The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-05 00:00:00

had bribed and bought over those who were danger
ous, and now feeling themselves secure, as it
were, they gave their professions the slip, and
their plans the go-by. The hon. member turned
Lord PALMERSTON'S own words against him
when he said that the House bore a
strong resemblance to a race-course ; in pursuing
this simile he adduced as instances some of the
most recusant members of the Cabinet, and declared
that only five of them could be said not to have
" voted." The immortal words of " Peace, Re-
trenchment, and Reform," which the noble Lords
PALMERSTON and RUSSELL proclaimed as their
orifiemm©, which was to lead on their followers to
a policy crowned with success at home and accom-
panied with respect abroad, have often been made
the subjects of criticism, censure, and ridicule ; and
it was not to be expected that so great a master of
satire as the hon. member for Devonport should
neglect to avail himself of so admirable an oppore
tunity of illustrating the full meaning of the tenor
of his remarks, and displaying in its true colours
the fair seeming and false conduct of Government.
As for "peace," ho said we had had one continued
series of little disgraceful, cold-blooded wars; and
as to " retrenchment,"the Cabinet has been involved
"in gross and corrupt jobs ;" and "reform," of
course, offered a comprehensive field for scrutiny.
If one thing more than another can justify a
member of the Conservative ranks for heaping scorn
and ridicule upon the present Cabinet, it is surely
the manner in which they have comported them-
selves about Reform, in shelving the bill of Lord
DERBY'S Government, and then in shirking the
question themselves. It was, as Mr. FERRAND ob-
served, " shameful and impudent," and Earl Rus-
SELL'S conduct may well be censured so often as
the theme presents itself to notice ; and he has
not improved his position by acting as here graphi-
cally described—" obtaining a comfortable seat in
the House of Lords, going amongst his Scotch
Reformers, and he who said he would not desert
Reform in his old age, begs the Scotchmen to
rest and be thankful.' " Making allowance for
the party feeling which induced Mr. FERRAND to
say that had Lord DERBY'S Government remained
in office we should have had " genuine peace,
searching retrenchment, and efficient reform," it
may truly be affirmed that in all these particulars
we could not have been worse off, and might pro-
bably have been better. For peace, purchased as
ours is at present, is a disgrace and a calamity ; and
as for home matters, no ono can do better than
endorse Mr OSBORNE's statement, that we are in the
" Slough of despond." Mr FLEMING, the proposed
Conservative candidate at the next election, made a
sensible speech upon the various topics of interest,
and he very properly censured the Admiralty for
the manner in which they had acted in the case of
the Royal Sovereign, observing that if she were not
to go to sea, they might as well test her capabilities
of resisting shot. "It was quite as well to make
a target of her es to let her rot at her moorings."
It will be a just rebuke to the Government if they
lose another seat at the approaching election, and
judging by the temper of the assembly the other
evening, they stand a pretty good chance of doing so.

Lancaster was on Thursday last the scene of a
most interesting spectacle, on the occasion of the
inauguration of the Ripley Hospital. The opening
of an institution of such extent and character must
always be a pleasing spectacle, but there were many
reasons for regarding the occasion as one of especial
interest. M'. RIPLEY, a wealthy merchant of
Liverpool, who was also a native of Lancaster, died
some twelve years ago, leaving the bulk of a very
considerable fortune to his widow. Mr. RIPLEY
had been one of those who regard wealth as a higher
trust than a mere personal gratification, and had
long cherished the idoa of founding an asylum of
this kind in his native town. Those intangible
spectres called legal dlfficulties, however, interposed,
and he ended by leaving his money to his wife—
satisfied, no doubt, that she would spend it well
and worthily. Mrs. RIPLEY, in accordance with
what she knew to have been hor husband's wishes,
prepared for the erection of this magnificent in.
stitution soon after the means 'came into
her hands, but before she could fu:fil her
benevolent intention she had to encounter many
difficulties. A Chancery suit was brought against
her on the ground of a secret trust, which happily
she was able to deny, and accordingly has retained
the means to persevere in the good work which has
now been brought to completion: Three hundred
children, 150 boys and 150 girls, are to be clothed,
maintained, and educated, so as to provide them
with the means of gaining their own living, in this
asylum. Orphans have a prior right, then motherless
ohildren,and lastly, the children of indigent paren is
No limit of sect is imposed, the only condition being
that the children should belong to Lancaster or
Liverpool. There is no fear but that its kindly
shelter will be always needed, and many a poor,
desolate little one will have to thank its care for giv-
ing that start in life which is so invaluable to the
young. Mrs. RIPLEY may well feel rejoiced at
having been able to accomplish so vast an under.
taking, and Lancaster may be proud to number so
admirable an institution among its trophies.