The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-08 00:00:00

tion ? And to such querists the noble lord has here
given a proper answer, when he states that no
knowledge is useless which bears upon human life,
and that a discovery once made always tuns to ac-
count in some way at some time or other.
We may realise this more fully by the reflec-
tion that the greatest mechanical inventions
arose from purely mathematical theories, and their
authors never dreaming of their being appled to
their subsequent purpose. It is only by taking
large views of life, with what assistance we can
gain frcm the means of accuracy which statistics
present, that we can possibly arrive at correct con-
clusions as to the nature and true meaning of things,
and the effects produced by different causes. Indi-
vidual testimony is never to be relied on ; preju-
dices insensibly influence, and ignorance prevails to
a large extent, but the results of statistics are to be
relied if only properly managed in regard to facts
and figures. Agricultural statistics are greatly wanted
in England, and Lord STANLEY adverted to the com-
plication of all weights and measures. In this respect
we are behind other nations, yet, as the noble lord
remarked, there are no very reasonable grounds
for hoping that a change for the better will take
place. It would be a very good thing, no doubt,
if the suggestion here made as to the different
Governments of Europe having their decennial
censuses arranged in a similar form were carried
out, as it would be thus easy to form a useful com-
parison. The noble lord's address gave general
satisfaction, and it will be found useful to refer to,
on account of its variety and the careful way in
which the subjects were treated.

Mr. ROEBUCK is always worth listenint► to on
whatever occasion he may favour us with a speech,
and his address at the Sheffield Cutlers' Festival is
as usual vigorous and independent. The presence
of the member for Sheffield at the Great Northern
Dinner is a matter of course, and there are few of
the customary visitors whose presence would be
more missed. Yesterday's banquet and ceremonial
passed off with their wonted éclat, and the speakers
who enlivened the after-dinner hours included the
most prominent members of the Northern nobility
and of the master cutlers themselves, though the
head of the community was unfortunately absent
from ill health. Politics are forbidden at the Cut-
lers' hospitable board, a prohibition which Earl
FITZWILLIAM declared made the feast as indiges-
tible as a " Welsh rabbit." Mr. ROEBUCK, how-
ever, was not to be fettered by any such restrictions,
and announced his intention of converting the
" Welsh rarebit" into a pungent salad, in which
each different opinion could form a condiment, and
the whole mélange created by men agreeing to differ
might be alike wholesome and agreeable. Cer-
tainly no political salad will want pungency or
flavour when the member for Sheffield contributed
a share, and with his accustomed boldness he
plunged at once into politics, leaving the venerable
and venerated prohibition altogether out of sight. Per-
haps the company thought that retrospective politics,
which included the reigns of ELIZABETH and
CHARLES 11., passed out of the area tabooed by the
regulations, for they made but a faint effort to arrest
the speaker, and laughed and cheered their favourite
member very heartily. Mr. ROEBUCK said that they
were most of them familiar with the unsteady sen-
sation produced by crossing the Channel in a storm.
The land seemed to move up and down, and the
very railroad to be bounding and rocking with pre-
ternatural vivacity. This, he said, was his feeling
with regard to the late election, but still, having got
over so much of the disturbance, he was able to take
a general survey of its progress and result. The
conclusion at which he arrived after this retrospect
was one acceptable enough to the good people of
Sheffield, for he considered that it affirmed the
triumph of Liberal and progressive principles. Re-
form and reaction had, he said, been alternating in
our history since the day of ELIZABETH. The last
triumph of the reactionary policy was in the days of
GEORGE 111., but since the end of the great war
onward progress has been the motto. "In 1829 we
got rid of ecclesiastical measures of opposition to
Reform ; in 1830-32 we altered the political reform
of the country." The wish of the English people, as
Mr. ROEBUCK observed very truly, is not for theo-
retical perfection, but gradual political advancement.
They do not wish to clear the ground before they
begin their structure, but they prefer to alter and
amend what their ancestors have left them. Mr.
ROEBUCK confesses that he was once a Republican,
but that he is now glad that our system is Monarchic.
Its success in securing the liberty and happiness of
the people under its sway is freely admitted
by all. "We have freedom of speech and thought;
we have security for person and property to an
extent that the rest of the world does not know ;
and when foreigners come among us the wonder to
them is how this vast multitude of human beings
can live so quietly and so happily." Of course so
important an event as the meeting of the fleets
could not be passed over in silence ; and Mr. ROE-
BUCK drew hopeful auguries for tho future peace of
the world from the union of the two foremost
nations. Outlying populations on either side of the
Atlantic, as he quietly terms the principal disturbers
of the peace at the present time, may indeed wish
to introduce disturbance, but they will, he con-
siders, be kept down by the consistent and united
action of England and France. This prophecy will,
we trust, prove to be correct, but at any rate
staunch and outspoken politicians like the member
for Sheffield will always be useful; and whether in
peace or war there is little fear that Mr. ROEBUCK
will not be foremost in the van, deterred by no pre-
judice, frightened by no panic, from saying and
doing what he honestly believes to be most condu
ive to the interests of the country.

The prolonged insignificant wars into which this
country has so often been dragged by the mis-
management of a few officials have long gone out
of favour. The Ashantee affair brought those who
encouraged it into great disfavour, and the Brazi-
lian difficulty, and other entanglements of the kind,
have taught our authorities, both civil and military,
to be cautious how they involve us in unnecessary
quarrels. At the same time, when from any cause
hostilities have actually begun, there is no greater
mistake than taking half measures. A vacillating
and hesitating policy
foe. It wastes
healthunnecessiasne'lryuetlueboth to f
anulesntrdenagnthd
of our men, and •
it encourages the enemy to
persevere in opposing us, • h
ett er from ignorance
of our real resources, or from the
hope of tiring us
case
out by resistance. This is especially the
when
our adversaries are semi-savage, like the Maories, or
live in remote and inaccessible districts, like the
Bhooteas. There is great reason for the general
dissatisfaction with respect to the management of
the Bhootean war, which should, when once begun,
have been promptly and vigorously pushed to a
conclusion. In accordance with the temporising
policy so popular with a certain party in these days,
no sooner is a blow struck than we proclaim
our reluctance to fight, and taking up some
position we wait patiently for overtures of peace.
But, unfortunately, this readiness to conciliate is
often mistaken for reluctance to fight, and Bhooteans
and Maories think to tire us out by resistance.
Accordingly, the health of our troops is sacrificed
and their spirits depressed by inactio.a in unhealthy