The Sun.
London, England, 1869-11-11 00:00:00

--TRW SUN; LONDON, - THUILSOAT EVENING, Novrmtnn 11, 1869.

Amer 0..

alarming. It is certain that the more recent illness
of his Ally, the King of ITALY, was, for an inter-
val, 'nos! alarming. In either case a fatal re-

suit would for certain have been more or
less calamitous to Christendom. The disappearance

of NAPOLEON 111. or VICTOR EM3IANUEL 11. would
have given the signal to the Revolutionists. The
combustible materials are, on each hand, yonder in !
France, yonder in Italy, massed together in appalling
abundance, after a period for them, of very pro-
tracted accumulation. The death of either the KING
or the EMPEROR would ignite those combustibles in-
stantaneously. The whole of the complex fabric
built up under their auspices world be shaken
to its foundations by the detonation caused by

he electrifying telegram announcing the de-

mise of either the Emperor NAPOLEON or
King VICTOR EMMANUEL. The postponement of
the seemingly inevitable day of bouleversement is, of
itself, naturally a matter of congratulation. Inevit-
able, it is true, the disaster we are here forecasting as
in store for Europe, whenever the French EMPEROR
or the Italian KING shall have passed away—inevit-
able that disaster need not be, of courses if only those
convalescent SOVEREIGNS realise to themselves be-
times the imperative necessity there is, in the inte-
rest of their respective peoples and their respective
dynasties, to " set their house in order" at last,
with a view to the popularising of their Govern-
ments, and the widening and strengthening of the
foundations upon which they are based. In NAPO-
LEON'S instance, the opportunity for this sagacious
work of renovation, almost it might be said of trans-
formation throughout, is immediately within the
EMPEROR'S view, within his reach, within his grasp—
lying there, at this very moment, as it were, in the
hollow of his hand, so that his fingers have only
to close upon it. NAPOLEON 111. has an-
nounced his reforms—not only vaguely, as he
did some years ago, by talking in general
terms of his intention, one of these days, to Crown
the Edifice, but by voluntarily, and deliberately, and
emphatically declaring it to be his fixed determina-
tion to replace the rigid, iron, grinding machinery of
Personal Government with the exquisitely adjusted
and balanced mechanism of a thoroughly constitutional
because a really responsible, or representative, or
parliamentary Government. What the Emperor of
the FRENCH has to do now is, simply, to fulfil his
own fair promises—to carry out his own spontaneous
programme. The irreconcileables are trying to make this
both for him and for France, as difficult as possible.
France will aid him in his endeavour, heart and soul,
however, if only he be true to the course upon which
in July last be had the signal courage to adventure.
The undertaking before VICTOR EMMANUEL is, in one
sense, more difficult even than the one lying imme-
diately before his Imperial ally the Liberator of Lom-
bardy, the hero of Solferino, the donor, to the no
longer merely King of SARDINIA, of the iron crown of
CHARLEMAGNE. And the KING'S task is more
difficult than the EMPEROR'S, for this simple
reason, that the Kingdom of Italy, as it has been
until now, as it has been ever since it fell into the
bands or under the sceptre of VICTOR EMMANUEL,
has never, for one single day, been based upon solid
or stable foundations. It would be preposterous to
deny that it has been called into existence by the
combined powers of popular enthusiasm and mili-
tary spoliation. Italy, to this day, is what it was
when Prince METTEnNrcn first gave it the designa-
tion of "a geographical idea." France went:to war
for that idea—with a view to realize it by
means of an Italian Confederation, having the
Papa-Re at its head—leaving the Papal States
untouched and undiminished. Events were
stronger than the will of NAPOLEON 111.
The dream of the Confederation disappeared. Lom-
bardy was conquered by the sword of NAPOLEON 111.
Naples was conquered by the sword—by the mere
presence (with his sword sheathed) of General
GARIBALDI. Tuscany, Parma, Modena, all the
powerless lesser States vanished before the policy of
CAVOUR, just as, later on, so many of the minor States
of Germany vanished before the policy of BISMARCE,
vanished apparently beyond the chance of restora-
tion. But, while it was so, while it fell out thus in
regard to the re-created Kingdom of Italy—that
Kingdom was, and is, all along, under the new
reginze, bankrupt financially.. It was, and has
all along been, a mere make-believe politically.
It has to be ruled ever since, not by a peace-
ful sceptre, but by a semblance of the old
classic fasces—by an keen-edged axe bound together
in the midst of a bundle of rods. Blessed with a
King of ITALY, the Italians, claiming to be his sub-
jects, have been ground to the dust under his rule by
over-taxation. Turin, as a capital, has been shelved.
Naples, as a capital, has been shelved. Rome has
been longed for, but never obtained. By an astound-
ing inconsistency, indicative of the hollowness of
the whole scheme of sovereignty created by sword
mid pen, by hand and tongue, at Florence,!the very
man who had made a present of the Kingdo m
of the Two Sicilies to VICTOR EMMANUEL,
had to be shot down on his road to Rome, at
Aspromonte by the soldiers of that same VICTOR
EMMANUEL, the King, dubbed but a few years pre-
viously by GARIBALDI, the Re Galantuonzo. How to
strengthen a house so divided against itself, it would
be difficult to conjecture. Yet, that is the task still
left for accomplishment—by King VICTOR EM-
MANUEL ?

IT is impossible to avoid a contrast between Lord
Mayor's Day 1869 and Lord Mayor's Day 1868.
A. year ago Mr. DISRAELI was Prime Minister, and
in sitting at the something more than hospitable
Guildhall table was surrounded by Dukes and others
of his colleagues in the last Conservative Ministry.
On Tuesday Mr. GLADSTONE held the seat of
honour with a feeble sprinkling of peers around
him, but a large phalanx of Right Honourables
of the Lower House. Mr. DISRAELI spoke on the
eve of the most decisive popular defeat that the pre-
sent generation has witnessed; Mr. GLADSTONE
spoke at the head of the strongest administration of
our time. The first had to look back upon a session
in which he had held office without power, and had
seen his greatest measure so changed that even
his own friends declared of it that only the
"whereas" of the preamble remained. The second
looked back upon a session which was one
long succession of victories, in which a measure of
the most supreme importance had been carried by
majorities large beyond precedent, in which he was
virtually dictator both of Parliament and of the
nation. But happily in this world there is a law of
compensation. The good is not wholly enjoyed
by one person or party, the evil is not
endured wholly by the other. And so it was
on Tuesday night. First of all a Tory
Lord Mayor had taken the place of a Liberal
after giving him a severe thrashing at the
poll. Compared with the first citizen and chief
magistrate of London—that high and mighty func-
tionary who has power to shut Temple Bar in the
QUEEN'S face—such persons as Prime Ministers are
very minor officials indeed. So what if a Liberal has
taken possession of Downing-street ?It is .more than
counterbalanced by the fact that a Conservative reigns
at the Mansion House. Nor is this all. Compare the
speeches of the two Premiers ; read Mr. DISRAELI'S
light, airy, graceful, the very perfection of an after-
dinner speech; and then contrast with it Mr. GLAD-
STONE'S, solid, solemn, gloomy, and say if it is
not better to be a Prime Minister on the eve
of retirement than a Prime Minister burdened
with the task of pacifying Ireland. Uneasy
lies the head that wears a crown "? Then

why not take the cro-ivn off ? If Mr.
GLADSTONE, as leader of the government, must, even
in the midst of the inspiring scene of golden plate,
luscious fruits, splendid uniforms, and beautiful
women, look and speak like an undertaker's man at a
funeral, why not try if leading Her MAJESTY'S
Opposition will not be more cheerful work ?
The truth is that Mr. GLADSTONE is not made for
festivities. He is too earnest, too anxious. The
burden of responsibility lies very heavy upon him, and
even on the most joyous occasions he cannot throw it
off. Just now there is some excuse for him. He
undertook this time last year the arduous task of
pacifying Ireland, of turning the tide of hatred to-
wards England which has been running so steadily
and so fiercely for 700 years. There were three modes
by which he hoped to effect this result : the dises-
tablishment of the Protestant Church, the heal-
ing of the dispute between landlords and tenants, and
the settlement of the education question. The first
of these tasks he has accomplished triumphantly.
The second he is now engaged upon. Yet what has
been the result thus far ? A fresh list of extravagant
demands, a fresh eruption of treasonable oratory, a
fresh outbreak of agrarian crimes. Surely these
results are sufficient reason why the Minister who
longs passionately to make all the QUEEN'S
subjects of one heart and one mind should
be in no humour for pm sillage and
witticisms. Even Mr. DISRAELI, who can take
things as easily as Lord PALMERSTON did, because
he feels things as lightly as that personification of
bonhomnzie felt them, would find his jokes come slowly
to his aid if he had such a task before him, and en-
countered such difficulties as his successor is encoun-
tering. In politics failure is considered a crime.
Motives however good, acts however just and wise,
are considered worthless if they do not bring
about the intended result. It may be proved,
beyond all possibility of contradiction, that it was
righteous to disestablish the Irish Church and to
to give thq tenants of the three other provinces Ulu
same security of tenure as the tenants of Ulster
possess; it may be shown that after these changes
have been effected the Irish people have not the
most shadowy cause of complaint ; yet if they are
not content, it is not they, but the Minister, who has
failed to satisfy them, that will be blamed.
This is hard measure, but every statesman
knows that be has to submit to it, and
takes office subject to it. To the Minister who
thought of place and power rather than of the good
of the nation the consciousness of this harsh judg-
ment would be a sore temptation to do as little as
possible. Most Ministers would be disposed to reject
all suggestions of Reform in Lord MELBOURNE'S
words, "Why can't you let it alone ?" Most
Ministers would be tempted to adopt Lord PAL-
MERSTON'S principle of laissez faire, counting those
politicians " geese " who attempted to do more than
was absolutely necessary to keep the legislative
machine going. Mr. GLADSTONE is not one of these.
He has set his heart upon accomplishing a great work.
It is yet uncertain if he will succeed. The men who
should aid him—the Irish people—are hindering
him most seriously. Failure is more than possible.
Should it befall him he will feel it bitterly. Should
it befall him let us console him with the oft-repeated
words,—

Tis not in mortals to command success.
But we'll do more, Sempronius ; we'll deserve it,

Mr. GLADSTONE will at least have done that, if he
has not done all.

IT is, perhaps, too much to say that the eyes of all
England will be fixed upon the score of gentlemen
who will this day assemble in the Chapter House of
Exeter. Nevertheless, it is no exaggeration to assert
that very great interest is felt in the proceedings
which will be transacted in that ancient edifice this
morning. The QUEEN has selected for the
Bishopric of Exeter an eminent man. That
selection has, for the sake of a form which
would be more honoured in the breach than in
the observance, to be sanctioned by a body for the
most part self-elected, and consisting of somewhat
over a score of clergy out of the nearly 1,200 whom
the diocese contains. There is a difference of
opinion among these electors with respect to the
fitness of the QUEEN'S nominee for the office to which
r
she has appointed him. The objectors belong
mainly to that section of the clergy who this
time last year were supporting with exceed-
ing vehemence the Royal Supremacy, and what Mr.
DISRAELI called "The sacred union of Church and
State." The nomination of one distinguished man
against whom no one ventures to proceed by law has
so strongly excited them that they talk of resisting
the QUEEN in the exercise of this Royal Supremacy,
and threaten that they will agitate for a dissolution
of this "sacred union." We believe, however, that
they are in a- minority, that they are considerably
fewer than those who are ready to support Dr. TEMPLE
sincerely and heartily. There is a third section who
do not like this appointment, but who shrink from
coming into collision with the Crown, not for their
own sakes, but because they will thereby render
certain the speedy disestablishment of the
English Church. We believe that the election
of Dr. TEMPLE is safe if this third section
do not interpose. At the same time we should be
sorry to see any persons holding an important office
evading the responsibilities which belong to it. We
trust, therefore, that all the electors will do their
duty by voting after they have calmly and judicially
considered the whole bearings of the question.
After all it is a very simple issue. Dr. TEMPLE is
an earnest educationist, and our experience of the
late and present Archbishops of ri
CANTERBURY proves
that the head-mastership of a great public school
is a most desirable training for the Episcopate ; there-
fore no exception can be taken to the QUEEN'S choice
on that ground. In the next place the waverers must
see that the English Church is a comprehensive body,
at present including three distinct schools of thought,
each of which ought to be represented in the highest
office of the Church, and that the Broad Church
school has certainly a right to complain because it
has so few of its adherents on the episcopal
bench. Then, again, all who know Dr. TEMPLE
personally, or have read his sermons, agree in testi-
fying to his earnestly devout spirit. Once
more, Dr. TEMPLE is an admirable organiser, and
such is much wanted in the diocese over which he
has been seta Finally, the fact that he has been
selected by his Sovereign ought to be a reason, in
the absence of any strong reason to the contrary, why
he should be accepted. To put against all these argu-
ments is the sole objection that Dr. TEMPLE has bound
up a sermon which Oxford University dons heard with-
out disapproval with sundry
objectionable, though the worst of them have
compatible
been declared essays, whereof some are
with the formularies
of the Church by the highest court in the
land. It is alleged that Dr. TEMPLE'S ser-
mon-essay has been censured by the Convocation
of one of the provinces of the English Church. The
allegation is at least doubtful ; and as the bishops
(who compose one of the Houses of that body) have
declined to protest against Dr.
TEMPLE'S nomina
tion, and are quite prepared to consecrate him, there
does not seem any reason why the Canons and Pre-
bendaries of Exeter should refuse their assent to a
selection for which they are not responsible,
even though they might not have made it for them-
selves. Altogether the arguments seem over-
whelmingly on
to Dr. TEMPLE, of obedience to the QUEEN, of
one side ; the arguments of fairness
legitimate fear to encounter the serious consequences
which must result to the Church by a refusal, all
point in the same direction, and immensely outweigh
the one objection that Dr. TEMPLE has not been
altogether prudent in the choice of some of his
companions.

We find that the paragraph in our impression
the sth day of August last relating to a fire at 169, Strand,
is incorrect, inasmuch as "Mr. H. Swaebe never had a tiro
before the one that occurred on the morning of the sth
August. We regret that he should have suffered any in-
convenience through a statement which was inserted by
us under our reporter's belief that it was tine, but we now
discover that his information was erroneous.

THE PROSECUTION OP MR. FTTRODAB

.A AD MR. WIX.

In the Court of Arches, on 'Wednesday, thee:lse of " Elphiu-
stone v. Purchas" came before Sir Robert Phillimore on an
application to admit the articles containing forty-four
charges. The defendant was called and did not appear to
the summons. He had been served with a copy of the
articles. _ _

The case of the Rev. W. Wix, vicar of Swanmore, Isle of
Wight, against whom proceedings had been instituted
by the late Bishop cf Winchester for using lights
and incense during the celebration of the Holy
Eucharist, was also before Sir R. Phillimore.
Mr. Arthur Charles, en behalf of the defendant,
submitted that the suit had fallen to the ground by the
resignation of the bishop, and asked that the defendant
might be discharged from the suit. As it appeared, how-
ever, that notice of the application had not been given to
the other side, Sir It. Phillimoro adjourned the case in
order that this might be done.

TUE STATE OF ST. PANCRAS WORK-

HOUSE INFIRMARY.

An investigation took place before Dr. Lankester,
the coroner (as we have mentioned), on the bodies of seven
persons, who have died in the infirmary or other parts of
the St. Pancras Workhouse. The deaths to be inquired

into were those of Jane Harrison, aged 58, Julia Cornier,
aged 30, James Plant, aged 58, Jane Hayes, Mary Brown,
Mary Smith, and John Fox. The case of Jane Harrison