The Sun. — London, England, 1834-12-08 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The Times has endeavoured to enlighten the public , on the subject of .Apostacy—a subject with which it is exceedingly conversant, but which we are rather sur prised it should venture, under present circumstances, to grapple with. This word, like renegade, on which the Times could also throw some light, and many others, is sometimes, we admit, used in a very vague manner. In general, however, it may be observed, that Apostacy is seldom applied to the mere abandon ment of opinions ; for, as it is the duty of every man to be constantly open to conviction, and to abandon opinions the moment he becomes sensible that they are erroneous, apostacy would cease to be deserving of reproach, were it applied to all changes of opinion. It is eloquently observed by the Times, that the converted infidel—thf re claimed offender against the laws of man--the philosopher, who gives up a favourite theory when satisfactory experiments have proved it wrong—the physician, who abandons the use of drugs when ex perience has taught him that they possose hot the virtues he had attributed to them—eine statesman, who, finding that laws he had thought wise and good, were unpopular, inefficient, and unsatisfactory, repeals them, and models new measures, after the fashion of the wants and wishes of the nation—all these, and all else, who, using the lights which God has given them, carry themselves, not as brute beasts, but as rational creatures, must be apostates, if all changes of opinion be apostacy. It is not the change, but the pre tended change of opinion, operated by sinister mo tives, that is termed apostacy. The renegade does not abandon a creed, and those who profess it, but insincerely adopts another, in the hope of gain. We never can know with absolute certainty whether a change of principles is real or affected. Strange conversions are sometimes wrought. Cir cumstances may wear a very unfavourable appear ance, and yet the conversion may be very sincere. Dryden became a Catholic when James the Second mounted the Throne ; but it is thought he was sincere. Suspicion, however, always attaches more or less to conversions when the change seems to conduce to worldly advantage. Dr. M'Crie, in his " Life of Andrew Melville," tells us, that when Cooper deserted the Kirk for Episcopacy, an old woman who had been much edified by his preaching, unwilling to credit his apostacy, proceeded to Edinburgh, where she found him living in splendour as King's chaplain. On her expressing her astonishment, Cooper said he had re ceived a new light. Aye, aye, said the shrewd old Scotchwoman, you have two candles before you now, and you had only one when you were in the Kirk— that is the new light you have received. It is possi ble, for instance, that the Duke of Wellington may have been thoroughly imbued with Conservative prin ciples down to 1832,' that he may have become a honest convert to reform on the resignation of the Grey Minis try, an equally honest convert to all anti-reform princi ples when he found he could not make a Ministry, and an equally honest convert to reform principles on the dismissal of the Melbourne Ministry. All this is pos sible ; but it is so very improbable that these changes are sincere—that common pi udence requires that we should distrust them. It is possible that the Times, which throughout its whole career has been constant only in inconsistency, abusing and praising the same principles and the same persons, may have been uni formly honest ; but it must be owned that its conduct has very much the appearance of roguery. When the great captain of the age, in his 66th year, becomes for the first time aliv e t o the truth of Reform principles, a suspicion comes across one that his motives are something like those of reynard the fox for setting out on a pilgrimage to Rome. For fifteen years Lord Brougham was idolized by the Times: at once it made the discovery that he was an arrant quack. There is not a public man who has not been praised one day in the Times, and abused afterwards for the very same thing. Thus Mr. Carmine's claims to the Premiership were considered insulting and injurious, and we were lectured on the subject of persons of low extraction endeavouring " to force themselves above hereditary nobility and gentry by descent ;" and it was afterwards ascribed to him as a merit that he had opened " a more generous system of intercourse with strangers," and disallowed " the hereditary pretensions of family pride at home." The Duke of Wellington, in June last, after he was turned 65, was described as a man utterly ignorant of public opinion, and afflicted evith an incurable mental blindness ; and in the course of a month or two he is pronounced an enlightened Statesman. Yet the Times may in all this be perfectly honest. But there is such an appearance of knavery in all these evolutions, that no one can be blamed for attributing them to knavery. We arc, therefore, at a loss to sec in what way either the Duke of Wellington or the Times can be nefit by the essay on Apostacy in that journal of Sa turday last. The question is not whether a man Is not justified, nay, bound to change his opinion;, when he receives a new light ; but whether any human being can believe the Duke sincerely desirous of reforming abuses in Church and State, and that the Times, in persuading the people to repose confidence in his Grace, has any other purpose than to delude them. Up to the 15th of last month the Duke was an anti- R eformer. "Up to the dissolution of the Melbourne Ministry (as is justly observed by!the Examiner), there was no hypocrisy in the Tory party. They very frankly opposed themselves to all measures of a popular character. In opposition they were thoroughly true to vicious principles of Government—they never professed a popular object or a popular sym pathy." We are required then to believe, first, that the Duke is a sincere convert to Reform ; and next, that the Tories have all been converted in the same miraculous manner. But what is the evi dence for the conversion of the Duke ? The Times newspaper. " Not a morsel of evidence, observes the Spectator, can the leading article scrape together in proof of its declaration that the Duke is a reformer. His Grace utters not a word himself, and his satel lites and admirers promulgate high Tory doctrines. If, the Whigs have not joined the Tories it is equally plain that no proof is extant of the Tories having abandoned their principles to conciliate the Whigs." The Times, it may be said, has gained nothing by its apostacy. But this is merely saying that it commits blunders. It never committed a greater blunder than when it supposed it could deliver over the people of this country, bound neck and heel to the Duke of Wellington. The plain common sense of the country spurned at the idea of supporting the men who,, up to the prekent moment, have been uncom promising enemies of reform in every shape. So far from three-fourths of the people of England taking their political o pi n i ons f rom t h e Ti mes, there is not a single Reformer whom that paper has succeeded in persuading to repose confidence in the Duke. The Times has not diminished the distrust of the Duke. but it has caused itself to be miserably distrusted. It has unquestionably mistaken its true interest, in thus endeavouring to betray the people, who resented the in sult offered to their understanding as well as treachery. It has long since discovered its error, which has been brought home to it in a very forcible manner. But the blunder does not diminish the knavery. The Times has discovered that it is not all powerful ; and even at this moment, when it is calling out against the injustice of not giving the Duke a fair trial, it is meditating op position to his Grace. The Times well knows that the Duke cannot be a reformer ; and having failed to bamboozle the people, and lost by the experiment, it will seize the first opening afforded by his Grace to re cover the good graces of the people, by making war on Much money might be gained by betting that the Times, in less than a month, will exhaust it voca bulary of abuse on the Duke of Wellington, and term him the most stupid and besotted of men. It will take vengeance on the Duke for the blunder it has com mitted, trusting to the universality of the dislike of his Grace as a politician, and conceiving that the pleasure derived from witnessing his castigation will lead the people to forgive its backslidings. It is at present without a shadow of pretext for turning ; and, therefore, much to its grief, must continue to carry on its losing trade of supporting the Duke. The argu ment= ad crumenam is the only one the Times can feel. It is always boasting of its purse, and inveighs most eloquently against poverty. If it continue to blunder as it has done for the last month, it may have I some difficulty in replenishing its "exhausted coffers." In the meantime, it is impossible not to be amused with its invective against the " persons who purchased a mosi+aper with the view of using it for the acquire ment of gain, by any means, however dishonest, and whor , e base designs have been exposed and foiled." The persons thus assailed have the consolation of knowing that at present very little•philosophy is needed to make them laugh at the impotent spleen of the Times.—Morning Chronicle. However flatterina t , to his ambition the present pos ture of Sir Robert Peel may be, it .cannot be denied that the task which he has to perform is one of no small difficulty and embarrassment, and one which will require much tact and generalship, aided by plain straightforward honesty of purpose, to rescue from fai lure. The main difficulty which Sir Robert Peel will have to contend with is that of forming an Adminis tration composed, on the one hand, of persons suffici ently and sincerely devoted to reform, to satisfy the just wishes and expectations of the country ; and, on the other, to avoid those extreme ultras among his former friends, who, if they did not thwart those expec tations, would at least be looked upon with suspicion by the country. In passing by the latter with the view of making overtures to the former, probably consider able umbrage will be taken, which, should those overtures fail, will place the latter in a state of dernier resort which to no one, but especially to the self-suffi cient, the nervous, and the sensitive, is held to be very complimentary, On these grounds, and espe cially with a view to avoid the embarrassment here pointed out, we should not be at all surprised at either of two events—the one, at Sir Robert Peel declining the task altogether, or the other, at his collecting the materials of his Administration exclusively from the Conservative ranks. In the former case the King would probably be induced to confide the formation of the new Ministry to such men as the Duke of Rich mond or Lord Stanley, who belong to that party who are sufficiently pledged to Reform on the one hand, and to Conservatism on the other, to satisfy the rea sonable wishes of the greater part of the public of all classes. To a Ministry exclusively Conserva tive there is this obvious objection—that, however sin cere its members may be in carrying out the Re form Act in all its legitimate objects, it would be a long while before the entire confidence of the country could be gained by such Administration ; nor could it therefore, appeal to the people in the shape of a gene ral election with any such prospect of success as would be likely to respond to the call of a Ministry in which there was at least a sufficient infusion of the known and tried friends of reform, to insure its continuance as the beacon which is to guide its path. In estimat ing public opinion we pass by, as totally valueless, the insane howlings of a few factious dema,gogues and their followers. These notoriety-mongers arc a class, on whichever side they enlist themselves, totally unde serving of notice. Mr. Burke's standard —viz., the simultaneous opinion of 100,000 persons upon any one subject—is not very easily obtainable. The safer guide to public opinion is the calm good sense of those classes of the community who will allow themselves to observe dispassionately upon the current of events. This most men mixing in society may acquire a know ledge of, if they will allow their own prejudices and party zeal to subside. Thus estimating public opi nion at the present moment, we believe to be strongly in favour of an• administration founded upon principles of reform, but not less Conservative of the forms and excellences of our institutions in Church and State. That the country is sick of the Whigs admits of little doubt. Of this the palpable failure of every attempt. either to break their fall, or to create a sympathy towards their fate, is proof more than sufficient. But they are not on that account prepared to hail the return of Toryism as such. In truth, the country in general, we are persuaded, would readily exclaim, " A plague on both your Houses I" and would rejoice to see their very names swamped for ever. It would be a great happiness if Sir Robert Peel, in the formation of a Ministry, is able to steer clear of these distinctions. An administration culled from the best materials of all par ties, without reference to the extremes of either, would be most likely, at this moment, to obtain and conciliate the support and confidence of the largest portion of the right-judging part of the community.—Morning Herald. Our desk is piled mountains high with letters and communications of the most gratifying character, re specting the glorious spirit which animates the people of England upon the present crisis—our table is terally covered with papers containing the rTh st satis. factory statements of meetings wi iiich have been held either in honour of the 1- ..ce Ministers, or for the purpose of preventing would-be successors from occupying the ees which they were compelled so suddenly a" -At unexpectedly to vacate—with the most Patri! - -;clc and spirit-stirring addresses, calling upon the people to do their duty manfully, to " stan:l by the King" as Englishmen were wont to stand by him, and to unite for the purpose of overthrow ing the common enemy—reach us, not from hour to hour, but from minute to minute, as if a minute ought not to he lost in rousing and combining the energies of the liberal interest, for the grand and final struggle between the principle of good and the principle of evil which has now come upon us and will not be stayed : and that we cannot give that publicity to these com munications, in consequence of want of space, which we are desirous to give, is, we can assure our readers, infinitely more painful to us, than the omission can possibly be to them. Nothing, however, can furnish more satisfactory evidence of the prosperous condition of the CauSe of the People than the continued—we might say, hitherto endless—influx of such communi cations ; for if they prove anything, they most un questionably prove what we know to be fact—namely, that the people feel strongly upon the present crisis— that they are not to be trifled with by any hostile power, of whatever materials it may consist—and that, if necessity require it, they will act strongly also ! The Tory press, of which we do not complain, because it is consistent in pursuing the vocation to which it has been doomed by a fatal inheritance, and the renegade press, of which we, in conjunction with all honest men, as well as honest journalists, are ashamed—are endea vouring to persuade the public—first, that, they ought to have no feeling but that of passive obedience to the exercise of the Royal prerogative on the present occa sion—secondly, t' il at th ey have none I—thirdly, that if there be some few who are astounded by the late changes, they are very foolish persons—fourthly, that the people of England ought, in justice to themselves, to disgrace their country and their cause, and make both a bye word and a reproach to all Europe, and to all succeeding generations, by bailing Reform as a God-send from those who have waged the most deadly warfare, and still cherish the most deadly determination, against all re form—and, finally, that the embryo Government is daily (we owe this. piece of information to the Post) receiving innumerable proofs of the adhesion of Whigs and Radicals to its ranks ;—but where is the proof of all these things ? Is it in the apathy of the people —is it in their withholding themselves from pub lic meetings, the express object of which is to unseat the Wellington and Peel Cabinet—is it in the comparatively numerous and most public meetings of the anti-reformers---and, finally, in the ad hesion of Hunt and Cobbett, who never formed any portion of the Whig or Radical camp, though th e y t r i e d to fast en th e i r claws upon the skirts of its tents ? If the Post glories in such adhesions, we beg to assure it that we most unfeignedly sympathise in its joy. We wish, in fact, for its sake, that there were more han gers-on of the same kidney to enable its party to muster an army with which to attempt a march through Co ventry ! It is an ill-conditioned force which, in the day of battle, cannot spare the sutlers. However, ' notwithstanding the pressure on our columns of the I most interesting and satisfactory matter, we have founj room for the speech of Lord John Russell at Totiv - ; s, which gives the lie, in more than one respect, to the assertions of the Tory Press,—for that of Lord Pal merston, to his constituents in South Hants, in - which he vindicates most ably the conduct of the late Ca binet, as well as his own—and for that of Mr. Hutt, one of the Members for Hull, in an abridged form. Mr. Hill's we gave on a former occasion, though in the official form in which we have no w re ceived his address we perceive points which will de mand our early attention ; and•we now close these hurried observations by quoting a p)rtion ce Mr. Poulett Thomson's address to his const,ioe . pts, in Nan chester, which we may safely characterize as firm and uncompromising. Comment is out of the question ; but who can be so blind as not to perceive that the union of Whigs and Radicals is now complete, and, being complete, that iif3 Ministry can stand against it, encept by means of the bayonet ? The principles," says Mr. Poulett Thomson, " which guide my conduct are well known to you. It was from your approval of them that you conferred upon me, unsolicited - the honour of representing you. They remain unaltered.' lam not conscious of having failed to give to them the fullest effect of which the circumstances in which I was placed—and placed with your knowledge and full concurrence—admitted. I told you candidly, upon accepting the trust which you reposed in me, that as a Member of the Government, I might sometimes be compelled to compromise opinions, which I entertained in common with yourselves, for the sake of that union without which any combination for common objects is impossible. Such occasions may have occurred ; but if one amongst you thinks that more might have been done by his representative, I will freely tell him that I think he underrates the difficulties under which reforms are brought about; and I can fearlessly appeal to my own conscie nce f or a l wa y s h av ing acted that part which I thought most likely to advance these our common principles. _ _ " The acts of the Administration, to which I had the honour to belong when you selected me, are recorded in some of the most beneficial measures which ever emanated from the Legis lature. That Administration received at the end of last Ses sion a reinforcement from the liberal party ; and the work of reform would, I can confidently assert, under the guidance of Lord Melbourne, have proceeded steadily and fearlessly. It has pleased his Majesty, in the exercise of his undoubted pre rogative, suddenly to dismiss that Administration, and to call to his councils the leader of the Tory party—of those who have uniformly opposed all the reforms upon which they, with whom I have had the honour of bcing connected, have founded a claim to the good will and confidence of their fellow-country men—those whose unsuccessful struggle against the Reform Act—against the abolition of slavery--against the opening of our trade with China—against the partial reform of the Irish Churth—we have to rejoice at ; whose too successful and dis astrous opposition to the further reform of that monstrous abuse—to the better and cheaper administration of justice— and to the removal of the grievances of those who dissent from the Church of England, we have to lament. " Should you be called upon to exercise your elective fran chise, it will be for you, and for the other electors of the united kingdom, constitutionally to decide, by the choice of those in whom you will confide, whether the power of govern ment shall be placed in hands like these—whether the task of ameliorating the institutions of the country, and correcting abuses which have sprung from a long course of corrupt and vicious legislation, shall be entrusted to the friends or to the enemies of Reform—whether the work of reformation is to be stopped at its commencement, or whether the Reform Act shall bear its full fruits. " The struggle must come. If in the exercise of your right of choice you are disposed again to confide your power to my hands, though others might wield it more ably, none will do so more zealously. To give to the Reform Act its full con sequences—to extend to the utmost to all classes the blessings of civil and religious freedom—to correct the abuses of the church establishment—to purify the representative system, and secure the independent exercise of their franchise to those who possess it—to remove the shackles from our in dustry—to economise the expenses of the state, and alleviate the burthens of the people, will be hereafter, as it has hitherto been, my most anxious endeavour. " Several practical measures press for the immediate deci sion of Parliament ; the great works of Corporation and Church Reform--remedies for the just complaints of the Dis senters by the the abolition of Church-rates—by the removal of civil disabilities on account of religious opinions —by the introduction of a perfect system of civil registration, are ex pected without delay by the great body of our countrymen. To these, and to any other practical measures calculated to ad-- vance the great principles which I have avowed, I shall lead a ready and willing assistance."—Morning Advertiser. Lord J. Russell has been entertaining a select party of the Devonshire electors, with whom his Lordship dined at Totness, with a speech historical and expla natory, a speech to which we do full justice when we say that it was worthy of the author of Don Carlos. His Lordship talked in the strain in which the Whigs have always talked of the part taken by th e Admins tration of the Duke of Wellington upon the questions of the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, and of the Roman Catholic Disabilities, that is to say this amazingly small-minded and envious person endea voured to persuade his hearers that for these measures of relief the Dissenters and Roman Catholics owe no thing to the Noble Duke and his colleagues, and everything to Lord John Russell and the vigorous and efficient school of statesmen of which he is so prominent a member. The merit of the Duke of Wellington and his colleagues, in reference to the two questions above mentioned, is precisely such indeed (and we now offer the best apology that can be devised for Lord John Russell) rts he could not be expected to understand. (1 ...1 one of these questions the Administratio.:. of submitted with franl-- the Noble Duke and sincerity to the opinion of the Hon ot . sys*--• Commons ; on the other it altered its __ein of policy in deference to the strong necessity it believed time and circumstances to have pro duced. This was the part of wise and prudent states men, and it can excite no surprise that Lord John Russell does not understand it. But the Adminis tration of the Duke of Wellington in respect of these two important questions is entitled to another kind of praise, which is also unfortunately quite above the comprehension of poor Lord John. It not only yielded to the expressed opinion of the House of Com mons in respect to one of them ; it not only bent to the force of circumstances in respect to the other ; but it proved itself sincere and efficient in carrying the convictions thus impressed upon it into effect. It con trived no vexatious delays. It manufactured no odious jobs. It committed no senseless blunders. It dealt honestly and fairly with the country, and at once with hearty good will, and by the shortest and most direct course, set about the accomplishment of all that it had undertaken to perform. These are merits which the country can understand, although it is quite evident that to Lord John Russell and to Statesman of similar mould, they arc entirely unintel ligible. Whatever imperfection may have crept into any of our national institutions, ecclesiastical or civil ; whatever abuse may have sprung up ; whatever the nation generally may be disposed to regard as abuse or imperfection ; the new Administration, acting upon the principles which guided the Duke of Wellington's Ministry in the instances to which Lord John Russell so unskilfully and incautiously referred, will, it is pretty generally underst oo d, en d eavour to era dicate. And if, in ent e ring th e office, the new Ministers pledge themselves to undertak e thi s t as k, t h e coun t r y has past experience as a guarantee that they will not be want ' ing either in the inclination or the ability to redeem their pledge. It is surely something to the country to see a probability of the reforms which it has at heart being substantially accomplished, without the tormenting delays, the incessant and interminable blunders, the costly and rapacious commissions, which every reform attempted and every reform promised by the defunct Ministry were sure to produce. The country, we re peat, can distinguish, although .Lord John Russell thinks it inconvenient to do so, between the statesmen who will prosecute needful reforms, with the honest purpose of affording benefit and satisfaction to the people, and those who care for reform only as an in strument whereby to amuse and delude the nation ; b.:tween the men who, whatever they profess to under take, will undertake it in earnest, and the men who, after making large promises to the public, proceed forthwith to convert, for their own peculiar advantage, every promise they have made into a hot-bed of pro fligate jobs. Lord John Russell attempts to deny that differences of opinion in the late Cabinet were the cause of its dismissal. But what he means for denial sounds very much like confession. He says, " It is quite untrue that there was any practical difference of opinion among the members of the late Administration upon the measures to be proposed in relation to the Irish Church." But he also says that no measures had been matured, that none had yet been discussed in the Cabinet, or even laid before it for discussion. If the latter assertion be true, of which there is not much doubt, Lord John might have spared himself the trouble of informing the Devonshire farmers that no practical difference had arisen. But can anybody deny after the Edinburgh speeches, that there was so much difference of principle among the members of the deceased Administration as warranted the anticipation of his Majesty that practical differences would arise whenever they set seriously about the preparation of their Irish Church measures ? Lord John acknowledges the probability that some differ ence might have arisen. In the view of all others that probability is so strong as to amount to certainty ; for if men do not agree as to the principles of a measure, it is rather difficult to comprehend how it is possible that they should agree in its details. This whole matter is, indeed, plain enough. The late Mi nisters of the Crown would have postponed the Cabi• net discussion till the latest possible moment—probably till the next Session of Parliament had been conside rably advanced—in the perfect consciousness that the only way to avoid disagreement was to avoid discus sion. This they would haiie done for sake of a few months' longer enjoyment of place, patronage, and posVer. -A few jobs in the abused name of reform would have been perpetrated in the meanwhile, and about Whitsuntide, when the Irish Church discussion could be no longer deferred, the Administration would have fallen to pieces. This is the treatment which Lord John Russell and his colleagues nad prepared for their Sovereign—this the advantage they meant to confer upon the country► But the King, fortunately for himself and his people, had more penetration and greater vigour of mind than they had permitted to enter into their very loyal and patriotic calculations.— Morning Post. The delusion which has been so industriously pro pagated within the last three weeks is already pretty nearly defunct ; clamour has had its full swing—the mob orators of the movement have bellowed themselves hoarse, and on more than one occasion to empty benches ; and, in spite of all, the truth begins to make itself manifest, that if the Reform Bill does its duty or be worth a millionth part of the pains which it has cost, and the praises which have been lavished an it s no right or privilege, or interest, or enjoyment of the people of England can henceforth be essentially wounded by any Administration which the King of England may summon to his Council-chamber, and no one portion of the system of progressive reform can be frustrated or arrested, which the majority of the nation shall through its representatives dentandk It is curious to observe what unfortunate devices have sometimes been resorted to in the vehemence of political feeling, how blind the persons employing them seem to be, how unconscious of the purposes to which they really tend, and of the conclusions to which they lie open. Lord John Russell, in a clever speech addressed In a body of his constituents at Totnes, and desirous (fairly, no doubt, according to the ethics of party) to crush the Duke of Wellington at once, by an overwhelming at tack upon his Grace's Ministerial history, referred, with much apparent triumph, to those two impor , taut features in the Duke's Admihisteation—the re peal of the Test Act, and the repeal of the Catholic Disabilities. It is true, quite true, that the Duke and his colleagues had for years resisted both these concessions, and it was a point dwelt upon by Lord John Russell with more, we think, of " em phasis" than of sound " discretion," for the sake of proving—what ? That the Duke, &se, ' had WlStly given way upon two greet questions—that rather than disturb or dissatisfy the country, he had deferred to the public sentiment, even when Parliament was so con stituted as to afford him the prospect of still coma manding majorities in support of hit Mb ; and there fore that he might thenceforth be expected to act upon the same safe and prudent policy, and yield in due season to a pressure so much more direct and irresisti ble than that which before subdued himsss-stiarnsly, the prodigious weight of opiilion created by the Reform Bill itself ? Was such the inference to which the noble Member for Devonshire desired to lead his hearers, and which, indeed, was the only one warranted by the premises he adduced ? No, unhappily for the logic of the Noble Member, for he accompanies the 'recurrence to the past concessions of the Duke of Wellington by a distinct, though parenthetical as sump ion, that the noble Duke's promises for the future " would be found vain and unsubstantial !" We do not understand this : no downright intellect can follow such reasoning, and assent to it. Be cause a Minister formerly yielded more than he had promised, nay, yielded what he had been anxious to retain, his pledges for the future as to be disre garded ; and when he broadly declares " I will com ply with the wishes of the people," it is to be construed into " I will not." Why, let us ask, should the Duke and his friends now put forth promises of eccle siastical and constitutional reform ? Why, but because they are conscious that such measures must be carried? They promise (let us suppose for the sake of argu ' nient) under duress—under a consciousness of the power of a free representative system ; but is there any thing in the natural working of the Reform Bill to flatter the Conservatives with the shadow of a hope, that when the time comes for fulfilling their promises, the duress will be lightened, or the popular power of en forcing such engagements against those who have contracted them impaired? What means do the Conservatives possess of skulking from any of their acknowledged obligations ? Is it as it used to be when Parliaments were packed ? We trust not, or cui bono the reform ? There was, indeed a motive plainly actuating Lord John Russell in his attack on the Duke of Wellington's principles. It was to make him odious. It was not to make the people distrust his promise, for it is not on record that the Duke ever broke his word ; but it was to excite among the constituency a spirit of personal dislike to his Grace and his friends, as should re- oporate upon the House of Commons, and prevail upon members to vote them out of office upon no other ground than dislike. This is an object for a Statesman. It is, we say, unworthy of a Statesman to raise an outcry against his antagonist, as one who entertains opinions adverse to those of the nation, without rendering its full consideration to the fact that the accused party is one who has systematically yielded his own judgment, when he found that the nation opposed it. How do we know that Lord Grey would, at this late period of his life, have proposed a reform in Parliament, strenuously as in his youth he had espoused it, but for the almost unanimity of the people of England in demanding it a demand which we are sure was necessary to the consent of some of his colleagues ? How do we know that if the national voice had peremptorily called for it six months before the Duke of Wellington left office, he, the Conservative, would not have surrendered an extensive Reform of Parliament, as he had given up to the same force the great Irish reform of eman cipation ? It is foolish to distrust the solemn assu rances of a man of unblemished honour. It is childish to be swayed in momentous affairs by vague individual dislike ; but it would be madness in the nation gene rally to take up the personal resentments of one set of Ministers, though containing among them, every one will freely admit, most estimable and amiable men, as a pretext for refusing common justice to another body whom the King has chosen, and judging by facts whe ther they merit support or opposition from the country. At the outset of this Cabinet • revolution we said, " Watch narrowly" the Duke and his associates. If they fail in their duty, condemn and spare them not, but be just and try tham. That part of Lord John Russell's speech which professed to elucidate the cause of the dismissal, we forbear to notice, because it pre sents nothing new, certainly nothing clear, and because we have already announced our determination to wait for statements from authority : till then we abide by our statement.—Times. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, DEC. 6. THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1834. SIBLEY V. FENDALL. • This was an action for the recovery by the plaintiff da mages for alleged criminal conversation by the defendant with his wife. Mr. Sergeant WILDE, Mr. F. POLLOCK, and Mr. KELLY conducted the plaintiff's case ; the ATTORNEY-GENERAL, Mr. Sergeant STORKS, Mr. ANDREWS, and Mr. GUNNING, the defendant's. _ M. •. KELLY opened the pleadings, in which the damages were laid at 5,0001. Mr. Sergeant WILDE addressed the Jury. The plaintiff, Mr. Robert Sibley, was married to his present wife in the month of October, 1826, the daughter of a respectable dress-maker of the name of Walford, and at her marriage she was between twenty and thirty years of age, her hus band being considerably below forty. At the time of his marriage he carried on the business of a silk-mercer in Oxford-street ; but having acquired by honest industry that which he deemed a sufficient fortune, he afterwards retired from business, and went with his wife to reside at Luton, in Bedfordshire, where he became acquainted with the defendant, Mr. Fendall, who was an opulent butcher, living in Woodstock-street, Oxford-street. The Learned Counsel then entered into the details of his case, which mainly relied on the evidence of one witness. The ATTORNEY-GENER AL addressed the jury on the part of the defendant, and called witnesses to prove that the plaintiff was labourinc , under a delusion. In the course of the examination of a witness, Mr. Sergeant WILDE rose and said—My Lord, it is unnecessary to proceed further with this case, and I do not wish to occupy the time of the Court any longer with it. Circumstances have come out this day in the examination of witnesses of which I was not advised, and which entirely alter the case. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE.—I think you are perfectly right, Mr. Wilde, in adopting that course. It appears to inc clear that the plaintiff has been labouring under a delu sion, whatever may be said of other parties. The plaintiff was accordingly nonsuited, evidently to the gratification of one of the most crowded Courts we ever witnessed. The case lasted from ten in the morning till six o'clock in the evening. COURT OF BANKRUPTCY. Two private meetings of the creditors of Messrs. Bent ley, Dear, and Co., were lately held before Mr. Commis sioner EVANS, at this Court, for the purpose of inquiring into Bentley's bill transactions. Mr Gumersall, the billbroker, was examined at very considerable length respecting the disposal of the two notes for 10,0001. each, which Bentley negotiated a short time before he quitted this country. Mr. Gumersall stated that the two notes were received by their house from Bentley, and that one of them was paid to Vere and Co., and the other to R. Thornton, Esq. It has been stated that Bentley met you at the house of some third person, and asked you if you had placed the balances, meaning the two 10,0001. notes ; and upon your saying " Yes," exclaimed, " Then I am a ruined man," and begged datnestly for you to do something for him ; that you then said that your house would stop on Monday morning ; that you had taken care of 2,6001. for yourselves ; that Bentley should have 2,0001. of it for himself ; that you then rang the bell for pen, ink, and paper, and said that Bentley might draw a cheque on your house for 2,0001. ; that Bentley di so, in the name of Bentley, Dear, and Co. ; that you wished to have the cheque ; that Bentley refused to give it to you, and that it was agreed that Bentley was to have the 2,0001. on Monday morning ; that he sent on the Monday morning, aaci was informed that you could not give him a shilling ; and that you (meaning house) had stopped. Is that statement true ?—All lies, from begmi;:PF to end. dt , t4 it *holies Bicl ;ou Mber state to niiy imitati ; when veaking of the two 10,0001. notes, that you had done Bentley nicely out of the two notes, or anything of that or the like effect?-- Not that I recollect. Will you affirm that you have not so said ?—No. What nonsideyation did your house receive for the 10,000/. hate ifa§ Vaid to Aft: Thornton F— . 5,000/. ; besilq that, he held other bills of. _ _ _ Mr. Riehaid`Thornton, of the Old Swan, merchant, wag then examined respecting one of the 10,0001. notes given by Bentley in the pame,,of.the firm. Mr. Thornton stated that he received the bill in quesiiuri OH the 5.42 d of . Sep tember from Mr. Gandall, a partner in the house of Cu mersall,. Gandall, and Co, The circumstances under which tle6l4;ed the iiote iCCre the .o...awifig 1-- Clattter§all i Gandall, and Co., were indebted to him a sum of 4,000 k, balance of bills given to them, which balance they pro mised to pay on the 19th of September. He called to re ceive it, when Gandall stated it was not convenient to pay it that day ; hut they iVtiniti tiny It Mt the following day (Saturday). The money, however, was not paid on that day, and on Monday morning he (Mr. Thornton) waited on Mr. Gandall. He asked him why he had not paid the 4,0001., as promised. Mr. Gandall stated that he had been &appointed in receiving some . money which he had expected, but that it should be paid in a day or two ; ness said he would not let it stand over for a single hour, and that he should be under the painful necessity of ar resting (Gandall) forthwith if he did not return either the bills to the amount of 4,00 W., or the 4,0001. ; at this Mr. Gandall got very much alarmed, and said he hulled witness would do no such thing ; witness declared he would, and. Mr. Gandall then produced the bill of Bentley, Dear, and Co., for 10,000/., and asked witness to take that note and give him the difference ; witness, however, declined advan cing more than 1,0001., which sum Mr. Gandall received, and handed witness the 10,000/. note. The note he after wards paid to Messrs. Thornton and West for bills on Rotterdam, which have been paid. INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, DEC. 6. IMPORTANT MOTION.-IN THE MATTER OF WM. STOKOE. In this matter Mr. COOKE, at the rising of the Court, made an important motion. He applied under the 67th section of the Act on the part of the insolvent, a Lieutenant in the service of the East India Company, for a re-hearing, on the ground that the adjudication of the Court was im properly made and against evidence. The insolvent, who was heard in the September sittings, was opposed on the part of a gentleman named Dunn, residing in Dublin, and sentenced to fifteen months' imprisonment for having fraudulently contracted a debt with him to a large amount. The insolvent had married some years ago a sister of Mr. Dunn, on whom he made on the nuptial day a settlement of 100/. a year. He soon afterwards left her, had served since in India, and after an absence of several years he re turned to England to be re-united to his wife. He was soon afterwards taken on a judgment he had signed for her allowance, and applied to the Court to be discharged ; he had saved whilst in India between 1,0001. and 2,0001., which he placed in the hands of his agents ; they failed, and a dividend of 2s. 6d. in the pound which they had paid, he delivered into Court. The opposindereditor, Mr. Dunn, was a trustee under the settlement, and the Court held that the debt duel.) him in that capacity, extending over a lengthened period, had been fraudulently incurred, and re manded the insolvent accordingly. The present applica tion was grounded on a pathetically-worded affidavit of the insolvent, in which he eloquently set forth his matrimonial miseries, their corroding nature, the estrangement of his wife's affections, his fears and hopes in India, and his anxiety on his arrival in England for a re-union with his wife, to share his weal or woe ; he was, according to his own showing, a man " more sinned against than sinning ;" he had suffered severely from illness during his imprisonment. Mr. Commissioner BowEN suggested certain omissions in the affidavit. He would grant the application, on the ground that the settlement was invalid, and that Counsel had been taken by surprise, and that the debt was not fraudulently contracted. A rule nisi on Mr. Dunn on those points was granted. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. GUILDHALL. One of the overseers of St. Nicholas Olave, Bread street, attended before Mr. Alderman BROWN to show why he refused to relieve . a widow and her three children. Mr. Alderman BaowN hoped the overseers would con sider the matter again, and dismissed the poor widow, tell ing her he had no power to assist her, and he was sorry it was so. MARLBORO UGH-STREET. A great number of respectable inhabitants of St. James's attended before a full bench of Magistrates , to argue a question respecting the right of hackey-coaches to stand in Piccadilly, from St. James's Church to the Haymarket. The question was considered of so much importance that the parish employed Mr. C. Phillips to conduct their case. Evidence was heard on both sides. On the part of the parish it was contended that the stand at that particular place was the occasion of serious obstruction, and placed in a great many instances the lives and limbs of passengers in jeopardy. On the other hand it was asserted that the stand had been regularly appointed by the Hackney•coach Commissioners, and therefore it ought not to be put down. After a long and patient hearing of the arguments pro and con, the further consideration of the case was postponed to Wednesday next. James Hayes, footman and under-butler to Dr. Augustus Granville, of 16, Grafton -street, Bond -street, was on Satur day placed at the bar, charged with stealing a dozen dessert spoons, and other articles, the property of his master. The prisoner was remanded until Wednerday. ANOTHER FIRE AT ROTHERHITHE. We regret to state that another fire broke out on Satur day morning, in the ill-fated parish of Rotherhithe, which entirely consumed the premises of Mr. John Welby, car penter and cabinet-maker, Nos. 322 and 323, Rotherbithe street, and exactly opposite the Tunnel Wharf, where a very disastrous conflagration took place on the night of the 14th ult. We have taken great pains to collect the most accurate particulars of the calamity of Saturday, and the following facts may be depended on :—The building com prises a dwelling-house and workshops under one roof, on which the proprietor had recently expended 200/. in re pairs, and was, since the late fire in the Tunnel Wharf, only separated from the river by the street. On Friday night, Mr. Welby locked up his workshops, and about half-past 11 o'clock, his family having previously retired to rest, he went reund the premises, and every thing appeared safe. About an hour afterwards, Mr. Welby was aroused from his sleep by his mother-in-law, Mrs. Whiting, who slept with his five children in a back room. She was awoke by the loud cracking of wood below, and called out, " John, John, there is a strong smell of fire." Mr. Welby immediately got up, and ran into the back room, for the purpose of saving his children, and on open ing the door of the apartment he was almost suffocated by the smoke. He succeeded in draggin g his little ones into the front room, and by the time he had done so, the flames were fast approaching, and he almost gave himself up for lost. _ The cries of the children at this moment were truly heart-rending, but fortunately a ladder was raised to the window of the apartment, and Mr. Stokes, an opposite neighbour, received four of the children from their father, but on looking for the fifth it was missing. Mr. Welby ran back into the adjoining room, and found the child in a state of great alarm under the bed, and saved it. He had scarcely gained the ladder with his wife when the 1 , 17 ,0 burst forth from all parts of the house, and in a few sl ag the building was one mass of fire. Mr. WelhY 15 nately insured, in the Sun Fire Office (having o nl y,' tr t that precaution since the commencement of the een"-ott, tions in Rotherhithe) ; the buildings were insurcdfor,s and the furniture and stock in trade for the sum 51r11 ‘ ; ! is but right to state that Mr. Ballantine, one of' the 1 1 ., trates of the Thames Police, was on the spot before tlt!a was extinguished, and, in conjunction with Mr. Cho' e i the ship-breaker, and Evans, the principal survefor Thames Police, examined the premises, and instituteao most strict inquiries, and their opinion is, that the fi, re o f I accidental. A majority of the inhabitants seem t° different opinion. DREADFUL SHIPWRECKS AND Mr „ ' - ' CHOLY LOSS OF TWELVE LIVES' The political intelligence of the present interesting feri:g has precluded the earlier insertion of several articles, an ° t others, the following melancholy shipwrecks and lives : dins °E Last week it was our duty to record the stra ne l wi t de o ri, st several vessels at Ramsay, on Friday morriing, being able to communicate the particulars to our , obtain' Since that period, however, we have succeeded in r ° t he ing, from some of the eye-witnesses and survivors °L de' melancholy shipwrecks, the following heart-rending pi tails :—On Wednesday and Thursday week R 0 1,1 ,1 beta became the asylum for several vessels, among fore three ships, several brigs and schooners, with ma n y and-aft rigged vessels—in all about twenty-six sa 11 : 1 , wind had been for some time from south to gine, be . blowing fresh ; but on Thursday evening the Ivato ata came delightfully fine, scarcely a breeze floatin& en th , e , and not a ripple on the wave. This, however ;J ° o ! tinue long ; for about midnight, and towards two on Los morning, the breeze began to draw in from the nor. to east, and in a few hours it blew a complete burr'' poi At day-light the bay, which, on the receding cis crowded with vessels riding in safety Pese-°' at anchor, Pr ,;:fferent scene. cfreater l During night, or early in the morning, the portion succeeded m :Yeighing or slipping their anebo rof stood to sea, in preference to encountering the claug e o irt • wlac: a lea shore, with every appearance of the ga le ' Tir d br Two ships and two smacks, however,- zemained; a fi nfl to r tween nine and ten o'clock, the wind from Peut l , t4 „,ors ° ` south, blowing strong, accompanied with heavy suL", tain, one of the ships was observed to be dragging R,'"iott' elute / and shortly after the smack Emulous, T. Sprl tos; master, end a crew of two men, named Corlett an DO borough, and, it is said, a male and female passenger, u e pOr t bound for Ramsay, coal laden from Whitehaven, wh' e ;, the left on the previous night, was observed to, same predicament. Another smack, the Bond, master, from Liverpool to Dromore, with salt:, ca` linable to retain her ground, succeeded in slipPing;: i i, bles, and was safely beached abont a mile to the ro" t - die' of Ramsay harbour, .where she now lies, having O r or little or no damage. Would that we could dose n ti d tl)e rative here ; but now, alas, we are compelled to recd no', Awful scene which followed. As the tide began r a sti 4 the wind itiereased with greater violence, and the ' O , - c loir liilows continued to lash the beach with, as it were , ` - tlO l bled force, and seemed to proclaim to all spectatorsool their opening jaws were were yet unsatisfied. the Hee/oleo consternation seemed to pervade the breasts of_l,oo stmhicd multitude who thronged the beach to w i n 6 passing scenes, on observing the ship begin to t Ol about half a mile to the northward of the harbour• now about half-past eleven, and in a few, a verlf. l e " ments, all was over. The Emulous had now dri' t ` j- ar d the breakers, about a quarter of a mile to the northlcaptlis the ship, where having been struck with a heavy se S A , - 10 11 larboard bow, she staggered for a moment —an a c i; rr ment of suspense—instantly upset, and, .melanchal " f o t beir late, all on board perished in the waves, within sigh t , e pte t, l own homes and friends, while the shrieks of the sP -c f niv only seemed to utter their funeral requiem. In th i c ,, of this consternation, and almost at the same time it " 0 tb s , perfectly evident that the ship was going to piece s ' A' masts began to reel to and fro in various directior•yeir length she parted in the middle, and the main 001, 113albest masts fell over, leaving the foremast standing, and ' ° o tll O half a minute, it fell with a tremendous crash, s 00 0 nothing but same fragments of the wreck were visi bi , e n e the surface of the water, and it was concluded by. that shore that all on board had shared a similar fate t o f e l to the crew of the Emulous, and were all the part ne-s t ° aw lj A common grave. The bea c h no w b ega n to Pr es- o'' . tokens of the fury of the elements, and for miles it was 5 fr ie t with the broken fragments of these ill-fated portion of which, and by means ofa cask, two of the haW the ship succeeded in reaching the shore, where eVer) ov e' ante was rendered them in their forlorn c ondition. be fot e these proved to be the second mate, who succeeded. 0 0: quitting the wreck, in securing part of the papers an f bic amination of which she was found to be the Ita" i3 o fas St. Peter, J. Pontan, master, 351 tons hurt h Ga lt, fro g' bound for Borga, in Finland, with 411 tons wh i t e Liverpool, which port she left on the Monday' prc.eorip with a crew of seventeen hands. The weather eeen l ..glo 9 ; cleared up for a few minutes, every eye and sPY lP qiff was directed to that portion of the wreck which en bor` to hold by the anchors ; and some expressed the fa g/ • ; . 1° that they could observe some poor wretches yet cling e l ;ongi the wreck, over which every wave constantly was br io 013( whilst others asserted they were but the bolo?" e0 (10; timbers of the ship. As no time was to be lost 0 0 1 vouring to rescue them, (peradventure they migh t i ,, r alli, ; l° several—indeed all gentlemen present—offfrad " — e rvi c ' t Ve ssels , pa ; reward those persons who would volunteer their 5 0 P °. in the attempt to rescue the sufferers. This call vi seticl made in vain, for in a few minutes a brave c rew u islO t men, some of whom had on. a former occasion distinga t ha t themselves, nobly came forward, and deela re d bo s if permission was obtained for Mr. Hee l b is 'gcritr, Jane, which was cheerfully granted by tha' io man, they would, by the help of God, t r Y brs'V e their best. At about half-past two, aft er i '" many an angry billow, they succeeded in Tea et wreck, where they discovered eight of the crew Y e boar; and in a state of exhaustion, whom they took ° l ' t teisc and endeavoured to regain the harbour. In thi s 1 1 e O . however, they were unsuccessful, and, finding that 3 bell " ; tions were useless, determined on running for tr a y ' where the waves foamed in awful grandeur. ean v was now turned to the fate of the Jane, and as s ' l o ' i e er ; nued to approach the beaeh, the anxious breast wo of spectator began to beat with expectation, all ie d ab e 4 , - 4 silent prayer was breathed for those on board. y' e ciriie wave she passed on, and now—the last is come ; t- bea with its foaming breast, she glides along, and reacaeliverit: shore, where hundreds, waiting to welcome their o f cle itj r at lent a helping hand to snatch them from the jaws of it The James of Dumbarton, from Shetland for i,aosr, put into Tobermory, the 11th ultimo, in distress, c i c; e o , l had two of her crew and two passengers wa i s h a e o l9 hoard, and most part of her bulwarks car'''ed the 7th ultimo. , fte DEATH FROM BURNlNG.—Saturday 9 . ll %, e sl o an inquisition was taken at the Coach and W rs i e r - if fefil,#) Flood-street,Westminster, on the body of an elte'igneti named Jefferies, but whose Christian name was 10°, - 0- 0; ;;red was burned to death in the house No. 8, Great Q ° .: t spe, lb° of which she had been left in charge. The hous e "07, f ter n-as undergoing repair, and on Thursday evenlnii. r e ole, workmen left, the deceased seemed quite well. ,P pia l „ e - Ite° before seven o'clock the next morning, some of Pe to the house, intending to resume their work. 1 11e i' repeatedly, but received no answer, and after wint s , l 7 9 te'," past seven o'clock one of the labourers got down hi s ; o o 3 ' so into the house through the window, and le t (0 " o act panions. On going into the parlour the firem Bs :„ - esrlf,,..bec l ; ing, with a coffee-pot on it, the water in which 1 " 3 ,3 stye g ill' ing. On the kitchen floor the deceased was fou l a o re,,is, quite dead. Her clothes were burned to tinder , an iaa if partly alight. In the back kitchen lay her en? , with some of her hair in it, as if pulled off hestil ° , 4 1 in " A 0 0 on fire. A candlestick was on the dresser, theirnand-Lose to had evidently burned out in the socket. It . s ,lfie fi re, ,lll deceased took the candle down stairs after lighti n g c ide n 'lP perform some domestic duty, and while so doing , ° fr ont set fire to her clothes, and in her fright ran into he,,ffocOrto then, where she sank down from exhaustion or the 5 ' g od _,4 effects of the smoke. N o ne heard her screamingstixyea supposed th e d rea df u l occurrence happened ab c ' ut are ei cr it, themorning ar,tohuand were b that beinghe u r r i i t ed suailnhgrep.o f ver dict the neighbours dental Death." nf ----------- _ On the 3d inst., at Balhamß,lßtheTliardSy.of James We bb -f ' 94. 0 a son. .I ob On the 4th inst., at St. George's-place, Camber Wei ' Oirg. 06 Browne, of a son. Arthur Or° On the sth inst., in Bedford-row, the lady of ofe Blakiston, Esq., of a on rrc l ter, On the sth inst., in Bedford - square , M rs. J. Endell l daughter. of MARRIED. . 1 On the 3d inst., at Malpas, the Rev. John MacaulaY. f'e,r; of Malpa s Loppington, in Shropshire, to Miss Larg e, • DIED. f P tli : l " i Henry Smithe, Esq., of Kingston, Jamaica, late 0 l ot Kent, shipwrecked on the coast of America in October drowned, with 16 others. le 13r° Wrang On the sth inst., in Berners - st reet, Laurence of, Es O q., in his 45th year. 7 7th Y o . n the 3d inst., at Everton , near Liverpool, in her d Di' l ejoi Martha, widow of the late Joh n March, Esq., former1 Is L aket i ti On the 25th ult., at Dr. B lake's, Taunton, Mrs. 0 , of the late Rev. William Blake, of Crewkerne. e i s :ilt On the 7thWeymouth-street, aged 24, Gel 60 0 youngest son of the late Lieut.-Colonel Coote Martin, 1500.1,,d. On the 2d inst., in Euston-square, in her 7:2(11,f 5f ' A erOl v ? relict of Thomas Creswell, Esq. late of Tenbury, v _...," ' N ' °I :r< London : Printed and Published by BIURDO Y° at The Sox O ffi ce, No. 112, Strand. A T T I I Po( mite cliff() •-..........____ B EST II ITAT lour :111allerl fin, "4ketuters i tLE cu z ‘ v price s mlet ditt 4 4 e ; to so s 41 ea ° t at! 4 th t " I I, lii .. ain ro usE to D kibiequen, no w Si 4.1 1 . STO( mo g . r than n 'Plend - e Plu c h . 4, 0 0, 13 ST' t hh 4 ng c, r Yed b if"Y's S eri nc „ss ere c Ith Prov e ° %ay r beil 41 ,1, fo rtn i. 1 142 1 _ 7 nig 401,,i_ree.con Je st 11 14 1.4