The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-15 00:00:00

able to himself and useful to his country ; and there
are no old grievances to avenge in his defeat, but,
nevertheless, in spite of his candid profession of the
more advanced principles of his party, in spite of
the friendly advocacy of Mr. BAINES, in spite of
the fact that he is nearly connected with one of the
acknowledged leaders of the Whigs, Lord AMBER-
LEY'S name was third on the list of candidates. All
that he was to accomplish in the new Parliament,
therefore, must be deferred to a more auspicious
occasion ; and if he and his father have not profited
by the lesson taught them at Leeds, is is to be
hoped that the other members of the party
will take the hint. Lord AMBERLEY must
learn to rely on himself, and not to boast
of the triumphs of the past triumphs
in which he had no share, and which the accident of
birth gives him no right to profit by. The were
advocacy of extreme doctrines gives him no right to
demand the suffrages of an important con-
stituency, and a less. arrogant and confident
tone would better become the new re-
cruit in his next campaign. The canvas of
Mr. GLADSTONE, junior, for Chester, has been more
successful, perhaps, beause the CHANCELLOR of th 3
EXCHEQUER is A more popular man than the
Foreign Secretary—perhaps because the young
aspirant for admission to the Parliamentary arena
was less of a doctrinaire.

Turning from the unsuccessful candidate of
Leeds to the unopposed candidate for Droitwich,
we find Sir JOHN PAKINGTON addressing his old
constituents with his usual straightforwardness,
moderation, and good sense. With regard to the
great question of Reform, which, unlike some of his
friends and rivals, he did not shrink from discussing,
he frankly declined to pledge himself to any parti-
cular measure or to any particular course. It was,
he said, a very difficult and important question, and
so far from its being a party measure the right hon.
baronet observed that he should like to see it calmly
deliberated on by a committee of the privy Council,
drawn from both sides. Lord GREY, in his recent
work, remarks that it would be difficult, if not
impossible, for either of 'the great parties to settle
the question, and the proposal which Sir JOHN
TAKINGTON supported was originated by the noble
lord. Sir JOHN calls him one of the most able as
well as one of the most honest statesmen of the day,
and certainly if any one possesses an hereditary
right to discuss the subject, it is the son of
the great Reformer who presided over the measure
of 1832. While the lapse of years has rendered
some changes and additions necessary since the
passing of the Reform Bill, experience has also
shown in what It was deficient. It would •be of
course impossible to render any measure absolutely
perfect, and the test of practical working
must always be applied before it can create general
confidence. More especially is this the case when a
great change has to be carried out in the midst of a
great political tumult, when every step of the way
has to be fought inch by inch, and all the vehemence
of party feeling is carried into a matter requiring
grave and earnest. deliberation. It is only wonder-
ful that the statesmen and reformers of 1832 ac-
complished .so much as they did. If their bill did
not go far enough to need no additions, at least
they kept on the safe and prudent side, and
have had :
.to cake no retrogressive steps.
Sir JOHN . PAKINGTON, whom we may, it
is to :be 'hoped, look upon as the organ
of his . party, confesses his conviction that the
time is not distant when the public voice will raquire
some revision of the Act of 1832 ; and he also
expresses his hope that, though no measure of the
sort can be absolutely final, the new Reform Bill

may be framed in so wise and enlightened a
manner that, it shall place the representation of
England on a satisfactory footing for a long period
In this hope all true Reformers must

to come.
cordially join.

General PEEL'S speech at Huntingdon is well
worthy of attention. It was the twelfth time that
he had had .to return thanks to the electors for re-
turning him' as their representative in the House of
Commons. The gallant General remarked that
there was something unusual in the present dissolu-
tion, for, on ordinary occasions, such an event
followed upon an adverse vote to the Ministerial
policy, or in consequence of some great question of
the daiheing,unsettled. This Parliament has nearly
reached its -legitimate end, and the chief plea on
which many rest their appeals to the constituencies
is the plea that they are supporters of Lord PAL-
MERSTON. Upon this notion General PEEL very
wisely determined to inquire into the merits of the
GovernMent. In fulfilling this rather invidious task
he promised. to guard against personalities, and he
kept his pledge. • There was great truth in his
primary assertion that if ever a Government were
pledged to anything, the present Government was
pledged' to bring in a more extensive measure of
Reform than their. predecessors. Yet they showed
great distaste and indifference in performing the task,
"and the very men who turned out their predeces-
sorsbecause they would not go far enough were them-
selves content to 'go no further than the Treasury
bench, and there to " rest and be thankful.". When
the episode of Reform was over this acute Govern-
ment discovered a new claim that they had on the
gratitude of the country, and began to extol their
foreign policy. General PEEL took a very good
illustration of thcmerits of this part of the official
programme by referring to the debate which took
place on the. subject last year. Every member who
took part in the discussion condemned the foreign
policy which the government had deemed it right
to pursue. There is a-sad truth in this opinion of
the General's regarding that epoch—" The time
would come, however we might now attempt to
forget it, when the events of 1863-4 would bo
written in the pages of history, and those pages
would hring.a blUf3h to the cheek of every English-
man who should read the record." The naval and
military establishments of. the country do not re-
dound.much, more,.to the credit of, Ministers than
other matters; for•during the six years that the pre-
sent Government have been in office more has been
spent on these two services than in any period of
peace in our-history. Such is not a very creditable
exposition offsets; and the members of the Govern-
ment have not much to .plume themselves upon in
regard to it.. - General PEEL was able to refer to
some iialuable" services that the late Administration
rendered the country in introducing improvements
that the necessities of the time required, and that
the rapid
development of the resources of other
nations rendered it necessary for us to inaugurate.
Conspicuous Amolig these were the building of
armour-plated ships, the introduction of rifled
guns, and the acceptance of the services of Volun-
teers. These are indeed lasting and important
works, and reflect great credit on the skill and dis-
cernment of those who approved of them. Now
that 04ese are recognised things, it is very inge_
nious for all present Ministers to appropriate to
themselves the merit of them, but people who take
the trouble to look into the records of the pait in-
stead of taking everything on trust from the powers
that be, will find that much praise is claimed for
what is not really their doings, or at all events that
they did not originate but follow in the tract
indicat4l by their' predecessors.

As regards,the demi-god of the Admini6tratiou,