The Sun.
London, England, 1869-07-22 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 22, 1869.

THE LADIES' CHAMPION.

Mr. Herbert is determined to rescue the ladies
from their privacy in spite of themselves. Mr.
Layard asserted that out of 200 whom he asked, all
but two were for the continuance of the screen in
their gallery. Mr. Herbert cannot believe that ladies
wish to conceal their charms ; the modesty of the
violet is altogether incredible to him living in these
days. He therefore means to give notice that early
next session he will renew his motion in favour of
removing the ungrateful grating.

NON-PURCHASE.
It seems tolerably clear that if the purchase
system is to be abolished in the army there must be
some system devised whereby retirement shall be
secured. The Royal Artillery is a non-purchase
corps. In it promotion has come to an entire dead-
lock. The subalterns have not had a step since the
13th of last January, and as far as can be seen at
present they will get only one, or at most two, steps
before the 13th of next January. If the present
state of things continues long the minor officers of
the corps will begin to leave it.

The mystery of Spa" at the present moment is a
young lady in black, who is one of the most
persistent gamblers of that gambling centre. Every day
she presents herself at the roulette table armed with a
purse containing teu notes of one thousand francs each.
'When these are gone she immediately quits the table.
If she wins, however, she is more liberal, for she will play
until her total gains amount to thirtythousand francs. She
ieverplaysbeyond that point. The habitués say that this
young and charming unknown in black makes a considerable
profit at the business in this way, but no one can tell who
she Is.

THE EVENING PAPERS ON THE CRISIS.

The Pall Mall Gazette greatly regrets that Earl Gran-
ville stopped at the first defeat in order that the Ministry
might consider the propriety of withdrawing the
Irish Church Bill. The whole of the bill
should have been disposed of before the Cabinet
considered such a question. The Peers met, chafing under
irritation at the contemptuous spirit evinced against them
in the House of Commons and by the press, and the first
adverse vote was the result of that irritation. It
was bad statesmanship on the part of the
Government to treat this first angry vote as final. Had
all that was to be urged in the Upper House been
patiently beard, and the amendments of the Lords been
still persevered with, the Government would have
been amply justified, and the Ministry and
the House of Commons would have been saved from
the charge of contemptuous aggression upon the functions
of the House of Lords. But if now Ministers with-
draw the bill they will do EO on grounds which, at
least, half the world will call insufficient, and in a way
which, while it must necessarily aggravate the hostility of
the Houses, will greatly justify the quarrel of the
Lords. How much the Lords themselves may
be offended we do not greatly care ; but they, too, have
their partisans in the country, and we cannot think that
wise conduct which unnecessarily inflames and extends a
quarrel bitter enough a'ready.
The Globe, in a note upon the crisis, says :—" The
responsibility which the decision of the Lords throws upon
Mr. Gladstone is a crucial one. In its very nature it is a
test of the real motive and inspiration of his policy. If,
as he alleges, be be in fact supremely desirous of passing
the Irish Church Bill, and settling the questions at
stake in its provisions, he can now do so without any
humiliating compromise or fatal inconsistency. He knows
on what points the Lords have yielded, and are still
willing to give way. These points are really numerous
and important, and the concession of them reveals so
SO wise a spirit of conciliation as to be entitled to the
utmost respect. On the other hand, the Prime Minister
knows that the points on which the Lords will not give
way are few in number ; that they are by no means
incompatible with the integrity of his measure ; and that
a great number of his followers in the House of Commons
would be heartily glad to yield them. If, then, we
repeat, he be really anxious to do some great thing for
Ireland during the present session, the opportunity...,
is clearly open to him ; and he will, moreaver,-
prove himself to be a statesman of finer temperament, of
nobler moderation, and of more unselfish inspiration than
his opponents, and some even of his followers, have
hitherto thought him to be. If, on the other hand, lie is
intent on the assertion of the authority of his personal
will, if the absolute imperlitin of Mfr. Gladstone' is
the goal at which he aims, be will refuse all concession
and perpetuate turbulent popular agitation by appealing
to the bigotry of Ultramontanism on the one side,
and the impatience of voluntaryism on the other. The
result may possibly, though we do not think it, be victory
for the moment, but the suspicions of those who have, as
Minisfer.
his great talent be mistakes self-will for sagacity, arro-
gance for dignity, and impetuosity of purpose for the tact
by which the surest and most abiding political triumphs
are achieved, will be justified before all the '
nation." While in this leader the Croix urges Mr.
Gladstone to adopt the amendments, in another part of
its paper it says, " Whether the decision of the House of
Lords be accepted or rejected, the Government will hardly
escape from a very memorable position. If Mr. Clad-
stone adopts the amendment lie surrenders his principle.
If he withdraws the bill he commits himself to a long and
arduous, and a very doubtful struggle."
From the Orks:eys to Land's End (says the Echo), from
the coast of the German Ocean to the Atlantic shore of
Ireland, the country now is possessed with one feeling of
grateful and earnest resolution, that Mr. Gladstone must
be supported against the defiance of the House of Lords.
It is for Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues to consider
whether the defiant attitude of Lord Cairns, taken in
connection with this adverse vote, permits of any reason-
able hope that the bill can be carried, by offering this first
part only of the preamble, with its leading and distinguish-
ing feature unchanged. Lord Cairns roundly asserts his
determination to surrender nothing of all the spoils
c. hick the Lords' amendments gathered together for
the Irish Church, except the Ulster glebes and
the ecclesiastical tax. Ministers can judge much
better than any observers from the outside how far the
temper of the Peers indicates a determination to support
Lord Cairns in overriding the decisions of the House
of Commons. We must own that the majority of
seventy-eight against Ministers does not encourage
us to be very hopeful ; still, Lord Granville may
be able to assure himself that it is possible to
eradicate from the bill the most noxious of the amend-
ments which Lord Cairns pledges himself to maintain, as
well as the principle of concurrent endowment, fully
asserted by the majority that followed Lord Stanhope.
If he, knowing well the disposition of those whom he has
to manage, cannot entertain such an assurance, it will
remain for the Ministry to revert to their first thoughts, and
to carry out unflinchingly the policy by which—or rather
by the mere threat of which—in 18-32 the House of Lords
was brought into accord for the moment with the national
will, or take what other course may seem expedient.
Should Ministers be forced to decide upon this course,
which we fully admit is an extreme remedy the applica-
tion of which is justified only by an extreme evil, the
nation must hold itself firmly faithful, unswervingly loyal
to Mr. Gladstone.

THE CANADIAN QUESTION.

(From the Anglo-American Times.)

Men so misunderstand each other as to keep in per-
petual surprise the few with really cosmopolitan feel-
ings, of which we could scarcely give a better in-
stance than that furnished by Mr. SLTMNER'S famous
speech. None who know the Senator deny his motives
to be noble, or that he is an orator of great power,
and therefore of no ordinary intelligence and learn-
ing, as well as a lawyer who has studied profession-
ally both in England and America, hence, a person
who might reasonably be supposed to see two sid..s
of a question. Yet, the delivery of his recent speech
and its publication prove his incapacity to appreciate
the effect in Europe of what he said. It is a positive
fact that Mr. SUMNER believed he was making
rather a conciliatory speech, his earnest desire being
to smooth down asperities, and to effect the per-
manent settlement of a matter that might other-
wise be productive of mischief, which he considered
would be best achieved by such concessions on the
part of England as would really heal the wounds
and appease the irritation inflicted by her on
America. By making his case very strong he in-
tended to ascend to a height from which the nation
could conveniently come down a considerable dis-
tance, and yet occupy a commanding position.
The result proved that he was wholly ignorant of
the sentiments actuating this country, although the
descendant of an English family, bred in a New Eng-
land State, and having even studied his profession
itself, in England. There are times when a man is
compelled to resolve. A disagreeable probability
may hang over him, for years it may loom in
the distance, its presence within the range of his
vision may always be felt, yet he may endea-
vour to ignore it, even deny its existence, although
prepared for almost any sacrifice to get rid of
the nightmare. This was Euglaud'e Fositiow. re-
garding a war with America prior to Senator SUM-
NER'S speecb. The phantom he has dreaded as-
umes a material shape, and the man being face
to face with his difficulty girds up his loins for the
struggle he then regards as inevitable, and, no longer
seeking escape, turns with resolution to meet what
hitherto his life might have been an attempt to
avoid. This was something like England's position
with regard to a war with America after Senator
SUMMER'S speech. When the lion. W. WoonwanD
wrote to J. E. TitoursoN that England would sur-
render Canada, pay any amount of damages, and
do anything rather than go to war with America,
he showed an ignorance of England as dangerous
as that of Mr. SUMNER. It need not surprise if such
men so wholly misapprehend a kindred people, that
the masses should not understand each other. In-
deed it would be surprising if those, who knew
themselves so little that they blundered into a
gigantic civil war, should be able nicely to appre-
ciate the sentiment likely to sway the national
heart of a foreign people. We are led to these re-
marks by a letter from a correspondent in Canada
of the London Standard, who has about as accurate
an appreciation of the feeling in England or in the
United States regarding Canada, as that regarding
Britain whereon Mr. SUMNER acted in the Alabama
affair. Whether the correspondent estimates aright
the feeling in Canada or not, it is evident that he
misrepresents it in a way we desire to correct, for
it is important that the English should not be
misled on the subject. As in all other countries
there is a wide diversity of sentiment in Canada,
but the tendency there, as elsewhere, may be
trusted to be sooner or later in the direction of
the national interest. If the property-holders of
the colony believe that annexation would increase
its value, however loyally they might talk, their
opposition would be but lukewarm ; and if it be so
as regards the present, they would become its ad-
vocates in the future if the cause remained, for gain
would prove a never-decreasing magnet of attrac-
tion, while loyalty and dislike and such sentiments
rise and fall, ebb and flow, in force and direction.
The question is, whether in a material way the
people would he benefited by entering the Union.
Many of the Canadians doubt it on account of the
heavy debt saddled on the Republic by the war,
while some strenuously deny it ; but it would be
best..etv..,a ‘.:eurat.,aj estimating teyaltie of pro-
perty nearest the boundaries, and the general well-
being of the inhabitants on each side. We do Lot
pretend to discuss that subject, which would require
both study and reflection ; but there are broa 1 facts
involved, which he who runs' can read. Every
effort in England is to direct the tide of emigration
towards Canada ; yet these efforts are not only in
vain, as regards the mass, but four-fifths of those
sent into the Dominion cross the line and settle in
the States. No N this remarkthle factii the fir,t, point
with which to deal when such questions arise; for
there must be some very powerful cause, which those
who wish honestly to convey information, or to satisfy
their own minds, will not ignore Yet it is always
put aside by these advocates of the British connec-
tion and of the Confederation of Canada. What is
beneficial to this multitude of individuals would,
it is reasonable to suppose, be beneficial to the
country at large, unless accounted for by the
whole of Canada being shown to be inferior in
soil and climate to the States of the Union, in which
case it would be a sin to direct emigration there. It
is, however, well Established, that the portion
of the Dominion between Laks Erie, Huron, and
Ontario is equal to any land in the United States,
or perhaps in the world. It is not then infe-
riority, as far as the gifts of nature are con-
cerned, but that a larger measure of prosperity being
developed across the border, is favourably felt by the
incomer, who gets into a drift of more enterprise,
more capital, more people, and more security. That
the Dominion, as a whole, would benefit by follow-
ing the example set by so many of its children, and
throwing itself into the Union, might reasonably
be supposed, as it would come in nationally for the
stronger tide of material gains, which to them are
the inducements. Many in Canada feel this ; but
what the correspondent asserts is undeniably true,
that there are devotedly loyal Canadians who re-
sent even the mention of annexation. Who are these
people? and wherein lie the moving springs of their
action ? While the correspondent terms those who
desire to improve their property, speculators, to
whom British connection, annexation, or anything
else, is only a question of so many pounds, shillings,
and pence, or rather of dollars and cents, we do
not desire to retort with a to quoque, but the motives
of the " truly loyal" will, on inquiry, be found to
be spiced in a way far from dissimilar. We believe
that these material motives are among the strongest,
and when all the lumber and rubbish are set aside
it is seen that the ground of the annexationist and
that of the British connectionist are alike. The
masses believe, or are moving towards the belief,
that in a material way they would benefit by throw-
ing in their lot with the United States ; and with
that belief will grow their desire to do so. The
official classes, on the contrary, and those bound
by near ties to England, naturally oppose such a
measure. A man with a title, no doubt desires
to keep it, so with the office-seeker to hold on to
what he has found. Those who have risen to place
and power under the system, like the system, and
wish well to be left alone. They go further, for
they struggle that well may be left alone, and be-
ing so placed that they can make their voices heard
above the hoarse murmur of the multitude, these
are the voices England really does hear. They have
besides an advantage in what, used as an argument,
tells so fatally against them, the emigration of
those from Canada who prefer the Union, into the
Union, whereby the stream of discontent freely flows
away. Were it otherwise, it is possible that the
hoarse murmur might be heard a trifle louder.
That Canada entertains a dislike to the United
States is true, just as every other nation entertains
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a dislike more or less for its neighbour, inked as
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sections of the same nation dislike, or rather are
sathdb
the lion's share, and leaving it only the crumbs ;
and it may have rather relished the sight of its big
brother hi trouble. But these are mere surface
feelings, jealousies, and d.
preju Ices, which have no
real hold in the Canadian heart, and would be
powerless to check the movement towards annexa-
tion, if the material interests of the Provinces lead
that way. The correspondent is very angry with
MA GL ADSTONE) Noun au unknowu friend of

his wrote from New York that England should give
up Canada, as the connection creates a feeling of
irritation among a large class of the American people,
against whom England could not defend Canada
in case of war. That the Pilule Minister should
tolerate suchian impertinence has aroused through-
out the Dominion an intense disgust, and led to the
conviction that the British Ministry favour the
severance of the connection. Will the corre-
spondent tell us why it is a crime and an imper-
tinence for the New Yorker to write an undeniable
truth? Is it unwise in a statesman of great power
to weigh " the irritation of a large class of the
American people," and the consequences to the
Empire of a war? It might suit a Canadian office-
holder to risk anything rather than his place, but a
British Prime Minister cannot afford thus to act,
and we feel inclined to bear lightly the full amount
of the humiliation of the Prime Minister in reading
with inter st the letter of the New Yorker, desiring
him, as we do, to work on the truth, the whole
truth, and nothicg but the truth, from whatever
source derived. The Canadian's remarks on the
successful defence of Canada against the United
States are scarcely worthy of notice, and are not
unlike the ridiculous pretensions often put forward
in the United States on the other side. One man
talks of marching from Detroit with a few thou-
sand Michigan volunteers to Quebec, and perma-
nently attaching and reconstructing the Dominion
in thirty days; doing it all cheap on contract.
Although the correspondent does not reach this
height of absurdity, he writes only in a lesser strain.
" Canada can be rendered all but impregnable if
the plan sketched by the late Sir James Shaw Ken-
nedy be carried out ; if the borders of Canada are
1,500 miles, so are the borders of the United States;
while the strategical posts are by nature stronger than
Richmond or any of the Southern points of defence."
'lionizing such follies mislead nations into fools' pa-
radises, where they are rudely disturbed by finding
themselves, before ascertaining the cost, committed
to a frightful war. There is no other country so
defenceless as Canada, as it is a long thin line,
along the border of an overwhelming Power, with
the full force of that empire there concentrated.
Therein lies the hopelessness of a Canadian defence,
and the absurdity of a comparison with the South.
It was no long, narrow line which divided the
Northern strength from the Southern points of de-
fence, but vast stretches of country, through which
the further the genuine Northerner penetrated the
more hostile everything around him became ; but
with Canada, from the very seat of his power, the
Northerner takes a stride, and he is in the heart of
his enemy's territory. If the correspondent knew
anything of war he would not put forth such puerile
remarks, but recognize a palpable fact, however
disagreeable.