The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-13 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 1867.

-- o-

Never in the memory of the present generation
has a Minister obtained a greater triumph than did
Mr. Dim:A-ELI last night, and the news of the Go-
vernment majority of twenty-one will by this time
have circulated far and wide, and spread satisfaction
through the land. We may well congratulate the
Government upon their decisive victory, and also
upon the spirit with which they have conducted
themselves in a most trying position. The ordeal
through which they have passed has been, indeed, a
searching one, but now that they have come
' triumphantly out of it there is no cause for regret,
because they are greatly strengthened in every re-
spect, and the confidence of the House and the con-
sideration of the country will more than repay them
for any annoyance and anxiety they may have
endured. A more factious opposition than this of
Mr. GLADSTONE'S was never beheld within the
walls of the House of Commons, and alike for the
importance of the subject discussed, and for the
reputation of Parliament, we rejoice at its defeat
and discomfiture. The right hon. gentleman will
find that he has lost a great deal of the prestige
which has hitherto distinguished him, in conse-
quence of the ill-judged, ill-advised course lie has
persisted in following ; but he did so with his
eyes open, in face of all warning, and he must abide
the issue, and even what he has reaped. Too much
praise cannot be awarded to those independent
members on the Liberal side of the House, who have
come forward so nobly and so courageously to the
rescue of the Government, and separated principle
from party, and a great question of national inte-
rest from the tactics of faction, and the manoeuvres
of disappointed ambition and bitter prejudices. The
country will not forget their services, and whenever
in times to come the Reform Bill of 1867 is referred
to as a great work of progress they will have hon-
ourable mention, because, through their instrumen-
tality, it has been rendered safe and strong.
It is indeed a most fortunate thing that this
momentous struggle should have taken place before
the House separated for the Easter recess, for it
would have been most vexatious to meet again to
renew the hackneyed phrases and threadbare argu-
ments we are all so weary of. Now, ou the con-
trary, the victors may reappear on the scene of their
triumphs with renewed energy and revived hopes,
and look forward to the early accomplishment of
their work with well-grounded confidence that
they will meet with the assistance of the House to
carry it to that issue which will be most satisfactory
to the country. Of course, it does not follow that
because Ministers• were compelled to reject the
amendments of Mr. GLADSTONE in toto that they
have set their faces against all improvement; and
Mr. DISRAELI, with his usual discernment, took
care to explain that such was not the decision of the
Government. He was obliged to draw a line of
distinction between the House and the right
hon. gentleman, because there was an
understanding between the Housea sand the
Government that they were mutually to co-operate
and bring about a fair measure of Reform. To all
the suggestions which hon. members on the Opposi-
tion side of the House have put upon the paper the
Chancellor of the Exchequer has promised the most
ample consideration, with the anxious desire to
adapt and modify them so as to chime in with the
principles of the Bill of the Government. More
could not be expected, and more the honest and con-
sistent members of the Liberal party did not desire.
Through the whole course of his speech, Mr. lltsr.A.Eu
kept straight to the point before him, and did not
seek to excite the passions of his auditory. It was
a question of grave consideration, and not a matter
to dismiss in the "heat of debate," with fiery invec-
tive and fiery zeal. Ile treated it in a statesman-
like manner, and showed very clearly the full im-
portance of the issue they were to take. Ile went
straight to the point, and told the Committee that
though they were called upon to amend the Bill he
had introduced, they were really considering upon
the " Borough Franchise," a contrary policy, and a
counter-proposition.
Successful was Mr. DISRAELI'S exposition of the
state of things between him and the leader of the
Opposition. He declared that his rival was one
with whom any one might be proud to contend ;
but that he should remember he had " had his
innings," and should therefore be more moderate in
the prosecution of party attacks. The cheers
which greeted this passage showed how com-
pletely the House appreciated the true nature
and real meaning of the amendments before it,
and how entirely they recognised the spirit
with which the Government had conducted
themselves in the conduct of their measure. A good
many side attacks were made by some hon. members
and noble lords in the course of the discussion, but
they failed to reach their aim, for Mr. DISRAELI
treated them with perfect good humour, and criticised
them amusingly or gravely, as the occasion de.
mnanded. Mr. GLADSTONE w,7.3 very moderate in
his brief reply, which showed his sense, at any rate,
and did his best to recover himself and drive his
opponents from the vantage ground which they
had now. But it was of no use, the tide of success
had turned against him, and he was left to
ponder over the fatal consequences of his preci-
pitancy. He sustained last night the greatest de-
feat he has ever met with in his career, and
the day is far distant when he will cease to feel the
full effects of his obstinate and perverse conduct.
Perhaps the admirers of the right lion. gentleman
have forgotten that he has never been tried by ad-
L versity, but only marched oil in e sunlight of

success. Besides this, he has, although his w-as
the master mind of the Government, been
under the direction of others more expe-
rienced in Parliamentary and political life ; but
this year for the first time he has been thrown on
his own resources, and the result has been an igno-
minious failure, to which the bitterest sting has
been added by the reflection that it was deserved.
Last Monday offered him a golden bridge of re-
treat from his false position ; but we know the
right hon. gentleman's favourite theory is, cut off
all retreat; and the consequences have been ruin to
his scheme, disunion to his party, and disgrace to
his skill as a Parliamentary leader. Worse
than all this, he has been a renegade
in the cause of Reform, and shattered to
dust the edifice that friends and flatterers had raised
of his reputation as the coming man who was to be
the regenerator of his day, and blend the classic
force of ancient learning with the more boisterous
demonstrations of modern progress.
We turn to the more pleasing side of the picture
when we contemplate the position of Mr. DISRAELI,
who may be said to have reached the culminating
point of success as a leader of the House last
night. He has often led his party to a
forlorn hope, but at last they commanded a
majority none could question, and reached a point
from which they might dictate terms. This was
achieved by their consulting the opinions of the
people, and not pledging themselves to the irrevoc-
able decrees of party. Lord DERBY declared last
year that Reform must be considered in no niggardly
spirit ; and he has kept his word. We rejoice the
more at this auspicious conclusion to the excitement
of the week, because eight years ago, at the time of
the introduction of the first Reform Bill of the Con-
servative Government, we advised its adoption by
the House, and had that advice been followed much
subsequent confusion would have been spared. As
it is, however, the Government have increased their
reputation, for the second attempt is by far the
most comprehensive and satisfactory of the two,
and is certain to redound to their credit. It is, in-
deed, a relief to dwell upon the prospect before us
now, instead of thinking of a dissolution or a
change of Ministry, either of which alternatives
would have been much to be regretted at the pre-
sent moment. We are sure that the Government
must be proud of their victory, and no impartial
oppone❑t will begrudge them their satisfaction, for
the fight has not been won without hard work:; and
the victory is not theirs only, but is also the suc-
cess of a cause that is dear to the country and
deeply concerns the honour of Parliament.

The independent members of the Liberal party
have reason to thank Mr. ROEBUCK for the 'terse
and vigorous manner in which he stated their case
last evening. The member for Sheffield is always
listened to with the attention which his ability and
his straightforwardness deserves, for, though his
caustic temper may occasionally give offence, all
parties agree in respecting his patriotism and his
honesty. The ingenious party manosavres which
unite men of totally opposite opinions under one
leader, the phrases and devices which contrive to
overthrow Cabinets and dissolve Parliaments with-
out committing their supporters to a single definite
proceeding, are powerless with Mr. ROEBUCK. He
is neither to be cajoled, to be threatened, nor per-
suaded. Ilis shrewd sense detects the manoeuvre,
and his keen and trenchant wit exposes it unspar-
ingly. He has little pity for other men's weak-
nesses, and after long and eloquent harangues, ela-
borate orations and learned arguments have been
exhausted, Mr ROEBUCK comes in, and in the plainest
of plain language puts the case b:fore the
House acd the country into a homely, every-day
form, narrowing down arguments and eloquence,
and every other ornate addition to the simplest
common sense and issue of right and wrong. It is
this characteristic which gives Mr. ROEBUCK so
much weight in complicated debates, and which
often render his speeches powerful in their effects
on a division. The Government had good reason to
congratulate themselves when so staunch and con-
sistent a Reformer brought his trenchant falchion
to their aid, and it was probably with great satis-
faction that they found the last and most exciting
night of the campaign was be opened by so efficient
an ally. It was on the support which the indepen-
dent Liberals might feel themselves called upon to
give the Bill on its merits that the Government de-
pended. The Reform Bill, as was easy to guess
from the first, was too liberal for many of their own
followers; besides the existence of a large party on
both sides of the House is well known to all party
leaders—gentlemen who, whatever their professions
on the hustings, are averse to any Reform
whatever. It is the aid and connivance of this
band of malcontents that every successive Reform
Bill for the last twenty years has been brought to
a premature end. It is so easy to demand an im-
possible perfection, and when it is not obtainable
to declare that no Bill will do without it. The
manner in which these theoretical Reformers have
acted has been like the conduct of the tyrants or
monster in the Eastern fables, who imposed the
most extraordinary conditions on their unfortunate
servitors, and were never so much disappointed as
when, through the aid of some beneficent fairy, the
task was accomplished. It is this prospect which
is now found to be so irritating in many quarters,
which makes Mr. LOWE apprehend the censure of
posterity, which alarms Mr. HORSMAN at the dis-
appointment awaiting the Conservative party, and
the mockery of Reform which is endangering the
country. If we wish to test the question from
another aspect, we may examine the speeches of
Mr. BRIGHT, Mr. FORSTER, and others who
have been contending for a liberal enfranchisement
of non-electors for many years past. These
a nd
little,nflue n cneod
dboyparty
u bt,
by
habitualasso ci associations, i on
prejudices ,
aletmeden,a
gactuated tnut
against any measure of Reform emanating from
the Conservative side of the House, supported the
amendment, but it was easy to see that they did so
tamely, without that vigour, that energy, that un-
compromising adhesion which they would have
shown had they not felt that in reality the Govern-
ment measure would give them much of what
they wanted. Mr. BRIGIIT has often confessed
himself favourable to household suffrage. How
can he then heartily oppose the nearest approach
to it ever introduced into Parliament ? But hap-
pily the members for Calne, for Stroud, and for
Stamford, however resolute their hostility to Re-
form, do not command a party. They can neither
command nor obey, and consequently, whatever
their talents, or their energies, are apt to find them-
selves in isolated positions. The independent Li-
berals, whose policy was well expressed by Mr.
LOCKE, felt that to reject this bill would be to
trifle with the country. The constituencies could
neither forgive their representatives for supporting
a doubtful or partial measure of enfranchisement
nor for continuously rejecting every chance of
settling a:a important and difficult question. No
great measure can be carried which fully satisfies
its promoters and its supporters, much less its
opponents. The amendments, the alterations, the
patching up, the pruning down, which make it
tolerable to the ono side, deprive it of half its
orignal attractions to the other; yet, notwithstand-
ing all imperfections our great measures of practi-