The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-24 00:00:00

BFIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The Times suggests whether some wholesome restraint
should not be pu4 upon the liberty of expression which
is so abused by the Irish press. Just now the great insti-
gators and fomenters of the designs against the integrity
of this empire are indulging in a liberty of free-speech
which must astonish some of our neighbours. Some of
them will ask why Government allows ; others will in-
terpret it into something like fear ; and the more remote
and less informed will imagine that the expressions they
see quoted must be from lithographed or even manuscript
circulars, such as " national committees " elsewhere distri-
bute privately, with fear and trembling, among sworn
adherents. On the contrary, the papers before us arc the
printed, public, and recognised organs of the Irish party,
or " Young Ireland," as it now loves to be called.
They are sent over from Dublin in scores of thou-
sands to this country, and landed at ITo'3 h-ad tons
at a time. There is in the language of these papers
something more than a proof of that toleration on the
part of the British Government which we believe to be
without an example in the world, and which the event
only can decide to be wise or not. There is also, by in-
evitable consequence, a striking and necessarily true por-
traiture of the " Irish party," by itself. We need not
scrutinise the numerical strength or the national character
of the party which thus displays itself. It boasts to num-
ber millions. It boasts to be Ireland, the nation, the race,
the cause. It claims millions in the United States ; hun-
dreds of thousands in this island. Its organs have an
immense circulation. It assumes the friendship and con-
currence of all the Roman Catholic clergy. It expects
that its directions as to services in all their churches in
honour of the " Manchester martyrs " will be observed.
It feels itself the moral ruler of Ireland ; the rightful
owner ; and scarcely suspects the presence of a dissentient,
except in the ranks of the avowed foe, the hated foreigner.
It is of such a party, of such magnitude and pretensions,
that we are speaking, and of which the best estimate
is that which is derived from its own organs. It
defies to the uttermost British authority, the British
Government, its servants, and all who are living peaceably
and contentedly under it, even in this island. Since it has
not fleets and armies in the field, it suggests to all the
Irish malcontents living amongst us that they can easily
procure gunpowder or nitro-glycerine, and do us much
injury. The dreadful spectacle of sixty or seventy inno-
cent persons, chiefly women and children, blown to pieces,
mutilated, and disfigured, so that their own mothers do
not know them, it suggests for repetition in every town in
this island. English life is nothing in the scale. The very
instance which excites these glowing hopes in the mind of
the "Irish party" proves that the smallest effect is only
possible together with the most frightful risk to innocent
life and property. What of that ? Let the British people
have their own tender, scrupulous, foolish laws ; let them,
if they please, tolerate the public advocates of assassina-
tion, incendiarisni, and massacre. It is the stupid instinct
of the animal, and as such may be utilised for the ends of
the " Irish party." That is not its way of going to work.
The Telegraph urges us to be cautious as to believing all
we hear respecting Fenian designs. It is possible, of
course, that the alarms raised may be only for the purpose
of diverting attention from the real point of danger in a
totally different quarter. As yet, however, it is not very
clear that the attempted outrage at Wallington is of
Fenian origin ; and we must beware of visiting on the
head of every poor Irish labourer the consequences of
what might prove to be carelessness in some other work-
man. Nor are the scattered items of intelligence from
Ireland sufficiently circumstantial to enable us to judge
whether they really indicate any new effort, or are only
the revival of an old alarm under a new guise. But, in
any case, the authorities must exercise more than usual
vigilance. In these long nights lurking villains have their
powers of mischief practically doubled, and the guardians
of the public peace are proportionately weakened. It re-
joices to see that the metropolitan police force—not a
moment too soon—is to he largely increased ; and it also ob-
serves with satisfaction the vigorous efforts made to supple-
ment the regular force by special constables. Too much
cannot possibly be done as a preventive. Our police are
only numerous enough for ordinary and peaceful times, not
for extraordinary occasions, when adventurers and ruffians
threaten to involve an imperial city in the desperate issues
of a civil conflict.

The Star thinks that the appointment of Sir Henry
Storks to be Controller-General of the War Office, with
the rank of Under-Secretary of State, is an important
step in the direction of bringing order out of the chaos
which is known to reign in that department. The next
move ought to be to reduce the number of branch depart-
ments, and to bring the work into the hands of as few
superior officers ai passible, for in this way alone will it
be possible to have thorough control, efficiency, and
economy. We do not place the horses of a cavalry regi-
ment under a different authority from the men, although
we certainly make them dependent for food on a com-
missariat officer who, is not subject to the colonel. The
War Office of the present day has grown up gradually, by
the addition at various times of new boards and auxiliary
establishments to take the supervision of fresh arrabge-
ments suggested by experience. These were probably
intended to be temporary, but have become permanent,
and gradually acquired a certain recognised position and
power, while there has, unfortunately, never been a
thorough union with the main establishment. The best
way to make that union ROW complete is to abolish sepa-
rate names, separate heads, and separate forms, and make
all the parts mere portions of the one office over which Sir
Henry Storks is to exercise control.
The Daily News, while admitting the gravity and im-
portance of other matters now before the public eye,
expresses its belief that the future position of trades
unions in this country is one of the most serious questions
now inviting public attention. It is evident that these
societies are destined to exert a powerful influence upon
the social and political condition of the country, and that
upon the manner in which they are now dealt with much
of our immediate future depends. The concurrent de-
mands both of the friends and of the opponents of trades
unions for fresh legislation on the subject shew that we
must very soon deal with it. The friends of trades union-
ism demand new laws in its favour, some of which are
perfectly fair and reasonable, while others are exceedingly
unjust and unreasonable. Its opponents, on the other
hand, point to the revelations at Sheffield and Manchester
to shew that new repressive measures must be contrived.
The public mind has been sufficiently startled by those
revelations to produce a strong impression that fresh
legislation of some kind is absolutely necessary. We can-
not permit a system that even occasionally, and in an ex-
ceptional way, employs violence and murder to exist
among us if any effort of ours can destroy it. We may,
therefore, take it for granted that the position of trades
unions will ere long become the subject of serious discus-
sion in Parliament.

Education is always a good subject for a leader when
other topics are scarce, and it is to-day dealt with by the
Standard. Our contemporary is of opinion that the most
serious defect of the existing system lies in the existence of
a very large number of districts in which, from the absence
or inadequacy of local subscriptions, it hat been found
impossible to comply with the conditions of the Govern-
ment grant, and in which, consequently, there is either no
school or one very insufficiently supported. Something
might doubtless be done by relaxing the ruler, in sp'cial
cases, so far as to permit the collection of subscriptions
from a distance, and to allow non-residents to take part in
the management. A considerable number of unprovided
districts would still remain ; and here, perhaps, the prin-
ciple of local rating may be the best that the case admits ;
the rate to take the place of the local subscription, and to
be supplemented in the same manner by a grant from the
Privy Council. At all events, it would be folly, and worse
than folly, to sweep away a system which works well in
the great majority of parishes, because there are some
into which it has not penetrated ; or to revolutionise our
whole scheme of primary education on account of diffi-
culties such as those arising out of irregular attendance
and religious instruction, which will occur, and have to
be specially provided for, under any arrangement what
soever.

The military position of France must, as the Herald
points out, always be a matter of the highest importance
to the rest of Europe—to dynasties, politicians, and tax_
payers alike. This seems, of course, the veriest platitude
possible, and yet it involves the question upon which
French opinion is most angrily divided, and the question
upon which parties in France apparently have the least
chance of agreeing. Upon the who'e, however, the
Imperial Government has succeeded in clearing away the
principal objections to its project, which will undoubtedly
pass the Chambers. But it is not the original Army
Reorganisation Bill that has been submitted to the dis-
cussion of the Legislative Corps ; it is an amended measure,
press:ng far less heavily upon the resources— human and
material—of the country. The former scheme con-
templated, it might be said, Vie conversion of the whole
manhood of the nation into an army ; tha present merely
enlarges the basis of that army, and strengthens it sub-
stantially. Upon the degrees of change thus indicated a
fierce controversy, professional and partisan, has arisen.
Into its details, from a soldier's point of view, it would be
superfluous on this side of the Channel to enter ; but
broadly, and considered in an European light, the Army
Bill cannot be regarded either as menacing France with an
-cessive burden or threatening Europe with agression.

TRAGIC END TO A QUARREL.—A caso of man-
slaughter occurred at Rawmarsh on Saturday evening.
Several miners were at a public-house there drinking,
when a quarrel arose between two of them, named Porter
sill More. They fought, and Moore either struck or
kicked his opponentwith such violence that almost tunic-
diately after they had been separated he fell and expired.
More b.in Ciut pay.