The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-06 00:00:00

before the country, altogether acquitted from any
blame whatever—although he does not intend to
resist the petition against his return at the last
general election, and although (notwithstanding
that petition) he does, at the same time, propose,
very soon after the close of the present session of
Parliament, to vacate his seat by the constitutional
loophole, afforded to any and every member, through
the acceptance of the Escheatorship of Munster, or
of the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds, of
the Manor of East Hendred, or of the Manor of

Hempholme Than the explanation given to the
House of Commons yesterday, by Dr. MICHELL,
of his whole conduct in the transaction, nothing
could well have been more frank, more manly, or,
all things considered, more entirely satisfactory.
It is due to the hon. and learned gentleman the
member for Sheffield, however, in the first instance,

o remark that he had given full notice to Dr.

-MICHELL of his intention to make the statement so

materially affecting that gentleman's reputation.
An inadvertence alone prevented the member
for Bodmin from being present in the house when
Mr. ROEBUCK arraigned his (Dr. MICHELL'S)

conduct and character in the matter of that

rumoured collusive agreement.

Yesterday, however, in obedience to the order of
the House of Commons, to the effect that he should

be there in his place at 6 o'clock in the evening, Dr.
MICHELL, after apologising to the hon. and learned
member for Sheffield for his accidental and wholly
unintentional non-compliance with the request that
he should be present at the previous sitting, ex-
plained, as clearly as words could possibly explain
anything, the real facts of the case as affected him-
self, the petition against his return, and his in-
tended retirement from the representation of Bod-
min by the acceptance of the Stewardship of the Chil-
tern Hundreds. Those simple, honest facts, as the
phrase is, lie in a nutshell. " If there is any fault,"
said Dr. MICHELL manfully enough in the House
of Commons last evening—" If there is any fault
it is in the rules of this house, wherein it
is so costly that no man of small means
is ever able to sit in this house, provided any per-
son chooses to bring a petition against him,
whether it be right or wrong." Adding, "My
means are sufficient to keep me as a gentleman ;
but if I have to take people 300 miles from their
homes I may have to spend some £2,000, £3,000,
or even £6,000. Under such circumstances, if I
obliged all my friends to come up—believing there
is not the least charge against me through them,
and knowing there is not through myself—l should
place myself in inextricable difficulties during the
whole future period of my life. If I had an estate
of thousands a-year I would have fought this peti-
tion; and I now say that if the House will bear
me out in the expense I will fight it still; but I
am not going to ruin myself and those who are
dependent on me for the honour of a seat in
this House. I appreciate that honour as much
as any man, but I do not appreciate it to the
ruin of myself and others ; and it is on that
ground, and that alone, that I do not defend this
petition." The cordial cheers which greeted every
sentence of this manly and most honourable expla-
nation, indicated clearly enough the feelings of the
assembled representatives. Mingled with these
hearty cheers, moreover, there was much good-
humoured laughter, as when Dr. MICHELL offered
to resist the petition if the House would itself but
bear him out in the expense, and still more, when
he remarked in regard to that petition—" In the
first place, when this petition was presented, I
thought they were in joke, for all petitions are
almost alike"—observing, in pursuance of the same
theme, " Petitions are got up something like
what the old law used to be—they charge you
with everything, and make sure to catch you on
something." Whereat the House was in "roars of
laughter." Furthermore, in explicit recapitulation
of the motives which had really actuated himself
from first to last in this transaction, Dr. MICHELL
said yesterday—" I thought the better plan—not
knowing I was fighting against the rules of the
House—was to allow the petitioners to withdraw
the petition, and so exonerate me from all the charges
that had been made in it. Under that idea I said I
did not wish any longer to sit in the House, and that
I should at any time be ready, with the sanction of
the house, to do anything that was right and pro-
per. These were the principles on which I
acted. Under those circumstances I leave the case
in the hands of the house, and I have no doubt the
House will feel as I have felt, that it would not be
right in any man to go to a ruinous expense in
order to defend a seat in this house, however much
he might prize such a distinction." And so the
matter would have ended yesterday with the cor-
dial cheering which greeted Dr. MICHELL when
he had completed his explanation, but that as soon
as he had withdrawn from the House afterwards
there still remained before the House—awaiting its
,decision—Mr. ROEBUCK'S resolution. After a little
difficulty in finding another teller to abet the hon.
and. learned member for Sheffield in carrying the
quesilion, put by him, to a division—that division,
upon 'being taken, showed a clear majority of 184
against the motion in a House of 244—the ayes
being no more than 30, and the noes as many as
214. The complete exoneration of the hon. mem-
ber for Bocimin being signalised by the " loud
cheers" which greeted that announcement.

One point has, we think, not been sufficiently
urged upon the workmen who have struck in the
building trades—we mean the power of public dis-
cussion to redress just complaints. The history of
the present quarrel is now pretty well known, and
its object is clear—that object is, that the workmen
should have more daily leisure, but that the leisure
should cost them nothing. In one aspect of the
case this is obviously a demand for higher wages.
The workman will receive more per hour. But its
primary object is stated to be more time with their
families and wives, more time for rest, more time
for self-improvement, and, if we were to complete
the account, we fear we must add in many cases—
more time to tipple. An indirect advantage also
is, that numbers of persons now unemployed would
find work. Obviously, indeed, the masters must
employ one-tenth more men, or about six thousand
more skilled artizans. The scheme therefore in-
volves a great increase of wages on the whole. The
220 masters who have united must pay, and the
labourers, as a body, receive, it is said, £338,000
more per annum. This is a serious sum on both
sides. So far as those who strike make it an ob-
ject, they ask the money for others and only the
time for themselves. Indeed, it is the time on
which they lay stress.

Now, if this be their real object, is there one
which could be more appropriately sought through
the press ? The Early Closing Association has
done wonders by this simple agency, one so open
to both sides. By public meetings properly re-
ported, and by argumentative communications to
the daily and weekly press, almost any good cause
may, by a little perseverance, command the support
of the public. We will not now attempt to decide
the question whether ten hours be too long a time
for a day's work in the building trade ; but we are
sure of one thing, that if it b
ise so, this
onehis
of
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d and once proved,
it
general opinion would be all power-
jects on which