NEWS BY THE MAIL. GENERAL SUMMARY.

West Coast Times, Issue 653, 28 October 1867, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL. GENERAL SUMMARY.

(fboji the home news, august 26.) The Eeform Bill is law, and Parliament is prorogued. Again has the usual period of stagnation succeeded to that of excitement, but on the present occasion there is a mixed sensation of satisfaction and apprehension. We hare done with Eeform, not only for the present, but for upwards of a year, but whether we have not bought that repose at a very high price, and whether we shall not discover the fact byand by, are questions which make us shake our heads. We have - already explained, somewhat fully, the feelings of the various parties that have united to carry Eeform, and it is not needful to recapitulate that statement. The present Parliament has secured its own existence — a casualty excepted — until the spring of 1869. In the meantime there are the boundaries to be settled, and the registrations be effected, and perhaps organisations to be arranged which shall enable the poorer class of voters to work togf gether for democratic ends. It is announced by their organs that the next thing they mean to have is the ballot. At the despatch of the last mail the House of Lords 'was about to go into committee on the bill. Unfortunately for the smooth progress of the measure Lord Derby was severely afflcted with gout, and was obliged to stay away from the earlier sittings. His remplacant, Lord Malmsbury, was not equal to the management of the Peers, and things got awry, amendments were accepted, and there was every danger of collision with the House of Commons. At length a very important alteration was carried. This was no other than an approach to the representation of minorities. Lord

Cairns induced the Peers to agree by 142 to 51 that where three members are returned for any place, no person shall vote for more than two of them ; subsequently it was agreed that in the city of London, which has four members, the vote shall be for three only. Earl Eussell supported this scheme, which has also the concurrence of Mr Mill. When this had been carried, Lord Derby, pale and with his right arm in a sling, came down to the House, and put things straight, with a high hand, threatening that if an amendment of Earl Grey's, for taking away one member from any borough with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, were successful, the bill sht>uld l>e abandoned. The menace told, and the Premier got a small majority, The bill, with two important amendments, went back to the Commons. These two features were the enactment of the voting papers, and the clause above mentioned. The first was at once rejected, the second was agreed to, in spite of a furious speech from Mr Bright, and nearly all the small amendments were struck out. The Conimons sent their "reasons" to the Lords, and the latter, under Lord Derby's guidance, abstained from insisting on their alterations. The royal assent was given on the 15th August. The last weeks of Parliament have been tolerably busy, without count™S the alternate discussions on Reform. The bill for putting down meetings in the Parks promised to be a source of disc, rd, but it was talked out of the House by a knot of men who avowedly spoke against time for the purpose of defeating an obnoxious measure, and against whom, at a period of the year when hours are valuable, a Mimster could make no stand The bill for admitting Dissenters to the government of the Universities has becu rejected by the Lords, as has the bill for the abolition of Church rates, a subject to which Mr Gladstone has undertaken to apply himself next year. Mr Mill has elaborately condemned the Declaration of Paris, in regard to the rights of neutrals, and considers that England throws away a valuable weapon in assenting to that declaration. There was a, debate on the Mansfield and Jervis scandal, and the House was much amused at the detail of the duties which the commander-in chief thought should be performed by the unfortunate officer, who has been dismissed the service. He is to W have the value of his commission. We have had the Indian Budget, and a debate on the best form of government for India, and Sir S. Northcote is pledged to consider the subject during the recess. To these items we may add that a bill for improving the traffic of London, by enabling the authorities to regulate it, has been passed. That Lord Shaftcsbury is very angry at the well-managed delay in preparing the report of the commission on Jiitualism, which was kept back until

too late for notice by Parliament, though the Archbishop of Canterbury says that the delay was unavoidable, and was caused by the importance of the subject. That a hope which we expressed in reference to the Endowment of Bishops Bill has been realised, but in a more summary way than was needful — we trusted that the money of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners would be put out of the reach of the promoters of the bill. The Lords were so resolved that it should be that they amended the bill in a way which caused Sir R. Palmer to throw it up altogether, and this makes it pretty clear that the promoters hoped to be able to bring the screw to bear on the commissioners. This was about the last event of the session.

On Wednesday last the royal speech was delivered by the Lord Chancellor. The Queen opened the session, but was in Scotland when it closed. The speech contained nothing beyond the usual summary of the work that had been done, except in one instance. Her Majesty announced that the reigning monarch of Abyssinia had refused to release his British captives, and that the Queen had addressed to him a peremptory demand for their liberation, and had taken measures for supporting that demand by force. We had been aware, through private information, that the Abyssinian expedition had been ordered to be ready, but it was probably news to the majority of the public that the blow was to be at once delivered. There is, of couise, the risk that Theodore, or h'assa, as his real name is, may in his wrath destroy his prisoners, in, which case the work we have to do will be that of vengeance instead of liberation. But it was necessary to act, and the prisoners themselves beckon to us to do so, and take the chances. Eebellion is said to have been very successful, and at one time we learned that Theodore had been cut off from his prisoners, but after that we heard of hideous massacres, and of people being burned alive in waxed garments. The expedition will encounter many difficulties, no doubt, "but England never doubts the result of business entrusted to Indian officers.

We may just add that the Speech's reference to the Eeforni Act was somewhat significant. It was described as an "extensive and Liberal" measure, and the Sovereign -was immediately made to •' trust" that it would be a durable settlement of the question, and that the large number of those who would for the first time be admitted to the franchise would prove themselves worthy of the confidence of Parliament. The radical papers scoff at the alleged timidity of this utterance, and say that tho people ought to be offended at the doubt implied in a declaration of trust, but the Queen has expressed the feeling of a large number of persons who were well disposed towards Beform. And thus we dismiss the sayings and doings of the legislative body rit :i February, accidents excepted. Her Majesty is in the north, and has been making among her Scotch subjects that sort of " progress" which is too much for her nerves in England. The Queen has been receiving addresses, smiling on her subjects, taking bouquets from little girls, and apparently enjoying herself. She lias visited Abbotsford, and Mr Hope Scott (whose wife was the daughter of Lockhart) has been doing the honors of Sir Walter Scott's apartments. Beacon fires have been kindled on all the hills, and the Duke of Hoxburghe, the Queen's host, has fairly waked the country up to welcome the Sovereign. From thence the Queen goes on to Balmoral. The Prince and Princess of Wales are in Germany, and will sojourn for a couple of months at Wiesbaden, in hope that the health of the Princess may be re-established. The King of the Greeks has been here, but has left ; he goes to be married at St Petersburg. Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, is again on his way to Australia. We Have news of him at Eio Janeiro, where he'was gloriously welcomed, and the last we hear is his signal " farewell," as the Galatea steamed away for the Cape. Graver interest attaches^ to the movements of other royalties. '1 here has been a meeting between the Emperors of Austria and of France at Salzburg, which has attracted the attention of Europe. Every rumor that could be reported, every speculation that could be invented, has been brought up to illustrate the question what this meeting meant. Emperors do not meet for nothing, nor was Napoleon likely to travel a greater distance from Paris than he has been since his accession, merely to tell Francis Joseph how sorry the former was for the murder of Maximilian. The story that gained most currency was that Napoleon and his brother Emperor sought to organise a South Ger man resistance to Prussia. Without occupying the remainder of this Summary with an analysis of the various arguments on both sides (less space would do them scant justice), we may venture to say that we do not believe in the "entirely pacific" arrangements which are officially reported. In the Queen's Speech there were the words "at present" in reference to the disturbance of the peace of Europe being improbable, but with the magazines of combustiblo matter which have accumulated on both sides of the Ehine, it will bo a marvel if an explosion be very longpostponed. But France is .without an any. ffence she has found it needful to have an army of

more than a million men. Italy wants Rome, which France guarantees to the Pope. Spain has troops enough to make an army of observation ' necessary at the foot of the Pyrenees. Prussia is hostile. Russia is with Prussia, Unless France proved false to tradition and treaty, fid abandoned Turkey. England will not go to war, except on a necessity which is not probable. But Austria, though beatendown, has splendid resources, and the Emperor of the French believes that they may be re-developed for military purposes. He has something to say to his people. He was rebuked by Prussia. He has been defeated and even disgraced in Mexico. His own large cities have all declared against him at the elections. He is not maintaining Napoleonic traditions. Those who think that he desires to do so may be excused for not believing that the meeting at Salzburg is not intended to bear fruit in due season. The Emperor Napoleon, it may be mentioned, took his Foreign Minister with him. That official's presence was surely not necessary on a visit of condolence ; in fact it would have been a violation of Court etiquette to take such a functionary for such purpose, and new dynasties do not violate etiquette. This, however, is a mere straw — the convictions we refer to have a deeper basis. Italy is not in a happy state, regard her from what point we will. The new kingdom does not work well between debts, and provincial antipathies, and the enormous army which nobody likea to retrench, though it is a frightful encumbrance. The revolutionists are watching Rome, and Garibaldi is thought to bo meditating a demonstration. And the cholera has broken out fiercely in Rome and in Naples, and is slaying its thousands and causing the most hideous panic. The fearful ignorance of the lower order of Italians is being shown by their terror of witchcraft, and several poor wretches have been murdered in the belief that they spread the disease. We must not be Pharisaical, for last week an English judgo had to sentence a woman for wounding a witch in the faith that to draw blood was to end the power of tho sorceress ; but a few isolated eases are different things from the spectacle of a whole .population rushing to burn a poor • old woman, and doing it with every circumstance of barbarity. The Sooltan has returned to Constantinople, where ho was received in the most brilliant manner by a population that either was delighted to welcome him back or was desired to seem so. The illuminations appear to have been magnificent, and anyone who -knows the city can easily imagine what a scene it must have presented if the lighting were general. He has since issued an address to his subjects, telling them of the kindness he has received from foreign rulers and of the joy it has given him, and adding that the duty of protecting all his people has been more than ever forced on his mind. This is the result of representations made r to his Majesty by influential persons in France and England, about the inadequacy of ihe protection shown to Christians. The Archbishop of Canterbury has recently mentioned that in conversation with the Prince of Wales the Sooltan said, " I will (Continued in page 4J

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English News — Continued from Page 3. not only protect Christians, I will protect Christianity,'' which the Primate justly describes as a remarkable declaration.

From America we learn that open war is declared between the President and Mr Stanton, the War Secretary. Mr Johnson wrote to tell the latter that his resignation would be accepted, and Mr Stanton replied that considerations of the pubVc interest prevented his resigning. The President, hereupon, "being advised that he had the right" to suspend Mr Stanton, did so. The pro-consuls in the South are ruling with the strong hand, though the President frequently interferes to soften their action. The next Presidential election is already in hand, and Mr Johnson is said to have induced General Grant to.take.Stanton's place, in which case the General's chances of election will be considerably decreased. It is also said that the negrophiles are endeavoring to carry a black Vice-President, named Langton. Considering that a vice-president may succeed to the chief office, and' that the tenure of the latter is somewhat perilous, the American people generally will be inclined to prevent a step that might, hereafter, cover them with ridicule. -As regards Mexico, the story is only of intrigues, and of incessant military murders, and grave anxieties are entertained for the safety of some of the diplomatic body. There is a grave scandal against Marshal Bazaine, who is charged with having been willing to betray Maximilian into the hands of the Republicans on terms which are not stated. The sensation which the accusation has made in Paris is very great. Domestic events have lacked interest. The courts of law have engrossed nearly nil that there was. We have had the rebellious tailors brought to trial before Mr Justice Bramwell, their crime being the picketing system, by means of which they intimidate workmen who do not wish to I join in the strike. Convictions have taken place, but the sentences have not been heavy, the object being chiefly to convince the men that this kind of prosecution will not be tolerated. The Trades Unions have passed some strong resolutions, at last, against the Sawgrinders of Sheffield, for their defiant protection of Broadhead the murderer, and a meeting at Sheffield has denounced the toleration of such criminals. But the only inconvenience the miscreant is likely to suffer will be inflictedby the mayor and licencing magistrates, who have had the courage to refuse the licence for his public-house. This will be a discouragement, as he has been largely patronised by the sawgrinders and others of their way of thinking, ever since public opinion has signified its detestation of murder, even for the sake of keeping up wages. In the great case — great only because of the large sum of money involved — of the Overend and Gurney shareholders, the appeal to the highest tribunal has simply affirmed the common sense view of the law, which view happens, for once, to be law also. The shareholders, very naturally, sought to escape from liability to the creditors, on the ground that the former had been cheated by the promoters of the company. The Lord Chancellor, of, course, tells them that the creditors have nothing to do with that. It is a share-buyer's business to look after his own interests. An attempt has been made to plead extenuating circumstances for the original devisers of the scheme, on the ground that they thought they were cheating the public for the public's good, and also that they themselves entered into the speculation ; but this curious phase of ethics is rather thought to be due to this languid and careless time of year than to any deliberate intention to assail the principles of commercial morality. The Houses of Parliament is a phrase which must 'present a defined architectural idea to all who read these lines. Even those who have never seen the palace of legislation have knowledge of a tremendous square tower, high over London, at one end, and a clock tower with a blaze of gilding at the other, and a long river front, which hath been compared to a Birmingham fender. The fame of Sir Charles Barry, the architect of the palace, has been curiously challenged. Mr Pagin, son of the best Gothic architect we ever had (a gentleman who, unhappily, became subject to mental delusions of the strangest kind) has asserted that Mr Barry did not invent the building, but that it was the idea of Mr Pugin, senior, from whose drawings Barry made the beautifully executed designs which won the prize. Sir Charles, like the elder Pugin, is gone to his rest, but his son, Mr Edward Barry, A.R.A., defends his father' fame, and has just adduced a mass of evidence which appears to show that Mr Pugin has made a wild mistake. That the elder Pugin had much to do with the ornamentation of the building i& certain, but Barry's designs -were successful before Mr Pugin came in. Nevertheless it is certain, on the other hand, that the building which is present to our readers' eyes as they peruse this paragraph, is marvellously altered from the original plans, and though no suspicion of unfairness rests on Barry, it would be interesting to know for how much oi the modification he is indebted to the accomplished Gothic architect. Here, we suspect, lies the weak place in the defence. Except that the most noble the Duke of Northumberland was ninety, there is no circumstance connected with his demise tbat calls for mention. The new Duchess was the daughter of the celebrated Henry Drummond, of Albury, a gentleman who evinced the strangest fanaticism on religious subjects, but in the House of Commons was one of the shrewdest and most hard-hitting of debaters. His name recalls the tall, slender figure, and fine bald head, and the deliberate enunciation with which, as he leant on the gold-headed cane, he would deliver his anti-Catholic or anti-Mammo-nite sarcasms with the point of a high comedy actor uttering epigrams — in fact, in the present despicable state of the stage, there is no actor who could deliver a hit as Henry Drummond did. Another death is that of Lord Mayo, noticeable because his name devolves upon Lord Naas, the Irish Secretary. The latter has got a little business to do. The Orangemen in Ulster made a great demonstration, and defied the law, but as no collision took place, the thing was allowed to drop. The Catholics, however, thought that they would do the same thing on the next holy day, and turned out in force, and the Orangemen, affecting to think that they were going to be attacked, defended themselves by anticipation, by rushing forth upon the enemy. There was a good deal of fighting, and some bloodshed, but in the end the Protestants were victorious, and captured a drum. It will be for the Irish Government to make some examples on both sides. __^___^_^__.