The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-12 00:00:00

alive,

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

TIMES.—The enemies of Mr. Layard, if he has any,
will read his last speech to his constituents with a
malicious pleasure. If it is enjoyable to watch the
troubles of the storm-tossed mariner from the shore,
there is amusement, too, in the embarrassments of
a restless spirit safely lodged in a quiet berth. It is
due to Mr. Layard to admit that he betrays much
less wildness than might have been expected, and
submits to official restraints with a very good grace.
He boldly accepts the responsibility of his position
and undertakes to reconcile individual liberty with
subordination. Last year he was frank enough to
tell the electors of Southwark that a man in office

should consider himself as much out of office as ever
in respect of personal opinions, and was lucky enough
to have the Chinese question ready to hand as an
illustration of his own consistency. This year he
speaks with still more openness and confidence, de-
fending every measure of the Government from an
independent point of view, and palliatir:g their only
sin or omission in a most orthodox manner. "He
regretted very deeply" the speeches of Messrs.
Cobden and Bright; "they were painful speeches."
He protested that " the Government possessed the
be,t information of what took place on ,the Con-
tinent, and could alone know the state of foreign
arman:anats." He gave a great deal of good advice to
those who, with very limited means of information,
presume to set the Treasury Bench right on matters
of State. He stated it as his deliberate conviction
that "the acts of the Government were marked by

liberality and patriotism," and deserved the grate
rude of the public. This state of mind, supervening
on a Quixotic passion for reform, realises the poet's
idea " tnat men may rise on stepping stones of their
dead selves to higher things." The transformation
on which Mr. Hawthorne founded his most popular
novel was not more complete. The most merciless
of critics hiss become the most versatile of apologists;
the most dashing of assailants has shown himself a
master in the tamer arts of defence. Mr. Layard's
address belongs to the approved type of modern
vacation oratory. Thirty or forty years ago, when
the debates were not so generally read, no one
thought of volunteering speeches in the country.
Now and then Canning and Peel delivered them-
selves of orations on some grand occasion, or ventured
a few words on a practical subject, but the fashion
of reviewing the session and touching slightly upon
every question of the day, as if for the very purpose
of committing oneself, is quite new. However, the
practice is established, and every member of Parlia-
ment must be prepared with a synoptical view of
the state of things at home and abroad. Mr. Layard
only does what others have done before him us quo
ad nauseam, but ho does it with great tact end
ability. Dealing first with the old charge of Parlia-
mentary apathy, he told his hearers plainly that
" they could not have sensation Parliaments if they
had no sensation questions in the country." At the
same time, he avows his adherence to his former
opinion
that there should be an extension of the
suffrage, and that it had better be granted in quiet
times. Not that he denies the wise discretion shown
by Reformers in forbearing to press their proposals
on the House, but he still distrusts the policy, to
which he bows, of making no concessions except to
agitation. From this topic he passes to the conduct
of the working classes during the distress of the last
two years, and combats the theories promulgated by
Messrs. Bright and Cobden at Rochdale. He con-
tends that our labouring classes are better off than
those of most old and long-settled countries, that
they exercise indirectly more political power, and
that if they are not as highly educated as in Prussia,
" that arises from the greater amount of liberty en-
joyed in England." Where education is forced on
the people from above, the benefits which it confers
are chiefly intellectual, and we may learn from
the example of Prussia itself that such education
may fail to qualify its possessors for political action.
After declaring himself in favour of an educational
franchise, Mr. Layard plunges into Foreign Affairs.
He endorsee the principle that England cannot
exert a proper moral influence on Europe with-
out a large military expenditure. He quotes
figures to show that in the year 1861, selected by
Mr, Cobden in his " Three Panics," the estimated
cost and strength of the French Navy, taken by
him as the basis of his calculations, was almost
doubled by supplemental credits. He cordially
adopts the arguments of Lord Russell on the Con-
gress, justifies the language of his chief about
Poland, and points out, fairly enough, the absurdity
of objecting in the same breath that, it was a cruel
kindness to encourage the Poles so much, and that
we should nut have let out that we did not intend
to go to war. He then claims credit for the in-
flexible neutrality of the Government towards
America, but, soon returning to the East, discusses
successively Turkey, China, end Japan. According
to Mr. Layers], Admiral Kuper was satisfied by the
capture of the three steamers of Prince Satsuma,
and would have steamed quietly out of the bay if
the forts had not fired on him. Such is not the
impression which we received from his own de-
spatch ; and, however much we deplore any suffer-
ing inflicted on the peaceable inhabitants of Kego-
sima, we are far from sure that the confiscation of
the steamers would have been an adequate punish-
ment. On another point, however, we quite agree
with Mr. Layard. We allude to the misdeeds of
those adventurers who disgrace the English name
in the Eastern seas. Their claim to be protected in
fraud and lawlessness is one of the groat obstacles
to our Commerce and influence, and it would be well
if they were guilty of no worse practices than
" writing home complaints against our official re-
presentatives. It is creditable to Mr. Layard that
he can win acceptance for such moderate and sen-
sible views from the constituency of Southwszorkt,3
and maintain his seat by virtue of 1:!-.e wo
higher than those of a local candidate. lagh
and official
oteun
cannot help smiling at his altered tone
last to reproach him
complacency, we should be
with it as a fault. It
his own experience of
is a C::::nigae that must, come
over every man who bug"tamiliar truism that it is
political action. It is
easy to criticise, but hard to act ; easy to discern
of ght lobe done, hard to die-
from the outside what
inside the right way of doing it.
ei!rn trona the mete.