The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-16 00:00:00

If the pleasant old fiction of London streets being
paved with gold has proved itse" to belong no
longer to this work-a-day world, it is verified sub-
terraneously. When we are told that the three
miles from South Kensington to Edgware-road has
cost three millions, we may readily believe that
Miss KILMANSEGG might have walked on a golden
highway from one station to the other at a trifle
more expense! Yet there is little doubt that this
Western Extension, which has swallowed up the
funds intended for the Eastern Extension
as well, will prove eventually most remu-
nerative to the shareholders, and there is cer-
tainly no room for complaint or criticism in the
manner in which they have fulfilled their one-
rous task. An inspection of the line from
Edgware-road to Brompton was held yesterday by
the directors, preparatory to the official inspection
which mus, take place before the opening on the
Ist of October. It is hoped that the whole line to
the terminus at South Kensington, in the vicinity
of the Museum, will be ready by the new
year, so th tt there is no reason to ac-
C 1132 the engineers of dilatoriness. More
especially must we give them credit for punctuality
and promptitude, when we remember the great
difficulties with which they had to contend in con-
structing some parts of the new line where it
was necessary to tunnel under the costly houses
between Paddington and Bayswater. Every regard
has been had to the comfort and convenience of
passengers, and the ventilation throughout has been
carefully looked to. When we get a railway line
due north of Charing-cross our metropolitan means
of communication will leave little to be desired.

The annual meeting of the Warwickshire Agri-
cultural Society was held yesterday, and Mr. NEw-

DEGATE made some remarks on the House of
Commons. He was, he said, able to put the
mysterious letters M.P. before his name, but he
appeared before them as the representative of a dead
House of Commons. Nevertheless, he continued
to make some interesting observations upon it.

The assembly of which he treated is indeed in a
peculiar position, and one which seems to demand
some consideration, for it has felt it to be its duty
to pass an act which terminates its own ex -
istence, and the, gulf with which the members
will have to plunge before they can be
reinstated in their position is deemed by some to be
most formidable. Mr. NEWDHGATE, however, in
common with most of his party, is by no means so
timorous, and speaks hopefully of the experiment
they are making. The House of Commons may
indeed claim credit for having done its best, at the
cost of self sacrifice, to render the measure just
passed beneficial to the community and truly of a
national character in the fullest acceptation of the
term. There is, as the hon. member for North
Warwickshire observed in his speech, a great dif-
ference between the words in the Latin language
" populus " and " plebs." This is a fact worthy of
attention, because mistakes are made if the subject
is not appreciated. The classes which devote ,
them-
selves to labour, however respectable in themselves
cannot and ought not to be looked upon as repre-
sentatives of the whole nation. The hon. member
I did not dwell upon the vexatious points of politics,
but contented himself with dwelling upon the vital
principles which must rule all who would influence
the destinies of a great nation. Putting partyf
questions aside, who can deny that in the hearts o
the people dwells a deep attachment to our free
constitution ? And we hope that the prophecy here
made will be fully realised, and " that the next
House of Commons, more fully representing
their feelings and their views, will in-
dicate those great principles of freedom
and order which had rendered this nation
not only free itself, but free from revolution, and
so combined, that it was the happiest, the most
prosperous, the most beneficent centre of an em-
pire that the world had ever seen." It has been
too much the habit of some people nowadays to
decry the importance of agriculture, but this cannot
be laid to the House of Commons, which, as a body,
has always duly appreciated its influence. NAPO-
LEON at the time of his captivity, when he looked
upon the fall of nations with the eye of an
historian, declared that England would fail if
she allowed her agriculture to fail, and his
opinion is worth hearing amid the bustle and ex-
citement of engrossing pursuits, and the overpower-
ing claims of mechanical and manufacturing in-
terests. It is not surprising that agriculture is some
times cast into the shade, but for a nation to prosper
and a people to progress in the right style, com-
prehensiveness must be studied, and the whole
interests taken into account, not giving the exclusive
preference to any oce part. It has been the fashion
to sneer at the Agricultural Societies and their
meetings, but they represent important interests,
and those who underrate them only show their own
ignorance by so doing instead of exhibiting much
wisdom.

In the present disturbed state of the public mind
with respect to the chances of war or the likelihood
of peace continuing all that is said by influential
personages naturally assumes great importance
and meets with the attention it would not otherwise
deserve. The King of PRUSSIA has arrived at Kiel,
and in replying to an address of the Rector of the
University, in which hopes were expressed that
peace might be preserved, his MAJESTY said that he
did not see any cause in the whole of Europe for
peace to be disturbed. " I say this," he added, "to
allay your apprehensions on the subject." These few
words will doubtless be conned over with all possible
care, and skill be exhausted in interpreting them
in divers fashions, but perhaps they really mean
what they affect to do, for it is quite possible that
the King of Prtussu may not expect war to be im-
minent ; at any rate his speech, if such it can be
called, will be reassuring in many quarters, and it
is well-timed, for those not at all alarmists were be-
ginning to dislike the aspect of affairs. Mr. GUIZOT
has made some remarks on the Peace or War
question in his paper on " France and Prussia" in
the Revue des Deux Monde, in which he admits
that uneasiness exists on the subject. It
is curious to notice the observations made by
this great thinker, and he declares that the
EMPEROR is really anxious to maintain peace, but
still he blames him for the " indecision" he mani-
fests upon the point, or at any rate appears to feel
on'the matter. M. GUIZOT, at any rate, follows in
the wake of those who advocate peace, and to give
substance to his remarks he advises that the French
military forces be put upon a bona fide peace foot-
ing, which he looks upon as the best means of
tranquillising Europe. Such a step will be looked
upon as " serious, effectual, and significant." It may

be said that the whole tone of this article is con-
siderate towards the EMPEROR, and that is
something at this juncture of affairs. Re-
specting the advice here tendered, it must be
borne in mind that its soundness is questionable, to
say the least of it, and no reason is given why Fiance
should be the first to disarm. M. GUIZOT seems, in
common with others who take this view, to•forget
that PrUssia began the gape of hostilities, mid that
the RirEnciii only "adopteT reasonable mess. of
providing for future exigencies in the changes and
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