The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-12 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The flames observes that the Mayor of Cork hal
relieved Parliament from the discharge of a very unwel-
come duty, and has disappointed many curious
persons, who had expected the pleasure of fed-
lowing a proceeding unexampled in recent times, if not
absolutely unprecedented. Mr. O'Sullivan has resigned
his office. This solution of the difficulty he had created
came at last in a very dramatic fashion. There can be
no reason for concealing the fact that the whole subject
was beset with difficulties. It is a minor point, though it
is worth remark as a preliminary objection that the oppor-
tunities of delaying the progress of a Disability Bill are SO
numerous that it was impossible tolook forward to a speedy
deprivation of Mr, O'Sullivan. But even supposing the
procedure could have been as swift as it must have been
slow, Parliament would still have prosecuted the measure
with extreme relutance. We must not be supposed to
hint the slightest doubt of the prudence, or indeed,
of the necessity, of the course the Government adopted.
It may be possible, and even advisable, to provide an
improved form of procedure against the chance of 3
similar case recurring, but substantially the character of
the process cannot be altered. We cannot suppose
that mayors will ever be subjected to a more direct
control of the courts of law. Moreover, it is impossible to
believe that the public mind would approve such a limita-
tion of municipal freedom as would be involved in subject-
ing mayors to the control of the judges, but there seems
no sufficient reason why the suggestion thrown out by Mr.
O'Reilly on Tuesday afternoon should not be considered.
All of us must, indeed, hope that the necessity of taking
steps to remove another mayor may not soon arise, and
there will doubtless be a great disposition to let the laW
and practice remain unchanged, but the experience of the
past week ought not to be allowed to pass unregarded, and
its proper fruit would be an amendment of procedure in
case a similar difficulty should hereafter arise.
The Standard declares that the process of vindicating
law and order in the city of Cork, as devised by the
Government, has had a ludicrous termination, very much
to the-relief of Mr. Gladstone, even more than to that of
Mr. O'Sullivan. In fact, we are not sure that the ot'
Mayor of Cork will not gain new courage and confidence
by the result of the extraordinary proceedings of which he
was made the subject, and from which he emerges not as the
victim, but the hero. Everybody, we are told, ought t°
be satisfied with this mode of getting rid of an unpleasant
business. As to the lesson which the O'Sullivan Disability
Bill was intended to teach, that is as much needed now as
ever it was. If it was ever necessary that the mayors
should be brought under some sort of control at the hands
of the Executive, that necessity certainly becomes no less,
but greater, by the result of this O'Sullivan affair. V
are not even safe against the renewal of O'Sullivan'S
pranks, for though Mr. Maguire gave the House a pledge
on O'Sullivan's part that his friend would not again seek
reelection as Mayor of Cork, we cannot admit this to be
a sufficient warrant that such a thing will not happen'
It would be absurd, even if Mr. O'Sullivan himself had
given such a pledge, to make that a ground for suspending
the action of the Government against mayors who tall:
treason and advocate murder ; but when, upon the pledge
at second hand, without any apology, or retraction, or
even consciousness of offence, the only measure which the
Government is able to take in vindication of law and
order is forthwith suspended, it is difficult to believe that
the authors of the O'Sullivan Disability Bill were at anY
time sincere in their affectation of resentment at the Cork
Liberals. The Ministry which did not scruple to empty
the gaols of Fenian convicts as a preliminary to their
Irish policy may fairly be suspected of not wishing to
injure their popularity in Ireland by excess of zeal agaiu3
t
such patriots as the Mayor of Cork.
The Daily Eays rejoices that the Mayor of Cork hse
shewn himself merciful. When Mr. Maguire on Monday
afternoon read the letter in which his worship announced
his retirement from office, the feeling of relief was strong,
and almost overcame the disappointment of the crowds
who filled the Ministerial and Opposition benches, and of
the strangers who had assembled in the various galleries
of the House in anticipation of a scene. It would, be
disrespectful to compare her Majesty's Ministers and
the burgesses and knights of the shire who form the
eighth Parliament of Queen Victoria to the drunken
and disorderly persons whom it was the habit ei
the Mayor of Cork to release in the early morning front
the consequences of their indiscretions. Practically, hors'
ever, the letter which Mr. Maguire read did discharge
the Government and the House of Commons from a situ!!'
tion scarcely more enviable than that of the prisoners 111
the Bridewell at Cork. It is something to have got rid at
once of Mr. O'Sullivan and the O'Sullivan Disability
Bill ; and this double deliverance is due to Mr. O'Sullissn.
himself. If he had been obstinate he might have ref/
seriously embarrassed Ministers and Parliament. Nothing
in his tenure of office has so much become him as his
retirement from it.
The Telegraph says that on Tuesday afternoon the
Mayor of Cork went out of existence like a damp squib:
At a quarter to three o'clock he was the most prominent
man in the kingdom ; ten minutes later, ha was an el).
scurely successful Irish butter merchant, "and none se
poor to do him reverence." When the House met at t's°
o'clock for the special purpose of abolishing his civic 30J
seditious highness, everybody was asking everybody else
what the renowned potentate would do—just as, during
a great continental crisis, we ask each other what `sill
be done by the Emperor Napoleon or Count I'l
Bismarck. But precisely as a, theatrical manager might
advance to the footlights and announce that h°l„,
necessity forced him to delay the appearance of an exciting
drama which an eager crowd had come to witness, so gr'a
Maguire killed the feverish anxiety of the asserabi
lgislators by reading a letter from the culprit. Eva.' ,0
no further legislation should be attempted, the indelib'
record of the present transactions in the journals a tlls
House of Commons, and the effect of the subraissie.fili
announced in the words of the lawbreaker himself, 'ie °
read a much-needed lesson to Ireland—will, in fact, he
more instructive and more directly available than anY i 0
the precedents that have recently been hunted up.
the fullest shape, the objects of the bill have been
attained ; while from a grave and most difficult duty
Government has been relieved by Mr. O'SulliOns
prompt and abject performance of the "happy despatelirci.
The Star thinks that, looking back at the a.svkWe
affair which is now most happily concluded, there are tWo
reasons for satisfaction at the course of events. One
that the amicable and satisfactory settlement has beef
arrived at by a real submission on the part of the AlOci°f
~
of Cork, advised by his own and his country's best frien 1370
Irishmen are nothing if not gentlemen, and the idea of. t.
chief magistrate of an Irish community flouting the Bri.ise
Government, and, however unintentionally, encouragir7
the assassination of British princes, at a moment when'
that is great and potent in England is straining eve.so
nerve for the accomplishment of Ireland's regeneratwto
according to her own ideas, ought to be as repugnallto
the people of that country as it would be to insulta he
hospitable host or to reject an amende honorable.
other topic for congratulation is the general unreadieto
which has displayed itself amongst English people to r,Ol
into arbitrary measures. The O'Sullivan Bill was a J 0,4
and necessary one, but there is no doubt that it le
brought in by the Government mainly because they
ceived it due to the feeling which had been excited
England by Mr. O'Sullivan's offences. But what was the bs
result ? No sooner had it been announced than those °'l,o
had-been fiercest in their denunciation of Mr. O'Snilj,lo
began to pause. They asked themselves whether this "ts
exactly the sort of thing an English Parliament 00300
be doing. If the bill bad continued necessary it w°dol
have been passed, but it would have been arei.,loog
the reluctance and regrets of all parties. ;-'d,
may these hesitations be characteristic of Elig'S'oco
Long may we be able to say, as we can in this instiiios
with truth, that when it comes to a question of puns' 011
a man for his politics Tories are as unwilling as Llbel for
to inflict even such pains and penalties as are essentia'
the maintenance of public peace and decorum. ved
The Herald remarks that after the interval of a *tie
long " week" Mr. Layard redeemed his pledge, 'OlO
after midnight in the sitting of Monday, to make knt ist
to the members the famous projection of Government
placing the new courts on the six acres of terra ific°Yept,
standing between Howard-street and the Embankilliro'
The conjuror who faced an audience to whom be h°u,, pet'
mised to enter a pint pot had scarcely a more dittien't
formance before him. But then Mr. Layard is no e°ll/-ioll
prestidigitateur. What he wants in skill he most cettaa
makes up in assurance, and he must be encourage if
the feeling of having at least as much contidence4a,
his own acuteness as lie has little in that of ;joie
body that hears him. Never, we should traesi
on any subject non-political, did a Gorern,.o Set
make a greater mistake. The scheme which was Lti
jetio
everything right proves to be the culmination of 0 eoe'
and financial absurdity ; it is impossible they can I) best
Vera with it ; and, as with some other blunders, T. 1.1
i 1 o
1100
expectations for them must be that time, whicdi
crushed them under so many misfortunes, may be i.
gently to drop the curtain over this. When Mr. asses
tells us that he will give up all that ten years of other
work and great expense have produced, and risk antipg
ii
Iliad of architectural woes on the chance ere%a
of
fine structure cn a site which has no recommend°l 4( scg
the side of the Strand, and permits of no better r
119 e
than one built upon a street separated from the ,rst!
dead wall, we are obliged to tell him the Iminiliatre‘,l:ccip
that lie deliberately presents us with a project l%psi
fiscates every possible advantage, and afflicts. :ettoiti,
every possible disadvantage which the
P utmost
I)iinffpoats
U
can connect with the erection of a great
ment.
,Atieo

A telegram from Philadelphia, *rough the tea
Cable, states that the Pacific Hallway was coo&
Moucliky aim-now:4 at half-past O'Clgek.