The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURD Y EVENING, SEPTENIBER 13, 1862

would most surely have dreaded the publicity of a I
Trial in open court ? Certainly not GARIBALDI.
It can be no surprise to any one, therefore, to learn
now, more and more distinctly every day, that the
probabilities of an Amnesty are becoming clearer,
When published it is to be hoped that in decency
there may be no boast whatever about it—about its
concession. Remembering all that GARIBALDI has
done for the KING unrecompensed save by
the world's admiration remembering that it
was for the aggrandizement of the KING, and
not of GARIBALDI, that the late mad enter-
prise was undertaken —there can be no act of
grace whatever in the according of an Amnesty
to GARIBALDI and his followers by VICTOR EM-
MANUEL. It is the idlest farce and extravagance to
talk of it, to think of it; An act of grate forsooth—
this Amnesty ! With GARIBALDI lying there
wounded and suffering from his over faithfulness
to the very cause to which this King had solemnly
pledged his royal reputation in the face of Europe !
To that cause which of the two has remained faith-
ful ? And the breaker of his kingly pledge—is to
win new glory, to acquire enlarged credit for mag-
nanimity by pardoning the simple minded, single
hearted, heroic patriot to pardon HIM for remain-
ing true to Ms word, faithful to Ms promise,
consistent in his political belief, even to
the end! So that the less that is said about an
Amnesty being anything at all of an act of grace
just now the better. Let it be quietly done, and
there an end of it. Any fenfaronade in the con-
cession of this Amnesty will be an outrage to the
common sense of Europe. Particularly now when
we are fresh from the recollection of the disgraceful
and inhuman treatment to which this great man
has, within the last few days, been shamefully sub-
jected. That infamous treatment of GARIBALDI by
the Italian Government will not be very easily for-
gotten ! The brutal wounds inflicted upon him by
Italian rifle shot were bad enough in themselves.
But to those wounds how much has there not
been gratuitously added in the way of most
cruel and most shameless aggravation ! Worse than
the inhuman discomforts of his prison—not a bed
until one was given to him by private benevolence!
not a single chair in the State Prisoner's one apart-
ment ! no fresh bandages for his tormenting
wounds !—worse than all this, the shameful indig-
nities cast upon his name and upon his acts by the
official despatches in regard to Aspromonte, penned
by General CIALDINI, and Colonel (now Lieutenant-
General) PALLAVICIk. Who is there who has read
those despatches but has turned with scorn from
the insolent ariogance of CIALDINI, and from the im-
pertinent effrontery of PALLATICINI ! His Excel-
lency this General, talking coolly of his orders to" beat
and capture" the Garibaldians, as if CIALDINI had but
to appear and all GARIBALDI'S power must at once
become paralysed ! The Colonel of the ruthless
band of the Bersaglieri talking in his turn with a
quite manifest complacency of his having sharply
retorted upon GARIBALDI when the Hero lay
wounded and suffering upon his litter at Scylla !
Incidents like these would be simply ridiculous
were they not at the same time provocative of some-
thing very like loathing—the loathing drawn down
upon those who can find pleasure in insulting fallen
greatness.

Mr. DISRAELI, and the clergy who have chosen
him as their JOSHUA, are very much concerned
at the existence, and the influence in the boroughs,
of a certain society which centralises its opera-
tions at Sergeants' Inn. The Church has been
"in danger," we know, times without number,
bat never in such danger as now. The corn
laws were often attacked, proved to be mischie-
vous to the whole community, and of no real ad-
vantage to those whose pockets they were in-
tended to fill. But the corn laws stood, and de-
fied all the arguments of the ablest economists,
till a society arose, which, under the name of the
Anti Corn-law League, soon converted arguments
into a "great fact," and the corn laws were swept
away for ever. The privilege of the aristocracy
to tax the people's food for the benefit of the tax-
imposers, not of the tax-payers, vanished for ever.
Tho Liberation Society, the clergy think, portends
to the Church what the League portended to the
corn laws. It is folly, they say, to despise its
commencement ; there it is, an active organisation.
It has sympathisers and agents all over the coun-
try; it has even numerous members of the House
of Commons who sympathise with its immediate
and practical objects, and some few, and men not
without power, too, who heartily espouse its revo-
lutionary and destructive principles.
We do not wish to lessen the alarm of our Tory
friends for the privileges of the Church of the aris-
tocracy. It is no doubt a danger when an organised
body of determined men combine to give effect to
arguments which have convinced even the ex-
Premier's independent-minded son, that this gene-
ration is the last which is to witness the continu-
ance of the reign of ecclesiastical privilege. But
what will Mr. DISRAELI and his clerical supporters
say to the danger which menaces them from the
Antipodes ? There the State Church principle
seems to be at its last gasp, and to have entered on
its final stage. For a long time it has shared its
benefits, whatever they may be, with various
claimants; but the news from New South Wales,
just received, shows that even this bribe to cupidity
scarcely avails to save it. Episcopalians end Ca-
tholics, who get the lion's share, because a great
part of the religious communities will have nothing
to do with the grants, are of course very desirous
to retain them. The Methodists, such successful
practical voluntaries here, are divided in opinion,
but the religious Radicals are so numerous, that
they have nearly carried their proposals already,
and appear certain to do so ere long. If it be so
frightful to have a small energetic society and a few
members of Parliament making good their position
against State privileges and endowments for a
Christian Church, what would our Wednesday Tory
masters think of a party amongst the electors power-
ful enough to give within one or two of a majority
favourable to their views ; and of their having such
weight with the Government as to compel it to
propose the appropriation of all its property, left in
trust for education and religion, to education
only.

Such is the actual state of things just now at
Sydney. In
the opinion of the Colonial law officers
certain lands, originally
ition, fell into the hands ol;
theeducational
p ucropnoodfs ictsit.ohnesiTr ofhe
proceeds thethe the
G trust
nt charge-
able
ora-
Colony's
overeomf
e a Corpora-
tion,
trust,
to
religious and
Secretary
which werew a s
tile application
prepared
It
in a bill before
the House for the sale of the lands and the invest-
but, by
men t antidwapparrroapnrigaetaioiennotf the
wouldfunds.p
a s a
I ; was sup-
posedfor retaining
strenuous efforts on the part of the recipients of the
public money, such as we have lately seen on
wase gainede to the Education
I.,Vi
iendontees, daa ys
ms , a l andl
majority
ill
fern c
the Word "religion." The effect, of course,
will be, that every session there will be a debate
re
on the relative amounts of the money to be
awarded to the Church and to education. It
is
the same in all the Australian colonies, the State
grants have been on the verge of abolition in all—
ayed by the legislative council perhaps, or by

whipped up and very small majorities; in one colony,
we believe, they have vanished altogether. Thus,
not only geographically, but in regard to the posi-
tion of the State Church Question, the Australians
are the Antipodes of the northern country.
Indeed, the question has come before New South
Wales, not only in the indirect form above mentioned,
but in that of a bill to abolish all state grants to
religion, brought in by the Government! The
fate of the bill is, by this mail, said to be doubtful.
But what a state of things is revealed by the fate
of such a bill being even doubtful. If its promoters
can even command the Government, and a nearly
balanced house, what hope can the Government
grant party have of long maintaining their small
and doubtful majority. The advocates of the grant
have great hope in case of a dissolution ; because,
they say, the different shades of politicians will over-
look for a time their political opposition, and com-
bine on the question of the hour. Hence they
expect that many Radicals would vote for the man
who supports a grant in aid of the sect to which
they may happen to belong. What will be the
reflux action of the political and ecclesiastical
Liberalism of our colonies on the mother country ?
It does not seem to be much at present; but in
time it must tell even here. America is not liked
as a model, but our fellow subjects' example will be
looked at by us without prejudice.

When the Rate in Aid Bill was under discussion
in the Commons, Mr. COBDEN, in regard to some
amount mentioned as that which would be raised,
exclaimed, in a tone of mingled surprise and sorrow,
"why that would be but two shillings a week for
each." He could not contemplate without grief the
mere thought of the men whom he had known living
on family incomes equal to those of half the clerks
and curates of England suddenly cut down to such
a pittance. We are sorry to observe that the result
of all that has been done at present is far below
what Mr. COBDEN could not help mentioning as
beggary not to be thought of. It appears that at
Stockport and Ashton-under-Lyne, the amount
received by the families out of work, from all sources,
varies between is. 3d. and ls. sd. a head per week
The fact is ascertained by actual inquiry on the spot'
and does not admit of a doubt. In Stockport the
loss of wages to nearly fourteen thousand hands,
wholly or in part unemployed, is said to be £6,300.
What is contributed from the parish and from relief
amount together is but £6so—about one shilling
in ten to fill up this fearful void.
Many cases, taken at random, are specified.
They are of this kind—A man and wife, with five
children, and an aged mother—husband and one
child earn 4s.—the parish allowed 3s. Seven shil-
lings for eight persons to live upon for a whole
week ! We are not suprised to read that the man
and his family had gone to Manchester to beg.
A family near were miserably rich by comparison;
it was a family of seven which earned 9s. per week;
everything had been pawned or sold that would
fetch money ; and no rent had been paid for
months; how it should be is inconceivable; yet
why should the landlords be so extensively compul-
sory contributors. Another family of eight, all
over twelve years of age, are described as quite in
good spirits on a united income of lls. 10d. for that
week, five shillings of the money being from the
parish. Another family of eight, with five shil-
lings from the parish, and five raised from short
time, were exulting in an extra 2s. casually earned
by :one of the boys. Two cases were pitiable
indeed. A family of nine had but 2s. 6d.
from the Relief Committee, and another
family, father, mother, and two children, had
literally nothing ! Their work had been suddenly
withdrawn, :they could get no decision from the
parish till next board day, and they could only beg
till then. Surely the relieving officer was legally
compellable to supply their present wants.

These are not selected instances—the writer from
whom we take them mentions many others like
them, and assures us, and we entrely believe him,
that they are but fair specimens of the unem-
ployed, and half employed population. Of course
all this does not stop with the immediate sufferers.
The shops which were maintained by their custom
are closed by scores—the shopkeepers gone,
no one knows where. The pawnbrokers'
shops, however, are not closed. Every.
thing goes to them. Proprietors of cottages
and lodgings, if not possessors of other
property are of course beggared, and the deposits
in the savings banks vanish at a fearfal rate ;
but a few weeks more will suffice to strip a
vast proportion of the population of the district
of all means of support but that derived from the
rates and charity. The increase of pauperism
continues week by week. Not only are fresh mills
closing or diminishing their production, but the
savings of some additional families are exhausted
week by week, who have hitherto contrived to
exist upon them, but who are now driven reluc-
tantly to beg rather than starve.
What can be done to save such a nobly indus-
trious population from the demoralisation of want
is a perplexing problem. It is indeed miserable
economy to suffer them to exist in such extreme
distress, as to lose all that self-respect, self-reli-
ance, and energetic industry, for which they have
been hitherto so remarkable. Every device which
can be adopted to give them something to do
worth being done by intelligent beings, is a first
necessity. These men would rather drag on life on
a miserable pittance which they had earned, than
on mere parish or benevolent charity ; and this
feeling ought, above all others, to be respected. It
is very wise on the part of some of the congrega-
tions both of Church and Dissent, to have opened
schools for the young girls, which are superin-
tended by ladies, who not only teach them sewing,
and pay them two shillings a week for what they
do, but who also endeavour to instruct and
amuse them. Nothing can be more important
than to save these wives and mothers of the next
generation from the contamination of the streets,
and the dangers of idleness. We, however, believe
that all that can be done will soon be done, by the
nation at large acting through the management of
those on the spot. It is not in Englishmen to
succumb to a calamity like this, and as the real
nature of the facts becomes manifest, the skill,
benevolence, and energy of the country will not be
found wanting.

The ships composing the Channel Squadron,
under Rear-Admiral Smart, K,H,, have been ordered to
return to England, and may therefore be immediately ex-
pected in the Downs.—Army and Navy Gazette.

THE LUDGATE-HILL TRAGEDY.—NO decision
appears lo have been arrived at with respect to the ultimate
place of confinement to which Mrs. Vyse is to be consigned.
Up to the present day she is still confined in Newgate, under
the special care of Mr. Jonas, the Governor.

A BIG EXCUSE.--The other day, in New Haven,
Connecticut, an Irishman, who had been married eight
years, and had nine children, thought he deserved exemp-
tion, because he could serve his country so much better at
home.--American Paper,

FOREIGNERS NOT TO BE EMPLOYED AT THE
AMERICAN NAVY YARDS.--An order has been promulgated
at Charlestown and other navy yards of the United States,
that none but citizens will hereafter be employed as work-
men in these yards. This word " citizen" includes not only
natives, but foreigners who have taken out their final natu-
ralisation papers, and who have also sworn true allegiance
t
the goTeintnent of the United States. The order now
promulgate
cl was adopted many years ago, but was never
enforced to any great extent,—.A ew York Paper.