are to do nothing, and it is there-
fore no wonder that the inhabitants of an impor-
tant town should try a desperate remedy, and adopt
the expediency of selecting new men to see if such
an experiment can procure them better measures.
'The decision at Brighton will doubtless influence
other constituencies whose members are not yet
returned, and if so the ranks of the Opposition will
present a most formidable phalanx when the day
comes for the tug of war. May they then be found
faithful to the principles they have professed,
stedfast in the spirit of nationality which now
animates them, and zealous to uphold the rights of
the country of whose honour they claim to be the
champions and defenders. There was an excellent
piece of advice offered to Ministers some time since
in a comic publication, and they had better take
heed to its counsel, for since then the clouds have
darkened, and all portend the coming necessity of
caution, which is implied in these words, " Against
the storm prepare."

The news brought from India by the latest mail
is not without interest, although it is less eventful
than the intelligence of last month. There was
every reason when the mail left to conclude that the
worst of the frontier war was over, if not finally
concluded. The Bortairees, said to be the most dan-
gerous of our antagonists, had not only given up
the contest, but had sent a contingent of 2,000 men
to assist our forces in another quarter. General
CHAMBERLAIN had held the Umbeyla Pass, in spite
of all attempts to dislodge him, and the discourage-
ment of the tribes was complete. The Government,
warned by previous experience, determined to act
promptly at the first alarm, and at the first rumours
of war and disaffection despatched such strong rein-
forcements into the dangerous quarter that matters
were very soon settled. The arrival of Sir JOHN
LAWRENCE, which was looked for with the greatest
eagerness by all parties, will also by this time have
expedited a pacific arrangement. The Punjib is
the very quarter in which Sir JOHN LAWRENCE'S
capacities and experience will prove most valuable.
It is the scene of his former successes, and his cha-
racter and ability are known and appreciated by
the native chiefs. They will confide in his justice
and honour no less certainly than they will reckon
on his firmness, his energy, and his courage. The
man who held the reins of Government unshaken
through the terrible convulsions of 1857 tally surely
be trusted to bring a mere frontier campaign
to a speedy conclusion. The first matter of regret
connected with this outbreak must, of course, be

the thought of the brave men and gallant officers
whose lives have been sacrificed in the struggle ;
but the cost of the expedition is a serious weight on
the finances of a country like India. The expense
of the war will, it is said, be not less than a million
sterling. Sir CHARLES TREVELYAN will have good
reason to lament the restless pugnacity of the hill
tribes, which have added so large and unexpected
an item to the debtor side of his balance-sheet, just
when the financial prospects of India were doing so
much credit to his careful and judicious manage-
ment. Added to the demands made upon the Trea-
sury by military expenses, there is another financial
perplexity in the existence of a monetary crisis.
There is a heavy pressure upon silver, and this it
has been proposed to relieve by the introduction of
a subsidiary gold currency ; but Sir CHARLES THE
VELYAN, with the more enlightened views to be
expected from him, prefers to try the experiment
of making paper currency a legal tender beyond
Allahabad. Happily, there have as yet been no
considerable failares, and we must, therefore, hope

that the storm will blow over. The cotton interest
seems to be happily exempt from the distress felt in
other quarters. The area under eultivation is
rapidly on the increase, having augmented nearly
one-half in the year in the North-Western
Provinces. With regard to matters of in-

,ernal legislation, India shows signs of

improvement. The Chief Justice, Sir BOWES
PEACOCK, has addressed himself to the reform of

the civil courts. It seems that it had become too
much the fashion for our Judges in these courts to
aim at getting through the cases as rapidly as pos-
sible, hearing two or three suits at once, or rather
leaving the hearing of the witnesses to clerks, and
only reading the depositions. Such laxity is now
at once put a stop to. It is required that the Judges
shall make a memorandum of each witness's evi-
dence, which they must sign ; they are called upon
to attend punctually, and to devote their whole
attention to the business before them, being re-
minded, very justly, that " the character and merits
of a judge do not depend so much upon the number
of suits which he decides as upon the soundness and
accuracy of his decisions." This movement has taken
the Judges by surprise, but it is one that is of great
practical value, and is calculated to do a great deal
of good. One of our firmest holds upon the natives

is the equity and impartiality of our laws. The
Hindoos are naturally a litigious people, and no-

thing is more likely to incense them than any ap-
parent neglect of their law snits. The party against

whom the verdict goes will naturally say that the
Judge did not understand his case, and had
he had a fair hearing the result would
have been different. There is no practice,
save abso,ute bribery and corruption, more
inimical:to the interests of justice than a hurried or
imperfect hearing of cases, and if the custom of
hearing more than one cause at a time has really
prevai:ed to any extent among our Anglo-Indian
judicial functionaries, the sooner it is put
a stop to by high authority the better. The
Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal has meanwhile
been bestirring himself in a cause that will win
the sympathies of all persons of common humanity.
It appears that the atrocious custom of Suttee
has not entirely died out in Bengal,
since very recently a most painful instance oc-
curred, in which the miserable victim, unable to
endure the torture, flung herself from the pile,
only to be driven back by the taunts and re-
proaches of the bystanders. Hearing of these
circumstances the Lieutenant-Governor invoked
the aid of the British Indian Association to pre-

Thackeray and Knowles,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

THE NEW STATUTES,

TO THE EDITOR OF TEE SUN.

, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 16, 1864.

vent the recurrence of such horrible scenes. A
arge and influential meeting took place, 'which,
we are glad to find, was numerously attended by
eminent natives. One of these declared that the
Suttee was " a most degrading custom, opposed
alike to the laws of GOD and man, and revolting
in the highest degree to human nature." It is
highly satisfactory to find a Hindoo speaking of
the practice in such strong terms. In Rajpoo";ana,
when another case of suttee took place, the young
Rajah declared the village forfeited, and long terms
of imprisonment were inflicted on the principal
offenders. Such are among the happy effects of the
gradual diff ision of enlightenment and civilisation,
and encourage us in the hope of the future Chris-
tianising and civilising of India.

n essee.

There could hardly be a more momentous epoch
for so many elections to take place. It seems as if
every possible coincidence had met to give excite-
ment to the opening of this session. Flushed with
the triumph which they lately achieved in Devon-
port, the Conservatives have resolved to try
another chance in that locality, and thus secure
the place for themselves. In pursuance of this
resolve, Mr. FLEMING has been down to address
the electors as a future candidate for that town in
the Conservative interest. His address was to the
point, and elicited much applause. He briefly
sketched his views with respect to home matters,
and of course laid the greatest stress upon foreign
affairs. In referring to this subject, ho said that
he thought England was humiliated by the present
conduct of affairs. Mr. FLEMING declared his ideas
to be those of non-intervention, but not peace-at-
any-price notions. This is a very good definition ;
and if this line of demarcation were only fully and
faithfully kept, how different would be the aspect
of things at present. As it is, it may be said that
Earl RUSSELL pursues a totally different course,
for, instead of non-intervention, he meddles in every-
thing, makes suggestions which are never fol-
lowed, gives advice which is never heeded, and
then, when matters reach a crisis, falls back upon
the peace cry, and declines to do anything to assist
those whom our false professions of friendship
have drawn into trouble or to vindicate the honour
of our own country and protect the interests of our
subjects. All this false and fatal system of politics
was very fully exposed by Mr. FLEMING, and he
successfully depicted the anomalous position in
which we are now placed. It is a pity
that no well-wisher to the Government
had the sense or the spirit to warn
I
them of the grievous mistake they were making in
allowing their opponents to gain such a vantage
ground, and possess such a handle against them as
foreign politics. This weapon will be brandished
against them for a long while to come, and so long
es there is a remnant of the old spirit extant in
England, or a portion of ancient recollection in the
memory, the appeal will not be made in vain which
calls upon Englishmen to disclaim and disavow the
pernicious policy which is bringing our Govern-
ment into disrepute, and our national glory into
dishonour. Mr. FLEMING had plenty of material
upon which to draw for his strictures, and was
therefore able to present his hearers with no nig-
gard epitome of events. With Poland, where the
revolution had been needlessly encouraged, and dis-
patches written that were not acted upon in one
iota. With Denmark, whose very mention is a
reproach to all connected with recent affairs, and
bids fair to remain a blot upon our national escut-
cheon if some prompt measures are not adopted to
retrieve our position, and to rectify past blunders ;
and with America, which subject is so rife with
questions of difficulty, in which our authorities
hi.ve so often lapsed from their duties, there was
every opportunity afforded to the speaker; and
while the Conservative candidates have so good a

case for their party, and can make out so damaging
a one for their opponents, they need never fear that
the constituencies throughout the country will not
respond to them with heartfelt ssmpathy, and sup-
port them in word and deed.

SIR,—Mr. Anthony Trollope, in his excellont notice of
Thackeray, in the Cornhill Magazine for this month, con-
cludes as follows : —"lt is to be regarded as a thing of course,
that there should be a bust of Thackeray in Westminster
Abbey." If a memento of Thackeray is to be placed in
that shrine, in which we keep the monuments of our
great men, surely a niche in that glorious temple should
be assigned to Sheridan Knowlet 0, Erin's own Shaks-
of the het two centuties, one vito, as Bulwer Ly tton
pere "), who was pre-eminently superior to all the writers
has jastly and nobly said, "forms an actual, living, and
imperishable featur3 in the loftier literature of his time."
Hoping you may find space for tie above in your valu
able journal,--I remain, &c.
SIIERtDA.,X MUSPRATT, M.D.
College of Chemistry, Liverpool,
February, 1864.

tulated the country upon the proposed now laws connected
Six,—ln recent numbers of
with social matters, including the new Lunacy Bill, which
has been introduced to the House of Commons by Sir
The Sun you have congra-
George Grey, and which, it appears, has been favourably
received by the house. A few months since I applied to a
legal friend to ascertain whether he taought it probable the
Legislature would settle the law mpecting astrological
practice, mentioned in my various works and letters upon
this subject, during the last 10 or ]2 years in The Sun
newspaper, and otherwise, and respecting which matter, as
I have elsewhere shown, I have incurred much trouble, loss
of time, inconvenience, and expense. My correspondent
stated that everything respecting reform was at a stand-
still, consequently the hope of any alteration or legal inter-
ference was distant, in his opinion, notwithstanding past
hints and promises to the contrary. As, however, the
Legislature has interfered in the case above referred to,
possibly, also, some alteration may be really contemplated
respecting the old grie%ance, which I have brought to your
students. Can any of your readers give me information
upon this point? and so °bliss Yours obediently,
notice with respect to Copestick, and other astrological
I CHR. C OOKE.

Braunton, Devon, 14th, Feb., 1864.
N.B.—See The Sun 19th January, 1852 ; 14th February)
1856; 21st March, 1862; and 3En September, 1863, for
particulars.

LREUTER'S TELEGRAMS•]

AMERICA.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(Per the City of New York, via Roche's Point.)
NEW YORK, FEB. 6 (Morning).
The Confederates have been driven back in
Western Virginia, and have retreated from before
Newbern, North Carolina. Southern advices report
that the Federals have been repulsed in East Ten-

Official despatches from Newborn to the 2d inst.
state that the Confederates have attacked Newbern.
They hold the railroad between Newborn and
Morehead City, and may be forced to retire to Fort
Macon. They captured the gunboat Underwriter.
Despatches to the 3d inst. state that the enemy
had retired on Kingston, and that Newborn had
been relieved.
Western Virginia despatches to the 4th state that
the Federals had overtaken the Confederates at the
ford of the river at Moortield. The Confederates
Were disputing the passage of the river. The
Federals were in position and had commenced to
open fire with their artillery.
It is reported that Generals Thomas or Hunter
will be assigned to the command of General Meade's
army, and that General Hooker will succeed Thomas
in Tennessee.

No confirmation of the reported emeute in Lee's
army has been received, and the reported desertions
are said to be much exaggerated.
The Confederates employ artillery in attacking
Mississippi steamers. They lately engaged three
Fedtral gunboats for a considerable period before
they were repulsed.
The restrictions on trade within the Federal
military lines in Western Virginia have been re-
moves,

The New York Tribune asserts that Mr. Layton
will be recalled from Paris, and that General Fre-
mont will be appointed in his place. The Repub-
lican journals, however, assert that nothing would
induce General Fremont to leave the country at

,he present time.
The Federal State officers, chosen by canyon-
ion, have been inaugurated at Little Rock,

Arkansas.
The New York Legislature has resolved to add
two million dollars to the recruiting fund, and to
iricrease the State bounty to three hundred dollars.
The examination of the Chesapeake pirates at
St. John's continues. They have produced certifi-
cates to prove themselves naval officers appointed
under the Confederate Government.
The excitement in Nova Scotia concerning the
gold discoveries is increasing.
The Arabia has arrived at Halifax.
The Jura has arrived out.
General Kelly telegraphs that after six hours'
fighting the Confederates had been driven from
Moorfield, Western Virginia, and that his cavalry
was in pursuit and sharply engaged with them on
the south fork of the river.
The Philadelphia .Ldger contains a rumour that
Admiral Farragut's fleet and 20,000 men attacked
New Orleans (?) Mobile on Saturday last by way
of Pascagoula. This requires confirmation.

NEW YORK, FEB. 6, Morning.

Latest advices from Western Virginia state that,
in consequence of General Kelly's vigorous attack
and pursuit, General Early had retreated on the
south fork of the south branch of the Shenandoah
Valley. The Federals have driven the Confede-
rates out of Petersburg.

Southern advices from Longstreet's army to•the
30th, state that General Martin attacked the Fede-
rals oa the 28th and after a stubborn fight drove
them from the field. The Federals retreated in the
direction of Sevieiville.

Southern despatches state that the Confederates
entered Corinth (Mississippi) on the 30th, capturing
a great quantity of arms. The Federals left as the
Confederates entered.

The Evening Post contains a letter reaffirming the
abandonment of Fort Pillow by the Federals.
Advices from Charleston to theist inst. state that
the Federals kept up a fire on the city and Fort

S umter.
The Confederates have mounted five guns on
Sumter, and are piling up sand bags and cutting
ravines through the rubbish. The flagstaff was shot
away on the 30th, but replaced.
A Federal expedition under General Sherman is
fitting out at Vicksburg. It is supposed that it will
operate against Mobile or in the trans-Mississippi
department,
The Tribune asserts that Gen. W. F. Smith will
probably succeed Meade.
The House of Representatives has passed the con-
fiscation resolution by 82 to 74. By this resolution
the lands of the Confederates may be confiscated in
fee and not merely for life.
The Richmond Sentinel of the Ist inst. says that
the steamers Pet and Hercules have run the Wil-
mington blockade.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
NEW YORK, FEB. 5 (Evening).
Money easy. Gold 54. Exchange on London,
73; do. on Paris, 3.22. Stocks a more active de-
mand at better prices : New York Centrals, 1324 ;
Illinois, 131; Erie, 1081 ; Six per Cent. United
States Bonds, 106:4.
Cotton dull—Middling upland, 84c. Flour and
wheat heavy. Corn, good inquiry. Provisions
and coffee quiet. Sugar and molasses steady.
Petroleum—crude, 29k to 30; refined, 47 to 47k.
NEW YORK, FEB. 6 (MORNING).
Money easy. Gold, 588. Exchange on London,
173. Stocks excited, at higher prices. New York
Centrals, 1331 ; Illinois, 1311; Erie, 111.
The City of New York brings 12 passengers, and
263,240 dols. and £3,200 in specie.