The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-23 00:00:00

Commence at 7.

TriEATRE-R0 if Al-. HAY MARKET.
Legere. Mr. J. B. Bnekstone.
THIS EVENING, STILL WATERS RUN DEEP.
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Wigan, Mr. W. Farren, Mr. Chippen-
dale, and Miss Louisa Angel.
After which, an apropos Dramatic Sketch, introducing a
Panorama of the Tour of the Prince of Wales in the East.
To conclude with BORROWING A HUSBAND. Pamela
Miss Maria Harris. Commence at 7.

THEATRE-ROYAL LYCEUM OPEN, under
the Sole Management of Mr. FECHTER.
THIS EVENING, at 7, to commence with an OTP:final
Sketch, entitled A SUDDEN ATTACK. Messrs. Shore,
Garden, H. Widdicomb, Miss Henrade, and Mrs. Lee.
After which, at a Quarter to Eight, a New Romantic
Drama, in Three Acts, and Pr,logue, entitled THE
DUKE'S MOTTO, by Paul Feval and John Brougham.
The principal character will be sustained by Mr. Fechter,
supported by Messrs. J. G. Shore, G. Jordan, J. Brougham,
H. 4'iddi ombe, F. Charles, Garden, Raymond, Dawsoand
n ;
Misses Carlotta Leclercq, Kate Terry, 14. Lavenue,
Elsworthy.

Acting-Manager, Mr. H. Barnett.
--

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE
Leese* s, Bress:s. Lindus and Vining.
THIS EVENING the drama of AURORA FLOYD. Miss
Amy Sedgwick. Avis Hendersou,
re, C. Seyton, and Mrs. SimpWallace,Mesand
srs.
K. Roxby, G. Melville, G. Belmo
Cathcart.
After which. KILLING( TIME. Mr. Go'. Vining, Mr. C
Seyton, and Miss Amy Sedgwick.
To conclude with a new whimsical Extravaganza, entitled
BEAUTIFUL FIAIDEii ; or The Sea Nymph and the Sallee
Rovers. 3lisses M. Oliver, Helen Howard, Hudspeth, Hen-
d,rson, and Murray ; Messrs. C. Seyton, G. Belmore, Fitz-
James, Moreland, and Cockerill.

NEW THRATRE-R0 YAL, ADELPHI.—
sole Proprietor and Manager. Mr. B. Webster.
THIS EVENING, DOMESTIC ECONOMY. Mr. J. L.
Miss Kate Kelly, Miss A. Seaman. and Miss Stok
After which, at Eight o'clock, AURORA FLOYD. Miss
Avonia Joueg, Miss H. Simms, Mrs. Billington ; Mr. Benj.
Webster, Mr. Paul Bedford, Mr. R. Phillips, Mr. Billington,
Mr. Stuart, Mr. 6elton, Mr. Romer, Mr. C. J. Smith.
Commence at 7.

rrITE THIRD EDITION OF THE SUN."
1 Containing the Latest SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,
can be had Every Evening of
G. R. GLENIE, NEWS AGENT,
No. 4, Connaught-terrace, Hyde-park.
4

- .--___--_--------
The Weather—Sun Office, April 23, 1863.
—..-

THERMOMETER.
Highest since Noon yesterday . . 57
Lowest during the night
This day at Noon
Wind—Northerly ; fresh, with fine weather.
-----

-----
HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
TIM DAM. Morning, sh. Bm.—Afternoon, sh. 27m.
To-moußow.-Morning, sh. 45m.—Afternoon, 6h. sm.

‘4l6k
tin
Amok_
r •

LONDON, THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1863.

It is a very doubtful policy, ind ea
, on the part
of Lord PALMERSTON, as it appears to us—his
attempting just now to conciliate those half.
estranged ultra-Liberals below the gangway, by
inducing, perhaps, the most rising man amongst
them all to stultify himself by the acceptance of a
junior lordship of the Admiralty. One reasonable
prospect of anything like even a moderate and
partial reform, would be better than the induction
of half-a-dozen Mr. STANSFELDS into subordinate
posts at as many governmental departments. The
arrangement, or we are much mistaken, will neither
strengthen a debilitated Administration, nor yet
again very appreciably advance the repute of an
hon. member whose career was beginning to be
looked to with some little hope by many, and by a
few with a very great deal of interest.
One cannot but bear rather vividly in mind the
part taken by the hon. member for Halifax upon the
occasion of a memorable little episode last session
in the otherwise dull and tedious sittings of the
House of Commons. For a while Mr. STANS-
FELD might almost have been represented by
any pasquinuding caricaturist who cared to
symbolise his Parliamentary frolics by a timely
touch or two from a comic pencil—as bearing aloft
for a time a banner emblazoned on one side, like
the standard of the young aspirant, sung of in Pro-
fessor LONGFELLOW'S ballad, Excelsior ! and upon
the other side, let us say, Miching Malecho ! Ap-
parently, Mr. STANSFELD " meant mischief," or he
meant a:change for the better in Lord PALMERSTON'S
administration. A change for the better in two
ways had already long before last session, nay, it
has (in spite of Mr. STANSFELD and his followers),
ever since last session, up to this present moment,
still continued flagrantly to be what the quack
advertisement or the puff preliminary, is fond of
calling, as Captain WRAGG would say, in the lan-
guage of the classics, a desideratum. A negative
change for the better—in the way of a rational and
comprehensive economy. A positive change for
the better—in the way of opening up to the
nation some, at least, among those very reforms,
for the carrying of which, more effectually through
the Legislature, Lord PALMERSTON and his col-
leagues took office nearly four years ago, namely,
just before the midsummer of '59. Nothing whatever
to the good in either direction has, to this moment,
been accomplished, either through any persistent
pertinacity of demand on the part of the member

for Halifax, or through any tardy display of com-

punction on the part:of some member of the Admi-
nistration. Reformers there are, save the mark !
so•called still seated in that Cabinet, leaven-
ing it, or as one may say, in some slight
degree flavouring it, with the sickly aroma
of an almost wholly evaporated perfume of
liberalism. In this manner there comes to us in-
deed occasionally a feeble and vapid sense
of consolation, in the mere recognition, among
the Ministers who have attended the last

Cabinet Council in Downing-street, of the names
of practical reformers and advanced liberals
such as the right hon. gentlemen the member for
Wolverhampton and Ashton under-Lyne. Only—
at the best, this is but a ghostly solace, in its way,
after all. For—nothing comes of it. Nothing
Well, yes, perhaps we ought now, in some measure
to moderate the fervour of our complaint. No-
thing ? Why, truely,there is- another advanced,very
advanced Liberal—another practical, energetic, and
scrupulously conscientious reformer—in a wordthere
is Mr. STANSFELD rubbing elbows in a new capa-
city with his right hon. colleague in the represen-
tation of Halifax ! There is even Mr. STANS.
PELD, that rising, young politician, if not
actually stepping within the inner circle of the
Cabinet —next to it ! Taking a subordinate or
secondary place among the ranks of our adminis-
trators, bec •
°nun a junior Lord of the Ad-

miralty. All very well, certainly, in its way►
if it lead to anything—this infusion of
new blood, as it is called, into our en-
feebled Administration. Only, unfortunately, it
never does ! So that the consolation brought to
the advanced liberals, to the practical reformers, to
the political independents, in and out of the House
of Commons, ends precisely where it begins—is
simply summed up in the bare announcement of the
not very interesting fact, intrinsically, that Mr.
JAMES STANSFELD, M.P. for the borough of Hali-
fax, will take the post of Junior Lord of the Admi-
ralty, lately vacated by the Marquess of HAR-
,TON.

The intelligence brought by the City of Cork
leaves the fate of war still undecided and the belli-
gerents in much the same relative position, neither
side having gained a decided advantage. It is re-
parted, as it has been reported many times before,
that the bombardment of Fort Sumter, by the
Federal fleet has commenced. On Monday, the 6th
inst., the attack is said to have begun, and the
Southern journals of the Bth state, in confir-
mation of this intelligence, that the Federal gun-
boats and transports had crossed Charleston Bar
end had anchored, while the Confederate iron•clads
lay between the forts waiting the attack. The
Federal land forces, meanwhile, were waiting to see
how their naval brethren fared before they lent
their aid. Possibly they share the very doubtful
views of Federal success which are current in this
country, especially where "Greek meets Greek" on
the waters. NEPTUNE is decidedly unpropitious
to the Federals, and in spite of the vast advantages
with which they started, they have seen a formid-
able fleet spring up against them, and many of their
own vessels have been captured ; while the exploits
of the daring Southern privateers have been the
terror of their commerce. And all this has occurred
while they profess to maintain a blockade !

We learn by the City of York that the Confede-
rates have succeeded in capturing another war
steamer, the Diana, which started on a reconnoiter-
ing expedition in the Atchafalaeza River, was
stopyed by some Confederate masked batteries at
Patersonville, and surrendered after a sharp en-
gagement. The position of General Foster, in
Washington, North Carolina, appears to be very
precarious. The Confederates under General Hill
have surrounded the town, mustering 10,000
strong, while General Foster's forces are only from
2,000 to 4,000. The Confederates have cut off his
communications with Newburn,by erecting a battery
five miles below Washington, which commands the
channel which separates it from Newbern. The
besieged General sent for reinforcements, and
several gunboats started from Newbern, but were
unable to pass the batteries. A steamer from
Beaufort also attempted to come to his relief, but
the guns of the opposing battery compelled her to
retreat. General HILL has notified his intention of
shelling the city, and the next mail will probably
bring us tidings that the town is in the hands of the
Confederates. Meanwhile hostilities are threaten-
ing in another quarter, according to Southern
despatches, which tell us that the Federals,
15,000 strong, are advancing on Columbia, Ten-
nessee, where a battle is imminent. If the report
of the attack on Charleston be correct, all other
intelligence is comparatively without interest, foi
it has long been recognised on both sides of the
Atlantic that Vicksburg and Charleston are the
key-stones of the arch of victory, and that on
their fate rests mainly the fate of the Northern
cause. Should they fall, the South might pos-
sibly recover from the blow—nay, might even
gather strength from fury, but the pretensions of
the Northerners must hopelessly collapse should
they prove incapable of reducing these strongholds.

The wavering adhesion of the North-west provinces
to the Federal cause depends on the navigation of the
Mississippi. Strong symptoms of an inclination to

join the Confederate side have already shown them-
selves, and as, in spite of the canal device, which
the Federals are again in desperation resorting to,
the hopelessness of the attack is becoming more and
more evident, President LINCOLN may soon cease
to reckon these important provinces among his sup-
porters. That the Federals fully realise the impor-
tance of gaining possession of Vicksburg, is shown

by the desperate expedients they have resorted to.
The failure of the canal has not prevented them
from making another attempt beyond the range of
the Confederate batteries, probably with similar re-
sults. Admiral PORTER has entirely failed in his
attempt to reach the Yazoo by way of the creeks
which it was conjectured led into it. His official
report tells us how, during eight days, he worked
his way up 70 miles and back again, receiving
his final check within 800 yards of the point he
desired to reach. It certainly appears surprising
that he should have taken a whole fleet of gunboats
up the river without first ascertaining whether it
was navigable up to the necessary point. He may
think himself fortunate that he succeeded in safely
accomplishing the latter half of the old woman's
journey. He tells us that "many planters mani-
fested affection for the Federal flag, and the negroes
were unanimous in devotion to it." It is to be hoped
that Admiral PORTER considers the value of these
two striking pieces of information sufficient to com-
pensate him for the failure of his expedition.
But while the eagerness of the Federals to obtain
the navigation of the Mississippi is unquestionable,
their anxiety to reduce Charleston is probably even

greater, and of the strength and bitterness of that
feeling none are more cognisant than the Slutherners
themselves. The capture of Fort Sumter by the
Confederates has never been forgiven, and its con-
tinned occupation by the armies of the South has
been a standing reproach to Federal arms. The
disaffection to the supremacy of the North long held
its headquarters in that city before it became the
scene of the Second Declaration of Independence.
The famous "stone fl.:et" by which Federal
animosity sought to block up the finest
harbour of the South has not prevented the
issue of the Confederate vessels that swept
away the blockading squadron for a time at
least. The South know well
.what they have to
expect from Northern mercy. The scenes of New
Orleans will never be re-enacted with their consent
Gen. BUTLER has proved more.stthree ungnthivteorshails
feoes
el
to his friends, not only u
ing of Europe, but in the sense he has given
hasiven oftenthem
that they are fighting to the death. It
been remarked as a curious circumstance in the
longest and most disastrous civil war on record,
that it began and ended on the same spot. What
if the coincidence should recur, and Fort Sumter
should prove to be alike the opening of the drama
and the last scene before the falling of the curtain

Mr. GLADSTONE seems to think it incumbent
on him, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, to do
his utmost to render his office as opprobrious as
possible to the people of this country. For many
years has he strenuously upheld those portions of
the Income Tax which pressed most heavily on
those least able to bear them. In vain, however,
were the claims of those who had precarious in-
comes set forth ; nothing could move the iron will
of the skilled financier. Also, we have had to
bear the burden of an augmented tax for so long,
that the day of deliverance seemed not likely to
come at all, Now, when at last some important
reduction is made, and the politicians of both

sides are willing to accord their meed of approval,

it seems an invidious arrangement on the part of
Mr. GLADSTONE to adopt so unsuitable a proceed-
ing as to tax charities. It is as unwise, in a
public sense, as it is ungracious in a private one,

since the free institutions of England aro among
her noblest efforts, and redound to her fame,
more than victories abroad or splendours at home.

This new plan of Mr. GLADSTONE'S is one devoid
of political faith or public rectitude. He proposes
to take away from the poorest of the poor

the sums that kindly,dispo3ed individuals

have amassed for their benefit. Had these sums

been separately bestowed in small portions on the
destitute throughout the kingdom, no Chancellor of
the Exchequer could have touched them. They

have been directed to purposes of lasting utility and
a considerable sum has, in each instance, been de-
voted to the erection of edifices that will remain to
benefit the sufferers of far distant years, when those
who reared them and those who now derive ad-
vantage from them have alike passed away from
this earthly seene. The sum abstracted from

these institutions is to be £lOO,OOO yearly.
This is a very trifling amount to men-

tion in the year's expenditure, and to form
part of a surplus, can be of little use. Taken from
these places, however, it will work incalculable
evil, and produce results the most sad and sorrowful.

It is a well known fact that our charities are not
rich; there are endless applications constantly made
for increased funds; and with every effort that can
be used, with all the generous contributions that
are constantly bestowed, how many unhappy chil-
dren of mortality, suffering from the " thousand
ills that flesh is heir to," are refused admittance
into the hospitals in consequence of want of accom-
modation. How will these evils be augmented
tenfold by the arbitrary decision of the ruler
of our finances. It is a scandal on the
wealthiest country in the world that her Chancellor
of the Exchequer his to draw part of his
means from the abodes erected for the succour and
support of the houseless poor, when suffering under
those sad dispensations which all the comforts and
appliances of wealth cannot render otherwise than
afflicting to those in affluent circumstances. Mr.
GLADSTONE has always been most censorious and
severe on those who advocate a sentimental line of
policy. He thinks feeling should be eschewed in
all matters of finance. In this case it is justice
that speaks against him. What right has he to
appropriate that portion of the money which a
community has set apart for the most sacred cause
that can adorn humanity. If this disgraceful pro-
posal is carried out, it will be as a sledge-hammer
blow upon the future prospects of these institutions.
Who will care to bestow from their abundance to
swell the sums of an extravagant Exchequer Mi-
nister—who will be likely to give from their mode-
rate means to support a society which must pay the
tax-gatherer whether it succours the objects of
distress or not. Who will spare anything from the
means of their bare subsistence to aid an institu-
tion that is shorn of its privilege of immunity, and
left to be the prey of unscrupulous experimen-

talists in finance. What security have we that
next year there may not be war with some foreign
Power ? and then the Income-tax will be consider-
ably increased ; and the next year perhaps it may
be doubled, as in the Crimean War. Once the prin-
ciple has been admitted of taxing charities ;—of
course, they must undergo the ordeal of paying the
increased ratio. What, then, is to become of the sick,
the blind, the lama, the bedridden ?—they must
perish miserably in our streets while the noble in-
stitutions that were to be a refuge for their hour of
need, the means of restoring them again to health
and usefulness, or the blessed instruments that
were to smooth their passage to the grave are
rendered comparatively useless, and perverted from
their purpose by the freaks and fancies of an
unsympathising Minister. The sum is contemptible
as regards its benefit to the Exchequer, but were it

increased a hundredfold it is not by such means that
the State will ever be properly served, and the in-
terests of the community protected. It is earnestly
to be trusted that the House will not sanction the
passing of this proposal. It will be a blot on the
fair fame of the legislature if it allow the project
to become law, In a Christian country let them not
forget the precepts of its Founder, " For as much
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me." If Mr. GLAD-
STONE can reconcile it to his conscience to employ
his extraordinary powers of calculation to no
better purpose than to devise means of extracting
money from the penniless, and be satisfied
in employing his remarkable elopence in per-
quading the House that his ideas are correct,
let not other members follow his example.
They will be degrading their high position
and abusing the powers entrusted to them by their
countrymen if they seek to stultify our charitable
institutions. It is of no use to say that enough will
remain to supply needful assistance. There never

can be enough done to aid the distressed in any
country. Those best informed on the subject have
presented ample evidence of the appalling want,
the sad privations, and the cruel deaths that daily
occur around us. This hitherto unknown interfen
ence with these beneficent institutions will be like
the small edge of the wedge inserted to sap their
foundations and assail their stronghold. We have
all enough, and too much to do with the harsh and
unpleasant details of business, the cold and cruel
assumption of those dressed in a little brief autho•
rity, but if one spot more than another should be
rendered safe and sacred from their intrusion,
it should be that where mercy has founded a
refuge for misery. Another argument that may be
cited is that in no other country could this ect of
aggression be perpetrated. England alone contains
institutions that are supported by voluntary con-
tributions. In other lands the burden of providing
for these sufferers falls upon the State. Not con-
tent with being relieved from this grave responsi
bility, the Government now wish to seize upon the
produce of a people's munificence, and to mulct the
treasure house of the poor to add a mite to the
millions that are annually wasted or misapplied
to suit party views and carry out political
itswron
intrigue. Before it is too late let the
gbfeer.averted, and in refusing to allow
being
carried into law the Legislature
will confer a special service on the Chancellor of
the Exchequer,
since nothing can profit him so
little as to allow him to follow his mischievous
course. If the man whose friends call him a
"heaven-born financier," and who considers him-
self the "rhetorician of the age," is to distinguish
himself in this way, it is indeed lamentable. We
nave been taught that those who speak
with the tongues of men and of angels, and have
not charity, become as sounding brass, or as
tinkling cymbal, and our experience of human
nature confirms its truth. Great gifts of head are
valueless for the benefit of mankind if the heart
cannot feel in accordance with the inspirations of
the intellect. One thing is certain, the English
afonrd. if
If theiram mistaken
itbaekretny
Cabinet
febcikdnooennt
reckoning
giuocne
succumb
people admire talent, but they love honour more ;
ques-
tioned, a day of
Commons are too spell bound by his eloquenceh
dic-
tation of the Chancellor of nasilbltotobbete
the Exchequer's
arbitrary demands, and infatuated ectaocillrieeed
an House of