The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-20 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, JAN. 20, 1865.

Mr. SCHOLEFIELD and Mr. BRIGHT have been dis-
playing their eloquence to their constituents. The
former gentleman spoke first. In some respects he
had the advantage of his more daring and dashing
colleague, for he had the magnanimity to award
justice to his political opponents, and also the dis-
cernment to recognise a very probable contingency
that may arise, and to declare that he would not
commit himself by any rash pledges. " If there
should arise a necessity for taking Parliamentary
action on the question of recognising the Southern
States," he said, << that he would reserve his discre-
tion." This was very wise, and it was straightfor-
ward of the hon. member to avow it. He also ap-
prehended the present attitude of America to
betoken some awkwardness, and said that he did
not wish to "abate one jot of what was necessary
for the security of
.the country.,, Certainly such
remarks are a step in advance of the Manchester
School, and accord but ill with its primary prin_
ciples. Mr. BRIGHT'S speech was not very different
to his ordinary discourses. We meet with the same
invincible repugnance to the higher classes of the
land, the same vehemence concerning the rights of
the people, and the same cynical opinion of all in
authority. It has so often been lamented that he
should mar the effect of his great abilities, and
throw away the resources of his distinguished elo-
quence in these meaningless diatribes, that to repeat
the remark again seems
above all others preposterous. But one thing
must strike the mind of those who
attentively study this discourse,
and that is, why I
should Mr. BRIGHT and his friends so persistently
support the present Ministry in every difficulty,
when they entertain, or profess to entertain, such an
opinion of their errors and shortcomings How is
it consistent with their avowal of the frauds and
fallacies which mark the Pathway of h
statesmen." Whatever doubts and uncertainties
"n
ceratainitetinest
these same dignitaries may entertain respecting e h
conflicting events of political life, of one thing they
e
may feel convinced, and that is the support of Mr.
BRIGHT, should they be placed in a perilous position.
Of course, on the subject of Denmark, the hon.
member for Birmingham launched out into his usual
strain, and dealt out his fiery invectives against
those who would propose any policy contrary to his
wishes. Besides rejoicing that England suffered
that unfortunate kingdom, to be crushed, Mr.
BRIGHT would deduce from that fact the sequence
that in. all other such dilemmas we shall pursue the
same course, and, taking care of ourselves, heed

not what mischance affects others. A more 'elfish
or sectarian policy could not be enunciated ; it is a
disgrace to those who propose it, and it would be a
lasting shame to all who carried out its proposals
and adopted its tenets. Why, in the name of com-
mon sense, should Mr. BRIGHT say, thai any Go-
vernment that " plunged us into a war for the sake
of -the integrity of Denmark, would deserve the
execration of the people." It is by such incon-
siderate remarks as these that he loses the
respect of his hearers, and lowers himself from a
politician pronouncing an opinion on public affairs
to the position of a demagogue who blusters and
disclaims without regard to cause or consequence.
In support of his peculiar mania he will do or
say anything wild, extravagant, and violent—
truth, honour, and justice all cast to the winds ;
the principles which have been reverenced among us
from time immemorial he styles "ghastly phantoms,"
and read by his light the policy of England must
henceforth be, take care of number one. It may
do very well to attempt this clap-trap oratory at a
public meeting, and to debate before a particular
assembly, but the sense and sentiment of the English
nation are alike enraged against such selfish and
sordid motives as Mr. BRIGHT would impute to us ;
and so long as the best feelings of human nature are
extant among us, so long will such a creed be styled
dastardly and degrading. It is only to be regretted
that Earl RUSSELL did not act up to the measure of
the opinion he professed on that occasion at Greenock,
from which Mr. BRIGHT has quoted a passage from
his speech. Such language was worthy of one who
represented the character and bore the name of a
family possessing an historical interest in the land,
and associated with the most stirring inci-
dents in civil and religious liberty. So with
Lord PALMERSTON, had he acted up to the
professions he made on many occasions, whence the
member for Birmingham can extract " a cartload
of international rubbish," he might not be in office
now, but he would leave behind him a better
reputation as a statesman and a minister of
the great country over whose destinies he has
the high honour to preside. Mr. BRIGHT
thinks that a part of the millennium cf
the Manchester school has already blessed this
favoured land, and that henceforth there will be no
more wars, or rumours of wars, among us for the
sake of helping foreign nations in distress and de-
fending the rights of injured nationalities. Time
alone can prove how far this may or may not be
correct, but meanwhile is it a desirable position for
a public speaker to take before an assembly of his
countrymen to declare that our strength shall never
be put forth in the cause of our weaker brethren
among the communities of the earth, our wealth
shall not be squandered to lighten their poverty,
and our arms of might shall never carry de-
struction to their foes and make them rejoice that
they have such a friend. In fact, we are to become
rich and strong, and see our trade increase, our
manufactures flourish, and our people prosperous,
but we are to say " let us eat and drink for to-
morrow we die." When Mr. BRIGHT gets upon
the subject of " Reform" he becomes indeed "pro-
digious," the torrents of his eloquence burst their
bounds, the zeal of his imagination burns
with intense vehemence, and the long re-
strained indignation of his patriotism is launched
against all offenders. The only drawback to all this
overflowing eagerness and excitement is that no-
thing comes of it. During the shades of • autumn
and the gloom of winter we find the member for
Birmingham on the alert to spy out the nakedness
of the land in political quarters ; but where has fled
this discernment when spring and summer unfold
the bud and blossom into the flower of Parliamen-
tary existence. All this is hushed and tranquil, and
uo sound disturbs the serenity of the scene. Now,
if the Ministers of the House of Lords and the
House of Commons are so faulty, why does not
one who boasts of being the tribune of the people
and the orator of the million rise up in his place in
Parliament and tell them of the error of their ways.
Some sound truths and some solid sense are mixed
up with the leaven of Mr. BRIGHT'S discourse, bul
why should he use his powers for party ends when
great public and political questions hang on the
issues of such topics as those he ventilates. The
rights of the people, and the claims of the unrepre-
sented would come before us with a greater force
and speak for themselves, in their own grand signifi-
cance, without the clap-trap of casting ridicule upon
the opponents of Mr. BRIGHT'S particular views,
and the balderdash of throwing stones at
the upper ranks of society. Such sub-
terfuges are mean and senseless, and
the good taste and high principle of an enlightened
community revolts against them. It is because he
aims at effect rather than studies cause that Mr.
BRIGHT has never identified himself with anything
lasting in the politics of the day. It was the cool
judgment and sober sense of Mr. COBDEN that made
the Anti Corn-law League a " great !fact," and
not the vehement vituperation of his friend. Mr.
BRIGHT could never have consulted with an Em-
peror about -a Treaty of Commerce. His thoughts
would have been far away from facts and figures,
comparing
the advantage of a Republic to the con-
ditions of an Empire, and speculating upon the
progress France must make before she attained the
measure of completeness enjoyed by those who
dwelt where " Mighty Missouri rolls down to the
Sea." Mr. BRIGHT is indignant with Lord PAL-
MERSTON for not having offered him a seat in his
Government, and it was a very foolish thing for
the noble lord to have omitted to do so, for there
is no more effectual way of silencing an awkward
spokesman, not that the denouncer of all things
public and political in Birmingham is dangerous in
the House. Within those honoured walls he is
either mute or speaks with bated breath, and it
seems strange that those who so vehemently cheer
their member in the Town Hall cannot or will not
compare his silence at St. Stephen's with his volu-
bility in the provinces. Mr. BRIGHT boasts that he
made speeches in many places which gained the
a_PPlanse of thousands on the question of
Reorm, but where has fled his zeal and earnestness
since then? There is no doubt that his exertions
were in
a great measure the cause of the over-
throw of the Reform Bi .
ll of Lord DERBY'S
Government, but what have
the people gained
by that ? Six years have Posed, and the fire
abated, and
of Mr. BRIGHT'S eloquence has been
the torrent of his invectives stol3l3ed, while the
Government he was instrumental in placing in office
have shirked the question, and he has stood by and
supported them. The people of this country admire
eloquence, and respect devotion to a great political
question, but there is one thing that they reverence
still more, and that is consistency. Mr. BRIGHT
may raise the plaudits of the unthinking auditors
of a great assembly, but he will never influence the
destinies of the country and gain the respect of its
thinking community, while he goes on in such a
wild and extravagant fashion. If Lord PALMERSTON
be so much to blam•
•
e, why did he not propose a vote
of want of confidence m his administration all these
years while
he
Why does Mr.
MILNER GIBSON remain in
supporter ?
in such a pro-
fanethe
has been his constant
incongruous circumstan assemblage as
ces combine to mar the effect
present Cabinet ? All these
so sedulously sought after in the autumnal effusions
of Mr. Bracrar ; and while enth
c cheery may.,

attend the closing passages of his peroration, we can
only come to the conclusion that this speech,
like its predecessors, is a flash in the pan, a momen-
tary effulgence, to make succeeding darkness more
visible. If the institutions of the country are in
the state Mr. BRIGHT declares them to be in, no
Reform Bill can put them right, for they will be in
a hopeless condition, and we shall be reduced to the
expedient, once recommended for Ireland, of seek-
ing a remedy by going under water for a fortnight.
Those who would direct the minds of their fellow-
countrymen and influence the generation in which
they live, must learn many things before they can
succeed. Talents and eloquence alone are not
enough ; they must learn to be consistent as well as
outspoken, and they must possess some diffidence
concerning their own merits, and some respect for
the merits of their opponents. Above all, they
must not make the excitement of a momentary dis-
play come before the carrying out of a conscientious
conviction, and the moderation which may
seem at first sight tame and trivial, but which,
like the charity that hopeth all things, in the
end may attain a greater victory than the violent
and vehement demeanour which puts no bounds to
its course and no limits to its impatience. The
great superiority of the English as a nation chiefly
consists in their endurance ; they do not rush at
revolutions, but they bide their time until the force
of public opinion in the end carries the day.
Mr. BRIGHT never could or would see this chief
characteristic of his countrymen, or appreciate its
mighty influence.

It is evident that the time has come when active
interference in the American question is confidently
looked for from England. Whether, judging from
the signs of the times, or from the deductions of
their own reason, both Canadians and Americans
have arrived at the same conclusion, and, according
to the latest intelligence, rumours are current, both
in Washington and in Canada, that British troops
are about to embark for the latter country in order
to be ready for the possible consequences of the re-
cognition of the South by England and France on
the 4th of March. That occasion will be an im-
portant one, and England will no longer be able to
maintain her professions of neutrality, since by her
conduct then she will declare for one or the other of
the contending parties. Tranquillity is restored in
Montmorency, where, it will be remembered, the
French Canadians had resisted the militia draught.
It is certainly no time for internal disputes when
the aspect of affairs across the frontier is threaten-
ing. The most important point in the military
intelligence is the assertion that LEE is about to
confront SIIERMAN, leaving BEAUREGARD to defend
Richmond, a task for which the great Confederate
engineer is eminently qualified. Apropos of that
Federal commander who is just now the hero of
the North, there is a melancholy rumour
current, not stated officially, but coming indi-
rectly from private sources. It is said that he
is suffering from aberration of reason, and that he
was similarly afflicted two years since when tempo-
rarily relieved of his command in the West. Should
this be true, his loss even for a time will be a serious
blow to the North ; but, even supposing him to be
in full possession of his faculties, the Confederates
can surely contrive so to concentrate their forces as
to arrest his further progress. HOOD'S absence with
his army is to be regretted on all accounts, but the
troops actually at hand ought to supply the
Southern generals with sufficient material to offer
him a formidable opposition. The financial affairs
of the North are moving rapidly along the road to
ruin. 574,000,000 gold bonds were sold during
December, and one of the journals believes that
more Seven-Thirty Bonds will be issued. FESSEN-
DEN has soon tired of his post, being nominated
Senator from Maine, thereby leaving the Treasury
portfolio virtually vacant. It is, certainly, not a
hopeful or profitable office. The Northern leaders
reckon on wearying out the Confederates by a
ceaseless prosecution of the war. They may yet
find their benevolent intentions frustrated by the
financial exhaustion of their own people.

The announcement of the assembly of the first
Cabinet Council of the season reminds us that we
are upon the eve of a fresh Parliamentary cam-
paign, and that it behoves the generals of both
armies to prepare for the coming struggle. The
Opposition have for some time been mustering
their forces and reckoning their followers,
and they have before them, if they
have sufficient wit to seize the moment
when the tide leads on to fortune, more
than one opportunity of putting their adversaries to
the test. First and foremost comes that great
Transatlantic struggle which is assuming every day
more gigantic proportions. The feeling of this
country has manifested itself unmistakeably in
favour of Southern independence ever since English
sincerity and common sense detected the hollowness
of Northern professions respecting the abolition of
slavery. The opinion is now rapidly gaining ground
that this country is playing an unworthy part, and
that, under cover of grand professions of disin-
terested neutrality, England has been really favour-
ing the Federal cause to the utmost of her ability,
short of actual assistance, to the derogation of her
own dignity, the injury of her trade, and the total
abnegation of her principles. If the Conservatives
would take heart to come boldly forward on this
great question and declare their adhesion to the old
English principle of the right of every nation to
choose its own ruler and its own form of govern-
ment, they might rely upon the support of the great
body of the people, more especially since, in recog-
nising the South, we should find the best security
for the gradual abolition of that " domestic institu-
tion" which has hitherto withheld from them some
portion of our sympathies. Supposing the subju-
gation of the South to be probable, the most likely
conclusion of the war would be the re-admission of
the seceding States into the Union on their own
terms, for there is no chance of the North achieving
a sufficient triumph to enable them to dictate the
terms of submission to the South. This, then, is the
great difficulty that lies before the Cabinet in the
ensuing session, and one which we may be tolerably
sure occupied a prominent position in their
deliberations of yesterday. We fear, however,
that between the hallucinations of the heads
of the Cabinet, the dislike to take ac-
tive measures, the love for a " drifting"
policy, and the prevailing influence of the Manches-
ter school, there is very little chance of any decided
and consistent line of action. Continental politics,
to
The relations
oo
nu our statesmenbetw
obetween
somethingAust::ia, to
talktoo, must
abeut have
The
Prussia,
and the German States, whom Mr. BRIGHT dignifies
by the name of " kingdoms," but which would
rather suit an Englishman's idea of counties, are
anything but harmonious, while Prussia's intentions
with regard to the Duchies are but flimsily disguised.
Italy is not altogether tranquil, Hungary is stirring,
the Polish question can hardly be said to be finally
settled. Going further off, China is still disturbed ;
the aspect of affairs in Japan is threatening ; New
Zealand is not yet tranquillised ; India needs care-
ful legislation ; and the North American Provinces
are passing through an important crisis in their his..
tory. Altogether there is enough to discuss and to
consider in our external relations, while the great

national question of Reform remains unsettled;
gathering force year by year, and session by session,
while the leaders of the great Liberal party con-
tinue to trifle with their own reputations, with their
faith to the Crown, and their pledges to the coun-
try. But let them take heed, for the plea of exter-
nal distractions will not avail them much longer.
The people of this country are not likely to be
affected by any of these threatened convulsions in
other States, and will be slow to accept the pretext
of the American War, or of possible Continental
disturbance, as an excuse for delaying the reorgani-
sation of their electoral system. The great princi-
ples which uphold this nation will not be influenced
by the admission of fresh electors, the shortening
of the duration of Parliaments, the alteration of
the present system of voting—unless indeed they
are more earnestly advocated than they can be said
to be at present, and our public policy represents
more fully and fearlessly the views and feelings of
the people.