The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-03 00:00:00

was the struggle, and how many; the obstacles
PHOTOGRAPHIC CURIOSITY.— hill
It may fairly be said,
A MONDAY; April 3, 1865—With THIS DAY s NUM' that had been surmounted.
her of THE SUN is presented GRATIS (with a Supple-:
went) a MINIATURE PHOTOGRAPHED FAC-SIMILE then, that Mr. COBDEN was mainl3r instrumental in
of the FRONT PAGE of THE SUN of MONDAY, the 21
January, 1866. achieving a work of great national 'importance, and
..* For the convenience of Subscribers wishingto pre;
by his clear reasoning he . was fort enough to
umate
serve the Photograph a suitable frame is provide .d, may
be had at "The Sun" Office, Price le. convince many of the efficacy of his arguments, and
The Photograph, on card, mounted in frame, Is Id.
the force of his convictions. Because he did so
much at that period, some supposed that he would
do more hereafter in other matters of public interest.
This idea was an erroneous one, however, the bent
of Mr. COBDEN'S mind did not incline him to be a
general politician ; he was capable of theoris-
ing to any extent, but as a practical worker
he had too many crotchets to allow him
to succeed. The peculiar views which he held con-
cerning 'the peace doctrines alone sufficed to militate
against his prospects as a public man, but there is
the less to regret in this deficiency that he did so
well where he was deeply interested, and in the
tasks for which he was eminently fitted. The spirit
of the age was with him when he moved forward and
impelled others in the great work of Free Trade ;
the time was come when the great world required
to move forward, and the intellect and enterprise
of mankind hailed him as their advocate of pro-
gress and their herald of reform. It was quite
otherwise, however, when he came to consider the
questions of peace and war ; yet we must admire
his consistency in thus persisting in a course
which lost him much of his prestige among
his countrymen, and drew on him reproach
and indignation. It was a drawback to Mr.
COBDEN'S success as a politician that he was so apt
to regard public questions in a one-sided manner,
and he was not likely, under any circumstances, to
have become a great statesman in the full accepta-
tion of the term. He showed his good sense and
right feeling by refusing an offer of a seat in the
Cabinet, for which he was not fitted, and by ac-
cepting which he would not have done any credit
to his reputation, which was hard-won and deservedly
high. It is not at all necessary or desirable that
all clever men should follow the same beaten track,
and we may surely say that he who has just departed
from among us occupied a sphere of great public
usefulness from which he can ill be spared,
and where the blank space he has left is not
likely to be filled up for some time to
come. He came forward at a great crisis of
public affairs to represent the interests of his fellow
countrymen, and he was thus certainly a benefactor
to the country, which may be proud to rank him
among her citizens of honour and repute. It was a
mistake on the part of many to expect that he would
take as prominent a place in other public questions
as he did in the instance of Free Trade—there was
no need that he should do so, and the bent of his
mind led him more to the prosecution of
isolated attempts of this sort, than to
general subjects of everyday interest. In the
House of Commons Mr. COBDEN'S reputation stood
deservedly high ; he commanded the respect of both
sides, and he won the admiration of all by his great
powers as a speaker. Whenever he rose to speak
something worth hearing was sure to occupy the atten-
tion of the House, and, apart from his particular views,
men regarded his speeches as a great intellectual
treat that they would not willingly miss. It is to
the credit of Mr. COBDEN that he never indulged in
that class of vituperation to which some of his friends
were so prone. He was not a polished speaker, but
neither was he at all of the demagogue style. He
gave utterance to his own honest opinion, and though
often mistaken in his views, he was always straight-
forward in their advocacy. It • may fairly be
said of him who has so lately joined the ranks
of those " Who their worldly task have done,
home are gone, and taken their wages," that he has
left behind a name that will long live in the memory
of his countrymen, and has achieved a reputation
that will survive to posterity. Future generations
will turn with interest to study the career of one who
has departed from among his sorrowing contempo-
raries, after having led a life of private honour and
of public renown.

THE ATR E-R OY AL, DRURY-LANE,
Managers. Messrs. E. Falconer and F. B. Chatterton.
THIS EVENING the Faroe PI A YOUNG LAD FROM
THE COI;NTRY. Mr. G. Belmore and Miss H. Howard.
Atier which, CYMBIi;LINE. Mesers James Anderson,
Walter Montgomery, Walter Lacy, A. Rayner, E. Phelps,
G. F. Neville, and Miss Helen Faucit.
To conclude with the Farce, GOING TO THE DOGS.

HEATR E-R YA L, HAYMARKET.
Lessee. Mr. Buckstone.
THIS EVENING the performance will commence with
THREE WEEK'S AFTER MA KRIAG E. Mr. Chippen•
Gale, Mr. W. Farren, Miss Nelly Moore, Miss Snowdon, &c.
After which, a New Sensation, THE WOMAN IN
MAUVE : messrs. Sothern, Compton, Howe, Farren, Braid,
White, Weathersby, Butler, &c. :Madames Stuart, Lovell,
Buckstone, &c.

And EASY SHAVING. Miss Louise Seeley, Miss F.
Wright ; Messrs. Clark, Gordon, Rogers, &a.

To commence at 7.

NEW THEATRE-ROYAL, ADELPHL.
dole rropiletor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster.

THIS EVENING, ICI ON PARLE FRANCAIS. Mr.
J. L. Toole, Mr. Ashley, Mr. Billing,ton, Miss K. Kelly, and
Mrs. Billington.

Atter which, THE LOVE CHASE. Wi'drake (his origi-
nal character), Mr. B. Webster.ssiMessrs. Billington, Ashley,
Stephenson. Widow Green (13th tirne),:Mrs. Stirling; Con-
stance (13th time), Miss Henrietta Simms ; Lydia (her 13th
appearance), Miss Sophie Young.
To conclude with THE STEEPLECHASE; or, In the
Pigskin. Messrs. J. L. Toole, Paul Bedford ; Miss K. Kelly.

It is to be hoped that the question put by Sir
JOHN SHELLEY to the Home Secretary on Thursday
evening, respecting the case of Mr. DRAKE, may
lead to some further inquiry into the matter. As it
at present stands it reflects very little credit on
either the wisdom or the humanity of the principal
parties concerned, and if such things are possible
under existing arrangements, all that we can say is
the sooner they are altered the better. Mr. DRAKE,
a gentleman of good means, while visiting London
on business, passed the night at an hotel in Covent
Garden. He was attacked by illness suddenly, and,
as often happens, he was attacked during the night,
so that when the waiter called him in the morning
he was found unable to dress himself and wan-
dering in his mind. The landlady sent for a
policeman, thinking he was mad, though all
parties admitted that he was sane, and sober over-
night. The policeman turned him half-dressed
into the street, where naturally his excited manner
and strange appearance attracted a crowd of the
loiterers of the market. Thereupon the same police-
man, who is certainly most unfit for any responsible
position, took him to the station-house, where the
doctor was summoned to examine, and hearing pro-
bably only half the outcry, hastily concluded that he
had been drunk and was suffering from the conse-
quences. He was finally sent to the Strand Union,
where the medical officer attended him, and being
apparently the first person of sense who had seen
the unfortunate gentleman, at once discovered that
he was suffering from an attack of blood to
the head. Every care was taken, but it
was too late. The disease, which required
active medical treatment and perfect quiet from the
very first, naturally enough proved fatal after such
a morning as the unhappy victim had passed, and
after a day or two's illness Mr. DRAKE died. Of
course, the whole tragedy originated in an accident
and a mistake ; but ignorance, inhumanity, and
carelessness were required to bring it to
a fatal result. The landlady presumed that
Mr. DRAKE was mad ; but as it was quite
evident that the attack was a sudden one, she
should surely have sent for medical help instead of
for the assistance of the police. Any doctor called
to see the sick man in his room at the hotel would
have gathered the true state of the case from the
attendants. He would naturally have asked in
what state he was the preceding night, and must
have possessed very little knowledge or experience
if he had not found out the truth, so speedily de-
tected by Dr. ROGERS. The policeman was the
next and worst offender, and his conduct was alto-
gether inexcusable. If the man was in too danger-
ous a state to be left in the hotel, he was certainly
not fit to be turned adrift in the market, and the
inhumanity of such a proceeding cannot be excused
on the plea of ignorance. The doctor who was
summoned to see Mr. DRAKE at the station was also
much in fault, since it is quite evident he took no
trouble to ascertain the poor man's real condition.
The landlady, we should hope, must have deeply
regretted her conduct ; but the policeman and
the doctor are public officials, who should
at least receive official censure, the one for
his officiousness, the other for hi 3 negligence.
The man's life has, perhaps, been sacrificed
—at any rate, his chance of recovery was seriously
diminished--by the treatment he ree,iTed, and we