The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-01 00:00:00

PORTSMOUTH.

At Portsmouth, on Tuesday, a special meeting of
the town council was convened to take into consi-
deration the best mode of carrying into effect the
provisions of the new Cattle Plague Act. A com-
mittee was appointed, whose duties will con-
tinue so long as the act remains in operation,
who will have power to act independently of
the council by which they have been elected,
and who undertake the entire responsibility
of appointing inspectors, fixing their salaries,
and of carrying out in all other respects the mean-
ing of the act. Immediately following on the forma-
tion of the committee a set of orders and regulations
were issued :-1. Restricting the removal of cattle
within the jurisdiction of the borough, except under
the written licence of the licensed inspector. 2.
Prohibiting the landing of cattle brought by sea
previous to examination by the borough inspector.
3. Infected animals on board any vessel to be
slaughtered and burled in accordance with the pro-
visions of the act. 4,5, 6. Cattle to be slaughtered
at only appointed places, to be buried at only ap-
pointed places, and owners or persons in charge of
animals dying of the plague to give immediate notice
of the same to the local inspector and the superin-
tendent of police. The committee have also estab-
lished temporarily a wholesale dead meat or carcass
market, at the Market-place, Guildhall, to be open
daily from 6 a.m. until noon, no charge to be levied
on persons using the market. Respecting the present
state of disease in the island of Portsea, the Hamp-
shire Telegraph of Feb. 28 says—" We regret to learn
that the cattle plague has during the last few days

broken out among the herd of Mr. Light, of Lake-
road. One beast has died, and another is now un-
der the treatment of Mr. Gregory, -veterinary sur-
geon. Several of the beasts belonging to Mrs.
Pharoah still remain under the treatment of Mr.
Gregory. One of a herd of cows belonging to a
person named Bishop, a dairyman, was on Tuesday
labouring under symptoms which left no doubt in
the mind of Mr. Gregory that the cause was the
dreaded murrain, although happily of not so serious
a character as those which had previously been
brought under his notice. It is feared, however,
that the disease will probably spread to the other
cattle in the same herd, notwithstanding the pre-
cautionary measures which were promptly resorted
to."

SUFFOLK.

Mr. J. llutton, inspector for Sudbury and the
Mulford district, reports that there is no cattle plague
in those localities. Mr. Hutton believes that the
disease was prevented spreading by the stringent
measures adopted in _`,Telford-park, where the dis-
eased beasts were isolated, while no animal was al-
lowed to leave the park alive.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

--

TIMES.—The rumour to which we called atten-
tion yesterday, that Lor I Russell had sought to be
relieved from the cares of office, has been so autho-
ritatively denied that we hasten to correct the im-
pression and to moderate the speculations which it
not unnaturally excited. We were careful at the
time to put forward the statement for what it might
be worth, though we frankly confess that it came to
us with such particularity of detail as to command
assent; nor was it until after considerable delay
and inquiry that we thought it our duty to make it
the subject of commen. The collateral rumours
of course share the fate of the principal report, and
the condition of the Ministry remains 'in fact un-
altered, unless we may suppose it has ac-
quired additional stability by way of reaction
against the rumours of its approaching dis-
solution, the real character of which is now ex-
posed. Among the combinations which might have
succeeded Lord Russell's Ministry, it was impos-
sible to discover any which could be regarded as
more than temporary; and it is satisfactory to know
that we are spared the disadvantages of a provi-
sional administration. The actual Government is
not, indeed, wholly free from that character, but it
is in existence already ; and this advantage, added
to the great ability of its most prominent members,
gives it a promise of permanence to which no suc-
ceeding Ministry could pretend. With a consider-
able Liberal majority in the House of Commons,
and the country eager for any statesmanlike solu-
tion of the questions which have been the sport of
party, for the better part of twenty years, Lord
Russell and his colleagues ought in truth to be able
to make their position more assured as the Session
advances, and to find themselves at the end of it
with the prospect of a long-continued reign. We
sincerely trust that this will be the case, though no
desires can blind us to the real dangers of the future.
No Ministry, however illustrious in individual mem-
bers, can retain the confidence of Parliament and
the nation without acts corresponding to their pre-
tensions, and the members of the present Cabinet
have their fate in their own hands. If we might
believe that in one shape or another the Ministry
are determined to settle the question of Reform, and
not simply to meddle with it, none could be more gra-
tified than ourselves at ilie-eheerful prospects openbd
by such a resolution. It is probable that the ru moured
resignation of the First Minister will continue to be
believed however emphatically it may be denied.
There are men who are afraid to hazard their repu-
tation for prescience by the avowal that they have
been misinformed, and in the face of contradiction
will simply declare that their revelations were only
premature. We must distinctly disavow any such
disingenuous proceeding, though it would be mere
affectation not to acknowledge that the readiness
with which the rumoured break-up of Lord Rus-
sell's Administration was received was due to the in-
trinsic probability of the statement. The Session has
barely lasted three weeks, and it cannot be denied
that the Ministry has become perceptibly weaker as
it went. on. Parliament and the Government were
both new, but the great majority professing
Liberal principles in the Lower House were
casting about uncertainly for leaders. The old
champions were gone, and the new were reluc-
tant to declare themselves. It was known that on
some leading questions considerable, not tc say
essential, differences of opinion prevailed. The rank
and file of the party were longing for watchwords,
and as none were vouchsafed them they had begun
to divide themselves according as they were attached
to one or other member of the Cabinet. It seemed
as if the conduct of public affairs would;ha,ve to pass
through a period of distraction such as followed the
death of Mr. Canning. Now, as then, no one knew
what course the leaders of opinion would resolve on,
and now, as then, the appointments which afforded
the most solid ground for judgment of the future
excited animosity in one section, and an ill-con-
cealed expression of triumph in another. It is time
that this uncertainty and rivalry should cease, and
the unfounded statement that the Cabinet was about
to periih will not be wholly a matter of regret if it
should prove the occasion of its termination. An
emphatic declaration of policy would do more to re-
assure the just anxiety of the wellwishers of the Go-
vernment than any disavowals of danger, however
eagerly made ; for it is only in a declaration of
policy that the nation can see proof of that unity of
counsel which it desires in the Executive Govern-
ment. As long as a declaration of policy is with-
held it will be believed that it is withheld only be-
cause disunion prevents its adoption; and where the
apprehension of disunion is paramount the confi-
dence of followers is impossible. It must be remem-
bered that the Liberal party is now in a remarkable
position. It has practically held office for a num-
•ber of years without parallel in the Reformed Par-
liament, and it ie a necessary consequence of this
prolonged tenure of power that it has lost the vete-
rans who were long at its head. But it has lost more
than these. By a series of inscrutable fatalities it
has lost those who would in due course have suc-
ceeded to command. Mr. Sidney Herbert, the
Duke of Newcastle, Lord Elgin, Sir George Come-
wall Lewis are the names of men who excited the
highest confidence and unbounded hopes, but who
have been'cut off in their prime. More recently we
have lost Lord Carlisle, and Sir Charles Wood has
been forced to relinquish office in the full maturity
of his' powers. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the
last report that Sir George Grey is about to resign
the Home Office, or the rumoured retirement of
Lord Russell no sooner denied in one fashion than
it reappers in another, to feel that the horoscope of
the future is dark and uncertain. It is a time for
the development of new ideas, the manifestation of
a policy, the construction of a new and strong com-
bination ; but all these things require clearness of
vision, strength of resolution, energy of performance.
If they are to be done, it were well that they were
done decisively ; for every day of delay adds to the
embarrassment of supporters and the strength of
opponents.
POST.—Without anticipating the discussion on the
condition of Ireland which, if nothing occurs to
suggest its postponement, Earl Grey's motion will
raise, it may not be amiss to advert to a circumstance
of more immediate importance. It no longer ad-
mits of doubt that the Fenian conspirators have to
some extent undermined the loyalty of some of the
troops stationed in Ireland, and perhaps to a greater
extent than we conceive possible. They have
evidently proceeded systematically ; they have been
abundantly supplied with the means of corruption •,
and they have had peculiar facilities. Obviously, if
Irishmen entered into the conspiracy at all, there
could be no difficulty in embodying a certain num-
ber of them in the Queen's regiments by enlistment.
This has been done, and the result remains to be
ascertained. Of course, it can go no furtllcr, and
if we could discover how far it has already gone, or
rather how far it is likely to spread in the infected
area, a summary remedy might be applied. That
is in the nature of things next to impossible. Com-
promising disclosures may be made, but we shall
probably never know, nor need we care to in-
quire, how many soldiers wearing her Majesty'e
uniform, and receiving the pay of the British Govern-
ment, have been halting between two opinions. It
will be enough if the proper measures of precaution
arc now taken ; and if this duty is not discharged
efficiently, the authorities, whoever they may be,
will incur an exceedingly heavy responsibility. No
one can entertain anv misgiving as to the ability
and the character of the Commander-in-Chief of
the army in Ireland. Sir Hugh Rose is perfectly
competent to deal with rebellion in whatever form
it, presents itself. But, looking at recent events, a
military officer may well desire to be armed with a
sufficient warrant. The convicted conspirators have,
it is true, experienced the force of justice, but the
sentences passed upon them have not had a deter-
ring effect, inasmuch as their severity is only known
to themselves. On the contrary, indeed, it is seen
that some, at least, of these men had forfeited their
lives, and that the penalty was not exacted. The
r equired example is entirely wanting, and in the
presence of treason that which is urgent is also
merciful. This may be a painful question, but there
are obligations which must be fulfilled firmly,
promptly, and with inflexible decision. We have
ne,t to consider a case of national disaffection, but
a 'conspiracy prompted by the citizens of a foreign
cceuntry. The United Irishmen were in treason-

able correspondence with the French Directory,
and the Fenians, as we trust and believe, receive no
encouragement from the Government of the United
States ; but the principle and purpose of the one
are the principle and purpose of the other. It is
not the object which was sought to be attained 11
the Catholic Association, or even by the repeal
of the Union, but an independent Republic of
the American type, and may in fact be de-
scribed in the very words of Lord Cornwallis
in 1798, with the single exception we have just
pointed out :—" The real cause of the present
mischief is a deep-laid conspiracy to revolutionise
Ireland on the principles of France, which was
originally formed, and by wonderful assiduity
brought nearly to maturity, by men who bad no
thought of religion but to destroy it, and who kill
how to turn the passions and prejudices of the dif-
ferent sects to the advancement of their horrible
plot for the introduction of that most dreadful ol
all evils, a Jacobine revolution." Further, in
cases of this nature, ill-timed lenity is adverse from
genuine clemency. We can now be just ;
but things
might come to the pass at which fear invariably
produces violence. In the event of an insurrection.
it is certainly more difficult to restrain the excited
loyalists than to put down the insurgents. Firm-
ness,. as Lord Macaulay put it, is a great virtue,
in public affairs, but it has its proper sphere ; and
by
this is a conspiracy 'which may be best repressed
vigorous action To shrink from the exercise cf
;
power in an emergency is to abdicate the right e'
exercising it at all. The majesty of the law cannot
be said to be vindicated when the law is openly
defied. At present a line can be drawn between
those who are really criminal, and those who are,
more or less, their dupes • and if that line were
drawn sharply at once, and strictly observed, therei
is every reason to suppose that the Iris"'
Americans would abandon a mad and wicked enter-
prise. As it is, these aliens are presuming on the
forbearance of the Government, and, for our part'
we think it is time to measure their rebellion! -
machinations by the motives which they reveal.
If Fenianism represented in any sense the wrongs
of Ireland, it would be idle to attempt to com-
pass its suppression except by removing the
causes to which it owed its existence. But the
claims that are made in the form of a conspiral
to overthrow the established Government of the
country cannot be recognised. Those pretensions
should be disposed of before the questions relating
to the welfare of the Irish people are taken int°
consideration, and, therefore, to urge measures
which, if severe, are indispensable, is virtual*?
urging that justice be done to Ireland. The situa-
tion was very different in 1829. Then, there were
real grievances to be redressed, civil discord
was
raging throughout the island, industry was paralyse"
and the unity of the empire was menaced. i'l'ewa
the agitation is as un-Irish as it is un-English,
an
it is inopportune to arraign the policy of the Go-
vernment when Ireland is invaded and distorbuu
by 'foreigners, Republican emissaries whose chosen
s
home lies some two thousand miles away. tiLe ud
abate this nuisance first of all, and when peace hich
order are restored pay attention to matters In wo
the Irish are interested. But there should be
misapprehension as to the basis of the discussien;
Ireland is not a dependency of Great Britain. the
acts, declaring its dependence were repealed in l-
and it was legally independent of England UP to
,t
the period of the Union, which was mainly brought
about by the Rebellion of 1798. So that, at Pr. e
sent, Ireland is an integral portion of the British
empire and there can be neither separate interests
nor a divided duty. It may be quite true that ger,
measures of importance are looked for and requirea!
that the Irish railways leave much to be wished fat::
and that the people envy the paternal Government:
of other countries. But what we say is, that on
thing is now pressing, and that these complaln4
just and right as they may be, are irrelevant to to..
issue which has been offensively interpolated 11'
foreign conspiracy.