The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-20 00:00:00

aim LATE EDITION of " THE SUN " at
1 JAMES SPEEDY'S, "The Wellington," Wellington-street,

Strang,

LOIVDO.7V, THURSDAY, FEB. 20, 1868.

Mr. GLADSTONE'S interview with the Trades'
Union deputation naturally excites attention at the
present juncture, and, considering that the right
hon. gentleman was placed in a very awkward posi-
tion, he may be said to have got out of it in a satis-
factory manner. The points to be discussed were
limited to four. The limitation to apprentices, the
minimum rate of wages, piece-work and overtime,
and the restraint of trade by trades' unions. Mr.
GEORGE POTTER made a long speech, in which he
set forth his peculiar views at some length, and
delivered his opinions in the somewhat arrogant tone
that distinguishes his remarks on most occasions.
He said that there were several people who both in
speaking and writing constantly attacked Trades'
Unions, and repeated the " stereotyped fallacies"
against them, but that they did not think it neces-
sary to pay any attention to them or to notice
what they may say ; but it was otherwise when
one of Mr. GLADSTONE'S reputation uttered re-
marks on the subject. The reason for taking this
step was, he said, that there might be no misun-
derstanding between him and the hundreds of thou-
sands of intelligent citizens who comprise the mem-
bers of these organisations. Mr. POTTER ad-
mitted that the remarks of Mr. GLADSTONE were
" widely circulated by the press, readily believed
by the public, and eagerly endorsed by their oppo
newts ;" but he seemed to overlook the fact that the
reason of this was their truth, and that, however
important Mr. GLADSTONE'S observations may be
that they would not have had half the influence
they possessed had it not been for the impression
conveyed to all that he gave expression to what
had of late become the general sentiment of the
public respecting Trades Unions. In point of fact
it does not appear very plainly how anything that
can be said by these advocates in the abstract
can alter the opinions that have been
formed, in consequence of the practical
illustration of their views and purposes.
It is really almost incredible that any one should
i say, as Mr. POTTER did, that Trades Unions are
not a restraint of trade, but are only a restraint
of the overweening tendencies that spring from the
conscious possession of large resources in capital and
machinery—as if the overweening tendencies of
these unions themselves had not already been pretty
plainly demonstrated in a manner that could not
be mistaken, and as if they had not in many in-
stances violated the principles upon which they
professed to have started. It is all very well for
Mr. POTTER to argue that, if they are not perfect,
what human organisation is; but it must be borne in
mind that when any irregularity took place, or
any great outrage was committed, that instead of
disowning such practices in toto, and denouncing
their perpetrators, the rest of the body seemed
always too much inclined to let things alone, and
if they did not palliate the offence, at least they
did not treat it as they ought.
Mr. GLADSTONE declared that he could not give
a positive assurance as to what he should do in Par-
liament on the subject, but he explained some of
his views very clearly. In the first place, in treat-
ing of the word " right," he showed that it had
two significations. A man has a right to things
which are proper to be done, and at the same time
he has a right to do many things
.which are not
proper to be done. It is, he considers, a very it ex-
treme" right for men who are Unionists to refuse to
work with those who are non-union men. Mr. GLAD-
STONE touched chiefly upon the part as to whether
the restrictions referred to were advantageous to
the labourers themselves, leaving the question of
the manner in which society was affected by them.
He arrived at the wise conclusion that regula-
tions in restraint of labour "go to diminish
the aggregate amount of the fund which
constitutes the whole wages of the country."
Mr. GLADSTONE also put another of the fallacies
very plainly before these representatives, when be
said that he could not look upon the women as alien
ant separate from the men, for they are their wives
and daughters, and the earnings of the labouring
class are increased by their wages. As for the rules
concerning the men themselves, the right hon. gen-
tleman pointed to Lancashire, and asked what
would be the effect there if a rule were laid down
to limit the number of apprentices in the cotton

mauufac! are." It is there," said be, " is the great
staple trade of the country, that the labour of
the young is the most free ; and it is there
that upon the whole the labouring men of this
country enjoy the most independent and solid pea_
tion, as was proved by the manner in which they
were enabled to meet the terrible calamity of the
cotton famine." The right hon. gentleman very
properly designated as a war against labour the
several regulations that were made in various parts,

and illustrated the instance of the plasterers refus-
ing to allow of lime-washing unless done by
themselves. How far better it would be to
cast aside these absurd and short-sighted
restrictions, and to allow of the free de-
velopment of intellect and industry ! As
Mr. GLADSTONE said, in conclusion, " the best
condition of the labouring community is that in
which the way upwards is the easiest and most
open ;" but we fear it will be long before such en-
lightened notions will prevail among the generality.
At the same time, we are glad that Mr. GLADSTONE
should have taken this opportunity to deliver his
opinions on some of these important points con-
nected with this subject of Trades Unions. They
cannot but be of service to all who attentively con-
sider them, and the thoughtful and unprejudiced
will reflect upon their meaning, and readily recog-
nise how and iu what manner the practice falls short
from the preachings of these institutions. What
society has to do with them is this, that they have
continued to go far beyond their original limits
and are in reality themselves, at the present mo-
ment, the greatest tyrants and oppressors to those
whom they say they wish to serve, which is an
anomally the spirit of the age can scarcely permit
to exist much longer.

The debate on the Press Bill was again resumed
in the sittings of the Legislative Body, and some
interesting points were discussed. An amendment
was brought forward to show the inconveniences
that result from the rule now laid down, that " pre-
liminary permission" must be obtained before any
foreign journals can enter France. Unfortunately
the amendment was rejected, which is the more to
be regretted, because it proposed the abrogation of
the obnoxious restrictions. One of the speakers
used the extraordinary argument against it that
its proposal would be very injurious to the French
newspapers and put them ou an unequal footing. It
really is surprising that any one can use such
reasons in discussing a matter of this sort, but it
is quite certain that until these very retrogade
notions are extinct in France it is idle for us to
expect much real progress to take place. It is a
great mistake of the EMPEROR'S, and has been
all along, to persist in this exclusive practice,
and he does his Government a great deal more
harm than good by so doing ; only he will not be
convinced to the contrary. It is inconsistent with
the boldness which has characterised his policy in
other matters. Those in authority may always
rest assured that the truest safety lies in the en-
couragement of criticism, and not in its avoidance
and whenever there is anything to be hid people
are always ready to suppose that it is much worse
than it is. Another amendment was also rejected
that had better have been passed, to the effect that
newspapers should be sold in the street,

Among the many and various institutions in this
metropolis which appeal forcibly to the sympathies
and the compassion of the benevolent there is none
that has stronger or more unanswerable claims
than the Hospital for Sick Children. Its very title
pleads convincingly in its favour, and he must,
indeed, be hard of heart and dull of apprehension
who can hear with indifference and inattention the
advocates of such helpless little sufferers. We have
in London a great number of hospitals, asylums,
and infirmaries for men and women of every age.
Provision'bas been made for those suffering from every
form of malady to which the human frame is liable.
There are hospitals for specal diseases, there are
hospitals for the insane and imbicile, there are
hospitals for the immediate relief and assistance of
those suffering from accident and sudden injury.
So late as 1852, however, there was no such a thing
in the whole of England as an hospital specially for
children. What was the reason of this omission it
is not easy to -guess. Very certainly it could not
have been owing to the absence of a want. The
mortality of young children among the classes who
require hospital aid is very great. Half the children
in England, it has often been said, die before they
are five years old, and if this is not strictly accurate,
there is undoubtedly a painfully high death-rate
among them. We shall not be surprised at this if
we pause a moment to consider the circumstances
amid which the infants of the poor are reared. The
mothers are often compelled to leave them at very
early age to go out to work, and the consequence is
that they are either put in the hands of an elder
child or taken charge of by a neighbour for a small
daily payment. In either case the baby is the sufferer,
and so injurious is the effect of this negligence or
ignorance with which it is treated that in Lanca-
shire, during the terrible trial of the cotton famine,
it was found that the mortality among young chil-
dren was much less than the average, notwithstand-
ing the general privation, simply because the
mothers staid at home to look after them. This fact
alone speaks volumes of the want of care from which
the little creatures suffer. Again, they have to
contend against the prevailing ignorance, and often
what might at first be slight ailment is aggravated
into a serious or dangerous illness by mismanage-
ment and indiscretion. They suffer, too, in a greater
degree than their elders, from the lack of fresh
air, from the close, unhealthy, overcrowded rooms
in which they are crowded together ; from the
irregular, scanty, and unsuitable food they eat ;
from the impure water which they drink ; from the
foul smells, and the thousand hardships to which
the poor of a great, overcrowded city are liable.
When they fall ill under such circumstances their
chances of recovery are very small compared with
those of the children of richer and more educated
parents. When they suffer, as they often do, from
painful chronic diseases, how greatly their suffer-
ings are aggravated by the want of those costly
comforts and that unceasing vigilance with
which the children of the rich would be tended
in such cases. Even the latter, however,
derive some benefit from the establishment of the
children's hospital, since it affords such excellent
opportunities for the special study of children's
ailments. During the sixteen years in which the
hospital in Ormond-street has been in existence, it
has been constantly increasing its area of useful-
ness, until last year it had no less than 700 in-
patients and 12,574 out-patients. What would
most of these little ones have done without its
kindly aid? It is one of the most satisfactory fea-
tures of the institution that the cheerful kindness
and tender care of the officials and nurses is always
the subject of grateful remark by the anxious
mothers and relatives who have to leave their
little charges in its wards. Her MAJESTY, with
true motherly instinct, has taken especial interest
in it, and has proved that her patronage is some-
thing more than nominal by the number of gifts she
has sent for the little patients as well as for the
hospital itself.
The annual festival of the institution, held last
night in -Willis's Rooms, under the presidency of
the Archbishop of YORK, produced, we are glad to
see, a valuable addition to its coffers, the subscrip-
tions and donations amounting to nearly £2,000.
The Chairman, in proposing the toast of the even-
ing, referred to the address delivered at the first
festival of the kind by Mr. CHARLES DICKENS,
who had left little to be said by any one who
came after him. By uo one, indeed, could the
claims of suffering childhood be more touchingly

advocated and more faithfully drawn than by the
gifted delineator, who gave us the likeness of TINY
Tnt. The Chairman of last night, however, made
a forcible appeal, and dwelt especially on the im-
portance of treating children's diseases separately.
"It must be evident," he said, " that every hospital
was not only a place where disease was treated, but
in one way or another a school where the science
of medicine was advanced. In the case of young
children the patients were of necessity wholly unable
to throw light on their various ailments, and
therefore in a special manner required sepa-
rate treatment." The community, added the
speaker, bad yet to understand the diseases of chil
dren and the enormous evils which devastated their
class. Three gaunt spectres—misery, vice, and stu-
pidity—haunted them from their cradles, and the
tainted constitutions which the children of the
drunkard and the vicious inherited contributed
largely to the results they saw. There ought to be
in London an hospital on a large scale for the treat-
ment of children ; but we may well be thankful
that there is one so efficient within its limits.
The country homes connected with it at Mitcham
and Croydon are invaluable for convalescent chil-
dren, and the change produced by a few weeks in
the country air, with good food, pure milk, and
plenty of freedom, is often little short of marvel-
lous. Whatever doubt or scruples may exist as to
other modes of giving relief, there can be few about
the aid afforded to the sick and infirm, and most
especially when those sufferers are children.

The reception which the new British Minister
has received from the PRESIDENT of the United
States certainly does not accord with the rumours
which have been of late so industriously circulated
of Mr. JOHNSON'S hostile intentions towards Eng-
land. The cordiality with which Mr. THORNTON
was welcomed at the White House might, indeed,
belong to the courtesies of diplomacy rather than
to the genuine feeling of the PRESIDENT as an in-
dividual ; but we have no reason to question the sin-
cerity of his assurances of friendship and goodwill.
Mr. THORNTON assured Mr. JOHNSON of her
MAJESTY'S friendship towards America, and
expressed the sense which his Government had of
the sympathy shown for the death of Sir F. BRUCE.
The PRESIDENT, in replying to the assurances of
the new Minister, said that Queen VICTORIA, more
than any other Sovereign, enjoyed the respect and
sympathy of the American people, and that her
kind message encouraged him to hope for a speedy
adjustment of the existing differences between the
Governments. Sir F. BRUCE had won the respect
of the American nation, and the same confidence
and consideration would be extended to his succes-
sor. So far, then, we may believe that Mr.
THORNTON has entered upon his duties auspici-
ously, and will, we may trust, prove a fitting and
worthy representative.

Another reception of an Englishman by the PRE-
SIDENT, though less politically important, is more
generally interesting. CHARLES DICKENS has been
cordially welcomed by the PRESIDENT, who, no
doubt rejoiced, in the opportunity of making the
personal acquaintance of so distinguished a visitor.
Mr. DICKENS'S trip will, no doubt, do a good deal
towards strengthening the bonds of friendship and
good understanding between the peoples, without
which no diplomacy will much avail.