The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-01 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, JUNE 1, 1868.

Mr. LAMONT has given notice that he will next
Friday move, that " iu the opinion of this House
it is the duty of her MAJESTY'S Government to
defray the whole of the expenses to which Governor
EYRE may be put by the prosecution raised against
him." This is a very satisfactory solution of the
difficulty, and W 3 hope that the Ministry will
recognise the importance of the question, and agree
to the proposal. At any rate they need offer no
opposition, and allow the feeling of the House to be
tested on the subject. The fact is, that the re-
peated prosecutions to which Mr. EYRE has been sub-
jected one way or another have given rise to greater
indignation in several quarters, an I we are not
surprised that night after night the subject is
brought before the House in various forms. The
advantage of Mr. L,uioNT'S proposal is that it is
something definite, and will afford to the ex-Go-
vernor a substantial support in his awkward po-
sition, and all the annoyance to which he is sub-
ject. It is possible that as the case is somewhat
unprecedented the Government may have hesitated
to commit themselves by volunteering their aid in
the trial, but if they submit the matter to the
judgment of the House of Commons they will
have no reason to offer any decided opposition to
the scheme proposed. It will be a great hard-
ship if the consequences of the trial now pending
should ruin Mr. EYRE, and who can say they
will not? This is no ordinary prosecution, raised
to clear doubts and settle differences of opinion ;
on the contrary, it is the effect of a determinate plan
that is organised for the purpose of annoying
the ex-Governor, and revenging the imaginary
wrongs of the rebellious blacks. It will be re-
membered that Mr. DISRAELI stated to the House
the other night that the Government intended to
consider the case of Mr. EYRE after the trial was
over, and, if necessary, recommend it to the notice
of Parliament; but as the trial will not be til
November, it must be next spring before such a
step could be taken. It is obvious, then, that this
promise will not afford much real encouragement
to Mr. EYRE'S friends, nor check the effect made
by his adversaries. We really think that the
affair has gone on so long, and been dis-
tinguished for so much bitterness and ani-
mosity, that it calls for some special no-
tice on the part of Parliament, and that a protest
should be recorded against it. Allowing, for the
sake of argument, that the Jamaica Committee
really felt doubtful and anxious as to the legality
of the acts committed in Jamaica at the tim of the
disturbances, as they cal them, these doubts and
scruples should have vanished at once and for ever
when the trial of General NELSON and Lieutenant
BRAND took place last year at their instigation. It
is quite absurd to begin the whole thing over again,
and besides we must remember that Mr. EYRE has
already been arraigned before the magistrates in
the country, who dismissed the charge as untenable.
This is the third year that this faction has thought fit
to bring forward their vexatious schemes, and we
can assure them that the public is heartily tired of
them, and most indigant at their conduct.

It is curious that those members of Parliament
who have thought fit to join the Jamaica Com-
mittee do not favour the House with their views on
the subject. They think that silence is both safest
and most discreet under the circumstances, but their
doings had better not be hid, and the sooner they
are properly appreciated the better. One thing
will be gained by the motion we have alluded
to, which is that the House can freely discuss
the question. Hitherto when questions have
been asked or references made the rulers of
the house have interfered, and much that
was important had to be left unsaid. Such
restrictions will not, however, come in the way
of those who avail themselves of the opportunity
that will be offered next Friday, and for the sake
of justice, as well as for the sake of Mr. EYRE
himself, it is to be hoped that this un-English
attempt to ruin a deserving man will be denounced
in fitting terms. A more one-sided affair was
never heard of, for the members of this " faction,"
as it has been truly called, refuse to hear anything
that can be said on the part of their opponents ;
and, not content with prejudging the case, arro-
gate to themselves the right of conducting the case
and settling important matters connected with the
government of our colonies. It is impossible to
estimate as yet the effect that may be
produced by the treatment Mr. EYItE has met with,
but it is certain that the consequences will be pre-
judicial to the interests of our colonies, and that
when another insurrection breaks out it will not be
so easy to quell it for various reasons. It is ridicu-
lous to suppose that our colonial Governors will be
as prompt to adopt repressive measures, as if they
did not know to what such might subject them when
the danger was over, and the dissatisfied and rebel-
lious natives will remember Jamaica, and take
heart.

It is too much the fashion nowadays to put off
doing anything definite until it is virtually too late,
but let us hope that this will not be the fashion
followed in the case of Mr. EYRE. It will be hard
if he is left entirely dependent on the subscriptions I
that may be made to meet the heavy expenseg that
must be incurred, and for the principle of the thing
we trust that more will be done than has as yet
been promised. At all events, let no one be de-
ceived into the belief that the worst is over, for all
that prejudice c.ln effect will be done by those who
persevere with a zeal worthy of a better cause. The
llouse of Commons in such cases generally decides
rightly, and from those who differ as to the
expediency of the course pursued by Mr.
EYRE, we may expect an emphatic protest
against the line taken by his persecutors. When
yeople will not take no for an answer it is difficult
to deal with thew, and so it is with the Jamaica
Committee ; but we must not become subservient
to them altogether, or the prejudices of any sect or