The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-28 00:00:00

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LONDON, TUESDAY, MAY 28, 1867.

The intelligence which Lord DERBY last n ight
announced in the House of Lords, and Mr. _Ms-
n.kuu in the Commons, though not unexpected,
will be received with lively and general satisfaction.
BURKE, indeed, may not individually command our
respect or excite our symplthies, and has no doubt
fully merited the punishment which he incurred by
his open and premeditated breach of the laws. Ilia
crime, indeed, was intended to doom many to the
fate which he has so narrowly escaped himself.
Like an incendiary, or a man who aims at over-
throwing a railway train, it was impossible
to forctel what persons might be sacri-
ficed, what lives lost, what property wasted,
the happiness of how many homes destroyed,
before the game of Fenianism was played out. At
the same time, though all the eloquence and in-
genuity of certain politicians have been exerted in
vain to elevate BunKE into a hero or a martyr, the
decision which the Government arrived at, iu ad-
vising her MAJESTY to exercise her prerogative of
mercy on his behalf, was undoubtedly a wise and
seasonable one. Th., public feeling both in Eng-
land and in Ireland has been strongly expressed in
favour of a remission of his sentence, and a consti-
tutional Government can, without lowering its
dignity, show some deference to the general wish
of the community. Lord DERBY, in msking his
statement to the Upper House, referred to the ex-
treme doubt and difficulty of the Ministerial posi-
tion. There was little palliation, he observed, for
the guilt of BURKE, since it was not a case arising
out of civil war, in which interests and principles
were involved and passions excited, and in which
all parties were bound to loJk with indulgence on
the conduct of those who have been worsted ; but
it was a case of unprovoked attack upon a peace-
ful community. No thanks, raid Lord DERBY,
are due to BURKE, that the country was not de-
luged in blood. And even as it is, with the worst
evils altogether avoided, thanks to the timely warn-
ing and provisions of the Government, the effects
have been sufficiently serious. " The course
pursued by these criminal men has had the effect
of creating universal panic throughout Ireland, of
breaking down confidence between man and man,
of subjecting a large portion of the country to loss
of property, to insecurity of life, to the necessity of
taking steps for self-preservation, of producing, in
short, a state of things which has put back the in-
creasing prosperity of Ireland for I know not how
many years." These things must not be forgotten,
because the principal offender has escaped the full
penalty of the law, and he must not be elevated
into a martyr or a hero whom the authorities fear
to strike. A strong Government can afford to be
magnanimous, and English authority will have gained
far more than it has lost by this concession. Lord
DERBY expressed his hope that a good effect would
be produced upon the warm and grateful hearts of
the Irish peasantry, and he did not hesitate to ad-
►nit that the Government had been strongly in-

fluenced by the expression of public feeling both
in this country and in Ireland. Ln fact the Lord-
Lieutenant himself communicated with the Govern-
ment in favour of the commutation of the sentence,
although he was formerly disposed to let the law
take its course. Both Houses received the intima-
tion with marks of approval, and the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, on his part, expressed a confident
hope that this exercise of the loyal prero-

gative would be attended with the best results

Mr. DISRAELI observed very truly that when public
feeling was so much divided the deterrent effect
desired would not be likely to be produced. We
must hope that we have nearly seen the last of these
mischievous attempts, and that the mercy of the
Crown will serve to convince those who are misled
by the ingenuity of interested agitators that English
rule is something different from a reign of terror.
If BURKE is to be remembered as one of the last
of the Fenian loaders no one will envy him his

notoriety.
Irish affairs occupied a good deal of attention in
the House of Lords last evening, since, after some
debate about the new Judges, Lord DERBY had to
resume the subject of Fenianism by moving the
second reading of the Habeas Corpus Suspension
Act Continuance Bill. It is the second time that
Parliament has been asked to sanction this proceed-
ing, which of course met with no direct opposition.
Lord RUSSELL criticised some minor details of the
Ministerial conduct, but did not hesitate to express
his belief that the manner in which the former Act
had been carried out did the greatest credit to the
moderation as well as to the vigilance of her
MAJESTY'S Government in Ireland. Lord RUSSELL
touched upon a few of the more prominent Irish
grievances, and said he thought it was time to
consider, now that sixty-six years had elapsed since
the Union, whether the mind and heart of Ireland
could not be conciliated and brought into unison
with this country. Until Fenianism is finally and
effectually disposed of, however, no such measures
cen be tried; and so far from the outrageous con-
duct of these Irish-American emissaries affording
a reason for attempting to make legislative conces-
sions, it is opposing serious obstacles. The chief
claim of Ireland upon the attention of Parlia-
ment is furnished by the loyal and praise-
worthy conduct of the mass of the people during the
recent disturbances. The Government are anxious
to secure the passage of the bill forthwith, in order
' that no time may be lost in obtaining the Royal
assent, and accordingly the third reading was fixed
for to-day. There is not much reason to appre-
hend at the present time that they will be any in-
clination to withhold justice and equity from her
MAJESTY'S Irish subjects ; and, notwithstanding
the many difficulties that are in the way, we may
hope that brighter days are in store for that much-
tried country, whose worst enemies have always
been her pretended friends.

The House of Commons did a great deal last
night, and we may now conclude that their chief
difficulties in the progress of the Reform Bill are
put out of the way. The standing orders have been
altered, and the new plan begins to-shy, which will
in itself greatly expedite things, and must tend to
the more speedy settlement of affairs. The Com-
pound Hutiseholdyr may now be said to be fairly
extinguished, whit:h is a very desirable conclusion
to have come to. It may fairly be said that this
matter of the Compound Ilonseholda has occasioned
more confusion than anything else in the course of
the reform measure before Parliament, and hence its
importance was great, and the House may well be
congratulated upon having disposed of it. 'The
third and fourth sections of the clause were struck
out on the suggestion of Mr. ATRTON, these
being the vexatious parts of the scheme.
In consequence of this wise determination the
affair was happily disposed of, and we may
take a long farewell of this mysterious and danger-
ous personage who seems only to have been called
into existence for the purpose of distracting all con-