The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-05 00:00:00

APPOINTMENT OF IM.R. C. VILLIERS
TO PILE POOR-LAW ,BOARD.

Lord Palmerston has done a very graceful, as
well as a very just act, in offering to Mr. Charles
Villiers that seat in the Cabinet which remained,
or rather which had become vacant, in consequence
of Mr. Cobden's refusal to join Vile Administration.
Mr. Milner Gibson is promoted to the actual post
which had been reserved for Mr. Cobden, and now
the office which Mr. Gibson had vacated has been
conferred upon Mr. Villiers. Few -people who are
unfortunately old enough to remember the origin
of the Free Trade movement will refuse their hearty
sanction to this tardy acknowledgment of Moll
desert. It was Mr. Charles Villiers who prac-
tically originated the Free Trade movement. For
years before Messrs. Cobden and Bright were heard
of as politicians Mr. Villiers annually brought the
subject before Parliament. He it was who had to
contend with all the odium and all the ridicule of
urging a proposition which in those days was
looked upon much in the same light as a serious
motion for realising the ideas of St. Simon or
Proudhon would be regarded in our time. Young
politicians who are just entering upon the arena of
public life have no idea of the fierce animosities of
twenty years ago. In those days a Radical was
still looked upon as a kind of monster, and a Free-
trader was to a Radical what a Radical was to a
truly respectable man. Still, even so, there were
differences. Mr. Cobbett, or even the late Mr.
Hume, might make proposals " subversive of the
Throne and the altar," and it was taken that he
was acting merely as a low, vulgar fellow, natu-
turally would act. It was otherwise when a man
connected by birth, education, and family with the
territorial classes dared to raise the standard of re-
bellion against their views, and what they sup-
posed to be their interests. Such a man was in-
stantly " Anathema"—a traitor to his order, as well
as a disturber of the public peace. Now, Mr. Vil-
liers did this. As a youth he began the contest
which he only saw ended when he had already at-
tained middle life ; he dissociated himself from the
traditions of his class ; he incurred their animosity ;
he sacrificed the ease and comfort of his own days,
and all to fight a battle in which, as it turned out,
he lost half the merit of success in the opinion
of the vulgar. Charles Villiers stood half-way
between Adam Smith and Richard Cobden. He
therefore never got the credit of the philosopher whO
for practical purposes may be said to have originated
the. idea, or of the popular leader who manipulated
the masses, and finally forced the Minister's hand.
Mr. Villiers's share in the transaction was, how-
ever, quite as important- To him it was mainly
due that the settlement of the question was carried
in an orderly and Parliamentary way. One of the
most ungenerous acts of the great Minister who at
last suffered himself to be convinced was, that at
the moment of surrender he did not give his fair
share of praise to Mr. Villiers, who had so long
brought the question before the house. His com-
plinients were reserved for the " unadorned elo-
quence" of the popular leader to whom he suc-
cumbed. The Free Trade party were more just,
as well as more generous. In the hour of victory
they at least did not forget to acknowledge the
claims of the gentleman who had been the first to
advocate their cause. Looking back, then, at his
political career, we are justified in hoping that the
choice of Mr. Villiers as a Cabinet Minister will
give satisfaction to the Liberal party. It is per-
fectly true that he has not borne a very prominent,
nor acted a very noisy part, in any of the shiftings
and changes of Administration which have occurred
since 1845-6. This fact, however, will scarcely
prejudice Mr. Villiers in the opinion of the coun-
try. Even now Mr. Villiers has not thrust himself
forward in any way, nor sought the position which
has been offered to him. If the addition of Mr.
Cobden could have strengthened the Liberal Ad-
ministration, Mr. Villiers was perfectly content to
stand aside. When Mr. Cobden had refused, the
choice naturally fell upon him, and we are glad to
hear that he has accepted the office which Lord
Palmerston was thus enabled to offer him, and to
think that he has at last an opportunity for dis-
playing those administrative talents which found
no scope in the formal duties of Judge-Advocate.—
Times.

THE MEDITERRANEAN FLEET.

MALTA, JUNE 29.

We have in port the Hannibal, 91, bearing the
flag of Rear-Admiral Mundy, second (but in reality
third) in command ; the Hibernia, receiving ship,
bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Codrington, Ad-
miral Superintendent of this dockyard; the Ban-
shee, 2, the Boxer, tender, and the Hearty, tug,
besides the Azov and the Kertch,sailing gun vessels.
In the offing off Malta, the St. Jean d'Acre, 101, the
Orion, 91, and the Assurance, 4. On her way to
England from Malta, the:Supply, store ship, which
left on the 28th June. On their way to Malta from
England, the Exmouth, 90, the Cressy, 80, the
Doris, 32, and the Intrepid, 0. At Gibraltar the
Vulture, 6, the Growler and the Quail un boats,
and the Bustler tug.
At Corfu, the Marlborough, 131, bearing the
flag of Vice-Admiral Fanshawe, the commander.
in-chief, with the Conqueror, 101, the Princess
Royal, 91, the Renown, 91, the Victor Em amnuel,
91, the Brunswick,. 80, and the Lapwing, 2 ; like-
wise at Corfu the Racoon, 21, and the Caradoc, 2,
dispatch vessel; at Ancona, the Argus, 6.
MOVEMENTS SINCE THE 15TH OF JUNE AT MALTA.
Her Majesty's store-ship Supply, arrived on the
15th of June, from Rhodes, bringing the remain-
der of the ancient marbles for the British Museum,
from Bourdroum ; and Mr. Newton, late vice consul
at Mytelene, who has been superintending the
excavations, now promoted to be consul at
Rome ; Mr. Smith, Royal Engineers ; and
three Sappers. Her Majesty's corvette, Assu-
rance, left for Tunis on the 15th, and returned on
the 21st. Her Majesty's corvette, Gannet, arrived
from Palermo on the 16th, and left on the 22d for
the Pirreus of Athens. The schooner yacht, Clay-
more, arrived from Messina on the 16th, bringing
the owner, T. Harvey, Esq., and family. Her
Majesty's gunboat, the Lapwing, left for Corfu on
the 15th. Her Majesty dispatch steamer Banshee
arrived from Portsmouth at Gibraltar on the 21st.
The cutter yacht Jupiter left for Catania on the
22d, and the same night the Caradoc dispatch ves-
sel for Corfu. Her Majesty's corvette Assurance
left Malta on the 23d, to cruize in the offing.
P.S.—Rear Admiral Mundy left harbour for the
offing of Malta on the afternoon of the 29th of June
in the Hannibal.
ANOTHER FRENCH PRIZE.—The Austrian brig
Palimero, of 236 tons, Captain Tomlinson, with
coals from Hull, for the Austrian Lloyd's, bound to
Constantinople and the Danube, captured in the
Danube, captured in the waters of Andros, by the
Solon French steam-frigate, put into Malta on the
22d of June, by reason of contrary winds, bound to
Marseilles, for adjudication.

THE NEW GOVERNMENT AND
ECCLESIASTICAL QUESTIONS.

The Liberator, the organ of the religious equality
party, thus writes of the two leading .questions
which that party is striving to settle :
"We have for the first time in our history a
Cabinet a majority of the mexibers of which are
committed to church-rate abolition. Of its sixteen
members, Mr. Gladstone, Lord Campbell, the Duke
of Newcastle, and Mr, Sidney Herbert, are all that
have been able to persevere in their opposit:on to
Sir J. Trelawny's bill. Lord Palmerston gave up
last year. Lord J. Russell formally accepts aboli-
tion, and has proposed amendments which can un-
doubtedly be modified into acceptable provisions in
a bill intended to pass. The Duke of Somerset
moved our bill in the Lords, and Earl Granville led
in its support. All the Ministerial subordinates,
without one exception, are our pledged men.
" What progress may be made with the bill this
session we will not now anticipate ; but we cannot
imagine that the Cabinet thus constituted will ven-
ture on anything so suicidal as even the appearance
of trifling with the church-rate abolition. There is
nothing left but this to distinguish them from the
late Government. They cannot profess to offer
facilities for discussion ; we have had all that from
Mr. Disraeli. They cannot stand by, leaving the
matter for the house to settle ; for even the late
Government felt the necessity, weak as it was, of
dealing with the question. They cannot now pro-
pose a compromise, for there is none which has not
been rejected or withdrawn. Six of their own
members are committed to abolition pure et simple ;
five have nothing better to propose ; and the re-
mainder only want to be let down easy. Under
these circumstances we think that all that has been
charged against the composition of the Government
by the advanced Liberals will be as nothing to the
censure that must await them if they allow the
Church-rate Abolition Bill to continue before Par-
liament after the close of next session.
" We think also that we are entitled to demand
that the whole weight of the Government influence
should be thrown into the scale in affirmation of
the principle of Mr. Dillwyn's Endowed Schools
Bill, and that all available facilities shooruld ben
giv
time
en
to ensure its being carried up the Lds i
for its passing this session."

MR. 6. T. F. SMITH'S WEATHER
PBEDICTIONS FOR JULY.

-
From ,4th ;lot weather
7th, ; 7th to 9th,
showery ; 9th to 13th or. 14th, stormy and
showery ; 14th to 20th, fine weather generally ;
20th to 23d, hot, stormy, awl showery, with
thunder; heat and thunder abo# the 29th or 30th
. .
12, Gloucester-place, Cheltenham,