The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-09 00:00:00

THERMOMETER.

This day at Two o'clock 53

Barometer-29.61.

Wind—North-Easterly ; moderate, and cloudy.

*4' K.
y.
eljjt (e- I?P*% 'llll

LONDON, FRIDAY, OCT. 9, 1863.

Bit by bit the Tory majority is increasing. Of
this, there can no longer be any reasonable
doubt. The present Ministers, on their acces-
sion to power four years ago, by means of what
Sir HUGH CAIRNS called in exceedingly plain Eng •
lish " a dodge—began their political speculation,
as one may say, with a very small capital,
indeed, in the way of votes. The division that
actually landed them in power only just turned
the balance of that political plank on which party is
e7or playing the game of see-saw between Govern-
ment and Opposition. The balance, even then at
that turning point, was little more than just nomi-

nal. Tho clear majority was so very juvenile in poin
of fAet, that one might say it was only just in its
teens- It was a majority, in truth, so small
that it was only a trifle better than no majority what-
ever. The minority confronting it, if not furnish-
ing quite six to every half-dozen opposed to it,
was really and truly so very nearly upon a
level with its vickors, numerically, that it might
the most fairly have been designated at the outset
merely the second best. Gradually, however, even
the small clear majority appertaining to the
ie-coming Government began to dwindle and fade
away, until the point of equilibrium was eventually
reached. The Conservative Reaction has unmis-
takably since then gone on steadily—slowly it may
be—bat steadily, increasing. A laugh at first was
raised by the apologists of her Majesty's present
11inisters, when people began to whisper about the
phrase of—Conservative Reaction. The fact that
there was any Reaction of the kind was confidently
and indignantly denied. All the while the Reaction,
really in progress, while Ministerialists were
laughing at it, went on increasing until it even-
tually compelled them, as the phrase is, to laugh
on the other side of their mouths; and, so
laughing, to recognise it ; and, so laughing, to ac-
knowledge frankly that, in spite of themselves, they
did recognise it. A Liberal member dies, and
into his place slips adroitly enough a new
tooth-an d.nail Conservative. A supporter of
the Government resigns for one reason or an-
other—his constituency is bagged immediately
by the vigilant promoters of the interests of the
opposition. A partisan of the Cabinet—or of one
of the moat conspicuous members of the Cabinet,
probably its veteran leader —is rewarded for
his long years of faithful adherecce to the
Liberal cause by his promotion to a coronet and
ermine, in other words to a seat in the Upper House
--forthwith, into his seat in the Lower House, glides
as alarmingly as the Ghost of BANQUO to the won-
dering eyes of MACBETH, not a Liberal, not a
Mi]aiaterialist, no Whig, no new adherent of the
Prime Minister, but one diametrically the reverse, an
opponent to Lord PALMERaTON, and to all around
Thug pushing from their stools
Lord pALmEnsTo.. #
Liberal after Liberal, Conservative after Conser-
vative has mustered on the benches behind
Ir. DISRAELI.
The time has long passed by
'when anyone could pretend, for a moment,
estion of any decided kind
brought forward in te'
that, with a party V-
I,e House of Commons, the
'
Present Ministers could by any chance whatever
muster a majority, a clear mei ,ritY of one ! The
difficulty with the OPP°Siti°a has been to
comp across any such question in
course of thin the regular
a party question
'"Lngs. To drag
in by the only,
head and shoulders would
could only bear the
flse•rant construction of being
another "dodge"
infallibly in that case,
on act,. part, and must, quite
be dubbed thenceforth that
most dubiots political triumph, triumph Won
bvmere factious • a
opposition. The guiding policy
of the Opposition, for some time past, therefore,
h,s manifestly been to wait pati-ntl
asut:ent,y
as men ruight wait who have the pry p
i•Ce they covet
already in the palm of their hands, so that they have
only to close their fingers, in order to grasp it. The
policy with them, in other words, has been i
tarry
until the opportunity should naturally
le
self—not be dragged forward, tot be
aeltutallit-
made by them, but, in the regular course of political
events, as we have said, present itself for their
acceptance. The longer this policy is continued,
the more certain it is of proving successful in the
end. The opportunity is sure to arise sooner or
later. And meanwhile, by merely waiting, the
Tory opPcmi
tion is winning for itself not simply, as t
is really still doin
from time
election down at to time, new votes,
ig
as in this recent instance of the
than votes to them,
Coventry, but—What better

with the community at large, an increasing reputa-
tion for prudence, and almost,
we might go the
length of saying, for magnanimity.

A specimen of American eloquence has just been
afforded us in the address of the Rev. H. WARD

BEECHER, in the Cobden Hotel, Glasgow. This

gentleman is well known on both sides of the
Atlantic for his earnest, uncompromising advocacy
of temperance and abolition, and accordingly some
of the Dritacipal temperance men of the Scottish
city took the occasion of his visit to improvise an
assembly in his honour. It was of course expected
that Mr. BEECHER should address the meeting,
andpol t
el
at hl o
feelingug i t
awl
lae d
tehxpemr e ssl declared
together,y
the h that
general
desire was gratified, for the visitor plunged boldly
into the topic, occupying all minds, and acknow-
ledged his views in a bold and outspoken manner
that commanded at least the respect of his audience.
Of the speech itself we cannot think so favourably.
It was illogical, rash, and one-sided. Its argu-
ments were unsound, its assertions preposterous,
and its religious allusions, to say the least of it,
decidedly irreverent, even allowing for the freedom
of American discourse. Mr. BEECHER began, as
was natural, by complimenting the Scotch, and
commenting on the many points of resemblance
between them and the New Englanders. But
when we come to the instances of similarity which
he gives, we are almost inclined to think he is
speaking satirically. " That union of moral senti-
ment, that intellectual progress, together with that
mild and yielding disposition which characterise
both sides, convince me that I am hero at home."
It is the first time that we have heard either North
Britons or New Englanders celebrated for their
mild and yielding qualities, and certainly present
events do not show much of them in our transat-
lantic friends, at all events. Where a little further
on Mr. BEECHER declares that the Federals will
rather give " the last child they have and the last
penny they possess" than relinquish a war already
hopeless, he does not give a very striking proof either
of their amiehility or their readiness to yield to
conviction ! The religious declamation of Mr.
BEECHER, though doubtless earnest and sincere,
seems sadly out of place to English taste when it
precedes such declarations as those we have just
quoted. We are not slow to appreciate the grand
and lofty spirit of patriots dying for their country,
or the heroism which strives to the last to defend
its hearths and homes from the invader, but there
is nothing in the American war to inspire such sen-
timents. It is one of the darkest and most melan-
choly passages in modern history; fought by a
people who have always boasted of their practical
and matter-of-fact tendencies, it carries out that
view by being utterly divested of lofty idea or good
and noble purpose. We may sympathise with the
determined resistance of the South, and its unflinch-
ing courage, but the Southerners were not forced
into war by the oppression of a King BoMBA or
the atrocities sanctioned by a GORTSCIIAKOFF. On
the part of the North it is a struggle for supremacy,
actuated by mercenary motives; a lavish expendi-
ture of men and money, a reckless sacrifice of the
peace and welfare and progress of the State to sel-
fish ends. The great question of slavery, which
some enthusiasts would have us believe lies at the
root of this strife, has been worked for their own
ends by both combatants. The North talk loudly
of its iniquity—just discovered since the tide of
fortune turned against them—the South uphold it
hardily. The North would gladly retract the
famous Abolition Emancipation on condition of the
re-establishment of the Union, the South are bent
on preserving their " domestic institution." And
in the midst of this struggle constitut;onal liberty
and civil right go down; free speech blingo the
speaker into trouble, opposition to the Govern-
ment entails imprisonment or exile. A forced
conscription carries a whole train of evils with it.
Conscripts refuse to serve, or find substitutes who
enlist for the sake of the bounty, desert, are re-
captured, and shot. Murmurs, not loud but deep,
are heard, until the popular discontent is silencea
by exaggerated accounts of victory or infinitessimal
pictures of defeats. And in the face of all this,
Mr. BEECHER talks to us of " tiOD sending his
angel of war," of a feeling in the North " as ex-
tensive as the atmosphere, as deep as the ocean,
as immoveable as the mountains," against the divi-
sion of the Union. He says, "We all feel
his is not man's work, but GOD'S ; and we

feel that we shall follow His footsteps to the
end." Truly, if this is his idea of supplying the
needs of want, sorrow, or suffering which he tells
us is his missio❑ ; if this is his mode of displaying
that religion of universal love which he declares
to be burning in his soul, his intentions are better

when to do so was to incur
athbaonlithioisu,phreactteilcles.
us,He has upheld the cause of
exclusionbe 80 e ri
doingl life, andbut
si mu
ebb,
and meritsfromour applause
society,and
for to
p
Abolitionists hinder rather than further their
acknowledgecause
at the present crisis. They refuse
facts which are patent to the eyes of
if
theal rights ! unpreju-
dicedibtso men, and persist in talking as f
the negro, instead of the mercantile interests of
w
sof thear.
Northern States, were the true origin o
Let the South offer to rejoin the Union to-morrow,
on condition that the maintenance of slavery is
guaranteed to them, and we shall soon see the value
of the Federal fervour on behalf of humanity, and
the rights of man. Mr. BEECHER himself was fain
to admit that the immortal proc'amation was not
altogether disinterested, and that it was only be-
cause " the rebels became so potent, and their aims
a) alarming" that the PRESIDENT had recourse to it.
This he considers especially the work of Providence,
and the language in which he describes it, after
candidly admitting its origin, is worth quoting,—
" When it became evident that the Great Dragon
must be destroyed, with hands outstretched and
swords of fire in their hands, they rose like one man,
and with a voice which reverberated throughout
the whole world, cried, " Let it, with all its atten-
dant horrors, go to hell." This is a little too strong,
considering the real state of the case, but the man-
ner in which Heaven is dragged in to be responsi-
ble for the iniquities of man is still worse. When
we remember the total absence of humanity and
good faith which has characterised the acts of the
Northern Government, the tyranny of BUTLER, the
submersion of the lands round Vicksburg, the shells
falling under the, protecting yellow flag, the Greek
fire poured into Charleston, we can but feel indig-
nant astonishment that the most fervent enthusiasm
should carry Mr. BEECHER so far as to express the
feelings of the Northern people in the most sacred
of pray ~ (b.r.:. and to compare their preseut self'-in-
flicted trial to the _
sufferingseexagogf
oGraettehdeetutsasntee.
of Mr,
language may suit th
's co-enthusiasts, but it will not favourably
impress the English public.

The speeches at the Manchester Southern Inde-
pendent Association are well worthy of perusal, and
Will be sure to interest our readers. Lord /YEARN-
CLIFFE
took the chair, and delivered a very sensible
discourse ou the important subject before them. He
stated that some erroneous reports had been circu-
lated relative to their proceedingB'
and he must
take that opportunity to contradict them. They
had never attributed interested motives to
those opposed to them. All ho Wished
was to

claim for himselt and those who were of his opi-
nionedly the undenied and nndis-
right." This is assuredly
itwiitshgoitin. going out
object of this meeting was to announce the amalga-
mationt
the " credit of doing what they believed to be
routinehs bt
om
iennt
rafne rde
of
fa tt elide privilege
prescribed
of
E n
of the Central Association for the Recogni,
tion of the Confederate States and the old association
called the Southern Club. The name about to be
given to the united associations was the " Southern
Independence Association." In reference to Earl
RUSSELL'S declaration that there was a great prepon-
derance of those who sympathised with the North
over the number of those who favoured the South,
Lord WHARNCLIFFE aptly remarked that this
proved the truth of what he had before said, that
the minds of their statesmen must be under a
great deception, when they could make such
statements. He had no hesitation in giving
it as his opinion that there was not any-
thing like one-third of the population of England
in favour of the North. Many will corroborate
this statement, and only the devoted adherents of
Earl RUSSELL can be persuaded to credit his ex-
travagant assertion. It would hardly be exaggera-

tion to say that the direct opposite to the Foreign
Secretary's calculation would be the correct one.
At a meeting in Birmingham, where Mr. BRIGUT

made somegrand oration, while the audience cheered
his oratory, they received his political arguments
with silence. Mean while Mr. SCHOLEFIELD, Rho
was of the opposite opinion, was greatly ap-
plauded. The backbone of this association was
" tho recognition of the South, and the forma-

tion of teams of amity with that distin•
guished nation." Lord WHARNCLIFFE laid par-
ticular stress upon the unfounned imputation that
the South were encouraging slavery, and that the
charge had been made against those who supported
that struggling nation that they aided or abetted
the work. He thought they should try to remove
this impression, because many influential bodies
were against it. The fact is, that where there is
the semblance of a foundation for misrepresentation,
opponents are too prone to take advantage of the
opportunity, and to turn it to suit their own views-
The notion of the American contest being a war
of slavery" is downright absurd as to argument,
and flagrantly unjust as to principle. All who un-
derstand the American question will acknowledge
the error of the assertion that Lord WHARNaIF"
was so wisely anxious to refute, and so stop the
mischievous spread of the calumny. The
noble
chairman also drew attention to the results that

would ensue from the subjugation of the South by
the North. He spoke advisedly, for he had twico

visited the country, and he declared that the slave

was in a much worse position in the North than in
the South ; the negroes were shunned on all sides,

and regarded as pariahs and outcasts. In the
South,
on the contrary, the blacks and whites were to-
gether side by side. This fact was abundantly
proved iu the late insurrection at New York, where
a hundred blacks were killed in cold blood. The
noble lord justly observed that the ruling
spirit of the war had got beyond independence and
empire; the North were goaded on by revenge.
Lastly, the noble chairman spoke of the
policy of
conciliating the South, declaring that soon there
would be a war with the United States unless they
changed their tons towards us, and that then most
assuredly our best defence would be
in having
secured the friendship of the South. They might
hereafter hope to effect a gradual extinction of
slavery, and by the recognition of the South they
would do another good act by ,Iputting the curb
upon the violence of thy most mischievous
nation on the face of the earth." Lord WHARN-
CUM'S address was a most admirable one,
and deserves to be treated with attention. Had we
at an earlier period put these precepts into practice
the result would have been that we should now be
reaping inestimable and incalculable advantages ;
end how many of our working classes would have
been spared dreadful sufferings and a cruel position ?
It is to be trusted that thie Association will go ,pn
and prosper, and the more disseminated are its
principles, the deeper rooted its ideas, and the more
extended its views, the better will it be for the pro,
eperity of the community, and the more conducive
very properly
to the honour of the country.
spoke subsequently at the meetinig,. SpENCE, who
animadverted upon the unfairness of the declara-
tion of the advocates of the Federal cause,
that a large majority was on
their side, for in
the higher classes it was indisputable that there
was a balance in favour of the South; and as for
the working men, many times
had deputations
from them come forward to " protest against the
colour given to their opinions, and to urge the hold-
ing of meetings in favour of the South." The Fe-
deral party had now organised en agitation, and
they must therefore meet them with their own
weapons. Mr. SPENCE also said that the conflict-
ing accounts daily received of the victories gained
alternately, seemed to prove that some other
agency was wanted to stop the terrib'e tide
of bloodshed. "This evil could not be reached but
by the action and influence of some third party,
some European Power." There is great truth in
this, and all who subscribe to these sentiments
should now stand forth to uphold them, to carry
out their tenets, and to forward their projects. It
will be a blessing to humanity to stop the spread of
the most cruel civil war that has yet afflicted the
human race, and it this benevolent and beneficent
work is to be accomplished by any European nation,
why should England be slow to move, and back-
ward in making any effirt. This is not a suitable
position to be assumed by a country that should be
first and foremost in all great undertakings, that
should lead the van in the march of progress, the
guide and guardian of less favoured lands.