The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-12 00:00:00

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LONDON, TVEDIVESDAY, JUNE 12, 1867.

Yesterday being the speech-day at the Merchan
Taylors' School the usual ceremonies were observed,
and the entertainment in the evening was grand by
the presence of a distinguished company. The
chief feature in the affair was the speech of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was veiy well
received. The right hon. gentleman declared that
on the part of the Ministers he acknowledged with
feelings of gratitude the kindness with which
they had received the toast before them.
A particular interest appertained to the pre-
sent occasion, he added, because that ball was
remarkable for its Parliamentary and political
history, and more especially concerning the fortunes
of the party with which he bad the honour to act.
The Master, in proposing the health of her
MAJESTY'S Ministers, alluded to the admirable
manner in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer
had conducted the business of the House and
carried the Reform Bill through Parliament; and,
in reference to this part of his discourse, Mr.
DISRAELI said that he would not him-
self have originated the subject, but that
it was one of the most vital interest and importance
to the community, and yet it was one which had
never been properly treated or dealt with in a man-
ner likely to afford lasting satisfaction. We entirely
agree with the right hon. gentleman in his views of
the platter, and he can certainly claim on the part
of himself and his colleagues the merit of having
looked upon the question in a broad and compre-
hensive spirit. "We have endeavoured," he said,
" to consider it as one in the management of which
we must not merely look at the means of discoun-
tenancing the influence of a rival party, but rather
of establishing some system which might conduce to
the permanent contentment and greatness of the
nation." In pursuing this theme, Mr. DISRAELI
defended the measure now before the House
from some of the charges which have been
brought against it, and showed that while it
went a long way, it did not endanger any of the

institutions of the country. One point which was
referred to ir. this speech was of great importance,
and that is that it is not the constitution of the
House of Commons that is objected to, but, on the
contrary, it is the high estimation in which it is held
by those who look at it from without.
Respecting the Conservative party, Mr. DISRAELI

made some observations. He said that sometimes it
had been considered it was always to do nothing.
This he pronounced- a great mistake, and one
which he had always-protested against. This idea,
if sufferOkto prevail, would, as he declared, end in
the decline Ind decrepitude of the party. "These

were not the opinions of the Tory party in better
days ; they were not the opinions of Mr. PITT, and
of the great statesmen of the reign of Queen ANNE."
Mr. DISRAELLI has certainly done his best to do away
with the impression that the Conservatives can and
will do nothing, and he has every right to rejoice
at the result of his efforts, for he has led his friends
to a victory, that has been likewise the success of?
cause that was dear to the people, and no doubt
there was great force and meaning in his concluding
words, when he said that he was " proud and happy
that the conduct of the great change, which he be-
lieved would add to the greatness and glory of our
country, had fallen to the Tory party."

The full descriptioa of the ceremonies of the
Coronation of FRANCIS JOSEPH as King of Hun-
gary are now before us, and are certainly well cal-
culated to attract interest and attention. A drama-
tic character appertained to the whole affair, that
lent it a force which will long live in the memory of
those who were fortunate enough to witness it.
The hero of the day was distinguished
among the vast crowds assembled for his
Royal bearing, and his grace and dignity. He
appears to have been received everywhere
with the greatest enthusiasm, and to have
comported himself in his trying position in a manner
that was most successful and satisfactory. Of course
it is the idea of the thing more than its reality ; but
the crowned King of HUNGARY is in a very different
position to what the uncrowned Monarch was, and
no doubt he has already experienced the truth of
this for himself. Nothing was wanting that could
impart a grandeur to the proceedings referred to—
from the beginning to the end all was
magnificent, and appeared far more like a scene
taken out of the ".Arabian Nights," or an illus-
tration of a fairy tale, than an episode of the plain
and practical nineteenth century, and far more to
be in unison with the splendours of Oriental
pageantry than the more tame representations of
European ceremonies. On many accounts it is well
that this should have been the case, be-

cause just at the present moment it is
desirable that Hungary should be treated
with the utmost regard, and it is well known
by those conversant with the manners and customs
of the country that a ♦aat deal of importance is at-

tached to the observance of ancient usages and time-
honoured customs. The Magyars have, then, had
their hearts' desire fulfilled, and may now be ex-
pected with a fair share of reason to do their best to
secure the interests of the country just now so pro-
minently brought under notice. The EMPEROR has
shown himself willing to adhere scrupulously and
rigidly to the observance of traditional rules, and
has obeyed the wishes of the people both in the
spirit and the letter.
Let us hope, then, that a due sense of this will be
shown by his subjects of Hungary, and that when
the evanescent splendours of the pageantry have
passed away, there may remain on the part of the
people a feeling of respect and gratitude to their
ruler, and on the part of that ruler a due sense of
the duties that devolve upon him. The people of
this country cannot really enter into the views of
t hose who saw in this display at Pesth a

solemn necessity, but they can and will most
truly appreciate the mutual feeling of goodwill
which has lately sprung up between FRANCIS JOSEPH
and his subjects. The KING has taken solemn oaths,
and the people have rent the air with acclamations ;
but the real trial is in the future, and the test of
time must show whether these oaths were taken in
the right spirit, and how much foundation there was
for the sincerity of the professions of regard and
the expression of delight that were everywhere so
freely bcstowec'.

The longer that the Sheffield Commizsion con

tinues its sittings the more striking is the evidence
which we obtain of the ruinous effect of these asso-

ciations upon the working men themselves. They
are complete dampers to enterprise and talent, they
put hopeless obstacles in the way of that laudable
ambition which in every rank of life urges our men
of character and ability to do their very best, and
so win their way upwards. The union decides that
all men must work at a dead level, or, at all events,
in two or three dead levels; and, as not all the
" rattening" and threatening in the world can make
mediocrity do the work of talent, can induce lazi-

ness and drunkenness to rival energy and sobriety,
there is nothing for it but to clip the wings of the
more active and aspiring. The men themselves
confessed before the London Commission that if a
man did more than a certain quantity of work in a
day he must pay over the extra earnings to the
union in the shape of a fine, and the facts brought
forward by the masters amply confirm the impres-
sion thus created. Mr. WARD, of the firm of WARD
and PAINE, edge-tool manufacturers, of more than
half a century's standing, was examined by the
Commissioners last week. He said that he knew a
man, named ADDIS, who obtained the only prize
medals awarded at the London Exhibition of 1851
and 1862 for carving tools. In the autumn of
1864 this man applied to Mr. WARD for employ-
ment, and Mr. WARD was, of course, anxious to
secure the services of so clever a workman.
But there was another party to be considered, whose
interest was not that a good workman should get
good employment, or that the trade of the town
should keep up its character, but that the rules of
the Union should be kept. Mr. WARD, who evi-
dently knew all about the petty tyranny of the
Unions, advised ADDIS, who was unconnected with
any of them, to join the Edge Tool Forgers'
Union. He offered a premium of £l5 to be ac-
cepted as a member, also promising to pay the cus-
tomary contributions and abide by their rules.
All was useless, however ; the Unionists were not
inclined to have so good a workman in the town,

and accordingly ADDIS went back to London. Mr.
WARD subsequently received letters from his
London customers, regretting that he had not em-
ployed so good a workman, as the Sheffield tools
were little use in the London trade. Mr. WARD
thereupon invited ADDIS to return, when his' work
was soon found to be far better than that of the
Union men. The Union, however, soon in-
terfered, and asked for bis discharge, and
their demand not being complied with, the nuts
from sixteen troughs were missing, and be
was told the " rattening" had been done because of
his employing ADDIS. Mr. WARD having much
business on hand sent for the officials of the Union,
who came ; and, in answer to his complaints, said
that "the taking of manufacturers' tools, and thus
closing their works, was one of the means they 'ere
compelled to adopt to make manufacturers comply
with the demands of the Union." Mr. WARD
said that as his orders were all standing he had no
alternative but to discharge ADDIS. The Secretary to
the Union replied that was the only condition
on which work would be recommenced. Further,
the Union extorted from Mr. WARD 130 for ex-
penses incurred by the men in being out of work for
a week ; and the receipt of the secretary for this
money was produced in evidence. And these are
the associations which Mr. BRIGHT and other pro-
minent members of the Liberal party do not
hesitate ',to applaud, forgetting that the protec-
tion, the fairness which they so unsparingly de-
nounced was mild and liberal in comparison.

Mr. WARD., finding it difficult to dispense with the
assistance of ADDIS, went to the expense and trouble
of settini g him up as a small manufacturer, and let-
ting him complete the work he took out. ADDIS is
Still won king in this manner, and is, according to his
employer, the best workman in the town. But
unless Mr. WARD had been prepared to go to the
expense of setting him up on his own account, he
would have been driven out of the town. A mann -
factumr, it seems, must not bring workmen from other
towns into Sheffield without the consent of the Union,
and this rule operates most prejudicially to the
trade. :go wonder that our English work no longer
bears comparison with what is achieved elsewhere.
By a gradual and secret process the whole of that
social and individual freedom by which we have
grown and. prospered has been undermined, until
now both masters and men work in shackles, and
there is an end of free and open competition. Men
may succeed by a system of strikes and rat-
tening in forcing their employers into com-
pliance with their rules, but they cannot force
buyers with the command of money to take dear
and inferior work while there are other parts of
Europe which will supply them with cheap and
good. Mr. BROADHEAD may control the trade of
Sheffield, but he will find the continent a little too
wide for him, and unless he can " ratten" the manu-
facturers of France and Germany he will only
succeed in driving away custom from the
Sheffield manufacturers. The Paris Exhibi-

tion, among many other useful offices, will,
we hope, serve to enlighten our workmen a little on
this point, but unless a prompt and wholesale change
comes over our Trades' Unions, we fear it will be
difficult to recover the ]ost ground. Besides the
costliness and inferior workmanship occasioned by
this blighting influence, we must remember the
damaging effect of the uncertainty produced by the
constantly recurring strikes. In most of the cases of
rattening referred to by masters, we find them saying
that he was just then very busy, that he had con-
tracts on hand, or orders to complete in a given
time. The effect of winds and waves can usually be
calculated in these days of steam, and the delay
to be looked for in getting articles from France or
Germany is much less formidable than the uncer-
tain duration of a strike. It is in the interest of
the men themselves that these matters should be

looked into. Capitalists can find other means of
employing their capital, the purchaser can find an-
other market, the manufacturer can establish a firm
abroad, but what can the English workman do when
the tide of trade recedes hopelessly from him and
leaves him and his union to deplore their folly and
selfishness when too late ?

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Tuesday Evening.

News from Mexico bas been received in Paris,
from which it appears that the President Juarez
transmitted a letter to the Republican Commandant,
at Matamoras, dated San Luis de Potosi, May 15,

_ .
stating that Quaretero had been taken by assault
that morning, and the Emperor Maximilian, Mejia,

Castellon, and Miramon had been made prisoners.
A despatch from General Escobedo, Commander-
in-Chief of the Republican army, gives some details
of the battle, and says that Maximilian surrendered
unconditionally. This is the latest news received
in Paris relative to the capture of the Emperor, but
a well-informed New York paper, which I have
seen, contradicts, from its own sources of informa-
tion, the report that Juarez had ordered the Empe-
ror to be shot.

Although many fetes to Royalty have been given
at the Hotel de Ville, nothing like the magnificence
dLiplayed at that to the Sovereigns on Saturday
evening was ever seen there. Our own gracious
Queen, the King of Italy, the King of Portugal,
and, recently, the King and Queen of the Belgians,
formerly partook of the hospitality of the City of
Paris in this splendid establishment. The fete of
Saturday was honoured by the presence of a vast
array of Royalty, including the Emperor and
Empress of the French, the Emperor of Russia,
the King of Prussia, the Czarewitch, the Grand
Duke Wladimir, the Grand Duchess Marie, the
Duke de Leuchtenberg, the Princess Eugenie of
Leuchtenberg, the Princess Matilda, the Prince of
Prussia, Prince Louis of Hesse, the Princess Alice
of Hesse, the Prince of Saxe Weimar, Prince Fre-
deric of Hesse, the Duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz,
the Princess Lucien Murat, the brother of the
Taikoun, and Prince Joachim Murat.

The various saloons were ornamented with the
most beautiful flowers and shrubs, as well as the
staircases and vestibules. Fountains played in the
salons. A tent spread with scarlet velvet was dis-
posed to receive the visitors when they alighted from
their carriages. There was an immense glittering
chandelier in the vestibule of the Court, which was
covered with rose-coloured drapery. From all the
columns a dazzling light was spread. A longitudinal
gallery had been erected to aid the circulation to the
salons, and thus more than 8,000 persons were en-
abled to walk about with perfect freedom and com-
fort. The splendid buffets for refreshments were
placed in various salons.

In addition to the Imperial table in the Salon de
[a Paix for the supper of the Royal personages,
tables were spread in two other salons.

Their Majesties were announced at half-past ten
o'clock, but their arrival was known to all before
from the acclamations which burst from the masses
of people which were collected outside. They were
received by Baron Haussmann, the Prefects of the
Seine, and the Baroness Hausmann, who descended
the grand staircase of Henry the Fourth to meet
them. They entered the talons by the Hall of the
Carriatides, when they were received by the Princes
and Princesses and the Ambassadors and their
wives.

The grand gallery was shortly opened, and the
royal personages took their seats on the Thrones,
Strauss's orchestra pllying the Russian national air.
The opening quadrille of honour was thus com-
posed :—The Hereditary Grand Duke of Russia and

the Princess Eugenie of Luxemburg, Princess Louis
of Hesse and the Grand Duke \Vladimir, the Duke
de Leuchtenberg, the Duchess de Mouchy, Princess
Augusta, Prince Louis of Hesse, Prince Frederic of
Hesse, Mdlle. Rouher, Madame Canrobert (wife of
the Marshal), the Prince of Sax-Weimar, the Prince
de Mecklenburg, Mdlle. Vintry, Madam Fleury,
Prince Joachim Murat, Prince Achille Murat,
Mdlle. de Budberg, Mdlle. Louise Berrot, Viscount
Perrety. The Princess Matilda danced in the
second quadrille.
The supper table formed a grand square. The
magnificent table ornaments, manufactured by
Messrs. Christolfe and Co. for the Ville de Paris,
has been retained at the Hotel de Ville, and around
it were ornaments, vases, flowers, and fancy deco-
rations, forming an ensemble of brilliancy and magni-
ficence never before witnessed. The temporary ab-
sence of this surtout de table from the Exhibition has
caused some disappointment to visitors, who all go
to see it as one of the most remarkable objects to
be found there, but it will shortly be brought
hack.

After supper the Royal personages returned abo.

half-past one o'clock, with. the same ceremonial as at
their entrance, and were greeted with enthusiastic
and heartfelt acclamations.
Ou Sunday all the performers of the Theatre
Francais of St. Petersburg, now in Paris, were re-
ceived by the Emperor of Russia to testify their
grief at the odious attempt to which he nearly fell a
victim. The Emperor expressed his gratitude, and
said he was deeply moved at the sympathetic feeling
displayed by the French people.
The King of Prussia, the Prince Royal of Prussia,
and the Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar, went to the
Opera Comique on Sunday evening, to see the
" Voyage en Chine," and expressed great satisfac-
tion to M. F. Basin, the composer.
There is to be a congress of veterinary surgeons
at Zurich (Switzerland) from the 2d to the Bth of