The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-04 00:00:00

should be cast upon the new Home Minister. If
such meetings are, as we are well assured they are,
illegal, they should be at once put down. "So far,
and yet no farther," can no more be applied to hu-
man beings than to human passions, and if the prac-
tice becomes general of holding meetings practically
to overawe the Legislature, the population will have
to be taxed for an additional number of police to
superintend the proceedings of these very excitable
gentlemen. It may be in the interest of the coun-
try that the new Government should introduce a
Reform Bill, but it is not through meetings such as
that of Monday night that we shall arrive at any
satisfactory result as to the wishes of the people on
the subject of reform. Every wise Government will
carefully study the signs of the times, and endeav-
our to see in what direction the wishes of the people
tend. This is what Mr. Gladstone entirely failed to
do. He seized hold of abstract ideas, and claimed
a right of property in them ; he excited the people,
by all those vague and indefinite hopes which pre-
clude a fair and impartial view of a great question ;
and where he should have been quiet, logical, un-
excitable, he became Ciceronian in his eloquence
and Tennysonian in his imagery, till we seemed to
see

Tho standards of the people plunging through the thunder
storm,
Till the war-drum throbbed no longer and the battle-flags
were furled
In the parliament of man, tho federation of the world.
Now these meetings, got up in obedience to the orders
of Mr. Bright, arc part of a system of agitation
which prevents the fair consideration of the ques-
tion of Reform, and they represent the basest ma-
nufacture of public opinion instead of its true and
honest material. Lord Derby is forming a Govern-
ment for the simple reason that Mr. Gladstone,
" the pilot who was to weather the storm," deserted
the ship, after having steered it on the rocks ; or,
to pass from a nautical simile to one more familiar,
he threw down his cards the moment he lost one
trick. His adversaries of course are picking up the
stakes, while his partner and backers are looking on
in grim dismay. Under these circumstances it is
clear that any attempt to render Lord Derby's task
more difficult, whether in or out of the House, will
be most reprehensible, and will assuredly recoil
upon its authors. There is a public beyond the
precincts of Trafalgar-square, and that public is
generous in its sympathies. Whether they require
a Reform Bill or not the events of the next few
months will show ; but this at least they will de-
mand—fair play; and they are quite shrewd
enough to draw a wide distinction between the voci-
ferous denunciations and violent tirades of noisy
boys and the calm, reflecting wishes of industrious,
sober working men. To those wishes, calmly and
reasonably explained, we trust that any Govern-
ment will give a considerate attention, just as we
trust that any Government will not fail, at all risks,
to put down illegal and dangerous mobs. It is not
well to excite class against class at any time : most
wrong is it when there is really no hostile feeling
between classes apart from such false excitement.
M. de Tocqueville said in the French Academy—
" There is a time when with impunity a demagogue
may accuse the upper classes with tyranny, corrup-
tion, and folly—it is when the upper classes are
nobly fulfilling their duties : then they may be ac-
cused with impunity, because there is no truth in
the accusation." So when Mr. Bright accuses the
aristocracy of being the cause of all" the ignorance,
brutality, and evil in the country," he may do so
with impunity, because there is no truth in him.
Before the Government retire to the Opposition side
of the House Sir George Grey should be called
upon to explain on what authority he gave the mob
permission to occupy Trafalgar-square on Monday
night. The responsibility of taking action in this
matter should not be thrown on the new Home
Secretary. The new Government will have onerous
duties to discharge. It is in the interest of all
parties that the action of the Administration should
be left as free as possible, and, above all, that the
Democratic influences suggested by Mr. Bright, and
represented in Trafalgar-square, should be repro-
bated as they deserve.

COUNTRY MARKETS.

LEEDS-TUESDAY.

Our arrivals this week are not large. The transactions
in wheat to-day aro of so small a character that the trade
may be called nominal at last Tuesday's rates. No mate-
rial change in spring corn.

Tho Overage prices for the week ending July 2 were--
Wheat, 56s 6-id per qr. ; barley, 39s 6cl; oats, 27s iv.

LIVERPOOL-TUESDAY.

At this day's market there was a small attendance of the
town and country trade, and the business done was limited
and quite of a retail character. Wheat and flour met with
a slow sale, and may be quoted 3d per 1001 b., and is to 2s
per sack lower. Oats and oatmeal were difficult to move,
and, if anything, rather easier to buy. In barley, beans,
and p,ms there was no change to note, but Indian corn,
With large arrivals per steamer, and a considerable quan-
tity reported on the way from America, declined is 6d
per qr., prime now mixed being obtainable at 27s 9d to
28s per 4801 b.