The Sun.
London, England, 1852-11-08 00:00:00

-1 of before Christmas.
allowed,
tion is to be finally dispost. -"ill not:mt eta
ion
Lord DERBY and his colleagues .
rker,a question
on any pretext whatever, to bu
till next February. He m
elec.
t
last spring, by- a solemn
:nt time
e promiseAlr. that V
alt.:v. the
tion Parliamen t should be assembled .n
eurtin
now be
to pronounce its final verdict on Free Trade and Pee-
tection before Chr. stmas. That promise must
fulfilled. The coun-trY has a right to know on what
principles its commercial transactions are to be con-
ducted. The farmers Aught to be finally dis-
abused of any lingering' reliance on protective
duties for their produce. All political parties
ought to have the rubbish of Protection squab-
bles cleared out of their way, to facilitate their
re-formation ou the real questions of the day; and
all the world ought to know that our policy on this
vital question is settled for ever. Such are the
reasonable views of Mr. COBDEN, and all the speakers
at the Great Manchester gathering.
If the Queen's speech does not announce, in full
and decisive terms, a thorough Free-trade policy,
"a distinct renunciation and recantation of Protection
on the part of tilis Administration," then, either by
an amendment on the Address, or by a substantive
resolution, the House of Commons is to be called upon
to declare that; it hac no confidence in any Government
"which does not avow its determination to adhere to the
policy of Free Trade, as it has hitherto been adopted,
and to carry it out in every practicable way." No
toleration is to be given to any " mystical intimation
from the Government that they do not intend to in-
terfere with Free Tiede ;" but an "avowal that they
have changed their opinions, and are honestly in fa-
vour of Free Trade," will be unflinchingly de-
manded. Such is the practical purpose of this great
meeting. We sincerely hope that Lord DERBY and
his colleagues are, and for some time have been, dis-
posed to act in accordance with this purpose. The
Free-traders express themselves willing to receive
their repentance not only " at the eleventh hour, but
at the eleventh and three quarters hour." They
remark truly enough, that greater men than the
Members of the present Cabinet have changed
their opinions, and they fairly ask the present Minis-
try, if they cannot change theirs to go manfully at
once into opposition. It is perfectly clear that there
is a large majority against Protection in the House of
Commons, and an infinitely larger majority in the
country at large ; and nothing, therefore, could be
more unconstitutional, than for persons whose opi-
nions are at variance with those of the majority, both
in the House and outside of it, to carry on the Go-
vernment of the country. In this representation of
the case, Mr. COBDEN and his coadjutors are unques-
tionably right. The Ministry must, to insure
the respect of the country, either announce them-
selves converts to Free Trade, or retire into oppo-
sition. If not converts, it cannot be expected that they
should avail themselves of the innumerable facilities
which the Government of the day possesses, for fur-
thering the great cause, both in their home adminis-
tration and their diplomacy abroad. A Free-trade
Ministry would be ever on the watch to teach its ad-
vantages at Foreign Courts, and to Foreign Ministers
and Ambassadors, and would eagerly improve every
opportunity to perfect the abolition of all monopoly
and protection at home. An Anti-Free-trade Min-
istry, on the contrary, merely working out a policy
which it disapproved, must, negatively, lose many
advantages for that policy, and must be tempted to
embarrass it as far as lay in their power.
We hope, therefore, that the Government have
become real converts to Free Trade. They have had
such lessons on the subject, that if they have
not learned them, it will be generally believed that
they are either unaccountably slow to learn, or un-
pardonably obstinate ; neither opinion being very
favourable to their continuance in office. They have
received the seven years instructions of the Anti-
Corn-law League ; the impressive teachings of Sir
ROBERT PEEL, Sir JAMES GRAHAM, and other truly
great converts ; the lessons of opposition and the les-
sons of office ; the Budget lesson of their own
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, and the national
lesson of the General Election ; lessons from tenant-
farmers, lessons from landlords, lessons even from the
large shipowners themselves ; verily they have had
it line upon line, line upon line; and if, after all, they
now hesitate about a full, frank, and manly confession,
that they have erred, that they repent, and that
they will bring forth fruits meet for repentance,
assuredly they will lose whatever respect Liberals
of every shade may have hitherto felt for
them. JOHN BULL is a most forgiving old fel-
low ; assault him with all the violence which used
to escape with a 51. penalty, and if you show him you
are really grieved for your conduct, ten to one but he
will shake hands with you, and share a bottle of wine
with you, instead of inflicting a paltry penalty; and

we feel pretty confident that if our present Ministers

will but make a clean breast of it ; if they will confess,

for instance, that political partizanship or necessities

may have blinded their eyes—but that the evidence
against their past creed is too glaring, too conclusive,

to be withstood, and that they now therefore give in
their cordial, unreserved adherence to Free Trade,

and will honestly lay themselves out to render
it complete—if they will say thus much, we are
confident that, on this subject, byegones will
be byegones, and Lord RADNOR and the Earl of
DERBY, RICHARD COBDEN, and BENJAMIN DISRAELI
will shake hands most heartily, and be thorough good
Free-trade friends for life. The rumoured plan of
making the QUEEN'S Speech the vehicle of Ministerial
recantations, is, we think, the one to be desired above
all others. No one doubts that with our beloved

SOVEREIGN'S education and intelligence, she is a
sincere Free-trader, and although she delivers only
the advised speeches of her Cabinet, yet when her un-
derstood sentiments are in harmony with those of the
great mass of her attached subjects, there is something
peculiarly graceful in putting language into her
mouth, which she can utter with sincerity, and
her people cheer with cordial enthusiasm. Minis-
ters might, indeed, individually avow their changed
opinions ; but it would neither produce the same im-
pression at home and abroad, nor afford her MAJESTY
an opportunity of placing the last wreath of legislative
triumph on the brows of Free-trade. When once
she has performed this solemn yet joyful act (for we
are willing to take for granted she is to do it), it is
morally certain that she will soon have Royal and Im-
perial followers; nay, we are daily expecting to hear
that England's transatlantic daughter has placed a
Free-trade Ptesident at the head of her Government.
Bankrupt exchequers on the Continent, and strange
to say, a largely overflowing exchequer in the United

States, are alike teaching the advantages and the ne

cessity of Free Trade. Large classes in each country