The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-23 00:00:00

A FOREIGNER ON THE BUDGET.

M. Leon Say, the well-known economist of the
Jwtrnal des Velats, has been criticising Mr. Lowe 's
Budget with some severity. It contains, hi his
of inion, only one remarkablefeature—akind of forced
and disguised loan to cover the expenses of the \by ssi-
luau war. 11. ay accuses Mr. Lowe of the desire to
in..ke a sensation by producing a Budget written like
a novel. He chews an expenditure and income
equally balanced, and calls himself poor, and then
amidenly discovers £3,000,000 sterling, which he
gives up at once to taxpayers. his French critic
does not even allow him the merit of this fortunate
discovery,
.for he traces it to M. Fould's Budget
of 1302„ in-i4lrich the Treasury changed the dates
when "Itente'lglders were to receive the interest of
their Bentes. -The result of this change was that in
the first year there were only three-quarters to be
paid, instead of two half-years, which made 2f. 25c.,
instead of 3f. ; so that a quarter of the inte-
rest of the debt is carried over to the next
year. Mr. Lowe has, so to speak, copied M. Fould.
The present year will be. richer by a quarter of the
income tax than the preceding one, and will make
the Treasury £3,000,000 sterling richer again, which
will be used to pay the expenses of the Abyssinian
war. This arrangement, according to M. Say, is
artificial and theatrical. The Budget is a pantomimic
drama, full of tricks and changes. Mr. Gladstone's
I:dget shewed a grander simplicity. his successor
in the Chancellorship dces not replace him.

TRADES UNIONS AND MR. HUGHES'S BILL.

The Trades Unions Bill, introduced by Messrs.
B nghes and Mundella, and supported by the Govern-
ment, has just been considered by the delegates of
the. several unions throughout the country. Mr.
:Hughes himself explained the measure to them.
There was an undercurrent of grumbling that the
bill did not give all that might be demanded ' • but it
being felt that moderation in this case was strength,
a resolution was passed approving of it. Brought in
by private members, supported by the Government,
and opposed by such men as Lord the bill
b - s a fair chance of passing the Householders' Parlia-
ment.

CENTRALISATION OR LOCAL INDEPENDENCE.

Mr. Goschen, as President of the Poor Law Board,
n s had to decide a question which his predecessors
found very difficult. He has seen guardians
w, sting public money, and knowing what a howl of
indignant remonstrance is raised if there is the least
" tyrannical interference of the Poor-law Board,"
br:s had to choose whether to let them continue, or
to use his power. Ile told a deputation of guardians
who recently waited upon him which he intended to
do. They protested against the union of certain
parishes. In reply, Mr. Goschen complained that he
met with opposition when he tried to introduce
economic changes. The guardians were spending
too much money, and when told of it said they
wanted to be left alone. But it was his duty to look
at the danger of leaving them alone, for pauper:sm
was increasing at the rats of 7.45 per cent. in three
He would not undertake the responsibility of
letving them alone. He found that guardians did
not mind spending a few thousands more on this or
that object if they could keep it to themselves ; but in
his view economy, combined with efficiency; should
be the foremost aim.

REFORMATORY SCIIOOLS.

The furore which raged during the winter en
the subject of our criminal classes has now suh3Lled
somewhat, but not before it has resulted in a b:il to
punish habitual criminals. A g-neral sen.-;t; that
something must be done to put Ow:: ii the groat ev,l
now prevails. Those wi-lo Lthoe-tte rdormatory
treatment have just held a two days' conference in
London. The night Hon. Stephen Cave, M.P.,
the Earl of Lichfield, Mr. Baker, and others took
pat in it. It was urged that the Government
should care more immediately for the reformatorles
and refuges. It is better to prevent than to cure. If
the seeds of thievery can be-removed ere they have
borne fruit, society will benefit. ..The best plait of
werking the schools was considered, but on this
d.Ullcult subject there was no general agreement.

'run TOT:GHAT. ELECTION.
Judge O'Brien in delivering judgment on the
Toughal election petition, unseated Mr. Wegu din, but
said that lie would report to the `pecker that corrupt
practices did not extensively previil at the election.
One would like to• I.now what the judges ine:in by
the adjective "extensively." Mr. Atiuguelin polled
1:27 votes, and these votes cost him, according to one
account, £B,OOO, according to another, 4.1 2,000.
T:Lking the lower estimate, they cost sixty guineas
a piece, and as it does not appear that any large
sums were paid to particular electors, we are com-
pelled to come to a different conclusion from Judge
O'Brien's. The judges hitherto have certainly done
.little to make bribery a hoinous offence.

TUE SUPREMACY OP THE CROWN.
What is the ecclesiastical supremacy of the
Grown One makes it a niystical doctrine, involving
the representation of the Deity by the head of the
Church ; another explains it as merely a title, carry-
ing with it the right of presenting bishos ; whilst
another gives it as a merely. civil supremacy, making.
the sovereign the first in rank, wheler amongst
laymen or clergymen. Py some—by a great many
ssentem—the Queen is supposed to occupy the posi-
tion of a Pope; by others her ecclesiastical position
is looked upon as a mere accident conseinent on her
civil supremacy. Mr. Hubbard would have it that
she is not supreme head of the Church at all ; that
she is merely a governor of the kingdom. " Angli-
ca:ms," in a letter to ,the Tires, takes another view.
"-The Bishop of Capetown, I'usey, and others
who are rejoicing in the supposed freedom which the
Irish Church, and, if so 116, the English Church is
hereafter to envoy by separation from the control of
the State, will find that, milesi expressly c:ceptel
by an act of the Legislature, they will merely pass
from the mixed tribunal of the Queen in Council to
the purely lay tribunal of the Queen in Chancery."
" Anglicanus " declares that until an Act be passed
ex pressly forbidding the Imperial Legislature, or the
groat organs of the State,.to intervene in eccles:as-
tical matters; and precluding all appeals from eceie-
siastical bodies to the civil courts of the realm, the
work of Henry -VIII., of Edward VI., and. of
Elizabeth will irot be entirely undone, nor the teach-
ing of Crammer and Hooker entk'rely repudiated.

TILE SPEAKER'S COMNENTARY.

Is this long-delayed work really about to appear at
last ? There arc symptoms of it. We notice that the
Speaker has just entertained at dinner a number of
ar,thbishops, bishops, and clergy, and among the
latter we observe the name of "the Rev. Canon
Cook, editor." This looks as if the Commentary
"ere at least not abandoned. We doubt, however,
if
.dinner parties are calculated to " hasten "the com-
pletion of this prolonged project, however "slowly."

AN OLD SOLDIER ON OUR NATIONAL DEFF.NCES.

Octogenarians art young men now-a-days. Veterans
Well on towards 00 years of age think themselves as
fully qualified as men of only half their years to
preside over a Cabinet, or a diocese, or an arm
Here is Sir John Burgoyne, for instance, who helped
to capture Malta more than sixty years ago, who is
now 87 years old, and who has lust published a
vigorous pamphlet on " Our National Defences."
The Field-Marshal does not • believe that
the millennium has come so far. He thinks it not
at all improbable that we shall have to hoist the flag
which has "braved a thous; d yeara the battle and
ti.e breeze." Ile is evidently by no means certain
ii that " meteor flag " will " terrific burn." The
whole art of war has altered since he bombarded
aletta and retreated under Sir John Moore.
however firmly we may adhere to non-interrention,
"there is no security from being bullied, plundered,and
trampled upon, unless a countiThes means of guarding
itself by force of arms." He does not believe that a
navy, however powerful, would render us safe against
invasion. lie holds it to be " the most dangerous
delusion into which a community can fall " that if
an invader did land on our island he would be met
by such large numbers of armed, patriotic, and
determined men, as to be unable to advance against
them. Ile considers that our condition is " very
disheartening," and lie goes on to consider
low we can improve it. In the first place,
we shall never have a sufficiency of regular troops to
defend the country, and we must therefore make the
militia our mainstay. But he is thoroughly dissa-
tisfied with the organisation and constitution of this
force. lle objects to the time alloWed for trainine, as
insufficient to give the men " the knowledge, steadi-
ness, and habits of soldier s." The officers, as a body,
from the army not being their profession, can hardly
be exrectcd to be thoroughly efficient, or capable
of imparting that confidence to the men so essential
to success; and the non-commissioned officers would
I.robably be found in a great measure inefficient.
Ile pronounces emphatically for shcrt.terins of ser-
vice, in order chiefly to leave the militia v trained
roen passed into it out of tine
eregular regiments.
Ile favours the idea of posting all the short
service men to the militia, and of using the militia
rather as an " army reserve " than as a "reserve
army." That is, he would fill up the cadres of the
regular corps to war strength from the militia. Ile
attaches considerable importance to the volunteer
force, and thinks that it would be most useful for
" detached duties," and would form "admirable
garrisons for our fortifications." Even when the
troops to be recalled from the colonies this year
have assembled in the kingdom, and have raised
the home regular force to 00,000 men, Sir John
Burgoyne calculates that unr.7er m) conditions
could more than 40,000 regular infantry take
the field. The mode he would adopt of increasing
this to a respectable ii are is to strenreahen
each weak battalion of ;;CO men by I;oo.men dnLwn
from the militia, by which means we should have
80,000 regular infantry. 'l'o these he would add
militia regiments to the extent of one-half, ;aid
thns produce a " manwuvring levee of 120.000 in-

fantr3i, besides cavalry and artillery.- .7otliing can
be done with the cavalry at present, but Sir John is
anxious, above all things, that we should reorgm'se
the commissar:at and transport departments. fie
holds that we ought to have these in such a con-
dition that we might go to war to-morrow ; and
there is no doubt that Prussia owed her success in
1866 greatly to the fact that she was thus prepared.