The Sun.
London, England, 1867-10-14 00:00:00

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LONDON, MONDAY, OCT. 14, 1867.

A successful public meeting has been held at
Dover by the Working Men's Constitutional Asso-
ciation. Sir B. BRIDGE, in the course of some ob-
servations, alluded to the different position which
the working men now occupied from that they held
in the days of our forefathers. The Constitution of
England, as he truly declared, is not one that at all
sanctions the exclusive maintenance of classes,
for many peers of the realm have risen from
the lowest positions. It is certainly an en-
couraging sign of the times that in so many
directions there should be endeavours made
to improve the social condition of the working
classes, and that more and more it should be dis-
tinctly understood that they occupy an important
place in the country, and one that cannot be taken
from them without injury to the nation. A great
gain may be effected by these meetings, because the
variouse classes meet together, and have an oppor-
tunity of becoming better acquainted, thus doing
away, in a great measure, with that antagonism,
direct or implied, which does so much
harm. Mr. FRESIIFIELD alluded to two
predictions that he had made, one that
Lord PALMERSTON could not again meet Parliament
as Prime Minister, and the other that a measure of
Reform would be brought forward, both of which
were realised. After giving his reasons against the
Bill of 1866, on account of its objectionable pro-
posals, he added that Mr. BRIGHT'S proposals were
deservedly regarded with suspicion. lle does not
hide his light under a bushel, but blows his triumpet
with a loud blast, so that when he advocated
passing a measure of Reform, stage by stage,
it became very unsafe to follow him, and
it was difficult to see where the terminus was to
his political line of railway, and " I believe it might
be the path to democracy and demoralisation, lead-
ing on and through paths where I should not care
to follow, and possibly to such a Government as
that possessed by the United States, headed by a
President." Referring to the schemes of this
session, the hon. member spoke out very fairly, and
frankly admitted that he thought at one time
they might be following Mr. DISRAELI rather
too closely; but that, as the bill progressed, his
fears and scruples vanished away, and his doubt-
ful ideas merged into " admiration at the great skill
and consummate statesmanship and tact exhibited
by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who laid
down a line of action, which he pursued with un-
deviating perseverance, wonderful command of
temper, and unfailing readiness both of tact and
argument."

Rising statesmen mly certainly learn a useful
lesson from the various 'comments made during
this recess by those best calculated to know the
state of affairs, and that in a line that is often
neglected—self-command and perseverance. Last
year we heard of little else but the direful mistakes
which Mr. GLADSTONE had made, and now, on all
sides, there are praises of the wonderful skill dis-
played by Mr. DISRAELI in the management of the
House. The most efficient qualities as a statesman,
and the most brilliant qualities as an orator, will
not compensate for the want of tact and discretion,
and the sooner this important truth is realised the
better for those who wish to succeed in public life.

Mr. MONCREIFF has been addressing his consti-
tuents at considerable length, and given them an
insight into public affairs, straightforward on the
whole, and rather more liberal than his party can
generally continue to be. He spoke very fairly
concerning the task achieved by his political oppo-
nents, and expressed a hope that the reception
given to the Chancellor of the Exchequer by the
city of Edinburgh would be worthy of her reputa-
tion ; because whatever " we may think in regard
to political opinion, it is right that a public
man in a great position which ho has
filled with great ability should be re-
ceived with honour by the citizens of such a city."
After admitting this much, Mr. MoNcREIFF went
on to show that, iu his opinion, the measure of
Reform passed this year had not been effected with-
out serious cost, on account of the dangers it had
brought about in the Conservative party. He seemed
to think that it indicated a "want of the finer sense
of the true political principle" that the Conserva-
tives should have opposed Mr. GLADSTONE'S mea-
sure in 1866, and should then have introduced
a measure of reform themselves. There is
no foundation for this idea in reality, because the
Liberals had had time enough, in all conscience, to
do the work themselves ; and, in respect to the in-
consistency of opposing the scheme of the year be-
fore, it is well known that those who proposed it
did not seem at all sure of how it would work them-
selves. There is much of the old leaven of party
prejudice in the judgment passed upon the Conser-
vatives in this discourse, and when he trusts
that it is the last time we shall have
seen an example set to the politicians
of this country he might look a little nearer home,
and scrutinise the course pursued by Mr. GLAD-
STONE and those who wished to oppose the passing
of the measure.

Respecting the change of Government Mr.
MONCrtEIFF made some amusing observations, that
were too true to be agreeable in certain quarters.
He said that his impression was that they had been
in quite long enough, and that a change was de-
sirable. "It is quite plain, and had been plain for
some time, that there would be no disadvantage to the
Liberal party going out to form a good, strong,
vigorous opposition. It is a wholesome thing ; the
sunny side of the House is apt to enervate, and it is
well to go to the hills for a little to get fresh air."
No doubt this notion will not prevail among the
members of the Liberal party to any great extent ;
but it is nevertheless very true, and Mr. MONCItEIFF
deserves credit for giving expression to it. Con-
cerning the effects of the bill, the hon. member
hinted that a great many shams and pretences
about Reform might be tried for ever,
and concluded his remarks on the subject with an
enumeration of the responsibilities of those who
would be alone the lowest in the scale now, but
who would otherwise have been the lowest them-
selves, namely, the one of the seven-pound rental