The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-02 00:00:00

sense.

THE exercise of sound and systematic economy in
any of the State departments is a rare luxury, and
the nation will act wisely in making the most of it.
An economical Government meets with so much
opposition from alarmed rivals and dissatisfied
interests, that the hearty support of the public
is needed to make the work a success.
In awarding such support the impartial mind will be
governed, not by this or that detail, but by the
general principle involved. The charges, for instance,
which Mr. CORRY raises against Mr. BAXTER
must not be allowed to keep out of sight
the real point at issue. Mr. BAXTER says
that stores to a vast and wasteful extent
were accumulated in the dockyards during the
reign of the last Government, and, indeed,
of their predecessors also ; Mr. CORRY affirms that
Mr. BAXTER'S calculations are exaggerated, and that
no excessive supplies had been laid up. The two
gentlemen may settle this question between them :
the important consideration for the public is that the
present Ministry is making an attempt to cleanse the
Augean stable of the Admiralty, and that previous
Ministries have been content to let the abuses
remain in peace. That the dockyards were
dens of waste, mismanagement, and fraud,
there can be no question whatever. The
history of their abuses is now a well established and
shameful chapter of political record ; but Mr. BAXTER
never speaks on the subject in the House without re-
vealing some fresh beauties. On Tuesday .night he
gave the House of -Commons some information on
the subject of bribery. It prevailed, he said, exten-
sively both in London and in the dockyards: Nor
were the bribers restricted to trifles, such as £lO
or £2O, but they were " mainly very much
larger sums." And, as Mr. BAXTER says,
it is not for a moment to ba supposed that com-
mercial firms would pay this money without some pro-
portionate benefit. "Certain tenders were opened with
all solemnity in the presence of the officials at Somer-
set House and at the Admiralty, but it had been
ascertained that certain messengers had keys to open
the boxes in which the tenders were placed."
Through this collusion between servants inside the
Government offices and dealers outside of them,
the nation had been swindled without stint.
So huge were the frauds that the new system
of economy was enabled to save £150,000
in respect of food alone, besides thousands here
and.there in every branch of expenditure. Mr. CORRY
in a party sense can gain nothing by bringing such
facts to light. Even in matters of detail, it does not
appear that he gained any advantage over Mr.
BAXTER; but touching the broad and general ques-
tion of economy, the verdict of the
,public must
decidedly be that the Ministry are attempting a great
work which lay open for their predecessors, but they
passed it by.

IT was expected that the Derby of 1870 would
be memorable above all other Derbies as an easy win
—Macgregor first, and the rest nowhere. It
has proved remarkable as one of the most
ridiculous fiascos in the history of our " national
sport." No other event of the kind can compare
with it. The surprise of the public when Hermit
came in first through the snow-storm in 1867,
when that rank outsider, Wild Dayrell,
overturned Lord of the Isles in 1856, and when
Amato just managed to do it in 1838, is
as nothing compared with the astonish-
ment at Macgregor's failing to win in
1870. This horse never ran in public before
the Two Thousand, which he won with unparalleled
ease, cantering in half a dozen lengths before King-
craft and the rest. A tew days ago he strengthened
the good opinion formed of him by winning
his second race very easily. At the Derby he was,
so to speak, nowhere. Kingcraft was a great
favourite before the Two Thousand and became a
despised out-sider, after he had cut a poor figure
in that race. He came in first for the Derby. Thus
both horses have alternatively ranked high
in the opinion of the prophets and of the
" talent." But when the prophets gave them
their suffrages they lost, and when the prophets
scouted them they won. It is the old lesson en the
faithlessness of horseflesh, but perhaps the moral was
never so strikingly enforced. And, no doubt, we
shall witness a little more entertainment of the
sdnie kind, Xingeraft will be held a great