The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-29 00:00:00

THE SUN,'LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING JANUARY 29, 1863

duce the article, and prove more congenial to a free
people. All that might be very true, but Lanett-
shire was satisfied, and that was enough.
Now that the evil day has come, like a thief in
the night, it is no use to hesitate ; the struggle
must be made, and so the amassed capital of slave
labour must be distributed far and wide, to redress
the balance of trade and fill the vacuum occasioned
by neglect or indifference. But what a world
of woe and distress has been opened to the sad gaze
of wondering humanity. It is indeed a pity, and
"pity 'tis 'tis true."
The President entered into a luminous de-
tail of the various places where cotton was
produced, and more especially referred to India,
where abundance might be had, but many ob-
stacles interfered with a ready supply. Lately,
indeed, a good prospect seemed to be open-
ing, occasioned by the price, for, as Mr. LAING said,
Price was the sure stimulant; and price has now
attained a range never dreamt of before, having
actually quadrupled. The raw material costs from
two shillings to half-a-crown the pound, while
the manufactured article has only about doubled in
price. This was the consequence of having trusted
so long to one source of supply. But now they
were busy in all quarters—Egypt, Turkey, Italy,
in its southern parts, promised amply in due time,
but time was the thing that pressed, and want
could not wait for time. Then there were the cen-
tral States of America, the West Indies, Brazil,
Buenos Ayres, and numberless other places, in some
of which double crops could be produced
yearly, such was the bountiful nature of
the clime. But it was to India that at-
tention was now chiefly directed, for there
everything conspired to meet the difficulty but for
one perverse individual, who seemed to delight in
his power of obstinate obstruction—the Secretary
of State for India, Sir CHARLES WOOD-a name of
evil omen to him who shares his councils, and who
before the Ides of March shall have long passed
away may regret that he sailed in the same boat
with such a self-sufficient " individual."

The President of the Chamber, among other mat-
ters, said that the Commissioner for Italy at the
International Exhibition for 1862, himself a mem-
ber of the Italian Parliament, drew attention to
what might be done in producing cotton in that
country. He says " that there was an immense
extent of land in Southern Italy, equal to 5,000,000
English acres, which has of great antiquity been
known for its cotton-producing capabilities and
the great abundance and cheapness of labour.
He remarks upon the example of American
success, he exhibits drawings of the cot-
ton plant, and proceeds to show that they can
grow cotton equal to New Orleans at 4d. per lb. ;
and he illustrates the advantages of commercial
activity, which by this means may connect the for-
tunes of England with the destinies of Italy." Fol-
lowing such examples, you will naturally inquire
whether or not the effect of the cotton famine has
been felt elsewhere, and more particularly in the
councils of India. It is true Lord CANNING took the
alarm, being governor of India, and being fully
aware of the consequence to England of the Ameri-
can war; and he appeared to find in some corner
of his bureau a despatch which had been received
some two or three years before from Lord STANLEY,
ordering the sale of waste lands. He immediately
issued a resolution describing the manner in which
waste lands should be disposed of, also for the re-
demption of the land-tax, and he ordered immediate
pains to be taken to prepare roads of the most con-
venient character for the removal of cotton from the
plantations to the seaboard. This is some indication
of the readiness of that enlightened Governor to put
India in motion to bring about some alleviation of
our distress. You would not only suppose that the
Indian Council, at the head of which is Sir C.
WOOD, would have been equally alive to the emer-
gency, but that they would in this country, as well
as Lord CANNING in India, have been put in motion,
instantaneously, with a view, if possible, to minister
to our relief. I am sorry to say, on the contrary,
that what has been done by them has
been the undoing of that which Lord CANNING had
done. By an order from Sir C. WooD, the sale
of the waste lands and the redemption of the
land-tax has been subverted. Sir C. WooD him-
self will not see that it has been subverted, but
it has been °hanged ; and the change is of that
character which amounts in reality to a prohibi-
tion of the sale of land. Under Lord CANNING'S
regulations, the applicant for the purchase of land
had three operations to undertake, viz.,—to mark
out the land he wanted, to pay ss. an acre for it,
and to wait one month to see if any other appli-
cant or owner happened to turn up. So that in
one month the buyer might be in possession, and
engaged in its cultivation. That which Sir C.
WOOD says is not a prohibition is a regulation
which contains no fewer than 77 clauses, which
a man must carefully understand before he pro-
ceeds to purchase. When he has made himself
acquainted with the 77 clauses, he may proceed
to consider whereabouts be will make his pur-
chase. He must then apply for a survey. It is
impossible for any one to determine what length
of time might be required to obtain that survey,
but the applicant must first of all deposit the money
to pay him with. The survey when made will, in
all probability, have to be reported upon, and how
long it may be before that report shall be understood
or determined no one can undertake to say ; but
should it appear that the land may be offered for
sale, then it must be advertised to be sold by
auction. When sold the highest bidder re-
ceives it, whether it be the applicant or not ;
and if the applicant does not himself become the
purchaser, he receives back the money he has paid
as deposit for the survey, and he may then go about
to find some other place that shall be more near to
his expectations, more within his power to obtain.
Any squatter may come and dispute a title, and no
matter whether it be in India or in Ireland, we
find very few titles that are not disputed. In this
country we have a very ready way of dealing with
that description of dispute—we have passed an En-
cumbered Estates Act, and did not wait a century,
as we have done in India, before coining to a deter-
mination that good titles shall be made out of bad
ones. However, Sir Charles Wood having thus
placed what we feel to be obstacles in the way of
becoming possessed of waste lands, it is very evi-
dent that if the people of this country are to starve
until cotton is grown under the arrangements
laid down by that Minister, we shall have very few
persons left capable of undertaking our industry at
the end of that time. Centuries may elapse before
any sensible impression has been made upon the
sale of waste lands. The land-tax redemption
CAN-
NING arranged that the land-tax should be
saleable at twenty year
also has been entirely overthrown. Lord
purchase. Though at
present an occupier in Isn'dia
may be said to be in
the same position as a tenant at will in this country,
who dares not lay out money for fear that the year
afterwards he may have to pay additional rent
for his own investment, Sir C. WOOD has
quite put a stop to the redemption of land-tax.
And 50on; but we will not enlarge on the ob-
stacles which Sir CHARLES WooD has determined
to put in the way. All the good which Lord
STANLEY endeavoured to do for India has been

jealously prevented by his successor, and thus the
present sufferings of the people of Laneashiie and
Cheshire have been wantonly aggravated by the
overweening dictatorship of our Indian Secretary.

The Earl of CARNARYON made a most interesting

speech last night at Southampton, on the subject of
the Working Men's Institutions. He observed
that, whenever he addressed assemblies like the one
before him, it had generally fallen to his lot to
propose some new plan, or to suggest some change
in the constitution of the Society; but, on the pre-

sent occasion, he was happy to find that so complete
was their system, and so harmonious its working,
that nothing needed alteration. The system seemed
to combine two objects which, apparently distinct,
were not so in their case. Personal freedom of
action and great recreation, with that degree of self-
restraint which was essential to all Luch under-
takings. The noble lord then adverted to the
chief points of importance which distin-
guished their rules. He thus alluded to
the primary principles of their foundation :
"Putting aside religion, which is enthroned above

every other consideration, there are but three great
influences probably by which men are much moved.
These are their minds, their bodies, and their own

substantial material existence, and the principles of
these associations tend to attain all these three ob-
jects. In your reading-rooms, in your work-rooms,
in your libraries, mai in your classes you have laid
down some of the principal elements which go far to
refine, to cultivate, and to improve the mind. Be-
sides these, you have what is commonly called a
discussion class. That I consider a most valuable
class, but it is valuable only on one condition, and
that is, that you have the self-control and self-
restraint to abide rigidly by the laws which
you have already laid down for yourselves
and never allow any political questions
whatever to creep into your debates." This
last hint was a most serviceable ene, and the
noble lord went on at some length to explain his
meaning by stating that while every man in this
land had a right to his own opinion, politics often
engendered such angry feelings, and so mach irri-
tation of spirit and manner that it was never aught
but deleterious
to peace and order to allow their
discussion into such places as that before him. Next
Lord CARNARVON passed on to minor topics, -and
made some amusing remarks on the subject of smok-
ing. Of this practice he evidently entertains a
good opinion, and deprecates the unfortunate pre-
judice of confounding " the moderate use of that
divine weed with the immoderate indulgence of
the vicious taste of drinking. I might cite the
gravest writers, I might quote the most learned
philosophers, I might bring forward the deepest
divines, I might appeal to the poets who have sung
so sweetly, and they would each and all subscribe
to the sovereign virtues of that wonderful plant."
He then summed up the various items referred to,
and declared the most satisfactory result therefrom.
He said that these workmen's halls, with their
games, privileges, and advantages, create relaxations
and indemnities for the toils in which many
are engaged. After descanting upon the ad-
vantages of some break and interruption to
monotonous labour, or else the continuity of inces-
sant toil would occasion the most disastrous effects,
the noble lord thus forcibly advocated the merits
of such interludes, at the same time acknowledging
the great and good effects of work, exemplifying

the truth of the motto Laborare est orare :—" They
make you, by the very force of contrast, appreciate
that work; for after all, no matter what that work
is—whether menial or mental—it is one of the pre-
scribed conditions of our human nature. No man

who attempts to do his duty, however imperfectly,

however feebly, can dare to escape it. Work is not
only not inconsistent with the duties of religior,
but, if it be honestly, fairly, conscientiously
done, it is religion itself. I believe it to be the
very salt and savour of life, without which life

itself would be miserable and meaningless."
Lord CARNARVON next alluded to the benefits pro-
mulgated by such institutions in bringing different
classes of society into contact with each other.
This union, he truly said, was productive of the
greatest benefits, and resulted in the most inestim-
able advantages. There must always be inequali.
ties of fortune and position. It was idle to attempt
and presumptuous to assume the responsibility of
altering them, but the more the separate classes
came into any communion with each other the
better for the welfare of all concerned. " It re-
moves prejudice, misapprehensions vanish ,sympathy
is created on either side." Finally, Lord CARNARVON
t
complimented and congratulated the members of
institution on their happy and honourable
combination of the true characteristics of English.
men, which combine obedience to the law with
perfect self-independence. He then forcibly con-
trasted the difference that existed between the
sublime endurance of the Lancashire people
and the reckless outrages of the Anglo-Saxon race
across the Atlantic. The former had been a
population rich beyond compare, and had now
passed into the lowest possible depths of poverty.
The other, on the first whisper of alarm, rushed into
open warfare, and were having recourse to all kinds
of unconstitutional measures for the furtherance
of their plans and designs. In the course of his
concluding remarks his lordship alluded to personal
character, and foremost amongst private individuals
mw
eh
no t he
ha
er
de t sheet
Dt he eki
er sof t
wa_mEpt,
oINnGTPOIINbI.ic Naoffaoinres was
ever more impressed with a sense of duty than was
this illustrious man, and hence his vast influence
and the secret of his important services. Though
dead, he still speaks to us in the voice to which we
can never be indifferent. Also, wisely added, his
lordship, desirous of improving the opportunity, he
has left us an example which we may all follow in
the active discharge and zealous performance of the
duties devolved upon us, and which without
any great gifts or shining talents, on our
parts we can conscientiously perform :—" It
is given to each and all of us, if we would ac-
cept it, to discharge those duties which come upon
us within the
sphere of our own private life, in that
way in which, if his life had b9en cast in private
paths, he would undoubtedly and unquestionably
have discharged it ; and in so far as we in our per-
sonal lives give force and effect to those principles
—in so far as we interweave them with the objects, I
the interests, the institutions, of other men—so far
we are adding our fraction of labour towards the
accomplishment of those great ends at which society
is ever aiming ; we are fulfilling the law of our own
being, and are each, to the best of our power, be.
queathing those parts of the constitution under
which it has been the boast of Englishmen to live,
and under
This speech of Lord CARNARVON reflects the
which it is their constant prayer to die."
greatest credit upon him, and there can be no
doubt that all who were privileged to hear his
eloquent and stirring address agreed in the truth
of its statements,
the force of its arguments, and
the eloquence which characterised and ornamented
its delivery. Those in high ranks who come for-
ward to aid and assist the advocacy of
such societies
confer a great benefit upon
the classes which are intimately concerned, and
also reflect the highest lustre on their own order.
" Noblesse oblige" cannot be forgotten without
serious detriment to all branches of the community,

and therefore we welcome such judicious and well•
timed harangues as this one here referred to, tend-
ing as they do to awaken sympathy, arouse energy,
and dissolve prejudice among the important and
often overlooked class to whose Interests they
directly appeal, and whose claims they specially
set forward.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

FRANCE.
PARIS, JAN. 29.

The lifoniteur of to-day says:—

" Lord Cowley has been instructed by Earl Rus-
sell to express to N. Drouyn de Lhuys the satis-
faction felt by the British Government on account
of the late speech of the Emperor to the French ex-
hibitors, and its strong desire to see the sentiments
of mutual esteem daily strengthen the ties of friend-
ship which unite the two nations as well as their
Governments."
The Moniteur also says :

"Letters from St. Petersburg, dated 27th inst.,
state that the nobility and peasantry have kept
aloof from the movement in Poland."

The same journal also publishes a letter from
Rome, announcing that several leaders of brigand
bands had been arrested by the Pontifical gendarmes.
These facts, says the Moniteur, testify to the
activity of the Government of the Holy See to pre-
vent the Roman territory from becoming the refuge
of the instigators of brigandage in the Neapolitan
States.