The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-20 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JULY 20, 1868.

--
, • ..
/Fir) y
'Pr 5: Int

La'," DON, .1110NDAY, JULY 20, 1868.

- Ii

In eonslquenee of the efforts made on Saturday
at the s:tting of the llouEe of Commons the Bribery
Bill was got through Committee. It was indeed

pretty clear that a morning sitting on Saturday
meant something significant, and hon. members
Eee:ned to have accepted their fate, but they could
not make up their minds to forego a parting
struggle, and it wa3 not till five that the House
corntleted its task, and then only by putting off
the consideration of many of the clauses until the
Report be brought up. This is as well, for had an
unlimited discussion been permit` ed there is no doubt
that some weeks might have elapsed before a settle-
ment was effected. The Solicitor-General opposed the
clause that Sir R. GoLDsnm wished to introduce., to

the effect that all votes that were given to a candi-
date found guilty of bribery should be considered
as thrown away because of its extreme stringency.
The Committee acted wisely in rejecting the pro-
position, although it met with some influential sup-
porters, Mr. LOWE, for one, declaring that it would
not be advisable to give the corrupt electors another
opportunity of repeating their offence, but it would
not be very easy to carry out the suggestion made
by the right hon. gentleman, to the effect that
if one-third of the electors were innocent of.
bribery, they should be permitted to carry the re-
presentative. There was more force in the proposal
of Mr. KINGLAKE, to supplement the House by a
provision that no one should petition but the un-
successful candidate, and before that a preliminary
inquiry should settle if his side had been guilty of
bribery. The good of this would be that some one
who had an interest in the affair would take up the
matter, and it would not be concealed, as it too
often is now, through angry feeling and vexatious
influences. Mr. FAWCETT moved a motion,
to the effect that the expenses of the return-
ing officer should be defrayed out of the
county or borough rates, and no person to be nomi-
nated unless he deposit a hundred pounds or some
fixed sum the day before the nomination with the
returning officer. Mr. DISRAELI was against
the clause, although he admitted that it de-
served attention, because he said very truly
that so many burdens have already been put upon
the poor-rates ; and another reason was that the
proposal was not relevant to the bill, which was
specially meant to guard against corrupt practices,
and hence the equal payment of returning officers
bad nothing to do with it. Mr GLADSTONE thought
that this scheme was a good one, and exerted him-
self to show its advisability. The Committee decided
in favour of the clause by a majority of nine. This
is a decision to be regretted, more especially on
account of the rates, which ought, as Mr. DISRAELI
said, to be allowed to lie fallow for a time. Mr.
GLADSTONE and his friends are so fond of taking
the theoretical part of a question that they are very
apt to forget the practical portion of it, and we do
not expect that the ratepayers will thank them for
their sudden zeal, which they call a public duty, to
put obstacles out of the way of candidates.
In consequence of some representations that were
made, Mr. FAWCETT withdrew the proviso relating
to the deposit, and said that he would bring
up any other consideration on the report being
taken, and a good deal of conversation ensued re-
specting the effect that the clause would pro-
duce. Lord WILTON said that, in Yorkshire, which
is now divided into many parts, it was not fair
that the whole county should be charged for the
expenses of the election of one division ; and the
Solicitor-General, speaking of boroughs, explained
that the municipal boundaries were not always the
same as the Parliamentary ones, and the expenses
cannot be fairly divided in consequence of the
manner in which the rates are collected. Mr.
CLAY'S c'ause was next considered, and it is not
surprising that it was rejected by a ma-
jority of forty, for it was one of a peculiar charac-
ter. It proposed that every member on taking his
seat should make a declaration that he was not
privy to any corrupt or illegal practices, and if the
declaration should be proved false that he be sub-
ject to a penalty of five hundred pounds. This
apparently ingenious scheme met with the support
of Mr. MILL and others, who went so far as to say
that it was the best thing that could be done, and
indeed might represent the chief characteristics of the
bill. The Solicitor-General showed very plainly that
it would not answer the proposed ends, for those of
more sensitive minds would be the sufferers, and
those who are resolved to carry out their purpose
would continue to get out of the responsibility in
some way or other. Altogether the bill is now safe,
and may be looked upon as virtually passed, for the
Lords will not offer any opposition to it. The
Government deserve great credit for the manner in
which they have conducted this bill, and it must
be remembered that they have had many
and great obstacles to encounter in re-
spect to it. Far back in the Session
it was received with faint approval, while more
recently we have heard over and over again that it
might be all very well in its way, but that it could
never answer, and besides it was too late to press
it. Despite all these taunts and sarcasms, it has
been so far advanced that it seems now a fact, and
not a fiction, and this desirable attainment is due
to the determination and perseverance of those who
had charge of it. It seems a fitting thing that, on
the eve of a general election, the House should make
some protest against the obnoxious practice of
bribery and corruption, which has long been a stigma
on our political representatives.
To-night the Metropolitan Cattle Market Bill
will again engage the attention of Parliament, and
it is to be hoped that it will share the same success
that has attended the Bribery Bill. In order that
this should be allowed, it would be well if the
Government took a decided tone from the first, and
declared that the vexatious hindrances interposed
tl e other night would not, if repeated, be permitted
to seal the fate of the measure, for that they would
persevere with it at any cost. We should hope that
the extraordinary exhibition of factious
maneeuvring that took place on Thursday had satis-
fied those who took a prominent part in it, and at
any rate the comments that have been made upon
it in all quarters since have shown them how it
was appreciated and justly condemned. To settle
a thing one way or another on the merits of the
particular measure before the House is very well,
but to proceed to expedients is always out of cha-
racter with an assembly like the House of Com-
mons. No doubt common sense will come to the
rescue, as it has often done before, and to-night
will, in all probability, see the committee through
its labours. No valid reason has as yet been ad-
duced against the measure, and its opponents rest
their arguments entirely on prejudice.

Although the moribund Parliament has yet a
brief lease of life remaining preparations for the
great electioneering campaign have already com-
menced. Intending candidates are determined to
lose no time inalputting themselves forward, and
preliminary meetings are being held, speeches de-
livered, and all the usual antecedents of a general
election are at work. The new members that would
be have this advantage over the old members, that
the latter are detained in London by the heavy
arrears of the incomplete duties of the session, and
accordingly their rivals secure the first word for
themselves by putting their views and intentions in
the most favourable light before the new electors.
Those defeated at the last election are encouraged
by the introduction of a new element to try their
luck again. Among th2se several addresses we
occasionally meet with one which agurs well for the
independence and ability of the speaker, and such
is the case with the political confession of faith of
Mr. Worms, an intending candidate for Sandwich.
This gentleman went briefly over the topics of
.the
day, and separated the intrigtsic merits of the disputed
questions from their political to significance in a
manner not likely to be very welcome to some of
our party leaders. It vizs, be remarked, a little
singular that Mr. GLtDSTONE'S eudlea energy re-
specting the disesfabliEhment of the Irish Church

should be contemporaneous with his rival's acces-
sion to the Premiership. Mr. WORMS slyly sug-
gested that the disestablishment about which Mr.
GLADSTONE was most anxious was not that of the
Church, but of the Ministry.

" With fame in just proportion envy grows,
Tho man that makes a character, makes foes."
So quoted Mr. Wonus, and the man, he said, was
Mr. DISREALI, who hal risen by his own merit
alone to his proud position, and no sooner had he
gained it than men were found eager to drag him
down. Coming to social questions, ➢lr. Wonms
very justly puts national education at the head of
all, and we are glad to find him advocating a plan
which we hope wig find favour with the new Parlia-
ment. It is that no totally uneducated man should
be employed in the Government dockyard; arsenals,
or other public establishments. Mr. Wonms ob-
served that compulsion of that kind would not be
felt; when it was thoroughly in force it would exer-
cise a most beneficial influence. If large employers
of labour would follow the same plan the indirect
influence brought to bear upon ignorant and indif-
crent parents would be very strong, and more
powerful than any Act of Parliament could ever
be. Now that the franchise is so widely extended
national education grows more important than ever,
and the new electors will do well to see that they
send to Parliament men who are really in earnest
on this important question.

" The race is not always to the swift nor the
battle to the strong," and universal history fur-
nishes us with many examples of the successful re-
sistance of a small but united people against:superior
numbers. It is very probable that we shall see
another instance of thekind in the Paraguayan war.
The South American Republics have already ac-
complished their independence at the point of
the sword, but their work is not yet done. Half a
century ago they threw off the Spanish yoke, but
they have within the last few years been exposed to
fresh dangers. Chili, after a prolonged struggle,
defeated the aggressions of Madrid, and taught
the haughty Spaniard that discretion was the bet-
ter part of valour, but Paraguay has had a trade,
and a more prolonged struggle. Brazil, if not a
more powerful enemy, is at least nearer at hand.
She can pour her troops into her weaker neighbour's
territories, and can bring her whole strength to
bear upon the task in hand. So resolute has been
the resistance offered, so unflinching the spirit of
the people, that Brazil has found it a heavy burden
to maintain the war, and there is good reason to
believe her people are heartily tired of it. With the
Paraguayans the issue is of life or death, and
surrender means national annihilation. They are
fortunate in possessing a dictator of no ordinary
firmness and courage. lie has from the first plainly
told the people that the struggle was a desperate
one, and that they had better die an honourable
death on the battle-field than live to be slaves in
Brazil. The people, one and all, have responded to
his appeal. The utmost unanimity has prevailed
throughout all ranks, all classes, although some-
thing more than lip service was demanded from
them, and the public burdens were heavy and ex-
hausting. Despite reverses and losses the same spirit
is unflinchingly maintained, and by the latest
accounts—uncertain and conflicting as they are--
the Allies seem no nearer the final subjugation of
the gallant little States than they were before the
attack upon Humaita. All that confidence and
assumption can do to advance a cause the Brazilians
have done. Our information usually comes through
their channels, and is often strangely at variance
with facts. They spare no pains to damage their
opponents, and if the war were fought on paper
Brazil would long since have had the best
of it. Oac of the latest rumours which have
been set afloat is the enlistment of 4,000 women by
LOPEZ to reinforce his army, a statement which had
its origin only in the active imaginations of the
Brazilian reporters and the well-known patriotism
of the Paraguayan women. Isolated cases have
occurred of women joining the ranks, some of them
from motivesof personal affection, but they have been
very rare and were entirely independent of any official
cognisance. LorEz has resorted to no such desperate
schemes ; he has men enough to harass the enemy
and to prevent them gaining any definite advan-
tage. Ilumaita still stands, and the boasted ad-
vance of the Allied Fleet up the river has been as
yet unproductive. Meanwhile, in Buenos Ayres
the long-growing disaffection is making itself plainly
heard, and it seems very probable that before long
Brazil will have to fight the battle alone. Under
these circumstances there is good hope that the
EMPEROR and his advisers may yet abandon the
useless struggle, and leave the Paraguayans to the
enjoyment of their hard-won independence.

Father Fischer, who was charged by the Ern
peror Maximilian to publish all the documents re
lating to the Mexican expedition, is at this moment
in Vienna. lle is steadily proceeding with the
work, and thinks it may be ready for publication in
four or five months.

The following letter has just been addressed
by M. Thiers to the Emperor's printer, M. Plon,
ackno,vleiging the gift of a ml.gnificnt copy o f
the " Commentaires de Napoleon, presented to
him by this well-known editor :—" I shall place
this splendid work in my library, on the same
shelf as and next to the Commentaires de Cesar,'
which you have also edited ; and I might repeat to
you what I replied to the late King of Prussia,
when he pointed out to me at the Berlin Museum
the statue of Napoleon, which he had had placed
opposite to that of Cze3ar. I remarked, Napoleon
will not have to complain of me, nor will Caesar,
sire.' "

The Earl of Derby presided on Saturday at a
meeting of her Majesty's Commissioners for the Exhibi-
tion of 1851. There were present—the Duke of Bucking-
ham and Chandos, Earl Granville, Lord John Manners,
M.P., Lord Overstone, Right Hon. R. Lowe, M.P., the
Right Hon. H.A. Bruce, M.P., the Right Hon. G. W. Hunt,
SLP., Sir A. G. Spearman, Sir Charles Lyell, Sir R. Mur-
chison, Mr. Thomas Baring, M.P., Mr. C. H. Gregory
(President of the Institution of Civil Engineers), Mr.
Thring, and Mr. Edward Bowring, C. 8., secretary. A
meeting of the Finance Committee was previously hold,
attended by Lord Derby, Lord Granville, Lord Overstone,
Mr. Lowe, Mr. Bruce, Sir A. Spearman, Mr. Baring, Mr.
Thring, and Mr. Bowring.
The Royal Commission on Courts-martial met
on Saturday. Present—The Chairman, Colonel Wilson-
Patton, the Marquis of Hartington, Viscount Eversley,
Right Hon. Lieutenant-General Peel, Right Hon. J. B.
Mowbray, Right Hon. Russell Gurney, Q.C., Captain the
Hon. J. C. Vivian, Mr. S. Whitbread, M.P. The secre-
tary, Mr. J. L. Wharton, also attended.
THE HARVEST.—Some acceptable rains have fallen
since Thursday in the eastern and midland counties, but
they have still been only light and partial. The harvest
has very generally commenced in the neighbourhood of
Chelmsford ; a few pieces of oats were cut last week, and
the wheat has now been generally attacked. The same
may bo said of other districts on the eastern side of the
ki ngdorn.
A HANDSOME PRESENT.—As a proof of goodwill,
and a desire that the naval offi,:er in command of her
Majesty's ships oa the Australian station should be better
enabled to maintain the dignity of his position, the Legis-
lature of New South Wales has awarded to Commodore
Rowley Lambert, C. 8., a sum of £5OO per annum.—Arezy
and Nary Gazette.
THE Burrisn ASSOCIATION.—At a meeting of
the representatives of the various public bodies and learned
and scientific societies in Edinburgh, hold on Thursday,
the Lord Provost presiding, a committee was appointed to
take the requisite stops for inviting the British Association
to meet in that city in 1869. Sir George Harvey, Pro-
fessor Christison, Professor Balfour, Professor Spence,
Professor Duns, Sheriff Maitland Heriet, and others took
part in the proceedings.
EXCLUSIVE, VERY IMPORTANT, RARE, AND VALUABLE
are the properties of Lanaptough's Pyretic Saline, curing the
worst headaches, sickness, skin, or binary affections Pleasant,
palatable, and invigorating. Sold by all Chemists.—[Advt.]

COBRESPOITDENCE PROM- HE

(FROM OUR OWN t RiiiSfielibtirrj,
PARIS, SinfijAv, July— a
• .
Tho Emperor his finally departed from PlonibikTes, and
the stagnation of the political world is so Complete that
the debate in the Corps Ldgislatif is losing even the pre.
tence of interest. The official papers are at worts
vigorously denying everything, and the independent
prints are equally active in supplying them with the
raw material to work upon. The system of denial
has given such encouragement to fabrication that
the palmy days of the trade have come at
last. Tho Spanish conspiracy, the South German
Confederation, the Customs union with the Nether.
lands, are rare delicacies which form an agreeable
relief to the pieces de resistance, the Eastern question,
War with Prussia, and the coming difficulty respecting
Rome. The Emperor should adopt one of three courses.
He should allow the papers to tell the truth, or should take
no notice of their inventions, or should abolish them
altogether. The nuisance must culminate some
time. We may shortly look for the Spitzbergen
question, the Terra del Fuego difficulty, and the impend.
ing war with Manchovria. If ridicule does not work

reform, nothing will.
La Lanterne is a worthy exception to the general rule.
If it is false, let all credit be given to its impudence, for it
seldom publishes rumours, but dashes fearlessly into minute
statements of facts and the most daring comments on
current events. La Lanterne is not always refined ; but it
never fails to be novel. This week it publishes a strange
story in characteristic style. The inhabitants of the Com-
mune of St. Julien, near Metz, have complained that
the showers of balls from the soldiers practising
with the Chassepot prevent them working in their vine-
yards. The military authorities have kindly replied that
they will allow the vine-growers two days per week
to till their ground ; but if they go out on any
other day it will be at their own risk. " Here,"
says La Lanterne, " you may buy land for a song, but it
is subject to constant bombardments. Those who coun-
tenance these shameful violatihns of private rights call
themselves the guardians of the people and their property,
but those who protest against inoffensive agriculturists
being shot down, they call communists." The Libert4 and
one or two other papers ridicule this acquisition of a new
right, the right of bombardment. But La Lanterne is the
only journal which lives, and yet is edited with the most
complete disregard to consequences. On the announcement
that a life of Charlemagne is to be written by Napoleon
111., it expresses its desire to see a life of Napoleon by
Charlemagne. On the publication of the twenty-fourth
volume of the First Napoleon's correspondence, a com-
parison, which must be highly agreeable at Plombieres, is
drawn between the Great and the Little. La Lanterne
will be extinguished some clay, beyond doubt.
The extraordinary trial of which I sent you some de-
tails a few days ago has just terminated. The two accused
women were found guilty of murder and robbery, and
sentenced to penal servitude for life. Your readers will
remember that the charge was brought against a girl
named Fleutot, and her mother. The former murdered her
mistress by suffocating her whilst in a bath, stole
jewels, &c., of value, and set the house on fire.
Her mother was implicated in these charges. The calm-
ness and self-possession of the younger woman, her inge-
nuity in defending herself, the extraordinary narrative of
her early life, and her impassibility under sentence,
render this one of the most dramatic trials ever
known in France. The trial finally concluded by a tem-
pest of indignation in court, caused by Fleutot smiling on
the announcement of her sentence.

The interpellation on the conduct of the Italian army
during the campaign of 1866, which has been announced
in the Florence Chamber by General Menabrea, has been
very strangely received here. French sympathy in this
case is altogether on the side of Prussia. The discussion
is indeed considered a washing of the dirty linen
of both countries, but the weaker country cer•
thinly gets the greater part of the ridicule,
and General La Marmora fares worst of all. The
truth seems to me to be that Prussia is altogether in the
wrong on this occasion. The Italian army did not, indeed,
effect any great achievement during the campaign. But
this is hardly the question. Italy stood by the terms of
the alliance, after an offer from Austria to give up
Venetia if she would remain neutral. The army
flight have done badly, but the nation did all
that it could, and the reproaches of the Prussians are
most ungenerous. Besides, it is by no means certain what
would have been the result had the Austrian army of
Venetia been employed in Bohemia. That the French
should side with Prussia in a question of this kind proves
that the relations between the allies of 1859 are at their
worst.

The new Egyptian loan has been favourably received
here, albeit Egyptian securities are not as a rule so largely
dealt in as in England,

THE WEATHER TABLE.-THIS DAY.

DIETEOIIOLOGICAL LEFOLTS.

_ 22_E
iiitiatvlrie.:..lwv:
Cc:
__
r -.3 -a i
~,,,,,. It:T3. 1 --,-D,-..-1 Wo. 11:6'1.
lefonday,
July 20,
8 a.m.
_124
Nairn
bcirr..
_—
, •
Leith
T 6655. ''-'6600
Sschaierboldsroi.,.g.h.
2229:891i.. 666 .
YH ac dn teoru
Cuxhavent . h .
...
____' 0 7—: . —6=9 -----1
1765582:1 1 W.N.W.:11; 11.
:SW 7.1 N Vlr W.N.W.
I :3. _ :
_.l E .
_ii_. E . c__. b .
7_7 . . .
Skudestuns '
Ardrossan
32
22
N.W.S . )T.
ic,..rob .
0-15
5 4 S.W. r. o'ol
Greencastle 59 84f. 62 59 W.S.W. 3 5 W.S.W. c.o.
Holyhead
Cpl 1,
eao
npc eli
..,,, 44C.' sl
ce :r.. Pt 3 3 N.W. b.f.
4 4 N.N.W. b.c.
3300142 f.. 6365 15963 W. 7-: 0 3 N. c.b.
vLiavicernptciaol.. ..
332009iff
..
666
447 1
666320
ist. :171Ev. ..
Plymouth
Weymouth 30'18r. 68 162 S.W. 1 3 N.W. c.b.
Portsmouth 30'11r. 63 i 61 N.W.., 1 2 N.E. c.b
London
C'peGrisNez 30'055. 64 62 N.N.E.. 1 f.
Brest
L'Orient .
Rochefort.
Biarritz
--_
c. _
Corunna —
Brussels - —
Paris -
Strasbourg.? --
Lyons
THtoeeun,,lrtoti.(l,,6c....o.inn 307035. 73 —73 E.ti.E. —3
-- b.
——
local time) 3018 f. 48 48 E.N.E. 1 1 E.N.E. r. o'2o

TUB WIMBLEDON MEETING.

THE CAMP, SATURDAY,

To-clay closes the first week of the Wimbledon meeting
of 1868. Thus far the shooting has been good, dis-
cipline has been perfectly preserved, the attendance of
visitors has been up to the average of former years, and
the camp presents, with few exceptions, a clean bill of
health. These are facts upon which the Council of the
association, the Volunteers, and the public may justly con-
gratulate themselves.
At a quarter to nine this morning the sixty competitors
—winners in the first stage—for the Queen's Prize assembled
in front of the council tent, and received the Government
Whitworth rifles with which the final competition will be
shot off, and at once busily occupied themselves with the
important business of sighting. This will be continued on
Monday, and the great event of the meeting brought to
an issue on the following day. The highest score of 51 for
the Ist stage, made by Drum-Major Hutchinson, Ist
Gloucester, published in these columns yesterday, was
one point less than that obtained by Captain Wright, 30th
Cheshire, the winner of the silver medal and badge last
year. The winners since 1862 have been Walton, 7th West
Sussex, 46 points ; Wisker, 2nd Essex, 49 points ; Howard,
Ist Suffolk, 47 points ; Edward Ross, London Scottish, 47
points ; James, Queen's Westminster, 48 points ; Capt.
Wright, 30th Cheshire, 52 points ; and Drum-Major
Hutchinson, Ist Gloucestershire, 51 points.
Four very interesting events found a place in the pro-
gramme to-day, viz., the shooting for the Irish Inter-
national Trophy, the China Challenge Cup, the Albert
prizes, and the volley firing in connection with
the Belgian Cup. The
.Irish Challenge Trophy
is of the value of £5OO, to which is added a cup
of the value of £5, and the competition, an annual
one, is open to the best shot from each of the English,
Irish, and Scotch twenties in the Enfield International
Trophy, lately won by England at Edinburgh. The names
of this year's marksmen are Captain Armstrong, Ist Lan-
cashire, representing Ireland ; Sergeant Plenderleith, Ist.
Peebles, shooting for Scotland ; and Corporal Hepple-
stone, 20th Lancashire, for England. The China Chal-
lenge Cup is of the value of £525, and is presented by the
volunteers in China for competition at Wimbledon
by the home volunteers, £5O in specie being
added by the National Rifle Association. The
Belgian Challenge Cup, for volley firing, is presented
by the Chasseurs Eclaireurs, of Brussels, and the Belgian
visitors who were over here last year. The value of the
prize is £lOO, the association adding £75, and the cup is
held for the year by the officer commanding the winning
battalion. The range is 400 yards, and the number of
shots allowed five, both ranks kneeling. For the Albert
Prize, of the aggregate value of £670, the competition is
thrown open. to all nations, and shooting with any rifles in
any position is permitted. The competitions to-day also
included shooting for the " Any Rifle " Wimbledon
Cup, the " Any Rifle " Association Cup, the Enfield
Association Cup ; the first stage Windmill Prize, the Eley
Prizes, and the Military Breech-loaders. With one of
these latter weapons known as the " Carter-Edwards,"
Sergeant Bott, Royal Marines, fired, this morning, in
the three minutes allowed, 43 rounds, making 3 bull's eyes,
22 centres, 17 outers, and 2 misses. The total score of 108
was the highest yet recorded.
The greatest number of points in the Ist stage Alex-
andra 600 yards range, now closed, was obtained by
Private Black, " Victorias," who took the £2O prize.
Sergeant Parker (2nd Surrey), Sergeant Wright (6th
Essex), Sergeant Davidson (Ist Roxburgh), and Private
Smith (6th North York), made 18 points. The first two
took £l5 prizes, the last two £lO prizes. The lowest scores
made were 15 points.
For the China Cup the highest score was made by
Somersetshire, 283 points. Staffordshire came next, with
281 points ; Devonshire, 277 ; Middlesex, 275 ; Lan-
cashire, 275; Durham, 270; Yorkshire, 255.