Year: 1868

or THE PRINCE OF WALES-IHE yuan


TFRIY REVIEW ON MACAULAf'


FrsB Owa Correspondent IovpoS April o. 1868


Nrot word was Isped in Parliament, when it came
.onsther after the holidays, which could indicate
tHst .ho Government was confronted by hostile
majority of sixty. Mr. Disraeli was IN his seat ap-


orentlv sober at any rate silent Mr. Gladstone was
absent and the thin benches on either SIDE showed
that no statement was expected from the Ministry as
10 their future course. They chose to assume that
things were TO 60 on as if nothing had happened ana
the Opposition appear to have agreed that ther at
tack should not be renewed in any shape until the
9th, which is the night fixed by Mr Disraeh himself
for the resumption of the Irish debate


The truce is disappointment to those VINO expected
TO see the Ministry follow the lead OF ihe ImeS'
That journal announced on Monday morning that
after srcb defeat as Blr Disraeli had undergone,
he could no longer be regarded as anything more
than Minister on suferance. He had ceased to
have any right to direct legislative business, and
must limit himself to purely executive measures,
accompanied by the passing of such bills as were
necessary for a dissolution, and an appeal to the
country on the Irish question-that is, the Scotch
and Irish Reform bills II was further necessary,
said the leading Journal that the Ministry, after ss-
tanning a decisive defeat on a preliminary yet vital
motion should state to the House what course they
proposed TO pursue Yet the Ministry did nothing of
the sort The Times is generally too shrewd to dictate
in this fashion without having first asceraned that
the policy it demands has previously been resolved
upon But of late there seems to be no limit to its
fatal facility in blundering On the following morn
ing it could not conceal its veXatiOn and anger Mr.
Dsraeli was scolded for not saying what he would
do and Mr. Gladstone for not making him say it.
Because the latter was not IN ms seat, his critic
Nvit haNi ahdicatpd oc
Leader of the Opposition. Finally, the country is
informed that it no longer has either Government
or an opposition any Parliament at all worthy of
the name. The alliance between The Times and the
Ministry. seems in fact to have been broken off by
the development of the weakness of the latter both
in the House and with the country.


Comments do not cease on the drunken speech
with which the Prime Minister of England closed
the first great debate the Irish Church. What Is
odd is that the Tory papers answer only by silence
Nothing like contradiction has anywhere appeared
Indeed, how can yOu contradict what 600 eye wit
nesses testify tOf There is no longer any attecta
tiOn of reserve ia speaking Of Mr.. DsTaes condition
on that evening Why did he not suppress in the
reports the conspiracy paSSageH ask some persons.
The answer heard given last night was that Mr.
DisTael left the House of Commons at 81 o'clock in
the morning, blind drunk. When he came to HIM
self toward noon of Saturday, he sent his private
secretary, young Cory, with messages and verbal
explanations to the newspaper offices, but the mis-
chief was DONE the speech in everybOdys hands,
and before night the scandal had flown over England


The smallness of the vote last night for abOlishng





this reform. Out of $50 members present, lO4 de-
claTed for the gallOws, and but 2S against H. Mr..
Mills friends in America will probably be greatly
surprised to find him among the advocates of hang
ing. He both voted and spoke on the wrong side,
making so strong a speech probably to change a
good many votes, Mr.. Mill is never TO be reckOned
among the partisans of indscTiminate reform. He
goes where his intellectual convictions take HIM
never step farther in obedience to the prOmptlngs
of sentiment sympathy. He is against the ballot,
for instance. On the question of capital punishment
Mr.. BOYee Will hnd plenty OF work TO do here after
he has pulled down the ScatfOds IN America and he
might begin by sending a few pamphlets to Mr. MIL


The renewed prosecution against Eyre bids fair to
go further than former attempts He is attacked
now under statute on a charge which was not
covered by the former The committee are resolved
70 leave method untied TO secure verdict against
him. II the present effort fails there remain still
some nine OF ten processes or different charges on
which he may be brought up. Beside these are the
private civil suits pending against hm, and his com
mttee out again with advertisements appealing
to the public for funds to carry on his defense.
Legally punished for his crimes he may never be, yet
he does not wholly escape the penalties which, in a
law-govemed country, follow lawless and bloody
violence


Mr. Thomas Hughes finds his seat in Parliament
threatened and is already III the field to protect It,
meeting of his committee was held IN Lambeth on
Saturday to which Mr.. Hughes made speech, prob
ably without parallel in the annals of contested
elections First he reviewed his own career IN Par


lament, setting forth principles of action as extTa-
ordinary as they are honorable TO him. lie had
made it his business, he said, to give time
and attention -, to questions which were com;





party was itself divided, and the touching
of whieh-was 1iOIe likely 10 bring man OblOquy
nies to rebuild convenient dwellings for the poor
whom they dislOdged, TO urge arbitration OF the
Alabama claims at time when both parties had
rejected it, TO bring to justice the authors of the
Jamaica Outrages to secure the representation of
minoTities; finally to bring about the passage of a
Sunday Trading bill, which should relieve from
now are harder worked on Sunday than on any other
day-these had been his leading efforts. Singular
catalogue for member of Parliament!


More singular still is Mr.. Hughes's plan of cam
paign for the coming electiOn-cOmng no one knows
when, but not later than January next. At the last
election he spent e1l0O, and another election con-
Quoted in the ordinary way could not cost less But he
did not to spend any such sum, partly because
he could not afford it, partly because he wanted 10
see elections thrown open TO much poorer men than
himself. He announced. therefore that he would not
employ any paid agent whatever, nor hire any room
except one at which just before election his brother
friend might be present. He believed chat the
ordinary methods of paid canvassers, blsticking
committee rooms and stafs of clerks at publichOuses
were pure superstition. Instead of that he would trust
TO public meetings to be held in every part of the bOr
Ough Such decision is characteristic of Mr.. Hughess
pluck and independence. He is one of the few men in
England who don't think it absolutely necessary TO
go on till doOmsday doing in each particular just
what their great gTandfathers did. If he succeeds
now he viii open the door to class OF men hitherto
shut out from the house by poverty, for what with
election expenses with the absence OF all compensa
ton for Legislative services, and with the social
demands upon the purse of member of Parliament,
il is estimated that no man with less than E2OOO
year can afford to enjoy this distinction. In of
the constituencies, where workingmen are TO be
brought forward IL is proposed to raise by subscrp-
ton f30O f4O0 year for their suppOrt-a plan IN
every way most Objectionable. No man could desire
sit in the House pensioner Yet it is not easy
TO see how men dependent on their earnings can
enter the House otherwise To cut down, or, as Mr.
Hughes proposes to abolish the expenses of elections
Is at any rate one step.


The opposition to Mr. Hughes's reelection proceeds
mainly from the publicans and the sinners their
Sunday customers, who are enraged at Tom Browns
efforts to close the drinking houses and shops on
Sundays He was threatened at the time with the
loss OF his seat but is not good to threaten.
The enemy have become so active that he thinks it
prudent 70 meet them thus early but his seat is In