The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-24 00:00:00

own invention have marked by their swift trai

across the battlefield of Northern Italy the speed
of the contemporaneous advance made in the im-
provement among our neighbours in the employ-
ment of projectiles. The long-range of Captain
WARNER, but a very few years ago the theme of
almost universal derision, has bet very recently
been not only actually realised, but altogether sur-
passed. Inventions deemed extraordinary but yes-
terday, inventions in other and smaller arms like
the needle-gun and the minie rifle, are being, one
after another, superseded by others yet more
astonishing. The mysterious and nearly fabulous
Greek fire of the ancients has been in a manner re-
kindled, with more magical effect than had ever yet
been dreamt of by the hand of Captain NORTON,
as the modern Fire King. The miraculous strip
of carpet transporting the Arabian dreamer at
will from place to place, and the fiery dragon of
the fairy legends, have both of them been sur-
passed—the former by the railway ticket, the
latter by the railway locomotive. Even the
little fantastic notion of that charmingly fanciful
writer in ADDISON and STEELE'S Spectator, the
notion of the sympathetic dials by the responsive
movements upon which two lovers, separated from
each other by the width of a Continent, talked with
each other at pleasure, in defiance of time and dis-
tance—even this poetic notion itself is in the most
unromantic, unsentimental, and thoroughly busi-
nesslike manner in the world, of daily, hourly,
even momentary recurrence, by means of the click-
ing magnetic needles worked by the practised
hands of the youngest clerk at the electric
telegraph office, It is afloat, however, upon
the waters of the great deep, and in the
multiplication and improvement there of the
deadliest implements and messengers of war that
the application of science to the purposes of blood-
shed ist in many respects, of late years being the
most rapidly and remarkably evidenced. There—
while some are dreaming in halcyon reveries over
the imagined proximity of the dawn of a political
millennium—there, while GARIBALDI himself of all
men the wielder of the most daring sword drawn
since the death of NAPOLEON the Great by the
hand of any military adventurer, while GARIBALDI
himself, we say, is indulging in the beneficent

ideal of the approach of the epoch of a
grand pacific European confederation—there upon
the waters of the ocean are either being
floated off, or preparing to be floated off, simultane-
ously from the shores of France and England, the
most formidable vessels of war that the cycloptedian
hand of man has ever built and launched and navi-
gated for the destruction of his fellow-crea-
tures. Iron-plated ships of war France has
already built or is now building formid-
able metal-cased vessels like La Gloire, which
we are now, in our turn, resolutely bent
upon matching, nay, of surpassing. Our volunteers
are fast numbering up 150,000 skilled riflemen.
Our military and maritime services are costing us
in a year of peace (so-called) full thirty millions
sterling. We have armed men now to the number
of 600,000, distributed over our world-wide domi-
nions. We have, for the first time for more than a
quarter of a century, an efficient Channel fleet.
Our dockyards and arsenals have never been more
busily thronged since the close of the last great
European war with the final crash of Waterloo,
or, as the French call
:it, ce jour funeste de
Mont-Saint-Jean. Nor have we any intention
whatever of relaxing these gigantic efforts to in-
crease and strengthen our warlike armaments.

While we are in the midst of this astonishing
aetivity General GARIBALDI'S trumpet-voice, fresh
from the announcement of the Sicilian and Nea-
politan victories resounds, over Europe, preaching
Utopia, Atalanta, Arcadia, in the shape of a grand
European Confederation ! " The idea," says this
great soldier, this wonderful military adventurer—

" The idea of a European confederation Put forward by
the Chief of the French Empire, and which would give se-
curity and happiness to the world, would it not be better
than all these political exabinations which torment this
poor people and keep it in a continual fever ?"
And he adds :

" The thought of the terrible destruction which one com-
bat among the great fleets of the Western Powers would
produce must shake with terror him who would think of
giving the order for it, and probably there never would be
a man so cowardly bold to take the responsibility of it upon
himself."
GARIBALDI continues :

" The rivalry which has existed between France and
England from the 17th century to our times exists still, but
with infinitely less intensity now, and we mention this for
the glory of human progress, so that a transaction between
the greatest nations of Europa—a transaction which would
have for its aim the welfare of humanity, can no more be
placed among the utopias of noble-hearted men."

That it is Utopia he is talking of, GARIBALDI cannot
apparently for an instant understand. Descend-
ing to particulars, he observes frankly :

" I know well there is one objection to the foregoing
project—What to do with that numberless mass of men
"aPloved now in the armies and navies ?
„ _

•
" The answer is easy.
" By sending away thetv masses we should aboli:h ag,,:gra••
vating, and dangerous institutions, and the m; the Sove-
reign, no more occupied with the lust of conquest, with war
and destruction, would turn towards useful institu-
tions, and ,descend from the study of generalities to that of
families and individuals.
"For the rest, by the growth of industry, by security of
commerce, the merchant navy would claim at the same in-
stant all the active part of the navy ; and the great quan-
tity of works stimulated by peace, association, and security
would absorb all this armed population if it were double
what it is."

The whole of this beautiful hallucination ending
thus :

tc War being henceforth almost impossible, armies would
become useless. But what would not be useless would be to
maintain the people in its warlike habits by a national
militia which would be always ready to suppress all dis-
orders and every ambition which would dare to disturb
Europe."

GARIVALDI, at any rate, now stands before us in
his full dimensions. We all knew previously the
giant warrior the man is—we now know him to be

broadly great as a day-dreamer. His feet are
firmly fixed upon terra firma, his glorious sword
sweeps the whole length of Italy, but his head is
among the clouds, his thoughts are in nubibus.

The admirable letter of the Mayor of NORWICH,
which we reprinted on Saturday from file Norfolk
News, claims a distinct notice. It is addressed to
the citizens of Norwich, but there are only too
many boroughs in the kingdom which might most
advantageously for their own interests adopt its
salutary counsels. Its object is to persuade the
citizens to renounce political partizanship in their
municipal capacity ; and to regard in their muni-
cipal elections, simply and solely the competency
of the candidates for administration of the affairs
of the city.

The subject is well worthy of serious considera-
tion. To some old combatants it may appear per-
fectly impracticable to exclude political considera-
tions from borough elections. It will seem to them
as if, however virtuous themselves, their opponents
could never attain such a height of local patrio-
tism as to keep to an engagement. Both parties
have so long prided themselves on either over-
spending, or over-tricking the other, that they would
regard each other's professions as merely so many
traps set for the credulous of their own party.
This we imagine is the preliminary difficulty with
many minds. It must be met—and it may be
met. We assume that the better citizens
on both sides are convinced of the evils of
mingling municipal considerations and politics ;
if so, we must think their task is not
a difficult one. If the men of position and character
in any borough choose, they can frown down the
nuisance complained of. They know each other
well ; they, at least, can take each other's word of
honour. From some of them the funds for muni-
cipal corruption must be, in whole or in part,
supplied ; and if they mutually pledge themselves
to each other, publicly avow their pledge, and pro-
claim their determination not only to be no parties
to corruption themselves, but to punish, by every
means in their power, all of either party to whom
corruption can be brought home, the thing would
be done. There are, we know, old hardened agents
of municipal as well as political corruption in too
many boroughs ; they could not give up their craft,
it would be said. We answer, if they be men of
property they have a position in society, and they
would be compelled, if they would maintain it, to
defer to the deliberate and solemn judgment of the
great body of the respectable citizens. No man can
afford to fly in the face of his order, be it humble
or high, on a question on which they have pro-
nounced an unequivocal moral judgment. If, on
the other hand, they be subordinates, however
annoyed they may be at losing a profitable annual
job, they could not find the means for mischief
without the help of their betters. Indeed they are,
themselves, generally, but mercenaries in the battle
of venality.

Regarding therefore the practicability of the
thing as a simple question of the character of the
wealthier section of the middle classes, we would
most cordially support the proposal of the Mayor
of Norwich. He is a gentleman of long political
experience. He has been mixed up with party
politics in the corrupt old city for nearly 20 years,
and the result of his long experience has been dis-
gust with the annual scenes created by municipal
elections ; all of them being, as it were, rehearsals
of the grand scenes displayed to all England by a
Norwich Parliamentary election. The revelations
of election committees and commissions shew that
what is the rule at Norwich is the rule elsewhere.
The municipal corruption is the nurse of the poli-
tical corruption, and it has the advantage of giving
its lesson so much more frequently, and of enabling
all parties to know each other well when the greater
struggle comes. We hardly know whether we
should use the term greater, for according to some
accounts the municipal election is often fought with
an amount of zeal and of corruption which cannot
be surpassed by any contest for a seat in Parlia-
ment. The chief difference has been that a stranger
is then heavily taxed to augment the local pecu-
niary means of debauching the morals of the pur-
chaseable electors. Political corporations allow no
interval for reflection and repentance. The citi-
zens live amidst ceaseless temptation.
Mr. TILLETT thus describes the working of the
evil he would suppress :—" An experience of nearly
20 years in these matters enables me to affirm that
the spirit of party in our municipal affairs is an
unnatural intrusion, and an endless source of mis-

chief. The city's interest sustains damage from this

in three most noticeable forms :-Ist. There is an
annual demoralisation of the ward constituencies, to
keep or gain the ascendancy, and the result depends
entirely on the purchase of venal voters. 2d. Costly
and disgraceful contests deter the most respected
citizens from interfering in corporation affairs, drive
the beat men out of the coun 3il, and bring in others

not to be for a moment compared with them. 3d

The keeping alive of the struggle for ascendancy
encourages distrust and jealousy, and prevents that
hearty and harmonious co-working which would
tend so much to the general advantage."
Few wbo have known anything whatever of cities

ike Norwich and Gloucester, and other well known

towns, would deny the truth of these statements.
They are, we might almost say, a modest description
of the demoralising working of municipal contentions
for political ascendancy. There is but one cure for
it—" that the citizens at large should insist

that the corporation shall be henceforth non-po-
litical." The proposal comes with the best
possible grace from the present mayor, Mr.
TILLETT, because he belongs to the party
which has the ascendancy both in the Corporation
p andar
contest;t party nh
e thea an Cwity elections for Parliament. The
belongse
areto cnaontaawlwaaryesowr win in
objectioni n the
other side has to urge against the fairness of the
proposal except one, which they will hardly like to
make. They might say with truth that at Nor-
wich (and the same might be said of other cor-
rupt constituencies) the Liberals would always win
veti
if neither party bribed—that he up priee
at
it
is almostrn
like
asking the Americans to
they are asked to renounce bribery; since, how-
ever immoral and indefensible, it is their only
chance. Admitting this to be the ease, we may
yet surely appeal to all men of character on the
Tory side to prefer an honourable repulse to a
sordid victory ; or rather, as it too generally hap_
pens, to a derco,t, in which the defeated and the
greater
victors r
ghat must,
ai vl e eqi y l degraded themselves. Th e
however, lie with the party
which acknowledges that corruption is essential to
success. Its leaders are answerable, not only for their
own sins, but for those to which they provoke the
other side.

But, after all, it may be asked, can Englishmen
act publicly,
itwill b
be without
sai actingsaid,
m ak
make
politicallytTheyo which
h ich
can
hardly,
politics will not creep—even at meetings where
they are by rule excluded. And then, the men of
progress for the country at large are so likely to
be the men of progress for the locality, and vice
versa. To the general objection we may reply that
the duties of a corporation are such, as if we had to
select persons for each department by itself, We