The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-10 00:00:00

THE THEATRES, &c.

HAYMARKET—At Seven. No Song No Supper. Barwise's Book.
And My Husband's Ghost.
PRINCE OF WALES'S—At 7.30, Quite by Accident M. Dearest

Mamma.
LYCEUM—At 7.30, Breaking the Spell. Little Faust.
AH t Se
LPH s
I.—At
n Too Mucho ch of a Good Thin. The P
er Box. The Enchantedod. romp
OLYMPIC -At Seven, Frou Frou The 'Varsity Boat Race. My
Turn Next.
G,mirry—At Seven, The Man of Quality. The Princess of Tre-

bizonde.
QUEEN'S—At Seven, My Wife's Dentist. 'Twist Axe and Crown.
STRAND—At Seven, Widow's Weeds. Sir George and a Dragon.
A Fish Out of Water
VAUDEVILLE—For Love or Money. Don Carlos.
ST. JAMES'S—At Seven, Frou Frou. La Belle Sauvage.
GLOBE—At Seven, Milky White. Robert Macaire. Vandyke
Brown.
WOODIN'S CARPET-BAG AND SKETCH BOOK, Egyptian Hall, Picca-
dilly, every Evening (except Saturday) at 8; Saturday Morn-
ings at 3. Admission, 18, 2s, 38.
CHRISTY MINSTRELS. St. James's Hall, Every Night, at 8; Wed-
nesdays and Saturdays, at 3 and 8 all the year round.
MADAME TUSSAUD'S EXHIBITION, Baker-street, from 11 a.m. till 5.30
p.m., and from 7 till 10 p.m. Admission, is. ; extra rooms, 6d.
ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, Regent's-park Open daily (except Sundays)
Admission. ls.• on Mondays, 6d. Children under twelve, 6d.

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THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY MORNING, MAY 10. 1870.

Live cliinibert is always the anne—at least in tbit-,,e
&yrs of still-slontieuell atimiztigtratiue pure teutst:
Constitutional Ministers who have forgotteß
their Constitutionalism. First we hear of
great Republican victories in Paris. The voters
of the capital overturn Imperialist candidates and put
"Nons " in the ballot-box with equal fidelity and
persistence. But no sooner has the inexperienced
reader begun to delude himself with the notion that
things are going badly with the Seeond Empire than
the results of the battle in the northern departments,
reverse the aspect of affairs. The issue in, a few
great towns exhausts the Republican strength.
The returns from the rural districts flow in with
monotonous uniformity ; official candidates and
" Ouis " are in overwhelming majority; and soon ti,e
Republican victories in the capital, Lyons, Marseilles,
and a few other places weigh as nothing in the
balance against the en masse Imperialism of the
rustics. Paris this time has been faithful to its
old traditions, though the majority against the
Emperor is lent striking than at the last general
election. With other trivial exceptions the result
has been pretty much what was expected. The
ruler has not of course gained the crushing
superiority-7,439,216 to 640,737—which raised
him to the throne iu 1852. The events of December
are not so fresh now as then; there is no
military terrorism in 1870 as there was eighteen years
ago; and the French pe cple, moreover, have made
great 'progress in intelligence and the desire for
political freedom. The grand coups of the two last
pldbiscites could not be repeated on this occasion.
But the hold of the Government on the rural dis-
tricts is still so firm, the former 011ivier Ministry
retain so many of the arts of administrative
pressure employed by Rouher and his contemporaries
that no one could entertain a doubt of the universal
suffrage dummy doing its appointed duty once more.
And it has done it. The issue does not strike us as
remarkably triumphant, for the abstentionists must
be counted with the "Noes" against the Emperor,
and the adverse minority thus becomes very respect-
able. Nevertheless there is a clear majority of
"Yeas."

The only question is—to what good ? What
practical end is served by this marching
of the wretched rustics in a body to the ballot-boxes ?
The Plebiscite of 1852 was a plea for ascending the
throne, and the Pleliiscite of 1870 is a plea for keeping
it; but Napoleon would not have won a crown then,
nor will he keep it now, without more substantial!
assistance. It cannot be said that this vote, any
more than the last, affirms the Bonaparte dynasty in
the possession of its splendid acquisition. No Plebis-
cite will restrain the Republicans from preaching
Socialism, nor the Orleanists from quietly
waiting their time. The vote does not
even permanently fix the Constitution, for
there is not a Liberal politician in France
who will not continue to strive for greater
concessions than are yielded in the programme which
has just come from the Senate. The vote of the
people in fact amounts to nothing more than a
vote of the Legislature,' save that the Emperor has
been able to display 'much more of his own authority
in bringing it about. For the pleasure of reminding
the French nation that his absolute power is yet far
from extinct, Napoleon 111. has coasted general
distrust amongst his most moderate) and therefore
most valuable, supporters, and has cast discredit on
parliamentary government at the very time when
he is professing conversion to its principles. It would
have been all very well if this national vote
had been a last application of the principle
by which the Empire was formed, previously to
beginning afresh with parliamentary government.
But the right of appeal to the nation is retained
a permanent portion of the Constitution. Thus thq
Emperor both keeps this prerogative, and has clearly
intimated his intention of making use of it, by
putting it in practice now. That parliamentary
government should prosper with the easily-
manageable vote of an ignorant populace hanging over
its head, and ready to undo at any moment its most de-
liberate resolves, is preposterous: 'Under constitutional
rule an appeal to the people can be only an appeal
from the Legislature. The two are incompatible.
Either the plebiscite Ouse in the Constitution will
become an acknowledged do ad letter, or parliamentary
government itself will.

The most noticeable feature of the proceedings in
the Hoase of Commons last evening was the remark-
able progress made in connection with the Irish
Land Bill. As soon as the House went into Com-
mittee on that measure, at about five o'clock,
it was evident that there was a determina-
tion to dispose of the amendments in the
various clauses with as much rapidity as pos-
sible. For about seven hours the Committee were
engaged in debating the several propositions, and
whilst each amendment was fully discussed, there
was an entire absence of anything like captious oppo•
sition. After the division on Mr. CORRANCE'S amend-
ment the attendance became very thin, but improved
between nine and ten.

We noticed but three sleepers -luring the time the
bill was being considered. Clause 16th was omitted,
after a division. Progress was reported at a few
minutes past twelve, and the House resumed. Several
orders having been disposed of the Marquis
of HARTINGTON, who spoke for about an
hour, rose to ask leave to bring in a bill
to amend the law relating to the procedure at
Parliamentary elections. He proposed to abolish
nominations as now practised, to adopt the ballot
4ystem, to render illegal the hiring of rooms at public-
honees, except when the candidate should address a
meeting of.the electors, and to treat 011 payments not
put in the return of expenses as corrupt payments.
After some discussion, leave was given to intro-
duce a measure, and the House adjourued at two
o'clock.

In view of the visit of the Princess Louise to the
Inner Temple, on the occasion of the opening of its new
hall, a battalion order was yesterday issued from the
Colonel of the Inns of Court Volunteers, in reference to
providing a guard of honour for her Royal Highness.
Last night, the Right Hon. Sir William Bovill,
Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, pre-
sided at a dinner party given at the Albion Hotel, Alders-
gate-street, in aid of the funds of the public dispensary in
Stanhope-street, Clare-market. A report was read by the
secretary of the progress made since the last festival in
1866. A subscription of nearly £3OO was announced.

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40e.
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The death Of George Horatio Cholmondeley,
second Marquis, is announced. He died at noon on Sun-
day at Cholmondeley, Cheshire, after a long illness.
A. tramway was opened yesterday in East London
from Bow Church to Whitechapel Church. The carriages
were found to be far superior to the ordinary omnibuses.
THE EASTER. MONDAY REVIEW. Geheral Sir
James Yorke Scarlett's report on the Easter Monday re-
view has been issued this morning. He gives great praise
to all engaged in the sham fight, and says the march poet
was highly creditable. The Duke of Cambridge, in for-
warding the reports to Mr. Cardwell, expresses' his satis-
faction with the day. _ _

A permissive meeting was held in the Dome
Assembly Room, Brighton, last night. Resolutions
calling upon the Legislature to deal with the liquor traffic,
and in support of the Permissive Prohibitory Liquor Bill,
were passed. A petition was adopted in favour of Sir
Wilfred Lawton's bill.

Phillips, the American official, arrested several
week since at Queenstown, charged with forgery and em-
bezzlement, was discharged yesterday, no reply having
been received to a telegram sent to New York, on Friday,
to ascertain the nature of the evidence on which his extra-
dition was demanded. The magistrates deemed that the
dilatory proceedings of the authorities at New York
evinced either inability or reluctance to prosecute, and de-
clined to detain the prisoner longer in custody. Seven
hundred pounds in gold, seized on him, was returned.
A crowded meeting, composed chiefly of the working
classes, was held last night at Leeds, to consider the edu-
cation question. The mayor presided. Mr. Lloyd Jones
and Mr. Odger were the principal speakers. Resolutions
condemning the Government measure as calculated to lead
to party strife by perpetuating the denominational system,
and advocating the establishment of free unsectarian
schools, the attendance to be compulsory, were adopted.