The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-08 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, SEPT. 8, 1868.

Birmingham seems to be in a state of great ex-
citement, and will no doubt witness some stirring
scenes before the election takes place. Ward meet-
ings are held every night, and four out of the five
candidates attend them. It is now becoming a
matter of uncertainty whether Mr. BRIGHT will
succeed in getting both his fellow Liberal candi-
dates returned with him, for the Conservatives
have their meetings, nearly as well attended as their
rivals. At one of the meetings the other night Mr.
DIXON made remarks upon the Minority Clause
which are worthy of notice, and show the
cleverest can be sometimes outwitted, and the
wisest make mistakes. The coarse adopted by the
philosophical Radicals has evidently been a great
disappointment to some of their friends, and Mr.
DIXON gave tongue to their wrongs in the most
pathetic manner. The only consolation he could
find in the matter was that they woul I change their
opinions if in practice this clause did not work well,
and answer the desired ends. This is putting con-
venience above principle with a vengeance, and we
6hould question if these gentlemen who have been
at such pains to enunciate their views to Parlia-
ment, and the public will thank the progressive
party at Birmingham for the strange interpretation
put upon them. Suppose, said Mr. DIXON, that
the Liberals should not be able to divide their
votes with anything like equality, and suppose that
for fear of Mr. BRIGHT being left out his votes were
enormously ahead of those of the other Liberal can-
didates, why in that case a Conservative might be
slipped in. He placed this view of the case before
Slr. MILL, and that gentleman had, it appeared,
returned the astonishing reply that if this should
occur " he should regard the measure as a failure,
and wish to have it repealed." This will shake the
confidence of his disciples if it be found that the
great philosopher himself is uncertain and wavering
in his own views, and just when some great change
has been effected in pursuance of his advice that
he turns round and declares it to be a failure after
all. The concluding observations of Mr. DIXON
arc, however, the strangest things of all, and re-
veal a political morality that is more than ques-
tionable. The philosophical Radicals were, he de-
clared, premature in their support of the scheme for
the representation of minorities, and then follows
his own proposal for remedying this evil. They
should, first of all, have " secured the representa-
tion of the great mass of the people, and obtained
adequate representation for the great towns, and
when they had accomplished that, they might
have supported the refinement of representing
minorities:" This is as absurd as it is im-
practicable. If this was the principle it could make
no difference who was returned or who defeated,
and it is only one indication of the weakness of a
cause for its advocates to talk after this fashion.
It would be one-sided legislation indeed to aim at
party triumphs, instead of practically illustrating
important principles of right, and carrying out
those objects which are the most worthy of attain-
ment. At any rate, we cannot compliment the
Liberals of Birmingham upon the view they take
of this question, or upon the new method of solving
the enigma which they have fixed upon.
On Saturday the members for South Devon,
Sir MASSEY LOPES and Mr. S. T. KEKEWICII,
addressed a meeting. Same diversion was
caused at first by the Chairman addressing
himself to the disorderly party who had attended,
and they did not brook the observations very
quietly. Mr. KEKEWICII made a very straightfor-
ward speech, and observed that the various candi-
dates iu soliciting the suffrages of the electors too
often laid great stress upon which Minister they
would support, instead of avowing a creed of their
own. Ile himself was an " independent" supporter
of the present Administration. Respecting the ex-
penditure of the country, the hon. member did not
object to it in consideration of the emergencies
which occasioned it, and there was great force in
his comments on the improvement of the condition
of the soldier. The committee which sanctioned the
extra pay and the increase of fortifications was
composed of men of all shades of opinion, and this
fact should most certainly be borne in mind when
we are considering the merits of the question. Mr.
KEKEWICH likewise remarked upon education, and
declared himself in favour of it, though he decidedly
objected to compulsory education, and said that it
was unsuited to the genius of the English people.
The honourable gentleman paid a complement
to the Conservative party for the great Reform
Bill which they had given to the country, and
declared that Mr. GLADSTONE'S was not one-
fourth so comprehensive in its character as
that was. Like his colleague, Sir MASSEY was
against compulsory education, and also to paying
for it out of the rates, adding very truly that
" rates were too hii:4h already." As to the doings of
the Liberals in respect to the Rinderpest Prevention
Bill, there was no harm in having as much foreign
stock as they liked, but it was not suitable that they
should be allowed to affect all herds. This is very
correct reasoning, but unfortunately all attempts to
convince certain parties was useless, and the year
I was lost in consequence. Mr. KINNAIRD at Perth

set himself to work to defend Mr. GLADSTONE
through thick and thin, and he declared
that history would do him justice in respect
to the course which he had taken regarding Ireland.
Meanwhile great injustice is to be done to the
right hon. gentleman's opponents, for Mr. KIN-
NAIRD declares that the country is indebted to the
Liberal leader, and not to the Conservatives, for the
ample measure of Reform which had become law.
This 4 is really a very extraordinary way of viewing
the, matter, but, after all, Mr. DISRAELI and his
ftlends ought to take it as a compliment, for it
-.shows that their rivals are under the impression
that the bill in quesion is so good that they must
lay claim to some portion of its merits, whether
rightly or wrongly the country must decide for
litself upon mature reflection.

After so many weary months of etruggle and per-
prfexity ; after serious confusion and loss entailed
upon a wide circle ; after general excitement and
embarrassment, changes of Ministry, dissolutions
( ►f Parliament, and a so,:tial and political deadlock,
which was without a parallel in our colonial his-
tory, the great Victorian problem is at length
aolv►ed. The DARLING grant is numbered among
the :things of the past, the supplies are voted, the
Ministry of the majority is reinstated, and all the
complicated machinery of public life works. busily
and smoothly as of old, after the long and, at
so me moments, alarming interference. Like the
attivent of the fortunate Prince in the old legend of