The Sun.
London, England, 1869-08-26 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, AUG UST 26, 18G9.

When ROBERT BURNS first read " Titus Androni-
cus," he finished his perusal of it by thrusting it be-
tween the bars of the grate in the " house-place,"
thereby summarily committing it to the flames. The
authorship of that revolting drama is to the last
degree doubtful, and is only in any way very faintly,
and dimly, and confusedly traceable to SHAKSPERE.
However, people may think in regard to an excep-
tionally horrible tragedy like "Titus Andronicus,"
there cannot be one moment's question whatever
about the fact that Crime or Vice in some shape or
form is the legitimate theme of the world's greatest
dramatists. The only room for argument left is as to
the manner in which a theme of that character may be
dealt with. It is an accusation of very old standing
against dramatic literature that its influence is per-
nicious and demoralising. It was from an exagge-
rated conviction to that effect that the Puritans
closed all the theatres during the interregnum of the
Commonwealth. And the natural and all but in-
evitable result of their doing so was visible in the re-
action which set in almost immediately after the
Restoration. The dramatists of the Reign of CHARLES
11. became conspicuous among the demoralisers of
an age especially distinguished by its pro-
fligacy. Even " glorious JOHN" DR] DEN—even the
author of the "Hind and Panther"—while catering for
the public at the theatres, allowed his august
singing robe to be draggled in the mire of
those (as they were at that time) social bag-
nios. Intervals there have been, during which it
is undeniable that the glory of the Dramatic Art has
been degraded and has become prostituted. Looking
to the history of the Drama, however, as a whole—
regarding its character generally as an art, or rather
as a concentration or accumulation of a variety of
different arts—poetry, sculpture, painting, oratory,
being among them very noticeable indeed—looking to
the comprehensive influence of the Drama upon civi-
lised races, alike iu Pagan and in Christian times—in
classic Rowe and Greece, in the France of COItNEILLE
and RACINE, in the Spain of CALDERON and LOPE DE
IGA, in the G„,ruaany of GOETHE and SculLLEtt, in
the England of SHAKSPERE and of SKAKSPERE'S can-
temporaries and successors—it would be idle and
monstrous to deny the humanizing, and benignant,
and elevating influence exercised by an art like this,
a master art that more vividly than any other " holds
the mirror up to nature." Th.,t in i,s development,
in its varied fluctuations, in its alternating and often
widely contrasting phases, it has been flawed and
marred occasionally, is, as a matter of course, not one
jot less undeniable. But its failures in this way have
been, as compared with its main success (that, namely,
of a most benignant influence) have been only,
as the passing spots upon the sun's disc,
the faculve and inaculse observable at intervals
in the midst of the splendour of the great luminary.
As if in signal recognition of the beneficent influ-
ence, as a whole, of the Drama, it especially has, been
the favourite medium for the display of the scholar-
ship of our ecclesiastics in this country, the editing
anew of one of the masterpieces of the old Greek dra-
matists, insomuch that it has long come to be a fami-
liar joke that the surest method of winning a
Bishopric was to edit a Greek play. One of the most
laborious undertakings of one of our greatest moralists
—Dr. JOHNSON—was the editing of the plays of
SHAKSPERE. About the happiest, certainly the
most powerful of all the works of imagina-
tion produced by the late Dean of St.
Paul's, Dr. MILMAN, was his drama of " Fazio."
And so on. Instances of a similar kind, inci-
dents having about them a kindred significance,
might be very readily multiplied. But, fur all this,
every now and then, the shock of a qualm seems to
come upon playgoers, and of course more forcibly still
(because they know nothing at all about it) upon
non-playgoers, startling them into a conviction that
the drama is necessarily and inevitably, always run-
ning a desperate hazard of proving itself to be intrinsi-
cally demoralizing. Some individual dramatist at these
times is seized upon, all of a sudden, as a scapegoat.
Some particular play is selected as a target against
which all sorts of horrid imputations and disgraceful
accusations shall he directed. It is precisely thus at
this present moment with regard to Formosa, and
with regard to its author, Mr. DION Boucicauur.
Witnessing the onslaught made upon this particular
dramatist, listening to the choral objurgations which
are still being loudly directed against him, one might
really suppose him to be the concentration into one
of all the prurient dramatic authors who have,
at any period, disgraced that department of litera-
ture. Now, without going into the question of
the good taste or not displayed iu the putting
together of the materials of this particular
drama of Formosa, against which the prudes of
criticism are inveighing so very vociferously, one
cannot, in fair-play, but remember the whole of the
antecedent labours, as a dramatist, of Mr. DION
BOUCICAULT Ever since the production of his first
hi idiant comedy of "London Assurance," in the March
of 1841, when he was not yetnineteen [Mr. BOUCICAULT
was born on the 22d of December, 1822], he has been
writing, with sufficiently radiant success, in a glare
of publicity. Until now, there has not been occasion
for a hint being thrown out of his demoralizing
influence as a dramatist. Prima facie the evidence is
all in his favour. Added to which, the people who
tolerated, without a murmur, the indecorous vagaries
of a SCHNEIDER are, now, going into rhetorical hys-
terics over the 46 Railroad to Ruin." One can't help
remembering rather vividly, in the midst of all this
hubbub, the long since notorious fact, that one of the
most pitiable spectacles to be seen amongst us, at
any time, is that of the British Public:in;one of its
periodical fits of Virtuous Indignation. Supposing,

however, instead of " the British Public," we put
it here in this present instance, "a Very Small
Clique." What then?

THE deliberations of the Trades Unions' Congress
have, so far, reflected much credit on the working
men of England. Previous gatherings of artisans,
especially on the Continent, have too frequently
wasted their time in vague declamation, or in
discussing violent and socialist remedies for practical
grievances. The Congress at Birmingham has begun
moderately and wisely. The delegates have been
considering the distribution of wealth by temperance
instead of by confiscation, and in place of seeking for
the best means of promoting the efficacy of strikes,
they have approved of peaceful settlements by
arbitration. Few persons, we imagine, will question
the propriety of Mr. POTTER'S exhorting the trades
unions to make war with that most formidable
enemy of the artisan class—drunkenness: Even
those who believe in the " working man's beer "
must admit that the immoderate use of spirituous
liquors is the vice from which the poor suffer most
and from the removal of which
_they would most
largely benefit. What priestcraft and despotism
have done for some continental countries, intoxica-
tion is doing for the working class of England. " The
present state of the liquor traffic has been created by
every possible combination of ignorance and
class legislation, by encroachments or mis-
takes of Government, parties, Excise, land-
lords, brewers, and drinkers ; nor must we
forget M.P.'s and would-be M.P.'s who assist
landlords, not only to adulterate beer, but boroughs,
in the hope that they themselves may adulterate
the House of Commons." Such is Mr. POTTER'S
vigorous view of the case. He believes that the
public-house, albeit an old institution, is at odds with
the nineteenth century, and especially with anything
like democratic governMent. If democracy succeed
in overturning this old institution, it, must, indeed,
deserve the foremost place amongst theories of
Government. Mr. POTTER'S remedy is not altogether
the same as ours, but it is to be applauded so far as
it goes. The London delegate thinks that if the
workman wants beer he should be enabled to drink
it cheap and good at his club " like a man,"
and not dear and nasty in the pot-house,
" like a pauper and a fool." The best
results are to be hoped from such a change as this.
If the artisan will have beer, decidedly it is better
for him to have it at his club than at the public-
house. But if the latter be abolished there is no
reason to fear that its evils will reappear in the
former. Let the artisan once devote himself to the
rational pleasures of a working man's club, instead of
the beastlygratification of the drink shop, and his inte-
rest in beer wiil speedily
wane. Even though he
may get it " cheap and good," he will soon learn to
manage without it. Let Mr. POTTER once overturn
the public-house, and we have no fear that a rival
will spring up in the shape of a working man's
club. Surely the Trades Unions could not better
employ their rapidly-increasing strength than in a
movement of this kind. Those who uphold the
efficacy of beer, and those who do not, can meet on
this common ground. " The beer question is not the
public-house question."
Scarcely less gratifying than the serious considera-
tion which the delegates were disposed to give
to this question was their almost unanimous
approval of arbitration as a substitute
.for strikes.
The principle of a third and disinterested party being
called upon to decide the disputes of masters and men
has passed beyond the merely experimental stage.
Courts of arbitration have already been established
in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, and many
more of the chief northern towns. Their
good effects have already shewn themselves.
Mr. KETTLE'S system has been the means
of settling more than one dispute ; and at
Nottingham, it is agreed, the courts have made a
radical change in the relations between masters and
workmen. Indeed, the advantage of such a pacific
means of settlement is self-evident. A strike
or a lockout is an appeal to force which must injure
both parties more or less ; arbitration not only
involves no loss, but is more likely to end in impar-
tial justice than a violent struggle. The one thing
needed is that both parties should have confi-
dence in the court to which they refer their
difference, and that they should fully commit them-
selves to its action. Given this condition and the
system must prove beneficial. Nor does it seem.
likely that this requisite will be wanting ; for the
unions, taught by bitter experience, are recognising
the new tribunals all over the country, and of the
many delegates who expressed their opinion on the
subject at Birmingham, not one was wholly against
the remedy.

ANY person taking up an American paper during
the last month might be led to suppose at first glance
that another Fenian invasion of Canada had
occurred, or that the Indians had perpetrated a raid
of more than usual ferocity, or that the hostility
between the Chinese and the Irish in California
had culminated in a war of races. " Rumou r
of an engagement," " Large forces gathering,"
" Desperate encounter," are some of the headings
which meet the eye in the New York journals. The
fact is, that a civil war is now raging in the United
States—a war of no inconsiderable dimensions—be-
tween two railway companies. The Erie directors
claim the control of the Albany and Susquehanna
line, which would give them a direct route to the West
free from competition. The Susquehanna Company,
on the other hand, aver that their line was con-
structed for local purposes, and that the district has
no concern with through traffic. They accordingly
resist the claim of the Erie Company. Not fewer
than nine lawsuits are now in progress to decide the
ownership of this disputed railway. But though
the people of the United States are fast in most
things, their legal procedure, from causes upon
which we need not enlarge,is often painfully slow, far
too slow for the impatient Erie directors. They de-
termined a few days ago to take possession of the
Susquehanna line by main force. A writ was issued
by a judge—it will be interesting to learn how this
authority was obtained—and a large force proceeded
to take possession of the rolling stock. The Susque-
hanna men were not disposed to submit to defeat with-
out a s truggle. Three engines were captured by the Erie
party. One was sent up the line, but the Susque-
hanna partisans upset it, and ran a train behind the
Erie force, thus making prisoners of about twenty
men, including the sheriff. The Erie army lost
ground by this skirmish. The combatants took up
their position at the opposite ends of a tunnel, and
awaited reinforcements. By the afternoon of the
10th the Erie army was raised to 800 men, whilst
the hostile array was not more than half that number.
Emboldened by this superiority two trains full of
Erie " troops "were sent through the tunnel. They
were met by a Susquehanna train, and a collision took
place, both engines being destroyed. Then came a
pitched battle, in which stones, pistols, and clubs
were freely used, until the arrival of a regiment left
the combatants no choice but to gather up the
wounded, who were very numerous, and retire.
The soldiers prevented any further encounters,
but the railway armies remained in presence, rations
were served out regularly, and when the last mail left
the determination of each party to succeed remained
unchanged.
To us in England this fight for a railway seems
extraordinary ; but it is, in fact, only one chapter in
the history of the Erie railway—a history which
furnishes a strange commentary on the American
system of local government. For months past the
Erie Company, the shares of which are held chiefly
in England and Europe, has been under the absolute
control of certain directors, of whom the noto-
rious Mr. FISK is the chief. The whole property
of the shareholders is at the absolute command of
these men. Theysquander at will the money entrusted
to their care. On one day the shares have risen to
an extravagant height, on the next they have been
depressed to the lowest point, through the specula-
tions of these directors. All efforts to dispossess
them have failed. It is nominally the

rule both in England and America that the
shareholders should have the supreme control; but
in this instance the proprietors of a line which has
cost many millions cannot rescue a single dollar.
This state of affairs is owing chiefly to the pecu-
liarity of the American Constitution, which gives
each State complete control over its own affairs.
If Congress could interfere with the Erie
Railway it is not improbable that justice
might triumph over jobbery. But the power
of intervention lies with the State Legislature
of New York. The system of local elections in the
United States is the greatest blot in the government
of that country. At New York the wires are
pulled by some of the most disreputable
charactors in the State, and it is rarely
by any chance that a citizen of integrity and
influence for good can find his way to the local
Parliament. The legislators are for the most part
worthless, and their services are bought and sold.
After months of waste and swindling in connection
with the Erie Company, some of the unfortunate
shareholders imagined they saw means to redeem
their abused property. Their calculations were,
however, defeated by this State Legislature, which
passed a law virtually recommitting the Erie rail-
way to the care of Mr. FISK and his friends for a
term of years. This iniquitous measure received the
sanction of the State Governor, and the share-
holders are now entirely powerless. So com-
plete is the power of the local Governments in
America, so entirely are they free from central control,
that on oue occasion when the Erie directors were in
jeopardy they had only to cross the New York
frontier into another State to be quite safe. The
long series of scandals which have preceded this
exciting Susquehanna conflict chew that one of two
remedies is imperatively called for. The New York
people must entrust their local affairs to respectable
men, or they must seek the intervention of the
central authority in extreme cases.

craTai
erav Tya
-In •

HER MAJESTY.

BALMORAL, August 23.
The Queen went out in the morning and in the
afternoon with the Princesses.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AMERICA.

NEW YORK, August 25.
The Allau (Glasgow) steamships North Ameri-
can and Damascus arrived at Quebec to-day.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
CLOSNIG PRICES.

Gold closed at 133/ ; the highest quotation dur-
ing the day was 1331 ; the lowest, 1328.
Sterling Exchange on London lO9l.
5-20 U. S. Bonds, 188')
46 "
1885 l2l.
44 "
1867 l2O.

10-40 44
Illinois
Erie 3Ol.
Cotton —Mid. upland 3sc.
Petroleum—Standard White 32e.
Flour, extra state, $6.70e. to $7.30e. Corn, old
mixed, sl.loc.
HALIFAX, Aug. 25.
His Royal highness Prince Arthur was yesterday
the guest of the Bishop of Halifax.
SOUTHAMPTON, Aug. 2G.

The North German Lloyd extra steamer Bremen,
from New York on the 11th, passed the Needles at
10.25 a.m. to-day.

BOMBAY MAILS.
MussixA, Aug. 25.

The, Peninsular and Orientnl Company's steamer
Pera passed _Messina at nine this evening (Wed-
nesday) en route for Marseilles.
MALTA, Aug. 25.

The Massilia leaves at 2 a.m. to-morrow for
Southampton, where she may be expected on the
night of the 3d proximo (Friday).
The Nyanza, from Southampton 14th inst.,
arrived at Malta on the 23d at 10 a.m., and left for
Alexandria at 3 p.m. the same day.

TURKEY.

CONSTANTINOPLE, AUG. 25.

llalil Bey's complimentary mission to Livadia
has been postponed iu consequence of the indis-
position of the Czar.
Daortd Pa3ha is expected to return to-morrow,
via Varna, with new propositions for carrying out
the Roumania Railway scheme.