The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-09 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 1867.

No Leader of the Opposition ever sustained a
more mortifying defeat than that which Mr. GLAD-
STONE encountered yesterday. He who had over
and over again assembled the " mob of the House
of Commons" at his residence found that his forces
would not muster in sufficient numbers to carry Lis
point in Parliament ; he who had dictated terms
alike to friends and foes had to submit to the arbi-
tration of others, and he who was to fulfil the pro-
phecy of Mr. BRIGHT, and become Leader of the
House and Prime Minister of England, had to make
a most ignominious retreat. In some respects the
scene of last night in the House of Commons re-
minded one of the famous controversy which
occurred about India during the period of Lord
DEBBY'S last tenure of office ; and in the records of
" Hansard " the Carlton-terrace Conspiracy may
rank with that of Cambridge House in its
character of " much ado about nothing." We
rejoice that the House of Commons should
have fulfilled Mr. DISRAELI'S hopes ex-
pressed at the commencement of the Session, and
rise to the occasion before it, and still more is it
cause for satisfaction that the Liberal members
should have vindicated their party from the charge
of passing a factious motion to impede the course of
a measure of such importance. A meeting of the
Independent members of the Opposition side of the
House took place yesterday afternoon, and upon
Mr. GLADSTONE'S arrival he was invited to hear
their decision, which was to the effect that they
would support the Government, believing that the
consequences of carrying the Instruction would be
to prevent any Reform Bill from passing this
Session.

It may easily be imagined that Mr. GLADSTONE
did not accede very readily to the proposition made
to him by his seceding followers—namely, that all
the concluding portion of the Instruction should be
struck out, and only that part retained which referred
to the alteration in the law of rating. This,
it will be remembered, was the object which
CLAY had in view when he made a few remarks at
the meeting on Friday ; and it must have added
poignancy to the bitterness of Mr. GLADSTONE'S
disappointment to remember the uncompromising
hostility with which he met the proposal of the hon.
member for Hull. He said that it was " totally
impossible for him under any circumstances and
conditions whatever to accept the suggestions offered
by Mr. CLAY." Three short days Ina le a great
change, however, and the assertions of Friday could
not be substantiated. When we picture to our-
selves the striking contrast exhibited between the
master of the ceremonies in Carlton-terrace and the
discomfited Leader in the bye-ways of the House,
we recall the lines referring to a mighty downfall—

" The desolator desolate,
The victor overthrown,
The arbiter of others' fate,
A suppliant for his own."

Conspicuous as has been his defeat we do not pity
Mr. GLADSTONE, for he did not deservesuccess, and he
had not acted with that consistency and public spirit
which can confer dignity on defeat, :.nd make the
vanquished appear to greater advantage than the
victor. lie endeavoured to lead his party astray,
and, thanks
the to his manoeuvring,long tried friends