The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-27 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAI, (ACT. 27, 1866.

Last night a banquet was given to Sir Ilircix
CAIRNS in Belfast, which was of a very interest-
ing nature ; and although it partook of a farewell
character, yet, when the entertainment was first
planned, it was not intended to be so. It will
be remembered that tha learned gentleman had
not decided upon taking the Chief Justiceship at
that time •
, but, no doubt had this affair not been
already in train, a similar compliment would have
been paid to h
parties to him, as it was the general desire of all
do him honour. Sir liuGn commenced his
excellent address by
giving some explanation to his
hearers as to the circumstances which led to his ap-
pearing before them for the last time in the charac-
ter of their representative, When Sir HUGH ac-
cepted the office of Attorney_ General he represented
to Lord DERBY that it waEt
Is earnest wish " to
render every possible assistance to his Government
in the House of Commons, but that he feltso strongly
the fatigue of Parliamentary life, combined with
official and professional duties, that he should be
glad if at any time an opportunity arose by
.
which he couH serve the country in a less
laborious manner. To this Lord DERBY ac=
ceeded with great kindness and consideration, and
hence the change that bas taken place.
The learned gentleman had to cast his memory
hack over a period of fifteen years, to the time when
he was first intrusted with the representation of the
great and important town of Belfast, and he was
able to say, with enviable good fortune, that he
could regard the whole of that connection with satis-
faction. In referring to the principles which bad
guided him, and the feelings which had inspired

and influenced his votes and his voice throughout
all that time, Sir Huon entered upon a spirited
defence of the politics of his party. "It is the
fashion," said he, " for those who desire to cast
discredit upon Conservative principles to assint
that those who hold them are opposed to progress
and to improvement, and are chargeable with nar-
row-mindedness and bigotry. Now, I am, and I j
have ever been, an advocate for progress and for
improvement, but I am not for revolution."
fitting answer to the extravagant theories of Mr.
BLIGHT may be found in this passage of Sir Rucat's
address, and he and his immediate followers may
well ponder upon the words of wisdom here met
with. The notion of transferring the government of
the country into the hands of mere numbers is a
very false one, and calculated to cause great in-
juries in all directions. Giving properties and
liberties to the tyranny of a multitude has been
tried, we should think, to a sufficient extent in
America, and yet there are such who will not learn
what they do not wish to become acquainted with.

Another cause of satisfaction in his past career
Sir HUGII CAIRNS finds in the reflection that it has
brought him into close connection with a body of
public men whom he believes to be actuated by
a sincere and earnest desire for the welfare of their
country, and particularly with regard to Ireland
does he feel satisfied of their policy. " I feel con-
vinced," said he, " that her Majesty's Ministers will
endeavour to treat her, not as the battle-field of a
party, but as an integral part of the United King-
dom." It is satisfactory to hear from so high an
authority that such are the views and intentions of
the Government, and we feel convinced that Sir
Hum' CAIRNS is too deeply imbued with the
love of his country, and entertains too great
an interest for her, to be led away by the in-
fatuation of party into exaggerating any good
opinion he may have of their policy. Allud-
ing to the office of Attorney-General—which
he still held—Sir IltGti observed that this was the
first time that office had been held by any one who
was not a native of Great Britain, and drew from
that circumstance the just inference that it showed
the absence of jealousy and narrow-mindedness to-
wards Ireland. The bold and manly language of
Sir 11. CAIRNS is quite a relief after the style of
public speaking to which we have been often accus-
tomed in certain quarters. " I respect even the
prejudices of my fellow-citizens," said he. "It is
oue of the many elements of civil freedom
that every one should be able to hold and
express his opinions freely, and that he should be
enabled to do so without being opposed to the threats
which of late I have seen public men exposed to
that the multitudes will rise in their tens of thou-
sands if they dare to express them again."
How true is this, and how much does :it con-
demn the course which has been pursued so
wrongly and so mischievously in many quarters.
As many persons may be misled by the specious
sophistry and the ingenious mixture of truth and
falsehood uttered by these Reformers of their
race, it is just as well that some truths may
be put against them, and a more powerful
exponent of justice and freedom than Sir 11.
CAIRNS we could not hope to meet with. Real free-
dom of thought and opinion cannot exist if one set
of politicians is to hold undisputed sway over the
minds of all, and exclude others from the right of
expressing their views. Sir lIL-Gn concluded his
interesting speech with an eloquent passage, iu
which he said farewell to his hearers in the charac-
ter of their representative. In speaking of the town
with which he has been so long connected, he said,
" May loyalty and order, peace and virtue abound
with her ; may her progress in yearg to come be
such as to distance and even to reduce to insignifi-
cance the strides she has made in years past ;
may she and may her citizens stand forth for pri-
vate worth, .and for political wisdom, the ornament,
the example, and the encouragement of Ireland."
Few public men have more rapidly attained distinc-
tion than Sir HUGH CAIRNS, and while we regret
that the House of Commons must lose so distin-
guished an ornament, we are assured that his
memory will long remain there, and his reputation
be cherished among that of those favoured few,
u hose politics and party sentiments are overlooked in
the desire experienced by all to do honour to those
who are an honour to their country, and whose
genius and worth command universal respect.

By the arrival of the Persia we have news from
New York to the 17th. There is nothing very
important, however, with the exception of the
Attorney-General's official announcement that the
PRESIDENT can do nothing further to hasten Mr.
DAVIS'S release on trial. This is a most unsatisfac-
tory piece of intelligence, and it is not improved
by the Attorney - General's intimation that
Mr. DAVIS will be delivered over to the civil
authorities upon the proper application being
made. The answer to this suggestion must
have been known to the Attorney-General
before he made it. The District Attorney of Vir-
ginia replied that no such demand. had been made,
because Mr. DAVIS would have to be confined in
a common prison, where he would be deprived of
the comforts now given him at Fort Monroe. These
unhappily have become necessary owing to the im-
paired state of his health, and as there is no cer-
tainty that even when transferred to civil jurisdic-
tion he would obtain a speedy trial, his friends and
advisers are naturally wilting
to take
such a step.
The fact is that the Radicals will postpone the
trial by every means in their power, knowing
that if JEFFERSON DAVIS were once convicted, the
PRESIDENT, in the exercise of his prerogative,
could and would release him from his tedious cap-
tivity, and allow him to finish his days in peace.
It is impossible to pardon a man for a crime for
which he has not beeti tried, and thus, with petty
malignity, the day is postponed and postponed,
while the prisoner's powers of endurance wax feebler
and feebler. If _JEFFERSON DAVIS were to die in
captivity, as appears but too probable, without ever
going through the form of a trial, it might be a
triumph to the Radicals and the solution of a
troublesome problem to the Democrats, but it
would be a lasting disgrace to the American nation.
JEFFERSON DAVIS was not the sole originator of the
Secession movement, nor although, from his abilities
and position, he played a prominent part in it, was
its successful maintenance during the years of war
olely due to his influence or authority. General
LEE was at least as much a leader of the revolu-
tion as JEFFERSON DAVIS ; yet the one is living
in freedom and retirement, while the other is de-
nounced as a felon. It is true that the illustrious
General BUTLER, with more consistency than ele-
gance, declared that both should be hung, but,
with that polite exception, the treatment of LEE
and DAVIS is altogether distinct. President JOHN-
Soli 'S ,
's opinions on this point are prett3 well known,
anof them, Mr. has recently given an additional evidence
lidi of
the ex-President JOSEPH DAVIS,DAs, brother of
pardoned the the Confederacy, was
spring, • and has now
had his estate restored to him and the back rents
transferred. If the Federal Government of the
States has any reason to fear the existence of one
individual its foundations must be
weak
indeed,
and no unscrupulous exereis3 of arbitrary power
can suffice to prop it up. The Ra teals may rely

upon it that by their treatment of JEFFERSON DAVIS
they are doing more to damage the cause of the
Union than anything which the released prisoner
could effee'c were he ever so desirous to stir up dis-
affection !and bring the Government into contempt.
The Governor of Mississippi has recommended
the State Legislature not to accept the Constitu-
tional Amendment. In reference to this standing
subject of dispute between the PRESIDENT and the
Congress, it shows how strong must be the popular
feeling, and how bitter the exciting antagonism
since the fictitious despatch published in the New
York journals obtained ready credence. This de-
spatch purported to contain a string of questions
addressed by the PRESIDENT to the Attorney-Gene-
ral as to the legality or illegality of the Congress as
at present constituted. It would, of course, have
been the signal for an open rupture between the rival
powers of the State, since it would have been im-
possible for the Congress to enforce the payment of
taxes, or any other of its ordinances ; while the
PRESIDENT, if he refused to recognise the existing
Legislature, must either proceed to elect another, or
attempt to rule without a Congress, in defiance of
all constitutional Government. Happily, matters
are not yet come to this pass, but that it should be
currently believed that they had done so gives a
significant idea of the state of public feeling, and
should be a warning to those who are fanning the
flames.

STEPHENS, of Fenian notoriety, has called a mass
meeting at New York for the 28th, when he will
deliver his last address in America. What he in-
tends to do subsequently is not stated, but the news
which reaches us from Canada is so suspicious that
we apprehend the Fenians have had some, share
in producing the disasters chronicled. At Quebec
a violent conflagration raged for 13 hours, destroy-
ing 2,500 houses, besides property to the amount of
to this catastrophe 18,000 persons
have x:3,000,000.10.0wing
rendered homeless. The disaster, of
course, might have an accidental origin, and
1 among the wood-built houses of the old French
city would no doubt spread rapidly, but the sin-
gular thing is that a large fire raged simultane-
ously in Ottawa. This certainly bears the appear-
ance of incendiarism, and we hope that the origin
of both fires will be rigidly inquired into. The
Canadians can very well afford to lose some
of their old houses to replace them with
new ones, though the season is unpropitious
for the poor creatures who are rendered homeless.
The loss of property is serious in a rising colony ;
and if the Fenians are really at the bottom of the
mischief, they will deserve less mercy than has
hitherto been shown them.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, Friday Evening.

The Moniteur announces that during the tempo-
rary absence of the Marquis de Lavalette, Minister
of the Interior, his duties will be performed by
M. Rouher, Minister of State. The Marquis seeks
repose from his arduous labours, and has left for
his chateau of Cavalerie, near Bergerac, in the
department of Dordogne. Few official men labour
so laboriously, so usefully, and so zealously as
the Marquis. For some time he was not only
Minister of the Interior, but Minister of Foreign
Affairs, until the arrival of M. de Moustier from
Constantinople. The Emperor and the French
people fully appreciate his exertions to improve
the social position at home, and to maintain peace
and independence abroad.
The following is from the Bulletin of the offi-
cial paper :
" The treaty of peace between Prussia and
Saxony, ratified at Berlin, has been published at
Dresden. King John will return immediately to
his States. He is expected to-morrow at Pillnitz.
The Emperor of Austria returned to Prague on
Wednesday evening, and was received with great
enthusiasm.

" The Vienna Gazette of this morning publishes
an Imperial decree, convoking the meeting of the
Croatia Slavonique Diet for the 19th of Novem-
ber.

" Accounts from Crete to the 16th of October
contradict the news received recently by the tele-
graph. Up to the 15th no serious engagement had
taken place between the Ottoman troops and the
insurgents. There is every reason to believe that
tranquillity will be very shortly restored in the
island of Crete, and that there will be no further
effusion of blood."

The total amount of the subscriptions for the
relief of the sufferers by the inundations up to yes-
terday is 1,297,344 f. The sympathy of the Go-
vernment and of all classes for misfortune is
unexampled.
A denial is given upon what appears to be good
authority to the statement that Spain had made a
formal proposition to the Catholic Powers claiming
their interposition to maintain the temporal power
of the Pope. The Spanish Cabinet, with natural
solicitude in regard to this most important question,
has only taken steps to ascertain the opinions of the
Catholic Governments as to the most efficacious
mode of supporting the authority of his Holiness
under the great change which has taken place in
Italy. _ _

It is gratifying to find from all the accounts from
Venetia that the Catholic clergy have zealously and
earnestly joined in the great national manifestation
in behalf of Italian freedom and unity. As an
illustration, I translate the following passage from
the pastoral letter of Monseigneur Corti, Bishop of
Mantua :—" Victor Emmanuel is our legitimate
King. You know it, and you should be joyful
that it is so. To him consequently, to his repre-
sentatives, to his Government, to his laws, I enjoin
loving and conscientious obedience. Let none of
you, my sons, follow the lamentable inspiration of
those who perceiving, real or supposed, errors in the
Government, attack it virulently, and try to bring
it into discredit."

A supplement of the Dresden Journal gives the
most important stipulations of the treaty of peace
between Prussia and Saxony. The chief points are
these :—Saxony is united to the Northern States.
Dresden and Kcenigsten wili be occupied by a mixed
garrison. The war indemnity is fixed at ten mil-
lions of dollars, from which there is to be a deduc-
tion of one million as the price of the cession of the
railway from Laebau to Gorlitz. The Military Go-
vernment and the Civil Commissariat of Prussia will
cease in Saxony. The treaty of the Zollverein will
be maintained, but with liberty to object to it by
giving six months' notice. Prussia is to have the
exclusive right of telegraphic communication in
Saxony.
Yeaterdair the remains of M. Thouvenel were in-
terred at Metz. The funeral ceremony there, as at
Paris, was at the express command of the Emperor
conducted with splendour and ceremony, and all
classes evinced their desire to pay respect to the
memory of the deceased Minister so prematurely
called away.

As some foolish reports are still circulated about
the supposed indisposition of the Emperor, I think
it right to contradict them, and I do so upon the
best authority. His Majesty, happily for France
and Europe, is completely restored to health. He
has been engaged with specially invited guests in
shooting in the preserves of the Park of St. Cloud.
In a day or two he will review, a large body of troops
at Longchautp. The Emperor and Empress will
go to Compiegne in the early part of November.
A religious ceremony of surpassing interest, at
least to Catholics, took place on Wednesday at
Chateauroux. Monseigneur La Tour d'Auvergne
Lauragnais, Bishop of Bourges, in the name of Pope
Pius the Ninth, placed the gold crown upon the
head of the statue of the Virgin Mary, at the
chateau of Tonvent. Clergy and laity assembled in
great numbers from all directions. The crown of
gold sent by the Pope was placed upon a brilliantly
illuminated throne, After mass and a sermon the