The Sun.
London, England, 1867-02-18 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONLON, NIONoAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 18, 1867.

we hold, as we have ever held, to be the ballot ;
and this neither Whigs nor Tories will
readily concede, because the objection lies not
so much with the respective Ministries as with the
representatives themselves. As for the minor points
of a difference of a pound in the franchise, the exact
qualification necessary for a lodger, the precise
definitions of the boundaries of boroughs, these are
all matters that can best be settled after discussion
and deliberation, not laid down as axioms of funda-
mental policy from which neither side must swerve
a hairbreadth.

It is a great occasion, and it remains to be seen
whether the House of Commons will rise to
it by laying aside personal and party feel-
ing,: and earnestly considering the best inte-
rests of the country. The peculiar position of
affairs takes away the strong temptation which
might exist on the part of the Liberals to allow
their adversaries the credit of carrying a successful
measure. As Mr. DISRAELI said the other night
the course they have adopted is not flattering to
themselves. If the House of Commons accept and
amend the resolutions it will be a joint affair—
the work of both sides—of the party of progress
and the party of tradition, and this it ought to be,
and it must be if the new House of Commons
would faithfully and adequately reflect the mixed
elements of the English Constitution and people.

The Conservative demonstration at Portsmouth,
which took place last Wednesday, went off very
satisfactorily. The members of the Working
Alen's Liberal-Conservative Association met at the
King's-rooms. Sir JAMES ELPHINSTONE'S speech
was deservedly applauded.. He declared that the
spectacle he there witnessed was one he never ex-
pected to have seen in Portsmouth, and that he
should never forget the character of such an as-
sembly. The hon. baronet alluded to the great
change that had taken place in public opinion
during the last ten years, when it seemed impos-
sible to convince some that a Conser-
vative member could be other than a cum-
borer of the ground. lie referred to the
manner in which the election had been conducted,
and showed how an unfair advantage had been
taken of his position while he was in London, hav-
ing been selected to sit upon Committees of great
importance ; and meanwhile his opponents went
down to Portsmouth and conducted their canvassing.
Hence the House of Commons lost the only man
that Lord CLARENCE PAGET feared. When the
navy estimates came on the borough of Portsmouth
was ably represented, and many beyond the circle
of his immediate friends regretted the exclusion of
Sir J. ELPIIINSTONE. Nothing is more wanted
than members of Parliament who can exercise a
direct influence on those who administer the naval
affairs of the nation, and although we are now so
fortunate as not to need so much supervision in that
particular, still the services of so able a man as the
hon. baronet are always desirable and well calcu-
lated to influence the state of things.
Turning to matters which more nearly affected
his hearers, Sir J. ELPBINSTONE adverted to the pro-
posed motion of Mr. SEELEY, which stood for the
nineteenth of this month. In this he censured
very strongly the manner in which the dockyards
were managed, and the object which Mr. SEELEY
and his friends had in view, which was to transfer
the business of the dockyards to private yards, and
private speculators. Now this would be a most
objectionable thing to do in the dockyards, and, as
they are emphatically styled here, " the safeguards
of our naval supremacy," any alteration such as
this would be very injurious to the interests cf the
country. Portsmouth has, indeed, had reason to
lament the loss it sustained in the change of its

members, and for some time past that town has
been flourishing at its own expense—Portsmouth,
in fact, having been regarded by the late Board of
Admiralty very much as a mere repairing
port. Lord CLARENCE PAGET had pointedly
alluded to the changes that were taking
place in Portsmouth, and had even contemplated
further ones. In a speech ho made last year he
referred to an item in the works at Portsmouth,
and said that, although there were two great
armour plated ships building in that dockyard,
yet if any serious disaster happened to the armour
plated fleet there was not the means for exten-
sive repairs at Portsmouth. The noble lord fur-
ther proposed that the ropeworks in Portsmouth
Dockyard, which have been carried on there from
time immemorial, should be abolished, and trans-

ferred to Chatham and Devonport. These things
certainly show that the borough requires an able
and efficient representative in the House, and it
is of great moment to its future status that all these
sweeping changes and sudden alterations should not
be carried out, while no one in the House is ready
or adroit enough to explain the matter, or to advo-
cate the claims of the borough.
We entirely concur with the hon. baronet in his
views on the matter, and it is for the true interests
of Parliament that the electors should have one
seat kept for those who understand naval matters,
and can press their opinions in the House of Com-
mons. This is a very essential particular, and it is also
wise counsel which Sir J. ELPHINSTONE added, to the
effect that they should try for one seat, and leave
the others to whom they liked. The hon. baronet
entered into an interesting inquiry of the manner in
which the navy had been conducted of late, and
declared that the navy was not now in a state of
greater transition than it had been for the last 50
years. As to the result of the very large expendi-

turn that has taken place during the last seven
years, he certainly showed that the late Adminis-
tration had not much to plume itself on in this parti-
cular. "We have no twoships that can sail together,
if we were to take thirty ships out of a bag and tell
them to make the best of their way to Lisbon to-
morrow ; some would be south of Ushant by sun-
set, and some would not be round the Bill of Port-
land." Further on be declared that the present
constructive branch of the Admiralty bad not con-
structed one ship according to specifications, and
he naturally appealed to the common sense of his
auditory as to whether that " branch" ought any
longer to be entrusted with the reconstruction of
the navy of this country. When we look at the
way in which France and other nations
are progressing, we come to the conclu-
sion that England should not be behindhand
in the struggle, but that her navy should be in-
creased, and that in a decided manner and upon
correct principles. Sir J. ELPHINSTONE laid great
stress upon the importance of ships being able to
sail together, and excited the amusement of his
auditory by his criticism of the Bellerophon, which
he quaintly described as being " like a fine-looking
man with a pair of club feet ; the head and bow
upon her, which no sailor could have devised ; it
must have been designed by a ploughman rather
than a seaman." It certainly is a great dis-
grace to all concerned in our naval de-
partment during the last few years that
so much of the public money should have been
spent, and that so little rcally'efficicnt work should
have resulted fur the good of the service and the
real and true interests thereof. There is much, in-
deed, to engage the attention :of the Government
just now in the consideration of our naval pros-
pects, and they will do well to pay heed to the tiler-

getic counsels of one so interested and well in-
formed as this speaker. He said that he did not
.know he could have said so much on the matter,

410 t that he felt, since he came to Portsmouth
and got a sniff of the sea air, that
there was " more life in the old dog yet."
Rderrin‘to the Working Men's Conservative
Associationf it J. ELPHINSTONE remarked that he
always had the greatest confidence in the working-
man, and he looked upon it that " the more they
educated, the more they enlightened the working-
men, the more would they become pillars of the
State, and the more would they assist those in
authority in time of need." The hon. baronet made
some sensible observations on the subject of reform,
and showed that the plan of proceeding by resolu-

tions had been successfully tried in the matter of
changing the Government of India. " That bill was
the framework of a Government which would last in
India longer than the lives of those present." For
many reasons we are glad that at this eventful crisis
of public affairs a man like Sir J. ELPHINSTONE
has had so good an opportunity of coming forward
and stating his opinions upon matters with which he
is so well acquainted, and in the town too which he
so ably represented, and where we sincerely trust
ho may soon again be elected as member, for he is a
faithful steward of important interests.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, Sunday Evening.

The Moniteur states that an autograph letter from

the Emperor of Austria relieves from his functions,
at his own request, Count de Maylath, who filled
the office of Chancellor of Hungary, and conferring
upon the Count at the same time the Grand Cross
of St. Stephen, and giving him the appointment of
Judex Curia? of Hungary.
The German papers, with scarcely an exception,
express great satisfaction at the Emperor's Speech.
The Gazette de l'Allemagne du Nord says it will
give great pleasure to the friends of peace and pacific
progress. This speech will take away every pre-
tence for fresh attacks upon the part of politicians
of subversive tendencies. It proves that France
has employed her power and authority to maintain
the tranquillity of Europe, and that she has every-
where preserved the influence which belongs to her..
This Speech affords a contradiction to the adver-

saries of the Imperial regime, who endeavoured to
prove that it was opposed to the development of
liberty. There is no doubt but it will be received
in France and in Europe with a feeling of sincere
satisfaction.

In the Senate yesterday an:address was made by
the President, M. Troplong, in which he alluded to
the many deaths among that body since the last
Session. M. Troplong
spoke good-humouredly, but
rather facetiously, of the late Marquis de Boissy.
He said, "In ancient Greece there were philosophers
who maintained that man was black. I will not in-
sult the memory of the Marquis by confounding
him with thet'e sophists, although, according to
Cicero, they were men of intelligence. I would
rather compare him to another philosopher (Demo-
critus), whose book began with the words, lam
going to speak of everything.' The Marquis de
Boissy touched upon everything in his speeches.
He made a voyage round the world, and he did not
see in the most favourable aspect, particularly when
he looked upon the coast of England. (Much
laughter.) It could not be denied that he loved the
Emperor, his country, and the Senate; but he loved
them after his own peculiar manner, the Emperor
by abusing his Government, his country by repre-
senting it as rude and quarrelsome, and the Senate
by annoying it with his pecularities." M. Rouher,
Minister of State, then presented the text of the
Senatus Consulte, embodying the propositions
developed in the Emperor's Speech, and it was
agreed that on Tuesday a committee should be ap-
pointed to enter into an examination upon the
subject.

The blue-book just presented to the Chambers
contains a mass of facts connected with the rela-
tions of France with foreign countries ; but the in-
formation is rather illustrative of circumstances
already known than remarkable as affording fresh
information regarding the great events in Germany
and Italy. I translate an important passage rela-
tive to the latter country and the Pope :—" Our
policy on the Peninsular had for object to insure at
once the independence of Italy and that of the Holy
See. Now Italy is free, and there is no risk of dan-
ger. The Government of the Emperor employs
all its efforts to prove to the Pontifical Government
that, whether far or near, it will not cease to watch
over the great interests to which, during 17 years,
his Majesty has given so many proaocfhsionfadtieovnost:ona.nd
" On the other hand, the Italian Government,
strongr e l
is e relieved
in
by fromathe great
positionrevolutionaryreat
t soerr ev
resist
all excitement, and toics msrendered to the coun-
try,make the parties respect the engagements they have
contracted with us. It has recently renewed the
assurance of its firm desire to fulfil both in the letter
and spirit the stipulations of the 15th of September.
" Wishing, besides, to give a proof of its good
feelings towards the Holy See, the Cabinet of Flo-
rence has resumed with the Court of Rome the
negotiations commenced last year for the regulation
of religious affairs, and, thanks to the spirit of con-
ciliation manifested by both parties, these questions
are upon the point of being settled in a satisfactory
manner. Time will prove the importance of an
arrangement, in behalf of which all our wishes
have been directed, and whic b we have encouraged
by our advice.
A Cabinet Council was held on Friday afternoon
at the Tuileries, at which the Emperor presided.
The Emperor's Speech, which contains 1,665
words, was transmitted to the provinces of France
soon after it was delivered, and was published at
once in most of the departmental newspapers. It
was despatched at the rate of 20 words in a minute
The transmission of the whole of it was effected in
about an hour and a half.

There died a few days ago at Quatzonheim
(Lower Rhine) the oldest inhabitant of the com-
mune, a Jew, named Abraham Getz, who was 100
years and two months ;of age. He enjoyed robust
health to the last, and on the day he died he
attended service at the Jewish tabernacle.

Alarming earthquakes have taken place in Spain,
as well as in other countries. A letter from Torre-
viejo states that violent shocks have been experi-
enced at Murcia, Orihuela, and other neighbouring
localities. The shocks have been so violent that
nothing like them has been experienced since 1829,
a year of sad memory in this respect. Just before
the departure of the courier five violent shocks
were experienced. The inhabitants pass the night
under tents. The municipality of Torreviejo had
established its offices under a tent in the large
square of that town, and an altar has been erected
for the performance of mass. The consternation
was extreme.
According to the Siecle the elections in thtzt: hole
of the north of Germany for the Federal Parliament
have been favourable to the Liberal party. At Bor-
lin the Conservative candidates, Messrs. Bismarck,
De Roon, de Moltke, and others had failed. The
opposite list was entirely successful. This vote, it
says, is the more significative, as:the Government
presented to the electors, besides M. Bismarck, the
Generals who took the most glorious part in the late
campaign. The people of Berlin, in their enlight-
ened patriotism, preferred to them men of less
striking reputation, but who had given
proofs of
their devotion to the cause of liberty. The news
received from various parts of Germanys give reason
to hope that the general result will give a large
majority to the party who will not separate poli-
tical liberty from the national greatness.
There is another sudden change from summer to
winter. Yesterday was a summer day in every re- '
spect. People were seated in the Tuileries gardens
and parks just as it is the custom in June and July.
Soon after midnight, however, the rain came down
in torrents, and to-day it has rained almost inees-
santly, and it wa,3 cold, gloomy, and cheerless.

LA TEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

OUTWARD BOMBAY MAIL.

GIBRALTAR, Feb. 17.
The Tanjore, from Southampton, 12th instant,
arrived to-day, at 2 a.m., and leaves at 9 a.m., for
Alexandria. All well.

INDIA MAILS.

SUEZ, Feb. 17.
The Northam (extra steamer from Bombay
arrived at 3 p.m. to-day.