The Sun.
London, England, 1838-05-08 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

The cause of Lord Londonderry's eagerness to obtain a
banquet for the citizens of London is now so well under-
stood, that even the Peers laid aside their gravity aeal
burst into loud laughter when he announced " that he had
a question to put to the Noble Viscount Connected with
the Coronation." 'However, it was net this time an eating
and drinking affair that inspired his Lordship, but a wish
to give Lord Melbourne an opportunity of stating that
Ministers had not mixed up the name of our most gracious
Sovereign with the intrigues of the French Court, by inti-
mating on her part a wish that the appointment of the in-
dividual appointed to represent the French Government at
the Coronation should be annulled, and an illustrious Mar-
shall substituted in his place. This great matter heaving
been cleared up satisfactorily, the affair so minis at heart
with his Lordship was not taken up. But, he will make
another effort for the citizena, or we are much mistaken.
There appears to be a good deal of soreness about the re-
ductions in the Yeomanry, and, as Lord Melbourne inti-
mated last night, the friends of Ministers are by no means
disposed to allow that any partiality has been shown to them.
The observations made by Lord John Russell in the
House of Commons were commented on last night with
considerable asperity, and some of the Peers even gave to
his expressions a meaning which they did not bear, Lord
Wharncliffe, for instance, observed, " that it did not be-
come the Secretary of State to have declared that the yeo-
manry could not be in the least used for the putting down
disturbances." Lord John Russell said nothing like that.
In fact, the Duke of Wellington expressed himself on the
subject of the yeomanry last night, in terms not materially
different from those used by his Lordship. "In certain
eases," said his Grace, " what he should be most anxious
for was to put down the disturbance at all events, but to
put it down with the least possible loss of life. The best
thing of all seas to prevent disturbances ; and that, in his
opinion, was an effect which could best be produced by the
ycomeairy. Wherever there were troops of yeomanry there
would be no disturbanee, and that was the best thing they
Could have. If disturbance broke out and required to
be put au end to, then he should earnestly recommend
troops to be called out, and that species of troops that
would occasion the least loss of life." The truth is that
the Duke himself reduced the yeomanry to 8,000, while
the present Government propose to keep up the force at
14,000. Lord John Russell admitted in the discussion on
the 27th of April that the yeomanry had shown great ability
as 'well as temper when called upon to act in a military
capacity in case of riots or disturbances, and that they had
been very useful in preventing persons from doing so who felt
disposed to create riots. But then he added, " that it was
almost unavoidable when dissensions arose between one class
of the population and another class, which, which gave rise
to riots and disturbances, and when this force was supposed
to be connected with one of the parties, that it should not
create more animosity than the regular army would do in
putting down local riots ;" and be instanced the case of the
yeomanry called on at the riots at the late election for Bir-
mingham, the colonel commanding the force having remon-
strated with the magistrates for calling the yeomanry troops
of the immediate neighbourhood into the town, instead of a
corps from a greater distance, and not so immediately con-
nected with the place. When soldiers are called out to
put down riots the people know that the soldiers have no
resersiments to gratify, that they merely act in the execu-
tion of orders, and if lives are lost they submit to the cala-
mity as inevitable. At all events the soldiers can be re-
moved to a distance should any bad feeling be engendered
by the collision. But will any one suppose that the sons
or brothers of a man who has been shot by a yeoman who
is known will not entertain vindictive feelings towards him ;
and, supposing that the yeoman himself is unconcerned,
will his wife, his sisters, or daughters, feel no uneasiness on
knowing that he is a marked man'? The knowledge that there
are yeomanry who can, be called out, may no doubt
prevent riots ; but at the same time it must always be ad-
visable to recur tom,, this force only when another is not at
hand. It is such easier to create feuds in a district than
to terminate them ; and we remember hearing the late
Lord Londonderry observe, on the occasion of the attempts
on thtli Protestants of Nismes, that so difficult was it to
put. tin end to feuds, that in the very pattern county of Ire-
land, the county of Down, all the best men of all parties
had long exerted themselves to no purpose in endeavours
to get the better of the feuds which distracted it. It was
justly observed by the Marquis of Lansdowne that " there
were occasions in which persons, being known to each
other, might give to a conflict between them the worst
characteristics which any combat could have—that, it might
impose upon it the worst appearance any species of war
could have--.that of a civil war." The Duke of Wel-
lington was only following up his celebrated declaration as
to the miseries of civil war when he drew the distinction
last. -night between the use of the yeomanry in preventing
riots, and the expediency of having recourse to any force
rather than yeomanry for quelling riots. The distinction
is of use in fixing the strength of such a description of
force which ought to be kept op.—Morning Chronicle.
The factory question is now again before Parliament,
the Government being no longer able to deny that the
existing Act, which they substituted for Lord Ashley's
Bill, is a failure. There are provisions, however, in that
Act which we hope will not be lost sight of ; we refer to
the eight-hour clause for children under 13, and to the
clause which assigns to this class of children two hours of
daily education. The new Bill which the Government
have now brought forward does not contain this clause re-
specting education, notwithstanding the stress originally
laid upon it. On Friday evening, however, Lord John
Russell declared his intention of preserving the education
clause as it stands in the Act of 1833, abandoning of his
own accord the new tests which had been provided in the
present Bill to accommodate the mill-owners—viz.,
tests of reading, and of reading well, connected with
the farce of one of her Majesty's principal Secre-
taries of State publishing, from time to time, "an
easy book" for the use of children in factories.
Though anxious, for many obvious reasons, and es-
pecially on account of the principle it involves, to retain
the eight-hour clause, we are quite aware that it has hitherto
been so extensively evaded, that few children compara-
tively have found protection under it—in Glasgow and
Dundee not one in 30 of those under 18 years of age ; and
this, though two-thirds of those employed in the mills of
Scotland are femalee. This state of things is owing in no
inconsiderable degree to the inspectors themselees putting
an interpretation upon the certificate clause, provided by
the Act for the older children, which, in the opinion of Sir
William Follett, it will not bear, and to which miscon-
struction the attention of the inspectors has been directed
again and again. The experience of the last fine years
has shown that the only effectual protection that can be
devised for the younger children, must be looked for in
the restriction of all ages, from thirteen up to eighteen or
twenty-one, to ten hours' daily labour. This restriction
is absolutely necessary—not only because there will
always be a tendency to push forward the younger chil-
dren to the longer period, but it is due to those between
13 and 21 on their own account. Dr. Bisset Hawkins,
when sent down into the manufacturing districts as a me-
dical Commissioner, declared in the most unqualified terms
his conviction that the labour in the factories should be
limited to ten hours a-day ; and he added, that ho felt less
hesitation in avowing that such was his opinion, because he
was supported by a great majority of all the medical men
in Lancashire, The undue mortality of the manufacturing
districts is daily becoming more apparent. Attempts have
been made to explain it away, and to mystify the question ;
but all such attempts have failed. The facts, as drawn
from public and authentic documents, are too stubborn to
be got rid of. We hear that the comparative tables of
mortality which accompanied the Report of Mr. Sadler's
Committee have lately been submitted to an actuary of the
highest eminence, and that, after weighing the arguments
brought forward by Mr, Drinkwater and others, he con-
siders the tables bear out the conclusion (and that there is
no escape from it) that about as many are dying under °O
years of age in our principal manufacturing towns as under
40 elsewhere. The question, therefore, of the reasonable
duration of factory labour may be postponed for a time,
but it will eventually force itself uMa the attention of the
Legislature.—Times.
A new agricultural `,sCociely is about to be formed, which
we think bids faLr to be of
gereat importance and great
benefit to
country. We refer to our advertising columns
for t,e names of the noblemen and gentlemen concerned
1.14 this undertaking, who are to meet at the Freemasons'
Tavern on Wednesday, to consider of the regulations by
which the Society shall be governed. When we say that
the list of names comprises those of the Duke of Welling-
ton and of Earl Fitzwilliam—of Sir Robert Peel and Earl
Spencer—of Sir James Graham and Mr. Handley, we
need not add that this Society can have no distinctive poli-
tical character. We believe, however, that it is likely to
be very useful to the landed interest, and we, therefore,
most heartily wish it success. Earl Spencer is understood
to take a very particular interest in it, and whatever fault
we may have to find with his Lordship, on account of our
difference from him in political views, there can be but one
opinion as to his he- --t aea'