The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-15 00:00:00

change that would weaken their own power, the
moderate party has a difficult task to perform, and
it has as yet shown little inclination or ability to
accomplish it. Even now when we find politicians
taking an active part in these demonstrations
it is impossible to forget that the approaching
election may have something to do with their
sudden enthusiasm for the rights of the working
classes. Undoubtedly it is the right time to agitate
if the new Parliament is to be composed of better
men than the old, and is to represent a little
more faithfully the convictions and the wishes
of the country. Still our elections had better
take care that they return genuine reformers, not
mere seekers after the popularity of the hour. There
is no doubt of the sincerity of the National Reform
League, but if they want to carry their purpose in
these days when political excitement has almost died
out, and the agitated aspect of America has increased
the dislike to change and innovations, they must
be moderate and consistent in their views. It is
easy to declaim on the rights of labour and the
tyranny of property ; but that is not the tone to
adopt if they wish to carry conviction to the
minds of sober, practical men of the middle
class, by whom after all the reform must
be carried. It is a mistake to adopt
manhood suffrage as a leading principle of the
League, for it is one which is by no means popular
in this country, nor, in spite of Mr. BEALES'S dis-
claimer, is it in accordance with the spirit of the
Constitution. Our whole system consists of a series
of checks and balances, whose object is to prevent
any one portion of the social machine from over-
powering another. The king is checked by the
Parliament, the Lords by the Commons, and the
Commons by the Lords, while the Parliament itself
is kept within strict limits so as to make it re-
sponsible to the people. The method of voting
the military year by year, the fixed duration
of a Parliament, and, on the other hand,
the brief period allowed even for its prolonga-
tion, all show the same watchful care that
no one class should override the other. Now
that the diffusion of intelligence and education and
the wonderful increase of population has brought
forward another class anxious for their share in
political power, it should be granted to them with
the same safeguards that our forefathers appended to
the power of the Crown, the aristocracy, and the
Parliament. When their representatives talk about
our existing Parliament as an " aggregate despot-
ism," and denounce the rich as being the enemies of
the poor, they do not satisfy us that no such
safeguards are needed. But what they have a fair
right to complain of is that, after men of all parties
have admitted the necessity of Reform, have openly
acknowledged the insufficiency and inconsistency of
our representative system, and the injustice of ex-
cluding so large a proportion of the peaceable and
respectable subjects of the QUEEN from any voice in
the elections, nothing whatever is done. It is quite
true that some steps should be taken, and as the
Ministers profess to be waiting for outside agitation,
the Manchester Reform League has done Wisely to
inaugurate the association in London. If they wish
to carry the convictions of the country with them,
and to do real public service, they will
put aside the question of manhood suffrage,
on which they will have few supporters, and will
devote all their energies to the Ballot. Without the
Ballot the extension of the franchise will be only
the extension of bribery and intimidation, more dif-
ficult and more costly, of course, to the candidate,
and, therefore, very unwelcome, but by no means
an efficacious or certain remedy for the evils of our
present system. Even now a very large propor-
tion of electors do not go to the poll at all, either
disgusted with the uproar and dishonesty, or unable
to give an independent vote and unwilling to give a
false one. We shall have the same thing on a larger
scale if the franchise is extended without any pro-
tection to the elector, and the results will be that
the possession of wealth will be more and more in-
dispensable to the candidate, so that virtually the
possession of seats will be left, after all, in the hands
of a few.

At the present season there are always many an-
niversary festivals taking place, and numerous
meetings to advocate the cause of those whose claims
to public support and sympathy are great, and who
also possess particular claims on their own more
fortunate brethren. Last Saturday, Lord GRAN-
VILLE presided at the thirteenth anniversary festival
of the Royal Medical Benevolent College. This
excellent college was founded by the medical pro-
fession for the benefit of those of their brethren
who have fallen into poverty from any unfortunate
circumstances, and also for the service of their
widows. In connection with this college there is a
school for the gratuitous education of orphans of
medical men. The late Prince Consort opened the
institution, and thus the name of his Royal
Highness is associated with this charity as well as
with many others. The late Prince was distin-
guished for his readiness in coming forward to aid
these estimable undertakings, and, doubtless, his
works will live after him in the good effects
which his influence produced in the fur-
therance of the cause at heart. Lord GRAN-
VILLE made an excellent speech, and displayed
his usual skill in presiding on such occasions. The
noble lord said that he considered the success of the
institution as " a great triumph of strong will and
power," because those who had created it were men
whose arduous avocations occupied them day and
night. It is satisfactory to learn that a considerable ad-
dition will be made to the school, of the lodge,
because the trustees of the late Dr. GILBERT will
send a portion of that large legacy for their benefit.
Lord GRANVILLE truly said that the success of this
undertaking was creditable to the members of the
medical profession. As for the schools there is
every reason to expect that they will prosper ; and
those who are well qualified to judge of such mat-
ters had confidence in them. As the noble lord
remarked, the teachers in these places would find
their work rendered easier from the fact that they
had to deal with the children of intellectual parents
for the most part, and therefore would not-
encounter great obstacles in their path. The
noble lord paid a compliment to the medical
profession generally, saying that its members were
generally well-informed men, and their conversa-
tion often most amusing and instructive ; that there
was no excuse for those who shunned the society of
doctors unless they were compelled to see them profes-
sionally. A humorous anecdote in connection with this
subject was told by the noble chairman of a cynical
individual who one day sent down a message to a
medical friend who called upon him that he must
really excuse him, because he was not well that
morning. The subscriptions amounted to nearly a
thousand pounds, and those who study the arrange-
ments of the institution will be glad to find that it has
been so cordially supported. There are twenty-
four pensioners inthe college, each of whom has three
rooms, a pension of £2O a year and coals. There
are 200 boys, forty of whom are, at the expense of
the Institution, being boarded, clothed, and edu-
cated, and the rest are only charged £4O a year for
an excellent education, and all other usual charges.
Much is yet necessary for the carrying out of
the necessary arrangements to accommodate many
deserving applicants, and the recommendations of