The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-14 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDENSDAY, NOV. 14, 1866.

"NI
We are not likely to hear the last of the Reform
question for some time, but we have gained one
thing by tie prolongation of the discussion. The
common-place arguments on both sides are ex-
hausted, even party vituperation has inevitably
cooled down, and men are driven to study the ques-
tion.on broad constitutional and historical grounds
if they wound find anything to say that is likely to
command attention and be worth listeninr, to. A
student of the subject, writing to a contemporary,
has thought it a good opportunity to reconsider the
whole question, and more especially to examine
the great Reform Bill of 1832, and discover
if possible what were its defects and shortcomings.
Being something of a Tory in his views, it does
not, of course, take him long to discover that the
Bill left the influence of the Whigs very greatly in
the ascendant, and kindly overlooked certain
boroughs in which the landlord was (professedly)
Liberal in his politics. The Tories of that day,
however, had themselves to thank for being so
completely outwitted, since their obstinate opposi-
tion to the much-needed measure prevented
them from exercising any influence upon it, It

was carried in defiance of them, not with
their help and assistance, and they could rot conse-
quently expect much mercy at the hands of the Re-
formers. This has always been the great difficulty
in dealing with a matter which ought to be entirely
indeuenclent of party considerations. An amend-
ment of the Constitution under which we all live is
a national matter, and if our politicians were half
as candid and disinterested as they appear in
their speeches, it would be dealt with in a
national spirit. If the object be to secure a
fair representation for all classes of the
community, it ought not to be so very difficult to
apportion the franchise. If our aim be to secure
purity of election, we should attain it in any other
department of life by trying plan after plan till we
succeeded. If, however, the question at issue be
merely whether one set of men or another shall sit
on the Treasury lynches the mistakes of 1832 are
only too likely to be repeated in 1857, or whatever
year a Reform Bill really passes.

The intelligence brought from our Australian
colonies by the recent mail is, on the whole, satis-
factory. They are principally ocCupied, in the ar-
rangement of their internal policy and matters of
domestic administration. In Melbourne the com-
mercial circles were still feeling the effects of the
London panic in the spring, and the interest of
money was 10 and 12 per cent. Mercantile men in
Australia complain that their bankers are too timid,
and keep too much of their money locked up in
securities not readily convertible. This fault
cannot certainly' be charged against our
English bankers, who have recently been
subjected to severe strictures for not being
cautious enough. It is a singular charge to bring
against a young community not generally remark-
able for want of progress. The• Queensland Go-
vernment, however, are going to set the mother
country herself a good example. They are going
to issue :Treasury notes, being the first attempt in
Australia at the issue of Government paper cur-
rency. The Radical party strongly uphold the
principle as an economical method of using
the public credit. Old financiers indeed are
ready with discount prophecies, but the
Queensland authorities are wise enough to remem-
ber the awful prognostications respecting the Ame-
rican greenbacks, which have found their fulfilment
in the rapid reduction of the NUtional Debt of the
States.

Ihe agricultural prospects of the season are said
to be tolerable, though the farmers are complaining
of a lack of rain. Certainly their fellows on this
side of the equator have had no such cause for
Ilament. Possibly we have had our own share and
that of the Antipodes as well. The gold fields of New
Zealand are increasing in importance, and a return
recently published of the gold exported from the
various ports of that colony during the twelvemonth,
from the Ist of April, 1865 to the 31st of March,
1866, gives a total of 674,4990 z., which at £4 an
ounce gives £2,697,996. So greatly have the New
Zealand diggings risen in public estimation that the
diggers now often divide the year between Victoria
and Auckland, taking the one for the winter, and
the other for the summer. Altogether the prospects
of Australia and New Zealand are favourable, and
give promise of rapid development.

It will be with great satisfaction that the public
will learn that our authorities believe the time to
have now arrived for substituting a form of thanks-
giving for the prayer now used in our churches and
chapels for the removal of the cholera and the
cattle plague. The two visitations which have both
been severely felt by the poorer classes have dimi-
nished in severity about the same time, although the
cattle plague is of much longer standing than the
cholera. The mortality from the two forms of the
epidemic is still indeed higher than is quite satisfac-
tory in the middle of November, being 100 in the week
ending on Saturday, and 101 the week before. Still
the deaths exhibit a regular decrease in the last five
weeks, being 254, 199, 144, 101, and 300. The
principal proportion of the recent mortality has
been due to the outbreak at Woolwich, :where
73 persons have died in three weeks. This sudden
development of the disease is attributed by the
Registrar-General to the insufficient water supply,
the dirty and dilapidated condition of the houses of
the labouring classes, and the unhealthiness of
their sites. He adds—" The question of
the sites of dwellings for the working
classes is one of the most pressing, and will
no doubt obtain the attention of her MAJESTY'S
Government." The alarm caused by the cholera
will, we may hope, do good in this respect; for all
that our sanitary reformers have urged upon indif-
ferent or unwilling listeners during several years
has been powerfully enforced by a teacher whom
none can contradict. We have much cause to he
thankful for the rapid diminution of what threatened
to be a severe attack of the dreaded epidemic, but
at the same time we have no cause to indulge in
over confidence. The winter months will no
doubt keep the enemy at bay, but there
will be much need for caution and energy
if we are to avoid an outbreak in the spring.
The condition of many of our poorer districts is a
disgrace to the country, since, if legislation does not
touch the evil, it ought to do so; while the water
supply is a matter which is under some definite con-
trol, and should certainly be a little more adequate
to the needs of our enormous and ever-increasing
population. It is a scandalous thing that in many
of our poor and populous districts the water only
comes into the house for 20 minutes or half-an-hour
in the day, during which time all that is wanted for
use must be caught in tubs and pails for lack of proper
reservoirs. It is very well to preach about cleanli-
ness and order, but so long as the poor are put to
shifts like this it is not likely that our exhortations
will have much effect. The lesson to be learnt by
London must also be studied by the other great
cities, for cholera still lingers in Dublin, Edinburgh,
and Liverpool. Bad water, insufficient drainage,
and overcrowding are three prime elements in the
condition of things which invites the enemy to our
doors, and so surely
as we neglect ourplainand
manifest duty in instituting tle necessary social
and sanitary reforms, so surely shall we suffer from
negligence when the warm weather returns, and
with it the liability to epidemic disease.

The opening of the Belgian Chambers e
ceremony.
eroekmpolnay.ee
yesterday, and the KING officiated at the
A particular interest seems to attach itself m
to
many
kingdom just now in consequence of
rumours that have been afloat lately. The KING
declared that all the relations with Foreign Powers
were of a friendly character, and that in the midst
of the " great events which have disturbed a part
of Europe, Belgium has remained calm and con-
fident, deeply impressed with the rights and duties
of neutrality." In fact the little-kingdom has been a
model to larger and more powerful States during the
confusions that have lately arisen ou the Continent,
and we may well say that the Belgians have en-
joyed far more liberty and real indepenlence than
many more pretentious people have done. The
KING said that they would continue to preserve the
same neutrality for the future, and that they could
carry on affairs with "sincerity, loyalty, and
strength." All those who clearly comprehend the