The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-01 00:00:00

tee absolutely us tees to examine tteteal gonna of it
'resentment which was never anticipated or wilfully pro-
reit 'severe* Vera past the Times has heard complaints Appeals to reason may not improbably fail in
arid reinonetraticei 'from India of a nature to affect very I their effect, bill humble deprecation of a revenge which is
disastrously the reputation of cotton goods manufacturers assumed to be just will only invite aggression. Recent
in this countiy. or their own credit's sake, no less than liistory fades so rapidly from the memory in stirring times
for their own future interests,which are greatly jeopardised that the conduct of the English Government and people
by the systakehey seem to hiee adopted, it might have at the commencement of the civil war is perhaps but
been supposed, they would have striven to avoid giving I imperfectly undefstood. On justification occasion it may
occasion for a repetition of these charges. The agents of perhaps appear that the moral of the national
the manufacturers themselves repeatedly wrote, from proceedings was even more complete than the diplomatic
Calcutta, Madras, or Bombay, to warn their princi- apology.
Mr. Fawcett is a little
pals that their reputation for fair dealing was being I In the opinion of the Spectator,
destroyed, that the native buyers no longer bought too vague and a little too premature on the land laws.
an English bale in the full assurance that it was what The real point for statesmen to decide, and to decide after
it pretended to be, that in the Bazaar the English careful scientific inquiry, pursued with caution, but with-
guarantee had ceezed to be respected, and that business ' out preconceived determination to uphold a particular
was crippled and injured through the avarice and folly of system, is whether the advantages derived from the legal
manufacturers at home. They nevertheless persisted in privileges attaching to real estate are greater than the
adulterating cotton goods in every stage of their menu- ! disadvantages. To deny those
hi advantag
It ei from many
s seems to us
facture at which adulteration was possible. Frequently at once unfair and unphilosopcal. s
bale after bale was found to be mildewed long even before points of view an acivanta,ge to a State that there should
they left the " godowns" of the firms to whom they were exist within it some mode of investment so perfect that a
directly assigned. No wonder that the goods would not ' proprietor
can protect his children, or widow, or bene-
keep until they were transported to up-country stations ficiaries of any kind against their own extravagance and
for distribution among local buyers. English houses corn- I imbecility, or against fraud, some one security which, in a
plained to English manufacturers, the junior partners to commercial sense, may be considered absolute ;on the
the senior partners, the clerk to his employer, so that there other hand, it is a great disadvantage that the most ina
could be no doubt as to the facts ; but the temptation to ! portant manufacture of the country should be forced into
make an exorbitant profit prevailed against these aro- ! the hands of middlemen, that the tenant farmer should
menu and appeals. Some manufacturers may have aban- I supersede the yeoman, that ownourer should never have
Cloned a course which must eventually result in driving a chance of working on his soil—of carrying out the
away their customers, but the practice of adulteration " allotment system," so to speak, to its logical conclusion
still goes on. The old complaints come home by every —that in one important industry ownership and nuance
mail, and are duly answered and other bales are sent out should never go together. It is also a disadvantage that
to rot almost before they are passed aver the sides of the *e should artificially create a system under which less
ship. The native merchant in India is too great an expert than 8,000 persons are believed to hold a third of the
in sharp dealing not to readily detect all the forms realised property of the kingdom, thus confining that in-
of imposition which the home manufacturer chooses to tense patriotism which springs of self-interest, that
adopt. When he buys a hale of cotton goods of a long- healthy pride which comes of independence, staid that ex-
established and respectable house, and pays the price de- treme sedulousness of industry which is developed by
mended, he does not expect to find the contents disco- tos-nership to a limited class. It is the balance of these
loured and rotten ; and this is the appearance that cotton t •ngs which has to be struck, and we believe the balance
goods sometimes present within a few hours of their being 11 lines to the free system, that the great benefits derived
stored in the merchants' " godowns." That the native Os lerivable frdr the existence of one perfect security for
growers adulterate cotton before it is despatched to the im :eetment are derived by a class at the expense of the
home markets we all know, but the fraud was checked i mole community. That is our belief, formed after care-
When they found they received so little for the false goods fal investigation of many tenures, and we are prepared to
that they actually lost by tampering with them. The justify it ; but we have no patience with men who argue
English manufacturers do not appear to have learnt as if the opposite belief had no foundation whatever, or as
wisdom from the same lesson. In the end they must lose if the matter could be decided off-hand by a resolution in
by wholesale adulteration, and they know it. A ruined I the House of Commons. The House might as well decree
reputation is not easily built up again. It may be that that a new system of logarithms was sounder than the
other competitors will enter the market, and gain that old, and should be adopted by all men. All we contend
credit which once the English merchant possessed. for is, that the subject shall be investigated by men wbo
The circumstance of the Prussian Minister at the Court are not pledged to the conclusion most favourable to aris-
of St. James's being duly accredited as representative of tocracy, who can see that agriculture is a great business as
the North German Confederation is regarded by the Post well as an agreeable and useful pursuit, who, in fact, bring
as the official declaration of the political demise of the scientific minds to one of the most complicated problems
several States, with the exception of Prussia, which in political science.
constitute that Bund. It will be in the recollection of The John Bull can only compare the mischances of the
all that her Majesty's Government, with something Caledonian and other railways, financially speaking, to
approaching to haste, withdrew their representative from the strange oblivion that living within one's income and
Dresden immediately after the formation of the new Con- regular accounts means success ; extravagance and confu-
federation ; but, though they might have been open to at gen of accounts the reverse. When Pitt offered a reward
imputation of bad taste, the justice of their policy cannot for the discovery of the best method to defray the national
reasonably be questioned. It was distinctly declared by debt, it has been remarked that of the multiplied proposals
the Prussian Government that, under the new regime, the he received he never had one which cut down expenses to
external relations of the several States constituting the below income. Now in the matters of the Caledonian
Northern Bund should be regulated exclusively by the Railway it is clear that they have been brought to contro.
Cabinet of Berlin, and her Majesty's advisers simply re- versy by a pursuance of no direct plan or standard on the
corded their adhesion to an accomplished fact. Their questions cf maintenance, and of renewals, and of distinc.
example was practically followed by the other European tions between revenue and capital. Nor have they been
States, and now Prussia has formally declared that her alone in this, for the Brighton and other boards found
envoy is alone authorised to arrange all matters of diplo- themselves in the same dilemma, so that the former has
matte intercourse between foreign Powers and the various been forced to advocate
teetheth system
oof
singedd op capital
States which are north of the Maine. accounts. But whatever
A superstitious fear of Mr. Disraeil, an unreasoning the necessity being immediate, the remedy must be so
belief in his magical power of uniting his own ranks and likewise, so that we, after all, come to the same point,
dividing those of his opponents, is, in the opinion of the viz, that the strictest arrangement must be adopted by ,
Dai2y News, a sourcaeof Conservative strength and of which so much is put down to income, se much to expen-
Liberal weakness. A little reflection, however, will dispel diture, it being remembered that the increase of teee former
this alarm. The trick of last session is one which, in the under good management is actually the sole means of extri-
nature of things, cannot often repeated. Mr. Disraeli eating the concern from its present difficulties under bad.
waited his opportunity for years ; and when it did come, To meet debts already incurred it is presumed stock
he used it with astonishing skill and boldness. But such must be issued at a depreciated price; after that
occasions occur only once in a generation. The settle- the capital account must be closed, and interest,
ment, in principle, of the Reform question has removed revenue, working expenses at per cent., must be placed
under separate items, so that, as in the case of the Brighton
the grounds of dissension between the various sections of
statement, the shareholders may at once sec what surplus
the Liberal party, and once more allows the line to be
remains for profit.
drawn sharp and clear between the party of movement When this common-sense plan is fol-
and the party of resistance. On particular points timers lowed difficulties will vanish, and that it must be followed
will be, as there ought to be, divergent opinion and hale- is evident—why it has not hitherto been is amazing.
Doubtless, the basis of railway law was obscure, but Lord
pendent voting ; but bold, judicious, and conciliatory
Cairns has removed that evil, or most of it, by his recent
leadership is all that is needed to embody substantially
accordant sentiment in united action. What is the pros- judg,ment ;moreover, the culpable neglect, or more than
poet of such leadership? This is a question which culpable chicanery of parties interested, has been difficult
Liberals are everywhere asking and variously answering to eradicate, but the sufferings of the public, and coercive
and it would be false delicacy to ignore it. riehe party legislation, have much restricted these. Na}-, even these
treason of imagining, or contriving the deposition of the ward explosions, like others, clear the air, and we sec
after them much
present leader, or even of speculating on a premature
than we did before. The special
accountants, Messrs. Allot and Tletelier, in the Caledonian
succession, cannot, we believe, be fairly imputed t) even
the most disaffected of his followers. But there is indis. investigation have had much uninerited odium to incur;
putably a certain minor-Int of discontent, and a still larger and the directors have also behaved in a manner utterly
amount of misgiving, though a loyal and hopeful spirit indefensible, but the sequel has been a revelation of reek-
-)revails over both. lessness in passing accounts which it will be the pro-
ne most remarkable similarity seems to the Standar(' pretors' own fault ever to be subjected to hereafter. So
to exist between the occurrence at Duncannon and that at far, therefore, good has been achieved, yet, after all, where
Cork, and suggests the idea that the actors on both occa- management is concerned in any way, the physician mils{
sions were the same. The result was very different, for in heal himself.
the Cork case the authorities were taken by surprise ; in
the affair of Monday night they were thoroughly prepared
and seem to have been able to give their assailants such a
reception as will probably lead to the identification of some
of the party. If it should prove that the fire of the
military took effect, it is hardly possible to suppose that in
a country swarming with informers the police will be un-
able to track out some of time assailants. When, a ter the
contemptible failure of the rising at Tallaght in March
last, the police were rather anxious to avoid than to hunt
down the wretched boys who participated in the assembly,
they. yet had several instances of wounded fugitives in the
purlieus of Dublin forced upon their notice by the officious
zeal of informers. In the present conjuncture of course it
will be the most anxiously desired object to trace out and
identify the perpetrators of the outrage. The report
speaks of the party of assailants as well armed ; and this
was also the report of the performers in the several ex-
ploits at Cork. It would be a rash inference to attribute
these exploits at Cork, at Newport, or at Duncannon, to
the energies of the local circles of the brotherhoood. Our
contemporary has no doubt it will turn out, when the
police can get a clue to the perpetrators, that these acts
have been all committed by the same, or nearly the same,
• parties—a few Irish-Americans of a peculiarly bold and
adventurous disposition. But however that may be,
as regards the diagnosis of Fenianism, either these
occurences mean action on the bart of the Brotherhood—
and may look upon them as promising us a more speedy
eradication of the conspiracy than we had hoped for—or
they are only anether cycle of Fenian bids for popularity
with Irish disaffection, and they are symptoms which the
public have made up their mind long since to regard with
equanimity.
The Saturday Review has an article on the feeling be-
tween England and the United States. It draws attention
to the fact that while the controversy has kindled in
America feelings of animosity, the feeling in England has
hardly been unfriendly. There is a certain class of poli-
ticians in America who would welcome any rupture be.
tween time two countries. And yet a war with England
would involve an enormous addition to the army, to the
navy, and to the National Debt of the United States.
When the maintenance of the Union was at stake, the
American Government surprised the world by the un-
limited resources in men and money which were available
for the struggle. Recruits were always forthcoming,
although in the latter part of the war each soldier cost,
in addition to his pay and rations, about fifteen hundred
dollars in the shape of bounties ; and loans and taxes were
voted by Congress as fast as they were demanded by the
President. If the same issue were once more raised,
former sacrifices would be repeated or exceeded ; but the
evils of war and of debt have been better understood since
the peace, and it is scarcely probable that new burdens
would be readily assumed for the purpose of wreaking an
'
irrational vengeance, or even of accomplishing an unjust
conquest. The weight of taxation is severely felt, and all
attempts to discharge the principal of the debt will for the
present probably be abandoned. The revenue avhich
Congress will consent to levy will only be sufficient to
provide for the expenses of administration, and for the
interest of the debt. A war with England would deprive
the Government of the greater part of its customs
receipts, while it would render a large addition
to the revenue indispensable. The credit of
time United States will always be negotiable on
more or less onerous terms ; but at present American secu-
z•ities pay about 8 per cent. to a purchaser, and the growing
popularity of repudiation will not increase the confidence
of the money market. If time honour or interest of time
country were engaged in a quarrel, the people of the
-United States would not wait to count the cost; but
eor:ene politicians will consider the consequences before
wai.t,inly commencing a mere war of spite. Canada
,vould out he surrendered without a struggle which would
tax. even the undoubted energies of the invader ; and if
British North Amorica were ultimately wrested from the
Crown, England would have in turn become invulnerable
to American attacks. It would be imprudent to taunt a
great and high-spirited nation with the limits which are
imposed by circumstances on its means of offence, but it
is not unnecessary to reassure a peaceful communal
against. the vague fear which has been inspired in some
-4orre by American menaces. The unfortunate ani-
!"/1 PrAvills may Perhaps be incurable ; yet it
'.441114a0 that thug are some -Minds in
tarEctitimts 49t

erafl OF 'THE PUBLIC JOURNALS-

THE FA CANT LORD JUSTICESIIIP.

Lord Justice rmit, we are glad to say, continues to
strengthen. His convalescence, in fact, progresses as well
as could possibly be, mad his enforced idleness is not very
much to his taste. Meanwhile, some of our contemporaries
have been Seduously appointing as his lordship's successors
various members of the bench and the bar. The fact
sisrply is that the question of Sir John Itolt's retiring from
office depends upon the length of time which must elapse
before he can safely resume work. The matter is there-
fore in the hands of the Lord Chancellor. In a short
Uwe, probably, it will be determined within what space
Sir John Ilolt can, with safety, resume working ; mean-
while, it must be at least some months before his
lordshiy ought, in justice to himself, to commence his
labours, though in all probability he would, if left to him
self, shorten the period of his inactivity. If, therefore
the public service admits of the business of the Court of
Appeal in Chancery being transacted by the Lord Chan-
cellor and Lord Cairns for the requisite period, Lord
Justice Bolt will continue his convalescence until he can
reappear upon the bench. If, on the contrary, the Lord
Chancellor should consider that the public service cannot,
in point of fact, wait, the Lord Justice's resignation is in
the Lord Chancellor's hands. This being so, the minds
of most members of the profession will be divided between
the desire of again seeing Lord Justice Pelt upon the
bench, and anxiety lest he should permit himself to rcsum
work too hastily.— Solicitor's Journal.
Judicial appointments should not be governed entirely
by political considerations. Something is due to party
clams, but these shluhl not be preferred to others mere
weighty. We have many times applauded nominations
by Whig Ministries of distinguished lawyers politically
opposed to them to jmigeships for which there existed
great professional claims. Therefore, we cannot but com-
mend the reported offer of the vacant Lord Justiceship of
Appeal to Sir Roundel' Palmer, who will be acknowledged
by the whole profession to possess pre-eminent qualifica-
tions for the high office vacated by Sir John Ro

imes.
The resignation. of Sir John Rolt is now confirmed. It
had been hoped that, in consequence of the great difficulty
of adequately replacing the learned Lord Justice, his
lordship might have been induced, at least, to attempt to
resume his judicial functions. The state of his health
having, however, precluded this, his lordship's resignation
has been finally accepted. Rumour says that the Lord
Justiceship thus vacated has been offered to Sir Roundell
Palmer, and declined by him. Although many names
have been mentioned, it is most probable that the ap-
pointment will be conferred upon Sir Char:es Selwyn, who
will, in that case, be succeeded in the Solicitor-Generalship
by Mr. Balliol Brett, Q C., M.P. for Ifelston. —lmperial
.Peview.

~ua'_L