The Sun.
London, England, 1851-05-14 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESD

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
FROM TILE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
TIMES.—The House of Commons did nut enter last
night upon the reconstruction of this State under the
auspices of Mr. Joseph Hume. It did not sit at all. It
was not because the great race between Voltigeur and
the Flying Dutchman was to be run at York. It was
not for the Great Exhibition. First in the list of Par-
liamentary notices stood a comprehensive motion, in-
cluding under one bracket household suffrage, vote by
ballot, triennial Parliaments, and uniform constituencies.
The result was—" No House." No more than twenty-
one bad courage to face a danger which no longer in-
spires terror by its novelty. The remaining six hun-
dred and odd Members of the House thought that their
time might be better employed than in listening to inter-
minable essays on the manifest evils of the existing Par-
liamentary system, and the not so manifest certainty
that we shall better ourselves by a desperate hap into a
new morel constitution. They also thought that it was
scarcely necessary to take the freshiass off a suhject
which is to come on in good earnest next year. By this
day twelvemonth we shall be deep in the mire of rotten
boroughs, wading through rivers of scandal, and
cutting our way through a forest of amendments upon
every clsuse in the sill then before the II ale,. The
la form Bail of 1852 will be the Titles A,,sumption
1311 of 1851 ; a eeceesary evil, a painful duty, and
a crisis that must be got over. There are times when it
is necessary to take a leap in the dark, end to do what
would be scandalous imprudence it it could be avoided.
That is a true apology for the measure which a Liberal
Ministry feels to be torced on itself by the recent con-
duct of Rome; and it is the true apology for so serious
a step as doctoring the constitution of Parliament, ?m-
-ortaring some of its limb, and sticking on others. We
mutt do it, just as it may happen one of these days that
we may have to submit to ampu'ation in our own bodies.
l'he holiday taken last night by the House proves some-
thing more than a reluctance to anticipate a disagreeable
question. It proves also that the House of Commons
nes very little taste for a Parliament which would bear
ebout the same relation to the present as one of the
fie ing machines in the gallery of the Exhibition does to
the more useful though less pretentious engines that
are spinning and weaving below. There are
plenty of people in this country who would be
glad to take their seat in a car, and by pulling a
tew strines, or flapping their arms, to find theta-
selves soaring over the Thames or the Straits of Dover.
There is only one thing they require. They must first
see somebody else doing it. Let one man fly from
Hyde-park to Woolwich, and millions will hurry to fol-
low his example. Let us once see any old-established
country like ours throwing away its old constitution, and,
adopting a spick and span new one with success, or even
without any serious mishaps, and 'the British people
may perhaps follow the example. Hitherto there is no
such encouraging example. The United States have
been driven per force to a constitution which, after all,
is not a mere democracy, and is very different from
anything our reformers have ever proposed for this
country. France, after trying all sorts of experiments
for sixty years, has still to look about for a constitution.
It is far easier to cut down a tree than to supply its
place. It is impossible to make an old thing. No
adoption was ever a perfect substitute for a natural
relation. A man cannot choose a new father, change
his brother, or select his children. So a political
constitution is a thing that exists, and cannot be
originated. We may watch its growth and :correct it;
we cannot throw it overboard and get a new one that will
answer as well. Notwithstanding the pains taken to
guard household suffrage by auxiliary institutions, the
stave authors of the six points, the five points, and
resee
the four points, have all made one fatal omission. Every
elector tahould be enabled to do his duty as a citizen
without cost to himself. Start not, gentle patriot, we
don't mean bribery. We only say that, inasmuch as
householders will not register, and when they are regis-
tered will not vote, it is desirable that they be induced
to do so. At present, out of the many hundred thou-
sand persons qualified to vote, probably not more than a
tenth actually avail themselves of the privilege at any
one general election. Thus only a fragment of the State
is in action at the most important crisis of public affairs,
end the Legislature is the delegation of a tithe of the
constituency—itself not much more than a tithe of the
population. We suggest, then, that in considera-
tion of the trouble of registration, perhaps more
than once since the previous election, and in
consideration of the one day, if not more, lost in
the excitement, the mental struggle, the attendances at
public meetings, and other preliminaries of an election,
and the final day lost in actually tendering the vote,
every elector shall be paid las, each time he exercises
his suffrage. Let others boast of having discovered a
planet or added a star to the firmament; we have added
a seventh point to the charter, On a liberal allowance
of six million male, adult, resident, unconvicted, rate-
paying householders, 10s. a head for each triennial
election will only be 1,000,00 A a year, spent in realizing
that grand idea a universal act of household suffrage.
Ut course, there would be always a contest, and every
elector would always be allowed an opportunity of ex-
pressing his opinions. What objection cal there be t
such a provision? Are not the members of the Legis-
lature paid in France, and in the United States?
Are not all persons paid for the discharge of high po-
litical responsibilities? Jurors are paid ; thee why
not voters, who are tut the great jury and
inquest of the State? At all events, we entertain
very little doubt that without this simple little pro-
viso, costing us rather more year by year than our
wars with the Kafirs, or our fortresses in the
Mediterranean, all the six points of the Charter, whe-
ther Joseph Hume's or Feargus O'Connor's, will be
found wholly abortive. " Money," they say, " makes
the mare go," and a little of that invaluable anti-attri-
tion will be wanted to grease the wheels of the People's
Charter. We beg to submit this idea for consideration
at the next general meeting of the Chartist Convention.
Should it gain the approval of that judicious and re-
spectable body, we expect to see Mr. J. Hume adding it
to his motion next year, when he repeats it as an amend-
ment to the Ministerial Bill for Parliamentary Reform.
The old practice was to make political power coincident
with social consideration. As we take a strong man for
au office that requires strength, and as we choose a
leading man for a leading situation, so the usage was to
take the ranks sad positions that were actually po-
tential and give them political signification. Hence
freeholders, burgesses, andother privileged persons
were made the depositaries ee political power, When a
g
country was conquered its great men and its wealthy
men were taken as hostages for the good behaviour of
the rest; and when it was governed in a peaceful
manner those same great'a:nd wealthy men were made
hostages in another sent,` viz., as responsible for the
geed government of the rest. The continual necessity
that has arisen for enlarging the circle of privilege, and
adding more and more to the original constituency, is
owing to the fact that the, old theory had ceased to be
fulfilled, and there was actually more power and wealth
out of the constituency than in it. Tne Reform Bill of
1832 only fulfilled the week of the Plantagenets. Had
a Member of any Parliament before the ;Georges risen
from his grave and seen the late unreformed House of
Commons, he would hate been astonished to hear of
very large and powerfel';,cities that were denied a re-
presentative in that House, and of many leading people
in Parliamentary boroughs who had no votes. Thus
the Reform Act fnlfilled the intention of Parliament, and
did not destroy it. The measures propounded by Mr. J.
Flume, and people of his way of thinking, begin with
destruction. Everything is to be pulled down, a clear
platform made, before they can commence operations.
Iu the interval, of coarse, we are to be houseless, and, if
any hitch should occur, houselese, inevitably, we must
remain-
DAILY NE WS.s—Lest night the more voracious de-
vourers of news were rather mystified by the late edi•
don of The Sun. Turning to the place in that journal
where the cJintnencement of the evening's proceedings
in Parliament are Wont to be recorded, they read with
surprise that " thesFlying Dutchman won by a neck."
Hail a tyrannical GOvernuseut compelled the newspapers
to substitute allegorical intimations of what was said iu
Perliament, RS used to be done in the early days or
Johnson, for the Long fide reports of our time? Was
Colonel Sibthorg'svith his motion on advertising vans
and street organs, typified by the Flying Dutchman who
had won by a nick?--or was it Mr. flume, with his Bill
for Parliamentary Reform? Further examination of
the broad sheet showed that there had been " no House"
,e,edinogne awlli:h
at the Commons, owing to the non-appearance of Mem-
bers at four o'clock, and that the news of the York races
had usurped the place usually devoted to the more tardy
moveneenh of the Legislature. Various were the speed-
latious as to the cause which had prevented House from
mieie. Some were of opinion that the Times had
Our contemporary had demonstrated in the
greet vigour of language, if not of logic,
morning,
that Mr. Hume and Mr. O'Connor were political Dro-
naios. Perhaps Hon. Members, looking through the spec-
tacles of the Times, had seen two O'Coenors in the House,
and had discreetly resolved to abstain from legislating
at a time when they aaw abstain
fro
less charita-
ble, looked at tho enormous list of motions for the even-
paper, and concluded that tbe House, in a fit
ing on the
of laciness, had recoiled from such a Herculean enter-
prise as to go through it. The quantity of work cut out
for One evening was
ertainly appalling. There were
no less than en notices
of
motions of the most
varied and contradictory kind. Mr. Ewart had one
motion to reduce the number of Members composing
Select Committees to seven; and Mr. Peto another to
increase th© number of Members on the Select Com-
mittee on the Kafir tribes to eighteen, In so far as the
principal motion of the evening—Mr.
Ilunee's Bill to
amend the national representation—is concerned, it is
yond probablenn , that little
opportunity
osf witnessing
beenlostby the adjournment be-
some painful exhibi-
tions of tergiversation and equivocation on the part of
professing reformers. Want of harmony and concert
among Members professing the same opinions—the utter
disroption and infinitesimal subdivision of all parties
in the Legislature, have reached their height. Every
man is " for his own hand," like the height. Every
smith
in "The Fair Maid of Perth." On the occasion of
the last division on the income-tax, the very small party
of sturdy independent Liberals divided itself, and went
to bullets. Mr. Cobden took up the gauntlet thrown
down 'by Mr. Hume. Last night, lir. Thomas Dun-
combe (cf all men in the wsrld) was prepared to give
Mr. Hume's motion for reform the go-by, by moving
that the discussion should be postponed till next session,
and even then confined to the question of tit-ended
suffrage, bunking the other points included iu Mr.
Bill. It is not worth while to conjecture what
moved tho Honourable Member for Finsbury to take
upon him so invidious a task as resisting a motion for
Parliamentary reform, when there was Mr. Disraeli
ready to assail it with hostile arguments, and Lord John
Russell to smother it amid professions of devoted affec-
tion. It is enough that Mr. Thomas Duncotnbe has
contributed another fact to prove that there are at this
moment almost as many parties in the LI ,use of Commons
as Members. Shall we condole with Lord John Russell
beeause the discussion has not taken place, or shall we
oQugratulste him? On
,the ono baud, he luis pagibly

I i.;L •

MR. HARD NICK and CAPTAIN SOMERSET.
Mr. Hardwick deserves all praise for his judicious de•
eision in the case of Captain Paulet Henry Somerset, of
the Coldstream Guards. It will have been seen, in our
police report of yesterday, that this gallant officer was
on Monday committed to the House of Correction for
ten days, for having brutally whipped a police-constable,
who was endeavouring to discharge his duty. The cir-
cumstances of the case are recapitulated in a few worth.
Captain Somerset, on Monday, about three o'clock,
drove rapidly into the park by the Kensington-gate,
disregarding the cry of the policeman stationed at that
spot. Police-constable Griffin, who was on duty on the
road, held up his hands as a signal to Captain Somerset
to stop, while the phaeton was as yet thirty or forty
yards distant from him. To this signal Captain Somer-
set paid no attention. As he continued to drive on,
Griffin endeavoured to explain to him that in accordance
with the orders of the Commissioners he must go by
Rotten-row, and not by the road. Captain Somerset in
answer merely whipped his horses, and the policeman
thereupon, in obedience to his orders, seized the reins.
The gallant officer immediately commenced lashing
the constable about the head and shoulders, and drew
blood from his face. Finally the policeman let go his
hold, and Captain Somerset drove off at a gallop, but
was overtaken and brought back by the mounted patrol.
For this offence he was brought before Mr. Hardwick,
who, having the option of inflicting a fine or sending the
prisoner to gaol, very judiciously committed Captain
Paulet Henry Somerset, of the Coldstream Guards, to
the House of Correction for the space of ten days.
Captain Somerset's conduct was, indeed, perfectly in-
excusable. As a soldier ho should have known that the
constable had no option but to obey orders. At any
time lie would richly have deserved the punishment in-
flicted upon him; but now,{when it is of so much conse-
quence to preserve public order during the progress of
the Exhibition, he was doubly amenable to the stern
justice of the magistrate. It is clear enough that the
payment 'of a fine is a matter of no consequence to per-
sons in the situation of Captain Somerset, but we have
a strong impression that for the future aspiring young
gentlemen will think twice before they assault a police
constable in the discharge of his duty. If, contrary to
anticipation, it should be otherwise, we trust all magis-
trates will bear in mind the leading case of Captain
Paulet Henry Somerset, of the Coldstream Guards.—
Times.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
ROYAL DONATION TO THE PORTSMOUTH SAILORS
HoME.—We are very happy to learn that her Majesty
the Queen has (through Colonel Phipps and Lord
George Lennox) most graciously presented 1001. in aid
of the Sailors' Home at Portsmouth. We are also most
happy to say that the home is progressing most satis-
factorily. Since the opening 100 beds have been occu-
pied; and on our going into the home on Monday we
saw eight seamen comfortably dining off a sumptuous
supply of roast beef and other good things.
The following officers attended the levee of the First
Lord of the Admiralty yesterday:—
Rear-Admirals—Sir John Hill and Wauchope.
Captains—Sir Henry Leeks, A. Murray, James
Dowman, Ryder Burton, K. 11., C. Pearson, S. G.
Fremantle, the Earl of Egmont, Sir F. W. Nicholson,
Bart.
Commanders—A. Mellersh, Edward Peirse, M. M.
Wroot, T. B. Bond, R. Connor, E. Franklin, C. Ha-
daway, St. Leger (late in command of the wrecked
Flamer).
Lieutenants—Alfred Kortright, P. Godfrey, Robert
Robertson, John Hill, B. Westropp, W. G. Scovell,
Edward Le Mesurier, W. C. Suliven, John Rainier,
John Douglas, W. C. Burbidge, Hon. H. W. Cnet-
wynd.
Master—A. M. P. Mackay.
The following officers attended the levee of the Senior
Naval Lord of the Admiralty yesterday:—
Captains—Ryder Burton, K.H., C. Pearson, J.
Dawrnan.
Commanders—J. Thompson, J. Camillieri, J. H.
Selwyn.
Lieutenants—J. R. Harward, C. B. Yale, Darley, A.
Graves, John Douglas, A. Kortright, W. C. S. Sulivan,
W. C. Burbidge, H. T. M`Killop, Hon. H. W. Chet-
wynd.
Inspector of Hospitals Sir B. F. Outram, M.D.,
F.R.S.
Master—J. K. Martyn.
Paymaster—John Grant.
Second Master—A. Collier.
Messrs. Elwards, Henry Cox, and Duff.
After the levees Sir F. Baring and Admiral Dundas
received M. Bellot, of the French navy, an officer highly '
distinguished in his profession, who, as we have already
informed our readers, has nobly and generously volun-
teered his services in search of Sir John Franklin and
the missing crews of ,the Erebus and Terror, is on the
point of embarking at Aberdeen, in the Prince Albert,
under the orders of Mr. Kennedy.
Sir Francis Baring, in appointing Mr. John Grant,
paymaster and purser of 1832, to be agent and steward
of Plymouth Hospital, has shown his estimation of the
high character and services of that gentleman, who has
been afloat for nearly thirty-two years—was in the'Alert
sloop of war, when captured by the United States fri-
gate Essex, in 1812; was made a purser by Sir James
Graham, in consequence of the accurate and excellent
way in which he rendered his accounts as acting purser
of the Helicon, Cadmus, Algerine, &c.; and who has
also served as secretary to Rest.- Admirals Hydo Parker,
C. 8., Sir Francis Collier, Sir Samuel Pym, and latterly
with Commodore Sir Thomas Herbert, iu the Brazils.
Although Mr. Grant only stands on the list of pursers of
1832, from the restrictions then existing, we find that
be passed his examination for that rank in 1817.
Prince Regent, 90, Captain Harris, was visited and
nspeeted by the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral the Hon.
Sir Bladen Capel, K.C.B. Yesterday she was paid ad-
vance, under the superintendence of Rear- Admiral Pres-
cott, and will sail to-day for Lisbon. She is well and
fully manned.
Avon, steam-tender, left Portsmouth on Monday, on
her return to Devonport.
Hogue, 60, screw-ship, Captain M‘Dougal, and Ajax,
60, screw-ship, Captain Quin, arrived at Spithead yes-
terday, from Queenstewu. Rear-Admiral Dixon ac-
companied the ships some distance at sea.
Lucifer, steam-vessel, Lieut.-Commander Jackson,
has arrived at Queenstown, from Gelway and coast of
Donegal.
Advice, steam-tender, to the Ajax, arrived at Queens.
town on Sunday afternoon from Bristol.
The Turkish frigate returned into Portsmouth har-
bour again yesterday morning, being towed in by the
Echo. She was dismantling as she came in for the pur-
pose of receiving new lower masts, her present ones being
rotten ; she will be supplied by the dockyard, and come
under the sheers to-day to be dismasted.
PORTSMOUTH, TUESDAY.—The Victoria and Albert
royal yacht, Captain Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, has
been taken out of the basin to-day and removed to moor-
ings up the harbour.
The Leopard steam-frigate has been taken into the
ship basin to-day, stripped of her jury rigging, and pre-
pared for coppering and fitting out.
The Mizat Zafir Turkish frigate, Captain Mahomet
Bey, has been towed from Spithead into harbour this
morning by the Echo, and prepared for new masting.
Spithead looks quite encouraging to the port residents
just now, four line-of-battle ships and two brigs being at
anchor, besides a fine merchantman and a Danish man-
of-war sloop just

- - ------
THE NEW SOUTH-EASTERN EXPRESS TSAINS.—
Since the first of the month, the South-Eastern Railway
Company have been running day special expresses via
Folkestone and Boulogne, and via Dover and Calais, alter-
nately, changing the hours of departure and the routes daily,
in order to suit the tides at the respective harbours. These
expresses achieve the journey, cleverly in from eleven o
t to
twelve hours. The servants of the company are greatly
be praised for their attention to travellers, and indeed the
whole of the arrangements are admirable. For instan
stepp ce, on
ed
arriving at Boulogne from Paris, by this express, we
out of the carriage into
ether ureau des Passeports, whence,
to our great delight, w pceived that all commissionaires
were excluded. We presented our passport at a pigeon-
hole, when a gentleman stamped a blue mark thereupon, in-
forming us that that would suffice fur permis d'enzbarcation.
" perrnis
There were no fees to pay, and plenty of time to take some
refreshment with comfort. The company's servants took
charge of all luggage, and it could not have been under
better care. In short, we have never male a pleasanter
trip by boat and rail. Those ancient terrors of travellers,
commissionaires, touters, donane, passeports, and
tnhgeuißshigehdt membersHomHen oryf
dembarcation," bide their diminished heads before the
energy and enterprise of the South-Eastern Railway di-
rectors.—Post.
theT‘hvehilgeapdaerrtys ahnadv many
eprs e e ndt eidsti
Tufnell,; I.P• for Devonport, and formerly Secretary of the
Treasury, 'with a splendid candelabra, as a testimonial of
of his their high personal respect and appreciation valuable
and laborious services in the cause of reform, more especially
during the four years he filled the most difficult of all
official trusts, Secretary to the Treasury. The candelabra
and plateau ave been beautifully
. , executed by the Messrs.
Gerrard