The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-27 00:00:00

Aberdeen is little better than an old woman, that
Lord Panmure thinks too much of "Dowb" and too
little of his duty to the country to be a s Ife or an
efficient Minister in a time of national danger; that
speculation and peculation, jobbery and robbery,
pervade every department of the public service; and
that war, always deplorable and wicked, is parti-
cularly horrible and unchristian when waged in de-
fence of such a rotten and eifete institution as the
Turkish empire, which maintains slavery, and is
therefore no fit member of the comity of nations.
He is not aware, while speaking, that two officers of
the Grenadier Guards, disguised in citizen's attire,
have been sent to the meeting by the War-office to
take notes of his speech, and, having ended his ora-
tion, amid the enthusiastic applause of his audience,
goes home to supper. A few night afterwards, think-
ing no evil, and believing himself to be a citizen of a
free country, he retires quietly to bed as usual. But
his sleep is not permitted to be of long duration.
Shortly after midnight he is aroused by a violent
knocking at the outer door. He springs to his feet,
thinking the house is on fire, and rings the fire
alarm accordingly. His wife, children, and house-
hold gather in great alarm, in their night clothes,
on the stairs and passages. The outer door is bat-
tered in, and a company of soldiers enter, the cap-
tain with his sword in his hand, and each man pre-
sents a bayonet at the breast of the bewildered legis-
lator. The ladies and children scream or faint, while
Mr. Bright is told to dress immediately and consider
himself a prisoner. Mr. Bright dresses himself, but
objects to go to prison. Tne generous blood of a
true-hearted Englishman rushes to his face, and he
declares that he will rather die defending his life
than yield to his lawless and brutal captors. His
words are vain. He is violently seized and hurried
through the streets to the railway station, where a
special train is in waiting to convey him to Bir-
mingham. On arrival he is locked up in a military
prison. Next morning he is brought before a court-
martial, composed of one brigadier-general, one
colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, three majors, and
two captains, and put on trial on a charge of sedition
and treason. He declines to acknowledge the juris-
diction of the court, and demands as a British sub-
ject to be tried before a civil judge and a jury of his
Icountrymen. His demand is haughtily, summarily
rejected, and the trial proceeds. The officers and
" gentlemen" who condescended to act the part of
spies for the Government detail and somewhat per-
vert the expressions which he used in denunciation
of the war and the conduct of the Administration ;
and after an investigation which lasts two days, Mr.
Bright is committed to prison until the judges agree
upon their verdict and decide whether he shall be
incarcerated till the war is over, banished to Russia
to live for the future among the friends with who m he
sympathises, or summarily shot or hung. Would the
British people tamely submit to such a wrong in-
flicted even upon a much humbler person than John
Bright ? Would not the newspapers of all shades
of political opinion unite in expressing their indig-
nant displeasure ? And would not the House of
Commons and the House of Lords also ring with
denunciation of the act ? And, if these bodies were
not in Session, would not every city and town in
the empire hold immense public meetings to ca

upon the Queen to dismiss from her councils the
unworthy Ministry who so degraded their function
and so grievously imperilled the pnblic peace ?
Every honest Englishman who values the inesti-
mable right of free discussion and the supremacy of
law will reply in the affirmative. Substitute the
name of Clement Laird Vallandigham for that of
John Bright,and the war against the South for the
war against Russia; lay the scene in Ohio in 1863
instead of in England in 1854, and the imaginary
story becomes true; and every incident related is a
_ . _

literal fact. And what, it maybe asked in England,
have the Americans done under the circumstances ?
They have done nothing. The leading newspapers
are silent. The leading people are so busily engaged
in making money that they have neither time nor
inclination to attend to such a trivial matter. A
meeting of Democrats held to protest against the
wrong is but thinly attended. Several clergymen
publicly from the pulpit approve the "vigour"
displayed by the Government, and rabid politicians
in petticoats express their unfeminine joy at the
arrest of so distinguished a Copperhead, and

hope that h 6 will be hanged or shot, as a warn-
ing to other evildoers who dare to speak of
peace. It may be objected to the comparison
between the imaginary case of Mr. Bright and the
actual case of Mr. Vallandigham that in the one it
is a foreign war which is in question, and in the
other a civil war. The distinction may be admitted
without damage to the inference. If a man be the
free citizen of a constitutional Government he has
the same right to criticise the acts of people in power
and the policy of the Administration, whether the
criticism apply to domestic or to foreign affairs. It
is only an arbitrary despotism that will deny such
right or punish its exercise.

The specification of the charges against Mr. Val-
landigham, as set forth by the Judge-Advocate,
might suggest the doubt not only whether America
is, but whether it had ever been, a free country :
" On or about the Ist of May, at Mont Vernon,
Knox County, in the State of Ohio, he, the said
Clement Laird Vallandigham, declared the present
war to be ' wicked, cruel, and unnecessary ;" a war
for the purpose of crushing out liberty and erecting
a despotism;" a war for the freedom of negroes and
the enslavement of white men;' and that 'if the

Government had so wished, peace might have been

honourably attained by listening to the proposed

ntermediation of France." These were the main

points of the alleged treason, brought out in fuller

detail by the military spies who gave evidence before
the court. One of them, a captain, who trusted

partly to memory and partly to written notes, de-
clared that Mr. Vallandigham had said " that peace
might have been restored some months ago, the

Union saved by reconstruction, and the North (Mr.
Vallandigham said the South) won back and gua-
ranteed in its rights." It was also declared by
Mr. Vallandigham,—" That the Federal armies
did not meet with success; that neither Richmond,
nor Charleston, nor Vicksburg was taken ; that
the Mississippi was not opened, nor would be,
as long as there was cotton to sell or contractors
to be rewarded ; that no more volunteers could
be had ; and that the Administration had to re-
sort to a French conscription Act." He added,
" that he would not counsel resistance to the mili-
tary or civil law, as that was not needed." Mr.
Vallandigham, it appears, Explained at the close of
his speech that the legitimate and peaceful action
of the people at the polls was the true remedy for
misgovernment, and " advised the people to come
together to the ballot-box, at the appointed time,
and hurl the tyrant from his throne." It is as cer-
tain as that all men must die that if the forms of
American liberty last as long as Mr. Lincoln's term
of office, the agency of the ballot-box will consign
that unlucky functionary to private life, and elect

some other President in his stead; and why, in the

lt 8
or Kaiser, and why
meantime, Mr. Linco.lnhshououldldbbeecognrseiadteerretdhtarneaPeoopne.
able to say of so comparatively
it treasonable to say
smalla person—
what no one ever thought of
—is one of the many mysteries a
so great a hero and patriot asGenodrgaenoWmaasliheiengtthoent
will, perhaps, puzzle the future
historianas they puzzle all disinterested spectators
events. Altogether, Mr. Vallandigham
reported by the military authorities who gave evi-
ofcurrentasm mach
dence against him, was not only patrioticin speech, as
purpose
and logical in argument, hut singularly free from
any violence, or even impropriety of expression on
which a sane man could found a charge either of
treason or sedition ; and if an American, who claims
a ai
nt
a Sovereign,inin g hy not a
the p subject,rinei
ple e andof w
t hehco
Constitution
stijustifiedtu tion
tino bme
that the President is his servant and creature, to be
itr Foolish
made or unmade by his breath,
cannot cricise
hi
s-
servant's conduct or policy, hie wisdom o
ness, as the case may be, American liberty •
is a thing
of the past, and the coming despot has but to appear
and make an end of its name as well as its substance.
The swarm of returning volunteers whose term
of service has expired continues to encumber the
streets and draw the people out to make holyday.
Saturday, Sunday, and yesterday were all busy days
in this respect, and Broadway presented from sun-

rise to sunset the busy and festal appearance which
it might be imagined to exhibit if peace were re-
stored, and the conquering heroes by whose valour
it was won had come back with all their gory hon-

Postcript.—General Hooker has outdone Pope,
Bobadil, Munchausen, and himself in the matter of
bold, brazen, unblushing brag. In a congratula-
tory order to the Amy of the Potomac, dated on
the 6th inst., but only made known to the public
of this city this evening by telegraphic despatch
from Falmouth, he claims a great victory over the
Confederates. Though he admits that the army
did not accomplish all that was expected, he thinks
that, as the army knows the reasons of its own
little failure, nobody has any right to complain or
criticise, and asserts that "it will give or decline
battle as its interest or honour may demand." He
also affirms that it will be " the guardian of its own
history and its own arms ;" and is of opinion that
it " has added new laurels to its former renown,"
because it " has made long marches, crossed rivers,
surprised the enemy in his entrenchments, and
whenever it has fought has inflicted heavier blows
than it has received." He claims to have " taken
from the enemy 5,000 prisoners, captured seven
pieces of artillery, placed hors de combat 18,000 of
his chosen troops, destroyed his depots, filled with
vast amounts of stores, damaged his communica-
tions, captured prisoners within his fortifications,
and filled his country with fear and consternation."
These are brave words, and General Hooker's
boasts almost assume the character of sublimity.
They take people's breath away to read them, and
compel the question whether the Army of the Poto-
mac is either deceived or pleased by them, whether
the rank and file are truly of opinion that their
commander is so mighty a man of war as he repre-
sents himself to be, or whether they would not
have a hundredfold more confidence in such a man
as M'Clellan than in such a vain blusterer as this.
General Hooker passes lightly over his own loss,
and is consoled for the death of his brave com-
panions, whose number he does not estimate,—
though other people place them as high as 20,000
or 25,000—" by the conviction that they have fallen
in the holiest cause ever submitted to the arbitra-
ment of battle." General Hooker should leave off
writing. If after such a piece of bombast he does not
immediately swallow up Gen Lee and all his force
he will be in a position ridiculous enough to ruin
any public man in any country in the world—ex-
cept America.

Mr. Roebuck, M.P., on the Recognition of

the South.

SHEFFIELD, Tuesday Evening.
A great open- air meeting was held in Paradise square to-
day, to consider the advisableness of memorializing Govern-
ment to " use its good offices to procure a suEpension of hos-
tilities between the North and South, with a view to an ar-
rangement of the difference between them." The meeting
was called, in pursuance of a requisition, by the Mayor (Mr.
J. Brown, and was attended by about 10,000 persons, in-
cluding all classes of the inhabitants. Mr. Roebuck had
been announced to address the meeting, and he was received
with considerable cheering.
The MAYOR opened the proceedings by stating the object
of the meeting. He read a letter from Mr. George Hadfield,
M.P., who was unable to attend.

There was a good deal said before the meeting about the
shortness of the notice that had been given, and an attempt
was made to damage the character of the meeting on that
ground. The Mayor, however, explained that there had
been no unfairness, and that, in fact, the meeting had been
called for the last day on which Mr. Roebuck could attend.
The extreme Abolitionist party here, who have had
small meetings from time to time of their own party, and
carried votes in favour of the Federals, mustered strongly,
and moved an amendment on the present occasion; but
their opinions were obviously not acceptable to the vast
majority of the meeting.
The MAYOR called upon
Mr. ROEBUcK—(cheers.)—Gentlemen, first and foremost
I hope you will excuse me for keeping my hat on. Now,
then, Mr. Mayor—(Here a drunken man, outside the crowd,
began delivering a speech on his own account.)—l think
that gentleman has begun rather too soon. (Loud cheers
and laughter.) (The man persisted in proceeding; and as
he had a most stentorian voice, it was hopeless for Mr.
Roebuck to attempt to go on. Finally, the oration was
cut short by the ruthless grasp of a policeman, who carried
the man off amid great laughter.) Now, gentlemen, the
question we are about to discuss is one of the highes
possible importance. The Mayor has asked me to attend
this meeting, for he told me that you would be glad to hear
my opinions. (Hear, bear.) Those opinions shall be
frankly stated to you. It is my habit always to speak
out. If you don't like 'em, I can't help it. (Laughter.)
I have done my best to attain to what I conceive to be a
wise judgment, and you must hereafter decide whether you
coincide in it or not. It is to me a matter of great grati-
fication that you should pay such respect to me as to ask
me my opinion. I think that it is honourable to rue and
honourable to you ; for you have chosen a man in whom
you have confidence, and you are prepared to ask him his
opinion, letting him know at the same time that though
you will give it due weight, you still reserve to yourselves
the power—aye, and the responsibility—of judging for
yourselves. (Hear, hear.) Now, what is the question
which we have come here to discuss ? So far as I am con-
cerned, I can tell you that it is to me an entirely English
question. What I have to consider is what is for the inte-
rest of England. What is for her interest I believe to be
for the interest of the world. We hold such a position that
every step taken by England as a country reverberates
throughout the whole world, and influences the happiness
of every man. (" Hear," and a loud voice " No," followed
by cries of " Turn him out," and confusion.) Well, this
gentleman is so vehement a friend of peace that he won't
keep it. (Laughter.) I was about telling you the way in
which I•propose to view this question. I look upon it simply
as an English question. What, then, are the circumstances
under which we are called upon to act ? I will briefly de-
scribe them, and beg you to bear with me while I do so, and
freely express my opinions to you. Those opinions have
not been hastily formed : they are not crotchets of mine.
They are the result of long consideration of all the diffi-
culties by which the question is surrounded. And therefore
if I have come to an incorrect conclusion, the fault is not
onethe of want of care that I have devoted to it. It is that in
weakness of my judgment I have come to error, Judge
for yourselves whether I am in error, but listen while
I explain myself, (Hear, hear.) Many years ago Eng-
land planted great colonies in America, They raised them-
selves up to a great height. They became 3,000,000 of
people ; and they then determined to separate from Eng-
land. They declared that they had a
right to separate when
they thought fit to do so. (Hear, hear.) They supported
that judgment of theirs, by arms. They fought England;
they beat England (hear, hear); they declared themselves in-
dependent. (Hear, hear.) The consequence of that is, that
they established this great principle among mankind, that
when a people are determined to throw off a yoke, whatever
that yoke may be, if they have the power, they have the
right to do so. (Cheers, and " No, no I") As many as please
may cry " No, no ;" I am merely stating what I be.
lieve. England resisted these people. Then came France
to aid them. France entered into an alliance with our re.
thatn w
yelled colonies. Thereupon we declared war against France,
We carried on that war. We were again beaten. We yielded
the independence of America, and we made peace with
Frace. Then again we established another great principle,
hen a
People are fighting for their liberty, it is in the
P°wer of any other State—any neutral P ewer—to ally them-
selves with
theys With +ls
.
and
have the power to maintain themselves the so fighting body. They have a right to do
are justified in doing so
• I i appealing to history. I am
not talking wildly. T
have he facts are as I state. The con-
clusionsthey
been drawn by mankind. Now, after above
80 years of alliance, the 'United States of America have
separated in two. A large body of these states, calling

themselves the Confederate States, declared that they would
no longer be allied to these United States, but would make
themselves independent. (Hear.) They are exactly in the
position of the American colonies with regard to England
in the year 1777. (No, no.) All I ask is that you will
hear. (" What caused the separation ?") I am accus •
tomed to speak in a deliberative assembly, and the charac-
ter of that assembly is this—that I may say things which
the great majority of them dislike, but there is that cour-
tesy in that assembly that they don't interrupt. (Cheers.)
They wait till I have done, and if they think me wrong
they endeavour to answer me; but they are not discourte-
ous, and they do not interrupt me. (Cheers.) Then, I
say, returning to my argument, the Confederate States,
when they determined to secede, were in the condition of
the American colonies when they declared that they were
determined to be independent. (" Slavery I") I'll come
to that by-and-bye, but don't be in such a mighty hurry.
(Laughter.) They separated, and what was the feeling
in England ? I'll tell you what my feeling was. I know
that country. I have been there many years of my life,
and I learnt a great deal while I was there. They had
a future before them, such as no people ever had
before. They had a wonderfully fertile country, intersected
with great rivers. They began a free people. They contie
nued a free people. They had English law, the English
language, English literature; and they were placed in a
position such as was never occupied before. Their career
foe 80 years was one of unparalleled prosperity. But between
them there has grown up a feeling of antagonism. The
South were determined to separate; they did separate; and
men in England mourned that separation, and no one more
than myself, because I believed that if they did separate a
great check would be given to the advancement of mankind.
The North was separated from the South, and the North
began to act. And here begins the lesson I want to read to
you. I say I mourned at that separation. But the North
themselves, from the very commencement, were so cruel, so
determined on empire—(hear, hear, and no, no)—so deter-
mined on maintaining empire, that they forgot charity, they
forgot Christianity; they made themselves a spectacle to the
world of cruelty, corruption, and horror. (Cheers.) That
being the case my feelings changed, but I did expect that
the great power of the North, their wonderful resources,
would enable them to subdue the South. But the South
stood up, like the real descendants, as they aro, of English •
men. (Hear.) They said, " We will vindicate to ourselves
the right to govern ourselves ; we will fight to the death for
our independence." And they have fought to the death.
(Cheers. A voice, " Slavery.") They have conquered the
North. (Cheers, and cries of "No, no.") And now I ask
myself if the time has come when surrounding nations shall
do what we ought to do now—acknowledge the South as an
independent nation. Great cheering, and cries of "Never,"
and " Slavery.") lam about to come to the question of
slavery, and I hope the gentlemen who are so anxious about
slavery will now be silent. The Northern States of Ame-
rica hate slavery; but there is one thing they hate still more,
and that is the slave. (Cheers.) Now, I know New York
well—and people are here who don't know America—and I
know this, that the black man in New York is treated as I
would not treat a dog. (Cheers.) They have declared in
their public documents their determination not merely to
conquer the South, but to root out the slave. It is not merely
to put an end to slavery; but even President Lincoln, when
he talked to these people, quietly advised them to retire
from America, "Take yourselves off." (Hear.) Now,nothing
could be cooler than that. (Hear, and laughter.) The
black man, I take it, has the feelings of a man. He is born
in that country, he has a wife and children in that country;
and though he is treated very ill in that country—more
especially in the North—(cheers and expressions of dissent)
—more especially in the North—(hear, hear, and cheers)—
he has feelings towards that country, and ho does not wish
to be banished from it. (Hear.) But President Lincoln
has very peculiar notions about slavery. He issued a pro-
clamation declaring all the slaves free in those seceded
States, and he maintained slavery where his power extended.
(Cheers.) And, therefore, I say that was not an honest
movement. My countrymen here have kind hearts, and
their hearts bleed when they think that men are slaves. I
say, can England, by allowing this horrible war to go on,
can she, as she has done, being thoroughly neutral between
the two—can she, if she can prevent it, in her own con-
science, allow these horrible atrocities to continue;? Oh, I
am met with the cry—l have heard it here—" Slavery.,
But what is slavery in the South as compared with the
black man's condition in the North ? No man looks upon
slavery with greater horror than I do, and if I could bene •
fit the slaves—if I could do anything for their condition by
at once making them a free people, I should be prepared,
as far es my humble power goes, to confer liberty upon
them. (Hear.) But we did that among a smaller body of
black people in the "West Indies. We paid for them, and,
as England always has behaved in such cases, we dealt
liberally, not only by the slave, but by the slaveholder.
(Hear, hear.) Can you do that in America ? You cannot.
(A voice, " Yes, you can.") You say we can—but you
know nothing about it. (Great laughter and cheers.) The
millions of slaves in America would swallow up all the
money in the North and in the South to buy their freedom.
You cannot do it. But the connection between the slave-
holder and the slave is not so painful as many may imagine.
They are kindly treated. I know they are not treated as I
should like t be treated, because I am a free man. I
have been brought up in freedom, I have fought for
my own livelihood—they have not. They like their
condition then, to this extent,—that when they become old
they are not called upon to maintain themselves, and the
slaveholder treats them—unfortunately, I must use the
phrase—as I should treat my horse. (Oh, oh, and hear,
hear.) I never overwork him if lam a wise mau. I lament
that any human being should be in that condition, but they
are in that condition—and, as statesmen, what are we to do
I fear that for many years to come slavery must exist. You
cannot get rid of it on a sudden. Time, patience, and the
education of the black man, all must go hand in hand, and
it will be the result of time, of education, of patience,which
will drag them out of the condition in which they now are.
(Hear, hear.) Now, I hate slavery as much as any man.
Were any man to attempt to make me a slave I would fight
him. (Loud cheers.) lam not a very strong man, but
luckily the battle is not always to the strong, as we have
seen between the North and South. (Hear, hear.) Well,
then, have things come to the condition that England is
called upon to act ? She has been throughout entirely neu-
tral, and what has been the result ? Language has been
people, but by the Govern-
museendftoefheAr,mneortiema,ereinlysubly thtinge
beyond description; and at
last they have come to say, when describing themselves,
" We are reduced to that condition that even England can
bully us." I want to know how they have been brought
into that condition ? By themselves. (Hear, hear.) Any-
thing more ruthless never was heard of in man's history.
I met a gentleman the other day, he was a native of one of
the seceded States, who told me that the Federal army had
come over his property and burnt down his house—they
didn't leave one stone upon the other; they took away his
furniture, they stole his wife's garments, and they sent
them to their own wives. (" Hear," and a voice, " Eng-
land's done it many a time.") More shame for us, that is
all I can say. (Hear.) These things are going on from
day to day. Every flail brings an account of horrors such
as Napoleon himself never perpetrated. ("Hear," and
~a
voice, " They haven't blown them from a cannon. )
We did that in India, and I don't think we did very
well. Now, it is all very fine for Englishmen to turn
up their eyes, and pretend to be so wonderfully good,
(Laughter.) I want to know when the Peace Party opposed
the annexation of Oude. I want to know when the Peace
Party opposed those other annexations in India. I want to
know whether the Punjab and Scinde have not all been
acquired by force of arms ; and were we not very much
astonished to see the perfect quietude of the Peace Party
upon those occasions ? (" Hear, hear" and laughter.) Now,
I am very much inclined to believe that, though the poor
working man inLancashire has suffered dreadfully from the
cotton famine, the masters in Manchester have not suffered
to the same extent. (Hear, hear.) I can very easily under

stand that when a man is happy, when he is making money
easily, and enjoying all the fruits of the earth in consequence
of this war--I say I can understand his objection to anything
being done to put an end to it. But, while I feel for the
working men of Lancashire, I feel for the sufferings of the
people of America, and I want to put an end to this war. I
say to England, " If you now step in and declare boldly
what you think to be requisite—namely, that the Southern
States should be at once acknowledged as an independent
nation." (Chering, and cries of " No, no," and a voice with
great emphasis, " Never.") A working man who was stand-
ing near the steps became obstreperous, and was ignomini-
ously expelled by the police. (Mr. Roebuck continued) 7--
I am told that if we acknowledge the South we shall go to
war with the North. I say I do not believe it. I say there
is no person. no body of men, who so much desire England's
interference in that war as the Northern States themselves.
(Hear, hear.) I may state that very remarkable thing. We
looked upon a war with America with horror because it
would bring about a cotton famine. Well, we have no war
with America ; but we have a cotton famine. The most curi-
ous thing is this. If we had war with America, we should at
once put an end to the cotton famine. Now, that is a very
peculiar circumstance. The South would then be an inde-

pendent people; we should break the blockade at once—
(hear, hear)—and we should have cotton in Manchester. (A
stentorian voice.—" We can't.") But we should. (Cheers.)
(Mr. S. Jackson--" We should have a civil war in Eng-
land ;" and interruption.) I want my arguments to be
answered, not abuse. By our present proceedings not only
have we alienated the North, but we shall alienate the South.
France will step in, as she did in 1778. She will conciliate
the Southern States of America, and we shall lose friends
on both sides. ("How do you know this? We shall do
right, and they will do wrong.") I do not pretend to judge
my neighbour. I hope that I am a charitable man. I do
not call men who happen to differ from me rogues— I think
them very honest people ; I think them mistaken, because
of course every man believes himself to be right, but I pay
them every possible deference. I am willing honestly to
listen to them—patiently, courteously; I don't desire to in-
terrupt them. Now, that is the position in which we stand.
(Interruption.)
You are so wonderfully impressed with the
miseries of the slave that you care nothing about my misery.
(Laughter and cheers.) Well, then, what is the reason why
we should not do it ? First, they say, England ought not to
help slavery, I say so, too ; but we should not help slavery
by acknowledging the South. ("Hear," and " No.")
Don't interrupt me.
interrupted me. (« Turn him out," and a voice, "Don't
ging
laugh so much, Mr. Clegg.") I am sure Mr. Clegg has not
("He's only an agitator.") Now, I have
..

very little more to say; but I want to notice bile Of two
arguments that have been brought against me. One le, that
we should be benefitting slavery by acknowledging the
South. I say, no ;we should not benefit slavery, but we
should really benefit the slave. By doing anything to
assist the North we may do away with slavery, but at the
same time we should do away with the slave. And I must
say that throughout the whole contest there has been a
curious feeling on the part of gentlemen who support the
Federal power. They have said, "We are not neutral, be-
cause wo have shown no sympathy for the North." Now,
sympathy is not a part of neutrality ; and I at once acknow-
ledge that I have no sympathy with the North. (Hear,
hear, and cheers.) I think my sympathies ought to go, as
they do go, with the South. (Cheers.) They are a gallant
people, fighting for their independence, and they have ob-
tained it. (Cheers and counter cheers.) The chance of suc-
cess on the part of the North is as a million to one. They
never hope to conquer the South; but I will tell you what
they hope for. There is a body of men in New York who
thrive wonderfully upon the war. They have contracts, they
have " greenbacks," they have every means of putting their
hands into the public purse; they are gorged with wealth;
and as long as this goes on they will wish the war to con-
tinue. But if you go into the agricultural districts of North
America you would find things very different there. (Hear,
hear.) There you would see sorrow for the war; there you
would find husbands dragged to the war, you would find
brothers wile there, killed, wounded, maimed, made mise-
rable for life. They know what the horror of the war is ;
they have none of the advantages of the contractor in New
York; they therefore wish to put an end to the war. And
there is another class of men in North America which se
hates England that anything that should continue to give her
pain they would delight in ; and this arises from England's
bad conduct. lam speaking of the banished Irish in Ame-
rica. The ill-conduct of England has driven thousands—
nay, millions—from Ireland. They went from Ireland with
their hearts burning against England, and they have given
that feeling to their descendants; and the grea'er part of
the abuse that has been showered upon England has come
from banished Irishmen. I look with sorrow upon that. I
cannot look with wonder, fer we have behaved ill to Ireland.
That inevitable Nemesis that always follows the ill deeds of
nations has followed us there, and we are now suffering for
Iwhat our ancestors have done wrong to Ireland. But in our
time good government has been taken to Ireland; there is
good government there now, and we are endeavouring to
wipe out the misdeeds of our ancestors. But having done
that, having ulcerated the hearts of the banished Irish, we
cannot hope—l have no hope that we shall ever attain that
result—to make them forget that England has always been a
step-mother to Ireland. (A voice, with E. rich Milesian brogue,
" Aye, an' a cowld one too.") (Great laughter.) That being
the case, I don't wonder at a great part of the abuse which
has b en showered upon England, but still all that notwith-
standing, notwithstanding that the banished Irish, notwith-
standing that the contractors of New York, notwithstand-
ing that the ill-advised peace party here are all in favour of
continuing this war,— I say, "No, and if England can move
in such a way as to put an end to it, let her do so at once."
(Cheers.) What do I ask this meeting to do ? Do I ask this
meeting to dictate to Parliament ? No, All I wish you say
is what you think. You must leave the management of the
whole matter to Parliament. I don't want you to tell
them what they are to do. They are in a condition to know
much better than we what steps should be taken. I merely
wish to tell them our opinion and leave them to deal with
the matter for themselves. lam no part of this town ; I
form no part of the Town Council here ; neither am I an
inhabitant of Sheffield ; but I am your very faithful repre-
sentative. (Cheers, and a voice, "No.") I dare say lam
not that gentleman's representative. Neither do I desire to
be. (Cheers and laughter.) lam fully and fearlessly telling
you what I think. Ido not wish anybody to obey me. I
do not compel obedience ; I only use my intellect to, if I
can, guide yours. You must guide your own intellect by
the lights you have. I would wish to be one of those lights.
You may think me—no doubt that gentleman does think
me—a dark lamp, not a light. I can be no guide to him.
Well, lam sorry for it. I think he would steer his course
much better if he took me for his guide. (Cheers and
laughter.) There is one other observation which I wish to
make—for talking so loudly in my weak condition wearies
me out. Though very well, lam very weak. That obser-
vation is this—you should consider upon the present occa-
sion that you are simply expressing an opinion. You don't
wish to coerce or judge anybody except by the light of that
opinion. You must leave Parliament, as I said, to judge
for themselves. Ido not call upon you, I do not call
upon anybody, to do the business which Parliament ought
to do for itself. But I know that upon many occa-
sions petitions have been sent to Parliament. 'I hose peti-
tions have asked for particular legislative acts. Within the
last few weeks I have had petitions sent to me upon matters
in which Ido not agree with the petitioners. I have always
presented the petitions; but I hope Parliament will act to
the beat of its judgment, and I hope those petitions won't
be acted upon. (Cheers and laughter,) But still Ido not
complain that those gentlemen should petition; I think
they are quite right to make their opinions heard. I cannot
understand how this can be called a hole-and-corner
meeting. (Hear, hear.) The world of Sheffield is invited
to come here, and the world of Sheffield has come. How
anybody who made up his mind,and who fully believes he is
right, can say upon the present oecasion that he was taken
by surprise, is what I cannot understand. How a man can
be taken by surprise upon the American question is beyond
my comprehension. For two years past England has been
ringing with almost that and that alone. Opinions of all
sorts have been advanced. If the people are ever to be
instructed upon the question of America they are instructed
now. Around me are many gentlemen on the other side,
who have found their way here, and I cannot understand
how they can complain of being taken by surprise. The
very fact of their complaint shows there is no cause for it.
Now, then, gentlemen, I have told you very frankly my
opinions. I cannot reason out this question as I should
desire in the immense area I have to address, but still dis-
tinctly I tell you I believe the time is come for an acknow-
ledgment of the independence of the South—(cheers)—that
England, by so doing, will be carrying out the great mission
she has to advance and protect mankind ; that if she do so
she will benefit not only herself, but the world at large.
Therefore I should advise you—if my advice be worth any
thing, you will take it; if not, reject it—l should advise
you to say that, in your opinion, the Confederate States of
America should at once be acknowledged to be an indepen-
dent nation. (Loud cheers).
The Rev. J. P. Horns moved the following resolution :
" That in the opinion of this meeting the Government
of this country would act wisely, both for the interests of
England and those of the world, were they immediately to
enter into negotiations with the great Powers of Europe,
for the purpose of obtaining the acknowledgment by them
of the independence of the Confederate States of North
America."

The motion was seconded by Mr. MICHAEL BEAL.
The Rev. J. GUTTRIDGE (Wesleyan Free Church) moved
the following amendment :
° That this meeting records its high admiration of the
honourable neutrality hitherto maintained by the Govern-
ment in relation to the dreadful civil war now raging on the
American Continent, and earnestly hopes that the same
policy of non-intervention will be pursued in future."
Mr. W. J. CLEGG seconded the amendment.
Mr. Hopps's resolution was carried by an overwhelming
majority.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

EASTERN BENGAL.

The directors of this company in their report con-
gratulate the shareholders on the satisfactory corn-
pletion of the whole line from Calcutta to Koosh-
tee ; and on the success, as a commercial under-
taking, which has since attended the working of
both the goods and passenger traffic. The works were
commenced on the 14th of April, 1859, and the last
portion of the land, tlirLe miles in length, was
delivered to the company in the commencement of
1860. On Sept. 29, 1862, 45 miles of the line, from
Calcutta to RLannghat, were opened for passenger
traffic only. On Nov. 15 following the whole line
of 110 miles, from Calcutta to Kooshtee, on the
Ganges, was opened throughout for general traffic.
The Government of Bengal have expressed their
approval of the manner in which the officers of the
engineering staff of the company and the agent of
the contractors have performed their several duties.
The Government of India, in a public despatch, re-
ferring to Mr. Burdon, the chief engineer of the
company, acknowledges "the services he bas ren-
dered to the country by the skill with which he has
laid out and directed the works of the Eastern Ben-
gal Railway, "while at the same time Messrs. Les -
lie, Prestage, and Granville, engineers under him,
are assured " that the Government of India is fully
sensible of their meritorious services ;" and Mr.
Henfrey, agent of the contractors, Messrs. Brassey,
Paxton and Wythes, is informed " that his success-
ful prosecution of an undertaking of such magnitude
as this railway, under circumstances eo novel to
English contractors, entitles him to the hearty
approval and congratulations of the Government."
The gross traffic receipts from the 16th of Novem-
ber last, when the whole line was opened, to the
end of the year (five weeks) amounted for passen-
gers to 46,682 rupees, and for merchandise to
10,204 rupees ; together, 66,976 rupees. The re-
ceipts from the end of the year to the 11th of April
last (15 weeks) amounted for passengers to 136,401
rupees, and for merchandise to 50,649 rupees ; to-
gether, 187,050 rupees. The maintenance of the
way and works up to the month of November next
will be borne by the contractors. The directors
state that they have every reason to expect a very
large traffic at Kooshtee, through the resort of the
steamers to that port instead of Calcutta. The_eapi-
tal account shows a total expenditure of £:,285,727,
leaving a balance of £114,272.