The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WE oNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 15, 1868

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JAN. 15, 1868.

We learn from Paris that the Corps Legislatif
has agreed to the whole bill of the Army Reor-
ganisation by 199 votes against GO, thus making the
decisive majority of 139. This must be a great
satisfaction to the EmrElton and his Ministers, and
also it may be added that it is a decided gain to
the country. It is high time that something decisive
should be done in this matter, for France cannot
afford to lose her place among the nations, and
Europe is just now so unsettled, and so little likely to
enjoy peace in anything like a fundamental style
that no one can blame the Cabinet of the Tuileries
for being on the alert and seeking to remedy de&

ciencies.

The Government had a majority also
concerning the Fourteenth Article of the Army
Reorganisation Bill prior to the final triumph.
This must tend to make them strong, and to give
a greater feeling of security to the people respecting
their policy. If anything is to be done, it must be
do-le at once and in a decisive fashion, for the times
are too critical, and important events succeed each
other too rapidly, to permit of doubts and delays.
It is indeed fortunate that this result should have
been obtained, and now we may expect that as
something definite has been done great pro-
gress may be speedily made in the work of remo-
delling the army. We wish that the intelligence

was equally satisfactory that is afforded to us con-
cerning the law on the press in France, but in this,
the weak poiat of his Government, though long
years are changing circumstances, the Em-
peror NAPOLEON seems resolved to keep to his
first decrees with a zeal worthy of a better cause.
It is of no use to talk of liberty when a gagge d
press can be pointed out by the critic, and it is ix 1-
deed a pity that no friend or adviser can be found
to assure the EMPEROR of the fatal error he is COM-
mitting in this respect, and the injuries he is in-
flicting on his reputation by interposing these
constant restrictions upon the expression of public
opinion. The ;policy of Russia seems stall to
agitate the French writers, and La Patric
contains a dissertation upon its tendency, and the
best mode to adopt to check its encroachments. It
declares that no danger will arise if the Western
Powers will, by " mutual agreement," present a for-
midable barrier to the schemes of the St. Peters-
burg Cabinet. The best way will be to terminate
this crisis, and thus put a stop to the present system
of encroachment. There are certainly not
wanted many subjects of an angry nature 'for
discussion just now, but there is some reason in
this piece of advice just quoted. The worst of it
is that the Western Powers are so divided amongst
themselves that there seems little or no chance of
combining with that complete and perfect
unanimity which can alone effect the triumph of an
undertaking and secure its permanence. There
seems little to choose between the policy of Berlin
and St. Petersburg, except that the former is more
insidious.

'inn presence of her Majesty's second sOnlll
the loyal colony named "in honour of our gOod
Queen," as the Victorians remind us, gives more
than'ordinarY interest to the affairs of that rising
State. r Whatever que-stion there may be of the
loyalty of some of her Majesty's subjects nearer
home, there is no room for any doubt at the anti-
podes. The reception which the Duke of EDIN-
BURGH has received places that beyond controversy.
But apart from this link of enthUsiastic loyalty,
which keeps up the attachment of these vast
colonies with the mother country half the
circumference of the world removed from
them, there are political and commercial
interests connected with them g the pre-
sent moment entitled to grave consideration at
home. This is especially the case with Victoria.
Erected into a separate State as recently as 1851, it
has already exjiwrienced difficulties of parlia-
mentary government such as England has never
had in 600 years. During the visit of Prince
ALFRED a sort of coitp (Mat was in existence.
One of the chief functions of the Legislature
was being discharged by the law courts.
The Council and Legislative Assembly—the two
Houses of Parliament—had been prorogued with a
view to a dissolution without voting the supplies,
and the only means which Sir HENRY MANNERS
SUTTON had to carry on the Government was to
permit countless actions or petitions to be brought
against the QUEEN in the Supreme Court of the
colony. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL "confessed judg-
ment," and then, agreeably to English precedent,
the Executive was empowered to apply
the accruing revenues to meet the expenditure.
The conflict between the two Houses which
resulted in this state of things is without a
parallel. It began three years since, in January
1865, on an alleged invasion of the privileges of
the Council by the Assembly, and the dead-lock
which has existed from that time seen likely to
continue for months, if not years, to come.
The question at issue is one of privilege. As
the result of the general election in 1864, an unfor-
tunate change came over the counsels of the
M'CuLLowa Ministry. They became Protectionists.
They proposed to substitute for a simple tariff, with
eight or ten articles subject to duty, a tariff of
great complexity, with sufficiently high duties "to
protect native industry " and " to encourage home
manufacture." The Assembly, elected by ballot
and universal suffrage, attempted to smuggle this
through the Council by including it in the same
bill which appropriates the supplies for the year.
The Council is the counterpart of our House of
Lords, except that it is an elective body. Its mem-
bers are elected by the professional and propertied
classes. They were opposed to the principle of
protection, and considered that they were entitled
to be heard before the new policy was adopted.
Being by the Constitution unable to alter the
Supply Bill, they rejected it. A long struggle
ensued, which it is unnecessary to detail. At length
an appeal was made to the constituencies, which
brought a still more Protectionist majority. The
Tariff Bill was sent up in a separate form, and the
Council, deferring to the express wish of the
country, accepted it. This did not take place till
April 1866. There, however, the struggle might
have ended but for the part which the Clovernor,
Sir CHARLES DARLING, took in it. He had
authorised the collection of the new duties before
they had received the assent of the Upper
House. Addresses were sent to Her MAJESTY
complaining of his conduct, and at the
critical moment, when the two Houses
seemed to have a prospect of reconciliation, came
the Governor's recall. Immediately the old feud
was revived. The Assembly voted an address of
condolence to. Sir OnAr.LEs, and a grant of. £20,000
to Lady DARLING. Mr. CARDWELL, then the
Foreign Secretary, ruled that this grant could not
be sanctioned by Her MAJESTY, Sir CHARLES
DARLING was told that its acceptance would
necessitate his withdrawal from the colo-
nial service and the forfeit of his pension.
Sir CHARLES, cashiered and without prospect of
immediate employment elsewhere, determined to
take the money if he could get it. For its now
became a question whether the terms of Mr. CARD-
WELL'S letter were to be construed as a condition
of accepting the grant, or as a penalty for doing so.
The Assembly took one view, and the Council the
opposite. The new governor, Sir HENRY MANNERS
SUTTON, recommended the Council to vote the sum
"in anticipation of receiving which Sir CHARLES
DARLING had retired from the colonial service."
Refusing this, they were asked to consent
to a temporary supply of half a million,
but, fearing that the obnoxious grant might
be included in it, they rejected this proposal
also, thus driving the unfortunate Governor to the
necessity of administering the colony without the
power of spending a penny except by the orders of
the law-courts, and that, too, when the second son
of Her MAJESTY was his guest. Such has been the
constitutional struggle in Victoria. The popular
branch of the Legislature has claimed not only
that no money shall be granted without its con-
sent, but the far wider exclusive privilege to
grant what moneys it may think proper, and
for what purposes. It has resented the inter-
ference of the Upper House as "an attempt
by indirect means to obtain co-ordinate authority
with the Legislative Assembly in dealing with the
finances of the colony." The Assembly having thus
shewn a determination to have its way, the Council
has sent an address to Her MAJESTY, submitting
that the proposed grant was not a matter with
which the Victoria Legislature should deal, and
praying that she would signify her Royal will and
pleasure on the subject. If her Ma • 1
Ministers advise the Upper House to
hive ~ti a 3,
they will probably do so ; if the same advice be
tendered to the Assembly, the issue is itarde,, to
predict.

Notwithstanding the severity of the weather it
is encouraging to find that the condition of the
public health is highly satisfactory. According to
the return of the Registrar-General, the deaths in
the metropolis during the week ending Saturday,
January 11, were 1,574, or 225 less than the cor-
rected average. This return is the more satisfac-
tory, as there was some reason to apprehend a dif-

ferent result, owing to the unfavourable condition
of the weather, and more especially the great
amount of destitution and distress existing among
the poorer classes. Even as it is, it is grievous to
see that three deaths are recorded from privation,
and it may well set men, considering where lies the
error in our administration that men and women
should die in our wealthy and charitable city from
" exhaustion from insufficiency of food," from
" destitution and exhaustion," from " want of food
and other privations." Such facts are startling,
and the more so as they are recorded from different
parts of London. One of these melancholy deaths
occurred in Westminster, one in Whitechapel,
one in Kennington in the public Deal. Besides
these extreme cases, there are thousands, no doubt,
on the verge of starvation. The difficulties attend-
ing the administration of the Poor Law are very
great, both practically and theoretically. It is very
difficult to strike the just medium between giving
undue encouragement to laziness and thriftlessness
and neglecting to relieve those really unable to help
themselves. Again, there is the difficulty arising
from the undue pressure of the rates on the poorer
ratepayers. It seems absurd on the face of it to
declare that the poorer a parish is the more
shall its householders pay, yet such is the real
result of the inequality of our poor rates. If the
charge were actually equal all over London the
small shopkeeper in Bethnal-green or Mile-end
would certainly feel two shillings or half a crown
in the pound a much heavier burden than the
wealthy householder in Hanover-square or Bel-
gravia. But, as things are at present arranged,
the poor man pays for the support of other poor
men five or six times as much in proportion than
his rich fellow-citizen. Why, the duty of support-
ing the pauper population is more incum-
bent on those with whom it is a per-
' petual struggle to keep above the line of
pauperism themselves than on those to whom a
hundred or two is a matter of indifference may well
puzzle the inquirer ; but the fact that the existing
law recognises it to be so adds very much to the
perplexity of relieving the destitute. The official
scale of relief in Poplar is sixpence a day in money
and three 41b. loaves a-week for a man with a
wife and one child, and one additional quartern
loaf for every other child. A single man is allowed
3d. a day and three quartern loaves ; but in all
cases the money is only given for six days
in the week. In the winter weather it
may very well be asked how a family can
keep above starvation at such a rate. Three shil-
lings a week will not certainly allow for paying
rent and buying coals, considering what rents al e
even in the poorest parts of London. Six loaves
will be useful, no doubt, but two persons and four
children can hardly support life for seven days in
winter weather upon them. Poplar, however, is
rather a liberal parish. The average out-door re-
lief is at the rate of Is. 4id. in the Poor-law return
for December, whereas that of Stepney is ls. Id.,
of Whitechapel 11d., and in Bethnal-green only
90. per week ! Thus a man with a wife and one
child receives in the latter parish 3I loaves and
sixpence a week: ; a man with a wife and three child-
ren 3 loaves and one shilling and sixpence. These
are plain facts, speaking for themselves, and the
natural impulse is to condemn the guardians. Yet
what can they do? The ratepayers in the poorer
parishes are being summoned by the hundred. We
h and the other day of 1,000 defaulters in a
comparatively limited area. The bad times,
the depression of trade, and lack of employment
have pressed heavily on them as well as
on the labouring classes. Indeed many of them
actually belong to that class themselves. They
have not only to contend against high prices and
high rates, but they have for the last t Nelvemonth
soo,pteheo
mbumdo eiuf rn:
for
Thoseawrlsi hteetorlaeperkwnseci
opiglpegsr
money
relief
their
o their aa rn
ddne-et
their
ial o
re-
lief,noi thedosr.
so that
e tqr
ulgaa'
ihtdl
iesi
ami rntepigeaoulnsi
trseoyofrl
sui
the
toenodmttehdoterr
drunkards
kel h
applications
irtt
cdaasnetsimeornaasypb t
erfbsoo,
be de
problems
is
tected, and the money now fruitlessly expended
saved.

It is utterly useless at the present time for Trades
Unionists to try to get up any sympathy for their
cause, and all the meetings and protestations in the
world cannot make the worst appear the better side
of the argument. Their last attempt is to induce
Mr. GLADSTONE to be their champion, but we expect
that the right hon. gentleman will not be so easily
caught as they imagine and desire. Mr. POTTER has
sent a Circular to Mr. GLADSTONE, in which he
directed attention to a speech of that gentle-
man " denunciatory" of Trades Unions. To
this Mr. GLADSTONE sent a very fitting answer
couched in a dignified and impartial strain. He
declared that what he had said at Oldham was, that
it was the " abuse, and not the use, of such asso-
ciations " that was to be objected to. " I;then ob -
jected broadly for myself to all rules which tend to
limit the freedom of labour, or to produce an arti-
ficial equality among workmen, and this mainly on
the ground of the injury which they do to the
working classes." This is a very sensible and ex-
plicit definition of the state of the case, and we are
glad that Mr. GLADSTONE should be so decidedly and
promptly state his views on this vexed question at
this especial juncture, when so many misrepresen-
tations are being made on the matter. At the same
time, the right hon. gentleman expresses his readi-
ness to hear and consider anything that may be
said on the other side, and therefore he agrees either
to receive a deputation, or to peruse any written
document which may be forwarded to him. This
is fair enough ; but it seems difficult to under-
stand how men can deceive themselves after
this fashion, when so many outrages have been
shown to have been committed in the cause and
for the furtherance of these Unions. It needed not
" false charges brought by influential persons" to
damage them : they are their own witnesses against
themselves. They have been condemned by the
words out of their own mouths, and therefore it is
quite idle to argue in this manner. The worst and
most prejudiced opponents of the Union could hardly
do more than accuse them of murderand wanton acts
of cruelty, and for this they have acknowledged all
themselves. Let us hear no more of this defence,
but rather let those who are so infatuated about
the merits of the Trade Unions set themselves to
work to cancel the errors and evils that abound in

It is quite time that they should be reformed

if they are to exist at all, but it is not the right
way to go to work to attempt a braggadocian style
of argument that can do no good to any one.

The John Bull is authorised to contradict a
statement that is current in Paris as to the Earl of Claren-
don having been entrusted with a mission in Italy by the
Government.

JEANIE'S QUIET LIFE. By the Author of "
Olave's," &c. 3 Vols.—" The authoress of ' St. Olava's '
always writes well, and contrives out of the simplest ma-
terial to make a thoroughly interesting story. And sLe
has never exhibited this quality to better advantage than
in her new novel 'Jeanie's Quiet Life.' It is essentially
a novel of character, but its merits are not confined to it
delineations of character, clever though they are. It con
tains numerous pictures of English home life—of tin t
quiet domesticity in which everything that is good amoi g
us rejoices. The book is one to be read, and it is sure lo
be admired."—Star.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

tFROU OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
PARIS, TIISEDAY, Jan. 14.

To-day the Army Reorganisation Bill has neen agreed
to by 189 votes against 60, and the Corps L6g-islatif has
adjourned to tho 27th.

Much disappointment has been felt at the delay which
ha 4 arisen in the publication of the financial statement for
the year. It is, however, promised in a few dayd. M.
Magne's illness, it is commonly reported, bai caused
the postponement.

Count von der Goltz is much improved in health,

The Imperial Court of Paris has been engaged in hear-
ing a remarkable appeal case from the Civil Tribunal pt
Bayonne. The guardianship of a young English lady, the
only daughter of a colonel in the Guards, was deputed to
her mother, by her paternal grandfather. The mother,
Mrs. B--, whose fortune is considerable, attracted by
the reputation of Biarritz and the mildness of its climate,
settled in that place, with a large establishment of servants,
and a governess exclusively devoted to the education of her
child. That governess having suddenly been compelled to
go home on account of urgent private affairs, Mrs. B-
placed her daughter at school at Bayonne. The managers
of the school were Catholics. This circumstance alarmed
the zealous Psotestantism of the grandfather, and he com-
municated with his daughter-in-law ; but Mrs. B- only
replied to the first of these communications, and evinced her
determination not to remove her child from an establishment
which she knew to be suitable in every way. The resistance of
his daughter-in-law exasperated the grandfather, who en-
deavoured to gain possession of the child. In an action
which he brought before the Civil Tribunal of Bayonne he
claimed that she should be given up to his custody ex-
clusively. He was nonsuited. He then attempted, with
the assistance of two men, to carry off the young lady
bodily from the school, but the attempt failed by the
energy of the schoolmistresses. After this check he once more
appealed to the law, but ineffectually, to obtain by judicial
means that which violence and cunning had been unable to
compass. The court dismissed the colonel's suit,
made the schoolmistresses provisional guardians of the
child, and gave leave to move for a judgment " interdict-
ing " Mrs. B----- [i.e, pronouncing her civilly incapable of
managing her own affairs.] An application was then
made to the English Court of Chancery, on an affidavit
that Mrs. B- had deserted her daughter abroad. One
of the Vice-Chancellors ordered the girl to be
taken to England in her grandfather's custody.
Mrs. B- determined to make a last effort to regain her
daughter. She therefore presented herself on Sunday
morning at the school already referred to and asked to
see her before her departure for Pau. Airs. B- was
shewn into the dressing-room, where the young lady was
about to commence her toilette. Mrs. B-, profiting by
the absence of the servant, wrapped her daughter in a
shawl, jumped from the window, which was on the ground
floor, and succeeded in escaping with the treasure without
being seen. A cab, it is supposed, awaited them near the
school, and up to the present moment all search after the
young lady has proved in vain. In the meantime the Court of
Pau has given judgment in the case. Putting aside the
arguments of the Tribunal of Bayonne, the court decided
that it was not only its duty to fulfil a simple formality in
adding its visa to the English judgment, but to investigate
the grounds of the action, in order to assure itself with
regard to the private rights of the parties, as well as with
regard to private and public morals. The court, there-
fore, decided that the Vice-Chancellor was right in order-
ing that, pending a final decision, the young lady in ques-
tion, compromised by the imprudent conduct of her mother,
and abandoned to the care of a servant, should be handed
over to the protection of the grandfather.
Our detective police have made a successful haul of
thieves. At the commencement of the year a band of
English pickpockets, men and women, arrived in Paris
for the fetes. Notice had, however, been sent from Eng-
land, and several were arrested while pursuing their
operations among the persons collected round the shop-
windows of two of the principal confectioners. When
taken to the Prefecture of Police, several portmonnaies,
all of French make, were found upon them, containing
more than 4,000 f. in gold, and other property. Of course
they knew nothing of each other, and had only just
arrived from England. They have all been committed
for trial.

The Papal Nuncio has personally announced to the
French Minister of Foreign Affairs the decision of the
Pope to confer the cardinal's hat upon the Archbishop of
Paris, as requested by the Emperor. The Metropolitan of
Paris is the youngest of the French archbishops. He is
but 54 years of age, and only entered the episcopate in
1859, when he was made Bishop of Nancy. The nomina-
tion of the Abbe Bonaparte to the rank of cardinal is an
act of courtesy and gratitude, of which the initiative is due
to the Holy Father. This promotion of a member of the Im-
perial Family of France to the scarlet hat is an exceptional
act. The French Government,in accordance with the desire of
the Holy See, is said to have proposed the new Archbishop
of Rennes, Monseigneur Landriot, who was raised to the
episcopacy in 185 G, and Monseigneur Regnier, Archbishop
of Cambrai, aged 73, and «1 o was made a bishop in 1312,
as the two other prelates to be honoured in the samo way.
Pa:•:s has almost always had eight cardinals. At present
she has only five.

It is not anticipated that the Hungarian Loan will be
introduced into Paris before the 20th or 22nd inst., and it
seems likely to meet with a favourable reception both
from the Bourse and from the public. It is estimated
that 100,000 obligations out of the number into which the
loan will be divided have been subscribed in Hungary
itself by anticipation. The excellent harvest of last
year has made money abundant there. Hungary will
probably take one-scventh of the whole number of
obligations.

The Berlin correspondent of the Times, referring to the
deplorable famine which is now devastating East Prussia,
says it extends over a tract of country inhabited by
1,250,000 people, a very considerable portion of whom are
destitute of the most ordinary necessaries of life. In some
parts the sufferers, a large proportion of whom seem to he
Lithuanians, have been terrified by the appearance of a
malignant typhus, the result of starvation or a long-
continued course of bad fool. In Esthonia and Finland,
provinces not very distant from those outlying regions of
Prussia, things are even worse. From Berlin daily trains
with fuel and provisions are despatched to the afflicted
districts, but as yet without any visible alleviation of the
calamity. The charitable munificence of the middle
classes is very great.

It is supposed that having so
The Radical and Secessionist party in Wtirtemberg
refusemt t apkaer
laina
nyi
eplal
tr.t in the election of deputies to the
s
frequently boasted of having the majority on their side,
they are afraid to venture upon a trial of strength, which
might prove the contrary.

The bill conferring absolute liberty of speech upon
members has been read a second time in the Prussian
Lower House of Parliament. The new Minister of Justice
declared that the Government had not made up their
minds whether they would advise the Crown to sanction
or reject the measure. This, according to the corre-
spondent of the Times, is tantaltount to an invitation to
the ];louse of Lords to throw it out. The struggle for
liberty of speech in the State Parliament will now be
transferred to the Federal Assembly.
The number of persons perishing from the famine in
Algeria is so great that, according to a correspondent of
the Avenir National, they are thrown into trenches for
burial, as on the day after a battle.

The Brussels correspondent of the Morning Post states
that the King of the Belgians will not go to Vienna to
attend the funeral of the late Emperor of Mexico. His
Majesty has sent as his representatives the Count
Vanderstraten-Ponthos and Major Vandermissen, two
dignitaries of the Royal household.

The members for Halifax, Mr. Stansfeld and Colonel
Akroyd, addressed a crowded meeting of their constituents
on Tuesday evening. The speech of the evening was that
of Mr. Stansfeld. He reviewed at considerable length the
events of last session with regard to the Reforzn Bill, and
condemned the methods used by the Conservative party to
obtain its passing as un-English, as a poor and feeble copy
of continental statecraft, which bore an Imperial hue. As
to the future, the Liberal party should not think how soon
it might return to the possession of office and to nominal
power. That return would come soon enough—he hoped
not too soon. Their object ought to be, as genuine Liberals,
not to return to power, but to reconstitute the Liberal
party, and to propound a programme which would be
worthy of the Liberal name. They must complete the
Reform Bill ; they must work their way sooner or later
to a radical redistribution of representative• power; they
must work their way to the removal of the fanciful and
valuless ratepaying tests. With household suffrage he was
in favour of the ballot.

Mr. Moncreiff, M.P., has been lecturing in Edinburgh
on modern scientific speculation in its relation to received
religious Opinions. The learned gentleman declared that
he was not at all impressed with the soundness of these
speculations. On the contrary, he had read Colenso, and
was confirmed by his criticisms that 'St. Paul knew more
about religious truth than the bishop. He had read
Darwin, and was satisfied that man was created, not de-
veloped. He had read Lyell, and met no evidence that
man. was older than the Mosaic chronology. Mr. Mon-
creiff combated Sir John Lubbock's- theory, as stateil at
Dundee, of the progressive intellect of mankind. The
learned representative observed that the real progress of
moderntimes was moral, not intellectual. Our superiority
to the ancients arose from the shadow of Christian
ptecept under which we live.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION.
(By Malta and Alexandria Telegraph.)

ADEN, Jan. 4.

The Bengal brigade is now passing this point
en route for Annesley Bay.

Steamers from Abyssinia are hurriedly returning
to Bombay, to bring up the remainder of the
troops destined for the expedition.
From accounts that have been received from
Abyssinia it is believed that it will be absolutely
necessary to employ force to effect the liberation of
the captives.

RUSSIA.

ST. PETERSBURG, Jan. 14.

The semi-official Marine Gazette of to-day asserts
that both England and France are actively carrying
on military preparations in the Mediterranean.
The marriage of the Hereditary Grand Duke of
Oldenburg with the Princess of Leuchtenberg will
take place on the 2d of February.

AUSTRIA.

VIENNA, Jan. 15.

The Presse of to-day states that at a Council of
the Ministers, held yesterday under the presidency
of the Emperor, the budget for the Empire was