The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-03 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF TICE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The Herald says that the vote of thanks to Sir Robert
Napier and the officers and men of the Abyssinian expedi-
tion, proposed in the House of Lords and the House of
Commons last night, was passed, not only by the voice of
both Houses of Parliament, but by the acclamation of the
nation. The crowded galleries of the House of Commons
and the numbers of eager listeners who choked the lobby
and approaches, testify to the interest evinced in the suc-
cessful end of the strange and unprecedented campaign.
The vote was carried amid cheers that shewed how heartily
the nation appreciated the gallantry of those who had
brought to so successful an end so hazardous an under-
taking. Well is the vote of thanks deserved. Well has
this, the highest reward that the country can offer, been
earned ; and the Herald expresses its conviction that there
does not exist one Englishman in whose heart they do not
find a ready response and who does not cordially echo the
expression of Parliament.

The Post observes that the banquet given to Mr. Cyrus
Field on Wednesday last was a tribute honestly and
hardly earned by that gentleman by the great services he
has rendered in the establishment of a telegraphic commu-
nication between the European and American continents.
We get accustomed to everything very soon in these times,
and the Atlantic cable is already coming to be looked
upon with as little concern as if it were a legacy from
the ancient Britons, but yet it does still awaken
a little interest when we are told that a number of
gentlemen, seated at dinner in London, have
transmitted toasts to the other side of the globe
and received answers to them before rising from table.
The President of the United States, indeed, had to post-
pone his acceptance of the toast, for he reminded those
who asked him to drink it that the telegraph had outrun
the sun, and that " the dinner-hour here is not arrived
yet ; it is only five o'clock ; the sun is yet two hours
high ;" and the whole series of messages which were sent
over the continent of America and answered in the space
of a dinner-time were calculated to bring clearly before us
the full magnitude of the work to which Mr. Cyrus Field
has so largely contributed.
The Daily News declares it is gratifying to witness the
ugerness which is now manifested in this country to
recognise the services of those among our American kins-
men who have distinguished themselves either by their
writings or their deeds. A year ago a brilliant company.
2omposed of men of every rank in life and school of
thought, assembled to honour the victorious abolitionists of
America in the person of Mr. Lloyd Garrison, their heroic
leader. At this moment, controversies have been occa-
sioned by the desire to pay merited respect by proffering
choice hospitality to Mr. Longfellow. The banquet
just given to Mr. Cyrus Field is another mark of
the same praiseworthy feeling. He is a type of the
commercial spirit, rather than of the polities or the intel-
lect of America. To his energy the successful laying of
the Atlantic cable is probably due. Others may have
loosened their purse-strings and invested larger stuns in
the undertaking than he did, yet if he staked his entire
fortune on the success of the venture, he was more gene-
rous than the millionnaire who risked the thousands he
could well spare. Others certainly furnished the scientific
knowledge and displayed the practical skill without which
no mechanical work can be prosecuted to a triumphant
close, but to Mr. Field belongs the merit of stimulating
those who were lukewarm and communicating his own
well-founded convictions in the feasibility of the enterprise
to men whose faith had waxed cold after repeated
failures.

The Standard deems that the process of Southern recon-
struction, as reconstruction is understood by the Repub-
lican party in Congress, may now be considered finished.
By excluding all white citizens who took any part in the
war from voting, and by allowing all black citizens to
exercise the right of the suffrage without question, a new
" Radical " Constitution has been passed in each State,
and ratified according to the terms prescribed by Congress.
The people who formerly possessed large wealth are now
entirely broken down in means and spirit, and the negroes
whom they once owned have the privilege of making laws
for them. This is what is meant when it is stated
that the Southern States have been fully restored to
the Union. All danger of a Republican defeat is avoided
by totally suppressing the voice of the class likely to
appose extreme Republican principles. The supervision
exercised over the Legislatures which adopted the new
constitutions in the:Carolinas and their sister States was so
thorough that even provisions for local taxation were
modified. The general result is regarded with unqualified
satisfaction by the Stevens and Butler party in the North,
and the Radical journal anticipates that the Southern
States will henceforth be more " advanced" than Massa-
:.husetts herself. Of the population which has been driven
:rom the polls no one belonging to this party appears to
take any account.

The Telegraph calls attention to the fact that Mr.
loebuck—the little leader of a party of one, and not
Always sure of his only follower, himself—has been defend.
ing his career down at Sheffield. He is always defending
himself. He never tires of the theme, and he always
proves to his own abundant satisfaction that on all occa-
sions he was right. In fact, he is a very great man. In
1866 he stayed in the House at the risk of his life to support

Mr. Gladstot e. Then he "carried" the Reform Bill of last
year, for" in the Houseof Commons great deference is paid
to my opinions." Then, again, " Whigs now-a-days
are Whigs and something more : I was something
more when they were only Whigs." But this is too mild ;

Mr. Roebuck always was, is, and will be " something
more " than everybody ; he reminds us of Mr. Guppy's
young friend who was "up to everthing, whatever it

;me" Then he obtained the Trades Union Commission.
What a herculean task ! Considering that the present

Covernment has issued commissions at the shortest notice
on everything under the sun—and that if a Liberal mem-

per merely coughs, a Minister starts up and sap
" 'Would you like a commission ? '—we really cannot see
that there was the least difficulty in originating
one of the many wh:ch were authorised during the
year. Then Mr. Roebuck says that he has " never
eared for popularity " nor " pecuniary rewards." He

"speaks out fairly and honestly," and he "only cams for

truth !" What a wonderful man ! What an excelltnl

zharacter ! A fooli.1:1 local person said, " It is impossible

for yoti to work witli Mr. Gladstone." What was the

1% ply—the gracious reply— of the great man ? "Mr.
Gladstone is now in a more likely groove to work with nte"
—that's the true way to put it—" than ever he has been
in his N% hole life up to the present hour." How very gratl•
fying to Mr. Gladstone, and what a promise it holds out
for the future ! Roebuck " &hewing the way," as he did,
he says, " thirty-six years ago," and Mr. Gladstone at
length converted to the true path !

A Berlin paper positively asserts that the Pano-
verintiF condemned for the crime of high fro tson hay Leer.
I.o.l.'oned, and were set at liberty on Monday.

That ceremony, all the more imposing for its formality,
which follows the successful wars of Great Britain, has
been, the Times remarks, performed in the two Houses of
Parliament. The thanks of Lords and Commons were
voted to Sir Robert Napier, Commodore Heath, and the
officers and men of the army and navy engaged in the
expedition to Abyssinia. The interest of the occasion
was manifested by the full attendance of members, and
by the presence of many visitors, some of these last being
nearly connected with the brave men who received the
nation's acknowledgments. Lady Napier herself was
present to listen to the praises which her husband's
ability and his distinguished services called forth. Of the
speeches it may fairly be said that they were manly,
generous, and well suited to the occasion. In these
things it is difficult to avoid exaggeration and bombast ;
the injustice of overstrained praise is often inflicted on
those who have meritoriously served their country, and
who have not the smallest desire to be placarded as incom•
parable heroes. But the language of both Government
and Opposition in this case was no more than every
honest critic, British or foreign, will allow to have been
well deserved by the General and his force. As Mr.
Gladstone observed, there is something tame and feeble in
the language of unbroken eulogy, and yet the occasion
did not permit the use of any other. A war against a
barbarous race must not be celebrated with the loftiness
of expression which befits a triumph over enemies our
equals in strength, civilisation, and science. But the
praise in this case, though temperate, must be unmixed.
All that had to be done in the war was well done, and we
are entitled to say that there is no instance in our annals
of an enterprise so novel and arduous having been carried
out with such uniform success. The cordiality with which
each speaker expressed himself will gratify all those
engaged in the expedition, and will convince them that
the thanks of both Houses were warmly given. The
chiefs of the expedition will receive the rewards of their
services, and never will rewards have been better merited.
But the Times cannot let the opportunity of a vote of
thanks pass without calling renewed attention to the
bravery and good conduct of the soldiers and sailors,
both European and Asiatic. Their work we know
to have been arduous, and it is right to state that their
willingness, their endurance, and their quickness to adapt
themselves to the necessities of the campaign were beyond
all praise. It has been said that the British soldier is a
mere fighting machine, and that he requires to be placed
easily and comfortably on the field of battle. It is alleged
that he does not show dexterity in the work which must
so often precede a battle, and which has scarcely a less
influence than a battle on the fortunes of a war. But in
this campaign it has been proved that this charge, like so
many similar generalisations, has no basis in truth. All
ranks showed remarkable readiness at the rough work of
the campaign, and the Sepoy was as quick and willing as
his European comra. le.

ATTEMPTED TIME MURDER AND

SUICIDE.

A shocking case of attempted murder and suicide oc-
aurred at about half-past six o'clock on Thursday evening,
;n Liverpool. Whilst some persons were passing the
windows of the counting-house of Messrs. Hikers, Whitley,
and Co., coal merchants, James-street, they heard a great
sreaking of glass and a cry of murder issuing from the
premises, and at the same time a large piece of iron was
Flung through the window. On gaining access to the room
;t was found that the managing clerk, Mr. Joseph Jones,
had that afternoon been visited by his wife, and that
:luring the interview an altercation arose. They ulti-
mately came to blows, and he, snot-bing the handle of a
letter press, beat her so violently • ith 't that she was for
a time stunned. She, however, s, fa recovered herself
as to be enabled to wrest the weapon from his hand, and
she then threw it through the window, and it was this,
together with her cries, that brought timely assistance,
When the husband was questioned as to the cause of the
disturbance, he immediately ran round to the back of the
vounter, and, snatching a razor from the drawer, drew it
across his throat, nearly severing his head from his body.
Of course death was instantaneous.