The Sun.
London, England, 1870-02-16 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 16, 1870.

HISTORIANS will hereafter note one great (lift&
rence between March 1, 1869, and February 15, 1870.
The measure introduced by Mr. GLADSTONE on the
former occasion was necessarily destructive ; that in-
troduced on the latter was contructive. In the one
case he had to abolish an old institution, in the other
he had to establish a new relationship. It remains
to be seen which will prove the more difficult
achievment, to abolish the Irish State Church or to
establish an Irish land system. If experience is any
guide, the second will prove the harder task, for to build
up is always more difficult than to pull down. True,
the Irish Church measure involved reconstruction, but
that part of the work did not fall upon Mr. GLADSTONE.
The Irish Land Measure is constructive, it is that or
nothing, and its success depends not upon a local
Synod or body, but upon himself. It will not be
easy to say if he is successful or not. The effects of
such a reform as this must be slow in coming,
must take years to complete, and for that reason
must disappoint those impulsive people—such
as constitute the great bulk of the Irish landholders
—who look for a revolution speedy in its results,
instead of a reform gradually working out its pur-
pose. We must be prepared, therefore, for disap-
pointment, and even disaffection, among the excited
peasantry, who thought that at last they were going
to be put in permanent possession of the laud which
they have cultivated. Other and soberer persons
will pass a more favourable verdict.

THE debate in the Lords on the colonial policy of
the Government was very much like the play of
"Hamlet " with the part of Hamlet omitted. The
chief count in the indictment against Lord GRAN-
VILLE is that he has treated the colony of New Zea-
ihnd with exceptional harshness, under circumstances
of exceptional hardship. It is possible that he may
have a good defence, yet at least there is a

THERE are few men who understand Englishmen
more thoroughly than a certain well-known French-
man, who has been for more than 20 years a resident
in this country. The letters of M. Louis BLANC,
which appear from time to time in the Paris Temps,
are always worth reading, and often contain remarks
that English readers would find instructive. For
instance, in his last letter, M. BLANC hits off what we
believe to be the exact truth with respect to Mr.
BRIGHT. We well remember fouryears ago hearing an
advanced Radical deny that Mr. BRIGHT was one,
and declare that he was really Conservative. The
statement seemed paradoxical at a time when the
mere supposition that Mr.. Bum= had advised a £7
franchise was considered by the Conservative party
damning proof that such a measure must have revo-
lutionary consequences. Now, we are by no
means so sure that the statement was
paradoxical. Mr. BRIGHT'S "omnibus " speech
at Birmingham, just before the commencement
of the session, seems to imply that he, too, like
another famous reformer before him, has reached the
spot where he is inclined to "rest and be thankful."
Lord RUSSELL was for resting lower down the hill.
At that time Mr. BRIGHT was for ascending to the
top; but seven years' additional climbing has shewn
him how steep the hill is ; and so he, too, seems to
have grown weary of the ascent. Of course we ought
to make allowances for a man who was suffering from
an overwrought brain. In such a condition lassitude
and discouragement are only too natural. But after
taking this consideration into account we are
still inclined to believe that Mr. BRIGHT
will henceforth reveal himself much more as a Con-
servative than as a Radical. In this respect, as M.
LOUIS BLANC has well observed, he differs from the
most rising statesman of the day—Mr. FORSTER.
The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE was vio-
lent in his denunciation of our institutions so
long as his own order was excluded from the
chief posts of the Ministry. We all remember
how great a concession Lord PA L3IERSTON and the

aristocratic Whigs were thought to have made in
1859, when they offered second-rate places to Mr.
COBDEN and Mr. MILNER. GIBSON, and how nearly
all the great offices of State were filled up by mem-
bers of the "governing families." Mr. BRIGHT felt

that this was unfair to the middle class and preju-
dicial to the nation. He believed that, as a
rule, lords and honourables were bad men of
business, and her.e3 that the army and the
navy would never be administered either economically
or efficiently until men accustomed to manage large
commercial and manufacturing concerns were
entrusted with the supervision of the spending
departments. Hence all his energies were directed
to obtaining the suffrage for the working class, in
the full conviction that this would lead to the
possession of power by the middle class. His object
has been attained, his expectation has been fulfilled.
It is no mere vulgar personal ambition that is satis-
fied when he sees himself, the carpet manufacturer
of Rochdale, in the Cabinet ; Mr. BAXTER, the
Dundee manufacturer, virtually at the bead of the
Navy; and Mr. Fons;rElt, the woollen-manufac-
turer of Bradford, advancing with rapid strides
towards the Premiership. He sees all this, and he
feels that the country has benefited by the change;
that diminished exPenditure and decreased jobbery
are the fruits of the new regime, and he Is con-
tented.

Not so Mr. FORSTER. lie is, as he lately told
his constituents, a constructive Radical. To him it
is a small matter that his order should be in posses-
Mon of power, unless it can reorganise society. Doubt-
less the representative machine needed alteration :
but Mr. FORSTER will think the time spent in alter-

lug it lost, unless the machine turns out better work,

True, Parliament now represents the nation in a way

it never did before ; but of what advantage is that
unless Parliament also acts for the nation in a way it

never did before ? If this new and strengthened Par-

liament finds itself in the second session of its exist-

ence incapable of passing more than one first-class,
measure in one year, then nothing has been gained

and we are no better off than were in the old miser-

able MELBOURNE days of " Can't you let it alone F"

Mr. FORSTER thinks that it can do much better than

this; that Parliament can educate the people,

secure a poor law that shall not be the

shamefully insufficient system which the present

Poor Law is, that

shall

prohibit the

debauchery and impoverishment of the people by
the liquor traders, and that shall generally right what

is now wrong. In a word, he believes that the
Liberal party are only just beginning their work, and
that all which they have done hitherto is really
only a necessary preliminary to subsequent legisla-
tion ; or as M. Louis BLANC has well put it, Mr.

BUIGHT, who opposed the Ten Hours' Bill, is inte-

rested in political questions. Mr. FORSTER is inte-
rested in social questions; and "sociology" is the

legislation of the future.

A telegram /rola Alumeh states that the address
o long under discussion in the Bavarian Chamber of
Deputies, containing a direct censure on the policy of
the Prince of Hohenlohe, has been adopted by 78 votee
against 62. Thirteen members were absent, twv
of them belonging to the Patriotic Party, and
eleven to the Liberal. Great interesst is felt in the pos,
sible consequences of this vote, as the alternative lies be-
tween the dissolution of the Chambers and the resignation
of the Ministry. It will be remembered that the King
refused to receive the deputation to present the address
from the Upper House.

Orders have been received at Chatham Garrison
to stop all recruiting, except for the Royal Engi-
neers, until further orders; but, as musicians and
men of certain trades are required in the army, spe-
cial permission will be given for their enlistment.
A party of Marines are now engaged in Chet.
ham Dockyard sorting a large quantity of timber
for sale, it having been examined and selected
for sale by the Government inspector some time
back.