The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-07 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

TlMES.—There are two kinds of lessons which
may be learnt by experience ; the one is most com-
monly expressed by the proverb that experience
makes fools wise. But experience has also another
teaching. It has its evil as well as its good side ;
it tends not only to eradicate errors, but in some
cases to confirm and make themlinveterate ; in other
words, it acts not only on the understanding but on
the feelings, and while it is generally supposed to
enlighten the former it not unfrequently warps and
distorts the latter. The cause for which a man has
suffered becomes sacred in his eyes, and the feelings
which those sufferings have called forth are apt to
become more violent and more intense just in pro-
portion as they ought to die away and subside. No
better illustration of this latter or perverted kind of
experience can be found than the one furnished by
the history of Spain'. The character of no nation
has been so entirely made up from the events of its
most striking and interesting history. Almost every
peculiarity which distinguishes the modern Spaniard
from the rest of his brethren of the European
family may be accounted for from some leading fea-
ture in the history of his country, It was the fate
of Spain to be conquered by the Moors, and to ex-
pel them from its territories after an obstinate
struggle of 800 years, during which the mutual ani-
mosity of Moor and Christian, the fanatical devo-
tion to its own faith, and the equally fanatical
hatred of the rival creed, was carried to the very
extremity of fervour and passion. The Moors were
expelled, but the fiery passions which they had
raised survived their expulsion, and, after having
during several centuries lighted up the flames of the
Inquisition, still make themselves manifest in an
intolerance to all other creeds, which unhappily dis-
tinguishes Spain from all other European nations,
and a hatred of strangers which is equally contrary
to the spirit of the time and to the dictates of that ,
religion to which Spain professes such entire devotion.
The sagacity which induced Ferdinand and Isabella
alone among European Sovereigns to promote the
enterprise of Columbus placed at their feet the bound-
less riches and docile populations of a new world,
and made her the undisputed mistress of those vast
stores of gold and silver which until the end of
the last century were regarded as alone con-
stituting the wealth of States or of individuals.
From this unhappy facility of importing wealth, for
which she gave no return in the products of her own
labour, we may trace the decay of the country, the
scantiness of its population, and its obstinate adhe-
rence to a singularly perverse system of political
economy. Spain acquired, together with thecoT-
mand of gold and silver, a number of colonies m
the New World, the possession of which served to
satisfy in some degree that desire of universal domi-
nation which had been created in the days of her
sudden and groundless prosperity. These colonies
successively threw off the yoke of the mother coun-
try, and we have no doubt that by so doing they
relieved the overburdened exchequer and scanty po-
pulation of Spain from a pressure to which they were
wholly unequal, and thus took the first step towards
her recovery from the state of weakness into which
' she had undoubtedly fallen. At any rate, during the
last 10 years Spain, enjoying comparative quiet at
home and being relieved from the burden of an ern-
' pire the profit of which was by no means commensu-
rate with its extent, has increased greatly both in
population and wealth, and gave lair promise, had

her resources been wisely and economically employed
of founding a flourishing and durable monarchy. No
English statesmen will doubt what ought to have
been done. A system of protection fatal to the in-
dustry of the country and to the interest of revenue,
should have been swept away ; intolerant laws, cal-
culated to drive away strangers and to keep the na-
tion itself in ignorance and barbarism, should have
been repealed ; the debts disgracefully repudiated
should have been scrupulously paid, not merely for
the sake of preserving the honour of the nation, but
the sake of that credit without which a poor country
must wait centuries for improvements which might
otherwise be effected in a few years. Such was the
course marked out by the commonest precepts of
good sense, but Spain was rich in experience, and
she did not lose any time in applying:, it. She
had an inveterate hatred of the Moors, and,
therefore, lost no time in picking a quarrel with
them, out of which she has reaped much loss and
little profit. She had a vivid recollection of the
glories of her colonial empire, and so she undertook a
crusade in San Domingo, from which she seems

likely to retire with nothing to show for great exer-
tions and large expenditure, and now she has entered
into a quarrel with her own revolted colony of Peru,
in the commencement and prosecution of which she

occupies, on her own showing, a position equally
undignified and discreditable. In a circular addressed
to Spanish ministers at foreign courts, Senor Llorente,
the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, purports
to explain to the representatives of Spain in foreign
countries the causes of quarrel between the monarchy
and Peru. But the statements. are so sweeping and

so general, and there is so careful an avoidance of
any distinct statement of facts, that it is quite im-
possible to form any judgment upon it. For some
reason or other Spain has never recognised by treaty
the independence of Peru, and there having ensued
between the two countries, in consequence, exactly
those difficulties which were sure to flow from such a
state of things, there was no means of settling quar-
rels, and the outrages and difficulties which natu-
rally arose between a country so imperfectly civi-
lised as Peru and a country so haughty and dicta-
torial as Spain were consequently allowed to fester
and become envenomed without any satisfaction
given or received. Matters were at last brought to
issue last summer by the seizure, on behalf of the
Spanish Government, of one of the most valuable
pieces of property belonging to the State of Peru—
the Chincha Islands, for the purpose, as was an-
nounced at the time, of revindication—that is, as
we understand, of reannexation to the Spanish mo-
narchy, to which, as part of Peru, these islands ori-
ginally belonged. The Spanish Government thought
it necessary to disprove the expression " revindica-
tion," and to disclaim all designs of aggrandise-
ment, and having as it believed got possession of a
powerful means of influencing the Peruvian Govern-
ment, it hastened to declare its readiness to acknow-
ledge its independence, probably for much the same
reason as the King of Prussia is anxious to sup-
port the title of Denmark to the Duchies which it
has been compelled to cede. Spain has also for-
borne for the present from appropriating for its
own use any portion of the guano, but the Peruvian
Government has not responded as was expected to
so many signal proofs of moderation and prudence.
It actually seems to consider itself as greatly ag-
grieved by the seizure of these Chincha Islands, has
withdrawn its consuls, and even presumes to demand
satisfaction, and threaten war if that satisfaction be
not given. Under these circumstances the Spanish
Government perseveres in the ultimatum which it
offered, but feels greatly harassed by the detention
of its squadron in the Pacific waters and by' the
necessity of reinforcements. It, therefore, announces
that it is still willing to accept the terms proposed
by it in June last ; that it again disavows any in-
tention of aggrandizement ; that it adheres to the
occupation of the Chincha Islands as a measure of
coercion ; that it may be induced to seize upon the
guano for its own profit, and that it will have re-
course to some ulterior measures when the limits of
forbearance are reached. We greatly fear that
these words point to some bombardment or other
means of coercion, after the infliction of which it is
the intention of the Spanish Government to aban-
don its quarrel in the Pacific. Surely it would be
more in accordance with the dignity of a great
nation dealing with one of its own revolted colonies,
which it disclaims all wish to reduce again under its
allegiance, to quit a scene where it has by its own
admission gone far beyond the limits of discretion
and propriety, without leaving behind it any futile
memorial of its vengeance. It is quite clear that the
Statesmen of Spain are thoroughly convinced the
time has arrived when the aggressive policy hitherto
adopted to satisfy the misdirected ambition of a
nation just awaking to a consciousness of its own
reviving strength must once for all be abandoned.
Would it not be better to make the change hand-
somely and at once, and not to throw in the way
of the return of peace any impediment such as
might be created by violence, which may embitter
the feelings but can hardly coerce the conduct of
the Peruvian Government ? What will it avail to
lay in ashes Callao or any other of the beautiful
cities which she herself has founded in the New
World, if all that is to follow such a proceeding
is the withdrawal of Spain from a contest which
she finds it utterly hopeless to carry on to a suc-
cessful result ? It is quite clear, as Queen Isabella
says, that the state of the Spanish monarchy is not
satisfactory. Her ambitious policy has outrun her
resources, and she finds herself absolutely obliged
to change it for one less glorious but more suited to
her power. Let her do so with a good grace. In
this respect we may venture to our own example
for her imitation. Let her consider what we have
borne from the Americans, who are the descendants
of our own revolted colonies, and from the Aus-
tralians, who have not yet revolted, and that with a
flourishing exchequer and the command of the sea ;
and she will perceive how much wiser it often is to
put up with small insults than to avenge them,
and how little is gained by a demonstration of
strength toward those on whom it is discreditable
to exert it.

POST.—Some four years ago the united managers
of the London theatres tried the question of how
far the music halls might venture to offer " theatrical
representations" to their audiences. They succeeded
in prevented anything in the shape of dialogue be-
tween two or more persons taking place on the
stages of those resorts of amusement. They advanced
the plea that this constituted a " stage play," and
therefore came under the Act 6 and Victoria, re-
quiring a licence from the Lord Chamberlain to
render the performance legal. It was of course
understood at the time that the attractions of the
music halls, whose visitors were enabled to add to
the delights of the concert room the convenience of
the tavern, were very materially interfering with
the profits of the licensed theatres. It therefore
excited no surprise that a determined resistance
should be offered to the production of anything
approximating to a " stage play" at the former,
that being the only privilege left by which the
latter could hope to maintain their position in the
public estimation. But inasmuch as the music
halls, despite this prohibition, have continued to
increase in attraction, another attempt is now in
progress to clip those pinions with which they are
soaring too high in popular favour. The music
halls took refuge in ballet, and now the managers
declare that a ballet is a " stage play," and requires
the Lord Chamberlain's license as clearly as a dia-
logue. They seem thus to argue that a music and
dancing license such as is granted by the magistrates
at special sessions only permits of dancing by the
public, not in presence of them, and that, because
the action of a ballet is intended to express or con-
vey some incident or other, it comes under the pro-
visions of the Act 6 and 7 Victoria. The proprietors
of the music halls dispute that issue, and Mr. Tyr-
whitt promises his decision on the point in a few
days, premising that, in his opinion, the question,
involving.as it does interests of great magnitude, is
a fitting one for the judgment of the superior courts.
Those who were present at the Marlborough-street
Police-court on Wednesday, and heard the proceed-
ings which have arrived thus far in the matter,
might have imagined that the managtrs were illus-
trating a stage play well known to their repertory,
" Much Ado About Nothing." Whole hours were
wasted in demonstrating through professional wit-
nesses whether what takes place nightly at the Al-
hambra was, in a " professional" point of view, a
" theatrical representation" or not. Why did they
not produce a few of the audience, whose decision on
such a point would be far better worth having.
Any lawyer's clerk would have told them that he
had entered what was to all intents and purposes a
theatre, save only that where is usually the pit were
to be found tables (for the further convenience of
eating and drinking) as well as seats. Anyone who
holds this distinction to be fatal to the proposition
might as well argue that " Astley's" was not a
theatre when it had a circus in front of the orches-
tra. At the Alhambra the visitor finds himself oppo-
site a vast proscenium, draped with the usual curtain.
He sees an orchestra well filled. A capacious stage
is illuminated by a brilliant " float." The curtain
raised, discloses side wings, drop scenes, and flats. A
troop of 50 or 60 agile damsels glide on and go through
for his edification a series of graceful evolutions, in
which there is at least one consolation, that any-
body may interpret them exactly as he Pleases. He
sits and looks at all this, and if he be not in a thea-
tre, where on earth is he ? and if this be not a thea-
trical representation, what on earth is it ? But, on
the other-hand, it would seem impossible to hold
that such an entertainment is not rendered to all
intents and purposes lawful by the licence which
enables that building in which it takes place to be
kept (to quote the very words of the Act 26 Geo.ll.
cap. 36). for "publick dancing, musick, or other
publick entertainment of the like kind." As the act
for the better regulation of theatres (6 and 7 Viet.,

cap. 68) in no way infringes upon these provisions,
it must be presumed that it confirms them in their
privileges ; and it would be a very curious interpre-
tation of the statutes to find the same incident law-
ful enough under one Act of Parliament but illegal
by another. There are, however, many phases of
the entertainments generally given in music halls
which would not be thus able to shelter themselves,
but which would certainly come under the category
of " stage plays ;" and the certainty, therefore, be-
eomes daily more dhd more manifest that, not only
does the intricacy of the question require higher
jurisdiction, but, in all probability, extended legis-
lation. But it is quite obvious that, in this struggle
between managers of theatres and proprietors of
music halls, the interests of a third party, equally
entitled to consideration, have been entirely lost
sight of. In the name of the "public," we submit
that this is a question which should virtually be de-
cided by themselves. In these days of competition
and free trade we cannot see why monopoly and
protection should still be retained for the theatres
that be. We can perceive no reason why music halls
should not be licensed for whatever representation
they please, subject of course to the approval of the
requisite authorities. Licences would naturally be
necessary for revenue, and also for purposes of
supervision ; but there need be no restriction to
their number or purpose any more than to
the number or destination of licences for
public vehicles. The public knows best what
it wants, and how much of it it wants.
Profit or loss would very soon determine that
average. If the public desires to witness "Hamlet,"
or " Doing Banting," whilst it is eating its supper,
why should it be deprived of that gratification? If
it finds increased enchantment in a ballet through a
thin veil of tobacco smoke, where is the necessity of
interfering with its eccentricity ? There will always
be theatres enough for those who prefer their
theatricals " neat ;" but that is no reason why those
who enjoy them flavoured with comic songs, stump
oratory, tight-ropes, and contortionists should not
be allowed the choice of finding them all under one
roof. The public, in fact, is the real judge of what
it wants, and it at-least ought not to be fettered in
its choice by mercenary considerations. The theatres
would have no right to complain of such " free
trade," on the ground of capital invested in their
speculations, for one glance at the Alhambra, as
at others of its class, demonstrates the proof of
enormous outlay. They could scarcely murmur at
the tavern advantages over them, for there is not
a"pit or gallery in London that does not provide re-
freshments almost as comprehensive as, and as much
to the detriment of, the bar of the neighbouring gin
palace. Nor can they in any fairness object that
the privileges which they obtain under their licences
should be shared by as many minor establishments
as please to apply for them, since if they thus ad-
vocated a halt in progress of the theatrical age, an
expansion of such a theory would place themselves
once more under the harasgng restrictions formerly
exerted over them by the arbitrary privileges of the
" Patent Theatres."

COUNTRY MARKETS.

et.

LINCOLN.--FRIDAY.

With a tolerable supply wheat sold slowly at a shade
more money than last xveek ; new white, 40s to 45s ' • new
red, 36s to 39s per 36 stone. Barley came slowly to hand,
and prices were unchanged; fine malting sorts 30s to 34s
per qr. ; grinding, 25s to 303 per 30 stone. Oats limited,
and sold at about former quotations : new, 20s to 23s ; old,
24s to 28s per 24 stone. Beans same as heretofore, viz,
36s to 42s per 38 stone.