The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-19 00:00:00

PERNAMBUCO.

The report of the directors states that the extension of the
company's guarantee having been conceded by the Imperial
Government, and the concession having passed the Chamber
of Deputies by a largo majority, it only awaited confirma-
tion by the Senate. The directors addressed in the month
of February last a memorial to the Emperor of Brazil,
praying
that the subject might be brought under the no-
tice of the Senate at the earliest possible moment after its
assembling. The relations of the company with the impe-
rial Government being of the most friendly description,
the directors entertain a sanguine hope that the long tried
patience of the shareholders would be rewarded by an early
settlement of the question. Until the decision of the Senate
was given, the directors were powerless with regard to
fixing the time of payment of the deferred dividend war-
rants. Nothing had occurred in the least degree toweaken
the conviction entertained by the directors of that decision
being sooner or later in the afftrmative. The decision

once obtained, the difficulties of the company would be at
an end, for in every other respect its positionand prospects
were as encouraging as could be desired. The long and
expensive suit with the late contractor, Mr. Furness, was
concluded. Upwards of five years had been spent in taking
the evidence required for the decision of the preliminary
question, whether the company were in point of law justi-
fied in taking the works out of the contractor's hands.
With regard to the revenue account it was very satisfac-
tory. Although working at a greatly reduced tariff, which
had been in operation upwards of 12 months, with the
heavy drawback of having had, during that period, to re-
place the greater part of the sleepers upon the second,
third, and fourth sections of the line, the entire cost of
which had been charged to re venue, there was shown at the
end, of the year, over and above all expenses, both in Eng-
land and Brazil, a clear surplus revenue, leaving therefore
the net guaranteed interest received from the Imperial
Government upon the present share capital available for
division. After paying interest to the debenture holders for
the half-year ending the 31st of December last it would
allow of a dividend at the rate of 3 per cent. per annum.
The construction of the Government roads as feeders to the
line were under consideration for the still further develop-
ment of the traffic. In fact, as soon as those and the ex-
tension into Recife could be accomplished, the directors
were confidently assured that there would be no difficulty
in doubling its present amount, of which the Imperial Go-
vernment would reap the benefit.

Richard Oobden's Laid Letter•

(From the Manchester Examiner)

It has already been stated that the last letter
which Mr. Cobden wrote was addressed to Mr. T.
B. Potter, who on Saturday last was triumphantly
elected to represent the borough of Rochdale in
Parliament. Mr. Potter had asked Mr. Cobden's
opinion on Mr. Mill's letter, and the reply to that
communication was handed to Mr. Potter two days
after Mr. Cobden's death.

Through the kindness of Mr. Potter we are enabled
to give our readers a copy of this correspondence,
which will ever possess a peculiar interest, as being
associated with the last hours of Mr. Cobden :

JOILI S. MILL TO THOMAS B. POTTER.

" Blackheath Park, April 7, 1865.

" Dear Sir,—Though I have good reason for sympathis-
ing in your personal disinclination to go into Parliament,
having the same feeling myself, I cannot help being very
glad, on public grounds, that there is prospect of your being
elected for Rochdale. And if this takes place, in spite of
your professing opinions in advance of the general state of
opinion among Reformers, there will be the more reason
for satisfaction.

" I have no objection whatever to the publication of my
letter. Its association with the last thing Mr. Cobden ever
wrote will give it a melancholy interest.—l am, deai sir,
very truly yours,

(Signed) " J. S. MILL."

" JOHN S. MILL TO THOMAS B. POTTER.

" Blackheath Park, March 16, 1865.

" Dear Sir,—Nothing can, in my estimation, be more
desirable than that you should take an active part in the
projected Reform Conference (the London Conference). It
is of vast importance that any great public cause should be
taken up by men who are not (in the phraseology of the
great English Revolution) sell-seekers ; and you, having
been aNhe head of a valuable popular organisation, will
very probably be urged to render a similar office to the
new one which it is proposed to form. Of course, the
desirableness of your doing so depends on the goodness of
the object which the organisation is meant to promote, and
on this no one can judge for you but yourself. For my
own part, I could not presume to advise on what it would
be right for you to do, since I do not sufficiently know
your opinions on the particular points on which Radical
Reformers differ. I can only respond to your very flatter-
ing confidence by saying what I should think it right to do
myself in this or any similar case.
"I have long since determined that, for myself, I will
never join in any movement for what is called manhood
suffrage. Adult suffrage is what I contend for ; and when
one goes in, not for an object immediately attainable, but
for a principle, we ought to go the whole length of it. No
reason either of right or expediency can bo found to jus-
tify giving the suffrage to men, exclusively of women, and,
the word manhood suffrage having been substituted for the

good old phrase universal suffrage, for the express purpose
of showing that women aro not included, to adopt it is to
give a direct assent to their exclusion.

"On the other hand, I consider an educational qualifica-
tion to the extent of reading and writing (I would even add
ciphering) indispensable. It is to be hoped that before long
this restriction will no longer exclude anybody, and I
could have no adults excluded on any other ground. But
adult suffrage is not complete unless minorities have their
fair share of representation. If 50,000 electors have to elect
five members, it is not fair and equal representation that
30,000 of them should be able, by outvoting the others, to
elect all five. The 30,000 are only entitled to three mem-
bers, and the remaining 20,000 to two. This is not, as is
sometimes pretended, a proposal made for the purpose of
defeating democracy. On the contrary, it is positively re-
quired by democratic principles. Democracy is not the ex-
clusive rule of the greater number and the virtual disfran-
chisement of the rest, but the equal representation of
all; majorities returning a majority, and minorities a
minority. Mr. Hare's admirable plan is the best
that has been proposed for securing the equal repre-
sentation of minorities, and would incidentally attain
many other important objects. It is, as I hear, making some
way among the intelligent leaders of the working classes at
Manchester. I should not, however, make that particular
plan a sine qua non, but the acknowledgment of the prin-
ciple that minorities ought to be represented in proportion
to their numbers, seems to me indispensable to show that
the working classes are willing to allow the same justice to
others which they claim for themselves. In the present
state of the constituencies the working classes would them-
selves benefit by it. And it is hardly possible to exagge-
rate the moral effect which would be produced in favour of
them and their cause, by such a proof that they do not aim
at merely substituting one class ascendancy for another,
but demand for every class a hearing, and such influence
as it is entitled to.

"Neither would I support equal electoral districts, because
I do not think that any one class; even though the most
numerous, should be able to return a decided majority of
the whole Legislature. But I would support any readjust-
ment of the constituencies that would enable the working
classes to command half the votes in Parliament. The
most important questions in practical politics are coming
to be those in which the working classes as a body are ar-
rayed on one side and the employers as a body on the other
—as in all questions of wages, hours of labour, and so on.
If those whose partialities are on the side of the operatives
had half the representation, and those who lean to the'side
of the employers had the other half, the side which was in
the right would be almost sure to prevail by the aid of an
enlightened and disinterested minority of the other. But
there would not be the same assurance of this if either the
working classes or a combination of all other classes could
command a decided majority in Parliament.
" Lastly, I could not support the ballot.
" It is extremely probable that those opinions may pre-
vent me from being able to co-operate with any or-
ganised movement for reform that we have any chance
of seeing at present if, as is not unlikely, your opinions
are different, you have not the same reason for abstain-
ing. But it would, I think, be a good thing if the
movers could be induced to leave some of these points,
and particularly the ballot, in the position of open ques-
tions. By doing so they wouid enable many earnest re-
formers to join them who would never consent to support
the ballot, but who would not refuse to connect themselves
with those who do.

"I thank you very sincerely for your kind invitation,
but I do not feel called on to attend the conference. I
think that I can probably do more good as an isolated
thinker, forming and expressing my opinions independently,
than by associating myself with any collective movement,
which, in my case, would almost always imply putting
some of my opinions in abeyance. Your position is diffe-
rent, and you seem to me to be, in a manner, called (if you
will allow me the expression) to take part in such move-
ments, and endeavour to direct them to right objects.
"I have stated my opinions very imperfectly, but they
aro all expressed as well as I am able to express them in
my volume on representative government.—l am, dear sir
very sincerely and respectfully yours,
(Signed)

"3. S. MILL."

"RICHARD CODDEN TO THOMAS B. POTTER.
"London, 23, Suffolk-street, Pall Mall,
March 22, 1865.
"My dear Potter,—l return Mill's letter. Everything
from him is entitled to respectful consideration. But I con-
fess, after the best attention to the proposed representation
of minorities which I can give it, I am so stupid as to fail
to see its merits. He speaks of 50,000 electors having to
elect five members, and that 30,000 may elect them all, and
to obviate this he would give the 20,000 minority two
votes. But I would give only one vote to each elector,
and one representative to each constituency. Instead of
the 50,000 returning five in a lump, I would have five con-
stituencies of 10,000, each returning one member. Thus,
if the metropolis, for example, were entitled, with a fair
distribution of electoral power, to forty votes, I would
divide it into forty districts, or wards, each to return
one member ; and in this way every class and every
variety of opinion would have a chance of a fair repre-
sentation. Belgravia, Marylebone, St. Ames, St. Giles,
Whitecliapel, spitalfields, &c., would each and. all have