The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-27 00:00:00

Irittti Win/baton

SUN OFFICE, Seven, o'clock.

TATTERSALL'S—(THIS EVENING.)
IthROPOLITAN HANDICAP.
1,000 to 30 agst Tobaski.
500 to 15 Galvanism.
1,000 to 25 Nerva.
1,000 to 25 -- Lampedo.
CHESTER CUP.
1,000 to 20 Weathergage.
1,000 to 15 Merry Bird.
DERBY.

400 to 25 Orestes.
400 to 20 Sittingbourne,
1,000 to 20 -- Barbatus.
750 to 25 Brocket.

:JOITSE OF LORDS--(THIS EVENING.)
The LORD-CHANCELLOR (Lord St. Leonards) took his
seat on the woolsack.
itf= number of peers present was not great. The
iterialists and the Opposition had mutually changed
and the Earl of Derby, together with all his late
i-dgues, were seated in the front Opposition bench.
Earl of Aberdeen, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the
.I:)uke of Newcastle, the Earl of St. Germans, the Earl of
Clarendon, and Earl Granville occupied the Treasury
bench.

As usual, the galleries allotted to the members of the
Lower House and to strangers, were densely crowded.
There were also a great number of peeresses present.
The Duke of Cambridge was also in his Place.
Shortly after five,
The Earl of ABERDEEN rose and said—Before pro-
ceeding to move the adjournment of the house, it is my
duty, as it is. my desire, to give your lordships the re-
quisite information respecting the recent construction of
her Majesty's Government, and to indicate, though
very briefly, the objects whidh will occupy our attention,
and the general policy we propose to adopt. My lords,
I believe it has been usual for many of those placed in
the situation in which I haVe now the honour to stand
to profess the reluctance with which they have
undertaken the task imposed upon them. I doubt not
they have done so in perfect sincerity, but if this has
been the case with others, your lordships may easily ima-
gine how much more largely I share in those feelings.
Your lordships must be aware that I have taken little
part in the proceedings of this house, except on such
occasions as were necessarily connected with the depart-
ments which I have the honour to be entrusted with.
Arrived at the very verge of that period which has been
assigned to human life, it might be said that other
thoughts and other pursuits might more naturally
occupy my attention. Nevertheless, I have
felt it my duty to obey the commands of my
Sovereign. My lords, before describing the proceedings
which have recently taken place, I wish to advert to
circumstances which I understand occurred a few days
past, when the noble earl opposite declined to perform
what appeared to me to be a very reasonable request, and
accused me, and those acting with me, of having entered
into a species of combination or conspiracy to overthrow
the noble lord's government. My lords, I believe it is an
accusation which was answered at the time by the noble
(hike (Newcastle) near me, but, nevertheless, I . wish to
add that my share in such a conspiracy was not for the
-purpose of ejecting the noble lord from office, but for the
purpose of keeping him in. When it appeared from the
'ambiguous paragraph in her Majesty's Speech that
it was indispensably necessary that some declaration
'should be made of the advantage of free trade, my own
anxiety was that the terms of that declaration or resolu-
tion should be such as the noble earl and his colleagues
could accept without doing violence to their feelings, due
to their feelings, and consistent with their own honour.
Those terms were framed with that view, they had
'the effect intended by those who proposed them,
'namely, that of enabling the noble earl to retain the
office he held, by the assistance and votes of the very
conspirators themselves. (Hear, hear.) If any
further evidence were requisite as to the nature of that
conspiracy, I have only to state that precisely at that time
:1 had taken measures to engage a residence at Nice, with
the firm deterinination of passing the two winter months
on the shores of the Mediterranean. So much for myself.
The noble lord then proceeded to say, that on Saturday
week he received a message from her Majesty desiring
-his attendance at the Isle of Wight, and intimating that
she had summoned the Marquis Lansdowne to attend at
'the same time. He confessed it had appeared to him that
the time had arrived when it was possible to efface these
political distinctiens and differences which had formerly
existed, and of which the country were now quite tired.
Of course he had neither youth, strength or will sufficient
to undertake the formation of a Ministry without the
aesistance of Lord John Russell ; and it was, therefore,
with great pleasure that he found, at a casual meeting
with the noble lord, that his sentiments were entirely
conformable to his own. He accordingly lost no time in
e=ndeavouring to fulfil the commands of her Majesty, but
be felt convinced that it would be impossible to do so
unless it were agreed to set aside all personal considera-
. tiells and objections. In the course of the week he
. succeeded in preparing an administration which was
• fortunate enough to receive the approbation of the
Queen,----and which now stood for the judgment of the
country. The noble earl opposite (Earl Derby) said this
'ln ight have been done in 24 hours, but he
could assure him that he found it impossible to fulfil the
ta kin so short a period. The noble earl then went on
. to allude to the office accepted by Lord J. Russell, and
. said the truth was that for the last thirty Years the prin-
, ciple on which the foreign policy of the country was
founded had never failed—it being to respect the inde-
• pendence of foreign States, great or small, and not to in-
< terfere in their internal affairs. This he trusted would
still be the case, and that we should still retain the friend-
ship and deserve the good-will of all nations, what-
ever was the nature of their government or constitution.
Ills earnest desire that the country would never be called
upon to act in any other spirit. Peace was the interest
of England, and he should do all in his power to main-
tain it, but at the same time he had no wish or intention
to reduce those precautionary measures of safety and pro-
tection which the Legislature began last session. (Hear,
hear.) With regard to our commercial policy, he be-
' lieved the interest of the country and the feelings of the
people were in favour of an extension of that system of
• free trade which Sir R. Peel commenced in 1846 and
• without stopping to discuss the merits of direct or indirect
axation, he could assure their lordships it was the wish of
the Government to see that system further advanced.
flear.) Another question of great public importance
. which the Government would take under their imme-
. clia,te charge was, that of national education—(loud
cheers)—and it was his fervent hope that such a system
would be ultimately adopted as should meet the views of
all religious denominations. (Loud cheers.) The
measures of law reform which were introduced
by her Majesty's late Government, would be
to some extent adopted by their Majesty's pre-
sent advisers, and he had reason to hope that
those measures would be rendered more perfect in
their details. (Hear, hear.) But no-matter whether it
was in the extension of Free Trade, of National Educa-
tion, or Law Reform, the Government would be actu-
, aced by only one desire, namely, to promote the pro-
sperity of the country, and to increase the social wel-
fare of the people. The results of the last election would
have the effect of assisting the Government in that re-
spect, and he trusted noble lords would bear those results
in mind when they came to consider the measures which
it would be the duty of Government to propose. He
c'ame now to the complaint of the noble lord opposite with
'fault
to the present coalition. The noble earl found
with him for having joined his noble friend the mem-
berfor the city of London, but he could assure him that
I had long ago arrived at the conviction that the coun-
-7llNvould be satisfied with no other government but one
%tapas. Now, the noble lord the member for the
of. rnm-ue endon, and his friend, while he was in favour
timate nrao to liberalism, was also in favour of legi-
tation .44'tervatisin ; and he had, therefore, no hesi-
thoroughl- ever
in joining him, believing, as he was
those p3;tl.4nvinced, that the country was sick of
in the terns distinctions which were recognised
.wished to see Neu Whig and Tory. All that it
a strong in its desee over strong in ability, and
and the country. r
stesecure the interest of the Crown
to be found in the on,h
h:bGovernment was, he believed,
and now in conclusio just succeeded in forming;
, n, al
'house at its rising should had Only to move that the
• 10th of February next. (ejaTruß) until Thursday, the
theeatri
The Earl of DERBY denied
ith the course which the noble he had found fault
duty to take. What he did complain (olf thought it his
l.
Raenriegyrbast s'toCOrlside-
that the
4te Government did not receive that
ration from Parliament which it had
and he' added, when lie made that complaint, theaxatptetlebte
noble earl would meet with better treatment
fiwn hands and those of his supporters. (Rear, hearl..
Re did not retreat now from that complaint, and he as
sure if their lordships would take the trouble to recall
the events which had taken place since the last eleeticn,
theyrn would be convinced that his complaint was not
tinaelle
h had a
without just cause. (Hear, hear.) At the same
th
good right to find fault in bitter terms
the
wi
yeasomof the noble earl's colleagues. For instance,
life r ••
e right bon. baronet who
commenced his daily
Upon ultra-Radical principles, but who afterwards
abandoned those principles in favour of Conservatism.
:hat right hon. gentleman went down to his constituents
at the last election, and declared that the late Govern.