The Sun.
London, England, 1865-11-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TAITESOAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 2 1865.

I-Lou.. gentleman truly declared, they may feel that
the politics of this world are slowly but surely
tending to a better end, and assuming a higher
character, they are tending in fact towards re-
ciprocal advantages, and " uniting together the
whole of the members of the human family in a
planner which befits rational and immortal beings,
owing their existence to one Creator, and having
tut one hope either for this world or for the next."

The public will watch with unusual interest at
present the proceedings at those assemblies where
Alinisterialists find a place. The great question of
Reform, so long left in abeyance, cannot, it is felt,

be suffered to remain in the background, more

especially since the present head of the Cabinet is
personally identified with the party and the prin-

ciples of reformers. Lord PALMERSTON, although

the acknowledged head of the Liberals, never pro-

fessed any great anxiety for a Reform Bill, while it

was well known that he was strongly opposed to the
ballot. There was no inconsistency in his personal

conduct with respect to Reform, since he never claimed

to be its advocate ; but the Cabinet was certainly

supposed to take office on Reform principles, which

it has failed to carry out. Lord JOHN RUSSELL,
however, was hailed as the Reformer of the Cabinet.
His political fame had been won in the field of
Reform ; he had professed throughout his career the

most devoted attachment to its principles, and it

was to him that the public chiefly looked for car-
rying out the Reform policy of the new Cabinet.

We all know how those expectations were disap-

pointed, and the " Rest-and-be-thankful " policy

was suffered to take the place of the vigorous

progress that was promised. But now it is not
possible for the most inveterate Whig, the most
superficial Reformer, to rest any longer; he must
" up and be doing," however strong his inclinations

to leave well alone and remain in undisturbed pos-

session of place and power. This crisis, which time
has brought upon him, it is not possible for Earl
RUSSELL to escape, and he has lost rather than
gained by having so long deferred it. The public
have lost confidence in the sincerity of his convic-
tions, and will be inclined to look with some suspi-
cion on a Reform Bill from his hands ; nevertheless,
it is a political necessity that one should be forth-
coming. Accordingly, every public appearance of
Ministers or their friends is regarded with interest,
and their words are weighed, to obtain some indica-
tion of the tone and tenour of the feeling of the
Cabinet. Lord CHARLES RUSSELL, who has just
been addressing a Buckinghamshire audience, pi o-
fesses to know no more of his brother's intentions
than any one else ; but perhaps he is desirous to
avoid the awkwardness of making pledges which
may not be carried out. Perhaps he thinks that
his hearers may have inconveniently good memories,
and may bear in mind that little affair about the
Ballot at a time when Lord JOHN RUSSELL was not
so independent of the suffrages of a city -consti-
tuency as Earl RUSSELL is now. Still Lord CHARLES
RUSSELL is confident of his brother's intention with
regard to Reform, and he puts an addition to
the famous motto, which reads somewhat inconsist-
ently. He says it must now be " Rest-and-be-
thankful Progress and Reform!" though we appre-
hend the former part of the business would be more
to the taste of the Whigs than the latter. Lord
CHARLES RUSSELL is under the impression that the
cause of Reform has been injured by over-zealous
advocates, and certainly neither he nor his imme-
diate allies are likely to do it any damage in that
way. On the general principles of the question,
Lord CHARLES spoke sensibly enough, and declared
himself to be of the mind of Fox, who was op-
posed alike to an absolute aristocracy, an
absolute monarchy, and an absolute democracy ; for
he objected to a Parliament composed exclusively
of any one class, be it upper, lower, or middle. The
Parliament that is wanted is, he said, one which
I should perfectly represent all classes ; and, if so,
he cannot pretend to be satisfied with the
existing representation. The late Sir R. PEEL,
when visiting Woburn Abbey, once observed to the
Duke of BEDFORD that Parliamentary Reform was a
difficult question, but that every one would be glad
if he could get up some fine morning and find it
settled. No doubt this is true, with the exception of
those who make political capital out of it, and Lord
C. RUSSELL accepted the observation as a proof
that Sir ROBERT PEEL was convinced that some
further measure of reform was necessary. Lord C.
RUSSELL disapproves of the cry of " Measures, not
men ;" preferring, apparently, the converse of
" Men, not measures," and he is lost in horror when
contemplating the fearful evils which might have
afflicted the country had Lord DERBY retained office!
What these evils are he is too considerate to tell us;
in fact, he declares himself to be " unable to ima-
gine" them—which, we suspect, is very much the
case with other people in these days of active oppo-
sition, a free press, and public opinion. The public are
very well prepared to give Earl RUSSELL a fair trial
as Premier and Reformer. They respect his repu-
tation and his abilities, and are sensible of the
difficulties which surround him in his Cabinet ; at
the same time the interests of the country must not
be trifled with to suit the necessities of any party or
the requirements of any individual Minister. Lord
RUSSELL has the opportunity now of redeeming him
self from the charge of wilful neglect of Reform; but
the session w hich is rapidly approaching will bring the
test of Liberalism. Sir HARRY VERNEY, in whose
honour the Buckingham banquet was given, made
an interesting speech, retracing the great events
which have marked our legislation during the
last thirty-two years during which he has
represented the town of Buckingham. He was
fortunate enough to have been on the
popular side in most of the great contests of the
day, and he looked back on the political work that
had been done during those eventful years with
pride and satisfaction. Such a survey may well
afford an Englishman no ordinary gratification,
since his country has been steadily advancing in
material wealth, and, still better, in political liberty.
Much, nevertheless, remains to be done in every
direction, and we have no more reached the rest and
be thankful stage in the social or moral ascent than
in the political. Still the progress which has been
achieved in the past it is grateful to look back upon,
and encourages us to fresh efforts in the future.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.—Yesterday after-
noon, shortly after 2 o'clock, tho Lord Chancellor attended
at the House of Lords for the purpose of proroguing the
present Parliament. His lordship took his place between
the throne and the woolsack, and directed the lion. Slingsby
Bothell, the reading clerk, to read the list. The House of
Commons was represented by Mr. H. Ley. At the close of
the court the Lord Chancellor declared the Parliament pro-
rogued until Thursday, Nov. 23.

PRIVATE BILL LEGISLATION.—The authorities
of
the Private Bill Office of the House of Lordclueen's
have
just caused a "model" bill to bo printed by the
printers as a guide to Parliamentary agents in the nest
session. They call the particular attention of Parliamen-
taryne agents and others promoting private bills to the alte-
ration made by the Lords at the close of last session in
their standing order No. 193, section 2, by which the
Printed copies of private bills are required to be deposited
in the office of the Clerk of the Parliament on or before
the 17th of December, instead of the 23d of December as
formerly. The bill is drawn for a railway, but the gene-
ral arrangement of it and the expressions used aro as ap-
plicable, it is stated, to almost all bills, and to be observed
accordingly. There are 35 sections in the bill, and a sup-
plement of some length, to meet, the various objects of bills.
The "model" now presented, it is anticipated, will facili-
tate the private bill legislation in the new Parliament.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE,.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

CALCUTTA, CHINA, AND AUSTRALIAN

MAILS.

SUEZ, Nov. 1.
The Delhi, with the above mails, arrived here at
3 p.m. to-day.

LITERATURE.

COLDURN'S UNITED SERVICE opens with " Mili-

tary Jurisdiction," and dwells on the murder of
Major De Vere, insisting that the perpetrator of it
should have been tried by court-martial immediately
after.the sad event, and dealt with accordingly by a
prompt execution of the sentence by military law on
the spot. That would have justified and exemplified strict
discipline, instead of handing the culprit over to the civil
law. The articlo then goes on to compare the system in
the French, Prussian, and Austrian armies, giving the
preference to the French. " Memoranda of different
infantry regiments which have successively borne the
same regimental number, and of regiments which
have borne in succession different regimental num-
bers from 1740 to 1865," thereby rendering it difficult to
trace the services of any particular corps, or of -any mem-
ber of it. This paper is a work of labour, and the writer
believes he can vouch for the accuracy of the information,
which must be interesting to a number of the large regi-
ments, many of whOm have won splendid laurels under
names of which the present gallant representatives never
heard. The Highland regiments seem to have undergone
as many changes as their achievements are glorious, no
matter under what number they fought, for their bravery
was the same.

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
" The French and American Navies " is a smart re-
view or " overhaul" of the Prince do Joinville's
one-sided article in. the Revue des Deux Mondes on
that subject, and is to be continued in another critical
broadside. "On Lights and Lighthouses" is an excellent
account of the gradual and many improvements made in
that universally national and humane undertaking. The
articles on "Artillery" and on the " Organisation of Ca-
valry" aro treated in a masterly, practical, and scientific
spirit. They contain hints which will be found
eminently useful to both old and young in the art
of war. With respect to artillery at sea, the writer is
clearly of opinion with the general public that speed with
"heavy," and ho might have added "long-range," metal,
will carry the day over ironclads, however thick, and in
this we cordially agree. " The Wreck Register" is also
handled 'ila very creditable manner ; so, too, is the notice of
" General Lamoriciere," for to a military man, it observes
justly, that it matters little to what country a distinguished
soldier belongs; his interest is.in the man, and, personal
friendship apart, ho cares nothing for his "nationality."
THE SHILLING MAGAZINE.—The clever, though
painful story of " Phemie Keller" proceeds ra-
pidly, and affairs are evidently coining to a crisis.
Poor Phemie has discovered her mistake in marry-
ing Captain Standon, and has awoke from the
apathy and indifference, but she does not appear
in very pleasing colours. " The Age of Leo th 4 Tenth,"
discourses pleasantly on a generation of painters, philo-
sophers, and- literati." " Cholera and its Cure" is a
mer written by a lady, who learned, during a fearful
visitation of the epidemic at Cadiz, a simple mode of
treatment from some natives of tho Philippines.
Under its most difficult forni the disease is
treated with friction, the stomach being rubbed with
cocoa-nut oil or oven common oil, and a few drops of me-
dicine from prepared-plants, which are indigenous in the
Philippines, are given in hot green or camomile tea. If
the medicine is not procurable, hot camomile tea alone
may be tried. For the cramp the joints are rubbed and
bandages wetted with white wine vinegar, ginger, and
cocoa-nut oil are applied. In the simplest form the disease
is cured by the patient drinking copiously of rice-water
and nothing but that, only it is necessary that tho
rice should be roasted like the coffee berry. These
methods, according to this account, proved so
singularly successful in Cadiz that they aro worth the

attention.. of our medical authorities. " The Cattle Plague

in Virgil's Time" introduces us to a new foe with an old
face, and shows us that even in those bucolic days agri-
culturists were not without their troubles. M. Goldschmidt

contributes a second paper on " The Ghetto at Rome," of
which he gives an interesting description. " Houses of
Disease," is the title of a paper on the management of our
workhouse infirmaries, in which it is remarked that
the voluntary hospitals, ample and well-managed as
they are, deal with but a small portion of
London misery. The eighteen hospitals in London
possess 3,738 beds ; but the metropolitan infirmaries
provide beds for 7,463 sick, and nominally for about
7,000 infirm, although really for nearly half as many more."
It is further remarked that these establishments are really
the State hospitals, and that it is no credit to our nation
that they should be disgracefully mismanaged. A similar
subject—similar so far as it treats of human wetchedness
and suffering—is dealt with in " A Sketch of Bedlam.''
Happily, a visit to that establishment is no longer so ter-
rible as of old, since the patients are treated with care
and kindness. " The Wild Flower of Ravensworth" is
continued, but the story is by no means pleasing, and there
are several poetical contributions, none of them of a very
high order of merit.

TILE ENQLISHMAN'S MAGAZINE.--The English-
man's is still a somewhat heavy serial, though seve-
ral of its articles are worth reading. It opens with

the fourth part of Professor Ansted's essay" On the
Earth as a Habitation." This part treats of " The
Ocean," and is well worth the careful study of all
interested in the deep secrets of nature. "A German of
the Old School" discusses the career of Arndt, almost the
last representative of certain types of German character,
with its homeliness, roughness, prejudice, on the one
hand, its piety, strong domestic affections, loyalty, and
unselfish enthusiasm for freedom and fatherland on the
other. "Arthurian Romance " deals with an attractive
subject, and the " Memorials of Westminster Abbey " are
doubly interesting now we have just consigned the ashes of
one of our foremost men to that stately resting place. "On
Peculiarities of Shakspere's Language" is an article worth
reading, as it deals vigorously with some of the imperti-
nent improvements made by modern commentators. The
story of Anglo-Indian life, "The Old Pagoda Tree," is
continued, and approaches a crisis.
BRADSHAW'S ITINERARY.—The latest production
of Bradshaw's railway publication, viz., the Itine-
rary of Great Britain for Railway and Telegraphic
Conveyance to and from every place containing
a population of not less than 500 inhabitants, will
be found an exceedingly useful book of reference. Such a
publication was greatly required, and the want has been
most effectually supplied, more particularly so because the
references aro easy and understandable. A very excellent
map accompanies the book, which will be found of great
service in all cases of reference.

NEW MUSIC•

-- -.0--

Messrs. Robert Cocks and Co., of New.B urlington-
street, have just published three of Madame Lem-
mens Sherrington's songs, all of which are remark-
able for sweetness of melody. The first is the
" Liquid Gem." It is set in A fiat, the words by J.
Streaks, and the music by W. T. Wrighton ; the
second is " Shylie Bawn," in F, the words by Mrs.
Crawford, and the music by the same composer as
the above ; and the third is " Oh ! ye tears," in C,
the words liy Dr. Mackay, and the music by Franz
Abt. It is impossible to select from the trio the most
graceful of the productions ; so we recommend the
whole, feeling certain they will form a very pleasing
addition to the portfolio of every young lady of taste
and ability.