The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-31 00:00:00

ot PL
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4;b.,
41r. ° A 114

LONDON, TI/EDNESDAY, JULY 31, 1867.

The honours of the field, so far as the House of '
Lords is concerned, certainly remain with Lord
CAln.ss, for the noble and learned lord has gained
a succession of triumphs, including last night, with
the large majority of ninety-one, in his proposition
respecting the representation of minorities. On this
occasion the Government were not on the side of
the noble and learned lord, but the general feeling
of the House was evidently with him. Perhaps
Ministers acted wisely in refraining from giving
their support, and at any rate it cannot be said that
they are too ready to give in to every scheme that
is brought forward. While we do not agree
with those who expect so many important
results from this change there is certainly no valid
objection to be urged against it, and indeed it may
be as well to give the plan a trial. A great many
new things have been brought about by the progress
of this bill, and it is not at all a suitable argument to
adduce in this age of progress that a proposition
must be set aside or altogether refused because it is
a novel one. How are we ever to improve if nothing
new is introduced, and no change made in a parti-
cular course of policy ? Lord CAIRNS' speech, as
might well be supposed, was a very effective one.
The ability which could impart an interest to the
dullest theme, and lend a grace to the molt hack-
neyed controversy, did not fail to shine out in full
force on an occasion which was not wholly unpro-
mising or discouraging. The representation of
minorities is new in practice, but not new in theory;
in according to the rules of the Constitution no one
class or set of opinions is expected or desired to
overwhelm or exclude the other. We can under-
stand why so much stress should be laid upon this
principle being carried out, while it may turn out
that too much stress is laid upon it.
The House of Lords has every right to use its own

judgment and exercise its own discretion in au
event of so much importance as the passing of a
Reform Bill that is to last for a generation at least.
No fault can then be found with the decision of last
night on Lord CAIRNS' motion. It was totally dif-
ferent from giving their concurrence to an abstract
Resolution like that of Lord HALIFAX'S, or a con-
demnatory amendment such as Lord GREY would
have forced upon them. It is not likely that any
collision of interests will take place between the
two Houses upon this subject, for, notwithstanding
the defeat of Mr. LOWE'S suggestion, some able ad-
vocates were not wanting to enforce the claims of
the scheme to consideration, and the House seemed
somewhat in the position of those who are
doubtful, and hence prefer no change to
take place rather than being strongly op-
posed to the idea. The effect of this vote
is for the present confined to about twelve seats,
and if the change be carried out as last night indi-
cated by the House of Lords, it would afford a good
opportunity for testing the efficacy of the Ballot.
It has often been suggested that this plan should be
tried iu a modified form at first, and here would be
an advantageous mode of making an experiment.
An attempt was made last night to rescue the
doomed boroughs from the severest part of the
penalty pronounced against them, but it failed ;
and it was just as well that it should have done so,
for no effect will be produced on other places if it
is seen that the Legislature shifts about in its
decision and cannot keep its mind long together.
Lord RoMILLY moved that the disfranchisement
should cease in the year 1880, but the Lord Chan-
cellor truly said that he did not consider that the
penalty was too severe for the offence. It was
quite right to make an example, and many prece-
dents might be found for what had been done. It
would create a great deal of unnecessary confusion
to introduce this change into the bill, and we are
glad that it was negatived without a division, be-
cause it shows what the general feeling of the
House is on the subject. Lord GREY endeavoured
to interfere with the compound householder but
failed, a majority of 105 deciding upon the retention
of the clause. Here again the House of Lords
acted wisely, for, as the Lord Chancellor said, the
clause was an essential feature of the bill, and it
would have been very injurious to do away with
the present arrangement. Another amendment was
defeated, which proposed that persons registered as
voters for the county should not for the same pre-
mises have votes for borough members also. This
was lost by the large number of ninety-four. Lord
CAIRNS' scheme was the only change introduced
into the bill yesterday, and it is quite evident
that the House of Lords is prepared as speedily
as can be consistent with propriety and a
due consideration of the important subject to
pass the bill the same to all intents and purposes
as it was sent up to them. This is as it should be,
and while it fulfils the ardent desires and just ex-
pectations of the community it redounds to the
credit of that august assembly. Rumours have
been rife and suspicions very ready on the subject
of a failure ensuing when the bill went up to the
House of Lords, but we are glad to find that these
prophets of evil are proved incorrect, and that no
cause will be found for reproach at the manner in
which the measure has been treated. It has been
met in the most favourable manner, and has already
made progress as fast as could reasonably have been
expected or desired.

meni

Notwithstanding the practical test of success, and
the great benefits which are admitted by some of
the bitterest opponents of the earlier Factory Acts
to have resulted from those measures, it is wonder-
ful how strong an opposition is still made to every
attempt to improve or extend them. The Factory
Acts Extension Bill was last night brought up for
recommittal, when the usual objections to the prin-
ciple of the measure were made by Mr. MoFFArr,
who argued that the less they interfered with the
rights of labour the better, and that they had not
sufficient evidence to justify legislation. By
a singular inconsistency Mr. MoFFATT took
exception to a feature in the bill which
might very well have been opposed (as it
afterwards was) by the supporters of the measure.
He complained that its influence was limited to
establishments with 100 bands, so that evils might
exist unchecked in smaller places. Mr. LIDDELL,
who was also against the bill, had another objection.
He thought that it involved the principle of com-
pulsory education, and should not be proceeded with
until the new Parliament gave the classes for whom
they were legislating an opportunity of being
heard. This argument, Mr. BRUCE pointed
out, would, if admitted, delay legislation for
two or three years, and we have already more than
enough evidence to show that such a delay
is most unadvisable. Two years may seem,
and may be, of comparatively little importance to
the middle—aged legislator considering a disputed
principle, but to the over—worked child of seven or
eight the twenty-four months of excessive labour
may have life-long consequences. Of course exces-
sive or vexatious interference with trade should be
avoided ; but it is not likely that our legislators
to-day should be so much less skilful than the
legislators of twenty years ago. Although Lord
ASHLEY'S Factory Acts were carried in the face of
the most obstinate opposition they have not inter-
fered injuriously with any kind of trade; indeed
the employers of labour have frankly admitted that
their apprehensions were unfounded. A careful
examination of the clauses of the new Acts will, we
have no doubt, eliminate from them all question-
able clauses without diminishing their practical
service, or occasioning a needless delay.

It is not often that the honours bestowed at
are so
a atthe
recommendation of the Minister of the
well earned as the distinction which wearlevgmLuu
lad to
,
find has been bestowed upon Mr., now
MITCHELL, of the Shipping Gazette. The labours of
this gentleman, though not of the kindto
himselfattract
the notice of the indifferent, or to secure for
that temporary notoriety which is the great aim of
too many professing reformers in all departments,
have been of substantial and enduring service. We
cannot question that he has been the means,
indirectly, of saving many hundreds of lives, besides
a vast amount of property. An incompetent general
is a national misfortune, and ignorance or pre-
sumption among military officers can hardly fail to
produce disastrous results, but when an incompe-
tent commander takes charge of a ship the risk is
increased tenfold. At least the military man has
only to guard against men perhaps no wiser than
himself ; the earth is not likely to enter the lists
of his enemies, but the naval commander knows
that the very elements may conspire against him
with a force and persistence that demand the
unerring judgment and the highest skill. The
general who feels himself unequal to his position
may decline to give battle, and ingeniously elude
the enemy, but the captain of a ship cannot re-
fuse the encounter nor can he ensure a truce or

propose an armistice. Even in comparatively
calm weather, the commander of a ship has
need
,of much scientific knowledge and practical
experience if he would be a successful navigator.
Yet some five and twenty years ago any one might
take a British merchant ship to sea with all its

precious freight of life and property, undeterred by
any test of his fitness for so responsible a position.
Mr. MITCIIELL exerted himself strongly in bringing
the matter under the attention of the public, and
he succeeded at last in getting it laid before Parlia-
The result was the salutary enactment that
all who undertook the command of merchant

vessels must undergo a preliminary examination by
a duly constituted Board. The effect of this judi-
cious regulation has been to raise the professional
character of the merchant service, and, we cannot
doubt, greatly to diminish the annual list of casu:
alties, still far too large.
Mr. MITCHELL has also done good service in pro-
moting the establishment of the commercial code of
signals for the use of all nations, which are now
generally adopted throughout all Europe, and is
even winning its way in America. We are glad to
find that such useful labours are not to be over-
looked in the bestowal of titular rewards.

Another gentleman has also been recommended
to her Majesty for the honour of knighthood, whose
reception of the honour will be generally approved

of. By one of the :ungracious and uncalled-for
manifestations of party spirit for which the Whigs
of late years have made themselves remarkable,
the friends of Alderman Rost were disappointed
in their well-founded hope of seeing him elevated to
knighthood during his Mayoralty. The cordial
and magnificent reception given to the Princess
ALEXANDRA on her arrival in this country by the
Corporation of the City, if it did not give an actual
reason for the knighthood of its chief magistrate, at
least offered a very graceful pretext. The bestowal
of such an honour would have been a compliment to
the Prince and Princess of WALES as well as to the
City, and the general feeling was one of surprise
that it should have been withheld. The excuse made
was that there was no precedent for so doing, as if it
was not customary to bestow some mark of honour
on the gentleman who filled the office of Mayor
during any eventful season. We are glad that Lord
DERBY has remedied the omission, which bore the
appearance of a slight to the Corporation, since
Alderman ROSE'S double Mayoralty included some
remarkable events, in which the City played a con-
spicuous part.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

---- -0"-

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
Paras, Tuesday Evening.
The Empress has returned to Paris from her ex-
cursion to England in the best health and spirits.
The Emperor went to meet her Majesty at the
Western Railway station.
The Emperor yesterday reviewed, in the Bois de
Boulogne, a portion of his Guard and the Division
of Cavalry of the First Corps d'Armee. The troops
were formed into three parallel lines. The Em-
peror arrived about 4 o'clock, accompanied by the
King of Portugal, the Duke de Corribra, his brother,
the Grand Duke Constantine, the brother of the
Emperor of Russia, Prince Charles of Prussia,
Prince Albert of Prussia, and the Duke of Olden-

burg and his three sons. Marshal Niel, Minister of
War, General Fleury, the Duke de Loule, and many
officers attached to the persons of the foreign
Princes, were present at the review. In the Em-

peror's pavilion were the Queen of Portugal, the
Princess Clotilde Napoleon, her sister, and the

Princess Charles of Prussia. The infantry defiled

in mass by battalion at half distance. The artil-
lery, in trot, by battery column. The cavalry, also
in trot, in column by squadron. After the defile,
the Division of Cuirassiers, of the First Corps

d'Armee, and the Regiment of the Empress's Dra-
goons formed in line of battle opposite to the Tri-
bunes, and then being ordered to gallop, stopped
fur an instant within a few paces of the Emperor
and presented swords amidst deafening cries of
" Long live the Emperor," Long live the Em-
press," "Long live the Imperial Prince." The
Emperor expressed to Marshal Regnaud de St.
Jean d'Angely his great satisfaction at the appear-
ance of the troops, and the precision and regularity
of their movements.
The Italian Chamber of Deputies has agreed by
204 votes against 58 to the project of law relative
to the liquidation of ecclesiastical patrimony. A
vote of confidence in the Ministry was agreed to
by 255 votes against 41 and five abstentions.
The Swedish fleet, which was about to sail for
Cronstadt, was detained for several days at Stock-

holm in consequence of the manifestation of an
epidemic disease on board the frigate Vanadis, the
flagship of the commander. This vessel being re-
placed by the Thor, the squadron put to sea on the
24th inst.

The Constitutionnel, in reference to the important
article in yesterday's Moniteur, says :—" The Moni-
teur replies to the alarming assertions to which the
French and foreign papers have lately sought, by
common accord, to obtain credence with the public.
According to these journals our diplomatic relations
and the military measures adopted by the Govern-
ment denoted a situation which must end in war.
It was in vain that notorious facts, reason, and
good sense were contrasted with hazardous con-
jectures. The article of the Moniteur, however, will
reassure the public."
Among the many extraordinary meteorological
phenomena of the day is to be noticed an incident
which occurred to the Seine et Tamise, one of the
steamers which ply direct between London and
Paris. At a short distance from Mantes, towards
evening, the vessel was assailed by a real torrent
of butterflies, which formed so thick a cloud that

for ten minutes the crew could not see an3thing
before them, and it was necessary to stop the
engines. Myriads of these insects fell dead upon
deck and formed a sort of carpet. The chimney
was completely covered with them.
The Vistula has overflowed its banks at Warsaw,
and much damage has been done. The inundation
continued for 24 hours. It was almost as exten-
sive as that of 1845. The inhabitants left their
houses in great alarm, and took refuge wherever
they could. The damage done to property is esti-
mated at millions.
In regard to Paris the change in the weather
is wonderful. After a December day, yesterday,
this has been a real day of summer, excessively
hot, with slight touches of thunder occasionally.
The barometer still indicates meteorological agita-
tion.
A letter from Florence, dated July 26, says that
the cholera is on the decline in Sicily, but it has
made many victims. When it broke out every-
body took flight suddenly in great alarm, including
the authorities, many of whom have been dismissed.
The crop of corn will be unusually abundant in
Italy this year. Last year the olive crop was large,
but this year the olives are splendid, and in great
quantities. In Sicily, however, a long drought has
seriously injured all the crops. Baron Cosa, com-
mander of the gunboat Terrible, who was tried
before a Council of War on the charge of cowardice
at the battle of Lissa, has been honourably acquitted.
The Opinion Nationale slys:—" A portion of the
Berlin press takes delight iu representing France as
a very enfeebled nation, and incapable of making
any great effort. his sort of tactics has for object
to raise the patriotism of the Germans, to inspire
them with great confidence in their own strength,
and to engender imaginary alarms among people
who, discontented with Prussia, always turn their
eyes towards France in cases of difficulty. But the
Prussians use their eloquence at a pure loss. It is
known well enough in Europe, and the Prussians
themselves know what we are and what we are
worth, and what we could do at any given moment."
This article merits more attention than perhaps
might be paid to it without reflection. It is a sort
of hand writing on the wall, pointing out that there
is at least a shade of diminution in the supposed
ardent and unalterable entente cordiale between
France and Prussia. A few days may develope
something more forcible upon the subject.
The 211oniteur of this evening states that the
King of the Belgians, who has been on a visit to
his sister at Trieste, arrived this niorning at Vienna.