The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 13, 1869,

by Mr. GEORG& DIXON, the member for Birmingham.
It led to an animated and lengthened discussion ;
the upshot of it all being that the proposal for a Select
Committee was declined on the part of the Govern-
ment by the Right Hon. the Secretary of State for
the Home Department, who intimated, however, on
behalf of himself and his colleagues, the readi-
ness of her MAJESTY'S Ministers to assent to
the appointment, for the purposes of that sug-
gested inquiry, in lieu of a Select Committee, of
what will be manifestly far more to the purpose, an
Official Commission. An inquiry of any kind into the
matter referred to, as a means for affording justifi-
cation, as one might say, for Legislative interposi-
tion between the humblest and poorest portions of
the community and the pernicious influences of pro-
found ignorance, is obviously of itself a thing quite
superfluous. It is equivalent, very much to the
elaborate demonstration of a self-evident proposi-
tion. It is more idle in its way than going to market
to buy a hatchet to break eggs. Before one atom of
additional evidence is obtained we know all about
it. There are official blue-books in existence showing,
as plainly as that two and two make four, that the
dense stupidity and profound ignorance of enormous
ma-ases of our fellow-creatures and fellow-countrymen,
far and wide all over these wealthy and flourishing
islands, present to view a spectacle nothing less than
frightful and appalling. The fact that this is so, has,
years upon years ago, been proved to absolute de-
monstration. Nothing can make the lamentable
result more apparent or more absolutely undeniable.
Nevertheless, it may be accepted at once, we fear, as
not one jot less a matter beyond contradiction, that
some such tedious process as that of a bran new in-
quiry must be gone through before anything in the
way of practical legislation, upon the question of
popular or national Education, can be adventured
upon by the QUEEN'S Government. The latest lights
—we premise that is the meaning of this inevitable
necessity—the latest lights have to be thrown into
the darkeat places, before anything can be done
towards the dissipation of that darkness by
the state. Manifestly, however, it is au alternative
as to whether the inquiry shall be made by a Select
Committee or by au Official Commission. According
to the member for Stoke-upon- Trent, the former is
preferable. Wisely running counter to this opinion,
the right hon. gentleman the Secretary of State for
the Home Department accords to the latter his
decided preference, and the preference also, of course,
of his colleagues in the Administration. And, beyond
all manner of doubt, the result likely to be arrived at
by means of an official Commission would be more
dispassionate, would be less influenced by precon-
ived notions than one attained through a Select
Committee—among the members of which would
necessarily be found the avowed advocates of
the system known by the expressive title of Com-
pulsory Education. The decision of Ministers
upon this subject must, therefore, be regarded
as, upon the whole, satisfactory. intrinsical:3,
there will be not much good iu any in-
quiry.

It will serve this beneficial purpose,
ievertheless, that it will be a step in advance, and, as
we must- trust, of course, in the right direction.
Already it is a satisfactory circumstance in itself that
the session has no further advanced than this when
the crying need for Educational legislation
is proclaimed aloud within the walls of the
new ParliAnent. The want that has to be made good
must, perforce and that before much longer, be in
some measure satisfied. Ignorance and Pauperism have
alike to be dealt with. To deal with one, without
having any regard to the other, would be simply an
absurdity. They must be treated harmoniously and
sympathetically side by side. If possible, they should
be taken in hand simultaneously. Btu-, if precedence
must needs be accorded to one of the two, it ought
certainly, by rights, to be accorded to Pauperism in
preference to Ignorance. Raise the condition of the
lowliest classes—lift them out of pauperism—and we
shall hear no more of this rough-and-ready remedy
for ignorance, Compulsory Education.

Mn. CARDWELL has been as fortunate as Mr.
CIIILDERS. Monday night saw the triumph of the
First Lord of the Admiralty, Thursday night that of
the Secretary of State for War. Both statesmen
shewed such a philosophic comprehensiveness and
such a complete mastery of details that it would be
difficult to say which of the two acquitted
himself the better. Both had to make a maiden
budget speech ; but Mr. CHILDERS had an
advantage which Mr. CARDWELL had not ; he had
served in an inferior capacity the department over
which he now presides. On the other hand, Mr.
CARDWELL was better off, inasmuch as he has not,
like his colleague, taken the place of one of the most
popular members of the II ouse ; one, too, who,
perhaps, knows more about the duties of the post he
filled than any man living. It is easier to follow Sir
JOHN PAKINGTON than Mr. Cosuty.

Without going into the minutire of the army
estimates, it may be well to point out that there are
two great principles which have governed Mr. CARD-
WELL'S policy of reduction : concentration of troops
at home, and thorough supervision and control by
the department. We have already mentioned that
it is to Mr. ARTHUR MILLS, then the Conservative
member for Taunton, that the country is indebted
for the thorough exposure of the reprehensible,
wasteful, and dangerous system by which our troops
were for many years scattered over the world. Mr.
CARDWELL acknowledged the good services rendered
by that gentleman, and pointed out how for some
time past successive Governments have modified this
state of things, either by the recall of troops, or by
compelling the colonies to pay for them. As Secre-
tary for the Colonies it became Mr. CARDWELL'S duty
to order back the 10,000 troops with which the New Zea-
landers were fighting the Maories. His successors, the
Earl of CARNARVON and the Duke of BUCKINGHAM,
followed in his track ; and he is simply travelling
still farther in the direction which nearly half-a-
dozen Ministers have taken. This policy is
now for the first time about to be applied
to Canada. It has not been extended to that vast
country hitherto for " exceptional" reasons, those
reasons being the Trent affair of seven years ago,
and the Fenian raids of more recent times. On both
of these occasions Canada was imperilled through
her connection with the mother country. In neither
matter was she individually concerned. It was,
therefore, our duty to supply her with the troops
she wanted. Yet it may fairly be questioned if it
was not her duty to pay for them. however that may
be, the obligation on our part is now over. Fenianism
is exploded. No one fears that the United States
will attack Canada. The colony, large as it is, would
not be worth the cost of a war to a country which
already possesses boundless tracts of uninhabited
land. Canada—the New Dominion—can walk alone.
The control of the army is a matter of less interest
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War Office and the Horse Guards. Clearly, how -
evdt, Mr. CARDWELL has done wisely in superseding
that committee of artillerymen hastily appointed by
the late Government just before its retirement from
office. It is to be hoped, too, that the appointment
of an e7:perienced military man like Captain VIVIAN
as assistant to the Minister of War and adviser on
purely military matters, will be of service. There is
still one work which Mr. CARDWELL has to accom-
plish, greater even than the reduction of the estimates
or the reorganisation of the Control Department—
the establishment of a proper army of reserve.
At present we have merely the disjecta membra of

that force. It will require all the energy and t]
ability of the present Secretary of State to bring into
a harmonious, vital whole those at present dissevered
forces, the Militia, the Volunteers, the Pensioners,
and the Yeomanry. It is satisfactory to learn from
Mr. CARDWELL that he has not overlooked.this im-
portant work, and that he does not despair of accom-
plishing it.

Is all probability the constituency of Beverley has
at length earned the reward for which it has so long
and so industriously striven. A borough must be
corrupt indeed when it becomes necessary to bribe
from 800 to 1,000 electors in order to give the candi-
date at the head of the p 0111,151 votes. No decision which
has yet been given by the judges admits of less doubt
on both counts. Sir H. EDWARDS and Captain
KENNARD were no more duly elected as the repre-
sentatives of Beverley than one of the voters who
were bought with an odd number of half-crowns.
And there can be equally little doubt that after a
long period of immunity, during which an organised
system of buying place and power was carried on,
Beverley stands convicted of utter corruption, such as
disfranchisement alone can adequately punish. Under
the new Reform Act, a contest in the little Holder-
ness borough might reasonably be expected to prove
as close and interesting as any in England. In
most manufacturing towns the conclusion is fore-
gone for the Liberals, and in rural constituencies for
the Conservatives. But Beverley is an interesting
hybrid. It is the market town for a large
and fertile district, and is likewise famous for
the construction of implements. The inhabitants
divide their attention between iron works and market
produce. However Conservative Beverley might
have been under a select oligarchy of farmers,
shopkeepers, and freemen, a keen contest might have
been expected under a democratic franchise. Even
the danger of intimidation is at least balanced, for one
or two of the largest employers of labour are ad-
vanced Liberals. The free and independent electors,
however, have been carefully trained to remarkable
unanimity. It is common to make a political engine
of municipal elections, but nowhere else can be
found a more perfect example of a constituency
taking time by the forelock, and providing for the
greater event in settling the less. Here there was
no vulgar bribing for the occasion ; the voters were
bought wholesale at the municipal elections, and
kept permanently in stock for the parliamentary
struggle. A few wire-pullers had the management of
an organisation by means of which the municipal
elections were settled to the advantage of their own
party. Sometimes £l5O was spent in bribing electors
at a low figure. Sometimes the cost was greater, and
on one exciting occasion no less than £3OO was dis-
tributed amongst the voters. But whether the sum
spent was small or great, the Liberals invariably
found themselves in a minority of about two
to one. This was one way of preparing for the
election to Parliament. Then the freemen of the
town—before the Reform Act they numbered 850
out of 1,400 voters—had the right of pasturage over
a large plot of ground ; and by Act of Parliament
twelve pasture masters were elected to control this
right and take care of the pasture. Formerly these
pasture masters were chosen equally from the
two parties, but of late they were all of the
dominant and Conservative type. But worse
remains. The pasture masters not only had the
spending of a considerable sum in connection with
the free land, but they had the distribution of £1,400,
left as a legacy,
and intended to be divided in con-
siderable amounts amongst poor freemen who had
sustained loss of stock. This money, shameful to
relate, was divided in small sums, so as to defeat the
object of the testator. Its management was so
judicious that out of thirty-three who received this
money and voted twenty-six polled for the successful
members.

Here, it is clear, was an admirable foundation for
eligible Conservative candidates to build upon. Sir
H. EDWARDS and Captain KENNARD did not fail to
make the most of it. The former is chairman of the
Beverley Waggon Company, and knew nothing of
the bribery. But Mr. NORFOLK was manager of the
same company, and this able deputy provided him-
self before the municipal election with £BOO, which
he worthily spent. The usual sum required at the
annual trafficking in votes was about £l5O, but as the
municipal election took place only a fortnight
before the greater event, prices ruled much
higher. Buyers, too, were much more anxious
than usual. Though the ordinary price of a
municipal vote is five shillings, on this occasion the
lowest price was fifteen shillings, whilst the total sum
distributed was five times the average amount. Eight
hundred voters could be bought for £1 each, but as
seven half-crowns were a very common offer, it is
clear that more voters must have sold themselves
in advance at the municipal contest. The result
was proportionate
haveroporti never for miatetothe means employed. The
years
past found their way
into the town council, but on this occasion they gave
up the struggle early in the day, as unusually hope-
less. It will be seen, therefore, that the bribery for
which this election has been declared void was
wholly indirect bribery. Nothing was done
in the way of vote traffic on the day of the parlia-
mentary election. The prime mover, Mr. NORFOLK,
carefully abstained from any interference on that
day; but the object of his disbursements a fort-
nighte previously is not the less evident.
Theou
£BOO was
to return Conservative
co
uncillors, but spentto electnot Sir H. EDWARDS and
Captain KENNARD. The ordinary policy at the
lesser contest is to provide for the greater ; but
here the provision was excessive, and out
of proportion to the comparatively moderate
bribery of previous years. There is every reason
for supporting all the judge's conclusions. There is
no ground for doubting that knowledge of what was
going on was withheld from the two candidates, for
this is generally the case. But it is certain that
bribery was extensively employed on their behalf,
and that their election is void. Finally, the whole
constituency is disgraced by one of the worst stories
of corruption ever revealed, and Beverley in
justice must surrender the privilege which it has held
so long. The petition has clearly proved the neces-
sity of dealing with municipal and parliamentary
corruption at the same time. It is additional testi-
mony, too, to the value of the new law, for it is
doubtful whether these disclosures would have been
made before a committee of the House of Commons.

It is proposed to convene a public meeting in
Dublin for the purpose of considering the propriety of erect-
ing a national monument to the memory of Lord Gough.
A Cabinet Council will be held at the official
residence of the First Lord of the Treasury, Downing-street,
to-day.

The Government have sent a protective force of
eight policemen, with a constable, to occupy the railway
station at Mullingar.

The execution of the two men, Dolan and
M'Conville, who are confined in Durham gaol, will, under
'present arrangements, take place on Monday week, the 22d
instant.

Between four and five o'clock on Thursday afternoon,
as the wife of a farmer named lodge was crossing the rails
at Farington station, near Preston, the London express train
came up, caught her, and killed her instantly.

_ • ,
A collision occurred at Athy, Ireland, on Tuesday
night, between an express train from Kilkenny and some
cattle waggons which were shunting at the time. No lives
were lost, but the fireman received a slight injury. The
waggons, carriage, and engine were smashed to atoms.
A telegram from Shrewsbury states that the r olice
have found iu an old outhouse at Bretchell, Shropshire, the
body of a child with its head cut open. A domestic servant
named Pugh has been arrested, and will bo brought up for
examination to- day.

TheAthenmuni thinks that the announcements that
Mr. Revordy Johnson will preside at the next annual dinner
of the Newspaper Press Fund, are surely a little hasty.
Events on the other side, says our contemporary, makes it
very uncertain whether Mr. Johnson will be in England as
lute as June.

It is expected that the Viceroy will accompany
the Prince and Princess of Wales on their return to Alex-
andria, where a grand ball will be given in their honour.
Subsequently the Prince of Wales will probably visit the
Suez Canal, and from this, it is said, he will leave for Jeru-
salem, where he will remain during Holy Week.

.e CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, FRIDAY, March 12.

Lord Lyons has had a long interview withthe Empercr
and then another with the Marquis de Lavalette. These
diplomatic visits are at once set down to the credit
of the Belgian difficulty, and, as it would appear,
with some reason. The railway affair has become
of at least sufficient importance to warrant the
intervention of other nations. The statements that
England has made representations on the subject must
now be accepted as true, whilst Prussia is reported to have
taken up a very jealous attitude. But, though public
opinion is disturbed enough at present, appearances are ir.
favour of a quiet settlement of this railway affair.

The letter of the Pope to Monseigneur Darhoy, the
Archbishop of Paris, which so unwarrantly made its
appearance in the third edition of M. Emile 011ivier's
book, is said to have given some annoyance in high places
here, on account of the absolute negation of the civil
authority which it appears to uphold. The Church of Rome
has on the whole a strong friend in the Emperor, but he
dislikes the too positive assertion of spiritual supremacy.
There is another item of intelligence from Imperial circles.
It was asserted that the difference between Baron Hauss-
mann and M. Rouher had been smoothed down by the
Emperor's interference, but news from a very good
source says the reverse. The two Ministers are still
as hostile as ever. The public is feverish with
anxiety to know what line Baron Haussmann will take
when the City of Paris Loan comes on in the Senate ; but
for this, I fear, people will have to wait until the event
takes place. Baron Haussmann has not divulged his
intentions to anybody, for the simple reason that he does
not know them himself. A new candidate for the Presi•
dency of the Senate has appeared on the scene. This is
the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat.
Amongst items of election news I may mention that M.
de Montalembert has been spoken of for the Doubs de-
partment, but it is not likely that he will be brought for-
ward. The Liberal committee of the third circumscription
of the Doubs having to find a candidate to run against
the Marquis de Con6gliano, considered M. de Montalem-
bert's chance, but ultimately chose M. Pidoux. M. de
Montalembert is in very bad health just now, and, besides,
he gained very few votes in 1563. On dit that the inde-
pendent candidature of M. Casimir Perier, in the Aube, is
becoming very dangerous to the official nominee, M. De
Plancy,

An exciting scene, unfortunately attended with a calami-
tous termination, has occurred at Strasbourg. The first floor
of a house at the corner of two streets was a Protestant reading
room, kept by Madame Lange. On opening the rooms three
mornings back she found them in flames, which extended
in a moment to the staircase, and cut off the retreat of
the persons living above. M. Lirant, proprietor of
the house, with his wife and sister-in-law managed
to get down from their apartment on the second
storey by means of a rope ; a photographer, named Kolb,
with his family, on the fourth floor, also escaped by a
ladder placed from his window to that at the back of an
house forming the opposite side of the angle. M. Debes,
on the third floor, succeeded in passing to an adjoining
house along a slight projection in the wall, and, by clinging
to the outside shutters, his mother and sister followed
him, but his wife in making the attempt fell on the
pavement, and received such injuries that she died
shortly afterwards. Mr. DeUs's brother-in-law also
jumped into the street, and was killed. The house was en-
tirely burnt clown.
A remarkable criminal case is now being heard in Paris.
Two young girls have been carried off together by a man
of business, named Plovier, and were sent back to
their parents safe and uninjured in any way,
after three weeks' detention. One of these girls
was 20 years of age, the other 19. They are the daughters
of a manufacturer in good position, and had each of them
a dower of not less than £12,000. Plovier is neither young
nor handsome, but he possesses the allurements of the
tongue and pen, and seems to have wished to marry
the eldest for her fortune, whilst she on her part
not less desired to marry him. But why both were taken
away is not quite clear. As, however, the two are over
16, it will be necessary for the parents to prove that fraud
was used in carrying them off, and this, to all appearance,
will be difficult.

The wreck of the Cambria, a large screw steamer
trading between Trieste, Messina, and London, is re-
ported. She was lost on the homeward voyage on the
coast of Sicily. The captain, one passenger, and eighteen
seamen were drowned. Ten others were save?