The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-09 00:00:00

„6141RIT;Of the PUBLIC JOURNAL'S;
TIMES,:—The historian who a century hence shall
dive into the controversies of this age will hardly fail
to notice with surprise how large a part of them is &zee
up to the subject of political conversions. As the age
is ha age' of transition, and as transitions in the mind of
an►- Age.ltivolitittenniiiiidactin the minds of many men, he
will be prepared. to meet with many cases of repentance
and conveesion, and also many varieties of that process.
lie will expect. to, find same predisposed by the circum-
stances of their Education or employment to embrace new
idensi and pass into the-vatOr social progress; others he
willexpect
to find habituatbrinterested, oe pledged todld
systems, so as not to bcrelittijiicd without the most pain- - --
fel laceration of feelings, 'lfe will know- that they who
are inveterate in one system can never be entirely assi-
milated to. another. 110 will recognize as a matter of
course the working of the inner man in the outward
change—fretik admission, struggling conviction, vacil-
littlou of opinion or conscience, the bigotries of party
or of pride, ineradicable prejudice, the wiles of in-
sincerity, the mazes of . folly, the various habits 'of
thOse who think for themselves and those who think in
crowds, the slow processes of research, and the rapid
glance of intuition. The world will see many a change
of opinion, but it will never see one sudden, simulta-
fie:ciusaufidliniforin. Such a change, indeed, 'Cannot be
imegined in the world thst we live in, whitever may be
the case in some other sphere not 'so tied to the tedious
laws of mental development,
-All this our future his-
torical student will be prepared for; but one thing will
certainly strike hi n_ as reniarkablbeetued not-entirely cre-
pwrhoeg,rol:ks.e tit wrielslrbeectaambiaezeedideart
cre-
ditable to an age the peculiar boast of which was its
brotherthe
reo
ef, , thosel)4 ather
no .
repentancethe ivliattihe.tr3;l;islaTti suspicion,at
, di
disgust;ga l S o ne, 't
l'
d meetvr who,
o , l
ike t
h
burden and heat of the day,” will grudgei those' of
the eleventh hour anything more than
a
propor-
tionate share in the reward. He
will ait
of course, that a repentance which waits upon'
interest is not very Meritorious, and that a
man who steps in at the last hour does not
deserve iii-Oie than an hour's pay; but he-vrill certainly
suspect a want of' heroism, a want of generosity, a want
of true greatness, in a form of political virtue and truth,
.whose chief employment it is to shut the door against
converts. For our own part, throughout the whole .of
the free-trade- controversy we have felt it our duty to
hail eonverta•on whatever plea, and without stickling for
humiliating confeseions. So long as a man was willing
to teat as a Free-trader we have ever been ready to leave
opinions and sentiments to die a natural death. There
are countless analogies to .justify a man in saying that
he thinks one system niaettAft,dly. the beet, but another
the only one praclicableMr:liii fact, there is no one that
does not step out of the present actual state of things
and seek liberty of feeling and thought in the past or
the• future;--in some romantic history or Utopian
dream. Were it not for this rule of political tole-
ration .we certainly should be disposed to protest
against that venerable relic of bygone times, the Right
Honourable 'President of the Board -of Control, now
once snore Member for Stamford. Mr. Herries is alto-
gether the creature of necessity. He, is a -necessity of
the Cabinet; a necessity, as it appears, of the electors of
Stamford; and, in hie turn, he will bow to the necessity
of fore trade. efti feet, he has already performed—
tiegraciously, iedeed—the first steps of his tardy espitu-
i otoiio • Sooner or later this stiff-necked old gentleman
willeehmit so the eke of Here-city, hut, insanwlole, psis
spete!i, a' li.f, Seim:feel fait F; id .y and Saturday exhibit a
rather awkward telti.ta,e:',—;u:rit stlvf, d, but only just,
ley-a few .syllables,--1: thnstine Oust he will not allow his
prejte?ices to prevent him from sr-rang his country' as
well as he ear. An' it is- le ellyiAe; eor:h while to liar-
reoniz , Tyr. Berries iut, pvrfeet-pongruity, it will Ise
,uffice"ne hi itlitr-C;g6 to clitolns.oene of his v,ry words,
containing, an wo Ilea thein, the h,,,,,,, ~,,,ii the antidote.
The latter we shalt give in stakes. On Kiaay he said:—
" lie I,lieved that by ,nr rretrt pulley much inisehitf
ha-I b,eit done to the greatest interests it, the country,
anti he did not see how those inter,-sts could be isjured
witheut injury to the country at, largo. Ile was de-
termined to oppose that policy by every means in his
power;-and, whenever there was a chance or a hope of
success, he was resolved on using his utmost endeavours
to mitigate at all events, if lie could not alter and reverse,
that unfortunate policy. * • * * * C
The self-styled (roe-trade party had urged their policy
so far that their opponents had no choice but to endea-
vour to change that policy, or in some other way to in-
sist on justice to the lauded interest. For his part, he
had always claimed for that interest, not protection, but
justice, If by protection was meant favour, lie disclaimed
it. lie wanted no favour, but he wanted justice for the
landed interest. If that interest were subject to special
burdens," Sic. * * * * * * ein
the meantime, he should beg of them to consider—and
to consider with a favourable disposition—the great dif-
ficulties under which the present Government laboured,
without any fault upon their part." On a review of such
passages it is evident enough that Mr. Herries, as ho
assures the electors of Soontord, " has not abated one
jot of his conviction of the truth of the doctrines
he has hitherto maintained;" but equally evident that
he will not let those convictions deprive the country of
his services. On Saturday, after his election, it Mr.
fir rriee now and then broke out into something like de-
clamation in the old Protectionist attain, the exigencies
wi
bhgolp,l 1
tfhoregeottruts: —.llYeohleyatrheoaswe aorheothaar the cell of his couutra'e
gout'
that ro;
d o
of the and
cwwhiestrbregstenp resent
crisis
antdwith the achniuistration of the country, the re-
peal of the Navigation Laws was unfortunately
ytentaiYaOttlunwfiotCrhaturgriastdet.
And I have now to tell you—and to
regret—that the effect produced by
and ill-starred measuce hasthbletentbaotset
which, not their efforts,
oast espial to that
who have now
which our woret fears anticipated.
undertaken the difficult task
wieh you to understand
site
have imi * I
but the circumstances of the ceneiry and the con-
duct -of
not
tf teleleltieeroppcomuents,
osed upon them,
fore
them
without
ale oar(' er st oieli lies be-
rm: only that, but
difficulties which surr trongest feeling of the
ladling aho of the need them, and without a
strong
of this great cointe who-
the support of all those avad
wllich
they
will_
haws
.(4.
the support look with
anxiety and solicitud share their opinions, and
of all those who
_.
o to rite well-being and p.O,P(r le
I understood the person who questioned ma to have ad •
* *
a matter (It
rented to the Corn Bill,elquestion
That is undoutitee Y a
of vast importance, and one of no small difficulty. It is
groefatthiemrpeoprctor
075
theto deeerchid-elawhoswsbthooosisci whotot
disnivrovea ,
now that those laws have been repealed. The question has
been atom raised ',ander the title of pretentiou, and there
joarreirystn in
this yinthiseonntry—l neinvo there is a large
country—whoma-
jority are of opinion that pro-
tection ought to be extended to all branches of British
industry „which may require it. But I am not
called upon to argue that abstract question now. The ques-
tion is with
,a 4,l„,nisii or of the Legislature is to userespcct to the law as it now stands. I believe
the duty of
the community at large, or, if that
it for the
hie or their efforts to render the law as it now stands cod-
. i i roust tell you that, without adhering rigidly to this
V"'the
cannotdu eive tha
oldh
done,
nwe,elftoczraeltoef;
or e(it Mode of suppOrting, assisting, and festering
t ti lie goo?. Upon that
agrs
•cu [tura! interest, on every occasion on which the ne-
,
woo), tor action or advice may arise, my advice
and LaY . conduct shall he directed to giving the
übnost practicable uslistance and support to the
landed intereeta of this country." Now, re ere
not ,going to bike the course• which we have de-
precated above. We
~ara not going to rebuff
this venerable proselyte in the courts of free trade, be
his homage ever so constrained. We maintain that it
it is tie Ltt,ourable act for an old statesman, brtd in
another sehool, and embarrassed by more pledges anti
ties thou he CALI venture to recollect, to come forwatd
and offer to serve -his friends and his country as the
require, at the risk of much
present elate or thingsmay
of misrepresentation. -WI;
difficulty and. the certeiloy
therefore cergratulste Mr. flefeeesto atvaug jest saved
,himself. sod lift biteselt op•bne take_,l he best course,
whatever that may happen
nut' liberty
11., as wee his free-
dog rather late in Ji:e, d
nu . sits bet ill on his
shouleers; but that w.ell an' ready to excuse, under the
circurnseinces, if he will roc / give effect 1 o the whole-
some with welch he has
some glut, Stamford.
soecchos at
.

EW D R
M 0 )S OF OPEATING IN SURGERY.-It IS
I:
N
vn to the profdstors of natural philosophy that a platina
wire owee heated instantaneously to a red heat, by meads
frn pful electric battery, and that in that state it will
cut through the skin and flesh of the human body with more
ease than the sharpest instrument. The surgeons of the
Santa Theresa Hospital, in Vienna, have made the expe-
riment of substituting such a wire for the usual surgical
instruments in some of their operations, and it is said with
perfect success. They
have laid a memoir on the subject
before the Imperial Academy of Science in that c* it