The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-28 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, MAY 28, 1870.

Iberian unity, in spite of all the disclaimers
audible, both at Lisbon and Madrid, from the lips of
leading politicians as authoritative as PRIM and
SALDANHA, is still the mirage floating before the
dazzled eyes of the more imaginative Spaniards and
Portuguese. The Prime Minister of King Luis,
it is true, has gone out of his way to swear alle-
giauce to the cause of his country's independence.
While, on the other hand, the Prime Minister of the
Regent SERRANO'S Government, repudiates the de-
sign, at the moment that he evidently regards it
with a longing eye, wistfully, askance. Upwards of
half a century has elapsed since— almost immediately
after the conquest of Portugal by JUNOT, the Duke
of Abrantes, in the name of NAPOLEON—the then Lord
Paramount of Europe, in the spring of 1808,
offered, imperially, to cede to the Spanish monarchy
his newly-acquired realm of Portugal. Since then,
time and again, the same magnificent dream of
amalgamation has flitted across the vision of political
optimists in all parts of the Iberian peninsula.
" Union is strength" has been the thought encourag-
ing their aspirations. An aspiration precisely similar,
though of a much more readily realizable nature,
one might have imagined, to that which we have seen,
nevertheless, triumphantly carried out, in our own time,
in the instance of Italy, although that day-dream had
in its day been derided as a mere " geographical
idea" by no less astute an observer of passing events
during his epoch than the late Prince METTERNICH.
It is not always that circumstances fit in so satisfac-
torily, for the consolidation of a hitherto divided
country, as they did three centuries ago,
among our own ancestors, in what has,
since then come to be known, the whole world over,
as the United Kingdom. Only, there, in that in-
stance, it was the lesser country, it was the smaller
population, that gave a Sovereign to the larger. It
was Scotland who gave her Sixth JAMES to become the
First JAMES of England. A dynastic bond thence-
forth bound the two nations securely together.
It is equally remarkable, in the instance just now ad-
duced of the work of amalgamation or consolidation
accomplished within the last few years in the Italian
peninsula, that it is the comparatively minor kingdom
of Savoy that has dominated, alike, in the north over
the Lombardo-Venetian provinces, and in the south
over the kingdom of the Two Sicilia, absorbing into

t at the same time all the lesser archduchies and

principalities. It would be calculated, one might be
disposed to conjecture, at the first blush, to afford the
smaller portion of the Iberian peninsula the oppor-
tunity of offering Spain, now, a like reasonable chance
of amalgamation with Portugal, by the presentation,
to the two countries united, of the Portuguese
SOVERElGN—particularly, seeing that Spain is
almost, as one may say, for months past, going a-
begging for any Sovereign at all. Only, that, now,
upon the morrow of Marshal SALDANHA'S astound-
ing revolutionary seizure of Ministerial authority out
of the young KING'S grasp, the crown and sceptre of
Portugal, have in a manner been trundled into the
dust, and utterly and, as it seems to us, irretrievably
degraded. Alike among the Spaniards and the Portu-
guese, the monarchical system has received a shock
that threatens to prove equally disastrous, at Madrid
and at Lisbon, to that particular form of Constitu-
tional Government.

The unfortunate parish of St. Pancras will never
expiate its sins ; it is for ever called to the bar of
public opinion, there to receive the just sentence for
its shortcomings. Just as we thought the worst
was over, that old things had passed away, and a
new and better order of things would prevail, a most
astounding piece of intelligence appears, and the
public are frighted from their propriety by hearing
that the furniture and effects of the St. Pancras
Guardians have been seized by the broker, and will
be sold by public auction. The task of providing
legal assistance to defend themselves against the
charges brought against them has proved
more than they can accomplish. They en-
tered on a warfare without counting the cost,
and the result has been a fatal one. It is true
that those who are called upon to pay are not alto-
gether responsible, for the greater part of those who
offended the public last year have now been super-
seded, but the disgrace to them is the same whether
they actually bear the expense or not. At a special
meeting of the St. Pancras Board of Guardians on
Thursday a letter was read from the Poor Law Board
in answer to a message which had been sent
to them for advice in the emergency.
The Poor Law Board abstained from giving advice,
but suggested that an application might be
made to the Court of Chancery for an injunction to
stay the execution. • At the same time a hint was
given as to the reason of the persecution, the Board
reminding the Guardians that the " present difficulty
had arisen in consequence of the course pursued by
the late Board of Guardians, who, after the expenses
in question had been incurred, neither paid the
amount nor defended the action brought for their re-
covery." Mr. WATKINS said that he was willing to
contribute his share provided the Board agreed to
get over the difficulty. Mr. JOSEPH SALTER also
suggested that the money shoull be paid,
and declared that such would be the wisest
and most prudential course to pursue. "He
would move that a cheque be now signed, to
settle this unfortunate affair, and thus prevent a
great public scandal in the sale of the property of a
great metropolitan parish for debt." This wise
advice was not taken, and it was eventually resolved
to allow the law to take its course by the rejection
of Mr. SALTER'S motion, and the sale of the guar-
dians' effects will therefore be carried out this morn-
Ding. An exciting scene may be expected.
Much as this affair is to be regretted, some salu-
tary lessons may be derived from it. Perhaps it may
do no harm for the former Board of St. Pancras
Guardians to feel how completely they have
missed their destiny, and failed to secure the respect
of the community. Justice has overtaken those who
seemed indifferent to the voice of mercy, and if they
do not visibly and directly bear the loss of this affair,
every one knows where to impute the blame, and
whose culpable conduct has brought the crowning
disgrace on the parish. The sad disclosures of the
St. Pancras wards will dwell in -the minds of one
class, and the forced sale of the effects of the Guar-
dians live in the memory of another section of the