The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-05 00:00:00

THE SUN, LION DO5. TH MIS Y Ear FNINU, SEPTEMBE R 5, 1867.

kDSTONE alluded to it as one of great eloquence
said power. He pointed out the responsibility that
reste 1 upon this country in its intercourse with foreign
pries, and declared that " England had to choose,
in her vast transactions abroad, whether she wouli bo
a r nere beast of burden or whether she woul l be the
ev'eugelist of the world." It is worthy of record, as
Mr. GLADSTONE said, that of all those men who form
the p ith and sinews of colonial communities, there
is sci rcely one who has not made sacrifices in vari-
ous;-ways, and especially in having to remove him-
self from the power of ordinary circumstances to
thu ,ordinances of religion. The right hon. gentle-
man concluded by declating that during the last
thirty or forty years there had been a great im-
p:over-tent in the condition of the Church with re-
gard to the action of the clergy, and expressing his
earnest trust, from year to year, that those engaged
in prosecuting the work of this society may be en-
abled to witness " increasing acceptance among
their fellow-Christians, and the richer and ever
richer blessing of the ALMIGHTY upon their work.'

The proceedings of the Manchester Trades Union
Inquiry, so far as they have as yet gone, fully con-
firm the impression made on the public mind by the
startling revelations of Sheffield. We are far from
supposing that every trades' union would sanction
the iniquities of a BROADHEAD, but it is quite evi-
dent that under the mistaken system they have
adopted they have become instruments of oppres-
sion instead of protection to the working man. The
unionist has much more to fear from the union than
from his employer. No individual employer can do
him much harm. The most he can do is to dismiss
him from his employment, and dissuade any one
he knows from employing him. The master will
not certainly shoot him in the street or blow up his
house. It is very well for the defendants of the
trades unions as they are at present to argue as if
the Sheffield outrages were exceptional cases. It is
evident that the doctrine of ruling by force is ad-
mitted among their fundamental rules. Neither
Manchester nor Sheffield are such remote or insigni-
ficant places that we should decline to accept them
as representatives of the principles of these associa-
tions. Manchester at least has long claimed an
intellectual pre-eminence over other cities. Yet we
find the same thing going on there as at Shef-
field, and the very man who is convicted of
a savage assault, and sentenced to twenty years'
penal servitude, now president of his Union. If
such men are fairly and freely elected to such posi-
tions, it proves the morality of the Unionists to be
at a very low ebb. If they are not freely elected,
but obtain their positions through influence or inti-
midation, it shows that the members of the Union
are not free agents. In either case the inference is
unfavourable. The pernicious influence which
these Unions exercise in checking industry and en-
terprise, and the extent to which they carry
their vengeance for what might appear to
the uninitiated a slight infraction of their

rules, is strongly exemplified in the evidence

given yesterday at the opening of the in-
quiry. THOMAS MEADOWS, a master brickmaker
at Stockport, made an alteration in his bricks by
which a saving of 10d. per thousand would be
effected. Some of the Union men came to see how
it worked, and said they might make the alteration
if the men might have the benefit of the 10d. The
master—not unnaturally—did not agree to this, but
said they might have 6d. of it. The result was that
the union men struck work. Three of them, how-

ever, soon after came back and accepted the 6d

The others then offered to return on condition these
were dismissed. The master refused, and
subsequently the whole came back, but after
WILD, one of the three men, was attacked
when he was at the kiln at night, his right arm
broken and other injuries inflicted, which kept him
for six months in the Stockport Infirmary. For
this assault two of the Unionists were tried, con-
victed, and sentenced, but a petition was got up
for the commutation of their sentence, which the
injured man was induced to sign for fear, as he
himself said, "of getting into a hobble." Fear, in
fact, lies at the bottom of most of these proceed-
ings, and the Unions afford an excellent opportunity
to the strong-minded and unscrupulous to tyrannise
over their weak or timorous fellows under the pre-
tence of preserving the " rights of labour."

the progress of industrial arts, remarks upon a most
important branch of it—watchmaking—and draws
comparison between English, French, and Geneva
watches. Twenty or thirty years ago Geneva
watches, although cheap, were very flimsy, and
failed in the one necessary object—that of keeping
good time. Great improvements, however, have
been made, and very elegant and accurate Geneva
watches may now be had at a cheap rate. There
were some admirable English watches in the Exhi-
bition, but, as the French writers truly say, they
are dearer than the French watches. It is admitted

that there is scarcely any branch of industry which
has made such marvellous progress in France as the
art of watchmaking ; and, in spite of the admirable
qualities of a first class English watch, a French
watch of the same description possesses a superio-
rity because of its form, portability, and excellence
in other minute details. The juries as well as the
press maintain this opinion after patient and im-
partial consideration and discussion, and unani-
mously record their conviction that the manufac-
turer who is at the head of this branch of industry
in Paris, M. Detouche, of the Rue St. Martin, has '
produced a watch which cannot be equalled any-
where in regard to cheapness, beauty, or accuracy.
The French papers, therefore, say that the various
juries have done good service by awarding medals
of the first-class to that indefatigable and skilful
manufacturer, whose clocks arc adopted by all the
public offices and establishments in Paris as an
illustration of agreement with the English maxim,
always Time is money."
liar storm of thunder and
There
quoted
wa a here,very thatpee
u
lightning last night, but the thunder claps came at
long intervals, and the lightning was not vivid.
Occasionally, however, there were some sudden
gusts of wind so violent as to shake the windows
and even create alarm. There was no rain. To-
day the clouds have been very dark and lowering.
It was as stormy as in winter, and there have been
some tremendously heavy showers. There was,
however, very little change of temperature. This
unfavourable weather hal little or no effect upon
the Exhibition to-day, for the visitors were almost
as numerous as ever.

The Exhibition has given rise to a species of in-
dustry which is not encouraged by the police.
Fellows wait about to see if they can take posses-
sion of a cart or any otier vehicle, the owner of

which is absent. A fanner of a village in the
Seine at Marne had brcught some articles to sell
at the Halle a day or tvo ago, and while he was
taking some refreshment z man drove off.with the
cart to a suburb, and there he plied for passengers
to the Exhibition at a inarp rate and managed to
obtain a fair amount of customers. The man was
honest enough to drive tie cart back to the Halle,
where the farmer was oa the look out. He said
nothing, but inflicted a severe castigation on the
fellow with his whip, much to the delight of the
market people, when tLey were acquainted with
the cause of the chastisement.
Although we live in "piping times of peace," the
articles exhibited by the Minister of War at the
Exhibition are calculatA to excite great interest.
They afford illustrations of the details of the system
adopted for the comfort, health, and convenience
of the soldier in camp, and for assisting the sick
and wounded after battle. These articles must
attract the attention of warriors and philanthro-
pists, if not of other classes. A great object has
been attempted by all the inventors, to keep the
soldier from cold and rain, and to preserve his
scanty wardrobe and equipments from injuries.
The Figaro gives an amusing instance of the
indifference with which some newspaper writers
treat the fabrication of news. A writer, who
signs himself " Georges Maillard," says :—" There
was not a word of truth in the anecdote about
M. Berryer, which appeared in the number of
August 30. It was an affair which I invented at
pleasure."
In addition to the number of believers in the
curative powers of the Zouavc, Jmob, and mes-
merism, there are many who arc convinced of the
truth of the marvels told about spirit rapping,
direct and indirect communication with spirits,
miracles, visions, prophecy, second sight, and
ocher extraordinary things of a similar kind.
There are publications devoted exclusively to these
matters, and to the " study of the faculties of the
soul." Nay, a publication is announced—" The
Life of Joan of Arc"—by Madame Hermanie
Dufax, the chief incidents of which wero dictated
to that lady by Joan of Arc herself. If this be
true, the work is likely to be written with spirit.

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

...----•-•-- d--

THE NORTII GERMAN PARLIAMENT.
BERLIN, Sept. 5.

Throughout Schleswig-Holstein only one Dane
(Herr Kruger) has been elected as a member of the
North German Parliament.

AMERICA.

LivEßrooL, Sept. 5.

The Columbian, from the West Indies, has ar-
rived here. She left Jamaica on the 16th, and
Hayti on the 17th August.
The Isthmus was healthy at Jamaica. At Jamaica
yellow fever was on the decline and trade was dull.

At Hayti trade was dull. Disturbances had oc-
curred on the north side of the island. Several
towns had been sacked, and many murders had been
committed.

THE DANISH WEST INDIES.
HAMBURG, Sept. 5.

A semi-official communication from Copenhagen
to the Hamburg News denies the correctness of the
report that Denmark is negotiating the sale of her
West Indian possessions to America.