The Sun. — London, England, 1830-06-28 00:00:00

affections. But the affections of the Prince of: Wales ! where were they ? of what nature ? by what engaged, or by whom ? His passions, alas were known to be far otherwise excited. His pity might have been touched, but if Caroline of Bruns- wick herself could feel that sentiment, she dis dained to sue for it. Her reception in her hus-. band's house was a stain to manhood. A fa- shionable strumpet usurped the apartments of the Princess—her rights—the honours due to her— every thing but the name she bore, and the bonds which galled and disgraced her. The Master of: the mansion felt not his own dignity insulted, when the half-drunken menials made their Royal Mistress the subject of gross ribaldry or spiteful abuse She complained to her parent : her letters were inter-* cepted, and the seals violated; the offence of her' misery was unmercifully punished. She became a wanderer over the earth ; she sought, after many years, a home in England, the birth-place, and once' the expected kingdom of her only child. Unsated malice, vengeance, perjury, and persecution, fol . lowed her; she grappled with—strangled them — and bravely perished. The heroine has now at least nothing to fear from her destroyer. She has the sympathy of one who yet survives —who in ho nour, and in the face of God and man, had antici pated her title, and superseded her pretensions,: even before they were promulgated. But that was not a reproach to the Princess of Wales whom the law of England recognised. She knew not the affecting history of Mrs. Fitzlierbert. Mr. Fox, who had spent his life in England, knew it not ; on the contrary, he pledged his honour that the tale had no foundation. He declared before • Parliament, that no marriage had ever taken place between the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Fitzherbert ; • and he proved the negative by a letter from the Prince himself. But who could attest the truth of the Prince's letter ? We close this painful subject - by observing, that Mr. Fox never afterwards for gave the falsehood which had duped him ; nor could the Royal person in question prevail upon • himself to forgive Mr. Fox for having so much to' pardon. If the Court of George 111. had a power ful influence in maintaining the decencies of social intercourse throughout England—if his virtuous Queen, by her resolute contempt for vice, and • rigorous exclusion of female profligates from her presence, did actually carer the cause of the adulteress with authorised and merited scorn— thereby awarding to female chastity that worldly honour which, next to religion and her husband's and children's love, is the surest guard of the matron's. virtue—if such were the respective meet* afforded at the Court of George 111. to worth and to impu rity, it grieves us to speakof the opposite system which • prevailed notoriously during thereign of his successor. It might sound sarcastic or ironical to pretend that the associates of George IV. were selected by that Prince, from a manly confidence in his own capacity for repelling vice, and resisting the temptations of the profligate. Georgia IV. may, indeed, have felt that confidence : but rugged must have been the • virtue which could have justified such perpetual ex-, I posure. We do not wish to press hard upon the weaknesses of human nature, nor insist on it as an argument so much of anger as of sorrow, that the late King, before his 20th year, was supposed to have been initiated in all the vices by which an ad vanced, and affluent, and corrupt society is iefested. We do not complain with a too morose rigidity, . that the gaming table, which exhausts the most im measureable resources, and which creates and feeds • the vilest and most hateful passions, was familiar to the youthful Prince. his Royal Highness could throw off, and did, successively, all the companions of his earlier years ; except, perhaps, those habits of life which are the sole, but brief and precarious bond of auc'a immoral intercourse. Nor would it, but for what follows after, be our duty to bring forward the mortifying fact, that not one, but a series of licentious • favourites, are understood to have presided over the Royal Household of George IV., and to have affixed upon his Court a character the reverse of that by which his father's reign was distinguished. The divorced of both sexes, and of all ages were not afraid of meeting a suitable reception from congenial spirits near the British Throne. The late King had many generations of intimates, with whom he led a course of life, the character of which rose little higher than that of animal indulgence. The Royal taste in the choice of male companions, usually exhibited its changes at the same periods w hich marked the transfer of his more particular attentions from one fair favourite to a rival. But never, we lament to say, except in the instance of. Lord Moira, with whom the friendship was of the holiday kind, --showy, not solid,—and in that of Sheridan, where the alliance was a traffic of dex terous and familiar service against the hopes of pa-.: tronage,—never have we seen recorded, among the Prince's intimates, the name of one man distin- • wished in the world for any intellectual attributes (we say nothing of the moral) which it would not have been charity to forger. If George IV. en eouraged and professed that species of philosophy, • „ejlich takes its name, though not its doctrines, or real g e e:ll6es, from Epicurus,—or if, in the practice of the late and his companions, it degenerated into something more gross than Epicurus would have deigned to ackne;7ledge,—we are bound to state that London is a rich se;foel of voluptuousness; and that of all the pupils in such a school, an 1. heir apparent will probably be among the most conspicuous and docile. It is, however, a ground -, of something deeper than regret, that the gentle and noble families of England should have no access;; to the Sovereign, or to the females of the Royal House, but through the den of Circe. It is shock ing that foul examples should emanate from so high a source—that the very name of modesty should be . so obliterated from the walls of that edifice whose lord is the "fountain of honour," for all English , men and their children. But let us hope for better things. The Court is now about to be remodelled. - It will begin, we trust, by being purified. A more amiable or considerate lady, it is said, does not exist than is her present Majesty. The correct:, le even though it may have been the severe, Court of Queen Charlotte, and her times, will no doubt be:. revived, and - virtuous women may once again pre-d sent themselves and their daughters in the Royal' . chambers with impunity. What political changes may be consequent on this great one in the person of the reigning Sovereign, it might be hazardous to guess. That a new arrangement of names and persons may, to a considerable extent, be made • known, as affecting public functionaries of even the • superior order, is reported with an eagerness which • adds nothing to the authority of such predictions. All the Ministers of the late King kissed hands las - Saturday, and have been thefe!ey recognized for the present as official servants of !?is Majesty William IV. With regard to a total change of the Cabinet, nobody, so far as we yet can learn, apprehends it. Those who thus far ' indulge their imaginations, might recollect that there is at least one sturdy oak to be uprooted, native to the soil, and familiar with the storm. but we will go further : we state,—not hypothetically, but positively,—that there is no reason to believe that the Ministry will be changed. We cannot use • too strong language in describing the cordiality which the new Monarch exhibits to his Ministers, or the confidence which he expresses in them. His Ma jesty has declared his intention to support them ev'itii equal frankness and zeal. We should fail in our duty if we did not suggest, that (row the precarious health of King William, to whom we nevertheless wish most heartily a long life and prosperous reign, it become. a matter of instantaneous prudence to take measures for meeting, by a Regency Bill, the ' possible—though we hope not probable or speedy— emergencies of the kingdom. His Majesty has been , subject to spasmodic attacks, extremely sudden, and at the time very doubtful in their consequences. If, therefore, which God avert, any one el these should • prove fatal, what sort of condition would the empire - I be redueed to, without the enactment of some pre vious law, for committing to proper hands the guardianship of an infant Queen, and the admini stration of a widowed realm ? This object is of 'such prime and manifest importance, that we con-, I ceive there is no public business whatever to which it can discreetly be postponed,—Times. We announced in a Second and Third Edition ofi the Chronicle of Saturday, the death of his late Ma jesty George the Fourth, which took place on the morning of that day, at a quarter.past three o'clock. For this painful event the nation was long prepared. Our readers will find in our columns of this day an . ;'ample account of particulars connected with the termination of one reign and the commencement of another. We cannot allow the occasion to pass without offering a few observations on the character of our late Sovereign. In a government like ours, in which the powers of the Sovereign are Fmited, the personal character of a ruler is, no doubt, of less importance than in a pure monarchy. Still, how ; ever, the share of power possessed by the King in this country is far from inconsiderable, and the reign of George the Third affords ample proof that the proceedings of the Government may be very ma terially influenced by the character of the Sovereign. It is now understood that we owe to that Monarch the loss of our North American Colonies, and that his Ministers, long before the conclusion of the American war, yielded to his desires for its con tinuance against their better judgment. So eager was the King for the continuance of the war, that it is even stated, on good authority, that he threat ened Lord North if he refused to remain Minister, he would have to answer to the country for having gone on so Jong. The same Monarch 'defeated the Aristocracy in 1784, when Mr. Pitt • became Minister. And it is well known that Mr. Pitt resisted for some time the wish of the King for a war with France, till the great Whig families de clared in favour of hostilities, which enabled the Monarch to overcome the reluctance of the Minis ter. Thus it may be said that we owe to the in clinations of our King George the Third the two wars which have entailed on this country nearly the whole of the heavy debt which now presses so • heavily on us. The obstinate prejudices of George • the Third prevailed also in the case of concessions to the Catholics. In short, the share of power al lotted by the Constitution to the King is so great, that a Sovereign possessed of ambition, energy, and talents might, in most cases, by a little manage ment, prevail in the policy which he has most at heart. We are induced to make these remarks on the share of power allotted by the Constitution to the Monarch, from a belief that the influence of the personal character of George the Fourth on the character of his reign is riot so well understood as it ought to be. The world is apt to suppose that what is could not have been otherwise. If George the Fourth had in 1811 possessed the ambition and the love of business of his father, the struggle be tween the Monarch and the Aristocracy for ascendancy, the peculiar character of the events which agitated Europe long after the peace, and the disaffection of large classes of the population, especially in the manufacturing districts, might altogether have given • a very different complexion to the times from that which they have actually borne. But George the Fourth, from his first accession to power to the close of his reign, seems to have been seldom actuated by a wish to interfere with the measures which hi, Ministers for the time recommended. During the greater part of his father's reign, the Ministers for the time often complained of the intrigues of the friends of the King, and the nation was familiarised with the terms of back stairs influence, of a power behind the Throne greater than the Throne itself, &c. The King's party in Parliament used not un frequently to vote against the Ministers, whose situation was, in consequence, anything rather than a bed of roses. But George the Fourth, with na tural abilities of a far higher character than those of his father, had from his early years abandoned himself to pleasure, and had he been so inclined, when verging on fifty, he could riot easily have ac quired habits of application to business. The wish nearest his heart seems to have long been the enjoy ment of domestic quiet and private friendship; and his friends and confidants were not chosen with a view to political influence or intrigue. With such a Sovereign, an Administration has little to fear in the way of unnecessary inter ference, and the unfortunate event which threw such a shadow over the earlier part of his reign can hardly be urged in disproof of this, as the personal feelings of the Monarch led to the very questionable 'measures on which the Administration reluctantly entered, in obedience to his wishes. The educa tion of George IV. had been ill-conducted, and subsequent diligence had not atoned for early ne glect. Possessing, however, good natural abilities, he must have learned much, both in his intercourse with the world and in his snore confidential inter course with the distinguished men who enjoyed hi intimacy. With respect to the actual measure of his acquirements, accomplishments apart, different opinions are entertained. There seems, however, to be little doubt that he approved of the vigorous prosecution of the war in which the nation was en gaged on his accession to power; that one great reason for his continuance of Mr. Perceval in office after the year of restrictions was at an end, was his approbation of the mode in which he had se conded the operations in the Peninsula, and that he shared the aversion of his father to all changes in the Constitution of Church and State. Weser we to judge of his political discernment from his opposition to the claims of the Catholics, we should not be inclined to rate it very high. Imperfect in formation may be the parent of timidity as well as of rashness. Where we do not see our course dis tinctly, we naturally hesitate. The King was anxious to conciliate the people of Ireland, without any change in the political relations of Catholics and Protestants. He was not aware that it is iespos sible to conciliate the oppressor and the oppressed, till the oppression is at an end, and he seems to have been equally unable to see that there was more danger in persisting in a system which retained five sixths of the people in a state of violent excitement, than in the innovation which destroyed the sources of the excitement. If we know that the course'`. which a herk is pursuing will soon precipitate it over rapids, prudence requires that we should stop : it in time. The late King is allowed to have been. of a kind and benevolent disposition, and to have . aken much delight in promoting the happiness of all who approached him, We consider the events which grew out of his unfortunate marriage to' form no exception to this, because here he re seeted an attempt to abridge his own happiness, and he acted throughout under the influence of strong excitement. l3ot he took no delight in abridging the happiness or pleasure of those who did not come In collision with himself. lie was born the heir to a throne, and taught to believe that 1:e was entitled to every indulgense. Hence the defects in his character which became the source of so much misery to him in after life. But, though spoiled by indulger .e isr early life, and ill qualified to brook opposition to his wishes, the kind substratum of his disposition remained unchanged; and though when in poseer he might not possess a p s cfound know ledge of the means by which the happiness aid prosperity of a nation are best promoted, the well known benevolence of his disposition afforded a se cusisy, that at least he would not ecoliy popaent to any measures of a harsh and violent nature, W .might be relectant So accede to measures of a de cided che s racter, in critical times, from inability to estimate the degree in which the good would prevail over the evil in the consequences.. but as this de fect was connected with the wish that his subjects, sh,ossid share the tranquillity he himself loved, great sillowanee was spade for it. It was believed, arid not without reascos, 4)4 though averse to interfere with the course of the Aduiiassers.tion, yet that this well-known love of moderation Was 14.0 t 177; . .?01fit its el;fect Gil his public servants.To the love of re pose, therefore, in the late King, coupled with his moderation and benevolence, we owe the simple and straight s forward march of the Go- i yernenent, the absence of Court intrigue, the tos i {oration which allowed public opinion to attain con s l 1 fidence and strength), and many other blessings. It) may be said that these are the natural results of peace, and the spread of education ; but the period' which elapsed between the termination of the C;zr- 1 man war and the commencement of that of Ame-! rica was a period of faction and domestic discon tent. The spread of education has, by enlighten- 1 ing the lower orders, improved the higher, by di-1 minishing their ability to deceive; but still much' must depend on the character of the men who are in possession of power. But while we owe much to the character of George the Fourth, it must be "allowed that the love of profusion which marked : his life before his accession to power continued with him on the throne, and led to some unfortunate re sults. To say nothingl of the excesses of the Civil List, which year after year scandalized the nation, the sums expended on palaces and cottages have been enormous. The Palace in St. James's Park 1 has cost upwards of a million, we believe, already, and it is impossible to tell how much more must be ..expended on it before it be completed, if it be ever ':. completed. From the difficulty Ministers have ex perienced in withstanding or moderating the inch . nations of his late Majesty for wasting money on bricks and mortar, we may easily conceive that if ' he had possessed other inclinations irreconcilable • with the public good, he would have found means to insure obedience to them. Various opinions have been hazarded as to the good or bad consequences to the nation from the late King's love of retire ment. It has been said by a clever Nobleman • (Lord Normanby), that— ; " The want of a Court is greatly felt by this grandeur and pomp-loving people. There is something in the out ward show of a Monarchy as necessary to the crowd of idle gazers and admirers, as there is in that of religion. ' Methinks the cause of Monarchy has suffered by the long eclipse of its brightness here. The widowhood of the King, his age and secluded habits, has estranged him from ' the nation. They don't seem to have the personal regard for him, which a kind of acquaintance with his subjects procured for his predecessor. The people arc neither dazzled by splendour, amused by show, nor fascinated by condescension. Hence they may begin to ask a quoi bon/ Methinks, too, the spirit of British feeling has become - more aristocratic and democratic from this cause. The ' Nobles stand at the head of society, erect, unbowing. They have been left undisciplined, unused to the glance and presence of a superior. Hence they are more unsocial more self-wrapped, more petty princes than they used to be, at least half a century since. The mania for ribbons and decorations has decreased. Royalty, shorn of its splendour, has lost much of its prestige. The Sovereign will seems no longer the centre either of fashion or of power, and in either political circles or those of ton, you might at times fancy yourself in Venice. The Democrats, on their side, take advantage of the same dereliction. They speak and argue openly with an irreverence equalled only in the French Revolution, cavil at expenses, &c." It is possible that Court splendour might have made the Aristocracy less proud, but we question whether the nation would not have dearly purchased their increased affability by the consequences in other respects. The people of this country are slaves to fashion, and the desire to be fashionable would powerfully counteract any tendency to improve ment among us. We are satisfied that the retired life of the King has had a beneficial effect on the nation. That George the Fourth, however, would have been much more popular with the mass of the people, had he appeared more in public, may easily be inferred from our general proneness to worship idols, and the flattering, if not fulsome reception his Majesty met with, when he visited Ireland and Scot land. His father overcame the early feeling of dis like towards him by his accessibility. The notice of a King is not soon forgotten. Whatever, there fore, may be the case with regard to the public, there can, we fear, be little doubt that Kingcrafi does not lose by the frequent exhibition of the Monarch. The private virtues of George the Third were in every man's mouth, and formed a very material element of his power. The people were but too apt to excuse the long bloody and ruinous wars in which ha plunged the nation, on ac count of his conjugal fidelity, his temperance, and his accessibility. George the Fourth took less pains to be come popular. He was known only to his own circle. His profusion and extravagance, his early liaisons, his unfortunate marriage, and the proceeding which grew out of it—all tended to injure him in the general estimation. But at length his errors were forgotten in the gild and peaceable character of his reign. A veil seemed, as if by general consent, to be thrown over the earlier part of it. For years he was never spoken of but in the language of kind ness. And during his long and painful illness tht public sympathy was manifested in a most unequi vocal manner. We have endeavoured, in these brief observations on the character of George the Fourth, to speak according to the best of our judg ment, as we conceive history will speak of him. He is now gone to his account, and beyond the reach of praise or censure. May we enjoy as much happi ness rind tranquillity under the reigning Sovereign as we have enjoyed under George the Fourth ! Morning Chronicle. If the functions of the Executive were performed by the Sovereign himself, instead of being exercised, according to the constitution of this country, throng{ the instrumentality of responsible servants, the Government could not have exhibited a more re gular decay of energy, ending in a total extinction of power, than we have witnessed during the lust few weeks preceding his late Majesty's demise. Some decent interval may be suffered to elapse ere ,the Administration shall be remodelled; but with , 'the life of their master, George the Fourth's latest Cabinet has ceased to exist as an operative body of Ministers ; nor is the corporal malady by which the sceptre has been transferred to another Monarch, more decisive in its effects titan the moral imbecility so clearly evinced in the recent transactions of the Session by the Duke of Wel lington's Administration. There is no need to in quire what may be the inclinations of the new King. The men now in place can never be allowed to go on. Their failure has been complete and general through out all the chief departments of the public service. In Foreign Affairs, witness the compromise of na tional honour and interest in the affairs of Greece and Portugal. In finance and commerce, see the vacillation and impracticability of the schemes pro posed. As regards the Juridical Institutions of the country, to the most solemn pledges for amendment wantonly violated, and the measures of that naturt proposed brought forward with so little discretion, and with such small appearance of earnestness, as to make Law Reform a jest and a byeword. Nay, in the Home Department itself, mark how the Ma nager of the House of Commons is defeated in his impotent attempt to enforce, in a particular instance, capital punishment against the unequivocal sense of all classes of the community. Nor is this exhibition of the discomfiture of Ministers to be completed • without noticing the scandal brought upon them b) the absurd proceedings against the press, undertaken by the Attorney,General. After Sir Robert Peel's defeat on the Forgery Question; the general repro bation of Lord Aberdeen's conduct towards Prince Leopold, and his Lordship's disposition to protect the Usurper of Portugal; the miserable incapacity of Mr. Goulburn, and the real jeopardy in which his Sugar patties' Bill stands ; and, to crown all, the bility of Ministera to catry the second reading of the Lord Chanceffor's E qu ity Tileafixr two debates, nature's great law of continuance' must, indeed, possess mixee than its accustomed force, if thing's un dergo no change. -Vet sever had Administration a fairer trial; nor do the annals of Eng:and afford any example of a Cabinet going to pieces from sheer weakness, and without any assault or eternal violence, in so clear and unequivocal a manner, 74ere is not, and there has not been, any regular opposition to the Duke of Wellington's Government. Parties have been completely disorga nized; and while his Grace united among the blet-n., bets of his Administration s€veral persons heretofore associated with opposite factions, he had the sup port of a large body of independent men, who re garded nothing but the merits Of his measures That disorganization of parties'he effected, and to that suppoet be entitled himself by his resolution in carrying' Catholic Emancipation. Unhappily, as his Grace at one time mistrusted his own capacity foci the supreme conduct of affairs, so in the sequel he ; fell into the opposite error of imagining himself all sufficient ; that it was enough if he gave the word ; that from his judgment there ought to be no appeal; that any diversity of principle or independence of action in the subordinate servants of the Crown , .must embarrass or paralyse the business of GovernH meet, and was not to be tolerated. Without ad verting to the distinction between civil and military affairs, the Duke of Wellington applied to the one the principles proper for the other; he discarded the able men whom he found in office, because they did, not choose to render to him that blind and implicit obedience which he demanded ; and he resolved, having got rid of these inconvenient spirits, to carry on the government by the force of his high volition through the agency of officials, no otherwise re garded than as orderlies entrusted to make his plea sure known. It would have been well for the Duke if he had derived from the old Roman fable of the Belly and other Members, the second lesson which it may supply, and reflected that impossible as it may be for the inferior members to do without that chief which regulates and distributes the vivifying elements, neither can it subsist without their aid ; for both pieces of homely wisdom are comprehended in the words " Inde apparuisse ventris quoque hand veva ministerium eggs; nec magi: nliquant alere mot." In the Duke, therefore, to think of cen tering in his own person the entire Administration was absurd; and his experience may show, since it seems the proof was wanted, that however well ,meaning a Government may be (for the intentions 'of Ministers are not bad) its Members must be per sons of same ability both to form, and defend their measures, as well as evincing some respect for 'principle, past pledges, and consistency, and, at least, free agents.--Morning Chronicle. The Court Circular contains some interesting par ticulars respecting the last moments of the late King. The following account of the last moments, from a Paper of yesterday, is in substance the same, but is more particular : " The death of his late Majesty took place under the following circumstances :—Towards three o'clock yes terday morning he felt a sudden attack of the bowel., and desired to be removed from his couch to his (hate perch —a violent discharge of blood ensued—the King instantly placed his hand■ upon hi. breast, and said, ' I feel an odd sensation here—can this be death—call Halford.' The King was removed to his couch, and Sir Henry Halford was called. Before he could arrive, the glaze of death was over the eyes of his Majesty, and in a few minute. be was no more." Various rumours are in circulation respecting the Ministry. Inferences have been drawn from the Speech of the King in Council on Saturday, which, do not appear to be borne out by the version in the, Gazelle of yesterday. In that Speech he merely speaks of " the affliction which he is suffering on account of the loss of a Sovereign, under whose auspices, as Regent and King, this country has maintained during war its ancient reputation and glory—has enjoyed a long period of happiness and internal peace—and has possessed the friendship, respect, and confidence of foreign Powers." This language is too general to admit of being tortured into a meaning either for or against the continuance in power of the present Ministers. The general belief is, that partial changes will take place. That changes in the household will take place is confi dently anticipated. Sir Herbert Taylor is spoke', of as successor to Sir William Knighton, as Privy Purse, and the Earl of Cassilis will, it is said, sue-, ceed the Marquis of Conyngham as Lord Steward. We have heard of other changes; but we do not repose much confidence in them.—Morning Citron llaving, in our Second Edition, on Saturday morning, published an account of the lamented death of our late Sovereign, which we received by express from Windsor, we now proceed to lay be fore our readers some observations on those re markable events of his life which develope the prin cipal features of his eharacter. The character of George the Fourth, like that of most Princes whose fame has filled a large space in the world, has beet, oppositely drawn. If flattery worships even the Faults of Princes, calumny loves to depreciate theit virtues. The destiny which raises Kings so high above the ordinary lot of mortals, expose their cha racters peculiarly to the misrepresentations of inte-, 'rested panegyric or malicious dispraise. It is the part of sober history to relieve them from the delu- Hive colouring of both, and to place them on that pedestal where truth inscribes the just estimate of their fame for the instruction and example of future ages. Few reigns will be more memo. i rable in history than that of George the Fourth, 'who, as Regent and King, wielded the sceptre of England during the most eventful period of her fortunes. That reign, in its most perilous crisis, received its impress from his personal charac ter, which was one of energy, perseverance, am. great determination. If he had not possessed these qualities he never would have had the firmness to follow councils which brought the late war to its triumphant conclusion—and made that which hen long been but a struggle for existence a source of consummate glory. His late Majesty added to con 'siderable natural talents the advantages of a various and careful system of education. A detail of the events of his life we give in another part of our co lumns. We confine ourselves here to those general observations which are suggested by a review of those events as serving to develope the prominent outlines of his character. If education has a great influence in forming the character of private indivi duals, how much more important must its effects be on the habits of Princes who have to guard against more temptations than any other men ? All whi 'are intrusted with the education of those who are born to ascend a throne should ever bear in mind that admirable sentiment which D'Alembert says must have inspired the great Fenelon in his writings for the use of the grandson of Louis the Fourteenth What I am now going to say to this youth, will be toe happiness or misfortune of twenty mil lions of men." We believe that such a sentiment 'as this influenced the mind of George the Third, .vhen he had to choose preceptors for the delicate land difficult task of educating the Heir Apparent to the throne of Great Britain. Such men as Dr. Markham, Dr. Cyril Jackson, and Dr. Hurd, justi fied his choice—under those able instructors the young Prince made a rapid and distinguished pro ficiency in that classical knowledge which liberalises the understanding and .corrects the taste. The beneficial effects of their early and judicious train ing were seen in that correctness of judgment and elegance of taste which made him while yet young. admired for those acquirements in which Princes are but too often deficient. His Royal father's education had been limited ; but lie knew the ad vantages of knowledge, and was resolved that his son should not rely for respect on the sole superiority of birth, or fashionable accomplishments, or a eraceful exterior. Ile thought the cultivation of the mind and heart would constitute the best or• nament of the hrone. When the Prince entered upon public life he was, in consequence, well read it'l l the ciascic anthers ; end conversant with several of the modern languages. When Ifs I;a4 opcaeion to express himself on public occasions, he proved thus he possessed that acquirement which is of signal use to all those who move on the political theatre of a free State—a ready and persuasive eloquence—the result of a natural gift, improved by judicious cul tivation. His first address in the House of Peers on the mem ora bl e occasion o r the amendment moved y th:2 Marquis of Abercorn to the address upon his Majesiy 4 s 'proclamation to put down sedi7 tious meetings, afforded a specimen of manly, fluent, and impressive elocution, which showed that he could have risen to eminence as a senator, if he had not been destined to fill the station of a King. Who cap wonder that he should then be the idol of the public, who displayed this intellectual power in union with those fascinating mariners and attractive exterior which acquired for him the early reputation of being the most accomplished gentleman of the . age: As"to the formation of moral character, he could not be under a rriOre'auspiciOui influence than that of parental example. In the household of George 111. the domestic virtues flourished, and Royalty was associated with those benignant attributes which give its purest lustre to the diadem. Happy would it have been for the memory of the Sovereign, whose loss the people mourn, if he had cultivated with as devoted an attachment as his father those domestic qualities—those simple virtues which, when they grace a throne, are a powerful incentive to the mo ral improvement of a nation. But young, and stir- I °untied by flatterers and relieved from restraint, who can be surprised that his passions sometimes got the better of his reason, and that a disposition, natu rally generous, was betrayed into acts wisdom re ' buked, and charity would forget ? His disposition was certainly marked by strong feelings both of kindness and resentment—his memory was tenacious of the sense of injury—he was deficient in that magnanimity which is swift to forget the occasion of displeasure. He was affable, and familiar in his address—fond of even facetious intercourse with those who were honoured with his personal intimacy. But at the same time jealous of his dignity beyond what so exalted a station required, and to any thoughtless violation of personal respect, even in moments when he appeared to lay aside the formal distinctions of rank and indulge in social merriment, he was sensitive in the extreme. Yet he had a heart feelingly alive to the claims of hu manity—a benevolence truly munificent, and a hand " open as day to melting charity." His fine taste led him to patronize the arts which embellish life more than any British Sovereign since the days of Charles the First—he was a patron and promoter of literature and of learned men ; his collection of pictures afforded ample evidence of a chaste and cul tivated taste in the fine arts. His love of architec tural display, though in some instances indulging more in what was rather curious than correct, was on the whole, associated with ideas of grandeur and splendid improvement, as the streets and buildings which he caused to be erected abundantly prove. Although he could not realise the boast of Augus t-us, that "he found the metropolis of brick, and left it of marble," yet, under his auspices, a great part of London underwent a transformation quite as unexpected, and nearly as beautiful. Such was he who now lies on the bier, surrounded by the mourn ful glories of Windsor; and receiving in his death a nobler testimony to his regal virtues, than all the honours that funeral pomp scatters upon the hearse of Royalty—the genuine tribute of a people's afflict ion.—Morning Herald. We stated in our first edition on Saturday morn ing, that the dissolution of his late Majesty was momentarily expected; and our paper had scarcely issued from the press before an official account reached us by express, that his Majesty had ceased to exist I We published the account in a second edition, which, as it did not, in all probability, reach the whole of our readers, we now repeat in another part of our paper. he manifestations of sorrow, as soon as the intelligence of the death of the King became generally known, were as general and un equivocal as, we have no doubt, they were sincere. The shops were everywhere half-closed, and the countenances of the people betrayed a feeling of some sad calamity having occurred. We do not, in fact, ever recollect, since the lamented death of the Princess Charlotte, to have witnessed such a general expression of sorrow on the part of the public ; and far be it from us to endeavour to subdue that feeling by any reflections on the per sonal character of the deceased Sovereign. He was a man, as men generally are, in the peculiar situation in which he was placed ; and but for that situatior, there can be no doubt that he would have excelled in various respects most of his cotemporaries, whe ther Sovereigns or subjects. In personal appear ance he had no equal in the kingdom, and in what 'may be styled personal accomplishments he had no superior in Europe. It was his evil genius to have the scope of his talents confined within a narrow circle, and the natural liberality of his mind circum scribed by coteries of peculiar sentiments and feel ings—a circumscription which occasionally gave an appearance of weakness to his conduct, but which never succeeded in wholly subduing the native strength of his mind. In matters of taste his Ma jesty, with the sole exception of architectural beauty,, had few superiors ; and in general kind ness and benevolence of disposition, he was not surpassed by any of his subjects. We wish not to allude to his conduct on an important occasion, when, assuredly, that conduct appeared in no very amiable light to a great portion of the public. Let the sin of that matter, if there was sin, die with him. We believe that he was less to blame than was generally imagined at the time in ques tion ; and that if he had been left originally to choose a partner for himself, he would, as a hus band, have manifested all that kindness of disposi tion for which he was distinguished in every other circumstance and relation of life. We have said thus much in the most unprejudiced spirit, and merely upon a cool judgment of the facts before us. Others will unquestionably give a different charac ter of his late Majesty; but while we readily allow that flattery would be as useless as it is invariably base, we can, at the same time, see no more sense in reviving unpleasant and harsh truths of the dead. Peace to our late Sovereign I We may have many Kings characterised by greater vices; but few, we fear, who will much excel him in the virtues, de cencies, and, if we may use the expression, genti H lities of life.—Morning Advertiser. His Majesty William the Fourth is now the King of these realms, and we augur for him, as earnestlyl as we wish him, a long and happy reign. In public. life, he has been hitherto distinguished by zeal and activity ; and in private, by that domestic affection and careful attention which are more frequently to be met with in the abodes of the poor, than in the palaces of Princes. The Queen, too, is charac terized not only by the most amiable disposition, but also by the greatest good sense ; and there are, few, we believe, if indeed any, of his present Ma-' jesty's subjects, who are not delighted that her Ma-1 testy has come to the throne of these realms. His present Majesty appeared at St. James's Palace to take the oaths, awl to return, on their being preH sented, the seals of office, of the Members of the present Ministry, in an Adrn!ral's uniform. We trust the token is of good omen, and that the navy of England will, under the gracious auspices of his Majesty, regain that splendour and reputation which have hitherto been the terror of other countries, and the safeguard and honour of our own.—Morn. Advt. Our limits will not permit us to say much of the political changes in immediate contemplation. The Marquis of Lansdowne has been already applied to, though we do not know what were the terms pro posed ; and we believe there is no doubt that Scar letr, Goulburn, Melville, Croker, and some others, will immediately retire. Other changes will na turally follow. The Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Aberdeen are, it is said, to be permitted to remain in office if they please. The King, we are credibly informed, manifested some hesitation in re turning the seals of office to some of his Ministers. —Aforning Advertiser. Our beloved, most amiable, and excellent Sove• reign, George the Fourth, has departed this life of care for the regions of eternal bliss, where peace undisturbed, will not, in the heavenly indulgence of the King of Kings, fail to attend his illustrious manes. This event, of which all the painful particulars, and those of the proceedings necessarily consequent upon it, in Parliament and in Council, are given in varicis parts of our Paper in this day, and which it was our distressing dii;.y to announce in 4 part of our impression of Saturday, took place at a quarter , past three on that morning. Although ) from the commencement of his protracted and fatal malady the country had mournfully anticipated as inevitable what has at length taken place,' still has the event excited among all ranks and plasses of the community one universal feeling of poignant sorrow. H o p e i s sel dom if ever wholly extinguished so long as life re mains. It can excite no surprise therefore that the prospect of an occurrence which all linen regarded as an approaching national calamity, clear and distinct as that prospect has been for a considerable period, PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY MUItDO YOUNG, THE SUN OFFICE, 112, STRAND, LONDON. ''2~---< ROYAL THE E Adtnirion Catu!nue On• TO ,TIIE IP THE G ENTLEM I AVAIL 1- at which si be made, of in become a Can Election. The state of discharging th Representation confidence with attempt to oecu present eireums nor do justice ti Although, ht tive, I shall still my Brother Fri operating with mentary Reforr they appointed have given in f that I am zealc With ever Kensington TO PAIVNBE LOST, a large Two Satan Go a Brooch in th Small Brilliant Whoever wil street, Tottenh; will lead to t POUNDS RE N.B. It is p ing the above a WRITING TA GREI T., • cacious all that elegant generally admi Ladies are instil by a method so highly interesti Specimens of dente, 75, St. sons 151.—S(i terms. " Improveme who professes t really deserves t man connected course of which gaiuly, became World. BENJA! Tooley- Board of Ordm Sail-cloth, Flal has now on CANVAS suit, &e. complete, good preservati , the Shakspearit embarking for other Settleaner Marquess, witl their comfort a: N.B. Marqu Orders by Edgingion, 5, MR. JO] Regen AUCTION, in This very col between the tw tersfield ; is int high road from a comfortable v modation for a occupied by Jo] xtending over )rming one of :ussex, abound The Estate c ONE TIRO !xelutive of sot lequate cottage containing abot and a large por of the Parish. Estate fur resid Further part Ina} , be had White, solicitor to Mr. Robins, 11EI Sold by BUTL of St. Paull': street, and 2 street ; BA WINDUS, Alinories; E Borough. COOLIN These extremely refrei at the same tier adapted to reli and counteract will obviate the Epsom Salts, I which often del desired effect.. in the luxuries wine, the mud Boxes at 2s. 9d The VEG] Dentifrice has dage to the fuel to offer any fu Composed of N Mineral or pert the usual object other Dentiftici remove those Gums and the lady will preset In Boxes at 2s. FLUID EX and compound, quired, in a ni dessert-apoonfu it is used as an toms, and oth for the in - Trope 7s. 61., and 2(1 COMPOUN partition is a st tion with other and innoxieus t perience materi Cuhebs. It io these affection: Bladder, &e., which the use able. In bottle QUININE Flatulence, Ind brash, &c. and 2s. and 45. 6d. ACIDULAI bitual Sore Th &c.—also a ref &c. In Boxes CAJEPUT common use) u inatism, Sprai: and 2e. 9d. PECTORA. Colds, habitua Bottles, at Is. * The abi the Name and . attached to thei P.,Titteeted. did not forbid, or at least did not prevent the int° gence of some faint degree of hope that the life ° the venerated Monarch might for some time long e r be spared by a gracious and benignant Providence This was the earnest supplication of a loyal all grateful people, capable of appreciating the splentfir qualities which adorned the character of their Sol reign, and incap a ble o f f orge tti ng th e g l or y in vre and the peacef u l triumphs, eq ua lly va lu a bl e an d soli' if less dazzling, of which his reign has present ee one continued succession. But the Suprem e Disposer of Events had ordained otherwis e and it is our duty to submit to his high decre. with pious resignation, cherishing the hop e that the august successor of George IV. in reaPil l i the royal inheritance of the British Crown, w ill ill heir also to the brightest and richest of those rega qualifications which for several successive reigns hn ci shed lustre upon the diadem, and made the scent° of our Monarch a sceptre of righteousness and a l emblem of national glory and prosperity. The his, tory of the late reign will be distinguished by the circumstance, that the general current of its polie s both foreign and domestic, has been eminently Silt cessful, and that, with one or two exceptions, ever: measure effected or attempted during its course hr been stamped by the deliberate approbation of thi country. The proceedings against Queen Caro line and the Catholic Relief Bill of last year, er r the only measures, during the period of ninetee n years in which the supreme authority rested it the hands of his lute Majesty, that excited any vigorous or determined opposition. With respect to the former, the good sense and manly feel ing of the country, which for a time the arts ' / faction were enabled to suspend, were not long .eri they resumed their proper and habitual domileon , The nation did justice to the character and motive of its injured Monarch. Of the public character s who took the most active part on one side or the other in the discussion, or turmoil rather, which the subject produced, those who adhered to the Kiag have long been the only men who can look back to their conduct without the consciousness that i operates even now as a deduction from their actua respectability and popularity. .All others ar glad to take refuge in oblivion. The measur of last Session—the most important domes transaction of the late reign —cannot yet be sal' , to have had such a trial as to enable a ny on' fairly to pronounce an opinion founded on the bast of experience of its effects. It is the only on" indeed, during a long reigH, of which ' the wisdo or the success is liable to be called in question, an t this amounts to such eulogy as we fear few M' narchs have deserved. Let the results of this rnee" sure be, however, what they may be, we feel that no deeper insult can be offered to the memory 0 our departed Sovereign than is involved in the supposition, rashly and irreverently hazarded b)' some of our contemporaries, that in a transaction 0 so important a nature, he, the father and guardian 0 his people, on all occasions tenderly and scruP lously solicitous for their happiness and welfare, de" scended to act 11 subsordinate part, or to be the mer e passive arid quiescent instrument i n the ha n ds 0 i others. When we cast our retrospective g lance upon the foreign affairs of the country, the glory 0 , the reign of George tile Fourth shines ou t aYitP unequalled and unmitigated splendour. Europe' rescued from the thraldom and degradation to which a fierce and domineering conqueror he s l reduced her by th e unconquera bl e fi rmness and perseverance of British Councils, adequately au r, tained and seconded by the invincible prowess A. British arms ;—the military character of Britain placed upon a lofty pinnacle of fame, to which th most aspiring of her Statesmen and the most i l ' trepid of her heroes in any former age would hay{l deemed it extravagance to aspire ;—a display t) 1 justice and moderation in the hour of victors', 11 ,1 which she at once consulted her own permanery welfare and established a lasti ng c l a i m to tlo gratitude alike of her ene m i es en d h er allies;-' these are the irreproachabl e t ro phi es o f t h e r eig. of Geor g e th e F ourt h. N or s h a ll i t b e sa i d t int the personal character of the Monarch had 31 ' inconsiderable share in their acquisition. He it was who made a noble and patriotic sacrifice o' . , personal partialities, habits, and predilections, upo the altar of the country, at the moment w he sovereign power, including of course that of their unbounded gratification, first became his. This , sacrifice the British nation will remem b er wit t ' . gratitude to the latest posterity. It was a sacrifice the most painful that a generous Monarch could h e called upon to make. It was such a sacrifice to the public welfare us no Monarch who was not also patriot and a hero could have made. In all the ac: complishments which benefit a gentleman, in the polished courtesy of manner, and those engagins qualities of disposition which constitute the c harte and value of social intercourse, in princely muni i licence, in the condescension and affability which 141 , once mitigate the display and increase the reli authority and influence of superior rank, in libera l patronage of the fine arts, and in the taste re' quisite to make Royal patronage really conduciv e to their advancement, the pre-eminence of his lat e Majesty was universally admitted. That the 1 055 of a Monarch so • conspicuously endowed wit' , all the qualities calculated to endear him to th hearts of his subjects will be long and deeP l • deplored, it would be injurious to the 1111601 to doubt. The gratifi ca ti on an d a d va n tage whicb, l the nation derived from thes e hi g h en d owment s 0` its Sovereign were, however, it must be admittede impaired in some degree by the seclusion to w hich, condemned duringthe him, latterer in yea w rs hie o h f hhisistasrtee a:l ' d disposition reign, led him to indulge, as well as b y anot h er unpro ph dons circumstance whi c h h as atten d e d' hi s en tire I reign—the absence of a f ema l e partner o f hi s t h ro ne'l h s e i tn ailoth In these respects the country will derive advantage frorn the transmission of the sceptre to his presen t Majesty, King William the Fourth, which will not be deemed inconsiderable by any one who reflects on the beneficial effects which frequent admission t°,' the personal presence of the S overe i gn i s ca l cu l a ted] to produce among the higher classes of society, an d the various ways in which the influence of it Sri'' i r ' tuous, high-minded, arid popular Qum' of Englan° , l may operate advantageously upon the manners, feel . ings, character, and interests of the whole commir 1 city.—lllureing Post. 1 The Churches throughout the Metropolis were yesterday hung with black clotk on account of the death ° f his late MAJESTY. The name of " our Most Gracia' Sovereign WHAA.ot" was substituted for that of, " GEonca," in the Church Service. The latter wane , has been used since the accession of GEORCIE I, in 1714. CHARLES .1.— . -The third aid fourth volume of Ur. D'lsstmELl's Commentaries on the Life and Reign of this monarch are at length before the public. The portance and value of such a work must be felt by a ll who take any interest in the history of their country. I n the preface to the present volumes the author observes : " In the whole compass of our history, no subject is snore dial" cult to treat than the present. I have not written thes e volumes as a partisan ; I leave every reader to his o%' adopted historian. As for myself, I have adopted every historian, otherwise I could not have become acquainte d with the secrets of all parties. I was attracted to the life and reign of CHARLES 1., because I considered them rich in all that interests the moral speculator, and I have e col , *, posed these volumes solely as the history of human nature. DiRTII;3. On the 27th inst. in Hamilton-place, the Counter , Gower, of a daughter. —......, - On the 27th ., inst. in Thomas-street, Waterloo-road , Mrs. James Wadi, of a son. - - On the 24,t11 inCt. at Woodlands, Surrey, the lady of J. C. Fyler, Esq., of a son. DIED. On 24th inst. at Stoutshill, in Gloucestershire, agej 79, the Rey. Win. Lloyd Baker. On the 26th inst. at Hastings, Frances Elizabeth Reeve, of Bury St. Edmund's, widow of the late Edward Reeve. Esq., aged 84.