The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-10 00:00:00

Government Bill on the ground of its incomplete
and unsatisfactory manner of dealing with a com-
prehensive question ; but this was not the ground
on which the majority of the members rejected it.
A £6 franchise had been carried repeatedly, but the
new House thought £7 a dangerous innovation.
This may induce us to ask how far Parliament, as
at present constituted, does accurately represent
the mind of the community ? Mr. CLAY'S Educa-
tional Franchise put the sincerity of professing
Reformers to a severe test, which proved too search-
ing for many of those who talk the loudest
about the elevation of the people. Here is a chance
for the Conservatives to achieve a great victory
over their rivals. If they will grant the educational
test and the Ballot they may settle the minor points
of rental and rating as theylike, and will effectually
L prevent any swamping of the upper and middle by
the lower classes by admitting the numbers of edu-
cated men, clerks, and others, who are now excluded
from political power.

The new Cabinet have indeed a heavy task before
them. They have assumed the direction of affairs
at a moment of grave anxiety. They have to
maintain the honour and power of England
undiminished, while preserving a strict neutrality.
They have to deal with a formidable, because in-
tangible enemy, already busy among the population.
They have to reorganise our Navy, which, in spite
of the enormous estimates voted year after year, is
in a most unsatisfactory condition. They have to
consider how to mitigate the effects of a com-
mercial panic of almost unparalleled severity,
if, happily, of brief duration. They have to
face questions of national importance which
imperatively demand solution, and prominent
among these are Parliamentary Reform, the Bank
Charter Act, and the amendment of the Poor-Law
system. The boldest statesmen might well feel that
such were no light task, but Lord DERBY is not a
man to shrink from what he believes to be a public
duty, and, having accepted the responsibilities of
office, he will, no doubt, do his best to discharge them
faithfully. In all matters really affecting the wel-
fare of the country at large, such as the efficiency of
the navy, the improvement of the public health,
&c., he is certain to receive the support not
only of the Opposition, but of the general public.
With political and ecclesiastical affairs he will find
it more difficult to deal, but the task is not impos-
sible. There is a growing tendency to remove all
hurtful distinctions of creed, and race, and party
between subjects of one Queen and residents in one
country, so that much of the bitterness of old has
died away.
The recess, which gives ordinary M.P.'s the de-
lightful prospect of a few months complete holiday,
offers much anxious thought and labour to the
occupants of the Ministerial benches, so that every
position has its drawback as well as its compensa-
tions ; and the Liberal party may console themselves
with the thought that the cares of office are no
longer theirs, even while they profit by the recol-
lection that their own shortcoming as administrators
have greatly tended to expedite the catastrophe of
the Session.

It seems as if the great matters of war and peace
in Germany will not pass away so easily as some
have imagined. We learn front Paris that the
French Cabinet has addressed a note to the Prussian
Government, in which it is pointed out that the
great changes in the political organisation of Ger-
many render it necessary that the French frontier
should be rectified by a cession of territory to
France. Not content with this, the Cabinet made
a further communication yesterday to the Court of
Berlin, demanding the restoration of the French
frontier as it existed in 1814. This certainly
sounds very ominous, and has doubtless caused
great consternation in the councils of Berlin, just
when they wore all congratulating themselves upon
having had their own way so completely, both as re-
garded the opponents at home and the allies abroad.
This document on the part of the French Cabinet
is doubtless very inconvenient, and all will be curious
to hear what answer will be returned to it. No
doubt if France had urged this upon the Prussian
authorities at the commencement of the year, in
the event of a Congress taking place, it might have
been partially acceded to for the sake of keeping
on good terms with the Emperor NAPOLEON, but
at this time, when they are hushed with success, it
is not at all likely that they will pay so much heed
to it. They have met with such a series of unpre-
cedented triumphs, and gone on so exultingly from
one thing to another that their heads seem com-
pletely turned, and they do not show any signs of
concession in the smallest degree. Indeed we are
justified in thinking that a sort of amour-propre
alone will prevent the KING and BISMARCK from
agreeing very readily to this request from Paris.
After the very arrogant speech of the
KING at the opening of the Chambers, it would
be quite a falling off for the Diet to learn
that there was no solidity to the achievements so
much vaunted of, and that what had been gained to
Prussia from her acquisitions in the war was coun-
terbalanced by the nature of her secessions to France.
The gains in North Germany will not be of so much
value under these circumstances, and, notwithstand-
ing all that may be said about policy, it is not likely
that a speedy reply will be given to the communica-
tion. The demand on the part of France is not at
all to be wondered at, and, indeed, it seems only
surprising that some such intimation has not been
made before. It has been foreseen, from the outset
of this war, by experienced persons that great ap-
prehensions would be entertained by France if
Prussia were to succeed in the war. Had Aus-
tria been the victor, it would have been
different ; she would have been more passive
than active, and under no circumstances would it
have been likely that she would have interfered
with France. The mere confusion that has arisen
shows the folly of people going to extremes and
attempting too much. Had not the pretensions of
Herr BISMARCK led him on to acquire BO much
territory, there is no doubt that the Emperor
NAPOLEON would have been very glad to let things
alone. As it is, he is in a manner forced to do
something, if it is only to satisfy the scruples of his
people.
'
There is great dissatisfaction in Paris just
now at the state of affairs in Prussia, and on all sides
it seems pretty certaionfththaet
King
gt
aonfidentcheehcaasvableieenr
given by the speech
conduct of the Berlin Governmentis aoletrotgaeitnhlyer.anTthae
policy of the French Emperor .
gonistic to war, and that policy
has
in France ; but it will be very different if
f popular
inin-
sultsbeen already received from Prussia are followed up
by non-compliance with their last demand. No
doubt in that case there will be war, and it will
be a bad look-out for the Prussians if this should
be the result of the affair. The French are
very different opponents to the Austrians,
and they will start fresh for the con-
test, whereas the Prussians are greatly ex-
hausted by the severe campaigns they have gone
through. At any rate it is satisfactory that the
powers of Berlin seem about to be checked in their
and any stop that is put to their
arbitrary course,
progress will be an advantage.
While these difficulties are arising iu the way of
a settlement of the Prussian part of the war the
Italians seem to be toning down a late, and it is