The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 23, 1867.

more noble satisfaction remains for them. The
people of Austria, if they will at once embark
in the great enterprise forshadowed to them
in the present plan of the Imperial Government,
may reinstate themselves in a state surpassing
their former power. To do this, however, will be
no easy task, but they have the chance, as it re-
mains to be seen, if they have the discernment to
profit by it, and the spirit to carry out their re-
solve, so that success may be theirs in doing
so. We feel sure that they will receive all
necessary encouragement from the EMPEnOR.

At the Council held yesterday by her MAJESTY,
a proclamation was ordered to be issued relating
to the Canadian Co:federation, so that we may
consider this important achievement to be really in
a fair way of accomplishment. The delays have
been tedious, and many times it has seemed as if
local jealousies, the intrigues of interested parties,
the rivalries of the separate provinces, and the thou-
sand and one other obstacles in the way of union,
would prove too strong for the promoters of the
Confederation scheme. Nevertheless, the longer
the question was debated, and the more fully
it was brought out in all its aspects, the more
clear and convincing became its claims to
respect, and the support which it has received from
the leading statesmen and politicians of the mother
country has been fully equal to the hopes and ex-
pectations of the colonists. The aspect of affairs
iu America is less threatening with regard to the
British territories, and the ghost of Fenianism is,
we may hope, well nigh laid ; still it is impossible
to forget that the North American provinces lie
contiguous to a powerful and excitable nation, who
are not always to be restrained by the fetters of
conventional diplomacy. The consolidation and
concentration of the British Provinces by no means
indicates the desire for war, or any reaso❑ for ap
prehending it ; but as in Europe, so on the other
side of the Atlantic, to be prepared for war is the
best security for peace. The Americans are not
childish enough to take offence because neigh-
bouring States endeavour to strengthen themselves
and to improve their form of Government.
They would be the first in similar positions to
organise their civil administration and their
means of defence. The provinces are rapidly in-
creasing in wealth, population, and importance, and
it is time that they should be regarded as some-
thing more than settlements of enterprising adven-
turers. They have in them the constituents of a
great nation ; and, although their territory is
out of all proportion to their population,
there are vast tracts of fertile land not as
yet regularly incorporated with any province.
The natural capacities of the country, despite its
severe winters, are very great. It possesses in a
measure the qualifications of an agricultural and of
a manufacturing country, since its mineral wealth is
as yet but partially understood, and in many dis-
tricts there are rich tracts of pasture land. The
Hudson's Bay Company has long monopolised a
great extent of country ; but we may expect that
the union, when once it is fairly accomplished, will
give such a stimulus to emigration and enterprise
that the absorption of so much territory by the
trapper and the fur merchant will be no longer
tolerated. It only needs a turn in the
tide of emigration to increase the population
of British America as rapidly as that of the
United States ; and now that the taxation of the
States is growing to be so burdensome, it is more
than probable that the advantages of a more tran-
quil and less costly Government may be appre-
ciated. The finances of America, under the
influence of the Radical domination, are in
a very unsatisfactory condition. Secretary STAN-
TON'S estimate of
,the expense of the War De-
partment for the first year ending June 30, 1867,
was $25,000,000. That this estimate is likely to
be exceeded fivefold is not wonderful, when we
consider that during the months of March and
April alone the War Department expended more
than $24,000,000 ! Of course this extraordinary
expenditure in • time of peace is accounted for by
the large bounties given, for no very available rea-
son, to the Army by the House of Representa-
tives. The real explanation of this remarkable
generosity is, of course, not far to seek. Bounties
secure votes, votes return representatives, repre-
sentatives, in their turn, make a handsome
profit out of the profession of politics. The
alarm about the dollars and cents. did more to
startle the general public out of its indifference than
anything else the Radicals were concerned in. The
predominance of these gentlemen is a costly amuse-
ment to the country, and it is doubtful how much
longer even American daring and speculation will
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sider the expenses incurred for war as illegal in a
Christian country, and to repudiate the Federal debt.
The general sense of the meeting was against this
very natural conclusion, so that peace principles are
not as yet fully developed in the States.
The general condition of affairs in the South
continues much the sane. The approaching trial
of JEFFERSON DAVIS is naturally a subject of
much interest, though the uncertainties and contra-
dictions of the law leave it very doubtful what will
be the position of the illustrious prisoner. Dis-
turbances between negroes and whites in the South
and between the police and the public in New York
complete the disturbed picture which the Radicals
have succeeded in drawing for their countrymen.

LYNCHING A SWELL MOBSEAN ON CLAPHAM-
COMMON. - Yesterday morning an incident occurred which
created much merriment on Clapham-common among a
large number of persons assembled to witness the road
traffic to Epsom races. In the crowd of people congre-
gated on the footpath a lady complained of having been
robbed of her watch, and pointed out a well-dressed man
as the thief. He was stopped and hold by som3 by-
standers, and while a policeman was being searched for a
van drove up containing some respectable-looking
mechanics, who at once collared the swell mobsman, took
the watch from him and gave it up to the owner, and then
deliberately carried the thief to a pond and threw him in
and as he came to the sides the dose was repeated several
times, when the fellow was loft, and he skulked off
drenched with water, amidst the hooting and laughter of
the crowd of spectators.
INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY.—At the examin-
ation of candidates for admission os the roll of attorneys
and solicitors of the superior cjurts, for Easter term, the
examiners recommended the following gentlemen, under
the age of 26, as being entitled to honorary distinction : -
Messrs. Samuel Learoyd, William Frederick Baker,
Gregory Widdrington Byrne, and Thomas Shallaross
Hines. The council have accordingly awarded the follow-
ing prizes of books :—To Mr. Learoyd, the prize of the
Honourable Society of Clifford's Inn ; to Mr. Baker, the
prize of the Honourable Society of New Inn ; to Mr.
Byrne and Mr. Hines, prizes of the Incorporated Law So-
ciety. The examiners also certified that the following
candidates, under the age of 26, whose names are placed in
alphabetical order, passed examinations which entitle them
to commendation :—Messrs. John Jolly Bentham, John
Walter Clulow, John Nelson, and Vernon John Yardley
Shaw. The council have accordingly awarded them cer-
tificates of writ. The number of candidates examined in
this term was 81; of these 67 passed, and 14 were post-
poned.