The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-11 00:00:00

'ME SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 11, 1867

great- civil war has turned men's minds so
much towards the western hemisphere that
there is much more general interest now taken
in our Arne' rican dependencies, and a great
increase of :knowledge respecting their capacities
and recourcea . Some few of our politicians indeed
cherish the sit gular and suicidal idea of surrender-
ing our magnii icent colonial empire altogether, and
thus divesting ourselves at the same time of a large
portion of our wealth, our power, and our responsi-

bilities. The g,l'ext body of Englishmen of all
ranks and parties, b owever, are happily opposed to
any such shortsightt d and timorous policy, and we
hope it may be it 'ng before any such proposi-

tion finds favour w. ith the British Parliament.

The experiment of mitrusting the colonies with
the privileges of E -government is a novel

and adventurous o no, Jut it is fully in

keeping with tIL.; spirit;. of English institutions.

It has been, on the wlroli s, a remarkable success,
and, despite some oecaa lional drawbacks and

blunders, almost inevitabLe in the working of any
new system, the result ha s been, on the whole,
highly satisfactory. The. colonies have thriven
and prospered, and their people are contented.
The restless spirits who ;might, under other cir-
cumstances, have been fain id agitating for a war
of independence can now ;spend their energies in
the arena of local politi,:s. No man can com-
plain that because he o vv.ns fealty to a sove-
reign at the other side oE the world he has no
scope for political actions--no opportunity of
achieving distinction, and thus, instead of alien-
ating the colonies, the gift of self-government
has really strengthened the bonds between them
and the mother country.
In the very able and interesting address which
the Earl of CARNARVON delivered at the assembly
on Wednesday, he spoke at some length on the
principle of our Colonial Government. In this
country, said the noble lord, we were so accustomed
to the system of responsible government that we
were in danger of forgetting that it was the excep-
tion and not the rule, and that out of England there
were few countries in which it had free play, and
had endured for a long time. In a certain sense the
problems involved in the question were being tried
in the colonies. It had taken us a long time to
construct the great fabric of constitutional
government in England, " and when," added
the noble lord, " we came to transplant that
system—which meant a system of changing Minis-
tries and uncertain Parliaments—to distant colonies,
and to connect it, after all, with but slight bonds
with a similar system of changing Parliaments and
'Ministries at home, the marvel was that it had been
found to work so harmoniously and with so much
success." Questions must often arise, as Lord
CARNARVON reminded his hearers, which demand
the exercise of great forbearance and kindly feeling
on both sides for their settlement. There are dif-
ferences in the application of the very same princi-
ples to different communities, whose habits,
manners, and ways of thinking are natu-
rally more or less affected by the climate
and the peculiarities of their country. It must
be a source of gratification to any Colonial Minister
really interested in the welfare andprogress of the
half hundred varying communities committed to
his care, to observe in almost all the self-governing
provinces the same public spirit, independence, and
jealous care of individual liberty which distinguishes
the mother country. So long as the inhabitants of
any country are willing to subordinate the tempo-
rary success of a party or leader to the requirements
of an immutable and well-grounded constitution
there is good reason to hope and believe that the
liberties of that nation are secure ; but if once the
dangerous principle is admitted that the will
of the majority is to be the law of the State, as it
appears to be now accepted in America, the door is
opened for the admission of tyranny and oppression
in a thousand forms.
On the important question of confederation the
Earl of CARNARVON spoke at some length. He
expressed himself in favour of the proposed union
of the provinces, though he did full justice to the
case of the opposite party, and treated the whole
matter with temperance and impartiality. lie did
not believe, he said, that the proposed change would
involve a complete revolution in the existing state of
things. There would still be the same institutions, the
same men to work them, the same representatives
of her Majesty. The noble Earl then compared the
advantages and disadvantages of the proposed
union, and he distinctly disclaimed any belief in
the charge of aggression on the part of Canada,
who has been accused of an overweening desire to
exercise a mastery over her neighbours. He could
not, again, believe that there would be no advan-
tages to be derived from the intimate consolidation
of commercial, political, and social interests, or by
the superseding of various systems of jurisprudence
and legislation by one system, the throwing :open
of the industry, the schools, and the professions of
each province by applying the resources of the
one for the advantages of the other. Lord
CARNARVON'S calm and enlightened address will
no doubt have its weight with some of the mal-
contents, and we hope that, during his tenure of
office, he may have the satisfaction of seeing the
great work of Confederation completed. Sir JOHN
PAKINGTON and Mr. ROEBUCK also spoke during
the course of the evening, while the eloquence and
ability of the provinces were well represented. Of
the three difficulties which, according to the Chair-
man, beset the DERBY Government, our American
relations, Ireland, and Reform, we hope that one,
at least, is assuming a more favourable aspect, in
the strengthening of the alliance between the Pro-
vinces and the mother country.

The proposal to be made to the- House of Com-
mons by the Government early next session for
the appointment of three additional judges will be
vigorously opposed by Mr. Gladstone.
We (Edinburgh Courant) are enabled to announce
that Lord Carnarvon, Secretary of State for the Colonies,
has nominated Mr. Patrick Blair, advocate, to be one of the
district judges of Jamaica, and that Mr. Blair has accepted
the office.

THE LATE Mn. WILLIAM KIDD.—Mr. Kidd
was early in life an apprentice in the firm of Bald-
win, Cradock, and Joy, and subsequently became a book-
seller in Regent• street. After selling his business he de-
voted himself entirely to natural history and the study of
animals. He had an astonishing faculty of endearing him-
self to the brute creation, birds, beasts, and even fishes,
for, as to the latter, it is known that he has taught gold-
fish in a globe to rise to the surface at his call, and eat
bread out of kis mouth. Many years ago he established his
right of ownership in a favourite dog, which had been
stolen, by making it perform the most ludicrous antics pos-
sible in tho Bow-street Police-court, to the delight of the
magistrate (Sir R. Birnie or Sir F. Roo, wo forgot which)
and the spectators. At Hammersmith Mr. Kidd had a
fine aviary, and strangers from all parts of England used
to visit him for the purpose of seeing not birds only, but
his influence on birds. This favourite aviary was de-
stroyed by fire some time ago, and the enthusiastic natu-
ralist was so affected by his loss that he could not find it
in his heart to rebuild it and substitute new pets for those
he had lost. For many years Mr. Kidd has occasionally
lectured in the country, the title of his lectures being
usually " Genial Gossip." But whatever the title was, the
lecturer was always, as he was in private life, a " genial
gossip." He could talk for hours together about beasts,
birds, and especially canaries. If the man who is kind and
gentle to dumb animals is entitled to credit, William Kidd,
the naturalist, deserves the honour of a memorial tablet in
Hammersmith Church at the hands of the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, for he cared a great deal
more for his pots—dogs, birds, fishes—than for himself.
Besides lecturing, Mr. Kidd contributed innumerable ar-
ticles to the Gardener's Chronicle, the Queen, and other
Papers.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Thursday Evening.
It was intended by the Government to open the
Legislative Session in the course of this month, but
as the plan for the re-organisation of the army will
require some further discussion and arrangement,
and as the projects of M. Fould, the Minister of
Finance, may require further deliberation before
they can be embodied into law, it seems probable
that the French Chambers will not commence their
labours until after the period appointed for the
commencement of the Parliamentary campaign in
England.
The Moniteur states that the communication by
sea between Kiel and the various ports of the Baltic
has been interrupted since the stlt of January.
Letters for Denmark are therefore now sent by
Jutland by the small fishing boats of the Belts.
The Augsburg Gazette announces the death of the
Duchess Addaide de Nassau, daughter of Prince
Frederic of Anhalt-Dessau, and niece of the Queen
of Denmark. The Duchess died at her chateau
of Ruppenheim, near Frankfort, after a very
short illness. She was born on Christmas Day,
1833.

The French Government has received by the
Panama despatches from Mexico, Dec. 9, and from
Vera Cruz, Dec. 14. According to the advices by
the latest mail, the return of the Emperor Maximi-
lian to Mexico was immediately expected, but up to
the 14th it had not been announced at Vera Cruz.
The military movements of the French troops were
not in the character of warlike operations, but were
rather confined to arrangements connected with
their return to France. Some slight skirmishes
had taken place with the enemy, in all of which he
had been defeated. It did not seem probable that
Podfirio Diaz intended to resume the campaign, for
he had disbanded several of his battalions. The
health of the French troops was satisfactory.
Another Cabinet Council was held yesterday at
the Tuileries, at which the Emperor presided. The
Empress was present at this Council.
The sporting men of France have naturally taken
great interest in the yacht match from America.
The Regatta Club of Rochelle has voted a medal
of honour to Mr. J. G. Bennett, jun., the proprietor
of the winning yacht Henrietta, and most of the
other nautical clubs of France will speedily follow
the good example.
A farewell dinner has been given to M. Le Saint,
the intrepid traveller, who proposes to explore the
whole extent of Africa, from the Red Sea to the
Atlantic. The dinner at the Cafe de la Paix was
attended by many members of the Geographical
Society, and the prevalent opinion was that the
expedition will be attended with important results
for science and civilisation.
Strange rumours have been in circulation in Paris
respecting the death of a young girl who has re-
sided with her family in a town in the department
of the Yonne. She had been seduced by the son of
a rich merchant residing in that town, who persuaded
her to come to Paris. Late in the evening he took
the poor girl to a house in a lamely position at Chail-
lot, where he placed her in the care of an old woman
who is professedly a midwife, but who exercises her
art rather by killing children than in bringing them
into the world. This old woman, in the pursuance
of her terrible vocation, used such violence that the
girl died. The body was sent to the Morgue, and
by the direction of the Commissary of Police a
surgeon is engaged inestigating the circumstances
of the death by post-mortem examination :
The following remarks of the Patrie relative to
the mission of M. Tonello are worth attention :
" We must congratulate both the Pope and the
Italian Goiernment upon the result of the negotia-
tions. If the Cabinet of Florence may be said to
have exhibited during these negotiations a really
liberal spirit, if with courageous decision it may
have abandoned the formalities of placet and exe-
patio- which caused the failure of M. Vegezzi's
mission, his Holiness the Pope, on his part, has ex-
hibited more condescension than has been desired
by some of his excitable friends. In short, this
negotiation, the principle of which was admitted
from the commencement, has had a favourable issue,
and the importance of it is evident. This fact may
be judged of from several important results likely
to follow various arrangements between the Italian
Government and the Court of Rome, a Customs
and postal union, a fusion of the Italian and Roman
banks. In short, the happy consequence of the
negotiations is likely to be the realisation of various
useful reforms.
The result to be deduced from the tables of
Customsports ffor
justl months
published
ofB
respectingl66i
s thimports and ex-
at the exports
exceed by 300 millions the amount for 11 months
of the previous year, and by 400 millions those
of the antecedent year, which total was 3 milliards
110 millions. The amount of imports was 2 mil-
liards 718 millions ; that is to say, by a:proportion
equivalent to the total exportations of the two pre-
vious years. This shows that we ask less from
the foreigner than he takes from us. The total
amount of our special commerce for the 11 months
of 1866 was neatly six milliards.
The wind has been very violent to-day, and the
afternoon closes with a stormy aspect. The tem-
perature, however, is not cold.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AMERICA.
(By Atlantic Telegraph.)
NEW YORK, Jan. 10 (Evening).

Gold, 1331; Sterling Exchange on London, 109/ ;
5-20 United States Bonds, 1061 ; Illinois, 118 ;
Erie, 63. Cotton : Midland Upland, 34k.