OUR LONDON LETTER.

Evening Star, Issue 3929, 28 September 1875, Page 2

OUR LONDON LETTER.

(Concluded )

nii. „ , 0 London, August 7. wni-fV... °? ly A -° . r parliamentary incident y of notice is a discussion which took place regarding the expenses of the Prince of Wales s intended visit to India. Parliament was asked for L 52.000 to take him there and bring him Home, and for LGO.OOO for his expenses whilst there—the Indian Government having to contribute some L 30.000 for the same purpose. Mr Bright gave the measure his support, as ho anticipated that a very favorable impression would be produced upm the natives by the Prince’s well known kindness and courtesy. The great fault of the English rule in India was their general roughness and harshness, and he trusted that the Prince’s visit might inaugurate a new era. The grants were opposed by one or two members, but the strongest objection has been started by Mr Bradlaugh, who urges that the sum is insufficient for anything like a royal progress, the expense of which would far exceed the amount asked for, whilst, if the visit is merely one of pleasure, the Prince himself should bear the cost of it.

In the ecclesiastical wcrld two very interesting cases have just been decided-one as to the vexed question of the personality of the devil, and the other touching the right of a Wesleyan minister to_ describe himself as such on a tombstone in a parish churchyard, with the prefix of “ Reverend ”to his name. This case, it may b* remembered, was decided against the Wesleyans in the Chancellor of Lincoln’s Court a »d an appeal made to the Court of Arches’, which has also given an adverse decision. This has occasioned another appeal to the Privy Council, and, should it prove fruitless, there will doubtless be a strong effort to get the law altered. Ihe reasons assigned for the decision are somewhat interesting. It was contended that the title ‘ Reverend ” had been originally applied indiscriminately to clergy and laity. This indeed was admitted, but the Dean held that in the particular ins anco in question it was given strictly as a religious title appropriate only to a minister, and that the petitioner would probably be the first to repudiate any other construction of it. Then it was proved that on numerous occasions Secretaries of State had addressed WesLyan preachers as “ministers’ and “reverends”; further, that there were many instances of their being so designated on tombstones in Church of England giaveyards. These, however, were deemed to be concessionsjof courtesy—not of right; and the Court accordingly held that, though a clergyman might allow such an inscription if he thought proper, he should still be allowed the option of refusing. T .he question as to the personality of the devil has been settled in the same Court and by the same judge—Sir Robert Phillimore. It seems that some years ago Mr Jenkins, resident at Clifton, prepared and printed mainly for the use of his family, a selection from the Bible, a copy of which he sent to’the Rev. Mr Cook, the clergyman of his parish. This seems to have shared the fate ©f presentation copies, and to have lam on the vicar’s bookshelves unread, and probably uncut. There, perhaps, the matter might have ended; but some montht ago Mr Cook preached a sermon, affirming the eternity of future punishments, at which Mr Jenkins took violent offence, and wrote a letter denouncing the said sermon in very energetic English. Thereupon the vicar seems to have bethought himself of Mr Jeukins’s expurgated Bible. It transpires that in this Mr Jenkins had omitted no less than 1,201 verses, besides 223 entire chapters, and among the excised portions are the Book of Esther, the Song of Solomon, and the Beok ef Ruth. On these grounds the vicar declined to administer the sacrament to Mr Jeukins, who thereupon instituted legal proceedings. On the one hand it was urged that a belief in the personality-' of the devil aud the eternity of future punishments were not essential to salvation, but his lordship held that the denial of these doctrines [constituted Mr Jenkins “ an evil liver” in such sense as to warrant Mr Cook in withholding from him the Holy Communion. The suit against Mr Cook was therefore dismissed with costs, but, as in the other case I have mentioned, notice of appeal has been given to the Privy Council. Until its decision is made known it will he well of course, to abstain from any comment,, but in the meantime it can do no barm to note that evidence was adduced showing that M r Jenkins attended church regularly, held his prayerbook in his hand, knelt meek y, and gave the responses correctly. We are also told that he reads family prayers, uses the Collects, aud is father of nine children.

. A vtr / curious matter in political economy w now forming the subject of correspondence between the English and French Governments In hj ranee sugar is largely manufactured from beetroot, and the duty upon it is levied accordmg to the quantity of refined sugar it may ho presumed to yield and not upon" the amount it actually does yield. Sugar-refiners therefore order of the beetroot-growers a sugar which whilst it appears to contain only about 80 nor cent of saccharine matter, does in reality contain 90 per cent. and thus they evade duty to the extent of 11 per cent. Hut, when refined or jump sugar, is exported from France it is entitled to a drawback, which is nominally equal, but really greater, than the duty be cause lt IS assessed on the actual amount Ibis, consequently, operates as a bounty on export, and is reckoned to amount to lOner cent, on the value of the article. French manufacturers accordingly arc enabled to export sugar to England, and undersell our own refiners to such an extent that the trade is in a state of colapse, approaching ruin. From one Twl' I° f n C - W ’ ld in . the interests of the 1 u b IC -’ tins practice appears very bonen fc vl W l ? amouuts to the French people, through their Government, making ua a present of one-tenth of all the lump sugar we consume. That, however, is poor consolation for our ruined manufacturers. Moreover as one refinery after another is being shut u„ tme French are gradually getting the whole tiade into their hands, and when that is accomplished, they may put up the price as high as they please. It would bo the old story of one tradesman driving another out of the field by ruinous competition, and then exactTl?„ W v te r C i’ V® pleßses from h[ * customers. . G ? v f rnment been making stiong efforts to induce our neighbors to adopt the plan of refining in bond, tlms making tEe duty jmyablc on actual yield. A law to that lfn°; o h f f P asH . e . d the Assembly, but another liiU is before them postponing the proposed change until March next, by which time the m-ench refiners might obtain a still stronger grasp of the market. One obvious reason why the change meets with opposition in France is that it would virtually raise the duties some 10 per cent.

In the commercial world we have had a series oi gigantic failures, and it almost seems as if we _ were approaching the legular decennial period of crisis and collapse. One of the lamest s “t e 2 tha ‘. of Me J Bsrs Collie fol ' the sum of 01,889,G00, with assets some L 250.000, or about * 111 the pound. The Loudon and West* i n r^ t oL ßallk * S * U With them t0 fche u *teiit of LoOO.OOO, and a very interesting law case is now pending concerning bills discounted by that bank. Some of these, besides the usual phrase “ for value received,” contain words such as account goods,” or “account A.8.D., ’ &o. Many such bills it is admitted wore merely accommodation bills, and the bank alleges that it was only induced to discount them on the faith of those marks (“account goods, &c.) which it took as affirming that the bills represented bond fide transactions. Accordingly it is prosecuting Messrs Oollie for obtaining money under false pretences, and the ease, it is needless to say is watched with the greatest interest by morokntile men.

Ihe weather has been for the last few weeks v a subject of permanent but painful interest. During the latter part of June, and nearly the whole of July, we have had one continuous steady downpour of rain, with the result of numerous floods m the midland districts, and great damage to crops. The hay harvest hj" J been almost spoilt, and very grave apnrelmn sjons were entertained for the emu harve- 1 E 2s oHtefome? priced mw s ° Uo down within In'foreign news the most interesting item is leems re 3l2t n t S?® l ' reuotl Assembly, which f laßtl to have made up its mind that f°u B , ltthlg for «ver, A prorogation therefore took place on the 4th August, and a

new session is to commence on 4th November. By that time the Government will have made up its mind whether a dissolution and a general election can take place this year, which it will endeavor to atcomplish. There is, however, an air of timidity about their proceedings, and they evidently fear that a general election m. t y have the effect o! converting the sham rexmblic into a real one. In discussing the Budget a member complained of L 120,000 required to complete the Opera House. The building had already cost L 1,620,000 ! To this the only reply was that the completion of the Opera House was a legacy left by the Empire, of which it was impossible to foresee the expense. . Turkish finance is just now attracting attention in a manner unpleasant to the bondholders, The debt of that country is about L 150,000,000, all of which baa been loutracted since the Crimean war. Of course the money has been nominally borrowed for “reproductive works ” and so forth, but the greatest part of it has gone in maintaining an utterly useless fleet of iron-dads and in keeping up the harem of the Sultan. On this year's Budget there is a deficit of L 5,000,000, which is attributed to a famine ; but what the famine is attributable to, whether bad government, deponent sayeth not. Calmly speaking, it is impossible not to see that the counts y is rapidly retrograding—sinking deeper into the mire o' beastliness and corruption. The interference of England, it is said, it loudly invoked by patriotic Turks, but then it does not suit our policy to intervene. Truly there is something horrible in seeing two such countries as Spain and Turkey in tin ir present condition, and we may regret that the days of European conquest are over - that there is no William the Norman to seize on them and regenerate them. It is intended to erect a statue to Byron, and Mr Disraeli presided at a meeting held for adopting the necessary steps. In explanation of the neglect of Byron’s claims Mr Disraeli could only surmise it was because his private character was not as illustrious as his public one, but, he said, “ When half a century has elapsed, private character is scarcely an element in the estimate of literary genius. Of his private character it may he said that it was ambiguous. and of it little is clearly known ; and there is no man in this room—aye, I would say even in this country—that upon that subject can give a definite and precise opinion. But then it was said, as another excuse, that his works were deficient in morality, and that he indulged in too free speculations on those subjects which the human mind can never penetrate, but which it is organically formed to reverence. And yet it must be remembered that he was born in an age of contracted sympathies, and restricted thought, and that much which he then questioned has sinqe been surrendered.” All this maybe very appropriate as regards Byron, but no one can fail to remark how highly it is characterised by Mr Disraelk