The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-02 00:00:00

men, that the spirit of the age was the very thing
that a great man changed. Mr. ROEBUCK seems to
take a lofty view of the position of a member of
the House of Commons, and we are indebted to
those gifted with his powers of oratory for usirg
their facility of expression, and employing their
foresight, experience, and description to put forward
plain truths in a striking fashion, and to reveal the
high purposes of every-day existence and the
great ends which should be worked out
amid the heat and the turmoil of public
life and political eareers. It is refreshing
now.a•days to find public speakers discoursing on
such things, for it is too much the fashion amid the
hurry.scurry of existence to look around and not
before, not to reflect upon the consequences of
things, bat merely to study the expediency doctrine
of putting off the evil day, and only providing for
the exigencies of the moment. Such a course of
proceedings has done more than anything to de•
teriorate the character, injure the influence, and
stultify the efforts of the Legislature, than any
think else of late years. The Parliament of England
has not always had much time to encounter, " It
has been cradled in adventure and nursed in good
men's dread." It has to defy the encroachments of
the Crown and to resist the tyranny of the nobles.
It was hard to contend occasionally with the infatu•
ated desires of the people it represented, but still it
had triumphed over all; it has shared in adversity,
but prosperity is sometimes the most dangerous of
the two. It behoves the real leaders of the house,
the men of thought, genii's, and energy, to warn
the indifferent and rouse the indolent, so that it
may not lose the lustre of its fame and be shorn of
its hard earned reputation that have come down
from sires of renown, and should not be thrown
away by degenerate sons.

It is a relief after the painful details of uproar
and riot that have latterly reached us from the sister
kingdom, to find the principal news from Ireland
relate to agriculture. The annual show of the
Royal Agricultural Society opened on Wednesday
at Sligo, attracting large numbers to the spot. The
extortionate demands of the householders for tem-
porary accommodation militated a little against the
success of the affair, a guinea a night being esteemed
a somewhat extravagant charge. That trouble, like
other troubles, having been encountered and left be-
hind, the visitors had cause to congratulate them-
selves on the favourable weather under whose aus-
pices the exhibition opened. For a day or two pre-
viously that part of the country had been sustaining
the reputation of the "Isle of Showers," and some
misgivings had been felt on the score of a threatened
outbreak, of rioters. Due precautions were taken
to avoid any disturbance, and happily the alarm
proved to be groundless. The show itself was of
fair average merit, having no specially noticeable
features excepting that the show of horses did not
come up to the requirements of the country. Gene-
rally speaking the stock of horses owned by the
farmers and in the vicinity is poor, and
greatly needs improvement. The most inte-
resting aspect of the show is the fact of
its being held in a remote part of Ireland.
Agricultural exhibitions have long lost their novelty
among us. They are extending now to very retired
districts, which start a society for the encourage-
ment of their own industry and an incentive to their
own energies. But there still remains a great deal
to be done is this respect for Ireland, and the more
such shows and exhibitions are encouraged the
better. No people arc more sensitive to praise, none
more sensible of the distinction of success, and con-
sequently they would not be disposed to under-
value the rewards of such competition. The more
the attention of the people is turned in such pacific
directions thebetter for the happiness and prosperity
of Ireland, and of all connected with her, but the
people have undoubtedly much to contend against,
and we must not underrate their difficulties. We
must not fall into the mistake of most moralists who
make goodness and respectability hopelessly dull.
The good little boy of the story books seldom suc-
ceeds in arresting the attention of the juvenile
reader, his interest is excited by the adventures
which befall the refractory but daring spirit that
is held up as warning. In our dealings with the
quick witted, excitable Milesians we should guard
against enforcing that dreary monotony which to
Englishman is less tedious, less oppressive, so as to
convince them that they need not lay down all hope
of diversion and variety with their shillelaghs, and
that amusement and snterest may be found in other
places than Donnybrook Fair.

The reports received from different quarters by
the Cotton Supply Association continue on the
whole to be most encouraging. The experiment
has been made in the most widely separated coon•
tries by people of various nations under different
forms of government. With the singular inconsis-
tency often perceptible in the administration of
British affairs—thanks, more especially, to the
deadly influence of routine—our own possessions,
scattered though they are throughout the most
varied zones, have not been the most prominent in
the competition. Egypt has outstripped India, and
the republics of South America have set an example
of promptness and energy to many of our depen.
dencies. Some valuable information was read at
the last weekly meeting respecting the growth of
cotton in Bokhara. It seems that large quantities
are exported from thence into Russia, and that the
amount has been yearly increasing; and this year
the prospects are so good that it is reckoned that no
less than twenty million pounds, of the value of
£1,650,000, are expected to be furnished. It is
satisfactory to find the Government of Bombay
making application for Peruvian seed for experi-
mental cultivation in Scinde and the surround-
ing districts. The Indian empire embraces
so wide a range of locality, soil, and climate,
that there is room for a long course
of experiments if the authorities had energy or
enterprise enough to take the matter properly in
hand. The French are wiser, and are making great
efforts to encourage the cultivation of cotton in
Algeria, offering premiums and affording every
inducement to the colonist to grow it. Unfortu-
nately, the heavy charges fur transport, and the
uncertainty as to prices, damp the spirit of specula..
lion in the colonists, who otherwise have a fair
prospect, as the soil is good and the climate favour-
able. The produce of 1853 was 879,8001135. of cheap
cotton, and this year from two to three times that
quantity is looked for. We are glad to find some'
intending English emigrants making application
for seed, which they intend to experiment upon in
Queensland, whither they go with a view to cotton
cultivation. Oar energies must not slacken with
the lessening of the need, since when the cultiva-
tion is fairly established the expenses will of course
be greatly redeced, and there is no reason why
there should not be competition in the cotton mar-
ket as wall as elsewhere. •

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE OF A BETTING MAN.—
Yesterday
a most determined attempt at self-dea
struction was made by Captain Jervois, a gentleman well
known in sporting circles, at his residence, Nutford_place,
Edgware-road, On his servant taking him up a letter about
9 o'clock he found his master lying across the bed with the
blood flowing from a fearful wound which to had inflicted
on his throat with a razor. Surgical assistance -was ob-
tained, and the wound dressed, but it i doubtful if he
will survive. Extensive 10098 ou recent racing eN ellt4 doted the rash attempt.