The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-11 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 711, 1862.

localities like that which has just become the scene
of this deplorable catastrophe—a greater display of
vigilance on the part of the inspectors employed by
the Paving Commissioners.

Peaceful as Lords PALMERSTON and DERBY pro-
pose that the session should be, it is impossible to
compel all combatants to ground their arms. Least
of all is it possible in the Church Rates battle, the
prelusive skirmishing on which begins to-night.
During the recess Sir John TRELAWNY avowed his
policy, and it is one which appears to us both fair
and manly. The Speaker gave his casting vote
last year for the consideration of some other plan
than unconditional liberation. The honourable
gentleman gathered, he said, from the debate that
such was the wish of a great number, probably a
majority, as some who voted with Sir JOHN TRE-
LAWNY had expressed themselves favourably to a
modification. One of Sir JOHN'S chief supporters,
Mr. BRIGHT himself, suggested the possibility of
abolishing the power to levy compulsorily, but of
leaving the parish vestry, and all the machinery of
laying and collecting a rate intact. Lord EBURY
has suggested the same plan. Many of the strongly
pro-rate party declare this equivalent to the aboli-
tion of the rate, which, however, in an important
sense it is not, since it leaves to Churchmen what
many of them demand so loudly, the right to tax
thelnselvee. If they demand this right and then
refuse to pay the tax, they would convict them-
selves of obvious hypocrisy.
Sir JOHN TRELAWNY, however, maintains that
there is no practicable modification of the rate, but
that it must be abolished. Believing, therefore, his
bill to be the one which must be eventually carried,
he places it once more in a position of advantage.
He lays it before the House ,at the earliest pos-
sible day. As, however, the Speaker's decision
throws the onus of producing a measure of
compromise, on the party to which the Speaker gave
his vote for that purpose, he will give them full
time to introduce their scheme or schemes. What
they are, we well know. There are indeed but
two modifications of any importance proposed—
one would make the rate an owners' rate, the
other would in one way or another exempt Dis-
senters. The advocates of these respective me-
thods will have full time, before Easter, to
put their proposals into the best shape they can,
and to let the House debate them. Sir JOHN
TRELAWNY will thus show that he does not in
the least flinch from the position he has so long
and honourably maintained, while he also shows,
that if he does not modify his abolition proposal
himself, he is open to the suggestion of any work-
ing arrangement which others can offer. But he
cannot offer one himself, or allow what he believes
the right proposal to wait on the possible failure of
the compromise party to produce their scheme.

The Government have announced their intention
to propose nothing. Mr. DISRAELI has demanded
t of them, but the fate of Mr. WALPOLE'S well-
meant proposal is certainly no great inducement
for a rival Government to try its hand on compro-
mise. Few men could be animated by a more
conciliating spirit than the member for Cambridge
University, and where he could not succeed, it
seems to us little likely that any other Home Sec-
retary would be more successful. Mr. DISRAELI
might as well try his own hand. We should
certainly like to see his bill. He has
taken so prominent a part in the opposition to
Sir JOHN'S that it might fairly be asked of him
to show what in practice he is prepared to stand tc.
A statesman, as he must be esteemed, can hardly be
let off with taking no responsibility like some pri-
vate member.

What the course of the Church-rate struggle this
year will be, it is impossible to predict. We do not yet
even know whether the Opposition now responsible
for bringing forward a bill will fulfil the duty which
honourably belongs to them, or whether they will
leave the Abolition Bill to fight its way without a
rival. If they do, they deserve to see it carried not
only in the Commons but in the Lords. To Mr.
BRIGHT'S proposal we can see no objection. It gets
rid of the objectionable feature of the rate—the
coercion for religious objects, and leaves the Church
its accustomed processes. If neither this nor any
other be proposed, then Sir JOHN TRELAWNY ought
to be allowed to settle the question once and for all.

Mr. COWPER would really seem to have, some-
how or another, set his heart upon destroying, as
effectually as possible, the sylvan beauty and
seclusion of Kensington-gardens. Twice he has en-
deavoured to cut up the turf there, ander the green
vista of the avenues of trees, by marking out a
new horse ride—a horse ride that, first of all,
actually bisected the gardens in the most barbarous
manner—the second trial of the horse-ride now
threatening to skirt the gardens by the dry moat
or thereabouts: not content with that reiterated
adventure for the advantage, not of " the million,"
but of " the upper ten thousand," the Chief Com-
missioner of Public Works is now resolved upon
carrying a straight line across Kensing-
ton Gardens and Hyde Park from Bayswater
to Kensington Gore. His design is to have
constructed there a sunken road—bridged over
here and there, and occasionally as under the old
fashionable horse ride of Rotten Row tunnelled
out. A temporary convenience this will be of course
during the Great Exhibition—but while merely a
temporary convenience, we fear certain to be
afterwards, for Kensington Gardens especially, a
permanent disfigurement. What possibly can be
the reason of this mysterious antipathy apparently
entertained by Mr. COWPER in respect to the
charms of the picturesque seclusion of those beau-
tiful sylvan haunts ?

The Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe leave town
on Friday for Brighton.

The Earl of Hardwicke arrived at his residence
in Portman-square last evening from Wimpole Hall, Cam-
bridgeshire.

Viscount and Viscountess Campden have arrivcd
at Claridge's Hotel.

The Viscountess Guillamore and the ion. Cecilia
O'Grady have arrived at Eaton-place from Rockbarton,
her ladyship's residence in Ireland.
DISEMBARKATION OF THE CROWN PRINCESS OF
ritlTS6lA.—Orders have been received by Commodore Sir
F. W. E. Nicholson, Superintendent of Woolwich dock-
yard, to prepare the landing accommodation at the Custom-
house, Gravesend, for the disembarkation of her Royal
Highness the Crown Princess of Prussia on Saturday next.
Her royal highness will embark on board the Victoria and
Albert, at Antwerp, on Friday, the 14th inst. The follow-
ing communication on the subject has been received by Mr.
Bryant, mayor of Gravesend, from Commodore Sir F. W.
E. Nicholson :—"Sir,—l have to inform you that her Royal
Highness the Crown Princess of Prussia and suite will
arrive by her Majesty's yacht, Victoria and Albert, at
Gravesend, from Antwerp, on the 15th inst., and will land
at the Custom-house in boats. I have further to acquaint
you that it is her
Majesty's wish that no flag should be
hoisted, or other honours paid on this occasion, the landing
being as private as possible, without any authorities being
present to receive her royal highness."
TIIE MURDER BY A YOUTH AT BECKENHAM.—
The youth, Andrew Maynard, who stands charged, upon
the coroner's inquisition, with the wilful murder of Henry
Holland, a youth 17 years old, at Beckenham, under cir-
cumstances already reported, was finally examined yester-
daycount magistrates at Bromley. The magis-
trates committed the prisoner for trial at the ensuing county
Y
before the
assizes at Maidstone, upon the minor charge of " Man-
slaughter."

TH E WEATHER.—IVIALTON, Sunday.,—lntense
frost has set in, the thermometer last night going to 24 deg.
The extreme cold broke the telegraph wires on the Mallon
and Thirsk Railway yesterday. The northern bird, the
croesbill, has appeared, upwards of a dozen having been
captured bore,