The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-16 00:00:00

-
.;
7 .*

THE HARVEST.

The weather on Wednesday and yesterday was
admirably adapted in the eastern district for the
rapid prosecution of harvest work, the temperature
being only moderately high, 'so that the harvest.
men can work with a will. On Monday the heat
was so great and suffocating from the absence of
wind that many of the men suffered severely, and
instances are reported in which they were ca'ried
fainting from their toil. The yield of wheat, as
before stated, is generally pretty good, but there
are exceptional complaints of a deficiency; the
quality is, however, almost universally commended.
The fine genial weather which has prevailed in
Northumberland during the last few days has had
a marked influence upon the crops: Harvest is
everywhere rapidly approaching, and in many
places reaping both by the hand and the machine
has commenced. Throughout the northern division
of the county frequent showers of rain have fallen
since Sunday without inflicting any injury to the
ripening corn, while they have materially benefited
the pastures and young turnips. The generality of
the grain crops in the county are by no means so
heavy as could be wished ; but the samples of grain
already obtained are very fine. No anxiety is felt
as to the scarcity of labourers, as a very large num-
ber of agriculturists in Northumberland now em-
ploy reaping machines, and thus obviate the neces-
sity of having a large number of labourers. On
Wednesday the fine weather which had prevailed
for some days previously was succeeded by a dull
drizzling rain, which began about noon and before
long changed into a very heavy shower, which con-
tinued to fall in torrents throughout the district
during the rest of the day. It is feared that this
untoward occurrence will have done a great amount
of harm to the crops.

FRENCH CRITICISM ON LORD DERBY.

The London correspondent of the Constitutionnel,
who is supplying that paper with a series of parlia-
mentary sketches, gives the following " portrait" of
Lord Derby :

Brave, generous, chivalrous, as a noble of the
purest blood, he disdains all parliamentary shams,
.
andel
rims
i p apatiently
ehhitsl
yblows
direct
r a
his adversary.
skilfullyDm-
at
unravels the tissue of
subtleties in which his antagonists wish to envelop
him. Lord Derby cuts through the same at a blow,
and opposes to all a proud disdain, not to say a
majestic cynicism. He is accused of being proud.
How could he be otherwise ? At twenty-five he
was already illustrious, and now to his pride of
blood is added the consciousness of indisputable
superiority, which he owes to himself alone. See
him in the House of Lords, how he towers above
his colleagues! There are within those walls states-
men better versed than himself in political affairs,
leaders who would embarrass him in any serious
equestion,of
law,d yet h
anlegi s t s fea rs
tsuperior a
dt o
and h. m
shoulders in al l m
aboveatter s
them all, and in the midst of his brother peers may
be compared to RHicishaerdlegCuceenuere-deis-Liimonpesitturorouuanadnedd
by his court.
sometimes even passionate ; his ideas disdain the
elegant ornaments of periphrase, and go straight to
their native simplicity. When Disraeli speaks his
tone is rapid and sarcastic, his lips are compressed,
the pupil of his eye contracted and scoffing. Lord
Derby, on the contrary, with quivering lips and
fiery glance, seems ready to rush upon his antago-
nist and strike him to the ground. The former may
be compared to the knat which kills even the lion
by its exasperating attacks; the latter, to Jupiter
Tonans. Lord Derby is generally reproached, and
we fear not unjustly, with great weakness of cha-
racter. He is accused of suffering himself to be led
by Disraeli, and of being suddenly influenced by
that deserter of all parties. Unfortunately, this
opinion has been too much confirmed sire° the last
unsuccessful attempt to form a conservative govern-
ment—yes, conservative of all the fatal tradition
which inflicted on Great Britain the stigma
Helena, but destructive of everything that consti-
tutes the essence of a really conservative govern.
meat at home. of St.