The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-22 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 22, 1865.

Mr. ADDERLEY has shown great discrimination
in making his request for a Committee to inquire
into the state of the British establishments on the
Western Coast of Africa. He showed great reason
for so doing, and the force of his arguments could
not be gainsaid. He reminded the House that the
spot he alluded to was " notoriously" unsuitable for
the Anglo-Saxon race, and yet in that locality we
had four settlements, besides the naval establish-

ment, which cost as much as a million a year. It
was the purport of the hon. member to ascertain
whether these settlements attained the object in
view, or whether they did not rather obstruct it.
The Governor of one of these settlements has de-
clared that whenever a war breaks out, which it will
periodically, this country must bear the brunt in
men and also in money, for he said that his Govern-
ment was a protectorate and not a colony, and it
would be useless to ask the natives or inhabitants
to supply labour and money. This is certainly not
a very favourable specimen of the advantages that
accrue from this establishment. The Governor stated
that his own position was a very anomalous one, and
that all preferred the military Governor to himself.
The Dutch, who are settled near, are always hostile,
and keep up an affiance with our determined enemies
the Ashantees. The case seems truly made out
why an inquiry should be made tending the circum-
stances connected with this settlement. Sierra Leone
offers no more advantages when looked upon criti-
cally, and, indeed, the accounts given of it seem
almost worse than those relating to the other places.
A high authority has described it in most deprecia-
toiy terms, that " the people are the pests of the
neighbourhood," and the exports and imports are
decreasing. Gambia is also in an unsatisfactory
state, and as regards Lagos the Governor has re-
ported that the state of affairs is going from bad to
worse, and he only gets opposition from the British
merchants and residents. Having summed up the
condition of these four settlements in Western
Africa, Mr. ADDERLEY addressed himself to the
consider
what interest of their utility, and asked the House
bad
this country in keeping up a force
on the West Coat of Africa ? If the slave trade
be put an end to s
to hope, there rem%doecitilY' as there is every reason
were wend inducements which
described by tZolichief
tion of commerce and the °•th member as the promo-
It does not appear that theseecwilisation, of the natives.
any great extent by these
see
tiltdl s are answered to
ealteration must be made if a
more ents, and some
dition of affairs is desired. The 131.°q'ers eon-
separation of the
settlement has done harm, because the salaries are
so small for these little governments that no able
man cares to remain there long. Lord STANLEY
made a few remarks, in which he concurred
with Mr. ADDERLEY in his view on the subject.
The noble lord declared that if the people of this
country knew the waste of valuable lives that took
place on the coast the African Squadron would be
speedily put a stop to. With his usual comprehen-
siveness in studying a question he impressed upon
Mr. CARDIV.ELL that he ghould permit the Aubject

to be properly investigated and thoroughly sifted.
It is to be hoped that this advice will be tten,ovfoerr
nano graffeaairteroimismtaak
bteefgore a
gnietue adne bweh me
na idte comes
com-
mittee. The consequence is;a
a that the
urtlice, undertaking
so so vigorously entered upon
matters worse than they were before, since the re-
quisite knowledge has not been attained and the
supposed investigation preclude the possibility of
another inquiry for some time to come. As Lord_
STANLEY forcibly put it to the House, we cannot
increase our political influence and military-
power by keeping up these settlements, and for the
purposes of trade they appear inefficient and unsa-
tisfactory. With respect to the sentimental view
of the question the noble lord very truly observed,
that " if we are to talk of civilising the Africans, I
am afraid that we had better first look at home—
we have not to go five miles from the place in which
we are sitting to find plenty of persons who stand
as much in need of civilising, and who have as little
done for them as the negro." Lord STANLEY did
not advocate an "absolute abandonment" of these
ports ; but stated that aprima facie case was made
out for an inquiry. Such seems, upon reflection, to
be about the wisest thing that can be done in the
matter. The question is, whether they are
worth retaining ; and its consideration should be
taken up in earnestness and with energy. This
question is of more moment than many others
which engage the attention and occupy the thoughts
of committees, because there is more at stake than
the expense of the undertaking and the advantages
accruing to the country by its continuance, and that
is the welfare of those who are engaged in carrying
out what may be truly termed a perilous task. Lives
are so continually lost on the -west coast of Africa,
that it may well be asked if such a sacrifice be neces-
sary, and if we are right in persisting in our war-
fare with a climate whose baneful influences and
pernicious effects cannot be warded off, and which
always gains the victory in its contest with the
Anglo-Saxon constitution when once a struggle has
commenced. Mr. CARDWELL displayed his good
sense by consenting to the motion, and, further, by
agreeing as to the justice of an inquiry into the subject,
especially with a view to assertain how far these
settlements had answered the purposes for which
this country had instituted them. The right hon.
gentleman admitted that colonisation was not the
object of these settlements, but they were supposed
to be auxiliary to measures to suppress the slave
trade, to abolish barbarous native practises, and in-
troduce legitimate commerce. It may fairly be
said that all the objects touched upon by Mr.
CARDWELL have been shown to fall short of attain-
ment by those who addressed the House on the
topic, and who were well versed in their subject, and
brought ample proofs of the authenticity of their
statements. Those who undertake this inquiry will
have a solemn responsibility devolve upon them,
and it is to be trusted that they will discharge their
duties in a manner consonant with the interests of
the country. There are few things more difficult
to determine in many cases than the best mode of
dealing with these foreign subjects, for the opinions
are so various and the matters so complicated. In
this instance, however, we have had ample time
allowed us to gain experience and many opportuni-
ties to glean information as to the working of the
undertakings entered upon; and it is to be hoped
that due attention will be paid to the various
attendant circumstances which relate to the affair
and ought to influence judgment.

The preservation of the open spaces in and
around our ever-growing metropolis has long been
felt to be a most important thing. The health and
comfort of the people, and the opportunity for
wholesome and pleasant recreation are objects
which it is felt should be kept in view by the
popular representatives as well as the individual
rights or claims of owners of property. An old
established right to the free unrestrained use of a
piece of common or forest land is in fact of supe-
rior title to the right conferred by the ownership of
a few acres, since the one claim merely represents
the right of one man and the other the right of
many men, and it is no part of our English legisla-
tion to recognise the rights of the rich while we
refuse to acknowledge the claims of the poor. Un-
happily in this, as in other cases when law and
equity come into collision, the latter gets the worst
of it, and the consequence is that the public enjoy-
ment has been considerably curtailed in more than
one quarter. The rapid increase of the streets and
squares of London is a continual marvel. Year by
year the denizens of the busy centres of life
and business continue to fix their dwelling-
places further and further from their place
of daily employment, and by the aid of the steam
horse thousands now live at distances from their
offices or establishments, which, a few years back,
would have constituted a formidable journey. But
this fact, instead of diminishing the claim for the
preservation of the few open spaces now left within
the walls of the mighty Babylon, only increases it.
The very railways which serve to transport the
overworked man of business to fresher air and
pleasanter scenes, press heavily on the class below
him. The head of an establishment may have his
villa a few miles off and journey leisurely to and
fro, but the " hands," who must be at their post
by daybreak, can aspire to no such luxury. It is
labsolutely necessary for them to live close by their
work, so it is for small tradesmen and their families,
for servants, for artizans of the countless trades
carried on in the city and its suburbs, for the poor
inhabitants of the large and populous though low-
lying and unhealthy districts on the southern side
of the Thames. The demolition of houses rendered
necessary by the recent improvements and the
extension of our metropolitan railway system
has inevitably increased the existing evils of over-
crowding, and the rise in the number of deaths
from fever is certainly a warning that the builder
should stay his hand when nearing those spaces
where fresh air can still be breathed by the close
pent clerk or toilworn mechanic, and where children
from within city precincts can feel grass beneath
their feet and hear birds chirping overhead. The
London public have always watched with a jealous
eye over the preservation of their parks ; but it is
not these that are in so much danger. The very
constitution of a park is a certain guarantee for its
free spaces like Hampstead
Heath safety
; anbdutEtphpe wild,
Epping
Forest are in real danger from
the avarice or ambition of lords of the manor and
the eagerness of building speculators. These
open places, once
lost, can never be re-
gained. Costly parks may be laid out,
with ornamented flower-beds
and gravel-walks ;
but beautiful as
people or to the
these are, they do not offer the
facilities for enjoyment to young
lower orders that are provided by a rough unculti-
vated tract of land with its natural ups and downs,
its furze-bushes and its weeds and wild flowers.
Even to the gravest and most sedate amongst us
there is a pleasure
which is more refreshing to the citizen who lives
with the roar
reaos in the aspect of simple nature,
of
con-
tinually in his ear,wheels and the hum of voices con-
tliananandyaorft, tanheder
isornatoewaodnodmer-
ments of cultivation
that Mr. T10 uta ow s
motion for a select committee
to inquire
into th
forests, commons, and
e best means of preserving the
metropolifs for public °Pell apace in and around the
Use hh 1,1.3
) 9,43AAhate met with

general encouragement. The hon. member observed
that whatever the difference of opinion as to the best
course to be ultimately followed, it was noticeable
in all debates on this subject, that there was a unani-
mans feeling in favour of a Parliamentary inquiry.
It is, he assures us, one of those questions which do
not admit of delay, since there is little doubt that
if something is not shortly done towards its solution
it will settle itself, for there will be few open spaces
left for Parliament to legislate upon. Earl SPEN-
CER'S scheme for the improvement of -Wimbledon
Common was cited as a proof of the necessity of
some general decision on the subject. Some gentle-
men denounced the proposed measure and others
supported its principles. No doubt the noble
earl was actuated by a desire to improve
and even beautify the district by the destruction of
what probably appears to him very inconsiderable
and profitless claims, but those advantages which
may naturally seem very insignificant to the owner
of large estates and beautiful parks, may be viewed
very differently by the man who has not a rood of
land to call his own. However desirable some
parts of the scheme may be, and however praise-
worthy the intentions of the noble lord, we should
think the public interests safer if the common be
left in its primitive condition. We fully coincide
with Mr. DOULTON when he says that it is not his
desire to have the commons enclosed and trimly I
laid out. " His desire was rather this, that the com-
mons should be preserved in their present wild state,
which he believed to be their greatest charm, and
that those by whom these commons had been spe-
cially used should still have them for that free,
uncontrolled, and he might say boisterous enjoy-
ment, which it was impossible for them to have in
parks under restrictions." The metropolis, as Mr.
DOULTON observed, is well provided with parks, but
no parks would compensate for the loss of Hamp-
stead Heath, Epping Forest, and the suburban
commons. Mr. COWPER, though demurring to any
charge upon the Imperial funds for the preserva-
tion of what is actually Imperial property, sup-
ported the appointment of a committee, and ad-
vised the buying up of the rights of the lords of
the manor. Surely this can be done, and should
be done without delay. If we wait until the
avaricious lords of the manor have established their
rights in bricks and mortar, and the philanthropic
ones have shown their public spirit by laying out
walks, and setting grim park-keepers to stop all
cricketing and donkey riding, all pic-nics and tea
parties, we shall have lost an advantage which,
from the days of CHARLES 11., have been claimed
by the people of this country, and which no less an
authority than Sir MATTHEW HALE decided was a
good custom and necessary for the recreation of the
people.

West End Industrial Exhibition

—..
(From the Owl of to-day.)

The great success which has attended the es-
tablishment of industrial exhibitions for the working
classes, has induced some of the more philanthropic
and enlightened of their number to endeavour to
apply the idea to the benefit of those above them,
and to afford facilities to the upper classes for the
exhibition of their talents. We are happy to say that
the notion has been fairly welcomed by the persons
for whose advantage the scheme has been started ;
and, from the contributions already sent in, we
infer that this praiseworthy attempt on the part of
the future ruling classes of the country to extend a
helping hand to those at present unfortunately
placed in a higher social position than themselves
will be eminently successful.
With these views the House of Lords has been
engaged, and the Exhibition will be opened in a
few days. The whole is under the management of a
highly respectable working committee, embracing
some of the first names among the operatives of
England; and when we mention that Mr. T. B.
Potter has kindly consented to preside at the open-
ing, assisted by an eminent crossing-sweeper, we
feel sure that our readers will acknowledge that
there is every guarantee for success.
We have been favoured with a private view, and
propose to notice a few of the most remarkable
objects.
Sir Robert Peel has promised to make an exhibi-
tion of himself some time during the season, and
there is no reason for doubting that he will do so,
as he has frequently done so before.
Mr. Gladstone has a very remarkable specimen of
a kaleidoscope, exhibiting all sorts of combinations.
It consists of portraits of all the most eminent and
rising men, with his own amongst them. At each
turn a fresh arrangement of the faces occurs, but
his own is almost invariably present. lle calls it
the Cabinet Kaleidoscope, and informs us that he
has often amused himself with the odd political
associations foreshadowed in the toy, and considers
that many of them will not improbably occur here-
after. •
Mr. F. Peel shows a piece of red tape and
a pigeon-hole.
Mr. Layard has made one of his usual exhibitions
of temper. This is very fine, and fully equal to the
well-known one in the debate last session.
Lord Clarence Paget sends a specimen of a
curious new substance, produced, he informs us, by
a mixture of brass filings and soft soap, which he
contends is the only composition which will stand
the friction of the House of Commons. It may be
worked in many different ways, and he anticipates
a large demand during the approaching general
election. Applications respecting it must be ad-
dressed to the Secretary of the Admiralty, and bear
in the left hand corner the words, " Brass and Soft
Soap."

Sir George Grey contributes a model Secretary of
State for the Home department, and has kindly
consented, at the request of the committee, to stand
for two hours each morning by the figure as a foil
to show the contrast.

Among Earl Russell's contributions are models of
all the offices in which he has placed his various
relatives and connections. It was for some time a
question with the managing committee whether the
enormous space required for this collection could be
spared, but it was at last decided that, for a subject
of such national interest, an exception should be
made. The peculiar adjustment of each peg in each
hole is well worth noting.

VICTORIA LABOUR MARKET.----The total number
of persons who arrived by sea in the colony of Victoria
during the month of November last was 3,308, of whom
1,758 were immigrants from the United Kingdom. The
number of departures from the colony was 1,358. The
current rates of wages were from £3O per annum for un-
married farm labourers to £6O for married couples, and
from £l5 to £35 for domestic servants.

FOUNDERED AT SEA.—FILEY, Feb. 20.—One of
the most terrific storms, accompanied with a heavy
fall of snow, that has visited the north-east coast for a
number of years is now raging. It came on yesterday after-
noon, about 1 o'clock, the wind suddenly chopping round
from south to north, from which quarter it continued to
blow, increasing in violence throughout the day. At night
about 7 a shower of hailstones came down of immense size,
many of them resembling large pieces of ice. When the day
broke this morning the sea was running mountains high,
the hurricane still raging with unabated violence, and the
showers of sleet so thick that objects at a few yards' dis-
tance could not be distinguished. Clearing away, however
about 9 o'clock, for a short time, a stout brig hove in sight'
about three miles distant from land, and running under
close-reefed topsails. Sho was watched with intense
anxiety as she laboured heavily, showing signs as if she
had been in collision with another vessel, or had suffered
some other disaster. After having got about two miles to
the south of the buoy near Filey Brigg, she was thrown in
a moment on her beam-ends, and in the next almost before
a shout could be raised, disappeared altogether. She ap-
peared to be a laden brig of about 13 orl4keels. A schooner
and three or four more vessels were in company with her,
running for Bridlington-bay for shelter, but another squall
coming on with heavy sleet, they were hid from further
view. A fishing yawl, belonging to Staithes, with loss of
cable *and capstan, having vainly attempted to get into
Scarborough, has passed Filey for Bridlington-bay. The
fishing smacks belonging to the port have been "burnt off"
in consequence of the tremendous sea which is running at
the mouth of the harbour, consequently they will be obliged
to put to OA again, ox nua lor PhOtoz 914"0"r91

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