The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-02 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN GOSSIP.--TELUR SDAY.

panies, and was very interesting. None of the speakers
seemed satisfied with the action taken by the Legislature,
but some of the older members advised that it should be
given a fair trial, Mr. Cornelius Walford observing that
very little alteration would make the new enact-
ment worse than it now was. The proviso that
every new company should deposit £20,000 was
the topic most discussed. Various opinions as to its ad-
visability were expressed, some associates thinking it
would tend to diminish the number of unsound small
companies, and others arguing that it would prove in-
effectual. The chairman (Mr. Hodge), a gentleman well
known in the actuary world, gave it as his belief that the
new provision, making it incumbent on societies to pub-
lish their accounts in a separate form, would be more to
the advantage of the printer and waste paper dealer than
anybody else.
Lord Penzance, in referring to the Shedden case, ad-
dressing the bar, once said, " A case you may have heard
of," an expression that did not fail to excite a certain
amount of risibility among the members of the wig and
gown fraternity. If the Godrich case goes on much
longer a similar remark will aptly apply. After an im
mense amount of expensive litigation Mrs. Godrich has
obtained from Lord Penzance a new trial in the suit
where her husband was the petitioner. The jury
found that two of the witnesses who testified
against Mrs. Godrich were guilty of perjury, and
she obtained warrants for the apprehension of two more
whose evidence was of much the same effect ; but unfor-
tunately it has not been possible to execute them. Bear-
ing in mind that two of the persons who gave testimony
have been guilty of false swearing, it really seems neces-
sary to have the whole of this miserable business reviewed.
As by the new Act the two principals will be able to give
evidence themselves, perhaps their case may now be got
rid of.

The Eastern question has once more lapsed into compa-
rative obscurity. It arose at a convenient time to fill up
the dull gap in the chronicle of warlike events, whilst the
hostile armies were marshalling for the decisive campaign
round Paris. Now the great struggle has commenced in
earnest bOth at the capital anti on the Loire. It is evi-
dent that another great crisis of the war has arrived, and
the excitement here is well nigh as great as at any former
stage of this amazing contest. The newspapers are again
at a premium. The wildest reports fly about. Last
night serious credence was given to a rumour that Paris
had capitulated ; this morning, on the other hand, the
story was started, and had a good run,
that a great sortie had secured important advantages
for the French. All that can certainly be ascertained
up to the time that I am writing is that on Tuesday
sorties were made in several directions from Paris, the
most important being on the south. None of them, how-
ever, were very serious. They were evidently intended
as feints. Yesterday a great battle commenced on the
north side, on which, probably, the Germans are least
well prepared. The Army of the Loire has been severely
beaten, according to the German accounts ; and it would
appear that, on the whole, the French had the worst of
the battle. But the result can hardly have been so serious
as to prevent the army fighting again. The whole French
force was not engaged, and it is noticeable that King
William does not think the triumph so important as to be
worth while thanking Providence for. Doubtless, ere
this appears in print, more light will have been cast upon
these great events.
The Eastern Question, of course, is not altogether for
gotten. Some interest in it is kept up by the very
mysterious character of the negotiations—it being clear
that a Conference is under consideration, but
by no means evident how the terrible Russian
circular will be got over, whether it will
be withdrawn, or whether the English Government
will consent to wink at it. The dilemma is not easy to
overcome, since the withdrawal of the circular would be
a disagreeable feat of dirt-eating for Russia, and, on the
other hand, the tone of the document is, in English
opinion, the head and front of Muscovite offending.
Nevertheless, the apprehension of war seems to
have quite died out. Even that portion of the
Austrian press—and it is large and important—which
believes that the present is the golden moment for
Austria to make war, has hopelessly abandoned the propa-
ganda, and the whole valley of the Danube is now given
up to ploughshare and pruninghook talk.
Observers who are entitled to a hearing are of opinion
that the originators of this Eastern' difficulty, notwith-
standing the tall talk of the Russian press, and the admi-
rable disregard of ceremony shewn in Prince Gortscha-
koff's compositions, have sadly bungled. Mare proper,
perhaps, would it be to say that the plotters' distrust of
each other has marred the plot. The understanding, or
alliance, or whatever it may be, between Russia and
North Germany is accidental and temporary, not
natural and permanent. The two nations rather detest
than like each other. This distrust is the grearsafeguard
of the Southern and Western powers. In the present
case not only did Prince Gortschakoff spoil the combina-
tion by despatching his circular too soon, lest
Bismarck might refuse him his reward, as he refused the
Emperor Napoleon, but there is reason to think that
similar schemes have been frustrated by this lack of con-
fidence. Everybody knows that the mild Government of
the Austrians in Poland furnishes a disagreeable (to
Russians) contrast to the state of things in the
Muscovite share of the old kingdom ; and everybody
also knows that Bismarck's hunger for the Austrian-
German provinces is strong. Ido not intend to say that
any set combination for the spoliation of Austria exists
between her two formidable neighbours. But I have
of ten seen such a combination hinted at in
Austrian papers ; and it is no uncommon thing
to find a North - German or a Russian writer
speak of the heterogeneous combination of States
forming the Austro-Hungarian monarchy as legitimate
prey. It is certain that the Austrian statesmen live in
mortal fear of such a scheme. Hence the army at the
outbreak of the present war, hence the covert attempts to
break off the Southern States, particularly Bavaria, from
unison with Prussia. Of course a futile attempt on the
part of Austria to avert the dreaded catastrophe would
only precipitate it. Hence she caution displayed at
Vienna.

The British press is not to be congratulated on its dis-
crimination in regard to recent important matters of
foreign politics. The foolish tone respecting the war is
one instance ; the talk about the new king for Spain is
another. When the news came of Prince Amadeus's
election there was a general chorus of joy at the " settle-
ment" of the difficulty which has long troubled Spain;
your own journal, I believe, was one of the few
that expressed a doubt whether 193 votes,
when 173 were required for the bare majority, were to be
regarded altogether as a triumphant victory. Further
details from Madrid shew what a miserable business this
election was. The journals deride it ; the people disregard
it. On the day of the voting " shops and theatres were
shut, and the night passed in silence and darkness." Not
only did the majority amount to only eighteen more than
the minimum number required, but even this poor
superiority was largely made up of placemen. The Duke
was elected by the Progressist party, not by the Spanish
nation. He is the nominee of Prim, who hal
come to the conclusion that some settlement was required,
and who felt confident that the son of Victor Emmanuel
was not capable of disturbing his own personal ascen-
dancy. The new monarch will, to all appearance, begin
to reign, but he will not find the throne a bed of roses,
nor the troubles of Spain at an end.
One of the best amongst the war books will be the
" Seventy Days in Metz " narrative, which the
correspondent of the Manchester Guardian, who was
shut up in the fortress, is about to re-issue in a
complete form. It is one of the most valuable contribu-
tions to the history of the war. 11l luck placed this cor-
respondent in a rare position, and he has made the most
of it. The war correspondence of the Daily News
also appears in a collected form. With these two
compilations the student who would like to review the
war will find well-nigh all he requires. Some good letters
have appeared in other of the London papers, as well as
in the country, but there can be no doubt •as to
where the palm of superiority must be awarded.
Apropos to this subject I may notice that in some cases
the mistake was made of attaching correspondents too closely
to German headquarters. The Germans were willing to
tolerate such visitors, but only on condition that their
letters should be filled for the most part with idle gabble.
The journalists with the German army. have been too
much circumscribed in action, and too fearful of saying
anything unpleasant to great personages. Melancholy evi-
dence of this fact is furnished by the letters of the cor-
respondent who was once the most famous of his class.
The forthcoming Christmas season has forbidden the
appearance of much new drama, and the little there is
does not call for notice. Mr. Halliday's "Nell, or the
Old Curiosity Shop," is moderate. The original story is
dreadfully mangled, and the plot is therefore unsatisfac-
tory. Some good acting does a little to redeem the
general weakness of the play.

If the surrender of Paris takes place soon, we shall
then have time to look after our own affairs a little. For
next year there is no overpowering question, and con-
sequently the Government are preparing, I hear, a grand
social campaign. Mr. Bruce, who cut such an inglorious
figure last session, is to command a large army of bills
next spring, and it is hoped that he will lead at least a
portion of his forces to victory. He will take up his
Mines Regulation Bill, and others which were buried last
year will rise again ; a serious attempt will probably be
made to deal with the adulteration of food; and
there will very likely be a railway measure
dealing at once with the means of preventing
railway collisions, and of estimating the damages arising
nut of them. Mr. Bruce will have every chance of making
himself the hero of the session, One danger is serious.
It is no secret that the Opposition contemplate a grand
attack on the Government policy in respect of the army
and navy ; and this, with the war and the Eastern ques-
tion will furnish material for talk highly damaging to
the interests of the Minister whose good intentions last
year strongly reminded one of the proverb about the way
to -

MR. MUNDELLA ON LABOUR AND
STRIEES.

There can be no doubt that a muddle was made of the
elections for the School Boards in London. The arrange-
ments for taking the votes were not capable of meeting
any rush of ratepayers ; and when the working
men trooped up in hundreds after six o'clock, a com-
plete collapse was the result. By no means could the
officials get through the work by closing time, eight
o'clock ; and crowds of voters, many of whom had arrived
long before closing time, had to content themselves with
giving their candidates their best wishes. Some officials
seem to have become a prey to temporary insanity in
presence of the angry mob ; one individual distributed voting
papers to whomsoever chose to take them; and I myself saw
a polling-place closed at a quarter to eight. The remark-
able person who shed tears because he could not vote was
a rare example of delicacy in misfortune ; a good many
advocates of a sound religious education vented their dis-
appointment in a rougher and readier fashion.
The completion of the Albert Memorial, after from
seven to eight years' labour, is fixed for next spring ; but
from what I can see I am inclined to doubt whether the
end will he so soon. However, the work is
undoubtedly making rapid progress. The upper half of
the building, which is almost entirely • composed of gold
and mosaic work, is already uncovered. The lower half,
it may be as well to remind year readers, is chiefly of
granite and marble from the following places ;—Scotch,
from the Duke of Argyll's estate, the Irish from Castle-
wellan, the Italian from Carrara. At the top of four
broad flights of steps are the principal groups of statues,
which represent the four quarters of the earth. Europe
has been executed by Mr, McDowell, Asia, by Mr.
Foley, America by Mr. Bell. At the summit of the
second flight are four other groups, representing tho arts
of peace.—Agriculture, by Mr. W. C. Marshall ; Engi-
neering, by Mr. Lawlor ; Manufactures, by Mr. H.
Weekes ; Navigation, by Mr. Thornycroft. In the centre
of these last groups is the monument itself, the base of
-which is ornamented by bas-reliefs of the fine arts, Mr.
Phillips executing Architecture and Sculpture, and Mr.
„Amides& Poetry, g;}sic, and Painting. On the summit of
this pedestal is placed a colossal figure of the Prince Con-
sort, whom Mr. Foley represents wearing the robe of the
Order of the Garter, and seated in an arm phair. Finally,
over the figure is raised a magnificent dome of geld and
mosaic, which terminates in the form of a pyramid more
than half the height of the whole building.
Such is the tout ensemble of a work which is perhaps
the closest imitation of the Tower of Babel ever attempted.
The Albert Memorial resembles the unfinished edifice
on the plain of Shiner in the abaurd disproportion
of the means to the end, for assuredly posterity will think
it strange that such a stupendous edifice should be reaped
to the memory of a good husbanfl, whilst men and kings,
who have greatly influenced the destiny 9f the nation,
are honoured with a London street statue. In the
matter of " confusion," too, the memorial is not unlike its
great antitype, for many were the intrigues and conflicts
of interests which occurred during the progress of the
work, and greatly did they impede the undertaking, Intri.g4e
and interest kept Mr. Woolner out of the undertaking.
Intrigue and interest prevented Mr. Foley from taking
part in it until it became evident that the project could
scarcely be finished without him.

I make no apology for referring to the meeting of the
Institute of Actuaries on Monday. It was the first held
,since t'ie passing of the Ad relating to Insurance Com-

Mr. Mundella, M.P., lectured at the Co-operative
Hall, New York, on the 14th ultimo, on " Strikes,
Arbitration, and the Civil Service in Great Britain." In
the course of his address the hon. member said :—" The
relations of Capital and Labour is the question to which
I invite your attention, and I would ask you to consider
the conditions under which we approach the solution
of this and all other social problems as compared with
yourselves. You are an old people in a new country,
possessed of all the experience which centuries of European
success and failure have given you. You have no tram-
mels of caste or prejudice, or ancient institution remain-
ing, to overcome. We, on the contrary, are in an old
country, where all the resources of nature are already
appropriated. Where laws, traditions, institutions re-
quire to be changed. Where we cannot build up
without first pulling down ; and cannot pull down with-
out inflicting injury and loss somewhere. We have old
wrongs to redress, old neglects to repair, old class
prejudices and distinctions to remove. More than all, we
have a dense population in a sea-girt fortress without
power of extension or expansion. The tendency of
industry everywhere is to localise itself. We
have ' our iron and our coal districts, our cotton awl our
woollen districts. Ribbons are only made in Coventry,
cutlery in Sheffield, lace in Nottingham. Wherever
numbers are congregated engaged in the same
industry, community of interest and sentiment is certain,
sooner or later, to bring them into association. Trades-
Unions are the natural consequence. Combination is good
in itself if wisely directed. It is only to be deprecated
when the means it employs and the ends at which it aims
are not conformed to order and good government. It is,
alas ! too true that Trades-Unions have often been
managed by misguided men, have aimed at impracticable
and injurious ends, and have stooped to intimidation, out-
rage, and crime. In my country I believe these evil days
are fast passing away. The spirit of intelligence, and the
growth of co-operation, arbitration, and industrial part-
nerships are raising the condition of the workmen,
making more pleasant the relations betwixt the employer
and the employed, narrowing the area of strife, and
rendering strikes less frequent and loss aggravated.
In all the large, well-conducted trades unions of
England strikes are now of very rare occurrence and
very short duration. Still, both in England and
America, there is a large class which is bitterly hostile to
combinations, forgetful of the fact that labour can only
stand on equal terms with capital when it is a.ssociatel.
Combination enables the workman to deal on equal
terms with the capitalist. Invariably the power pos-
sessed by each has been exercised in turns to enforce
unreasonable demands on the other, and strikes and
lock-outs, in the absence of any reconciling influences,
have been the result. I cannot recall a strike in my
experience which has not bean attended with natural and
moral injury to the parties engaged. J could enumerate
several. in Oich the pecuniary lops has bpeu front
£500,000 to 21,000,000, and the moral ioss beyond all
computation. if I have correctly informed myself,
you are able to point to examples equally deplorable.
The nine months' strike of the puddlers at Pittsburgh, and
the one which has recently terminated in Pennsylvania, were
barren of any good result. I cannot discover that anybody
was benefited by the strike of the miners. They lost their
wages and expended their previous savings. Their em-
ployers lost the progt and interest of their invested capital.
The public lost in the high price of coals. And I fear it
will cause many a child to be ke?iLP early to work, and
many a family to wait longer for new" clothes. The
evil of strikes will, I think, be CO generally conceded,
that I need not detain you further with proofs. If, in
deficribing remedial measures, I appear to give undue
promin.snag to Boards of Arbitration, I beg it may not be
understood that.there is cny conflict of opinion between
Mr. Hughes and myself. I 414 siqcm Advocate of
co-operation and industrial partnerships,"

The Countess of Flanders gave birth on Wednes-
day to twins, girls.

oAc4.oiyp.---Cacoa. nibs on the removal of the oil fall
into powder, and this powder is eaefikine. Cac6.oine contains
neither Sugar nor any ether admixture whatever. Cee,Soino makes
one of the lightest, thinnest of warm drinks, and is the most de
sirable of all for use In the later hours of the day. Packoine, by
reason of the ingenious method by which the oil is removed, pre-
serves all the fine natural savour of
.cacao nibs.---Prepared only
by James Epps end Co., Homceopathfc Chemists, 112, Great Rus-
sell-street ; 170, Piccadilly ; and 48, Threacirteediers treet ; at their
Works for Dietetic Preparations, Euston-road.—Arn.

IHE SUB, LONDON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2,18 n.

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT ACCEPTS
THE CONFERENCE.

Intelligence has, we aro informed, reached her
Majesty's GoVernment that the Cabinet of
Petersburg has readily accepted the proposition of a
Congress, to be held in London, on the Eastern ques-
tion. The answer of the Tours Government to the i
quiry of Lord Lyons whether France would take part in
the Congress has not yet been made public, if it has
been received. A telegram from Tours says a dispo-
sition. exists in official circles there to consider the
conduct of England as " abnormal " in seeking the
adherence of France to a proposal which emanates
from Prussia.—Pall Mall Gazette.

A Standard telegram says that a Council of
Ministers held at Pesth on Wednesday resolved that
Austria would accept the propose l Conference only
if Russia expressly acknowledged its competency
and withdrew notification. Lastly, if the other
Powers agree, to adopt joint action iu case Russia
refuses.