The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-20 00:00:00

would have been fully justified in believing
that the Compound Householder was the
embodiment of the ideal Englishman. With him
the fortunes of the race and the prosperity of the
country must rise or fall. Upon the treatment he
received from the hands of Government depended
the cause of civil liberty and individual freedom.
The Minislerialists were equally ready to accept this
view, and deprecated any accusation of offering a
slight to this formidable citizen. But when all
parties had agreed to set this idol on the Parliamen-
tary pedestal, fresh difficulties arose. Clause after
clause was proposed, change after change intro-
duced, and still the idol remained un-
satisfied. It was impossible to propitiate
him. To Mr. HODGKINSON belongs the credit of
having broken the spell, and discovered that the
exacting monster was only formidable in -appear-
ance. That gentleman, having tsken courage to
propose the aboLtion of the Compounding Acts alto-
gether, all parties were at once relieved. Mr. DIS-
RAELI frankly confessed he had wished it all along,
Mr. GLADSTONE gave his cordial consent, and it
seemed to be only wonderful that no one had
thought of such a solution of the difficulty before.
The obstacles which the Opposition were anxious
to put in the way of Ministers became a trouble-
some barrier in their own, and so long as
the Compound Householder blocked the way the
progress of the Reform Bill was tedious and uncer-
tain. There is a great deal still to be arranged
about theinatter, and he will probably monopolise
the attention of the Commons this evening, but
affairs are in a fair way of settlement, and one of
the most serious difficulties will have been con-
quered when the question is actually adjusted. We
hope this is an encouraging augury, for hon. mem-
bers must not forget that much remains to be dune.
The session is passing on rapidly, and they are still
in the first stages of the Reform Bill. There is
the redistribution to be thought of, 'always a
trying and invidious task, there is the pre-
vention of bribery at elections to be considered,
hopeless though the effort may be. There are nu-
merous points of detail to be discussed, and there
are, besides, several social and .domestic questions
of importance which are forced to wait aside till the
Reform Bill is got out of the way. There is no time
to waste if the work of 1867 is to be well done ;
and now that there is reason to hope the Compound
Householder will vex the Commons no more, we may
reasonably expect that no time will be lost in push-
ing forward the Reform Bill, so that this session
may see it, in its improved state, actually become
law.

The records of modern history present us with
few more melancholy pages than those which tell
the brief annals of the Empire of Mexico. The
uncertainty of the fate of the gallant Austrian
Archduke, the cloud which hangs over Lis fair
young wife, give a deeper gloom to the story than
the failure of an ambitious enterprise or the loss of
a kingdom. The position which was offered to
MAXIMILIAN was sufficiently tempting to have in-
duced many daring spirits to leave a position of com-
parative obscurity for a career which showed
dazzling possibilities. The near relative of one of
the first crowned heads in Europe, MAximILIAN
was familiar with the science of government, and
he felt himself to be endowed with the capacity to
rule a people with prudence and firmness. His
views, too, were liberal and enlightened ; he was
not fettered by the feudalism which has been so
serious an obstacle in his brother's path ; and he
believed, no doubt, that in a new world he could
reign without the restrictions and prejudices
which embittered the old. A crown has powerful
fascinations for most men, and it is no great
wonder that MAXIMILIAN'S ambition outran his
prudence, and that the rich and beautiful country
across the Atlantic became the scene of his hopes
and dreams.

The struggle has been a brief one, though gallantly
fought. The fair promise of peace and security
which deluded the new comers on their first arrival
soon passed away, and was replaced by bitter, heart-
sickening disappointments. The American people
resented the presence of a foreign dynasty on any
part of their continent, and would not rest until
the French EMPEROR had agreed to withdraw his
troops. They refused, too, to recognise any Mexi-
can authority but JuArtEz, whom events have
shown is unable to maintain his ascendancy
over ORTEGA and his party. NAPOLEON, oc-
cupied with more pressing interests nearer
home, and glAd to extricate himself from an
unpopular struggle, agreed to bring home his forces
when the Imperialist cause was doomed. The sad
story of the EMPRESS'S visit to Europe, her painful
efforts to obtain assistance from the continental
Powers, and the final collapse of health and reason
under the prolonged trial, are all familiar to us.
The EMPEROR has remained at his post, animated
by a gallant but mistaken conviction that he could
not abandon it with honour, although his cause was
hopeless. The Americans, roused by the painful
spectacle, have exerted themselves on his behalf,
and have endeavoured to save his life, but it is un-
certain whether they have been successful. No
one knows where he is, and there is too 'much rea-
son to fear that he is no longer living. -Whether,
under different circumstances, the story might have
taken a happier turn is matter of conjecture.
MAXIMILIAN, no doubt, in a less disturbed country,
would have made a wise, a liberal, and popular
ruler; but even if the Americans had refrained
from diplomatic interference, a throne propped up
by foreign bayonets could be but a discreditable and
uncertain possession. The warning conveyed by the
story of the Austrian Archduke and Archduchess
is one which has been often told, but will need to be
as often told again before the uneasiness of the head
that wears a Crown is believed in by lesser mortals.
The experience so painfully gained by disappointed
ambition from the Queen of BOILEMIA downwards
will never profit those who come after.

What will become of Mexico itself is another
question. The country is now given up again to
anarchy and bloodshed, and there seems little hope
of either party becoming so decidedly victorious as
to insure peace even for a time. The Americans
have quite enough on their hands at present with
their own affairs ; nevertheless they must, it would
seem, make some effort on behalf of Mexico, if they
would be spared the pain and disgrace of coun-
tenancing reckless and indiscriminate slaughter.

The Treaty negotiated at the Loudon Conference
was signed last week by the Emperor of the FRENCII
and the King of PRUSSIA, so that i& may be con-
sidered to be virtually settled. So far all is satis-
factory for the present, but there seeu►s m►►uch to
indicate that the lull is only temporary, and at any
rate that at any moment unpropitious circumstances
may conduce to bring about hostilities. In the first
place, the people of neither nation most concerned
in the matter seem satisfied at the state of things ;
and the next, the journals of both France and
Prussia are in a very excited frame of mind, and
are evidently determined to keep up the angry
feelings that the chances of war have engendered ;
consequently, those who take up the pacers of Berlin
or of Paris are edified or horrified, as the case may
be, by the details of the differences and disputes
that have arisen, It is amusing to notice the length';