The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-24 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 1867.

Reform Demonstrations are at this period so en-
tirely uncalled for that no good judge of political
matters can take interest in these celebrations that
are succeeding each other with so much rapidity in
the north of England. If the object be to change
the Government it is a most unworthy one, and if
it be to keep the members of the League promi-
nently before the public it is a very contemptible
one, and a very mean ambition can alone prompt
men to sacrifice public ends for such purposes.
Leeds was the chosen spot for yesterday's exertions,
but the affair did not approach in grandeur that
of Birmingham the day before. The chief thing to
notice was the absence of any excitement, it being
generally understood that there was nothing to
agitate for in reality, and that the only object to
attain was to give expression to the desire for
Reform that universally existel As on the pre-
vious occasions of this sort the speakers in the
out-door part of the proceedings strongly advo-
cated " manhood suffrage," and consequently con-
demned the Bill of the Goverment. Mr. GLADSTONE
was not so much of a hero among these zealous
Reformers as might have been expected, but pos-
sibly they believed that he was not of a very con-
genial temper. A public meeting was held in
the evening at the Town-exchange, which was
not crowded, nor was there much excitement or
eagerness displayed. Mr. BE ALES tried hard to in-
fuse some energy into his hearers by speaking in the
most extravagant manner, and declaring that the

House of Commons was corrupt, and that there
were traitors in the Liberal camp, winding up with
the assertion that it was not " idle now to say that
the temper of the people on this matter was dan-
gerous, and they intended to go to Hyde-park on
the 6th of May." It is a very different thing to go
with the stream and to go against it, and so Mr.
BEALES and his friends will find. As for their de-
sire to confuse the state of the public mind, stop
traffic, and cause serious losses to trade in the
middle of the season, it is a sure proof that they are
totally unfit to be the guides and directors of others,
and no doubt many whom they may hitherto have
influenced will be of the same opinion before long.
Why, at a moment when the worst part of the dis-
cussion is over in the House, should they seek to
revive the clamour that took place last year,
and to give rise to those angry feelings which
existed at that time►. All this made-up indig-
nation and would-be agitation is very ridicu-
lous, and can never reach the desired goal of creat-
ing discontent and giving rise to clamour.
Mr. FORSTER, M.P., said he came from the
house of Commons after a division in which the
Liberal party was defeated, but lie would not allow
that the " Radical Reformers" were a defeated
party in the eyes of the country, for their prin-
ciples had been gaining ground, and one
party vied with the other in professing them
to gain popular support. If this be the case
we wonder that they are not more contented
at the aspect of affairs, and do not reflect that they
have a moral victory to rejoice at. But this will
not do, and it must be evident to all, not only that
they have won the day, but that their notions have
been carried out to the fullest extent. Only thus
can we explain the course pursued by these Reform
virtuosi in the getting up of demonstrations, and
such like ceremonies. Mr. FORSTER, it must be
said, spoke fairly enough in some parts of his speech
about the measure of the Government. He said
that he thanked the Tories for having
done this much, " that they did not base the
franchise upon the value of the house in which a
man lived, but upon a far better principle, the
principle that the head of a family should have a
vote. This bill opened the franchise to seven hun-
dred thousand householders under ten pounds, and
so far it was good." Mr. FORSTER did not agree
with Mr. ERNEST JONES in thinking that Mr.
GLADSTONE'S letter was intended to imply his re-
signation of the leadership of the Opposition, and
iu his endeavours to show that the right hon. gen-
tleman was most deserving of confidence and sup-
port he made some awkward revelations, such as
saying that Mr. ROEBUCK inspired greater faith in
some than Mr. BRIGHT did.

Mr. STANSFELD also protested against the sup-
posed resignation of Mr. GLADSTONE, declaring that
it would look as if he thought the Liberal party
incompetent. lle seemed to look forward to another
trial of strength beforo long; but, if Mr. GLAD-
STONE'S letter meant anything, it meant that he
would not make another move this session, and he
can hardly play false and loose with his party and
the public after this fashion. He wound up by
the declaration that the Liberal party would
degrade it, and pronounced its own doom if it
allowed this " illusory measure to pass without
attempting to mould it in the manner suggested by
some of the amendments now on the table of the
llouse." In short we gather from the tenour of
these remarks that Mr. STANSFELD thinks they have
lost the battle, but that they had better have ano-
ther, but we imagine that he will find it a very
" forlorn hope" indeed to undertake such a con-
test. At Newcastle-on-Tyne there was a confer-
ence of Reformers, and at Yeovil also a similar
affair took place. At both these places expressions
of regret at the retirement of Mr. GLADSTONE were
general, so that Mr. STANSFELD'S motion must have
been more indicative of his wishes than of the
reality of the matter. While Mr. GLADSTONE, then,
may be thought to have resigned, these Reformers
have come only too prominently forward, but the
country desires neither the one nor the other to
succeed, but will rest satisfied if the present com-
prehensive measure before the House of Commons
be carried.

No more appropriate site could have been selected
for the statue of RICHARD COBDEN than a pro-
minent position in the city of Manchester, neither
could a more suitable president of the inauguration
been chosen than the gentleman whose name was so
long and so worthily associated with the chairman
ship of the Anti Corn-Law League. The statues
and .memorial.:, of the great leading c ty were cer-
tainly incomplete so long as the eminent Free-trader
found no place among them, and the enthusiasm
manifested by the spectators of the b.fsutiful statue