The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-11 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 1856.

I❑ our impression of yesterday we extracted
from the Independance Beige what it states to be
" the text of the propositions submitted to Russia
by Count ESTERHAZY." The journal in question
should be a good authority on all questions re-
lating either to Austria or Russia. Although it
may not be regarded as a Muscovite organ, like
Le Nord, it has still so palpable a leaning to the
Russian side of the question—its political glasses
have so manifestly been manufactured at St.
Petersburg—that we may fairly assume that it will
receive early and authentic intelligence from that
quarter, to say nothing of its sources of informa-
tion from Vienna or Berlin. There is also a
vrai,semblance about the matter that induces us to
yield an easy credence. The propositions thus
communicated are exactly what we might have
anticipated from Austria—looking in some slight
degree to the interests of Europe, but with micro-
scopic power to its own peculiar advantage—if,
indeed, they are intended ever to come into actual
operation, or to do more than form a basis for
renewed negotiations as abortive as those which
have long since been consigned to " the tomb of
all the Capulets."

It will, indeed, be obvious to the most superfi-
cial reader that they are far less precise, and offer
much greater opportunities for quibbling than the
articles or points communicated by the Plenipo-
tentiaries of England, France, and Austria to
Prince GORTSCHAICOFF On the 28th of December,
1854. Indeed the sense and meaning of the new
propositions are virtually the same as those for-
warded to St. Petersburg more than twelve
months since, and which were accepted by the
then CzAR, but flagrantly disregarded by his-suc-
cessor.

There is but one important difference, and that, hang a dog—unless, indeed, the dog on trial were
as we have already remarked, when commenting a poor man's lurcher. The tendency of the game
on the substance of the so-called ultimatum, is en- laws to turn rustics into criminals and magistrates
tirely for the benefit of Austria, who probably into village despots has always been thought
hopes to convert her temporary occupation into a by humane men their most flagrant evil—the
perpetual possession. She desires the rectification one which should have kept Mr. BRIGET to his
of the Russian frontier with Turkey in Europe, work, whether the farmers would do their part
or, in other words, with the Danubian Principali- or not. On Thursday we gave a notable illustra-
ties, which she anticipates making her own. For tion of what game-law magistrates could do, and
that she is willing to give up—wha.t 7—" the how readily, in a transport of rage over the body
strong places and territories occupied by the of a dead pheasant, they could incarcerate a half-
Allied Armies." Nothing is to be surrendered witted farmer's crow-boy. Sir GEORGE GREY did
within the power of Austria to accede, but she is not this time interfere to vindicate the laws of
excessively liberal on all points that have been ac- evidence or the rights of common sense, so Lord
quired by thousands of French and English lives, LONDESBORGEEH generously and justly did duty
and millions of French and English treasure, and for the Home Secretary ; his five-pound-note
she takes especial care not to complicate the issues by serving the poor lad's reputation quite as well
any reference to the Asiatic frontiers of Turkey as a missive from the Home Office could do,
or the Muscovite encroachments in any direction and serving his pocket much better.
save that of the Danube. Kars is altogether HENRY HOME, a lad somewhat deficient in in-
ignored—and Russia may, for aught that Austria tellect, was charged with h • • eying killed a pheasant
cares, possibly hold permanent possession thereof, belonging—Kee. Was the ownership proved ?)—to
and obtain an ample equivalent in Asia for what the Hon. Member for Dover, Mr, E. R. RICE.
she surrenders in Bessarabia. Nor is there any A keeper heard a gun fired, went to the place, saw
allusion to the Baltic, or stipulation against acts the hid on a footpath on the land of the lad's
of aggression against the Scandinavian kingdoms, master, and the lad, on being questioned, said he was
or the establishment of " standing menaces" shooting rooks. Next morning the keeper found
against their integrity or security. So far as can a pheasant dead in the cover, within shot of the
he collected from the text above set forth, footpath—it was lying on the ground not con-
Austria remains true to the selfish policy which sealed in any way. The keeper watched and saw
with her is as " traditional?' as that of aggression the defendant first at 11 a.m., next at 3 p.m.,
Russia: She cares for Austria, and Austria pass near, but not notice the bird. He then
only—and all other matters, albeit of "European went up and charged him with shooting it. The
interest," are totally disregarded. poor lad denied it—then admitted that he shot
The Danubian Principalities are "to receive at the pheasants to scare them away. He did
an org'anisation conformable to their wishes, to I not intend to kill it. He only shot at them with
their 'wants:, to their interests ; and this new i atones. A magistrate, with the handle Sir to his.

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name—Slß B. BRIDGES—here intervened to save
the honour of the tenant—" Your master,
no doubt, told you to shoot the rooks." Poor
HARRY Honig here let out a world of wit in
weakness, " But there is a terrible many of them
other birds, aad I was told to drive all birds off
the land." All birds. To be sure—farmer
HARVEY suffered ten times more from Mr. Rice's
pheasants than from all, the rooks for twenty
miles round. Poor HARRY'S little wit was set
upon saving his master's orop. He well knew that
every grain these preserved vermin scratched up
and eat—(for vermin they wore to the farmer)—
lost kis master one hundred grains next August.
HARRY treated all the vermin alike therefore.
HARRY thought it too bad, that when wheat was
80s. a quarter, and bread a shilling the quartern
loaf, " them other birds," worse than the rooks,
should not share the fate of rooks, Well, such
was all the evidence. The Bench " consulted "
" considered the case clearly proved against him"
—" ordered him to pay 3/. and 178. 6d. costs,
Or ONE MONTH'S IMPRISONMENT WITH HARD
LABOUR

Poor MARRY-

I work for."

" I have no money but what

Sir B. BRIDGES—" It :will be a very good

warning for you."

Poor HARRY—
Chairman—" No."
Poor HARRY—" I have got 10e."
Chairman—" That won't do."

" Will you allow me any time ?"

Poor HARRY was accordingly taken to prison !
Probably at the rate of his wages the month's
imprisonment and hard labour were not very dif-
ferent to a fine which would have half starved
him for six months ; but starvation and liberty
were the choice of a half-witted English lad.
What shall we say for the heartless abuse of jus-
tice for the sake of a cock pheasant by a Bench of
English Magistrates ?

Lord LONDESBOROUGH, to his infinite credit, did
something more than burn with indignation for
the reputation of the county magistracy, and
for, a wrong which surpassed the worst tales
of rural Turkish justice. He sent poor HARRY
a 5/. note. Never since five-pound notes were
invented was ene better 'used. It goes far to
redeem the character of the order—Couaty Magi-
strate. Not, however, to redeem the character
of that particular Bench—one of whose number
could not rest without venting his mortification
in a letter of cur-like insolence to his Lordship,
which, of course, his Lordship will preserve as a
curiosity. Will Mr. BRIGHT return to his old
battle with these country justices and the game
laws, and leave that with Russia to us ? It will
be better than wanting us also to strike our flag.

The fact that in this country the extremest
gnorance and poverty are to be found daily and
hourly alongside of the highest civilisation and
luxury to which humanity has, as yet, attained,
is too apparent to escape the observation of any
intelligent Englishman, and presents too startling
an anomaly not to stimulate him now and then
to reflection. He has but to perambulate the
lanes and alleys of our cities, to cast a hasty
glance at the miserable, crowded, and unwholesome
tenements of the poor, and pass from thence to
our aristocratic squares, and on to our crowded
thoroughfares, to feel convinced that the regions
of darkness are hardly further from the regions
of light than is the lowest poverty from the
heaven of the soci.sl scale. Yet •how much after
suoh a tour remains to he revealed ? What a
depth of ignorance, depravity, and woe, what a
height of intelligence, benevolence, and enjoy-
ment confront his eye in the pages of the daily
and weekly press. Reports of inquests held
by the coroner, of the police-office, of the
Courts of Assize, of the gaol and of the peni-
tentiary, we find alongside reports of festive
proceedings of the meetings of philanthropic
institutions, of deeds of charity and mercy, of
scholastic triumphs, and of the results of scientific
application directed to the promotion of the natio-
nal welfare ; alongside of advertisements, also, in
which invention offers luxury to enjoyment, com-
fort to suffering, and the mitigation of toil to
the over-burdened who can pay for it. No won-
der, then, that in dealing with the subject of
Ragged Schools, a veteran Statesman like Lord
J. Russ Em. should draw attention to an anomaly
so patent and so deplorable, and throw out some
suggestions in order to its mitigation. The
wonder would have been had he not done so.
Having noticed the greater attention bestowed
of late years than formerly on educational subjects,
and the progress made both in the quality and
accessability of the means of material comfort, so
that we were now enabled with small means to
obtain clothing and furniture which might have
been envied by the richest of the land three or
four centuries ago, we find him speaking after
this fashion :—" Yet in the midst of this age of
civilisation, and in a country proud, and justly
proud, of what the labour, the skill, the ingenuity,
and the science of man had accomplished, we
found that in the midst of society—in London,
close by the dwellings of the highest and noblest
of the land, in the cities where our great manu-
factures flourished, and in the townssupplied with
every convenience of life----that there were per-
sons in the lowest class of society, and, in a
country which traded with the countries of the
whole world, knowing nothing of geography
(would that were all !) ; in a country boasting of
its history and constitution, knowing nothing of
that history and constitution ; but more than all,
in a country where the light of the Gospel was
spread around, knowing nothing of the truth o

religion, and to whom the name of GOD and
of CHRIST was unknown." Having established
the truth of his assertions by a reference to the
reports of the chaplains of gaols and inspectors of
prisons, we find him casting about for the cause
of a state of things like this. The poverty of the
lower classes Y Yes, in their poverty he finds a
clue to their ignorance—a poverty which is the
result of excessive competition, and which de-
prives them of the means of doing more than ob-
tain enough for their daily sustenance—a poverty
and a competition which, in his opinion, no law
ner the adoption of any socialistic theory could
remedy, but which in ours good legislation might
greatly mitigate. Having arrived at this conclu-
sion, hardly worthy of an enlightened Statesman,
we come to his dernier resort ; and that is, fur-
nishing the lower classeswith such means of educa-

tion, that their children need not grow up in a

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state of ignorance so gross and deplorable, but

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should be put in the way of obtaining, by intelli-

gent labour, something more than is necessary for

bare sustenance. These means were offered to a

Large extent in ragged and industrial schools, which

could not be toogenerally or generously supported—
schools calculated to improve society, not by means
of vague speculation, "but by that plain, practical,

patient daily work which GOD had ordained to

be the lot of man, and by which alone they might
hope such amelioration might be effected."
Einpient, if not adequate means, doubtless, and
such as we also sincerely wish were more gene-
rally offered ; means, too, which should not, as
his Lordship suggests, be suffered to be made
available for any other classes than those by whom
they are most needed, and were especially
designed.