The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-14 00:00:00

its condition is not really so sound as has been
stated ; and as for the general condition of " pau-
perism," Mr. DISRAELI might well animadvert upon
it, and say that it was a subject of anxiety, if not of
apprehension. Mr. GLADSTONE'S financial achieve-
ments are discussed at some length here, and Mr.
DISRAELI, in alluding to the repeal of the paper
duty, said it was looked upon as a great " financia
feat." The right hon. gentleman declared that he
had been opposed to all excise duties from his earliest
years long before he knew Mr. GLADSTONE ; there-
fore he justly claims some share of the credit and
reminds his hearers that it is impossible for the
Liberals to say that the Conservatives would never
have bestowed such a benefit upon the country,
when the Minister who repealed the duty gave as a
reason that " his predecessor had pledged the house
of Commons." In reference to the tea duties, also,
Mr. DISRAELI said that, in 1852, he was the first
who attempted to grapple with the tea duties.
Then, as to the income-tax, the right hon. gentle-
man with truth declared that he left the income-
tax at the lowest rate at which it ever stood.
Therefore it is indeed absurd to say that the two
great features of the Budget of the present year,
which have gained it applause and imparted to it suc-
cess, are entirely due to the judgment and skill of the
Liberal party. There is doubtless plentyto which the
present Chancellor of the Exchequer may deservedly
claim credit, but it is not consistent that his sup-
porters should monopolise everything and not render
themselves ridiculous by falsifying facts, and alter-
ing things to suit their plans and purposes. Re-
specting the Union Chargeability Bill, Mr. DISRAELI
said that he had always been opposed to the law of
settlement, though Mr. VILLIERS'S bill should have
been arranged in a less arbitrary fashion.
A Conservative foreign policy the right hon
gentleman declares to be " one that believes that
the tranquillity of the world is tl 3 interest of Eng-
land, that peace is the normal state of man, and
that in the tranquillity of the world the best objects
of English ambition may be legitimately attained."
So far this illustration accords with the general
sentiments of the community, and accords well with
the conclusion arrived at by philosophers, patriots,
and statesmen. Mr. DISRAELI showed that while
the present Ministry took such immense credit to
themselves for the preservation of peace they had en-
deavoured in three quarters to stir up a general war.
It may be fairly admitted that the right hon. gen-
tleman, in his long and comprehensive address, suc-
ceeded in the objects which he set before himself at
its commencement ; he vindicated his own party
from the unjust, superficial, and unfounded imputa-
tions which were made against them. This he con-
sidered, however, as secondary to his desire to draw
the minds of his hearers from transient and momentary
politics to the vital principles which are now at stake,
and upon the settlement of which so much depends.
" I address you," he observed, " in the spirit which
becomes a public man who is not a slave to party,"
and certainly that is the only manner in which to
impress and influence. Mr. DISRAELI is one of
those men who belong of necessity to the House of
Commons ; his place is there, and his voice must
be heard in all that concerns the vital interests of
the community. Many will differ from him in
much that he has said in this discourse, but those
who are impartial will admit that he has spoken out
in a straightforward manner, and not given way to
those irritative expressions respecting political
opponents that some persons similarly situ-
ated are prone to indulge in. lle has
taken a higher view of public affairs than to regard
them merely in the light of party schemes of aggran-
disement, and thus his speech may serve as an
excellent summary of events when the momentary
excitement of the present elections is over. It is
earnest in its eloquence, and brilliant in its descrip-
tions of the chief events that have occurred since
the last time he met the electors of Buckingham.

It is amusing to notice, amid the excitement of
an election, which is being fought with unusual
eagerness, and contested inch by inch with a reso-
lution not witnessed for many years, how very
similar are the • professions put forward on either
side. The moderation which has vanished from
the hustings has taken refuge in the addresses, which
are indited after the fashion of a royal speech, which,
while it conveys the most minute information re-
specting remote localities and insignificant measures,
skims lightly over the state of European politics
and the imminent conflicts of parties at home.
If the names of the leaders are not men-
tioned a casual reader of one of the ad-
dresses or the speeches might very easily be
puzzled as to which party the writer or speaker be-
longed to. A writer in the current number of the
Quarterly remarks that we are much nearer the era
of universal concord than any one had imagined.
The people of England in these happier days are
all of one mind ; they are all for " a well-consi-
dered measure of reform," and are all " opposed to
any revolutionary change ;" every one is in favour
of a policy of non-intervention, and most people are
attached members of the Established Church.
There is no difference of opinion either as to the
expediency of retrenchment or as to the necessity
of extending it only, "so far as not to interfere with
the efficiency of the public service." If it were not
for the malt tax there would hardly be a single dis-
cord to disturb this all-pervading harmony."
This surprising concord is, in fact, due to the
progress of Liberal opinions throughout the coun-
try. Our Conservative contemporary, the Quar-
terly, does not indeed draw any such inference, but
it is patent to any careful and unprejudiced ob-
server. With very few exceptions no candidate is
bold enough to set his face against all Reform,
while the vexed question of Free Trade is alto-
gether settled. On Church questions there is,
indeed, some difference of opinion, but the religious
intolerance of old has passed away, never, it may be
hoped, to return. The divisions on the Reform
question are now a difference of degree.
The Ballot, unfortunately, has more foes than
friends on both sides. The duration of Parliaments
is a matter seldom brought forward, and of little
vital importance ; while all agree that the present
system of representation is partial and unfair, only
the one wishes to extend it in breadth and the other
in depth. The Quarterly approves of Mr. DISRAELI'S
" fancy franchises," but foresees national misfor-
tunes from the adoption of the £6 standard. Mr.
BRIGHT declaims upon the injustice of excluding so
large a body of intelligent citizens as that measure
would admit, but wishes to exclude the very nume-
rous and still more educated class who inhabit part
of a house. The hon. member for Birmingham,
although professedly the friend of the working
classes, and therefore, by inference, the friend of
frugality and providence, also took exception to
Lord STANLEY'S suggestion of a savings' bank
franchise. But, while every one has some scheme
of his own which is to save the country, while his
neighbour's is infallibly to, bring it to national ruin,
there is at least a singular unanimity in the admis-
sion that some measure for the extension of the
franchise is imperatively called for. " There can be
no doubt," says the writer in the Quarterly, " that
the general feeling of the country is strongly Conser-
vative," and so far as Conservatism is opposed to the
despotic and democratic systems of France and
America, this is true. Nothing is fuither from the ,