The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-09 00:00:00

with the oppressor, high and dry, while the waters
of progress flow in other and more favoured direc-
tions. Unless the session of 1865 afford more satis-
factory proofs of perseverance, and more beneficial
efforts for the benefit of mankind, it may well be
said that the prestige of the Parliament is over, or
at all events, under a cloud which obscures its lustre
and seriously compromises its reputation.

In the military intelligence of Saturday there ap-
pears a case of peculiar hardship, and also one which
serves to illustrate very forcibly the great errors
that are made in the administration of affairs in

regard to disabled soldiers and seamen. It was only
the other day that attention was called to the case

of three men who were left totally destitute upon

the ship's company being paid off, and had it not

been for the timely charity of their mates they
would have been left to starve. So much for official
justice ; mercy seems indeed quite out of the ques-

tion. With regard to the incident in question,
Thomas Martin, 34 years of age, has served for

twelve. years and a half in various regiments of the
line, and during that period has shared the perils of
the Crimean campaign, not escaping from them un-

injured, for he was severely wounded in the right

foot at the taking of the quarries. In consequence
of his wound he has become blind, and is discharged
as unfit for further service. All that has been done

to recompense him for his long services has been an
award of 6d. a day pension, for the term of

fifteen months, after that period he will be entirely

without resources. Now this man has earned

golden opinions from his .superiors, his discharge
ticket is marked " good," while his valour in the field
has been testified by his gaining Crimean and
Turkish medals with clasps for Alma, Inkerman,
and Sebastopol. It is monstrous to reflect upon
that he is to be sent off to drag on the remainder

of his days in misery and destitution. To break
the fall, to compromise their niggardliness, the

authorities dole out their meagre sum for a short
period, and then in the name of a grateful
country, they bid the sufferer to " starve,"
for it amounts to that in so far as they
are concerned. Can nothing be done to pre-
vent such wanton treatment of our naval

and military defenders; must they peril their lives,
sacrifice their comfort, expend their strength, and
undergo fatigue and suffering, in order that such a
doom should at last reward their efforts and crown
their toil ? When he has once entered upon his
arduous career, a soldier has no choice but to obey
the word of command. He may be sent to where
the " sun gilds Indian mountains, and his setting
bears flames on the Atlantic isles ; " but home,
kindred, and the ties of friendship must all be
renounced if need calls or expediency demands. If
a man has worked well and done his best during
the time of his probation, it is a shame and a scandal
that he should be thus turned adrift, and those in
head-quarters ought to be ashamed of themselves,
It matters not what dogmas and creeds they obey ;
the fact is before us and the truth palpable, and
they are unworthy trustees of the nation's purse
and degenerate representatives of the nation's
honour, if they will persist in acting thus, in
defiance of the claims of justice, the dictates of
good. feeling, and the voice of humanity. It is
always sad to think of the destitute even when such
suffering has been mainly brought about by mis-
conduct and imprudence ; but in this case it has
been praiseworthy conduct which has led to the evil.
Men who have done their duty in the station and
in the circumstances in which they find themselves
are deserving of commendation, and it is the
bounden duty of all who are placed in authority
over them to take care that a due regard for their
wants be entertained. At all events, it is incum-
bent upon them to provide for their declining years
or afflicted term of life, and not to leave them
utterly destitute. It is time that the attention of the
public was called to this theme, for woful and
wicked neglect goes on that should not be tolerated
for a moment. When we think upon the vast slims
spent on trifles, wasted on lavish expenditure, and
thrown away on unnecessary arrangements, while
men like THOMAS MARTIN, prematurely aged, cut
down in the pride of their strength, and blighted in
the vigour of their maturity, are left to starve, it is
difficult to reconcile such inconsistency, or to pal-
liate the neglect that injures the service, does a
potent wrong, and a cruel injustice to the sufferers,
and tarnishes the fair fame of the country itself.
Such gross and culpable mismanagement is about as
unwise and impolitic in their department as can
well be effected in our State departments. We
know that the praises and plaudits of home and
country are paid to the soldier, and atone for many
hardships, as it has been truly said—
" The Senate's thanks, the Gazette's pompous tale,
With force resistless o'er the brave prevail."
But what effect is likely to be produced by the cold
and harsh treatment referred to ? Without soldiers
there can be no Generals, no brilliant victories, no
captured cities ; they are the mainstay and support,
the stronghold of defence, and the tower of refuge.
Why, then, are they to be cast away as. useless
lumber of less account than the beasts that perish,
because official perversity and parsimony wills it to
be so. Many motives may urge those who can, to
insist upon a change, but there is one which is para-
mount to all other considerations, and renders their
mention unnecessary=it is a positive wrong to
allow things to remain as they are.

Mr. CARDWELL'S despatch relative to the pro-
posed confederation of the British North American
provinces will probably be read with satisfaction
both in this cottntry and in those parts of her
MAJESTY'S dominions which it more especially con-
cerns. It expresses the satisfaction with which the
Imperial Government has received the details of
the proposed Constitution, and the cordial assent
which they give to the scheme as a whole. In this
they are likely to be supported by the great body
of the English people, for not only is it a matter
upon which the colonists themselves may fairly be
concluded to be the best judges, but its advantages
and recommendations are at once patent to a casual
observer. The increased strength which such a
union will give to every individual colony, and the
vast benefits which all will gain from a concentra-
tion of their common resources in time of danger,
cannot fail to be apparent, and indeed the quick-
sighted Yankees seem at once to have detected
them, and to have been irritated at so prudent and
far-sighted a movement. The Colonial Secretary
pays a just sand well-deserved compliment to the
temper and judgment of the delegates who have so
successfully got through the very arduous and re-
sponsible task of framing a Constitution. Not only
was it necessary to consider the general good, but to
consult the local interests, and it needed no small
amount of tact, and sagacity, and public spirit to
complete such an undertaking. It is true that the
resolutions have yet to undergo the' test of passing
through the Legislatures, but on the whole there is
little doubt they will receive fair and candid exami
nation.

Mr. CARDWELL thinks it necessary to take
exception to two points, and he has reason on his
side. The first merely relates to the prerogative of
mercy, which should certainly, according to consti-
tutional:principles, be vested only in the representa-
tive of the Crown. The other point is of more
practical importance, and relates to the constitution