The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-20 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC 130IIENALS.

The Saturday Review, in discussing the debate on the I
Address, dwells especially on the promised alteration of the
law of rating, and observes that the House of Commons
was perhaps more to blame than the embarrassed Minister
for its indolent readiness to escape a political difficulty at
the expense of a social and economical, convenience. In
spite of the sanguine theories of financial reformers, poor
people cannot or will not pay direct taxes either to the
Imperial or to the parochial collector. The overseers had
long since found it worth while to allow
the landlords of small tenements a discount for
taking the rates upon themselves, and numerous
Acts- of Parliament had legalised the practice.
The occupiers who have been summoned for non-payment
of rates, the parish officers who have obtained distress
warrants, and all other parties concerned, except the land-
lords who have kept up their rents and put the amount of
the previous deduction into their pockets, may justly
complain of the hasty vote which has cost them so much
trouble and loss ; nor was Mr. Disraeli himself forward to
protest against the reversal of thoughtless legislation. In-
deed, the courtesy end moderation of his entire speech
suggested an invidious suspicion that he meditated some
unusually violent and unscrupulous attack on the C overn-
ment. Mr. Gladstone, himself the chief patron of the
persecuted compound househo'der, generously promised to
redress the existing evil with all passible consldciation for
the feelings of his-adversaries. There is no reason why the
houseowner should not be allowed to pay the rate on
behalf of the tenant, with or without deduction. If all
parties agree in the wish to escape from a renewal of the
iliscussion, a few ambiguous phrases will remove all ground
of quarrel. With regard to foreign affairs, it was
impossible to say much in the debate or conversation
about the Paris Convention, or about the treaty which
has perhaps ceased to please Mr. Reverdy Johnson since
the Committee of the Senate has almost unanimously
refused to ratify it. It will not be worth the while of
Parliament to discuss the terms of an abortive arrange.
ment ; but it would be well to express the general opinion
that Lord Clarendon has gone to the extreme limit of
admissible or excusable concession. It may be collected
that the Government had no expectation that the Alabama
Treaty will be ratified. Even Mr Cowper, who perhaps went
out of his way to justify the pugnacity of the Americans,
remarked with justice that England, after making every
possible concession, is no longer responsible for the con- ,
tinuance of the quarrel. The debate was necessarily un-
interesting, because it suited the convenience of the Oppo-
sition
to adjourn any attack upon the Government. For
once the speeches of the respective movers and seconders '
were fuller of matter than the more authoritative state-
ments of the party leaders. Perhaps the best part of Mr.
Gladstone's speech was his judicious apology for the post-
ponement to a future session of measures which, however
urgent, would in all probability not have been passed.
The Spectator refers to the opening of Parliament and
the non-appearance of the Queen at that ceremonial.
Some comments have been made, mainly in Tory journals,
upon the reluctance of her Majesty to open Parliament in
person, but they are a little unfair. It is perfectly clear
from the Speech, from Mr. Gladstone's notice of motion,
and from the invitation just addressed to Parliament to
present the Address as a body, that the Queen is now, as
ever, determined to adhere to constitutional principle, and
to accept any measure upon which the nation has heartily
resolved, even should her own judgment be doubtful of its
expediency. There is not the faintest evidence that this
is the case in the matter of the Irish Church ; but sup-
posing it were, her Majesty has still fulfilled, and will
fulfil, every duty imposed upon her by the Constitution,
has given a cordial welcome to the advisers nominated by
the people, and a full assent to the measures they deem
imperative for the public good. To ask more, to refuse
the Queen the liberty of private judgment secured to the
humblest subject, is unjust, and would be unworthy
of the Liberal party. They may regret that the
Queen still feels unable to remain in London during
the session, a practice which immensely facilitates all
public business, and which was studiously followed by her
predecessor ; but they recognise to the full—and the
Spectator, at all events, is no flatterer of Courts—the com-
pleteness of the reply which has been given to the absurd
rumours propagated last year, the equal justice which her
Majesty extends to all parties in the State.
The John Bull makes some remarks upon the case of
Mr. Edwards. Chapters of autobiography are certainly
in the ascendant. The example set by Dr. Newman, and
followed by the piesent Premier, is likely to have a wide-
spread effect, and the latest instance we have to record is
the portrait of Mr. Edwards, painted by himself at the
Bankruptcy Court on Monday last. No doubt had those
whose lot was cast in earlier days had similar opportuni-
ties, history would present a very different aspect. The
uncle of the Babes in the Wood, who has been branded
with cruelty on an ex parte statement, would prove in a
neat little pamplet, published by Mr. Murray at half-a-
crown, with a cheaper edition for general circulation, that
his conduct was dictated by a desire to improve the bota-
nical knowledge of the children, and to afford to the robins
an opportunity of displaying their philanthropy ; while
Richard 111. would maintain that he murdered his
nephews from motives of pure beneficence, and that any
idea of his usurping the crown was out of all bearing on
the practical politics of the day. A man's own
portrait of himself and that painted of him by his
enemies, or even by his friends, differ as widely as the
first and second husbands of Hamlet's mother ; and we
"look upon that picture and on this" with surprise,
mingled, in most cases, with incredulity. This incredulity
is indeed the great stumbling-block in the way of self-
Apologists. It is most rare for chapters of autobiography
to succeed in convincing any other persons than those who
read them with a determination to be convinced. There
may indeed be exceptions. There may he people who
think that Mr. Gladstone has proved conclusively that
his views on the Irish Church question were not in the
slightest degree affected by the presence of Mr. Disraeli
in Downing-street, and so there may be people who will
consider that Mr. Edwards has shewn that in all he did
he acted the part of a virtuous and discreet official
assignee. But this will not be the impression produced
upon most minds in either one instance or the other.
The Saturday Review finds that history is constantly
repeating itself, and that the vaunted progress of our
nineteenth century is in reality a copy from the earlier
ages of modern civilisation. It is hard to make people be-
lieve that German and Italian unity are not utterly new
things, dreams of speculative politicians, but actual facts
which existed long ago, and to which we are now only
going back. But anyone who understands the history of
the world for the last thousand years knows very well
that every step that has been taken towards the
unity of Germany or of Italy is not a step towards
something new, but really a step back again towards
something old. In our own history, above all, every step
in advance has been at the same time a step backwards.
We have often shewn how our latest constitution is,
amidst all external differences, essentially the same as our

earliest, how every struggle for right and freedom, from
the thirteenth century onwards, has simply been a struggle
for recovering something old, often in quite another shape,
but still essentially the same amidst all the differences of
ail early and a late state of society. Let us take one
example out of many, and let us illustrate it by a story
from the late general election. A Liberal candidate pro-
fesses to be a lover of everything old, a hater of every-
thing new. He denounces the novelties of Toryism, the
mere mushroom growth of the last two or three hundred
years. Presently he is called on at a dinner to give the
toast of "The Bishop and Clergy." He makes the sus-
picions addition of " Ministers of all Denominations." A
clergyman opposite triumphantly asks whether ministers
of all denominations were among the old things which he
loved. The candidate takes his opportunity, and shews
how toleration was the old thing, and intolerance the new;
how, in the first days of the gospel in England, a heathen
king could give full freedom to the preachers of Chris-
tianity, and a Christian king could do no kind of harm to
those of his people who claire to their old heathendom. In
short, if anybody, in Spain or elsewhere, wants a model
for a Toleration Act, he cannot do better than turn to
Breda, and study the sayings and doings of the first
Christian Bret w alda.

The Spectator thinks that Mr. Disraeli's cue is to act
the leader who is magnanimous in defeat. Now, Mr.
Disraeli is evidently shaping his course for compromise.
Accordingly, though he ventured to claim for himself, not
without just pride, the credit of the great change which
has transferred the trial of election petitions to the judges, he
thought most.of playing the part of a judicial-minded and
even gzinerous opponent. And Mr. Gladstone and Lord
Granville were evidently as anxious not to precipitate that
inevitable change of attitude on the part of their oppo-
nents which they no doubt expect. They took the greatest
care to do justice to the candour and moderation of their
criticisms. They even invited co-operation and help. Mr.
Gladstone, conscious of his naturally argumentative tone,
warned the -House beforehand that even though he might
scent controversial in his answer to Mr. Disraeli's—he
would not even call them objections—but "scruples," it
inust,not be supposed that he really spoke in any accent of
complaint. On the whole, the net meaning of the prologue
of .the session was,
.we think, this—that the Libe-
rals have made up their minds to a tough
jub, and intend to work at it with a will ;
that, in consequence, every earnest conviction is to have
free play, but that the utmost caution is intended to be
observed in going beyond the necessary conditions of the
contest that the Tory leaders wish to keep their course
perfectly open for a compromise, and to play the part of
magnanimous adversaries ; that the Tory rank and file
are as yet without any distinct conception either of what
their leaders wish or they themselves intend ; and
,that 'everything, betokens that reserve and modera-
ticrmon both sides which precedes a sharp campaigße -The
air'is still with the tx.inctatio.A9LiAttic...•