The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-04 00:00:00

METROP 0 LITAN 0 OSSIP.-THURSD AY.

Of course, the subject discussed at yesterdry's Cabinet
Council was the armistice. There were three Ministers
absent : Mr. Cardwell, who is with the Queen ; Mr.
Bright, who is not yet convalescent; and the Duke of
Argyll, whose absence is not accounted for. Mr.
Chichester Fortescue's presence is one of the most
hopeful signs of the times. He has, I believe, been
able to attend all the recent Cabinet Councils. This
would have been impossible a year ago. But the Irish
policy of the Government has already borne fruit. We
no longer hear of agrarian outrages ; we are no longer
troubled by a seditious press; the Fenian movement in
Ireland is said, by those who are best acquainted with
its manifestations, to have collapsed. True, Irish
Churchmen are quarrelling in their Convention, but their
disputes are confined to themselves and do not affect five-
sixths of the nation. The Land Bill seems to have per-
suaded Irish tenants that there is "a more excellent way"
than shooting landlords. As for the Coercion Bill passed
last spring, its existence has proved quite sufficient. Not
once have its provisions been put into force. No
visitation for arms has been made, no arrest
has been effected, no journalist has been prosecuted.
All this is very satisfactory, not only in itself, but also
because it has allowed the Government to give almost un-
divided attention to the continental crisis. We know how
the negotiations have been set on foot and are still being
carried on by our Government, and it is to these in great
measure that Paris owes her immunity from the bombard-
ment which should have begun three or four weeks ago.
Probably this is not the only cause of the delay. There
are abundant signs of a Bonapartist intrigue. The gather-
ing of Generals at Wilhelmshohe, and the presence of the
Empress there during the present week—the first time
she has seen her husband since the 27th July, when he
left with "Lulu" for Metz—point to a grand conference
of the old governing and military authorities of France.
It may easily be conceived that Bazaine—of whose
integrity with respect to the surrender of Metz, I, for one,
am by no means satisfied—has been urging the Emperor
to agree to that cession of territory which Bismarck has
declared over and over again to be essential
to the restoration of peace. Tho Empres, who
detests . such an idea as strongly as Gambetta
himself, may well have been prompted to undertake
her journey for the purpose of dissuading her husband
from consenting to any such terms. In ccnnection with
this matter I am assured that the mysterious visit of
General Bourbaki to the Empress, at Chiselhurst,
was the result of a deeply laid Prussian stratagem.
Prince Frederick Charles was very anxious to learn
the condition of Metz, but could not do so.
At last a well-known French Imperialist was persuaded
to undertake the dangerous task of acting as Prussian spy.
He said that he must enter the city ostensibly as a
Frenchman, and in French interests, and charged with a
regular mission. That mission was to communicate to
General Bourbaki the desire of the Empress to
see him. The General made his way out with the
Frenchman, and the latter having been inside Metz twelve
hours, and having learnt all that there was to learn,
communicated his information to the Prussian head-
quarters.

The very able letter of Professor Von Sybel which ap-
peared in yesterday's Times is likely to exercise a good
deal of influence on public opinion. The German historian
of the French Revolution appears to be as great a master
of English prose as Professor Max Muller himself, who
from his long residence in England might be expected to
have acquired a knowledge of our language which his
colleague at Bonn might not have attained. Your readers
are aware that " M.M.," who writes in the Times, is the
second professor named above. They may not know that
" Scrutator " is Mr. Malcom Mac Coll, a well-known
High Church clergyman and Gladstonian who is a
frequent contributor to the Guardian, in which paper he
powerfully defended the present Premier's Irish Church
policy at the last general election. "M. 8.," who has
been writing to the Times on the war, is, I believe, Pro-
fessor Mountagu Burrows. Th "Hertfordshire Incum-
bent" is, as I suppose all the world knows, Canon
Blakesley.
The question, " Ought Bismarck to insist upon the
annexation of Alsace and Lorraine as a condition of
peace ?" was discussed last night at the well-known London
Debating Society—" The Sons of Ishmael." The mem-
bers, who meet at each other's houses, assembled last
evening at the house of a quarterly reviewer, and a
candidate for the London Education Board. The
disputants were for the most part well-known in
the world of letters, and though I am not at
liberty to mention their names, I may state that I never
heN rd a discussion better sustained, and that the vote was
by a large majority in the affirmative.
One of the ablest of all the quarterly articles on the
war is that in the Edinburgh Review. It is now stated
that the author of this article is no other than the
Prime Minister himself. It is probably the knowledge
of this fact which has in some measure stimulated Earl
Russell to maintain his claim to the character of " the
complete letter-writer," by announcing that he has in the
press a pamphlet, which he styles, "Remarks on the
Military and Political State of the Nation." But this is
not the only reason which has made the veteran Earl in
this his three score and nineteenth year once more rush
into print. He has still sufficient clearness of
political vision to see that the question of the coming
session is the reorganisation of our defences, especially of
our army. This, I have reason to believe, is engaging the
attention of Mr. Cardwell, and will be one of the foremost,
if not the very foremost item of the Ministerial pro-
gramme for 1871. The wonderful success of that
" armed nation," Prussia, has given such an
impetus to the military reformers of this country,
that I believe it will enable the not very resolute Mr.
Cardwell to overcome the obstinacy of the Horse Guards,
whereof young Mr. Trevelyan has spoken with that
abundant frankness which freedom from the trammels of
office enables him to use to good purpose. It will, however,
be no easy task. The purchase system is a huge obstacle,
which will need a very large golden spade to remove it.
But it appears, at present, that Mr. Cardwell's
task will be lightened in so far as it will not be made a
party question. It seems as if the Conservatives were
prepared to give the Minister of War the same patriotic
support which they gave the Minister of Education last
session. They feel that the safety of the country is too
serious a matter to be made a battle-ground for the Ins
and the Outs.

Our military authorities are at this time much and
wisely exercised by the important problem of establishing
direct internal communication between all our forts and
arsenals. At present some of the principal naval ports
are without that unbroken communication which it is
so desirable should exist, and in one instance access is
attainable only by a line which might be de-
stroyed by a single gunboat. It is not improbable
that the principle which has been adopted in India and in
British North America may be applied to this case, and
that Government will guarahtee the interest on the
capital needed, to make the necessary communications,
The Sefton libel case, which has been carried on a
outrance by the noble plaintiff, will reach its final stage next
week, when the defendant, one of the proprietors of
the Sheffield Telegraph will" be brought up at Westminster
to receive sentence. The Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire
has so far answered to Dr. Johnson's dekription of a good
hater. In the meanwhile it is a matter for grave consi-
deration that journalists should be exposed to a danger
incurred by no other portion of thecommunity—that of
being made criminally liable for an action in ,which they
had no share. Every man must expect to be
civilly liable for the acts of his agents, to pay
in purse for their faults and blunders ; but that
they shoUld be made to pay in person is utterly monstrous
and opposed to the whole spirit and tenour of English
law. it is the more outrageous, because this provision
exists only in England, and is not to be found in Scot-
land, where, notwithstanding, the press is as respectably
conducted as in any part of the kingdom.
I have often alluded to the energy of the conductors of
the Daily News in getting information from the seat of
war. This was remarkably illustrated a few days ago by
a telegram, two columns long, describing the capitulation
of Metz. The Times handsomely acknowledged the
enterprise of its competitor. Your readers will
not be surprised to learn that the circulation of the
Daily News has nearly doubled during the war. Another
item of news whish concerns both journalists mid the war
is that Colonel Loyd-Lindsay has spent six thousand
pounds in advancing the fund for the relief of the sick
and wounded. I have little doubt that no portion of
the fund has bpen more profitably exrended than this

sum.

Every day the interest in the election of the School
Board becomes greater. So far, the number of candidate,
who have come forward is not so large as might have been
expected. It is less than thrice the number of vacancies.
put this fact is due in some measure to the to-operation

of parties who, it was thought, would be found 11°.i.rb;
vilo
ec
Churchmen and Dissenters are working together
harmony never before exhibited, being united bY to
mon dislike and dread of a purely secular eclu,cl.lo6
So powerful and predominant is this feeling that cane' a
who certainly have always been credited with secoi
ideas, have been compelled to bow to public opine 1131 e
say something civil about the Bible. For instance,
Mr. Hepworth Dixon's address now before me, nnaloinpti
I find the following passage which the denominati°;(o
will find wholly unexceptionable, but which
quite a different spirit from that which was shown b9,:11)
Dixon's party in the House of Commons. He saga'
one who has travelled far and written
in
in illustration of the sacred book, I /i.lllll dot
favour of Bible-reading in our schools, while 7.efer
regard for conscience and for scripture, I wen'u,- Th.
ferce the reading on those who do not want
result of this language is that Mr. Dixon has seew;tog
members of his committee well - known Pis!: io
ministers like Dr. Angus and Mr. Dawson 13n71.050
addition to a whole crowd of literary men and 1.0
of the St. John's Wood persuasion. S° ;,-tll°
Mr. Joseph Payne (author of the able article `-eric*
British Quarterly Review on Higher Education in 40,
and who is a member of the League), avows his re n{l
though with something less of empressement °foie'
Dixon, to sanction Bible teaching if the electors of
bone will send him to the Board. Meanwhile, can"; i
is going on vigorously. Ladies are taking Pa,tvif of
it with the utmost zeal, and a lady canvasser in be Li
Mr. Hepworth Dixon tells me how pleased, as mat
the she has been to find the lower middle
the bakers and grocers and butchers—well a,equainte
only with the education question, but also with ge
literature, such as Mi. Dixon's various books. toi
Mr. Thomas Hughes has just returned from the 110 i
States, where he has been doing good service bY 5°;506
with the people of that country against their unrens°,:ilo
demands with respect to the Alabama question. '"'""00
spoken well, and with so much fervour and feelieg,oo
it can hardly be doubted that the intercourse hetA tho
the American nation and an Englishman, imbued 111,:701,,
thorough love for America which " Tom Brown DOeta
has had a most beneficial effect. Another returned Aw
can traveller is Dr. Angus. toga
At last the "sacred soil" of Hyde Park has c--A
,4
tha
be "fouled" by the navvies. For the last ten nlon"'",,s hf
most beatiful resort in London has been made hide°-
embankments and cuttings, and locomotives 0•
trucks full of filth. These works were ei
netted with the cleansing of the Serpentine, 11,
Mr. Ayrton was so anxious to spoil. 's.'l;;ly,
and engines and trucks have now been cleared sOf
and the water has been let into the river. It is 01Y 0
full, however, and the banks of brown earth on eithera
are a poor substitute for the sloping lawns which 00
form the margin. I suppose Mr. Ayrton could net
turf.
This work has been accomplished, in spite of the 11;
ance of the First Commissioner. But how about 001
and far greater work—the new Law Courts to
Not a stone has yet been laid, not a foot of gre°l/`:,oo*
yet been excavated. The work was ordered to he
menced months ago, but Mr. Lowe has a vision 0.
own, and why should he undo it? Like MS' lfloo
and Gambetta, he says " not an inch 01 0
territory, not a stone of our fortresses."
„yid
territory is Downing-street;' his fortress is the ,eis
and nasty building which he is bent upon erecting'?
Parliament has told him that he shall not build it- .01
possession is nine-tenths of the law, and the Cha11....0
of the Exchequer, being in possession of the pubrlep
can afford to snap his fingers at our lawgivers,, all
that he moans to do as he likes, just f'!„,,00
Ayrton is doing what he likes with Kenn('
Gardens, in defiance of the recent emphatic prohibiti°,
Parliament. Meanwhile the Strand site is lying
howling wilderness, a hideous deformity in itself, 10
loss of tens of thousands every year in the interest °foll
purchase money. And all this time there are over,o
hundred thousand paupers in London, some of "oPooi
at least, might be employed in this great nag'
work, which Mr. Lowe seems resolved to mar.
I regret to inform you of a most serious innes
which is about to be made upon our time-honerr2
stitutions. The Lord Mayor is not to go through 'fro
Bar next Wednesday. He is to be shunted off t° tba
Embankment. Thus we go on from step to step
downward path of revolution. Formerly his lordship the
make one of his journeys by river ; but f(
was abandoned several years ago. Now ior
pears that his lordship's gallant men in v'P;oil
are going to shirk our main thoroughfare' oft
" Lord" Dakin will not even pass by hie 0,4
tea-shop, hard by the gate which Dr. J.° %Y,
loved. I suppose the city authorities look upon the a
bankment as a sort of via media between the river Os
Stland. They will hardly find it a via tutissimay
thinking. They will soon be swept away in the 1:01
lution which gives London a really organized cal)
with its ten or a dozen mayors, unless, indeed, his ve
ship's retainers should escape their fate by going
cession through the main sewer, fot•
The agitation against the Post Office, which 017
shadowed last week, has already become a ver/did
stantial fact. It would seem as if this departraell",
given way to pressure exerted by the railway coraP:4
Yet not to yield a boon is one thing, and that thing'?
have been done by tho companies in the first lusts/06;0
to withdraw a boon after it hasbeen granted is quite an°lo
thing, and to the public is a thing wholly inteleil9
The Marquis of Hartington, who, if it were not for
Lowe and Mr. Ayrton, would be the least popularreilo
ber of the Ministry, will have to restore to the public
parcel post which he has taken from them, or he svwd
his life a burden to him. Meanwhile, it would 1:44
for every town and village in the kingdom, to meraery
the heir of all the Cavendishes.
Last Sunday I had an opportunity of hearivg,
famous preacher, the Rev. George Body, late of
hampton. There was an enormous congregation ; ft,
seat was taken half an hour before the service begin:lid
the sermon? Well, it was simply fourth-rate v.-di
ing. There was not a single original 2,
in it. There was absolutely no ability wln"u'llif
The preacher seems to me to have attained his celew,
simply by adopting a style which used to be c°ll
enough among Dissenters, but which has rapidly
peared, as their culture and education have adsh,..4
To shout and then to whisper, to gasp and then t°,:"
and to say the same thing over and over aol P'
as if repetition were the soul of logic,
accompany this with much bodily contorili.
and occasional familiarity of style, are e Doi
dients well-known to the frequenters of revivals'
they are certainly novelties in the sober decorous CIAII
of England. It was curious to note the nodding lleP-101
the men in last Sunday's congregation whom this
rousing preacher failed to keep awake, but who
orioi
have listened intently enough to a Magee or a j
force.

Mr. Orbey Shipley is one of the ultra-High Churl?
who suggest the proverb " too far east is west." Di°ol4J
senter could excel the editor of The Church and the P
in contempt for the bishops ; and his last manifeeo4
of scorn for them is the proposal to erect a huge Or
which shall be entirely free from episcopal CO
and in which there shall be countless altars fet
offering up of almost incessant masses with,oo:
most gorgeous accompaniments of ritual and con/
The services are in fact to surpass those of Rome ill
quency and magnificence ; and the most explicit trot
peremptory rubric in the whole Prayer Book is to be
out, and the Sacrament is to be " reserved," so that it 9
be kept for perpetual adoration. On what principle V
Shipley calls himself an English Churchman, wild
worships all that Churchmen burn, and burns all that
worship, it would be hard to say.
Your readers will by this time have noticed 10 Jo+
kin's reply, in Macmillan's Magazine, to Mr. Storlij
Brooke's article, which last week I intimated 'e:
appear. The other literary news of the (17001
that two members of the Rothschild f
am bringing out " The History and Literate
the Israelites acccording to the Old Testament 0'
Apocrypha," and that Miss Hampden has written °tic
of her father, the late Bishop of Hereford, which °i
to be an instructive commentary upon factitious cal
tical combinations, and a "caution" to agitators, t°.
an Americanism ; and that Miss E. S. Drewry has 1:00-
press a novel entitled " Baptised with a C of!
The title would have been appropriate enough fito)
biography of " Lulu " and his " baptism of fire." jollf
write I receive Miss Julia Wedgwood's " Life of. lid
Wesley," which has been published by Messrs. Maces a/
and is a substantial volume of over 400 pages bee''illt'
most complete index. It is not one of the SundaY h
series ; the last of these yet published, Mr. °ll-00011
" Life of St. Anselm," has just been sent me by the
publishers.

be found h°!ttl:,
; together scl ;3.
anted by the c,°,
;ocular edu.,7tei
ng that can ,y
cited with Seel;
üblic opinior,
I 0:

r instance,iti
ore me, and
lenominatiee7o
which m°l\i/,
was shown 1)34
s. lie sole,
knobwritten in
ook, I am dot
1, while pith
e, I would Ii;;
" •
)t want it..„,p,
Con has see'tio
Dissen 10
flown
)awson 131irli°;4cl
sP*.
y men an 4iP
on. so the
ble article 'Tiro
cation in An'e
vows his re $i
Rsentent tllsllle
147'
OleCtOrs of jog
awhile, canifl
914
e taking 19
i‘gfof
vasser in 0
deased, as 74,
ver middle
reuacquaoe
also wick gel
books. led
d from the 11,11110;
service by 5r b 1
their u
nreasoa-
question. g
tot
r and feeling, ell
tercourse bet
/Itb
n, imbued 1,
'OM Broom'
sr returned .4113

'ark has citoecij
ast ten nionw' 1,1
n made hide°lloi
locomotives
Goo.
)rks were 4)
1111
Serpentine, 7,4
spoil.ll
OP
en cleared I'llo
r. It is A'
so
.a.rth on either to
,ns which 1103
on could not

spite of the to
how about s'e°o4l
v Courts to
oot of gronouA,
rdered to be
as a vision. e 1
Ake M. 21-1. 1100
an inch Of
'ortresses."
cvii
ress is the ,iieo
)on erecting pot
not build it.
.1
xnd the Chan7oo
if the publiePa
awgivers,, Sn 0.
kes, just a 5
with Kens.illeci
tatic prohibit:"
to is lying
ty in itself, 'ity
the interest °
here are 0140
n, some of sPOOI
is great 119'ti
,o mar

serious inne"
urecilf
time-hone
;13 through rr°'oll
hunted off t°o
tep to step
ly his lardsbil3ol
river ; but
Now it
men in oi
lorong
hfarep
o
)ass by his
ch Dr. Jo Ed'
)ok upon the ty
n the river 9.1.11
0
is tutissintay
sway in the 01
anized cor:0:1d
, indeed, his
by going ill

orl
ice, which i• fott
come a yell boi
pis department o
railway conlP7lo
.d that thing 310
s first instalOty;
Lted is quite so°J.
vholly into 50
were not for
)ast popular Intl
re to the publl4o4
em, or he
it would be ji
MD, to memo

1Y
ity of heariogoi
y, late of 'Wee
ngregation ; 801
service bega'l
fourth-rate Tijo
original qd
ability whi'filf
ined his ogel)
led to be old
has rapidly co)
n have adoe'llo
and then t'°_,"
and over we
of logic, a'''d
odily conta
;vle, are e
of revival',
r decorous Clll,l
3 nodding helvvee
n whom till° otilj
e, but who
[agee or n-SBr

High Chur4
is west.', DP
714,1
trek, and the
Last manifeFit4lt
Dct a huge 4:11)0
all episcopl c°
as altars fc't
masses witli
',nal and cost?
; of Rome iriyJ
cost explicit
Book is to h° 001
ecl," so that it 9
/hat princiPl° obi
urchman,
burns all that

noticed gr. JO'
to Mr. St011:0)
intimated it
of the 64)
othschild
.nd Literate
testament an
has written
ford, which Al
actitious
agitators, nil,
Drewry has 1130
with a Cl0
rt
ate enough°‘
aof fire." 1010
's " Life of.
lessrs. Man°7aeg,
0 pages Deal
00
he Sunday
.(1, Mr. ebd'oto'
at me by the