The Sun.
London, England, 1850-02-27 00:00:00

THE SUN,

day -dream of so many generations of statesmen may
at length be realised.

Our observations upon the contemptible and dis-
graceful proceedings of the Borough Council of
Southampton, in reference to the reception of
Viscount GOUGH and Major EDWARDES, appear to
have stung the subordinate servant of that munici-
pality into a state of excessive irritation. - Another
column of this evening's impression contains a letter
from that person, in which we are told that a certain
resolution referred to in a paragraph inserted in last
night's Sun, and " commented upon in our leading
article, was not moved and carried at the Town
Council meeting, held at Southampton." Now, be
it observed, the paragraph referred to was
copied verbatim et literatim from the Daily News of
yesterday morning—the Daily News being noto-
riously the avowed organ of the Peace Movement.
And be it observed, moreover, that the comments
contained in our leading article of last evening had
no reference whatever to the said resolution in the
said paragraph. Our observations in that article—
observations which we here beg most distinctly and
most emphatically to reiterate—had reference to an
announcement made in the Times newspaper of Mon-
day. After alluding to the meeting convened on
Friday by the naval and military officers resident at
Southampton, the Times of Monday, February the
25th, 1850, proceeded as follows :
"On the following day the Mayor, Mr. Andrews,
called a meeting of the Borough Council for the same
purpose, and an address from the corporation to his
Lordship was proposed. The motion, however was op-
posed by Mr. J. Clarke, a town-councillor and member of
the Society of Friends, who objected to hero-worship,
and ultimately, on a division being come to, there were
nine for and nine against the projected address, where-
upon the Mayor giving the casting vote against it, the
motion was lost."
That was the occurrence we alluded to in our
leading article of last evening—an occurrence which
we still consider to be disgraceful to the individuals
concerned in it, and in scorn of which we have no
words at our command sufficiently expressive. Sub-
sequently to the appearance of this damning state-
ment in the Times of Monday, there was
printed in the Daily News of the follow-
ing day the subjoined assertion—an assertion
which we thence transferred in a paragraph
headed " Lord Gough and Major Edwardes at
Southampton," to the columns of our last evening's
impression :

" The following resolution was moved and carried at
the Town-eouncil of Southampton last week, in anticipa-
tion of the arrival of Lord Gough, and which prevented
his Lordship being welcomed by the civic authorities of
that town when be landed on Sunday night :
" That as war has ever been opposed to the best inte-
rests of mankind in its fearful consequences against the
pecuniary, physical, and moral well-being of the people:
that as it is diametrically opposed to the precept and
spirit of the Christian religion : and as this council is
composed of men professing Christianity, it would be
grossly inconsistent for them to manifest any demonstra-
tion of approbation on the landing at this port of any
general officer or other warrior: and more especially of
one who has been so recently engaged in a most destruc-
tive war in India, almost a war of extermination, where,
in many cases, no quarter was given, and the most bar-
barous excesses committed,"

This was the statement of the Daily News, the
organ of the Arbitration Movement, and this state-
ment Mr. CHARLES E. DEACON, the town-clerk of
the borough of Southampton, declares to be erroneous.
As one of the subordinate members of that council,
he is of course anxious to dissipate a notion calcu-
lated to reflect such lasting odium upon the munici-
pality. In endeavouring, however, to wash clear
the reputation of the Borough Council of
Southampton he has begrimed it still more. " The
resolution in question," he says, " was moved but not
seconded." Here then is an official authentication of
the principal portion of the statement made by the
Daily News, the organ of the Peace Society, and
copied into The Sun of last evening. The resolution
" was moved." True, the Daily News was precipi-
tate in adding that it was "carried," for, according
to Mr. CHARLES E. DEACON, it "was moved but not
seconded." At any rate it " was moved." That
at least we have on the authority of this same
town-clerk—who, nevertheless, in the sentence im-
mediltely preceding the one containing the acknow-
ledgment, begs to acquaint us that the resolution
referred to in the paragraph " was not moved" and
carried at the meeting. Subsequently, as we have
observed, he confesses that " it was moved"—but not
seconded. That a resolution of such an absurd and
egregiously impertinent character should have been
moved at all in the Town council of South-
ampton, or, at the very least, that it should
have been listened to without calling forth
an indignant protest from the provincial Dogberries
present, is a circumstance which will not fail to
attach a lasting disgrace to the Mayor and the Town-
councillors of this most sagacious municipality. Mr.
CHARLES E. DEACON, the town-clerk of Southamp-
ton, contradicts through ourselves the statement put
forward by the Daily News of yesterday morning
but, in doing so, he presumes a little further to
gainsay the comments made in our leading
article of last evening—erroneously asserting
that in the article referred to we commented on the
resolution contained in the paragraph published in
the same impression. Our editorial observations
yesterday on the proceedings of the Borough Council
of Southampton had no reference whatever to that
resolution, with the very existence of which we were
unacquainted until after the leading article was com-
pleted. What we there reprobated as being dis-
graceful to the municipality was—we quote our own
words verbatim the circumstance " that the
members of the Town Council of Southampton re„
fused to vote a congratulatory address to Lord
GOUGH and his gallant companions on their arrival
on the shores of England, simply on the plea that
these same municipal wiseacres are opposed to Hero-
worship !" That " these same municipal wiseacres"
did so refuse to welcome Lord Goumi is sufficiently
proven by the fact that the address presented to that
veteran soldier was not the formal act of the
Town -council (the Town-council having nothing
whatever to do with it), but the spontaneous ebulli-
tion of the feelings of the inhabitants generally,
headed by the naval and military officers resident at
Southampton. Before impertinent charges of inac-
curacy are levelled at any individual it is always
advisable to discover from whom the statement called
in question has originated. More especially still is
it advisable not to address point blank contradictions
to a journalist upon a misconstruction, or, we will
say, a misapprehension of the subject upon which he
has really "commented." Without any further
effort on its part, or on the part of its subordinates,
the Borough Council of Southampton has already
rendered itself in this matter, we can assure it, suffi-
ciently ridiculous and contemptible.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.—It has at length been
settled that Mr. Balfe will continue in office as the musi-
cal director of this establishment.

DEATH or Silt Wm. ALLEN, R.A., P.R.S.A.—
Sir William died at his residence, Edinburgh, on Satur-
day forenoon, in his 68th year. He had for a consider-
able time been suffering from bronchitis.
NAVY ESTIMATES.—According to the navy esti-
mates for the year 1850-51, just published, the total sum
required to meet the expenses of the present year
amounts to 5,849,423/., being composed of 4,325,086/. for
the effective naval service, and 1,388,637/. for the non-
effective, and 135,700/. for the conveyance of troops for
the army and ordnance departments. The sum voted
last year was 6,273,428/., which includes 12,6881. voted
on the supplementary estimate for the Arctic expedition.
The net increase in naval estimates for this year is
424,005/. The account of moneys for old stores and
extra receipts paid last year into the Exchequer, instead
of being appropriated in aid of the naval grants, shows a
total of 201, 6691. 11d,

ERRATUM.—In our leading article of Monday re-
specting
the Sewage Manure scheme of Mr. Stothert,
the
annual
amount of the sewage matter of the metro-
polls, was erroneously printed 2,000,000 instead of
200,000,000, the actual quantity.
CORK AND WATERFORD RAILWAY.—The seventh
half-yearly general meeting of the shareholders of this
company was to have been held at three o'clock yester-
day, fur the purpose of electing three directors and an
auditor, but a sufficient number of shareholders to form
a quorum not being present, the Chairman declared it
to be no meeting, and adjourned it until to-morrow, at
the same time and place. In answer to an observation
from a shareholder, the secretary said that a Bill was
before the House of Lords to enable railway companies
to wind up their affairs; but unless some of its require-
ment% which were almost impracticable, were modified,
the Act wonld be entirely useless to all companies. The
meeting then separated.
Colonel Romilly, brother of the Solicitor-General,
in consequence of an invitation from the Liberal electors
of Canterbury, has gone down to stand as a candidate
for the representation of that city, in the room of Lord
Albert Venison, who has accepted the Chiltern Hun-
dreds. We believe Lord Albert Denison will be raised
to the Peerage by the title of Lord Londesborough, the
name of an estate which he has recently purchased.