The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-09 00:00:00

TIIE sUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 9, 1862.

to her further progress, and her constancy will,

trust, complete the edifice of which the genius of
her people laid the broad foundations." That is, in
truth and in brief, the gist of this last letter from
the hand of Earl RUSSELL. It is a timely missive
addressed to the Italians by the Foreign Secretary
of England, at a moment not the least opportune
that could have been selected : a missive containing
within it words of generous reminder and of manly
encouragement.

It would be very unwise for Mr. COWPER, or any
of the Park authorities, to resort to extreme mea
sores on account of the misbehaviour of a knot of
ignorant priest-ridden Irishmen. If these fellows
are so blinded by a fanaticism, which we confess
leads their betters to play the fool, also, in higher
assemblies, that is no reason why the sane common-
sense working-men of London should be denied one
of the most useful and justly-prized privileges of
Englishmen—perfect freedom of meeting and of
speech. Let the Irish, indeed, who do not know
the use of freedom, be prevented frem abusing it
to the annoyance of others. Let Cardinal WISE-
MAN teach his clients that the English do not use,
and will not tolerate the shillelagh argument; that
kings and governors here have given up physical
force against heretics, and will certainly not allow
a mob to retain it—but there let interference stop.
His "Eminence," we mean of the "Red Hat,"
not of the " Redan," may inform his semi-
civilised bands, that they are quite at liberty
to select another part of the park, and extol the
POPE and ANTONELLI to their hearts' content, but
that they must keep their meeting to themselves,
and let the friends of liberty for all—for Italian
Catholics as well as for Irish Catholics—have their
meeting in peace, in the place selected for them.

We must frankly confess that we aro exceedingly
jealous of any interference with these, generally ex
temporised meetings of the people. We like them.
We are confident that they are real advantage to
them. We have gone up to many of the parties at
different times, when some orator has been address-
ing them, and we can assure our readers that the
Park congregations of Sunday may almost be
taken as a test of the quality of the orator. If you
see a gathering unusually large, it is almost certain
you will find the speaker a man of more than ordi-
nary ability. Uneducated enough in all probability;
but, with endowments of wit, fancy, humour,
enthusiasm, homely logic, or some quality which
assures you that, trained in a higher circle, he would
have been much better listened to in the House of
Commons, than great numbers wl o afflict both the
House and the reporters. The thousands who throng
the Parks may be safely entrusted with the charge
of the orators who address them. It is the speaker,
far more than the subject who attracts them ; and
quite as much as the rest of us, they will desert the
prosy drone for the man who fixes attention.

But are we then to have the park filled with the
advocates of all the crotchets and " ism:" of the
day ? Shall anarchy be preached, and blasphemy
be rampant without check ? We aro not prepared
to volunteer as the high priests of either anarchy or
blasphemy, but as to all the crotchets and the
" isms," the more of them the merrier, We should
say. Let all be protected, while they spout away
or congregate, peaceably ; indeed we hold it to be a
upon them,
positive advantage that the people should hear all
the notions that any are disposed to discuss in their
presence, and form their judgment
Even such exercises of their alitacti. niT_lth as Wemay deride mob oratory, are better than mental
stagnation. Anything is preferable to sleep, and

if the speaker has brain% -to get an audience, by
will go home
I all means let him h tve it. They

talking about something beyond their tools and
their daily labour. We hold that these extempo-
rised inartificial meetings are a useful part cf
popular education. If we could, we would increase
their number rather than cheek them.

As to the blasphemy, infidelity, and sedition,
there is really little of it. Of the last we never
heard any, of the infidelity not much; and on one
occasion, when a sceptical orator was flourishing
away his stock difficulties to a small knot of young
men, a very homely looking fustian jacket came
up, and in our hearing coolly asked the hearer
some such posing questions on his own creed as
would have done credit to any debater, and very soon
turned the laugh against him. We really did think
—classical readers must excuse us—of SOCRATES and
the Sophists. So far as we have observed, the
audiences do not relish blasphemy. They are
shrewd enough to enjoy a popular, yet acute argu-
ment leading to a conclusion which the Convocation
who condemned the Essays and Reviews would,
doubtless, say conducted to blasphemy. But con-
structive blasphemy, like constructive treason, won't
do. We rather think that any orator who reviled
the Deity or the Saviour would be soon quitted,
though if he exhibited cleverly the contradictions,
real or apparent, of the Athanasian Creed, as we have
heard done, the hearers would be interested. To
differ from a forged creed, however, or even from
the worthy ST. ATUANASIUS himself, is not exactly
blasphemy. If 80, we Coq* many Chnrnhmen, well
reputed of, are guilty of the crime.
As to sedition and anarchy, we were almost going
to say we should be glad of a specimen of it. We
are got so wonderfully quiet, politically, now, that
we seem as if our political pulse were almost gone.
There is no disposition amongst the populace now
to press even for their rights. A lecturer for uni-
versal suffrage would have no doubt the sympathy of
his audience, but the topic would not get him hearers
if his abilities did not. " Every man a voter" is very
good doctrine, no doubt, but every man a shilling
or two more a week would be a much more popular
topic. In any case Mr. COWPER would be wise not
to be a Hyde-park SIDMOUTII, and not to attempt
in any backhanded way to restore, autocratically,
Six Acts legislation.
Deal summarily and decidedly with all club-
men, headbreakers, molesters of quiet health-
seeksrs, and even with gratuitous disturbers of
those who wish to listen to any of the Park orators;
but be cautious of intermeddling with one of the
most harmless and often one of the most beneficial
of English recreations—that of listening to a public
speaker. Repress physical violence at once—no
man, woman, or child ought to be in danger in the
Parks ; but meet error by truth, and folly by wis-
dom, if the error and the folly are worthy of no -
tice. Let our Park-going class learn like all the
rest of us by free discussion. Let them have this
practical training to meet in crowds, as they gene-
rally do, without disturbance ; let foreigners still
admire that strong common sense which makes
even uneducated Englishmen respecters of the law,
and if Irish Popery will send its scum to England,
let it be taught that it shall know and keep its
place, and net achieve the Papal triumph of silenc-
ing English freedom of speech in the working
classes more than amongst honourable members—
in the Parks more than in the House of Commons.
Let Mr. CowrEß act as a Sergeant-at-Arms in the
Park, not as a Col. PRIDE.

KENSINGTON MUSEUM.