The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-01 00:00:00

vided for. Mr. LOWE made some efforts to defend
the present system, but not very successfully,
although he employed his usual dexterity in so
doing ; and when he put in his defence upon the
the question of expense, he showed that he had a
very poor case to go upon after all. The country
will not rest satisfied with a faulty management of
important interests, and if the system does not
work well, the money that has been already expended
will have been thrown away, or, at all events,
partly wasted. There is no greater mistake made
than to persist in propping up old systems, or in de-
fending new ones which are shown to be faulty in
construction, . and imperfect in their workings.
Lord It. CECIL'S remarks were very well timed, and
the noble lord gave a very good definition of the
case in his practical observations. He said that
there was a sentiment of distrust relative to the
department that prevailed out of doors, and that
due inquiries should be made to discover the cause
of the existing inefficiency. Discussions of this
nature are very serviceable occasionally, and the best
arrangements require investigation and that cri-
ticism which they never meet with from those who
are more or less interested in them. Those from
without can often find out faults that those within
cannot or will not see, and hence, in every sense of
the word, is it satisfactory to notice the debate
of last night upon Education. Many re-
marks were made that will tend to open the
eyes of the public to the errors that are extant in
a system which they fondly believed at one time
was to tend so much to the benefit of the country.
It is always a great thing gained when something
definite is agreed upon, and here we may rest so
far satisfied that under existing circumstances so
much has been done in a good cause, and one whose
interests involve the welfare of many, and whose
nfluence may extend to future generations.

The Reformers of the North are determined ap-
parently not to allow the charge of inaction and
indifference to be brought against them, and are
not inclined to leave the Government to the undis-

turbed possession of their " Rest and be thankful',
theories. A public meeting was held at Halifax on
Monday evening to consider the question of Parlia-
mentary Reform, and to consider the best means of

impressing upon the House of Commons and the
Government " the duty and propriety" of at once
carrying out some such measure. This it must be
admitted appears to be rather a hopeless task, and
those who proposed such a resolution could hardly
themselves haVe been very sanguine as to its
effect, but it served as a pretext for discussing
a question which has borne, and will yet bear, a
good deal of debate. Press and public have
only exhausted their arguments and reproaches on
behalf of the necessity of salutary change. It has
been admitted from the Throne, and acceded to by
the leaders of both parties, but when all these verbal
preliminaries have come to an end, " Rest and be
thankful" is the motto. Had Earl RUSSELL adopted
it as his watchword some years since he might have
spared his severe criticisms on the Derby Reform
Bill, unless, indeed, he thought it moved too fast
for him. But Englishmen, especially in the North,
are getting tired of this prolonged inaction, and are
by no means convinced that their system of Parlia-
mentary representation, admirable as it may be in
principle, has reached perfection in detail. Ac-
cordingly, the meeting we have alluded to was
held at Halifax rather with the view of showing
the feeling of the country than with any
hope of an immediate result, although, in conclu-
sion, it was resolved to present a petition to Parlia-
ment embodying the resolutions passed at the meet-
ing. These were just and moderate enough, and
such as no consistent Reformer could reasonably op-
pose. The first resolution declared it to be the
opinion of the meeting that an immediate reform of

the representation was required, both on account of
the admittedly defective character of the present
system and because of the repeated promises offi-
cially made to that effect. To this there could
hardly be any opposition ; and the second, which
asserted that the general intelligence, patriotism,
and good conduct of the people justified a consider-
able measure of reform, was, as all unprejudiced
persons must admit, equally founded on fact.
The gentleman who proposed it, Mr. lII:TcH-
iNsoN, said that, avoiding alike the policy
of inaction and of extreme change, he thought

they would do well to sanction a measure of similar
scope to the last one proposed by Government.
Less, he said, could not well be asked or granted,
and less the people would be scarcely willing to
accept. In Halifax the effect of such a measure
would be to increase the constituency from 1,800
to 2,700. It was certainly a prudent limit, since
in counties the £lO franchise would not, according
to Mr. HUTCHINSON, add a single voter, while in

boroughs the franchise would only increase the
number of constituents 48 per cent. The same
speaker denounced the absurdity of the notion that
the working classes would lose their respect for
wealth, rank, and education, because a few of their
own number were permitted to vote for a member.
The concluding resolution, which declared any mea-
sure of Reform to be unsatisfactory which did not,
at least, extend as far as the £lO and franchise,
was almost superfluous, but certainly its justice was
indisputable. It is well that the subject should be
kept before the public by these general meetings,
though we fear Reformers have little to hope from
the present Cabinet or the present Parliament.

There is no evil, it is said, without some compen-
sating good, and, unfortunately, in too many in-
stances the reverse of the axiom is equally correct.
No great change or improvement can be effected
without creating in one way or another a good deal
of distress and inconvenience. The introduction of
machinery, advantageous as it has proved in all
respects, unquestionably occasioned much suffering
among the workers of the various handicrafts which
it superseded. The sewing-machine, which in the
course of a few years, it may be hoped, will render
the " Song of a Shirt" a picture of the past, is even
now diminishing the chances of poor toiling women
struggling for a wretched livelihood. Even so the
improvements of a great city infallibly entail much
inconvenience and loss upon those least able to
to bear it. The extension of the railway
lines demolish the comfortable homes of many well-
to-do citizens, but they are at least free to choose
another habitation equally comfortable where they
will. But the poorer classes, who are also dislodged
by the removal of the rookeries, are often not able
to move to any great distance from their former
residence, and are consequently put to considerable
inconvenience. This state of things, always to be
regretted, appears to many to be a still greater
hardship when it results from State improvements ;
and therefore, since the proposed alteration in the

site of the Courts of Law will turn
out some
'
hundreds of very poor persons,
that some compensation should
It has been proposed
be made to them.
.A:lr. KINNAIRD, last evening, suggested that new
houses should be built for them, a plan which, on
the surface,
Presents grave difficulties. In the first
place the same site would not suit them all, in the
second the precedent would be an awkward one,
and it would be much wiser to follow the usual
course pursued by railway companies and others,
and give the displaced persona some compensation
for their ineonTenience. A quarter cr half year's