The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-01 00:00:00

HIGH IVATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

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LONDON, MOND,II, OCTOBER 1, 1866.

THIS DAY.—Morning, Gh. 36ru.—Afternoon, 7h. lOtn.
2'3-ifortnow.-31,rning, 71i. 42,u.—Afternoon, 84. 22w.

Sun.

Happily for this country we are accustomed to
look for the Revenue Tables without any feeling of
apprehension or uneasiness, and quarter after
quarter the public confidence and security are
amply justified by the satisfactory results of the
examination. The quarter just ended proves no
exception to the good fortune which is, luckily for

us, the le with the national revenue, and amid
many temporary causes of anxiety and depression
we have much reason to be thankful for the con-
tinued buoyancy of the finances. The reduction of
taxation has been going on rapidly during the last
few years, and that fact might very well account
for any unexpected deficiency, seeing that it is not
always easy to calculate beforehand the precise
effect either of the imposition or the reduction of a
tax. But so far from such being the case the esti-
mated deficiency has usually been greater than the
actual loss, and Mr. GLADSTONE has kept so well
within the limits of probability as to give the public
an agreeable surprise at the end of the quarter. It
was supposed that the great reductions in last year's
Budget, when a large proportion of the income-tax,
the tea duties, and the fire insurance duty
were given up, might very probably affect
this year's revenue as well, though further
reductions on a lesser scale have taken place in this
year's budget. However, the tables now before us
show an increase of over a quarter of a million
as compared with the corresponding quarter of
last year; and on the half year we have an in-
crease of £345,000, as compared with the
corresponding half of 1865. The three principal
divisions of the tables are the Customs, the Excise,
and the Income-tax, and on all of these the returns
are highly satisfactory. The income-tax, though
now only fourpence in the pound, has produced in
the year the astonishing sum of £5,595,000, thus
showing a rapid increase on Mr. GLADSTONE'S
estimate of £1,300,000 for every penny of the tax.
The customs on which, as we have said, there is an
increase on the quarter of £252,000 return
in the year ending September 30th, in spite
of all reductions, the sum of £2,162,000. The
Excise, with an increase of £lBB,OOO in the quarter,
shows an increase of £716,000 on the year. The
Stamps, owing to the partial remission of, the Fire
Insurance Duty, show a decrease of £197,000 in the
quarter and £130,000 in the year; but the Post-office
continues its unvarying course of prosperity with a
quarter's increase of £15,000 and a year's increase of
£155,000. The only remarkable item is the sum of
£854,483 under the head of miscellaneous receipts,
which is explained by the repayment of £500,000
from New Zealand. This has been a useful assist-
ance ; but, as we have shown, the satisfactory state
of the returns is independent of any extraneous aid,
and is solely and entirely due to the elasticity of the
Revenue. It has often been proved that a wise
and liberal lightening of the burdens of a people
is in the end the surest means of replenishing the
national coffers ; and certainly no more powerful
commentary on the blessings of Free-trade could be
found than in the periodical returns of the British
revenue. However much the public may justly
complain of official neglect or mismanagement in
other departments of the public service, Mr. GLAD-
STONE, at least, has good reason to be satisfied with
the results of his guardianship of the national ex-
chequer.

During a long political career, in which he has
often displayed great intempernce, Mr. BRIGHT
has never committed himself so much as he
did at Manchester the other day on the occa-
sion of the Reform demonstration. He will not
be allowed to forget it in a hurry, and we are glad
that he has met with a censor in the chief news-
paper of France. The Debats contains a very able
article on the subject, which is much to the point,
and exposes alike the fallacies of his arguments and
the errors he commits by his violence. In the first
place, the French critic takes him to task for
his impatience and the excitement he gets into
because all cannot be done at once. The
organisation of the English electoral system is
not the fruit, it is said, of " a theoretical conception
and a meditated plan, but the complex and change-
able work of time." Although this organisation is
not like those which were formed by ancient legis-
lators, as MINERVA issued all armed from the brain
of JUPITER ; but it does not follow that things
should go the worse for that, for those constitutions
which are made all of a piece very often are over-
turned at a blow ; while others remain which are
constantly improved and modified. " Certain mo-
dern Reformers in England are perhaps not suffi-
ciently penetrated with that idea," exclaims the
writer, with great justice. Very true also are the
strictures passed upon this agitator for the extraor-
dinary way in which he perverts things when he
addresses public meetings. After dwelling on the
anomaly of so many citizens being unrepresented,
Mr. BRIGHT exaggerates, and is taking a wrong
course when, after having shown that of the present
number of electors the counties furnished 750,000,
and the boroughs 550,000, he adds that the repre-
sentation of the counties is not a popular one in the
right acceptation of the word. This is, however, a
sort of clap-trap to which Mr. BRIGHT is very prone,
and to which he often resorts on occasions similar to
that which took place at Manchester. lie
forgets, or pretends to do so at any
rate, that he is paying a poor compli-
ment to those whom he proposes to serve
NI hen he stoops to such modes of advocating their
cause. As the Debats says, " The interests of the
working classes may be defended on higher
grounds." Mr. BRIGHT looks upon the representa-
tion of the counties as a dead body attached to the
living suffrage in towns, and accordingly he may
go on until he makes the suffrage the privilege of
the resident in boroughs. It really is what he is
driving at, in all probability, we should say, and as
it is the constant theme of his discourse to drag and
depreciate all that appertains to the counties,
it is not unreasonable to imagine that he seeks to
exclude them from what ought to be their true
position in the State.

The concluding passages in Mr. BRIGIIT'S speech
are very forcibly touched upon by the Debats. First
of all, there comes the ridiculous notion that the
present Government cannot introduce a Reform
Bill unless it be a "vile and dishonest" one. Such
intemperate language is very apt to defeat itself in
the end ; but as, in the meanwhile, some ignorant
parties may be led away by it, it is satisfactory to
find it explained. Mr. BRIGHT, in winding up, pro-
claimed to
longlo his
a timeisßadieal
it mightauditorsth be before
athedidnot
know howit
might be necessary to resortto fsotractee.s
upon the Debats very properly
" that
We are often told in France that the freedom of
the tribunal and the press exists among our neigh-
bours only because none ever think of availing
himself of either to disturb order and attack the
Constitution ; it is difficult to reconcile those
assertions with the exhibition Mr. BRIGHT iS itiSt
now giving to the world." We do not think that
any one in this country could have taken a clearer
view of the case than this French critic has done,
or More powerfully exposed the fallacies with '
speech aebfoßunedfusr.m,l\thr earl ef Is
oe
which Mr. MUGU
half so sincere inTtshe
anxious to secure the rights of the people as he
professes he would regret the error into which he is
led, but as it is we believe that he wishes more to
make a grand display of his powers of denunciation
than he seeks to gain a particular object. Were
the present Government to concede all he asks for,
what would he do? His occupation would be gone.
We hope that one good will arise out of this recent
affair at Manchester, and that many will be led to

see the mistake they have made in putting faith in
such a politician. He is not, and never will be,
a leader, but he has undoubted influence in certain
quarters, of which he is making the worst use he
can. If one of his political opponents cared to
follow his example and begin to abuse, what might
we not affirm of one who writes to those in Lon-
don to urge upon them the necessity of proclaim-
ing the rights of the public in open defiance of the
law, and then appears in an important provincial city
to declare that it is lawful to resort to force under
certain circumstances. If it be said that his words
will not take effect, that is no excuse for him ; he
had no business to utter them, and he
is equally responsible for so doing as if
the cry of discord was now heard through-
out the length and breath of the land. We
do not think that Mr. BRIGHT will listen to any
suggestions but those of his own will, or else we
might hope that some friend, wiser than himself,
could show him the folly and mischief of his present
course, and the injury he is doing to his own repu-
tation. Like many others who embark on such an
enterprise, he is led on from bad to worse, and,
doubtless, never contemplated at the outset the
conclusion to which he would arrive, of setting him-
self up against the preservation of peace and order.

All who possessed any intimate acquaintance with
European politics felt convinced all along that we
should not see the end of the late fracas on the
Continent when the immediate excitement was over,
but perhaps hardly any one was prepared for the
confusion that seems already menacing us in the
East. According to the French papers, which
generally herald the approach of danger and diffi-
culties, it seems that we may attribute all the late
contretemps to the same cause, namely, the wily
designs of Prussia. The Patric has an article re-
ferring to the subject, in which we find it stated
that " the insurrection in Palermo, the revolt in
Candia, the disturbances in the Ottoman Empire,
the agitation in Greece, and even the renewal of the
efforts of the Juarists in Mexico, are the effects of
a vast plot which has been formed in the belief that
a general European conflagration would be the re-
sult of the late German war." Certainly this is
laying a great deal to the charge of Count BB-
MARCK, and yet we cannot honestly affirm that
there is any exaggeration in it. Nothing, indeed,
would be less surprising than that a new war should
break out in consequence of the changes that have
taken place. Prussia is ripe as to the plans
and projects that may be formed during the
stay of the Emperor NAPOLEON at Biarritz,
and it would seem as if the world had
quite determined that he should not be left to the
enjoyment of tranquillity in his visit to that pic-
turesque locality. Surely Count BISMARCK is quite
enough of himself to infuse discord into any place ;
but we are told that he is to be followed or accom-
panied by a rival agitator. Prince GORTSCIIAKOFF,
it is said, intends to pay a visit to Biarritz, and
thus to meet accidentally with the French EMPEROR.
Had an interview been arranged to take place at
Paris, of course speculations would have been rife
as to its meaning ; but it is thought that an encoun-
ter on the shores of Biarritz Bay can be arranged
in a satisfactory manner. The purport of this visit
is, it is said, to assure the EMPEROR that the CZAR
does not deem it advisable to respect the treaty of
1856 any more than others have lately considered
those of 1815. It is to be regretted that all this
confusion should have arisen, and the present is not
at all a suitable time for the settlement of the
Eastern question, for the example of Prussia is in
every way inimical to the upholding of national
rights; and there is too much reason to fear that
Russia only broaches the subject in order that she
may take her share of the spoils, and carry on the
game in as unmolested a manner as the Court of
Berlin has just done.

It would seem as if the Saxons were to reap some
good effects from their endurance after all, and as
if better terms were to be given to them than we
were led to expect. All who have sympathised with
the gallant little kingdom in its struggles for inde-
pendence will rejoice to find such a prospect open-
ing before it. Count BISMARCK'S influence has been
in a great measure counteracted by other efforts,
and hence the favourable signs that have ap-
peared. Prince FREDERICK CIIARLES has ap-
peared as one of the supporters of Saxony, and
has evidently done good service to the cause
he has taken up. He was well qualified to
judge of the matter, as he has frequently had an
opportunity of judging of the Saxons from fighting
with them in Bohemia and Moravia. Perhaps, in
the long run, the Berlin Government will find good
cause to regret the course they have persisted in
taking ; it will probably happen to them, as it has
done to others like them before, that they have out-
witted themselves in their greedy efforts to grasp
all they possibly could. It is now stated that the
chief bankers of Frankfort are preparing to transfer
their establishments to Stuttgard, Augsburg, and
Vienna, in order to escape Prussian domination.
If this turn out to be true, which it will in all
probability, great injuries will be inflicted on the
city, and this evil will be another added to the long
list against the Prussians. It is not likely that
any independent parties will readily consent to be
put under the rule of those whom they despise and
detest, and we do not think that the time will be
long before those who now depend the most upon
the good effects of German unity will find them-
selves grievously mistaken. One abiding instance
of, non-success may be seen in the irritation that has
been produced in Paris by the recent events in Prussia.
This feeling does not subside, and will, no doubt,
sooner or later bring forth evil consequences to
Prussia. We dare say there is great truth in some
of the rumours afloat in Paris to the effect that
Count BISMARCK long ago prepared his plans and
made his Royal Master acquainted with them. It
certainly seems much more likely that the recent
extensive changes which have been wrought in Ger-
many have been more in consequence of a predeter-
mination on the part of Prussia than that they
should have been the accidents of war. There have
been, indeed, too many suspicious signs about the
whole affair for us to credit the version which
Count BISMARCK has given of it to the public.

MR. DICKENS, in the last number of All the Year
Round, has struck a good strong blow—straight from the
shoulder, and as rapid as a bullet from a rifle—against the
gentlemanly rogues who bribe the ungentlemanly ditto to
return them to Parliament. The writer of an article on
"Clubs and Clubmen," alluding to the fact that the members
of Parliament belonging to the Cocoa-Tree Club in St Jame's
in Horace Walpole's time used to take heavy bribes for their
votes, remarks :—" In these days members of Parliament
bribe ; a hundred years ago they were bribed." To this
passage Mr. Dickens appends the following note :—" The
conductor of this journal believes the briber to be, in most
cases, quite ready to be bribed." There can be no doubt
about it ; yet the point seems never to have been noticed
before. Henceforth let us regard our bribers as only the
bribed in the grain.
"ANDY JOHNSON A ME-YULE !"—lt seems a
a" Virginianrbl e
mention
(very
from Virginian delegate was holding forth on the Presi-
delt ' s
the character,presPresident-loving
andt- he
vin receives
boozy)—Some people think Andy Johnsing a firm man.
He is not. He's got no firmness like Jackson had. He's
engr eprter this
: va
a Me-yule. You've seen them ar Me-yules ? I've had
at o
'em on my farm. They'll go with you for awhile, but all
ncet their oars is lopped back and their legs is Stuck
put, az all claxnation can't git 'ern to mover

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FRO3I OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Sunday Evening.
_ _

The Monitezir contains a letter from Florence,
dated Sept. 23, which gives some new facts in regard
to the insurrection at Palermo. It says that the
postal and telegraphic communications having been
interrupted from the moment of the entrance of the
bands into Palermo, it had hitherto been difficult to
obtain precise information on the subject. The
necessities of war having led to the concentration
towards the North of almost all the military forces
of Italy had created a position of which hostile
parties determined to profit. Thus brigandage was
resumed very vigorously after the departure of the
troops. Unfortunately, when the prospects of peAce
placed at disposal a portion of the troops who had
been centralised upon the theatre of operations, the
Government thought it might delay the reinforce-
ments of the garrisons of the South, and particu-
larly those of Sicily. Thus the town of Palermo, at
the time of the invasion of the bands, had only from
1,200 to 1,400 men in garrison. Badly supported
by
,the National Guards, they could only maintain
themselves in entrenched positions and act upon the
defensive. The town was, therefore, for several
days in the hands of the brigands. Energetic mea-
sures, however, were soon adopted. 20,000 men,
protected by the fire of the vessels which had
brought them, entered the city, and order was now
completely restored. Tranquillity was not inter-
rupted in any other part of Sicily, and almost all
the municipalities of the island sent addresses to the
King of Italy, expressing their attachment to the
national institutions, and disavowing auy partici-
pation in the event's at Palermo. The attack upon
Palermo began in the afternoon of the 21st, and the
firing was kept up the whole of the 22d and the
night of the 23d. There were in Palermo at least
30,000 men in arms. At the Porte Macqueda the
struggle was very desperate, and there was great
loss of life. After the capture of the Porte the
artillery invested the streets, and the revolt was
suppressed. There was also fighting at Porto
Capero. The fleet before Palermo assisted by
throwing shells upon the points where the brigands
assembled in the greatest numbers.

The Siecle say;:—" The affairs of Germany are
temporarily arranged, with the exception of the
difference between Prussia and Saxony. The ad-
vanced guard of the Italian army has entered Venice,
but the hope of complete peace is disturbed by the
Eastern question. Austria exhibits the disposition
to occupy herself actually with that question, and
undoubtedly Prince Gortschakoff will go to Biarritz
to confer with the Emperor upon it. The accredited
organs of the Russian Government have made a re-
markable turn round to the side of Prussia. The
Moscow Gazette declares that Germany, united by
the care of Prussia, now presents no danger for
Russia, and that the Government of St. Petersburg
should adjust her policy according to the changes
just effected in Germany. The Gazette de la Bourse
of St. Petersburg argues strongly in favour of an
alliance between Russia and Prussia."

The thunder produced a lamentable result on the
23d of September at Montblanc, in the department
of the Herault. The electric fluid struck a house in
the village and did much damage at two points, east
and west. The panes and wood-work of a kitchen
window were shattered, and a young woman, who
was cooking, was struck and precipitated inanimate
upon the ground. Her clothes were all torn from
her with violence and divided into shreds. Her hus-
band, who came to her assistance, found her upon
the floor completely naked.

'I he papers are still filled with details of the inun-
dations. The accounts do not need description, for
all they explain is of the same nature, houses and
bridges washed away and property of various kinds
destroyed. Happily there does not seem to be any
loss of life. Communications with the provinces
have been much interrupted. The waters have
risen higher than at the last great inundation in
1816. Twenty and thirty houses have disappeared
from some villages. At the last accounts the waters
of the Loire and the Cher united threatened to in-
vade Tours. The communication between Tours
and Orleans was completely stopped.
The Seine recedes to-day, but continued to rise
yesterday, and, at one point, rose nearly a yard in
an hour. At Berry, the great depot for wine, active
measures were taken to remove the barrels of wine.
The water filled the roads, and the omnibuses
were obliged to change their line of route. At
Passy, on Friday, the lower part of the town was
inundated. Close to the Seine the water overflowed
the banks to the height of a yard. The extent of
the inundation approaches more nearly to the
greatest ever known, that of 1615, than any that
has occured since. At the Pont de Townelle, the
height of the water was nine metres within a frac-
tion. Now it has attained about eight metres. On
Friday night the water entered the machine-room of
the Moniteur office, which is situated on the banks
of the Seine nearly opposite the Tuileries, and had
it not been for precautionary measures it would
have been impossible to print the evening edition.
On the banks of the Seine at Billancourt, a vil-
lage about two miles from Sevres bridge, there was
a spectacle yesterday never before witnessed since
Paris has existed. Between Billancourt bridge and
Sevres bridge there are some six or seven avenues
leading to the village. This pathway is inundated
nearly along the whole extent. The water has
rushed up these avenues, particularly one called the
Cours Eugenie, a beautiful spot with rows of trees
on each side, and the avenue, the usual resort of
promenaders, was yesterday provided with boats.
The fields adjoining the avenue are submerged to
the extent of ten or twelve feet at the least There
are many houses in and near the avenue, and the
position of the residents was inconvenient if not
alarming, for they could only get in or out yester-
day by means of boats. There was the unpleasant
certainty also that if the Seine should continue to
rise, their houses would be washed away.
The father of the Marquis de Boissy, whose death
I recently announced, was very rich and very eccen-
tric. In the Senate he spoke but seldom, unlike
his son, but what he said was caustic and to the
purpose. His last appearance in the Chamber
of Peers was once after 1830 to vote for the
acquittal of the Ministers of Charles X., who were
impeached for issuing the celebrated ordinances
which led to the revolution. The marquis had a
mania for bringing water into his estate. He con-
sulted the most eminent engineers, who, at an
enormous expense, succeeded in creating a pond or
basin, in which the water was twelve feet deep. He
was delighted beyond measure at being told one day
that a man had been nearly drowned in his basin.
The writer of this anecdote expresses his belief that
if any one had brought news to the marquis that
a man had been really drowned he would have
bestowed half his fortune on the bearer of the glad
tidings. His horses were sorry Rosinantes. He
had five or six carriages, and a judgment may be
formed of his equipage from an opinion he often ex-
pressed that no one ought to pay more than 300 f.
(or £l2) for a horse. He would not, like Richard
the Third, give " a kingdom for a horse." In the
morning the marquis usually walked round his
grounds, and beggars assembled to greet him. " Go
and work," said he to them one day, •' surely that
would be better than to importune and annoy
me." The beggars did not stir. Turning to his
old valet, who accompanied him in his walks,
with a bag of money, he said, " Pierre,
if the poor wretches wont go away, give them each
a Louis (20f.), but, above all, let them go and
work." As to the lately deceased Marquis de
Boissy, I believe it is true, as stated in one of the
papers, that in spite of his diatribes against Eng-
land, he rented a house in London, and always
lived a portion of the year in that city.
Garibaldi has arrived at Florence with his daugh-
ter, his eldest son Menotti, and General Fabrigi.
He has accepted the hospitality of M. Mario, the
husband of Miss White (those Italian papers ex-
press it). Garibaldi appears to be in good health.
He looks much older, but with that exception he is
very little changed. His intention is to return to
Caprera the moment he receives official information
that the signature of the treaty of peace between
Austria and Italy has relieved him from the com-
mand of the Volunteers.

The weather has been very fine and settled for

Quarter ended Sept. Half-year ended
30, 186 s.' Sept. 30, 1866.
Increase. Decrease. Increase. Decrease.
A A A
Customs
Itxcise
•• i 07,00,2
Stamps •• 197,000 201,000
Taxes
72,000 • •
••03 796,000
• •
Property Tax —• . .. 182,0
.•
Post-Office .... -
Cron Lands
••
hiiscellaueous

Tota, s
Act Ii

1,112,706
icrease £7:

3 79,000
,7L6

1,846,850 1
t Increase

999,000
£647,85U