The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-03 00:00:00

TILE SUN, LONDON, TITURSDIY

been of long duration, and the struggle most severe ;
I and no wonder, for against no contemptible foes was
the little band of zealous philanthropists opposed; it
had to contend vi ct arnzis a ith men animated, many
of them, at least, by one of the strongest of instincts
—selfishness, and possessed of one of the most for-
midable of weapons—money. The powerful stimulus of
self-interest, and the potent adjuncts of wealth and
influence were with the enemy ; hence their opposition
was effectual and frequently successful. But the ad-
vocates of the benevolent measure had one powerful,
nay all powerful, stronghold—the inherent virtue of
their cause ; hence, though long delayed, their
triumph was assured. And that triumph is now not
only assured, but its good fruits must ere long be ap-
parent. It gives rise to somewhat painful reflections
if we look back thirty, or say even fifteen years, and
picture to ourselves the career of those for whom this
measure was originally intended—namely, the
" women and young persons" at that time toiling in
the factories. It is hardly possible to estimate how
differently these fifteen years might have passed if the
protective law had been in operation. How much would
not only their labour have been diminished, but their
troubles mitigated : how much would their frames
have been strengthened by needful repose, their
minds improved by necessary instruction, their
hearts softened by domestic comforts ! It is certainly
painful to think of the many hours of needful rest
and pleasant recreations, and useful instruction and
domestic happiness, of which thousands have been
deprived by this long protracted triumph. But we
will not sadden our rejoicings by such gloomy re-
trcspections ; let us rather be thankful that the boon
is at length obtained. Ten hours is hence-
forward the maximum for female and juvenile
diurnal labour. This really Utopian scheme
is, therefore, realised, for in this place Utopian is not
synonymous with chimerical. Lord CAMPBELL, in
his " Lives of the Chancellors," speaking of Sir
THOMAS MORE'S " History of Utopia," observes that
it contains almost a precedent for the Ten Hours'
Bill. The daily labour of the Utopians was re-
stricted to a certain number of hours, and the author
of their imaginary laws especially observes that they
were not required to work incessantly from early
morning till late at night, like beasts of burden,
nanz ea plus quam servilis terumna est. We have little
need, indeed, to beast of our enlightenment and
rapid civilisation when we have so tardily
adopted a resolution already approved of by the wis-
dom of a philanthropist three hundred years ago!
But, as we have adopted it, we will not now find fault
with delays which, thank Heaven, are at length all
over. Neither need we again enter into the merits
of the so-often-canvassed question ; all further discus-
sion is needless. Thank Heaven, the Factory Bill is
passed ! Heartily and earnestly do we utter the
thanksgiving, and we doubt not but it will
meet with an almost universal response, a
response not of the lip, but of the heart.
In the crowded precincts of the factories, in "the
homes of those whose lot it is to labour," thousands
will join, unconsciously perhaps, in the earnest
thanksgiving. It will not be heard in the studied
oration, but in the smiling, or perhaps tearful, joy of
the mother returning home at the unaccustomed
hour; in the quiet satisfaction of the husband, as he
no longer loiters to consume perhaps her earnings at
the public-house ; in the noisy mirth of the young
children on the arrival of their parents and compa-
nions ; in the variously expressed delight of the young
operatives themselves, gladly returning from the
wearisome employment—in all the various expressions
of a varyingly felt satisfaction will be uttered, as by an
universal voice, the grateful aspiration—Thank
Heaven, the Factory Bill has passed !
On this happy consummation of our common
desires earnestly do we congratulate, in the first place,
those most immediately concerned, namely, the
whole body of the manufacturing people, upon the
long anticipated boon they have at length obtained.
We congratulate them all, from the women and young
persons, who will individually obtain a respite for
their labour, to the whole families, whose happiness will
be thus agreeably augmented—from those nearly
reaching the term of `their existence, who wiil thus
have two hours of joy added to each day of their
.lives, even to the unborn children, whose infancy
and childhood will now be solaced by so many
moments of maternal care which otherwise would have
been almost unknown to them—we congratulate
them all. And also because this, like all philanthropic
measures, is twice blessed—it blesses those who give
and those who take. And also let us congratulate
those to whose instrumentality this happy result is
attributable. We are not so much disposed to thank
them for labours which must have brought their suf-
ficient reward, as to congratulate them on that reward,
namely, the satisfaction of success. And we do con-
gratulate them all, from him, " the labourer in the
eleventh hour," as Lord ELLESMERE modestly
chose to style himself, to him whose name
is inseparably interwoven with the passing of the
Ten Hours' all. His satisfaction must be complete;
indeed we doubt whether the most anxious among
the operatives themselves can experience on this occa-
sion so sincere a pleasure, as must Lord ASHLEY on
the triumph of a cause for which he has done so
much. Session after session, and year after year, has
it had his earnest and unswerving support. He has
advocated it with his ardent eloquence ; he has la-
boured for it w ith unceasing patience ; he has strug-
gled for it with indomitable perseverance. He has
strenuously upheld it in long seasons of apparent
hopelessness, against vigorous, and even succcessful
opposition ; in good report and evil report ; in defeat,
in difficulty, and in doubt—no, not in doubt, for his
confidence never wavered. He felt as assured of vic-
tory as he was of the justice of his cause. Even at
that most trying time when, after three successful divi-
sions, fortune seemed to have utterly abandoned him,
and a majority of no less than 138 was prepared to enforce
the Ministerial opposition—even in that seemingly
hopeless hour Lord ASHLEY gallantly and resolutely
declared his unconquerable conviction that " the ob-
ject for which he was contending must eventually
triumph, and that he had lit such a candle in England
as could never be put out !" Rhetoricians may
have objected to the homeliness of that metaphor,
but, for ourselves, far from objecting, we rather re-
juice in that very homeliness, because we believe it to
be on that very account more admirably caculated,
as, perhaps, the noble speaker intended it, to fix the
attention and remain in the memories of those
whom it most concerned. Disappointed by the re-
jection of their long-cherished claims, the defeated
operatives were no doubt, in part consoled by the
cheering prophecy of their friend and champion;
and gloriously has that prophecy been realised. The
little unextinguishable candle may now kindle
a bonfire of rejoicing ! Once again, then, do
we most heartily congratulate Lord ASHLEY
on the triumphant result of his long-enduring per-
severance. In a few days, probably, the royal assent
will complete the legality of the Bill ; and on few
occasions could the regal prerogative be more grace-
fully
exercised, on few occasions the arbitrary Je le
veux fall more appropriately from a woman's lips,
than when it will thus sanction a measure so ardently
desired by so large a portion of the community—a
measure so especially affecting the domestic happi-
ness of so many thousand homes.

Before we take leave of the Factory Bill, we would
extend our congratulations, not only to the framers
of the measure and the recipients of the boon, not
only to those who will mutually benefit from its im-
mediate effects, but to a far greater multitude,
namely, to those who may benefit from its example.
To the advocates of all reformations, however
apparently impracticable ; to the supporters of every
just cause, however apparently hopeless, we may
most appropriately offer congratulations on the
ethn. so couritgeinent afforded them by the triumph of
long apparently hopeless and impracticable
reform,
When that arduous achievement of mode
the success of science was accomplished—when the Thames
was ulti•
'flatelY completed—much as we rejoiced in
oofpainnizterprise so gl,rious,—that success
immeasurablyintm enhanced by its so
was,
often repeated a isappo,
ingenuity
and delays. We admired
that had contrived, as
not so much the fertile in
satrthmated the un-
dertaking; the indomitable patience that had
elerfaking; we rej-iced not so much
of a work so marvellous and unparankiete ern
ex-
ulted rather in the triumph of a•perseverawne
noble, we rejoiced over an affirmation
se Ile::
forcible, that nothing indeed is to be despaired of
Now in the triumph of the Ten Hours' Bill, which
on Tuesday night received the final sanction of the

House of Peers, we have another and a striking illus-
tration of that glorious maxim. Let then all those
now embarked in any unprosperous cause—those now
struggling at the foot of the bill, meeting fresh
obstacles at every step—let then take courage !
Let these glorious triumphs of Perseveranee be to
them a new stimulus for exertion a.nd a happy augury
of success. No matter how many may be the years
of their pilgrimage, no matter how formidable may
be the aspect of their foes, let them only be assured
of the justice of their cause, and they may rest con-
fident that its ultimate triumph is inevitable. We are
especially justified in regarding this Factory Bill as
a triumph of Philanthropy and Perseverance, as its
success is due alone to the inherent justice of its objec,
and the unwearying patience of its supporters:
It has received no external assistance whatsoever ; it
is no Government measure, no party triumph. It is
indeed a curious circumstance that while, during its
protracted struggles, it has had to contend, and has
contended successfully, against all the weight of Go-
vernment opposition, it has, even in the hour of its
triumph, received but a very partial aid rrom Govern-
ment support. In 1844, when Sir ROBERT PEEL'S
Government was in the very zenith of its power,
" strong Government " though it was, it
was compelled to exert all its vaunted au-
thority, it was compelled to stake its very
existence upon the issue, in order to
throw out the almost triumphant measure. All the
strength of Ministerial influence, all the fidelity of
political partizanship was exerted to the uttermost in
opposition to the cause ; and, unlike others simi-
larly circumstanced, it has been assisted by no
equivalent support no political ties unite its
champions—no Ministerial influence has secured its
triumph. The members of the present Government
are divided on the measure—the members of
the last are strongly opposed to it. We are
then justified in adducing this as an example of how
little even the most threatening opposition is to be
dreaded, how little the most desperate cause is to be
despaired of. As surely as the germs of the oak-tree
penetrate through the impeding earth, and battle
successfully with the winds of heaven, because the
principle of vitality was inherent in the acorn, so
surely will every measure inspired by some vital
principle successfully surmount all obstacles and
successfully struggle against all opposition. Again
let us exclaim then—lVil desperandum!

The House ofCommons was on Tuesday occupied with
thediscussion of Lord LINCOLN'S motion, "That an Ad-
dress should be presented to her MAJESTY, praying that
she should take into her consideration the means by
which colonisation may be made subsidiary to other
measures for the improvement of the social condition
of Ireland, and by which, consistently with a full
regard to the interests of the colonies themselves, the
comforts and prosperity of those who emigrate may
be effectually promoted." It is impossible to object
to the tone or spirit in which the Noble Lord brought
forward this deeply interesting topic. With sound judg-
ment he abstained from everything of a party cha-
racter, and thereby enabled the House to proceed to
the consideration of the question with the utmost im-
partiality, and without any prejudice being excited
on either side. To this moderation and discretion
he owes the partial success that attended his
proposition—the consent of the Government to
adopt an address, on the express understanding
that no special commission should be appointed
for this object, but that the subject should
be left in the hands of the Executive Govern-
ment, who would give it their fullest and best consi-
deration. In yielding this modified assent the
Premier showed that the subject had not been
neglected either by the present or the former Minis-
try, that we had Commissioners watching the tide
of emigration under the Secretary of State ; that those
Commissioners had agents in every part of the United
Kingdom to afford every possible assistance to emi-
grants proceeding either to South Australia or
Canada, and that the number of those agents had been
considerably increased since the accession to office of
the present Ministry; that up to this period there had
been already no less than 120,000 persons who had
voluntarily left their native land, a number which would
probably be increased to at least 200,000 in the course of
the year, and that already measures had been adopted
in the United &ate* to check, the arrival of those
who may possibly become- destitute, by compelling
masters of vessels, in which they arrive, to guarantee
that they should not become burdensome to the state.
An imperative necessity, therefore, existed that we
should not follow a course likely to indispose other
countries, whether our own colonies or not, to receive
our emigrants, by suggesting the idea that we wanted
to get rid of the rubbish of our population. Indeed,
even if all were unanimous as to the advantages to be
derived by the British domi►,ions from the adoption of
the wildest plans of the advocates for emigration—if
the expatriation of even two millions of our Irish
brethren were as desirable and necessary as it is as-
serted to be—the Noble Lord adduced reasons
sufficiently powerful to show that every consideration
of justice and expediency required that the utmost
caution should he used to prevent that which might be
serviceable from becoming really injurious and pre-
judicial to our best interests.
We have never been disciples of the Sangrado
school. We do not believe that the condition of our
sister island is to be ameliorated by driving front her
shores myriads of her able-bodied and industrious
children—by withdrawing from those resources
which should wholly be employed in bringing
her barren lands, her neglected fields, into the
highest degree of fertility and cultivation—in deve-
loping all her varied capabilities in order to banish
the producers of national wealth—the men who, if
their exertions were directed into beneficial channels,
would become the most cherished and valued of our
fellow-subjects—the consumers of exeiseable articles
—the supporters of the Exchequer-the fillers of the
public purse. The Noble Lord who brought forward
the motion said " that he looked upon a measure of
colonisation as a remedy in some sense similar to
bleeding in the human frame." We adopt the.metaphor ;
there can be no closer analogy. We ask, then, is
Ireland in that plethoric state that a further deple-
tion is the best or only remedy ? Is she not rather
in the condition of one who has already been rechiced
to weakness, who languishes for want of nourishment,
and for whom a rich and generous diet is more
fitting than a treatment that must further reduce
his already exhausted strength ? The political
Sangrados, however, will not depart from their
favourite nostrum ; they cling to their bleeding and
hot water as the only specific, and, in place of sending
capital to her shores—her real want—they desire to
employ it in banishing what has truly been termed
her bone and sinew. We have confidence in the men
whom our SOVEREIGN has chosen to be her advisers
we are persuaded that they will not unduly sanction
the quackery to which we have alluded ; that they
will afford every protection and assistance to the
voluntary emigrant, out that they will not expend
any considerable portion of those funds which may
be applicable to the improvement of Ireland in a
manner so prejudicial to her best interests and to
those of the United Kingdom in general.

The Supplement to Tuesday's Gazette contains
the general order, agreeably to her iYittJESTY'S com-
mand, from both the Horse Guards and the Admi-
ralty-office, directing all those, from the highest down
to the lowest rank, who served in our fleets and
armies during the wars commencing in 1793, and
ending in 1814, to furnish a statement of their ser-
vices to the proper quarters, to the end that they may
receive a medal, to be struck as a mark of the SO-
VEREIGN'S gracious recollection of their heroic deeds.
Heartily as we tender our warmest felicitations to our
distinguished military and naval compatriots that they
are at length about to acquire a public decoration
which, more than thirty years since, it should have
been their privilege to have worn, yet does the official
announcement of yesterday involve reflections which
ought never to have been suffered to cross and pain
the mind of the Briti-h nation. An act of tardy jus-
tice is about to be accomplished. How great, then,
has been our injustice to those who were permitted,
year after year, to sink into their graves unrewarded
for the gallant conduct they severally displayed in a
series of brilliant actions at sea and On land indelibly
engraved in the history of our country ? A.VII4t corn- j
pensation can we offer for the wounded feriings they
will now andw 4
must have experiencei till they were summoned from
the field of human existence ? Alas, none? Many a
mavney.
freshan offspring
rea so of
ttoh
mourn
eocuerans 3cl
the