The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-24 00:00:00

The Weather—Sun Office, Nov. 24, 1863.

THERIIO3.IETER.
This day'at Two o'clock .. 51

Barometer-29.81.
Wind—South'; moderate, with rain.

11, -
- .4,
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jg

LONDON, TUESDAY, NOV. 24, 1863.

Yesterday we gave from the Spectator, and
also from the Morning Herald, certain flying
rumours of the clubs as to Earl RUSSELL'S
abrupt resignation (again! for he has before
now resigned in that way quite suddenly)
—the flying rumours, we repeat, of the clubs as
to Earl RUSSELL'S resignation. To-day we transfer
to our columns the formal contradiction given to
those rumours by our official contemporary, the
Morning Post, the recognisel organ, not of the
Government, but of the noble lord the Chief of the
Government. The breakers ahead, we are to under-
stand, therefore, though undoubtedly very serious,
are not quite so serious, are not so absolutely unavoid-
able, that the
Man at the Wheel of Foreign Affairs
is drivenha by the instinct of self-preservation (as he
8, tina, and again,tis grasp
been driven before) to drop
suddenly h
upon the spokes of that wheel,
to unlash the
dingy, slip into it, and drift astern
into a position t
comparative safety, at any rate of
relief front ,es
Ponsibility—thence to observe, as
phlegmatically
as need be, the direr fates awaiting
his doomed
and
point
colleagues. " Not to
put too fine t
contradiction to the irlit upon it," the official
of Lord RUSSELL'S
resignation--once more °3"t
it leaningth: his colleagues in the
lurch—moans simply
Not Yee. Things, as we hav"7 plain words this—
aidT
he coach may be
look quiet bad enough for thats,, do not, as yet,
going down hill it is true--and
the
em:descent down romantic Ashburn _
have been
Pace of its
policy n to it in
of
latterly rather accelerated
by circumstances, in
spite of the stubborn skid slipped
the shape of the do-nothing
But, while running ilown. the
Government.
very heavy incline at rather an alarming
pace a
things, we repeat, don't look so entirely hopeless,
that JOHNNY is tempted to upset the coach, again
as if out of a pure love of mischief. But for it,
coarse being, latterly, very much like the uncom.
fortable title of one of Captain WIIYTE MELviut's
latest novels, "All Down Hill "—the wheels of the
State coach, the ribbons of which are handled from
his box-seat with such a jaunty air by the veteran
whip perched up there, in that place of honour and
responsibility would hardly, we should
suppose, have been doing better than crawl, even
if they had not come—as they have fat inter-
vals occasionally—to a dead standstill. Non-
intervention, that is the order of the day—except
in Japa-d, or, in another out of the way place, like
cw Zealand. But in any matter of importance—
though blood in flowing abundantly, blood that
migZhittni:teic ost:tnehed by interposition of some kind,
intervention i so
ot herw Ise—Non-intervention ! Non-
insisted upon, in fact, that we
should begin to look upon it as some newly
discovered political u°ku
panacea,
far one thing, as oldonly for this, that it is,
as the hills, and for another
that it is no Panacea
at all. The belligerents in
A mcrica are slaughtering one another by wholesale
—months roll on
and they are still at it. In
Heaven's name, says the French
EMPEROR,
let us
at least try to put a stop
to this hideous destruction
of human life, which besides being uselesst threatens
also to be interminable. Non-intervention
ter relit ion —n on - c. ter yen tion —is the parrot :71-viti
c)
our wise and enlightened Government! It is no affair-f
of ours they argue: when, on the contrary, it ie.._

imately and notoriously. Russia and Russian-
lf land are at daggers, scythes, swords, pistols, re-
lvers drawn with each other—old and young,
rri 3n and,women, young girls and little children, are,
th ere, the victims of Autocratic brutality. The sound
of the scourge, or knout, rings in our ears from the
of her side of Europe, through all the tumult of
g: rowing Insurrection. And yet—the parrot cry of
d iplomacy is, still, Non-intervention. So, now, in
a more generalised way, in reference to the
I 'rench EmrEttoß's proposition of a Congress, it is
atimated at last, after a good deal of bewildered
tesitation as to what reply ought to be sent in—
' Well, yes, if it could be done, it would be very de-
lightful, very admirable, and so forth—but it can't
—and, therefore, with many thanks, No I In other
words, we roust stick to it—that is, to our delibe-
rately chosen policy of Non-intervention. Certainly,
Lord MELBOURNE'S whimsical remonstrance with
his over-zealous colleague—" Why can't you leave
it alone !" is being acted upon by our Administra-
tors—with a vengeance.

The work of metropolitan communication is cer-
tainly going on as rapidly as the most enterprising
spirit could wish. In every direction the lines are
beginning to traverse our streets, and plans for the
enlargement, extension, and junction meet us on
every side, Within a very few years the whole
face of the metropolis will have beep changed, and
the engines go puffing and screaming over busy
high-roads and quiet sqaares, where the inhabitants
once certainly deemed themselves perfectly secure
from any such intrusion. Great as are the dangers,
however, those to come promise to be still greater,
for it is said that no less than 36 schemes for metro-
politan alterations are included in the notices for the
forthcoming session. As may be expected, these
include a very wide range and affect most of our
r metropolitan lines. The Underground Railway, as
it is generally termed, is, it seems, to be consider-
ably enlarged, if th© necessary powers can be ob-
tained by the directors, who have given notice of
an application to Parliament for additional powers
for compulsory purchase of lands, for raising addi-
tional capital, and extending the time for complet-
ing the works of the Finsbury-circus extension. A
good many other plans regarding the Metropolitan
Railway are also under consideration, one of the
foremost of which is its connection with the Victoria
Station, by which means it would be in communi-
cation with the Brighton and Dover Railways.
Other lines are no less active; the Tottenham and
Hampstead Function, the Great Northern, Midland,
and North Western lines are busily mapping out
the northern districts of London, and propose to
bring the northern suburbs within easy reach of
the further ends of the city. One of the most
striking of all the various schemes, however, is that
of the East London, which proposes to avail itself
of the long neglected and unused Thames Tunnel'
thus at length bringing BRUNEL'S great achieve.
ment to a directly practical use. It is certain that
when that gifted, though occasionally erratic, man
matured his bold design, and watched it carried
gradually into effect in the face of tremendous diffi-
culties, he did not anticipate that the great work
would be put to so little purpose during
the years that followed its opening, or that it
would remain nothing but au empty show,
a profitless marvel. Still less did he con-
template the possibility of such a scheme
as we have referred to being gravely propounded,
by whose means the wonderful submerged tunnel
will really become, as he intended it to be, one of
the great highways of London. Theory and prac-
tice will have met at last, and both will prove to have
existed in a greater degree than was supposed in
the design of the first BRUNEL. It is to be hoped
that the bills for these different extensions will re-
ceive careful consideration, and that the comfort
and convenience of the public may be duly con•
sidered. It will not do for the interests of com-
panies, and the schemes and jealousies of rival ex-
perimentalists, to weigh too heavily in the scale. It
will be necessary to keep a jealous eye upon some
of their movements, and to consult, despite all other
influences, the general good alone. Another point
worthy of notice is the expense and difficulty which
now attend the efforts of the companies to get the
land they require in the vicinity of the metropolis.
This is in a great measure owing to the obstinate
opposition which any attempts to bring the Hies
into the streets occasioned some years ago, when
the ground, every rood of which is now so precious,
might have been had at an almost nominal rent.
The angry and determined opposition which was
sure to meet such plans, kept the railways to the
suburbs, but the precaution was in vain. Little
towns sprang up around the much dreaded stations,
and directors and shareholders are left to deplore
that the public shortsightedness should have en-
tailed so much unnecessary expense and labour in
the carrying out of their adventurous schemes. We
trust, as we have before said, that the interests of
the public will be the primary object, and that all
other considerations and influences will be made
subservient to that one great end.

The meeting at Stroud last week was distin.
guished for hilarity at all events. There was no
gloomy forebcding nor lugubrious retrospection in-
dulged in ; but all was replete with hearty goodwill
and earnest endeavours to make the best of things.
The remarks made at the evening entertainment
were conspicuous for their originality. Earl DUCIE
and Mr. HORSMAN vied with each other in humor-
ous remarks, that were yet not without their signi-
ficance in a higher point of view. When Lord
DUCIE said that he would willingly go back to his
old position as member for Stroud, he doubtless
might have felt what he said, In one sense, a mem-
ber of the Commons holds a higher position than one
in the Upper House, for he more directly represents
the feelings of the people. Also, there was some solid
grounds for the assertion of the noble lord, that the
\
beet way to prepare the members of the higher
b
taileh of the Legislature for the right fulfilment
of their arduous duties was to give them the
°PP°rttulit
y of practising in the trying ordeal of
the p
-°l'lll4t use bly Certainly they would there
I was told to them,
see for themselvesll2 - *
what they might not believe if it
I and stirring p lPlee
rand hear solemn truths expressed
enunciated that may years
after come back to the
with
t: mind with irresistible force,
and speak as
ound of a trumpet to carry
conviction to the mina,and
bring truth before their
eyes. Mr. HORSMAN, as u
eul, was most entertain-
ing., and made a good hit in the .
inuendo that he
,
hoped Lord DUCIE would Chan
all, and give him hisg Places in reality
if he did so at
estate.Of course,
at the more business 9ffairagraverton
e characterised
the proceedings.
Sir J. PAKINGTON seconded the re-
solution, which must have given him very great
satisfaction, for it contained the cheering announce-
ment that the cause ho has so much at heart Was
progressing in the right direction. Prominent
as the right hon. baronet has been in instituting
reforms in our navy, conspicuous as be took the
lead in some of those improvements which stand out
as landmarks of the age and beacons of the nation's
progress, he has also attained an honourable, if a
lesser, glory in the more sequestered but less stormy
walks of peaceful life. His efforts have not been
small nor few, neither have his successes been cir-
cumscribed. In lending the weight of his position
and the force of his abilities to It is important I

undertaking, he has at the same time gained de-
served popularity and rendered special services to
a noble cause. Well does it portend for the country
where learning flourishes, not in secluded halls of
study, but through the limits of the land in its
length and breadth; the more widely diffused is
education, and the greater its influence is paramount,
the higher will be the position of the state, and the
more proud and prosperous its career. Sir J.
PAKINGTON'S remarks were throughout very
t ,a n evincedd th that thoroughanetraarnseus
tcnheearnestness
s ofappre-
ciation
thrillingex-
pression, appropriate, t e
his
, whicha nsduibnthemselves
theyie
e
accompaniments to a discourse, and without which
the most glowing eloquence, and the most
astute erudition becomes as sounding brass
or tinkling cymbal. He took a . bold course,
and advocated the adoption of straightforward
measures for the success of the undertaking.
He urged in impressive language the most enticing
prospects and the most special inducements which
brought forward the cause in which they were
then engaged, and most unquestionably pleaded
for its prompt attention by all who had the time
or power to do so. He forcibly pointed out the
moral of his address, by declaring that all who
assisted in the undertaking, or associated in its
cause, were engaged in a work " to which, through
life, they must always look back with satisfactien."
This is strictly true, and when the mazes of public
affairs have confused their minds, and the ascerbi-
ties of political feeling engendered bitterness among
opponents, and, perchance, alienated friends, there
will be a rallying point for divers interests, and a
neutral ground found on which all differing parties
can assemble frankly and fearlessly in the discus-
sion of the prospects and the essays for the pro-
gress of education. Apart from theories and plans,
there is the convincing evidence of facts by which
to test the validity of any new or great endeavour,
and Sir J. PAKINGTON brought forward an un-
answerable argument of the efficacy, and a striking
instance of the success of the undertaking, to do
honour to which they were then and there assem-
bled. In 1859 there were only three candidates for
the examination ; in the next year, 44 ; but in this
one the number was no less 473. Surely this is a
proof before which cavillers must be silenced, and
at which demurrers can find no ground to stand
upon. Yet the speaker did not confine his state.
ments to the flattering side of the picture only, but
wisely and kindly brought before his hearers the re-
verse side of the picture. Thus he evidenced the fact
that in many of our colonies and in the various
countries of Europe, men were ahead of us in point
of education and information. This, however irri-
tating it may be to dwell upon, is a topic 'that should
stimulate all who hear it. They should disparage
no efforts of those who wore superior in their actual
attainments, but be resolved to emulate, if possible
excel, all other competitors in the noble raco of self-
improvement. The more these subjects are dwelt
upon the greater good will be effected, 'and the more
widely diffused will be the elevating influence.
" Knowledge is power," is a well known saying,
but how few really act upon what they profess to
practise, and seek with might and main to enrich
themselves and their neighbours with that solid and
lasting possession which the chance and changes of
this fluctuating state cannot affect, and which remain
after houses and land are gone and spent, a most
excellent treasure, and a most enduring heritage.
Sir J. PAKINGTON exactly specified the object of
such institutions as that which he then advocated
with so much eloquence and earnestness, to enable
the working man to make the most of the intellect
which GOD had given him. There can be no higher
end for human efforts than to ennoble the species,
and by thus cultivating their facu!ties, and raising
their aspirations, to fit them for further and better
duties in this world, and to train them for the en-
joyment of a greater and holier existence hereafter.
Altogether it may ba considered that this meeting
at Stroud was a most successful one, and, as it
eminently deserved to be so, it is the more gratify-
ing to notice its happy issue, and to expect from it
an augury of future promise to this and similar
admirable institutions.

Another of those painful cases of starvation which
of late have become distressingly frequent among
us was brought before the notice of the coroner in
the east end of London last week. The case pre-
sented some peculiarly painful features, and an im-
portant caution may be taught by it. There was
no question in this instance of the negligence of
relieving officers or the harshness of workhouse
regulations ; the fault lay rather at the door of a
body who usually discharge their arduous duties
with tact, discretion, and efficiency. It seems that
a policeman, about ten o'clock at night, found the
deceased lying insensible in the street, Supposing
him to be intoxicated, he got a stretcher and re-
moved him to the station, where he was locked up
all night without food under the same impression.
The next morning the mistake was discovered, for
he was taken to the workhouse, where all he could
do was to tell his name and ask for a drink of water
before he again relapsed into unconsciousness, from
which he passed to death. In all probability nothing
could have been done for this poor man had his
wants been attended to earlier. He was most
likely too far gone for any care or kindness to have
rescued him, but the fact is, nevertheless, the same,
that a man dying of exhaustion was locked up all
' night without any assistance, and, if the case had
admitted of a favourable termination the negligence
or ignorance of the police would have destroyed
the chance. It is not by any means the first time
that such an accident has occurred, nor will it be
the last unless more care is exercised. A very
melancholy case occurred some time ago, when a
respectable middle-aged woman, being suddenly
taken ill at some distance from her home, was
locked up in a similar fashion, to be found dead
from apoplexy some time after. Such instances
are, no doubt, rare, but they are not sufficiently so
to justify the custom of locking up persons found
insensible in the streets without first having the
opinion of a surgeon on the matter. It is difficult,
no doubt, for an unprofessional eye to detect the
difference, and the police are naturally influenced
by the much greater frequency of the one case than
of the other, but the sooner a change is made in
this respect the better, and we regret that the jury
did not think it necessary to append a hint on this
matter to their verdict. As any person may be
liable to a sudden attack of illness, it is a
matter of general importance that proper pre-
cautions should be taken by the police in
cases of insensibility, and it is to be hoped that
the recent unfortunate occurrence may have the
effect of inducing greater care.