The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-02 00:00:00

THE SIJN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, MAY 2, 1859.

of this country. There has been a state of things '
in the City of London for the last few days such as is
hardly to be remembered of any former period.
There has been a state of ruin—the failure of per-
sons to such a number as I am almost afraid to
mention—agitation in the public funds, and a great
depression of property. No I have no hesitation
in saying that to a most serious extent these cala-
mities have been caused irrespectively of the real
state of affairs on the Continent, which undoubtedly
is alarming enough. I have no hesitation in saying
that this panic has arisen in a great degree from the
want of due caution on the part of some portions
of the public press in publishing prematurely, and
in an exaggerated form, intelligence likely to create
the greatest alarm, and for which, unquestionably,
they could not have had authority sufficient to
justify publication. I think I may justly express
a hope that those who conduct the affairs of the
press with such great ability—an ability felt in
every corner of the country—will, remembering
the momentous character of the events that may,
under existing circumstances, be from time to time
passing on the Continent, and the likelihood of ex-
aggerated or false reports being spread in reference
to these events, feel the necessity of acting with
great caution, and will, bearing in mind the respon-
sibility of their position, be cautious not to make
public any communication of a startling nature
without being thoroughly informed of the accuracy
of what they state. (Hear, hear.) lam afraid we
can hardly flatter ourselves that war can be averted.
I believe there is no doubt that in the course of
yesterday—but not before, as you have been told—
the Austrian army did cross the Ticino. That is the
information which her Majesty's Government re-
ceived yesterday morning, and of the correctness of
which I believe there is no doubt—namely, that it
was certainly the intention of the Austrian generals
to invade the Sardinian territory by crossing the
Ticino yesterday, or last night. That is the in-
telligence by telegraphic despatch from Vienna.
French troops have been poured in, especially
by Genoa, so that the whole of that part
of Europe is bristling with arms. The Italian
States are in insurrection in consequence, and
everything at this moment does certainly por-
tend a sanguinary war, in which possibly all the
great Powers of Europe may be—indeed, I might
say must be—more or less concerned. It isimpos-
sible to view such a state of things without a very
great anxiety. The only one Power which has a
reasonable hope that it may continue to be disen-
gaged and disentangled from this unhappy struggle
is this free land in which we have the happiness to
live. (Hear, hear.) At present there is no reason
why we should be at war with any Power in
Europe. (Hear, hear.) We are on friendly terms
with every great Power in Europe. We have
received friendly assurances of the most recent date
even from those two great Powers which are, by
public repute, supposed to be engaged in an alliance
injurious to this country—l mean France and
Russia. But, gentlemen, you will all be aware that
while at this moment we have no quarrel with any
Power in Europe, while it should be widely and
thoroughly understood by the country that the view
of the Government is to maintain a continuing,
honourable, and dignified neutrality—that that is
the policy of the Government; yet, as citizens of
this great country, we must all bear in mind that,
if unhappily this war should become protracted—if
unhappily, as is but too probable, the great Powers
which are distant from the scene of action should
be drawn into the struggle month after month, or,
as may happen, year after year, it must in such a
state of things become more difficult for England
to maintain her neutrality. (Hear, hear.) You must
remember how our commercial interests—our im-
perial and colonial interests—are mixed up with
every part of Europe. Look to the Mediterranean
and the importance of our possessions there, and
' bear in mind the importance of maintaining to
England her connection with India. Look to our
trade, ramifying through the Mediterranean and
the Baltic, to every quarter of the world. Our
interests are so mixed up with those of other parts
of Europe that while the policy of her Majesty's
Government is neutrality—while the intention of
her Majesty's Government is neutrality, the country
must consider that the day may come when it will
be difficult to persevere in the maintenance of that
neutrality. (Hear.) But, gentlemen, sincerely do I say
that I hope these difficulties may not arise. (Hear,
hear.) I assure you the constant efforts of the
Government—the unceasing efforts of the Govern-
ment, will be directed to the one great and para-
mount object; that even after war has commenced
and blood. has been shed we shall labour to—if pos-
sible, and as soon as possible—restore the peace of
the world. (Great cheering.) Let it not be sup-
posed that the Government, any more than the
people of this country, are insensible to the sym-
pathy which in this free land must be felt for any
nation labouring under the bad government and the
' domestic oppression which the Italian States have
endured. Do not let it be supposed that we are
insensible to that sympathy which free men every-
where feel for the rising liberties and constiutional
institutions of the kingdom of Sardinia; but these
are not reasons for embarking in a sanguinary war.
(Hear, hear.) Let us endeavour to improve the
institutions of Italy, if we can, by friendly inter-
vention, friendly remonstrance, and the interposition
of friendly feeling on the part of the great powers
of Europe ; but sure I am that we shall not pro-
mote those objects by lending ourselves to war—if
it go on, but God grant it may not—its result as
regards Italy is too likely to be that, instead of
restoring liberty or giving her the basis of a free-
dom such as the people of this country enjoy, the
struggle will eventually be maintained to decide
the question whether she shall change hands and
come under the grasp of one despotic tyrant instead
of that of another. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, I have
now stated to you frankly the views of the Govern-
ment. (Hear, hear.) lam sure you will feel that
to carry out those views—to protect our interests
—to protect our honour—to make our neutrality
respected—to make our power felt—it is impera-
tively necessary that England shall be powerful—
(cheers)—it is imperatively necessary that England
shall be prepared for events. (Renewed cheers.)
Accordingly the Government have decided to take
strong measures ; in fact, to take whatever mea-
sures may be necessary to increase our power, and,
above all, to increase it in that arm which is the
greatest strength and the right hand of England,
and by which at this moment more than by any
other means we can assert our influence and power
—I mean by strengthening the navy. (Loud and
continued cheering.) The Government have re-
solved toimmediately take such steps as may be
necessary to provide for that deficiency which un-
happily exists in the manning of our fleets. We
have already reinforced our squadron in the Medi-
terranean ; we have already reinforced our squad-
ron in the Channel; but we shall take further
steps, and we shall not hesitate to adopt any mea-
sures which we may think necessary to put the
fleets of England in a position which shall ensure
our safety. (Great applause.) Gentlemen, whether
the measures which I have just glanced at, both
domestic and foreign, should be carried out by the
Government which is now existing, or by one
formed of those who are now endeavouring to sup-
, plant and succeed us, must be determined by the
result of these elections which are now going on.
I believe I may say for my colleagues, and.
I am certain I may say for myself, that what-
ever may be the verdict of the country
we shall bow to it respectfully and con-
tentedly. If it be the desire of the country
that the existing administration should continue at
the head of affairs we shall continue to do that
which we have done for the last 14 months, to de-
vote our energies and continuous exertions to the
faithful discharge of those duties which our Sove-
reign has imposed upon us. (Hear, and cheers.)
If it be the pleasure of the country that the Go-
vernment should change hands, and that we should
not receive from the House of Commons that sup
port which shall enable us to carry on the public
business with advantage to the empire,we:shall bovv
to that decision. We shall only hope that our suc-
cessors may be animated by the spirit, at least, of
honesty, which has animated us—(hear, hear)—
and I believe that my colleagues and myself will be
able to look without shame on the period during
which we have conducted the affairs of England.
(Hear, hear.) But I have a strong confidence that
the feeling of the people will be that we have done
our duty—(hear, hear)—that if the peace of Europe
has been broken it was owing to no fault of ours ;
and that the great interests of this country have
been safe in our hands. (Enthusiastic cheering.)
For myself I can say that if I am to continue in
the arduous post which I have now the honour to
fill I will as long as health and strength are granted
to me, discharge the duties of my office in the best
manner I can for the public interests—(cheers)—
but I assure you the labour of that post is most
severe. I do not believe that any man, however
blessed with good health, could continue to fill my
office for any great number of years without having
his health impaired and injured by the labour
which it involves ; but while I hold the post I shall
endeavour to do my duty, and redeem those pledges
which I gave, not only to you, but, through you,
to the public, when I came before you on my ac-
ceptance of office some 14 months ago. I then told
you that I should distribute the patronage of the
office as fairly and impartially as I could. Gentle-
men, I can now say that I have done that. (Hear,
hear.) The patronage of that office is necessarily
very large. I have had to strengthen the fleet, and
to appoint officers to command our ships ; and I
am free to say that I have, in every case, asked,
" Who is the best man ?" (Hear, hear.) I can
further assert that in nine cases out of ten when I
appointed the person whom I believed to be the best
man I have not considered and have not known

whether he was a Whig or a Tory. (Hear, hear.)
With regard to the navy itself, I hope that when-
ever I quit office I may be able to say that great
arm of our power has not suffered in my hands.
(Cheers.) I have no wish to pass a censure on those
who preceded us—l have been accused of wishing
to do it ; but I have no wish to do it beyond that
point which strict fact and truth indicate. How- I
ever, when I took office last year there were either
25 or 26 effective screw line-of-battle ships. That
was the lowest point to which the navy of England
had been reduced for a very long period. Well,
several were prepared to be launched last year ;
and you are all aware of the steps which the Go-
vernment have taken. since that time. I need only
state I expect, by tho end of the present financial
year, the number of effective line-of-battle ships will
be, if not quite, very nearly double what I found it
when I came into office. We have devoted the same
pains to other classes of our vessels of war. (Hear.)
If there be one feeling on the part of the 31overn-
ment stronger than another—if there be one subject
to which they attach more interest than another, it
is that the navy of England should never be allowed
to fall into anything like weakness, but that that
great arm of our strength should be maintained
in the highest possible state of efficiency. (Loud
cheers.) This is the principle upon which since
I have held my present office I have endea-
voured to act. (Hear, hear.) I shall continue
to act upon it as long as I remain at the Board
of Admiralty, and in all future duties which may
devolve upon me as a citizen of this great state,
whether those duties be of a public or a private cha-
racter, I trust I shall prove myself worthy of the
kindness and confidence which I have for so many
successive years received from you, my neighbours,
a kindness and confidence which I fully appreciate,
and which it shall ever be my anxious endeavour to
merit. The right hon. baronet resumed his seat
amid enthusiastic and long-continued cheering.
The proceedings then terminated.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, SATURDAY EVENING.
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY.

The first election held in Ireland has been a tri-
umph for the Conservative party. Trinity College,
hitherto contested at, I believe, every general elec-
tion for the past quarter of a century, this day
returned her former excellent representatives—the
Attorney General and Mr. Lefroy—without a word
from the opposition. The second election, that in
progress for the metropolis, will also terminate in
the re-election of its late onservative representa-
tives, notwithstanding the exertions made by the
son of the late Chancellor Brady and his newly
arrived colleague—the rejected of Cork county—
Mr. Alex. M'Carthy. However, to retun to the
University.
After the usual formula had been gone through,
The Rev. Dr. Moore, senior fellow, proposed
Anthony Lefroy, Esq., and the Rev. Archdeacon
Goold seconded the nomination.
The Attorney General was proposed by the Rev.
Dr. Lloyd and seconded by the Rev. Sidney Smith.
No other candidate appearing, the Provost de-
clared Anthony Lefroy, Esq., and the Right Hon.
James Whiteside duly elected.
Mr. LEFROY returned thanks, and in the course
of his speech declared that he would continue to
give his cordial support to the Government of Lord
Derby. (Cheers.)
Mr. WIIITESIDE then rose amidst loud cheers.
He had to thank the electors for again returning
him, and the reverend gentleman who had pro •
posed him. His reverend friend represented an
important body in the country, and he (Mr.
Whiteside) was, therefore, glad to have his recom-
mendation. The parochial system was one of the
oldest institutions in the State, and when the de-
mocratic babbler spoke of overthrowing it he little
considered the revolution such an act would pro-
duce : but he did not believe that those who spoke
in this fashion really intended to attempt what
they said—they only did so for political purposes.
Mr. Whiteside then contrasted the advantages of a
Government guided by public opinion with despotic
systems, and said that the latter had advantages,
as all power being centred in one man there was no
responsibility ; but in great emergencies the coun-
try of free institutions, like England, was the more
powerful. He had no fears for England in con-
nection with the threatened war. As had been
humorously said, " Let them keep their powder
dry." (Cheers.) Having given a humorous sketch
of the Italian complication, Mr. Whiteside went
on to refer to the question of Reform. What this
agitation would end in he did not know, but he
would not wonder if it ended in Sir James Graham
swallowing the ballot and leading on a Radical
Cabinet. (Cheers and laughter.) What was the
condition of the late House of Commons ? They
had a Radical party, which he admired for its con-
sistency ; a Conservative party that, thank God,
outnumbered it ; and a Peelite party, which he con-
sidered without power. What, then had they to look
forward to ? The Conservative party, he thought,
would become stronger; the Whig party would
become less; and he was bound to admit that
the Radical party would become stronger.
Finally, the two great parties would stand in direct
contrast—one, the party of Conservatism ; the other
of revolution. What was the object of the Radicals ?
They wanted to concentrate all power in the House
of Commons, to make the Lords an appendage, and.
the throne a:brilliant ornament. (Cheers.) A monar-
chy could not subsist without the institutions that
gave it force, and to this all history bore proof. The
learned speaker next alluded to the topic of compe-
titive examinations, and showed the anxiety of the
Cabinet to give this principle force. It had been
asked, what had the Government done besides for
Ireland? He pointed to the Galway packet station,
which brought trade to a part of the country which
had been too long neglected, and showed that an
English Government could rule all parts of a na-
tion with equal justice. (Cheers.) A cry, an election
cry, had been raised, and he was sorry to say it had
been got up at his expense--a jury-packing outcry.
And what did all this come from ? A thing that
gave him the deepest pain ; a conspiracy in which
he forebore to believe until the magistracy and the
gentry, by their representations, made it impossible
to avoid coming to the conclusion that rebellion was
contemplated. The Government then proceeded to
prosecute the members of this illegal organisation
in the most tender manner it could. Having stated
the constitution of the juries at Kerry, and the facts
well known in connection with the trials there, Mr.
Whiteside said he would let them into a secret. On
the first trial, after the jury was sworn, he was
touched on the shoulder and addressed by a person
who said "No verdict." Not being acquainted with
Kerry practice, he asked—how was that, and re-
ceived the same reply. The learned speaker then
discussed the opinions that had been expressed in
public relative to his conduct at the Kerry trials,
and, with his usual irony, raised much laughter at
their expense, ending by declaring that while he
was Attorney-General he would be active in defeat-
ing conspiracy against the law as well as conspiracy
against the Crown. The persons who had raised the
jury-packing outcry (continued Mr. Whiteside)
instead of being happy that the expiring rem-
nants of faction were being trampled out,
had taken the very opposite course. (The learned
gentleman then referred to the charge brought
against him in connection with the Belfast trial,
and explained the matter in precisely the same
manner as has been already done in these columns,
amid cheering.) Out of this circumstance, he said,
an attempt had been made to bring into conflict
with the Presbyterians of the north, whom he ad-
mired for their industry and loyalty; but he would
be the last person to offend that body, and no jury
would satisfy him better to try conspirators against
the laws than 12 Presbyterians—(cheers and
Kentish fire)—and no jury would satisfy the Ro-
man Catholics worse. (Cheers.) In allusion to
the passage in Mr. Brady's address which spoke of
tenant right, Mr. Whiteside said that he only
thought it would be considered miserable clap-trap
to catch votes. He could have told the country
that a measure which cost him months of labour
had been printed, and was lying upon the table of
the House of Commons, and which he hoped would
do that justice to the tenant to which he admitted
he was entitled. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) In
going over the other points in Mr. Brady's address,
Mr. Whiteside came to that portion of it in which
the writer—the poor aspirant, as he called him—
spoke of the Established Church. The learned
speaker denounced Mr. Brady in powerful terms,
which were received with tremendous applause.
Was there, he continued, no nurse in the family to
whom Mr. Brady could pour out his eloquence be-
fore committing himself before the public ? The
next question touched upon in the address was
that of education, and he had no hesitation in sav-
ing that, in his opinion, before long the Reformed
Church would be granted the privileges it claimed.
(Mr. Whiteside concluded his brilliant speech by
bidding the electors a respectful farewell.)
The proceedings then closed, the audience cheer-
ing loudly for Mr. Whiteside.

DUBLIN (CITY).
The nonination of candidates took place to-day
at ten o'clock a.m. The Court-house was thrown
open, and soon afterwards every available space was
occupied. The proceedings dragged on heavily
enough for some two or three hours, but as the day
advanced the rival electors became noisy and dis-
orderly as usual in the same locality under similar
circumstances. Beyond the rather sudden intro-
duction of a new candidate, Mr. Alex. M'Carthy,
late of Cork, little of material interest t• distant
readers took place. Sir Coleman O'Loughlin is
acting as assessor to the sheriff.
Sir /01IN K. JAMES p-roposed Sir Edward Gro-

gan, Bart., as a fit and proper person to represent
the city in Parliament.
ALEX. BOYLE, Esq. (banker), seconded the pro-
position.

Sir EDWARD BOROUGH; Bart., proposed John
Vance, Esq., and WOODS MAuNsELL, Esq., seconded
the nomination.

The friends of the Conservative candidates were
repeatedly interrupted by the Radical mob, but on
the whole they had a tolerably fair hearing.
Alderman JOHN REYNOLDS proposed, and JAMES
C. COFFEY, Esq., seconded the nomination of Fran-
cis Brady, Esq.
Alderman CAMPBELL proposed, and Mr. M.
DARCY seconded Alex. M'Carthy, Esq.
The candidates then severally addressed the
meeting, and the poll was fixed for Monday morn-
ing:. _ _

'The calculation is that Sir Edward Grogan and
?Ir. Vance will beat their Radical opponents by
upwards of 500. There is no sign of opposition in
the County Dublin ; but whether there be or not,
Colonel Taylor and Mr. J. H. Hamilton are well
able to meet any that may possibly offer.