The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-11 00:00:00

PI? OPOSBD RECONSTRUCTION OF THE

CONSERVATIVE PARTY,

Major Beresford is a bold politician. In the pre-
sent emergency, and to keep the Conservative boat
above water, he is for no less decided a step than
that of simply throwing Lord Derby and Mr. Dis-
raeli overboard. This is the only interpretation
which we can put upon his speech at Castle Hed-
ingham. Indeed ho all but says it in so many
words. "We have lately," he says, " heard it stated
that our party is getting low—some even go the
length of saying that the Conservative party is de-
funct, and that we have no definite principles on
which we can stick together. I must say it is not
extraordinary that such an opinion should gain
ground, when you see the leaders of our party re-
pudiating so vital a question as the repeal of the
endowment of Maynooth." Major Beresford's re-
medy for this ambiguity and contradiction in the
basis of his party is a general rally at the hustings
round the Maynooth question. He is not, he tells
us, as a general rule, in favour of exacting pledges,
buthe thinks Maynooth an exception to the general
rule, and he proposes that every constituency should
now exact a pledge against Maynooth. "I do not
hesitate to say that every man who comes forward
to solicit the honour of a seat in Parliament ought to
be prepared to say whether he considers this a pro-
per application of the public money." There ap-
pears to be no doubt in Major Beresford's mind how
such a demand, if made by the constituency of
Buckinghamshire, ought to issue in the case of the
right hon. member for Buckinghamshire ; but then
Major Beresford's mind is not that of the electors
of Bucks, much less is it the mind of all England.
Here is a reconstruction, then, proposed of the
Conservative party on the basis of the Maynooth
question, and the exclusion of Lord Derby and
Mr. Disraeli. It is a bold idea, and may, per-
haps, be as good as any other plan for the recon-
struction of this party. A time sometimes comes
when persons must make up their minds to save
themselves by some great loss ; and, if they are
obliged to do it, the quicker they do it the better.
It is better to throw our cattle overboard than run
the risk of a shipwreck. Soult gained credit by
the decision with which he abandoned bis baggage,
and so secured his retreat, after the battle that
closed the Peninsular war. There is wisdom in a
bold stroke and in the ready sacrifice of our pro-
perty that we may save our skins. So thinks Major
Beresford, and he is determined that his party
shall no longer suffer from the want of a plain
speaker and some plain advice on this subject. He
is not afraid of offending Lord Derby and Mr.
Disraeli, and he speaks out like a man.
Much as we admire, however, the boldness and
decision of Major Beresford's policy, it is still a
question whether the sacrifice in order to secure
life may not be so great as to be tantamount to the
loss of life itself. We may, perhaps, be only, after
all, pining an exchange in the form of our disso-
Illation, and only die by the sacrifice instead of
dying by the original evil. The remedy may be
almost as bad as the disease. It is like cutting off
your head. We do not say that the Conservative
party might not get on without Lord Derby, Mr.
Disraeli, and Sir John Pakington. There are
other Conservative statesmen besides these ; there
is, for example, Major Beresford himself. He
assures the meeting at Castle Hedingham that
" he is as true a Conservative now as ever he was
in his life." Well, that at any rate is an encou-
ragement, and must inspire more or less confidence
—the Conservative party cannot despair while
Major Beresford is left to them. Still a
party to which Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli
have stood in the relation in which they have ,
will be considerably put to do without them.
What will it have in the place of Mr. Disraeli's
brilliant climaxes, his merciless onslaughts, his
stinging sarcasms ? Whom will they have to cheer ?
They will find it rather dull work, and a party that
feels itself dull is very apt to grow dispirited. There
will be Mr. Spooner's annual field day, but they
cannot have. an anti-Maynooth hunt every day.
What will they AO when they are not talking about
Maynooth ? Major Beresford does not tell us. He
has no bill of fare to propose in the place of the
good dishes he takes off the table. He leaves his
party sitting round the white table-cloth and
looking at one another. This is the great de-
fect of his bold political stroke. He relieves
his party of the inconvenience of too indepen-
dent leaders, but be substitutes nothing for them.
He gives his party union by this bold stroke.
Well, but union will not do everything, even
if you get it. Let us suppose the Conservative
party united, with leaders that give them no
trouble. Let us suppose the Maynooth question
adopted unanimously, and no hindrance to work-
ing it in the strongest way. Now, then, what is the
position of this united party ? In the first place,
their union is gained by desertion. They will be
deserted right and left; they must make up their
minds to that immediate result. The very members
that go half pledged from their constituencies to
vote against the Maynooth grant will not be able,
in the political atmosphere in which they will find
themselves, to act out their pledge. They will falter
and look out for any excuse. The political atmo-
sphere of Parliament will corrupt them, in spite of
Mr. Spooner's warnings and remonstrances; that is
to say, they will see, as men of sense,
the undeniable danger of tampering with such an
arrangement once made. They well see Irish diffi-
culties in their true light, and they will gradually
give way to the weight of superior argument and
the general sense of the house. You lose in fol-
lowers, then, as vrell as in leaders, when you throw
over Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli. As you got
union at the price of leaders, you retain it at the
price of followers. You become an united party
indeed, and possibly an active and zealous one,
but, at the same time, a small and insignificant
one. A small, noisy, insignificant party, attempt-
ing to compensate for the absence of weight of
names and talent by mere blind zeal on one parti-
cular question—such is the Conservative party as
Major Beresford's policy makes it. That is to say,
the;great Conservative party becomes a mere busy
clique, working in a corner of the house. It has
got union and zeal indeed, but it is at the expense
of intellect and size. It has become a mere con-
spiracy against Maynooth, and has only exchanged
a larva, unwieldy, and divided basis for that of a
small knot of zealots.—Times.

A WHALE CAUGHT IN THE MERSEY.—On Thursday
morning the residents near the upper portion of the
river, on the Lancashire side, were surprised at seeing,
some distance from the shore, an immense black body
floundering in a shoal, and throwing the water and sand
in all directions. After some delay some men put off in
two trawl boats to the opposite bank, with the view of
ascertaiong the nature of the disturber, and on Dearinv,
the spot found to their amazement what appeared "very
like a whale." Closer inspection proved their judgment
to be correct. The animal being evidently exhausted by
its violent throes was reached by the fishermen, who
firmly secured it by ropes to the boats. They waited
the return of the tide, and towed their prize into a small
inlet between Speke and Halehead, called Oirglet. It ap-
pears that the night before, as two fishermen were in
their boats up the river, they perceived what they con-
sidered a large log floating on the surface of the water,
and after eyeing it for a few minutes saw it approach,
and, perceiving it unmistakeabie move, ran inshore with
their little boat, alarmed at so great a monster. The
whale is 24 feet long, 121 broad, and upwards of three
tons weight. It is said to be the first ever caught in
11, ie Mersey.
THE HIGHLAND BAGPIPER AT MOSCOW.—M'Allister,
Lord Stafford's piper, was in attendance in the ante-
room in full uniform, kilt, and philibeg, it heir)g the
intention of the noble host that in some interval of the
dance the Russian guests should be made acquainted
with the peculiar characteristics of Highland music.
But the bardic soul of M'Allistor was impatient of
restraint. For some moments he remained standing
in the ante-room, heating time to an imaginary reel,
and champing like a war horse impatient of the bit, un-
til at last, what with the strains of rival music from
the band, the intoxicating influence of a thousand wax
lights reflected from the porcelain walls, and the bright
forme of beauty that flitted to and fro before the gaze of the
bewildered Highlander,
flesh and blood could hold out no
longer; theinspired Gael shouldered his pipes, and, striking
up a pibroch that would awaken the dead, marched, with
measured tread, as if at the head of his clan, in the centre
of the brilliant ring round which grand dukes and duchesses.
were at that moment dancing the polonaise. Loud above
the puny attempts of catgut and brass rose the wild martial
notes of the bagpipes. The musicians threw down their
instruments in despair, the company ceased dancing, and
WA.llister was in a moment
.tnhehcisentreof
pibroob, aann andadmiring
beat
circle, completely absorbed '
time with as much accuracy
ot of the world's
and sang froid as if un
conscidna of the presence of the forem s
.Mite. I watched the effect of this strange, music
siana with great
on the unaccustomed ears of the R ,u-
interest. They were at first evidentlyandastounded,the
the
officers putting their hands to their ears,
laic* crossing their hands and gazing on the kilted
Xalus in mute surprise. But it. soon became evident
that that there was a sympathy
the one side and the warlike music on the other.
between the warlike raceßoth
ladies and gentlemen chatted, smiled, and listened ; an,;l,
when, shortly after,the Grand Duchess Constantine, one ,t
the most beautiful women in Ruesia, retired to an apart-
ment, she sent for M'Allister, who played "The White,
in a manner that elicited her Im
Cockade"
' us commendation. From that memepnetrihaelbilecigahmneesths a °Tact°
...- • fashion, and several times in the course of the evening be
to
with
audiences. I may mention
played again
oar musical friend, before parting
been quite a lion amongst the Russians,
that since his
arriv
•al he has crowds
through the streets. There
who follow him in
is much
speculationand
among the mujiks as to his
real character
is
functions, but the 'most prevailing
impression
that he is the chief of all the foreign
d that with a fastidious refinement of
ambassadors, and that
on the ground that none of
the carriages are grand enough his notions of per-
hauteur, he prf.)fers
tm eno
Moscow,
Waal dignity.--Letteri

METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS.

The ordinary weekly meeting of the Metropolitan
Board of Works was held yesterday in the Council
Chamber, Guildhall—Mr. J. Thwaites in the emir.
The minutes of the last board having been read and
confirmed, the following financial statement Wai laid be-
fore the board :

CASH ACCOUNT.
Balance in hands of treasurer, Oat. 7,
1856
Cheques drawn, but not presented

£7,420 12 6
1,120 16 9

Available balance
Amount of deposit account

Total general balance £113,921 17 11
SITE OF OFFICES.
A report was brought up from the committee on the
site of offices, which stated that advertisements had been
inserted in the different newspapers inviting offers of
suitable premises for the purposes of the board. Two
or three letters had been received, offering certain pre-
mises, but as they were not considered to be eligible, they
now recommended that the premises in Greek-street be
adapted for the permanent use of the board, to which
they asked the concurrence of the board.
Mr. H. L. TAYLOR objected to the reception of the re-
port, on the ground that the committee had gone beyond
the subject referred to them. They had been instructed
by the board to cause advertisements to be inserted in
the newspapers for suitable premises, and were not em-
powered to ignore what had already been done by the
board. He, therefore, moved that the report be rejected.
Mr. HawKER moved, and Mr. LESLIE seconded, the
adoption of the report.
Mr. SEELEY said the committee had obeyed the in-
structions of the board to a certain extent, but not suf-
ficiently on the point referred to it, to obtain a better
site for the offices of the board than they could have in
Greek-street. Therefore, he thought that the report
ought to be referred back to them.
Mr. Deputy HARRISON was opposed to the reception
of the report, as they recommended the adoption of cer-
tain premises for the board, in opposition to a resolu-
tion of the board which had not been rescinded.
After observations from Mr. Turner, Mr. Pascal],
Mr. Dalton, and Mr. Offor,
The CHAIRMAN' put the question that the report be
received, when there appeared—
For the motion l5
Against it
Majority
Mr. HAWKER then rose to move that the report be
adopted.
The CHAIRMAN, on learning the purport of the motion,
said that it was incompetent for the hon. member to
propose any such resolution in its present form.
Mr. HAWKER, however, persisted in addressing the
board amidst loud cries of "order," "chair, chair," &c.
The CHAIRMAN appealed to the members of the board
to support him in preserving order.
Mr. WARE moved that the board proceed at once to
the next order of the day.
Mr. HAWSES protested against the way in which he
was treated. (Great uproar.)
The CHAIRMAN put Mr. Ware's motion, which was
carried by a majority of 17 to 1, the only hand held up
in opposition to it being that of Mr. Hawkes.
Mr. HAWKER then said that the proceedings of the
board were scandalous, disgraceful, shameful, and abo-
minable, and expressed his determination to move this
resolution as an amendment to every order of the day.
The .Board then proceeded to the next order of the
day, which was an appeal by Mr. J. Liddiard against
the amount of compensation awarded to him by the
Greenwich district board of works for the loss of his office
as surveyor of highways of St. Paul, Deptford. The dis-
trict board did not deem the appointment a permanent
one, but one held at the pleasure of the vestry, and that
the resolution of one vestry could be rescinded by any
future vestry.
Mr. Dilators moved that Mr. Liddiard have a sum
of 101. as compensation, which in effect confirmed the
decision of the district board, which was agreed to.
QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE.
The board then proceeded to consider the following
notice on the paper given by Mr. H. L. Taylor at the
last board, held on the 6th inst. :—" To suspend the pay-
ment of 5001., voted on the 3d inst. to Mr. Jos. Smith
until he has appeared before this board to answer ques-
tions touching information respecting certain calcula•
tions, said to have been furnished by him to a member of
this board, and that Mr. Smith be requested to attend
this board on Friday next."
Mr. H.L. TAYLOR then put several qnestions to Mr.
Smith as to the information he had conveyed privately
to Mr. Doulton on the question of the main drainage,
and that gentleman said he had done so at the written
request of Mr. Doulton, on calculations he had made,
according to the instructions of Mr. Bazalgette, their
chief engineer. He had supplied the information to Mr.
Doulton on his own responsibility, as Mr. Bazalgette
was absent at the time.
In answer to questions from other members,
Mr. SMITH said he conceived it to be his duty to give
to any member of the board such information as might
be requested of him to the extent of his ability.
Mr. DOULTON vindicated the course he had taken, and
said he should not be deterred from obtaining any infor•
matien he might require by such puerile motions as those
given by the hon. member for the city of London (Mr.
H. L. Taylor.)
Mr. H. L. TAYLOR said while be thought Mr. Smith
had acted indiscreetly, he could not place such a limit to
his feeling as to what had been done by Mr. Doulton,
in surreptitiously obtaining information from a subordi-
nate officer in the absence of his superior. Such a course
was calculated to strike at the root of all confidence, if,
in the absence of the superior officer, members should
go to the chief office, there pry about, and get crude
information from subordinate officers, which they
well knew could not be relied upon, and which the
chief engineer bad never been identified with. He
hoped they would that day set up a principle that
the subordinate officers of the board should not be
tampered with, as one that was calculated to be attended
with the worst results. He concluded by moving, "That
Mr. J. Smith had acted indiscreetly and committed a
breach of confidence in communicating crude information
upon an important subject connected with the main
drainage to an individual member of this board, without
the authority of his superior officer.
Mr. COLLINSON seconded the motion, and condemned
the principle of members going privately to Greek-street
to obtain information for the purpose of tripping up the
heels of their chief engineer. If he (Mr. Collinson) re-
quired information, he thought the proper course would
be to come down to the board and ask publicly for it,
and not go privately about and pick up indirectly infor-
mation from the subordinates.
Mr. BAZALGETTE, with the consent of the board, said
the course of obtaining information indirectly was at-
tended with the greatest !possible inconvenience, as he
did not wish to endorse opinions which he had not pre-
viously examined and tested.
Mr. BRISTOWE opposed the motion, and said it was
not to be endured that members were not to go to Greek.
street and ask questions of their own officers. If that
was to be the proper view of the matter'' he fur one
should consider it to be inconsistent with his position,
and should at once resign his seat at the board.
Mr. SEELEY said he had no intention whatever to
have spoken upon this question, and he should not have
done so but for the observations of the gentleman who
had just sat down. He differed altogether with the
conclu-ion to which he had come, for he did not consider
that the whole 45 members of the board should be at
liberty to visit Greek-street, to go into every room in
the house, and ask questions of every officer they might
meet with. If that was Mr. Bristo we's view of what
they ought to do, he did not agree with him, or that
toot they should call upon the clerks in the office to
give them information on the ground that they were
their masters. He did not conceive that they were at
liberty to go to Greek-street and ask of either Mr. Jones,
Mr. Smith, or Mr. Thompson, all sorts of information,
or have papers out of their desks without the consent of
their superior officer.
Mr. WILKINSON supported the views of Mr. Taylor,
but thought the object sought by Mr. Taylor had been
already answered by the discussion which had taken
place, and hoped that he would not press his resolution.
The CHAIRMAN said as this was a question of discip-
line, he thought if they passed the resolution proposed
by Mr. Taylor that it would prevent subordinate officers
giving any information whatever, which would be a re-
striction most objectionable, and therefore he hoped Mr.
Taylor would not press his resolution.
Mr. R. TAYLOR defended his colleague, Mr. Doulton,
and said if members were restricted from obtaining infor-
mation from Greek-street, their own office, he should
resign his seat at that board. His colleague, Mr. Doul-
ton, had his family at Brighton, and knowing that an
important discussion would take place on the main
drainage on Monday, he went on the Saturday to Greek-
street, and asked Mr. Smith, in the absence of Mr. Ba-
zalgette, for certain information to prepare himself for
that discussion.
Mr. CoRRIE moved the previous question.
The motion was seconded and put, and carried by a
large majority.
Mr. H. L. TAYLOR protested against the way in which
this question was disposed of.
The superintending architect then brought forward a
number of reports on applications made for the permis-
sbiuoinuointg chimney-shafts, thebon .ba
ardeytaocfetrerc„
certain in premises,
which were quite of a
routine and formal character, and the board adjourned.

The Cork distillers have advanced the price of
whisky from 10s. od._attoulls. 2d. the gallon 25 over
proof. The Dublin di 1 era have also increased their
price.
eTofenlrinewonin-g
A TERRIBLE DRAmA The Coui rie7 de. Tarn-et-
Garonne t narratesti e
town
ofth
carried. ,a,s having just taken
with a grown up family, —onadnauigllhictietr.intTerheiosner
jar!
A receiver of taxes,
with the governess of his youngest
differences and to much
curristance gave rise to family
public scandal. The son of this man,
latrtemonstrrtted
tax-receiver in another canton, frequentlywho was likewise a
er received
with his father on his conduct. The
crders from his superior to change his residence,
manifested intentions. of taking the governess wit him.nd
On hearing this the son presented himself before
young woman, and menaced her with death in the the
of her consenting to that step, which would bringevfent
ther dishonour on the family. The governess be- aur.
alarmed, and gave up all ideas of following the father
the latter paid her, however, repeated visits at Toiirnon'
where she continued to reside. Duriz,,c; one of these'
visits the son 'appeared before the gtilty couple, and
without Ipening his lips laid the govermss dead at his
feet by a shot from a double-barrelled pistol. The
father, exasperated at this act, rushed on the son, and
after a desperate struggle, wrested the pistol from him,
and shot him dead. The father is now in custody."