The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-05 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JUNE 5, 1869

tical mountebank. Whether the American Ambas-
sador, at the Court of St. James's, be Mr. REVELDY
JoHNSON, the eminently jocose and complimentary
diner-out, or Mr. MOTLEY, the Historian of the
Dutch Republic—whether the seals of the Foreign-
office be entrusted to the safe keeping of Lord
STANLEY or of Lord CLARENDON—We may very
confidently rely upon this, that outrageously
extravagant claims like those set forth by
Mr. SUMNER will never be seriously debated
between the British Government and the Govern-
ment at Washington. That England prizes very
dearly the maintenance of peace with the United
States is undeniable. But there is one thing she
prizes immeasurably mere, and that is her honour.
It was in no braggart spirit, but quite calmly, and
quite resolutely, that the Earl of CLARENDON re-
marked last evening, amidst the cheers of the House
of Lords, that however much we desire .I peace,
and however much we valued our relations with the
United States, wa valued still more our national
honour, which was a sacrifice we would not submit
to. And, what is more, the conservation of our honour
was as safe in the bands of Lord STANLEY as it is
now in those of his successor, Lord CLARENDON.
About that there never has been for a single moment
atity doubt whatever. And the keen-witted people of
the United States know this quite as well as we know
it ourselves. Bunkum—tall-talking—high falutin
may be all very well in their place, that is, outside
the walls of a legislative chamber, as specimens of
low comedy or broad humour among the professional
or amateur buffoons indulging in the absurdities of
burlesque or extravaganza. But among rational
adults, among politicians and statesmen either,
ground or lofty tumbling might just as reasonably be
indulged in. It would be quite as dignified a pro-
ceeding for a Minister of State or fora Republican
Senator to dance a break-down, or, employing a
happy phrase of BON GAULTIER, to turn " Clouds of
summersaults," as to mouth such braggart words
as those articulated by Mr. SUMNER. The speech
delivered by him extravagant and absurd," as it
was justly described to have been by no less a person-
age than the Great Eltchi, Lord STATFORD DE RED-
CLIFF, has long since come to be regarded with dis-
dain by England, while it has long since, we are
equally certain, come to be repudiated at heart alike
by the American people and the American Govern-
ment.

The official papers relating to the Alabama Claims
had already been some time in our hands before
Lord STRATFORD DE REDCLIFFE formally moved
last evening for their production. It was well, how-
ever, that the matter referred to in them was brought
thus distinctly under the consiieration of the House
of Peers by that noble Viscount, if only b2cause of
its having elicited from her MAJESTY'S principal
Secretary of State for Foraign Affairs assurances so
full on the one hand of conciliation to the United
States, while upon the other so befitting in their
diuity and firmness the character of the British
Government. The subject under discussion, namely,
that matter of the Alabama Claims, has yet, of course,
to be arranged, but of the certainty of its satisfactory
settlement, eventually, we are perfectly well assured.

THE Reform of the house of Lords which is now
on hand reminds us forcibly of the reform of another
body which was on hand a few months ago. When
it was first proposed to popularise the House of
Commons the ideas of those who originated the pro-
posal were very modest. The question was then
simply between £6 and £7, between rental and
rating. At first public attention was not
aroused, and the interest felt in the matter was
so languid, that nothing was done. But
after several abortive measures and repeated
Ministerial crises, the nation got angry, determined
to get rid of this troublesome matter, and then
instead of considerinz the safety of the Constitution
dependent upon the sovereign (the coin, not the
person), instead of haggling any longer about
twenty shillings, a revolutionary measure was passed
under the auspices of a " Constitutional " Ministry.
The result of that revolution is that the house
of Commons has become the chief power in
the State, and that the House of Lords is
so alarmed at the ever-increasing and overshadow-
ing authority of the other Assembly that it is
seriously thinking of reforming itself, in the hope of
regaining a portion of its influence. But as yet the
movement has not become national. It is ab infra
only, not ab extra. The consequence is that the
proposed change is so small as to be absolutely
ludicrous. At the same time it involves the certainty
of the most sweeping changes. The Lord
JOHN RUSSELL of 185:2, in propounding the
necessity of a reduction of the franchise, surrendered
the "finality" principle, which had been an article of
the Whig creed for twenty years, and prepared the
way for the household suffrage of 1867. So the Earl
RUSSELL of 1809, in proposing to admit four life
peers a year, abandons the main principle upon
im:ehriech dittahrey }IC ohtaisme of Lordsberan is
founded,
dadmitsthectohuant it is an
ter
prin-
ciple (which prevails everywhere but in England) of
a nominated Chamber.

The difference between these two principles is lii
immense. The introduction of the second is simply
the greatest revolution that has been brought about
even in this age of household suffrage and disesta-
blished Churches. It means that henceforth the
Upper House is to be made more or less an assembly
of statesmen, instead of an assembly of landowners.
Of course there are statesmen in the House of Lords
now ; but they are there, not in their capacity of
statesmen, but in their capacity of hereditary peers.
Henceforth this qualification is to cease, so far as its
exclusiveness is concerned. Men are to be admitted
into that body who do not hold an acre, whose
yearly income is equal to only one day's revenues of
the Marquis of WESTMINSTER or Lord OVERSTONE.
They are to be admitted, because of their abilities,
into an assembly for which ability hitherto has been
no test. It is impossible to overrate the importance
of this fundamental change. At the same time it is
impossible not to laugh at the restricted way in
which it is proposed to carry it out. Lord
RUSSELL would have confined the number
of life peers to four a year. But the Con-
servative peers, having swallowed the great camel
of a life peerage, have strained at the little gnat of
an arithmetical factor. Four was revolutionary, two
is constitutional ; and so, in order to save his bill,
Lord RUSSELL had to be content with knocking off
half his proposed number. It is exactly the old story
of the franchise over again—Mr. GLADSTONE'S £7,
condemned by the Conservatives in accents of horror
and alarm, Lord STANLEY'S £B, proposed as an
ark of deliverance against the flood of demo-
cracy. Was it really worth while to move
in the matter at all for such a miserable
result ? Is it possible to open the door to so vast a
ch
loradnsghei
p,
sand
wa
te tp t o I keep e
te
hp
ei ajar
yt
really W
? mel:na t
ti so i t that
popularise
their body, to bring it more into harmony with the
sentiments of the nation, do they think that the
admission of Mr. MILNER GIBSON and Mr. STUART
MILL in 1869, and of Mr. GROTE and Mr. LEeRY
in 1870, will effect their object ? A t the
same time it is quite possible that the
Commons will not care to alter the bill.
They may pass it with something very like contempt,
but not without secret satisfaction. The bulk of the
Liberal party do not c ire to increase the influence of
the Lords. The Commons will not therefore quarrel
with these for throwing away the present oppor-
tunity of strengthening themselves. Those of us
who really wish to see the Upper House continue a
legislative body, not merely in name but in fact, will
feel sincere regret, and will be glad if hereafter the
parallel, which we mentioned at the outset, is
,com-
pleted by the substitution of a far more sweeping
L‘ineasure than that ridiculously inadequate bill

which has just been sanctioned by the Peers as a
" compromise." It is only by a sweeping measure
that the Peers can maintain their position in the
State.

IT is not only the Peers who wish to be brought
more into sympathy with the spirit of the age. The
Bishops have the same desire. The influential depu-
tation of clerics and laymen which waited upon the
PREMIER on Thursday, urged very strongly that the
English Church needed more overseers than she had
at present. All the old arguments were used with
great force. In addition to an increase in the
Episcopate by the appointment of suffragan bishops,
a prayer was made for an increase in the sees
by a subdivision of certain unwieldy ones, notably
Exeter and Lincoln. Mr. GLADSTONE was able to
congratulate the deputation upon the fact that the
two Houses of Parliament are now in accordance
upon the principle that there should be an increase of
bishops, granting that the means for providing this
increase could be found. But beyond that he had
only what was discouraging to say. In the first
place, there was the powerful adverse argument
offered by certain bishops themselves—that as
they retain their posts when they are
unable to discharge their duties, it is impos-
sible to convince the public mind that epis-
copal work is of such a severe character as to
need an augmentation of episcopal officers. The
Bishop of ELY declared that Cornwall was "in a
state of ecclesiastical anarchy." To this the obvious
reply was, though Mr. GLADSTONE was too polite
to make it, " Why, then, does not the bishop who
five years ago found his infirmities so great that
he asked for the appointment of a suffragan,
but who, while the Cabinet were considering
that application, withdrew it—why does not
this, the most aged and infirm bishop, who
at the same time has charge of the most over-
grown diocese, in England, retire from the post,
whose duties even the most energetic man would
find impossible to fulfil satisfactorily ? There is the
more reason for putting the question because resigna-
tion in this case would not involve a serious sacri-
fice of revenue. The present income from the
bishopric of Exeter is small, while the income from
the golden canonry in Durham Cathedral is large,
and the Bishop might continue to hold the latter
emolument because it is connected with no duties.
There was another objection raised by Mr. GLAD-
STONE, whose force we scarcely see. lle pointed to
the daily increasing scandal of Colonial Bishops
coming home in the prime of life and full of vigour,
settling down in some comfortable English
living, and undertaking episcopal duties in behalf of
their diocesan ; and he expressed his repugnance
against doing anything to aggravate this evil. But
the appointment of suffragans would hardly do this ;
rather it would tend to diminish the evil because it
would diminish one of the chief attractions which draws
colonial bishops back from their sees. However, the
question is likely to be brought to a practical issue very
shortly. The last appointed of the bishops has made
a demand similar to that made by the Bishop of
EXETER in 1864. Bishop WonnswonTir has for-
mally requested the Government to put in force the
provisions of the Act 26 of lIENRY VIII., cap. 9,
and provide him with a suffragan out of two priests,
whom he will nominate for selection. It will be
interesting to watch the result of this resuscitation of
an Act 330 years old.

~),itt.
4.MY
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HER MAJESTY.

BALMORAL CASTLE, June 3.

The Queen, accompanied by her Royal High-
ness Princess Beatrice, walked out yesterday morn-
ing.

ller Majesty drove out in the aftenoon with the
Princess Louise, Prince Arthur, Prince Christian,
and attended by the Dowager Duchess of Athole,
the Liun of Dee.

LATEST INTELLLGENCE

(I:EU "Elt'S TELEGRAMS.)

AMERICA.

NEW YORK, June 4.
The North German Lloyd steamship Ohio ar-
rived out at Baltimore at 9 a.m. to day.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
CLOSING PRICES.

Gold closed at 1388; the highest quotation dur-
ing the day was 1388 ; the lowest, 1374.
Sterling Exchange on London lO9l-
5-20 U. S. Bonds, 1889
44 tt 1885 llB-
k-44 " 1867 ll9l.
10-40 41
Illinois l44k.
Erie 29g.
Cotton—Mil upland 3olc.
Petroleum—Standard White 3lkc.
Flour, extra state, $5.70c. to $6.30c. Corn, old
mixed, $9.6c.

TURKEY.

CONSTANTINOPLE, June 4.

Daoud Pacha has left for Paris with the ratifica-
tion by the Porte of the Roumelian railway con-
tracts, which have been slightly modified.

GREECE.
ATHENS, June 4.
The King is expected here next week to open the
Chamber of Deputies.

A GHOST IN IIfAACIIESTEI?:

For several nights past (saga e Manchester Examiner)
immense crowds have been collected in and about the
Feathers Hotel, attracted by the report that a ghost has
chosen one of the busiest centres in Manchester, imme-
diately opposite the London-road Station, for its nocturnal
appearances. The story is that for five weekspast the inmates
of the hotel have been disturbed at all hours of the night
by strange and unaccountable noises. When the weary
waiters have gone to sleep their dreams have been dis-
turbel by the unwelcome tinkle of first one, then of two
or more, and sometimes of all the bells in the house
—fourteen in number—clanging together. A strict watch
!Jason several occasions been kept, and when this has been
done, the watchers have seen and heard nothing unusual,
but so surely as the lights in the inn have been extin-
guished and quiet has been maintained the strange noises
have commenced. About a week ago bellhangers
were got in the house, who rearranged the wires and
muffled the bells, and by this means it was supposed
that the perturbed spirit had been laid at last to rest, an
idea which was confirmed by the fact that for six nights
thereafter the "ghost" made no manifestation. Between
Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, however, the
sound of bells again broke forth with undiminished
violence, and in defiance of bellhangers and special de-
tectives. An indescribable presence is said to have made
itself manifest on the stairs of the hotel, dressed
in most unghostly habiliments of black, to a couple of
boys and a policeman, who were so much frightened by
the sight that they are unable to give any account of the
spirit's appearance. Of all the inmates of the house the cook
has been most affected by the spiritual influence, and on
Wednesday resigned her comfortable situation, with all its
perquisites, and, we believe, has taken to bed seriously ill.
Meanwhile the house is nightly crowded by hundreds of
visitors, who, excited by curiosity, thirst of knowledge,
or other desire, have been exorbitant in their demand for
spirits, to the no small profit of the landlord.