The Sun.
London, England, 1869-10-20 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The Times thinks that the public is somewhat callous or
the subject of railway dangers, and a panic, if it could be
raised by the story of a collision, would speedily abate
but it would be for the public advantage to have the
strictest investigation into the Trent collision, even at the
risk of a panic. But we are sceptical as well as to the
necessity of such risks being offered by companies to the
excursionist's choice as of his willingness to undergo them
if they were once brought home to his understanding. It
is ludicrous to treat an October fog as a strange
and wondrous visitation confounding the nicest
calculations of railway time-tables. Companies have
no right to make the lives of their passengers depend
on such nice calculations, or to tempt needy holyday-
makers to take the chance. It is a simple matter of money
So long as a company forces its lino fitted to carry so many
trains to carry on particular occasions treble or quadruple
the number, there must be risk of life. If " special" traffic
rays companies, they should provide special accommodation
for it. If it does not pay them to provide for it, they ought
to dispense with this source of profit. If they refuse to
do one or the other, a question may even arise whether
they must not be compelled to make their choice. But in
the meantime every opportunity should be embraced
to shew the excursionist classes on what terms they
visit gay and brilliant scenes like the Nottingham Goose
Fair. When the Board cf Trade holds inquiries into
-accidents like this at Trent with closed doors any benefit
teywhich such calamities might be turned by way of warn-
ing both to companies and to their customers is lost. The
department even exposes itself to the suspicion of con-
spiring with the' company to evade a thorough investiga-
tion. But if departments could be absolutely relied on to
conduct such inquiries with the zeal of the Election com-
naissioners notwithstanding the exclusion of public criti-
cism, they would not be entitled therefore to exclude it.
The travelling public in these inquiries is itself virtually
on its trial for life and limb. It is not fair to condemn it
in its absence.

The Post declares that we have never yet had an efficient
police force. No one understands this so well as the
criminals themselves, and they express their contempt of
our police arrangements by breaking into our houses in the
daytime. Forty years ago the force consisted of between
three thousand and four thousand men, of whom two
thousand seven hundred were night watchmen,whose chief
services were rendered by a proclamation of the passing
hours to the population which lay asleep. Now we have
eight thousand constables, and by all accounts it is an
insufficient force. Many parts of the metropolis are so
imperfectly watched that the inhabitants must rely on
themselves for protection ; and the fact that the number
of convictions bears but a small proportion to the number
of ascertained offences points in the same direction. If
the police aro to blame, of course this may not be an
argument for increasing the force. We assume that,
on the whole, they do their duty, but that the thieves
are too many for them. When, however, they pride them-
selves on the tact which they themselves display in bring-
ing criminals to justice, it should occur to them that
almost every conviction which they obtain goes to prove
their inability to meet the first requirement of society.
What we want is not so much punishment as protection.
It is extremely unpleasant to feel that, as far as the police
are concerned, the security of our houses consists in the
the ignorance of the criminal classes of their accessibility.
And as to the cost of maintaining the force, which is about
£672,000 a year, £160,000 more or less can hardly be a con-
sideration. It surely will not be said that the expenditure
of three-quarters of a million sterling for the assurance of
the enormous wealth and population of the metropolis
would be excessive.

The Telegraph quotes the dictim of an American philo-
sopher, " This age is getting- a little mixed." Yes; there
it is. Most things seem to be drifting into a mixed and
uncertain condition, and mankind cannot make up its
mind, apparently, on any single point, save that it is a
good thing for people to get money, and to bully their
neighbours if they have a chance. We cannot even agree
about funerals; we have taken to squabbling over graves,
and shaking our fists at each other over coffin-lids. At
Rochester, an admirable parish clergyman, the Rev. P. 0.
Mayne, vicar of Strood, has refused to permit the Church
prayers to be read over the body of a man who recently died
while in the act of plundering a house into which he had
broken. The jury returned a verdict that the man" died
by the visitation of God," and he was buried in what is
called " unconsecrated " ground, without any religious
ceremony. May we ask if the Burial service is performed
over convicts who die at Chatham or Portland?—because,
if a man who has committed, say, five burglaries and a
murder, is entitled to Christian burial, why should the
burglar who dies before he has accomplished his purpose be
deprived of religious interment? Shakspere speaks of
"maimed rites." Might not a curtailed service have
been provided for the man at Strood ? We ask this
question seriously; for, while we deprecate Mr.
Mayne's interdict as wrongheaded and out of
place, we cannot deny that it possesses a certain
lcgical force. How could a clergyman to whom
words are more than mere sounds speak of a dead
house-breaker—who died, too, in fagrante delicta— as "our
dear brother departed" ? But what a pity it is that we
can't be unanimous about something !

The Standard says that on Tuesday a graceful deed was
done in Kensal-green Cemetery. The memory of Leigh
Hunt, the poet and man cf letters, was honoured in a
tribute which is perhaps just such a one as the poet would
have esteemed. as the most grateful which his survivors
could offer. Men of all parties joined in raising the
monument, to which Mr. Durham gave his art and Lord
Houghton his eloquence. Such funds as were required to
do justice to the memorial were raised among Leigh
Hunt's admirers, upon an appeal based upon the express
ground of freedom from politics. Tories and
Radicals indiscriminately were asked to subscribe, and
did subseribe, to do honour to the memory of one
whose fame was regarded as unconnected with parties or
with politics. The world—certainly the world who sub-
scribed to the Kensal-green monument—knows Leigh
Hunt only as the graceful essayist, the tender poet, the
,writer of some of the daintiest prose in the English
language. For that, and for that alone, Leigh Hunt has
been honoured and will be remembered. That is the part
of him which the world " will not willingly let die." As
to his political performances, they have been defunct for
almost half a century. No true lover of Leigh Hunt could
wish it otherwise, for the truth is, that in politics he was
the opposite, of all which in literature brought
him to eminence. The best thing which every
real admirer •of the poet and the man of letters
could do; one would think, would be to forget—
on this occasion above all—that Leigh Hunt was
ever a politician. But with that same curious tendency to
regard anything done for the party as' the one great and
living merit in a man, which dominates the entire Liberal
profession, the Liberal organs insist upon interpreting the
.spontaneous homage paid to the man as the tribute due to
the politician.' In fact, according to these guardians of
his memory Leigh Hunt is honoured with a monument
precisely on the same grounds on which Mr. Gladstone
.makes his bishops and his baronets, namely, for " service;
to the Liberal party."
Two months ago, says the Daily News, we commented on
the case of "Dickons v. the Mansfield Game Association,"
which had just been tried at Leeds. The case was one of
considerable public interest, as illustrating the operation
of the game laws in sowing mistrust between landlord
and tenant ; and as evidencing a spirit of vigour and
-independence which it is of all things • most
desirble that the tenant farmers should be
encouraged to exhibit. Mr. Dickons was a tenant
farmer under the Duke of Portland ; the Mansfield
Game Association consists of half a dozen gentlemen to
whom the landlord gave the right of shooting over Mr.
Dickons's farm, and Mr. Dickons and the association guar-
'relied. The association, however, had the better of the
quarrel. They had the ear of the Duke's agent, and made
representations which procured Ali. Dickons's eviction
from his farm. Those representations formed the basis of
' an action for libel, and a Leeds jury gave the farmer hand-
some damages. The affair has led to a long and bitter con-
troversy in the local papers, and it is now said that the
association, having plenty of funds at command, mean to
contest the verdict. In these circumstances it is proposed
to give Mr. Dickens a handsome sum, to be raised by sub-
scription, "as a testimonial for his gallant attempt to pro-
tect the British farmers from the petty tyranny brought to
bear upon them by individuals whose interests are inimical
to their own:" It may be hoped that the response to this
appeal will be large and general. The farmers must pro-
tect each other, and the manifestations among them of a
determination to do so will win for them the respect of
other classes of the community. The cause of the tenant
farmer is that of the public at large.
- The Herald considers that the situation at Exeter,
awkward and embarrassing as it undoubtedly is, is wholly
and solely the creation of Mr. Gladstone, and it is difficult
to believe that he did not foresee what has actually hap-
pened. On the one hand, Dr. Temple, as a clergyman who
has sedulously eschewed clerical work, has no claims to
preferment, and certainly no fitness for the office of a
bijholL On the other hand, his disqualifications are
positive and obvious. IE.?: is to succe: d the prolate who has
publicly branded him a:en nnnfithful priest awl a iler.nver
of the orthodox. faith. Ceill(1 anything be mere wan-
tonly provocative. than this ; anything better c.liculated to
bring about the conflict which all moderate churchmen
would postpone as long a'; possible ? There is but one
way of escape from the difficulties of this critical situation.
The indignant protest of the Church must be received with
respect. The appointment must be cancelled. Dr. Temple
must not be dragged from the ditties at Rugby, which he
found so onerous as to compel him to decline the deanery of
Durham, solely that he may be rewarded for his political
services against the Irish Establishment, and at the cost
of outraging the sense of the whole Church. Mr.
Gladstone must give way, and whatever maybe the amount
of pressure necessary to compel him to do so, we trust
that it will not be wanting. With the earnest and hearty
co-operation of the clergy and laity of all shades of opinion,
he may be confronted by a weight of protest against which
he will feel himself powerless to contend. Otherwise he
may find himself in the yet more disagreeable predicament
of having to uphold the prerogative of the Crown by
enforcing the penalties of promunire.

THE AMERICAN RAILWAY KING.

-0.

Cornelius Vanderbilt, the American Railway King, is a
self-made man, and is considered by his admirers as the
embodiment of American enterprise and determination.
A colossal bronze statue of the " Commodore" has been
erected on the Hudson at a cost of $250,000, and will
shortly be unveiled to the public. Cornelius Vanderbilt
was born in Staten Island in the days when New York had
a population of 80,000, and the island was as far away
from the city as the slopes of the Pacific are now.
Vanderbilt's father was a farmer, his mother a
clever and energetic woman. His education was
of the most rudimentary character, and when
quite a boy he was set to manage a small boat
running to and fro the city. His great ambi-
tion was to possess a boat of his own, and he went to his
mother for the hundred dollars required to buy it. She
agreed on condition that he should plough and harrow a
stony field of eight acres in about three weeks, which ho
accomplished; and at 10 the great railroad and steamboat
monopolist started his first boat. He soon achieved great
success as a ferryman, being always prompt and energetic,
and never failing in what ho undertook. lie says himself
that money has never been his object; it is to " carry his
point." The war of 1312 brought him many oppor-
tunities for distinction. He sent in his name
once for a Government contract, and was much surprised
that the offer was accepted, as he was underbidden by all the
others. "How is it," he asked, "that you give me this
contract ?" " Because we want the work done, and we
know you will do it," was the reply. In 1813 a British
fleet threatened Fort Richmond, and the commander of the
fort, fearing an attack, wished to get the news to the city.
A terrific gale raged, and no one would go. Vanderbilt
was sent for. "Will you," asked the commandant, "take
the messenger through this gale ? He will risk his life if you
will." " Certainly," was the prompt reply. "My patriotism
would induce me to go if nothing else, but I'll have to take
him part of the way under water." The voyage was safely
made, and the fort was reinforced next morning. After
many daring exploits and a good deal of private litigation,
Vanderbilt became the steamboat king, and one of the
richest men in the country. In 1853 he undertook a plea-
sure trip to Europe in his own yacht, taking with him his
whole family circle, numbering twenty-seven persons.
apedition was chiefly remarkable for its mag-
ilitcence as belonging to a private citizen.
During the late civil war the "Commodore" came to the
rescue of his Government at a critical moment, and gave
them a fine steamer. For this Congress voted him a gold
modal. For some years past, however, he has forsaken
steamers for railways, and owns more railroad stock than
any man in the country. He owns nearly the entire of the
Harlem Railroad. He is controlling owner of the Hudson
River Railroad. He has a large controlling influence in
the New York Central. He owns nearly all the New
Jersey Railroad. It is useless to undertake to give the
extent of his railroad dominions. He is the
third richest man in the country, and though,
as we have seen, his early education was defec-
tive, he manages his complicated business with ease,
using few books. "What is tho secret of your
success ?" a`gentleman asked him not long since.—" There
is no secret about it. All you have to do is to attend to
your business and go ahead." " And that's all ?"
"Except one thing, and that is, never tell what you are
going to do till you have done it." In private life he has
shewn himself nearly as adventurous as in public. His
first wife died last year after celebrating her "golden
wedding," and the Commodore has just taken another
bride. One of his sons died in the war.