The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-30 00:00:00

nu SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVEINING, DECEMBER 30, lEEE.

nations, but dishonourable to human nature itself bee a greatly affected by the disastrous cattle
in the course pursued by the Federals during the plat ;ue, whose consequences are likely to be
prosecution of the war, it is so far satisfactory and mor e severely felt as time goes on, and the effect
encouraging to findthat the man highest in authority of the fearful havoc among our herds and flocks
in the United States has determination enough to is more fully realised. Taken altogether, however,
the people of England have much to rejoice at, and
follow the policy he thinks right undeterred by the
selfish objections raised by some, and the noisy great cause to thank the Giver of all good gifts for
vituperation of others. The great Republic of the th.e benefits and blessings He has showered upon
Western World has signally failed in impressing them. Recent events in Europe and America only
mankind ith the excellence or endurance of its
afford us additional proof of the vast advantages
w
principles, and if it would retrieve in some degree which accrue from the form of Government under
the character that has suffered so considerably, it which we live, and we can aspire to no better issue
must be by the exercise of moderation. Well may to our labours than to hand down to posterity the
the words of the Prophet be applied to the tur- i Constitution of our forefathers.
bulent and distracted politicians beyond the
Atlantic—" In returning and rest shall ye be saved
in quietness, and confidence shall be your strength."
The changed position of the leading men in the
United States since we last took a summary of the
passing year may well furnish a lesson as to the
mutability of human greatness, and the transitory
nature of ambitious dreams. President LINCOLN,
who had been moving heaven and earth to be re-
' elected, had just succeeded in his efforts ; but for
what a brief space he enjoyed the proud position he
so dearly cherished ! JEFFERSON DAVIS, then at
the head of a powerful community, has been for the
greater part of this year languishing in a prison,
while those who led the armies of the Confederacy
I to the field, and carried destruction to the Federal
vessels at sea, have been scattered far and wide.
For ever memorable in the history of the world must
be this episode of the civil war in the United States
of America ; and it has also been notable in proving
to us all here that Republicanism is a sorry foun-
dation to rest upon. How many times and oft
have the ardent admirers of Democracy laboured to
impress upon their hearers the vast superiority of
American institutions over our own, and bow com-
plete a refutation to their impassioned orations has
been furnished by the circumstances of the recent
struggle. We have witnessed a want of faith in
all established institutions, a mercenary grasping
for power when vital interests were at stake, and
an almost universal disregard for those principles
which should be held superior to advantage or
success. The upholders of the Union have shown
us they can fight, and can persevere in their
determination to conquer at all hazards and all
risks, but they have shown us far more con-
spicuously that they rank the consummation of
their particular views far beyond the claims of
justice or respect for truth. They have much to
learn before they can emulate those whom they
despise across the Atlantic. So far as this country
has been concerned Earl RUSSELL'S policy re-
specting America has been most unsatisfactory.
It inflicted serious injuries upon a large
portion of our population, it caused serious
losses to our merchants, and it has several times
nearly caused a rupture between the Government of
Washington and our own. Had he adopted a
bolder attitude at the outset, and refused to recog-
nise the blockade, the consequences would have
Ibeen very different to the world in general, and in
all probability the next generation would be spared
the renewal of the contest, which cannot be called
really terminated.

The Liberal party at Tiverton have been making
an active demonstration on behalf of their late
member, the Hon. G. DENMAN, a gentleman who is
very likely to be again their representative when
the assembling of Parliament shall have rendered a
new election possible. The listener to the animated
discourses on Thursday evening might, if he were of
a moralising turn, have reflected on the transitory
nature of the most extended popularity, for even in
Tiverton itself, which half England only knows
through its long association with him, the name or
the memory of Lord PALMERSTON, found little place
among the eager anticipations of the future, and
the discussions of individual policy and party tactics.
The presentation of a handsome testimonial to Mr.
DENMAN occupied the earlier part of the day, but
in the evening a public dinner was given in the
Athenaeum, which was largely attended, and at
which the great question of Reform was fully dis-
cussed. Mr. COLERIDGE and Mr. ACLAND were
the chief speakers, and their speeches were both
liberal and constitutional, neither defending the
anomalies of our present representative system, nor
seeking to throw away all the hard-won advantages
of former days for the abject copy of a mere theore-
tical constitution, which has been found in practice to
secure less individual freedom than our own. Radicals
and men of extreme opinions like Mr. BRIGHT are very
fond of talking about history. They refer con-
tinually to particular events or certain enactments,
and assume altogether the monopoly of our national
records. They appear loth to believe that any one
has read the history of England but themselves, but
the fact is that they have only read half of it, or at
least only choose to remember the half which suits
their theories. They fail to observe the great end
to which all our patriots and reformers directed their
attention—the balance of political power between
the different classes of the kingdom. To attain this
end, all ranks fought in their turn, conscious that
national liberty was never secure while its guardian-
ship was restricted to one class alone. For this the
Barons wrested the great Charter from the reluc-
tant KING, for this HAMPDEN organised the opposi-
tion to the ship money, for this men of the last
generation carried the Reform Bill. Party feeling
and personal advantage, mixed up of course largely
with purer motives, and the popular champions of
every age were probably as unwilling to surrender
their own power or influence as their opponents
were to abandon their vested interests. But at any
rate they were determined that another class should
not have the preponderance. and by carrying out
this determination they did good service to the
country. The thoughtful men of every age, more
especially of the great struggle of the seventeenth
century, perceived the dangers of unlimited power
in the hands of any party, and to restrain its exer-
cise several enactments were provided which forbade
the prolonged prorogation of Parliaments, and
limited their existence. The great principle of
national representation lies at the root of all public
liberty, and it has always been assumed by our law-
makers that the Parliament represented the feel-
ings of the country, and even iu its present imperfect
State it is undoubtedly the great security for public
justice and individual freedom.
Still there is a growing feeling in the community
that the people are not fairly represented, and such
a sentiment no Government can afford to dis-
regard. To provoke an opposition between
the Parliament and the people, to produce dis-
affection and want of confidence towards the great
connecting link between the people and their rulers,
would be a very serious and dangerous thing.
Even if such a state of mind led to no outward
acts of violence or rebellion, its effects would be
far more dangerous to the national welfare
than even a wholesale and ill - considered
change. But unless the great principles of
the Constitution are carefully borne in mind,
and are acted upon as far as possible, the
desired end will not be attained. It is not national
representation when any one class, be it high or
low, is suffered to override all others. It is no
security for good government that ignorance and
clamour should he able to silence experience
and intelligence. America may be represented by
a Radical assembly, but England in her present
state will certainly not be satisfied with such expo-
nents of her policy. The same principle, which is
the only security for trade, must be carried out in
politics, free competition. Monopoly is alike the
deadliest enemy of the merchant and of the nation.
We must have men of every opinion, of every party,
to represent the interests and views of the various
ranks, and we should gain nothing in the way of
representation if we substituted the Utopia
of the extreme Reformers for the present Par-
liament. Mr. BRIGHT, in his anathemas
against the Lords, is just as intolerant as any obsti-
nate Tory of the old school in his prejudices against
the working men. To have a genuine English
Parliament, we must have a political balance of
power, and suffer no one class or party to override
and silence all others, or there will be an end of
that progress which constitutes genuine Reform.
The two speakers at Tiverton apparently shared
these convictions, for they expressed themselves
warmly in favour of a Reform Bill which should be
so framed as to admit the intelligence and inde-
pendence now unrepresented in whatever class
it may be found. Mr. ACLAND confessed that he
held certain crotchets, among which he classed his
belief that those men who were intrusted by their
fellows with the management of unions or societies
should have a right to the franchise, and also that
those men who had shown their prudence and
self-denial by investing in assurance societies or
benefit clubs should be included. Mr. ACLAND
argued justly enough that a mere money limit to
the franchise was unjust and unsatisfactory, and
that better tests were applied by some of
m
the so-called fancy franchises. The lodger fran-
chise has certainly a powerful claim on any one
whou n wishes
represented h
intelligent;but,n classes of
to ofthseacy-
ty fairlyit
has met with little favour from reformers in general.
There is a great objection in some quarters to
these fancy franchises, but unless we admit some
of them we shall never get our varied and com-
plex social life fairly represented. The great aim
of all Reform should be to bring the English
House of Commons nearer to that ideal described
by PITT, whose words Mr. ACLAND very appro-
priately quoted—" An assembly freely elected, be-
tween whom and the mass of the people there is the
closest union and the most perfect sympathy."
To attain this end party jealousies and personal
prejudices must be laid aside, and all must unite to
frame a, measure which §hall reflect the wishes of uo

In Europe there is nothing reassuring to point
to, and the course pursued by the German Powers
has been even worse than we anticipated last
year. The Prussians have set the rules of common
sense at defiance in their frantic efforts to grasp
their prize. After going to war to dispute the
claims of the King of DENMARK, and forcing him to
relinquish his possessions, they now declare upon
the highest legal authority that he was the rightful
owner of the Duchies, and that he has renounced
his claims in favour of the German Sovereigns.
The Duchies themselves and the lesser States have
met with a fitting retribution in the utter con-
tempt and indifference with which they have been
treated by those whom they suffered to delude
them at the outset of the affair. Here, again, we
may meet with an illustration of the harm occa-
sioned by our disastrous foreign policy. Had our
Foreign Office acted with discrimination and firm-
ness last year, this year would not have witnessed
the disgraceful issue of the Schleswig-Holstein
affair. The Emperor of AUSTRIA is in the midst of
an arduous investigation respecting the settlement
of the constitution, but unfortunately we cannot
place much reliance upon his promises, and at any
time he may alter his present tone for
one more arbitrary and exclusive. The Emperor
NAPOLEON has got into difficulties respecting
Mexico, and as yet we have no intimation of the
course he will pursue ; but we may confidently
expect that his excellent judgment will not allow
him to compromise his hitherto almost undis-
turbed success or permit the interests of
France to suffer. A serious loss has been
sustained in the councils of Europe by
the recent death of the King of the BELGIANS.
King LEOPOLD has long been most instrumental in
checking the encroachments of absolutism on the
one hand, and moderating the extremes of revolu-
tionary tactics on the other. He was a great paci-
ficator ; and before the close of the year upon which
we are now about to enter we may have great
cause to deplore his loss.
Here in England the great Reaper has been very
busy among the ranks of distinguished men. In
art, literature, and politics some have been snatched
away whose places can never be filled again
so well or so worthily. The most notable
among oir losses was he who but lately was in-
terred in Westminster Abbey, amid a nation's regret
and homage. Lord PAL3IERSTON was a man who
could ill be spared at any time from the councils of
State, but he has left us at last when perhaps he
was as much needed as ever. There is no one so
well qualified as he was among our public men to
counsel the SOVEREIGN, direct the Cabinet, lead the
House, and inspire confidence among the com-
munity. He had long experience, and he possessed
a great knowledge of the English people. His
successors are manifestly wanting in this latter
respect. By the strict rules of party Lord RUSSELL
is a better statesmen, and Mr. GLADSTONE hasmore
abilities and unquestionably a greater orator, but
neither separately nor combined will they replace
Lord PAL3IERSTON in the direction of affairs or the
management of Parliamentary business. They are
too exclusive, and rely too much upon their own
convictions. The late PREMIER had tact enough
to recognise the claims of others, and never unduly
asserted his own right to interfere. The only in-
stance in which the new Government has displayed
any unusual signs of energy has been in the unfor-
tunate Jamaica business, and it
,has been, in-
deed, a most inauspicious commencement. It
is significant also, inasmuch as it shows
Vaat there is a tendency to lean to the views of a
particular party, and to make the claims of justice
subservient to the bidding for political support. Mr.
COBDEN has also passed away during this year, and
in his peculiar position he was like Lord PALmEn-
sroN, without an equal. The distinguished Car-
dinal WISEMAN, the President of the Royal
Academy, the author of " Sam Slick," DAVID
ROBERTS, Sir JOSEPH PAXTON, Sir CHM. CRO3IPTON,
Lord WILLOUGHBY D'ERESBY (the Hereditary Grand
Chamberlain), and the fourth Duke of NORTHUM-
BERLAND, are all numbered on the siroll of the de-
parted. The material prosperity of the country ha§