The Sun.
London, England, 1869-10-09 00:00:00

THEATRE-ROYAL, HOLBORN.

This EVENING, at 7, WAIT FOR AN ANSWER. After which,
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Ting EvENrNo, at 7, A QUIET FAMILY. After which,
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To NURSE.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE.
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Tins EVENING, at 7.30, AMONG THE BREAKERS: Mr
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CLOTH OF GOLD.

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Wednesdays and Saturdays, at 3 and 8 all the year round.

ZOOLOGICAL G &RDENS, Regent's-park, OPEN daily (ex-
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ROYAL AL HAMBRA PALACE. THREE BALLETS
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open from II to 4.

.••\
Ajz xkf aieSitin •

LONDON, SATURDAY, OCT. 9, 1869.

Elsewhere we give two very important documents

extracted from the initial number of Mr. MURRAY'S
newly-established literary publication, Tice Academy
—documents directly affecting, one of them, indeed,
throwing a sudden and vivid glance of light upon

the controversy awakened by Mrs. STOWE'S scurrilous
and most unjustifiable attack upon Lord BYRON'S me-
mory. Additional testimony may possibly be adduced
by the same high and unimpeachable authority through

the medium of the fourth article, entitled " The
BYRON Mystery," in the forthcoming number (254)
of the Quarterly Review. But the two brief papers
already referred to, as given to the world this day
in the pages of The Academy, and which will be
found reproduced in another part of our impres-

sion of this evening, are already perfectly suffi-
cient in themselves. They give the lie, no less
directly, because inferentially, to the atrocious
charge of incest, cast by a woman's hand, by the
hands of two women, against the memories of
Lord BYRON and his half-sister, the Hon. AUGUSTA
LEIGH, long after both those two have crumbled
away into dust, and when, consequently, they were
both utterly powerless to meet the cruel and detestable
imputation directed against them posthumously, and
therefore with a sort of demoniacal malignity by the
unwomanly accuser or accusers. Upon the authority
of the distinguished publisher of Albemarle-street,
we now know that thero is actually in his possession
a document drawn up by Lord BYRON himself,
written by his own hand, and authenticated with his
autograph signature, under date August 9, 1817, in
which the noble poet declares in the clearest,
plainest, and strongest terms that lips could
articulate or pen indite—that, to the moment at
which he was writing those words at La Mira,
near Venice, on the 9th of August, 1817—never once
had Lady BYRON afforded him the faintest clue as to
what was the nature of her accusations against him :

that he had entreated her in vain to do so : that he
was ready even then, that he would be " happy, most
happy" to cancel the deed of separation which he had
been reluctantly induced to sign, and go before any
tribunal, which might discuss the business in the most
public manner!" After that—talk of Mrs. STO WE'S
monstrous story as True ! After that—talk of the

" hour of revelation " having come in the honeymoon
itself or immediately afterwards. Why, these lies are
worthy of their parentage--‘, gross as a mountain,
open, palpable." Put into the opposing scale in the
balance of judgment this brief but all-sufficient
document written by Lord BYRON in the August of

1817, and now in possession of Mr. MURRAY of
Albemarle-street—and see how it will outweigh the
foul and frothy slander spat forth by Mrs. STOWE
from her muddled recollection of the morbid hallu-
cinations whispered into her ears thirteen years pre-
viously by that coldblood, saintlike, unforgiving,
paragon of perfection, Lady BYRON ! Take
Lord BYRON'S solemn declaration as it is
now given to us through the pages of The Aca-
demy—take that solemn declaration, and read

it sentence by sentence. " It has been intimated to
me," writes Lord BYRON, " that the persons u nder-
stood to be the legal advisers of Lady BYRON have
declared their lips to be sealed up' on the cause of
the separation between her and myself." To which
he says at once " if their lips are sealed up they are
not sealed up by me, and the greatest favour they can
confer upon me will be to open them." Ho then adds,
" From the first hour in which I was apprised of the
intentions of the NOEL family to the last communi-
cation between Lady BYRON and myself in the
character of wife and husband (a` period of some
months), I called repeatedly and in vain for
a statement of their or her charges, and
it was chiefly in consequence of Lady BYRON'S
claiming (in a letter still existing) a promise on my
part to consent to a separation if such was really her
wish, that I consented at all ; this claim and the
exasperating and inexpiable manner in which their
object was pursued, which rendered it next to an
impossibility that two persons so divided could ever
be re-united, induced me, reluctantly then, and re-
pentantly still, to sign the deed, which I shall be
happy, most happy, to cancel, and go before any
tribunal which may discuss the business in the most
public manner." Now, in the name of common
sense, we ask at once, is it within the bounds of
possibility that there could be one iota of truth
in the shameful story, as it has recently
been told by Mrs. STOWE, when Lord
BYRON was intreating and imploring to be told
what it was, if anything, that he was accused of—
when he offered thus eagerly to cancel the deed of
separation for the express purpose of enabling him
to go before any tribunal which might discuss the
business, and discuss it, too, in the most public manner?
Lord BYRON adds—" Mr. HoniloUSE made this pro-
position on my part, viz., to abrogate all prior inten-
tions, and go into court the very day before the
separation was signed, and it was declined by the other
party, as also the publication of the correspondence

during the previous discussion." He adds—" Thee'
propositions i beg here to repeat, and to call upon her
and hers to say their worst, pledging myself to meet
their allegations—whatever they may be—and only
too happy to bo informed at last of their real
nature." This is written by the noble poet and
signed by bim BYRON." It was written at La
Mira, near Venice, and was dated Aug. 9, 1817. And
as if unsatisfied even then with what he had thus
written, there was added by the illustrious writer
this postscript, also signed BYRON :"—" I have
been, and am now [August, 1817], utterly ignorant
of what description her allegations, charges, or what-
ever name they may have assumed, are ; and
am as little aware for what purpose they have been
kept back, unless it was to sanction the most in-
famous calumnies by silence." More than half a century
elapses after those agonized, and now most affecting,
words were written—when that silence which Lord
BYRON was deploring in the August of 1817 was at
length broken, in the August of 1869, when— -in the
name of that (during Lord BYRON'S life, and for that
matter, it may be said, during her own) cruelly
inscrutable, and icely implacable wife of the
great poet—a Yankee magazine-writer endeavours
for so many pounds, shillings, and pence, but quite
ineffectually to blast Lord BYRON'S brilliant, and
(so long as the English language shall last) inde-
structible reputation. Remembering what Mrs.
STOWE has, with almost unwomanly hand, attempted
to do, we are almost fain to quote against her some of
those appalling lines in Lord BYRON'S " Sketch,"
applied by bim to the delineation of the nature and
character of Mrs. CHAFLEMONT.

As usual it is difficult to come to any conclusion as
to the tendency of the crisis in Spain. It is certain
that the Republicans have got up a very formidable
iucurrnofinn ftgalmt, Lko Goviarmnont which overthrew
ISABELLA ; but no very adequate idea can be formed
of the insurgents' progress or prospects, for the
civil war has been inaugurated by the usual
onslaught upon the telegraph wires. This part of a
Spanish conflict is always well done. Both parties
often display no great anxiety to fight ; but their
style of defeating the electric current, triumphing
over railway lines, and cutting off all sources of in-
formation, is perfect. After these exhausting move-
ments, the warlike Iberian ardour frequently sub-
sides. The combatants content themseves with the
profitable business of " watching," and the outside
world patiently awaits the end, drawingits conclusions
by the safe rule that the more sparse the information,
the more dangerous the movement for the powers that
be. But though the news of this last outbreak
is as usual exceedingly dark, the nature of
the rising and the causes that have led to it are
in nowise doubtful. The revolutionary leaders have
failed to redeem the promises they so liberally made
a year ago. They began exceedingly well. The
revolution was accomplished with much skill ; there
was afterwards no wrangling over the spoil ;
and a tolerably harmonious Government intro-
duced some salutary reforms. It was no
small benefit to put an end to the
reign of the late sovereign, and this much
PRIM and his colleagues did achieve. But
more was needed. The men of the revolution
could neither find a monarch, nor could they
make up their minds to do without one.
Hence they incurred the manifold disadvan-
tages of administering a form of government which
was professedly unsettled and temporary. The
work of reform was left half done. The Ministry
seemed to lack the courage to make those decisive
changes which were necessary to give Spain a chance
of regaining her place in Europe. One evil, which
has ruined Governments without end, has been only
aggravated during the past year : the finances were
in frightful disorder, there was a large deficit,
and through repudiation the national credit
had been brought to zero ; but the financier has not
been found, nor have the measures been forthcoming,
to restore the balance. Lastly, the Cuban revolt
commenced almost simultaneously with the revolu-
tion, and. has continued ever since. In the
case of all these troubles, except the last,
the Government adopted that policy of masterly
inactivity to which the Spaniard is so prone.
Whenever a difficulty arises, it is customary
for Spanish statesmen to quietly do nothing, and
wait the development of events. In this instance the
development has taken the form of increased debt,
anarchy, and rebellion. Awkward troubles at Malaga
and Cadiz were followed by the Carlist rising, and
now this Republican insurrection promises to turn
out a far tougher problem than any of the pre-
ceding disturbances.

The rise of the Republican party in Spain is very
remarkable. Just after the revolution of last autumn
Marshal PRIM replied to the suggestion of a Republic
by the then just assertion that in Spain there were
no Republicans. Democracy, however, was so ener-
getically taught and so readily learned, that in a very
brief space the party was able to send three score
nominees to the Cortes. Some of these were
men of great ability. Since then the leaders
have unceasingly worked to extend their influence ;
organisations have been set up in every village;
and converts have accumulated with a rapidity
truly wonderful in a nation which has so long been
deprived of political interest and power. The leaders
have spared no pains in haranguing and organising.
The number of Republican clubs is now fixed
at 2,300. A power so increasingly formidable
naturally excited the alarm of the Government,
which unwisely betrayed its fears by divers oppres-
sive measures, at variance with those liberal principles
which were so loudly asserted at first. The free
press doctrine was infringed. Certain informal judicial
procedures have been practised. The Government
attempted to weed the Republicans from the volunteer
corps which were formed after ISABELLA received her
coupe, Finally, the disarming of certain volun-
teers at Barcelona the centre of Spanish
democracy—was ordered. This step brought about
the present catastrophe. The Republicans of the
north-east at once took arms, their example has been
followed in many parts of the country, and the new
political creed seems at length to have made a deci-
sive throw for power. The chances in such
a conflict are always on the side of the
established regime. But a Republican outbreak
must of necessity be far more serious
than a Carlist movement. Indeed, the Government
behaves in a panic-stricken sort of way. On the
opening of hostilities it has hurried before the Madrid
Parliament a measure for suspending those guaran-
tees of personal rights and liberties which
formed one of the early glories of the revolution.
It is well ascertained that the Democrats can bring
a respectable force into the field, and they are openly
countenanced and assisted by the Republican mem-
bers of Parliament. A. movement so long prepared
and so well supported, may well give rise to appre-
hension, and should it happen that any portion of the
army, or any of the Cabinet, side with the
insurgents, it is not
impossible that this outbreak
may be the beginning of a great change. It seems
strange that the present Ministry should not have
tried the experiment of a republic. Most of the revo-
lutionary leaders, it is true, are Monarchists ; but a
sovereign worth having is not to be had, and
a republic is, at all events, better than nothing.

A. CONTEMPORARY remarks that the working
men's meeting at Liverpool has redeemed the Church
Congress from the charge of inutility. The utility of
the admirable discussions which have taken place this
week would have been great without the working
men's meeting ; but there can be no hesitation
in saying that the latter was a pleasant and instruc-
tive gathering. Much is to be hoped from such
reunions. Probably if the working men of Liver-
pool were oftener specially addressed by the higher
dignitaries of the Church, they would learn a
little more toleration and courtesy, and would refrain
from hissing and grudging a hearing to such
men as the Bishop of OXFORD because his views

happened to disagree with theirs. Probably before
addressing the disrespectful title of " Sabbath
breaker " to Archdeacon DENISON because he is dis-
posed to advocate cricket between services on Sun-
day, they would, if such gatherings had been more
familiar, have waited to hear what he had to say
on behalf of that practice. And such meetings are
desirable, not merely because they may teach work-
ing men good behaviour—in which respect those of
Liverpool seemed somewhat deficient—but likewise
because the poor are boUnd by the most intimate
ties to the Church. It is often said—it

was said at this meeting—that the Churc
has comparatively little hold upon the worli
ing classes. If by this is meant that th

average attendance at the churches of the Esta-
blishment includes a smaller percentage of the
labouring class than is to be found in other places of
worship, the assertion is to some extent true. But
if the work of the Church be regarded as
a whole, the fallacy of the complaint becomes evident.
Nothing can be of greater moment to working men—
spiritually and temporally—than the education of
themselves and their children ; and, as the Archbishop
of YORK pointed out, seven-tenths of the work of
instruction depends upon the clergy. It would be
better in every respect if the labour were
more evenly distributed. But hitherto this all-im-
portant duty has fallen upon the poorer ministers of
the Establishment, simply because no one else could
be found to do it. In hundreds of British parishes the
clergyman has had to choose between no school and
a school chiefly maintained out of his own narrow sti-
pend. The education question has in fact mainly arisen
from the inability of the clergy to bear this burden.
Whilst they do so much to perform a duty which in
country parishes would be done by none other, it is
unjust to tax them with estrangement from the
poor of the nation. Doubtless, the English Church
might do something to bring herself into more
immediate connection with the working class.
There is really no sngm, reason To appre-
hend that " the clergy are drawing themselves
away from social questions, and rather shutting
themselves up in the theological circle." As the
Archbishop of Yonx candidly admitted on Thurs-
day evening, the movement in favour of
temperance ought to be the very province of
every minister of CHRIST, and yet the Church of
England in great measure stands aloof from it.
Whilst the Church is second to no religious body
in her exertions for the relief of suffering generally,
here is the cause of the worst of human sufferings
passed by almost unnoticed. This ought not to be.
The duty of the Church towards the poor is not to
regain her hold upon the working classes—for that
has not been lost—but to strengthen the influence she
already possesses by practically aiding in those great
social questions which are so intimately allied with
religion.