The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-10 00:00:00

THE SEIB, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING„JULY 10, 1865

LONDON, MONDAY, JULY 10, 1865.

The week just opened will be one of the most ex-
citing in the political year, and before its close a
large proportion of the members will have been duly
elected. At the present moment therefore every one
is on the qui vine, clubs and coteries are busy dis-
cussing the chances of rival candidates, and the
general standing of the party which they represent.
Every little nook and byeway of this great metro-
polis bears some trace of the grand crisis now arrived
at, and even those quite suburban retreats whose
very existence is scarcely remembered by M.P.'s on
other occasions are now drawn into the vortex—they
become the scene of animated addresses and enthu-
siastic meetings, and suddenly rise into political im-
portance. In every part of the country the same
scene is going forward, although the chief interest
just now centres upon the metropolitan boroughs,
almost every one being the subject of av active
contest.

The independent politician standing aside from
the immediate controversy, and looking on at the
election as a whole, watches with interest the course
which the various constituencies will take rather

with regard to its ultimate effect upon the goverh-
ment of the country than with respect to the indivi-
dual triumph of any particular member. Viewed in
this aspect the election becomes more than a mere
temporary excitement, every contest becomes signi-
ficant, and every member must be looked upon
rather as an addition to the strength of his party
than as a representative of any particular locality.
There can be no doubt that the interest usually felt
iri the issue of a general election is this year consi-
derably heightened by the present condition of the
Parliamentary parties. The so-called Liberals, or
rather Ministerialists, cannot help avowing that
they are fighting this campaign under some disad-
vantages. The last general election found them
With the war cry of Reform, which they raised loud
enough to drown all other sounds. It was
the great question of the hour, and the Libe-
rals were undoubtedly the fit and right persons
to deal with it. Since 1832 the completion of the
great work was expected from the Whigs by the
innocent and unsuspecting public, who did not per-
ceive that the tide of innovation and improvement
had just stopped short of the Whigs themselves.
A reluctant consent was extorted from the Tories,
and their enforced assent to the march of pro-
gress was favoured by the fact of having one of
the early reformers as their political head, but it was
naturally thought that men with whom the exten-
sion of the franchise, the ballot, and triennial Par-
liaments were established articles of their political
code would be the proper and efficient persons to
carry out a genuine if cautious reform. So that in
1859 the cry of Reform was a potent auxiliary.
The Conservatives had, it is true, redeemed their
pledges by the introduction of a Reform Bill, but
that very fact was against them, since, although
capable of improvement, it fell short of the popular
wishes and expectations. But the old adage which
defines the comparative value of birds in immediate
and prospective possession, was very aptly, if very un-
pleagantly,illustrated in the conduct of our advanced
Liberals. The Reform Bill, once the party were
cost iblished in office, melted away into thin air, and
those constituencies who were really in earnest about
the measure were left lamenting their own credulity
and the bag faith and disingenuousness of the
Whigs ! Therefore, not only do the members of
the once triumphant party present themselves at the
hustings without the advantages of their former
cry,
but they find it used against them. The Conser-
vatives, grown bolder, do not hesitate to support the
extension of the franchise, and especially the adop-
tion of the lodger clause, if they shrink from its
reduction, but the Liberals have to explain what
they have done with their opportunity: If they
claimed the credit of having carried useful measures
of internal legislation, they admit that they could
have carried a Reform Bill had they liked ; if, on
the other hand, they try to throw the blame on
their opponenti, they must accord them the benefit

of having assisted to pass those measures
of -which they boast. The truth is, that had th .e
Whigs chosen to bring in a fair and reasonable
measure the Conservatives, as a body, would 'riot
have dared to oppose it after their own pledges to
the country, which we must in fairness acknowledge
they had shown a disposition to keep. The will,
not the power, was wanting on the Liberal side of
the House, as was clearly shown by the divisions on
the ballot and on the motions of Mr. LOCKE KING
and Mr. BAINES. It is not only that they are
opposed to democracy, for the whole tone and
tenour of English political life is opposed to that,
but they shrink from Reform. They are anxious to
retain not the safeguards but the abuses, and could
the Whigs insure as long a tenure of political power
and influence with universal suffrage and annual
Parliaments, we have very little doubt that the
three great houses would swell the ranks of the
Chartists. The love of power and place has been
as dangerous to the Whigs, and as detrimental to
the best interests of the country as the obstinate
prejudices of the Tories. Both sides have much
to learn, but the Tories have of late learned their
lesson the faster, and they are likely to reap the
reward of their intellectual progress at this general
election.

Another cause which has helped to favour the
so-called reactionary movement which is clearly per-
ceptible in the country—though in truth reaction at
the present day is a simple impossibility—has
been the American war. The tumult and con-
vulsions of which that beautiful and prosperous
country has of late been the scene have served as a
complete counterpoise to the enthusiastic encomiums
of the Manchester party. In contemplating the
result of a Republican form of Government many
persons shrink from taking any step which would
place political power among omielves in the hands
of the masses, forgetting that the circumstances are
not really similar. The same objection might have
been raised in 1832 against putting any influence
in the hands of the middle classes, but in fact so far
from showing any desire to share their hardlyuac-
quired power with others, those classes are for
the most part steady opponents of a fur-
ther reduction of the franchise. The object
of every true Reformer should be to preserve
a balance of political power by securing a fair re-
presentation of all classes, and so far from this being
a revolutionary doctrine, it is the very fundamental
principle of the British ConStitution. The repre-
sentation of the people, and of the middle classes, is
provided for in the Commons as the representation
of the aristocracy is in the Lords, and while the one
is supplied with the command of the national purse,
the natural right of the working bees of the hive, the
other has the balancing power of refusing its assent
to any measure of which it disapproves. We can
hardly hope to excel the wisdom of our ancestors in
this respect, even as all our regal reforms fail to
supersede trial by jury. Practices which are
based on sound reason and right principle can with-
stand criticism, though they may be susceptible of
improvement in details. It is no sweeping change
that is wanted, in fact a reformed Parliament might
contain very much the same sort of members as we
have hitherto had. The difference would be that
men who have a right to have a voice in the go-
vernment of the country would' have a representative
in Parliament ; that large classes, whose numbers
are reckoned not by tens nor by hundreds, but by
millions, would be able not to interfere with the
rights of property, or to introduce republican in-
stitutions, but to vote for whichever candidate
they considered would best represent their inte-
rests in the imperial Parliament. The governing
classes would remain the same. Political parties
would probably maintain the same theories, but we
should have the advantage of knowing that, which-
ever side obtained a decisive majority, did actually
represent the views and principles of the people. If
all other safeguards were removed English
conservatism and steadiness might safely be
trusted to preserve the nation from the evils
of democracy ; but, in fact, there ought to be no
removal of safeguards, but only the substitution of
truth for falsehood, of a genuine representation for
a partial and interested one. It is idle to argue as
some anti-reformers have argued, that any arbitrary
division of £lO or £5O can protect us against
anarchy. If we had no other protection we might
have a republic to-morrow.
In an able and interesting article in the current
number of the Quarterly, to which we shall return
at a future period, it is observed that the question
now at issue is whether England shall be governed
by property or numbers. " Those who prefer the
first will vote for the Conservative candidate ; those
who prefer the last will vote for the Liberal. There
is no middle term between the two. It is the great
controversy of modern society, the great issue upon
which the hopes of freedom, and order, and civilisa-
tion depend." But the antagonism between numbers
and intelligence is the very evil which true patriots
deprecate. Indisputably it is the right of education
and intelligence to rule, but let them rule with the
aid and support of numbers, not in defiance
of them. If it comes to a trial of strength between
physical force and moral force, the first is likely to
gain at least a temporary advantage which would
be lamentable. Let our statesmen and politicians
rather aim at governing by the willing aid of a
people who feel they are fairly represented and
wisely governed, until by gradual elevation and im-
provement of the lowest classes the interests of
numbers and intelligence are no longer discordant.

Time passes away so rapidly, and one engrossing
pursuit succeeds another with such speed, that one
is apt to forget the exact period which has elapsed
since any event took place, and when recurrence is
made to a date surprise is felt by many. It is now
seventeen years since Lord STANLEY was first
elected for King's Lynn—a circumstance of which
he reminded the electors on Saturday, when he
addressed them at some length. It must be con-
fessed that few among those who have sat in the
House of Commons during this time have more
faithfully fulfilled their pledges, or have consistently
maintained their course than the noble lord. He
has made no pretentious professions, and gone to
no extremes, but has throughout followed the dic-
tates of common sense and acted according to his
judgment, irrespective of the claims of party and
uninfluenced by the schemes of the so-called re-
formers and regenerators. Lord STANLEY'S speeches
are always listened to with respect, and he attracts
more attention than many brilliant speakers, because
he never addresses the House without a purpose,
and is always very well informed on the subject of
which he treats. His explanation on Saturday was
very satisfactory to the electors, and certainly no
one could complain that it was a niggardly state-
ment, or one that kept back any important decision
or awkward statement.

The noble lord truly said that our " foreign
policy" was of more consequence than our
domestic policy, for it was not possible for
any Minister to go very far wrong in
domestic matters nowadays, since public opinion
governed in the long run. No doubt there is great
truth in the statement that we should get into diffi-
culty and embarrassment if we took up the quarrels
of all foreign nations, but the noble lord carries the
non-intervention plan too far. What becomes of our

rightful influence in the councils of nations if it is
known before hand that whatever occurs we shall
do nothing to interfere, and will not lend a helping
hand to the weak, hcwever outraged or oppressed,
nor stem the power of the strong, be they ever so
unprincipled.
Denmark, for instance, would now be in a very dif-
ferent position if this country had assumed a more
decided attitude, and thus great wrong would have
been prevented, while in the American war much
that was degrading to warfare among Christian
states, and contrary to the interests of humanity,
would have been put a stop to had our Government
only acted in a manner consistent with the dignity of
this great country. Even now we may be called upon
to witness a great wrong committed, which will for
ever disgrace the memory of the great Republic of
the West, and yet our Minister declared to the House
that he would not enter a protest or endeavour to
influence events. Lord STANLEY took a review of
our relations with other countries, and came to the
conclusion that at present there was no danger of
our coming to any disagreement. The noble lord
gave an ingenious description of the position in
which despotic Sovereigns found themselves in these
days of revolution. "It amounted," he said, "to
something like this, each kept his crown on his head
with one hand, and held on to his throne with
the other, and he believed that if we did
not meddle with them, we might be pretty
sure that they would not meddle with us."
If anywhere, as the noble lord said, it is on the
other side of the Atlantic that we are in danger of
rupture coming ; but even with that disturbed
nationality there is every reason to expect that good
management will prevent an outbreak.
As for financial topics, Lord STANLEY was able to
quote an opinion he had expressed when he last spoke
at Lynn, which showed the correctness of his judgment
and verified his predictions. Some people thought
that he was sanguine and even speculative when he
estimated the annual surplus on which we might
reckon as £1,500,000 ; but the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, an unquestionable authority on such
matters, had shown that, from 1859 to the present
time, there had been an annual surplus of £1,750,000.
The noble lord showed his good sense in saying that
he always thought one of the worst taxes on the
list for repeal was the duty on fire insurances. The
reduction now made does. not content him, and he
truly declares that the duty must be reduced to a
shilling, if not to sixpence. The income tax, the noble
lord, thought might be reduced to 3d. in the pound.
The malt duty he wisely considers should be re-
duced, and that its turn should come whenever
practicable.

As for the franchise, Lord STANLEY spoke very
fairly and dispassionately. He said he did not
refer especially as to whether Lord DERBY or Lord
PALMERSTON had the greater number of votes,
because when a question of this matter was debated
a good many friends of Reform on the Liberal side
of the house were more critical than enthusiastic.
" There were many persons in Parliament and else-
where who were willing enough to talk theoretically
about large measures of Reform when they were at
a distance, but who did not like the look of them,
and drew back when the time came for action.'l
This descsription' is an admirable one, and forms a
very correct illustration of the line of policy which
is taken up and set down just as it suits the con-
venience of the professor, and chimes in with
the ruling spirit of the hour. The noble lord,
looking beyond Parliament to the country at large,
beheld no disinclination to an extension of the
franchise, but the upper and middle classes were
afraid of being " swamped" by the admission of the
working classes as a body. The noble lord men-
tioned a curious fact, that the three great popular
movements of modern times were all carried by the
upper and middle classes, and not by the working
ones. The noble lord considers that a large addi-
tion may be made to the franchise without any
harm accruing, and one mode which he advocates is
the " savings bank franchise." Also he was in
favour of extending the franchise to those only who
were occupiers of a house. The county franchise, he
thinks, should be reduced, but he did not pledge
himself to any exact amount. " The multitude
of small boroughs" Lord STANLEY rightly con-
demns, and, in his usual downright style,
he calls them " the weakest part of our electoral
system." A considerable redistribution of seats is
what the noble lord will agree to, but with the
proviso that a balance was maintained between the
claims of the towns and the counties. This is a very
fair condition, because all sweeping reformers seek
to elevate the former to the almost entire depres-
sion of the latter. Bribery, of course, is a great temp-
tation to all sides when there are only two or three
hundred electors. Many will be disappointed that
Lord STANLEY is against the ballot, not that he is
strong in his opposition, because he never thought it
would do either the good or the harm that was ex-
pected from it. The noble lord declared himself
against the " disgraceful and horrible scene of a
public execution."
On the whole, we may say that Lord STANLEY has
successfully acquitted himself of his task, and that
he has presented a tolerably correct definition of
affairs, more especially in a social and domestic
point of view. No one can have had a better op-
portunity than the noble lord of forming a judgment
of matters which affect the interests of the working
classes; because, though he belongs to the highest,
he mixes with those who are bound up in 'the con-
cerns of the middle ranks, and he studies the ques-
tions relating to the lower orders without prejudice
or partiality. When the demagogues rail at the
aristocracy, they really know little or nothing about
them ; and when the exclusives sneer at the rabble,
they have not rightly observed their claims, nor
the important part they hold in the social scale.
Lord STANLEY has set an example which many
candidates will do well and wisely to follow,
and it is surely a vindication of the principles of
our Constitution when the son of one of our
highest nobility thus expresses himself frankly and
fearlessly on great questions of importance and in-
terest to the community. There is nothing more
wanted at elections than moderation in speech and
toleration in opinion; and many serious errors
would be avoided if they were observed and re-
spected.

ARCHBISHOP MANNING.---The Most Rev. Dr. H.
E. Manning, "Archbishop of Westmiater," having re-
turned from Rome, preached his first sermon since his
accession to his new dignity yesterday morning at the
Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, Fulham, having
previously assisted pontifically at high mass. It Was " the
feast of the'translation of the relics of the patron saint,"
and a relic of St. Thomas was exposed to the veneration of
the faithful after mass.

TILE LONGEST PARLIAMENTS, since the passing
of the Septennial Act, are :

-
v. m. d.
Geo. I. 1715-1721
Geo. 11. 1727 -. 1734
„ 1734-1741
„ 1741-1747
„ 1747-1751
„ 1754-1761
Geo. 111. 1761-1768
„ 1768-1774
„ 1774-1780
19 1784-1790
II 1790-1796
Geo. IV. 1820-1826
Victokia 1841-1847

The writs of the Parliament elected in 1859 were return-
able on the 31st of May of that year ; consequently the
actual duration of the Parliament just dissolved is about
six years and Aye weeks.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)
-4,-

THE MAITRITIUS AND BOMBAY MAILS,
SOUTHAMPTON, JULY 10.
The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Ellora, with the above mails, has arrived here. She
brings 145 passengers, 20 boxes of specie, value- not
stated, and 163 packages of merchandise.
On the Ist inst. she spoke the English barque
Sharp, and on the 3d the barque, Lord Duncan, of
Bristol, both steering east.
The English fleet were cruising off Malta.
Only one death had taken place from cholera on
board the Ellora since she left Gibraltar.

MARKETS---This Day.

• 0_ J.,