The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-08 00:00:00

the interval that elapsed between the explosiim and
the receipt of public funds, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer sent some portion of the public money
to the relief of the sufferers. This temporary air 4
was of great service, and the committee declare that,
the thanks of the nation are due to the right hon.,
gentleman and his bind-hearted almoners in this
" timely forethought and consideration for the
suffering poor." By personal visitation the com-
mittee have devoted themselves to the work in
hand, and this is the only sure way of dealing with
such a task. The prompt liberality of the public;
is thank fully acknowledged at the outset of thin
Report. About £7,000 have been by this timu
übscribed to cover the necessities of the sad case,
.ind no doubt more will be forthcoming if real:tired.
I'he 1,l to which has been devised seems an excellent
one, and sub-committees have been formed. As yet
the arrangements cannot be completed, because the
sufferers are in some cases scattered about in hos-
pitals and elsewhere, but wherever it was prac-
ticable the committee have restored the
losers to their former condition in furniture
and property. Seven persons died in consequence of
the explosion, 41 persons were badly wounded, in-
volving loss of limb and eyesight and general dis-
figurement, 56 persons unhoused, and as many as
600 families have suffered iu health, purse, and
property. Besides the cases that are in the hospi-
tal, the committee have ascertained that 111 per-
sons have suffered more or less from the shock.
The unhappy victims to the Fenian outrage are
indeed to pity, for their sufferings are great and
their loss severe. They are besides in that station
of life where their subsistence depends upon
their having the use of their faculties and their
health and strength being tolerable, if not far be-
yond the average. One of the saddest parts of
the calamity is the severe suffering that has been
entailed on the female sufferers, some of whom have
had premature confinements, and others been
caused great inconvenience and misery. These
were accustomed to give their share to the " bread-
winning," and, as the committee emphatically
put it, " most of them will never be the same
again. The committee only wish that all
England could look upon that ghastly sight,
of wounded men, women, and children, and
then fix the measure of what ought to be done for
these afflicted people." This is, indeed, a difficult
thing to decide, and may well cause the deepest
anxiety to those who dwell upon the sad details.
At any rate, it is a great satisfaction to know that
all has been done which can be done for the imme-
diate relief of the sufferers, and their future well-
being must be a matter of consideration hereafter,
for the country cannot allow these martyrs to vio-
lence and unprovoked attacks to be left uncarcd for,
and suffered to have poverty added to their afflic-

tions.

The arrival of the Cimbria, from New York on
the 28th ult., brings us intelligence which gives a
painful impression of the results which a long series
of mismanagement and misrule have produced in
the Southern States. It is a noticeable fact that
heavily as the planters have suffered, and are still
suffering, the blacks, about whose welfare the
itadical party professed to be so solicitous, are in
even greater distress. The destitution which
prevails throughout those fertile districts which
once supplied the markets of Europe, and
kept the busy merchants of the North
in full activity, is something far beyond
depression and discomfort. Absolute starvation
stares men in the face, and the correspondents of
many joureals who are actually on the spot esti-
,nate that three millions of persons, most of them
:reed men, are in danger of starvation. Such a
condition of affairs is a national calamity, and de-
mands prompt and vigorous action. General
iIANCOCK has made a wise and timely suggestion,
vhich we hope the Government will not be slow to
adopt. Serious crevasses of the Mississippi have
occurred in Louisiana, and the General has asked
permission to employ the starving negroes to effect
the repairs at the national expense. This would be
a very sensible and ready method of alleviating
some portion at least of the distress which it is evi-
dent the Government must take under consideration
without delay. Whatever opinion may be held as
to the political rights of the negro there can be no
question of his right to live ; yet here are hundreds
of thousands who have been told they were to re-
ceive the greatest possible blessing suddenly re-
duced to the most terrible privations. If they will
not work they must learn by bitter experience that
freedom has its obligations and responsi-
bilities as well as its privileges, but at
present there seems to be no question of the
kind. - '\V know from the accounts which we have
lately received that in districts where the negroes
hive worked .on the plantations the planters have
been unable to pay them, and worse than the lack
of money is the absolute scarcity which appears to
exist in the South. Its fields and farms have never
recovered the desolation of the Northern armies,
and since the close of the war the seasons have
been unfavourable. Thanks to the uncertainty
which has attended the tenure of property in
the South, and the oppression of the military
government, there has been no choice of that
influx of capital which was necessary for the
revival of industry and the restoration of trade.
Now the people throughout the States are awaking
to a sense of the fatal error committed in treating
.he Southern States as a conquered country. So
much valuable time has been lost that it will be
long before the vast territories of the South will be
other than a drain upon the ov2rburdeued resources
of the Union. Unhappily affairs are complicated by
the evil spirit which interested agitators have infused
into the excited and discontented negroes. In the
interior of Virginia they aro committing depre-
;lotions and burning the property of the
,vbites, and serious disturbances arc reported
from other parts. Such excesses must be re-
pressed with the strong hand, but the real blame
of the offence rests chiefly with those who have
endeavoured; for their own party purposes, to
stir up the negro to violence and outrage, in-
Acad of really assisting him to obtain his own
livelihood. Wholesale emigration, from those
parts where there is neither work nor food, would
be the best and most practical remedy. Presi-
dent JOHNSON is at least resolved upon one thing.
lie will suffer no more insubordination nor op-
pression anion; the military commanders. He
has decided upon removing General Peri: from
,is command ; but it is worthy of notice, as sig-
Aifleant of the times, that on this occasion he has
acted after consultation with his Cabinet.

Education is the theme which more than any
other seems likely to engage the notice of the poli-
tician with respect to home matters, and Mr.
FOSTER'S remarks on the subject last night, at St.
James's Hall, will aoubtle',s receive a good share of
attention, both on account of their own merit and
the importance of the question to which he refers.
He appeared, however, to lay too much stress upon
the superiority of the Prussian system over ours,
which is a mistake many are apt to fall
into when dwelling upon this topic. The
best way is to consider if we are in as
efficient a state as we ought to be in this respect,

THE SUN, LOAD,

and if we are not then to turn our earnest attention
-to the consideration of what we ought to do, quite
irrespective of what system other countries may or
may not deem requisite to pursue for themselves.
We agree with the hon. member that to establish a
compulsory system would be most difficult in this
country, however desirable some may think it.
Such a thing is quite opposed to the national
feeling of Englishmen, and we must remember
that if we are behind other nations in
education we are far before them in liberty, and
that is of more consequence even than instruction,
precious though that may be. We are glad to see
the subject of education ventilated, however, and
due credit :must be awarded to Mr. FOSTER, and
others like him, who enter con amore into the ques-
tion, and do their best to advance the cause of
knowledge. Too much cannot be done in this re-
spect, and those who are truly anxious to see im-
provement will welcome all who aid in the good
work.

It is satisfactory to find that, notwithstanding
the unfavourable condition of the weather, the
deaths in London during the past week were below
the estimated number. They showed, indeed, as
was to be expected, a considerable increase on those
of the preceding week, but they were still below the
corrected average. There can be no question that
the severe and sudden changes of temperature tell
heavily upon the infirm and sick persons of all
ranks, but most especially upon the poor, who
are unable to provide themselves with sufficient
food and fire, much less with proper clothing.
Unless the existing distress in the east of London
is very much mitigated before long, we may expect
to find a large increase in our tables of mortality.
The accounts which we continue to receive from
well-informel persons on the spot represent the
distress and destitution to be altogether excep-
tional. The long - continued depression of trade
and slackness of employment, combined with the
high price of provisions, especially of bread, are
quite enough to account for this. It is a
very difficult matter to deal with such wide-spread
and deep-seated distress, and many who are anxious
to give relief to the really deserving are fearful of
encouraging pauperism by indiscriminate almsgiving.
The best means of avoiding this is to provide em-
ployment, and we are glad to find the Govern-
ment intend enlarging Victoria-park—a work
of much public benefit, which will give
employment to large numbers. Other plans of this
kind may be adopted with advantage, and will, no
doubt, be brought forward, should the present dis-
tress continue.

"AN ounce of fact is worth a ton of theory,"
especially when the matter which it concerns is of
vital importance. We have had more than the ton
of theory with respect to Ireland. It can scarcely
be said that we have had the ounce of fact. Every-
body has had his own hypothesis to account for the
want of prosperity of the Irish in their own
country, their success in America, and their bitter
hatred of England. There have been leading
journals which have attributed the first circum-
stance to the impracticable character of the Celtic
race ; and when confronted with the second,
have attempted to extricate themselves from
embarrassment by attributing the change to
an abandonment of faith. The Celt is
good for nothing, say these theorists ; and when
they are asked to explain how it is that directly
he crosses the Atlantic the Celt is as prosperous
as the Saxon, the reply has been, that there
tho Celt has got rid of his creed, and is free
from the dictation of its teachers. As to the last
of the three problems which we have mentioned—
Irish animosity against England—the solutions of
this problem have been legion. In the midst
of all these hypotheses and suggestions the philan-
thropist and the legislator are alike bewildered.
which lohnigtogidieovesohniimet,htihneg
other eTNlielsy v
complainants who worry him ; but they cannot tell
what to do. One remedy after another has been
tried, yet all in vain, until at last we are begin-
ning to consider the case incurable, and to
give it
up in sullen hopelessness.

It is greatly to the credit of one of our legislators
that he should have determined to ascertain for
himself the real facts which constitute this diffi-
culty. While successive Ministries have brought
in Irish measures only to withdraw them, Mr.
MAGUIRE, one of the members for Cork city, has
made a tour of North America, in order to see
how his countrymen are thriving, by what means
they have improved their condition, and what are
the feelings which they entertain towards the
Government which they have left. There was,
perhaps, no man better fitted than this gentleman
to undertake the task. Keenly Irish in his sym-
pathies, he has always shown himself a loyal
subject of his sovereign. Not to be deterred
by heedless Ministers or an empty House from
bringing forward the unhappy condition of his
countrymen at the time when it was the fashion to
sneer at Irish grievances, he has always exhibited
the most marked moderation in his statements, and
has won the respect of all political parties. The
results of his investigations have been given to
the world within the last few days, in the shape of
a portly volume of 650 pages. The book is a
most remarkable one, and the reading of it is indis-
pensable to those who wish to master the Irish
question. We can but briefly refer to some of its
facts in this column.

In the first place we find that the Irish prosper
everywhere on American soil. It matters not
whether they have settled at Newfoundland in the
north-east or in California in the south-west, on
the Canadian lakes or on the Gulf of Mexico—they
do well. It makes no difference whether they
are on an island or on a continent, under a
republic or under a monarchy, in an arctic or in a
torrid country, in the land of cotton or in the land
of wheat—in every country, under every form of
government, and in every employment, these ne'er-
do-wells at home are happy and thriving. It used
to be supposed that the Irish were the one exception
to prove the Horatian rule, ccclum, non animum,,
mutant, qui trans mare currant. But it is not so.
There is no nation which so warmly cherishes its
old nationality, its old religion, as this which has
left our shores, shaking off the dust from their feet
as a testimony against us. It would be well for
us, perhaps, if they were less conservative of
race and creed. But whether well or ill, the
fact remains that the Irish in America are
Irish still, ever looking back with fond love towards
" the ould country" which was such a cruel step-
mother to them ; ever keeping true to the faith in
which they were educated, even though years
should pass without seeing the ministers,
hearing the services, or sharing the ordi-
• nances of their Church. There are a few
exceptions both to the prosperity and to the
conservatism of the Irish. The first are to be found
in the large towns ; the second are the " Scotch-
Irish "—the Irish who lived in Ireland without
being of it. Drink is, as Mr. MAGUIRE tells us
again and again, the one great curse which
I ruins those who yield to it. The Irish, being open-
!
hearted and hospitable, are peculiarly liable to
yield. For this reason, if for no other, it is best
that Irish emigrants should on landing linger as little
I as possible at the port of arrival, but continue their
I journey without loss of time to the far-off
land in the West which awaits their axe and their
spade. Too many of them remain, tempted by the
high price which is offered to them for their labour,
or frightened by the prospect of making themselves
a home in the vast wilderness. These become
hewers of wood and drawers of water, instead of
ilords of their own land.
This last word is the key to the Irish problem.