The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-17 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP TEE PM3LIO4OtrEy_ALI3.

The rimed can hardly think that Mr. Roebuck's chance
of re-election is imperilled by his demeanour as a Trades
Union Commissioner. The accusation of carelessness of
party ties is a graver one. For a politician to " fight for
his own hand " is generally more agreeable to his own
vanity than to his constituents. A constituency might be
held justified in stigmatising as a mutineer an ordinary:
representative who should desert his camp, and announce
himself as a new party, whether by the style of " Imperial-
ist " or any other name. Mr. Roebuck is, however, not an
ordinary representative. What would be absurd in an,
ordinary politician is not absurd in him, for, in a certain
way, he is a party in himself, and has done the work of one,
though without any sworn followers. Sheffield has valued
him and taken pride in him—most properly, we think—
on this very account, and, at any rate, it does not lie in
its mouth, at this late period, to call out "Treason" at
him for taking up a position apart in respect of Reform
or otherwise. We ourselves have not been in the habit of
considering his genius as of the constructive order. He is
certainly an insubordinate Liberal. But, on the other
hand, it is undeniable that, though a somewhat reckless
champion, he has fought valiantly in his time for Reform.
Still further, if he be to be turned out now by old posses-
sors of the franchise for disobedience to party discipline,
we wonder on what principles they can have found it
lawful to return him formerly. To reject him on
such a ground is to condemn themselves in the past.
This is not a time for the borough of Sheffield to make the
experiment of depriving the country of a passionate
earnestness, energy, and shrewdness like his for the petty
sin of impatience when running in party harness.
The Herald is happy to find that a suggestion whichwas
offered for the improvement of the Poor-law in April 1864,
and which was subsequently embodied in Mr. Hardy's Poor-
law Amended Bill, has at length been carried into opera-
tion under the direction of Lord Devon. This sugges.
tion—the appointment of extra guardians by the Poor-law
Board—has been carried out in the parish of St. Matthew,
Bethnal Green, where five gentlemen of acknowledged
position have been nominated by the board. The para-
mount advantage achieved by the change in the law is to
be found in the fact that gentlemen of standing and
position are perfectly willing to undertake the arduous
duty imposed upon them, and to devote their time to its
performance, when called upon, as they now are, to aed
in a labour of love ; while, whatever might be their
regret at witnessing the mismanagement of the poor-
house, they would have shrunk from seeking to ameliorate
it by presenting themselves as candidates in a contest
for seats at the local board in which they perfectly
well knew they were certain to be defeated. Their
presence at the deliberation of the union guardians must
be productive of the happiest results, for their unquestion-
able respectability will command attention for their recom-
mendations, while the ratepayers will have a guarantee
against unnecessary extravagance in the fact that they
will be themselves the largest contributors to the fund
they administer, We have only to hope that the good
example now set may be promptly followed up in every
instance in which it may be found necessary to infuse new
blood into the local boards ; and that so soon as time
permits the Poor-law Board to devote its attention to the
condition of the deserving casual paupers, and to the
removal from our public places of that horde of filthy idle
vagabonds who disgrace us in the eyes of foreigners, while
preying on the earnings of the industrious.
The Post is not quite satisfied with the Order in Council
prohibiting the importation of American hay on account
of the cattle plague in the United States. While it may
be admitted that the Privy Council had sufficient prim!
facie grounds for adopting precautionary measures, even
to the extent of prohibiting the importation of the
hay, what can be thought of their adding to the
order a rider which, while it practically leaves the
prohibition in force, virtually nullifies the provisions
designed for the safety of the public? The third clause of
the order permits hay brought from America to be landed
for consumption " by horses only, upon obtaining a license
under the authority of the Lords of her Majesty's Privy
Council," and the transmission of the hay "to such
person or persons, or place or places, as in the said
license shall be mentioned." Now, either the hay
is considered dangerous or it is not : if the latter,
of course no question arises ; but if the former,
then it certainly seems that it should be entirely secluded,
for supposing licenses have been duly obtained, and that
the suspected hay has been obtained by the owners of
horses, they cannot possibly be prevented from feeding
their cattle with it if it should please them to do so. And
even if they had no wish or intention of acting in contra.
vention of the Order in Council, it would manifestly be
impossible for them to prevent their servants doing so.
Besides, if the American hay continued lower in price than
the home-grown, there can be little doubt that if through
the provisions of the clause in question the bay were
obtainable for horses, it would be quickly distributed by
unprincipled speculators for the use of cattle, mixed up
with English hay or otherwise disguised.
.Supposing,
then, that it were possible for cattle to become diseased
through eating the American hay, and that several cases
in consequence occurred, from sad experience it is but too
well known that an alarming spread of the cattle plague
would not improbably follow.

The Standard can hardly agree with M. Guizot in
accounting for the prevailing uneasiness in France purely
by the indecision, real or apparent, of the Government.
A successful war, if it pleases anyone in France, will
please the army and the masses of the people. But are
not these well contented already with the Imperial regime?
It cannot be the Emperor's purpose to go to war merely
to gratify a romantic longing on the part of his supporters.
Why, then, does the Government appear to be so irresolute,
and whence all this anxiety about the future ? It must be
because the mass of the people themselves are restless for
war. They are uneasy because they are eager for the worst.

They are full of suspicion because they know what is in
their own mind. This is the true danger to Europe, which
M. Guizot does not seem to us to have sufficiently
apprehended. The indecision of the Imperial Govern.
ment is only the reflex of the popular anxiety. There is
unquestionably among the army at large, and among a
large section of the rural population, a morbid craving
for an excitement which seems to be periodically neces-

sary to the Gallic mind. The Crimean war, the Italian
war, the Mexican war, might have been enterprises which
it was within the power of the Emperor's will to control ;

but the war upon which the thoughts and imagina.
tions of all France are now bent is a war of the people, the

burden of the responsibility of which ought not to be cast

upon the Emperor alone.

Under existing circumstances the Telegraph agrees that
it is a European event that M. Guizot should have come

forward as a witness to the policy of peace. As the distin-

guished statesman points out, a war between France and
Prussia would at the present moment be particularly

mischievous and unprofitable, since it would imperil
the very interests for which it would be under-

taken. To the Emperor it might be dangerous,
by submitting his dynasty to the hostility that would

inevitably follow a reverse ; to the material interests of
France it would be destructive, by interrupting that un-
exampled commercial prosperity which she has experienced

during the Imperial reign ; and to Germany it would
bring the most pernicious results, by interfering with that
_ . _

process of national consolidation which can be completed

only after years of peace. Such is the interpretation con-

spicuously put forward in Paris by the official organ ; and
such is the testimony of M. Guizot.
The Daily News thinks the victory of the Republicans
in the State of Maine is probably indicative of the total

result of the autumnal elections. American politicians
look with some anxiety to the Maine elections. Vermont,
which votes first, is known beforehand to be overwhelm-

ingly Republican, but Maine is divided. Its people are
all ardent politicians, and they fight their annual battle
with the rugged earnestness of Northmen. It is scarcely
a question which shall have Maine, as the Republicans
have been pretty sure of it of late ; but the question is—
will it be carried by an increased or by a diminished
majority? A loss in Maine shows a declining cause; a
gain shews rising fortunes. In 1866 the Republican
victories began by a majority in Maine of more than
27,000 ; the reaction of last year was indicated by the
reduction of the majority to less than 12,000. This year the
majority has again risen to 18,000, and all over the country
the hopes of the Republicans have risen with it. Probably
these figures indicate pretty nearly the state of public opinion
all through the Northern States. The result of those
elections cannot be considered doubtful; but the Republi-
cans feel that they need all their care, and the Democrats
are not altogether hopeless. The nomination of General
Grant has not raised the enthusiasm the Republicans
expected, nor has the nomination of Mr. Seymour been as
fatal to the Democrats as it was foretold it would be.
Measures are more than men, and principles are greater
than persons in the politics of an instructed people.
Party allegiance, too, is extremely strong in the
United States, and though there is a floating mass of
Opinion which may be drawn to one side or the other by
caprice, or accident, or enthusiasm, the great bulk of the
people belong to one party or the other, and do not forsake
it for a single blunder. It was thought that General
Grant would march to Washington as easily as General
M'Clellan thought to march on Richmond ; but it is clear
that every inch of the way will have to be fought,
though probably with such results as have followed the
great struggle which has ended in a great victory in
Maine.

The Stain/an/ says the whole power of the Republican
party has been concentrated in Maine, one of its natural
strongholds, and we need not be surprised that they have
secured a large majority in consequence. If the Republi-
cans had lost there would have been some reason for
assuming that the Presidential election was decided, for
they would have been beaten on their own ground. We
have never attempted to predict which side will win lathe
end, and, so far as England is concerned, it signifies very
little, so far as we can foresee, whether Mr. Seymour or
General Grant is President. But it would have been a
great mistake to have allowed the conviction to gain
ground that the Democrats are a powerless and shattered,
party. Victorious as the Republicans have been in Maine,
they have found out that all their strength id
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