The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-31 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, JAN. 31, 1867.

Mr. BRIGHT seems determined to get as many
testimonials as he can before the opening of Parlia-
ment. The course he is pursuing is a very strange
one, and would really be more consistent with the
acts of one who was new to public life, and who
started in an untried capacity, than for one who has
born the brunt of a long political career. Be it as
it may, it is certain that many will read Mr. Blau HT'S
vindication of himself, however vehement or violent
he may be in his language or exaggerated in his
statement. The object of the meeting last night
was to present an address to Mr. BRIGHT, testify-
ing the respect and admiration his fellow-towns-
men entertained for his public and private character.
After the ceremony was over the hon. member for
Birmingham indulged in one of his well-known
diatribes against all who differed from him. In
some respects a change has come over the style of
Mr. BRIGHT'S discourses of late ; he seems more
anxious to recall the past than to dwell upon the
present, and to anticipate the future. He com-
menced by thanking them for the great honour done
to him, but soon plunged in medias res as he got
upon the exciting topic of his wrongs and injuries. A
particular partyhas assailed him; the word has gone
as from head-quarters, " that all the miserable writers
and speakers of the miserable and hateful faction
should endeavour in the interval between the session of
1866 and the session of 1867 to defame him as much
as possible in the hope of injuring in some degree
his influence in favour of the great question of ex-
tension of the franchise." How ridiculous such
an assertion is, and how utterly unworthy of a man
in Mr. BRIGHT'S position. The inconsistency of his
conduct is quite annoying ; here he is, week after
week, and month after month, rushing over the
country, and upon platform after platform de-
nouncing, assailing, and reviling all who presume
to differ from him ; and yet he presumes to
turn round and declare that he is the ill-used and
injured party. The few remarks that have been
made upon his acts and proceedings have driven
him nearly to frenzy, if we are to take his words
au pied de la lettre ; but perhaps the real secret is
that he is glad of a pretext for uttering damaging
remarks against his opponents.
Mr. BRIGHT has mentally reviewed the quarter
of a century during which he has been before the
public, and has come to the conclusion that it is
strange that political acts should be so scanned and
scrutinised, and political leaders exposed to
so many depreciating remarks. For months and
years Mr. BRIGHT has been pursued with the
" rancorous spirit unfortunately introduced into
political controversy, and it has assailed him with
unrelenting animosity." All we can say is that if
such a spirit has got abroad among our public men,
no one has been more sedulous in propagating it
than he who now comes forward as its victim. He
has done a great deal of harm in this respect, for
he has used his great influence in the wrong direc-
tion, and made enemies of those who need not have
been so but for his incessant and unjust at-
tacks. We suspect the cause of Mr. BRIGHT'S
sudden and violent hatred to the present
House of Commons lies in the fact that he has lost
his influence there, and some of its most notable
members have called him to account for the strange
and unusual course he has pu,rbued in the provinces.
There he has decided that itB ,doom is sealed, and
there is no hope for it; it is doubtful, even, if it
contains a single righteous nun except himself.
Mr. BRIGHT is a perfect weathercock ; one day he
reviles the newspapers, and the next lie turns
round and abuses the Tory party for deny-
ing the people food for their minds. It
requires persons to be well-informed in political
matters before they can safely read or hear the re-
marks of this great agitator. He leaves out so
much, he implies so much, and he insinuates so
much, that it is quite possible to arrive at a totally
different conclusion from that which is the correct
one if we take his words for our guides and land-
marks. Thus he declares that the House of Lords,
led by Lord DERBY, resisted the repeal of the paper
duty, totally ignoring the reason why they did
so was that the income-tax was so oppressive,
but this is a sample of the fair play
and veracity of the man who has pursued
so straightforward a course for years past. Mr.
BRIGHT is fond of poetical quotations, but he cer-
tainly could not adopt the language of him who
wrote—

" Vain was the man, and false as vain,
Who said were he ordained to run
His long career of life again,
He would do all that he had done."
He sees nothing he has done respecting public
matters to reproach himself with, and now when he
asks a reasonable thing, that the millions of his
countrymen may be heard in the Commons of Eng-
land, when he says that " it would be a good thing
for the United Kingdom, and good for freedom every-
where, that they should now seize the sceptre that
has for the last two hundred years been wielded by
a class. When I say this lam subjected not only
to opposition—for that I can understand—but to
an opposition conducted with a falsehood and a
malice which know no scruple, and which, if I were
not supported by the honest sympathies of millions
of my fellow-countrymen, might overwhelm me."
We object to this mixing up of political and
private matters ; but it seems to be the object of
Mr. BRIGHT'S present policy to do so with all his
might and main.
The present House of Commons, he declares,
"is quite useless to effect any good whatever, and
it cannot pass any
suitable measures to im-
improve itself." I say " that there is only one
power which can do anything in these matters, and
that power is the people." How can he call such
language consistent with his oft-repeated declara-
tion that he is no friend to violence, and that he
never utters a word that can be construed into
wishing to create disturbances and violent changes ?
He considers that a reform bill is rendered inevit-
able by the " loud gathering and unanimous cry of
a great people," but he had better take care or
else he will find that he has retarded
the progress of the very measure he
professes to forward. By agitating and capti-
vating the minds of the ignorant, and inciting the
violent to rash acts he will collect against him all
who value peace and security more than any changes
however good in themselves, if not accompanied with
safety. We see no good to be gained by these con-
stant speeches of Mr. BRIGHT, and on the contrary
they are productive of evil in a great measure, be-
cause he cannot keep himself within bounds, but
must rush on to extremes on whatever topic he
discusses.

According to the intelligence transmitted from
New York through the Atlantic Cable, bearing
date last evening and the evening before, the PRE-
SIDENT still maintains his resolute- attitude. The
news of January 29 tells us that Pr,sident Jonx-
SON has vetoed the second bill for the admission of