The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-17 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING,
_MARCH 17, 1868.

obsen vations "if he were to borrow words which
he had heard were used in another place. But so
long at i..east as I have any part in the conduct of
the busing ss of this House, there will be I hope one
House of Parliament at least that may be a model
of mannE rs. I will say nothing rude in respect of
an augvist assembly that seems for a
moment -.to have lost that perfection of manner
which I once thought it possessed." It was,
of course, impossible for Mr. DISRAELI to have
I passed over altogether the affair in the Lords. We
think that his rebuke was both dignified in tone
and decisive in effect. If those Peers who indulged
for a brief space in passionate invective and ex-
treme littleness of spirit, alike unworthy of their
own reputation and unsuited to the occasion, have
returned to their ordinary state of quiescence, they
will themselves; feel, if they do not own, the justice
and truth of those temperate but forcible remarks
which last night fell from the leader of the House
and head of the Cabinet. Such sneers and satire,
as were all too plainly visible in the speeches of last
week in the House of Lords, were all the more ill-
timed when directed against the PREMIER, because
he has never himself been personal in his speeches,
and has always in his public career preserved a
temper and tact that could not be surpassed, and
which have, indeed, excited the admiration of
friends and foes.

Mr. DISRAELI was certainly fortunate in having
to refer to points that excited laughter, and thus
wound up a heavy debate with a spirit that aroused
and sustained the House. Some years ago the right
hon. gentleman delivered a speech, indeed a quar-
ter of a century has passed since he uttered it ; he
then thought that no one had listened to it, but he
has just found out that it was only too well appre-
ciated. It seemed as if he was pouring water upon
sand, but it now seems that the water came from a
golden goblet. The years that have passed
have been :momentous for changes, that in some
sort have attended the character of the state of
things of that day, but Mr. DISRAELI did not take
refuge from his position ; on the contrary, he de-
clared that in his conscience the " sentiment
of that speech was right." It may have
been expressed with all the " heedless
rhetoric," which ordinarily characterises speeches
delivered below the gangway, but still the right
hon. gentleman affirmed that his historical cons-
cience declared that he was right. A great autho-
rity in the House has declared that history is not
to be alluded to, and in pursuance of his theory he
has been going about the country delivering history
to illustrate his meaning. But Mr. DISRAELI takes
a truer, bolder, and more statesmanlike view of his
subject, when he says that " Irish policy is Irish
history ; and I have no faith in any statesman who
attempts to remedy the evils of Ireland who is either
ignorant of the past, or who will not take lessons
from it." This is very true, and well worthy the
consideration of the House. The Government,
Mr. DISRAELI declared, was quite able to carry
out their policy towards Ireland without
having recourse to a committee on the state
of that country. A charter, it is hoped,
will receive her MAJESTY'S sanction which will in-
stitute a Roman Catholic University. No endow-
ment is required, because it is expected that the
House will not refuse to do as much for the Roman
Catholics of Ireland as it does to assist the London
University. Respecting the land a great deal has
been promised, and even last night Mr. DISRAELI
declared if they had had the opportunity the Go-
vernment would have introduced a Reform Bill for
Ireland, which would add greatly to the Popular
privileges of the people of that country. " There
are many members of this class who look with ap-
prehension upon a measure of that kind. Ido not,
because I believe we arc on the eve of a policy for
Ireland which will settle a true community, and
which will terminate the sorrows of afflicted cen-
turies." On the whole this debate on the Irish
question has not been without its uses, and now we
hope that the good sense of the House will prevent
the more important among its members from at-
tempting to disturb the Government again until it
has had a fair opportunity of dealing with the ques-
tion. Mr. GLADSTONE uttered some visionary re-
marks at the close of his speech as to the necessity
of the House making some definite declaration on
the question of the Irish Church ; but we hope that
the discretion which has characterised the right
hon. gentleman so far will still distinguish him, and
that, upon reflection, he will allow the matter to
rest where it now is, referred most appropriately
from an expiring House to the fresher energies and
patriotic x D eriencesentiments,
mdesoriree eoxr mtenodreed eb u t
of a n
not more
w r earnest
s r
liament.

It would seem from the news brought by the
Hansa, from New York on the sth, that the Im-
peachment party have already met with some check
in their hasty proceedings. They may refuse to
receive the protest of the Democrats, and may
decline to listen to any independent remonstrance,
but they can hardly refuse to hear the reproof of
the Chief Justice himself. The House Committee,
we learn, presented the twelve Articles of Impeach-
ment against President JOHNSON to the Senate on
the 6th of March. The Senate resolved to organise
itself as a court on the. following day, and sent
notice to Chief Justice CHASE to appear and pre-
side. The Chief Justice, however, sent a commu-
nication to the Senate dissenting from their action
in receiving the Articles of Impeachment before the
Court was organised. Whether Mr. CHASE was ap-
pointed at the independent action of the Senate, whe-
ther he was unwilling to identify himself too much
with the Radicals, or whether he was really sensible of
the incorrect and illegal manner in which they were
conducting an affair of much moment, may be
matter of speculation. At any rate he has admi-
nistered a decided reproof to the Senate Court,
and has given expression to that sentiment of
popular indignation at the indecent haste with
which matters have been pushed forward in mani-
fest disregard of even ordinary conventional forms.
The breathless haste with which the whole of this
last Impeachment motion has been conducted,
augurs very ill for the fairness and deliberation of
its trial. The accused is evidently condemned
unheard by his self-constituted judges, and
it seems as though the failure of their
former attacks had redoubled their rancour
and intolerance. The several State Conventions
throughout the country are naturally beginning to
express their sentiments on the all-exciting topic
of the day. The majority of them, however, are
inclined to support the PRESIDENT. The Ohio Re-
publican Convention has adopted a resolution ap-
proving the Impeachment, and another in favour of
General GRANT for the Presidency, and Mr. WADE
for the Vice-Presidency. In Pennsylvania the
Democratic Convention has adopted resolutions
diametrically opposite, condemning the Impeach-
mentas grossly partisan and unjustifiable. In one re-
spect, however, both the Democrats of Pennsylvania
and Republicans of Ohio agree—in recommending
the currency payment of bonds, a not very hopeful
sign of the times. At Baltimore a mass meeting had
been held denouncing the Impeachment, and en-
dorsing the PRESIDENT'S policy. If the people of
the States will rally to the PRESIDENT'S support, and
give open expression to their sentiments, the Radi-

cals may soon find that they have been acting in
haste to repent at leisure.

The expense caused by the Abyssinian expedition
to the British taxpayer has been lately made the
occasion of much remark, and not a little anxiety
has been excited in some quarters by rumours that
the estimates had already been greatly exceeded,
while millions and half millions were reckoned up
with alarming rapidity. Under these circumstances
it is not surprising that a question respecting the
truth of such reports should have been last night
put to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the
House of Commons, or that Mr. WARD HUNT
should have deviated from the ordinary rule in
giving an answer. Captain VivrAN asked whether
the estimate of the probable expenditure on account
of the expedition, which was presented to the
House in November, was likely to be exceeded; if
so, to what extent, and owing to what
circumstances. This query was somewhat
widely comprehensive in its character, inasmuch
as if fully answered it would have unfairly antici-
pated the Budget. Members' patience can surely
endure until the regular time for making the finan-
cial statement, now close at hand ; and, as Mr.
HUNT observed, the custom of making piecemeal
financial statements would be a very inconvenient
and unsuitable one. At the same time he thought
the present occasion an exceptional one, and
he gave a very satisfactory answer. It
appears that the statements which have unsettled
the public mind have been greatly exaggerated,
being set afloat no doubt by persons who, for rea-
sons of their own, have been always opposed to the
expedition. The estimate which was laid before
the house in November last stated that if the expe-
dition lasted, as was anticipated, until the end of
April, the expenditure would amount to
three millions and a half, and; in certain
eventualities, it might extend to four
millions. Up to the present time Mr. HUNT believes

hat the lower amount will cover all expenses, so

that there is as yet no great discrepancy between
the fact and the anticipation. So long as the work
is well done the country will not be disposed to
quarrel, but we hope on every account that there
will be no unnecessary delay in pushing forward
to Magdala and effecting the objet; of the under-
taking as quickly as possible. _

The invention of the patent tube well has proved
an invaluable assistant to the aCvancing army,
and by its means henceforward trocps in hot coun-

tries will be relieved from one of the most
pressing and terrible of their en3rnies. Neither
courage, nor fortitude, nor good generalship, no
tried experience, can supply the wan; of water. Man
and beast alike suffer, droop, and ?erish, but with
the aid of this wonderful mechanism the dry earth
beneath the feet of the men can be called on to
supply their wants. A very inteesting series of
experiments were made on Saturday last by Mr.
NORTON, the holder of the patent, and some engi-
neers associated with him, in prasence of most of
our prominent engineers and men of science.
Tubes of various sizes were experimented
upon. The tube is driven into tle ground by means
of a monkey, the pumping apparatus is affixed, and
water comes up as if by magic. Within nineteen
minutes from the commencemett of the operation
water was produced at the rate of ten to twelve
gallons per minute from a depth of fifteen or
sixteen feet. A larger tube driven into the earth
by a monkey of great power gave so copious a
supply, that it was computed that even by hand
some 1,000 gallons of water per hour could
be obtained. A much larger tube was after-
wards tested, which took greater force and longer
time to drive into the earth, but when it was fairly
done, and the pumping apparatus fixed,
water poured out in such abundance as to
amaze the lookers-on. Of course water
might not be equally procurable from every
soil, but there can be no question as to the value
and importance of the application. The tubes are
easily removed from their position, and can thus
be taken as part of the equipment of the army, and
we hope that henceforward no army will be without
them. The water is perfectly pure, clearing itself
as it proceeds from its first thickness, and while
we may congratulate our Abyssinian forces on
this seasonable addition to their resources, we
must not overlook the effect which Mr. NORTON'S
patent is likely to produce upon our own metropo-
litan water supply. With an abundant supply of
cheap pure water drawn from out of reach of sur-
face drainage, we may fight with some confidence
against those spectres of typhus and cholera, which
arc more deadly and dangerous foes than King
THEODORE himself.