The Sun.
London, England, 1867-10-03 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 3, 1867.

t: Fiat he held in his hand the report of the Executive
of the League in this matter, and that the conclu-
sion•. arrived at was that no celebration of the pass-
ing of the Reform Act should be held, be-
cause general dissatisfaction was felt throughout
the country at the ratepaying clauses con-
tained therein. The report, among other
things, stated " that every hour assured the com-
mittee that the Act will bring no Reform at all,
and that it will be worthy of condemnation instead.
of celebration." This is really most extraordinary
language, and we are puzzled to account for it, but
it will not deceive and delude the public. They
will see very plainly for themselves that disappoint-
ment, jealousy, and bitterness of spirit have actuated
and inspired these proceedings, and in the sight of
all independent and impartial observers the lint)
thus taken condemns those who follow it moat
completely and unreservedly.
It will, no doubt, take many by surprise, because
the last news was that the Reform League waa -to
have a banquet of its own, and now the entertain-
ment, like a fairy structure, has vanished into thin
air. The resolution drawn up by Mr. BEALES,
which was agreed to after a very long discussion,
was entirely condemnatory of the measure as it
stands, and seemed, indeed, to indicate that it had
better not have passed at all. " Considering the
complaints now being made in various quarters
of the probably very injurious working of the
Reform Act through the householder fran-
chises being connected with ratepaying conditions,
against which this League always protested, and
which are being made the means of causing the
franchise to be a cruel burden instead of a benefit
to a large mass of tenants and occupiers, the Council
recommend tho delegates to be convened for the
purpose of postponing, for the present, the celebra-
tion of the passing of the Act, and to assist the
Council in devoting its active efforts to obtain the
repeal of the obnoxious ratepaying clauses, which
are, in fact, the result of a class desirous of
preventing any measure of Reform, which
they only adopted through compulsion and
insincerity, from being a real means of enlarging
the franchise for the benefit of the working classes
and the great mass of the people." A more un-
called-for declaration than this could not well be
conceived, but it only shows what errors people
make, and what ridiculous positions they put them-
selves in when they attempt to do too much. It
was only the other day that we were told the
Council of the Reform League was offended be-
cause another section of Reformers had pre-
sumed to usurp their privilege cf cele-
brating the Reform Act being passed, and
now there is to be no celebration at all. Well
might one of the speakers at the Crystal Palace
the other day point out the Conservatives as
examples to his friends, and advised them to keep
more in unity. Such an extravagant proceeding as
this last exploit of the League is giving a handle to
the enemies of Reform, and showing how little the
most important and interesting cause can avail
if steadfastness and single-mindedness are
wanting. There is no need to go out
of the way to charge the Government with
insincerity, when such a glaring instance of it can
be met with nearer home. Those whom this League
professes to represent have a right to demand a
more elevated course than this being taken by their
counsellors and guides. It is quite idle to profess
to set forth what the people really require, and then
to become so involved in petty squabbles and
material details that the spirit of the enterprise is
lost sight of altogether, and the great question of
the day is lost in the small and trivial accidents
of the hour. We may unhesitatingly affirm that
those who so forget their duty stultify themselves,
and it does not require much inspiration to predict
that the Reform Act of 1867 will be remembered
with honour to those who framed it, and were instru-
mental in so doing,when all these unworthy attempts
to detract from its merits will have sunk into well-
deserved oblivion, or at best only cited to show
how dissatisfied people can become when they have
received more than they ever asked for or expected
to attain, but there is nothing so difficult to over-
come as prejudice.

Among the many striking changes witnessed
during the last half century in the Governments of
the world at large the fortunes of the South
American States have not been the least remarkable.
The several little States who succeeded in breaking
off the yoke of Spanish domination have, indeed,
still much to accomplish ; but their history, so far
as we know it, shows that the people are capable of
a higher development and a more vigorous indi-
vidual existence than they have yet attained. Un-
fortunately, it is not easy to get at the exact truth
respecting them. They are cut off from us not
only by distance, but by circumstances. Respect-
ing Paraguay, for instance, we get the greater
part of our intelligence through a Brazilian
medium. The shadow of Brazil sweeps over half
the Southern Continent, and it is not difficult for
parties :so closely interested in the result of the
struggle to represent it as certain to terminate in
their own favour. The truth, however, seems to be
that the success of the Brazilian arms is by no means
certain. The arrival of the mail ship Seine brings
us intelligence from the Brazilian ports that the
news from the seat of war is not considered favour-
able. The Allies cannot pass Humaita, and have
not taken Curupaity, the army remaining
between the two ports. The determination
of the people of Paraguay is unshaken, and
a Buenos Ayres journal, commenting on the
war, tells us that the Paraguayans fire and destroy
everything on the Allied line of march. Even the
oranges which grow wild in their fertile country
are converted into material of war, "and the Allies,"
adds the writer, " behold in the bare trees evidence
of the undying determination of the enemy to fight
to the very last." In warring with such a people,
he continues, regard must be had to the resources of
the invaders, as well as those of the invaded, in
estimating the chances of the war. The expenses
of the Allied Army are much increased and the
risks are also greater. The attacks on the convoys are
constant and harassing, and that its expense is great
is evident from the financial proceedings of Rio
Janeiro. The Budget makes several important
changes with a view to giving a considerable in-
crease of revenue. The EMPEROR had also addressed
a letter to the President of the Council informing
him that, in order to assist him in his desire to re-
duce the public expense, he would cede the fourth
part of his dotation from the Ist of March next, and
the EMPRESS from the Ist of January. The Para-
guayan raids upon the convoys form a serious ob-
stacle to the Allied arms, and the Buenos Ayreans,
at least, have little confidence of the result.
From the difficulties which surround the
Allied position, says the journal from which
we have already quoted, "we are disposed to think
that the war must come to a more speedy termina-
tion than what those engaged in contracts for the
army supply apprehend." The sympathes of this
country at all events will be on the side of the gal-
lant little Republic, fighting with such undaunted
resolution against desperate odds. The battle is
not always to the strong, and there is good reason
to hope that Paraguay may add another to the list
of those small but valiant nations who, having won