The Sun.
London, England, 1869-09-01 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The Times thinks that the murder of Mr. Hunter, a
Scotch settler, in county Mayo, is from every point of
view a national misfortune. It can scarcely be doubted
that the crime was of agrarian origin. We are thus forced
to accept the conclusion that the narrow limits we had
hitherto hoped marked out the districts of savage law-
lessness must be enlarged. Mayo must be added to Tip-
perary and Westmeath as counties stained with the same
kind of atrocity. The softer Celt of the West is for the
first time in living memory a participator in the guilt of
the Southern Midlands. The death of Mr. Hunter seems
thus to be an illustration of the worst spirit of agrarianism in
Ireland, breaking out in a district hitherto unaffected by it.
But the crime is most deplorable when viewed in relation to
its consequences on the Irish land question. It must aid
in exciting the bitterest hcstility to any change in the
law in ;my degree in favour of the perpetrators of such
outrages. It must in some measure paralyse the efforts
of others who are struggling against difficulties already
almost insuperable, to promote a reform of the land laws
of Ireland. To what end, it will be said, shall the law
he altered when lawlessness is the prominent chatac-
teristie of those you would benefit? Severity must,
heleed, be a first necessity of the action of the Irish
Executive for some time to come. The law smut fulfil
its proper function of being a terror to evildoers.
Yet these horrible crimes following one another
in quick succession, connected in all instances
with one class of social relations, must drive us
to inquire all the more searchingly what is the
evil in these- relations which occasion such terrible
results. One thing has been already made apparent, that
the practice of tenant right, as it exists universally in
Ulster, is to be found, in numerous scattered instances,
more or less developed in the South and Midland counties of
Ireland as well as in the North ; and being unrecognised
by the law, produces everywhere the same antagonism of
interests, the same temper of dread and suspicion, between
landlords and tenants. It is impossible to conceive any-
thing worse than the prevalence of a practice of the kind
in question, when unrecognised by the law. The want of
a legal definition of interests is the main reason of the
disorganisation of the tenure of land in Ireland, and the
cry for fixity of tenure itself owes its strength to the fact
that such rights as ought to be recognised according to all
principles of morality are ignored by the law.
Lord Spencer, says the Post, has justbeen through what
is esteemed one of the poorest districts of Ireland, and he
has taken the opportunity of saying that the country
whose condition causes so much anxiety is making steady
and by no means slow progress. Nothing can be more
satisfactory ; and we are just about to congratulate our-
selves upon the statements, when we learn that a farmer
of the name of Hunter, residing in a very civilised part of
Mayo, was driving home in the evening with
his wife, son, .and servant, and was shot dead on
the public road. What is to be done with people
by whom no law, human or Divine, is respected ?
As opinion develops itself in Ireland it becomes tolerably
evident, firstly, that the disestablishment of the Protestant
Church was not the question that held the chief place
really in the minds of the population ; and, secondly, that
the English public have entirely misapprehended the
views entertained by the Irish middle and lower classes
upon the land question. The extinction of the political
position of the Church and its elimination from the
territorial class have been urged merely as offering a
stepping-stone from which to stride to a larger object, that
larger object being an absolute reorganisation of the
existing social system. English politicians have partly
persuaded themselves and partly suffered themselves to
be induced to think that Englishmen and Irishmen are as
one in the object at which they aim. We have been mis-
taken. The English public and the Irish population have
not the same end in view ; not at all. They are, it turns
out, after very different objects. The English are think-
ing of alterations in conditions of tenancy ; the Irish
are bent upon a revolution in the conditions of ownership.
The Daily News remarks that nothing could be in better
taste and feeling than Mr. Charles Dickens's humorous
and hearty speech at the London Rowing Club dinner on
Monday. His exceptionally wide and intimate know-
ledge of his fellow-countrymen enabled him to express
with singular force the admiration and esteem which the
Harvard University crew have earned in England, not
only by their splendid struggle on Friday last, but by
their chivalrous modesty and simplicity of conduct and
demeanour ever since they reached our shores. We all
hope that a return match may be pulled on American
waters, and we are all confident that Oxford will meet as
brotherly a welcome there as Harvard Las found here.
We all rejoice to know that our kinsmen have
good reason to be perfectly satisfied with the arrange-
ments of Friday last, and devoutly trust that for all
time to come there may be no other or less generous
and kindly rivalry than this between the " pride and
flower" of the youth of the old and of the New England.
Nor can we forbear to remember that Harvard Univer-
city is of English birth, and that the Cambridge beyond
the Atlantic has upheld the honour of its ancestral name
in patriotism, in statesmanship, in intellect, and last, not
least, in the dignity of its defeat on an English river by a
sister University. Even the errors to which some rowing
authorities are disposed to attribute that defeat—impetu-
osity and impatience opposed to the calmness and confi-
dence of " staying " power—are but a generous excess of
the good qualities of the old stock—the temperament of a
people's youth. What may not the alliance of two such
rivals do for the better future of the world? Esto
perpetua I

The Herald believes that there are not twenty members
of Parliament who do not regard the systematic despotism
exercised by the Unions over non-members and reluctant
members with utter abhorrence, and desire by all possible
means to prevent and punish it. It is, therefore, only
necessary to point out that the present law is inadequate
to restrain the Unions from outrages, intimidations, and
vexations which render the life of an independent ope-
rative a burden to him, in order to convince them of the
necessity of strengthening that law. It is sufficient to
point out that the common law is utterly inefficient for the
repression of organised persecution by a secret society, and
that to leave the sufferer to his remedy against individual
offenders is to abandon him to the mercy of the law-
breakers. No one who has realised the facts of the case
can doubt that this is so ; no one who recognises that it is
so, if he be an honest and conscientious man, can dream of
of acceding to the demands of the unions, and leaving
them at liberty to worry and harrass all recusants as they
please, subject to the very improbable contingency that
some particular agent may commit a single act of
atrocious violence, and that the victim may have courage
and ability to prosecute him. To accede to any such pro-
posal is simply to deprive the non-unionists of all legal
protection, and to render Mr. Potter and his colleagues
the tyrants of every factory and workshop in the kingdom.

The Star refers to the conference held last week at
Sheffield between Mr. Redgrave, the Inspector of Factories,
and the men engaged in the various grihding trades. We
can hardly conceive of circumstances calculated to make
out a stronger case for the necessity of some such com-
pulsory interference as is established by the Factory Acts
Extension Act, than those brought to light on the occa-
sion of this visit of Mr. Itedgrave to Sheffield. It must
have bcen well known to every working man present a
the meeting that the provision as to fans at grinding
wheels had been especially introduced into the
Act for their • protection, nor can they fail to
have been conscious that if the responsibility of fitting
them up were thrown upon the owner, they
themselves would have to pay for it in the shape
of an additional rent. Mr. Redgrave did bis best to im-
press his hearers with the great value of immediate action
in this matter. Ile pointed out to them that in the dry
grinding, glazing, and polishing trades it had been ascer-
tained as a positive fact that the life of those engaged in
them was only about half the length it ought to be. "On
the gateway," ha said, " of every fork-grinder's wheel
where there was no fan there ought to be written what
Dante said was written over the gate leading to the
infernal regions—' All hope abandon ye who enter here,'
for sooner or later fork-grinding will kill you." If such
forcible appeals as these fail to convince the grinders of
Sheffield of their danger and of what their true interests
demand, our readers, we think, will concur with us in the
opinion that the Inspector of Factories is no longer justi-
fied iu delaying to enforce the law. The Act itself says
that a fan must be provided for the protection of the
workpeople within a reasonable time. and, taking all the
circumstances into account, there will not be many un-
prepared to say now that that time has long since passed
away.

The Standard declares that partridge shooting may be
without those elements of sublimity which are to a certain
extent inherent in grouse shooting. The pursuit of the
bird of the plain may be devoid of these romantic attrac-
tions which areimplied in the pursuit of the bird of the
heather-clad hills. The turnip fields of Norfolk have not
the beauty of the hills of Sutherlandsbire, and a good day's
outing with the grouse Lrings you in contact with aspects
el' nature very different from those which you encounter
in the course Gf a long morning's partridge "drive " in
one of the eastern counties of EegWel. Still we
know of few things pleasanter in their way, few
occupations which inspire you with a more agree-
able consciousness of the fact of existence than the
stroll on a fine September morning after the birds
As w' have hinted above, partridge shooting is an
eminently popular sport. It is its catholicity which con-
itutes its great charm, and in senile measure its economy.
The neeit onpteiefeligg farm:, may enjoy some taste of it
a; well as the Protub' i:erritcrial magnate. The average
t;_xPe't'ets"f oectipation, including the hire of manor,
one-third of those entailed upon the devotee
nk grouse shooting. Partridge shooting is a pleasure
uhich is adapt:Hi, to every gradation of purse and 1e ;
'rouse Fill;)nting will always remain, and is excheevely
hecorning, so rapid is the increase in the rent of ninon+.
the exclusive privilege of the moderately wealthy.
No lack of complaints there is indeed that partridge
shooting is not what it was, and that if things go on at
their present rate it will become a rarity. The grievance
is exaggerated, and the anxiety is probably in a great
measure groundless. Perhaps the best wish which we
could express for the interests of partridge shooting gene-
rally, is that the commencement of the season should be
universally deferred for a fortnight or three weeks, and
that the practice which obtains in Ireland of changing
the date from the first to the twentiethshould be observed
in England also. If it is seldom. that a partridge is fit
to Shoot.beiCaillg.P) it is all4POtilevir 41At it is fit t 4 egt

AMERICAN AFFAIRS.

(From the Anglo-American Times.)

biEW YORK, Aug. 14.

Mr. Casserly, United States Senator from Cali-
fornia, arrived here on Sunday. Ile is thoroughly
opposed to the immigration of Chinese—the question
now of most interest. Sing-Man and Choy-Chew,
which, being interpreted into our language, means
the Magnificent Dragon and Agreeable Associa-
tions, have been banqueted and cheered in Chicago.
The Chinamen's speeches have been sensible, mode-
rate, and well delivered. Choy-Chew said he had
been eleven years in this country, having arrived
ignorant of the language, unknown to any, a
stranger to the customs and laws, regarded by some
as an inl ruder, one of that race whose presence is
deemed injurious. But he found both kindness and
justice, a deep, broad stream of popular equality
flowing beneath the injustice.

"I gathered knowledge," continued the Chinaman, " in
your public schools ; I learned to speak as you do; to read
and write as you de ; to act and think as you do; and,
gentlemen, I ri joice that it is so ; that I have been able to
cross the vast continent without the aid of an interpreter.
That here, in the heart of the United States, I can speak
to you in your own familiar speech, and tell you how much
—how very much- I appreciate your hospitality, how
grateful I feel for the privileges and advantages I have
enjoyed in your glorious country, and how earnestly 1
hope that your example of enterprise, energy, vitality,
and national generosity may be seen and understood,
as I see and understand it, by our Government. Mr.
Burlingame has done much to promote good feeling in
China towards the American nation. He made him-
self well acquainted with the authorities at Pekin.
Ho won their confidence to a very remarkable de-
degree. He is also an excellent man, and I believe,
if his advice is received and acted upon, China will soon
be the cordial friend of all the commercial powers of
the earth. Already we are doing something in the way of
progress in modern improvements. Steamboat lines have
been established on our rivers, and the telegraph will soon
connect us with the wonderful sovereignty of the Western
Hemisphere, where the people rule ; where everything
proclaims peace and good-will to all. China must brush
away the dust of her antiquity, and, looking across the
Pacific, behold and profit by the new lessons of the Now
World. We trust our visit, gentlemen, may be productive
of good results to all of us ; that the two great countries,
East and West, China, and America, may be found forever
together in friendship; and that a Chinaman in America,
or an American in China, may find like protection and like
consideration in their search for happiness and wealth."
From Chicago, Choy-Chew, Sing-Man, and party
came on to this city, and took up their abode at the
Metropolitan Hotel. 'They have, on the whole,
been well received, but what is to be the end I can-
not conjecture; while it is undoubtedly true that the
subject of immigration is attracting much atten-
tion. Senator Casserly made another speech, which
attracted attention before he lsf t San Francisco. He
maintains that by the Fifteenth Amendment, when
ratified, the right of franchise will be accorded to
such Chinese as choose to acquire it by becoming
naturalised ; this right he contends being the bed-
rock on which Government is founded, the power
and the right to regulate it are co-ordinate. " Cali-
fornia, he adds, " might have claims to be free, but
with this amendment it would be mockery to call
her free." There will yet be a struggle on this sub-
ject. President Grant passed through this city on
Monday from Garrison's on his way to Washington
for the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He had an
interview with JUdge Pierrepont, and he stayed a
few hours with his brother-in-law, Mr. Corbin. He
came back on Wednesday evening to Sixteenth-
street, near Stuveysant-avenue, the residence of
Secretary Fish, and will soon proceed on a trip
over the Erie Railway. He will remain for a few
days in Pennsylvania, and then go on to Saratoga,
to the unspeakable disgust of the pursuing office-
seekers who complain that he is always on the
move, and invariably stays at the most expensive
hotels. Senator Sprague also passed through this
city, and Governor Scott, of South Carolina, is at the
Metropolitan Hotel. Senor Roberts, the Spanish
Minister, times his movements by those of the Pre-
sident, as he also is after Grant. Senor Romero, the
Finance Minister of Mexico, has informed the
banker henry Clews that the situation there is
rapidly improving, and that the happy conjunction
of circumstances ought nut to be lost by our capi-
talists. It is a singular fact that men in a bad way
always go through very favourable conjunctions of
circumstances, and as the bank on which they draw
is only their imagination, they are enabled to hold up
to the greedy eye such visions of untold wealth as
to allure even the cold-blooded into their meshes. I
do not know that any change has really been effected
in Mexico, or is likely to be; all are aware that the
country is a mine of wealth, long likely to remain
unworked owing to the inhabitants, and although
Romero may assert that capital only is wanted,
those who best know the Mexicans maintain that
there is a something in themselves wanting, still
more indispensable. General Ryan seems unable to
exist without a sensation, which he has got up even
in that dull place the Clifton House, Niagara Falls.
Day, formerly bis private secretary, arrived on the
6th inst. with despatches from the Cuban Junta,
directing him to return to New York ; but Ryan
suspecting a forgery, accused Day of treachery,
when it transpired that the papers were not
genuine. Ryan thereon beat him with a horse- whip,
while Day, on his knees, roared for the mercy
Ryan would not show, until the visitors, being at-
tracted by the row, rushed in and took the whip from
the enraged general. The proceedings of our revo-
lutionary organizations are so often thus highly
spiced, that they lose every shadow of interest un-
less kept up by beating, shooting, slangwhanging,
and bolting with the " dibs." The tailors had a
great procession, and marched round to all the shops.
It was 440 yards long, and numbered at least
2,000 men, carrying aloft such striking inscriptions
as—" We strike for our Rights," "No Slavery
lin a Free Country." There are many Germans
among them, and in the speeches that language
was as often used as English. The president of the
Working-man's Union, Mr. Young, addressed them,
and there is some significance in what he said—
" The workingmen of a whole country were now
marshalled for the fight, and prepared to march in
solid column for the attainment of their rights."
'There is no little truth in this, the battle between ca-
pital and labour having become general, as the
working men feel that the rise in wages is not
in proportion to that in the necessaries of life.
Mr. Cashman (a better name, by the way, for an
employer than for a workman) alluded to theLabour
Congress about to assemble in Philadelphia, from
which he anticipates great things. Messrs. Bowers,
Beckman, and Co., 61, Leonard-street, have
stopped, with liabilities in excess of two and a half
millions of dollars. The house is highly thought
of, and the announcement it makes is believed, that
its assets are in excess of its liabilities, and that it
will only require time to work through its difficulties,
but meanwhile the shock to others and to trade is
considerable. Mr. Bowers, in the panic of 1857,
suspended, and afterwards paid in full, and a large
Boston manufacturing house would, it is alleged, have
advanced sufficient to carry on the business for a
twelvemonth if the firm would have accepted the
offer. Last Saturday Archbishop INlSCloskey and
the Rev. Father M'Nierney left in the Ville de
Paris for Europe, accompanied down the Bay,
as far as Staten Island, by numbers of friends,
and it is said that the Archbishop has a heavy
purse gathered by Catholic friends in New York.
Among the passengers by the City of Washington,
for Liverpool, last Saturday, were the alleged
forgers Harwood and Hatcher, who desired this
course to be taken instead of awaiting the arrival
of the officer. The first two bales of cotton of the
season, from Washington county, Texas, arrived
in New York, Aug. 9, and one of them sold for 50
cents a pound, being of excellent quality. The
other was shipped to Liverpool, where it is be-
lieved it will get the premium for the first arrival.
From Sept. 1 of last year up to Saturday, the re-
ceipts at all the shipping ports were 2,333,054
bales, being ne irly 100,000 bales less thal re-
ceive d during the same period of the peasts‘norrs
year. The stock at the ports is very low, and the
arrivals are now small, showing that nearly all held
in the interior must have been forwarded, and that
no great quantity can remain. The stories told of
General Grant will soon equal in'bulk those told of
Napoleon I. One of the latest going the rounds
is the reception he met with on his former visit to
Judge Pierrepont. The clerk, who received him in the
absence of the Judge, did not know the President,