The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-25 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, DEC. 25, 18C8.

The true Chris' mas thought, prayer, aspiration,
or however it may be termed the most correctly—is
the echo of the old angelic chorus, beginning with
the " Gloria in excelcis DEO," and supplemented with
the " et in terra pax HOMISIBUS bone voluntatis."
That is the one most seasonable sentiment common
at this time to all Christendom. It is meant and felt,

or it ought to be, by all of us alike—by every one a

us without distinction. It is referred to, here, not by
any means with the smallest intention whatever
of sermonizing. There is a place for everything, and
the columns of a newspaper ought certainly not to be
regarded as constituting the right place for religious
homil es, any more than for dogmatic teaching. But
at any rate it may be permitted to the journalist,
without anything like indecorum to refer to those
Christmas aspirations of peace and good will in
so far as they may be regarded as having rela-
tion at this moment to the home and foreign
policy of our Administration. The furtherance of
peace abroad and of goodwill at home is at this
season especially the aspiration, we repeat common
to us all, not to this country alone but to every
country throughout Christendom. And, as it now
happens, in spite of all the political troubles and vexa-
tions, in spite of all the wars and rumours of wars
that have so long been talked of, more particularly
during this last twelvemonth, there are more hope-
ful prospects at length of something like goodwill
being engendered amongst ourselves here at home
by the harmonious action of the Legislature and of
the Government. While abroad, among the great na-
tions of Europe, there is promise coming to us even
out of the very collision threatened between Greece
and Turkey of a Congress being convened, from
which may not unreasonably arise, not merely a com-
promise between the actual belligerents, but a ra-
tional disarmament among the nations still at
peace, though regarding each other with a certain
amount of jealous suspicion, and (as a natural conse-
quence of that mutual disarmament) a more secure
and permanent pacification throughout Christendom.
Those are the hopeful prospects with which Christ-
mas come to us in the present year of grace, 1868.
At home, here, amongst ourselves, the recent
collision between the two great opposing parties in
the State has resulted in one of them obtaining
so enormous a majority in the new House of Com-
mons, that the members of the late Government at
once accept quite frankly the decision of the nation
as announced through the General Election but just
completed, and without awaiting the inevitably ad-
verse result of a wordy struggle afterwards within
the walls of Parliament, as promptly as possible re-
sign the Ministerial power into the han is of the QUEEN,
making way forthwith for their successors, the
members of the-newly-installed Liberal Government.
Parliamentary Reform having been effectually cleare
out of the way by the late Government, the present
Government, with every reasonable prospect before
them of carrying out their object, thanks to the
immense majority at their back, a majority repre-
senting, of course, the feelings of the great bulk of
the nation, the new Ministers now propose imme-
diately to conciliate, for once and for all the
affections of the, hitherto, for the most par t
alienated population of the sister island; by sweep-
ing away at last the grinding burden of the alien