The Sun. — London, England, 1836-10-13 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNAL. One of the best signs of the times is the anxiety of our honest contemporary of Printing-house-square to have the credit of being still a Reformer. It was long supposed that the Times knew its own interest, and always took care to shout for the winning side ; and the departure from its ordinary tact, in abandon ing the cause of Reform in November, 1834, at a time when the nation was deeply indignant at the Tory manceavre to defeat that cause, was inex plicable on the ordinary principle of Printing-house square tactics. Macchiavel tells us, that if an army has a strong force of artillery, the opposing army should, above all things, first try to get possession of it ; dud, to compo.e great things witty small, when Punch is foul-mouthed, the best cure is to jet hold of Punch himself. The Tories took a lesson from ivlac ,clilavel—they at once made a bold push for the araller ;' of Printing-house-square, and the Reformers found one morning, to their no little astonishment, one of the Duke •of Wellington's engineers turning its guns against themselves. Instead of entreating a good word from Punch, a rich Tory, who had suffered much from his ill tongue, opened his purse, and purchased box and puppets, and Punch became quite a new man. The knowing ones remarked that all of a sudden the limes, -chiliclz, for a dozen years at least, had never ceased mauling Mr. Alexander Baring (now Lord Ashbur ton), carefully pointing out the bearing of his breeches pocket on his arguments, and the facility which lie possessed of setting up a position to bowl it down again, and the rancour which it displayed when an opportunity presented itself (as in the case of Mr. Bingham Baring) against all Mr. Alexander Barine's connections, became blind to the imperfections of that distinguished personage, and gradually the truth oozed out. The public, however, did not relish this attempt of the Tories to fight under false colours, and so soon as it became evident that the Times had undertaken to deliver over the " three-fourths of the people of Eng land, whose political opinions it guided," to the ene mies of the people, with as little ceremony as one German prince makes over to another the dominion over so many hundred thousand souls, the object for 'which the Tories made so heavy a sacrifice was in a great measure frustrated. The Times betrayed the people, and the people deserted the Times. The guide of the political opinions of three-fourths of the people of England lost all influence with the people. In spite of all attempts to conceal the unpleasant truth, it soon was known that its circulation dropped off ; and of those who became aware of this important truth, we were not the last, having profited so much by the change which had come over the spirit of the oracle of Printing-house-square. Satan, in Milton, cannot blot Heaven out of his remembrance, and, in spite of his boasting language, it is obvious that he is by no means satisfied with hell. In like manner the Times every now and then looks back to that period when it combatted for Reform, and yielding to the bitter con sciousness that all its abuse of O'Connell, and endea vours to frighten the nation with the bug-bear of Popish ascendancy, have been lost on the people of England, pays a homage to reform by claiming the character of a consistent supporter of that cause, of fering thus an outrage to every reader possessed of a grain of common sense. An instance most gratifying to Reformers of this extorted homage occurs in the Times of yesterday, in that part of the speech of Sir George Sinclair at the Caithness meeting, where the Honourable Baronet observes— When I had the honour, at a later period, again to re present the county, Earl Grey and his colleagues had been called to his Majesty's councils ; and I deemed it my duty to give to the Reform Bill, as well as to the other measures of that Administration, a hearty, though not servile sup port. At length, however, a schism took place in the Cabi net. Four of its most influential members—namely, the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Ripon, Lord Stanley, and Sir James Graham simultaneously retired from office. At this eventful crisis I deemed it incumbent upon me to in vestigate the grounds which had induced them to resign ; and the more so as I e ntertained the highest respect for the character, the talents, the eloquence, and the integrity which my Noble and Right Hon. Friends had so constantly and so prominently displayed whilst I had the honrur to co-operate with them in the House of Commons." On this the Times, with matchless effrontery, makes the following comment : " In all this Sir George Sinclair concurs with the views which, without abandoning a simple principle of genuine reform as opposed to revolution, this Journal has strenu ously and successfully urged upon the country. To the constitutional improvement of our national institutions, in contradistinction to mischievous novelties and democratic experiment, there is no assignable limit consistent with the preservation of the Monarchy in its organic structure which we should decline advancing. Our intelligent countrymen know this well. It is not, therefore, we who have changed, but the degenerate and perfidious Ministers, whose base pandering to a Popish and revolutionary faction we should never cease to oppose. The difference between them and ourselves, in reference to the country, is precisely analo gous to that subsisting between a benefactor and a banditti ; in other words, our sole object is to improve and strengthen the Constitution—theirs is to maim and plunder it." When Voltaire was told that his account of the battle of Fontenoi was destitute of truth, he is reported to have said—No matter; there are not above three or four of the present generation who know it not to be true, and in another generation there will be no one able to contradict me. Unfortunately for the Times its apostacy is too recent, and access to its file is too easy to allow it to imitate the French historian with success. 'Who does not know that so far from having the justification (if justification it be, which it is not) of Sir George Sinclair, it laboured day after day to drive Lord - Grey, Lord Stanley, Sir James Graham, and Lord Ripon from the Cabinet—that it triumphed over their retreat as a great benefit to the country—that the sole ob ject of its labours seemed to be to replace them with more decided Reformers—that Lord Durham and Mr. Abercrombie were warmly eulogized in its columns, and that Lord Melbourne's Ministry re ceived its support till the day of its dismissal ? Nay, so ittle suspicion had any one of the faith lessness of the Times, that the account of the dismissal of the Melbourne Ministry appeared in that journal as well as in the Chronicle, with the re mark in the Times that the Queen had done it all, which, with its usual treachery after the apostacy, it attributed to a member of that Ministry. The new light followed, but did not precede the dismissal ; and thenceforward the Times has been labouring lus tily, with but little effect—thanks to the good sense of the people of England—to damage in every way the cause of Reform, to promote the views of those who opposed the Reform Bill and every other amelioration of our institutions, who now seek to make that Bill a dead letter by again giving the Lords an ascendency in the Commons. The impudence, however, benefits the Reformers. It is a homage extorted from the lying spirit to the power of their cause. No Re former would think of assuming the guise of a Tory. Some crazy-brained fellow like Mr. techinere Charl ton may outrage public opinion by glorying in being an apostate ; but in general the man who abandons his cause from selfish motives seeks to disguise his meanness. No honest man seeks the reputation of a rogue ; but many a rogue, like • Colonel Charteris, knows the value of a character, and tries to play the hypocrite Fortunately the Times is too abandoned to be longer able to deceive. There are wolves whom no sheep's clothing could clisguise.—ilorn. Chron. The history of this country for some months past has, we rejoice to say, been little else than a record of the rapid progress of Conservatism through every por tion of it—that is, of attachment to the British Con stitution as established by great statesmen in the 17th century, and, in England at least, enjoyed by the people for whom they laboured, throughout the whole of the It3th, as it has been during that portion of the 19th century which preceded the accession of Messrs. O'ConDell and Melbourne to power. It is to perpetuate that Messed work of the 17th century in its principles, and to secure its enjoy ;meat for the present and future generations of rig- tishmen, that Conservatism exists and struggles, and, pease the Almighty Being who has hitherto watched owe!' us, it is for such patriotic and beneficent ends that Conservatism will filially conquer. In exact propoi lion with the growth and spread of that spirit which animates the Conservatives, or, in other words, ta yte "preservers of the Constitution," has been the declin e of " Radicalism," or the " Movement," or the appetite. for " organic change;" for Radicalism, as its name implies, is a dealer in fundamentals—it is not a modifier—not a mere improver—it pretends to no such thing : Radicalism literally signifies a tearer up of roots, an extirpator, a destroyer, and its etymology is well illustrated by its political action. Thus it has for many ages been a principle of the British Constitution, that a certain body of religious doctrines, upheld and countenanced among those who subscribed to them, by a certain cede of ecclesiastical regulation and discipline, and explained and enforced by ministers answering particular descriptions," performing specific duties, enjoying definite privileges and property, and ex ercising powers which the law has a uthorized, should be acknowledged by the State as constituting its chosen religion and its established priesthood. So essential has a religions ministry been considered, not in England only, but in the most distant regions, and from the remotest times, even when Christianity was vet unheard of, to the .interests of that binding sense of right by which mankind are he ld to g ether in society, I that Egyptians, Hindoos, Greeks, and Romans—we sa y Te ething of the Jews, whose theocracy was ordained by God himself—but all nations known to history after I had once emerged from barbarism, even the Ro mans, whose polytheism wag boundless, have had their religious rites and ceremonies, whether by Chief l e r- Magistr ate or Priest, or both united in one person, formed as a public and nat i o nal obli g ation, surrounded by the highest sanction of the law. Throughout Christendom a religious establishment, viz., the set ting apart an especial body of citizens to religious oeces, has been universal, ever since each Christian community began to assume a settled form. Here in the United Kingdom all conscientious and intelligent men have admitted that many abuses had crept into the discipline of the Church, and that many inconve niences arose from the condition of its property, and they agreed that both should be corrected for the better conservation of the Church itself. But this was a case which provoked the interference of Radi calism, whose apostles accordingly preached up the necessity, not of reforming Church abuses, but of applying the Radical canon to the Church itself, cutting it up by the " roots," and substituting the voluntary principle. It has been an ancient and abiding principle of our Constitution that the " peo le" should elect members to serve in P arliament, and lie reason of this rule was merely, that the State could be no otherwise supported than from supplies drawn out of the people's pocket by act of Parliament. It became, therefore, necessary to determine what classes of the people had a fixed and tangible interest in the well-being of the State, otherwise a property to be protected, and which afforded the material of taxation by the legislative body. It was, in short, no more than fitting to ascertain who they were that contributed to the support of the State, with a view to the deposit in their hands of the right to elect the law makers who imposed the taxes. Hence arose a qualification for the exercise of the franchise ; and as in the condition of the priesthood, so in that of the constituency, va rious abuses had arisen, a reform of the elective body became in the eyes of a majority of intelligent men throughout the kingdom a safe and desirable con summation, which was hailed with rejoicings and applause. The elective franchise was considera bly extended by the introduction amongst the elec tors of a description and amount of property which had been heretofore excluded. Well, then, what say the Radicals to this ? Why, just what they have said with regard to the church—" We want no reform' of the constituency . ; we must go to the root,' and extirpate the ancient practice of the mo narchy, or, what is the same thing, destroy its vital principle, by substituting for electors qualified through their property, and acting under a consciousness of their stake in the country, an unnumbered multitude, who have no stake at all." Again, it is a principle of the British • Constitution and of society, that every man who possesses a political right shall be responsible whether to law, or to the opinion of his fellow citizens, for its exercise. Yet these very Radicals, who are for deluging the property of the realm by a torrent of mere desperate and worthless numbers, clamour at the same moment for another, and an inconsistent novelty, in the shape of a ballot, a thing never heard of till of of late days, which would release from the pressure of opinion a rabble by their mere position in tangible to any process of law; thus, as in the former cases, proceeding at once to the " root " of things, and " extirpating " the Constitution in its first prin ciples. Finally, it is the most ancient corner stone of the British monarchy, that the Peers of Parliament should be a substantive body, nominated by the Crown, but wholly irremovable by it, and legislating independently both of King and Commons. But the demon of Ra dicalism is still at his post. He goes to the " root" of the hereditary peerage, and extirpates the first prin ciple, by virtue of which the Upper House of Par liament both acts and exists ; urging, that instead of being chosen by the Sovereign, and thenceforth abso lutely independent of him, each Peer shall be elected by a ballot of paupers, and removable every two or three years ! And such is that power which calls itself Reform I Such is the " Liberal" party, such the " Movement," such rather a banditti daring to persecute and hunt down every honourable man in the community, who, at the risk of being termed an apos tate (from crimes which he has at all times held in abhorrence), sets his face, or his arm, if necessary, against the ruin of his native land. But, unhappily, there is yet another source of mis chief. This frantic, this atrocious faction, thus sworn to the subversion of the State, is actually lord and master of the men who hold in their hands the seal of office and distribute the patronage of the Government, and exercise the prerogatives of the Crown. The Melbourne Cabinet dares not breathe but as the " ex tirpators" direct it. Let the Irish Papist and Eng lish republican withdraw for one day their pretection from that Whig offal which offends the public sense in Downing-street, and it is annihilated. . Were the question put to-morrow to the major portion of this degraded Ministry, whether they will sacrifice the Peers, the elective franchise, the English dominion over Ire land, the Established Church, and the Protestant reli gion, or submit at a day's notice, to lose a three months' possession—not of office—but of the name and salary of office, does any man of sense in the empire doubt of the infamous choice which would be made by them ? Not one. Hence it is that they are hourly going to the dogs. Hence it is, that none but rabble will deign to attend a meeting called for their advantage. Ecce the fine affair of Coventry a few days ago, on which we have seen some amusing commentaries in the Co ventry Standard. Contrast such exhibitions with the assemblage of noblemen and gentlemen at the South Cheshire Conservative meeting last Monday, where contempt and defiance were hurled at the Ministers by some of the best men in England ; and then, gentle men, proceed . to a dissolution " with what appetite ye may. —7 tines. We arc perfectly aware that in our views with regard to the general principle of Poor Laws, as well as to their application to Ireland, we are at issue with most of our Contemporories ; but, at the same time, we are not without hopes, that as the subject is more calmly and closely examined and becomes better understood, our opinions will make a proportionate progress in public estimation. This is not a time when the public mind can be imposed upon by arrogant flippancy—in terested zeal—a mawkish profession of benevolent feel ing, or the assumption of superior wisdom, or rather the pretence of it which would say, " I am Sir Oracle, and when I ope my lips, let no dog bark." These might impose on the ignorant and unreflecting —and wo u ld not fail of their effect in a less advanced stage of political knowledge ; but in the present day public questions must be canvassed independently of such asso ciations—they must be) udged by their intrinsic merit, and weighed with the unflinching impartiality of truth ; and on this healthy tone of the public mind do we found our expectations of seeing the principles respectin g Poor L a ws,which, thro ug h goo d an d ev il re po r t,we have always advanced and defended, prevail against the outcry which has been raised against them. In fact we already per ceive many gratifying evidences of the progressive con version of our oppoents, amongst which we may in stance the article which apneared in the Morning Chronicle of yesterday , which, tho u gh contains the leaven of former prejudice , flow s in b a course d ment far different from that in which its observations were lately made on the pamphlet of Mr. Leslie. It is surprising that, while the Chronicle gleans from ex tensive research convincing evidences of the beneficial THE' SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1836 results of the • Poor Law Amendment Act, which is a partial abrogation of the old poor law, it should advo cate the extension to Ireland of a system from winch England is endeavouring to escape. In reference to the relative effects of the old and new poor law on wages, the Chronicle observes—" In not a few cases, we fear, the farmers even gained, for a time at least, by the scandalous system of deriving part of the wages of their labourers from rates towards which those who paid a fair market price for their own labourers contributed as well as themselves. But it would be a poor argument against an improvement, that it cannot be effected without benefiting only one party. The money ex pended on idle paupers is now expended on industrious labourers ; and, as labour creates additional property, all are thereby benefited." Seeing thus clearly the effects of curtailing the operation of poor laws in Eng land, the Chronicle, nevertheless, advocates their ap plication to Ireland. Verily, on this subject, as our Contemporary observed of Mr. O'Connell, "we know not what lie would be at." Differing as we do from our Contemporary's argument, we willingly avail ourselves of his testimony of facts, when he states that—" The ' character of the agricultural population has been so much improved, by restoring them to the independence of which they had gradually been deprived under the abuses of the old system, that already they appear quite a new race. The connection between independ ence and virtue which had been remarked so early as the days of Homer is equally evident in our time. The sullen refractory paupers of our agricultural dis tricts have become cheerful and prudent labourers." If, as is here asserted, the experience of ages illustrate the connection of independence and virtue, and if the poor laws have militated against both these qualities, on what grounds can their introduction into Ireland be defended ? Surely our Contemporary would not deprive the Irish people of their independence and vir tue at the same time, by the application of a principle of which he proves such would be the effect ? The new poor law is neither more nor less than an extenua tion of the old, and as this extenuation is attended with such desirable results in one part of the kingdom, is it not manifestly better to seek the redress of Irish misery in other applications than originate in that division of the empire a system, the consequences of which expe rience has proved to be so lamentable in this ? We quote from the Chronicle the following summary of the effects of the new poor law in different Unions : " The first Union of which the particulars are detailed by Mr. Hughes is that of Sheppey. The saving here is a fraction over 254 per cent. Mr. Chambers, the chairman, in answer to an application from Mr. Hughes, states that for several years I have not known the labourers so generally employed as at this time ; I am not aware of one able-bodied man of good character being out of employ. The inmates of the house arc generally satisfied with their situation.' The poor have been reduced in a year from 619 to 437. In Faver sham Union the saving is nearly 52 per cent. Mr. Nearne, the chairman, states, the labourers are gene rally in employment ; I may say, more so than has been the case for many years past ; the new law has evidently wrought a great moral improvement in their condition.' In the Milton Union the saving is rather more than 521 per cent. ; the number of poor reduced from 1,600 to 990. Mr. Hinde, the Vice-Chairman, states that the Poor Law Amendment Act has decidedly improved the habits of the poor. In the Blean Union the number of poor has been reduced from 972 to 775. The saving is 48/ per cent. Mr. Hyder states that the Bill has done wonders by its promotion of in dustry.' In the Thanet Union the saving is 55 per cent. The number of paupers has been reduced from 564 to 294. Mr. Crampe says, that the effects of the new system are daily developing them selves, and will soon appear in an improved charac ter.' In the East Ashford Union there has been a saving of 421. 12s. sd. per cent., the diminution of pauperism 381 per cent. In the West Ashford Union the saving has been 423 per cent. Mr. Hughes says, Proofs are not wanting here or else where sufficient to convince the impartial mind that the industrious classes are more exertive, more vigilant in seeking employ ; less frequently in beer-houses, or dissolutely wasting their time and their money.' In the Eastry Union the saving is 513 per cent. Mr. Hannam states that in this extensive union (of 23,868 inhabitan ts) ' the prejudice and ill feeling which was so strongly manifested against the enactments of the new Poor-law has astonishingly subsided ; the working classes themselves, knowing it to be the law of the land do not now protest against it, and that it has worked a great change for the better is universally ac knowledged.' In the River Union the saving is 11 per cent. In the Elham Union the number of paupers has been reduced from 897 to 395 ; the saving 51 per cent. Mr. Jones states, the labourers are all em ployed ; and the new law is restoring economy and im proving morality.' In the Bridge Union the poor are reduced from 1,900 to 812 ; the saving 222 per cent." To prove that this diminution of pauperism, and its contingent diminution of expense, is not attended with any decrease of the comforts of the poor, we quote from the Chronicle the evidence of Mr. Hughes, who observes— " Having rather publicly expressed myself strongly op posed to much of the machinery of the measure, as well as imagined the dietary fixed on for the several union-houses of East Kent would be inadequate to the necessities of na ture, I resolved to make, at least for one month, a trial in my own person of the validity of such an opinion. " This trial terminated yesterday ; and, as I feel ingenu ousness to be a necessary ingredient in the human charac ter, and one which I hope to exhibit through life, I have considered but fair to state, for your information, and that of the public of East Kent, that my apprehensions, which were by no means peculiar to myself, were; as to the quan tity of food, quite groundless, the supply for me (possess ing a good appetite) being more than sufficient—indeed, I did not require, and consequently consume, more than five sevenths of the quantity ! and I fully believe, for the month, I ate less than that proportion ! I should have stated ear lier, not for your information, Sir Francis, but for those who are at least equally interested with you and me, that for four days in the week twenty-two ounces of food is the intended allowance to male paupers, and for the three re maining days one pound of meat, or puddings, and vege tables, with fourteen ounces of bread and cheese each day. " I may here state that I have rigidly refrained from the use of wine, and other fermented liquors, saving the luxury of small beer, and this, I believe, the only inroad made on the letter of the whole regulations. An intimate friend, also a guardian, has made common cause with me, and joined in the trial. His declaration is, that the quantity is sufficient for him, indeed considerably more than he requires. We are gratified to find this result. Perhaps we are the only two individuals in our grade of society who have really made a practical experiment on this head, in the eastern division of our county ; and I may truly add that our health has been adequate to that of any former period." Let the Chronicle, if it can, reconcile its evidence with its arguments—we confess it is beyond our abi lity to do so. The former demonstrates to conviction the impolicy of poor laws, and their pernicious effects upon society—the latter would uphold and extend their application ; but as facts are better than logic, however ingenious, we avail ourselves of our Contempo rary's testimony as to actual results, and leave his ar guments to those who delight in supporting abstract speculations against the evidence of the senses.— Morning Advertiser. The Peers of Portugal have presented a protest to the Queen against the Constitution recently proclaimed in that country and accepted by her Majesty. In this document the refractory nobles assert that the Consti tutional Charter of Don Pedro, supported by the Por tuguese army with feats of the greatest constancy and bravery against superior numbers, could not be revoked or annihilated by a fraction of the said army in what they are pleased to term " a moment of hallucination." The Peers claim their prerogative to watch over the keeping of that Charter, in which they deny that any alteration can be made without their approbation, and therefore protest against the de cree proclaiming the revived Constitution as illegal, and express a hope that her Majesty will make known to the Portuguese and foreign nations, " that the Peers of th e ki ng dom neither promote nor approve re volutions"-,,-a fact which we had believed to be already sufficiently well known in Portugal and elsewhere without the publicity of a special proclamation. The protest is signed by twenty-seven Peers, and is altoge ther as silly and ridiculous a composition as ever came before ui, not even excepting the stupid paper in which Prince Ferdinarii lately announced his resig nation of the command of the army. In the same pa ragraph wherein the Veers protest against the present Constitution as the result of a military movement, they refer to the zealous support given by the army to the chartei' of Dou Pedro as its strongest claim to be pre served and acknowledged as the law of the realm. Thus making the military demonstration in one case the grounds of accusation, in the other of defence. When the army co-operated with oligarchs, its conduct was eulogized as heroic and glorious, but now its co operation with the people is ascribed to momentary hallucination. The Peers boast of having maintained the charter of 1826 against superior numbers, and at he same time denounce the Constitution of 1820 as being revived only by a fraction. The reasoning of the Portuguese Peers is in fact as inconsistent, and gar nished with as many false assumptions, as any protest which ever graced the books of our own House of Lords. To the Peers themselves their logic may be satisfactory, but to common understanding their protest is as unmeaning as, in a public point of view, it must prove ineffective. It is not probable that the Portuguese will again yield up their newly-established rights to the usurped guardianship of 41 querulous nobles, who auda ciously call upon their Sovereign to renounce the act which identifies her with the nation, and places her throne on its only sure foundation—the confidence and affection of the people. It is not probable that Donna Maria will separate herself from the people to take part with an aristocracy who presume to dictate to all the other powers of the State. She knows, we hope, her own interests better than to commit herself by an act which would repudiate her for ever from the esteem of the Portuguese people. Such an act would be equivalent to an abdication of her crown. The object of the protesting Peers is obviously to enlist the sym pathies of the despotic powers, by whose assistance they might, in case of their being able to provoke in Portugal any demonstration against the new system, endeavour to re-establish usurpation. The hope is a natural but a vain one. Opinion advances too raipdly to be stayed in its progress by the whining absurdities of Peers, or the open or concealed hostility of despots. —Morning Advertiser. The Ministerial journals very naturally devote their utmost efforts, not to extinguish, for in present circum stances that is plainly impossible, but to keep down the expression and conceal the existence of the great and essential differences of opinion and object which divide the supporters of the Administration into dis tinct and irreconcileable classes. These differences, numerous and important as they are, may all be com • prehended under one general description. The Minis terial Whigs, enjoying or expecting their several shares in the good things of office, hold it right that reforms of all sorts and sizes, that the most desperate advances even, in the career of revolution, should have just so much of their patronage as may be sufficient to keep their Radical allies in good humour, and themselves in power. With them the talk about reform is a means, the end being the retention of place. The Radical and Papist allies of the Administration, however, re verse this order. It cannot be doubted that they mean at least all, many of them probably much more, than they say. They tolerate the official existence of the Whigs, not from satisfaction with the prin ciples of the Whig Ministers, or from respect for their sincerity, but because they do not at pre= sent see any probability of obtaining a Ministry better calculated than the present to promote their purposes. With them the maintenance of the Whigs in power is only a means, their end being revolution, disguised under the name of reform, and the destruction of the Protestant Church in Ireland. It is a very stale and shallow artifice to class together, under the name of Reformers, men whose character, position, and objects differ so widely. The British Radicals and the O'Connell tail have hitherto voted generally with Mi nisters, and have thus far accomplished the end for which their alliance is courted by the Whigs, but, notwithstanding this visible co-operation, the two parties are essentially antagonist, each striving to make a tool of the other for purposes peculiarly its own. It ‘ is idle, in such circumstances, on the part of Ministerial writers to accuse a third party in the State, namely, the Conservatives, with attempts to sow dissension between the Administration and its Radical allies. Dissension and distrust are inhe rent in the very origin and nature of their artificial ; alliance. The men of the movement, if, as we see no reason to doubt, they are sincere in their pro fessions, cannot consent for ever to be merely the means to an end entirely different from their own. They will , claim and insist upon their reward. It is unreasonable to expect that they should secure to the Whigs per petuity of office for nothing. The system of postpone ment and evasion may answer the purpose of the Mi nisters for some time longer. But the Radical auxiliaries who are ranged for the present under the Ministerial standard, without so much as pretending to the least respect for the banner, or affection for the leaders of the confederated host, will demand, we may be as sured, their full arrear of pay, and break out, should it be much longer withheld, into that open mutiny of which the clamorous threatenings have been already , heard. Nor is there much reason, indeed, to doubt that the Ministerial Leaders would satisfy, with all imaginable alacrity, at the expense of the most valuable and sacred institutions of the State, the demands of their revolutionary contingent, • but for two reasons—first, that the institutions of the State are fortunately not so entirely at their mercy that they can dispose of them as they like ; and, secondly, that ,they cannot manifest too decided a disposition to gratify their revolutionary allies with out exciting the disgust and alarm, without causing ' the alienation and desertion, of another, more respec table though less numerous division of their forces. There are persons even yet supporting the present Mi nisters in the House of Commons who would a bandon them to certain and immediate defeat if they manifested an intention to yield implicitly to Radical dictation. Ministers occupy, indeed, a position as precarious as it is dishonourable. To lose the support even of the least numerous class of their actual adherents must be fatal to them, and their adherents are so opposed to each other in character, circumstances, and purposes, that to retain the support of all for any considerable period is next to impossible. Whether they advance with the revolutionary, or stand still with the more re spectable and reflecting portion of their adherents, they incur an equal danger. In the former case they fall from the desertion of the more moderate men of their party ; in the latter they are sure to be sacrificed to the ungovernable impatience of their Radical allies. It has been said by some of the advocates of the Mel bourne Government that as much diversity of senti ment exists among different classes of Conservatives as among the supporters of the present Ministry. But, overlooking for the moment every other, there is this, difference, at least, between the two, that the Conser vatives are led by Statesmen who have not, like the present Ministers, been selected as leaders for the sole merit of being without opinions of their own to which they may be expected steadily to adhere. What class of Conservatives is there who would wish (or who, if they wished it, could hope to accomplish their pur pose) •to reduce the Duke of Wellington and Sir R. Peel to the abject position which Lord Melbourne and his colleagues are seen to occupy in relation to the Irish Roman Catholic Members of the House of Com mons, or the British party of Humes, Roebucks, and Wakleys ? The Conservatives, if, in some respect, they differ in opinion, are capable of amalgamating their forces for definite and common purposes ; and are, we believe, not capable of conspiring, in divisions still distinct and hostile, to set up an Administration of puppets (had they even such puppets to set up), in order that they may hover around them, and struggle and manoeuvre, each against every other, to snatch, by turns, as they can, and for separate and adverse pur poses, a temporary and precarious possession of the wires.—Mor 'ring Post. Instead of censuring th e L or d s f or applying the weeding-hook and pruning-knife too unsparingly to the Whig jobbing Bills of last Session, we are rather disposed to find fault with them for not having exer cised their constitutional powers of excision and amend. ment with still more severity. It will be recolle c t e d that, in regard to the Irish Constabulary Bill, by which the " retrenchment" Ministers attempted to create forty-two new Government appointments, with salaries of 5001. a-year each, the Lords took the liberty of " retrenching " pretty amply, having, by one stroke of the pruning-knife, reduced the number of new Whig appointments—(which were, by a curious coin cidence, about the number of the joints of the " tail") from forty-two to four—which, in our opinions, were four too many—so far, however, the Lords brought within a reasonable compass the Wliig job for " doing justice to Ireland," by quartering on the public resources a whole phalanx of hungry sycophants and ravenous agitators. If their Lordships had cut down the place-multiplying provisions of the Whig Registration Act for Deaths, Births, and Marriages, in the same spirit of slashing improvement, the pub lic would have had reason to be thankful to their vi gilance for protecting them from the creation of ano ther cluster of gross jobs by the Ministers, whose watch-words were, " retrenchment and economy." Never was there a set of " virtuous and disinterested" patriots who held in such unspeakable abhorrence the extension of Ministerial influence by venal patronage than the Whigs when out of office. No sooner, how ever, had they succeeded in attaining the great object of all their patriotic aspirations—place—than they went to work in creating lucrative appointments, with the view of extending the influence of venality and cor ruption in a way that threw the worst Tory doings in that line quite into the shade. Commissions upon Commissions were issued to provide for their cornice . tions and for those of Members of Parliament, hungry patriots and Whig-Radical scribes, whogave them their support. Never were so many bribes held out by any Administration to, buy of the independence of the Bar ; yet in spite of those multiplied bribes the Bar remains essentially Conservative, for few, ex• cept the obscure and briefless of that profession, have accepted the Ministerial doles. The Regi stration Act is part and parcel of the grand de sign of the Whigs to get all the local government of the country within the meshes of the net of Treasury influence. What has taken place in Marylebone is a tolerably good illustration of its practical working, as far as ministerial patronage is concerned. There time appointment of a superintendant-registrar and four dis trict registrars has taken place as the Act prescribes, the former by the Registrar-General who holds his office at the pleasure of the Minister of the Crown, the latter by the Poor-Law Commissioners. And whom have they chosen for those offices ? Persons who were fierce opponents of the Poor Law Amend ment Act, and who, as such, pretended to be exceed ingly hostile to the system which grinds the faces of the poor, and gives large salaries to the arbitrary Com missioners. The remarks of a writer who signs him self " A Friend to Local Government," ably exposing this job, having recently appeared in the columns of most of the independent Papers, we need not here go particu larly into it. The object of the framers of the law in giving this additional patronage to the Poor Law Com missioners is obvious ; but we are quite sure that the scheme will prove abortive. The indignant feeling which the cruel working of that inhuman and demo ralising Statute, the Poor Law Amendment Act, has excited throughout the country, cannot be put down by the sedative application of such arguments as have been used to quiet the Radical Vestrymen of Mary lebone, in all the parishes of England. A great deal may no doubt be done at the expense of the country in pen sioning off opposition to the Malthusian law, but, ne vertheless, the Christian benevolence and morality of England will eventually triumph over that flinty hearted " philosophy" which covers the land with workhouse Bastiles—prescribes the minimum of human subsistence to the famishing poor, who have wasted their health and strength in the service of society-- confounds the fate of honest poverty with that of sturdy vagrancy—drives the wretched female victims of libertinism to desperation, and is daily making more and more familiar the horrible crime of infanticide. If the Lords had stopped this disgraceful Whig law as well as some others, what evils they would have averted from their suffering fellow-creatures—what gratitude they would have deserved from humanity !—Morning Herald. REGISTRATION ACT. Whereas by an Act passed in the Gth and 7th years of the reign of his present Majesty, intituled an " Act for Registering Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England," it is enacted, that the guardians of every union, parish, or place mentioned in the said Act shall a pp o i n t a p erson , with such qaalifications as the registrar-general, also mentioned in the said Act, may by any general rule declare to be neces sary, to be registrar of births and deaths within each district, and in every case of vacancy in the office of registrar shall forthwith fill up the vacancy ; and that the clerk to the guardians of every such union, parish, or place, shall if he shall think fit to accept the office, and have such qualifica tions as the registrar-general may by any general rule declare to be necessary, be the superintendent registrar thereof ; and in the event of his refusal or di squa lifi ca ti on t o ac t in that capacity the guardians shall a pp o i n t a person , with such qualifications as the registrar general may by any ge neral rule declare to be necessary, to be the superintendent registrar of such union, or of such parish or place, and in every case of vacancy of the office of superintendent re gistrar shall forthwith fill up the vacancy. Therefore, in pursuance of the provisions of the said Act, and by virtue of the several powers and authorities vested in me as Registrar General, I do hereby declare the following general rule as necessary to be observed, touching the qualifications of all and every person who shall be appointed, under the provisions of the said Act, to be registrar of births and deaths within any such district as aforesaid ; that is to say—Every such person shall be an inhabitant householder within the district for which he shall be appointed such Registrar, and shall not be a member of any Board of Guardians by whom he shall be appointed Registrar, unless upon a representation to be made in writ ing and signed by two-thirds of the remaining members of such Board, it shall be made to appear to my satisfaction, to be signified under my hand, that there is no other per son resident within the district capable and willing to under take the said office of Registrar ; and shall not have been appointed to or hold the office of Registrar for any other district, or jointly with any other person, or the office of Superintendent-registrar of any union, parish, or place ; and shall not be an uncertificated bankrupt, nor have ap plied for or obtained within twelve calendar months before he shall be appointed Registrar, the benefit of any Act or Acts of Parliament for the relief of insolvent debtors. And I do further, as such registrar general as aforesaid, and by virtue and in pursuance of the powers and authori ties vested in me as aforesaid, make and hereby declare the following general rule as necessary to be observed touch ing the qualifications of all and every person who shall ac cept or be appointed under the provisions of the said Act to the office of superintendent registrar, that is to say —every such person shall reside within the union, place, or parish for which he shall become as aforesaid superintendent re gistrar ; and shall not be appointed to or hold the office of superintendent registrar for any other union, parish, or place, or jointly with any other person, or the office of re gistrar of any district ; and shall not be an uneertifieated bankrupt, or have applied for, or obtained, within twelve calendar months before his appointment to, or acceptance of, the office of superintendent registrar the benefit of any Act or Acts of Parliament for the relief of Insolvent Debtors. And I do hereby reserve to myself, as registrar general as aforesaid, the power of vacating, altering, or Yaryinf , the before-mentioned rul es , or any part t h ereo f , an d of substi tuting any others in place thereof as it may hereafter ap pear to be necessary. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of October, in the year of our Lord 1836. (Signed) T. 11. LISTER, Registrar-General, acuLAR.) eneral Registrar Offioe, Oct. 8. Sir—l request you to call the attention of the Guardians to the 9th section of the Act of the 6th and 7th of Wm. I V., cap. 86, "for registering births, deaths, and marriages in England," wherein it is enacted, " That the guardians shall provide and uphold out of the moneys coming in their hands or controul as such guardians, a register offico, ac cording to a plan, to be approved by the registra)k-general, for securing the registers when deposited therein, as here inafter provided, and the care of the said office, and the custody of the registers deposited therein, shall be given to the superintendent registrar of the union, or parish, or place, having a Board of Guardians aforesaid." . Such being the provisions of thu aforesaid Act, it is expedient that I should re best you to lay before the guardians for their information, certain general principles applicable to all register offices to be provided by them under the aforesaid Act, an observance of which principles will render it most probable that the plan hereafter to be submitted by them tq we will be approved of. It is nut viv intention to require that all the register offices shall be provided in strict accordance with any ono detailed 11 1 4 m. Such a regulation would compel the guar dians of 41roost uvu'y ttoion to incur the expense, perhaps unnecessarily, of erecting a budding for that purpose, and would prevent them from availing themselves of such building, or part of building, already erected, as might (though not conforming with a prescribed plan) be per fectly applicable to the object required. The diversities which exist in the amount of population in the different unions (ranging from less than 3,000 to more than 80,000), also render it ex p e di en t t o a d op t one un if orm OA R kg ally,, BIRTHS. On the 10th inst., Mrs. win. Verey, of Kilburne, of a Allen On the 10th inst., at Ludlow, Shropshire, the lady of Nightingale, Esq., Assistant Commissary-General, of a On the 9th i ns t., at Albion-place, Blackfriars, Mrs' "° bn Hills, of a son. $644 On the 9th inst., at Hayling, the lady of B. W. Greenfie of a daughte r . 10 * On the 9th i nst., i n the York-road, the lady of ,• w• Esq., of the Chapel Royal, of a daughter. , uor oub On the 12th inst., Mrs. Luke James llansard, of Mar"' road, St. John's Wood, of a daughter. MARRIED. On the 12th inst., at St. Marylebonc Church, by sn° B rgq! r i f' Macleod, Rector of St. Ann's, Westminster, J. H. bn es ' I Is-e the Island of St. Vincent, to Annie, second daughter of ttlehire, Robert Lindsay, Esq., of Kingston, near Taunton Somer,c'eribe, On the 11th inst., at Petersfield, Hants, Mr. Taunton, - ( 1 t Osnaburgh-street, Regent's park, and Austin-friars, Lon 1 tlio Martha Frances, second' daughter of Mr. John Fleetwood, ° former place. otoP o i On the Bth inst., at Whalley, "Edward Jowitt, Escl•' 0. 31.1 1 •' near Leeds, to Ma r y, eldest dKughter of John Fort, E st i' Read Hall, L ancas hi re , Asr fr a l On the 1 lth i ns t. , a t S t. Mar3 ' s, Newington, Air. - ,-,',. a yest to Martha iir:,rbert, seco n d d aug ht er o f t h e l a te Mr. J• '— Angel-cart, Throgmorton-street. of 13etr en the 11th inst., at Lewisham, James Phillips , Es q" o late ,gal-green, surge on , t o Elizabeth, eldest slaughter a th Smith, Esq., of Bromley, Kent. . DIED. , 0 0 1e° On the 12th i ns t., i n G u ilf or d- p l ace, R usse ll-square, 'fie °. O• Whiteside, Esq. m 11. s On the 11 th inst., at Park-pi e Chelse a ged 62, ..-a . ' pig Ashley, formerly Principal Viola ac in ' the oraeleara of the Theatre. i. a t P rtif On the 10th inst., M r . J. T. H arr i s , Chorus V" - as . 4 home Theatre. 1 , ra Re' , i 7 On the II th inst., at Gloucester Cottage., Peckham r IP- ett 48, Eleanor, daughter of the late Mr. Thi,inas Green, o f street. a ged °p e t On the 10th inst:, at Enfield, Sr,nuel Compton, E'cl, i ," — L ott" - ' On the 10th inst., Mr. Wm. Collins, brewer , - of "°° f g r. ; W esinsr aged 49. On tm the te 2d , inst., at Ramsgate, Caroline Susann ah, wilfeco°,olgell, W. Munns, of Great Surrey -street, Blackfriars, anui4o,(l,l° daughter of Mr. I-lenry Cope, of Agnes•-place, eitc.r, aged 26. NAVAL OBITUARY. ob cf . OP Vice-Admirals—Sir John Gore,' R bert La v A ts K.C.13. ; 0 „,. : A lto Captains—Sir Christopher Cole, K.C.B. ; Chas. 11° 04 so i Commanders—John Couch Charles Blair, Matthew . sieb Henry Conyngham Cox 11 ' en, lasse Hutc unson 1 Herbert., Jobl u Burton, Paul Piercy Bar , wi,l Y I. n. ro eft Lieutenants—Rieharhlorris, Patrick Henry Burt, Gs ' Waterloo- Wm. Henry Mayne, Thomas Kingston, Charles ilur° e• B Hyde, Henry Tcker crolli b-. 4 Alastmers—James Cooper, u John . Robinson, Alexander 00 fl „ Surgeons—Peter Goldsmith, John Lore, Wm. 11° g 1I Wrilei F. Bro m l ey , A l exander Smith George Fairfortl, Janos ger Assistant -Surgeons—Wm. B. DoliiinFr, Won. Cather , 1 , 0 00 Pursers —Da n i e l M orr i son , W. E. Bushel, Jam loge Alexander P . h tin . L MA RI N rs. ---,Vil Lieutenants--James Jackson, Luddington. -- - --/ 1 41 _„- - - --- 6 o. =... -- - - - OUS ' coo r3 L0p414 : printed and Published Ny MURDO Y . t he 42, Strand, at The Sun Mice, No. 112, Strand, 10 of Middlesex. —Thursday, October 13, 1836. and to make in every instance an equal provision - deposit of records, the bulk of which will vary almost in Pr e " portion to the amount of population which each union en?' braces. 1 therefore deem it preferable that, after certa.tin va requisite qualiti es h ave b een sta t e d, the guardians' ' l'. e hug themselve s o f th e i r l oca l k now l e d ge , shall, after d" consideration, fully explain to me in what manner they Pro' pose to give effect to the intentions of the Legislature la providing a register office. I will now state generally the ob;cot and uses of a registe r office, and certain essential qualities which, in such offices, should h e care f u ll y secure d. 11 be let. It was ne cessar y th at t h e reg i s t e r office shou ld within the union ; an d it i s d es i ra bl e th a t it should be placed as to be m os t access ibl e t o th e ma jority of Pe rsons resident therein. It must he well ca l cu l a t e d t o k ee p the register b ooks secure from destruction by fire. such tor fi It must preserve them froM being injured by damp. It must be c a p a bl e o f b e i ng secure l y closed. It must be capable of containing the following- books, Rol.; ranged ranged on shelv e s, or i n suc h manner as that any one l them may be acc ess ibl e f or th e purpose o f r eference, in case „ any person shall req u i re t o searc h th e i n d e xes, and to have a certified copy of any entry, viz. : the 1. A register book of births from each registrar in union. 2. A register book of deaths from the same. 3. A register book of marriages —from the rector, N'lca r ' or curate of every church or chapel wherein marriages may _ lawfully be sol emn i ze d—f rom every reg i s t er i n g officer of th e Society of Friends—from every secretary of a Jewish Syna gogue—and also from every registrar of marriages, being(3! likewise all before-mentioned) within the union, or parish, or place over which the supervision of the superintendent re gistrar extends. 4. An index of all such registrar books. The bulk and number of these records will depefld some degree, upon the number of registrars' districts into which the uni on ma y b e di v id e d, but chiefly upon the P°' pulation of the whole ; and I may state, as some criterion to assist the guardians in their calculations, that the onnr e her of entries of bi r th s , d eat h s , an d marr i ages , i n a sing a year, for every 1,000 of the population, may be expect s to be as follows :—Of births, from 0 7 to 30 ; of deaths' from 19 to 21 ; of marriages, from 7 to 9. It is, moreover, advisable, in order that the guardian/ may not soon be compelled to enlarge, alter, or remove th register office, that they should make provision in the first instance for depositi ng an d k eep i ng t h e accumu l a t e d regist' books of many years. The register office should also be provided w i t h the means of keeping locked up the duplicate keys of regist er a boxes, a large supply o f cert ifi e d copies of e ntries, a nd such other books an d papers as i t may b e necessary should remain for a time i n th e custo d y o f t h e super i n tendent registrar. I must also request you to call the attention of the glib o dians to the 21st section of the recent Act for marricigeg 1 0 England, wher e i n y ou w ill o b serve that the register ole must be a place where persons may " contract and sole nize marriag e " " i n th e presence of the superinten d en t re , gistrar and some reg i s t rar o f t h e district, and in the Pr e, o senee of two witn esses w ith open doors," and between the hours of " eight and twelve in the forenoon." itet I must also call a tt en ti on to t h e 36th section o f t he (if for registerin g bi r th s , d eat h s, and marriages in Englail. from the provi s i on w h ereo f i t appears that the reg ister office must be a pl ace w h ere every person shall be entitled' te at all reasonable, hours, to sear c h th e i n d exes o f th e ITV . 0 r . books, and to h ave a certified copy o f any en try ther el under the hand o f th e super i nten d ent registrar on paY ffiee i of certain fees. From this and other circumstances, it results that register office sh ou ld a l so b e a place where the suPeriff tendent regist rar may b e f oun d dur i ng some part o f eve ' week-day. .X3O Having thu s reques t e d you to lay b efore the gas. - te r the foregoin g s t a t ement o f the o bj ects and uses of a regil og office, and of cer t a i n essent i a l qual i t i es which, in VII" l o t• such office, s h ou ld b e care f u ll y secured, I will not ne w tempt by any further direction or more precise rule to o b, trol the exer c i se o f t h at di scret i on and judgment by.whicia I trust, the guar di ans , ava ili ng themselves of their to be knowledge, will b e ena bl e d to propose such plans as m aY, entitled to appr ova l, an d w ill most effectually fu lfil the In, tentions of the Legislature. It is therefore my request t h at the guardians, at as e arli a period as they conveniently can, consistently with I ° 4 consideration and i nqu i ry , w ill transm i t to me •a. deta statement of all such particulars respecting their propnl o provision of a register office as may enable me fullY ebe r understand their pl an , an d to i n f orm them in reply whe'tbe such plan can be a pp rove d. I may h ere observe that 1., guardians will mu c h abridge the labcear of subsequent 00 respondence by rendering their statement as co mplete he i possible ; and th a t it i s part i cularly desi r able that t o f should state, a m ong o th er c i rcumstances, the position a , the proposed register office, in relation to the most lb ° bus part s o f th e un i on, par i sh, or place, in which it be situated. It is also desirable that the statement s hould r , accompanied by a ground-plan of the proposed reglsteiol office. It i s a l so my request that the letter or rne°l°"rre. by which such statement may be conveyed to me may „tea late solely t o th at su bj ect, and that it may be sent ~. to the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marri"' London. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, T. H. LISTER, Registrar-Genera l. To the Clerk of the Board of Guardians. e e GRINISTON E ' S E YE -SNUFF.--We have jus' r t n ro a lett er f rom D r . G uthr i e, of the Opthalmig ing- cross , to M r. G r i mstone, in which thr_ mos t s atisfis e `' o r b ens testimony is afforded o f th e great bent derived by t h L e a l l ie tinder tient: of th a t I nst i tut i on, labouring obstinate Cu r r- tbe opthal m i a , opac i ty o f t h e cornea, and other diseases o'og visual organ, from the use of !lir. Grimstone's H e rbec e e tO Eye-Snuff. Dr. Guthri e has requested Mr. Grim st° , ll .o o make arr angemen t s f or supplying the really indigent Pow; of th e I nst i tut i on w i th the Eye-Snuff, at a reduced P r l e and we un d erstan d t h e latter has, with the most Visoir worthy and humane promptitude, complied with Dr• .10 rie's request. The letter of this celebrated oculist fur ° another proof the extending efficacy of this preparatione, t ~1. ; 0 ---- -- - ---- Se (ADVERTISEMENT). ----- if ... The NEW FLAT GO LD WA TCP- The price in gold cases, with accurately finished vertical 7 g movements Ditto, with well-finished horizontal movements, in double bottomed eng i ne - turne d cases, j ewelled in four holes, 9 Of • with sil ver di a l . 'l'. COX SAVORY' S Working Silversmith and Jeweller, Cornhill, L on d on. he self N.B. A var i e t y o f S econd-hand Silver Watches, may from, all at Two Guineas each, Warranted. J