The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-29 00:00:00

HOPES OF THE OPPOSITION.

(From the Morning Herald.)
Lord Derby's Administration having been over-
thrown by the most unprincipled coalition recorded
in history, and the faction having, for a time, suc-
ceeded in installing themselves into office, we think
it incumbent upon us to state the course this jour-

nal intends puisuing under present circumstances.
The Morning Herald has, ever since it has been
under its present management, feebly perhaps, but
honestly and •asieiduously, -given its support to-tho'
maintenance of the Altar, the Throne, and the
Constitution—to the cause of law and order. The

first principles of government, indeed the origin of
all government, was the protection of property, and
we have always insisted that the poor man has as
much right to have his property protected, and that
property is his labour, as the rich man who has ac-
quired wealth. We are, therefore, what is vulgarly
called "'Protectionists," but, although this word
has for party purposes been abused, and we are
stigmatised as " monopolists," the name " Protec-
tion" merely means that the native producer should
have security afforded him by the State to prevent
the foreigner underselling him in his own markets ;
and we hold that it is the first duty of every states-
man to afford this protection. Such, we believe, are
the opinions held by all Protectionists, or Conser-
vatives, as they used to be called ; and such, we be-
lieve, were the opinions of the late Sir R. Peel,
the head of the great Country Party, even so late as
1845 ; but, the following year, either from timidity
or from some other cause, which has never been
satisfactorily explained, the right honourable
baronet suddenly and unaccountably turned round,
eat up the opinions he had held during the course
of a long political life, and joined the Manchester
school in supporting " low prices." This treach-
erous conduct on the part of their leader neces-
sarily engendered a feeling of distrust amongst
Conservatives generally, and divided that great
party into sections ; and so affairs remained for a
considerable time, until Lord Derby, then Lord
Stanley, was generally adopted as a leader ; and
this important result was, we do not hesitate to
assert, mainly achieved by the untiring efforts of
this journal, aided by our talented evening con-
temporary the Standard. Lord John Russell's
Cabinet having fallen to pieces, owing to its inter-
nal weakness and acknowledged dissensions, Lord
Derby was called upon by the Queen to form a
Ministry, and immediately upon his assuming the
reins of office, his lordship, in his place in Parlia-
ment, stated that he had not formed his Cabinet
upon the question of whether free trade was or
was not to be continued—that his own private
opinion remained unchanged—but that neither he
nor any other Minister could repeal an act of the
Legislature without being supported by an un-
doubted majority of the people—that public opi-
nion could only be tested by a dissolution of Par-
liament—that he would make this appeal to the
constituencies it the eailliest possible moment,
and by the result of 'that appeal he would
decide upon the course he would pursue as
regarded that great Vestion ; but his lord-
ship also added, that • there were other great
constitutional questions of quite as much im-
portance as whether prices should be low—viz.,
whether the Monarchy should be maintained
against the machinations of the Manchester demo-
crats, and the Protestant religion be upheld against
the wily proceedings of the Pope and his adherents
in the United Kingdom. A new Parliament having
been elected, and it being evident a sufficient ma-
jority had not been returned that would enable
Lord Derby to repeal the act of 1846, his lordship
at once stated that he bowed to the constitutionally
expressed opinion of the country, and accepted the
principle of unrestricted competition—and, in say-
ing so, no honest or sensible man ever dreamed of
accusing him of inconsistency or tergiversation—
but at the same time he thought it only fair that
such relief should be afforded to those parties who
had suffered by the adoption of the new system as
circumstances would admit of. In this spirit the
budget was brought forward ; the principle of
direct taxation was extended, although the odious
income tax was modified, and a repeal of such
indirect taxes as it appeared to the Ministry could
be safely recommended without injury to the pub-
lic credit was proposed, and upon the Chancellor of
the Exchequer's speech becoming known great
satisfaction was expressed, not only by almost all
the free trade and opposition journals, but by our
principal bankers and commercial men. The hun-
gry Whigs seeing, then, that there was every pro-
bability of the budget being carried, suggested
a coalition with a few disappointed politicians,
followers of the late Sir R. Peel—falsely calling
themselves Conservatives, and in the teeth of
their professions on the hustings that they
would not factiously oppose Lord Derby's Govern-
ment, these gentlemen have consented to join
a party with whom they are at variance upon
almost every great question, and, to the infinite
disgust of all thinking men, have succeeded in
overthrowing the Cabinet ; the result of all which
is, that we have now a Ministry with Lord Aber-
deen at its head, who stated in his place in the
House of Lords only a few months since that he
agreed with Lord Derby upon all questions save
that of free trade, sitting at the same council table
with Sir W. Molesworth, who is pledged to support
the ballot ; we have again, the same noble lord,
for many years the Secretary for Foreign Affairs in
the Tory Administration, sitting at the same table
with his old antagonist Lord Palmerston, Foreign
Secretary of the Whigs for a great period of his
political career ; and, again, we have Sir James
Graham, tne apologist and supporter of the Pope's
brass band, sitting at the same table with Lord
John Russell, the writer of the celebrated Durham
letter, and the author of the Ecclesiastical Titles
Bill ! Can such a Jim Crow Cabinet last ? We
say it cannot. Go where you will the same feel-
ing exists. Ask the principal bankers and mer-
chants of the City, and they will tell you that
they deeply regret the retirement of Lord Derby.
Go to the West-end clubs and into private circles,
and. people give Lord Aberdeen's Ministry two
month's existence. We are therefore prepared to
bide our time, and we recommend to the Conser-
vative party to stick together as one man—to place
themselves under the guidance of the same leaders
who have lately exerted themselves to the utmost
of their power, and under circumstances of great
difficulty, to advance the principles they have so
much at heart—to accept from the motley crew
now at the head of affairs all they can get ; but we
say, at the same time—trust them not—they are
, wolves in sheep's clothing.
,m I

EXTENSIVE ROBBERY OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND.
—A. reward of 3001. has been offered by the Bank of
England for the recovery of 4,9301., stolen from one of
their clerks on the 23rd instant, in notes for 1,0001. (of
which there were three), 501. and 301. The numbers of
the notes are known at the Bank.
THE COMMON LODGING-HOUSES. --Yesterday was
printed, by order of the House of Lords, in a parlia-
mentary pafier, a report made by Captain Hay, one of
the police commissioners, to the late Home Secretary,
on the operation of the Common Lodging-house Act.
The report contains a good deal of information for
amending and improving the act now in force. There
are at present under police inspection upwards of 3,300
persons keeping common lodging-houses, accommodating
nearly 50,000 nightly lodgers. The lodging-houses re-
gistered are so widely spread in the metropolitan police
district that the area perambulated weekly by the in-
specting police sergeants in visiting them exceeds 810
miles. From September, 1851, to November last, the
number of keepers served with notices to register was
3,326, of which only 974 were approved and registered.
55,575 visits were made to the houses where notices had
been served. About 45,861 persons occupied the houses.
There had been 67 cases of fever and sickness dealt with
by the police. Already the act has had a beneficial
effect on the poor'creatures frequenting the places, and
also as a sanitary precaution. Much is still required to
be done, and it is anticipated that if the suggestions of
the police commissioner now made are adopted, the
places will be greatly improved, and, in case of fever,
contagion prevented.