The Sun.
London, England, 1852-02-09 00:00:00

MONDAY EVENING,

et the helm, and en the second occasion with the Court
and the Parliament equally devoted to him, he never
could maintain himself in pwer. Nor, riotwithst:ald-
ing his coEsuoataate Parliamentcry tactics, C 313 he be
described es the glTat"t Ftny, levier that ever
flourished among us; for he contrived to eetroy the
most, computl, powerful, and devoted party that ever
followed a British statesman. Certainly, notwithstand-
ing his great sx ay in debate, we cannot recognise him
as our greatest orator, for in many of the supreme re-
quisiva of oratory he was singularly deficient. But
what he la ally was, and what posterity will acknowleige
him to .have been, is the greatest Member of Parliament
that ev:r lived. _

"Peace to his ashes I.
His name will be often ap-
pealed to in that scene which he loved so well, and never
without
parts
homage
of
eveaonbvy his opponents."
Many e come with pecu t par force and
r
' grace from the hand of one who gained no little cele-
' brity by his former attacks on
Sir Robert Peel, and
his denunciations of " the organizsd • "
hypocrisy. But
the hand of death has appeased the violence of poli-
tical animosity, and it imparts a very mou*iful inte-
rest to these pages when we consider that the two
circumstances of a peculiarly
Bseffinitciicng
chief actors in that stormy struggle which they so
vividly recal, have both passed away, and both under
The
sudden death of Lord Georgewith
his almost instantaneous rise intoin •k, together
political leader after years of ved Parliamentary
inte-
rest which the record in this voililuame:;>pnuwbililinctaentndrt
life, impart to his name a strange romantic
to enhance. The portrait of the
as sketched by the hand of his friend and
Protectionist chief,
.biographer,
is. an attractive one. Lord George ei
c.e
greatlya sa
was indeed a
gallant leader of a forlorn hope, and
can-
not help sympathising with his struggles,
disapproving of their object and desiring their defeat.
as
sll
ch
even 'w ewhil while
to this gallantry of bearing
and a chivalrous
hopefulness that held nothing to b
a impossible, he
brought to the struggle also qualities not less im-
portant.—an energy of will that nothing could dis-
turb, and an application to business that nothing
could weary. His predominant characteristic was
earnestness. The reputation acquired during a po-
eliatricnaeldcbayreaern oafinounnlynttnhfreelabnborierf Years was certainly
and application not
winatso
etnhgreaegetdimiens tphoaltitperiod. Often,
ical duties for
owf et eanr e condensedtold, he
eighteen hours out of the twenty-four, and often
without taking food during the interval. This sort
of labour, be it remembered, though hot
always, of
course, of the same duration, was not taken up by fits
vigorously
sesi'ofti in the
da na
yd satfat re trs ,d
abuty a
nwda smpnunrtsbu
after
steadilyfter month. andstns.
—...e mornings
were occupied by interviews with individuals of va.
ready-made
the Protec-
tionist
aidttributed to
irni ofoursmcaltaisosne snann dt
bvear itoeupsi
nc a l
ul i
nn
dg
es ,r ca pi
sacbul
sitiautue sme ,e
nt foro
fLf
ao
cr
tds . George
iandees pt
itnend no
was subjected to
on certain
msi°a:nte'rsa,s if
wrong conclu
mostthe
occasionally
v eand
at
no want of proper caution on his
part. The minute and elaborate nature of
that can
bnuerttat
ihni
lnyk hbee d
his researches into the details of any matter that he
"took up" is amply evidenced by some extracts from
his correspondence (given in this volume) with
parties able to afford him the necessary information.
This correspondence gives a very favourable idea of
the business-lika qualities of Lord George Bentinck.
The earnestness and zeal which he displayed in mat-
ters of, apparently, trifling importance, are almost
sufficient of themselves to account for the prominent
position established by the fallen Protectionist party.
" He came forward," observes his biograper, " with
details in support of his principle and policy which it
had been before believed that none but a Minister could
command. Instead of experiencing the usual and inevi-
table doom of private Members of Parliament, and
having his statements shattered by official information,
Lord George Bentinck was the assailant, and the sue.
cessful assailant of an administration on these very heads.
He often did their work more Efftctually than all their
artificial training enabled them to do it. His acute
research, end his peculiar sources of information, roused
the vigilance of all the public offices of the country.
Since his time there has been more care in preparing
official returns and in arranging the public correspon-
dence placed on the table of the House of Commons."
His mornings devoted to these investigations, his days
were constantly occupied by attendance on Com-
mittees, and his evenings and nights were always
passed in the House of Commons when it was sitting.
He grudged even the time spent in a dinner at Bel-
lamy's ; "he always thought that something would
be said or done in his absence which would net have
occurred had he been there—some motion whisked
through or some return altered. His principle was
that a Member should never be absent from his seat."
No one can read this biography without admiring the
wonderful energy which it records ; the motto of
Lord George, according to what we read of him in
this book, might indeed have been " Thorough," for
mind and body, heart and soul, did he devote himself
to the cause in which he believed. To one sacrifice,
however, even his resolute heart was not quite in-
differenF, as is feelingly mentioned in the following
passage : _ _

" Ii was the day after the Derby, May 25th, the
writer met Lord George Bentinck in the library of the
House of Commons. He was standing before the book-
shelves, with a volume in his hand, and his countenance
was greatly disturbed. His resolutions in favour of the
colonial interest, after all his labour?, had been nega-
tived by the Committee on the 22d, and on the 24th his
horse Surplice, whom he had parted with among the
rest of his stud solely that he might pursue without
distraction his labours on behalf of the great interests
of the country, had won that paramount and Olympian
stake, to gain which had been the object of his life. He
bad nothing to console him, and nothing to sustain him
except his pride. Even that deserted him before a
heart which he knew at least could yield him 530
pathy.
Be gave a sort of superb groan All my life I have
been trying for this, and for what have I
sacrificed it!,
he murmured.

--,, It was in vain to offer solace.
... you do not know what the Derby is 1' be
moaned out.
. yes, I do ; it is the blue-ribbon of the turf.'
.. . It is the blue-ribbon of the turf,' he slowly a
re-
peated to himself; and sitting
-67'in at the table he buried
himself in a folio of statistics."
Very affecting are the coucludin
work, in which is simply and naturally recorded the
last interview between Lord George Bentinck and his
friend and biographer. The session had closed, and
Mr. Disraeli, about to leave London, called at Har-
court House to bid his friend farewell. They passed
the morning together, " rather indulging in the con-
templation of the future than in retrospect. Lord
George was serene, cheerful, and happy. i They
Parted at the gate of Harcourt House. 4‘ Ho put
g pages of this
characteristic of the man
.7 of his warm feelings and
_
forth his hand to bid farewell, and his last words were
of his ruling passion---' tiod bless you ; we must
work, and the country will come round us."' In less
than a month from that day the lifeless body of Lord
George Bentinck was discovered by the way side at a
little distance from his native home. Friends and
p •
()Rica opponents lamented together over the sudden
departure of that energetic spirit ,and, according to the
15e
beautiful concluding passage in
iti this volume, " one who
stood by his side in an arduous and unequal struggle ;
who often shared his councils and sometimes, perhaps,
trace i n these
soothed his cares; who knew
of faithful,theof
his nature, and esteemed his
chief of worldly blessings' has stepped aside from the
strife and passion of public life to draw up this record
of his deeds and thoughts, that those who come after
us may form some conception of his character and
career,ees, imperfectre
g
well
friendshipthegreatne among greatness
an English Worthy." As
such, and as a memento of
a very stirring period in
the political history of the country, this work will be
long valued. It will be perused
pages,
the and
portraiture
with very general
feelings of sympathy and admiration by both friends
and opponent', for it appeals not tothtoluieghnarrow p
judices of one class or party, but to those generous
sentiments which are common t) all--admiration for
a gallant nature and sympathy for faithful friendship.

.17utTheeis particularlya serious over-
DESTRUCTIVE INUNDATION OP THE SEVERN AND
over-
flowing Gor thijeclN!ri.
3,E,
ei t
a,
nSdn T u itDA
Severn,Y
river. It appears that in the middle of the the former
spout and deluging rains fell in North Wales week a water-
and Severn rose, and the result was, thal when the Wye
,6 fresh" came down the Wye on Thursday a a tremendous
all the country along the course of the river
yesterday ;
laid under water, and at Hereford the war:er was soon
than it has been known for more than t was deeper
On either side of the bridge over the Wyeans a century.
the traffic between Hereford, Ross Gloue across which
and South Wales is conveyed, there Iv:aster, London,
some five or six feet of water; consequentlY, the depth of
coaches was rendered impossible, and no publice passage of
from Hereford to this city through Ross, arrived conveyance
It was reported in Gloucester that this bridge y.esterday.
swept away, but the report, we are told, via., n
imp been
The only means of communication between the two untied
was through Ledbury. An early coach from Gloucesteities
Hereford, after proceeding as far as Ross, returned
againer tt oo
this city, deferring its journey until this day (Saturday.)
We understand, too, that a very suGden rise took place about
mid-day yesterday in the Severn, at Worcester and Tewkes-
bury, and the meadows near the river were submerged to a
depth of some 18 inches in about an hour, the water
at deal of dame h rng
rapidly afterwards. A gre
confused as been dons,
but at present the accounts are very , _
to the
difficulties of communication.
owing
um
THE CALEDONIAN A ...BYL. Of the numerous
charitable institutions supported by. voluntary contributions
which shed a lustre on the metropolisnofdthis kingdom, per-
haps there is none more interesting aedd eser•vin— of
ruing support
than the Caledonian Asylum, found for the maintenance
and education of the children ofsoldiers and sailors who
have served their country, and of Scotchraen who are unable
from poverty to educate -their children. These are the special
pleaders of this charity. to . It is muchbe regretted that the
funds are not inso flourishing a state as its friends could wish,
hut, with a benevolence that does credit to its members, the
Caledonian Society have announced that the proceeds of
their annual ball, which takes place on Thursday next, will
be devoted entirely to its replenishment, and we hope suc-
cess will crown their efforts.
THE SECRETARY OF BANKRUPTS. --On --,-,n Saturday
a Bill was printed, by order of the House of Lords, to abo,
lish the office of Secretary of liankrlTts, and to give tom=
1 pensation to the present holder. the Bill was koala
forward by the Lord Chancellor.