The Sun.
London, England, 1867-03-29 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.--Now that Reform has entered upon a
Lew phase, and seems to approach that of legisla-
tive settlement, it is time for all wavering politicians
to form a decided judgment on the question. Hence-
forth the responsibility of the Government will be
shared, to say the least, by Parliament, for the
country has been informed that no reasonable amend-
ment will be seriously resisted by the Ministry. The
interval, therefore, which has yet to elapse before
the Bth of April should be employed by those mem-
bers who have as yet halted between two opinions in
considering the verdict which they must soon deliver.
We speak with the utmost respect for the House of
Commons when we express a doubt whether many
of those whose votes must determine this great con-
stitutional question have even now braced themselves
to the effort of mastering the principles and details
involved in it. As much as this, and more than this,
was confessed last session, when some had listened
to debates and taken part in divisions on four previ-
ous Reform Bills pleaded for delay that further in-
formation might be obtained. Perhaps the plea was
scarcely creditable to the character of Parliament,
but it was not wholly unfounded ; and at this mo-
ment there are Anti-Reformers, and Reformers too,
who would be unable to stand a very simple exami-
nation in the elementary statistics of the subject.
No such plea, however, can avail this year. It
would be reckless trifling with the constituencies
and the people to put off again to a more convenient
season the duty which devolves upon the present
House during the present session. It has been sug-
gested, indeed, that, if time should run short, it
would be possible to reserve the redistribution
clauses for separate discussion in 1868, and to sus-
pend the operation of the franchise clauses until the
sister act should have been carried. It would,
doubtless, be possible to do this, but whether it
would be expedient is more than doubtful. Not
only would a retrospective suspicion be justly cast
on the views to which the late Government deferred,
but agitation might be kept alive throughout the
winter. Every one knows that a Liberal Franchise
Bill may be vastly enhanced or entirely neutralised
in effect by an ingenious Redistribution Bill, and no
one knows what another twelvemonth may bring
forth to frustrate all the labours of this spring. If
it would deserve and retain the confidence of the
nation, Parliament should now address itself to
Reform, with a resolution not to disperse for the
summer recess without having passed an act com-
plete in all its parts. The secret of wise legislation on
all matters affecting the future distribution of power
is to look far enough forward, and yet not to look
too far. There is a well-known passage in one of
Sydney Smith's speeches on Reform which forcibly
expresses this political truth. He there contrasts the
foresight and courage of Lord Grey with the folly
which delayed the conclusion of peace with America,
and the concession of emancipation to the Catholics,
until they were extorted by fear and called forth no
sentiment of gratitude. On the other hand, he is
not deceived by the idea of finality, only venturing
to prophesy that Reform was " set at rest for thirty
or forty years; and this," he truly remarks, " is an
eternity in polities." It would be well if this just
conception of the trust committed to each genera-
tion had more influence upon political reasoning.
Reform is often discussed as if we had nothing to do
bqt to repair a few anomalies incident to the con-
tinued working of our legislative machinery, and
were at liberty to shut our eyes to rising forces and
growing tendencies. It is often discussed, again, as
if we had the right and the power to shape the desti-
nies of this country for ages to come, and were bound
to realise, before reforming Parliament, all the mea-
sures which Parliament, when reformed, ought to
devise and pass. Between these errors on either
side lies the path
of true Reform—a path at all times
hard to trace, since it is illuminated by false lights
more delusive than darkness itself. The problem is
to make, representation keep pace with social de-
velopment. Under the guidance of this rule we gain
a vantage ground whence Conservatives as well as
Liberals may see their way through many difficul-
ties. From this point of view the claims of skilled
artisans to be admitted within the representative
pale may be clearly estimated. These claims are
irresistible, because those who prefer them are already
a powerful element in our social organization, and
i are exercising an ncreasing inluence on the life and
policy of the nation. To enfranchise people un-
worthy of the Franchise in order to " elevate" them
would be a piece of political Quixotism, as Mr.
Lowe has often pointed out, but to recognise a
social status already acquired is a very different
thing. For the converse reason, the admission of
what Mr. Disraeli calls " migratory paupers," or
even of ordinary day-labourers, would be prepos-
terous. Such persons have generally no political
interests or opinions of their own I they do not read
newspapers or talk over public affairs among them-
selves; they have never cultivated habits of inde-
pendence, and they have scarcely any weight in the
social scale. There is a sense in which the rule " to
him that hath shall be given" is properly appli-
cable to political privileges. It is the classes which
have earned social power by their virtues—and there
is no other mode by which it can be long retained by,
any class—it is these, and these only, which are en-
titled to political power. How they will use their
votes, when enfranchised, is not a question to be
evaded, but it is by no means the whole question
or the first question. The first question is whether
they have the essential qualifications for enfran-
chisement, and, in dealing with the second, it be-
hoves us to beware lest our standard of expediency
be arbitrary. There is, however, one apprehension
secretly entertained by many, and openly avowed
by Mr. Butler-Johnstone on Tuesday night, which
may be mitigated, if not dispelled,. by a very little
reflection. It is the apprehension that (in the
solemn language of Mr. Butler-Johnstone) the
country gentlemen, " with their high spirit and
great qualities, may be subtracted from the sum of
their country's attributes," if a sweeping Reform
Bill should pass. Now, we do not hesitate to declare
our conviction that, whatever may be the other ob-
jections to a sweeping reform Bill, this particular
quantity is the very last which it would " subtract
from the country's attributes." The fact is, as Mr.
Disraeli is well aware, that Universal Suffrage would
probably have a more Conservative operation for
some time to come than amore discriminating scheme
of enfranchisement. Since no one, however, wishes
for Universal Suffrage, and Mr. Bright would be
well content with a restricted Household Suffrage in
Boroughs and something less in counties, we have
only to consider whether the addition of a million
electors at the outside, to the Register would verify
the awful forebodings of Mr. Butler-Johnstone. To
suppose that it would appear to us the strangest
of delusions. Over and above the prodigious ad-
vantages in political competition which the landed
interest shares with the whole educated class, it pos-
WACO still greater advantages, which are peculiarly

its own. Its traditional character, so deeply rooted
in history, and so broadly spread over English
society, is further secured by causes which, at first
sight, might appear prejudicial to it. A respect for
the ownership of land is a part of English character.
Such is the force of this motive that every trader
who makes his fortune, whether he has country
tastes or not, buys an estate and aspires to become
a county man. The consequence is, that besides the
members for counties and rural boroughs, the landed
interest musters scores upon scores of representa-
tives in the House of Commons. Men who sit for
great northern boroughs have county places in the
south, and combine all the instincts of landowners
with their commercial prejudices. Many people
fancied that this would be abolished by the Reform
Bill of 1832 ; instead of which there are probably
more landowners in Parliament than ever. The
difference is that landowners are more enlightened
than before, and win their seats, for the most part,
by fair means. Their wealth and leisure give them
a start in the race, and they have the energy to
avail themselves of it. While the eldest sons of
rich manufacturers are too often expending the
fruits of industry on pleasure, the eldest sons of
country gentlemen are generally devoting them-
selves to county business, and frequently aspiring to
a political career. It is because English constituen-
cies prefer men of this kind for their members, and
not because land swamps trade or labour at the
polling-booth, that country gentlemen crowd the
benches on both sides of the House. A new Reform
Bill may slightly reduce their number, and may
open the eyes of others to a new range of ideas, but
a revolution would not break their legitimate in-
fluence. Many generations must pass before any
other class will even desire to rest from their hands
the political leadership of the country. A more
popular franchise may give us new measures, but it
will probably give us few new men. It may bring
about radical alterations in some of our institutions,
but it will not affect the Conservative spirit of the
people.
THE " WESTMINSTER GAZETTE " ON YOUTHFUL
SALLIES.-It is always amusing and also some-
what instructive to read the utterances of what is
called the Liberal school of thought, especially
when those utterances are given forth with a
certain amount of dash, and with that peculiar
savour of superiority which, like a delicate aroma,
pervades all smartness when it is heightened by
a little harmless conceit. The young Liberal is
never more fully in his element, and never soars
so gracefully above the pettiness of his neigh-
bour than when he is expanding his chest, and
looking down with smiling complacency upon the
narrow, crabbed, and dull Ultramontane, whose
straightened forehead and meaningless expression
are typical ofAhe class to which he has the misfor-
tune to belong. No man can tell what height
he is without a measure. Breadth of beam and
height of stature are comparative. Tom Thumb,
could he find a much smaller man than himself,
would, doubtless, for the moment consider him-
self rather a fine fellow. It is in human nature to
give ourselves the advantage over others; and
when the superiority of our neighbour is an in-
controvertible fact we simply ignore him, and
search out a more pleasant and gratifying note
of comparison. It is just the same in the intel-
lectual world. Men are continually standing back
to back with each other, and are quite as inclined
to practise a quiet little bit of deception by means
of false heels, or by rising up a little inside their
shoes when it is a question of intellectual stature,
as when it merely concerns the comparative length
of the spinal cord. Indeed, it appears to us that
men of a certain class of mind can hardly refrain
from walking up to almost every one they meet
and mentally putting back to back, especially if
the probabilities appear to be in their favour.
It is so very charming to feel a little taller than
another. But, besides the harmless little ruse of
high-heel taps, and little deceptive elevations in
the hidden shoe, there is another method, very
common now-a-days, and has proved with the
good-natured and not very discriminating public
a rather successful practice. It consists simply
in taking the higher ground. Here position
takes the place of effort. Besides, here seem com-
bined two things which in such operations hereto-
fore have appeared somewhat antagonistic—
seeming honesty and certain success. Then it is
an immense advantage to discard all unfair advan-
tage, and to be able to dispense with the somewhat
tiring amusement of standing on one's toes for an
indefinite period. It matters not how short a man
may be, how utterly insignificant, or contempti-
ble, if he can only get on sufficiently high-rising
ground. Of course the less he is, and the large
the object which it is his ambition to surpass,
so much -the more carefully must he choose his
position. And hence follows a very interesting
and useful law ; namely, that the higher the ground
that a man takes in his effort at comparison with
his neighbour so much the shorter he is himself.
Of course he does not think of this ; all his
mind is occupied with is, to get his head up ;
lie takes no notice-of his heels ; like the child on
its father's shoulders lie crows again, filled with
exactly a similar exultation as the infant who,
beating the air cries " Mammy, took ; I am as
tall as papa !" But though the infant may think
so, and rejoice in being six foot four, calm
lookers on, while they are pleased that the
child should be amused, are perfectly well aware
that such is not the case. They look and smile'
and do not dream of undeceiving the little child.
A rattle or a doll, Noah's ark, or a dog that
barks from a pair of bellows, playing horses, or
being " taller than papa," are simply amusements
fit for children, and when unfit will be replaced by
more sensible and rational pursuits. But it really
is rather a serious affair that in the intellectual
world infants should not grow older as they
advance in age ; that the same little conceit, the
same childishness, and the same practice of " I
am taller than papa," should become a portion
of their intellectual build. There is something
so incongruous, so unbecoming, in this species
of narrowness, that it almost becomes revolting.
The child waving its little hands above its father's
head has something touching in it ; but for a big
man to jump on another's back and grimace that
" I am taller than papa," is simply disgusting
and nothing else. IslOw, this is occasionally the
practice of young scribblers in the Liberal school.
They possess a certain intellectual appreciation
—they are just capable of understanding—that
there are certain expressions of a general charac-
ter which, when once they can be got to stick, are
very damaging ; and certain other expressions
which, when once they can be connected with
themselves, are a passport to all manner of per-
fection. 'Theyl are sharp enough to see all this—
they spy out where the ground rises and where it
falls. If they want to measure with anybody,
they know to what point to call him, how
to make him stand, where to place themselves,
and how to ensure a complete victory over their
unsuspecting friend. They take the higher ground
—they deal out a plentiful list of the adjectives
and accusations which at present are most damn-
ing, and push their friend among them ; next, they
pick out those which, in the present vogue, are
equal to a kind of intellectual beatification, and,
by means of a common name or of a certain
school to which they pretend to belong, cleverly
and with inimitable modesty, at once, by some
happy accident, so connect themselves with the
same, that thereupon they are lifted bodily to the
" higher ground," and at once begin to " crow
how much taller they are than the man whom
they have bespattered with ditchwater and dirt,
after they pushed him in the mire. Such men
forget, like the child, that other men can see, that
there are those who can take in the whole ques-
tion, and do not at once decide, because one head
is higher than another head ; therefore the man
who keeps his head the highest is the taller man.
The Gospel maxim, " he who humbles himself
shall be exalted," has an application to the intel-
lectual, as well as to the moral world. When
there is " a great cry," there is generally
" very little wool." Brag and swagger are essen-
tially empty and unsound ; and the constant
assumption of superiority by young men, partic-
ularly if they possess a certain smartness and
quick superficial talent, is most injurious to a
true appreciation of the position, the talents, and
the arguments of an adversary. We are well
aware that it is difficult for that natural vivacity
and love of blows, for that fulness of animal
nature that delights to frolic, caring little at
whose expense, which particularly marks the
young men of the present day, to keep under be-
coming and serious restraint. There is a great
deal of the child in many a young Oxford man ;
he, too, likes to be " taller than papa ;" and it is,
we suppose, only the maturity of age, the labour
of constant thought, the trials and rebuffs of life,
that will mellow him, and at length, if it ever
does, mould him into a dispassionate, calm, and
steady-seeing man. While we are quite ready to
make for him every allowance, and stretch to its
utmost limits every point, still we should be doing
both truth and him an injustice if we passed
over in silence the injury and evil that his youth-
ful sallies bring upon serious subjects and persons
of respectability. There is a very good specimen
in the Saturday Review of this youthful method of
dealing with large questions, and this curious
itching to be " taller than papa," of which we
have been speaking. Evidently the writer is a
very young man, not without talent and a cer-
tain facility of words which is not much inter-
fered with either by depth of thought or originality
of conception. Still, though little freshess of
mind is evinced, and though the talent dis-
played is rather that of the imitative than the
inyentiye clap, yet iitlA .these characteristica we

have no intention of quarrelling. We should not
mention these did they not in part account for
the curious tone, and somewhat waspish manner
of the writer when he tries to be original.
When he is not following at the heels of Dr.
Dollinger, or dressing up a hash of his brochure,
he is evidently occupied with the fascinating
amusement of measuring himself, and picking
out the most favourable position. He belongs to
the Liberal school, or rather seems ready to
be led blindfold wherever the Teutonic fantasy
of a clever man, biassed by his love of country,
may happen to lead him. When he is not, with
beautiful condescension, following his chosen
light, he is busy standing back to back with
Ultramontanes. He indulges in no heel-taps,
nor does he patronize the more complex method
of balancing on his toes—he chooses, like a broad
large-minded young gentleman, the principle of
the higher ground. And this he does to great
effect, for, by standing behind his adopted oracle,
he is enabled with all the greater delicacy to make
the measurements, to lift up the one school and
sink the other, all the time giving clearly to under-
stand to which one he belongs, "Ars est celare
artem." Thus, he says, Dr.. Dollinger has " a
breadth and genuine liberality of mind removed
far as the poles asunder from the narrowness
and intolerance of Ultramontanism." Here we
are ! Here is the principle of the " higher
ground," with all its " breadth and genuine
liberality." Like the touching of a balance,
our young writer simply has to throw a couple
of adjectives of one kind into the one scale,
and a couple of others into the other, and the
marvellous change is at once effected of lifting
up into a kind of intellectual heaven the Liberals
—and himself with them—and sinking down into
a kind of hell all those who are called by the
name of Ultramontane. Here is a grand stroke,
requiring merely a dip of the pen and the know-
ledge of the worth of words in the rough. A
question that has agitated and still agitates the
longest heads and the wisest thinkers, is settled
at a blow, literally with a scratch of the pen, and
without the labour of a thought ; and while the
writer can rejoice in the giant work he has
accomplished, he can at the same time expand
in mind in the contemplation of his own "breadth
and genuine liberality " and the " narrowness
and intolerance "of everybody else. This, of
course, is simply youth, overflow of unexperienced
and unbroken animal nature, or the erratic
amusement of an untrained mind, but still it is not
wholly inexcusable. Serious and difficult sub-
jects should be left to serious and wise men,
and should not be trifled with by mere flippant
and smart young sparks, who, however much
they may be diverted by such displays, are often
an annoyance to serious and thinking minds.
Nothing are more troublesome than gnats and flies.
The next step after the free use of the ad-
jectives, is, that of good, bold, telling, general
assertions. Here our example is by no means
found wanting. While he takes his stand with
" breadth " and " genuine liberality," and con-
trasts them with "narrowness and intolerance,"
he at one stroke—certainly a very bold one—
casts truth and wisdom on the side of the former,
and folly or knavery, or both on the side of the
latter, and thus piles up a very good position,
so as to be taller than the very tallest papa ex-
tant. " Dr. Dollinger," says he, "to adopt a happy
expression of Dr. Newman's, is a man of facts,
as a German should be ;' but this of course has not
secured him from the violent attacks of his Ultra-
montane critics, who dislike nothing so hear-
tily as facts." Now this is hardly better than
childish nonsense. It looks more like the ill-
temper and sourness of an invalid than the ani-
mal spirits of buoyant thoughtless youth. We
are beginning to doubt our former conviction ;
we started with the idea that this writer was a
very young man, we are now more inclined to be-
lieve that he must be a very old one. That petu-
lancy which is the manifestation of feebleness
on the one hand, is often liable to fall into
meaningless adulation on the other ; and in pro-
portion as infallibility in matters of import-
ance is repudiated, in exactly that same propor-
tion is it superstitiously maintained in those
that are trivial and absurd ; if the Church be re-
jected on the one hand, an ipse dixit is sure to
be embraced upon the other. Whether we can
make the excuse of youth or old age for the
writer in question—and we are quite willing to do
either—this at all events is certain, that mere use
of adjectives, however well sounding, and mere
audacity of assertion, however bold, will never
do much good to any cause. It is a pity that
Dr. Dollinger's name should be connected with so
paltry a display of youthful incapacity.

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