The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-27 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—The Prussian Chambers held their last
sitting yesterday, and will be prorogued this day.
They will be called together again on the 12th of
November, but only fora short Session, as everything
' is now to be made ready for the convocation of
the North Gorman Parliament. The Upper House
has limited its work to the approval, by unani-
mous votes and without discussion, of the
bills sent up by the Elective Chamber. With
the exception of one single measure—the Loan Bill
—the King's Government have met with hardly any
opposition on the part of the Chambers. Count
Bismark has turned over a new leaf in his Constitu-
tional practice, and has shown a leaning towards
that " give-and-take" policy by which alone a free
Government can be carried on. The Loan Bill in-
troduced by the Prussian Government into the
Chamber of Deputies was voted on Tuesday last by
a large majority upon terms equally creditable to the
Executive and the Legislative powers in that coun-
try, justifying the best expectations raised by the
conciliatory speech of King William on his opening
Parliament after the eventful campaign of Konig-
gratz. As an evidence of the flourishing condition of
the Prussian finances before the war, we know that
there was in that thrifty community a Reserve
Fund, or State Treasury, swelled year by year by
the surplus of each successive Budget. Of this Fund,
in the good old absolute times, the Government
probably was free to dispose at its discretion, and
the use of it continued to be in a great measure
under its control even when the Constitution sub-
jected all financial operations to the approval of the
Legislature. The reserve fund was, of course, the
first sum employed to meet the exigencies of the
late campaign, and it was with a view to replenish
the Treasury that Government had come before the
house with its bill for a loan of 60,000,000 thalers.
The bill was referred to a committee, which reported
unfavourably, and proposed either the rejection of
the bill or its modification to an extent calculated
to frustrate the purpose of its original framers. We
had been for sometime disquieted by rumours of new
ill-feelings between the King's advisers and the de-
puties of the nation, and a hint was even thrown
out that Ministerial defeat would be the signal for
Parliamentary dissolution. There was every reason
to apprehend a renewal of those lamentable conflicts
between Executive arrogance and Legislative testi-
ness which had so seriously damaged the credit of
the representative system in Prussia. Matters,
however, were not, in this instance, suffered to pro-
ceed to extremities. Count Bismark gave evidence
of a conciliatory disposition, agreeably contrasting
with his former imperious and stubborn nature, and
accepted an amendment striking off 20,000,000
thalers, or one-third of the amount of the proposed
loan. The importance of the debate was, of course,
attached not to the sum in question, but to the prin-
ciple involved in the very existence of a Reserve
Fund. So long as Government had money at its
immediate disposal, it was thereby endowed with a
latitude of action ; it possessed a power of initiative
which might drag the nation after it, willing or un-
willing. It was by the help of the Fund that the
Government was, during the last great crisis, en-
nabled to commit the nation to a war from which it
visibly shrank, and to which it would certainly never
have voluntarily contributed a single groschen. The
King and his Minister came back victorious, and ap-
plied for a Bill of Indemnity for their arbitrary con-
duct, which they justified on the ground of necessity.
But, although the people avowed in that one in-
stance that the Government had well deserved of
the country by claiming discretionary powers in a
case of that nature, they were now loth to reinvest
the Executive with similar powers, as they saw no
chance of the recurrence of the same extreme ur-
gency. On this point, however, the Ministers under-
took to undeceive the popular representatives. There
was still something precarious, they urged, in Prus-
sia's position ; they were not as yet at peace with
Saxony ; they bad come to no compact with the
Southern States. They were still in that state of
transition where "the unforeseen often plays the
most important part." Prussia might still be called
on to make good by force what force had given her.
She must rely on a well-sharpened sword and a well-
filled purse. So far the Finance Minister, who was
' followed by Count Bismark with more explicit argu-
ments and more significant revelations. Count Bis-
mark entertains no firm faith in the continuance of
peace. " Official communication," he said, "proved
that the spirit of conciliation had not entered the
Imperial Court (of Austria) with the conclusion of
peace." He also foresaw the possibility of grave
European complications arising out of the Eastern
question. The hour of danger might rise, a panic
might paralyze the European Exchanges, and a loan
might not perhaps be raised on any terms. It was
necessary to be armed against all possible contin-
gencies ; should none arise, Count Bismark pledged
himself that no part of the fund would be touched

without the sanction of the house. By such argu-
ments were the Ministers enabled to carry the day.
The mere settlement of the financial affairs of Prus-
sia, and the definition of its constitutional powers,
might, however, have a moderate interest with us.
What more particularly arrests our attention is the
rather ominous picture which Count Bismarck
draws of the general European situation ; his aim
may have been to scare the Deputies into compli-
ance with his financial measure, but he could not
overlook the fact that he spoke within bearing of
the neighbouring nations. He may have lately been
won over to the principle of " carrying on diplo-
macy in the market-place," and the utmost frank-
ness may be for him the finest ruse, but there is no
doubt that in the warmth of debate he let out mat-
ters that statesmen would reserve for the secrecy of
their inmost closet. That there is but a hollow
peace between Prussia and Austria we might
have been led to believe from the very
silly measure adopted by the Austrian War-
office with respect to the names of some regi-
ments nominally belonging to Prussian Princes.
Complete, helpless, hopeless anarchy and confusion
reign in every department of the Austrian admistra-
tion, the army alone excepted, and this latter,
soured by its reverses, might certainly aspire to re-
venge. The Austrian army, however, has only in-
stincts ; it has no political initiative ; it can fight,
and long to fight, but not exercise the right of peace
and war. The differences with such puny adversa-
ries as Saxony or the South German States would
bode no danger to Prussia unless in a general com-
plication they were to range themselves by the side
of mightier Powers. Any uneasiness, however, that
the Prussian statesman might entertain three days
ago on the score of the re-opening of the Eastern
question ought to be dissipated by this time. The
tide of insurrection seems to be on its ebb even in
Candia itself, and, however mature the fate of Tur-
key may be said to be, the great downfall may yet
be put off for two, for three, for ten years—long
enough, at all events, to enable Count Bismark to
bring to a close his great enterprise of a reconstitu-
tion of Germany. Possibly, however, matters may
bear in Germany itself a more ominous look than
mere spectators at a distance imagine. The resis-
tance of Saxony may rest on some better ground
than sheer obstinacy, and the ill-starred King of
Hanover may have been inspired by something more
solid than the gift of second-sight when he assured
a deputation of his loyal subjects that, as the house
of Guelph had once lost and recovered its throne, so
it would now live to see a second restoration. That
the cause of the minor German Courts and Govern-
ments is irreparably lost, and that their doom is not
to be reversed by their own unaided strength, is,
however, beyond all question; while, on the other
hand, any reliance on their part on rescue from
abroad would only show how widely separate their
interests were from those of their people.
POST.-Mr. Bright could not help seeing that his
speech at the Reform meeting on Monday failed to
make the desired impression. If the " men of Man-
chester" are politically mad, they " know a hawk
from a hernshaw." It was most injudicious to attack
Lord Derby in Lancashire, and highly indiscreet to
abuse Mr. Lowe behind his back. Englishmen are
not ungrateful, and they like a fair upstanding fight.
As a matter of fact, Lord Derby and his party have
been friends at need to the operatives of the manu-
facturing districts ; and if Mr. Lowe hits hard, his
blows are always fairly delivered. But Mr. Bright
has lost no time in setting himself right with those
who reasonably expected that their new leader would
give them something more palatable than stale
statistics and more intelligible than mere vitupera-
tion. They have had enough of apocryphal figures
and rhetorical flourishes. It is time to understand
where they are going, what they are to do, and how
it is to be done. So, at the outset of his leadership,
Mr. Bright has been compelled to exhibit a little of
that honesty with which he is supposed to be exu-
berantly endowed ; and at the Reform banquet on
Tuesday he called upon himself and came up to the
mark. It was an abnormal feature in the entertain-
ment that "John Russell and William Ewart Glad-
stone" were recognised as " the leaders of the people,"
but, as Mr. Bright remarked, sensible men should
not split hairs. If there are different platforms,
those who congregate upon them are all marching to
one common end. That is Mr. Bright's comfortable
theory, and, as " William Ewart Gladstone" may
observe, it is practically comprehensive. It means,
we presume, that if Mr. Bright is not committed to
manhood suffrage by associating with Mr. Beales,
Mr. Gladstone is not committed to a £7 rental
franchise by holding aloof from Mr. Bright. They
are to march together to the parting of the ways,
and then, as somebody has maliciously suggested,
to " toss up" for the choice. Mr. Bright, how-
ever, seems determined to leave nothing to chance.
It should be borne in mind, he says, "that
however much any of us may abhor the
thought that political questions in any country
should ever be settled by force, yet there is
something in the constitution of our nature that,
when these evils are allowed to run on beyond a
certain point unredressed, the most peace-loving of
men are unable to keep the peace ;" which of course
there is, and the country, from its point of view,
may not only endorse the statement, but be pro-
voked to apply it to the abatement of a pernicious
nuisance. It is not by any means, as Mr. Bright
sneeringly put it, an " abstract principle ;" and
when he taunts the Conservative opinion of the
community with timidity, we must take leave to
tell him very plainly that he is treading upon dan-
gerous ground and poking a banked fire. He de-
clares that " it is no more immoral for a people to
use force in the last resort for the obtaining and the
securing of freedom than it is for a Government by
force to suppress and deny that freedom ;" and, for
our part, we profess we are not aware that, if the
premises are conceded, there is any dispute about
the conclusion. But if Mr. Bright conceived that
he was simply stating an " abstract principle," it is
for him to explain that which by his own showing
was supererogatory. The fact is, that these prin-
ciples are not " abstract principles," and cannot
possibly be considered as such, in the presence of
the agitation which Mr. Bright is promoting. He
knows perfectly well that they are embodied in the
" demonstrations" which are being made under his
sanction and authority. Still, it does not necessarily
follow that a civil conflict is contemplated; that
might depend on circumstances which Mr. Bright
may fancy he could control. The object of these
" demonstrations" is, however, to use his own word,
none the lessimmoral. It would be madness as well
as immorality to attempt to force this country to any
purpose it was averse from, but it is equally immoral,
if not equally mad, to endeavour by a display of
force to intimidate the Legislature. Force would be
met by force, and to submit to immoral pressure,
which is masked force, would be base and dishonour-
able. Macaulay has described parties which attracted
in multitudes all the fierce and turbid spirits to
whom the clouds and whirlwinds of the poli-
tical hurricane were the atmosphere of life ; and,
judging from the language which Mr. Bright now
holds, that is very much the character of the hete-
rogeneous masses he has chosen to form and lead to
victory. However, he professes to think that the
question of the employment of force to bring about
changes in the government of the country was
settled in 1832 ; that is to say, he concludes from
the events of that period that a demonstration of
force will suffice to compass a revolution. It is
needless to say that the issue which is thus raised
can only be decided on evidence, but, as it happens,
Mr. Bright has himself just referred to a circum-
stance which, if it be true, draws a line between the
agitation which Lord Derby acknowledged and the
agitation of the Reform League ; and, if further
proof be required, it may be found in the words of
Lord Palmerston, addressed to the House of Com-
mons in 1831—" When the public voice calls for
change, when innovation is demanded, not by bow-
window orators and market-place politicians, but
when the calm and steady voice of those whose pro-
perty, intelligence, and station place them in a far
different class—when the voice of such men calls
loudly and constantly for change, it would be vain
to attempt to persuade ourselves that there is not
some real and practical evil which it is the duty of
Parliament forthwith to endeavour to remedy."
This passage describes accurately the state of public
opinion at the time, and the point, as pressed by
Mr. Bright, is whether it can be compared with the
organised clamour of the present day. That, ac-
cording to his own statement, is the point on which
everything hinges, and,, as we submit, it may be de-
cided at once by the conduct of the distinguished
statesmen who were suitably admonished in the cor-
rection which he administered to Mr. Baines. It
must be assumed that Mr. Gladstone declined the
invitation to the Manchester banquet on the reasons
which Mr. Baines expressed. Bat, Mr. Bright says,
that does not matter at all. He himself believes that
it would be expedient to stop at household suffrage,
and yet he sees no objection to taking part in a
movement that goes to manhood suffrage. But
there is nothing in common between manhood suf-
frage and any suffrage short of it. Household suf-
frage would contravene the right on which man-
hood suffrage is claimed. Mr. Bright and Mr.
Gladstone might come to terms, but how could they
arrange With Mr. Edmond Beales and Mr. Ernest
Jones ? If, however, we look at this Manchester
" demonstration" as a whole, it is not difficult to
perceive that the Radical Reformers have embarked
in an enterprise that must eventually separate them
from the great body of the Liberal party in Parlia-
ment. Nor is that all. In the actual condition of
parties in the House of Commons the Liberal party
will be fatally divided, and the only obstacle in the
way of Lord Derby's Government removed. Mr.
Bright has once more served the party which he
threatens with political extinction, and the Conser—

vatives have no cause to deprecate the hostility
which threatens the hands of their chief. The public
confidence which may be withdrawn from Mr. Glad-
stone will necessarily be given toLord Derby ; and,
if Mr. Bright is permitted to pursue the course into
which he has now entered it is easy to foresee that,
in the event of an appeal to the country, the " Pal-
merston majority" would cease to offend Radical
susceptibilities. But it must be added that, not-
withstanding all the tall talk at Manchester, the
Reform agitation exists upon sufferance—that it 13
nourished by the irresolution and, as will be sus-
spected, the connivance of Liberal leaders.

COUNTRY MARKETS.

--•-
NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE-TUESDAT.

A moderate supply of wheat from the growers, mostly()
the new crop, and generally of poor quality, and in a soft
condition. From the coast there was a fair quantity, but
little from abroad. Trade ruled firm, and the business
done was at an advance of is. to 2s. on old and ls. on new
since this day week. Old Pomeranian brought 575., and
some very fine Rostock 595. per 5011 b. Malting barley bad
more inquiry, and grinding sorts were 2s. higher. Malt,
beans, and peas were is. dearer. Oats were in request at
au advance of Gd. to ls. per qr. Flour advanced is. per
sack.