The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-19 00:00:00

British Archmological Association.

LEEDS, Oct. 16.
The weather yesterday was very unfavourable for excur-
sions, but a large party, nevertheless, led by the President,
Lord Houghton, went to Wakefield, and thence to Ponte-
fract. At the railway station, at Wakefield, they were met
by the mayor and corporation, and the party thus strength-
ened visited, in the first instance, the chapel of Edward
IV., built on the bridge over the Calder, which at that
point spreads out into a wide stream. The chapel was
built by Edward IV., on the site of a former one, in
memory of his father, Richard, Duke of York, and
those of his party who fell in the battle of Wakefield.
It is, or rather was, a fine specimen of richly de-
corated Gothic architecture. It is somewhat remark-
able that, exposed as it is to observation, and, seem-
ingly, inviting assault, it should have been suffered to re-
main almost uninjured by the devastations of civil war
and of religious fanaticism, which destroyed so many of the
Norman castles and ecclesiastical buildings in this county.
About 50 years ago time seemed to have been the only
ravager, but even then it was covered in and habitable;
the occupant of the ancient chapel being an old woman
who was renowned for her cheesecakes throughout the
juvenile world of Wakefield. It was afterwards converted
into a warehouse, and received much damage, and in 1847
it was thoroughly " restored"—so thoroughly, indeed, that
the only remaining portion of the original building is a
small fragment near the old altar. The work of restoration,
however, requires to be repeated, for the Caen stone em-
ployed is fast crumbling away. The chapel is ten yards
long and about eight in width, and is supported on sterlings
projecting from the centre of the eastern side of the bridge.
The party passed along Kirkgate to inspect some ancient
wooden houses in that street, and a short paper was read.
giving an historical description of the buildings, which are
supposed to have been erected in the time of Queen Elizabeth.
' The fine old parish church was next visited, the spire of
which is one of the highest in the kingdom, and has recently
been restored. The chancel, erected in the reign of llenry
IV. by Sir John Pilkington, particularly attracted attention.
The members proceeded from the church to the Town Hall,
where their official reception by the corporation took place.
The MAYOR made a speech expressing his gratification
at receiving the members of the Archceological Association
in Wakefield, under the presidency of Lord Houghton, to
whom he addressed some compliments on his distinguished
literary attainments, and thanked him for the readiness he
had shown on all occasions to assist the educational efforts
of the town.
Lehi HOUGHTON thanked the corporation, on behalf of
the association. for their kind reception, and expressed
their regret that they could not remain longer there. The
wealth, the credit, and the position of his family, he added,
were mainly owing, not only to their residence in Wake"
field, but to the honest trade they pursued there in old times
—(applause)--and in which they contributed much, he be-
lieved, to the prosperity of the borough. That was an origin
of oEnglishman
eushouglhdt to h
ever be
prbeaesuhd. (Hear,amed,of eewhich,
indeed, Englishman
from the commercial classes that justly sprang the
It was hi
ee
h n
best portion of their nobility, and it was thus that all classes
in England,from the highest to the lowest, were always in-
timately connected ; and a man felt, when elevated to any
other class, that he lost nothing of the privileges of the class
from which he was elevated. (Cheers.)
Mr. WILSON then read a paper on the ancient chapel on
the bridge, and, after the exhibition of some antiquarian
relics, the party left Wakefield by the railway train for
Pomfret, by which name, under the correction of the Pre-
sident of the Archaeological Association, the borough he re-
presented must now be known. They first visited the Old
Hall, supposed to have been commenced in the reign of
Elizabeth, as a residence for the Harewood family, but it
‘YAS never completed, and it remains a fine premature ruin,
which attracts much observation. After a short visit to the
church the party repaired to the castle. The ancient
glories of Pomfret Castle are most incorrectly symbolised
to the present generation by the representation of its gates,
with a dove perched on the top, impressed on that most
refined of all preparations of liquorice, " Pomfret cakes."
The gates there shown bear no resemblance to any part
of the remaining structure, and the bird of peace is a
most unfitted emblem of the deeds of murder and bloodshed
perpetrated within i s walls. Lord Houghton directed at-
tention to those portions of the building which have most
historical interest, and the Rev. Mr. Hartshorne pointed out
the chief architectural features, though there are now few
remains of the once famous fortress. It stands on a high
hill, and the most perfect parts that are visible aro the walls
of the keep, which, being of extraordinary thickness, have
hvea
best withstood the ravages of the destroyers who
worked its ruin. The whole area occupied by the castle
was seven acree, and it is now chiefly used for growing
liquorice, for which purpose the great depth of soil renders
excursion having teen completed, the members proceeded
to it peculiarly staitable. The archaeological objects of
dthede
ptoorttheedTbyowHnouHgahllto,
nwhanedrepar.o sumptuous collation h
provided by the corporai!ion. The Mayor presided, sup-
After the usual loyal toasts ha been drunk,
oposed the
the
of
The MAYOR, in eulogistic terms, 1.7
"Lord Houghton, the President," who 1::scl been
lthrepr,eh-
oes, a. olio
repre-
sentative of that borough for 25 years, and NV"-
peesid (ex-President).
he had been elevated to the peerage, they could e.. 4111 receB-
- as a neighbour and friend, (Cheers.)
Lord HOUGHTON, who was warmly cheered, observe..
that, during the long period he had been associated with
that borough, he had witnessed many interesting scenes in
that hall. There he was first elected a member of Parlia-
ment, now about a quarter of a century ago. Since that
time therelhad been great mutations of empires and great
historical events in the world; they had seen the fall of
Ministries, changes of Governments, deaths of good men
in whom they were all interested, the loss of many friends,,
and many other things had occurred which were beyond,
their circuit to inquire into. During that period he had
seen in that hall many different assemblies, met for different
objects, but hitherto no such event had occurred as the
arrival of a literary and philosophical society in that town,
to be entertained by the mayor and corporation. (Hear,
hear.) He was sorry the elements had net been propitious,
but he should be glad if anything had happened to obli-
terate the memory of the darkness and damp, and that they
would carry away with them some warm feeling towards
the borough of Pontefract, for no town in England was
mere worthy of the attention of such a society as that most
ancient borough. (Hear.) Archteelogy, instead of making
the best of everything, now made the worst of everything,
and the oppenness of Mr. Hartshorne's statement had very
much diminished the personal respect he had for him,
(Laughter.) He thought he might have concealed the fact
that there were larger castles than that of Pontefract, but
he told it with an archaeological love of truth which might
be very virtuous but was rather discreditable. (Laughter.)
There might have been fortresses greater than theirs, but
they would all agree with him that there was hardly one
that had gone over so varied a space in British history,
or which illustrated in such a singular manner the
changes of our constitution, our manners, our habits,
our religion, and our laws. (Applause.) In conclusion
the noble lord proposed the health of his predecessor in
that office, Dr. Lee, who, he said, was an antiquary of
great reptile in the south of England. (Cheers.)
Dr. LEE returned his grateful thanks for the compliment,
and referred with satisfaction to the change of public opinion
respecting archaeological pursuits. Formerly people re-
garded them with suspicion, but now they were welcomed
by corporations and civic authorities wherever they went.
They felt greatly obliged to the Lord Mayor and corpora-
tion of Pontefract for their kindly reeception, and ho begged
to propose their healths. (Cheers.)
The MAYOR having briefly responded,
Mr. Puieeirrs proposed " The Borough Members," Mr.
WATERHOUSE returned thanks, honourably defending the
corporation from the censure which the noble president had
cast upon them in his inaugural address respecting their
negligence of the castle, which, he said, belonged to the
Duchy of Lancaster, and not to the borough.
Some other complimentary toasts and speeches were pro-
posed and responded to, and the party returned by train to
Leeds, highly gratified with the proceedings of the day
despite the untoward state of the weather.

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ground
plan of the building, the various parts of which he explained.
To give more extended interest to the subject, he exhibited
plans, drawn to the same scale, of several other distin-
guished Cistercian monastic establishments, including seve-
ral of those in Ireland, which were all of much smaller di-
' mensions than the English monasteries. The paper was
followed by a discussion, in which Mr T. Wright, Mr
Hartshorne, Mr Planche, Mr 0' Callaghad, and Mr Roberts
took part.
Mr. O'CALLAGRAN, the local honorary secretary, then
read a paper describing an ancient canoe discovered at
Giggleswick; in this county, which is now in the Museum
of the Philosophical Society of Leeds. The canoe was dis-
covered in May last, by a workman who was employed in
draining 'ant ties() to the margin, of it drained lake that was

called Giggleswick Tarn, but which is now cultivated land.
The canoe was found lying on a rock of laminated clay. It
is roughly formed from the hollowed trunk of a pine tree.
It is S feet 5 inches long, 2 f:et in extreme breadth, and 1
foot 7 inche4 inside; the outer depth bcing 1 foot 9 inches,
and the inner depth 1 foot 5 inches. It is flat-bottomed,
with upright sides, and the stem and stern are very rudely
shaped. Attached to one of the sides was a triangular piece
of timber, fastened by wooden pins to the outer side of the
gunwale, running nearly its vrhole length ; a similar piece of
wood had fallen from the other side, and was broken into
several fragments. It was at first supposed that these pieces
of timber might have been used as weatherboards; but as
they were not movable, it was concluded that they were in-
tended to give more bearing or stability to this very unsteady
vessel. These were no traces of rowlocks, and the probability
is that this boat was propelled by a single paddle or pole.
A piece of roughly-made plank is fastened over the taffrail,
which looks vary like a seat. There is also a similar but
narrow piece of plank, fastened across the upper part of the
bows, as if to prevent the splitting of the open-grained pine
wood. It was stated that since this curious ancient British
boat has been deposited in the museum the evaporation of
the water with which it was soaked has caused it to decay,
and there was some discussion among the members respect-
ing the best method of its preservation, but no plan satis-
factory to the curator of the museum was proposed.
A paper by Mr. Cumieg, " On weapons of ancient tribes
of Yorkshire," was read in his absence by Mr. Gronoz
WRIGHT. It was illustrated by drawings of numerous
weapons made of stone and bronze, which had been found
in the neighbourhood. Ths meeting then adjourned.

PRUSSIA.

(From the Correspondent of the Times.)

&ALIN, Oct. 15.
The King returned to Berlin yesterday morning, and
was received by Marshall Wrangel and the Commandant
of the city. M. von Bismark and the chiefs of the
civil and military cabinets had arrived the preceding even-
ing. A meeting of the Ministers took place at noon at the
Foreign-office, and afterwards a council was held at the
Palace, which lasted three hours. This, and the King's
sudden return, gave rise to fresh reports of a change of
Ministry, for which, however, there appears to be no better
foundation than for others that have arisen at intervals for
some time past. The Kreuz Zeitung says, and it is pro-
bably true, that the council was busied exclusively with
foreign affairs—Poland and Austria. The attitude of the
French Government with respect to Poland causes uneasi-
ness here. It is believed that the Emperor Napoleon
entertains the idea of a recognition of the Polish insurgents
as belligerents. It is not doubted that Prince Czartorvski
had been authorised to communicate to him the arguments
of the Polish National Government to that effect. Of the
moral force of the insurrection there can be no doubt, but
I have it from Polish sources that its material force in the
field is very small, and that it daily finds greater difficulty
in maintaining itself. The seizures of arms and supplies
sent to it have been so numerous and extensive, that every
weapon now in the hands of its supporters, may be looked
upon as having cost twenty times its original price, and the
frontier is so strictly watched that a rather considerable
corps, which had been formed outside of it, was lately com-
pelled to abandon the idea of crossing, Information that
reaches me from Warsaw tends to show, that the whole in-
surgent force under arms does not number more than
15,000 men, while fully ten times as many Russian sol-
diers are engaged in restraint and suppression. Still, the
determined spirit of the population seems in no degree to
flag, even under the unexampled rigours of the Russian
military Government, of which we have just had fresh
examples in the confiscation, at Warsaw, of the Grabowski
house, and in the imprisonment of the Bernardino monks,
in whose convent a chest of gunpowder was alleged to have
been found.

To return to domestic matters. The King's non-
attendance at the consecration at Cologne is to be
accounted for only in- one way, although attempts
are here making to put a less unpleasant colouring
upon it. The °Pied Gazette of this date gives an account
of his Majesty's passage through Cologne, of his reception
by the civil and military authorities, of the speech he there
made, regretting that his late brother had not lived to wit-
ness the completion of the work he had ordered, of the con-
gratulations he offered to the Cardinal Archbishop, and of
the further regrets he expressed that " urgent business of
State" prevented his remaining for to-day's ceremony. The
whole took place, as the French say, entre ehien et Loup,
just as twilight was setting in ; his eminence the Arch-
bishop conducted the King through the church, a short
choral was sung, and the official journal adds, there was a
loud hurrah from the crowd as his Majesty left the build-
ing for the railway station, where he dined, and whence he
departed for Berlin. Urgent affairs of State are of course
just as good an excuse for a Sovereign as urgent private
affairs for humbler individuals. It is, however,
well known, that M. Pommer-Esche, Over-Presi-
dent of the Rhine Province, and M. Moller,
Government-President of Cologne, were ordered to
report on the state of feeling of the population of that city,
with a view to a decision being come to as to the Royal
visit. It was proposed to get up a procession, which the
clergy and certain Ultramontane societies were quite ready
to promote ; the charity children, the workmen employed
in the cathedral, &c., were to be paraded for the occasion.
But cuch efforts would have had but poor results in the ab-
sence of co-operation and sympathy on the part of the po-
pulation, and those, it was ascertained, would positively
be wanting. The people of Cologne would have remained
at home, the Royal visit would have been a failure. As it
is, the break-down is sufficiently annoying, and it would
have been far better to have declined the invitation in the
first instance. As the King sleeps away, the princes of
the blood do the same, and so does the Duke of Mecklen-
burg. Schwerin, who was to have been present on the occa-
sion.

The publication in the I&euz Zeitung of this date of a
letter from the King to the Corporation of a little place in
Silesia called Steingrund is, perhaps, intended as a refuta-
tion of the reports above referred to, that a change of Mi-
nistry has been in contemplation. The worthies of Stein-
grund had addressed his Majesty in somewhat fulsome
terms, saying that, were it possible, they would have se-
lected him as their Wahlmann—their delegate to vote in
the election of a deputy to the Chamber. As this could not
be, they begged to know whether, by choosing men who
support the present Ministry, they should be doing what
was agreeable to the King, or whether it were true, as
some would fain persuade them, that his Majesty was not
fundamentally agreed with his advisers. Tho extremely
loyal but undecided Steingrunders had but ono wish, and
that was to do what their Sovereign desired, and to go up
to the elections with the old Prussian cry of " Long live
th q King 1" To this application the King replies, that, if
SteinClind desires to testify its fidelity to him, it can
do so only by electing such men as are firmly deter-
mined to support his Ministers in the carrying out of the
tasks assigned to them by him. "A hostile bearing to-
wards my Government," he continues, "is incompatible
with fidelity to my person." And he insists, above all,
upon the necessity of fixing the military institutions of the
country on a firm basis, as essential to the security of the
country, and declares that the exertions of his Ministers to
that end aro in perfect accordance with his wishes and in-
tentions. The letter or declaration is one of those which
are written for the King, which he is prevailed upon to
sanction, and to which :20 not unfrequently afterwards re-
grets having affixed his sigaaature. It will hardly have
much effect upon the result of the e.lqcti°ns•
These, accord-
int; to all the information that reaches me, he
are likely to be
in a very radical sense. The frequent meetings Of origi
electors (urrealder) held in Berlin prove this as far as t!le
capital is concerned. Everywhere the Fortschritt is in the
ascendant, and uncompromising opposition is shown to the
moderate Liberals. It is pretty certain that the Chamber
will not gain in respectability by the new elections. As
for the next Assembly being found more tractable
than the last, that is not for a moment to be
anticipated. What, then, is to be the upshot
of this long and painful quarrel between K:ng and
people ? Assuredly the present condition of the Prussian
State is not one that can be viewed otherwise than with the
deepest regret by the friends either of the nation or of the
dynasty. At a moment when the immediate future of
Europe is enveloped in uncertainty and even in gloom, one
beholds in Prussia divided councils and general discontent,
a detested Ministry, an unpopular King, a Parliamentary
Opposition most violently embittered, a general sentiment
of profound irritation throughout the whole country, At
what a disadvantage does not Prussia thus drift on towards
the chances of an European war in spring. Rent and en-
feebled as she is by her internal quarrels, what respeat can
she hope for her power abroad, and what value can she ex-
pect to be set upon her alliance? Those who, as must
be generally the case with English politicians,
only desire to see the Prussian people prosperous, happy,
and free, and the house of Hohenzollern beloved, respected,
and firm upon its throne, cannot but grieve to remark what
injury the present state of things is doing to the prospects
both of the country and the dynasty. The defiant bearing
and arbitrary acts of the Bismark Administration have
aroused in the Liberal party a feeling of irritation border-
ing on fierceness. Many of the things one daily hears said
aro better left unpublshed. The arbitrary restrictions im-
posed upon the press by the ordinances of the Ist June have
had the usual Effect of producing a host of epigrams and
lampoons, passed from mouth to mouth. One may trace in
individuals the advance that public feeling has made in a
democratic direction. gost persons (not of the small party
which still upholds the present regimen) are disposed to go
farther now than] they were six months ago, and it is de •
plorable to find the ideas of conciliation scented ly many
who, up to a comparatively recent date, desired no better
than to behold it realised.

The reported spy, or Russian agent, murdered in the
Hotel de l'Europe, at Warsaw—the crime which caused the
expulsion of all the inmates of the house and its conasca-
tion by the authorities—appears to have been a singular
and mysterious adventurer. According to letters in the
German papers, he was a medical man, and his name was
Dr. Hermani. Some two or three years ago, such a person
was seen in Vienna and its environs, and was reported to
be the correspondent of an English journal. It appears
that there, as elsewhere, he gave himself out to have served
as surgeon with the English forces in the Crimea, and also
to have taken part in the Italian eampaip of 1859, A letter

from Munich says that he was there about six weeks ago,
under the name of Hermann Bartholdi, and that he then
came from Stuttgart, where he had been for a considorable,
time, and had published a small newspaper. Both in Stott-'
gardt and Munich he spoke much of his relations with
highly-placed persons in Russia, and in both places he at
last excited suspicions as to his true character.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

- -

SATURDAY REYTEW.—The election for Tamworth
undoubtedly has its disagreeable side when looked
at from a hlinisterial point of view. It was intended
as a mortification for Sir Robert Peel, and it has
probably carried out its intention. As no such symp-
toms of discontent ever manifested themselves be-
fore he entered upon his present office, it is pro-
bable that it is to his performances as a statesman,
rather than es a landlord, that his faithful con-
stituency take objection. His position as a states-
man is very peculiar. He does not occupy his seat
upon the Treasury Bench as the representative of
any school of opinion, for no other thinker is nimble
enough to follow in the course of so brilliant but so
wanderings light. Nor has he been so selected for his
utility in debate, for he rarely opens his mouth
without exasperating into rebellion some sup-
porter of the Government to which he belongs.
He sits by the more secure title of Lord Pal-
merston's peculiar favourite. According to the ru-
mours that universally prevailed, his admission to the
Ministry was resisted by all the other members of
the Cabinet, and was effected by the potent voice of
the Prime Minister alone. And Sir Robert Peel
has done his best to prove himself worthy of this
distinction. He always acts and speaks as though
he bore no allegiance except to his patron, and
makes a point of ignoring the other Ministers alto-
gether. Ho proclaims a fixed policy of No Surren-
der upon the question of the Irish Church, not in
name of the Government, but in the name of " him-
self and his noble friend ;" and he fights the battle
at Tamworth, not for the Government of which he
is a member, but only for Lord Palmerston. But
Sir Robert Peel is not only a faithful adherent of the
Prime Minister; he is a disciple in the strictest sense
of the word. It is not Lord Palmerston's brain, so
much as his good digestion and strong backbone,
and unflagging animal spirits, that have recom-
mended him to the nation. They like to see such a dis-
play of physical strength as that of a statesman who
at the age of nearly eighty cats ride out in a pelting
rain, make twelve speeches in three days, and poke
fun at his antagonists in the House of Commons
with untiring gaiety at three o'clock in the morning.
This is evidently Sir R. Peel's theory, and in his
mind it bears no unpractical fruit. The arts by
which his patron has climbed to fame are not only
a study to be admired, but an example to be fol-
lowed. Sir Robert has compared the muscular with
the intellectual plan of statesmanship, and has come
to the conclusion that the former is at all events the
best suited to his own natural gifts. Accordingly,
he has devoted himself to the task of copying his great
original, and has cultivated the rollicking style with
some success. If it be true that in these days a consi-
derable muscular development and ajaunty reckless-
ness of manner are the true road to fame, it is highly
probable that Sir Robert will be as great a man
as his father. To be Bute, the style is somewhat
different. It is doubtful whether the late Sir
Robert Peel would have attempted to influence an
election by knocking down the electors, or would
have publicly exhorted his friends to "bonnet" the
other side. And it is possible that, in those less
advanced days, neither Sir Robert nor his friends
would have been equal to the feats of muscular
prowess which have shed so much glory on his son.
But every age has its o een way of looking at these
matters, and it would be very unfair to measure one
age by the standard of another. Muscular politics,
like muscular Christianity, had not made their ap-
pearance in the days of the late Sir Robert Peel.
At the same time, it must be admitted that the re-
nown which his son is likely to win is still in the
future. Though it is easy to see that there is in his
conduct during the last two years great promise of
the qualities which constitute political merit in our
time, still he is at present a mere tyro in his art.
His proceedings at Tamworth show that he is still
far removed from a perfect comprehension of the
secrets by which his great exemp'ar has succeeded.
His practice is too violent. Good humour is essen-
tial to a rollicking politician. Lord Palmerston
might possibly have given the order to bonnet the
refractory elector; bat at the same time he would
have taken very good care that it was not obeyed.
And he would never have knocked down a voter
over a pail. Sir Robert Peel has formed too fero-
cious a conception of his part. The elector who
fell under Sir Robert's fist has earned a title to dis-
tinction which falls to the lot of few men. Probably
there is not another man in the three kingdoms who
has been knocked down by a Privy Councillor in an
election row—still less is there one who can boast
of having afterwards broken his cane over the said
Privy Councillor's back. The paths to fame are very
various. One man was feted inLondon because he had
been shut up by a Chinese mandarin, another because
he had stood face to face with a gorilla. If the gentle.
man who was knocked down by Sir Robert Peel,
and afterwards caned him, would come up to town
next February, we have no doubt he would be the
lion of the season. Such a position really is a great
rarity, and ought to be prized accordingly. Officials
holding important offices, and trusted with a consi-
derable share in the government of the United
Kingdom, usually avoid pugilistic encounters with
their political antagonists. The sons of illustrious
statesmen, the' bearers of a name which nations
honour, are generally careful not to drag it through
the mire. Powerful landowners ordinarily think
that they owe it to their own dignity not to attempt
to replace a waning influence by the intimidation
of personal assaults. The victim of Sir Robert Peel's
violence—if such a term can be applied to so fortu-
nate a man—has been in himself the subject-matter
of a departure from all these sacred rules. It is a
great honour to befall a man ; for such an event is
like the transit of Venus—it does not occur three
times in a century. Before next election, he will,
no doubt, be considerably improved: He will have
learned that bonneting his opponents and knocking
them down over pails is too practical a form of
jauntiness. Possibly be may have practised him-
self a little in jokes, and learned a pun or two ; for
at present his only. efforts at fun consist of Ns
rough horse-play, and it is impossible to be jaunty
without jokes. Perhaps, too, he will have culti-
vated gallantry towards ladies, in which at present
he is lamentals!y deficient. Amorous compliments
to electors' wives are much more efficient weapons
than menaces to electors. So acute an observer
cannot fail to have noticed how abundant a resource
this has proved to Lord Palmerston in those mo-
ments of extreme need which befall a public man
when he is called upon to speak at a public din-
ner. But it is the duty of the inhabitants of Tam-
worth to lend themselves to this training. They
must not object to occasional bonnetirsgs, or other
exhibitions of muscular statesmanship, if such way-
ward frolics should acorn to be a necessary part of
the training of a Jaunty politician, It will be an
undying honour to them it they can contribute by
their patience to provide a due succession of rol-
licking rulers, to carry on, whenever unhappily the
need shall arise, the traditions of Lord Palmerston.
SPECTeTott.—The Peels, unlike the Peelitee, are
politically failures. Lord Russell's Government, in
1861, Wok the very first opportunity of introducing
one of the family into official life, and for an instant
the country half hoped he might wear his father's
mantle. It Was soon perceived, however, that the
old wine had lost its body. Mr. Frederick Peel was
as grave as his father, but not with the weight of
thought; as formal, but not as accurate; as full of
self-confidence, but without the administrative li
ability, which, more than his many other capacities,
justified Sir Itobert Peel in refusing any place less
than the first. A manner which annoyed all who
assailed or criticised his department increased the ,
disfavour, members voted him pedantic, and out-
siders discovered that there was nothing beyond
routine work to be expected from the member for
Bury. Still they turned with some hope to the
elder son, the member for Tamworth, He, at least,
was no prig, and though clubs talked, clubs always
talk, and a man's youthful history is, in politics,
very seldom indeed recorded against him. Sir Robert
spoke brusquely, his enemies said insolently, but
what he said was often forcible, and he had
the courage to say very frequently things which
wanted saying, but which everybody else had
shirked. The outside world, at all events, did not
wonder when Sir Robert Peel was made Secretary
for Ireland. Every month, however, diminished his
political status. The scene with the O'Donoghue
annoyed the house, and the speeches in which the
partial distress of Ireland was palliated or denied
wearied all who were conscious of the real state of
affairs—a weariness which rose to disgust when Mr.
Gladstone flatly contradicted all the smooth things
put forward by the Irish Department. Blunders
in Ireland, however, rarely attract oven their due
attention, far less excessive obloquy; and it was
not till the Tam worth election that Sir Robert's
total unfitness for office became manifest to the
world. There can, however, be no further disguise.
Wholly apart from his action as member and
landlord, Sir Robert Peel has broken ail those offi-
cial etignettes which have fhe force of laws,
and are usually far more important. Ministers,
_ one
Minister, all know, do influence elections, and
Minister, at least, tho Cabinet holds his peat
grace of his skill as an electioneering agent.t S
Peers, though they are forbidden by law . inter-
fere in any way, but the open interposition of a
member of the Government in any elercoiri but his
obe
.t
own is as unusual as it is inexpedieut.
Peel, however, not only broke through the useful
Peel,
decorous rule of reticence, but actually entered
into a contest with refractory electors, alum; coin-

naanded his audience to support Lord Palmerston's
stepgrandson, and told an interpellant in the crowd
that, "f he could get at him, he would soon let him
know who he was," and, despite the great influence
of his family, lost the seat. to his party by a majority
of fifty-seven. Everybody understands that the
seat is lost to the Liberal party, which, and not
Lord Palmerston's personal sway, is the real object
of interest to English liberal men. Wholly apart
from all questions of personal taste, and political
propriety, and official decorum, that result is a
failure, and escapades are forgiven only when they
succeed. A. scene like that,' at 'Tamworth election
never increases English respect far its actors, but
when it results in defeat scorn deepens very rapidly
into active annoyance. Had Sir Robert Peel done
what any other Minister would have done, accepted
a Peel as candidate with pleasure. but deprecated
family monopoly; left a shrewd agent to conciliate
votes, but kept himself wholly out of the fray ;
there was strength enough in the old organisation,
hacked by R tenhatn and D raven Manor, to have
carried the" Liberal" candidate. It must be added
that Mr. Cowper helped his friends as little as he
could. Ho did not, of course, conciliate Tories, and
genuine Liberals are sick of this repetition of " Pal-
merston," as an equivalent for a Liberal creed, this
eternal demand for homage instead of alliance. Mr.
Cowper had, however, nothing better to offer, did
not propound a doctrine or express an opinion which
gave him any character whatever except that of the
Premier's relation. The result is that with votes be-
coming of vital importance, and a rising feeling that
the Liberal cause is still worth strong exertion, the
Liberal papers all over Great Britain are exulting
in the loss of one seat for Tamworth, simply because
they hope that it may end in the ultimate loss of
the other. Sir Robert Peel himself admitted that his
own seat would be attacked, and the strongest
friends of the Ministry cannot honestly hope that
his apprehension may be unfounded. This is a
severe defeat for both Mr. Cowper and his patron,
Sir R. Peel, whose unpopularity has lost the seat to
the Liberal party. It is reported that so bitter is
the feeling in the locality, that at the next general
election Sir Robert himself will lose his seat, and
the rumour is confirmed by a valedictory speech, in
which that gentleman informed his friends that
when his trial came he should expect them to rally
round him. No true Liberal will mourn should Sir
Robert's fear prove true. A member of her Majesty's
Government who personally interferes in any elec-
tion bat his own, bandies 'jests and threats with a
mob, and finishes by knocking an elector into the
coal scuttle, is only suited to the constituency of
Tipperary or Marylebone. Bernal Osborne and
water is a trying dose for Liberals, but Osborne and
vitriol is simply unendurable.
WEEKLY REGlSTER.—Wherefore the defeat of
Lord Palmerston's stepson in Tamworth ? Free
trade and ribbons and the French Treaty were not
even mentioned during the contest in the Stafford-
shire Borough • and yet the Premier's candidate,
and that candidate a member of Lord Palmerston's
own family, is ignominiously beaten, though sup
ported to an extent inconsistent with decency, and,
we believe, with law, by the Secretary for Ireland
and Lord of the soil. It is possible, indeed, that Sir
R. Peel's conduct at the election may have caused
the defeat of his friend, Mr. Cowper ; but there can
be no doubt of its having swelled the majority against
him. We believe the records of electioneering do
not furnish a parallel for such conduct on the part
of a Minister of the Crown. Lord Byron, speaking
of the late Lord Castlereagh, said that he supplied
the first instance of a Minister who dictated to the
House of Commons in the language of Mrs. Mala-
prop. Borrowing the idea, we believe we are jus-
tified, by what has lately occurred at Tam worth, in
saying that Sir R. Peel furnishes the first instance
of a member of the Government of this country,
a Privy Councillor and a Secretary for Ireland,
who exhibits on the hustings as a buffoon and a bully.
Lord Palmerston is proverbial for his adherence to
those whom he treats as his friends, but we question
if the task of sustaining Sir Robert Peel in cifice,
after the degrading spectacle at Tamworth the other
day, be not too great even for Lord Palmerston's
chivalry. The Times, in its zeal for the Premier,
adroitly endeavours to avert public indignation from
the outrageous conduct of the Irish Secretary by
making it a subject for badinage and laughter. But
that trick, though clever, won't do. The country
will not tolerate the disgraceful spectacle of a mem-
ber of the Government riotously interfering, with
freedom of election—knocking down electors be-
cause they think fit to oppose his nominee, and, in
the slang language of the prize ring, telling his
hireling mob to " bonnet" a man for daring to exer-
cise his electoral franchise in favour of the Opposi-
tion candidate. Sir Robert Peel may play the
mountebank—may act the flashman and the pugi-
list if he pleases, and as often as he pleases; but the
Secretary for Ireland must eschew the blackguard
and behave the gentleman. It is sad enough that
he should bring shame and ridicule, and in Tam-
worth, too, and in view of his illustrious father's
statue, upon the name which that father had made
great and memorable ; but he must not be allowed
with impunity to degrade the rank of a Privy Coun-
cillor, and to draggle the high office of Chief Sec-
retary for Ireland in the mud. If he have the
smallest modicum of common sense, and the slightest
regard for Lord Palmerston, he will relieve the Go-
vernment from the embarrassment of his presence
before Parliament meets, for assuredly if ke be in
office at the meeting of Parliament, the House of
Commons will feel it to be its duty to censure the
Cabinet for retaining in office a man who has
committed the gross outrages upon law, decency,
and the Constitution that characterise Sir Robert
Peel's conduct at the recent Tamworth election.
LONDON REVIEW.—The Opposition journals are
naturally much elated at the result of the Coventry
and Tamworth elections. Nor do wo deny their
right to reckon the first as a substantial victory.
Mr. Treherne is, indeed, hardly the man of whom
a great party ought to be proud, but he will vote as
Mr. Disraeli orders, and that is all that is expected
from him. If we were to accept him as the delibe-
rate choice of Coventry, we should be driven to
conclude that a political reaction had indeed set in
in that borough, for .his political creed is no mild
and neutral tint of Conservatism, but the real old
" true blue" of Eldon and Sibthorp. The truth is
that his election represents little or nothing but the
resentment of the electors at the Treaty of Com-
merce with France, which they ignorantly suppose
to have caused the falling off in the demand for
ribbons. At the same time, although it may be
easy to account for each Alinisterial defeat, taken
separately, in a manner which may deprive them of
much importance, it is impossible to overlook the
fact that the necessity of accounting for defects
seems at present to be imposed only on one site. It
is, to say the least, extraordinary that the special
circumstances should al ways be on the aide of the
Coeeervatives, The Ministerial majority sitting on
the Liberal benches is by this time merely nominal,
if indeed it exists at all. And although Lord Pal-
merston has hitherto found some of his best friends
on the other side of the house, it is by no means
car tam that they will be either willing or able to
help him if Mr. Disraeli is once in possession of an
actual majority. But even if the Premier be per-
mitted to remain undisturbed during the remainder
of the Parliament, there-can be no doubt the power
is gradually slipping away from the Liberal party.
We do not consider the result of theTarnworth elec-
tion as a proof of this or of anything but the irre-
claimable rowdy iem of Sir R. Peel. There was little
or no difference between the two candidates, but the
hon. baronet's unpopularity in the borough, joined
to his violence and indiscretion, were quite sufficient
to secure the defeat of whichever he might happen
to support. Unfortunately for himself that hap-
pened to be Mr. Cowper. The Government cannot,
however, attribute it to mere ill-luck that his patron
is Chief Secretary for Ireland, nor can they wholly
escape the consequences of the indiscretion which
converted a local feud into a question of confidence
in the Premier.
EXAAIINER.—After all the noble proprietor of the
wayside inn at Maata has good cause to complain
of the summary justice done him by the Irish Go-
vernment in removing him from the commission of
the peace on the ground of being politically crazy.
About the fact there can indeed be no question, and
if the Irish executive were constituted upon the nar-
row and exclusive basis of politics, there would be
a certain consistency in limiting the magistracy to
men who are not thus mad. But a department
which is represented in the House of Commons by
the right hon. buyer for Tamworth is hardly en-
titled to be nice about provincial acts of incohe-
rency. Refusal of bed and board for a night in
Conemara to the Viceroy of Ireland, in revenge for
some fancied neglect or slight, is, no doubt, an act
of imbecility and indecency, which affords a fair
presumption of general unfitness for public trusts of
any kind. Yet no one will seriously contend that
one rule in these mattera ought to be laid down for
justices of the peace and another for privy council-
lors, or that obvious incapacity and flagrant inde-
corum are immaterial traits in the character of a
minister, while they unfit a man for being a magis-
trate. If tomfoolery, and turbulence, and rodo-
montade disqualify an Irish peer for sitting at petty
sessions, they surely must be held still more to dis-
qualify an English baroAct for being sent to Ireland
to frame laws for the government of that country,
and to superintend their execution. When Sir R.
Peel was pulsed Chief Secretary we entered our
protest against Lord Palmerston's choice, and ex-
pressed our anticipations as to the contempt into
which he was likely to bring the Administration.
We were gravely assured, however, that the selec-
tion was pre- eminentiY a wise one, because-
tain of our contemporaries protone-" as cer-
.s
the blackguards in Irelae-) . ny observed, all
her for Taum.-"
love a row, and the mem-
W. was never likely to be out of one.
‘ook the reproof with all humility, and

awaited the development of this horr eea-
pathic mode of treating the unruly. It seemed to
us somewhat hard that the well-disposed and indus-
trious majority of our neighbours should have to
endure and to pay for such an official blister; but
we were gravely reminded that it is not the
righteous, but sinners, that need loud calling to
repentance; and the knowing people said that, if
the new Chief Secretary could so amuse or amaze
the factious and feather-headed among the Irish as
to keep them in order, the sober and steady-going
mass of the community would only laugh and be
thankful. We remember muttering something to
ourselves at the time about bad example, the danger
of infection, and so forth ; but remonstrance was
plainly useless, and we held our peace. Sir Robert
went to Ireland and speedily realised our anticipa•
tions. One escapade followed another until every
Orange lodge rang with frantic cheers, and the
Ei also of Commons seemed in danger of being made
to resemble Bedlam or a bear-garden. Wherever
the Chief Minister for Ireland appeared, his presence
proved the omen of confusion, or the signal for
roars of laughter; everywhere save at Tamworth,
where the cold shade of his father's statue still sub-
dued any tendency to commotion, and where his
successor's power as a landlord to overrule and
overbear all pretension to free thought or judgment
seemed irresistible. And irresistible it would un-
doubtedly have long continued to prove under ordi-
nary circumstances. The real Sir Robert always
returned himself for the borough as a matter of
course, and sometimes returned as a matter of
course likewise somequiet, unobjectionable follower
who happened to want a seat in Parliament. In
his later years, and after he had broken with the
of a Whig as
Tory party, he more than acquiesced in the return
his colleague in the representation.
But all this he did in his usual circumspect and
dignified way, never deigning in public to appear
conscious that Tamworth had or could have any
other representative in Parliament but himself. Sir
Robert the mock seems to be fired with the maniac
ambition to be in everything as unlike his father as
common sense is to uncommon nonsense. Upon the
recent vacancy caused by Lord Townahend's death
he was not content with trying to requite his own
elevation to office by procuring the return of Mr.
Cowper, but he would insist upon ramming that
luckless young gentleman down the throat of one
of the most passive constituencies in England, and
accompanying the performance with such gesticula-
tions, threats, and flings as never before had been
witnessed in the poor little town. What nothing
else could have done, he thus effected. Human na-
ture could not endure such humiliation. To be super..
ciliously stepped upon by a great statesman once in
seven years the tradesmen of Tamworth could bear,
and, for the sake of the name and other moral real
considerations, they had not refused to endure his
burlesque of a son. But to be made sport of wan-
tonly, in the face of the whole kingdom, by their
incoherent master was too bad. They kicked and.
threw him. Whereupon, not having sufficient rea-
son to pick himself up and make off to Drayton
quietly, he enters anew into the election fray,
knocks down one of his supposed subjects, bids the
rabble about him bonnet another, and keeps up, in
short, his round of deplorable antics until an over-
whelming majority of incensed electors recorded
their votes against his unfortunate protégé. All
this may be right, or it may be wrong, seemly or
unseemly, decent or disgraceful, We are aware of
no arguments or illustrations that could make the
matter clearer than it is. But we would respect-
fully ask why, in the face of these things, should
the comparatively harmless imbecility of Lord
Leitrim be punished as a public offence ? Mad on
one public subject, we suppose his lordship to be ;
but what is to be done with a man who does not
appear to be sane upon any ?

COUNTRY MARKETS.

.

N 0 RWIC }l SA.TURDAY.
There was a fair supply of wheat to-day, and for all
samples late prices were maintained. There was a toler-
ably good show of barley, and sales were made at late
rates. Flour in favour of the buyer.
White wheat. 46s to 47s i Red wheat 43s to 44s
Malting barley ...Ws to 38s 1 Chevalier barley 36s to 370
Distilling do . 33s to 35s I Oate. 24s to 28s
Flour, 31s Od to —s Od per sack from the miller.

GRANTHAM—SATURDAY.
Old white wheat, 40s to 44s ; red, 40s to 438:per 36st. ;
new white, 42s to 43s ; red, 38s to 40s. Malting barley,
34eto 38s per qr ; grinding, 238 to 30s ; oats, old, 288,t)
30s ; new, 208 to 24s ; beans., 408 to 428; peas, 368 to 388.

NORTFI.A.MPTON—SATuRDAy.
White wheat, 40s to 'l44s ; red, 35s to 42s ; fine, —8
to --s per qr. Barley, 35s to 39s—grinding, 28s to 30s;
Oats, 28s to 32s per 24 stone. Beans, 38s to 425. Peas,
34s to 40s per qr.

LEICESTER--SATURDAY.
We were moderately supplied with new wheat to-day.
•—New white wheat, 44s to 465; red, 42s to 44s per 36
stone. Old red, 428 to 44s per 36 stone. Barley, malting,
new, 36s to 38s per qr.; grinding, 29s to 325; old oats,
25s to 30s; new oats, 22s to 25s per 24 stone. Beans,
old, 38s to 42s per 33 stone ; flour, 305 to 35s per 20 atone.

YORK—SATURDAY.
The supply of wheat at market to-day was moderate, and
a fair attendance of the trade.
Wheat, red 36s to 39s Oats.... lBs to 203
White do .40s to 45s Beans 40s to —s
Barley .30s to 32s Peas ....—s to —s
Malt, 62s to 64s per qr. i lye, 32s per qr ; flour, 30s
to 32s per sack.

NOTTINGHAM—SATURDAY.
There 'was a fair show of wheat to-day from the farmers.
—White wheat, from 41s to 45s ; red wheat, 35s to 425.
Barley—malting, 33s .to 40s; grinding, 28s to 31s. Oats
old, at 24s to 31s Od ; new, 22s to 265. Beaus sold at 38s
to 43s per qr. ; new, 38s to 425.