The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-24 00:00:00

ness necessary for the circumstances of the moment shall
be dispatched."
__ _

Note I;ere we have three men of the first class as poli-
ticians agreeing in a statement which utterly "ignores"
(to use a modern phrase) the whole Parliamentary history
of 1846-1847. In 1841 a new Parliament was summoned.
The first thing it did was to dismiss the Melbourne
Cabinet; and to carry Sir Robert Peel into office by a
majority of 91. That majority was subsequently a little
increased, and it is a fact, altogether beyond dispute,
that in that Parliament, which sat from August, 1841, to
July, 1847, Lord John Russell could never reckon more
than 270 to 280 supporters; while the Conservatives,
elected by the people expressly to put him out of office,
were above 360 in number. In June, 1846, Sir Robert
Peel, having introduced a lamentable and fatal division
into the racks of the Conservative party, was ejected
from office, by a momentary coalition, exactly similar
to that which has just overthrown Lord John Russell.
His Lordship speaks with some bitterness of the Pro-
tectionists who voted with Lord Palmerston on the
militia question, and thus caused his ejection from
office. It is convenient to him to forget that in
1846 he himself managed to climb into office by a pre-
cisely similar vote. He pushed Sir Robert Peel from
his seat, and regained the Premiership for himself, by
voting with Lord George Bentinck and the Protection-
ists, to destroy the Freo Trade Government of Sir
Robert Peel. And now, forsooth, he makes it a
charge against some of the Protectionists that they pre-
ferred Lord Palmerston's Militia Bill to his own!
But to return: Lord John Russell was sent for in
1846: precisely as Lord Derby was sent for in 1852, be-
cause, the existing Ministry being overthrown, the
Sovereign saw in him the best apparent hope of a new
Government. He accepted office. Had he a majority in
the Hotise of Commons? Not far one single moment.
Yet this never disturbed him. He knew that he had
only—as Lord Derby has now—some 260 or 280
pledged supporters in the Lower House. But this did not
dismay him; for he calculated, and he had a right to cal-
culate, that the remaining 360 or 370 Members would
never combine, at least for the present, to throw him out
br office. He went on safely, but without a majority.
He did not dissolve. On the contrary, he carried Par-
liament all through the business of 1847, existing, all
the while, on the forbearance of the majority. In a
word, he did then for more than twelve months that
very thing which he now says it is unconstitutional for
Lord Derby to think of doing for one-third part of the
time. Is it not strange that such statements as these
can be made—depending, evidently, on men's entire
forgetfulness of what occurred only five years ago ?
Every one, when reminded of the fact, can remember
perfectly well that a Whig Government existed in Eng-
land from June, 1846, to June, 1847 ; although during
the whole of that time there were
anren
d Whigo t knt e
House
C-113 OMODS so many as 280 wßadicals o
i
in the aggregate. And yet we are now told, by three
ex-Ministers in succession, that for a Government to
think of holding office for even three or four months
without having a majority in the House of Commons, is
" utterly opposed to the spirit of the Constitution!" Se
say Lord John Russell, Sir James Graham, and Mr.
Gladstone. But what will men not say who have been
turned out of office, and are eager to get back again ?

"THE DUTIES OF DEMOCRACY."
The following is the last document issued by Maz-
zini under the above title, and addressed to the Con-
tinental Revolutionists :

" What ought to be at present the mot d'ordre, the
rallying cry of parties? All is comprised in one word—
Action—action, one, European, incessant, logical, bold,
and universal! Mere talkers have destroyed France; and
they will destroy Europe, if a holy reaction is not got up
against them. Thanks to such persons, we are now in
the time of the Lower Empire. By dint of discussing on
the future, we have abandoned the present to the first-
comer. By dint of substituting each his little sect, his
little system, his little organization of humanity, for the
great religion of democracy, fur the common faith, for
the association of forces to make a conquest of the
position, we have thrown disorganization into the ranks.
The sacred phalanx which ought to press forward
always as a single man, drawing closer together at each
martyr's death, has become an assemblage of free corps,
a veritable camp of Wallestein, minus the genius of
the master. At the hour of attack, it fell to pieces on
the right and on the left, and was found scattered about
in little detachments everywhere, except in the heart
of the place. The enemy was one, discussing nothing,
but acting always, and it is not by arguing on
the best means of cutting and clipping human
kind to a fixed standard that the foe can be
dislodged. The time has come to speak the truth
plainly to our friends. They have done all the evil
possible to the best of causes; they would have killed it
by excess of love or by want of intelligence, if it was
not immortal. I accuse the socialists, and in particular
the leaders, of having falsified, mutilated, diminished
our grand idea, by imprisoning our law, common for al!,
within absolute systems which usurp at the same time
power over the liberty of the individual, over the sove-
reignty of the country, and over the continuity of pro-
gress. I accused them of having aimed, in the name cf
their paltry individuality, at giving positive solutions to
the problem of human life, before that life was able
to manifest itself in the plenitude of its capacity
under the action of these great electric currents
called revolutions. I accuse them of having at-
tempted to produce at a fixed time, from their weak or
diseased brains, an organization which cannot issue
except from the co-operation of all the human fa-
culties in action, and of having substituted their so-
litary I for the collective I of Europe, of having
spoken in the name of St. Simon, Fourier, Cabot, or
any other, there where the point was to destroy the re-
vealing agents for the profit of the continued revelations,
and to inscribe over the front of the temple, God is God,
and Humanity is his Prophet!' For having forgotten Ac-
tion I For having said:' What France ow es to Europe is
the solution ot the organization of labour.' For having
slighted the voice of such of her children as called on all
dissentient parties to organize themselves on a common
ground to bear the brunt of battle—France has arrived,
by Rome, at the shame of Dec 2. The whole of demo-
cratic Europe must now aid France in recovering her
position, as she formerly aided Europe. She must above
all advance, advance constantly, advance alone, to force
France to join her. The movement of France depends at
present on the movement of Europe; the movement of Tes-
sin° and the insurrection of Sicily preceded the republic
of 1848. The European iniative at present belongs to the
first people which shall rise, not iu the name ot a local
interest, but of a European principle. Should France
do so, may God and humanity bless France! Should
she not do so, let others do so! God has no chosen
people. Father of all, he is with all who are ready to
sacrifice themselves fur the common weal. From the
alliance of nations must spring the initiative ;
and there is not, at the present time, a
single nation which, spontaneously rushing into the
areas, or in nobly resisting, cannot raise the two-
thirds of Europe. The day in which the democracy
militant shall have a government, an impost, a common
ground, a plan, an ensemble of operations, it will have
conquered. Until then, let it resign itself to M. de
Maupas, Schwartzsnbcrg, and Radetsky; lot it resign
itself to shame, to the rod, to transportation, and to the
gibbet, and let it find its compensation in the perusal of
the political novels which its utopian dreamers are
always ready to write—they do. not cost much trouble
to be written.
" March, 1852. " JOSEPH MAZZINI

TEE CRYSTAL PALACE.