The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-29 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, JAN. 29, 1866.

After the many gross calumnies that have been
circulated respecting the conduct of the authorities
in Jamaica, it is a great satisfaction to have some
of Governor EYRE'S own remarks on the subject at
last before us. Among other intelligence brought
by the American, it is reported that the magistracy,
clergy., and other inhabitants of the parish of Tre-
lawny, presented an address to the Governor, in
which they sympatthised with him in his heavy re-
sponsibilities, and expressed the great pleasure they
had in stating that his Excellency " discharged
them with so much wisdom, energy, promptitude,
and decision of purpose, from no selfish considera-
tion, but under a deep sense, we feel assured, of
your Excellency's duty to our beloved Sovereign,
to the loyal inhabitants of this island, and all its
best interests." To this comprehensive and decided
tribute to the value of his services, and the high
estimation in which they held them, the Governor re-
turned an admirable answer, in which he set forth
the difficulties which beset him, and in most em-
phatic language protested against the course pur-
sued by a certain sect in England. He declared
that this address was doubly welcome to him at that
juncture, when the acts referred to, undertaken
from a deep sense of his duty to his Sovereign, and
to the colonists in the island, and with a full and
conscious appreciation of his painful responsibility,
had " been so maliciously misrepresented, and so
unjustly maligned by a portion of the English press,
and by parties at home who have no sympathies
with their fellow-countrymen suffering under the
atrocious barbarities inflicted by savages, because
those savages have a black skin, though they do not
hesitate to call the just retribution which overtook
the ruthless rebels of St. Thomas-in-the-East by
the names of ' murder' and ' massacre."' How
true a definition is this of the state of affairs in this
country, and how aptly does it represent the mis-
taken and mischievous course pursued by the members
of the faction and their abettors. 'low contemp-
tible must their conduct appear to those who really
know the facts and appreciate the dangers that existed
in Jamaica, and how absurd must it seem to a man
like Governor EYRE, who, from knowledge and
experience, is alike enabled to comprehend the full
force and deep significance of the movement at
Morant Bay. Nothing could possibly be more, con_
elusive than the manner in which the Governor de-
scribes the view taken of the outbreak by the faction
in England; and all who consider the matter dispas-
sionately must admire his discernment and applaud
his spirit in so denouncing it. Because the perpe-
trators of the fell outrages were " black" all their
crimes were condoned ; but it was far otherwise
when these DANIELS came to judgment had to pro-
nounce sentence upon those who put down the
rebellion. How different then was the tone taken,
and how strangely inconsistent was their language. .
While the most wanton outrages were excused and
even defended on the one band, the mama

sorted to for their suppression were denounced in
the strongest terms and with the bitterest re-

proaches.

The conclusion of the Governor's reply is also
very impressive, when he states that it was quite
" trying enough" to have to encounter the task of
putting down the rebellion, but it was " very hard"
and " quite unexpected" to have to " rebut accusa-
-1 tions founded upon exaggeration, misrepresentation,
and untruth." No wonder that the Governor
should feel surprise and indignation at the manner
in which his extraordinary exertion and dauntless
courage have been treated by a certain party in
England. It is, indeed, almost unaccountable, and
quite unprecedented, that a servant of the Crown
should be so basely maligned in his arduous attempt
to protect the subjects of the QUEEN and to preserve
order and tranquillity in the island cdmmitted to
his charge. That passage in the address is very im-
pressive in which Governor EYRE declares that he will
have much pleasure in transmitting the address to
her MAJESTY'S Government " as a proof that, in the
island, where the actual circumstances ought to be
best known, and where the magnitude and immi-
nency of the danger to the entire colony can be best
appreciated, that the ' foul aspersions' disseminated
by a portion of the English press are unjust and
undeserved." Certainly this address adds another
to the many proofs already furnished of the high
sense entertained in Jamaica of the services ren-
dered by Governor EYRE, and the Colonial-office
has no lack of evidence which not only exone-
rates him from the charge made, but shows him
to have been a true and faithful guardian of his
trust.

If anything could heighten the enormity of the
conduct of these traducers of the Governor and op-
ponents of his policy, it would be the fact that from
the outset of the affair all the intelligence that has
reached us confirms the statements made at first
concerning the unanimous verdict of approval given
by the colonists respecting the conduct of Governor
EYRE. Surely all must admit that those on the
spot were the best qualified to judge ; but no,
there are men so perverted in their notions,
politicians so narrow in their views, as to
declare that these unfortunate persons who have
passed through such trials only speak under the
influence of fear, that they are in a " panic," and
that they must not be regarded as fair judges. Can
anything be more insulting to common sense, and
more inimical to the interests of justice than such
assertions as these ? And the sooner they meet with
the public scorn and contempt which they deserve
the better. At any rate, it is a great satisfaction
to meet with this record of the opinions entertained
by the Governor. He has spoken out in a bold and
fearless manner ; he has proved himself to be
worthy of the occasion and equal to the emergency.
It is most unfortunate that such charges should have
been made, and such calumnies propagated concern-
ing a man who has so signally distinguished himself
in a great emergency, but we have at least the con-
solation of knowing that he will not be intimidated
by fanatical bigots, nor silenced by overbearing
demagogues. Governor EYRE has a harder contest
to go through, and a more desperate battle to fight
than he had with the rebels ; but the best wishes of
all independent men in this country, and in Jamaica,
will go with him to this trial, which he should
never have been called to encounter, and it only re-
mains to hope that when he has safely passed
through the ordeal his opponents may be covered
with the shame and confusion which will be their
right portion for so basely assailing one who de-
served nothing but their thanks and admiration.

lAmong the many varied schemes by which our
politicians are endeavouring to meet the difficulties
• I of the Reform question, the careful and laborious
' treatise of Sir JOHN EARDLEY WILMOT. deserves
especial notice. It has been before the public for
the last few months, but on the eve of the Parlia-
mentary session it calls for something more than a
passing notice. Sir EARDLEY WILMOT'S views in-
cline strongly, as his title indicates, to the Conser-
vative side of the question, even while he frankly
admits that the rapid progress made during the last
thirty years, both in population and in the
mental and moral training of the people, imperatively
demands an enlargement and improvement of our
representative system. His suggestions command
attention and deserve respect, because they are not
merely the speculative theories of a ready writer,
who can easily dispose of the most difficult questions
by a few strokes of the pen, since he does not
trouble himself to recognise the practical obstacles
to be surmounted ; but they are the result of careful
and assiduous study, of a painstaking examination
into the actual state of things, and a comparison of
the numbers to be dealt with to-day with those for
whom the Reformers of 1832 legislated and
laboured. The array of figures which Sir J. E.WIL-
MOT marshals in his pages is somewhat alarming at
the first glance, but their object is so clear and
simple, and they are so readily summed up, that
even the mere dilettante politician need not be dis-
couraged from the perusal of these " Letters."
Sir J. E. WILMOT has on more than one occasion
brought forward a scheme of this kind, and his
familiarity with the working of the electoral
system, partly due to seven years' experience as a
revising barrister, renders him no mean authority on
the matter of Reform. He must certainly be in-
cluded in the ranks of the Reformers, though less
from a desire to redress the grievances of any par-
ticular class than from a conviction that our pre-
sent representative system is by no means commen-
surate with the condition of our national popula-
tion, wealth, and intelligence. The two letters
treat of separate branches of the subject, the first
dealing exclusively with the extension of the fran-
chise ; the second, with the enlargement of the'
Parliamentary representation. The former occu-
pies so conspicuous a place in every Reform Bill,
whether real S or ideal, that when people talk of
Reform they often refer exclusively to it, and there
are even hints that the forthcoming measure willget
no further than the extension of the franchise,
leaving the distribution of seats, the duration of
Parliaments, and the manner of voting to be dis-
posed of at some future day.
Our author commences by taking a survey of the
rapid progress made in the wealth and prosperity of
the country since 1832, as shown by the immense
increase in the number of depositors in savings
banks, in the amount of deposits, in the number of
inhabited houses, in the population itself, in the
value of exports and imports, and in the amount of
the property and income tax. Under all these
heads, as might be expected, Sir J. E. WILMOT
finds a wonderful advance, and he draws from them
the conclusive inference that the Representative
system of,the country cannot be expected to remain
as it did in 1832. The two bills of Lord
DERBY and Lord RUSSELL both, he considers,
failed to satisfy the country, but it is not
a little singular that what he terms the
objectionable part of Lord DERBY'S Bill is not its
Conservatism but its Liberalism, the chief point of
which he complains being the reduction of the
county franchise from £5O to £lO. He considers

* " A Safe and Constitutional Plan of Parliamentary
Reform ; in Two Letters to a Member of the Conservative
party. By John Eardley Wilmot, Bart., Rocroder of
Warrick." liklarfaY.