The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-24 00:00:00

required, the deliberate consideration of the house.
. . The Finance Minister of this country had,
in many respects, too little power in his hands for
the good of the public ; whereas, in other respects,
he had a great deal too much power, and exercised
powers that ought to be greatly restricted." There
has been no such explanation ; there is no reliable
source of information from which it can be learned
how far the Chancellor of the Exchequer holds his
powers under act of Parliament—how far under
notions of Royal Prerogative—how far under mere
prescriptive abuse of power and traditions of office.
In what precise relation the Secretary to the
Treasury stands to the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer ; whether he can act only under the direc-
tion of the Chancellor, or can act of himself ;
whether he or his chief really supervises the na-
tional balance-sheet, or whether both, or either,
take it for granted as it comes to them, are mat-
ters alike unknown ; and may, for all the public
can discover, be mere questions of official
opinion. Yet this is the kind of information of
which Parliament and the people stand most in
need. There is clearly but little use in the controll-
ing power of Parliament upon taxation, if the
Chancellor of the Exchequer can, of his own will,
,ckeate permanent debt, or pledge the credit of the
nation, or deal without sanction of Parliament
with-the millions of hard earnings deposited in the
swings banks.
The. Foreign-office is another region of unknown
,ilowers, and undefined, if any, responsibility. What
amount of Government is carried on there—what
amount of dictatorship exercised—is utterly un-
known. There is nowhere to be found any com-
plete definition of the powers, privileges, patronage,
and expenditure of the Foreign department ; it is
carried on under the screen of an imaginary neces-
.sity of official secrecy. The character of the nation
abroad is thus left to the one man who may happen
tb 'be Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and
those' who may have him for the time in their

The public found, to its amazemeut, when we
first entered upon the war, that its conduct be-
lOuged to the Colonial-office ; and, prbbably, there
are but few who know that it has still charge of
the order of the Bath, established for the promotion
of civil and military merit. The colonial-office is
in.itself 'a government—it controls the material
prosperity, the resources and energies; and layi
the foundation of the national character, for good
or evil, of millions of 'people. It is scarcely too
much too say, that it is determined- almost every
hour at the Colonial-office whether colonists shall,
in theft. new hodes, continue to be our fellow-sub-,
sects, and retain their native enterprise; industry,
and vigour of purpose ; or shall, under the vexa-
tious and thwarting policy of Downing-street, be-
come dwarfed and dwindled from the due propor-
tions of the national character. Yet there is no
account accessible to the public of how the business
of the Colonial-office is carried on.

The powers of the Home Secretary are alike un-
defined. Probably no one who has ever held the
office would venture an account of the heteroge-
neous mass of duties imposed upon the Minister
by statute, custom, prescription, and common law.
To get at all this information, wherever it exists,
and to place it before the public in the plainest
words, is, with the help of the country, one of the
first things the AssoCiation are determined to have
done, cost what it may. There must be an end put
to every mystery of office--how the Administration
of the country is carried on must be made plain to
the most ordinary capacity. To this end, acts of
Parliament must be searched, and.returns obtained.
The Association are resolved to have a complete
analysis of our official system, a thorough clearing
up of the question of personal responsibility. This
will, of necessity, be a work of time and expense ;
the Committee, however, are perfectly satisfied
that the required means will be forthcoming, that
subscriptions to the object will be general through-
out the country ; that a failing purse will never
compel them to hold their baud. They have
already entered upon this portion of their labour,
with the most experienced and energetic help, and
will shortly be able to place some valuable informa-
tion, in a convenient form, in the hands of the
members of the Association. A. knowledge of the
actual state of the official system once attained, the
next step will be to bring every department into a
thoroughly business condition. The nation can
afford to pension, even upon full pay, any amount
of incapacity, but it cannot afford to retain inca-
pacity.

But, beyond all this, there is much to be accom-
plished by the constituencies themselves. The in-
dividuals of the several parties, invariably sent for
on any change of Ministry to form a Government,
are apparently limited in the choice of colleagues to
a very narrow circle. The distribution of offices
may be altered, but—with now and then an excep-
tion and often a very ill-chosen and ill-placed ex-
ception—the same set of men, or, at all
.events, the
same names and connection, be they Liberals or
Conservatives, hold, Parliament after Parliament,
the entire governing power. The idea prevails that
there are no men in the kingdom' to take their
places; that they, and theyonly, can command suffi-
cient influence to give Government a majority in
the Lords and Commons whilst Parliament sits, and
a majority in the country at a general election. The
candidates sent down from the clubs are chosen
with the constant object of upholding the fixed mi-
nisterial cliques, whether in or out of office ; the
party circle has, as a matter of course, a continual
hold upon members so selected ; and it is thus of
the utmost importance that the electors in every
borough and county shall put an end to the system
under which, not the constituencies, but the clubs,
choose who shall be members, and what places they
shall represent. The Association would therefore
urge the electors, in all earnestness, to select their
own candidates. It is au essential step in admi-
nistrative reform, that the constituencies shall
shake off the clubs and their agents. There is no-
thing in an election to require the assistance of a
parliamentary trafficker in seats.
Electors, if you would have an honest Govern-
ment, you must choose your members honestly,
and must sot your faces determinedly against that
dipgraceful system which spends fortunes upon
el actions ; you must resolve, also, in earnest to put
a 4 'and to election corruption. It is this that keeps
all)of from Parliament your ablest men ; they do
n4t choose to be defeated—they will not condescend
ta, the conditions of success. Means must be found
tc; correct this grievous evil—the nation cannot
afford to have its representation- jobbed, and its
heist men deterred from Parliament.
With these objects before them, the association
invite every constituency in the kingdom to make
tlieniselves acquainted with the opinions of their
Npresentatives upon Administrative Reform ; to
call upon them to support in Parliament every
qnestion bearing upon the subject ' • to hold meet-
ings upon the subject of Administrative Reform ;
tc organise local committees, to enrol members, to
collect funds, to put themselves in immediate com-
munication with the committee in London ; to be
rMady for an election, ready with worthy candi-
dates, an honest committee, and a thorough deter-
mination to have done with the abuses of elections.
Fellow-countrymen, we have reached a turning
point in our national history. We know now that
we can go on no longer as we have done, that, follow-
ing the beaten track, we are no longersure of ourpo-
sition. We must either work out a thorough change,
or take a lower grade in the world. But there is no
ground for despondency ; the nation is not worn
out ; the people were never more strong of purpose,
more sound at heart, more united in opinion. It
is the rulers and the system, " the torpid hands of
Government," that have failed us, not the peo-
ple. Let the nation, therefore, " bend its whole
force to the reduction of that corrupt influence
which is itself the perennial spring of all prodi-
gality and of all disorder—which loads us with
debt, which takes away vigour from our arms,
wisdom from our councils, and every shadow of
authority and credit from the most venerable parts
of our constitution." Let the nation resolve that
there shall be a searching and complete Adminis-
trative Reform—that " the right men shall be in
the right places" and there is nothing to appre-
hend from the position of England.
(Signed by order of the Committee),
SAMUEL MORLEY, Chairman.
WILLIAM TITES, Deputy Chairman.
J. I. TRATERS,..Treasurer.
Offices of the Association, 86, King William-
street, City, May 19.