The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-22 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

Tills DAL—Morning, 10h. 5-3m.—Afternoon, 11h. 35m.
To-Monnow.-Morning-, h. m.—Afternoon, 12h. 10m.

4* 46.
Zflt

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 22, 1865.

____..._-_.

Mr. ADDERLEY has shown great discrimination
in making his request for a Committee to inquire
into the state of the British establishments on the
Western Coast of Africa. He showed great reason
for so doing, and the force of his arguments could
not be gainsaid. He reminded the House that the
spot he alluded to was " notoriously" unsuitable for
the Anglo-Saxon race, and yet in that locality we
had four settlements, besides the naval establish-
ment, which cost as much as a million a year. It
was the purport of the hon. member to ascertain
whether these settlements attained the object in
view, or whether they did not rather obstruct it.
The Governor of one of these settlements has de-
clared that whenever a war breaks out, which it will
periodically, this country must bear the brunt in
men and also in money, for he said that his Govern-
ment was a protectorate and not a colony, and it
would be useless to ask the natives or inhabitants
to supply labour and money. This is certainly not
a very favourable specimen of the advantages that
accrue from this establishment. The Governor stated
that his own position was a very anomalous one, and
that all preferred the military Governor to himself.
The Dutch, who are settled near, are always hostile,
and keep up an alliance with our determined enemies
the Ashantees. The case seems truly made out
why an inquiry should be made tending the circum-
stances connected with this settlement. Sierra Leone
offers no more advantages when looked upon criti-
cally, and, indeed, the accounts given of it seem
almost worse than those relating to the other places.
A high authority has described it in most deprecia-
tory terms, that the people are the pests of the
neighbourhood," and the exports and imports are
decreasing. Gambia is also in an unsatisfactory
state, and as regards Lagos the Governor has re-
ported that the state of affairs is going from bad to
worse, and he only gets opposition from the British
merchants and residents. Having summed up the
condition of these four settlements in Western
Africa, Mr. ADDERLEY addressed himself to the
consideration of their' utility, and asked the House
-what interest had this country in keeping up a force
on the West Coast of Africa ? If the slave trade
be put an end to speedily as there is every reason
to hope, there remaitrie-
i'lchief inducements which
were well described by main two
t
tion of commerce and tmember as the promo -
he civilisation of the natives.
eiedl
It does not appear that these
any great extent by these settlemeants, and some
alteration must be made if a more
Prosperous con-
dition of affairs is desired. The
separation of
no
able
e
settlement has done harm, because the salaries are
so small for these little governments that
man cares to remain there long. Lord STANLEY
made a few remarks, in which he concurred
with Mr. ADDERLEY in his view on the subject.
The noble lord declared that if the people of this
country knew the waste of valuable lives that took
place on the coast the African Squadron would be
speedily put a stop to. With his usual comprehen-
a question he Impressed upon
siveness in studying
Mr. CARDIYELI4 that be should permit the subject

to be properly investigated and thoroughly
than
It is to be hoped that this advice twhinb
to ueg
hitaYkesnif,ted" I
foro
r
an affair of magnitude when it comes before a com-
no greater mistake can be made gloss
d upon is a failure, and renders
so vigorously entered com-
mittee. The consequence is that the undertaking
matters worse than they were before, since the re-
quisite knowledge has not been attained and the
supposed investigation preclude the possibility of
another inquiry for some time to come. As Lord
STANLEY forcibly put it to the House, we cannot
increase our political influence and military
power by keeping up these settlements, and for the
purposes of trade they appear Inefficient and unsa-
tisfactory. With respect to the sentimental view
of the question the noble lord very truly observed,
that " if we are to talk of civilising the Africans, I
am afraid that we had better first look at home—
we have not to go five miles from the place in which
we are sitting to find plenty of persons who stand
as much in need of civilising, and who have as little
done for them as the negro." Lord STANLEY did
not advocate an " absolute abandonment" of these
ports ; but stated that a prima facie case was made
out for an inquiry. Such seems, upon reflection, to
be about the wisest thing that can be done in the
matter. The question is, whether they are
worth retaining ; and its consideration should be
taken up in earnestness and with energy. This
question is of more moment than many others
which engage the attention and occupy the thoughts
of committees, because there is more at stake than
the expense of the undertaking and the advantages
accruing to the country by its continuance, and that
is the welfare of those who are engaged in carrying
out what may be truly termed a perilous task. Lives
are so continually lost on the west coast of Africa,
that it may well be asked if such a sacrifice be neces-
sary, and if we are right in persisting in our war-
fare with a climate whose baneful influences and
pernicious effects cannot be warded off, and which
always gains the victory in its contest with the
Anglo-Saxon constitution when once a struggle has
commenced. Mr. CARDWELL displayed his good
sense by consenting to the motion, and, further, by
agreeing as to the justice of an inquiry into the subject,
especially with a view to assertain how far these
settlements had answered the purposes for which
this country had instituted them. The right hon.,
gentleman admitted that colonisation was not the
object of these settlements, but they were supposed
to be auxiliary to measures to suppress the slave
trade, to abolish barbarous native practises, and in-
troduce legitimate commerce. It may fairly be
said that all the objects touched upon by Mr.
CARDWELL have been shown to fall short of attain-
ment by those who addressed the House on the
topic, and who were well versed in their subject, and
brought ample proofs of the authenticity of their
statements. Those who undertake this inquiry will
have a solemn responsibility devolve upon them,
and it is to be trusted that they will discharge their
duties in a manner consonant with the interests of
the country. There are few things more difficult
to determine in many cases than the best mode of
dealing with these foreign subjects, for the opinions
are so various and the matters so complicated. In
this instance, however, we have had ample time
allowed us to gain experience and many opportuni-
ties to glean information as to the working of the
undertakings entered upon ; and it is to be hoped
that due attention will be paid to the various
attendant circumstances which relate to the affair
and ought to influence judgment.

The preservation of the open spaces in and
around our ever-growing metropolis has long been
felt to be a most important thing. The health and
comfort of the people, and the opportunity for
wholesome and pleasant recreation are objects
which it is felt should be kept in view by the
popular representatives as well as the individual
rights or claims of owners of property. An old
established right to the free unrestrained use of a
piece of common or forest land is in fact of supe-
rior title to the right conferred by the ownership of
a few acres, since the one claim merely represents
the right of one man and the other the right of
many men, and it is no part of our English legisla-
tion to recognise the rights of the rich while we
refuse to acknowledge the claims of the poor. Un-
happily in this, as in other cases when law and
equity come into collision, the latter gets the worst
of it, and the consequence is that the public enjoy-
ment has been considerably curtailed in more than
one quarter. The rapid increase of the streets and
squares of London is a continual marvel. Year by
year the denizens of the busy centres of life
and business continue to fix their dwelling-
places further and further from their place
of daily employment, and by the aid of the steam
horse thousands now live at distances from their
offices or establishments, which, a few years back,
would have constituted a formidable journey. But
1 this fact, instead of diminishing the claim for the
preservation of the few open spaces now left within
the walls of the mighty Babylon, only increases it.
The very railways which serve to transport the
overworked man of business to fresher air and
pleasanter scenes, press heavily on the class below
him. The head of an establishment may have his
villa a few miles off and journey leisurely to and
fro, but the " hands," who must be at their post
by daybreak, can aspire to no such luxury. It is
absolutely necessary for them to live close by their
work, so it is for small tradesmen and their families,
for servants, for artizans of the countless trades
carried on in the city and its suburbs, for the poor
inhabitants of the large and populous though low-
lying and unhealthy districts on the southern side
onefxetetehensesasiThoryna.mbis.
demolitionreeen
metropolitan
improvements
railways es rendered
dydsetrtehemde
tohuer The
has • • inevitably increased the • •
existing evils of over-
crowding, and the rise '
in the number of deaths
from fever is certainly
a warning that the builder
should stay his hand when nearing
those spaces
where fresh air can still be breathed
by the close
pent clerk or toilworn mechanic, andwhere •
children
from within city precincts can feel
grass beneath
their feet and hear birds chirping overhead, The
London public have always watched with a jealous
eye over the preservation of their parks ; but it is
not these that are in so much danger. The very
constitution of a park is a certain guarantee for its
safety ; but the wild, free spaces like Hampstead
Heath and Epping Forest are in real danger from
the avarice or ambition of lords of the manor and
ng speculators. These
the eagerness of buil&
open places, once lost, can never be re-
gained. Costly parks may be laid out,
with ornamented flower-beds and gravel-walks ;
but beautiful as these are, they do not offer the
facilities for enjoyment to young people or to the
lower orders that are provided by a rough unculti-
vated tract of land with its natural ups and downs,
its furze-bushes and its weeds and wild flowers.
Even to the gravest and most sedate amongst us
there is a pleasure in the aspect of simple nature,
which is more refreshing to the citizen who lives
with the roar of wheels and the hum of voices con-
tinually in his ear, than any of the elaborate adorn-
ments
of cultivation and
' for a select committee
art, and it is no wonder
that Mr. Douuro
N S motion
to inquire into the best mearls
fore Ats, commons of preserving the
, and open spaces in and around the
metropolis for public use, should have met with