The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-19 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS•

FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.

TIMES.—Mr. John O'Connell has put the coping-
stone to his previous reputation for judgment and dis-
cretion. It is with a mixture of indignation and a strong
feeling of the ludicrous that we announce to the public
that they must la main in ignorance, of what pasted in
the House of Commcns last night for the space of more
to two hours owing to the intervention of such a per-
son. There is an old' form of the House of Comnrcns
which provides that, if any Member tulle notice that
strangers are present, they most instantly retire, re-
porters and all. Of this form Mr. John O'Connell took

advantage last night. The House of Commons was
actually " tiled in " like a Freemasons' Lodge
for a
couple of hours, by the judicious interference of this
bright ornament of the British Senate. What is to be
done for it when children are trusted a ith knires,
or fools with fire? Cut fingers and a conflagration
are the natural results. The extreme power we
have mentioned was allowed to remain unrevoked,
.simply because there was a general reliance on
the good sense end discretion of the Members
that it would never be called into operation unless
the occasion should justify the step. Suppose Lord
Gorge Gordon to be busy preaching up a riot, the mob
to have actually risen, the prisons to be opened, and the
town in flames—suppose the fleet at the Nore to have
mutinied, a captain or two to have been run up to the
yard-arm, and a suspicion abroad that the infection
might spread to Portsmouth and Plymouth—we can just
imagine, iu such cases, that it might be policy to keep
the actual certainty of what passed in either House of
Parliament from the knowledge of the public for a few
hours. Nothing abort of such an emergency could justify
the act of excluding the reporters from the House, and
consequently depriving the public of the knowledge of its
proceedings. Mr. Jelin O'Connell is of a different opi-
binisC
nion. Unfortunately for the country (since be is aMe m-
her of the House of Commons), and still more unfortu-
,f,,ahsvegiuseenxeterae.melly,hcaolnecaediituedg,
jaonudrareaoltsvaearyd
anpattetloy
calculate for
we ourselves most freely plead guilty to the charge, and
will not encumber our space with two or three columns
per night of the senseless declamation ho is in the habit
of pouring forth. Hence this immortal nastion. Mr.
John O'Connell is endeavouring to starve us into com-
pliance. If we will not report his own tedious orations
we are not to be admitted to the gallery at al. We eve
not. We will stand between the Public and this inflic-
tion. So long as we can lay our hands on any marvel-
lous American anecdote=; any accounts of wonderful
Scotch salmon; any reports of the proceedings of turn-
pike meetings in Wales, or of Protection gatherings in
Essex; while a single fanatic raves on lie nningtons
common, or a single German professor perorates in the
Assembly at Frankfort, we are sure of being able to lay
before the public more entertaining and useful matter
than will ever issue from the lips of Mr. John O'Con-
nell. It is for the country to decide whether it is content
to remain in ignorance of the proceedings of its re-
presentatives, when such a person as Mr. John O'Con-
nell is the only obstacle that "stops the way,.
Mr. John O'Connell is an exeggeration and ca-
ricature of the national defects of his countrymen.
We find him ever in extremes. He is all for what he
would call " sthopping the supploys " or " exeluthin
sthrangers " upon the slightest provocation. Ile has
bat one weapon, and that one a shillelah, which he
handles on all occasions like a ten-tumbler man at Don-
ne brook Fair in the palmy days of that Irish festival.
What could be his meaning in excluding strangers last
night? We have a strong suspicion that he must him-
self have been on his legs for a considerable portion of
the time. Nothing came to the ears of the reporters out-
side but a concert of groans and hisses. Is it very unna-
tural to infer that Mr. John O'Connell was prominently
before the House ? We do not absolutely say he was
speaking, for of course the proceedings were all snug and
under the rose. For aught we know, he may have been
dancing a
,jig on the floor of the House after the fashion
of the Mulligan of Ballymullig,an. The hisses heard out-
side might have been the expression of the value Hon.
gentlemen set upon Mr. John O'Connell's performance.
He might again have been entertaining the House with
the song of the "Roaring Beggar, or the "Shan Van
Voght." The tokens of feeling heard outside would not
from their nature exclude such an hypothesis. He might
have been enumerating the great pecuniary sacrifices
the O'Connell family had made for the benefit of the
poor Irish. We are left, in a word, to fleat upon a sea
of conjscture, and cm only catch at one probability,
which is, that Mr. John O'Connell was in some way be-
fore the House. The groaning and hissing would seem
to point out thus much—but we must leave the matter to
the judgment of the public.
Now, this sortdy shout be of thing is
we
y, very well for once in a w, but a remedy
provided. Where there is a madman in a family'
com-
mon discretion seems to indicate the propriety
are u o i
which f lse
i ue p
ing razors out or his reach. Cass e
te h
e
sto sit in secret it
might be advisable for the I
con-
clave, but strangers should never be excluded unless by
t
order of the msjority of the House, the very least,
or a
not without the concurrent request oc a considerable
number of Members. This would retain for the House
what might on occasion prove a privilege useful for the
public seevice, and at the same time protect us from the
The mad sallies of an individual Member. notion of the
House of Commons sitting with closed doors to discuss
the affairs of the nation and legislate for the people, is
too absurd to be dwelt on for a moment. This form of
exclusion belonged to other ideas and other times. The
sooner it is abrogated the beter, now we know there is a
man in the House of Commons capable of enforcirg it
without some strong public necessity. Mr. John
O'Connell might happen to be taken with one
of these insane freaks e hen some matter was
under discussion upon which the public felt a very
strong and a very legitimate curiosity. It is im-
possible to say what may not follow from trusting power
in such improper hands. The adoption of the sugges-
tion we have offered above would very sufficiently guard
the public from the recurrence of this nuisance. Mean-
while, we beg most distinctly and directly to contradict
the assertion upon which Mr. John O'Connell based the
announcement of his intention to exclude strangers from
the gallery. There was no misreport in the Times of
what occurred during the last discussion upon the Oaths
Bill. The assertion is but the hallucination of a brain
overheated with disappointment and vanity. As usual,
all the important points and important arguments of the
debate were given, and every speaker whose words carry
weight with them out of doors, or who spoke to the pur-
pose, was reported at length. When even upon this system
the Parliamentary debates run to the length which they
actually do, the public may judge of what would
happen if we daguerreotyped—if we may be permitted
the expression—the very words which issued from the
mouths of the Parliamentary speakers. Were we to
adopt such a course, a double Times might be filled five,
or at least four times a week during the sitting of Par-
liament with the endless circumvolutions of speech and
oft-repeated phrases which Honourable Gentlemen are
in the habit of indulging the House. Meanwhile, let it
go abroad that such an individual as Mr. John O'Con-
nell, from private and personal pique, and because he
finds the London journals, in place of reporting him at
length, give only the substance of his orations, has
grossly and wantonly abused a privilege intrusted to
Members for eminent public emergencies. If he would
think prudently, act discreetly, and speak briefly and to
the point, he would be far more likely to attain his end
than by pursuing his present course. We are not in a
conspiracy to put down either honesty or talent.
CHRONICLE.—We have already disclaimed, with
perfect sincerity, the wish to Lear too hardly upon the
frailties of Mr. Hudson. Those who reflect on his con-
duct with unmerciful severity should beware of that re-
action of feeling which often converts the bitterly-abused
delinquent into the martyr. Some evidences of this
sympathy were manifested on Thursday night, when a
sort of explanation of the charges against him, volun-
teered by Mr. Iludson in his place in Parliament, was
received with tolerant indulgence by the House. The
candour of some and the consciences of others emuhset
have told those who listened to the apologies
ifor t
not
great Railway Autocrat, that his conduct,
morally defensible, was at least not devoid of extenu-
ating circumstances." The vastness, the novelty, and
the avowedly speculative character of the enterprise
in which he had been engaged ; the wide and
undefined scope of the powers thrust upon
rather than solited by, the great favourite of fortune: the
implied commission to him to use his own free judgment.,
untrammelled by scrutiny or control; and the virtual
sanction °lbis financial obliquities, by the acceptance of
dividends which credulity itself could scarcely believe
fairly earned;—these are the considerations which, as
between Mr. Hudson and his Eastern Counties consti-
tuents, ought not to be excluded in an impartial esti-
mate of his conduct. Moreover, if the assertion be true,
as may fairly be assumed in the absence of proof to the
contrary, that Mr. Hudson did not avail himself of his
position at the hoard to put money into his own pocket
by the operations in the shares—if ho is in the same
boat with the rest of the proprietary, and has lost a large
private stake in the reckless game that he played
with his own property as well as theirs—it must be
owned that the case against him is relieved of what
would otherwise have been its heaviest aggravation.
With regard to another allegation under which he at-
tempts to shelter himself—viz., that other chairmen and
directors have done the like, and that deceptive dividends
have not been confined to the companies over which be
has presided—the plea is not, indeed, of much moral
weight, even although the fact be true; but valeat quan-
tum, Mr. Hudson may be allowed to take the benefit of
it. The above are some of the grounds on which we
think the late Chairman of the Eastern Counties Com-
pany may claim a qualification of some at least of those
merciless censures which have been fulminated against
him as regards this particular railway. The share-
holders who pressed him into the chair in 1845, and
who asked no questions when he inaugurated his reign
by trebling their dividend, are not entitled to cast a
stone at him. If they wilfully shut their own eyes, they
have no right to blame him because he has led them into
the ditch.

HERALD.—`ye have never been among the servile
idolators Of Mr. Hudson, nor yet among his furious as-
sailants. We have never doubted that in 1843 he was
absurdly overvalued; nor have we failed to see, that, in
1849, he is just as absurdly depreciated. The simple
truth is, that Mr. Hudson is an energetic, hard-headed
Yorkshirernan, with, we believe, an average share of
honesty and common sense, but scarcely able to bear up
against the crowd of temptations which must have beset
nun in the year of railroad excitement. We have felt
no obligation to interfere betwten him and the public,
in the various discussions which have been lately carried
on. There could be no question, that in the excessive
hurry of the railroad y ear, Mr. Hudson had been involved
in various transactions which would scarcely bear a close
investigation. But then, on the other hand, it was
very clear, that many of the men who are now bait-
ing him with accusations, were just the very persons
who, in 1615, were foremost in protsing upon him the
moat absolute and plenary power. We had no inclina-
tion to interfere in this matter until we read the very
unjust attack which appeared in yesterday's Times. The
well-known system of that paper, is to go with the

public', and, if possible, to appear to take the lead. And
I accordingly, although quiet enough in former years,
now that Mr. Hudson has been " found out," the Times
rushes forward to prove with all possible zeal, that he is
little better than a common swindler. It is scarcely
possible to htlieve that the Times was not aware of the
emptiness of its own accusations. Let us quote a pas-
sage or two:—
"Even on points of comparative insignificance there
are unnecessary contradictions. He says in one place
that he had no shares in the Eastern Counties Railway,
arid no interest in it whatever, before he took the office
of chairman. He afterwards says that he has neither
bought nor sold, that he is a sufferer to a large account,
and that he holds the came stock that he did when he
first joined the company. A discrepancy so great and
so obvious can only be ascribed to a slovenly habit of
memory or expression."
This " discrepancy," which the Times calls " so great
and so obvious," is no discrepancy at all. Mr. Hudson
says, and doubtless says truly, that he had no interest
in the E:nr tern Counties Railway until the s.hareholders
requested him, and he consented to assume the office of
chairman. He also seys that he holds now the same
st; ck which he did when he first joined the company.
Now, there is no discrepancy here. Mr. Hudson,
we understand him to say, occupied with his
Northern railways, did not interfere with the
Eastern Counties Railway at all, until a great majority
of the shareholders requested him. He acceded to their
request, and in order to do so, bought a number of their
sh
lostierre.s,
swuhc he now h
eihhis his statement,
ateomldes a
n,
t,cd asbny.evs hick he
dcerst is a
and
it,g greet
we find in it no discrepancy whatever. Again the Times

says:—
"Ile justifies his sudden advance of the dividend from
3s. cri the half-;car before he took the direction to 9s.
on the half-y( ar during which he took it, by the fact,
as he states it, that the gross income of the bitter half-
year showed an improvement of near 60,0001. But at
the time the dividend was fix(d that improvement had
not yet been ascertained, inasmuch as the half-year was
not ( nded."

This is a second fallacy. For as the weekly re-
turns are published in all the newspapers, it is easy
for any roan, and still more easy fur a director,
to ascertain what rate of increase is going on, and
what may probably be afforded as a dividend: and this
even before the half year has closed. Mr. Hudson,
therefore, might easily be able to say, " The increase
for the half year is 60,0001.," even before the last week
was ascertained. The Tin:es in the', as in its other
charges, goes clearly beyond the truth. On the whole,
our opinion is that Mr. Hudson, ririiculously overrated
four tears since, is quite as absurdly underrated and
assailed now. More was expected from him than mortal
man could perform, and he has failed in 1 ertorming it.
nostrumsdefence
But the real truth is, that the nostrums of 1846 have
le as the
of 1845
and trade,
having no de
to offer on their own part, are very happy to be able to
failed: now quitethe a
advocatess disgracefully
divert the public attention by attacking Mr. Hudson.
I'OST. We were not among those who grovelled
before the prosperity and golden opinions, which once
surrounded Mr. Hudson, the Railway king ; neither
shall we be among those who seek to trample upon him,
now that the tide of fortune has turned against him.
We have been disgusted to observe the comments which,
out of individual jealouey or party spite, have been made
upon his speech in the House of Commons on Thurs-
day evening. The impression made upon the House—
not Upon one paity in it, but upon the House generally,
regarding Mr. Hudson was most favourable. Nut that
Mr. Hudson has exonerated himself from blame—not
that it can be disputed that, under cover of his name,
a certain aspect was given to the concerns of the
Eastern. Counties Company which the facts of the case
did not warrant, but he showed that no peculiar delin-
quency attached to him—that he had made no private
profit of his connexion with the company, and what
Has clone was the act of the dir;ctien, and not his
individual act. That the conduct of Mr. Hudson has
been regarded with a certain animus—with a bitterness
of hostility arising from something else than merely the
mismanagement of railway affairs, appears in this—
other managers who have done as he has done in the
Eastern Counties concern have not only not been pur-
sued with obloquy, but they have been thanked and ap-
plauded ! One of our contemporaries took notice the
other day that a member of the investigating committee
which so strongly blamed Mr. Hudson is vice-chairman
of another company which has charged to capital the
very same items which the Eastern Counties are so
blamed for having charged to capital. And but the day
before yesterday a meeting was held of a company
which an investigating committee accused of having,
like the Eastern Counties company, placed
heavy charges to the capital account which ought to
have gone against the revenue account. Instead of
censurieg the chairman and hooting him from his seat
this company, more careful of their property, approved
of what had been done! This is the mercantile justice
of London. One man shall be the mark of obloquy
and another of applause, both of whose modes of con-
ducting business are the same! The Times, in its eager-
ness to find fault with Mr. Hudson, stumbles into
downright stupidity. It states, regarding Mr. Hudson's
speech, that—
" He seys, in one place, that he had no shares in the
Eastern Counties Railway, and no interest in it what-
ever, before he took the office of chairman. lle after-
wards says that he has neither bought nor sold, that he
is a sufferer to a large amount, and that he holds the
same stock he did when he first joked the company. A
discrepancy so great and so obvious can only be ascribed
to a slovenly habit of memory or expression."
There is no discrepancy at all. The slovenliness and
pineaatre7enfrioiomn
mace. ounutdhseo
np,sa rs ttaotfemtehnet ctohmatmheenht
ea
ltdo rn. o
slhtaarpes-
mp raenvi o. He tt
ho
ehni sb
bought
ou oh et2:sitoone
k, with
yr
ht hie% c o
itin pwaansy
naesc
essary
for him to do as a qualification—he paid for it a higher
rate than the stock has ever been at since, and what he
then bought lie still holds. That is his statement, which
he says the registers of the company will confirm, and he
adduces this as proof that he has not trafficked in
the stock of the company, and that from the trans-
actions of the company he has made no private
profit. So far as we know of these matters we think it im-
possible to deny that the Eastern Counties Railway and
other railways have been managed with a combination
of looseness and baldness which deserves grave censure,
and which has produced great calamity to a very large
portion of the public that had confidence not only in the
integrity but in the accuracy of management of those at
the head of railway concerns, But the fault we:conceive
to have been general, if not universal, and the singling
out of Mr. Hudson as the one great victim to suffer odium
for the faults of this most faulty system, is an instance
of that sort of gross injustice which the public is some-
times led into by a general feeling of vexation and dis-
appointment.

THE JOB AND POST-MASTERS, &c•

PROVIDENT FUND.

The sixth anniversary of this institution was celebrated
last evening, at the London Tavern, when about 260
gentlemen sat down to a most excellent and sumptuous
entertainment, provided by Messrs. Bathe and Breach,
the renowned caterers at that establishment.
Lord MARCH, M.P., in the absence of his Noble
Father, the Duke of Richmond, who was prevented
attending from indisposition, presided; and he was sup-
ported by the Hon. P. S. Picrpoint, the founder of the
institution, Captain Somerset, the Hon. Mr. Grimstone,
Count Bath) any, Mr. Higgins, G. J. G. Murdoch, E3q.;
Brice Pearse, Esq.; F. Salmon, Esq.
The " Health of the Queen," and the other loyal and
patriotic toasts, were received with much applause.
The CHAIRMAN proposed the toast of the evening—
" Prosperity to the Fund," and expressed his un-
feigned satisfaction at having had the honour
of presiding over such a numerous and influential
assemblage. He regretted that the Duke of
Richmond was not present to take the chair, who
was prevented attending owing to a severe attack of rheu-
matism, which rendered him unable to leave his bed.
They all knew that he was not in the habit of bolting
or running away from his engagements —(Laughter)—
and he could assure them that nothing but severe indis-
position would have kept him away.—(Hear, hear.)
Ile had the interest of the society very much at heart,
and would on any occasion, he was sure, do all in his
power to promote its welfare.—(Loud cheers.) Ho
(Lord March) had great pleasure in observing that the
Rinds were in a prosperous state ; the money invested
was upwards of 8,0001., and the number of members was
increasing. The society was rapidly progressing in po-
pularity, and had only to be more known to be more ap-
preciated. Ha believed its object was intrinsically good,
and that it would receive the support which it justly
merited.—(Cheers.)
The toast was drank with great applause.
The Honourable Mr. PIERREPOINT proposed the
health of the Chairman. He was confident no one in
the room had heard of the Duke of Richmond's illness
without the most deep and sincere regret—(Hear, hear)
—and
•if anything could tend to diminish that regret,
it was the able and amiable way in which his son had
filled his place.—(Cheers.)
It was drunk with three times three, and great ape
plause.
The CHAIRMAN briefly returned thanks, stating that
he should on all occasions be ready to co-operate in pro-
moting the welfare of the society. One of the oldest
friends he possessed was Mr. Tattersall, the treasurer,
and he had the pleasure of being acquainted with one of
the most magnificent and most liberal benefactors which
any society could almost have at the head of it—he
meant the lion. Mr. Pierrepoiat.—(Cheers.) Neither
of those gentlemen he was satisfi,cl would take such an
active part in the society unless they were fully satisfied
of its benevolence and its usefulness.—(Cheers.)
" The Health of Mr. Pierrepoint, the Vice-Presidents,
and Patrons of the Institution ;" " Mr. Tattersall, the
Treasurer, and the other Directors and Officers," toge-
ther with' The Stewards," were then drunk with much
enthusiasm, thanks being returned by each of the gen-
tlemen so honoured.
The lion. Mr. PIERREPOINT proposed the health of
the young Earl of Strathmore, the chairman elect. lie
was of high rank and unblemished character, and was
of a sporting propensity, which was no small feature in
his merits.—(Cheery.) lie was but young on the turf,
but most sincerely did he hope that it would be full
half a century before he was placed under tho turf.
The toast was drunk with much applause, as was also
the health of the ladies.
The secretary announced that the subscriptions of the
evening mounted to 400/., including twenty guineas
from Mr. Vernon.
Several excellent conga, ballade, and glees were sung
by Messrs. Hobbs, Francis, Young, and Frank Bodda.
Mr. Harker ably officiated in his capacity of toast-
master.

COMMUN.—The Duchess of Sutherland, Duke
and Duchess of Argyll, Lady Mary Howard, Sir Thomas
Howard, Countess of Carlile, Lord and Lndy Blantyre,
Duke and Duchess of Montrose and family, Earl of
Morley and party, Sir Andrew Corbet, Bart., and party,
Tisited the cyclorgulli va Tti•pday