The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-27 00:00:00

The Weather—Sun Office, Nov. 27, 1863.

-o--

THERMOMETER.

.7. This day at Two o'clock 53

Barometer-30.32.
d—S.-East ; light breeze, and fine.

qT,7. ,

LONDON, FRIDAY, NOV. 27, 1563.

- 4-

One .of the most astoundingly ironical, sarcastic,
satirica:t demonstrations the world has ever wit••

nessed. yesterday rook place in London, as well as
is man!' parts of America, and indeed of the world,
in obedience to the mandate of that very bewildering
person, Mr. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. The proclamation
appointing ',;:ae last Thursday in the November of
1963, es the date selected for this strangely
projected demonstration was of a character so
wildly e ("centric as to amount, we might almost
venturet to say, to the blasphemous. It was a
proclarla tion issued in the name (notoriously
a mist: crmer, to begin with) of the PRESIDENT
of the TJ sited States, formally inviting his fellow-
citizens in every part of those same United States
(whereat er they may be, say in nubibus), and also
those ,a'ho are at sea, together with those who are
soj°lltil jog in foreign lands, to set apart and observe
.97 h alt• due solemnity the date before mentioned—
that if, 'yesterday, being the last Thursday
of this P7esent month of November, as—what ?
3:)..
BeLefiesittY of Thanksgiving and Prayer to our
Father who is in Heaven !" The
mate wurdiar.
of
t the sentence is quite after the
the form, styi, and.
014zu
Qcv.manner, of PRAISE•GOD•BARE-
BONES,
71:1E-
shall we rs,t tut LAND BUSY, or, still more,
this not inaptly re-
membered. Puritan's (selecting
from MACAULAY'S His-
tory of Fi'igland)—st:ime
wore after the fashion of—
TRU
IBLATION IVnottso
pointed festival of 71task8 A solemnly ap.
94i "g to the Divinity in
the midst of one of the rns,te
gigantic and
sanguinnry, and seemingly ously
Ito
Dtless, Civil Wars
-upon record, certainly does
appear
one • ""4' to every
rant who is not a Ancolulte,
a
rant and a most pitiable ac most fl3g-
fauity. It seems to US, in feet, as 3t of pro.t
:less of an impiety, in its Way, than Rolazs
In: iota
festival in the Reign of Terror formally recvnElt.
sin
the existence of a GOD ! A Day of lintaiii,x." ogn
would have been comprehensiblcomprehensible.But—ab,,y of
Thanksgiving ! The mere phrase resounds 'like
some horrible jibe or irony addressed to the majesty
of Heaven ! Dancing upon a Volcano is as nothing
to it. It is like the sulstitution of garlands and
holiday raiment—in the midst of the horrors of
u plague—for sackcloth and ashes. Never was a

rejoicing demonstration more marvellously or more
ptinfully ma/apropos. It is like the assuming of
fan air of gladness at a funeral. Knowing how
much there is of whimsicality, of ungainly wagger)'
about that gawky, lantern-jawed President of
(as we will still continue to call them, for form's
mate, though the name, as we have said, has long
ceased to bn otherwise than an extravagant mis- I
hom
vler)—of the United States, one is almost reduced I
I a necessity of believing that the appointment by
xr.
LINcoLN of this astounding Day or Thanks.
Its nothing more nor less on his part than
;4 most cruel and a most impious practical joke !
"'lsgivitlß—for catonabs of slain ? for millions
upon
millions of dollars squandered ? for cities
laid waste by tk,
ea'" of
„. .
tne cattenin,,, ,tthe t."l 1/' at. for
with the multipliea
.1r" of Amcviea
cif., blood
of th,
Weilag:Tes and the wasted lives,
eit; and the decaying bodies
of zilk dead and buried.
vethal:lsZ`nsiwholaer of North or
of South, whether
% Ctotaonfederates, by
thousands upon thousands, tn
terrible
in Ds rnalnitude as to be,
by this t
the rnell. o 4
f computation? so cansciol---e, b
. „eyond
s
,111 truth
was the American iViinister at London, or
the
evtra.
ordinary indecorum of the whole proceo,
that
was so far apoiogestie
his speech yesterday
throughout, that it was from first to last
explanatory ! And, cortainly, now that Mr.
ADAMS has explained the inner meaning of this
wonderfully profane Day of Thanksgiving, we can-

not but express our candid wish that, by way of
supplement, he would kindly explain his explana-
tion ?

The report read at the late general meeting of
the Hudson's Bay Company proves that the Com-
mittee of Management are by no means dissatified
Pith their bargain. It gives, indeed, but very
slender information to the shareholders, reminding
them that the scene of operations is so far removed
and the subjects involved in a detailed statement
would be so numerous that they must rest satisfied
with 'a small stock of knowledge respecting their
position and prospects. That they consider the
latter to be tolerably favourable may be inferred
from the fact that the. Committee feel justified in
recommending the usual dividend to be paid next
January, and they assure the proprietors that the
number of furs rcceived is on the increase and the
general aspects of the trade are favourable. It is
of course their object to extend this trade as much
as possible, and to develop° the resources of that
vast territory, once again, through the folly or in-
difference of Ministers, aesigned to a company. It
certainly appears strange, that when for years so
large a portion of our North American possessions
has been shut out from improvement and cultivation
by the claims of the earlier Company, no sooner
should that matter be happily disposed of than
fresh terms and engagements are entered upon
which will serve to.fetter the future like the past.
It is not easy to see why the authorities should have
taken this unwise and ill judged step. It is true
that the Company promises fully and fairly to carry
out all their engagements, and will probably do so
to the best of their ability so far as is consistent
with tha requirements of their principal trade;
but private enterprise is not like the free open
competition, which infuses such spirit into a young
colony, and secures the rapid development of the
lits resources. And it is difficult to calculate what
are the resources of a territory so little known. It
is hard to conjecture what is the geological forma-
tion of the ground over which the ermine and
marten leave the only footprints that pass, It is
not easy to surmise what system of agriculture
it will be best and most profitable to pursue,
what specie of domestic animal will flourish best
is the c imate, while onr experience and know-
ledge of the land are yet in their infancy. One
important fact has, however, been brought to light,
which will have a momentous effect on the for-
tunes of the colony, and will be likely consider-
ably to alter the aspect of affairs. Gold has been
found in the Hudson's Bay Territory, and although
as yet nothing is known of the extent or quality
of its goldfields, there is reason to suppose, judg-
ing from its proximity to Vancouver's Island, that
it will yield a good harvest to the industrious
seeker. The Committee, 'wisely enough, propose
to have a careful survey made of the mineral re- 1
sources of the Company's territory, and they express
their willingness to act in accordance with the spirit
of the age, and introduce any improvements affect'
ing the general good which may be found practicable.
They propose to erect a telegraph uniting British
Columbia and Canada, on condition of some part of
their expenses being reimbursed by the Gevern-
vernments of the two colonies. The committee
hope, according to their report, to preserve intact
those branches of trade which have hitherto proved
so profitable, although they are willing to assist in
.the settlement of any part of their territory which
may be fit for it, and also to facilitate the trans-
mission of intelligence by post and telegraph. But
however fair this may sound, and however liberal
may be their intentions, the fact of granting the
charter was a great mistake. It is by colonising
and cultivating those northern wastes, that we may
hope to extend the power and Eflacnce of Eng-
land, not by sacrificing vast territories to any one
particular trade. The Canadian Government was
strongly opposed to any such measure, and it is
not the way to conciliate the affections of our colo-
nists, or to retain their allegiance to the mother
country unshaken, to act in a manner diametrically
opposed to their wishes, in a matter that closely
concerns them. It is entirely inconsistent with
the spirit of our constitution to delegate such powers
into the hands of companies or individuals, and
although the experiment has been made before, it
has always been attended with unsatisfactory re-
sults. It is a matter of regret that the Government
should have thought proper to have again entered
into any compact of the sort ; and if the auriferous
promise of the province be carried out, they will be
likely to hear a good deal more on the subject.

It is satisfactory to find that every one has not
forgotten the question of Poland, although the sub-
isct seems to have been dropped in the discussions
of Cabinets, and to have ceased to occupy so pro-
minent a position as it has done. The public meet-
ing on Tuesday was a step in the right direction, at
all events, and the proceedings were characterised
by a unanimous spirit of concord. The Right Hon.
Lord CAMPBELL presided. His lordship made an
admirable address, and eloquently advocated the
cause they had at heart. He explained the object
which the League had in view in convening these
several meetings in the environs of London, which
was the very laudable one of "drawing out the
expression of a strong public opinion of the people
of the metropolis in favour of Polish independence."
There can be no harm done by this endeavour, and
it may tend to great good. At any rate, it must in
some degree further the interests of that oppressed
and afflicted nation, and favour the desires of all 1
liberal and right-minded men in the cause of inde- 1
pendence and the advancement of freedom. As the
chairman remarked, they desired to enable the Go-
'Zruraent to speak out more strongly, and to take
ore decided and definite measures in regard to
tahti:ttraestion. This is a very desirable end to arrive
11 they get some way on the road without
actually /lea •
ment u a treg the gout, it will be a great achieve-
those, Zolartionot fail to afford BORIC countenance to
doubt the afraid to act with determination, and
their feelings.t4ilital
vtttld efficacy of giving vent to
the fallacy of thios_4l.tg can more forcibly evince
."441t4tien, or prove more surely
the mistake of !Inch sears, than the outspoken
wishes and inferred aet
it
I is the of the great body of
the public. It
to test
f
ttoh et e
ssearching
principles
of
aa
is e
generalct,
the stability and validity beg way
oquestion to
sure of dis-
sasusbejmeobtlyi,taltiod
This is the only
cussion. d unerring
B'"ttlit the
at a decisioa re .
method of arriving
veracity or falsity of V c
and the matter, be it
what it may, that sinks into
insignificance before
a r ti,„
rena ht into notoriety, away gradually when once a a
a united assembly , .
will ns..saa all! forth the approval told live ill the
memory of Eng ishaneri. AI! oar sympathies are
ranged on the side which Lord CAMPIMLL de-
scanted upon with much zeal, and discussed with
so much energy. He truly explained that it Was
of consequence to our nation that Poland should
succeed in establishing an independent constitu-
tion which would closely resemble that of Eng-
land. If a kingdom free from foreign restraints,
end at unity in itself, were only at once firmly
fised and rooted in the land, there is no doubt that t
would be of incalculable advantage to us, al-
torsaio„, a
b barrier against the inroads et despotism,
which
must, however impercept bly, militate