The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-27 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

All the members of Lord Derby's Administration, with
scarcely an exception, have, according to the Times, ex-
pressed their readiness to enlist under the new chief, and
Mr. Disraeli has been spared the necessity of filling any

posts except that of the Lord Chancellor and the office
vacated by himself. It would have been manifestly con-
venient could Mr. Disraeli have continued to discharge
the duties of the Chancellor of the Exchequer along
with those of the First Lord of the Treasury. Historic

precedents of great authority sanction the arrangement.
But with a reformed House of Commons, shortly about
to be again reformed, the increase of parliamentary
and departmental work has made impossible what
was once practicable, if not easy. Sir Robert Peel

himself, with all his appetite for work, did not ven-
ture in his second Administration to conjoin the

offices he held during the short Ministry of 1835.
The special care of the financs must necessarily pass
from Mr. Disracli's hands. Popular opinion would pro-
bably suggest Sir Stafford Northcote as his successor. Sir
Stafford began his political career at the Treasury ; he has
paid considerable attention to financial subjects, and has
published an intelligent critical survey of the great change
in our financial policy inseparably associated with the
n,Lme of Sir Robert Peel. Sir Stafford Northcote holds,
however, a post of equal importance, and of possibly
greater independence, than that of Finance Minister, and
the public service would experience a loss were he to be
removed from the India Office immediately after he had
made himself master of the work there, and at a critical
stage of the Abyssinian expedition. It is probable that
the new Chancellor of the Exchequer will be found at the
Treasury itself, and it is certain that the ability with which
Mr. Hunt, during Mr. Disraeli's enforced absence from the
House, introduced the [supplementary statement conse-
quent on the Abyssinian vote last November, will recom-
mend him to the judgment of Parliament should
he be selected. The return of Lord Cairns to political
life will add a most important member to Mr. Disraeli's
Cabinet. Lord Chelmsford intimated in the Court of
Chancery yesterday morning that he was probably sitting
there for the last time, and Lord Cairns has, in fact, suc-
ceeded to the office of Lord Chancellor. Lord Chelms-
ford will carry with him into private life universal respect
and esteem for the frank cordiality of his kindness, the

shrewdness and honesty of his judgment, and the consis-
tency of his political career ; and it will be remembered to
his honour that almost his last act as Lord Chancellor was
to place on the bench a judge chosen simply for his fitness
to be a judge, in spite of unusual pressure upon him to
make a less worthy choice. The elevation of Lord Cairns
creates for the fourth time in eighteen months a
vacancy in a court where there had been no previous
vacancy for nearly fourteen years. It is most desirable
that the high character of the Lords Justices' Court
should remain unimpeached, and we are glad to believe
that reports which have been freely circulated detrimental
to its future reputation are at least premature. We trust
Sir W. Page Wood will be induced to accept a post of the
highest judicial importance, yet affording, in its com-
parative freedom from the drudgery of routine, somewhat
of that relief from active labour which he is understood to
desire. Mr. Walpole, we understand, desires to be
relea: a 1 from his anomalous position as a member of the
Cabinet without office, and will become an independent
supporter of the Ministry. The public will be glad to
learn that our foreign policy will continue to be repre-
sented in the Commons, and that the vigorous intellect of
Lord Stanley will not prematurely rust by disuse in the
House of Lords. It cannot, however, be disguised that
the new Ministry will be thus left deplorably weak as
regards debating power in the Upper House.

It is understood, says the Post, that the new Premier is
very anxious to draw towards him those valuable adherents
who seceded on a late memorable occasion, and that he has
invited Viscount Cranborne and General Peel to join his
Administration. Should they accede to such a proposal,
Viscount Cranborne will go to the India Office, Sir Staf-
ford Northcote will become Chancellor of the Exchequer,
and General Peel will be offered the post of Secretary of
State for War ; Sir John Pakington being raised to the
'Upper House.
There is little scope, the Daily News observes, for
Ministerial reconstruction. It is possible that the official
changes may be confined, for the present at least, to the
transfer of the Lord Chancellorship from Lord Chelms-
ford to Lord Cairns. Lord Stanley may elect to remain
in the Commons. Mr. Disraeli may choose to follow
older rather than more recent precedents, and to unite 1
in his own person the offices of First Lord of the
Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. If he
should come to a different decision, Sir Stafford
Northcote is his natural successor. But if we are to
judge from a celebrated speech of Sir Staff, rd
Northcote's— marked, as Mr. Gladstone pointed out,
by an almost unconstitutional use of the first
person singular—that right honourable baronet deems
his continuance at the India Office essential to the
success of the Abyssinian expedition, and to the prestige
of England in the East. Indian questions are in a great
degree questions of revenue, and his special aptitude will
find abundant scope in the preparation of Indian Budgets.
Mr. Ward Hunt, who has been most useful as Mr.
Disraeli's financial fag, has been suggested as Chancellor
of the Exchequer. Mr. Hunt is a very efficient and
popular Secretary of the Treasury. He is a man of
business and details. But he scarcely possesses the politi- '
cal standing for a first-class office, and has never yet
addressed himself in debate to those larger questions of
policy which a Minister of Finance should be at least
capable of entertaining. Mr. Disraeli's range of choice
is, however, very limited, and good service in a subordinate
office is a better pledge of fitness for a higher one than
ambitious theories or high-flown oratory.
The changes in the personnel of the new Administration
are, the Herald and the Standard announces, not likely to
be numerous. It was known yesterday at an early hour,
that Lord Chelmsford would no longer retain the Lord
Chancellorship, and rumour was not very far out in the
nomination of his successor—Lord Cairns, who has, we
believe, accepted the appointment. Of the other posts in
the Cal ,inet, only one will be vacant, that occupied by Mr.
D:era, li, as Cha . cellor of the Exchequer, who, as Premier
and leader of the 'louse of Commons, would have found
it difficult to undertake the arduous duties of Chancellor
of the Exchequer. Various names have been mentioned,
but nothing at a late hour last night was decided as
to the actual successor of Mr. Disraeli. There can be
no doubt that at this moment the public interest would
suffer by the withdrawal of Sir Stafford Northcote from
the India Office ; and as no such inconvenience would be
felt by the elevation of Mr. Ward Hunt, it is generally
believed that this gentleman will fill the vacant post. It
is, however, rumoured in good quarters that the post has
been offered to Lord Cranborne, and the noble lord's
acceptaace of the offer would undoubtedly be regarded
with satisfaction within and without the House of Com-
mons. In other respects the Cabinet is not likely to
undergo any change. We have reason to believe that the
Lord Justiceship vacated by Lord Cairns has been offered
to and accepted by Sir William Page Wood.
By the resignation of Lord Chelmsford, Mr. Disraeli is,
says the Telegraph, enabled to strengthen his Government
in a decided manner. Lord Chelmsford can look upon his
. career with a complacency permitted to a very few, even
in the fortunate profession of the law ; but debate has
never been his strong point. He had a smooth, placid
style, which, beneath the majestic wig of the Chancel-
leriate, was occasionally constitutional and well-nigh digni-
fied ; but he was never strong in a party fight, and, to use
. a metaphor with which his early life would familiarise him,
•he " sailed best on a wind." As a leader of the Home Cir-
cuit, and then as Solicitor and Attorney-General, his clear
statements won a good many causes ; but in Parliament
we doubt whether Sir Frederick Thesiger, after-
wards Lord High Chancellor of England, ever in-
eenced a vote. Few speakers can, perhaps ; but,
now that Lord Derby is absent, it is certainly important
to Mr. Disraeli to reinforce himself in the Upper House ;
and the retirement of Lord Chelmsford gives him the op-
portunity of elevating to the seals the hardest and ablest
lawyer in the Tory camp. Lord Cairns is a gladiator of
tie parliamentary arena ; throughout the battle of Reform
no speaker did better service to his party ; and, even after
his advancement to the Upper Chamber, he performed
valuable work for his own side, and gained one of the few
ories of the Cabinet. The Lord Chancellor, it is true,
Fite somewhat apart from the full brunt of senatorial com-
bat ; but, as the rules of the peers allow him to slide down
from his cushion and share the debate, the new appoint-
ment will secure for Mr. Disraeli a considerable advan-
' to ge ; and while a most able man succeeds to be "Keeper
of the Queen's Conscience," the first change in the Cabinet
is undoubtedy one which fortifies the Ministry, and to a
certain extent supplies even the heavy loss of Lord
Derby.

It was at first supposed, remarks the Star, that Mr.
Disraeli would remain Chancellor of the Exchequer while
ae.surning the headship of the Government. For such a
c there were precedents. But it is believed that the
s of the Finance Minister arc now too heavy to allow
Tiecs being combined. Naturally, under such
report laid hold of Sir Stafford Northcote's
as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer. But the
inian war, it is understood, puts difficulties in tl:e
way- °I this arrangement. Just at this time it would be
inconvenient to put a new man into the India Office.
Therefore Sir Stafford, it is believed, will retain the
post he now holds. Failing him, the name of Mr.
Ward Hunt, the Financial secretary of the Treasury,
is put forward as the probable Finance Minister. He
has shewn great self-possession in the House, and his
friends assert that he is a most capable man in deal-
ing with finance questions. It may be, therefore,
that Mr. Ward Hunt will be the new Chancellor of
Exchequer, Ais asserted that Lord Stanley will be

courS

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removed to the House of Lords as Baron Stanley, it being "
impossible to leave their lordships to the guidance of any
of the dukes,. or of the Earl of Malmesbury: The Lord
Chancellor has resigned. He would not serve under Mr.
Disraeli. Lord Cairns accepts the Lord Chancellorship,
and the Lord Justiceship vacated by him is given by
rumour to Sir W. P. Wood, who is to be succeeded in the
Vice-Chancellorship, according to common report, by
Mr. Baggallay. The name of Mr. Grove is also men-
tioned for the Vice-Chancellorship. The Earl of Malmes-
bury, it believes, will not hold office in the new Ministry,
and there will be some difficulty in filling his place. It is
understood that advances have been made to Lord Cran-
borne, Lord Carnarvon, and General Peel. The two
former are said to decline altogether to join the new
Ministry, and even Mr. Gathorne Hardy's allegiance is
not secure. It is not believed that the arrangements will
be completed by Friday night. A further adjournment
to Tuesday is expected.
One thing the Advertiser declares to be certain. Lord
Chelmsford has resigned the Great Seal, and Lord Cairns
has • -11 appointed his successor. Lord Derby has said
that Lord Cairns's advice in the Cabinet is exceedingly de-
sirable. It is equally certain that Lord Derby yesterday
telegraphed to Lord Malmesbury to go down to Knows-
ley, which his lordship did by the first train after receiv-
ing the telegram. It is understood that Lord Derby is
exceedingly desirous that Lord Malmesbury should be a
member of the Disraeli Cabinet, because, from his having
been always a member of his own Ministry, he is better
acquainted with certain matters than any other peer. It
was confidently stated at the Carlton Club last night
that Lord Cranborne had been offered a peerage and
the leadership of the Lords, with the India Office,
which he formerly held ; but doubts are expressed
as to whether he will accept the proposals of Mr. Disraeli.
In the event of his not joining the new Cabinet, it was
stated last night, and believed in well-informed circles,
that Mr. Hardy will be raised to the peerage, which it is
understood is an honour he has long coveted, and that he
will be the new Secretary for India, and leader in the
Lords. In the latter case, it is said that the Earl of Mayo
will succeed him as Home Secretary, and that Mr.
Gregory will be Chief Secretary for Ireland, in the room
of the Earl of Mayo. Mr. Graves, the member for Liver-
pool, had assigned him, by the general belief in Conser-
vative circles last night, some office connected with the
Board of Trade or the Admiralty. Vice-Chancellor
Wood will, it is said, succeed Lord Cairns, and Mr.
Karslake Vice-Chancellor Wood—in which case Mr.
Giffard will at once become a candidate for Colchester`,
rendered vacant by the judicial elevation of its present
member, Mr. Karslake.

DRAMATIC, EQUESTRIAN, AND MUSICAL
SICK FUND ASSOCIA7ION.

The members of the theatrical profession, as well as the
supporters of the drama generally, assembled in consider-
able numbers on Wednesday evening at Willis's Rooms, to
celebrate the 12th anniversary festival of this association.
Mr. B. Webster occupied the chair. Several ladies were
present. Few festivals in the metropolis indeed are more
numerously attended, and few are merrier. Among the
company were Mr. 0. Stock, M.P., Mr. J. L. O'Beirne,
M.P., Colonel Addison, Mr. A. Swanborough, Mr. B.
Webster, jun., Mr. H. G. Neville, Mr. W. Robert-
son, Mr. Billington, Mr. J. T. Burnand, Mr. J.
W. Anson, Mrs. Stirling, Mrs. A. Swanborough, Miss
Nellie Burton, Miss Oliver. and Miss Laidlaw. The
healths of the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales,
and the other members of the Royal Family, together with
the toast of the Army, Navy, and Volunteers, were given
in succession immediately after dinner, and were cordially
received. Then followed the toast of "Prosperity to the
Association," in proposing which the chairman observed that
he had three cases to plead, and that he must therefore
take as his motto the well-known words Tria juncta in
uno. Dwelling, in the first place, on the claims of those
who pursued the dramatic art as a profession, he pointed
out that, while many attained to eminence in the calling,
there were a greaternumber still who lived to discover that
penury and misery were their doom. The case of the poor
comedian, who caused his audience to roar with laughter,
and then suddenly failed to amuse thin, and was hissed
because he had just received the intellionce that the child
whom he had left ill at home was dead, was but of too
frequent occurrence. So it was also with the members of
the musical profession. They, as well as actors, were
liable to great vicissitudes. Their continued success de-
pended on the strength of organs which were of the most
delicate construction, while in the case of equestrians it was
but too often found that " vaulting ambition o'erleaped
itself." They who succumbed in the struggle to gain a
livelihood in those several callings but too often had others
to depend upon their exertions, and, as Joey Ladle said,
the institution of men and women was a very serious thing.
He hoped, therefore, that those whom he addressed would
liberally respond to the appeal which he made to them on
behalf of the three institutions whose claims upon public
j attention he had the honour to advocate. The toast
having been responded to by Mr. Anson, Mr. Stock pro-
posed " The health of the Ladies," remarking that he
! had advocated the insertion of the word "person" ibstead
of " man " in the Reform Bill of last session, so as to
include members of the female sex within its
provisions. Mrs. Stirling, in returning thanks for the
toast, said she did not mean to quarrel with the chairman
for having been tempte 1 by him to occupy her present
position, for their quarrels were quite numerous enough.
in their relationship as actress and manager. She hoped
as one of those " persons " whose cause the great West-
minster Mill advocated, that the ladies would be enabled
to take before long as prominent a place in the House
of Commons as they were permitted to do on the
present occasion, and that they would be entitled to sit
side by side with the lords, or as perhaps they might then
be more properly termed the ex-lords, of creation. If that
happy state of things should come to pass, she could pro-
mise the gentlemen that their influence would survive only
in the character of partners, she meant sleeping partners,
whom it would be the duty of the ladies to wake up as
usefully and effectually in the House as they had hitherto
been accustomed to do in their homes. She would
further observe that one of the first bills which the

ladies would introduce into Parliament, if they had power,
would be one for the abolition of all public dinners to
which they were not admitted. Mrs. Stirling concluded a
speech which was received with cheers and frequent
laughter, by advocating very earnestly the cause of the
Dramatic Fund Association. " The health of the Chair
man " was afterwards proposed by Mr. O'Beirne, and was
very cordially drunk. Selections from music were given
in the cours.2 of the evening, under the direction of Mr.
F. Kingsbury, by Miss R. Isaacs, Miss Poole, Mrs. Howard
Paul, Miss Kate Gordon, and other artistes. The festival
terminated with dancing.

The Hon. Seymour Egerton is composing an
opera for which Mr. White Melville has consented to
write the libretto, and in which Madame Titiens and
Mdlle. Nilsson will appear.
One of Lord Derby's last official acts as First
Lord of the Treasury was to direct that a recommenda-
tion of the late Sir David Brewster in favour of Professor
M`Gaveley's widow and children should receive practical
effect by a grant of £GO from the Royal Bounty Fund.
Au inquest has been held in the City of London
respecting the death of an old woman named Eleanor
Bird. The deceased was the wife of an old soldier, now
blind, and they resided at St. Mary-at-if ill. Whilst she
was sitting by the fire the flames caught her clothes, and
spread so rapidly that before assistance could be obtained
she was so burned that she died ;n great agony a short
time afterwards. A verdict of accidental death was
returned. .

-----
The Crown has consented to grant a renewal of
the lease of the premises and site now held by the National
Society, in the Sanctuary, Westminster, and arrange
ments are being made for removing the present two-storey
building and erecting commodious premises, with board-
room, chapel, &c., for joint occupation and separate offices
for the National Society and the Society for the Propaga-
tion of the Gospel.
Upwards of 2,000 persons were present at a
town's meeting held in Blackburn, called for the purpose
of petitioning the Legislature to stop the Sunday traffic in
intoxicating drinks. The Mayor presided, supported by
many of the local clergy. The speaking was confined to
ratepayers of the borough. There was a strong opposition,
but the promoters of the meeting carried their resolutions
by a large majority.
The Poor-law Board have just issued a general
order with respect to the qualification of guardians. The
Poor-law Amendment Act of the last session enacts that
" the qualification of a guardian described by the Poor-
law Amendment Act of 1534 shall be determined with
reference to the annual rateable value of the property in
respect of which his qualification is claimed, instead of
annual rental or annual value." The Act has annexed to it
schedules for the instruction of the parish officers of the
requisite forms of " notice of election" for unions and for
parishes and townships.
COMMITTAL OF PRIZEFIGHTERS. —At the Barnsley
Court-house, Benjamin Chappell and Thomas Ibbetson
were charged with assaulting Superintendent Nunn, of the
Nest Riding Constabulary, and other police-officers, in
execution of their duty, on the 11th of February. On the
day named a prizefight for £5O took place on the mot ri
near II ohnfirth, which the officers bad orders to prevent
and to take the principals into custody. While they were
going towards a vehicle in which one of the pugilists was
supposed to be, they were assaulted with a shower of
stones, and had to beat a retreat, several of them being
seriously injured. The defendants having been seen
throwing stones, they were committed to the sessions for
trial, as was also a third man named Marsden, their_ own
bail being accepted for their appearance,