The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-19 00:00:00

DOWN WITH THE TIMES.

Front the Examiner.
" Put out the light—and then'."

Some years ago the cry was that the power of the
Crown had increased, was increasing,a and ought to be
diminished. It is held now in eel tain quarters, high and
low, that the power of the pnass has increased, is inereas-
iii, and ought to be diminished. The chief offender in
this excess being the Times, it is proposed, at the parti-
cular desire of several persons of Manchester, to take
measures to compass the destruction of the said Times,
or at least to cripple it very considerably. But why do
this in a roundabout way, involving in the injury other
properties that are not obnoxious either to Manchester
or Downing-street ? Why not set about the object
frankly, fairly, and directly ! Why not bring in a bill
of pains and penalties, setting forth the exorbitancy of
the power of the Times, and that no Ministry is safe
under it, and enacting what may be thought calculated
to render it less formidable ? There are various means
for this object besides those borrowed by Mr. Gladstone
from friend Bright. The stamp of the Times might be
doubled, or it might be denied transmission through the
post, or it might be forbidden to circulate more than a cer-
tain number of copies. There have been restrictions on the
issues of the Bank, and why not on the Times, on the same
score of State necessity ! What better model is there
of strengthening the Government than to weaken the
Times, which is over it ? If after this deterring exam-
ple any paper aspires to the power of the Times, the
proprietors will know what they have to expect, for a
bill may be brought in to deal with the offender in the
same summary way. All that we contend for is the
limitation of the enactment to the real aim.
Charles Lamb tells us of a sage people who burnt
down a house whenever they wanted to roast a Pig. We
deprecate setting Ire to the entire press for the solo and
separate purpose of the Times brown. Put ,our con-
temporary on the spit and welcome, provided you span,
those who do net sin in the same way by overtopping
the Governmen+s en the one hand and controllincr agita-
tors on the other. Make an example of the ringleader.
Hang him up, or put him to the reformation of penal
servitude—nay, servitude the worst of all, if you will,
servitude Ministerial—anything rather than derange a
whole body in order to disable one member, however large
and potent. Once upon a time, as Rabelais prefaces, when
beasts could speak, it was thought a most meritorious
action to slay a giant ; and there is prevalent the same
opinion now as to the giant of the press, 'which is
deemed too big to be permitted to live, especially with
the prospect of growing still bigger. There is not room
enough in this broad land for both Government and the
Times, and as we must have a Government;however
bad, we must not have a Times, however good.: Haman
cannot suffer Mordecai in the gate.
An old fable tells us of an ill-favoured youth
so displeased with Lis looking-glass that he
the ground and shivered it to a hundred fraor
seeing his ugly, features in each of the broil

'who was
lied it to
ents, but
n bits he
as worse,
be single
Leh is the
t in com-
e giant is
ivo with

found he hai made the matter a hundred timi
and bitterly lamented that he had changed f
unflattering reflection for the multiplied. Su
eact illustration of what Government is abou
paising small change for the 7irnes. To kill th
all very fine, but it is not always pleasant to 1
dwarfs.

And cost ought to be considered when we are carrying
on the expenditure with vigour, whatever may be the
case with the war. Is it good thrift to burn down a house
producing nearly half a million a year in order to roast
your pig ? Surely the Times can be well dressed at a
less cost than this. Why, if it were put down, directly
abolished by Act of Parliament, the loss to the
revenue would not much exceed 50,0001. a year,
whereas the circuitous process proposed for the same
end entails a sacrifice of more than eight or nine times
that amount Of all the modes of curing the peccant
journal of its plethora of strength, the most, effective
would be to bring it under Government, instead of its
present place, over Government, and to put a Minister
in the management of it. That arrangement would rat-
tle it down to the ground more quickly and completely
than any other that can be devised. It would'then re-
main to be seen whether Government could get on with
the rest of the press, or whether the press is really so
much ahead of the Government in ability and in its hold
on the public confidence, that measures for abating its
efficieucj and influence are indispensable to the credit,
comfort, and repose of any and every Administration.
If the alternative be a less able press in default of
an abler Government, we must all submit to our
fate, and give place to the American press, which is
to minister to, or, in the common phrase, to do for,
the English monarchy. The superiority, of which
there is now such jealousy, impatience, and hate,
will then be at an end certainly; but with journals
level to ttae meanest capacity may come something.
not a jot less troublesome than the superiority got rid
of, and Government may find after all that it has not
inend-q1 its strength by weakening public intelligence
without weakening public passions.
The Chancellor of the Exehe 'tier has found it impossi-
ble to adhere to his predee,‘sior'e plan for revoltonizing,
the press and turning it bottom upwards, and he hat an-
nounced his intention of proposing other resolutions.
Acting upon his own better judgment, we are sure that
Sir Cornewal Lewis would drop that scheme altogether,
and leave well alone. There are things that cannot be
well done, because of the wrong inherent in them. The
new resolutions, we too much fear, will be like the tools
in the Crimea, which have this peculiarity, that the new
are as bad as the old, and that one hatchet which will
not cut is replaced with another with the same infirmity,
and that one pickaxe that breaks off at the handle upon
the first provocation is replaced by another winch strikes
work in precisely the same abrupt fashion. There is this
difference, however, that the resolutions are likely to cut
only what it may be undesirable to cut, as the worst
tool, which may be too blunt to hew a block of wood,
may be thoroughly efficient for the purpose of killing a
man.