The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-18 00:00:00

rHE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 18, 1858.

searching measure. (Cheers.) When I adopt the
views which have been propounded here with
reference to the principles which ought to govern
any question of Reform, let me not for one moment
be misunderstood. Do not suppose that Igo to the
House of Commons with an intention merely to
vote, and not to deliberate ; on the contrary, I pro-
mise you I will give a careful attention to any plan
which may be submitted by her Majesty's Minis-
ters, by Mr. Bright, or any member entitled to ask
for attention on the subject; and that I will
endeavour to do my best to adopt either the whole
of any good measure, or such proportions of dif-
ferent measures as may seem best fitted for obtain-
ing the object we have in view. (Hear.) But, on
the other hand, do not suppose that I can for a
moment pretend to be perfectly, indifferent with
regard to the persons who introduce a measure of
Reform. Mr. Bright has very truly said there
seems to be something almost absurd in the idea
that those who have passed their lives in main-
taining anti-Reform principles should be the per-
sons now intrusted with the duty of bringing for-
ward a Reform Bill. It is contrary to all we do
ourselves in private life. When I had the honour
of asking you for support at the election, one of
the topics upon which I naturally insisted was
economy in our public expenditure. I think I
may say I have laboured in that direction ; by many
votes I have endeavoured, so far as one humble
member of Parliament can, to reduce our expendi-
ture. You will recollect that in the course of
last year we discovered that two of our fellow-
subjects, respectable and innocent, engaged as en-
gineers on board a steamer, were thrown into a
noisome dungeon by the King of Naples, and were
there detained during a period Of many months.
That circumstance became known to me, amid it
seemed to me that the act of the King of Naples
was contrary to the law of nations, as it was contrary
to the law of God. I undertook to investigate the
subject. I placed myself in communication with
the Sardinian Minister in London, and I was able
at last to possess myself of all the facts of the case.
On the very day when her Majesty's present Minis-
ters first took their seats on the Treasury bench I
was in a situation to bring forward this matter.
When I sat down Mr. Disraeli said he regretted the
fate of the engineers as much as I did, but that he
could do nothing for them. But, gentlemen, the in-
dignation of the House of Commons became so great
—(hear, hear)—the speakers who followed me ex-
pressed opinions so strong upon the matter, that the
ministers were obliged to recant what they had said ;
and I am bound to say from that time the Ministers
left not a stone unturned until justice was done.
The result I shall always look back to as a proud
and happy circumstance in my life. Not only
were the engineers restored to liberty, but they re-
ceived £3,000 from the King of Naples as compen-
sation. (Immense applause, and a Voice, "An act
done by the present Government.") Yes, done by
the present Government, but done by the present
Government under compulsion from the Liberal
members of the House • done by the present Go-
vernment under compulsion from an independent
member •, done by the present Government, be-
cause of the indignation expressed in the
House of Commons, and especially because of
the indignation expressed by Lord J. Russell, who,
I am bound to say, with many faults, is never
wanting in national spirit. (Cheers.) I believe
that the course which was taken in this borough
upon the occasion of the Conspiracy Bill had an
effect upon the subsequent course of events which
it is impossible to exaggerate. No one feels more
than Ido how far short my efforts have fallen of
what I myself could desire. All I can say to you
is, I have done my best. It will be kr you to say
when the time of election comes, whether you will
cut short my brief political career, or renew to me
that vote of confidence which you placed in me at
the time of the glorious election of 1857. On re-
suming his seat the hon. member was saluted with
threelhearty cheers.
On the motion of Mr. G. SULLY, votes of thanks
were aceorded to the members and-the chairman by
acclamation.

extent. The late Board of Admiralty.paid off the
fleet and sent the men to the right about, even in-
cluding the continuous service men. He was happy
to say that the present Board of Admiralty, though
a Conservative one, had dope more during the time
they had been in office than he had ever seen done
by any former board. It was pretty well known'
that he was no Conservative himself, but he wished
to do justice to those in office, whether they were
Whigs, Tories, or Radicals. When the Government
came into office they cast about to get up a Channel
fleet. It was true they had not yet come up to the
number which he wished, but they had got six sail
of the line. He should continue to urge the Govern-
ment to get them up to ten sail of the line; and if
they had that number of ships well manned with
real seamen—not men picked out of the streets—
there would be no difficulty in the event of an emer-
gency in increasing them to 20. He would tell them
how that could be done. They should take 10 sail
of the line, manned by 1000 men each. There should
be only 100 marines instead of 200 embarked on
each vessel, the rest being replaced by 100 seamen,
and that would give 900 able seamen and officers on
board each ship. The Admiralty were very properly
preparing 10 sail of the line as a first reserve, and
these were nearly ready. In :the event of war one
watch should be transferred from each ship of the
Channel fleet above mentioned to the reserve, which
would then give a fleet of 20 sail of the lined man-
ned by 450 men each ; let the complement be filled
up by 200 marines and 100 officers and boys, who
were always to be had ; this would give a fleet of
20 sail, manned by 750 men each ; and, with 250
more for each vessel, called out from the coast vo-
lunteers, there, would then be a fleet of 20 sail of the
line, better manned than was the fleet during the
last war. This could be done in' 48 hours, but he did
not think that it was enough. There were now
7,000 of the coast guard, which were to be increased
to 10,000 ; and there were in different seaports nine
useless block ships to receive them. For these block
ships he would substitute the second-class reserve of
10 ships which were now getting ready ; and taking
the coastguard to man them, we could have in 48
hours more than 30 sail of the line ready for fight ;
and with such a fleet we might defy the world.
Those ships in the different ports would teach the
sailors that an English man-of-war was not so
bad a service after all. He was happy to say that he
believed the feeling was gaining ground amongst
seamen that to get on board a man of war was not a bad
position. He regretted that they still kept those use-
less block ships, mounting 74 guns, with reduced
masts and yards, and some them moved by machinery
of only 200 horse power, which Mr. S. Russell could
tell them was of very little use. Of course to pro-
ride all this would cost money, and they must be
prepared to hear, when the navy estimates were
brought forward, that we should require a consi-
derable sum more than at present voted. In his
opinion much of the money was ill-spent. They
were now doing what they had never done before
--Government was buying land at Plymouth,
Portsmouth,!and other places, and making immense
land fortifications, at a cost of between £300,000
and £400,000, while formerly, when we had almost
the whole world against us, the wooden walls of
Old England were sufficient for her defence, and
this would be the case again; and he considered
that the money expended upon land fortifications
was thrown away, except in so far as providing a
few places with guns, under which vessels could
run in for shelter. Let them have an efficient fleet,
man it well, and it would be found the cheapest as
well as the most effectual defence of the country ;
and no nation, whatever might be the fleet she could
send out, would ever attempt to disturb the peace
and happiness of England. He was quite sure that
the vote of thanks which he now begged to propose
to Mr. Reed would be unanimously accorded.
The vote of thanks was then passed.

MR. G. STURT, -.M.P., ON PARLIAM2N•

TARY REFORM.

At the Agricultural Society's dinner at Sherborne,
on Thursday, in the course of his speech, in return
for the health of the comity members, in reference
t 3 Parliamentary Reform,
Mr. G. STURT said—lt is the habit of gentlemen
whose power of oratory and eloquence nobody ad-
mires more than myself, but whose political opi-
nions you, as well as I, it is to be hoped, hold in
abhorrence, to say that the aristocracy are a curse
to the country. Mr. Bright has been going about
the country, and at Birmingham he made a speech
of four hours, two ofwhich were devoted to the abuse
of the aristocracy and landed proprietors. I believe
those ideas will not find an echo in your hearts. I be-
lieve when a large landed proprietor resides on his
estate and does his duty, he is a great blessing to
the country rather than a curse. When I say doing
his duty, I mean living within his income ; for the
man who has an income of £lO,OOO a year and
spends £20,000, or of £5,000 and spends £lO,OOO,
is not doing his duty, and, of course, in a few years
comes to grief. (Hear.) But I need not go far for
an example of the truth of my statement. I will
ask whether the town of Sherborne and the neigh-
bourhood are not much better off by Mr. Digby
living at Sherborne Castle than if it were inhabited
by owls ? (Hear.) Mr. Bright went to another sub-
ject, which my hon. colleague has delicately touched
upon. Now I was in hope that I should be able to
tell you something authentic on that head. When
in London, the other day, I saw the Lord Chancel-
lor on the other side of the street, so I thought I
would catch him and ask him a question or two,
but he parried them off in that courteous manner
Chwanllor was not to be
asce
which belongs to official personages, and it was ap-
parentnot caught by the
Ld ,if Lard Derby Lord the
caught by Mr. Gerard Sturt. (Laughter.) Now,
gentlemen, I will give you my opinion about reform.
or that
I must confess there is a great deal of truth in a
statement made by Mr. Sidney Herbert. Mr.
Sidney Herbert generally hits the right nail on the
head, and he said nothing opened a man's eyes like
a contested election ; and I must confess that the
last contested election did open my eyes. (Laugh-
ter.) • I canvassed a great many towns, and I cer-
tainly came across many people who, by their edu-
cation and by the intelligent manner in which the
talked, appeared entitled to the franchise, although
• they had not got it at the present moment. (Hear.)
But, gentlemen, 'this is rather a ticklish subject.
Still lam glad to say—l think it is a matter of
congratulation to the country at large—that it has
fallen to the lot of Lord Derby to bring in the
new reform bill. Now, if it had not fallen to the
lot of Lord Derby it would have fallen into the
hands of the Whigs. I mean the Whigs proper, not
the Liberal, for they are as far apart as the two
poles ; and if there is one thing which a Whig the-
roughly enjoys and appreciates, it is a job. They
were born jobbers, they were bred jobbers, and
they will die jobbers; (Continued laughter.) Now
I do hope Lord Derby, When he brings in the Re-
form Bill, will not lay ;
b
---Inself open to that charge.
I hope he will bring in such a bill as the advanced
state of civilisation and increasing knowledge of
this country demand; and if he does this I am
convinced that the people of this country will rally
round Lord Derby, and will not countenance any
attempt to defeat him for the sake of popularity,
or merely for the sake of gaining the advantage of
six months' office. (Hear, hear.) That is' my
opinion, and my advice to you is—put your 'trust in
Lord Derby. (" Hear, hear," and loud. laughter.)

MR. SEYMOUR FITZGERALD AND HIS

CONSTI7'UENTAS'.

At .a dinner given at aorsham, on Wednesday,
Mr. Seymour Fitzgerald said :—" It would be im-
proper to speak to you about the Reform Bill or
any of the other bills which may form the subject
of discussion in Parliam€nt in the forthcoming ses
sion. I may sill, however, that I speak the feel-
ings of those with whom I act in public life when
I state that, having beer called upon most unex-
pectedly to take office, they have received at the
hands of their countrymen that which they felt
sure they would reeerte—namely, a fair and an
honourable trial. I believe that so long as they
consistently endeavour to do their duty the confi-
dence and forbearence of the country will be still
accorded to them, and I feel assured that one and
all regard that confidence and forbearance as only
an additional reason -why they should devote every
exertion in their pover and every talent God has
given them to the public service and the interests
of the country. Perhaps, without infringing on
i
your rules, I may be permitted to make one remark
reference to that department of the State with
which I am more particularly connected—namely,
the conduct of the foreign affairs of this coun-
try. Of this I amperfectly sure, and it is the
inevitable result of a wise policy on the part of
the governors of the country, that in every
question affecting the public interests of Europe,
if our statesmen act rightly, the voice of England
will support them, and will be paramount and au-
thoritative. But, in order to secure that position—a
position which of right belongs to a great empire
such as this—l feel and I am sure that those who
form the members of her Majesty's Government feel
with me that it must not be by pursuing a policy of
constant interference and meddling, but that the
best way we can take to make our rights respected
is by respecting the rights of others. It is obvious,
therefore, that the policy of the present Government
on questions respecting the affairs of foreign nations
must be entirely and essentially one of non-inter-
ference. That is the policy required by the interests
of the country—it is the policy required by. the in-
terests of Europe ; and it is the policy required by
the interests of the world at large. I do not care;.
and I am sure that those- who act with me do not
care, for any insinuations which may be thrown out

that we are likely to make improper:concessions, or
for one moment to neglect the honour and dignity
of the country. If we were weak enough to do that,
I am satisfied that the people of England would be
just and spirited enough to punish us immediately.
I believe it is not only possible, but easy for us to
pursue a course of policy which, while it maintains
our honour and dignity, and the general interests of
the country, will not excite hostility, engender dis-
trust, nor alienate friendship, but will make the
name and character of England respected and
honoured throughout.Europe.' .

LAW INTELLIGENCE. Dec. 17.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.

,Sittings at Nisi Prius, at Guildhall, before Lord
Campbell and a Special Jury.)

SMITH V. THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY COM-

PANY.-ACCIDENT.

The trial of this case was resumed at the sitting
of the Court to-day.
Mr. Edwin James, Mr. Sergeant Hayes, and Mr.
Baddeley were for the plaintiff; Mr. Hawkins, Mr.
R. Clarke, and Mr. Hon an for the defendants.
Mr. Edwin James and Mr. Hawkins having ad-
dressed the jury on behalf of their respective clients,
Lord Campbell summed up, directing the jury to
find a verdict for the defendants if they thought
the flood was unforeseen and unparalleled in the
neighbourhood, that there was nothing to indicate
danger, and that the train was not proceeding at
excessive speed. If, however, they were of opinion
that there was negligence on the part of the com-
pany, they would find a verdict for the plaintiff,
with adequate but moderate damages.
The jury, after being absent more than two
hours, returned into court, when
The Foreman said they had agreed to a verdict
for the plaintiff—Damages, one farthing.
Lord Campbell—Gentlemen, I really cannot, in
the discharge of my duty,.receive that verdict. It
is impossible it can be right. It cannot stand.
The Court of Queen's Bench will set it aside. If you
find a verdict for the plaintiff you are bound to
give him reasonable damages, and if he is not en-
titled to a verdict you must say so. T must, there-
fore, beg you to retire avir , •
reconsider your verdict.
A Juror—There is no thane, h.., lora, of our
agreeing.
. Another Juror—We are quite divided in opinion.
Lord Campbell—l hope that by consultation and
deliberation you will be able to agree.
Several jurymen said it was quite impossible.
Lord Campbell—Trial by jury has long flourished
in England to the great benefit of the land, but it
has done so by reason of jurymen deliberately and
calmly consulting each other, and coming to a con-
clusion one side or the other. Now, it is quite clear
you have not done that, and I must respectfully
tell you have not done what the law requires you
to do. Therefore I must beg of you to withdraw
and deliberate upon your verdict. I should be
guilty of a dereliction of duty if I were to receive a
verdict which is unquestionably wrong. By con-
sultation you may change the opinion which you
originally formed; and unless juries will deliberate,
and try to come to a just conclusion, in which you
all concur, it will be impossible to administer the
law of the country. I must request you again to
withdraw.
The jury then left the court.
- At half-past five o'clock, after the jury had been
absent other two hours,

Lord Campbell said—The jury, who have retired,
wish to make some communication to the judge.
Let them come into court, and I will hear what
they have to say.
The jury were then brought into court.
Lord Campbell—Well, gentlemen, have you
agreed on your verdict ?
The Foreman—My lord, there is no chance of
our coming to an agreement.
Lord Campbell—l can only order you to return
to your chamber and deliberate again upon your
verdict. That is what the law requires, and what
it is my duty to enforce.
The Foreman—That is all we can say.
A Iniyrnan—We have been over it so often that
there is no chance of our agreeing.
Lord Campbell—The law is binding on me and
you, although not to force your consciences. You
must return, and be locked up until you agree.
A Juryman—We have agreed.
Lord Campbell—You have agreed in a verdict
which I must say is contrary to law, to justice, and
to common sense. lam astonished at it. No judge
ever sat upon the bench with a greater respect for
juries than I have; and the more I have assisted
in the administration of justice in conjunction with
juries the more I have admired the admirable
tribunal which they formed. It does surprise
me to find that gentlemen of yOur intelligence will
now, after being told that your verdict cannot be
received, and is a verdict contrary to law, justice,
and common sense, persist in a verdict for the
plaintiff ; giving it as your opinion that there was
negligence on the part of the company, whereby
the plaintiff suffered such severe injuries as were
described in the evidence, and yet cutting him off
with a farthing. That is not creditable. You will
return to your chamber.
A Juryman—Does your lordship refuse to re-
ceive the verdict ?
Lord Campbell—l do refuse to receive it, as the
law requires me. You must return to your chamber
and reconsider youp verdict.
The jury then withdrew.
Lord Campbell, before quitting the bench, di-
rected the associate of the court to receive a proper
verdict; but intimated that if the jury persisted in
the verdict they had already returned, he should
certainly not discharge them until tomorrow
morning.
At twelve o'clock the jury had not agreed to
their verdict, and consequently they will remain
locked up until the sitting of the court to-morrow
morning.