GENERAL SUMMARY.

Press, Volume XII, Issue 1577, 26 November 1867, Page 3

GENERAL SUMMARY.

monks lias any foundation now, namely, that in making their vow before the Patriarch they add sotto voce, "as yon !c« j pp it." Lord Derby has had another attack of rront, from which lie has rf>eo ,r erocl. but his constitutional tendencies imply that the enemy will trouble his clays to the end of the chapter. According to gossip, which is more than usually rife among those who are left to vegetate in Downing-street, the nobL» Premier is well nigh tired of office, if not of the more precious gift of life. To be constantly liable to an affliction for which the most affectionate pity

[From the " Home News," October 2.] The Queen is still at Balmoral, whence her Majesty will not return until the 26th of October. The Arthur and Leopold are also there. The Queeu of the Netherlands is paying "a short visit to this country ; but her Majesty will not travel so far northwards as Balmoral, being content to visit only Lord Salisbury, Lord Clarendon, and Lord Derby. The Prince and Princess of Wales are still at Wiesbaden, where they have been joined by the Queen of Denmark, and some members of the Imperial family of Russia. The last we have heard of the Duke of Edinburgh was that his Royal Highness had arrived at the Cape with the Galatea, and that the Cape colonists were showing their loyalty by all sorts of ovations. New Zealand will doubtless have the like opportunities, in common with Australia, of manifesting its attachment to the sailor son of England.

lias something of insincerity in it, is a 'loom from which we wish all our friends may bo spnred ; but in the case of Premiers and of men who have no ambition to gratify, it accounts for the weariness of the nesh that disgusts* them will) office and in some cases with life. Accordingly in the ease of Lord Derby, who wants nothing in honours or riches, and whose natural affections .nust .be gratified to inte;isit\ l\v the celebrity of a son whose conrtpicuousness in prudense and common sense is universally acknowledged, there must at his age be no unwilling ness to ascend the political shelf The most extraordinary result, however, is a rivalry alleged to exist as to who is to be his successor—Lor«i Stanley or Mr Disraeli. Lord Stanley has every claim, except that of seniority, to the succession; but Mr Disraeli is a consummate leader of the House of Commons, where he is willing to remain, while Lord Stanley could under the circumstances only be Premier on condition of retiring to the Rouse of Lords. We do not think that matters aye so far advanced at present as to suppose there can be an actual rivalry; but if they were, we do not believe that Mr Disraeli would stand in the way of this consummation to the honours of the house of Derby of a son succeeding the father in the Premiership of England. The Chancellor of the Exchequer

ha* been making speeches, social and agricultural, in his capacity as a country squire, at Hughenden, and they have been speeches that have gained the approbation even of political adversaries. A different class of feeling may, probably, arise out of the Edinburgh and Manchester demonstrations, because they must necessarily be upon debatable topics. As to the members of the Opposition, it is as difficult as assign to them a whereabouts as a policy. Earl Russell is in Ireland, and Mr Gladstone u> Wales; and both declined to attend t"lie banquet, prepared by the tnosr zoalous of tiieir supporters, in honour of the Bill which they all opposed. .Mr Forster has made a speech fur his country rather than for his party, and lie has gone off to Constantinople. So, as a party, the Liberals are still without cohesion and without a cry. Little is heard from Biarritz, where the Emperor and Empress of the

French' are still sojourning, except

that imperial etiquette is slightly rclaicd, and Ihitt tlio air u£ -fclie Tiny 1 of Biscay is bracing. But if we are to accept what is passing in Paris, as the actual opinion of France, the imperial mind can hardly be perfectly composed. Angry feelings have been roused by Count Bismarck's circular, in which he, substantially, says, that if Southern Germany desires it Germany will be one. This, he sa) r s, in a cavalier way, is a question only for Germany itself. The French belligerent press has interpreted this as a defiance, and it has replied, "Cross the Main, if you dare." It is also nettled because the circular was addressed to the Southern German States exclusively, and that Hanover is at last reconciled to its .fate. The .fact is the French press generally has not appreciated the importance of the events that have recently occurred in Germany, and it is under the illusion I that the impression made by those events on the mind of the Emperor corresponds exactly to its own. But as yet not the slightest sign has proceeded from Biarritz. And if we turn to the most practical of tlie imperial I writings, what do we find there X Nothing to sustain the threats of the press ; but many such passages as the

England is now fairly embarked in considerable preparations for war against Abyssinia, and it will be vigorously prosecuted in case our countrymen detained there be not immediately surrendered. Not a word-has been uttered against the expedition, not even by the old or young lions of the Peace Society, so tl\at it goes forth with the fullest sanction of public opinion. There are three particulars in which this war, if it proceeds, may prove to be useful, independently of the political element which concerns the honour and prestige of the country. These are commercial, geographical, 'and, strange as it may appear, theological. In each of these respects we have something to gain in know- i ledge. There is a commerce, not inconsiderable, between the western coast of India and this part of the African coast, which may perhaps be advantageously extended by the issues of the conflict. 'War with semi-bar-barous countries is often the pioneer of commerce with them. In a scientific sense we may expand our geographical knowledge of a land that contains the sources of the Blue Nile, which suggested some of the most ingenious speculations of flitter, and the e'evated interior of which was compared by ! Humboldt to the lofty plain of Quito. '< Again, in a scientific sense, the ethnological question may be solved whether the Abyssinians are a-connecting link between the Arabian and the negro races. It is said, theologically, that there are three millions of native Christians in Abyssinia. It is not exactly known whether this was the ancient land of Cush ; but there is no doubt that in the olden days it was strangely connected with Judaism, and for more than a century in later times quite as strangely with Portuguese Jesuitism, while the priesthood which has charge of the three millions of Christians receives its orders from a Coptic patriarch. The priesthood includes canons and monks. The latter are said to take a vow of celibacy at their ordination ; and, perhaps, some inquiring mind in the expedition may learn whether the scandal which prevailed in Bruce , ! time againit these

following :— " The men beyond the Rhine have no greater tendency for governments imposed on them by us than we have for those which foreigners impose on us." . " The policy of the Emperor is to re a t his system on completed nationalities, and satisfied general interests. " To consolidate peace is to banish all international hatred, by favouring the interests and the peculiar tendencies of each nation ; to create an equitable balance between the great Powers ; in a word to follow the policy of Henry IV."

And what is the Emperor's conception of the policy of Henry IV. ? He tells U3 distinctly in his works. Henry IV, foresaw that all the European nations must be equal in power, and none govern another by its preponderance, before European tranquillity could be firmly established ; that equality is the source of justice for nations. Henry IV. was the ally of England, and he supported the independence of Holland, for which we may now, making allowance for political changes, read Germany. From all which it is clear, as it has been shown on many occasions of irritation before, that the French Emperor has no sympathies with the anger of the newspapers. To say nothing of the formidable Power that Germany now is, we may venture to affirm, on principle, that there is no danger of war, aud that the conjuring up of the perils is only a literary variety of the occupations of the dead season. The Pan-Anglican Synod has met, but as to what it has done, or how it has conducted its discussions, even Asmodeus could not find out, for the doors as well as the walls and roofs were closed. Depending for its effect upon publicity the Synod shut its doors, yet expects its debates to produce the same result upon outside opinion aa if they had been open. Thia

is not only a mistaken view of the requirements of the age, but; of the

infirmities, as we suppose they will he called, of human nature. The missionary services which preceded the svnodical meetings were open ; and their effect has been to impress that portion of the public who attended them with a conviction of the sincerity

of the movement now in progress within the Church. In this nothing can be traced to the merely dramatic f fleet of the services. The impressions they have created appear to be permanent ; and they are already nflveting public opinion on several Church questions. But ihe Synod has neutralised this effect, to the disadvantage of the movement which sixty or seventy bishops travelled over wide distances of land and seas for the sole purpose of promoting. The British Association has held its annual session at Dundee. Financially, the meeting proved a greater success than that at Nottingham last year; but we missed at Dundee, not ; only in the President, but iuthe savans and philosophers, the wide scope of subjects and the powerful generalizations by which, at Nottingham, the advance made in all branches of scientific knowledge was brought down to the latest moment. At dotting am we were posted up; at Dundee, in the abundance of riches, we were not enabled to "say what we have gained, or if we have gained anything, in the year that has passed o\er. It is not in the power of every man to give the world a perspective view of general scientific progress from time to time; but there' are many members of the British Association fully competent to such an undertaking, and it was scarcely a compensation for the omission for the Bold Buecleuch to take the chair. However, Scotland gave the association a most cordial reception ; and, after all, science has sustained no substantial loss by skipping for one year a review which might not have communicated more information than we already possess. The has been quite a competition of cities for ihe honour of being the next meeting place. Norwich has gained the honour, and Dr. Hooker, the curator of Kew Gardens, is to be the president next year.

The disclosures made before the Trade Outrages Commission at Manchester show that the Brickmakers' Union in that district is scarcely a whit better than the Sawgrinders' Union at .Sheffield. It is not from any difference in principle that the brickmakera have been less murderous than the sawgrinders. The inquiry has revealed

a state of things that makes us wonder how tlie building trade lias been kept alive in Manchester. Masters and contractors have suffered ■α-tofully from the tyranny of the brickmakers. There is no longer any doubt that unionism, as conducted in Manchester as well as in Sheffield, is not only in restraint of trade but that it is an engine of terror to thousands upon thousands of working men and employers. We must see liuvv Lho Legislature will deal with it. The subject is an embarrassing one ; but its difficulties are already partially smoothed by the adoption, in a number of trades, by working men, of the principle of free labour. The colliers of Staveley, in Derbyshire, have long ago adopted it; and the General Building Association at Leeds have also adopted it. A society has also been established in London to assist the efforts of working men to deliver themselves from the intolerable bondage. As the investigations of the Commissioners have been so fruitful of disclosures to shock the moral sense of the community, it is not difficult to see which way public opinion is drifting on this question. The tailors of the metropolis have at last found out their mistake. They sent the other day, or said they sent, a letter to the Masrers'Association, in which they offered virtually to resume their work. This letter was not received, and then the tailors passed a resolution of indignation at the alleged want of courtesy, and determined to continue the strike. In fact they had no alternative, for the masters, in a reply addressed to the papers, said they had no occasion to discuss the question as they had no dispute with the Union and had no need of men. The tailors, therefore, are simply out of work; but they are under the delusion that they are on strike, and on that ground they are appealing for support through the winter.

Greece, in an indirect way, has had the audacity to offer its British creditors balf'-a crown in the pound, making the negotiation of a new loan the condition of its own part of the bargain. In other words, the million sterling which would have to be paid to effect the composition is to cotne from the proceeds of the new loan. Nobody out of Bedlam could think of entertaining, and few out of it except in Greece would think of offering, such a project. Another proposal of Greece is that not only Crete but Thessaly and Epirus should be ceded by Turkey ; and an enthusiast, who says he knows, asserts that Earl Kussell on some occasion when in office undertook to persuade or to force Turkey to this concession. We cau hardly believe it ; yet it is quite of a piece with the fact of providing Greece with a King without consulting either Greece or the King. After this, little wonder need be felt at the obvious reluctance of King George to return to hia turbulent dominions, and less at his evident unwillingness to take his Kussian bride there.

The city remains in a state of depression. Nothing seem to relieve it, neither the cheapness of money, nor the certainty of peace, nor a gradually improving trade. Many people think that the great financial bodies, thebanks, including the Bank of England, might materially help to relax a condition from which they caDnot but suffer by fixing the price of money still lower, and by investing a greater portion of their own idle reserves in the public funds. The banks do not see this at present, so everybody ia waiting for everybody else to begin the very much needed work of revival