The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-29 00:00:00

HOUSE.

Mr. LAWLEY, the chairman to the Special Par-
liamentary Committee appointed to consider the
subject of bills in Parliament affecting the rights,
privileges, and revenues of the City of London,
brought up a report from that committee, in which
they stated in effect that the Government persisted
in carrying out the decision arrived at by the select
commitee of the House of Commons, that the new
street from Blaekfriar's-bridge to the Mansion
House should be constructed by the Metropolitan
Board of Works, but they recommended that the
question should still be agitated, and that the com-
mittee should continue their exertions to procure
the adoption of the proposition they had made to
the Government on behalf of the Corporation. The
proposition was, that out of the fourpenny
and ninepenny coal and wine dues, which the Cor-
poration are authorised by an Act of Parliament to
retain for a certain period, they should pay £350,000
towards the construction of the new street, and re-
ceive £300,000 from the Government in addition to,
and that the work should thus be taken out of the
hands of the Metropolitan Board of Works and be
performed by the Corporation themselves. Upon
the suggestion of Deputy Harrison the correspon-
dtnee that had taken place between the solicitor to
the Corporation, acting on their behalf, and the
Chief Commissioner of the Board of Works in re-
ference to the subject was read, and it appeared
that the principal ground upon which the Govern-
ment felt themselves compelled to entrust the pro-
posed improvements to the Board of Works, was,
that the Corporation had not shown that it was in
a position to raise the funds that were necessary to
perform the work, and the proposal made on behalf
of the Corporation in reference to this subject was
characterised as " shadowy and delusive in appear-
ance," and that unless the Government carried out
the work through the instrumentality of the Metro-
politi.n Board of Works, the important improve-
ments referred to would be postponed for an inde-
finite period. The hon. member, in moving that
the report be agreed to, said that he should defer
makiug any observations upon the subject until the
close of the debate.

Deputy FRY opposed the motion, and went at con-
siderable length into the subject, expressing his opi-
nion that it was perfectly useless for the Corporation
to go on any further witt their opposition to the mea-
sures of the Government, as they really were unable
to raise the necessary funds, and he said that unless
the new street was constructed by the Board of
Works, it would not be made fora hundred years
to come. He complained of the course that had
been take❑ by the Special Parliamentary Com-
mittee in reference to this question, and said it ap-
peared to him that they had by that course
materially damaged the credit of the Corporation,
and this was the first time that any proposition
that was made by it to the Government had been
characterised as shadowy and delusive. (Hear,
hear.) He concluded by proposing an amendment
to the effect that as the Special Committee had failed
in their endeavours to induce the Government to
consent to the proposition they had made, that all
further opposition to the measures now before Par-
liament should cease. The resolution also embodied
an opinion, signed by the Recorder and the other
lr,w officers of the Corporation, in reference to the
subject which the hon. member was about to read.

Alderman and SheriffJ. C. LAWRENCE, however,
interposed, and said that the opinion referred to
was never intended to be made public, and that it
was given upon that understanding.
Several other members of the Court having con-
firmed the statement made by Mr. Alderman J. C.
Lawrence, Deputy Fry abstained from pressing this
portion of his amendment. _

Mr. TWAT seconded the amendment, and he said
that the Corporation had, in his opinion, already
done a great deal more than was necessary, and that
they had been signally defeated in Parliament, as
they had not made out any case to justify their in-
terference. He hoped, therefore, that the amend-
ment proposed by Deputy Fry would be agreed to,
and that this important improvement would not be
any longer delayed.
Mr. RIIDKIN admitted that a good deal of damage
had been done to the interests of the Corporation by
some of the members of it, who had given evidence
before the House of Commons, and those who had
spoken in that assembly ; and he particularly in-
stanced the speech that had been made upon
the question by one of the aldermen, which
he described as most damaging, and of a
character which he confessed he was surprised

to have heard delivered by a gentleman who
to a considerable extent owed the position he held
to the Corporation. (Hear.)

Alderman SIDNEY said that as he had been so
specially referred to by the last speaker, he could
not refrain from stating that notwithstanding the
position he occupied in connection with the city of
London, he should always claim the right of acting
as an independent member of the House of Com-
mons. (Hear.) In the debate that took place, and
which had been so often referred to, it appeared to
be the fashion to describe the Metropolitan Board
of Works as a foreiat body; but he denied that
there was any justification for giving them this ap-
pellation. He was quite certain that the Corpora-
tion were not in a position to spend £300,000 to do
a work which would be done by another public
body in a manner that would meet all the require-
ments of the public without costing them a farthing.
(Hear.) As to ttie question of a foreign body com-
ing into the City, he really thought the observation
amounted to nothing, and they might just as well
apply the observation to the different railway com-
panies whose proceedings, and particularly those of
the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, were, in
his opinion, calculated to inflict most serious injury
upon the city of London. (Hear.) He listened at-
tentively to all the arguments that had been made
use of when the questio❑ was discussed in the House
of Commons, and finding that by the prolongation
of the term for which the Corporation were to be
entitled to receive the fourpenny and the ninepenny
coal and wine dues, to which, the Court should re-
member, a great many persons thought they had no
legal claim, and by which they would receive some-
thing like a million of money, he thought the Cor-
poration had obtained a great advantage, and that
the proposition of the Government was one that
ought to be carried out, as best calculated to further
the interests of the public.
Deputy JONES supported the amendment, and
said he could not see what object could be gained
by any further opposition. All that could be done
was to go the House of Lords, which was not likel)
to be of any avail. (Hear.)
Alderman and Sheriff J. C. LAWRENCE supported
the original motion, and said that if the Metropoli-
tan Board of Works were once allowed to carry out
improvements in the city of London, they might
depend that they would very soon claim to be en-
titled to the fourpenny coal dues, as being only
granted for that purpose. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. J. E. SAUNDERS also supported the motion,
and expressed his opinion that the real question
was, whether the city of London were to be allowed
to retain their ancient privileges, or whether they
were to be entirely deprived of those privileges.
(Hear, bear.) If the Metropolitan Board of Works
were to be permitted to come into the city and make
their streets for them, and to carry out those im-
provements that had heretofore always been made
by the citizens themselves, it appeared to him that
there would soon be an end to those rights and
privileges that the citizens of London had always
endeavoured to guard so jealously, and that although
they might retain the privilege of giving feasts and
pageants, all power in real matters of importance
would be taken away from them. (Hear, hear.) He,
therefore, considered that a great principle was at
stake, and he hoped that the Corporation would
resist the attack that was made upon them to the
very utmost.

Mr. Deputy HARRISON supported the amendment.
He said if the Corporation were entrusted with the
making of the new street, they would be obliged to
borrow £350,000, which would be required, and the
interest on this would be very large. It seemed to
him that the old ship—the Corporation—was going
aground, and he, as one of the old sailors, would put
his shoulder to the wheel to try and save it. The
law officers of the Corporation had been appealed
to, and they would say that it would be unwise to
enter into such an obligation. The bonded debt of
the Corporation was, as it was, £1,418,600.
Mr. LAWLEY here interposed upon a point of
order. He thought his friend was indiscreet.
The CHAIRMAN ruled that the hon. member was
in order.

Mr. Deputy HARRISON—And the Corporation
were under obligations, first for the new market,
which was estimated at £665,000; the new bridge,
which was £250,000, and £320,000 the Holbarn
valley; making together £1,235,000. He believed
that if they went into the financial part of the ques
tion they would find themselves in such difficulties
that they would be paralysed and totally unable to
proceed. When the hon. member talked about
foreign members being introduced, it was not the
first time the Metropolitan Board had been intro-
duced into the City. They had contributed towards
various improvements, and since 1855 they had in-
truded to the extent of £116,537 15s. 6d. The
general precepts of the board amounted to £36,236
4s. 9d., and in 1851 the main drainage works
amounted to £80,301 10s. 9d, so that it was not at
all a new thing. There had been interference from
that board for some time in the City. He asked
the Court to look with caution into their financial
position, and he said it most confidently, that it
would be a most calamitous thing for the Corpora-
tion. If they attempted to borrow money and in-
vest large sums of money while they had not got it
for public works, it must fall on the heads of the
Corporation, and he thought the policy of the Cor-
poration should be to withhold all opposition in the
House of Lords.
Mr. Alderman PHILLIPS was of the same
opinion, and thought it would be most unwise and
unsafe to carry on the opposition. At the same time
he asserted that the Corporation was in a very safe
and firm position to liquidate all claims made
against them. The hon. member who had pre-
ceded him forgot when he alluded to their obliga-
tions in regard to Smithfield, that they had power
to raise tolls, and also power over the fourpenny
tax for a period of ten years, in order to effect the
improvement of Holborn valley. He hoped the
Board of Works would not only have the power of
carry ing out that colossal improvetnent,but he hoped
they would have the management of it, and more,
he hoped they would like it.
Mr. LAWLEY replied, and he maintained that the
course which the committee had recommended was
the one to be adopted ; and he thought that the cor-
poration ought to uphold to the utmost the principles
of local self-government, and take the management
of their own affairs ; and be urged upon the court
the necessity at all risks of continuing their opposi-
tion in Parliament to their introduction into the
City, and to their taking any control over the work.
Mr. Harrison had forgotten that they had power to
levy tolls which would cover the expenses incurred
in the erection of the new market, and that by act
of Parliament they had the control of the fourpenny
coal duty for the year, and that one million of the
bonded debt was covered by surplus land, The
funds of the Corporation were ample to meet all lia-
bilities, and he should not like it to go forth that
their income was in such a condition that in a few
years they would have a deficiency instead of a
surplus. He hoped the court would agree with the
committee in their report.
Upon a division the amendment was negatived,
and the original motion was carried by a majority
of seven.

TUE PROPOSED VIADUCT ACROSS LUDGATE-lIILL.
Mr. Deputy FRY brought up a report from the
Improvements Committ©e upon the reference to pro-
secute the petition in Parliament against the Lud-
gate Station and Junction Railway Compony's Bill,
and also recommending that a petition be presented
against the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway
Company. Mr, F.y said the company had with-
drawn the London Stations Bill, and they had now
another bill before the house, in which they asked
for additional borrowing powers ; and the committee
recommended that they should present a petition
against that bill, that they might have a locus stanch
there, and be enabled to watch the improvements.
He had that day seen a plan of Mr. Greenhill's for
a compound bridge across the Thames, which he
thought was very feasible : and he moved that the
report should be agreed to, and that the Improve-
ments Committee and Bridge House Estates Com-
mittee be authorised to take into consideration a
plan suggested by Mr. Greenhill, C.E., for a rail-
way and road communication between the north and
south sides of the river Thames, and which has for
its object to obviate the necessity for the p_oposed
viaduct across Ludgate-hill, -which. contemplates
crossing the bottom of Ludgate.hill, and also Hol-

born-valley ; that their committee be empowered to
confer, if considered expedient, with the several
authorities interested, and to report thereon.
Mr. ELLIOTT seconded the motion, which was
agreed to.

After some routine business had been disposed of,
the Court adjourned.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

--a-- -..
_.__

TIMES.—The soleinu pomp of a public funeral,
and the universal detnonsttations of sorrow and re-
spect that have accompanied an illustrious soldier
to his grave, stand out in dark relief amid the poli-
tical confusions of the last American intelligence.
" Since the death of Washington" such a deep and
mournful impression has never been produced by the
loss of one man as by the fall of General Jackson.
From that tingle event the last of the contests in
which he led will long be specially remembered. It
will be difficult for the future historian of the Ame-
rican War to give much distinctive character to the
descriptions of the numerous battles which resemble
each other in so many features. All the great en-
gagements have been alike in duration, the large
numbers brought into action, the obstinate fialiting,
the enormous loss of life, and the negative results
of the conflict. An advance attempted, checked,
rolled back, the invading force retreating and again
declared to be " safe," will form the substance of
most of the narratives. But in the record of these
great fights rather than decisive battles the second
" carnage-covered field" of Fredericksburg will be
mournfully distinguished for the Confederacy by the
death of its ablest commander. We may have still
much to learn of the effect of this last defeat on the
army of the North. Present discouragement it must
be, and, according to pest experience, future demo-
ralization of the troops is a very probable result.
But, for the moment, heavy as the loss of the
Federals has been, it is not irreparable. Their
slaughtered thousands may he replaced, as the
shattered ranks of their army have been filled up
before. Tempted to enlist by money, or compelled
to serve by force, the numbers may be found. But
by the death of General Jackson the South has lost
a great and controlling mind—one of those born
leaders of men who can infuse their own spirit
into all around them. Such a commander is the
soul and strength of a cause when it asserts
itself in arms. The combination of sincerity and
enthusiasm with the professional skill that
amounted to a genius for war, is rare indeed.
Power cannot evoke, nor can the wealth of em-
pires create it. The adherence of such men to
a cause or principle makes the difference between
success and failure to the side they select. Had
his last victory been more complete it would
not have compensated the South for the loss of
General Jackson, whose fall has thrown such a
dark shadow over the memory of the day. The
national feeling of England recorded the victory of
Trafalgar as dearly purchased by the death of Nel-
son. A similar feeling pervades the South for the
loss of " Stonewall" Jackson, the first great soldier
of this war whom the " choosers of the slain" have
struck down in the shock of battle. The ablest
commander of the Confederacy has fallen while
the contest is still undetermined. " We could have
better spared a division" is the first expression of
the grief of those he led. But the loss of such a
leader cannot be estimated by any scale of num-
bers. There may be no compensation for it. The
South will be exceptionally fortunate if it find
another man with all the qualities and capacity
Gen_ Jackson possessed. It is only a just tribute
to his memory to admit that the cause of the South
has received a severe blow by his death. His fall
was untimely, for he was still young, if age is
reckoned by years, and the work to which he had
devoted his life is unfinished. He might have done
his cause more service, but he had achieved a full
measure of fame. Rarely has so brief a period esta-
blished such an unquestioned military reputation.
But his short term of intense activity had been pre-
ceded by a life of professional study and reflection.
He was a pupil of the Military School at West
Point, and up to 1852 an officer of the regular army
of the United States. Among his opponents
throughout this conflict were several of his com-
rades at the academy. M'Clellan was his class
mate ; but the divisions of a civil war placed the
two friends on opposite sides, as they have done
thousands of others. Jackson had served in the
Mexican war with credit, but not with more distinc-
tion than fell to the lot of inferior men. He resigned
his commission in 1852, and when his State se-
ceded from tile Union he was a quiet Professor in
the Military Institute of Virginia, at Lexington.
It was not without a severe mental struggle, and
at last an earnest conviction that he was doing
his duty, that he again drew his sword on the
side of the South. What he has done for the
cause he adopted is known to all the world; but a
great career is suddenly stopped, and others must
be found to carry on hie work. The " Cromwell of
the Cavaliers" fought v. ith the same religious en-
thusiasm as the old Puritan leader, but was not
destined to see the conflict ended by a battle to
which the description of a " crowning mercy"
would apply. What conceivable day of carnage
might not be accepted as a " mercy" to mankind, if
it would really terminate a struggle which begins
to be little more than a monotony of slaughter ?
The natural grief of the Southern army f.'or the
loss of its great captain is deepened by the circum-
stances of his death. It is truly said that he fell
by a " cruel chance," for it was a casualty not in-
cluded in the ordinary risks of the field. General
Jackson, it is stated, received his mortal wounds in
the confusion of a snetee from the fire of his own
troops, "all of whom would have died for him."
The fatality is very explicable, and not unprece-
dented. On similar incidents many military legends
connected with celebrated commanders have been
founded. The bullet which killed Charles XII., it
is said, never crossed the trenches of the " petty
fortress" he was besieging, and the "dubious hand"
was one not far from his side. Tradition, if not
history, ascribes the death of Gustavus Adolphus to
some treachery in those around bim on the field of
Lutzen. But these Commanders were also Kings,
and had political and religious enmities at work
against them in addition to the chances they en-
countered as soldiers. The Confederate leader was
a soldier only, and as an officer had won the confi-
dence and affection of all ranks under his command.
We fully believe that to have averted the fatal shot
thousands would have died for their General. The
Commander-in-Chief, before it was known that
Jackson's wounds were mortal, told him, "if be
could have directed events" he would have chosen to
be disabled in his stead. The conflict may be training
Commanders worthy to rank with Jackson, Lee, and
Longstreet, who have held the supremacy of talent
om the outbreak of the Mbar ; but the South may
well fear that in losses among their first group of
able Generals the waste of the conflict will begin
to tell seriously. The North has never yet found
such decided military ability for its high commands
as the South commenced with. The Federals are
trying to arrive at a great general by a tentative
process. All their commanders have been experi-
ments. They have changed often and tested many,
but so far the range of candidates has been through
a descending scale of merit. The North has ex-
pended three armies in trying four generals, and
the last has failed more signally than either of his
predecessors. This process of possible discovery is
fearfully expensive both in money and life ; and
should any of the names not yet drawn from the
political lottery prove the prize required, the long
sought ability may come too late to be of service.
But against these contingent commanders, for the
selection of whom the field is almost without limit,
the South must stake the lives of generals whose
ability cannot be questioned, and whose number
such casualties as that by which Jackson has fallen
may too soon diminish. And it is by this gradual
loss of men, eminent by qualities and skill, that the
South may prove most vulnerable. More Southern
victories over other generals as rash end incompe-
tent as Hooker may be as dearly bought as that in
which Jackson fell; and what nation is rich enough
in military genius to purchase many triumphs at
such a price ?

POST.—The House of Commons last evening, by
250 votes by 191, confirmed its previous resolution
rescinding Mr. Churchward's postal contract. The
story of this contract has now been brought before
the public upon three several occasions. The first
was in 1860, when Mr. Leicester Vernon submitted
to the House of Commons a resolution to the effect
that the agreement entered into with Mr. Church-
ward by Lord Derby's Government for the extension
of his postal contract from the year 1863 to the year
1870 should be carried into effect. The second oc-
casion was about a fortnight since, when Mr. F.
Peel, on the part of her Majesty's Government,
proposed to the House of Commons it should
make no provision for the payment of Mr.
.Church-
ward after the 20th of June next, the time at
which his original contract will expire ; and the
third occasion was last night, when Mr. Spencer
Walpole moved the omission of the clause intro-
duced in accordance with the resolution of the com-
mittee on May 18, and which limited the payments
to be made to Mr. Churchward, in regard to time
until the period at which his first contract would
expire. The issue raised on all these occasions was,
however, practically the same—namely, whether
the contract entered into by the Conservative Go-
vernment in the year 1859 should be ratified by
Parliament. The questions which were involved in
this issue were extremely curious, and illustrated in
a remarkable degree the operation of Parliamentary
Government, and the relations subsisting between
it and the powers lodged in the Executive. In all
cases of Government contracts it is the heads of par-
ticular departments who in the name of the Crown

bind themselves towards the opposite contracting
parties by the same legal obligations which are en-
tered into between private individuals. As such
contracts are made in the name of the Crown, they
are of course during the period of their subsistence
binding upon all those who for the time being ad-
minister public affairs; nor can a Ministry repu-
diate the contracts entered into by that which pre•
ceded it in office, even though such contracts had
been disapproved of by its members when in oppo-
sition. One Government has thus an undoubted
riget to bind a Government which succeeds it. But
although it ie not open to one Administration to
repudiate the engagements entered into by a previ-
oue one, the House of Commons reserves to itself
the power of setting aside such engagements if it
should think proper. The Government concludes
the contract, bat the house of Commons, which
keeps the strings of the public purse, grants or
withholds at pleasure the sums to be paid in accor-
dance with its conditions. Last evening, in a house
containing 401) members, exclusive of the Speakers
a motion that the resolution previously carried
should be omitted from the report of the committee
of supply was negatived by the small majority of
14 votes. Whatever difference of opinion may sub-
sist on the question of Mr. Churchward's conduct,
there can be no doabt that in common consistency
no other course was open to the House of Commons
than that which it adopted last night. Four years
ago a special committee had condemned the con-
tract entered into by the Conservative Government
in 1859. A year later the House on a division re-
fused to give it its sanction. A few days since,
when the question was again raised in a substantive
form, the House refused to appropriate the necessary
supplies for the payment of the contractor. Having,
therefore, on every occasion when the matter was
brought under its consideration refused to ratify
the engagement entered into on the part of the
Executive, it would have been strange indeed if at
the eleventh hour the House of Commons had on
the same facts reversed its previous decisions. It
may be a great hardship upon Mr. Churchward,
but it was impossible under the circumstances for
Parliament to act otherwise.

HERALD.—It is quite within the bounds of pro-
bability that France may be driven, by domestic
necessity, induced by reasons of policy, or provoked
by the affronts she receives from the Government
at Washington, to recognise the Southern Confe-
deracy ; and such recognition would not improbably
lead, before very long, to the abandonment of the
untenable and hopeless claims of the North. Again,
despite the pacific tendencies of the English people
despite the abject and srrvile complaisance of Lord
Russell, events are happening every week which
forbid us to feel sure that the North may not at
any moment choose to make war upon England so
openly and avowedly that it will no longer be pos-
sible for England to forbear; and in that case a
period of six months would probably witness
the termination of the struggle, by the withdrawal
of all Northern pretensions to authority in any
State south of Mason's and Dixon's line. Nor can
we be certain that some such extraordinary revul-
sion of feeling may not take place in the Northern
States as was seen in April, 1861. Until Fort
Sumter fell there was a general determination in
favour of peace; on the day after its surrender
every one was clamorous for war. It is possible,
though not likely, that some signal and crushing
disaster might bring about a counter-revolution in
puhlic feeling, and restore the ascendancy of the
Peace party. With these contingencies in view, we
will not say that the war may not be ended before
Christmas next, even if the Government of this
country should persist in its refusal to recognise the
Confederacy. All that we can say is, that there
seems to be no reason why it may not, and great
reason to fear that it will, last very much longer.
It can be terminated only by the resolution of the
North to desist from its hopeless and wicked enter-
prise; and we confess that at present we see n°
signs of such a resolution, and no tendencies likely
to lead in that direction. The finances of the
Union are no doubt in a state of utter confusion ;
and national bankruptcy is impending. But as yet
gold is only worth half as much again as the paper
trash emitted by Mr. Chase; and so long as that
trash retains any value at all, its depreciation is not
likely to have much effect upon the policy of the
Government. War can be waged, and successfulll
waged, with a bankrupt exchequer, by a (tavern"
merit which is thoroughly indifferent to law, to
equity, and the sufferings of the people. It is ttruethat, independently of all merely financial conside-
rations, the United States can ill afford the immense
annual destruction of capital which is the sacrifice
really represented by its war expenditure. That
destruction renders the nation, and thevast majority
of the individuals composing it, poorer year after
year. But while millions are growing gradually
and slowly
poor,
fortunes by' hundreds make rapid and enor-
mousthe war; and the strong, concen-
trated, and clearly-perceived interest of the fewi in
its protraction, outweigh the evenly-diffused inter
rest of the many in its termination, so long as 1,
sufferings of the many do not become too iptel:rti,
ble to be forgotten even in the heat of patri ol'
"
passion. By our costly, though necessary, wer.„ilea
Napoleon, as by all wars, a few classes were entl
at the expense of the community; but the murlllo
ba
s,
been those who were impoverished would hardly
been loud enough to be heard had not the coteviwin
Dial position of the country inflicted on eertilr-si
trades a disproportionate amount of the gentr
burden and made their misery too severe for their
patriotism. In the United States, whose forelgd
trade is little affecied by the war, the loss infilete,
by the annual withdrawal and unproductive expert
diture of some hundred and fifty millions sterling
(for the peculations and profits of contractors pre-
vent Government from wasting all that it expen°°)
falls pretty evenly on all classes, and is not yet fell'
as an intolerable grievance by any. We fear, there"
fore, that a long time must elapse before the es'
haustion of the resources of the North will be see
painfully felt as to operate powerfully in behalf 01
peace.

COUNTRY MARKETS.

V

MANCHESTER--MAY 28.
Our market this morning waq quite of a broken charge:
ter. Holders of wheat asked rather higher rates, but
buyers operated cautiously. Flour in moderate demand!
bur, firm. Oats and oatmeal dull. English beans fully as
dear, while Egyptian declined 6d to is per qr. In Indian
corn no material change was obserTable.