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

.THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 18G8.

H 1 MOSES and SON,

AfERCHANT TAILORS and OUTFITTERS,

FOR ALL CLASSES.

EXCELLENCE WITH CHEAPNESS,

pRIcEs BASED ON READY -MONEY
SYSTEM.

• lIE ADVAN rAGES of the READY-MONEY
. SYSTEM cannot be better expressed than in the following
extract from a leading article in the "Times:"—
Everybody knows the difference between a credit and a
ready-money business. It is this partly which affords one tailor
the excuse for charging £7 7s. fur a coat while another will
charge f 4 4s. . . It is true that every tradesman ought to
abate his charges to customers who pay him punctually. Still
we know how in this particular we all suffer for a few delin-
tin.uate."

A LL GOODS MARKED in PLAIN FIGURES

-11 MOSES and SON
]—l •

DDRESSES BELOW,

.4.21 pf )
„
g

Ltht'DON, THURSDAY, SEPT. 3, 18G8.

It is an encouraging sign of the times that we
find the working men of England every where be-
stirring themselves and forming associations for the
discussion and advancement of their political
opinions. It is impossible to prevent shrewd and
intelligent men from talking and thiukieg 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 crimd—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 supp33o 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 became its members are to represent
some tens of thousands of new electors will cer-
tainly be disappoin tel. 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 favdurable, straightforward, and
manly specimen of the working man'sfriend, since he
does not shrink from telling them the truth on many
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 sail. No laws can reform
the drunkard, though improved social influences
may do much. Mr. HUGHES is a staunch friend to
temperance; hut if the working men would legis-
late to abolish drunkenness, why are they not a law
unto themselves ? 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.IIUGIiEs dreams of a despotism would be
very welcome, but before the laws could do so much
the people must have reached a degree of virtue,
and intelligence, and self-control which would ren-
der legislation superfluous. Mr. HUGLIES 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 vpuld have no opportunity

for the offence. In all these matters we must have
patience. The world is moving slowly, but it
is moving in 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 watched. In fairness to the new con-
stituents, if from no other motive,llet 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. Hum'Es'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 ho 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. Lit 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 conscquence 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 Itussr.u: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 statsmen and prejudiced partisans raise up
about expense and inconvenience? It may fairly be
retorted upon the Liberals now that if they had left
the defences 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. One 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 arise, 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 &ct
which gives to every rated householder the power to
vote. Whatever may b.e the advantage of coming
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 pestion 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 30 before fifteen years would
not have been wasted in discussing the question.
It was partly the jealousy that existe I in the Libe-
ral party that prevented its leaders from prosecut-
ing the task, and yet they would not let others do
it for them. It is worthy of notice that when the
Session was over we were informed that the real issue
to put before the country was the trials Church, but a
little reflection showed Mr. GLADSTONE ,that he had
better have more than one string to his bow, so ho
declared for economy versu.s. the reckless, unprin-
cipled, and extravagant expenditure of the present
Government, and alterations in the Reform Bill,
so that in a remodelled shape it might go down to
posterity as the work of bona fide Liberals, and not
" educatA Conservatives." All this is very flue,
but will the constituencies so readily seize upon
the bait held out to them ? Le ne'st gag le premier
pas (pi coffee is a very correct phrase, all d 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 boat 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 LGENCE.

(REUfER'S TELEGRAMS.)

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.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS,

(FROM OUR OWl' CORRESPONDENT.)

PARIS, WEDNESDAY, September 2.

The journey of Prince Napoleon to Hamburg is attri-
buted to various motives, some of them not altogether
irde from a little scandal. But it is generally agreed that
politics have nothing to do with this expedition. The most
ingenious labricant can discover no bidden signification
in a visit to Hamburg.
The Count and Countess de Girgenti have met with a
splendid reception at Fontainebleau. The Parisians are
indeed as much astonished at the warmth of the welcome
as at the visit itself. The guests were installed in the
suite of rooms which have become historical by the resi-
dence of Pius VII. during the first Empire. There
was a grand banquet on the evening of the arrival of the
Count and Countess. Covers were laid for sixty-eight.
MM. Rouher and Pinard were honoured with a seat at the
Imperial table. After the banquet the guests assembled
in the theatre, where "On ne Badine pas avec l'amour"
was represented ; and after the play came supper, the fes-
tivities of the evening terminating at about two o'clock.
The gossips here can make nothing of it. Their alliance
rumours have become flat, stale, and unprofitable, and
there is no other explanation to be given. The proposi-
tion to supply 40,000 men to hold Italy in check in
case of a European war was made last year
by the Queen of Spain, but the Emperor neither
accepted nor declined it. There must still be many
objections to the acceptance of such a proposal. The
task of keeping down insurrection in Spain may possibly
entail the most onerous obligations upon the Emperor, if
he fall in with the terms of the alliance as hitherto pro-
posed. On the other hand, is it likely that Spain, with so
much disaffection at home, will be able to render much
assistance abroad ?

A letter from Brussels says that the condition of the
Empress Charlotte is still far from shewing signs of im-
provement. The malady has entered upon a new stage.
The violent attacks of delirium are less frequent, and have
given place to periods of lethargic slumber, which are
only interrupted at long intervals. The unhappy
princess is under the influence of the delusion
that she is pursued in a forest by knights and
savages who wish to murder her. A souvenir of Mexico,
beyond doubt. The state of the heir to the Belgian throne,
the Duke of Brabant, also gives rise to the greatest
anxiety. The doctors are very gloomy, there is no im-
provement manifest, and altogether the prospect of the
Prince's recovery is considered doubtful.
The judicial inquiry at Nimes is causing great excite-
ment there. The public ovations, of which M. Jules
Favre is the centre, have been marked by extraordinary
enthusiasm. The excitement is considered great even for
that exciteable district. The first two sittings were en-
tirely occupied by the hearing of some sixty Nvitnesses,who
were pretty unanimous in their testimony. They
clearly proved that the meeting was private, the doors
being strictly closed ; that the police got in by force;
that remontrances and representations of the nature of
the meeting were of no avail; that the soldiers, who had been
concealed in some neighbouring house, suddenly followed the
police, and that the electors were turned out by force,
struck with the butt ends of muskets, and one of them
wounded. Against these witnesses, which included a
member of the Council General of the Gard, there was
but the testimony of the Commissioner of Police and
his subordinates. These maintained that the meeting Was
quite open, and that they entered without using force. As
to M. Sagnier, who was wounded, the officials state
that the injury was caused simply through his indiscre-
tion. He ran himself against one of the soldier's bayonets.
A fine speech from M. Jules Favre has scattered these
assertions to the winds. Even au arrest, he maintained, could
not justify these extremities; the bayonets ought not to
have been displayed; and the blows from the butt ends
of the muskets admitted of no:sophistical explanation. The
decision, however, has been in favour of the police. The
judgment of the tribunal was to the effect that the
meeting was public, that the police were obliged to u: e
force to get iu, and that the electors were subject to all
the consequences of a breach of the law which prohibits
public meetings within five days of an election. What is to
be done in the case of a Government which draws
a distinction between a public and a private meeting, and
interprets it according to its own wishes?
The noble army of martyrs increases. Two more jour-
nals have been condemned.
Count Lon Goltz is worse.

THE WEATHER TABLE.-THIS DAY.