The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 13, 1870

SHARE LIST.

SKETCHES IN PARLIAMENT.
, TUESDAY.

RAILWAYS-ORDINARY SHARES AND STOCKS

Closing Business
raid. Name. Quotations, done.
St Bristol an& Exeter lOO 77 78
St Caledonian 100 771- 79
St Cambrian lOO ' 15 20
20 Cornwall all 21 31
St Dublin and Belfast Junction-100 ... ...
St Dim, Pill], and Aber. June 100 70 72
20 East London 911 4 6
20 Do
20 Do
St Gla-gow and S.l.VeAern 100 111 113
St Great Eastern lOO 371 01 401 1
St Do East Anglian, No. 2 100 61- 71 64
St Great North of Scotland 100 13 16
St Groat Northern 100 114 115
St Do A 100 119 1191
St Do B. lOO 126 128 129
St Gt. So. and West (Ireland) 100 98 100
St Great Western - Consolid 100 681 694 694
St Do South Wales 100 68 70
St Do West Midland—Oxford 100 44 45
St Do do Newport 100 36 38
St Lancashire and Yorkshire 100 1254 1274 1281
St Lond, Bright'n, and S.Coast 100 43 431 464 1
St Loud, Chatham, and Dover 100 141 154
St Do Metrop Extension A 100 9 11
St London and North Western 100 1234 1234 1251 61
St London and South Western 100 881 891 894
St Manch, Shef, and Lincolnsb 100 51 514
St Do New, issued at £5O die 3O ... ...
St Metropolitan lOO 791 80 784
St Do Preferred.,. lOO ... ...
St Do Deferred 100 ... ...
10 Do Redeemable
St Metropolitan District 100 Z. 7 38
St Midland lOO 1241 125 126
St Do Birmingham and Derbyloo 92 94
St North British. lOO 34 35
St Do Edit), Perth, and Dunde 100 13 15
St North Eastern—Berwick lOO 1261 1274 1354 44
St Do Leeds 100 841 854
St Do York
St Do Stockton and Darlingts 100 178 180 181
St North London 100 116 118
10 Do New, 1868
St North Staffordshire 100 59 61
St North and So. West. Junct., 100 102 105
St Rhymney lOO 52 54
St Shropshire Union... 100 62 63
St South Devon lOO 46 48
St South Eastern 100 764 771 774
St Do Preferred ...100 1094 1161
St Do Deferred... lOO 41 414
St Staines, Wok'ham, & Wok'g. all 121 131
St Taff Vale
10 Do C 6 3 -6
St Waterford and Cent. Ireland 100 ... ...
10 Waterloo and Whitehall • 6 ... ...

If you want to be considered the greatest bore in crew•
tion become an M.P., go down to the House on a field
night,when the Chamber is crammed in every part with mem•
bars, and visitors are waiting for an important announce.
ment, make a long speech on some private bill, declaring,
in every other sentence that you do not wish to trespass
on the attention of the House, but that you will be very
brief, and then go on for the best part of half an
hour, heedless of murmurs and expostulations,
and thinking only of the splendid opportunity you
have of being listened to by an audience
such as you would never have obtained under other cit •
cumstances. This did Mr. Assheton Cross yesterday
afternoon. It was Budget night, but the third reading of
the Metropolitan District Railway Bill preceded Mr.
Lowe's financial statement, and therefore the member fog
South West Lancashire had such a chance as he never hau
before, and is not likely to get again until next Budget-
night. He made abundant use of it. He discussed the
great question of a station at the Mansion House versus
a station at the Tower in all its bearings, and
after M.P.'s had given up crying out " Agreed," in
despair of stopping the interminable orator, he was at
last graciously pleased to sit down. He was followed by
Mr. Beresford Hope, who was received with expostulatory
interjections, but heeded them not. I have spoken on a
former occasion of Mr. Hope's " Batavian grace." This
is not his only qualification for fame. He raises and
lowers his voice in so sudden and strange a manner that,
it is almost impossible to believe that there are
not two persons talking at once. Mr. Hope
having finished his dual speech, Lord Elcho
must needs put in a word. Then there were
calls of " Crawford," and the M.P. who worthily repre-
sents Gog and Magog of giant stature, said a few words,
and the question was disposed of by postponing the third
reading of the bill. It was a quarter past five, and not a
single petition had been presented, notice given, or ques-
tion asked. Hon. members were merciful. Instead
of reading, as they generally like to do, the questions
of which they have given notice, they said, " I wish
to put the question which stands in my name."
In that way this preliminarybusiness was soon dispatched.
In the middle of it Mr. Kennaway, the new M.P. for
East Devon, entered the House, and having been intro-
duced by Mr. Kekewich—who is surely the finest old
gentleman in that assembly—took the oaths and his seat.
But as Mr. Kennaway had fought no electoral battle he
received no party salute.

It was a quarter to six when the Speaker left the
chair, the mace was removed by Lord Charles Russell, and
the House went into committee. Mr. Lowe on rising got
a cheer; for members, having a lively sense of favours to
come, had forgotten, or at all events forgiven, the five
quarters' income-tax in one year. By this time every seat
was taken. The peers' gallery was thronged, and among
the visitors were the Lord Chancellor, Lord Derby, Chief
Justice Whiteside, and two swarthy magnates in white
turbans. For one hour this long-expected speech was as
dull as a lithographed sermon at eighteenpence, postage
free. It was full of figures, not of speech, but of
arithmetic. It was tediously minute, and as Mr.
Lowe is very near-sighted, he halted afid stumbled
qod deal. By a sort of poetical vengeance our economi-
cal Chancellor was made to feel the effects of economy.
The attendants of the House, bent upon saving, refused
to turn on the gas. The scene became dimmer and more
dim. The great sea of faces in the strangers' and Speaker's
and peers' galleries became blended together, and looked
dusky white. Hon. members on the floor of the House
became undistinguishable from each other. The task of
jotting down Mr. Lowe's figures became almost impossi-
ble, and the Chancellor's stumbles became more and more
frequent. At last the prayer of Ajax was loudly uttered;
there was a vociferous demand for `• light," and the mellow
glow was at once shed over the scene, though not until the
attendants had accomplished the noble feat of saving 3id.
and R. With the light, came newlife. Mr. Lowe began to cut
jokes, and M.P.'s, who had been wondering when the
Chancellor meant to begin being funny, laughed. They
laughed loud and long when, having announced his
surplus of £4,337,000, he said—" and now let us see how
we can increase it." There was laughter, mingled with
disapproving " Oh's," when he condemned the increasing
practice of bearing arms, and there was a general cheer
when he announced that he should abolish the game
licences, and substitute a licence duty upon all persons
carrying guns. There was a general chirrup, also, among
the sparrows on the House-top. They told their feathered
friends that henceforth London Cockneys will have to pay
£1 a year for the privilege of shooting small birds in
suburban fields on Sundays. By this alteration Mr. Lowe
raised his surplus to the grand total of £4,487,000; figures
duly announced with sonorous emphasis. The announce-
ment was followed by a loud buzz from M.P.'s inter
changing rapid ideas and hasty questions as to " What
will he do with it ?"

By that time Mr. Lowe was at ease. He had done
with his long catalogue of figures. He could be inde-
pendent of paper and spectacles, and he was free to
philosophise and to joke. His speech was thoroughly
characteristic of the man. Instead of assuming the high
moral tone which Mr. Gladstone used to adopt on such
occasions, instead of speaking as if finance were a
matter of religion, he spoke as a man of the world not
overburdened with scruples, and bent only on making
everybody as comfortable as possible, because in so doing
he consulted his own ease. He was merry over Mr.
Candlish's proposal to devote the whole of the' surplus
towards paying off the National Debt. A most excellent
proposition, said the Chancellor, and one that must com-
mend itself to the esteem of every one who has not the
responsibility of carrying it out. It would certainly save
himself a world of trouble in deciding which taxes ought to be
reduced. But then the proposal would unite against him
all the claimants who were competing for reduction.
Nevertheless, there should be a gradual reduction of debt.
How was that to be effected ? Not by a sinking fund, for
that was an antiquated expedient, which was resorted
to at a time when financiers supposed that money locked
up in a drawer was bisexual, and had the power
of propagating itself. Then came his proposal for termi-
nable annuities to fall due in 1885, and to bring in at that
date nearly 3i millions for the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer of that time. " I hope he is listening to me," said
Mr. Lowe. Mr. Lowe next dealt with the brewers and
beer licences, and here he caused roar upon roar of
laughter, as he said that he really could not believe the
statement that the brewers had no power to recover the
3d. a barrel, considering how entirely the brewers had the
quality of the beer under their control. He told an anecdote
of a publican who, when giving evidence before a com-
mittee, said that he and his fellow sinners used to "dash"
the beer, and, on being asked what he meant, replied,
" Turn the New River in upon it." But though Mr.
Lowe ridiculed mercilessly all the proposals which had
been made as a substitute for the present taxation on
beer, including that suggested by the chairman of com-
mittees, who did not take his revenge by calling upon Mr.
Lowe to shut up, the Chancellor expressed his willing-
ness to consider the agricultural interest, and conceded to
them the privilege of sprouting their barley for cattle
food without paying the malt-tax. Then followed aboli-

tiOns of a number of licenses, the existence of most of
which was, I suspect, unknown to the majority of M.P.'s.
Stamps followed ; then Postage, with its important re-
luctions on the carriage of newspapers. Then came a present
to the railway companies of over £1.00,000. But all these
wore comparatively small amounts, leaving nearly
four millions to be accounted for. Evidently there were
some good things in store. But Mr. Lowe
would not reveal them even yet. He must
tantalise his audience a little longer. So he
talked about the importance of maintaining a form
.4 taxation that would be available in the event of foreign
complications, which he suggested, with fine sarcasm upon
wars and diplomacy in general, might be brought about
through half a dozen glasses of wine too many being drunk
by some person in high position. Then, too, he was not
one of those who thought that the burden of tax-
ation should be borne entirely by any one class.
The mission of a Chancellor of the Exchequer
is to make people weary, but he ought to do so in
the way that will be least felt. So the present Chan-
cellor wished to consider both direct and indirect taxation.
The end of it was that one penny was to come off the
income tax, accounting for £1,250,000, and the sugar
duties were to he reduced one half, accounting for
£2,350,000. M.P.'s did not stay to hear the rest. They
rushed out to dinner, and by the time that Mr. Lowe had
come to the end of his two and a half hours' speech the
benches were very sparsely tenanted. The uprising of
Mr. White, Chancellor of the Exchequer unattached,
completed the rout. I sled with the rest, and so avoided
three hours' of talk fin the financial critics, great and
sm3ll

True to its history the old St. Pancras Guardians
died in the midst of a row, The last meeting was tanked
Qtlt;fittlisl ? New? a grejt uproar, •

SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
THE INSPECTION OF CONVENTS.

The Pima refers to the discussion respecting the inspec-
tion of convents, and considers that the-Roman Catholics
ought, in their own interest, instead of shunning and
resenting inquiry, to court and challenge it. It is mere
rhetoric—to use no stronger word—to talk, as some of
their party have done in heated platform orations, about
the " nuns being insulted," and " foul libellers" being
allowed to fa.ln•icate what charges they please without
risk of punishment. Nobody proposes—wt even Mr:
Whalley—to send Mr. Murphy, or men like him, on a
tour of inspection among the monasteries and convents.
The inquiry into their system would be conducted by
gentlemen whose character end social position would be
alone sufficient guarantee forproperdelicacy, but who would
also have to conduct it in the full face of vigilant and
inlependent criticism. The objection. that libels would
be uttered by false witnesslis speaking without risk or re-
aponsibility could easily be met by the appointment of a
Royal Commission authorised to examine witnesses on
oath. It is the present state of things which furnishes
most scope for the "insultS " and "libels" so warmly de-
precated. Foo!iih and foul-mouthed lecturers are enabled
to j` stump" the country, creating. riots and bad blood by
calumnies against the Roman Catholic community, simply
because grossly ignorant prejudices, the legacies of many
generations, are still to be found among the lower portion
of our population. The Roman .Catholics are not more
hurt than respectable Protestants arc disgraced by such
proceedings, .and it -is ,in the interest Of all that every-
thing should be done to dispel the ignormice but for which
they would cease to be possible.