The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-10 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 10, 1867,

5,•.,

THE GO VERN3IENT AIVD 111 E ARI

On Saturday afternoon a deputation, which pro-
fessed to be composed mainly of the artisan classes,
waited upon Lord Derby and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer at the Treasury in Downing-street, to
present addresses on behalf of the London and West-
minster Working Men's Constitutional Association.
Among those heading the deputation were Lord
Henry Scott, M.P., Mr. G. Cubbitt, M.P., Mr.
Surtees, M.P., Captain G. C. Armstrong, Mr. W.
H. Smith (the Conservative candidate at the last
election for Westminster), Captain F. Petrie, the
Rev. Dr. Worthington, and the Rev. W. 11. Fox.
Mr. W. H. SMITH, as President of the Association,
introduced the deputation, and said the Association
was composed entirely of working men, by which
class it had been within the last few weeks called into
existence from a feeling that there was a necessity
for an organisation of this character in order that
the working men might be able to testify their con-
fidence in the constitution under which they lived,
and in order that they might exercise those impor-
tant political rights which the measure of the Go-
vernment purposed giving them with judgment and
discretion, and to the honour and benefit of the
Sate.
lair. BENNETT, who was introduced as the chair-
man of the Association Committee, and who appeared
to be of the respectable artisan class, said he was
entitled to thank his lordship and the Government
on behalf of a large number of working men for the
course adopted by the Government with reference
to the Reform question which has of late been agi-
tating the country. On behalf of the working men
he repudiated the claim of the Reform League to re-
present them, and his experience in the formation of
this association had proved to him that there were
many thousands of the artisan class who were desk-
otls of showing that they had no sympathy with the
prei.ensions of the League. On behalf of a meet-
ing ht.ld lately in 'Westminster he begged to present
a copy a resolutions which were then passed by
working iten, who looked up to the constitution
with reverence true and felt that when they were up-
holding Conservativeprinciples they were upholding
the cause of the country. The resolutions were as
follows :

"That this meeting repudiates the unfounded
statements and assertions so industriously promul-
gated by the professional agitators of the day re-
specting the political opinions and sentiments of the
working classes ; and at the same time affirms that
this Association, being established to counteract
the baneful teaching of these self-constituted leaders,
is deserving of the support of all who desire the
continuance in power of her Majesty's present ad-
visers.
That this meeting hereby records its sense
of the high administrative power of the present Go-
vernment, far surpassing that of their predecessors
on all questions of home, foreign, and colonial
policy. That the thanks of this meeting be given
to the Right Hon. Benjamin Disraeli for the zeal,
courage, tact, and talent evinced by him in bringing
the Reform Bill to its present issue, commanding
thereby the unwilling homage of even opponents,
and effecting in the face of a vexatious opposition a
settlement of that important question."
Mr. HURRY and Mr. COTTER, who were also of
the artisan class, addressed Lord Derby, and ex-
pressed the earnest hope that in the future election
the working men would show their gratitude to the
Government which had enfranchised them, by re-
turning a good working majority to the House of

Commons in favour of Conservative principles.
Mr. HENRI- HOLLAND assured his lordship and the
Chancellor of the Exchequer that the artisan classes
of the country appreciated the generosity and noble
bearing of her Majesty's Government towards
them. After 40 years' experience as a journeyman,
and as an employer among the artisan classes, he
could affirm that there had been and was a strong
national feeling which only awaited the auspicious
event of the passing of the Government measure to I
fully prove itself. The true feeling of the artisan
class had not had an opportunity of declaring it-
self before, and their feelings in favour of the Con- i
stitutional party of the country had been apparently
neglected. Ile travelled much in industrial districts
of the country, and he found wherever he went
the highest regard for his lordship, and a
determination to sustain the Government
as a Government having the best interests
of the artisan class and the working class
generally at heart. Be assured the Govern-
ment that there was a broad distinction to be drawn
between the working classes and those who followed
in the train of the Reform League, and these agita-
tors, he could distinctly affirm, did not fairly re-
present the working classes of the country. He
knew, from his own experience, that there were
large factories full of men who would not associate
with the motley group of the Reform League, and
the respectable artisans did not form themselves
into the illegal combinations so prevalent among the
others. On his own behalf, and on behalf of the
respectable artisans of the country, he begged to
tender hearty and cordial thanks to the Govern--
ment for the manner in which the interests of the
working classes had been advocated in the House of
Commons, and he trusted that at the next election
the community generally would show that a work-
ing Ministry were preferred to a talking one.
Mr. SAUNDERS gave an emphatic contradiction
to the assertion of the Reform League that that
body represented the sentiments of the working men
of the country. _ . .

Mr. lIEARs, amid some cheers and laughter,
claimed the honour of being a very early disciple
of the principles advocated by Mr. Disraeli, and
said he had given his support to the right hon.
gentleman when he sought the suffrages of the
Taunton people many years ago ; in fact, before he
had entered into Parliament. The enunciation on
that occasion of those principles which, he said, Mr.
Disraeli had consistently advocated ever since so
invigorated the Conservatives of Taunton that they
returned two Conservative members, and this As-
sociation purposed doing for London what was then
done for Taunton.
Lord DERBY, who was loudly cheered on rising
to speak, said—l am sure you will not for a moment
doubt that it is with high satisfaction both the
Chancellor of the Exchequer and I have received
the deputation which we have the honour of meet-
ing this day. More especially I personally have to
thank you for the justice you have done in your
third resolution to the judgment, the tact, the
ability, and the courage which have been displayed
by my right hon. friend the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer—(cheers)—in the hitherto successful pro-
gress of a measure which has involved no inconsider-
able difficulty, and which has been met by no
insignificant opposition ; but which, I trust, under
his guidance, and under his good judgment, is likely
to lead, at a very early period, to a successful set-
tlement of a most important question for the country.
(Great cheering.) For my part I have never doubted
that there was among the working classes of this
country a deep-seated and widely-spread Conserva-
tive feeling. The misfortune has been that the
working classes have been misrepresented by those
who assumed to speak in their name, and who, by
the use of big words and high-sounding phrases,
have created a wrong and false impression of the
working classes, and one different from that which
I believe to exist. (Cheers.) By this time you have
learnt, I hope, that the largest talkers are not the
greatest workers. I hope that there is rising up
among the public generally the conviction that those
who aspire to lead the public mind of this country
are to be judged of, not by loud speaking, but by
practical working. (Cheers.) We have endeavoured
to the utmost of our ability to study the intere ts
of all classes of the community. It has been the
object of those who assumed to lead the It:laical
party in this country to endeavour to draw broad
lines of distinction between different classes—to re-
present the aristocracy and wealthier classes as in-
different to the feelings of the humbler classes of the
community—and to represent the humbler classes
as hostile to the aristocracy, as being oppressed and
groaning under the tyranny of their oppressive
burdens ; whereas I believe entirely the contrary to
be the case. (Loud cheers.) In my own county
I have had much experience of the working classes,
and I believe that the working classes and the upper
classes are as closely identified in interest and iu
sympathy with each other as any other classes of
the community. (Cheers.) I believe there is as

much real Conservative feeling, as much respect for
property, as much respect for education and for
social position among the humbler of the workingl.
classes as among that middle class which, until lati.;iy,
have to a great extent monopolised and abF,orbed
the political power in this country. (cJheers.)
We are not afraid of the body of the working
class, and we have endeavoured, to show by the
measure we have introduced into the House of Com-
mons that we are not so afraid—that we do not
think it right to measure a man's political duty by
the amount of rent he may have to pay—(cheers)
—but rather by those indications of steadiness and
good conduct, frugality, and temperance which are
involved in the application of the two main prin-
ciples of the measure now under discussion—namely,
a willingness to bear the burdens of the country at
the time they accept its franchises and privileges,
and such an amount of permanence of residence as
will exclude that migratory population which, what-
ever may be the amount of rent paid, is the least
qualified to express the mind of the country, and
for the discharge of important public duties.
(Cheers.) I must say it has been unfortunate for
all of us that the working classes have been so much
misrepresented as they have been, and that apparent
apathy among them has led us, however falsely, to
believe that the working classes were really repre-
sented by the leaders of the Radical party. I re-
joice to see that you are skaking off that apathy.
(Cheers.) I rejoice to see that you are not allow-
ing your silence to be misrepresented, and that,
taking a lesson from your opponents, you see the
necessity of organization and union, if you desire to
have your own views and feelings understood by
the country at large. I rejoice in what has been
stated, and in what I have witnessed in regard to
the growth of Conservative associations of working
men, determined to repudiate and cast off from them
the stigma thrown upon them by those who assume
to represent them, and to protest against the doc-
trines of those who are endeavouring to draw lines
of distinction, and to create ill-feeling between dif-
ferent classes in the country ; to produce animosity
and discord where there should be only friendship
and goodwill. lam glad to see that you are deter-
mined to speak for yourselves, and to show through-
out the land that your feelings, and views and prin-
ciples are diametrically the reverse of those which
have been falsely attributed to you. (Cheers.) I
trust you will go on in this laudable course ; that
you will not slacken your endeavours in
this respect. It is by combinations of.the " work-
ing men with other classes of the community that a
Reforming and, at the same time, a Conservative
Government can hope to carry out its plans for the
welfare of the country. By your assistance we
shall alone hope to be sustained. (Cheers.) The
objects we have in view combine the feelings, the
sympathies, and the action of all classes of the com-
munity, and by the union of all classes we seek to
promote the harmony and the good feeling of the
country at large, and to carry forward those bene-
ficial measures of Reform which, with the blessings
of Providence, and by your assistance, we hope to
be able to effect. If it should be necessary to appeal
to the country in support of those proceedings—
and that it will be so within a short period after the
passing of the great changes now contemplated in
the representation of the people it is needless to say
—we shall trust with hope and confidence that what
we have hitherto done in the discharge of our pub-
lic duty may entitle us to some degree of the
confidence and approval of the country, and that
appealing to all classes of the community, high, low,
and middle, we hope to obtain from them such au
amount of support as will enable us to triumph over
all opposition, and guide the country safely through
all the difficulties which may surround it (Loud
cheers.)
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was also
greeted with long-continued cheering. He said,—
Although Lord Derby has fully expressed my feel-
ings on this occasion, I think that it would be most
ungracious on my part, as you have honoured me by
passing a particular resolution in my favour, if I
did not intrude for a moment on your attention.
First of all I must express my sincere gratification
at having renewed my acquaintance with the gen-
tleman who referred to ow first meeting 30 years
ago at Taunton. Tie appears ,to be yet extremely
fresh and vigorous, and I hope he will devote his
energies to the good cause in London and West-
minster with as much success as he has attained in
Somersetshire. (A laugh.) There is nothing
more important now than that the working
classes, aware of the great occasion which is awaiting
them for the discharge of the new and high duties
which they will be called upon to fulfil, should, by
carefully promoting organisations of this kind, be
preparing for performing those duties. The policy
which my noble friend has made the basis of the
Bill now before the House of Commons is, in effect,
nothing more than a restoration to the people of
their ancient privileges. (Cheers.) When we
hear of the alarm of some persons who probably
affect more alarm than they feel at the measures
which we recommend, we can only remember that
they are measures which for a long time were the
law of this country, and that under these laws the
people of England became the mo6t powerful and
the most prosperous community in the world.
(Cheers.) I only hope that the new constituencies
which we are now creating, and which I hope in a
very short time will be completed, will be fully
aware of the great occasion which is awaiting them
for the exercise of their franchises, and that they
will show by the manner in which they exercise
those franchises that they are worthy of the con-
fidence which has been reposed in.them. We have
no fear of the result. I know that the people of
this country are a people devoted to order, and not
prone to ingratitude, and that they are proud of the
traditions of their ancient and famous country.
(Cheers.) From men animated by such feelings no
bad results can be feared. But in all matters of
this kind there is nothing more valuable than ex-
ample, and it is well for the working men through-
out the country that they should feel that the work-
ing men of this great city, awaiting the performance
of the great trust now to be their lot, are showing
to their companions and their colleagues throughout
the kingdom that it is expected from them that in
performing those duties they will show that the
Legislature of this country made no mistake in ap-
pealing with confidence to their patriotism. (Loud
cheers.
The deputation then withdrew.

IMPERIAL COMPETITORS.—The superior council of
the jury of the Exhibition has awarded to the Emperor
Alexander a grand medal for improvements in the breed
of horses in the Russian empire, of which specimens are to
be seen in the Park of the Champ do Mars. A similar dis-
tinction has been conferred on the Emperor Napoleon for
the model workman's cottage exhibited by his Majesty.
Those recompenses are the highest honours bestowed by
the jury, and less than 50 in all will be distributed.

MR. PEABODY'S PORTRAIT OF THE QUEEN.--
On the 26th of April, a communication was addressed to
Mr. George Peabody, by Mayor M`Michael and other
citizens of Philadelphia, requesting that the portrait of
Queen Victoria, recently presented to him, might be plactal
on exhibition in that city, the proceeds to be devoted to
charitable objects, under such directions and restrictions as
Mr. Peabody might proscribe. Mr. Peabody responded on
the 30th ult. as follows :—" New York, April 30, 1866.
Gentlemen,—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your note
yesterday, requesting that I would permit you to take charge
of the portrait of her Majesty Queen Victoria, which she
has presented to me, and to place it on exhibition in the city
of Philadelphia. I am glad to be able to accede to your
request, and therefore will now place it in your hands, to
exhibit as you think best ; and as you propose that the
proceeds be applied to charitable objects,' I beg to say
that I believe no distribution of any benefit which might
be derived from it could be more pleasing to the kind
and benevolent heart of the Queen than that it should
be appropriated toward relief of the suffering and desti-
tute of the South, and the remaining half devoted to
such charitable purposes in your own city a s you may your-
selves think proper. With this suggestion, gentlemen, I
will place the portrait in your hands, and have it transmitted
to you during the present week. It has as yet been seen
only by a few of the loading citizens of this city, who had
called for the purpose at the house of the friends with
whom lam staying. I have no directions to give in
regard to its exhibition, as I am sure you will take every
precaution in the care of it while it remains in your hands,
to secure from the possibility of injury the memento which,
aside from its artistic merit and intrinsic value, I must
ever prize so highly from the associations with which it is
connected. You will, therefore, after exhibition, retain
the portrait., subject to my future instructions."--,Respect-
fully and truly, QZOBCIE I'EAB)DY,"—Art'W York, Times.

.jI!R, MILEY'S DIPLOMATIC CORRES-
DEiVCE FROM VIENNA.

No. 11.
(From the Anglo-American Times.)

Mr. Motley expressed his opinions in the clearest
language, and without the slightest disguise. The
letters were written when the war was at its height
and party spirit ran strongest, and it is possible that
he might nowmodifysonie of his statements, if, with
his present knowledge, he had to write these des-
patches again. Nothing seems to have more an-
noyed him than the hold obtained by the South on
the public opinion of Europe. lie draws a broad

line of distinction between the sentiment of the
masses, which, though widely disseminated, could
be little heard, and the more influential and loudly
expressed feelings of the privileged classes. In his
despatch, August 7, 1861, No. 70, he recurs to the
subject of telegraph summaries furnished to Europe
of American affairs, compounded and flavoured, as
he said, by our enemies, to suit that public opinion.
"It is the function of cooks to please the palate of
their masters and customers. I have already given
you a variety of specimens of the manner in
which the events of our war, as they suc-
ceed each other, are travestied by the tele-
graph. I might easily send one hundred more.
A century hence if an antiquary should amuse him-
self with collecting from German newspapers a com-
plete series of semi-weekly telegrams, he would be
amazed at the trivial and grotesque manner in
which the history of the great anti-slavery war of
America was presented during its continuance to the
most philosophical and thoughtful nation of Europe.
Therefore it is that I do not urge upon you to pro-
vide for the European public, or for regular publi-
cation at all, the summary for which I most urgently
plead. It is for the Legation, not the public, that
information is needed. It is my deliberate opinion
that %representative of the United States cannot
properly discharge his functions or maintain his
official dignity if he be kept in profound ignorance
of passing events at home, when these events are
more important than any others in the world. Yet
in that ignorance I have existed ever since
I have been here. Practically the post has
been abolished by the telegraph, and for American
affairs there is no telegraph. The choice is between
being supplied by Government or remaining in the
dark, for the meagre scrap—two lines or so in
length—which finds its way twice a week into the
local journals of the Continent on the arrival of the
steamship at Queenstown is usually a fiction or an
enigma. You were very right in saying that the
Government is not responsible for telegrams pub-
lished in Europe dated New York. Any one who
knows or cares anything about the matter at all is
aware that on the contrary they are concocted by
the enemies of the Government. But this is a
matter of comparative little consequence. After
all, foreign Governments and their agents look
to the accredited representatives of the United
States to learn the truth, whether that truth
be agreeable or distasteful. But the world
moves so much faster in these days that there
is not time to wait from five to seven days
for correct information, and that is the diffe-
rence at Vienna so far as American news is con-
cerned, between post and telegraph. Therefore,
the representatives should always be informed by
the telegraph. You will say that the world ought
to be willing to wait, and to make up its mind de-
liberately upon such great events as those now
transacting on our Continent. But I have been
struck with the indifference that prevails, and the
very superficial amount of information which suf-
fices iu these regions as to our affairs. Therefore
the little seeds sparsely sown upon the rich soil of
European prejudice, has ripened into the abun-
dant harvest which now waves triumphantly all over
its surface. It is a prevailing belief in Europe

—at which a loyal. American who believes in
his country, and in humam freedom smiles that
our Republic ought to be destroyed, and is
destroyed, and that sooner or later we shall
acknowledge a truth, which Europe, being wiser
than we are, has for a long time known." What
Mr. Motley wanted was a summary of facts, s?rni-
weelly made up under the Foreign Secretary's eye
by some one in whom he could confide, and
41.spatclied from Washington in the regular
steamers. If anything of grave importance
occurred on the day of the steamer touching at
Halifax it might be conveyed in a separate telegram
marked " official." Where that word was not added
it would be inferred that the writer believed the
statement, but did not vouch for it. The Minister
at a foreign Court on receipt of such despatches
would ha:•e possessed an immense advantage during
those days when the air was heavy with lying
rumours. It is much to be regretted that Mr. Mot-
ley's scheme was not generally and early adopted by
Mr. Seward, as it might have been the means of dis-
seminating through Europe a clearer information,
checking the aid tendered to the Confederates in
money and material, thereby shortening a war
of which every day's continuance was a useless and

lamentable national misfortune even more destruc

tive to the South than to the North. Scarcely less
important was the morale involved. The manner
in which Europe, more especially England, was de-
luded by untruthful telegraph summaries exercised
a pernicious influence, the effects of which are still
felt. They created and kept alive a sympathy with
the South which has been bitterly resented by tho
United States, and it is probable that Fenianism
has in a large measure been the consequence of this
feeling. " You must remember," Mr. Motley says,
" the immense advantage which the recipient will
have in knowing that what he reads is sent sincerely
for his instruction ; that it is only sent in the in-
terest of truth ; that it is intended neither to ex-
tenuate facts nor to set them down in malice; nor
to invent success, nor to suppress disaster ; not to
affect the market price either of Confederate Loans
or United States Bonds ; not' to favour the
views of European stock-jobbers or Parliamentary
stump orators; but simply to enable the Represen-
tatives of a great and much calumniated nation to
do their duty undisturbed by the machinations of
its enemies. You can have no idea of the effect,
both irritating mid paralysing, produced on even
the most robust organisation by the manner in
which all the information of the great events in
which we are all so deeply interested is thus
poisoned at its source. Were I rich enough, so
important do I consider fresh intelligence that I
would employ a private friend to send me such a
telegraphic letter twice a week so long as I occupied
an official position abroad."
Mr. Motley writes in strong terms of praise, not
only of the attitude taken towards his country by
the Government of Austria, but also of the per-
sNoonl
.aB7f,eedlng
aiteds
lo,feht.hle3,Empo
1865, he
In
says. his" dilersepatch,
have
not often been brought into actual contact with the
Government on exciting questions, but its attitude
towards us has been uniformly loyal, frank, and
rn mtooreexptrhesans
one unequivocal.oc c occasion, , dTohnee sovereignm e
the
hh
aosn, o uo
in energetic language his admiration of the
steadiness, the courage, and the vast resources by
which the United States Government had main-
tained its authority and his sympathy with our
military successes ; and certainly not a word has
ever emanated from the Imperial Royal Foreign
Office, or from any statesman or public speaker
that could offend the dignity or wound the suscep-
tibility of the American people, engaged as it is in
a life-and-death contest with the demon of Slavery."
Again he says, in his despatch No. 88 :—" Here
there is an honest desire, I think, both on the part
of the Government and of a majority of the, popu-
lation, that the insurrection should be suppressed,
slavery abolished, and the Union restored. It is
not necessary on this occasion to analyse very
closely these sentiments ; but there is a feeling that
the growth of the United States, in power and
prosperity, is not necessarily a misfortune for the
Austrian Empire ; and there is also a general con-
viction that the United States Government repre-
sents law, order, and civilisation, while the slave-
holders' rebellion means barbarism and anarchy."

Again, in his despatch 92, the following is recorded:
—"ln regard to the attitude of this Government to-
wards the United States and of the general tone of
public opinion in this empire, I have only to repeat
what has so often been my pleasure to state, that
nothing could be more frank and highminded than

they have been from the begin ning. Now that the
hours of our trial are numbers 1, and that the Great
Republic is seen to be emerging more prosperous
and powerful than ever, the fe cling towards us has
not diminished in cordiality."
When the news of the lain. collapse of the Con-
federacy reached Europe,. Count Mensdorff greeted
the Minister with his he arty felicitations. "You
know," he said, " that our wishes have always been
for your sucesss, and that his Majesty has always
frankly desired the suppression of rebellion."
One point which must strike the most superficial
reader of these despatches 'is this :—Mr. Motley in-
variably wrote of the War as one for slavery on the
one side, and freedom on the' other. The taunt in
England has been that the North fought for em-
pire, but this is most strongly repudiated, and the
end and object as invariably enunciated by this repre-
sentative of the United States was that the struggle
was for the rights on which the Constitution of his
country was based, the freedom and happiness of
mankind.

AN AMERICAN VIEW OF BRI2ISII ARMY

REFORM.

The Nation of the 23d ultimo has an article on
Army Reform in England, which shows a better
acquaintance with the subject than five-sixths of
the newspapers of this country. It says public
attention in England begins to be more and more
turned to the questions with which a reformed
Parliament will be expected to deal, now crop-
ping up with ominous frequency. It is generally
acknowledged that the force is inferior in every ele-
ment of efficiency
—except courage. That the Bri-
tish army has acquitted itself as well as it has done
is perhaps one of the most wonderful proofs in
existence, of the great qualities of the race. But, as
may be expected, its great exploits are actually cited
by some of the Tory orators as proofs of the value
of the purchase system, just as so many other abuses
have been defended by pointing out how the nation
has thriven in spite of them. The present military
system is confessedly useless for anything but a
policy strictly defensive, and contains no provision
for the contingency of a sudden difference with a
first-class power. Besides which the army has ac-
quired an importance it never had before from the
fact that England's maritime supremacy has dis-
appeared before the recent changes in the instru-
ments of naval warfare. The kind of army the
Liberals want is a Middle-class army like the first
standing army that existed in England, that of
Cromwell, where the ranks were filled up by young
farmers, shopkeepers, and mechanics, and the offi-
cers were men who won their grades, in the ordinary
way, by courage or skill, or both.
The Nation is under the delusion that the Re-
formers have succeeded in the present Parliament
in reducing the maximum number of lashes, per-
mitted as a punishment in the army, to fifty, and
restricting it to two or three of the worst offences.
This was done many years ago, and the fight in the
present Parliament was to abolish it altogether.
There is neither more nor less reason why it should
be abolished in the army than.tihy it should not be
abolished in prisons ; and it appears to us a mani-
fest absurdity that the right should be delegated
to magistrates to flog a garotter, but denied to a
commanding officer as a means of suppressing brutal
assaults on officers and non-commissioned officers,
more especially the latter, in the execution of their
duty. A few similar acts of personal violence
inflicted on the citizens of London immediately
led to the flogging power being conferred, princi-
pally because one or two of the victims were mem-
bers of Parliament.

" The military and naval force may be said
to be the only instrument of government which
the aristocracy did not surrender to the middle
classes of 1832, and to the possession of it the
former doubtless owes a large portion of its
prestige. Nothing fairly killed the French aristo-
cracy but the proofs afforded by the war of the
Revolution that hosticrs and linen-drapers could
command regiments and win battles. Once Soult
and Murat and Juuot had been seen chasing the
finest troops in Europe from bard-fought fields, the
value of the gentilhonunc as a soldier—the one thing
on which he prided himself—was gone. So there is
now in England a kind of superstition, which the
upper classes do alt they can to foster, that the
leading of soldiers is the proper business of
" gentlemen," and that there is something in-
herently absurd in a man of " low connections"
attempting such a thing ; and how much the pre-
do with the political
we think, never
been fairly estimated. Once destroy this feeling by
svoaplernecmeaocfy tohfistlfeeelairnigstohcarsaotoy
has,
showing what a democratic army, even of English-
men, can do in the field, and the political prestige
of birth and rank would receive a blow nothing
else could give it, and such, as many people, the late
Mr. Cobden amongst the number, have thought
it impossible for anything to give it."
It must be confessed that no class leads better
than the aristocracy of England, and this is readily
conceded through all ranks of the British army.
The soldiers know this BO well, and estimate so
highly their gallantry, that they prefer taking every
pet
ennoebY and blunder to follow the men
whose
o hosef
motto
is noblesse

spirit of the American Press.

SCIENTIFIC.

An exploring party of more than usual import-
ance has just left the Atlantic for the Pacific coast
to make a survey, under the direction of the United
States Government, of a belt of land near to the
fortieth parallel of north latitude, stretching. from
the Sierra Nevada to the Rocky Mountains.
Through or near this belt will
pass the Central
Pacific Railroad, and the object of the expedition
is to gather in advance as much information
as possible respecting the structure of the
country, the mineral resources, the agricultural
characteristics
well organised,
casoi
in respect to
ao capacity,
dthtet reer
ge i andiions.o all
little
The
t tht l hee e
expedition
xo
at herct knowledge
the district to be examined, that high anticipations
are entertained of the scientific and practical results
reached. Believing that our
rwehaidcehrsarwei
lllikbeel yi
nttoerbees
ted
in
watching the progress
of this party of young and enthusiastic explorers,
within the limits of our own domain, we have
g particulars in respect to their
organisation. The survey is ordered by Congress;
gathered the following
it is to be conducted under the direction of the
Secretary of War ; and, more particularly still,
under direction of the chief of the United States
Engineers, Major-General A. A. Humphreys, to
whom the party
Will report, and from whom they
have received their general instructions. This dis-
tinguished officer, those name has long been iden-
tified with the explorations and surveys directed by
the War Department of the United States Govern-
ment, has shown the greatest interest in promoting
the objects of this new expedition, and to his
experience and good judgment in fitting out
the party
much of its success will be due.
The head of the party in the field is Clarence King,
a gentleman of about five-aud-twenty years of age,
educated in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale
College, and connected for
a few years past with
the State Geological Survey of California under
Prof. J. D. Whitney. The experience which he
has thus acquired as a mountain explorer admir-
ably fits him for the leadership in this new expedition.
He has travelled extensively among the great
mountain regions
of the West, has ascended aud
measured some of the loftiest peaks, is inured to
the exposure and hardships of frontier life, and ap-
preciates fully all the conditions which arc essential
to success. Nine assistants are under his direction.
Ills friend and associate in the California survey,
Mr. James T.
Gardner, who has lately been engaged
with Mr. I
-ijogin surveying and mapping the famous
Yo Semite Valley and the adjacent mountain
region, is the first assistant in topography, and
Professor James D. Hague, of the Massachu-
setts Institute of Technology, likewise an
experienced traveller, is the first assistant in
geology. There are also two other topographers,
two other geologists, a zoologist, a botanist,
and a photographer. On their arrival in Calfornia
a squad of twenty-three mounted Californians,
under nod-commissioned officers, will be detailed by
the military authorities as their escort, and six

drivers and packers will complete the personnel of
the party--a company of thirty-nine in all. By
turning to any good map of the Western mountains
the reader will see that the proposed line of explo-
ration extends from the 120th to the 105th meridian,
or from Pyramid Lake, near Virginia City, on the
eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, to Denver City,
on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. The
length of the tract to be explored is about 1,000
miles, its breadth will not exceed 100. The great
desert basin of Nevada and Utah and the various
parallel ridges and valleys by which it is traversed,
including the lofty ridges known as the Eastern and
Western Humboldt River Mountains, and the Wah-
satch Mountains to the east of Great Salt Lake, will,
of course, be included in their observations. The
party hope to go this year, between the first of
July and the first of November, as far as Fort
Riley, and then to spend the winter, which is there
too severe for field work, in the neighbourhood of
Virginia City. :Next year they hope to reach Salt
Lake City, and their work out of doors is to be
completed in the third year. Of course much addi-
tional time will elapse before the scientific result of
the expedition can be fully published; but every-
thing of immediate practical value, especially with
reference to the construction of the Central Pacific
Railroad, will, as we understand it, at once be made
public. An accurate map of the region is the first
desideratum, and the necessary surveys will, there-
fore, be prosecuted as rapidly as may be consistent
with accuracy. It is exceedingly important also
to ascertain whether coal can be found in that
region of such quality and in such quantities as to
be depended on for the coming locomotive. The
position of water supplies, in that desert basin is
another most important topic of inquiry. So also
the possibilities of agriculture, need investigation.
The geological and mineralogical characteristics of
the country will constantly be examined. In short,
to examine and describe the geological structure,
the geographical conditions, and natural resources
of the country will be the aim in view.—The Nation.