The Sun.
London, England, 1868-11-11 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC lOURNALB.

The Times contains a review of the Reformed 'arlla•
went from 1832 to 1868, and in a leader upon the subject
remarks : To many of us it seems but the other day since
the Duke of Wellington said, upon the passing of the
Reform Bill, that he did not see how the country was to
be governed. Of course it was not necessary that he, or
'any other man, should see exactly how the measure was to
work, but not only were appearances sinister, but events
very soon chewed that the difficulty of government
would remain not less than it had been before.
Further changes are in store for us. At the
end of thirty-six years we shall find there is still
something to be feared and something to be hoped for,
something to quarrel about, something to contend for
against revolutionary politicians, and, also scope for the
visions of change still dear to the ardent and the imagina-
tive. It is possible that then, or long before then, the
doubly-reformed House of Commons will have to undergo
a third process of self-renovation, in the face of as many
objections, and with other measures in the background
as important as those now in the front, The various pro-
phecies that the institutions of the country would fall have
not been fulfilled. One fault has pervaded all the Govern.
ments of the period, and that was, that:they have really

not kept pace with the natural progress of the nation,

with its necessities or its sentiments. In the sense of

control there has been too much government ; in the higher
sense of animating and guiding the life of the nation there

has been too little. The same personages have figured in

the front of the political warfare for the greater part of
the period ; some, indeed, from first to last, and stand

before us to-day as they, were thirty-six years ago. The

political caste is not deteriorated. The traditions are
almost :intact. It is still as difficult as ever for men of
inferior metal or less calibre to force their way to the frot.

1/12e statesman and the orator must still know everything,

feeljor everbody, and combine genius with industry, spirit

with information, zeal with wisdom, and sympathy with
business qualities. It is still an advantage to him to be a
duke, a millionaire, or at least a respectable character.
Our rulers are still scholars and gentlemen. They must
even profess, at least, to be Christians. Neither custom,

nor faith, nor etiquette chews any signs of mitigation on
these points. If anybody expects a dissolution of political
manners and prejudices in the days that are at hand, he
is expecting mobably what his father expected before
him, and the event may possibly prove bim wiser than his
father ; but it also may prove him to be no wiser, and that

is the alternative which we think the more probable of th•

two.

The Telegraph thinks that possibly enough the Chamber
which is about to be summoned will not live quite so long

as its predecessor. There are many contingencies in the

future which msy make it short-lived and prefatory. It will
appear in its own eyes but an imperfect result of the great
change which has been brought about ; and it may not be

so tenacious of existence as that which is just " committed

to memory." The Reform Act which calls the new
Parliament into being is notoriously imperfect. and may
be amended rather more largely than its nominal authors
imagine or desire. The House which is to open its

momentous discussion next month cannot contain so

many representatives of the freshly enfranchiied class as
ought to assist henceforward at the councils of the nation;
and the topics to be handled almost directly are so large,

and go so deep into the very foundations of our national
life, that a positive necessity may arise for a fuller appeal
to the consolidated electoral bodies.

The Post says that amongst the many listeners who ex-
perienced surprise at the various assertions of Mr. Disraeli
at uildball, there can have been none whose emotion so
coapletely approached utter amazement as Lord Stanley.
4p chief, inspired by what he himself acknowledged as
th " jollity" of the moment, boldly threw over and cast
to the winds the once fondly-cherished theories of non-
intervention, and, giddy with the success of the Ampriaan
negotiations, avowed himself prepared to redress the balance

of power in Europe, to interfere directly, and to mediate
between great States whe are masters of millions of armed
men. Mr. Disraeli was coy and cautious about Cabinet
secrets. This, however, *rag certainly not one, for
Lord Stanley knows that no such intention exists on the
part of the Cabinet, and that this project only sprang
from the teeming brain of the• Prime Minister in the after•
dinner hour of the civic feast. The Prime Minister takes
new ground entirely. He had at one time discovered that
the empire of Great Britain was rather Asiatic than
European, and that though our interference in the affairs
of the world was inevitable, that our touching the
squabbles of the Continept was to be deprecated and
earnestly avoided. He now preaches a totally opposite
doctrine. The Post anticipates evil results from this
course. There is nothing more strange and singular' in
the career of our reckless Premier than the utter careless•
ness with which, at certain moments, in order to make
a party cry, he deals with facts at home and abroad. One
day,s, Tory, the next a Radical. At one time for the
sacred doctrine of non-intervention, at another for the
direct functions of a mediator. In any and all cases
above all, he is for self-glorification.
The Standard believes it is quite possible that any
attempt which Lord Stanley might make to bring about
an understanding between France and Prussia would have,
at the best, but an apparent success. No zeal and no
ability can made good friends of people who hake made up
their minds to fight. But certainly Lord Stanley is the
only Foreign Minister who could make such an attempt
with the slightest chance of success. The French and
Prussian Governments would laugh at such an attempt
at mediation if it came from Lord Clarendon, and resent
it if offered by Earl Russell. The continuance in office of
the present Government is a pledge to England that she
will not be involved in war, and that her influence for
good on the Continent will be maintained ; it is, we may
even venture to say, a guarantee to Europe of the main.

tenance of peace.
The Herald thinks that nothing Mr. Disraeli ever said
or did appears to have annoyed or irritated his adversaries
so much as his quiet allusion, at the Lord Mayor's dinner,
to the probability that he would have the honour of being
present on the 9th November, 1869, in the same capacity,
and of once more returning thanks on behalf of her
Majesty's Ministers. Mr. Disraeli's confidence is, how-
ever, likely to be somewhat better founded than the
boastful anticipations of certain Radical organs—
anticipations which, somehow, fail to calm the angry
agitation of their spirits, or enable them to dispense
with the weapons of systematic falsification and
persistent calumny. All that we have learnt of late
leads to corroborate the expectation of the Tory leader.
Everywhere Conservatism is gaining ground. The Pro-
testant feeling of the country, dormant for want of provo-
cation, had been signally underrated by the little Radical
Cabal assembled in Carlton Gardens in February last ; and
the manner in which the Administration has been con-
ducted by the present Government, its successes at home'
and abroad, its restoration of the army and navy, its
eminent services in the cause of economic and efficient
defence, command respect and confidence as effectually as
the reckless depreciation of efficiency by Mr. Gladstone
and the wild financial extravagances of Mr. Bright
alienate and repel the trust of sensible and practical
men. - .

The Star reminds us that the 9th of November has
passed, and Mr. Disraeli has disappointed those who
imagined that he would make a declaration of policy at
the Guildhall banquet. He was not entirely silent on the
impending struggle, but his vagueness and depression
produced an effect of even greater forlornness than
absolute reticence could have created. Every reader
of the proceedings must perceive that the Premier
was in circumstances which appealed to the generosity
even of his most uncompromising opponents ; and he did
not forfeit their indulgence by any want of tact. It is
quite certain that, speaking at such a moment, Mr.
Disraeli would, if he could, have inspirited his followers by
some glimpse, if not of policy, at least of hope that his
strategy was not exhausted. As this was hopeless, he
wisely limited himself to generalities ; and the more those
generalities were impregnated with the apprehension of
coming
.defeat, the less temptation have we to criticise
them with extreme severity.
The Daily News holds it the scandal of the Liberal
party that Toryism is taking neart, if not actually con-
gratulating itself upon its prospects, in some of the most
decidedly Liberal constituencies of the United Kingdom.
It is in vain that statesmen toil in the House of Commons
JD give political power to the people, if they allow it to slip
from them as soon as it is received by indulging a separatist
spirit, and frittering away their strength, and so giving
the victory to their opponents. In some of our boroughs
the Liberals are, without knowing it, practically creating a
minority clause, and there is great danger that the members
for those constituencies will be returned by a party which
will not poll a third of the total number of voters. We
Lope that Northampton is not about to place itself in this
category, but at present there is very great danger of its
doing so. The town is so thoroughly Liberal that, under
ordinary circumstances, the Tories have no chance with-
out resorting to bribery, the temptation to which is not
strong. It must be thirty years since a Tory member sat
for the borough, and now, with an increased constituency,
the Tories have a chance to which they have long been
strangers. They owe it simply and solely to the fact that
four candidates are appealing to the Liberal party for the
two seats at its disposal.
The Morning Summary, the new penny daily paper, has
the following : —The battle on the eve of which we now
stand is hut the commencement of a series of engagements.
Mr. Gladstone may think that he is near his goal, but not
only have the liberties of the peooe and the rights of
property a barrier in the House of Lords, which, like the
Established Church, is the surest guarantee for tempered
liberty and freedom from oppression, but, as Mr. Bell
significantly observed, a yet stronger barrier exists in the
form of " the attenuated fingers of a woman's hand,"
who, backed by the moral support of the great mass
of the English people, will yet prevent the passing
of measures which must lead to anarchy and social confu-
sion. Conservatism has been frequently killed. Its dirge
has been sung by kind friends times out of number. Its
adherents, however, have an awkward knack of not
knowing that they are beaten, and the very fact that,
with a less minority than 100 in the first Reformed
Parliament, they were in a few years in office with an
unparalleled majority, alike gives us confidence for the
future, and proves that real bond fide Conservatism—not
the electro-plate article which some of its professors and
invariably open enemies weuld pass off as genuine—has an
undying hold,
. because of its inherent truth and liberality,
OD tbv =Wig c4AXidl9llll 94 t Pcopit 9f England.