The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-21 00:00:00

.........
been put under a ban, and the axe " has been laid
to the tree of the self-administration of towns and

communes." Loud cries of " Bravo " greeted the

passage in which the President exemplified the
manner in which the rights of the Chamber of De-

puties had been assailed, " thereby to lay violent
hands upon the arteries of the Constitution." Such
is an exact representation of the style in which

affairs have been conducted in Berlin, and the pri-

vileges of the people of Prussia trampled under foot,

while their wit and wisdom have been powerless to

help them ; for so distracted have they been with

she chimera of foreign wars, that home dangers

have been totally neglected. The President spoke
out as boldly as he could, and more decidedly in-
deed than many would have attempted to do, when
he said that " no power on earth should intimidate
them from maintaining the constitutional rights of
the Crown and the people." Such language is
worthy of one in so responsible a position, and re-
dounds greatly to the credit of the speaker. It is

not often that we find such stirring sentiments pre-

vail as are here expressed, or intimations of so de-
cided a character given nowadays in Prussia. Of

course, it must not be supposed that such a discourse

should find favour with the magnates who heard it,
and in consequence, at the next sitting of the
Chambers, the Minister of the Interior, Count
EULENBERG, set himself to work to make a protest
against the President's speech. It was neither
good taste nor good feeling thus to inaugurate, at
the outset of the session, a dispute between
the Administration and the Chamber of De-

puties. But some people can never rest
without making a disturbance of some kind.
Besides, it would ill become the offended majesty of
the BISMARCK rule not to assert its lawful rights to
unquestioned supremacy and complete authority.
The President was thus compelled to listen to a
long account of his errors, and to hear animadver-
sion delivered upon his astounding presumption and
unparalleled impertinence. First of all, he was told
that he had passed a " bitter criticism" upon the
Government, and also drawn a " gloomy picture"
of the country. Heaven knows that there was
ample opportunity for doing both, but that, of
course, had nothing to do with the case in point.
It was not the duty of .any one in the Prussian
dominions to attempt to judge the actions of their
rulers; they should be too happy to submit in silence
to the dictates of the supreme wisdom and the
chances of the unerring justice which preside over
the destinies of that favoured land. At least one
may gather so much from the tenour of the dis-
course of Count EULENBERG. He seemed most
deeply impressed with the enormity of the offence
of the President, and fully convinced of the neces-
sity that existed for calling attention to the glaring
inconsistency of the President's conduct. The head
and front of the offending was presently revealed,
however, when the Count proceeded to question
what would be the effect produced upon their Royal
Master when he found his wishes so little at-
tended to. The KING'S Government, how-
ever, the Count was at great pains to make
known, would not depart from its determined
course, whatever opinions the majority of the
House might entertain. The present position of the
Chamber of Deputies is certainly not very flatter-
ing, nor can it be said that it has begun its course
under very auspicious circumstances ; but it is
almost hopeless to expect much from so extraordi-
nary a state of affairs. Either no opposition is
made, and the plans of the Government are carried
by default, as it were, or else, if any exception is
taken to the course proposed by the executive, a pre-
cious outcry is raised, and the liberties of the Cham-
ber are rapidly curtailed, until they are dismissed
altogether from fulfilling their functions. It augurs
ill for the happy or honourable termination of the
labours of the Chamber this session, if at the very
commencement such a decided disagreement should
take place between the Ministers and the President.
Altercations of this kind never stop short when
once they begin, but spread like wildfire, and men
are left to deplore the consequences alniost before
they rightly understand the commencement of the
affair or the origin of the dispute. At any rate,
President GRABOW has rendered a good service to
the cause of freedom, and very properly vindicated
the • right of the Chamber over which he
is called upon to preside. Whether the
esclandre comes sooner or later is of
comparatively small importance, if some decided
protest is entered against such extravagant extor-
tions and encroachments as those which the Govern-
ment of the KING have made upon the rights and
privilegee of the people. The welfare of Prussia
cannot now attract the same interest as formerly,
but it is always a welcome sight to see a man in a
responsible position mindful of the duties of his
office, and sensible of the claims that devolve upon
him, whether or not the carrying out of such obliga-
tions lead him into difficulties, and entail upon him
risks and responsibilities. If more members had
been actuated with the spirit of President GRAB OW,
and possessed his determination and fearless
energy, we might now see Prussia in a very dif-
ferent position, and those of her sons which yet
remain true to her interests would not have occa-
sion so bitterly to deplore the retrograde move-
ments and suicidal feeling which now prevail to the
detriment of their country.

The Laureate and his Baronetcy.

(From the Athenteum of to-day.)

The following note on the Tennyson baronetcy,
from one who knows what he is saying, has been
addressed to us, in common with our contempora-
ries :

" Jan. 18, 1865.

" Permit me, in reply to an oblique but exceedingly
clumsy attempt to puff an obscure ' Peerage,' to say that
I am enabled, on the best authority, to assert that her Ma-
jesty has signified her gracious desire to confer some ho-
nour upon the Poet Laureate. It is well known that con-
gratulatory applications in some hundreds have been
made to the poet's publishers in the matter,—a token,
were any needed, of the firm hold Mr. Tennyson
has established upon the affectionate regards of his
countrymen ; it is due to those who have reported and com-
mented on the subject to assert that, whether the Queen's
intentions take the form assigned them by the vox populi or
not, the report itself possesses a solid foundation in fact.
" I am, &c., CESARIEwsis."
—Of course no reader of the Athena3um will suppose
that we referred to the rumours—current in the
papers for many past weeks--without making in-
quiries on the subject. Our information was ample
and precise ; and although we are aware that pro-
gress in the matter is for the moment delayed, we
still think it likely that her Majesty's desire to put
her favour to the great poet into visible and per-
mament shape will end in the Laureate becoming
Sir Alfred Tennyson, Bart.

THE HON. MRS. YELVERTON.—A paragraph
having been industriously circulated to the effect that
the Hon. Mrs. Yelverton (nee Longworth) had become a
convert to Anglicanism, a direct application was made to
that lady inviting her to authorise a contradiction of the
report. The result of the application was the following
admirable letter :—" Sir,—l thank you for affording me
opportunity of authorising you to contradict the untruth-
ful report that I had abandoned the Catholic faith. Having
suffered such bitter persecution for my conscience sake, it
would indeed be great folly to lose the fruits of so much
endurance and the reward promisedto those who persevere
to the end.—Yours faithfully (signed) THERESA. YELTER-
TON, Crauford's Hotel, Edinburgh, 14th January, 1865."
Weekly Register. . _

Bombay has determined upon having an Inter-
national Exhibition, and a company has already been
formed with a capital of £500,000. The promoters have
applied to Government for a grant of land and concession
to carry out the undertakiDg.