The Sun.
London, England, 1867-03-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LO.NtiON, SATURDAY EVENING, AIARCH 16 1867.

CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERALISM.
A NEW MORNING PAPER, PRICE ONE PENNY,
"TH E D A Y,"
The Organ of Constitutional Liberalism,
Will be PUBLISHED oa TUESDAY, March 19.
Office-49, Essex-street, Strand, W.C.

Will be published on March 30, Rd ,
H E CHRONICLE."
11 A WEEKLY REVIEW.

Containing-
1. A Critical Summary ot Events.
2. Political and Literary Articles.
3. Notices ot Englis'i and Foreign Books.
Office-24, Tavistock-street, Covent-garden,

'THEATRE ROYAL DRURY-LAN E.
Sole Le.ree and Man iger, Mr. F. B Cluitterton.
Tins .EvENI-Nn. FAUST. Phelpv Mes.rs E.
Mine, Bar.by, Fitljames, C. Hareturt. W. M'lntyre, C.
Wsrner Mesdames lit:mann Vcz n, 11. VandeLheff, and
Isabel Adam..
To conclude with. WANTED, HUSBAND:; FOB. SIX.
Mesrism, Lydia Thymrsvn, 11. Broughton; Messrs. Barrett
and E. CAI ton.
Commence at Seven.

THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET,
Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. 'lodestone,
T IS EVENING. DAVID GARRICK. Messrs. Sothern,
Rookstoe. Chippendale, Rogers, Clark, Coe, Sic ; Mesdames
Moore, Chippendale, Fitzwilliam.
After which, DIAMONDS AND HEARTS. Messrs.
Chippendale, B o, e. Farren, Rogers, Clark, Braid, Weathers-
by; Mesdames Burke, Mcore, Sidney, Mathews, &C.
To conclude with MKS. WHITE. Mr. Compton.
Commence at Seven.

11) OYAL LYCEUM THEATRE.-
A, Sole Lessee and Manager. Mr. Pechter.
THIS EVENING, THE TWO POLTS. Mr. H. Widdi-
comb.
otter which, at Eight. PAMLET. Mr. Fechter ; Messrs
Jordan, kmexy, Price, Widdic,,mb, Fi+zpatrick, Evans, Dal-
ton, Moreland, Newbound, Reynolds. Vivian, Anderson,
Lomas. Bennett ; Miss Henradc, Miss Elsworthy, and Miss
Carlotta Lcclercq.

THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI.
Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster.
THIS EVENING. at 7 (first time), a New Drama LOST
IN LONDON. Messrs. H. Neville. Ashley. J. L. Toole, P.
Bedford. C. J. Smith, Eburne:; Miss Neilson, Miss A. Sea-
man, and Mrs. Alfred Mellon.
To conclude with the New Grand Burlesque of THE
MOUNTAIN DHU; or, THE KNIGHT, THE LADY,
AND THE LAKE. Messrs. J. L. Toole, Paul Bedford,
Ashley, H. Homer, and C. J. Smith ; Mrs. Alfred Mellon,
Miss Furtado. Miss Hughes. Miss Emily Pitt. tc.

ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE.
New Management.
Sole Lessee, Mr. B. Webster; Manager, Mr. H. Wigan.
THIS EVENING, LAVATER; OR, NOV A BAD
JUDGE. Messrs. H. J. Montague, D. Murray, and Charles
Mathews ; Mesdames Harris and M Palmer.
After which, THE LIAR. Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Mathews ;
Messrs. 11. J. Ifontegue, H. Wigan, and Mrs. Stephens.
To conclude with A. ROMANTIC IDEA. Mr. and Mrs.
C. Mathews, G. Vincent, and Miss E. Farren.
Doors open at half-past Six ; commence at Seven.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.
Sole Lessee and Manager, Mr. Geo. Vining.
THIS EVENING, HIS LAST LEGS. Mr. C. Verner,
Mr. C. H. Fenton ; Mrs. Buckingham White and Miss Went-
worth.
Followed by. at half-put S o'clock, THE STREETS OF
LONDON. Messrs. Vining. F. Villiers. J. G. Shore, S. Cal-
haem, H. Forrester ; Miss Montagu, Mrs. H. Marston, and
Miss Katherine Rodgers.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE.
Sole Lessee and Manageress. Mrs. Swanborough.
THIS EVENING, MARRIED DAUGH ERS. Messrs.
Thorne, Belford, and G. Murray ; Misses Johnstone and
Hughes.
Alter which, the Burlesque, ESMERALDA ; or, The Sen-
sation Goat. Messrs. I home .1 ames, Robson, and Turner
Mesdames A. Swanborough, Hughes, Newton, Weathersby,
and E. Holt.
To conclude with A SUIT OF TWEEDS.
Commence at Seven.

HOLBORN THEATRE ROYAL.
Sole Proprietor and Manager, Mr. Felton Parry.
TIIIS EVENING, a new Farce, MY TURN NEXT. Mr.
Belmore, Miss Foote, %liss Lennox.
After which, Boucioanlt's drama of FLYING SCUD.
Messrs. Neville, Belmore, Blake, Crarden,Vollaire ; Mesdames
F. Josephs, C. Saunders, B. Foote, Raymond.

THEATRE ROYAL, ASTLEY'S.
Under the Sole Management of Mr. W. H. C. NATION.
Production of a Dramatic Adaptation of Charles Dickens's
popular 'a ork, " Nicholas Nicklehy," and the Nation-al
Burlesque Opening of " Hush-a-Bye. Baby."
EVERY EVENING, Bayle Bernard's screaming li'arcv,
MIDDY ASHORE. Miss Caroline Parkes and Mr. W. H.
Stephens.
After which, a Dramatic Adaptation of Charles Dickens's
popular work, NICHOLAS NICKLEBY. Messrs. Fer-
nandez, Atkins, Stephens ; Misses Edith Stuart, Marion,
Thirlwall.
To conclude with the Nation-al Burlesque Opening of
MUSH-A-BYE, BABY; terminating with Mr. Hick's mar-
vellous Transformation Scene, realising those scenes of en-
chautmvnt given in the " Arabian Nights." !dirges NOR:
Nisbett, Caroline Parkes. Thirlwall, Marion, Clifton. Mrs.
Caulfield ; Messrs. Atkins, Stephens, Milano. and Arthur.

SWANSEA VALE and NEATH and BRECON
JUNCTION RAILWAY COIDIPANY.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, That the ORDI-
NARY HALF-YEARLY GENERAL MEETING of
the above Company will be held at their offices, 1, West
minster Chambers, Victoria-street, Westminster, S.W.,
on SATURDAY, the 30th instant, at one o'clock p.m.
precisely, for the transaction of the general business of
the Company.
And notice is also hereby given, that the Transfer Books
of the Company will be closed on the 18th inst., and will
remain so closed until the termination of the above
meeting.

W. L. BANKS, Chairman.
D. HOWELL MORGAN, Secretary.
1, Westminster Chambers, Victoria-street, Westminster,
S.W., March 15, 1867.

NEATH AND BRECON RAILWAY
COMPANY.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, That the ORDINARY
HALF-YEARLY GENERAL MEETING of the above
Company will be held at their offices, 1, Westminster
Chambers, Victoria-street, Westminster, S.W., on SA-
TURDAY, the 30th inst., nt Two o'Clock, p.m., precisely,
for the general business of the Company.
And notice is hereby given, That the Transfer Books
of the Company will be closed from the 18th inst., and
will remain so closed until the termination of the said
meeting.

W. L. I3ANKS, Cbairman.

D. HOWELL MORGAN, Secretary.
1 Westminster Chambers, Victoria-street, Westminster,
S.W., March 15, 1867.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

THIS DAY. —Morning, 10h. 22m.—Afternoon,' 11h. 6m.
Po-Mottuow.-Morning, 11h. 48m.—Afternoon, h. m.

4\ if
IM
ea
- 1/4,N int
4.mr 4,441.4

LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1867.

According to the accounts received of the Minis-

,erial project of Reform, as explained by Lord

DERBY to his supporters yesterday afternoon, there
is good reason to hope that we may at last obtain

a comprehensive, liberal, and constitutional mea-

sure. The Government, it would seem, intend to

propose a household suffrage for boroughs, which
will thus place the franchise on a definite and per-

manent basis.

A savings banks franchise and an educa-
tional franchise are also to be added, thus giving
representation to those members of the pro-

!ession who are not otherwise qualified. There

is some talk, besides, of a tax-paying
qualification, which Radicals ought to accept cor-
dially, since they are fond of asserting the principle

that there should be no taxation without representa-
We need not enter at large into the further

tion.

details of the scheme, which will be of course fully
explained to the public on Monday night, though
we may congratulate the country on the prospect of
obtaining from Lord DERBY a bill which, especially
after its passage through committee, will be likely

- -
to satisfy the wants of the people and fulfil the
conditions of the Constitution.
In the brief interval which remains before the
disclosures of Monday evening, it is worth while to
examine some among the many projects which have
been recently put forward to assist the Government
in their deliberations. We need not look too closely
into the logic of Mr. JOHN SCOTT, who, in address-
ing " every class and creed in society," unfolds a
scheme in which " perfect human freedom" is at-
tained under a Government whose duty it is "to

prevent vice, crime, disease, and premature death/
to furnish "productive, remunerative employment''

for every one who wants it, and limit the time ex-
pended in all forms of human labour to eight hours
per diem, besides such trifling obligations as the
prevention of accidents in railways, vessels, and
coal-mines. We fear neither Lord DERBY nor
Lord RUSSELL are as yet fully qualified for the
head of such an administration, and must therefore
wait till Mr. JOHN SCOTT is himself prepared to
form a Cabinet.

The claim of Englishwomen to the franchise is
another point, which is not likely to be mooted just
now in any scheme of Parliamentary Reform,
though we are not surprised that its advocates
should have been eager to reprint the very
able and temperate essay on the subject in
the current number of the Westininster Review.
One of the most able and laborious of these various
proposals is that put forward many years ago by
Sir JOHN EARDLEY WILMOT, Recorder of Warwick,
and now again put in circulation,* as appropriate
to the time. Sir JOHN is notcontented with a mere
proposal for reduction of the suffrage, but aims at
the reform of our whole political system. His ex-
perience as a revising barrister has convinced him
of the absolute necessity for removing, if possible,
the elements of corruption from our electoral bodies,
and as a member of a Royal Commission of inquiry
into a case of bribery, he had full opportunity of
examining what he calls the machinery of corrup-
tion. Sir JOHN'S pamphlet was written so far back
as 1854, when no one dreamt of the possibility of
Parliamentary Reform standing over for thirteen
years, but his observations are just as applicable to
the present time. We may mentally substitute
Totnes and Great Yarmouth for Sudbury and St.
Alban's ; abut the main features of the case are
identical, and the remedies he proposes are as well
calculated for the England of to-day as they
were for the England of the Crimean war.
His aim, as we have said, is not merely to

increase of the number of voters, ;but " the re-
distribution, extension, and purification of the Elec-
tive Franchise." As is perhaps natural with his
professional experience, he attaches more import-
ance to the redistribution of seats than to the reduc-
tion of the franchise. In this respect he would make
several important changes. Disfranchising twelve
boroughs, in which the inhabited houses fall short
of 1,000 ; to take one member from 31 boroughs
with less than 2,000 houses now sending two mem-
bers each. Altogether he would gain 51 seats,
which he would thus distribute tonine large boroughs;
such as Salford, Gateshead, and Wakefield, be would
give an additional member ; to eleven unrepresented
boroughs, including Birkenhead, Gravesend, and
Doncaster he would allow one representative. To
the southern division of Lancashire and the West

Riding of York he proposes giving two additional
members each ; to the counties of Cambridge,
Oxford, Dorset, and Berks, one member each. Two
Scotch boroughs and one Welsh borough would
have an additional member; two members would
be allotted to the Metropolitan district of Chelsea,
Kensington, and Hammersmith,—a very commend-
able and sensible measure—and no less than four-
teen seats to representatives of a kind of educational
franchise. Eight members are to be given to universi-
ties, including the London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh,
four to the profession of medicine, and two to that
of law. We do not suppose that these proposals are
likely to be accepted by the House of Commons,
though some of them, as we have said, are very just
and sensible. The proposal for a new metropolitan
district, which has often been discussed, is one
which deserves attention, and the University seats
are likely to find favour. More especially would
they be well bestowed on the Scotch Univer-
sities, since Scotland has good reason to com-
plain of the inequalities of her representa-
tion, which Sir JOHN EARDLEY WILMOT'S scheme
does not redress.
With regard to the extension of the suffrage,
Sir J. WiLmoT inclines, as most moderate men are
beginning to do, to a household suffrage, on pay-
ment of taxes, with a certain time of residence. He

* " Parliamentary Reform." A Letter to R. Freedom,
Esq., by Sir J. C. Wilmot, Bart. Second Edition.
.Eidi;way,

is anxious to increase largely the number of electors,
thinking this the best and most effectual means of
checking corruption. We regret not to find so
able an advocate and so consistent a reformer in
favour of the ballot, which he holds to be ineffectual;
but the experience of America does not encourage
us to hope that mere numbers will be much protec-
tion against corruption.

Mr. GIBSON, in his brief but able pamphlet on
the Philosophy of the Franchise,* recommends the
representation of classes, say dividing the popula-
tion into six classes, and allowing each 100 mem-
bers. This scheme, though theoretically fair and
comprehensive, must, we fear, be laid aside as at once
too visionary and too great a disturbance of the
existing system.

• Robert Bush, Charing-cross.

All that relates to the laying of the Atlantic

Cable is sure to attract interest, and most deservedly

so, for it was a triumph of skill and perseverance
such as the world has rarely witnessed. On Thurs-
day evening a grand banquet was given to the
layers of this cable by the members of the American

Chamber of Commerce, and it is satisfactory to

know that the affair went off well. The Mayor of

Liverpool was present, the presidents of the chief

commercial associations of Liverpool and Manches-
ter, and the principal resident American merchants.

The Chairman presented to Messrs. CU3IMING,

ANDERSON, FIELD, and W. SMITH a gold medal,

which was most beautiful. The name of the gentle-
men to whom it is given is on one side and below

the arms and legend of Liverpool, while on the other

side are the words " Atlantic Telegraph Cable,"
in a circle below which is the Great Eastern in full

sail on the ocean. The health of Mr. FIELD was

proposed in most appropriate terms, and that gen-

tleman made a speech worthy of the occasion and of
himself. He said that he should prize the medal
that had been presented to him the more because it
had been the gift of English and American merchants.

Liverpool is indeed the most fitting spot for such a
_ _ _

ceremony as this to have taken place, for, as Mr FIELD
remarked, it is one of the greatest commercial
centres in the world, and the " white sails of many
fleets and goodly and well-laden ships" speak not
only of great trade, but of the community of
friendship and interest which binds Liverpool to
the people of the United States. The great merit
of a work like the Atlantic Telegraph is that it
belongs to all time, and that hereafter posterity will
realise it yet more fully and forcibly than we do.
The descendants of those who have thus united two
worlds may point with pride and satisfaction alike
to the greatness of this exploit and the benefits that
accrue therefrom.

It is very interesting to notice that Mr. FIELD
mentioned that thirteen years that very day he
spoke he left his home in New York for Boston,
and sailed thence to Newfoundland to " obtain the
privilege of landing cables to connect Europe with
America." Few men can have a part of their lives
so instructive and interesting as a retrospect as this
gentleman has, and well may we sympathise with
his struggles and applaud his energy. The living
and the dead who have contributed to the fulfil-

ment of this wonderful task belong to history, and

it will assuredly render them justice. Many share the
gratitude and good-will of those who profit by the
success of this great enterprise. Foremost we
must mention the Governments of the United
States and of Great Britain for the assistance they

gave in providing ships, and the Governments o:

the British North American Provinces also afforded
the privilege in a prompt manner. The directors
and officers of various companies were likewise
most efficient in the completion of the task, and
those who were so liberal in subscribing the capi-
tal must of course rank high in the list. The com-

mandera of the ships were also very important
agents in the work. Especial mention was made
by Mr. FIELD of the " eminent engineers and their
efficient staffs, who planned and perfected the
machinery, and not only triumphantly laid one
cable, but by a transcendent navy an unparalleled
exercise of patience and skill, picked up the broken
cable from the eternal solitude and darkness of the

sea ;" and also of those distinguished electricians,
whose wonderful discoveries seem indeed too great,
if not to excel all that we read in childish days of
fairy touches and magicians' wands. Step by step

they have ascertained the laws by which the
" invisible electric current" in its passage through
the ocean depths " may be as completely subordi-
nated to the human will as the simplest piece of
mechanism which can be felt and handled in a
busy workshop." As Mr. FIELD observed, it may
safely be affirmed that so many men were never
gathered together in one enterprise who were so
admirably adapted for the work they undertook,
both by their particular knowledge and by their
diversified endowments. The problem of the
Atlantic Telegraph could not possibly have been
solved by those who were not particu-
larly well fitted for the work, and the Great
Eastern was also of great service, with its able com-
mander ! "The man," said Mr. FIELD, " was made
for the ship, and both were made for us." The
press of England and America supported the enter-
prise in adversity as well as in prosperity, and
grateful mention is here made of it. Only one was
mentioned by name by Mr. FIELD, because he is now
no more—RICHARD COBDEN. He proposed that the
profits of the Great Exhibition of 1851 should be
devoted to the establishment of electrical commu-
nication between Great Britain and America.
In returning to the more general subject of the
cable, Mr. FIELD said that they had now laid
across the Atlantic two of the most perfect cables
that had ever been made, and they are, it is
gratifying to know, in such excellent order
that they can now transmit twelve times
as much business as they are doing. It is not
surprising that one who has had so much to do
with the work of the laying of the cable should be
anxious that as much advantage as possible should
be derived from it, and the suggestions of Mr.
FIELD are worthy of notice. He wishes that the
tariff may soon be reduced, so that the cables
may be kept constantly employed, and that the
political intelligence for the press may be trans-
mitted at such a rate that its conductors on both
sides of the ocean may publish every morning a full
summary of news of the world. It will afford one
a good idea of the wonders done by this cable to
learn that in New York they often send a message
to London on their way home to dinner, and in the
morning they find the answer on their desks at their
return to business. " Only a few weeks ago the birth
of a Princess was known earlier on the morning of the
day on which it occurred in San Francisco and the
shores of the Pacific than it was here." We think
that all who are engaged in an arduous undertaking
may learn a lesson from Mr. FIELD'S reminiscences,
and not despair of eventual success, but look to the
future with hope and confidence. "What a contrast,"
said he, " is my present appearance in this town
to my former visits. Instead of pointing to two
cables in working order, they could only show
specimens of a cable which they trusted would
ono day be laid, while they literally went
from door to door to beg for subscriptions. We
stand, indeed, on the threshold of that glorious
future when the telegraph will ewes and recross

seas and continents, and connect together as by the
links of one golden chain, all civilised and semi-
civilised nations." Mr. FIELD concluded his elo-
quent speech by expressing a hope that the fraternal
chain thus established might never be broken, and
all patriotic hearts in both hemispheres will echo
the sentiment and agree with the feelings expressed
in these words—" May it year by year bring into
closer relation and warmer sympathies the two great
countries, which should never be separated save by
the ocean, and which speak the same mother
tongue, inherit the same laws, profess the same
pure faith, and worship the same GoD."

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

BELGIUM.

BRUSSELS, March 16.

The report of M. Vandenpeereboom to the King,
upon the cattle plague in Belgium, states that the
results of the preventive measures adopted imposes
upon the Government the duty of rendering them
more complete.
The Ministers propose to include in one bill all
the different measures hitherto taken against the
cattle plague, and to complete them by additional
precautions.

THE SPANISH EI,ECTIONS.

MADRID, March 15.

The Government has raised the decree of exile
issued against the Signitaries of the protest made
by members of the Congress in December last.

The elections to Cortes throughout Spain have
been uncontested, and Ministerial candidates have
been almost everywhere elected.

AUSTRIA.

VIENNA, March 16.

A n Imperial decree has been published to-day,
constituting as a special Ministry the department of
Public Worship and Education of the former Minis-
try of State.

It is expected that the treaty of commerce now
being negociated between Italy and Austria will
shortly be concluded.