The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-27 00:00:00

objections raised to the delay, and will agree when
the proposition is received to substitute the loan on
terminable annuities for the tedious annual vote.

own certain knowledge whose name should be there upon
that catalogue of men whom the country delights thus to
honour with this substantial attestation of its sympathy
and of its cordial recognition of noble services done to
the community at large. The instance, here, is that of a
man of distinguished ability, of the most sterling in-
tegrity, consistently devoted to the furtherance of the
popular cause, one who has not simply grown grey in the
service of the people at large, but who has exhausted all
his energies in forwarding those interests to the neglect of
his own, and who now, from the collapse of his individual
fortunes, can at least look bank to the devotion of a life to
principles, his advancement of which seems to be entirely
forgotten by all but his personal intimates, is most cer-
tainly altogether overlooked by those who are in power.
Yet in the particular case we are here alluding to—the
name of this champion of popular interests was constantly
before the public for thirty years, and, beyond that, was
directly and conspicuously asso,Aated with those who, in
1832, carried the Reform Bill, and who, in 1846, secured
the triumph of the Free Trade principles..
Allusion being here obviously made to that well-
known predecessor of ours in the conduct of The
Sun newspaper, to whom, now -between eleven and
twelve months afterwards, the generous-hearted
writer in the Hull Advertiser has, within these last
fewdays, referred so very pointedly, expressly, and
emphatically by name.
It is only fair to the Prime Minister himself (the
diffuser of this annual bounty of the Civil List Pen-
sions) that we should add one other particular to
those already specified, namely, that immediately
after the publication of our remarks in The Sun of
the 13th of June, he (the Premier) most courteously
authorised his Secretary to communicate with our-
selves—to learn the name of the claimant alluded to in
theportions of the leading article above quoted. That
name, that claim we at once gladly availed ourselves
of the opportunity of bringing thus (in answer to
his own inquiry) to the knowledge of the
First Lord of the Treasury. There the matter has
since rested. According to The Owl of Wednesday
last we learn that—

The decision of the House of Lords, concerning
the Imperial Gas Bill, last night, was very satisfac-
tory in every respect ; it will doubtless meet with
the concurrence of the public. Lord RAVENSWORTII
very properly opposed the second reading of the
Bill, and showed its mischievous tendencies. The
object which the company had in view by the pass-
ing of this measure was to raise extra capital, and
become the largest company in the world. There
would have been no remedy for those who com-
plained of the quality of the gas if this proposal had
been carried out, which is sufficient proof of its
utter undesirability. This " gigantic monopoly," as
the noble lord truly designated it, is just one of
those schemes which are at variance with the com-
mon sense of the community, and which engender
discontent and irritation among those numerous
classes who are concerned in the matter. The
Bishop of LONDON also spoke strongly on the sub-
ject, and showed the House the inconveniences that
would arise if the bill became law. Bow-common,
which was formerly a pleasant place, was now quite
spoiled, and Fulham and Chelsea would share the
same fate if the company were possessed of the
powers proposed to be vested in them. His lord-
ship further stated that it was all very well to talk
of the law making it impossible for the Thames to
be adulterated, but they had had experience of
" such impossibilities." This is very true, because a
fine can always be paid, and, in some cases, it is
more profitable to do so, and, therefore, the law is
violated without hesitation. Some noble lords were
of opinion that it would be better to allow the
bill to be read a second time, and then
refer it to a select committee. It was just as well,
however, not to have done so. When it is once
seen that a measure is really objectionable, it is
always a pity to go on discussing the pros and cons
of the affair, as Earl GREY truly observed, the real
merits of the case would not be put before the
committee, because the parties to the dispute were
not evenly matched, " the proposal came backed
by a powerful company, and the opposition was

" The following are found among the Civil List Pensions
for 1864-65 :—Mrs. Bingham, widow of Colonel Charles
Bingham, of the Royal Artillery, in consideration of her
late husband's long and valuable services, and of the
straitened circumstances in which she and her children
are left—£lso. Mrs. Boole, widow of the late Pro-
fessor of Mathematics in Queen's College, Cork, in
consideration of his distinguished attainments as an
original mathematician of the highest order, and

his remarkable labours towards the extension
of the boundaries of science—.£loo. Mr. William Howitt,
in consideration of the long and useful career of literary
labout in which both he and his wife have been engaged—
£l4O. Mr. Thomas Wright, an author who has contri-
buted much to English literary and political history---£65."
Within a few days the full complement of names
for the annual Civil List Pension will be filled up.
Is it too late to hope that upon that list the Prime
Minister will generously have inscribed, at last, the
name of the gentleman whose claims have so
earnestly, and, in regard to time, so very oppor-
tunely been advocated by the Hull Advertiser—
claims first advocated a year ago, not inappro-
priately in these columns of The Sun by ourselves.
[ED. SUN.]

from individuals who had no organisation to bring
the evils which it would inflict before the committee."
There is a great deal of truth in the noble earl's
suggestion that we want a tribunal to decide upon
bills that, under the title of private, endeavour to
authorise public works, or, at all events,
works of a public nature. It is always
to be regretted when any measure is carried
which confers too much power upon any company
and gives it a monopoly.. The interests of the
public are always sacrificed to the private ends of
the directors of the works, and general advantages
are at a discount while particular places are carried
on with zeal and assiduity. The gas monopoly in
London is already sufficiently apparent without any
change for the worse taking place, and on every
account it is a matter of congratulation that the
Imperial Gas Bill has been thrown out. A service
of great importance has thus been rendered to the
community, who are greatly indebted to those noble

Banquet at the Mansion House,

lords whose skill and foresight have been instru-
mental in preventing the passing of a one-sided
measure, that must certainly have done damage to
the health and convenience of the public.

rHE SUN, LONDOIN, SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 27, 1865

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

FRANCE.

SPAIN.

Capture of Jefferson Davits.

-

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

Letter of the Emperor to Prince Napoleon.
PARIS, MAY 27.
The Emperor has addressed the following letter
to Prince Napoleon :
" I cannot refrain from mentioning to you the
painful impression produced upon me by reading
your speech at Ajaccio. By leaving you during my
absence near the Empress and my son, as Vice-
President of the Council of State, I wished to give
you a proof of friendship and confidence, hoping that
your presence, conduct, and discourse would testify
to the union reigning among our family. But the
political programme which you place under the
aegis of the Emperor can only be useful to the
enemies of my Government, as furnishing grounds
for judgments that we cannot admit.
" You express sentiments of hatred and rancour
which are no longer of our day. To be able to
apply to the present time the ideas of the Emperor,
it is necessary to have passed through the severe
trials and the responsibility of power. Can we
moreover, pigmies as we are, really estimate at its
true value the great historical figure of Napoleon ?
Standing before a colossal statue we are powerless
to take in the whole at a glance—we never see but
the side which strikes our view ; but that which is
clear to all the world is, that to prevent anarchy,
, that formidable enemy of true liberty; the Emperor
had to establish—first in his family, and then in his
Government—that severe discipline admitting but
one will and one action. I cannot henceforth de-
viate from the same rule of conduct."

MADRID, MAX 26 (Morning).

In the Congress, to-day, a proposal for electori
reform was brought forward, with the object of
terminating the present withdrawal of the Progres•
sists from political action.

The Government opposed the proposition, which
was subsequently rejected by 160 against 10 votes.

THE BOMBAY MAIL.
SUEZ, MAY 27, 6.20 A.M.
The Baroda, with the above mail, reached Suez
at 1 a.m. to-day.

War Department, Washington, May 13.

Major-General Dix.—The following despatch,
just received from Gen. Wilson, announces the sur-
prise and capture of Jefferson Davis and his staff
by Col. Pritchard and the Michigan cavalry, on the
morning of the 10th inst., at Irwinsville, in Irwin
County, Georgia.
E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War.

Macon, Ga., May 12, 11 a.m.

Lieut.-General U. S. Grant and Hon. Secretary
of War, Washington, D.C.—I have the honour to
report that at daylight of the 10th inst., Colonel
Pritchard, commanding Fourth Michigan Cavalry,
captured Jeff Davis and family, with Reagan,
Postmaster-General ; Col. Harrison, Private Secre-
tary; Col. Johnston, A.D.C. ; Col. Morris, Col.
Lubbic, Lieut. Hathaway, and others. Col. Prit-
chard surprised their camp at Irwinsville, in Irwin
County, Ga., 75 miles south-east of this place.
They will be here to-morrow night, and will be for-
warded under a strong guard without delay. I will
send further particulars at once.
J. H. WILSON, Brevet Major-General.

From Secretary Stanton to General Dix.