The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-20 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 20, 1866.

„-...----
Mr. T. TAughes, M.P., and his Constituents.

Last night the electors and non-electors of Lam-
beth were invited by Mr. T. Hughes to meet him in
the lecture hall of the Walworth Institute, Carter-
street, to hear his first annual account of his steward-
ship as member for the borough, and to take coun-
sel together on the present state of public affairs.
The hon. gentleman, who was accompanied by many
of the most influential electors, met with a very
cordial reception.
Mr. W. R. SELWAY (chairman of Mr. Hughes'
election committee) was called to the chair, and
briefly asked Mr. Hughes to address the meeting.
Mr. T. HUGHES, on rising, was greeted with re-
newed and prolonged cheering. When silence was
restored the hon. gentleman said he came there in
conformity with what he called the good old custom
of representatives in the House of Commons meeting
their constituents once a year. He called it a good
old custom, because he found nowadays that that
opinion was not universally shared by members of
Parliament, and he had even been remonstrated
with by some members, who said they were sorry he
was about to take that course, because it had a ten-
dency to make members the mere mouthpieces of
their constituents. On the contrary, he thought it
was important that members should keep in sym-
pathy with those they represented, keeping at the
same time an independent mind, and he believed
that just in so far as any member did so would he
have power either in the House of Commons or
elsewhere. (Hear.) He could not see how that sym-
pathy was to be kept up unless a member came once
a year to tell those who sent him to Parliament
what he had done in the past, and to discuss with
them on the basis of existing facts what was best to
be done in the future. (Hear.) The question was
how to make that meeting most useful, and the
method by which that could be done was most diffi-
cult, because there were so many questions con-
nected with the Government of this immense em-
pire that it was utterly impossible to compress them
into a speech, however briefly touched upon, to be
delivered in one evening. One difficulty, however,
he had escaped, which other members told him they
felt, namely, that their constituents were so indif-
ferent to political matters that it was useless to meet
them. (Laughter.) He had never opened his mouth
in Parliament without having many letters sent to
him, either approving or disapproving of his speeches,
and not a few had been sent to him when he had
been silent, asking him why he had not spoken.
(Laughter.) Perhaps the best course he could pur-
sue would be in fact to follow that correspondence;
and in the first place, as to keeping silence, he would
observe that nothing paid for keeping better than
talk, and that if a man made many speeches he was
sure to come to grief. (Laughter.) He had, there-
fore, made it a rule not to speak unless he had some-
thing to say which nobody else would say. (Cheers.)
If he merely got up to say what others had said be-
fore him it would be:a mere waste of time, which
belonged to the nation. (Cheers.) The only disad-
vantage of that course, however, was that the mem-
ber who adopted it had to say unpleasant things, for
there were always plenty of members who were
ready and willing to get up and say what the House
of Commons wished to hear. (Laughter and hear.)
That was his answer to the gentlemen who had pro-
tested against his not speaking enough. (Cheers.)
lie would refer to the speeches which he had thought
it his duty to make. The first was in the second
week of the session on the subject of the eviction of
the working classes and the pulling down of their
dwellings by the railway companies. (Loud cheers.)
In his mind that was a most important question,
and he told them so when he first sought their suf-
frages. (Hear.) When he made his first speech
he was very green in Parliamentary tactics, but he
thought the best thing he could do was to oppose
the very first private bill that came before the house
vithout a clause or clauses in it making it binding
upon a railway company to erect as many dwellings
for the ,corer classes as they pulled down. On that
occasion he succeeded, and the bill was triumphantly
thrown out. (Cheers.) When the next private bill
made its appearance he got up and opposed that
too, but the chairman of the committee said if that
course were pursued it would be detrimental to the
interests of the country at large, and suggested that
it would be better to pass some general rule applic-
able to the whole of the country. That suggestion
was concurred in by Col. Wilson Patten, whoadded
that if he (Mr. Hughes) would consult with the rail-
way people interested in these bills, and with their
consent frame some clauses which could be adopted
as a standing order, no doubt the house would agree
t it. Well, he took that advice in good part. He
thought it was better to cut off all the heads at once
than to take them one by one, and therefore he
went to his chambers, and, after careful considera-
tion, drew up clauses, the great object of which
was to insist upon railway companies erecting as
many dwellings fcr the poor as they pulled down.
(Cheers.) He must say that he met with the
utmost sympathy on the part of the railway gentle-
men, who admitted the gravity of the question and
the extent of the evil, and professed themselves
willing to accede to any fair and reasonable proposal.
(Hear.) When, how,#ver he brought his clauses for-
ward in the house, to his horror and astonishment
Col. Wilson Patten got up and said they were far
too sweeping to be embodied in a standing order,
and that he had better get them inserted in the Go-
vernment bill on the subject which had been intro-
duced by the President of the Board of Trade. That
seemed a good suggestion, too, and therefore he
waited for that bill, with this result that at the
end of the session Mr. M. Gibson withdrew it, leav-
ing him (Mr. Hughes) out in the cold—(laughter) .
but in the meantime, between the introduction
of
his clauses and the end of the session, no less than
20,000 houses of the poor had been pulled down.
(Shame, and hear, hear.) Why, the strongest-handed
bill of the whole session, the Cattle Plague Bill, was
passed in the first three weeks of the session almost
at the point of the bayonet. Look at that, as an in-
stance of the value of direct representation in the
House of Commons. The working classes were told
that they did not need any further or direct repre-
sentation there. Plenty of members sat in the house
who understood their views and could advocate their
interests. But look at the fact. The country party,
with a powerful direct representation, carried their
bill in three weeks, but it took a whole session to
prevent 20,000 houses of the working classes from
being pulled down, and then the effort was abortive.
Other members laboured equally uselessly, for the
same object, notably Mr. M'Cullagh Torrens—
(cheers)—who had a measure on the same subject,
and was compelled to withdraw it at the close of the
That, to his mind, was a proof that there
was considerable good in a party being directly re-
presented in the House of Commons. In order to
get anything done in that house, it wanted a reso-
lute party directly connected with the people to
keep driving persistently at a clearly-defined and tan-
gible object. (Cheers.) The next speech he made was

session.

when the question of maritime law was before the
house. Nobody else spoke upon it but Mr. Oli-
phant. The Government contended that the ques-
tion was one entirely of municipal law ; but he (Mr.
Hughes) suggested that it was no question with the
Americans whether our municipal law was sufficient
to Prevent such vessels as the Alabama from destroy-
ing their ships and commerce, but how to stop such
ships from issuing from our ports, and carrying de-
struction nnal.arFe scale, without being interfered
and,
with by us,indeed, permitted to do so, until
the Alabama was destroyed by the American ship
Kearsage. He sug
that they should send the
whole question befogreestVn independent and impar-
tial arbitration, instead of becoming judges in their
own cause, and if it was decided that we wore
wrong, then let us pay fair damages. It was said at
that time that there wouldbe a difficulty infixing the
terms of arbitration, but what were lawyers and
judges appointed for but to get over such difficul-
ties
? At all events the suggestion was not
tertained, but now Lord Stanley bad agreed that
Commission on the subject of maritime law was to
be issued immediately, which meant that the Ala-
bama claims were to be considered, for if that was
not the case the Americans would not come into
our commission. He saw, too, that the Premier had
been saying some very civil things of the Americans
at the Mansion-house, and with reference to this
subject, he was very glad that Lord Derby bad ar-

rived at this conclusion, and could only say that if
he had done so five years ago there would have been
no Alabama claims to arbitrate upon. (Laughter.)
The speech of the noble lord was a capital one, but
at the bottom of it all there was the feeling—very
likely it was the feeling of that meeting—that
Britannia ought to rule the sea. (Cheers.) The
noble lord said that because we had laid the Atlan-
tic Cable at the bottom of the sea we had proved
Britain's maritime supremacy. (Cheers.) Well,
there were two sides to this question, and the other
side had been put by an American poet in some
verses, entitled " Jonathan to John :"
"We own the ocean too, John;
You must not think it hard,
If we can't think with you, John,
It's just your own backyard.
Ole Uncle S. (that's Uncle Sam),
Sez he, I guess,
If that's his game, sez he,
The fencing stuff •
Will cost enough
To bust ole J. B."

(Laughter.) That was just what he thought, the
ocean was not our backyard. (Hear, hear.) Next
he came to the Reform Bill. (Hear.) In his speech
on that bill he endeavoured to show, as he had
already said, that the people were not directly re-
presented by referring to existing legislation. In
the case, for instance, of the Masters and Servants'
Act—what was a civil offence on the part of the
masters was a criminal offence on the part of the
workmen. Was that fair? (No, no.) • Then, were
the people satisfactorily lodged and housed ? Were
they properly educated and trained, as we could wish
to see them? It had been said with great truth during
the recessthat we were all squabbling abouttheologi-
cal questions, and meanwhile the people had no proper
schools provided for them ? Was that right ? He
thought that if the people were fully represented that
matter would be speedily dealt with. He believed the
time had come when we must make up our minds
to have compulsory education. (Cheers.) At the
meeting of the Social Science Congress, which he
attended, he found that there was a growing opinion
among all who had given that subject any attention
that the principle of the Factory Acts must be ex-
tended, and children must not be allowed to work
until they are educated in some reasonable degree.
Then there was the question of the adulteration of
food and drink. Was any one of those questions in
such a state as any honest Englishman would like to
see them ? He was sure they would say with him
that they were not. (Cheers.) But they might say,
as was said by others, that these were things
to be regretted and deplored, but that Government
could not alter them. In reply, he would say, they
had all seen that the Government could alter many
things when they were willing to do so. They
altered the corn laws, for instance ; and if Govern-
ment could not deal with such questions as those he
had enumerated, then Government must be much
less important than he took it to be ; and if it was
of so trifling a nature, why not let everybody have
a share in it? (Cheers.) He thought the people,
looking at these things, had a right to say, " You
have failed most miserably. You have allowed these
abuses to come to a head. We, as the people, are
deeply interested in having them remedied, and we
claim a share in the Government in order to try
our hand at it." (Cheers.) Therefore he said the
people were entitled, gradually it might be, but
surely, to participate to a larger extent in the
legislation and administration of this great country.
(Hear, hear.) They had a right to ask to be put in
harness to drag the State coach—and it was a
mighty one—along the road it should go. They
were willing enough to do so, but there were others
who had got in harness and they pulled to the ditch
and not along the road. (Laughter.) With re-
spect to the bill of last session, he believed that if
some Liberal members bad observed the rule of
silence it might have passed, if not altogether, at
least another stage. One night, when Sir Rainald
Knightley's motion was on, the house had gone to
dinner, and the Ministerial whipper-in came to
them and said, "If you'll just let this speaker
finish on the other side we'll have a majority on the
division." But unfortunately a Liberal member got
up to air his vocabulary, the Opposition now came
back, the debate was adjourned that night, and
that stage was lost. With respect to the probalo!e
future he would just say a few words. He thought
it probable, from all be ear and heard, that the
present Government would try its hand at a Re-
form Bill. If so, and it embodied household suf-
frage, he should vote for it. It was no joke to sit
through such debates as those of last session on the
Reform Bill. Revenge was sweet, and he knew no
revenge that would be so sweet as to see General
Peel, Lord Craubourne, and all the rest of them,
walking into the lobby to vote for a Reform Bill
brought in by their leader, and that bill including
household suffrage. (Loud cheers and laughter.)
The honourable member said his views on the
general question had not altered since the last elec-
tion. He still adhered to the plan for the representa-
tion of minorities. He was not opposed to the
ballot, but he was not an advocate of it. He pre-
ferred voting papers, which were not necessarily
secret, and if anything liked open voting. The
disclosures of the election commissions led, in his
opinion, not to the ballot, but to disfranchisement.
What he would like to see was an educational test,
not so severe as that of Mr. Clay's bill, but that the
person who claimed to vote should write his name
in a free current hand, and further, that he should
be called upon to go to the registrar every year for
that purpose, because the man who would not
once a year take the trouble of showing himself
and writing his name did not evince sufficient inte-
rest in politics to make a useful voter. He now
came to a point on which there had been a great
deal of very fierce letter-writing disapproving of his
conduct in writing to the papers at a certain time
to say that if the League persisted in holding meet-
ings in Hyde Park he would be one of the first to
Oppose them. What were the facts ? He under-
stood that the Government had offered to the league
every facility for trying the question of right in a
legal way, and that pending this trial the League
insisted upon
holding those meetings in the park.
(No, no.) That was his impression of the facts,
and under that impression be wrote the letter which
had brought upon him so many remonstrances. No
man was more stanch than he was in defence of the
right of public meeting, but the question was whether
these meetings should be held in a
Royal
(No, no, the people's park.) That
was th the
parkvery.
question at issue, and until it was settled by a proper
tribunal he doubted the propriety of bringing to-
gether crowds so large and of such a character
Aa
to be beyond the control of the League. (No, no.)
They must pardon him for differing from them.
He saw enough in the street in which he lived to
prove that fact. No doubt, so far as the demon-
stration which was directly under the management
of the League was concerned, all was right enough ;
but there were others, and by far the larger portion,
who were not under that control, and he saw a
neighbour of his, a fine liberal fellow, knocked down,
kicked, and then thrown into the air, simply because
seeing a policeman ill-used be rHusehewdasfrotrmeatheids
drawing-room to his assistance.
thus amidst cries of " Let's kill this fellow,"
and but for the intervention of a clergyman, a
neighbour, he might have been killed. In these
matters they ought to know what the law was n
abide by it ; and here be could not help quoting
again from " Jonathan to John" some lines which
he thought it would be well to remember—

" Our folk believe in law, John,
And it's for her sake now
They've loft the axe and saw, John,
The anvil and the plough.
010 Uncle S.,
Sez he, I guess,
If 'twern't for law, sez he,
There'd be one shindy
From here to Injy,
Which wouldn't suit J. 8.,
When not 'twixt you and me."

(Laughter and cheers.) The hon. member then
defended the course which the Jamaica Committee
had pursued in instituting the prosecution of ex-
Governor Eyre. If the Government failed to do its
duty there •were serious questions at issue—the
rights of colonial governors over our fellow-subjects,
and especially of different races; the rights and
powers of those tribunals sarcastically called judi-
cial courts-martial, and many others of the utmost
importance. It was for the interest of the whole

empire, which included 200 millions of other races
than our own, that these questions should be settled;
and it was for the sake of our own character and
the perpetuation of that empire that they should be
settled in the spirit indicated by Him who said, " In-
smuch as ye did it not unto the least of these, my
brethren, ye did it not unto me." (Hear.) In conclu-
' sion, Mr. Hughes called attention to the number of
convictions which had taken place in South London
for the possession of false weights and measures.
(Laughter.) It was no laughing matter. When he
saw these things in the papers they made his ears
tingle, and he hoped that their ears would tingle
too, and that an enlightened public opinion would
put an end to such dishonesty and fraud. (Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN having invited questions,
There was a cry of " Where's your brother
chum ?"

Mr. HUGHES—I can give an answer given on a
graver occasion, "Am I my brother's keeper ?"
(Great laughter and cheering.)
Other questions were put, to which Mr. HUGHES
replied briefly. The time had come when he must
state to what extent he agreed with the temperance
movement and the Permissive Bill, and he had ac-
cepted an invitation to do so at the Lambeth Baths
on Thursday, where he invited all who felt inte-
rested to attend. As to the separation of Church
and State, he was a member of the Church, and
upon the whole he thought the advantages of that
union preponderated. With respect to the allow-
ances made to her Majesty's children on their mar-
riage with German Princes and the reason why he
did not speak against them, his reply was, that to
speak against the opinion of nine-tenths of your
hearers was a mistake. (Oh, oh.) That was his
opinion, but his interrogator had of course a right
to his own.

On the motion of Mr. Granville, seconded by Mr,
Meehan, a vote of thanks was tendered to Mr.
Hughes, for his manly and honest speech, for the
consistent and independent manner in which he had
represented the borough, and expressive of the fullest
assurance that he would in future deserve the con-
tinuance of that confidence.

The motion was carried amidst enthusiastic ap-
plause, which was renewed and prolonged when the
hon. member briefly acknowledged it, and stated
that so long as they sympathised with each other he
would be happy to be their representative ; when he
failed to do so, let them part in peace and good
friends. (C heers. )

A vote of thanks to the chairman closed the pro-
ceedings.

John Bull and the Alabama Claim.

The following letter has been addressed to a con-
temporary :
Sir, —Typically, John Bull is supposed to repre-
sent an individual who loves ease and comfort, and
consequently is opposed to all excitement, whether
natural or artificial, the pugnacity of his disposi-
tion having wondrously subsided during the present
century, and only manifested its dormant state in
two or three exceptional cases. Since the Crimean
War, in which he expended so much money and
blood, and obtained so little substantial glory,
Mars and his occupation have had very little in-
terest for him. Such trifling affairs as the Trent
and Alabama breezes may have disturbed his equa-
nimity for a moment and called him away from his
ordinary avocations, but he summarily dismissed
them after he had given his ultimatum and relapsed
into his former habits. As long as he was contented
he supposed all the world must acquiesce in his wise
decision.

John Bull, by experience, has learned that he has
never made anything out of interfering with other
people's business. It was all very well when he was
young, fiery, impetuous, and so forth, but he has
bought that experience dearly ; he even feels the
weight now. No, he would and did devote his time
to peaceful employment, and his aim and object was
to preserve a respectable neutrality ; in fact, to
mind his own business. lie was very sorry about
poor Denmark, and the loss of Schleswig-holstein,
but he comforted himself with the assurance that
he did not understand the merits of the case. The
late combat in Germany, " short, sharp, and deci-
sive," was shocking to read about. The absorption
of llanover was, he thought, rather a liberty on the
part of Prussia, and the conduct of Mr. Von Bis-
marck was anything but according to the recognised
rules of international propriety. his sympathies
were with .Austria, Italy, Saxony, and Hanover.
But he conceived it was a very different thing con-
doling with a friend who had received a discoloura-
tion of the eye from a bully antagonist, and endan-
gering his own ease and safety by knocking or
attempting to knock down the pugnacious bully. No.
his mission was peace, to develope the wealth of the
country by promoting the agricultural, mechanical,
manufacturing, and commercial elements which
enriched the nation individually and collectively.
Now if there was one thing annoyed John Bull
more than another, it was to allude to the shop
after he had turned his back upon it, and was en-
joying the comforts of his well-earned repose. We
will suppose, for example, he has attended to and
transacted the business of the day. Everything has
gone on satisfactorily, his letters show that mine,
manufactory, warehouse, and marine have all been
successfully conducted, his advices from abroad all
tell the same tale, and he departs at the close of the
day in a peaceful, contented state of mind. Arrived
at home, he is full of hilarity, casts aside the cares
and anxieties of business, and enjoys with his family
those comforts which he has provided for them. His
dinner has been partaken of to his satisfaction,
the last glass of port has disappeared, and then
happy, easy, benign, peaceful, neutral John Bull
takes his nap. " Forty winks" have not yet elapsed
when the sharp and sonorous bang, bang, of the
postman is heard at the door. The worthy gentle-
man is startled from his slumbers, an expression of
displeasure overspreads his otherwise genial coun-
tenance. He has not much time for considering
what was the cause of the disturbance before the
dining room door opens, and the servant hands him
a letter. He rubs his eyes for a moment, fumbles
in his waistcoat pocket for his spectacles (John Bull
never uses eye glasses in the evening), carefully
wipes them, places them on his nose, draws his chair
closer to the table, and then, after examining the
caligraphy, removes the letter from its enclosure,
and reads the contents.

The knitting of the brows, the compression of
the lips, the shaking of the head, sufficiently evince
the contents are not of the most pleasant nature.
" Presumptuous!" ejaculates Mr. Bull. " Annoy-
ing in the extreme, awl Lu b diaturboa of. thin time
of night about an almost forgotten affair ; the fel-
low's mad, impudent beyond bearing."
" Nothing wrong, I hope, my dear uncle, that
will call you out to-night ?" said Miss Britannia, his
niece, who was seated at the opposite side of the
table.

" Wrong, of course there's something wrong. I
never get any peace or quietness. Here's a fellow
whose claim I have over and over again refused to
pay, and whom I thought, after my last letter, would
drop the matter forever. After a lapse of twelve
months he now writes to me that he has sent an agent
to England, that he has brought additional and
overwhelming evidence to substantiate his claim,
and that if I don't settle it at once he will take sum-
mary proceedings. Hang him, though, but I won't
be bullied." Here Mr. Bull brought his fist down
upon his mahogany in such a forcible manner as
caused the decanter and empty wine glasses to ring
again.

" But, my dear uncle," interrupted his niece,
-" what is the nature of his claim ? You know I
do not pretend to understand much about business,
yet you have often given me credit for sensible
counsel and advice. Now, won't you tell me all
about it, and let us talk it over ?" Miss Britannia
had spoken in her usual quiet, unobtrusive way that
always won on the old gentleman. After perusing
the letter again he removed his spectacles, reclined
himself once more in his comfortable arm-chair,
then, with preliminary " h'ems," he commenced as
follows :

The story is a long one, and very intricate, even
for a lawyer. You see, my dear girl, a good many
years ago (although not as large as now) I still car-
ried on a most extensive promiscuous business ; in
fact, there was no firm who had so many agents
abroad, still my home establishment did not present

as roomy an appearance as many of my neighbours'.
I had a clerk who evinced more than ordinary
shrewdness and capacity for business ; he seemed
intuitively to comprehend all my ideas and carry
them out without any extended directions. When
he had finished his term of apprenticeship, I pro-
posed to give him what I supposed was a fair salary.
What was my astonishment when he declined my
offer and demanded twice the amount. I refused.
He gave me notice. I told him the sooner he went
the better. In a few days he called upon me and
asked for a recommendation, saying he hoped he had
been of use to me. Of course this was not to be de-
nied. You know, my dear niece, lam not natu-
rally unkind, only I do like to have my own way,
and I did'nt like the air of independence in which
he had spoken to me. But now that I looked in his
manly face, and read and knew the truth was in his
honest eye ; when I remembered, too, that he had
served me faithfully; that oftentimes, when I had
been harsh, and perhaps overbearing, he had never
answered even by a look, I could'nt, now that he
was going away, help feeling a little interest in him.
So I said, as I handed him his recommendation,
"Where do you intend going, Mr. Jonathan ?" for
that was his name. "Do you intend procuring a

situation near here; are you going abroad ; or have
you any fixed plans as yet ?" " Well, Mr. Bull,"
he as I was young, and had a
longreplied,
life
eeb I thought,
efOreme,that with resolution, applica-
tion, and a will, I might in some locality have a

chance to get a situation in some new established
house, and by and bye work myself up into a part-
nership where I should be independent." As the
young chap said this, he was standing tall, firm, and
erect before me, and I thought I saw in his whole
manner that self-confidence which in the end nearly
always insures success. I now remembered that
I had long contemplated establishing a branch in
the newly-discovered country of America. I
had heard of other houses who had succeeded very
well in barter trade with the Indians, and I thought
here was the opportunity I desired. Remaining
intent a short time, and turning the matter over in
my mind, I finally concluded to make him an offer.
" Young man," I remarked, " how would you like
to go to America, if I will supply you with a stock
of goods, and a small vessel to carry them over.
Remember, it is a new country ; you will be on your
own resources, you can take out two or three com-
panions to assist you. I will pay the expenses and
supply you with the goods, which you must repay
me for when sold." Young Jonathan folded his
arms, bent his head down as if considering the
matter, and then, after a few minutes, he said, " 1
will go." Well, I loaded a little vessel called the
May Flower, and, after seeing him safely off, I re-
turned to my business. During the space of many
years I heard from him, received his remittances,
sent him goods at my own prices, and I am ashamed
to say I think now that I charged him rather heavily,
though at that time I did not think so ; for you see
I had supplied him with the goods, started
him in business, and gave him credit when
no one else knew him. His letters soon changed
in their character, he was becoming ungrateful, he
charged me with being exorbitant in my prices. He
stated he could purchase the articles much less at
other places. Then we became mutually angry. I
told him he should pay what I charged, or I would
ruin his credit, prevent his purchasing anywhere
else, and in the end break up his business. He
defied me, and informed me that he should an-
nounce to all his friends that he had no connection
with my house. I had no conception of the strength
and extent of the firm. Alas, since then I have
learned to my sorrow I lost the best customer I
ever had. At last I succumbed. I had money, he
had credit. Since then he has been a good cus-
tomer of mine, but I no more enjoy the monopoly.
He trades with the very houses I do, and has esta-
blished manufactories in America equal to those
that supply my house with goods here. It has
always been a sore subject to me, the senseless
quarrel between Mr. Jonathan and myself.
After a time there was a partner admitted in
Mr. Jonathan's, who owned one-third of the busi-
ness. He was a fiery, hot-headed gentleman, who
did not like much work. He despised Mr. Jonathan,
although Jonathan was the richest, because he
attended to all branches of the establishment, was
there early and late, supervising, directing, improv-
ing, and extending, never hesitating at any employ-
ment, even though it spoiled his hands, so long as
it was for the general good of all. Mr. Reb,
the junior partner, disliked all this; but he
was fond of dictating and demanding certain
experiments should be continued, which Mr.
Jonathan, wiser than he, believed would probably
prove detrimental to the general good. And, con-
sequently, whenever they were proposed, he firmly
but courteously opposed their extension. They had,
besides their factories, vast estates north, south,
east, and west. Mr. Reb had owned all the cotton
branch, and from his extended fields and planta-
tions he brought, as they say, " a good deal of grist
to the mill." He knew the full value of the por-
tion which he had added to the common stock, and
knowing this, one day, feeling a little more inde-
pendent than usual, he thought he would again pro-
pose his favourite scheme to the senior partner.
" Mr. Jonathan," remarked Mr. Reb, " You must
be aware that my experiments have proved remune-
rative, and also that there is less trouble, less labour,
and less anxiety in the working of my share of the
business than yours. Now, as you won't let me
carry on the experiment in any new property, I
propose to smash the concern ; and smash it I
will."

Mr. Jonathan replied—" Mr. Reb, this is a per-
petual partnership. You have signed the papers,
all profit is to go into the general concern, and
neither you nor I have a right to dissolve it ; and I
give you fair warning that if you attempt it there
will be trouble."

Mr. Reb said nothing more, but sullenly and
angrily he was leaving the counting-house, when
Mr. Jonathan, holding out his hand, said, " Don't
go, let us talk things over. I will prove to you
that your theory, and the extension of any part of
the establishment for the purpose of carry-
ing it out, will prove injurious to us. You
know it has caused a great deal already. Let us
close the experiment. What it has caused us already
I am willing by degrees shall be taken out of the
general reserve fund. Is not that fair ?"
" No," replied Reb. "If you do not choose to
let me carry on the experiment in this establish-
ment, remember I claim one-third of the property ;
and if I cannot have it by fair means I will have it by
foul. I'll split the whole infernal establishment up,
and carry on the concern myself ; we'll see who's
got the power."
" Now, my friend, Reb," said Jonathan," I have
spoken smoothly to you, but if you attempt any of
your mad business in our house you'll perhaps find
yourself severely whipped before you get through ;
so just beware, that's all 1"

That night Mr. Reb, having prevailed upon a
few friendly spirits to join him, having the ad-
vantage of a surprise, committed sad havoc in the
head department. Many of the valuables were
seized, articles necessary for carrying on trade were
destroyed, the most important machines were mud-
lated, barricades were erected, cutting off one-third
of the establishment, and so much good use did the
malcontents make of their time that when morning
came they had improvised an establishment of their
own, Mr. Reb starting business with an immense
show of activity.

But how acted Mr. Jonathan when he was
aroused from his slumbers? At first he was para-
lysed with astonishment ; he could not believe that
Reb would either be so rash or suicidal as to attempt
anything so bold, and commit a series of acts which
would ultimately irretrievably ruin him, But he
sounded the alarum, and those who were faithful to
him soon rallied around his standard. He told
them what had occurred, that he intended before he
had finished he would let Mr. Rebknow that he could
not be so easily trifled with. I am for war, open,
terrible war, until he submits. One or the other
must give way ; there is not room for two firms,
Mr. Reb, carrying off the goods which he had
seized from the central establishment, determined
on defending his estates. Mr. Jonathan was
equally determined to bring the wayward, hot-
headed youth back.

Now Mr. Jonathan possessed some fine vessels,

and he found it would be policy to be friends ; and
so sending over he informed me of his difficulties,
and asked if I could supply him with certain goods
he was in want of. Of course I was too glad to
do so. In the meantime Mr. Reb sent an agent
over with the same request. Being a business man,
I had nothing to do with their quarrels, and of
course I filled both orders. But Mr. Jonathan had
blocked the roads to Mr. Reb's new establishment,
so that he couldn't obtain his goods. Many of them
he seized and sequestered. Then Mr. Reb's agent
swore with a terrible oath that Mr. Jonathan
should have no vessels to carry over his goods. He
would drive all his ships off the sea. I advised him
not to do anything hastily. He then wanted to have
built a pretty little craft in a ship-yard I was inte-
rested in. I told him my business was cash. That
was perfectly satisfactory. But mind, I remarked,
nothing unlawful. You must not play pirate, or
put guns on board. "All right, sir." "I assure you,
Britannia," said Uncle Bull, "at this time you
couldn't have ever refused him. lie was a most
insinuating young dog, and liberal as a prince.
Well, here is where all my trouble begins. We
built the vessel in one part of the establishment, and
he goes to another branch and buys some other ma-
terials, which he puts into a small craft. Well,
when the trim craft we have sold leaves, by some
unfortunate coincidence she meets the other on
the seas, and she is converted into a regular—but
I wont mention it. I only know if my clerks car-
ried on the game with any mutual understand-
ing, I was ignorant. Now, unfortunately many
of Mr. Jonathan's ♦essels with valuable goods
connected with his business crossed the path
of Mr. Reb, and he in a spirit of revenge and vin-
dictiveness burned them ; the loss to Mr. Jonathan
was very great, who, hearing of it, says he will hold
me responsible. .1 wrote to him and told him I was
not responsible ; that if a customer come to my
shop and bought some laudanum for the toothache,
I couldn't tell whether he was going to commit
murder or suicide. I told him if a person bought
a gun of me I could not ask if he was going to
kill the first gentleman he met ; if a gentleman
bought a ship I couldn't tell that in every box
he took on board were the materials for con-
verting her into a privateer. Finally, in my
absence, I was not accountable for the conduct of
my clerks, and with this I begged he wouldn't
bother me any more about it. He then wrote me,
and said he was confident he was right, and he
would leave it to any one outside. I told him I
knew my own affairs. It appears now he has settled
with his former partner, and taken Mr. Reb in this
time as a silent, not active member of the house.
His business has prospered and increased ; he has
leisure time on his hands, and he intends to put me
through. In fact, he is trying to bully me." This
concluded Mr. John Bull's story.
"My dear uncle, may I ask this," said Miss
Britannia, " were the things furnished from your
establishment, and hadn't you some slight idea of
what was going on ?"

" I don't choose to reply to any impudent ques-
tions !" growled Mr. John Bull, evidently in no very
agreeable humour.

" May I ask, then, whether you would not rather
pay this than lay yourself open to the same injury
in case of a split in your firm ? Is the amount too
large for you, Uncle?"
" I must certainly say it's unpleasant, and I
should not like it to occur to me. As for the
amount, it's a mere bagatelle."
" Now, Uncle," earnestly spoke Miss Britannia,
" I know you arc sometimes gruff, but you are
always just when you are convinced ; and I
am sure that it is better, if you believe your
case good, to leave it to the decision of a mutual
friend. This continual bickering may yet lead to an
open breach, the embers may be fanned into a
flame, as you are aware. Mr. Jonathan may find
means, if he desires, of injuring your business ;
whereas, by giving him a fair hearing, by laying
the case before chosen friends, an amicable arrange-
ment may be arrived at, and you will be better and
stronger friends than ever, while the mercantile
world, whatever the verdict may be, will give you
credit for fairness and justice." Here Mr. Bull
nodded acquiescence. And I agree with Miss
Britannia. It is your duty, Mr. Bull, and all
of us Bulls, to consider the case of the Alabama not
only on the ground of right, but of expediency,
policy, or whatever you may choose to call it. The
commerce of our metropolis alone in a single year
has amounted to three hundred and seventy-five
millions (375,000,000) sterling. Tyre, Carthage,
Alexandria, Byzantium, Venice, renowned for their
commerce in former periods of the world, conducted
a small trade in comparison with this. Our sails
dot every sea and spread their wings over every
ocean. Our colonies are scattered in every known
quarter of the earth. Why lay up in store a pun-
ish►nent that may overtake us at any moment ? The
rumblings that come across the Atlantic are not
pleasing to the ear. Ido not say they fright your
soul, Mr. Bull, for ages have testified to your valour
and bravery ; but why not remove all cause of
anger ? Let the message be of peace, instead of
the defiant roar of the lion, and the shrill screech of
the angered eagle as she soars proudly aloft. Let
Columbia and Britannia be your ambassadors ; they
have only one messenger, the dove. Well do I remem-
ber at the time of the Trent affair, when the clouds
rose ominous and dark above the peace of the two
countries, a cartoon in Punch. It represented Co-
lumbia standing on the shores of America looking
across the broad blue expanse of waters to where
Albion's white cliffs were. On her right shoulder,
though chained, was the eagle, emblematic of war ;
he was ready to bear any message of defiance ; but
on the forefinger of Columbia's left hand was a
dove; with her right hand she was softly stroking
its head. There Columbia stood, hesitating, irre-
solute ; at last a smile of sweetness irradiates and
illumines her countenance ; the little blue rib-
band is detached, and the dove sails away
the messenger of peace ; and so now I hope
John Bull will have as much sense. Leave it to
Britannia ; chain the lion in his den ; but let the
dove bear across the Atlantic a message, and let it
be a draft in full. Then John Bull may sip his
port wine, take his " forty winks" in security, and
not be afraid of the rap-rap of the postman bring-
ing unpleasant letters at unseasonable hours.

THOMAS RAWLINGS.
103, Gresham House, Nov. 16.

MR. D. FIELD'S ADDRESS ON JURISPRUDENCE.—
On Monday, 12th inst., Mr. Dudley Field, a gentle-
man who has achieved a wide-spread reputation as one
of the Commissioners for the Codification of the
Laws of the State of New York, delivered an ad-
dress to the Jurisprudence Department of the Social
Science Association in the rooms of the Society of
Arts. The Hon. George Denman, Q.C., presided
at the meeting, which was attended by those inte-
rested in the much-vexed question of Codification
v. Digestion. Mr. Field is one of the ablest advo-
cates of codification, and he has it in his power to
supply an amount of practical information on the
subject, such as no one in this country can possibly
possess. True, it by- no means follows either that
the excellent compendium of the law of New York
on which we lately offered some remarks will be
found to fill the place required of a complete code,
or that, if it does, the same course could be taken
with equal success in this country ; but the ventila-
tion of the question will be greatly assisted, and the
necessary field of discussion materially narrowed,
by an accurate knowledge (such as Mr. Field can
impart) of what has been done in the country whose
laws and circumstances are, of the whole world, the
most similar to our own. The ability displayed iu
the introduction to the " Civil Code of the State of
New York" is such that we would gladly transfer
the whole of it to these columns did our space per-
mit.—Solicitors' Journal.

LADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Ointment and Pills.—
Biliousness, Dysentery.—There is no organ in the human
body so liable to derangement as the liver. Food, fatigue,
climate, and anxiety—all disorder its action and render its
secretion, the bile, more or less depraved, superabundant,
or scanty. Tho first symptoms should receive attention.
A pain in the side or top of the shoulder, a harsh cough
and difficulty of breathing are signs of liver disease, which
are removed without delay by friction with Holloway's
inestimable ointment. The pills should also be taken early.
For all diseases of this vital organ the action of these con-
joined remedies is a specific by checking the over supply
of bile, regulating its secretion, and giving nervous tone.

* Note.—The Poussin came from the Colonna Palace,
Rome. No work by Poussin now exists in Rome so fiuo
as this was once. •

of three Lancashire spinsters was required to furnish yarn
for one weaver. The new inventions soon removed ever/
obstacle, and the weavers had an ample su; ply, for, ill
wonderfully brief time the Jenny and the Water-frame
could spin a pound of cotton to a thread 19 miles long, but
the Mule to one of 950 ! The inventors of these wonderful
machines were not men of education or rich men, but they
were, notwithstanding, great men in the best sense of the
word. Hargreaves and Crompton were ordinary operatives
and still more unfavourably circumstanced was Arkwright
for he was a barber distinguished from other barbers only •
b y cheap shaving. " Startling," says Mr. Ashworth, "ne
it may appear, discoveries of such importance have been
disclosed to the world by a few untutored men from the
ranks of labour. Thanks to them, the machinery thus
constructed has completely revolutionised the arts of spin-
ning, and has put in motion an instrumentality and a sYe'
tom of manufacture where the fibrous products of nature
are utilised to the service of man ; fitted alike to minister
to the refined taste of the wealthy, and to supply the more
Important and urgent needs of the poor!" The machines
first applied to cotton, and which, had there been no cottout
would certainly never have been invented at all, have since
been successfully applied to other textile materials, as the -
wool of the sheep, the hair of the goat, the camel, and the
alpaca to flax, to hemp, to Indian jute—even to the Ore
of the tropical Banana, and to the intestines of a cattT
pillar. Other nations have borrowed our inventions. The
jenny and the mule are in Europe to be seen from Spain
to Russia, from England in a westerly direction across the,
Atlantic, and in an easterly as fat as the eastern shores nt
Hindustan. All who do not manufacture themselves, and
many who do, receive from us plain and coloured cottons,
and cotton yarn to the extent last year of better than
£57,000,000. We are the greatest consumers, but If
we consume no more than £43,000,000 we have here 311
party of a hundred millions a year created in one hundred
years' time, an estate a good deal more valuable than our
Indian Empire, which we began creating at the same thne•
Nothing could stay the rapid advance of the cotton menu"
facture after James Watt had improved, or for all Pranh„r-,..
purposes rather had invented, the steam engine. .I.`4`
heaviest blow, short of the overthrow of our own
in-
stitutions by a conqueror, was given to it by the civil war
in America, which nearly destroyed our best and largest
supply, raising the price of the raw material frel
sixpence up even to five sixpences, and which is compute
to have inflicted a direct penalty on us little short a
£70,000,000, exclusive of enhanced cost to the consumer.
We are, however, rapidly recovering from this great e 7;
tastrophe, and soon the cotton manufacture will be greater
than ever. We have but one objection to offer to the Able
and instructive essay of Mr. Ashworth, and it is this: 111
his admiration of the principles of freedom of commerce'
with which we are entirely in unison, he makes no alleigui
ance for—and, indeed, no mention of—another puvrerL
promoter of the cotton manufacture as of every ntu—
branch of British industry. This is the influx of the Pre-
diens metals. The influx has been to the amount of Mani
millions a year now for 18 years. The silver brought to
market has equalled the gold, for the two metals bear tilde
same relative values which they did before. The
old gold
and silver also come from the mines as they did before, yes
this mighty addition has not depreciated the value of this
precious metals. In the 16th century the precious Mete
were depreciated, because they flowed into a little sluggieh
market which could not absorb them. In our time they
'
have flowed into a mighty one, and simply stimulated
creation of new wealth equal to their own amount. 31
Ashworth's own figures will, we think, show iudisputab
t l
how gold has helped free trade. In 1840, before free;
trade principles were in operation, our exports
goods were estimated in round numbers at £24,000,00 •
iroproVe:
In the next five years, which included three years'
went in the tariff, they rose to £26,000,000. In the follow'
ing five years, ending with 1850, which included four Yee„
of corn-law abolition, the exports rose to £28,000,000. tio
that free trade, then, had done in 10 years time was t°
the
produce an increase of £4,000,000. The influx' o 1
precious metals began in 1849 and 1850, so that the leen
years of free trade especially had received 'some Sin,a
assistance from it. In the first five years of free traubete
helped by gold, our exports rose to £34,000,000, and in tee
next five, ending with full supply of the raw material, t 11.0):
amounted to £52,000,000, or in ten years' time they had
creased by £18,000,000, against the £8,000,000 of the cor-
responding decennial period, when free trade had tln help
of cottoo
from the new gold. Mr. Ashworth has a mind that as
readily grasp such subjects, and when he gives the 61'1°;
tion his consideration, we are satisfied that he will Bgre
with David Hume and Wm. Huskisson in thinking that an
influx of gold is a great promoter of national prosperity