The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-27 00:00:00

any share of the credit if successful.

JOHN PAKINGTON found another occasion for
disapproving the Government scheme. He com-
plained that the new vessel was to be " unneces-
sarily and unwisely large, incurring an enormous
expense, while it would have been far better to test
the qualities of the system as to its sea-going powers
by means of a much smaller and less expensive
vessel." But, in fact, Mr. LAIRD has already put

the system to the test, and has proved by the Vesta
that a sea-going turret ship is by no means a matter
of impossibility. It is a little too bad that when
there is undoubted talent in the country, ieady and
willing to devote itself to the service of the
country, the Executive should refuse to employ it.

Sir JonN PAKINGTON boldly attributed the recent
failures in the speed of our men-of-war, and

other mishaps, to the fact that "the Government

have allowed themselves to lose that shipbuilding

talent which they once possessed." Men of inde-

pendence and ability are year by year driven
- _ __

from our public service, disgusted with the treat-
ment which they receive, and the natural conse-

quence is that, while our annual naval expendi-
ture is reckoned by millions, our fleet and our

Administration are in an equally unsatisfactory

state.

Mr. GLADSTONE cannot certainly find his new
position a bed of roses, for he is constantly being
called to account, and far oftener by friends than
by foes. Last night Mr. WHITE took upon himself
the arduous task of revising the national expendi-
ture, and in the course of his long oration drew very
unfaTourable conclusions as to the mode in which
the Chancellor of the Exchequer conducted matters
in his department. Mr. WHITE seemed to be very
much afraid lest the right hon. gentleman should
forget his old promises, and yield to the various
temptations that assail him from many quarters.
He took a decided step to remind him of
his responsibilities by quoting a passage
from the speech made to the electors of
South Lancashire last summer, in which Mr. GLAD-
STONE declared that he did not think the expendi-
ture of the country was yet reduced to the lowest
possible point consistent with honour and security.
The appearance of the estimates for the present
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feet, we had thought an improvement on the last
one. While he had relied on the encouraging idea
held out of old thing's Passing away and al things
becoming new, he found that the sum required
for the army, navy,
and civil service was simi-
lar to that demanded last year. Certainly
this was a disappointment, and Mr. WHITE
m as not inclined to mince matters, as
he recalled its bitterness; for he said very plainly,
that unless these defects were altered the Govern-
ment ought to go out and " allow other men, cap_
able of conducting the Government of the country

Like most extreme politicians, Mr. I.l.rniTE has
run away with the idea that fully half of the
£70,000,000 yearly taxation was borne by the un-
represented classes. The two resolutions which the
hon. member moved and afterwards withdrew con-
tained truth in themselves, but were not of a practi-
cal nature, nor of that class which the House
would be likely to affirm and approve of.
He showed his sense and discretion in not pressing
them to a division, and notwithstanding many exagge-
rations, and some untenable propositions made by
Mr. WHITE, some good may be gained by his elabo-
rate speech ; and the question is one which emi-
nently, under all its attributes, deserves the attention
and consideration of Parliament. There is another
view of the question which may well engage notice,
and that is, How is all the money spent which is
raised in such large BUMS ? are the interests of the
public properly considered when we take into ac-
count the advantages which the Government possess
in the way of resources ?
Mr. GLADSTONE, in his brief speech, contrived
with great dexterity to defend the Administration
from the attacks which had been made upon it. In
the first place, he stated very truly that to convey a
deliberate judgment to the House, it would not do
to quote passages from speeches which were too
warmly coloured to convey views to Parliament.
The right hon. gentleman very fairly admitted
that the chief responsibility of all the estimates
proposed rested with the Crown. Mr. GLADSTONE,
with some reason, differs from the opinion set forth
by Mr. WHITE, as to the non-advisability of fight-
ing the battle of retrenchment in Committee of
Supply ; and declared that " the House would never
be thoroughly equipped with regard to its steward-
ship of the public expenditure unless there were in
it a race of men who standing in the position of
independent members, will do us the immeasurable
service of devoting their time, energy, and labour
to the wearying and irksome business of making
themselves acquainted with a vast mass of
detail, and by following from point to point
every item of public expenditure, and bringing to
bear upon it the force of independent judgment and
the light of public opinion." This is very correct,
because it is always far easier to find fault with a
thing than to suggest a remedy. Foremost among
those —who are few and far between in the ranks of
Parliamentary men who have done good service to
the State in the dreary drudgery of economical
survey—stands the name of the late Mr. HumE, to
whose zeal and assiduity the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer paid a high compliment last night in his
remarks upon the services which private members
might render to the cause of retrenchment. If
we had more to follow such an example
now no doubt we should not find Reform
in this important department of the Administration

a visionary theory, instead of a practical benefit.
If there is one thing more than another which re-

quires time, thought, and patience, it is certainly
the question of the national expenditure, and it

generally happens that those most in earnest about
instituting changes are too eager and impetuous,
and desire all kinds of impossible schemes and im-

practicable changes. As Mr. GLADSTONE reminded

the House last night, it must not be supposed
,4 that a mere sudden determination on the part of
Government, or a single decision in the House, can
in a moment alter that which is the result of
long traditions, of habits, and practice of
policy existing throughout several generations."
Sir S. NORTIICOTE, on the part of the Opposition,
declared that they as frequently advocated economy
on their side of the house as those on the Ministerial
Benches could do. While he admitted the necessity
for adopting care, the hon. baronet said that if the
house agreed to the resolutions of the hon. member
for Brighton, and then did nothing, they would be.
open to the accusation plausibly brought
'ay that
hon. member against the Chancellor the Exche-
quer himself.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Monday Evening.
The position of affairs in Ireland seems to excite
even more interest in France than in England, and
in the absence of " metal more attractive," I think
cannot do better than refer to the subject. The
Siecle says, " The spirit of terror has prevailed over
principle in the English Parliament," and proceeds
to extract from the works of -Napoleon the Third
the greater portion of the chapter devoted to indi-
vidual liberty in England. Referring to the Habeas
Carpus, Napoleon says," In general it is true to say
there is more liberty in England and more equality
in France. That may be easily conceived from the
organisation of the two people." The Imperial
writer proceeds to consider what are the principal
guarantees of individual liberty in England. " The
great Charter of King John proclaimed the first
principles of individual liberty, but under the des-
potic reigns of_ the Tudors and the first Stuarts, it
was generallyrecognised that every Englishman
deprived arbitrarily of his liberty could appeal to
the Courts of Justice. At the commencement of the
reign of Charles the First, the Courts of Justice
solemnly decided that they could not restore to
liberty a prisoner arrested by order of the King or
the Lords of the Privy Couacil, even if the arrest
should be made without any allegation as to the
cause of it. This decision caused much excite-
ment, and led to the Petition of Right,
in the third year of the reign of Charles
the First, according to which no arrest could
be made under such circumstances. As the
judges did not pay much attention to this alleged
right another statute was passed by which the
judges were required to grant without delay a writ
of habeas corpus. Means, however, were found to
elude this right, and it was only after the definitive
vote of the third year of the reign of Charles the
Second that there was a repression of the abuses
against liberty." After fully describing the pro-
visions of the Habeas Corpus Act Napoleon the
Third alludes to the pcwer of imprisonment claimed
by the House of Commons and exercised in modern '
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The Siecle adds—
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" Unfortunately there is no public opinion in I

The performance yesterday afternoon, in the in-
terests of The Theatrical Fund, of Dion Bouci-
cault's Five-act comedy of " London Assurance"
on the boards of Old Drury, went off very effec-
tively, and to the delight of all those who were as-
sembled in the National Theatre to witness it. The
comedy itself—thickly sprinkled in the dialogue with
old-fashioned " dammes," and relating, as it does,
to such obsolete " larks" as those indulged in more
than a quarter of a century since by the late Marquis
of Waterford and his boon companions—proved a
trifle passe. Thanks, however, to the racy humour
of Mr. Compton's pettifogging lawyer Mark Meddle,
(ambitious of being kicked, courting a kick, in fact,
as actionable, with uplifted coat-tails) thanks,
again, to the broad humour of Mr. Buckstone's
Dolly Spanker—and thanks in no small degree
also to the whimsical impersonation of th 3
valet Cool by Mr. Clark, that best and
drollest of all stage-servants,—the performance, as
a whole,: went toff delightfully. Mr. Chippendale
took great pains with the character of Sir Harcourt
Courtley, but that character itself is too intrinsically
disgusting, contemptible, and ridiculous to be re-
garded with anything like even toleration. Mrs.
Hermann Vezin's Lady Gay Spanker only made one
sigh for the remembrance of poor charming riant
Mrs. Nesbitt. Miss Nelly Moore looked and
played prettily enough as Grace Harkaway. The
light comedy part of Dazzle was to have been
assumed by Mr. Sothern—otherwise Brother Sam,
otherwise Lord Dundreary—but, in his unavoidable
absence, was enacted by Mr. Jordan, with the close-
applause
favourite,
vou greetedrite, the th
whole appearance
body
close-
shaven, stiff, black beard, the deep voice, and the
heavy manner of your most approved stage-villain. A
htueranrtoyfeach in
round of
popular
of
performers at the close of the
before the footlights play being summoned
1.,y acclamation.

M.rachant Seamen's Orphan Asylum.

The annual general meeting of the governors and
subscribers to this institution, and the half-yearly
election of inmates into it, took place yesterday at
the London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street.
The number of children to be elected was 20, 8
girls and 12 boys, out of a list of 35 approved can-
didates. The polling for the election of these opened
at 12 o'clock, and closed at 3 in the afternoon, and
at 4 o'clock the chair was taken by Mr. H. Green,
the treasurer of the institution, who, having an-
nounced the names of the successful candidates, the
business of the meeting commenced.
Mr. R. W. HACKWOOD, the secretary, read the
' 38th anual report of the committee of management.
The institution now possessed a freehold property
worth little short of £30,000, unfettered by liabili-
ties of any kind. The receipt of an increased num-
ber of annual subscriptions, of liberal donations, and
some few legacies, had enabled them, during the
year, to repay the balance of the loan from the
bankers, by which the cost of the new asylum
was entirely liquidated in 1864, and also to add
upwards of £6OO to the invested capital of the
charity. Since the date of the last report Lady
Morrison had added to her former benefactions
to the institution by placing in the hands of the
trustees a sum for the endowment of the chapel
erected at her expense for the use of the asylum.
On the 26th of April last the anniversary festival in
connexion with the institution was held under the
presidency of Mr. Alderman Lusk, M.P., when about
£1,500 was collected in behalf of the funds. The
committee specially acknowledged a donation of 100
guineas from Mr. 11. D. Hodgson, M.P., a similar
contribution from Messrs. Blyth, Green, and Co.,
and a thirty-third gift of £lOO from the corporation
of the Trinity-house. A legacy of £2,000, under
the will of the late Richard Thornton, Esq., and one
of 100 guineas handed in by the executors of the late
John Allan, Esq., had also been received before the
accounts for the year were closed, whilst one of £lOO
by Mrs. J. R. Williams, Canada West, and a be-
quest of £lOO made by Mr. Nathaniel Gould, and
paid during the testator's lifetime, had also lately
been added to the fund. The amount arising from
ship collecting-boxes had during the year reached
over 2603. During the year 39 children had been
admitted into the asylum after election, four had
been admitted by purchase, and one by presentation,
which number, after deducting 21 who had left,
gave a total of 162 children, namely, 103 boys and
59 girls, now resident, or nearly 50 more than was
on the books when the new asylum was first occu-
pied in 1864. The election of that day would still
further increase the number to 183. The report
was unanimously adopted, and a cordial vote of
thanks to the chairman terminated the proceedings.