The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-21 00:00:00

ham passes upon the conduct of affairs for the one
year will apply with equal force to the premding
one, when Mr. BRIGHT says that the Ministry "pre-
ferred their places to their honour as public. men,
and they consented to the greatest political "fraud of
our times rather than leave the Treasury bench even
for a season." It is certain that such a descrip4don will
apply with equal force to the course pursued. byLord
RUSSELL and his coadjutors in 1859, when -the Con-
servative Government brought in their Reform Bill.
Mr. BRIGHT himself was caught in the trap so
speciously set by the great champion of Reform.
It is to the lasting disgrace of all concerned in
the affair that the opposition to the DERBY
Reform Bill was inaugurated and carried on with
such strenuous determination. The fact was that
the chief conspirators in the plot were more anxious
to prevent their opponents from getting the credit
of carrying a reform measure than to see any bill
pass which might really be of benefit to the
country. They succeeded in their first endeavour
at any rate ; but as for the second, they made con-
fusion worse confounded. It may be very conve-
nient to pass over and forget all these transactions,
but when we find Mr. BRIGHT making grandiloquent
assertions as to the steady and select force with which
the question of Reform is advancing, it is impos-
sible not to think of the past, and to reflect whose
fault it is that the matter has not long before this
been settled in some form or other. It is no wonder
indeed, nowadays, that the constituencies through-
out the country should be quiescent in the matter,
because they saw the,manner in which the question
was shirked by its so-called best friends and pre-
tended advocates.

Mr. BRIGHT comes out very grand on the ques-
tion, and declares that it is most degrading to a
Liberal member of the House of Commons to sit as
" a supporter of an Administration which repudiates,
and has betrayed, the first and greatest question or
cause upon which the whole policy of the Liberal
party is founded." This sounds very fine, and is
doubtless very true in its way ; but then we must
bear in mind that the tone and style adopted by
Mr. BRIGHT in Opposition and on the Ministerial
side of the House were very different. OTHELLO'S
occupation was gone when he had done his utmost
to oust from office those who had dared to
meddle with his pet motion. There is no doubt that
were the Conservatives in office now Mr. BRIGHT
would find plenty to say on the subject of Reform ;
but he can hardly make sweeping assertions against
all his own party, who are, in truth, the real
enemies of the cause. At any rate one thing is
certain, if the prophecies of the hon. member be
fulfilled, and there is a decided desire expressed by
the community at large for a speedy and compre-
hensive settlement of the question, no thanks will
be due to those who have asserted so much and yet
have done so little. Had Mr. BRIGHT and his
friends not made themselves so unnecessarily active
on former occasions, there would be no need for
them to find themselves in a false position now.

Fenianism is still the chief topic of the day in
the sister country, though very little anxiety is
manifested respecting the prisoners. It is notice-
able that those engaged in the movement are mostly
quite obscure persons in a political point of view,
and bear no name distinguished in the popular
annals. It does not appear to have obtained any
hold on the feelings of the people generally, and
the Irish press is strongly opposed to the move-
ment. Still the Government very wisely has not
relaxed its efforts, but is showing by every means
in its power its determination to suppress
Fenianism in Into. It is difficult to ascertain
exactly how far the ramifications of the party
extend, and it appears that the disaffection has
even crept into the army ; for, according to a tele-
gram in the Irish Times of yesterday, when the 99th
Regiment was on parade at Cork, the sergeant-
major was shown his name in a Fenian roll-book,
when he admitted his signature, and was taken into
custody. Two other arrests were made, so that
Fenianism in Cork is not yet fully suppressed. The
magistrates have addressed the Lord Lieutenant,
stating that they believe the safety of the country to
be endangered by the conspiracy. Lord WODE-
HOUSE in his reply, addressed to Lord FERMOY, who
transmitted the memorial, declares the resolution
of the Government to uphold the law, and
informs the magistrates that the county and
city of Cork have been placed under the
Peace Preservation Act, and that as strong a mili-
tary force as may be required to support the con-
stabulary shall be at once supplied. Accordingly
at Cork the garrison has been largely increased and
the police reinforced. Other regiments have re-
ceived orders to hold themselves in readiness to
move on the shortest notice whenever required, so
that there will be no unnecessary delay, as in the
case of the Belfast riots. Meanwhile, the Limerick
races have passed off quietly without the Fenian de-
monstration that was expected. Several arrests
have been made in different parts of the country ; a
reward of £lOO has been offered for the apprehension
of JOHN GEARY, said to be an active member of the
association, and on the arrival of the American
steamers at Queenstown the police search the
passengers' luggage for arms or treasonable
documents. All this seems very unlike Eng-
lish government and English life, but there can
be no question that the authorities have shown
great good sense in interfering with so much I
promptitude and decision to arrest the career of
these would-be heroes and martyrs. Among the
cases tried was that of a man who was brought be-
fore a Dublin magistrate on„ the charge of inciting
another man to join the Brotherhood. The evi-
dence against him was heard and the case remanded.
It is very important to stop the proceedings of men
like this, since there can be no doubt that half of
those who have joined the association have done so
owing to the arguments and solicitations of some of
those men who are anxious for the glory of being
leaders. At all events there is no reason to appre-
hend that Fenianism will obtain any formidable
position, and indeed the only thing which could
give it importance was the assistance it might
receive from America. The authorities seem to be
well on their guard, and consequently we may soon
hope to hear the last of it.

The public has of late been shocked by many of
the tragic occurrences that have taken place but
conspicuous among them has been the sad.affair
affair at
Brompton Barracks. The murder of Major DE
VERE was one of those startling events which are as
strange as they are shocking, and one is divided be-
tween horror at the crime and astonishment as to
what could have induced the culprit to commit this
desperate deed. The only reason that can at all be
alleged seems to be that CURRIE cherished vengeance
on account of his having been several times sub-
jected to punishment for disorderly conduct and
sulky demeanour. He refused to work when his
working pay was stopped, and was therefore put into
the cells, during which time it is presumed that ho
planned the scheme which has brought forth such
deadly consequences. If anything could add to the
enormity of . his offence, it woull be the fact that
he has exhibited no sign of sorrow for his cruel act,
nor expressed any contrition for the calamity he
Las caused. It was in all respects a cold-blooded
Murder of the worst designed character, and no kvs-