The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-24 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

Tills DAY.—Morning, 12h. 40m.—Afternoon, lh. 51n.
To-Moiutow.-Morning, lh. 30m.—Afternoon, lh. 55m.

t-
I, ON47:11.1

-LONDON, FRIDAY, FEB. 24, 1863.

lie must be a sanguine man who hopes to obtain
any substantial or comprehensive measure of Re-
form from the existing Ministry, or from the pre-
sent House of Commons. Nevertheless, it is well
that occasional protests should be made, and signs
given, that the Reformers in and out of the House

have not lost their vitality, and accordingly, year
by year, as the Bill for the Extension of the Suf-

frage, or the alteration of the mode of voting, comes
forward, the country is able to see of what stuff its

representatives are made, and to test the sincerity
of their hustings' promises. A very black register,
we fear, has been kept in some districts of the
silence, the absence, the opposition of their mem-
bers when any great question of national Re-
form comes on, and the acts and events of the
preceding sessions, will, if electors are wise, be held
to far outweigh any professions or performances of
the last few months of Parliamentary existence. A
servant under conditional notice wears a very dif_
ferent aspect from him who thinks himself secure of
his place, and our public servants we fear are some-
times influenced by similar considerations on a larger
For this reason their constituents would do
more wisely to weigh over the acts of their repre-
sentatives during the supine years which have
elapsed since the last general election than to be
persuaded by anything said or done during the pre-
sent session, that the present Parliament is mainly
composed of active and energetic Reformers. For
aix years the so-called Liberals have held office, and
held it, too, with an Opposition that was itself
Pledged to the principle of reform, but neither word
r Sign have
indicated any desire on the part of the
Government or its supporters to institute a change
for the Parliamentaryh as representation of the people.
Aprs mei le deluge been their motto, and a
Reform Bill, Whvichhntailed the much dreaded
hi
general election,
occasioned a general dial
placement of members,
and pxsibly might do for
the Whigs what the first Reform Bill did for
Tories, was by no means a eon,nramation
devoutly
to be wished for or brought about.
Rest and be
thankful, was the cry, and the Treaeu benches
and offices are proverbially inviting to that happy
state of dolce far ?dente, from which :o
man likes to be aroused. So the excuse
was made of the inaction and indifference
of the people. We were told in turn that
the excluded classes cared nothing for their with-
held rights, and that so fervent was their political
excitement, that if once allowed the privilege of a
vote, they would return members who would upset
the constitution and convulse the country. All the
tirgu4lent.s of timid and selfiab men against the for-

scale.

mer Reform Bill were resuscitated m a m
tioenlvodified
form, and perhaps after all with some 103)1 ay ndoa ourselves .
elst,
is common, we know, to judge others,
and as the Whigs and their followers have always
shown—to say the least of it—considerable anxiety
to obtain and to retain possession of place, power,
and political influence, it was natural fc.sr them to
suppose that the lower classes would, if thor could
get the chance, display the same avidity. But the
fact is that the extension of the suffrage would
probably be scarcely, if at all, felt in its Parliamen-
-1
tart' effects. The class of members that would be
returned would be very much the same as at pre-
sent. Our working-men, especially of the class that
occupies £6 houses, are not Red Bepublicans, are not
Red Republicans led away by every demagogue
who thunders against the vices of the aristocracy
and the evils of property. They are mostly a
shrewd and matter-of-fact set, who have no lack of
common sense, and have good reason to object to
putting themselves wholly under the control of un-
educated or ill-bred men. It is a common saying
among the working classes that no " gentleman" is
so hard a taskmaster as a common man who has
grown rich, a fact of which we see continual evi-
dence. What would really make some difference,
we may believe, in our Parliament, would be the
introduction of the Ballot, by which the present
system of corrupt and intimidating influences would
be done away with, and the shortening of the dura-
tion of Parliaments, which would make members a
little more mindful of their hustings pledges. These
two reforms would probably give us a more honest
and consistent House of Commons—a body which
should faithfully represent the English people, and
regard the public welfare above any party or per-
sonal interests.

The subject brought under the consideration of
the Upper House last evening by Lord WHARN-
CLIFFE is one of considerable importance, and, now
all eyes are turned with so much interest to the
great continent of the western world, it has also
much interest. The position of our territories in
North America has lately given rise to much discus-
sion, and the English public are now beginning to
realise the full extent and vast natural capabilities
of those magnificent dominions. A finer field for
the superfluous energies and population of the old
country could scarcely be found than those western
regions which are favourable alike to the health and
to the industry of Europeans. It is very much to
be regretted that so large a district should
for years have been purposely kept in a
wild uncultivated state by its being sacri-
ficed to the interests of a company, and
we trust that Parliament will never again con-
sent to such rash and ill-advised legislation. The
district to which Lord WHARNCLIFFE refers is not
entirely under the control of the Hudson's Bay
Company, though it borders so closely upon their
lands that they claim part of it. North-West
America, as it is styled, is a large and fertile tract
of country lying between Upper Canada and the
Rocky Mountains. It is better known among us
by the Red River Settlement, which occupies part
of it. Of this settlement the official report says
that it ofers certain wealth to the agriculturist,
since nutritious grasses abound everywhere, and the
richness of the natural pasture can hardly be exag-
gerated. Hemp, flax, and hops, grow admirably,
and tracts of land of surpassing richness and fer-
tility abound. The immense extent of this province
forbids its annexation to Canada, since it would
when populated completely overwhelm Lower
Canada and altogether disturb the balance of the
colonies. The proper course, undoubtedly, is that
proposed by Lord WII A RNCLIFFE—the establishment
of a new colony under British rule. Such a scheme
must, however, be naturally postponed until the
proposed Confederation has been fairly carried out.
Lord GRANVILLE pointed out the inconvenience of
making any such change at the present moment,
though he approved of it as an ultimate measure.
The definition of the boundaries between the Hud-
son's Bay district and North-West America on the
one side, and Canada on the other, is a matter of
great importance, and we trust the Government
will be very careful that the Company's territories
are not allowed to encroach upon the other pro-
vinces. Lord WHARNCLIFFE has done good service
in bringing forward this subject, which will probably
come up again shortly for further discussion.

At the meeting of the Association of the Cham-
bers of Commerce of the United Kingdom yester-
day, an important subject was touched upon, viz.,
the " Prevention of Strikes." Mr. WHITWELL, in
moving the appointment of a committee to consider
this subject, made some interesting remarks there-
upon. He observed that the object to be borne in
mind was to prevent the recurrence of these mis-
fortunes as much as possible, for the intelligence of
the working men being so much on the increase, it
was necessary to devise some means to improve
their knowledge of sound principles of economy.
No doubt, much of the evils that have arisen have
their origin in the neglect of this consideration, for,
left to the influence of demagogues, the workmen
are led into all kinds of extremes, which they did
not at first contemplate or at all consider neces-
sary. Mr. WHITWELL mentioned another cause
of the discontent so frequently fomented among
these classes, and that is the influence of those
who call themselves " delegates," and go from
one society to another, and by means of
pretences of instructing the men, &c., contrive to
gain their own livelihood. The sooner a friendly
communication prevails between masters and men
the better chance will there be of putting an end to
the prevalence of strikes. He moved that a com-
mittee be appointed to consider the practicability of
any scheme being devised to settle the differences
of opinion between many large bodies of workmen
Some very wise suggestions
and their employers.
were made in connection with this subject, which,
if properly carried out, will, no doubt, conduce
greatly to the furtherance of the object in view.
Mr. MAN'S idea of communicating with the working
t
men as to what the association was doing,omeet the o
they might send some of their body to
committee and state their views, was an admirable
one. Since the carpet manufacturers have appointed
a committee to represent the claims of masters and
men there have been no strikes ; and, there-
fore, this holds out a reasonable ground of
hope that others who do likewise may be equally
successful, and their efforts crowned with the same
happy results. Mr. LuFTON trulyobsmeruvcehdtothbaet
an arbitration by independent men was
desired, az he said the " masters" were not always
blameless, and the men would not put fullcobnofith-
deuce in them. Independent persons, in whom
sides can place trust, are certainly most likely to
prove effectual peacemakers, besides being the pre-
cursors of a better state of things hereafter. There
is a great deal in habit in these matters, and when
some time has elapsed without any painful alterca-
tions arising, there .
natonaellobeyci . is the greater probability of
to find th:ruaditining.
the Assocjiatio:utsonithane
Com-
merce has been made t
fora ahilteoni period, and perhaps not
encourage the trades in th • •
trade disputes to o, conuuittee
asoevemeraent. It is satisfactory
areccohmmambenersdatoiofncfroomm-
o the effect that they should
their districts to leave all
k.l ) appointed by both