The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-19 00:00:00

that any negro who meant to fight must assume
the Federal uniform and join the Federal flag—had

they given these pledges of righteous feeling
towards the negro, and of humane feeling towards
the master, it can hardly be doubted that by this
tine the Union would have been restored, the

negroes would have been working for wages,
enormous bloodshed and expenditure would have
been saved, Freedom would have fused all the
states into one real Federation, and after no long
time we should have had a vast republic--toe big
perhaps for the comfort of the world—but one
which might have had all the elements of centuries
of rapid growth and
prosperity.
We should not indeed have cared to demand any
very extreme measure of emancipatien. Suppose
Congress had followed the example of Canada.
Perhaps many persons are not aware that the last
slave in Canada was liberated May 31, 1818. There
are many, no doabt, residing in the province who
were once slaves therein ; but may the child never
be born who will ever become one. But as probably
the idea of slavery in Canada is new to many of

this generation, we give some extracts from the
abolition act itself :

" 33 of Geo. 111., chap. 7, passed May 31, 1793, being
the second session of the First Parliament, An Act to
Prevent the introduction of Slaves.

"Whereas, it is unjust that a people who enjoy freedom
by law, should encourage the introduction of slaves, and
whereas, it is highly expedient to abolish slavery in the
province, so far as the same may gradually be done with-
out violating private property : Be it enacted, etc., /cc.,
that eo much of a certain aot, entitled , An Act for encour-
aging new settlers in his Majesty's colonies and plan-
tations in America,' as may enable the Governor of the
Province to grant a license for importing into the same any
negro or negroes, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed;
and from and after the passing of this act, it shall not be
lawful for the Governor to grant a license for the importa-
tion of any negro, to be subjected to the condition of a
slave, or to a bounden involuntary service for life, into any
part of the province ; nor shall any negro who shall come
or be brought into this Province after the passing of this
act, be subject to the condition of a slave," &c.
" Nothing herein contained shall extend to liberate any
negro subject to such service as aforesaid, &c., who shall
have come into this province before the passing of this
act, . . . or shall have otherwise come into the posses-
sion of any person, by gift, bequest, or bona file purchase.
"And, in order to prevent the continuation of slavery in
the Province, immediately after the passing of this act,
every child that shall be born of a negro mother, shall abide
and remain with the master or mistress in whose service
the mother shall be living at the time of such child's birth
(unless such mother and child shall leave such service by
and with the counsel of such master or mistress), and shall
and may retain him or her in their service until every such
child shall have attained the age of 25 years, at which time
they and each of them shall be entitled to demand his or
her discharge, and shall be discharged by such master or
mistress from any further service," &c.
Suppose now that Congress had sent its armies
South with such an act for their standard—what
could have resisted them? The negroes would
have trusted the North, would have given
them all the information they needed, in-
stead of leaving them, as they now do, in utter
and fatal ignorance of Southern movements;
even if they had not fought, much they would
have aided the Northern arms, while the planters,
consoioue of their false position, and unable to
disprove the facts of Northern conduct, would
have been afraid to leave their homes, not dreading
negro cruelty, but desertion of their labourers.
Northern hatred of the negro, Northern aversion
to summon him to fight; for the Union and Free-
dom, Northern desire to deport him, rather than
to enlist his righteous aid, prevented all this.
The North will now, in all human probability,
miserably fail and fall. Its fate, but for the uncer-
tainties of war, seems, even now, to be sealed.
They bowed down to their MoLocu, the
Union—instead of invoking the aid of righteous-
ness and Heaven—and Heaven has justly left the
triumph to the powers of the Southern Pande-
monium. The North richly deserves all. It will
fall without the regret of either the philanthro-
pist or the statesman.

I
Garibaldians, have been shot mercilessly in the besides the former rent. The labourer, Mr. LAING 1
name and on behalf of " military discipline." The says, gets the lion's share of it, which proves be-
old
statement was at first contradicted as erroneous, yond doubt that India is not, according to the
but it has since then been, lamentable to relate,
notion, over peop.
only too clearly verified. Again, there has more A considerable part of Mr. LAING'S speech is
recently been issued a sort of contradiction of the devoted to the important question, whether Mr.
assertions made as to the shameful neglect of the Secretary Oor Lord CANNING could govern
comfort of Gen. GARIBALDI, when first carried as India bestW—oOrD , rather in the mere general form,
a wounded prisoner into the fortress of Varignano. whether India, except in the largest and most
It should be remembered, however, that while the important matters, should be governed in Eng-
semi-official contradiction of these assertions is as land. Mr. LAING'S view, that a competent gover-
_
vague as vague could be—the asertions are very ex- nor, responsible to the Indian public, and not a
plicit and very positive. Those assertions yet re- routine Whig or Tory official aided by an old-
main—each of them—undenied : about the bed, the fashioned Indian Council, is the best, our readers
chairs, the bandages, and so forth. And recollect are aware, is the opinion we have also long held.
--they were seen by an eye-witness, fresh from the It must come to this. Mr. LAING givof the meddles some frighe-
t-
sick room of the wounded Hero ; and by an ful instances of the effect, in India,
eye-witness as credible and as well known so
as me and fussy incompetence of our Indian
General Bixio—a Garibaldian, it is true, but an Secretary. But we must defer, for the present, the
outspoken opponent of that last mad enterprise, consideration of so important a subject.
which terminated at the close of last month so
disastrously at Aspromonte. Indirectly corrobora-
tive of these accounts of the neglect of GARIBALDI
is the complaint formally made within the last few
days by certain of his followers—appealing (we
trust it may prove not ineffectually) to the authori-
ties for a cessation of these needless cruelties and
ignominies. As a miserable, left-handed excuse, it is
now confidently asserted by the Esprit Public, that
—" After the defeat at Aspromonte, assassins disem-
barked on Italian soil, in order to attack the most
exalted personages." The paper adding—" In view
of such facts the Italian Ministry were compelled to
order a trial in order to prove with whom lay the
responsibility of the blood that has been shed."
Now, we hesitate not at once to proclaim our abso-
lute unbelief in th© accuracy of this disgraceful and
infamous assertion. Who will not be ready, upon
the instant, to affirm, with an absolute confidence,
that GARIBALDI'S enterprise had nothing whatever
to do from first to last, sooner or later, with any cold-
blooded scheme, with the vaguest possible idea of
assassination ? Not a single date, not one soli-
tary name either of place or person, it is observable,
is put forth in connection with this atrocious accu-
sation. There is only the naked statement, unsup-
ported in any way. And referring to it as (in justice
1 to the Hero now lying wounded as a State Prisoner
at Varignano), we are constrained to do—we pass it
by with mingled sentiments of scorn and abhorence.
Very different is the argument advanced by the
RATTAIII Cabinet in justification of its armed op-
position to GARIBALDI. Allusion being here made
of course, to the Circular Note addressed in the name
of that Government to the Italian representatives
abroad, the Ministerial circular written by General
DURANDO, under date the 10th of September.
" If," says this note towards its conclusion—" If
GARIBALDI has been resisted, it is solely because
it if convinced that the Government will attain its
end, and that the Catholic powers, France above
all, will recognise the danger of maintaining the
antagonism between the Papacy and Italy." And
again—" The present sifaation is no longer ten-
able, and would end by involving extreme conse-
quences, compromising the religious interests of
Catholicism and the tranquillity of Europe."
Even then it remains inexplicable how it was the Ita-
lian Government permitted, nay at first encouraged,
the movement of GARIBALDI, which it ultimately
put down by force of arms ! And—still more in-
explicable is it under the ciroumstances—that, be-
lieving itself to be so constrained to overthrow its
chief Benefactor, it should have done so with such
unnecessary brutality I wounding him seriously,
and quite needlessly at Aspromonte ! harshly and
when there is no need for it whatever, still retain.
- him a prisoner in the fortress of Varignano !

Cabby threatens to take the law into his own
hands. Though bow he can hope to carry out his
intentions in the manner in which he proposes, it is
rather difficult to imagine. The Act of Parliament
that, but a very few sessions back, regulated the
fares, according to their still existing rate of regu-
lation, is plain enough in itself: not a doubt of it.
But, while it is so, it is not always satisfactory
either to the hirers or to the drivers of these public
conveyances. Bickerings are continually taking
place : magistrates are perpetually being re-
ferred to. The vexation of all this was in
fact so obvious and so intolerable that there is a
pretty general readiness evidenced to bring about
if possible, and this not later than next session, a
thorough revision of the existing Cab Act. Gene-
rally this readiness i, among the public, among the
hirers; but—among the cabbies themselves—the
wish is of course to have things all their own way.

They gave us a few years back, it will be remem-
bered, a taste of all the " disagreeables" incident to a
Cab Strike ! They now seem to meditate some-
thing very like a coup d'etat in Cabland ! No metal
badges—they want, for one thing. Cabby has a
soul, if not above buttons, at any rate above badges.
He wants a certificate instead. And yet, at the
meeting of Cabdrivers, which took place late on
Wednesday night—the proceedings (quite in the
Parliamentary style, this!) closing at two o'clock yes-
terday morning—the assembled cabmen indignantly
rejected a resolution that was proposed, to the effect
that no licences should be granted to" returned con-
victs," or to persons who had been convicted crimi-
nals ! The one great wish apparently cherished
by the cab fraternity is to render the nzinimuna fare
a shilling I The Legislature says sixpence—but
the cabmen stand out, upon the principle of double
or quits, for the good round shilling, for what one
of our old forgotten poets sang the glories of as—

"The Splendid Shilling."

Even when it was proposed at Wednesday's meet-
ing that, during certain hours (that were specified)
9d. should be the fare for the first hiring—this split-
ting of the difference was rejected as a notion
altogether inadmissible. Cabby, however, if he
hopes for any good, must submit to something in the
shape of a compromise.