The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-10 00:00:00

was :ornE.:bo2y in thy; neighbourhood.
They would find him fn the Court Guide."
John Richard!, a policeman, confirmed a portion of
the last witness's statement.
The proceedings were then adjourned.
The inquiry was resumed yesterday, and again ad
journed.

THE MINISTRY.
(From the Times.)
Upon the occurrence of the late change in one im-
portant department of the Government, it obviously
became the duty and the interest of Lord John Russell
to endeavour, if possible, to strengthen his Administra-
tion by the infusion of new elements to replace those
which he had lost, or those which are likely to fail him.
Hence a variety of rumours have been thrown into cir-
culation for the lust fortnight on the probable tchanges
to be effected in the Government before the meeting of
Parliament; and some of our contemporaries have de-
signatai the very persons and offices thus conjecturally
disposed of. We entertain no doubt that some such at-
tempt has been indirectly made by the First Minister,
and certain not very definite proposals have been ad-
dressrd to the surviving members of that party which
Lord J. Russell has sought on two former occasions to
unite with himself in power. But, whatever may have
been t he pre eise extent of this negotiation, we also believe
that it iiitthtposc=rtgen abandoned, probably because h met
ementorassent from the statesmen to
w hem these communications were made. It may here-
after be a matter for consideration whether the cause of
this repugnance to share the responsibilities of Lord
John Russell':; Cabinet arose from the inadequate nature
of this particuhr proposal at the present time, or whe-
ther any more patmanent and insurmountable impedi-
ment to such en union subsists. But at present we
merely state the fact, as we believe it to he that the at-
tempt to effect a partial improvement in the 'Ministry, by
the substitution of three or four new members for others
of the present Cabinet, Rho would retire, has not led to
any result.
It scorns, therefore, to be the determination of Lord
John Russell and his colleagues to meet Parliament on
the 2d of February, if that ce the day announced to us
by the proclamation of this evening, without any mate-
rial alteration in the composition of the Ministry; al.
though we suppose that neither the present Ministers
nor any of their adherents can look with much
confidence ou the issue of such an undertaking.
If the Government was weak last session, it is
weaker now. If its authority over the Ministerial
party was small and intermittent, that authority is
now likely to be assailed and divided by the hostility
of a former colleague and ally. If Lord John Russell
floated onwards last year, when no great or decisive dis-
play of power and judgment was required of him, will it
be the same when be has pledged himself to open the
question of Parliamentary Reform at home, and when
the most sudden and violent changes on the continent
may be directed against our foreign interests, or even
against the security of these islands? We have no dis-
position to underrate the public services which Lord
John Russell may render to the country in this emer-
gency. On the contrary, he has recently shown a deter-
mination to make his authority more distinctly felt in
the general policy of the Government; and perhaps no
man is at this time equally qualified, both as a Minister
and as a leader of the House of Commons, to maintain
the principles of progressive improvement Ilithia
the legitimate sphere of the Constitution. But, in
the position in which he stands, and the country
stands with him, we look with anxiety to the prompti-
tude of his measures and the extent of his resolution.
Time, which it is often the object of statesmen to gain,
is now working against him; and it remains to be seen
whether that can be accomplished hereafter, under the
pressure of necessity, and after fresh defeats, which
might possibly be done at once by a vigorous and spon-
taneous effort.

os
ef The
vsalutaryea,
to gii countryvmept
importance
ay be d
Government
ce thisa pt disposed, d a
y,
credit
sdai we
nt
nf
for any
nha
cua
elydl
measures
o o
n our-
selves,
h
opening of Parliament. Bat be those measures what
they may, it is a delusion to suppose that measures can
impart strength to a Government which has lost the
power to wield its weapons with efficiency. The Whig
Budget of 1841 was a memorable example of that delu-
sion, which recoiled upon its authors. The doctrines of
free trade, afterwards gradually and successfully applied
by Lord Melbourne's illustrious avecessor,were powerless
to prolong his own tenure of office; and the only effect of the
premature discussion of a scheme which the Cabinet of
that day could not carry was to render the ultimate tri-
umph of those measures more difficult, and their effect on
parties more mischievous. No greater offence can be
committed by a Minister than to let loose a force he
cannot guide, or to open a question he cannot hope to
terminate. It is for the Government to propose and
carry its measures, not for the blind momentum of parti-
cular measures to support the Government; and, before
Lord John Russell engages in new or arduous duties he
will do well faithfully to estimate and ascertain the
strength which he can bring to the discharge of them.
To act without such knowledge and conviction is to set
the tranquillity of the country and the duration of the
Ministry upon the cast of a die.
These and many other considerations arising out of
this subject all point to the same conclusion. It seems
vein to attempt, for it is already too late to effect, any
partial ameliorations in the structure of the Govern-
ment. It is equally vain to expect that the present
Administration should pass successfully through the
ordeal of another session; yet, in the event of
its defeat, we have an Opposition less than ever quali-
fied to take office, and Ministers more than ever disqua-
lified to return to it. Under such circumstances, the
only course which seems to offer a solution of the diffi-
culty, and to provide, as is most necessary, for the
dignity of the Crown, tho efficiency of the public ser-
vice, and the safety of the nation, is the entire recon-
struction of the Government upon a broad and liberal
basis. It would be most desirable on all accounts to
sweep away and efface the shortcomings, the infirmities,
and the heart-harnings which necessarily accumulate
upon a Government of six years' standing ; to make
personal merit and actual services the only recognised
claim for a prolongation or renewal of power ; and to
include in this renovated Administration the most able
and popular representatives of all shades of opinion,
which concur in the leading principles of com-
mercial liberty and social reform. When Eng-
land feels the want of a strong Government, she
does not appeal to the despotic authority of military
l
power, or thrust aside her constitution, or forswear her
but she has a right to demand the sacrifice of per-
sonal differences, and the patriotic union of those who
are not divided upon questions of vital import. We
and whether he
know not whether Lord John Russell will rise to a true
sense of the highest duties of his office,
will choose the bold and manly course which might prove
that the country asks
with his salvation; but we are confident that partial expe-
dients and narrow combinations within the circle of his
family connexions and his personal friends will not suffice
for t haem
acrisiseo a
ensuomt wlwablbeecf
toobtreeerri him,ea.Before it can be affirmed
iandßritish statesmanship has
dwindled
that the elements of a powerful Government are not to
be found and collected, we must be satisfied that they
have been sought for far and wide, and that the head of
the Government has displayed all the tact and firmness
necessary to unite them.
g c o
The army will not be wanting if the General be swift
andut readyabove
at
10l act,siu e
et o t promote,be
strength
o fE
direct,u tl
English h m
Gomv
ae
rn nd.
B
meats resides in their Parliaments, and in the last resort
in the nation, it is of paramount importance that the
general election, whieh we aro rapidly approaching,
should take place under an Admin. • istration that inspires
confidence and hope. To fight
the electoral battle under
such circumstances as the present state of the Ministry
is to fight it under the greatest disadvantages, and
those disadvantages would be 'rather increased
than diminished by the political passions con-
nected with a proposal for Parliamentary Reform. It
may still be time
to anticipate these evils. The next
few weeks will d
decide whether Lord John Russell is pre-
pared to avert them, to encounter h t em, or to sink under
them; , and the course ho adopts in this interval will
show whether he be indeed one of those men of mark
who have gloriously governed the British empire, or a
mere Parliamentary leader raised by accident to the
highest office under the Crown.

RAIL WAY INTELLIGENCE.
RAILWAYS OPENED IN 1851.
The following railways were opened in the year
1851 :—Buckinghamshire, May 20, from Islip to Oxford,
4 miles; Cork and Bandon, November, from Ballinhas.
sig to Cork, 10 miles; Eastern Union, September (tho
Trowse Extension to the Norfolk Railway), 16 miles;
Exeter and Crediton, May, 5,;; miles; Great Northern,
August 1 (Sheproth Extension), 5i miles; Gloucester
and Dean Forest, September 19, from Gloucester to
Grange Court, 12 miles; London, Brighton, and South
Coast (joint line at Hastings), 21 miles; Middles-
borough and Redcar, July 6 (branch to Eston), 2 miles;
Midland Great Western of Ireland, August 1, from
linger to Galway, 761 miles; Newmarket, October 6,
from Newmarket to Cambridge, 10 miles; South-
Eastern, from Ashford to Hastings, 27i miles, and from
Tonbridge-wells to Robertsbridge, 15 miles (now to
Battle)—together, 42f miles; South Wales, September
19, from Grange Court to Chepstow, IS miles; South
Yorkshire, July 1, from Doncaster to Barnsley, 8 miles;
Stirling and Dunfermline, June 3 (branches to Alloa
Harbour and to Tillicoultry), 3 miles; Vale of Neath,
September 23, Neath to Aberdare, 19 miles; total, 2324
miles, of which 861 miles were Irish, 3 miles Scotch, anti
142; miles English railways.
The French lines opened during the year 18. 51 wer—
The Paris and Strasbourg, May 27, from Vary tee: ar-
le-Duc, 19 miles; July, from Sarrebourg to Strftsbourg,
54 miles; and from ,ietz to St. Avoid, 35 miles—to-
gether, 108 miles; and the Tours and Nantes, July 1,
from Tours to Poictiers, 63 miles; total, 171 miles.

TE
OXFORD, W ORCES R, AND
lIAMPTON. WOLVEr

i aigr
e. Barnudn `-'1
titi,,oin for constructing this company •
branches'sestimataterripton, the approach to Stour-
gsisi‘
in1610,010(1.0a/.n,
danDd
;IT!
eeyesx6peoriosoei
,obfeitnhge
junction at Wolvercot, including land
proposedbr
and contingencies, . . ,
the authorised line in lieu of
Proposed deviations are made. The cost et
iihich the
the extension to Wolvercot. and new station at Oxford,
the branch. to join the Buckinghamshire Railway
and
ndeoveiaxteieosnssoinhe
exyense.
oi.
including land and contingencies, is esti-
innea3tred°a; tie)Cir,d6oo/.

CONSUMPTION OF TEA.—It appears from the
official tables of the Board of Trade, issued yesterday by
order of the House of Commons, that there has been an in-
crease in the quantities of tea entered for home consumption.
In the eleven months ended the sth December, 1849, the
quantity was 46,077,6391b5. in 1850, 47,392,1731b5. ; and
;
in 1851,49,764,1931b5. There has been a decrease in the
quantities of wines and spirits entered for home consumption
ni tb throe years mentioned,