The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-03 00:00:00

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1131

LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPT. 3, 1868.

It is an encouraging sign of the times that we
find the working men of England everywhere be-
stirring themselves and forming associations fur the
discussion and advancement of their political
opinions. It is impossible to prevent shrewd and
intelligent men from talking and thinking over the
events of the day, if indeed it were desirable to do
so. Surely, then, it is better that their activity
should manifest itself in a fair and open manner,
that their debates and demonstrations should be
modelled on the plan of the classes above them,
rather than on the old agitator fashion, which
succeeded as little in benefiting the people as in
increasing their political importance. It is not the
habit of the day to underrate the working man
either politically or socially. His nominal friends
are no longer few and far between, but men of the
most opposite opinions on other subjects outvie
each other in their professions of a regard and in-
terest which, to say the least of it, must have been
very suddenly developed. In fact, if we are to
accept the declarations of some experienced poli-
ticians, it is the working men that we are to look to
for that complete regeneration of English govern-
ment and English society which all theorists desire,
but which none have yet succeeded in bringing
about. Reform of every kind, of all past mistakes
and errors, national education, the relations be-
tween labour and capital, bribery and corruption
at elections, excessive national expenditure, the
suppression of pauperism and crime—these are a
few of the subjects upon which working men are
forthwith to legislate upon, and to legislate in a
manner which shall astonish the world, and com-
pletely reorganise English politics.
We may reasonably hope that a great proportion
of our working men have too much common
sense to believe all these fine things, though it
is charitable to suppose that the speakers
believe them themselves. if we were suddenly to
raise any one class into political prominence and
give them unusual facilities for influencing the
course of politics, we need not expect any wonder-
ful change in the spirit of our Government or in
the practical management of affairs in general. In
England, at least, no man is altogether independent
of the opinions of his fellows, neither is any class
as a class so reckless and so indifferent to its obliga-
tions as to regard its own interests alone, though
no doubt it would give them undue prominence.
If we were to have a Parliament of lawyers
or of doctors, of merchants or of schoolmen, no
doubt that the interests of their respective profes-
sions would be too much studied, not only from
personal motives, but because they would appear
more important in the eyes of their professors than
any other. In the same way, if we could secure a
Parliament of working men, we should have no
security that the general interests would be more
epuitably studied than at present, because we have
no reason to believe that working men are exempt
from the temptations incident to all ranks of life,
or mentally and morally superior to all others.
This is an unpopular doctrine now-a-days when
something very like working-man worship is the
fashion, but as it is true so it is more just to the
working man himself. Those who are credulous
enough to expect miracles from the reformed Par-
liament just because its members are to represent
some tens of thousands of new electors will cer-
tainly be disappointed. 'Why should we expect the
working man to show in dealing with public affairs
a disinterestedness, an ability, and a liberality which
he does not show in managing his own ? Mr. T.
HUGHES is a very favourable, straightforward, and
manly specimen of the working man's friend, since he
does not shrink from telling them the truth on malty
practical points, and always stands to his own
opinions, popular or unpopular; yet Mr. THOMAS
HUGHES, in his speech at Frome, plainly intimated
that to the newer and more democratic electors we
must look for national regeneration. But are
working men always so eager for the education of
their children ? Is it the richer classes who forbid
the poor man's child from attending school ? Why
should we expect such energy in the cause of edu-
cation from those who too often will not avail
themselves of the advantages offered their children?
It is no question of the conscience clause, no adhe-
rence to particular tenets which keeps back the ma-
jority of children who do not attend school, for there are
schools of every denomination and no denomination
at all. It is the indifference, the mistaken indul-
gence, or the cupidity of the parents, and if we ex-
pect fathers of this stamp to pass laws inflicting
penalties upon themselves we shall be grievously
disappointed. Then, again, with regard to the na-
tional finances, are working men so invariably pru-
dent and successful in the administration of their
own affairs, not only individual but collective, that
we should hope that their influence in Parliament
should lighten the burden of the national expendi-
ture ? The experience of too many of their benefit
societies and clubs tell us the contrary. Not
from want of integrity, but from want
of foresight in the management, the funds of
such associations are too often expended in the first
few years of their existence, and failure and col-
lapse ensue. It is always the tendency of the
working classes to consider to-day at the expense
of to-morrow, to gain present ease at the expense
of future suffering ; and supposing that they could
direct the management of the Exchequer, their
first care would be to relieve the taxpayer this year
without regard to the possible exigencies of the
next. As to pauperism, who make the paupers ?
Too often they make themselves, and the able•
bodied at least have to thank their own want of
industry, of temperance, of thrift, for their
wretched and degraded position. Of temperature
the same thing may be said. No laws can reform
the drunkard, though improved social influences
may do much. Mr. IluottEs is a staunch friend to
temperance; but if the working men would legis-
late to abolish drunkenness, why are they not a law
unto thetas Ives? No "wise, strong, or Christian
Government" can put down an evil like this, any
more than it can make men, as a whole, sober,
moral, and religious. If Governments could effect
all that Mr. HUGHES dreams of a despotism would be
very welcome, but before the laws could do so much
the people must have reached a d zree of virtue,
and intelligence, and self-control which would ren-
der legishtion superfluous. Mr. HUGHES thinks
the new electors can stop bribery and corruption, but
the fault does not lie all on one side. We may in-
deed blame more severely the educated man of
wealth and position who uses his advantages to de-
grade his fellows ; but if the great body of electors
were incorruptible, we would have no opportunity

for the offence. In all these matters we must have
patience. The world is moving slowly, but it
is moving iu the right direction. Educa-
tion is far more general than it was
half a century ago, drunkenness is being
driven from one class to another till we may look
for its comparative extermination in the future.
Public corruption is no longer what it was in the
old days before the passing of the Reform Bill.
Our expenditure, if lavish, is at least more
carefully wailed. In fairness to the new con-
stituents, if from no other motive,;let us not ex-
pect that they can do the work of a generation in a
few short years. Time works wonders, but he
works them gradually, and therefore surely. No
political miracles will last ; and if Mr. HUGHES'S
visions are to be realised he must find a political
utopia, not our work-a-day England of the 19th
century.

Mr. BAXTER'S speech at Hull on Monday was
chiefly remarkable for the allusions he made to the
expenditure question, which is just now taken up
on all sides with so much vehemence, and with so
many recriminations of one sort and another. The
financial declaration of the 'leader of the Opposi-
tion has been well answered by the Chancellor of
the Exchequer in his able letter ; but as the false
statements and unfounded charges are sure to be
repeated on every imaginable occasion, it is quite
as well for all those who understand the question
to take it up, and in the speeches addressed to con-
stituents to point out the facts of the case. What-
ever may be the result of the election move-
ments now taking place, let it not be
brought about by any unfairness, and how
Mr. GLADSTONE and his friends can persist in their
statements in the face of proved figures is really
surprising. It is easy to raise a cry, but it is an
undignified course for a statesman to pursue to do
so on grounds that will not bear investigation. The
ignorant and uninformed at a public meeting may
take his remarks for perfect accuracy, and a wrong
impression is thus produced. The chief cause for
the increased expenditure has been the increased
pay given to the soldiers and the sailors, who were
both in great need of augmentation in this re-
spect. LA Mr. GLADSTONE, if he gets into office
next year, cut down the estimates in this respect, and
see if his proposal meets the sanction of the House
or gains the applause of the country. It is always.
an end in the poliCy of the leader of the Opposition
that he is too niggardly in his arrangements for the
requital of those whose services are of value to the
country,• and this is a most shortsighted view of the
matter to take, and one that can never redound to
the advantage of the public. The services of the
country should be well paid, or else where is the
inducement for able and experienced men to take
part in them, and lend the aid of their valuable
work. Another thing to bear in mind is that some
of the expenditure items are in consequence of the
legacies left by Mr. GLADSTONE himself when he
resigned office. The late Government built forts,
but they did not man them, so, to all intents and
purposes, they were useless. Had the Government
of Lord RUSSELL remained iu office they must, ac-
cording to all the rules of common sense, have in-
curred this expense, so another of the charges now
so recklessly preferred falls to the ground. The
recent experiments that have been made have also
curtailed a considerable expense in the charges that
have become necessary to carry out the desired end;
and to convert the old fire-arms into breech-
loaders was a very creditable task, but also an ex-
pensive one. It comes to this, are we to stand still
and let other nations go ahead of us in the
improvements that are made in all directions, and
are we to be scared by the bugbears that short-
sighted statesmen and prejudiced partisans raise up
about expense and inconvenience? It mly fairly be
retorted upon the L'herals now that if they had left
the Mellen of the country in a proper state, and
the army and navy in an efficient position, their
successors would not have had to increase the ex-
penses they now rail at. Oae point of Mr.
BAXTER'S remarks on this subject is well worthy of
consideration. " Mr. GLADSTONE had the power,
when he was in Parliament to put his finger on any
particular item, any item in which he thought there
was an excess, and he had a majority in the Commons
to back him up, if he chose to do so." It was
not convenient so to do, and the best way was to
let his opponents complete his unfinished schemes,
make up his deficiencies, and provide for any
future exigencies that might ariss, so that when
he stepped back to his old place he might find
things in a forward state, and reap what others
had sown. Perhaps this might have passed mus-
ter had not he and his friends been unhandsome
enough to seek to make political capital out of
their own errors by putting the blame upon those
who had the ungracious task of rectifying them,
so that the consequences might not fall upon the
country.

Mr. BAXTER also touched upon the Reform part
of the programme issued by the Opposition leader,
and in alluding to his declaration that it must be
the work of the new Parliament to reform the Re-
form Act, he forcibly inquires if it is consistent for
the man who himself proposed and propounded a
£6 rental franchise to quarrel with the Reform A.ct
which gives to every rated householder the power to
vote. Whatever may be the advantage of coining
forward and dispUting the merits of a measure
which has occupied two sessions in its
discussion, " it does not lie with him
who proposed a much higher standard now to say
that the standard the Conservative Government
have adopted in giving household suffrage to rate-
payers is not low enough." The fairest way to test
the matter is to consider that if the Reform Bill of
1866 had become law, Mr. GLADSTONE could not
now have proposed to the constituencies so much
as his opponents have given them, for he would not
have disturbed his own work so soon, so that the
country has in reality gained by the transfer of
power, in the increased number of electors, and
the great extension of the franchise that
have taken place. It is certainly easy to
comprehend the disappointment that Mr. GLAD-
STONE and his followers must feel in having lost the
glory of passing a Reform Bill of their own through
Parliament; but the country would appreciate a
candid avowal of the merits of others ; and, after
all, it is, or ought to be, a luestion that is not the
exclusive appanage of any party. The general good
of the community ought to be the first object, and
if it had been made ko before fifteen years would
not have been wasted in discussing the question.
It was partly the jealousy that existei in the Libe-
ral party that prevented its leaders from pro ecut-
ing the task, and yet they would not let others do
it for them. It is worthy of notice th It when the
Session was over we were informed that the real issue
to put before the country was the Irish Church, but a
little reflection showed Mr. GLADS;ONE that he had
better have more than one string to his bow, so he
declared for economy versus the reckress, unprin-
cipled, and extravagant expenditure of the present
Government, and alterations in the Rlform Bill,
so that in a remodelled shape it might go down to
posterity as the work of bona fide Liberals, acrd not
" ethicated Conservatives." All this is very fine,
but will the constituencies so readily seize upon
the bait held out to them ? Le ne'st que le premier
pas qui coute is a very correct phrase, and it is to

Mr. DISRAELI that the country is indebted for a
Reform Bill after all, and not to those who now
detract from its merits, and yet when it was before
the House lost no opportunity of opposing it, and
more than once imperilled its existence. Inconsis-
tency is not an admirable quality in a statesman ;
yet in the confusion of election scenes people are
easily led away, and very apt to believe the
last speaker. The records of Parliament show
that the Conservative leader succeeded in
a task that was quite beyond the chief of the Libe-
rals, for the latter had neither the tact nor the
temper required for the work. Let the constitu-
encies then be fair, and whatever other errors or
shortcomings they may see in this Administration,
let them not forget its claim to their support, as
having been the means of carrying a Reform Bill
through the Houses of Parliament which otherwise
we should still be waiting for.

LATEST INTELL [O-EWE.

(ItEUTER'S TELEGItA.MS.)

INDIA, CHINA, AND AUSTRALIAN MAILS.
MESSINA, Sept. 2.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Syria passed Messina at 7.40 p.m., en route for
Marseilles.

FRANCE.
BOURSE, Sept. 2.—Three o'clock.—The market
closed as follows :

4j ver Cont.
End of month... ItaNn Loan —
3 per Cent
End of month 7O 70 Mexican Loan ... 23 50
Credit Ifobilier

End of month... 280
Credit Foncior ...1440
End of month... -
RAILWAI
Orleans ,

Spanish Threes - 37
Home Debt 3l
Deferred ...
8. Cash
903
...

Northern 1177
Lyons and Mediterranean
Southern..... 5BO
Western
Eastern .• 568
Sardinian
Austrian 543
Lombard 415
North of Spain
Saragossa
Roman 37

A SCOTCH EXPRESS TRAIN ON FIRE.

NEWCASTLE, Wednesday Midnight.
A serious and alarming accident has happened
to the Scotch express from King's-cross. At a
quarter to 11, when two miles north of Hunting-
don, the luggage on one of the composite carriages
was found to be on fire. This carriage was in the
centre of the train, which was proceeding at a rapid
rate, but the screams of the passengers attracted
the attention of the engine-driver. As soon as
possible the train was brought, to a standstill, aul
the passengers in the burning carriage were rescued.
The luggage was destroyed. The train was detained
40 minutes by the accident.

NA VA L AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE

A general order issued by his Royal Highness the
Commander-in-Chief, and signed by Lieut.-Gen.
Lord W. Paulet, K.C.B , Adj ataut-General, an-
nounces that the undermentioned medical officers
have been promoted to the ranks specified in con-
sideration of their valuable services with the Abys-
sinian expeditionary force:--Deputy Inspector-Gen.
of Hospitals Samuel Currie, M.D., C. 8., to be
Inspector-Gen. of Hospitals ; Staff Surg.-Major
Thomas Guy, M.D., to be Inspector-Gen. of Hos-
pitals; and Surg. Charles Dodgson Madden, 4th
Foot; Surg. Neil Henry Stuart, 3d Dragoon Guards;
and Surg. James Sinclair, 33d Regiment, to be
Surg.-Majors. The above promotions are to bear
date the 15th of August, 1868.
Lieut.-Col. E. W. Ward, commanding Royal
Engineer for the Chatham district, has received the
appointment of Master of the Royal Australian
Mint, and will shortly proceed to Sydney to com-
mence his duties.

The infantry troops doing garrison duty at the
hle of Grain are ordered to rejoin heal-quarters at
Chatham, under the command of Capt. W. Glas-
cott, 30th Regiment, and will be succeeded in the
charge of that station by detachments from the
corps comprising the 31 Depotunßdaetrtiolirl,rsCitmotham
The depot of the 48th Regiment, consisting of
five officers and 95 men, are
pro-
ceed from Fermoy to Colchester, and on their arri-
val will be posted to the 4th Depot Battalion.
A detachment of No. 13 Troop Military Train is
under orders to proceed from Woolwich to Col-
chester.

Second Capt. D. S. Pemberton has been appointed
to the C Brigade Royal Horse Artillery at Norwich,
vice Second Capt. W. R. Craster, who resigns the
Horse Artillery and has been appointed to the 24th
Brigade.

The Congitutionne/ has some severe remarks
on the unsteady proceedings which have at various
times marked Garibaldi's career For same time
past," the writer observes, " the Italian Radical
journals have recommenced informing their read-
ers of the acts and movements of Garibaldi. We
are not disposed to attach the importance to these
bulletins which the alarmists are inclined to as-
sign them ; because the friends of the General
speak of the agitator, the consequence must not
necessarily be drawn that. he nourishes projects
We have an ex-
probable to offer.
pd
laanngaetri oo u sn
nt ou
eh publicmorn
t rsai
simple
qpul l
and
Garibaldi is one of those men who do not know
how to disappear from the political scene ; and it
is lost pains to attempt to prove to them that their
role is finished, and that their renown has nothing
further to gain, but all to lose. Nothing avails :
they must have the appearance of acting even if
they do nothing in reality. Garibaldi is especially.
the man of false alerts ; he leaves the army, and
re-enters it ; he renounces politics, and issues
manifestoes ; he is Italian, and gets himself natu-
ralizel as an American, and displays, as fancy
strikes him, the green, white, and rad flag, or the
star-spangled banner. He solicit 3 a seat in the
Chamber and then resigns. This last manoeuvre,
if we are not mistaken, he has already practised
several times, and, according to what the journals
at present say, he has just again repeated it, sure
to yield shortly to the supplications of some elec-
tors, who will declare that, without him, the
Italian Parliament will be unable to effect anything
useful to public business. And thus it is that the
grotesque side dominates more and more in a per -
sonalty who can no longer even invoke patriotism
as an excuse for his eccentric follies."

A case of pluralism in the diocese of Manchester
is bringing out some angry remonstrances. The
Bishop, it appears, has appointed the archdeacon
(llurnford) to the vacant canonry in the cathedral,
worth £6OO a year, the same venerable gentleman
enjoying nearly £2,000 as rector of Middleton, and
£2OO a year from the arclanconry, making a total
of nearly £3,000. . .

As soon as the proposed alterations in the
Church of S. Mary-le-Strand—which have caused
so much commAion amongst the parishioners—
are c trried out, Dr. Evans intends to commence a
daily choral evensong for city men, beginning
about half-past four. There will be Gregorian
music.

ALMOST A TRAGEDY.---A deliberate attempt to
murder two children and commit suicide was male on Sun-
day aLornoon, at Turnstall, Staff adshire, by the wifo of a
labourer, named Palmy Mills. She had had a quarrel with
her hush Ind, and in a fit of passion left the house with he;
childr,m, a bey three years old, anl a girl on 3 year old,
and hurried to a neighbouring. peel. In this she threw
her children an 1 then jumped in herself. All three were
rescuel, but not until life had almost become extinct
Vigorous rem2dios in time restored animation, but the
mother is not yet out of danger, although the children are
nearly recovered.
THE FIRST OF SEPTEMBER.—In North and East
Yorkshire the anticipations of the partridges proved cor-
rect. Birds were plentiful and fine, but on comparing
notes at night few large bags had been.mado. After a few
shots the birds were very wild, the cornfields being all
• cleared, and the turnips affording very little cover. Prices
I run from 4s. 641. per brace, starting. Some coveys are re-
' warkably numerous.