The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-25 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, _MONDAY EVENG, JANUARY 25, 169.

the past twelve months had to mourn for the young
victims of scarlet fever, hut let those who have been
thus bereaved, remembering the lavish skill expended
on their little ones, think for a moment what their
feelings would have been 'Ltd the wine, the broth, the
medicine, the tendance been luxuries beyond their
reach.

The life of our labouring population is at the best
a struggle, and when men and women who do
honestly support themselves and their families by their
lAbour occasionally break down and call for aid,
it should surely not be denied them. The great
difficulty is to draw the lino broad and clear between
this class and the tramps, beggars, and worthless
idlers, who live upon the carelessly given alms of the
charitable. It is too easy to Ove to the clamorous
applicant, and so acquit ourselves of indifference to
sufferings which we do not see, but we may be sure
that we cannot get rid of our o.vn duties so easily.
We must guard against too ready and to constant
doles even towards those whom we really believe to
be deserving, but how much more should we wit hhold
our gifts or our assistance from the professional beg-
gar? A little personal investigation will supply every
one with cases of temporary distress, of illness, of
accident, of loss of employment through the de-
cay or removal of a trade, that have an
unquestionable claim on the reason as well
as on the sympathy, and if many are too busy or too
unused to the work to undertake such inspection for
themselves, a very little trouble will enable them to
give their aid through efficient deputies. Theory will
not do. We must deal with the poverty and with
the crime that now stalk abroad in our midst practi-
cally, firmly, Christianly, still remembering th,t after
all we are wo~-11
complex wants and difficulties—not with items in a
blue book, or entities in an abstract calculation.

Mx. JOHN STEWART HARDY, the newly-elected
member for Rye, is a gentleman whose political
utterances would scarcely deserve our notice were it
not that he is his father's son. But as the gentleman
in question is the heir of the ex-HO3IE SECRETARY'S
estates, and probably aspires to be the heir of his
statesmanship, it is worth while spending a few
minutes over this latest manifestation of
Young Conservatism. In the first place, we observe
that, in Mr. HARDY'S opinion, very little has taken
but the
plraecsesiosiinlctehatthae
geoleocatioanesal
hlalcire
takenpulnadeeer; the im-
poverturn of a Conservative Administration is, in his
estimation, a very small matter ; and, save for an
old-fashioned and no doubt stupid prejudice in fa-
vour of the antiquated constitutional principle that
the government of the country should be car-
ried on by the party which is in a majority,
we should be inclined to agree with him.
So far as regards legislation it matters little
whether the Conservatives are in office or in opposi-
tion, so long as they are in a minority. The elections
afford Mr. J. S. HARDY abundant satisfaction.
Here we wholly agree with him; though, as he says he
expected that the late Government would have been
" very nearly in a majority," we do not understand
the cause of his satisfaction so well as we do that of
our own. Failing that, we will quote against
him his own joke about " the man who, having
entered into a friendly lawsuit and lost his money,
rejoiced because his - second cousin had some
of it." Mr. HARDY was satirical over an
alleged failure of Mr. GLADSTONE'S attempts to
satisfy Ireland, and to reconcile her to the other por-
tions of the empire. II e said that Roman Catholic priests
excited the Roman Catholic electors at Drogheda
aginst the Orangemen during the elections, and
since the elections two landlords have been shot at.
It may be as well to remind Mr. HARDY tha:t
excitement which prevailed during the elections
arose from the hostility which existed against the
Conservative Irish policy, and that as for the two
Irish murders, they will be balanced by a good many
more tl-van two on this side of St. George's Channel.
Mr. (31„1D,5-Tee.N:;E having, as Mr. HARDY alleges,
failed to conciliate TrPlancl, it bill be ;Lit crcabinB Lu
learn how Mr. HARDY himself proposes to effect
that desirable result. His method has the
advantage of novelty. It is that of setting
up one part of the kingdom against the other.
It is to make the Conservative gains in England,
however few in number, quite outweigh the Liberal
gains in Ireland and Scotland, however numerous.
After referring with complacency to the great Con-
servative victory in his own little borough of Rye,
with its 8,202 inhabitants, who, as Dod tells us, are
under the " influence " of three Conservative
landowners, Mr. HARDY thus goes on to
speak of the victories gained in Scotland against
the Duke of BUCCLEITCH, and in Ireland
against the Duke of AI3ERCORN, of the victories
gained in great counties north of the Tweed,
and in large cities west of the Channel :—" It really
becomes a curious thing to consider whether in
lbbayitgi
bigotry
yeo f
fEliri
sectariangelln
aan Ireland.
willa nisaiutotbis
iyi is aat tono question
det ehmarf
oneai over
otthe
pre-
sent
minority
r
future years the intelligence and wealth of the
been
bigotry
v e haanvde noan clues
animosity the
would have been very much larger." This is Mr.
STEWART IlAnDy's message of peace to Ireland ; this
is the mode in which Young Conservatism would
bring about the unity of the kingdom.
There was one subject on which Mr. HARDY
touched wherein he sheared that he was a genuine
old Tory. Toryism has always sought to obtain the
support of the working classes by a liberal dis-
tribution of the public money. So Mr. HARDY,
being a chip of the old block, denounced the
economical changes recently effected by Mr. GLAD-
STONE and his colleagues ; charged with heartlessness
the Ministers who " turned hundreds of thousands of
industrious workmen out of employment in the
winter months, thereby increasing the rates and
taxation of the country ;" and "all this to save,
perhaps, a penny income tax, or something of that
sort." With a fine philanthropic spirit that would
be worthy of all commendation were it not that Mr.
HARDY proposed to leave the exercise of benevolence
to others, he added: " I cannot approve of such a
rough-and-ready economy RS this, so hard-hearted
and so cruel to those who have no other
means than their labour of gaining a living.
I think some other means might be found,
and I would prefer paying an additional income
tax rather than that thousands of my fellow-country-
men should be left without work in our large dock-
yards." Dissecting such a statement as this is almost
like breaking a butterfly upon the wheel. It was, we
suppose, intended only for the 392 electors, " including
four freemen," whom Rye boasts, for Mr. Hardy
would not venture to propound in the House of
Commons such politico-economical heresy. Never-
theless it may be worth while to point out some of
the numerous fallacies contained in these few words.
In the first place, if the proposed reduction should
increase the rates and taxation of the country, it
will, according to Mr. HARDy's own hypothesis,
diminish taxation also ; it may increase the rates by
a halfpenny in half a dozen towns, it will decrease the
income tax by a penny throughout the whole king-
dom; manifestly a change for the better. In the next
place, Mr. HARDY may be willing enough to pay a
penny income tax for workmen who are not wanted,
but other tax-payers may not be so ready—may ask
Mr. Ihunr, since he is so benevolent, to take the
whole charge upon himself, and not be generous
with other persons' money. If we were to act
upon Mr. ll.tunv's own supposition, where would
he have us stop ? There is a far larger
number of men out of employ already than
those who are about to be discharged, If we
are to make the want of work a test for
receiving the national revenues, why not employ
every man in want of a job ? Why not
go on adding penny to penny of income
tax until the whole are provided for' When that is
done Mr. STEWART HARDY, the pattern young Con-
servative, will have the satisfaction of knowing that
he has realised the fondest dream of the Communist
—national workshops. No doubt when he has
accomplished this he will chuckle over the manner
in which he has " dished" the advanced Radicals,

CORRESPONDENCE FROM MIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONIT.)

PARIS. SuNDArp,nuary 24.

The Public confirms the good news to Paris news-
papers. The journalists are to be admit to the Corps
L.lgislatif, and a separate desk, with fronwenty-five to
thirty seats, will be set apart for their ust A committee
has been nominated for the purpose of serving order
amongst the excitable Parisian writers, d for carrying
on all relations between the press and thathorities. A
meeting has just been held for the purpoof nominating
this committee. Twenty-five of the Ps papers were
represented. In speaking of newspaperiatters, I may
mention that the Government supporto in the Corps
Legisla.tif are greatly disgusted at the oniteur, which
has virtually gone over to the Opposon. A very
annoying adversary it proves. The °aid papers have
more trouble in " correcting " its stateme3 than those of
all the other papers together. It neveDses an oppor-
tunity of a hit at the re'gi'me. An effolis being made
amongst a section of the Bight to restoi the wanderirg
sheep.

The olEcial jimrnals announce that noibstitution will
be permitted in the National Guard .Abile. All who
are regularly drawn must serve, exc6ng the usual
immunity granted to orphans, widows' sis, and brothers
of soldiers in active service, or who havkliecl in service.
There is to be no buying off. Everythin must give way
to the army.
The General Council of the Church wi not be a failure
so far as France is concerned. The Fnich bishops are
making great efforts, both to procure suscriptions and to
arrange for their absence during the log sittings of the
Council.

I am told that negotiations are on footbetween Greece
and Spain with the view of "mutual ecognition."
.It
will perhaps be remembered that Spain and Bavaria are
the only two States which never recognied the Hellenic
Kingdom.

The disappearance of M. d'Archiac is scarcely less
mysterious than the memorable affair cf the Rev. Mr.
Speke. It is known that M. d'Archiac, who vanished in
a mysterious rdanner some time ago, committed suicide,
much-esteemed but unhappy savant left his home to pos
letters announcing his intention of committing suicide, and
that he was never again seen, except at the Rouen railway
station. Thence he went to Triel, but at this place the
traces of his fate terminate. Then is no hope of his being
alive, but how he met his death 'mains a mystery, for
there is little reason to believe that he threw himself into
the Seine.

The International Exbibition which was projected at
Lyons is likely to fall through, The Prefect of
the Rhone has announced that the Chamber of Commerce
will not give the assistance that was expected, and the
corporation of Lyons cannot. The sum of £60,000 which
was expected from the municipality could be raised only
by loan, necessitating a considerable increase of the octroz
duties, and the local administration does not therefore
deem itself justified in voting the money. Without
funds of course there can be no Exhibition. and
perhaps this result is not b be regretted, ex-
cept by the Lyons tradespeople. International
Exhibitions are already too numerous, and, further,
in order to be successful they must be held in some
capital. With an Exhibition at Paris in 1867, and another
At Vienna in 1871, Europe may be very well satisfied.

THE WEATHER TABLE.-THIS DAY.

METEOROLOGICAL REEORTEL

Monday,
Jan. 25,
8 a.m.

Nairn
Aberdeen I
Leith
Shields
Scarborough,
Yarmouth
Helder '

Cux haven
Stud esnics
Ardr ossan
Green castle
Holyhead ..
Liver pool ..
Valentia
Cape Clear..
Roches rt.
Penzance
Plymoui h
Weymouth
Portsmouth
London ....

C'peGris Nei
Brest
L'Orient
Roth e fort
Biarritz
Corunna
Brussels
Paris

Strasbourg

Lyons
I±Qulon
Heart's Con,
tent (9 a.m.l
local vine)

29 71f.
29'79f.
29 95f.
501,1 f.
30'14f.

3016 r.

S.W.
S.W.
S.W.
S.W.
W.S.W.
s. s.w.

Extreme

N.E.

--I
130
21
2
2
3

N.*.
w.
B. W.
S. E.

r.c.
O.M
C. r.
b. o.
b. r.

EWE RIGHT HON. W. F. COWPER, M.P.,
')N EDUCATION.

The Right Hon. W. F. Cowper, M.P., delivered an
aress on education at Romsey the other night, at a
oirde held in connection with the British School there.
\dmitting that a little learning was a dangerous thing, he
aid there was something else calculated to be even more
'angerous, and that was no learning at all. We had
sappily got to a stage when it was no longer necessary
o argue for a wide ext,nsion of education as
tecessary for the good of the country, observa-
ion having shewn that ignorance has a necessary
onnection with improvidence, pauperism, and crime, and
herefore that any expenditure on education must be a
ood investment. We found, too, that the inspection of
ur schools was becoming more practical and effectual ;
he Revised Code, whatever objections on other grounds
here might be made to it, possessed this great advantage
-it provided a definite and accurate test of the trouble
,nd perseverance of teachers in laying the foundations and
lements of learning. The effect of the improvements
,lready attained had led to this—that the great problem
o he discussed is not whether education shall be
xtended or no, but how it shall be extended
,nd where. The great difficulty to be overcome
s that in so many parts of the country, especially in scat-
ered districts and in large towns, there are numbers of
hildren unprovided with schools to which they can go ;
,ud another difficulty is that we find parents so indifferent
o the welfare of their children as not to take the trouble
o send them to school, or, if they do so send them, to see
hat they attend regularly. This question would have to
to discussed both outside and inside the House of Com-
ions ; bat our clear duty is not to await for this. Rath r
ye should support those schools already in existence ; and
o he introduced an appeal for the support of the Romsey
chool.