The Sun.
London, England, 1870-09-30 00:00:00

METROPOLI rAN GOSSIP.-THURSDAY.

) Alderman David Salomons, M.P. for Greenwich, had
rather a nzauvais quart d'heure last night among his con-
; stituents. They are thoroughgoing Liberals and great
economists, only it must be understood that Government
must not economise at their expense. It is a fine thing
to knock two millions off the military estimates, but then
this must be effected without reducing the establishments
of Woolwich and Deptford by a single man. As this con-
' d i don was not complied with, the electors are very angry and
' are particularly displeased, that Mr. Gladstone did not
yesterday give them the opportunity of speaking their
mind. Some of them seemed to think that the Prime
Minister's absence was due rather to fear than to press of
business. Viewing the whole of Europe through Deptford
and Woolwich spectacles, they thought it much more likely
that Mr. Gladstone should be afraid of their clamour
than that he should be occupied by the tremen-
dous European crisis. As a matter of fact, I
happen to know that the Premier is incessantly
occupied by foreign affairs. Those who have the good
fortune to serve him in the capacity of secretary have
found their posts this summer as arduous as that of bar-
risters in large practice during term. They have had
to work early and late, and holiday has been to them a
word without meaning. In connection with this subject
I cannot refrain from expressing my astonishment at the
complaints made even in Liberal circles at the apathy of
our Government with respect to mediation, both as regards
the present crisis and that which preceded the war. Even
the Times has, within the present week, intimated that if
Lord Granville had spoken with sufficient plainness the
war would not have broken out. That the public should
have a short memory and forget to-day what was done
two months ago may be excusable, but that journalists
should be so oblivious of important events is unpardon-
able. They have apparently forgotten all about
the urgent despatches which Lord Granville wrote during
the first fortnight of July. It was on July 4th that
he took office, amid the congratulations (offered the day
following) of Mr. Hammond, at the unparalleled clearness
of the political atmosphere. It was on the afternoon of
the sth that he received the news of the Prince of Hohen-
zollern's candidature, and from that time until the decla-
r.ttion of war on the 15th, he was incessantly engaged in
writing to our ambassadors at Paris, Berlin, and
Madrid—Lord Lyons, Lord Augustus Loftus, and
Mr. Layard—with the object of preventing the
war. At last, when it became inevitable, he warned
France that if she persisted in making war after the with-
drawal of the original ground of complaint, public opinion
would be against her.. Persons who doubt the energy or
the prudence of our Government should study the des-
patches, which, be it remembered, elicited praise from
both political parties in Parliament.
In truth, there is need of confidence in our statesmen
just now. • The political horizon becomes more
clouded every day. The refusal of France to
accept the terms which Bismarck demanded
as the conditions of an armistice, will make
future negotiations more difficult than ever. Now that
Strasburg has been captured, Prussia will riot let it go
again, will not consent to its being dismantled, but will
make it a " second Gibraltar." Nor can it be doubted
that she will do the same with Metz, and that she will
emand the cession of the country right up to the Vosgesd
Mountains. The frontier line will in all probability be
still further strengthened by the purchase or Luxemburg
from the King of Holland, who would be only too happy
to sell that very undesirable estate of his. Bismarck's
onerous conditions will go far to reduce France from a first
to a second class nation. Meanwhile there is too much reason
to fear that Russia is preparing to take advantage of the
French collapse to strike that blow in the East which she
did not venture to strike so long as it would have called an
Anglo-French army into the field. Many accounts coincide
in speaking of the great military preparations of the Czar.
General Fleury endeavoured to persuade him that his
interest lay in an understanding with France ; but the
French warrior-diplomatist was not able to entice the
Court of St. Petersburg into a Russo-French compact.
Even if there were ever any prospect of it,
there is of course none now, and Russia has only
to reckon with England in making her calculations. It
is probable that English opposition to Russian designs is
not reckoned as a very serious matter.
A well known English man of letters lately returned
from western France tells me that, respecting the late
French Government, which goes far to explain the
collapse of the French armies. He says that he met with
the son of a Norman farmer who had just been summoned
to join the army. Only a very little while before this he
had been drawn in the conscription, and being an only
son his father paid for a substitute 2,000 francs (280).
This fact was represented to the military authorities, but
they said it made no difference, the young man must
serve. " Then," said he, "at least you will repay the
2,000 francs." Not a bit of it. "And so," said the
young man to my friend, " I am going to fight for those
rascals who have robbed my father. Well, if I get a
chance of shooting the Pruss, I shall shoot him,
of course, but I will take precious good care to get
made prisoner at the first favourable opportunity."
A good deal has been said about the Emperor's private
fortune. Very probably the amount has been greatly
exaggerated, for if Napoleon took freely he had
to spend freely. At the same time it must
be remembered that more than one handsome
fortune has been left either to him or to his son. It is
only about eighteen months ago that the Prince Imperial
inherited the large fortune of the Countess Bacciocchi,
who died of smallpox. The Napoleonist London journal
La Situation accuses the Orleans family of spending their
money in political bribery. The Duke of Montpensier is
openly accused of having furnished the gold which was paid
to Admiral Topete for inducing the Spanish fleet to mutiny
at Cadiz, the incident which led to the fall of Queen Isa-
bella two years ago. I suppose the Situation has never
heard the old motto " Honi soit qui mal y pease"
By the way, it is two years to-morrow that the last of the
Bourbons abdicated, and all that time Spain seems to have
got on very well without either Monarchy or Republic.
The Pall Mall Gazette of last night had a rather sharp
article upon the four newspaper correspondents, who

wrote to the Times, denying the assertion made by M.
Thiebling, (" Azamat Batuk") as to Prussian outrages
upon French women. The article was in some measure
deserved, but the Pall Mall is not wholly right in
treating the four writers of the letter as journalists. Mr.
N. P. Woods is one, was in fact for .a short time and
until lately, on the Pall Mall's own staff, but is now
correspondent for the Scotsman. Mr. Ernest Hart is a
well-known London medical man, and is so far a journalist
that he used to edit the British Medical Journal. But Mr.
Arthur Leech, and Mr. M. G. Maclaine are rather mili-
tary than literary men. Mr. Leech is Major of the
London Irish Rifle Volunteers, and usually President of
the Irish Eight at Wimbledon, He is a retired
military officer of means, and I believe represents
no journal on the battle-field. So, too, Mr. Maclaine is
a retired young officer of the 6th (the Carabineers)
Dragoon Guards.
One would like to know what our French visitors who
now throng the streets of London think of this province
of houses. London happens to be unfortunately just now
redolent of gas. In Regent-street, Waterloo-place, and other
leading thoroughfares, execution is being done on the gas
pipes, and the air is almost unbreathable. There is
another curious phenomenon. Shoeblacks and news-
boys have turned philanthropists, and started boxes for
the receipt of the pence of the benevolent, who desire to
help the sick and wounded. A street gamin, is not
exactly the banker one would choose; but, of course, the
red cross conspicuously painted on his box forbids all
idea of misappropriation.

One of the effects of the war has been to break up
several of the nunneries in France. English Rontan Catho-
lics who had sent their daughters abroad to some of these
establishments, and who had not seen them for ten or
fifteen years, and never expected to see them again in this
life, have just received them back, with somewhat of the
same feeling as though they were looking upon women
risen from the dead. These ladies have received a partial
dispensation from their vows, and are about to proceed to
America, there to open conventual and educational estab-
lishments. They say that they have been expecting a
revolution in France for the last twelve months, so recent
events have not taken them unawares.

The new halfpenny postage stamps have been issued,
and are pretty enough. They are red, and about two-
thirds of the size cf the ordinary penny stamp. The
halfpenny embossed cards are not yet for sale, and will
not be issued until Saturday. It may interest your readers
to know that Government pays the contractor who sup-
plies it with postage stamps 2id. per I,ooo—not a very
ruinous per tentage, certainly.

• Literature is still in the lowest depths of dulness. The
literary journals find it hard work to get books for review,
and their advertising columns have shrunk wonderfully.
Sir Charles Mike, warned by the severe treatment which

Mr. Hepworth Dixon's "Free Russia " received at
hands of some of the critics, has deferred his own
in tended work on Russia. Mr. T. A. Trollope's new
" Siren," comes out on Saturday. Mr. Theodore
[artin has been doing Horace for Blackwood's edition of
" The Classics for English Readers." Mr. Jeaffresou
has in the press a work on Oxford, which will do for that
university what his recent " Book about Clergy" has done
for that body. The tale " Against Time," which recently
appeared in the Cornhill, is by Mr. A. I. Shand, who has
bemi one of the correspondents at the seat of war, and
is now writing a book "On the Trail of the War." Mr.
Rossetti's poems -have reached a 4th edition. Lord
Amberley has an article in the forthcoming number of
the Theological Review on " The Religious Problem in
Education." Mr. Scott Russell has one in Macmillan on
the loss of the " Captain," and in the same Magazine Mr.
Stopford Brooke has an essay on Ruskin's'" Lectu;es on
Art." Mr. John Morley has written in the Fortnig,aly on
" England and the War."

Those who are puzzled to determine the provisions of
the Education Act, after its many transformations, may
End assistance in a little book, by Mr. Hugh Owen, jun.,
barrister, and head of department in the Poor-law Office.
This gentleman has even thus early prepared an edition
of the Act, with explanatory notes. His work contains
an introduction, in which the provisions of the measure
are set forth at length in plain language. Then follows
the Act itself, explained by an adequate accompaniment
of foot-notes. At the end are printed the various Acts
incorporated with Mr. Forster's measure, with the excep-
tion of one or two very lengthy ones. The compendium
is of very small bulk, and will be found very useful.

SIR D. SALOMONS, M.P., AT GREENWICH.
. On Wednesday evening Alderman Sir David Salomons
met his constituents at the Greenwich Lecture Hall. The
hon. baronet was accompanied by Mr. W. Angerstein,
late M.P. for the borough. The Lecture Hall was filled
to overflowing, and the great body of the meeting
listened to their senior representative with attention. The
proceedings were, however, incessantly interrupted by the
exclamations of a small knot of roughs, who appeared to
have been sent in to create a disturbance. Owing to this
• cause Sir David's remarks necessarily partook of a frag-
mentary eharacter. Dr. Purvis was called to the chair,
and, after a few prefatory remarks, called upon'
[ Sir David Salomons, who said that nothing could be
more complimentary than the presence of so crowded an
[ assembly. He only regretted that his right hon. colleague
• could not, in justice to the position he held and in the
I present condition of affairs in Europe, be present. He
had now to congratulate them on the great measures
• passed during the last two sessions. In the midst
of these benevolent desires and preoccupations
on the part of the British Parliament and
Government, there had suddenly arisen a conflict
of which they had seen the beginning, but which it
would be very difficult for any one to trace to the bitter
end. The old hustings motto of the Liberal party used
to be "Peace, Reform, Retrenchment, and Non-interven-
tion." Now, what was the meaning of non-intervention
It was that we should not interfere in other people's quar-
rels. The rule had, however, this disadvantage, that if
we did not go to help other people when they were in'
trouble, we could not expect them when we were in trouble
to come and help us. (Cheers). They might, however, re-
member what the Government had done in this unhappy
contest. At the breaking out of hostilities our Go-
vernment succeeded in obtaining renewed pledges from
both belligerents to respect the integrity of Belgium. The
result was that, although there was war to the knife be-
tween France and Germany, Belgium had not been inter-
fered with. Was it nothing to have kept the faith of
treaties and to have preserved Belgium from the horrors
of war ? (Cheers.) There was no harm in going to Prussia
and doing what we could now that France was sufficiently
humiliated. (A cry—" Come to Greenwich.") He
supposed they referred to the reductiuns. The
House of Commons had its hot and cold fits
of economy. A year or two ago there was a
cold fit. Now there was a hot one, and the
army and navy were to be increased. 'The Government
had got rid of Woolwich dockyard. (A. voice ; " Who
did it?") A committee of the House of Commons did it-
The notion on the part of the House, -the
Government, and the shipbuilders of that day was to
build ships so large that they could do anything but
keep at sea. It would have been better if
smaller ships, with less draught of water, and floating
batteries had been built for the defence of our coast.
These vessels, it was now admitted, were wanted, and
,Woolwich dockyard would have been useful for build-
' ing them. (Interruption.) Reverting to the subject
of education, the worthy alderman remarked that the
population of this country was supposed to be 25,000,000,
and the children who ought to go to school might be
taken at one-tenth of that number. There should, there-
fore, be 2,500,000 children receiving instruction in schools.
There was school accommodation for about 2,000,000,
but there were only 1,500,000 children receiving educa-
tion in certified schools. In Deptford, out of 4,597
there were only about 1,700 attending school. Of 5,053
children in Woolwich the average number receiving in-
struction was not more than 2,935. In Plumstead out of
2,450 children only 1,272 were on an average getting the
schooling they needed, so that there were about 16,000
children in this borough who ought to be receiving the
benefits of education, while less than half that number,
or 7,679, were actually attending school. (Hear,
hear.) Now, the electors of this borough would bye-
and-by have to elect a •School Board, and they should
take care that this School Board was composed
of the right sort of men, who would do
their duty to the rich and poor alike. There
were in Greenwich a great many endowed schools, and
the School Boards ought to provide that those endowed
schools should have their funds rightly employed for the
improvement generally of the education of the people of
the district. Sir David Salomons then replied to various
questions put by his constituents. At the conclusion of
his address Alderman Salomons narrowly escaped
a vote of censure from his constituents. The following
amendment to a resolution was proposed by working-
men :—" That this meeting is of opinion that Sir David
Salomons has regarded the interests of the Corporation of
the City of London, of which he is an alderman, as
superior to the claims of the local interests of Greenwich,
Woolwich, and Deptford ; that he has not consistently
adhered to the pledges upon which the Nonconformists of
the borough gave him their support, especially on the
University Tests and Education questions ; and that he
failed in his duty to the advanced Liberals in neglecting
to press the Ballot Bill and other necessary reforms in the
franchise." The chairman declared against the amend-
ment, but a protest was entered.

THE MARQUIS OF AYLESBURY ON THE
WAR.

At the Marlborough Agricultural Association dinner on
Wednesday the Marquis of Aylesbury in the chair, Sir

George Jenkinson, Archdeacon Stanton, and a large
party were
.present. In proposing the toast of
the Army and Navy the Marquis of Aylesbury
said he drew lessons from the war. Two
powerful neighbouring nations of military tendencies,

and warlike ideas were in a state of permanent excite-
ment towards each other ; it should not astonish them
going to war, and he did not think there was much to
choose between them. Our own insular position is our
chief protection, but that was no reason for leaving our-
selves entirely defenceless, though with a good fleet we
ought to be prepared. With regard to the land forces, when

the troops returned from the colonies we would have
80,000 regular troops, 100,000 militia, and 150,000
Volunteers. Without discouraging the Volunteers, who
were invaluable, there was no shewing that the military
spirit existing, would not be dependent on them for
defence. Country courage was the same in all nations;
discipline was everything, and he strongly advocated the
Prussian system. As he had astonished others three

years ago, prophesying compulsory education, so
now he prophesied every man would be com-
pulsorily liable :to serve his country. Recruiting for
the militia he abjured, as it was taking from the line
regiments. Every young man, with necessary exception,
should be bound legally to serve his country two or three
years, and it would not be found to be a great hardship to

be liable to be called out to resist invasion. He was utterly
opposed to voluntaryism in any form.—Sir George Jenkin-
son, as a county member, touched on leading topics,

showing the futility of English attempts at intervention

or doing anything, whereby a little army was swallowed
up as a mouthful by a vortex of men. There was nothing
more humiliating than brandishing the sword in the day

of deliberation, and then in the dayof fighting brandishing
simply the pen. He proposed the organisation
of the reserve forces and the employment of
half-pay officers. He had no sympathy with either com-
batants. If he had, he would have thought Prussia
might have affected sufficient magnanimity to accept the
terms France offered of completely disarming herself.
There was no blacker page in history than the way in
which the French people turned on the Emperor in the
hour of adversity, chewing the danger of letting loose the
tide of democracy, without even a government to treat
+with the enemy.

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