The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-14 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAI, DEC. 14, 1866.

Mr. Do CLTON Hat night met his constituents, and
proceeded, according to our usual custom, to render
to them an account of his stewardship. On the
whole he seemed to succeed in making out a pretty
good case for himself, but it cannot be said that he
was fortunate iu hie reception, for the meeting. Iva*

noisy and violent, and seemed as if collected more
for the purpose of an uproar than with the view of
carrying out its legitimate object. This was made
fully evident by the circumstance of the Chairman
being prevented from making his opening address
in consequence of the clamour that prevailed in all
directions. The little which Mr. DOULTON was able
to say expressed his opinion that he had acted fairly
in conformity to his own views, and that he was
well aware before he came there that he would meet
with opposition in some quarters. It was the more
unsuitable that this disturbance should have
taken place, because it was of consequence that the
hon. member should have been allowed a hearing.
Ile briefly stated the chief grounds of his objection
to the Reform Bill proposed by her MAJESTY'S Minis-
ters, and repeated what he said on a former occa-
sion as to its incompleteness. There was great
force in Mr. DOCLToN'S remark, that in the agitation
which has prevailed during the last autumn a
pretty general opinion has been declared in favour
i of universal suffrage, and not in favour of the recent
measure introduced by Government. Therefore, he
said, it is well that we should ask ourselves what uni-
versal suffrage means. " It does not mean simply the
admission to electoral rights for the industrious and
intelligent classes of the community. No ; it means
the admission of all that class which the Secretary of
the Reform League described a day or two ago in
his letter as the 'roughs' of the metropolis. Ame-
rica is sometimes held up to our admiration, and
France, where universal suffrage is the principle of
the electoral system. But GOD forbid that we should
ever see established in this country anything equal
to the wholesale corruption that exists in America,
or the extinction of liberty that has been brought to

pass in France."
The truth is that people get confused, and be-
come so excited in their arguments that they forget
what they are driving at, and often subscribe to
doctrines which, if carried out in their entirety,
they would themselves often be the first to condemn.
In conclusion, Mr. DOULTON adverted to the pro-
position made by Mr. BRIGHT, as to the advisability
of having the sentiments of a particular member of
the House of Commons framed and hung up in
every house. Side by side with these the hon.
member recommended that there should be
placed the expressions that have been used
towards the House of Commons by some
speakers of the extreme Liberal party of
late, and also that a small space should be
given to " those measures proposed during the last
ten years to the Commons for the amelioration of
the social condition of the working classes which
Mr. BRIGHT has in any way supported, whether for
limiting the hours of labour in the factories, or to
regulate the employment of women and children,
or to more domestic questions affecting the working
classes—to not one of these has Mr. BRIGHT con-
tributed anything to their support or success."
This is all very true, and we wish that those
who are so ready to admire the diatribes of the
hon. member for Birmingham would really pause,
and consider what he is, and what he does for the
good of the working classes, about whom he is
always raving, as if he was their only champion,
and without him nothing could be effected to their
profit and progress. All we can say is, that if Mr.
BRIGHT and his friends look upon the exhibition of
last night at the Walworth Institution as any
triumph to their cause we do not agree with them,
for it was a most discreditable affair. Any one can
resort to noise and violence, and therefore there is
nothing to be proud of in the practice of them. Mr.
BRIGHT is doing all he can by word and deed to
bring down our institutions to the level of those
in America, and certainly the display of last night
would not have done dishonour to the meetings
across the Atlantic ; but we hope for better things
among our enlightened community than that they
should mistake violence and vituperation for the
due expression of approval or disapproval to their
Parliamentary representatives.

The news from Australia gives us most encourag-
ing accounts of the wealth and prosperity of our
Southern colonies. In New South Wales, indeed,
there has been a certain amount of financial depres-
sion and anxiety, but matters were righting them-
selves again when the mail left. The London panic,
whose effect has been felt more or less all over the
civilised world,was the origin of the embarrassments,
seeing that the Government of New South Wales,
finding a difficulty in disposing of debentures in the
London market, was obliged to overdraw at the banks
and contract loans in the colony. This disarranged
matters, but favourable news from England has set
everything right. The harvest prospects are good,
and the wool is reported to be in fine condition.
Matters are therefore full of promise for the future,
and the Assembly has been busy discussing the
Education Bill—a sure proof that there is not much
room for anxiety in the national affairs.
In the neighbourhood of Melbourne there have
been heavy rains and floods, which during the month
of October did a good deal of damage, especially to
the property of the farmers and market gardeners
in Gipps Land. But neither rains nor floods have
discouraged the
miners, and some recent suc-
cesses have given so great a stimulus to their
ardour that some of the residents in Ballarat
township are apprehensive of the result
of their subterranean operations !
in great activity, The agri-
culturists are also
being much
by the favourable
operation of the
Act. Clearing goes on vigorously, and
encouragedne
w and
approved of by the Commis-
sion are already
assuming a busy appearance.
the lots
It is only wonderful that the old restrictions
should have been allowed to impede so long the
A
progress of the country. Australia's real wealth,
no doubt, lies in her soil, not in her gold mines
only. She would be able to become a rich and
powerful country were the gold fields exhausted,
though they have contributed very much to her
rapid rise by the vast number of immigrants
which they drew to her shores.
The great event in Melbourne, however, has been
the opening of the International Exhibition. The
inauguration took place on the 25th of October,
with all possible dignity and splendour, very much
after the fashion of Hyde Park in 1851. The in-
terest of the occasion did not, however, lie in any
particular ceremony, but in the variety and charac-
ter of the Exhibition itself. The wonderful capa-
city of the Australian colonies was never more
strongly exemplified than in this display of their
products. Cereals of every kind, wax models
of almost every species of fruit grown in Tas-
mania, while from the same quarter come hops,
wines, and similar products. Queensland sends,
as might be expected, fine specimens of cotton, for
which her capacity has been amply proved ; also
sugar, coffee, arrowroot, and other tropical produc-
tions. New South Wales furnishes gold, iron, cop-
per, cannel coal, and other wares of a similar de-
scription, belonging, in common belief, to the stern
regions of cold and barren lands. Tasmania and
Western Australia compete with one another in the
beauty and value of their timber, while Tasmania
also supplies specimens of marble and iron ores.
Tobacco and gold are forthcoming from all parts,
though in the matter of gold Victoria has no rival.
An imitation column of gold has been erected in
the centre of the hall, representing 1y careful cal-