The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-21 00:00:00

Provincial Secretary is regarded in Southampton was
era yen forth under the geeiat iDfilitnet• ii a ban-
quet given in his honour by the Mayor and Cor-
poration. In both instances the tone adopted towards
the guest of the men of Southampton was singularly
consonant with the enthusiastic patriotism of his own
aspirations. Under all circumstances it was but na -
tural that the feelings of Mr. HOWE should be of no
very ordinary description, remembering, as he ac-
knowledged he did, the contrast of his present and of
his last visit to the principal port in Hampshire. His
appreciation, moreover, of its importance as a medium
for importation and exportation both for men and
commodities, served, it would seem, to enhance
in an extraordinary manner his interest in
his reception by its inhabitants. Situated
as Southampton is, according to his own picturesque
definition—with " the British Channel flowing by
them like a mighty river, the trade of the Baltic on
their left, and of the Mediterranean on their right, the
Isle of Wight standing as a natural breakwater at the
mouth of their estuary, a beautiful country around
them, and the royal city of Winchester, and the
imperial city of London, at their very doors"—no
marvel that it should appear to the representative of
Nova Scotia a circumstance affording him auspices of
the most encouraging nature to be welcomed in that
particular spot with such earnest and spontaneous cor-
diality. The greeting accorded to the Hon. Gentle-
man augured well, indeed, for the happy issue of his
undertaking, and indicated on the part of the people
of the United Kingdom an admirable familiarity
with the wants of our North American possessions.
From the remarkable speech delivered by Mr.
HOWE, on Tuesday last, to the inhabitants of South-
ampton, it will be seen that he himself is powerfully
impressed with the importance of carrying out the
purpose of his mission to the mother country ; and
that not only with a view to the advantage of Nova
Scotia and the adjacent provinces, but likewise to the
benefit in a peculiar way of the whole of the United
Kingdom. In illustration of this fact the Provincial
Secretary adduced a variety of interesting statistics—
all tending to demonstrate the advisability of some
organized scheme of emigration to our Transatlantic
territories. According to these statistics, Mr. HOWE
reminded his hearers of the fact, that in " this garden
of the world" no less a number than 1,876,541 per-
sons are annually relieved, and that the average cost
of each of those persons relieved is 31.58.10 d.—" more
than enough," he observed with some emphasis,
" more than enough to have shipped every man to our
own northern colonies, and made proprietors and free-
holders of them for life." Yet, with such abundant
opportunities of relieving ourselves from the incubus
of a huge and systematised pauperism, we have still
contented ourselves with allowing our Ameri-
can dominions, as it were, to lie fallow,
while, in 1848, in poors' rates, Ireland
yielded 1,216,6791., Scotland 544,0001., and England
6,180,7651. The natural, or rather we should say
the inevitable, consequence of this wide-spreading
destitution has been the perpetuation and increase of
crime among the masses. So large a class as this being
dependent upon the rest of the community, no wonder
felonies were multiplied throughout the population, no
wonder vice and depravity of all kinds, rising frequently
to the perpetration of the most hideous atrocities, should
flourish in these islands, spreading a blighting influ-
ence over its otherwise brilliant prosperity. Evi-
dence of this ghastly result was afforded by
the Provincial Secretary of Nova Scotia when
he recalled to the attention of his hearers
the circumstance that, in 1848, there were
in Scotland, 4,900 ; in England, 30,000 ; and in
Ireland no less than 38,552 actual committals for of-
fences !—constituting a vast and terrible total of 73,771
commitments, of which number, continued Mr. HOWE,
6,298 were transported and 37,373 were im-
prisoned. For the purpose of punishing so
many offenders we are compelled to resort
to a costly system of expiation—our prisons and penal
settlements draining a large quantity of the wealth
accumulated by the national industry. For the
purpose, again, of preventing, if possible, still
more numerous offences from being perpetrated,
we are driven to the necessity of supporting
a huge body of police and constabulary, whereby
we have expended, on the average, a gross annual
total of 1,140,0001.: " thus maintaining," remarked
the Honourable JOSEPH HOWE, "as many constables
in these two small islands as doubled the whole standing
army of the United States of America." The com-
parison is eminently suggestive. From it we
may be enabled to draw some wholesome conclusions.
For instance, we may learn from the force of such
arguments the truth that we are expending unneces-
sarily, and to no avail, sums of money annually capable
of extirpating to a very great extent from the United
Kingdom the germs of vice and the provocations
to criminality. From such statements, moreover, we
may learn again the truth that.we possses the means of
ridding ourselves to a very great extent, if not en-
tirely, of pauperism ; and, by applying the surplus
energies of the United Kingdom to the cultivation of
its colonial possessions, to pour into the lap of the
mother country riches hitherto permitted to be neg-
lected in their almost unexplored recesses. For im-
pressing these ideas most forcibly on the national
judgment we are indebted to the Hon. JOSEPH
HowE, the Provincial Secretary of Nova Scotia, a
gentleman who is still fortunately amongst us, endea-
vouring to carry out the generous intentions of his
Government. As affording encouragement to his
mission in England, we are peculiarly rejoiced to ob-
serve the earnest reception accorded both to himself and
his friend, Major ROBERT CARMICHAEL SMYTH, by the
Mayor and Corporation representing the inhabitants
of Southampton. The movement to which we have
here explicitly directed public attention is one calcu-
lated, we are convinced, to forward very perceptibly
the views we ourselves have so long advocated in re-
gard to our Transatlantic colonies.

There is a bold, manly spirit in English hearts, a
sound practical wisdom in English minds, that
speedily dispel any erroneous opinions that may have
been formed, or at least induce the people to grapple
fairly with existing difficulties, and to conform to
the conditions of the contest in which they are en-
gaged, rather than to maintain a useless struggle,
and issue unavailing protests against the indispensable
preliminaries. Although they may believe that they
have been badly treated, and may freely resort to the
Englishman's privilege of " grumbling," they will
not waste their entire time in childish lamentations,
or neglect the real business of life, in giving expres-
sion to their feelings of chagrin and disappointment.
The farmer may consider that " protective imposts"
are the chief source of national wealth, and that the
sun of England's prosperity set with the abolition
of the corn-laws, but, having sufficient sense
to know that free trade may now be regarded
as un fait accompli, and that any attempt to
disturb the recent legislative settlement, is but little
better than "biting a file," or "kicking against the
pricks," he will refrain from urging his own particular
views, but will redouble his exertions to meet the ad-
ditional competition to which he is exposed by im-
proved husbandry, and the more judicious and scien-
tific cultivation of his lands.
Everything now appears to indicate that the time
of Parliament will not be frittered away during
the rapidly approaching session by absurd
motions or protracted discussions upon the expe-
diency of reviving departed monopolies, and of com-
pellingthfeorctohme benefitmuity in general to submit to heavy
taxation of a
particular class; or, in
other words, to pay " tribute" to the territorial aris-
tocracy. There is too much to be done, and the time
for doing it is already too limited to justify so indis-
creet an application of the precious moments. All
the leaders of the party are declaring plainly and un-
equivocally the propriety of submitting to present cir-
cumstances, and straining every nerve in order
to make both ends meet. Even under the pre-
sent low scale of prices, while the farmers are af-
fording the best evidence that they themselves had
long since arrived at the same conclusion, the agri-
cultural societies, which, sometimes forgetful of the
objects for which they were originally created, had
become little better than political clubs, have
resumed their former position, and are now
chiefly attended by practical farmers, who
assemble together for mental instruction, "for
the purpose of extending and promoting the
knowledge of agriculture as a science." This is as it
should be, and despite the monetary crisis through
which the country has passed, and under which, not
the farmers exclusively, but the industrious classes