The Sun. — London, England, 1837-01-26 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The Number of the Edinburgh Review for Ja nuary, 1837, just published, contains an article which will excite not a little astonishment—an account of the recent exertions of the British Government in India to put down the Most formidable combination of murderers of which there is any instance in the history of the world. From the most overwhelming evidence it appears that there has flourished alike under Hindu, Mahommedan, and British rulers, a vast fraternity of murderers, consisting of many thousands of persons, which has spread its ramifications over the whole of India, from Cape Cormorin to the Himalayas ; and yet, though it has every year destroyed multitudes of victims, its c onstitution, nay its very being, have been quite unknown to the most active and vigilant English functionaries, and very imperfectly understood even by the native Governments. The book from which the ar ticle is drawn up is a collection of official papers printed by the Indian Government for the information of its offi cers, but never published; and the writer of the Edin burgh Review has conferred no small favour on the public by digesting into one connected statement the many in teresting facts disclosed in a work inaccessible to common readers, and which even if accessible might, from want of arrangement, be in a great measure unintelligible to them. These extraordinary persoas are called Thugs, and their profession is called Thuggee. They travel along the roads under various assumed characters, in parties varying from ten or twelve to several hundreds, appearing as traders, as pilgrims, as Sepoys seeking or returning from service ; and " sometimes one of their number figures as a Raja, with all the necessary equip ments ,of tents, carriages, &c.; and the rest act the part of his obsequious followers." If _the gang be numerous they divide into parties, following each other at some distance, or take different routes, assembling at an appointed place. They insinuate themselves into the confidence of travellers, with whom they usually propose to join company for mutual safety ; proper places are selected for the murder, and precautions taken against intrusion ; " The travellers are generally induced to sit down under pretence of resting themselves, and they are strangled at once at a given signal. The bodies arc then burned, after having been.reangled to expedite dissolution, and to pre vent their swelling and causing cracks in the ground. Two Thugs are employed in the murder of each individual, one of whom holds his legs or hands, while the other applies the noose. If a traveller have a dog it is also killed, lest the faithful animal should cause the discovery of the body of its murdered master." The wholesale character of many of these murders must astonish an European reader. We select the following instance, ,both to show the extent of the Thug operations, and the patience. and pertinacity with which they follow up their victims till a fit op portunity is found " DoeenA.—After the capture of Gawilgur by Gene ral Wellerley (Duke of Wellington), it was restored to the Nagpore Rajah, who appointed Ghurceb Sing to the command of the fortress. Anxious to get some good sol diers from Hindostan to garrison it, he sent his younger brother, Gliyan Sing, with a number of followers, and a large sum of money, to raise them in the Onde country and districts between the Ganges and Jumna rivers. " Ghyan Sing and his party passed through Nagpore, and came to• Julatipore in the month of June, while we were there concentrated from the different parts into which we had extended our .expeditions that season. His party consisted of fifty-two men, seven women, and a Brahman boy, then about four years of age. Some of our gangs lodged iu the town, some in the cantonment among the troops, and some were encamped at the tank ef Adhar, two .or three miles from the town, on the road to Mirzapore. As soon as we heard of the arrival of this Party from the Deccan, every party of Thugs deputed some of its most res:ectable members to mix with them in the town snd win their confidence. At first they tried to se parate them into different parties to proceed by different roads, but though they had collected together at different times and places on the road, it was found impossible to separate any part of them from GLyan Sing ; and we agreed to unite all our gangs, and to lead the party by the most unfre quented roads till we might find a place convenient for the murder of the nhole at once. " On reaching Sehora, we persuaded them to quit the high-road throng% Belehtee and Nlyhere, and take that through Chundeea and the old fort Bandoogur, which leads through very extensive tracts of jungle and uninhabited country. We went. pith them through all this country, however, without fitaling What we considered a fitting time and place, and reached Rewah, winning more and more upon their coi:fiderce every clay. From Rewah we %seat to Simareea, and from that place to a small vil lage half-way to Chitterkote, called by us the Burwala lion, from a large Indian fig-tree (Bur) that stood near it. Thence we sent on people, as usual, to select a place for the murder, and they found one about two cess and a-half distant, in a very extensive jungle, without a human habitation for many miles on either side. We per suaded the party to set out soon after rittlaight ; and as they went along we managed to take our appointed places, two Thugs by every traveller, and the rest in parties cf reserve at different intervals along the line, e very trio managing to keep the person they were ap pointed to kill in conversation. On reaching the place chosen, the signal was given at several different places, hegioning with the rear party, and passing on to that in front ; and all were seized and strangled except the boy. It was now near morning, and too late to admit of . the bodies being securely buried. We made a temporary grave for them in the bed of the river, covered them over with sand, and went on with the boy and the booty to Chitterkote, intending to send back a large party the next night, and have the bodies securely buried. The rains had begun to set in, end after the murders it rained very Ilea s ily all the day. The party, however went back, but found that the river had risen and washed away all the bodies ex cept two or three, which they found exposed, and pushed into the stream to follow the rest. " • What became of the boy ? " Doreba—lle was brought up by Mungul Brahman, brother of Laljoo, and having taken to the trade of Th.uggee, he was last year sent to the black water from Saugor.'" The disclosures which were made on the apprehen sion of a large !Tang of Thugs by Major Borthwick in Malwa in 1831 - attracted Lord William Bentinek's attention to the subject, and a system was organized by him for the general suppression of the monstrous evil. Jubbulpoor was fixed as the centre of operations; Captain Sleeman appointment superintendent, with a number of European assistants, and the co-operation of the native States engaged. Up to October, 1835, there had been committed 1,562 persons, of whom 382 had been hanged, and 986 transported or imprisoned for life. It is only through the British supremacy in India that the Thugs can be suppressed, for, strange as it may seem, they arc most religious and respectable persons. The fraternity has, indeed, a religious fotindation, and the miscreants believe that in robbing and murdering, agreeably to their rules, they are rendering an acceptable service to the Deity. To the Thugs murder is an act of religion, just as much as the practice of charity is to a Chris tian ; and, indeed, when the omens are favour able, to refuse to murder would be to disobey the will of the Deity. Murderers in Europe have the consciousness of guilt, and the bond of union be tween muilty men is loose ; but these Hindoo mur derers consider themselves as virtuous and good men. One of the witnesses says, " The father (a noted Thug) used to drink very hard, and in his fits of in toxication he used to neglect his prayers and his days offast. All days were the same with him. This lad Shumsheera (also a Thug) was always sober and reli n'iously disposed, and separated from his father, living always with his uncle Doudee (another Thug), who was a very worthy and good man." Captain Slee man says of them, that " no men observe more strictly in domestic life all that is enjoined by their Priests or demanded by their respective castes ; nor do any men cultivate with more care the esteem of their neighbours, or court with more assiduity the good-will of all constituted local authorities. In short, to men who do not know them, the principal members of these Associations will always appear to be among the most amiable, most respectable, and most in telligent members of the lower, arid sometimes the middle and higher, classes of native society ; and it is by n o means to be inferred that every man who attempts to screen them from justice knows them to be monsters. " In short, soldiers fighting in their coun try s cause could not be less conscious of doing wrong ; they are satisfied that they are performing nothing more than their duty in putting their fellow-creatures to death. In England respectability is often at variance with religion. Ikey Solomons, had he not been pre maturely disposed of, would have been, like other suc cessful and rich men, respectable ; but no one would have thought him religious. The Thugs, however, not only rob and murder, but are religious as well as respectable. Religion may not always be able to fight against the world, as we see in the case of the clergy of the Church of England, the dignitaries of which set up a standard diametrically opposed to the princi ples of the religion of which they are appointed the ministers ; but the evil is horribly increased when reli gion sanctions crime. That religion which encourages wholesale murder and robbery, is a great calamity to the country where it prevails ; and the only question with respect to the suppression of it, must be one of power and prudence.—Morning Chronicle. The new Peerages recently announced by the Mi nisterial Journals suggest to us a few observations, which we submit to the attention of the country. In a nation like this, whose details of Ministerial manage ment are so multiform and complex as to render a con tinual recurrence to first principles highly inconve nient, our readers are well aware that great importance is necessarily attached to what are commonly called precedents. Every novel course of action that may have been entered on is presumed, by a charitable hypothesis, to have been adopted originally with a due regard to the merits of the case ; and hence the„exist ence of a precedent is almost always pleaded as an argument or presumption in favour of-any analogous 'procedure that may be founded on it. Considered, therefore, in relation to consequences, it is quite clear that in propo t sing what is strictly new and unprecedented in the administration of public affairs, a wise and patri ode-Government will feel itself bound to exercise the utmost caution and prudence. Where there is a possi bility of contingent evil arising from such novelties, or where there is no palpable and pressing reason for hazarding, heir introduction, or where they appear to possess only that negative character which betokens neither good nor evil in the issue—in all these cases, it is the obvious duty of an upright Ministry to refrain we will not say from what is injurious merely, but from whatever can fairly be deemed doubtful, useless, or in different. All this, as far as regards the first introduc tion of political novelties, must approve itself to the mind of every reflecting man. But we go further s ill. Even in imitating and following old established prece dents, the same cautious and discriminating policy is, we maintain, absolutely incumbent on our rulers. A precedent, not otherwise blameworthy, is Susceptible of being grossly perverted, so as to lend an apparent sanc tion to transactions highly exceptionable in themselves. It is not enough, therefore, that a mere precedent can be urged per se in -favour of anything that may be con templated. The thing itself, if questioned, must be perfectly justifiable on its own merits ; nor, in the ab sence of this essential recommendation, can a Govern ment be warranted in bringing it forward, any more than a people can be prepared to seal it with their ap probation. Now, let us apply these remarks to the new Peerage movements announced in the Ministerial Papers. Some of the honours meant to be conferred are, we be lieve, mere promotions in the ranks of nobility. No doubt the precedents for this are numerous. Nay, we may even admit that precedents - sanctioning the pro motion of Peers, without the smallest regard to any public merits or services on their part, may he easily adduced. But what then ? Of course our readers will bear in mind, that as the affairs of this country are now administered by a reformed Government, so every thing that was alleged to be objectionable in Tory Administrations has been declared by the Whigs to be the object of their supreme aversion and systematic avoidance. Grant, then, that the promotion of Peers who have never done a single thing -to merit such dis tinction is, undeniably, a gross abuse. Any frailty of this sort that may have been yielded to by the poor prodigal Tories is wholly indefensible ; but that pre cisely the same corruption should be practised by the immaculate Whig Pharisees, is absolutely monstrous. In their case the guilt is all the greater, that besides perpetrating what is_an evil itself, they greatly aggra vate that evil by their boastful pretensions to superior virtue and probity. Assuming, then, that public 1 merit and public services are the only grounds on which a reformed Ministry can consistently effect a promotion in the Peerage, we now challenge Lord Melbourne to inform the country what has been done by Lords Howard of Effinglinin, Ducie, and Yarborough, to warrant their proposed advancement ? Have these Whig noblemen ever been heard of before, except for their sure presence, or still surer proxy, in support of Whig-Radical tacticS? To ask what dis tinguished services they have rendered to this kingdom in state affairs, diplomacy, law, science, commerce, or war, would be almost too satirical. Lord Ducic 's political influence in one of the divisions of Glouces i tershre, fur which he returns his Radical kinsman (the Hon. Mr. Moreton), comprises every syllable that can be said in his favour ; and except-the ben ough mongering power whereby the other two noblemen may he able to place certain nominees of theirs in the Lower House, as thick-and-thin supporters of Whig treachery, we beg to know -what single action they have ever done that can redeem them from respectable contempt ? And so with respect to the other pro posed Peerages which are entirely new. Of Thomas Alexander Fraser, Esq., we shall have something to say presently. Meanwhile, we push our inquiry con cerning the deservings'of Messrs. Portman and Han bury. Bating the Parliamentary influence which the Lord Bateman elect can command in one or two western counties, and conceding the foolish fancy that the intended Lord Portman can se cure a Whig-Radical Member for Marvlebone, we ask once more, what on God's earth arc these obscure commoners known for ? We shall wait for a satisfactory answer to this. If no such answer be forthcoming, then the only conclusion we can come to is, that by such unmerited promotion the pure and pa triotic Whigs have given their sanction to all previous elevations of an undeserved kind ; and that, instead of warranting the sanguine hopes entertained by their Radical supporters touching a Reform of the House of Lords,. these Whigs are determined, that if ever the corrupt practice of ennobling useless noodles is to be reformed, the country. must look for this at the hands of a Conservative Government. What we have now written has had reference exclusively .to those peerage honours which are about to be conferred on five Protestant English families. But in the anticipated batch we find a certain name whose proposed elevation demands more emphatic remark, inasmuch as Thomas A. Fiaser, Esq., who is about to be raised to the House of Lords by the title of Ba ron Lovat, is a Roman Catholic gentleman of Inver ness- shire—thht first of that persuasion who has been created a peer since the glorious Protestant revolu tion. The former cases involve, as we think, a conti nuance of evils under the shelter of abused precedents good in themselves ; but the more conspicuous case of my Lord Lovat constitutes a new precedent in every respect bad. Our readers are aware that on occasion of the auspicious visit of George IV. to Scotland seve ral of the old Scottish peerages attainted under the rebellions of 1715 and 1745 were restored by act of Parliament. Among these the attainted title of Lo vat, that had been forfeited by a disaffection to the Protestant succession, for which its last possessor suf fered on the scaffold, was not included ; and this, for the twofold reason that the present holder of the Lovat estates was not only a Roman Catholic, but could not prove his lineal descent from the old attainted Lord. Two several attempts before a Committee of Privileges to compass the restoration of the title in question are understood to have completely failed. If the present gentleman could have succeeded in making good his right to the title, there can be no doubt he would at least have acquired the old Scottish peerage of that name ; nor are we prepared to offer any serious objec tions against the propriety of such an issue. All that we wish to urge at present is, that Thomas Alexander Fraser, Esq., has no shadow of right or claim to the ancient title which he is now about to assume ; and that the peerage now conferred on him is, therefore, in every sense of new creation. To the objections urged against the other new peerages, on the score of the obscurity and insignificance of their recipents, the proposed peerage of Lovat is not only equally liable, but presents pecu liar grounds of exception from which they are entirely free. The public merits or public services of Mr. Thomas Alexander Fraser are just as little known as their's are ; and we can confidently state, that with the exception of being a popular leader of the northern sporting meetings and their accompanying balls, this honourable worshipper of the Virgin is wholly unknown beyond the limits of his own county. No ; we con .ess we are wrong here, Some small service to the State has undoubtedly been rendered by Mr. Fraser, inasmuch as he was for years an influential supporter of Lord Glenelg in his Lordship's contests for the county of Inverness, added to which, his zealous co operation in the ludicrous attempt to unseat Mr. Chisholm is, nedoubt, donfidently reckoned on. But what stamps this new creation of my Lord Lovat with all the features of a scandalous Whig job is, that it not only introduces an organic innovation by establishing (without any necessity) the first precedent for conferring nobility on Papists since the Revolution, but it is an arbitrary and flagitious interference with the even course of justice. At this moment, it is no torious to every reader of newspapers, that the title of Lovat is claimed by a gentleman, being of " the re ' mainder," as it is called, in the male line of the family. The present Mr. Fraser, of Lovat, holds the estate, not by descent, but by bequest. His earnest struggles for the title were put an end to by a Committee of Privileges. The claims of a powerful competitor (if they be not now effectually quashed by this shameful business) were on the eve of being submitted to the House of Peers. Lord Glenelg knew this well ; and yet, after thousands of pounds have been expended in preparing the case of the claimant under G°the remain der," all is set aside and made havoc of in an instant ; his claims are disgracefully prejudged, and his flattering prospects are ruined by the base partisanship of Minis ters, who have bestowed upon his Popish Radical rival those honours which he offers to prove are his. Shame upon Lord Glenelg ! Of him, at least, we could have hoped better things. But perhaps his col leagues may have managed the job while his Lordship has been napping.—Tinaes. It appears that the Irish Government has com menced a 'prosecution against several persons for cele brating the anniversary of the memorable event of the closing the gates "of Londonderry by the apprentice boys of the " maiden city." We arc not told that the performance of this ceremony, which has been kept up ever since the year 1689, was accompanied with any breach of the peace, so as to bring it rithin the purviews of the law against riotous assemblies, &c., therefore must presume that the peaceable cele bration of that historical event, so intimately connected with the preservation of British connection in Ireland, is, per se, regarded by the Irish Government as a criminal act. We do not pretend to know much about Irish legislation; like Irish politics .there is always a good deal of confusion about it, and Whig attempts at mending it have only rendered it more puzzling than ever. We have no recollection of any Act of Parliament having been obtained expressly for the purpose of making it a crime to celebrate the defeat of treason against the British Crown, by clos ing the gates of Londonderry, on the anniversary of the day which saved' Ireland. If such an Act were not smuggled very adroitly through Parliament, it must surely have called forth the indignant anitnadversions of those honest and courageous friends of Protestant and Constitutional doctrines who have not yet discovered the wisdom of sacrificing valuable principles in the vain hope of propitiating implacable foes. We would cer tainly have raised our voice against it, even if we stood alone ; but believing thers , is not any such Act in ex istence, we are led to the conclusion that the Irish Government has so conssived some Act against pub lic processic.ni in gereral, as to bring the case of the " apprentice boys" within their construction of some one or other of its penal provisions. While we mite, a vague recollection crosses our mind of a former pro. secution of this nature, the result of which we arc not aware that we ever heard. But whatever may be the merits of the question in a legal point of view, there cannot be much doubt as to the political anintits which has led at the present time to such a prosecu tion. It has indeed come to a pretty pass with British connection in Ireland, when the commemoration of the almost miraculous defeat of the united force of foreign enemies and domestic traitors is considered a fit subject for a State prosecution. The annual closing of the gates of ,Londonderry is reanore the celebration of „a. mere party triumph, than the keeping distß . ,ual OA Day, or the Anniversary of the Battle of Vraterli Trafalgar, in this country. , The celebration of Fiat . days of national triumph in England—clays - intimately associated with the providential preservation of Eilg land's monarchy, from the destruction prep for it tre 4cs o, by domestic and foreign cnetnies—caaiidt , - gitee - -: able to the feelings of the democrats at - houter 'and - the foes abroad, whose designs against our Constitution and liberties were crushed by the events thus comme morated. Can the celebration of the siege of London derry give offence to the feelings of any portion of the loyal and sound-minded of his Britannic Majesty's subjects ? Can it afford a painful subject of contem plation to any but domestic traitors and alien enemies ? It is only necessary to describe the event, which is the subject of annual celebration, to furnish the answer. When James 11., having been defeated in attempting to subvert the religion and liberties of Great Britain, was driven from tile Throne, he found not only an asylum at the Court of France, but what he was more anxious to obtain—the means of kindling a civil war within the British dominions—lreland was thought the most vulnerable point to make the attack upon, because of the well known hatred to a Protestant Government by the Popish priests, and those over whose minds they exercised an influence, though not at that time smarting under the operation of penal laws, any more than they have been since the year 1829. 'James, furnished with a French army, and supplies of French money, and having the Pope's benediction to boot, landed at Kinsale, in the south of Ireland, and marched directly at the head of an army of 30,000 foot and 8,000 horse, to exterminate Protestantism in its strong hold in the north. It was considered of great importance that he should reduce the Protestant city of London derry, and lie accordingly laid siege to it. The Go vernor of the town was a nominal Protestant, named Lundy—one who began with being a temporiser, and ended with being a emitor. Having managed matters so as to excite the suspicion of his friends, he, at length, sold himself outright to the enemy, like some of our temporisers at the present day. A secret agreement was made, according to which James's troops were at a certain time to cross the river to walk in. At the time appointed the- ramparts were de fenceless, the gates were wide open, and the chosen regiment of the King. - called' the " Redshanks," were seen crossing the river, and " peaceably" ap proaching the city. The true-hearted Protestants,whom this alarming state of things called together, found the Governor unprepared for anything but a surrender. In a few minutes more all would have been lost, if it were not that the apprentice boys, while older- citizens were remonstrating with the Governor, seized as if with an inspired impulse, ran to the gates and , suddenly closed them in the faces of the advancing enemy, 'who in turn were surprised, not being prepared to meet with any resistance. It was then that the citizens, under the guidance of the heroic Walker, Who assumed the command, rushed to the ramparts, and soon the throat of the great piece of ordnance, called " roaring Meg," was opened with no friendly salutation upon the asto nished " Red-shanks," whose disconcerted advance was soon changed to a precipitate flight. The subse quent privations, heroic endurance, and triumph of the citizen-defenders of the banner of " no surrender" hoisted on the ramparts of Derry, made this one of the most celebrated sieges in the annals, not only of the British empire, but of the world. And—let the Pro testants of England mark it—it is for the peaceable celebration of a historical event so glorious in British history, and so auspicious to British interests, that a number of their Irish Protestant brethren are now pro secuted as criminals by the Whig Government in Ireland. Let the Protestants of England also mark, that while such a prosecution is now on foot, a Roman Catholic assembly, organized for purposes of intimidation, and arrogating some of the most important powers of a na tional convention, holds its sittings close to the seat of Government —. holds its sittings unmolested—issues its democratic decrees—exercises inquisitorial authority-- openly fosters the tithe conspiracy against the law of the land, and levies taxes all over Ireland; not on l y without encountering the terrors of a State prosecution, but with the apparent countenance and approbation of Government, which has certainly made some promo tions of late from the ranks of that intimidation society. To prosecute the " apprentice boys of Derry" for peaceably celebrating the memorable discomfiture of French invasion and Popish treason, and to reward the agitators of O'Connell's confederacy against the Protestant Church and the British Constitution, is what is called, in the hypocritical language of false hearted Whiggery, administering equal law and impar tial justice in Ireland. We say that since the days of James 11., Protestantism in Ireland was never so ma nifestly handed over to the enemies of the British re ligion and connection as at present. Never was it so discouraged, persecuted, and hunted down. If equal justice were intended, why was not the seditious pro cession, under pretence of the funeral of a " tithe martyr," made the subject of prosecution ? The ob vious intention of that exhibition, marching as it did through a great part of the south of Ireland, having the way prepared by the most inflammatory placards, and other processional appliances, was to exasperate still more the already dangerously excited feelings of the misguided multitude. It was one of the acts of " pacification," as such diabolical contrivances for po pular mischief, desperation, and bloodshed, are face tiously called by the arch-enemy of his country's peace. But the law which punishes the Protestants of Lon donderry for celebrating the deliverance of their city from the yoke of her French invader and the Inquisi tion of the Romish bigot, was powerless against that processional provocation to seditious violence and mur der, which was only one of the episodes of the grand scheme that is to effect a " restoration" of the princi ples which were vanquished at Londonderry and the BoYne. Again we say, let the Protestants of Great Britain mark how " equal justice" is administered in Ireland !—lllorning Herald. In our review of the forces by which the possession of political power is about to be contested, the party entitled by courtesy to precedence is the party of the Government. What is, at the . opening of the session of 1837, the pity of the Government ? It consists in the first . place, of the Members of the Go vernment themselves ; for in estimating the weight of an Administration, the personal character of the individuals composing it is one of the pro minent points for consideration. The Duke of Wellington by his calm sagacity, ready decision, incorruptible integrity—Sir R. Peel, by his boundless command of political science, of statistical information, of oratorical power—Earl Grey, in spite of his splene tic irritability, and aristocratic morgue—Lord Althorp, notwithstanding his lack of every intellectual quality which a statesman ought to possess, all have been seen contributing, in their mere personal presence, incalculable energy and vigour to the Cabinets of which they were members. Let us look, then, for the men of the Cabinet of 1837, who com mand the admiration or affection or esteem of the political world, by either moral goodness or mental su periority. Are we to name Lord Melbourne, the su perlatively indolent, the pre-eminently inconsistent— the ultra anti-Reformer yesterday, the ultra-Reformer to-day—the Home Secretary whQ demanded the Coer cion Bill, the Premier who sent Lord Mulgrave to Dublin—the " base, brutal, and bloody Whig," the " only Minister who ever did justice to Ireland"-,-the votary of leisure, the slave of circumstance—the inde cisive in Council, the inefficient in debate, the listless lounger at Vauxhall, the dawdling dangler in ladies' dressing-rooms ? Or are we to select Lord John Rus sell, who wrote treatises, an impartial essayist, in de precation of the Reform Bill, and made speeches— a salaried Patriot, in commendation of the Reform Bill—who refused so discuss an abstract principle, when his tenure of office might be rendered uncom fortable by its discussion—who hastened to adopt an abstract principle, when' his recovery of office de pended mainly upon its adoption—who deceived the Dissentenk—who calumniated the Bishop of Exeter barayed Mr. Buckingham—the author of Von Clai4os, the " cracked mandarin on a chimney piece ? " 'Or shall we suggest Lords Glenelg and Palmerston ; . the leaders of another section of the motley group, the drowsy saint and the superannuated fop ; both alike -contemptible, wherever honesty shall be held in esteem, for having embraced the opinions, sUp t p.osted,the measures, pocketed the wages, of a dozen succissittrt Administrations ? We will not proceed with tlitist: Surely little of public confidence attaches it , se to the meagreancapacity of Lord Lansdowne, the insignificance of Sir John, Hobhouse, or the ig iiNendterrerio of Mr. Spring Rice. There is not one of the men now his Majesty's advisers who brings, yin his individual virtues or abilities, respectability or ;weight to the Cabinet. But, passing from time mem bers of the Cabinet, let us count their supporters. They have, first, all who hold office, and receive pay under them, and these they will keep just so long as they can give them office and secure them pay. They have, next, the numerous scions'of the three or four noble fami lies among which an unprecedented amount of patron age has been distributed with a s ffectionste prodigality. They have, besides, a few Baronets and Squires, who, having called themselves Whigs in 1806, call them selves Whigs still, unmindful of the mutations of men and things, fancying that Lord Melbourne treads in the steps of Mr. Fox, and shunning the Radicalism of Mr. Grote, merely because they condemned the Radi calism of Major Cartwright. Of the extent. of the following,syyich the Ministers thus retain it is not dif ficult. / to jfte, when we remember the effect of it uponlfisi* kopular elections in which their more con spieusjiis men have been candidates. Lord Palmerston is defeated sin Hampshire ; Lord John Russell is fro, Devonshire ; Sir John Hobhouse is lite rally pelted out of Westminster. The numerical strength of the isolated party of the Government is, perhaps, soins;wriat underrated, but is, on the whole, net very unfairly described, by Sir William Molesworth,',in his paper on the terms of alliance between Whigs and Radicals. " The Whigs," he observes, " are but the remains of a dying fiction, wljo are placed in power by die kadicalsiar_.Theys hive . 716 party in the nation, for the nation is aiviaecl into Liberals and Con servatives—the former are ,indifferent to them--s-the latter consider them as. foes. Their only adherents are a few of the landed gitirypw4p,cling pertinaciously to the term Whig, most of whose offspring are Tories. It is easy to see that.this party, founded on- no Prinei . s. pies, but standing between two principles —impelled in one direction by their aristocratic feelings—obliged re luctantly to adopt a line of condubt inconsistent with those feelings, on account of their Liberal professions— must, in a contest of principles s ere long cease to exist." The party of the Government has, however, a powerful ally, by whom thus far its existence has been prolonged, and by whom possibly for 'some space longer. its final extinction may be deferred. Mr. O'Connell and his Irish followers, separated from the Ministers as widely as possible b) prin ciple, are united with them as closely as possible by interest. Their doctrines would lead us to class them with the party of the Movement—their' - cons duct forces us to include them in the party of the Go ' vernment. On every question on which, during the last Session of Parliament, the Movement was at issue with the Government, Mr. O'Connell abandoned the Humes and Clays, and befriended the Russells and PahnerstOns. He will probably continue to pursue this course. He will talk of the ballot, of triennial parliaments, of household suffrage, of the voluntary principle, of Peerage Reform ; but whenever the sted fast advocacy of any one of these questions might be perilous to Lord Melbourne's dynasty, he will remember t h e " necessity of union among Reformers." The clue to Mr. O'Connell's policy is very simple. He has already all that the leaders of the Movement seek. The Irish mitre and the Irish ermine are at his disposal—why should he squabble for the selec tion of English Bishops or English Judges ? The Irish Church is to be sacrificed to his hos tility—why should he struggle to deprive the English Church of its dignities or emoluments ? The constituency of Ireland is precisely such as is Most liable to his mischievous control—why should he labour to extend the elective franchise in England ? Mr. O'Connell, therefore, if ever he shall be called upon to decide, will prefer Lord Melbourne to Sir W. iVlolesworth ; and we reckon among the surest ser vants of the Government, at a pinch, the thirty or forty Honourable Gentlemen to whose professed opi nions the professed opinions of the Government are most diametrically opposed. But, in the name of common probity, and in the name of common sense, did a Government, before these strange times, ever keep Downing-street with such support from such supporters ? The party of the Opposition, com posing nearly half of the Members of the Lower' House, stands opposed to the Government, avowedly and undisguisedly, up - on their policy respecting our Pro testant Church. The party of the Movement, comprising more than half of the remaining Members, stands opposed to the Government upon their policy respecting our civil :n3titutions. Without sympathy, attachment, or con fidence from any numerous class of our people, a few flimsy and feeble men propose to govern Britain by the aid of a score of placemen and pensioners, and forty Grattans and Finns. Having dwelt so long on the position of the Cabinet, we need not say much of its probable policy. Ordinarily, we may judge of what a Minister will do in one session by recollecting what he did in another. With a Government thus situated we have no such guide. We know indeed the sentiments - of his Majesty's advisers ; but we can not anticipate their actions. They profess a love for our Ecclesiastical Establishment, a value for our civil Constitution. We believe them base enough to secure a quarter 's salary by the annihilation of the one and the other. The only question is where is the stiffest bit and the stoutest goad ? These imbecile men will creep where they are driven. They will go as far as they find they must.—Morning Post. The effect produced by the recent numerous Reform demonstrations, of which the great meeting of Lam beth gave the well-timed example, cannot be better appreciated than by a reference to the virulent abuse and malignant misrepresentations by which the Tory press have so perseveringly endeavoured to depreciate the character of these glorious manifestations of the state of public opinion. And it is but natural for the factious prints to pursue this course. Their patrons not having in themselves any just claim to public sup port and confidence, feel it a preferable policy to seek an ascendancy rather by Malevolent detraction .and slander of the Reformers—the hope and refuge of paltry and depraved minds—than by any intrinsic merit of their own. The three foci on which the unanimous sentiment of all these assemblies concentrated its favourable expression being " Union of Reformers”—" Confidence in Ministers"—" Jus tice to Ireland"—it can excite no surprise, that the Tories should seek to direct the venom of their spleen against the advocates of a .course of action so destructive of Tory interests and Tory ex pectations. However, in their very revilings may be found expressive, though unintended, admissions of the powerful influence these meetings must necessarily exercise, and even eulogy on the manner in which they have been conducted. Unfounded slander needs some ability to sustain itself ; as the adage has it— " A liar has need of a good memory"—an aphorism which we recommend to the consideration of the great apostate that yesterday honoured the Middlesex Re form dinner with the presentation of, a Billingsgate olla podrida. The Times, it seems, had been chuck ling, in the anticipr tion of the differences of opinion which exist amongst Reformers producing symptoms of disunion at the meeting, and yesterday gives the fol lowing naive acknowledgment of its diappointment : " Our alarms (hopes it should have been) proved un founded to this extent—that although a striking dif ference of fees was indeed expressed between the two Members for Middlesex, no .collision whatever was the result of it between any two sections of the audience. And why was this ?" Our immaculate Cotemporary replies to his own query by admitting with verbose equivocation, that the abhorrence of the Tories induced the more liberal section of Reformers to hold their individual opinions in abeyence, rather than risk for a moment the substitution of our present Li beral Cabinet by a Tory Ministry. We give our Co temporary's own words : " But there was no collision,' and why ? Because no materials for- it were present. There was, in truth, no second section' of auditors at this magnificent meeting ; there was no variety of shade ; there was, in the words of an evening organ of Ministers, a most determined union of spirit, for there were neither Dukes, nor Marquises, nor grandees, nor any attempt at aristocracy, nor hardly a frac tion of Whiggcry ; the Whigs, one and all, stayed away from this magnificent meeting ;' they showed the want of pluck to a far more mortifying pitch than we had looked for, inasmuch as not a man of them, barrinc , the young Lord who took the chair, and his aged uncle, Lord William Russell, ever showed light at all, or came near the scene of action, but left poor Mr. Byng all alone in his glory, or rather at the mercy of the unresisted movement,' trusting to their compassionate hospitality, that tlft l would receive the old gentleman, and treat him like a stranger—civilly— which they did. But as for a coalition meeting—a Whig- Ministerial meeting—a Whig-Radical meeting—it bore no resemblance to any such thing. It was Whig- Radicalism, minus the Whigpry ; like the 0 Connell-tail-man's dinner of beef and potatoes, barring the beef.' " Granting our Contemporary the full benefit of his own statement, can there be a stronger proof of the hold which the Ministry has on the confidence of their more liberal supporters, and'of the country generally than the unanimous expression of support and confidence tendered by a meeting such as is here described ? "The Whigs," says the Times, " one and all stayed away from this magnificent meeting r " Taking this in connection with the lament of the Times - over the deficiency of creature comforts which its represen tative states himself to have experienced at the meet ing—the dearth of " beef and potatoes"—we are reminded of the celebrated letter addressed to Lord Monteaglc, which led to the discovery of the gunpowder plot. The warning therein conveyed would have been literally applicable to our Contempo rary. whose commentary appears to . have been, in part, suggested by the recollection of 'this epistle, which commences, " Stay away from this meeting, for God and man have concurred to punish the wickedness of the Times." The explosion of the gunpowder plot, had it not been prevented, would not h a ve been by one-half :so destructive t o the then me-l Ors ..of the 'Legislature, as the moralltrwer-vh , l?) 7 -s;3-cfi.a*Tl7. blies as the Middlesex Reform dinlier t ripw prepared in every part of the United Kingdom, and ready, at a moment's notice, to carry irresistible destruction through the camp of the Tories, must be to all who array themselves against the interests and wishes of the eople.—Morning Advertiser. The influenza has found its way to the south of Devon, and is raging with great- severity. In Torquay, and all along the coast it has bectevery violent, the number of persons attacked with it being calculated at seven in every ten. In Exeter great numbers are now labouring under it. Yesterday several of our churches were closed in consequence of the indisposition of the cler g ymen, caused by this wide-spreadi ng epidemic.— Western On Thursday evening, Mr. Welles, the American banker, gave a splendid ball at his hotel in the Place St. George, Paris. The guests consisted of the elite of French, British; and American society now in the capital, amounting to at least four or five hundred persons. The rich attire of the fairer portion of the assemblage, the bril liancy of the lights and decorations, and an admirably con ducted orchestra, produced altogether an effect which has rarely been exceeded in any simitarfete. , Dancing was kept up with great spirit till between • three and four o'clock in the morning. Between eight and nine o'clock on Monday evening, as a young female of the name of Willis was crossing the Mile-end-road, near the police-station, she was knocked down by a cab, the wheel of which passed over her leg, and fractured it severely. No blame was attributable to the driver, who was prevented from seeing her by a waggon, from the back of which she had just stepped when struck. Contrary to the usage of those of his craft on such occa sions, the cabman immediately pulled up ; and, after ex pressing the utmost regret at the accident, conveyed her in his cab to her residence in Globe-lane. _ CORONER'S INQUEST.--On Sunday last Holding, the ward beadle of Bishopsgate, received information that the bodies of a female adult and a child, which had been deceased for upwards of six weeks, wore laying at the house of Mr. Brock, coffee-house keeper, of No. 106, Bishops gate-street. The officer in consequence proceeded to the house. A great reluctance was evinced to answer ques tions ; Holding, however, insisted upon seeing the bodi es . He was informed that Miss Charlotte Broc, the adult corpse, died on the 2d of December last, and Mary Ann Clarke, the infant, on the 3d instant. The bodies were in a very decomposed state, and the effluvia almost intoler able. The relatives not being able to satisfy the beadle respecting the non-interment of the bo dies, he a pprised the parochial authorities, who immediately communicated with Mr. Payne, the City Coroner, who directed an investiga tion. The inquiry was held on Monday evening, at eight o'clock, in the board-room of Bishopsgate workhouse. After the jury had viewed the bodies, they returned to the in quest room. The evidence of Mr. M`Kay, surgeon, of Steward-street, Bishopsgate, and Sarah French, servant of Mr.'and Miss Brock, having gone fully to prove the deaths had been natural; viz., that of Miss C. Brock from con sumption, and the infant from convulsions, and Mr. Clarke (the father of the infant) and Miss Jane Brock being un able to assign any rational cause why . the bodies had been kept so long, the jury without hesitation returned a verdict of " Natural Death," and the Coroner, after a severe repri mand,issued his peremptory order for the burial of the bodies. THE EP IMiC CATARRH. (From the Medical Gazelle.) Two facts connected With the prevalent epidemic must press themselves on the notice of every member of the com munity—the numbers cut off by it, and the severity with which it attacks the old. The daily obituaries in the news papers are swelled prodigiously beyond their ordinary di mensions, and we question whether, even in the cholera times, those lists were so heavy. The inference from this, perhaps, is not exactly that the mortality is greater, but that it falls more on people in the upper and middle classes. The cholera raged destructively among the poor, and car ried off comparatively few victims from the upper c lasses ; but the epidemic catarrh, in its insidious march, seizes in discriminately on all sorts of persons, and, while much less formidable in its specific mortality, is found in its results to be little less alarming ; for its absolute mortality is made up from a wider range. We mentioned last week now actively the profession have been employed since the epidemic has prevailed ; their activity and full occupation have not diminished since ; but in a few weeks, we presurne,Alieir services will be less re quired ; the disorder will have'subsided and been forgotten. Were vire - called upon to point out the character and distinctive features of the prevailing disorder, we should say that its! Chief peculiarity has consisted in the extent to , which 'the lungs have been implicated, the mucous mem brance lining the air-passages being in many cases inflamed, and after a few days overloaded with viscid secretion, in terfering with the arterialization. of the blood. The oppres sion of breathing is in many cases urgent, and attended by great pain along the lower edge of the ribs, and in the epi gastrium. The pulse is for the most part soft, and deple tions are borne very badly ; in those in whom they are car ried too far, delirium is apt to supervene. Numerous cases have proved fatal, and post mortem examination has shown the membrane lining the air-passages to be inflamed, from the trachea into its minutest ramifications, with con densation of portions of lung, but the pleura suffering com paratively seldom. Even in slighter cases the recovery is tedious, and the patients go grumbling on for many days, with loss of appetite, great langour, and something of ill- humour. - The cause of the general seizure is freely talked of as no mystery. It is traced to the change which so suddenly oc curred in the atmosphere, from great dryness to great humi dity, both states being_ . accompanied with a severe depres sion of temperature. It was not any remarkable alteration in the degree of temperature that gave rise to the morbid consequences, for we have had scarcely an hour of warm or even temperate weather these six weeks, but the profusion of cold damp moisture with which the air became loaded on the occurrence of the thaw, has been, undoubtedly a main source of the disorder. There may be, and doubt less are, other qualities in the air which arc influential as causes of the prevalent catarrh ; yet of these we must, at' least for the present, be contented to remain in ignorance. How much the winds, and certain supposed electric states of the air, may have influence, it is exceedingly diffi cult to say. East and north-east winds have been consi dered in this country as prejudicial to health, yet they, can scarcely be connected with the origin of the present catarrh, for there has been no remarkable prevalence of winds from those quarters. And as to electricity, the in-. quiry is equally barren of satisfaction. We have noticed the fact, that in the present epidemic the persons most susceptible to its influence are the elderly ; this may be considered as a peculiarity of the disorder, for on other occasions the young and adult have been equally, if not more, exposed. But there is the greatest diversity in this respect : individuals of every age, of every tempera ment and constitution, are liable to epidemic attacks at different times. Sometimes the feeble are attacked, some times the robust. We see sufficient reason for apprehension when we con sider the vast numbers of persons attacked by the epidemic. The comparatively slight symptoms which mark its inva sion, together with the many instances of escape, appear to deprive it in great measure of its terrors : we doubt not, however, that were it possible to obtain a correct return of the number of victims, the contemplation would be not a little appalling. SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. VESSELS ENTERED INWARDS AT THE CUS TOM-HOUSE; JAN. 25. The Coral, Leggat, from St. Michael's; Venus, Daley, Guernsey ; Albatross, Father, Fayal; Fortitude, Stewart, Havre; Stag, Pridaux, St. Michael's; Dart, Pills, St. Mi chael's; Palmyra, Gill, Grand Canary; Exporter, Angel, Singapore; Topaz, Harvey, Berbice; Swift, Way, Tanga nere; St. James, Sebor, New York ; Harriet, Jones, De merara. ENTERED OUTWARDS FOR LOADING. The William Hamley, Ogilvie, River Gambia; Mary, Pur cell, Cape of Good Hope; Pink, Whitnall, Dunkirk; Pero, Palmer, Cape of Good Hope; Marquis, Gribble, Canton; Rosalind, Harvey,' Rio Janeiro • Newton, Capere. Marseilles. CLEARED OUTWA RDS WITH CARGO. The Union, Condierc, for Calais; Giraffe, Major, Rotter dam ; Cater, Merrcls, Dunkirk; Union, De Jonge, Ostend. CLEARED OUTWARDS IN BALLAST. " The Vrow Maria, Workman, for Workum. ARRIVALS AT LIVERPOOL, JAN. 24. The St. Andrew, Smith, from St. John's, N.B. ; Depen dent, Simpson, Philadelphia; Charlotte , Willicot, Savannah ; Octavia, Deacons, New Orleans; Eagle, Matthews, Charente; Charlotte, Abbinctt, St. Michael's; Azores Packet, Peters, St. Michael's; Phoenix, Picot, Trieste ; Gunga, Younghus band, Calcutta; Ripley, Calcutta; Portand, Cuba. ENTERED FOR LOADING. The Cigar, for Valparaiso, &c. ; Fair Arcadian, Rodgers, Antwerp; Angelina, Strange, Antwerp; Amity, Jefferson, Gulf of Mexico; Tagus, Wade, Lisbon; Oxford, Rathbone, New York ; Ocmulgee Leavithe, New York ; Union, Van derstein, Ostend ; Perseverance, Monnat, Ostend; Castle reagh, Mould, St. Michael's; Traveller, M'Lcar, St. Lucia. CLEARED OUTWARDS. The Alfred, for Nantes; Evergreen, Mead, St. John's, N. B. ; Nelson, Phillips, St. Michael's; Standard, Pile, Buenos Ayres; Phcenix, Running, Ostend; Eugene, Zerran, Ostend ; Fisherman, Gilbert,_ Naples, &c. SAILED. The Philomela, Sprout, for Monte Video, &c. TELEGRA PITED. —Off Point Lynas, outward-bound; Geor giana, for Arica, &c. ; Elizabeth, Barbadoes; Dorothea, Calcutta. Off Great Ormshead, outward bound, the Mersey, for Jamaicy ; Jupiter, Calcutta. In the New Channel, in ward-bound, tlie Ripley, from Calcutta ; Gunga, Calcutta. POWERFUL MUSICAL BOXES, in wood eases, 12 inches long, by 5 inches wide, each playing Four Airs, with the mechanism finished in a: very superior manner, are offered for Five Guineas each. Also a few of the same description, with Six Airs, price Seven Guineas each, at T. COX SAVORY'S, Working Silversmith, Goldsmith, and Watchmaker, 47, Cornhill, London. N. B. The small musical boxes, 34 inches long, continue selling in tin cases, price 19s. each, or in composition shelicases, at 25 5 each. BIRTHS. On the 14th inst., at Paris, the lady of Major-General Sir Niel Douglas, C. 8., K.C.H., of a daughter. On the 24th inst., at I.eyton, Essex, the lady of the Rev. C. J. Laprimaudaye, of a son. On the 20th inst., at Nantes, the lady of S. Lowell, Esq., late of Pudding-lane, Lower Thames-street, of a son. On the 19th inst.. at Clifton, Mrs. George Cooke, of a son. On the 24th inst., in York-street, Covent-garden, Mrs. H. G. Bohn, of a daughter. On the 23d inst., at Edgbaston, near Birmingham, the lady of J. C. Chaplin, Esq., of a daughter.: On the 23d inst., Collisson, of Harpur-street, of a son. On the 21st inst., at Coptfold Hall, Essex, the lady of H. Arun dell, Esq., of a son. MARRIED. On the 23d inst., at Brighton, Henry Shirley, Esq., of Pepping ford Lodge, Sussex, to Isabella Martha, second daughter of the late Sir 11. V. Darell, Bart. On the 21st inst., at Broadwater Church, Sussex, Edward Framp ton, Esq., of. Clifton, to Anne, eldest daughter of John Wood, of Worthing, Esq. On the 21st inst., at St. Martin's-in.the-Fields Wm. Vizard, Esq.. of New-street, Spring-gardens, to Mary, daughter of the late P. Cipriani, Esq., of the Treasury. On the 24th inst., at Hampstead, John Hursthouse, Esq., of Norwich, to Helen, fourth daughter of W. Wilson, Esq., of Stock ton-upon-Tees. DIED. On the 24th inst., in Harley-street, Janet, wife of James Lewis, Esq., of Clifton, near Bristol. On the 24th inst., aged 64, Elizabeth, wife of Mr. John Kettle, bookseller, Holborn. On the 19th inst., aged 77, at Sloane-terrace, Sloane-street, Mrs. Lucetta Clarke. On the 23d inst., at Brighton, Elizabeth, wife of the Right Hon. Sir John Bayley, Bart. On the 23d inst., at Kensington Palace, Mrs. James Strode. On the 23d inst., at Maida-hill, Thos. Little, Esq., aged 71. On the 20th inst., aged 76, Elizabeth, wife of T. Denning, Esq., of Upper York-street, Bryanstone-square. On the 21st inst., in Keppel-street, Russell-square, Miss Cathe rine Raynsford. On the 21st inst., aged 63, Thomas Fenwick, Esq., of Keppel street, Russell-square, and Burrow Hall, Lancaster. On the 23d inst., Miss Sarah Oxenford, of Addington-place , Camberwell. On the 19th inst., at East Mailing, Kent, aged 35, Jane, younges t daughter of J. Dunnage, Esq., of the same place. On the 18th inst., at High Wycombe, Isabella, relict of the lat e W. Bayley, Esq., of that place. On the 234 inst., Adnam, youngest son of Mr. Leonard, of St. Martin's-street, Leicester-square, aged 27. On the 234 inst., in Regent-street, Richard Tayler Raynsfordf Esq. ;Ted 59. On the 13th inst., at Chislehurst, aged 79, Mary, relict of Sr' G. Mace. On the 22d inst., at Hastings, Frances Hooley, only child of the late J. Hayes, Esq. On the 17th inst., in Moore-place, Lambeth, Mrs. Ann Dodsler On the 21st inst., in Bentinek• street, the Hon. Mrs. Gree ll a the wife of James Green, Esq., and sister to Lord Dufferin Claneboyne. On the 224 inst., at the Grove, Hackney, aged 76, Mr. lee s , ° Thompson, formerly of Cross.lane, St. Mary_at-Hill. J/ London: Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of 1 1° i ; 112, Strand, at The Suit Office, No. 11?, Strand, in the cow' of Middlecez.—Thursday, January 26, 1637. THE SUN, LQNDON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 1837.