The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-21 00:00:00

Lord- JOHN and Mr. DISRAELI, if the " ever
Young" had not kindled the flame ! Above all,
what right had political match-making to go on,
not only in the absence of his darts, but in con-
travention of his:schemes! We could hardly, how-
ever, believe the reports. The House generally
had seemed so to smile on the RUSSELL-DISRAELI
plan for delivering our Indian Empire from the
mischiefs of partisan conflicts, that we could not
imagine the rumours referred to to be more than
rumours.

Last Monday night, howeverAord PALMERSTON
seemed to betray his goodwill for mischief, what-
ever he may actually venture to do next Monday.
Mr. HORSHAM, in no unfriendly spirit, on the mo-
tion that the second reading of India Bill No. 2,
be postponed till Tuesday, suggested its with-
drawal; he thought that precedent would hardly
warrant the discussion of resolutions on the sub-
ject of a bill actually before the House. Mr. Dis-
RAELI thought that the technical objection, under
the peculiar circumstances of the case, need not
embarrass them. The facts were unusual, there
were two bills before the House, and he thought
the second reading of both bills had better be sus-
pended till the resolutions had been discussed by
the House next Monday.
This seemed fair and judicious. But it suited
not the temper of the ex-Premier. He had cer-
tainly been no party to the plan of proceeding by
resolutions. He had, beyond doubt, wished the
resolutions at Bath, or at Coventry, or anywhere
but in the House of Commons. He denied, there-
fore, that Mr. HORSHAM was right " in assuming
that there was a general understanding that the
House should proceed by resolution on this sub-
ject." " That was a subject which the House
would have to discuss on a future day." "He
and his friends had not altered their course since
the introduction of Bill No. 1, by electing to
move resolutions instead, and therefore the argu-
ment in favour of withdrawing Bill No. 2 did
not apply to Bill Nc. 1." The house, therefore,
if Lord PALMERSTON has his way, is on Monday
next to discuss the previous question whether it
will go into committee and consider the resolu-
tions proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer
at all. They are to be treated much as Lord
JOHN RUSSELL'S educational resolutions were :
not to be even heard

But is Lord PALMERSTON strong enough for
this ? How many besides the hopeful of office
will follow him into the lobby ? There was a
general understanding in the house that the pro-
cedure should be by resolutions, and the house
will generally, we imagine, recognise that under-
standing. Can Lord PALMERSTON hope that the
followers of Lord JOIN RUSSELL, and of the Man-
chester leaders, and the independent members,
will any of them sustain him in a factious at-
tempt to step into office at ,once ? What should
the real Liberals want him for ? He confessed he
had no Reform Bill ; he is not wanted for India ;
the House can attend to that business itself. He
is not wanted for a Budget ; and no doubt he is
nettled enough at the favour with which the
MIR=Y Budget was received by the House. In
fact., we do not know what he is wanted for. He
was wanted for the Russian war, and the country
thanks him for all the fighting he did, but not
for all the fighting which, in deference to the
Tuileries, he left undone, nor for the peace of
Paris. He used to be wanted to keep a despot in
his place, but he has got tired of curbing despots,
and has, latterly, rather caressed and petted them.
We fancy Lord PALMERSTON has grievously mis-
taken his position if he thinks the house cares
to restore a dictator who could snub its liberal
members, and cringe to a French EMPEROR and
his Court, and Colonels—who could even spend
English money, ever since last November at least,
in employing English policemen as spies to watch
French Refugees.

Mr. DISRAELI'S resolutions are cleverly drawn ;
that also must be annuying to the ex-Premier.
If an efficient council can ever be combined with
a really responsible minister, which we think,
with Lord DERBY, to be almost an impossibility,
then we cannot see what the House would gain
by refusing Mr. DISRAELI'S resolutions in favour
of the Bill No. 1. The resolutions, fourteen in
number, fairly enough include all that is sub-
stantial in Bill No. 2, omitting or leaving open
the points most cavilled at, by those whose busi-
ness it was to do so. Thus in regard to the num-
ber of the council, it is to be composed of " not
less than twelve, nor more than eighteen mem-
bers." A portion of the members are to have
" served in India for a term of years fixed by the
statute." It is to be partly nominated and partly
elected. "As the general rule," the nominated
members are to have the qualification of service.
The electing boroughs do not appear, but the
constituency to choose the elected members is to
consist of members of the Indian military, or civil
service, and of persons directly interested in some
property charged or secured on the revenues or
territories of India. It must, no doubt, be very
provoking to aspirants to office, that by these re-
solutions the Government will get the sense of
both Houses respecting the best plan for the
Home Government of India, that the Ministry
can have little objection to Parliament taking the
responsibility of modifying the resolutions as it
sees fit, and that thus a bill will be brought in,
which, as an embodiment of their own resolutions,
both Houses will pass. The thing has been done
before. It has its inconveniences, no doubt, but
it has its conveniences also. In the present case
theadvantages decidedly to be in favour
ofproceeding
with the resolutions.

The question of Indian railways is one that
demands the most stringent inquiry and attentive
consideration on the part of Parliament. We may
anticipate the speedy restoration of peace and
tranquillity in that country, and it is our duty
as well as our interest to do all in our power to
promote the welfare and prosperity of its inhabi-
tants, and to develop the natural resources of
that mighty empire, which will, ere long, be
brought under tha direct government of the Bri-
tish Crown. From whatever causes they may have
arisen, there h tve beer' extraordinary delays in the
construction of these important works, and it is
desirable, at all events, to expedite them so far as
practicable. Not merely for the sake of censuring
those already amenable to perhaps heavier blame
on other point,, but in order to produce more
speedy anti satisfactory results.
The extension of the railway syt4orn in India
is required alike on military, commercial, and
economical grounds. how greatly would the
efficiency of our troops have been increased
if they could have been easily transported
from place to place during the late crisis;
and, now that it is deemed essential
to maintain a much larger European force than
was formerly retained. C donel KENNEDY, an
unitaipoachable witness on such a point, calculated
that a saving of 2,500,0001. per annum, might be
effected in the military department alone, by the
completion of the various lines of railway that
have already been sanctioned. This would repre-
sent the interest of 60,000,0001. of capital, a
sum double that which would be required to
complete all the lines already sanctioned. If the