The Sun.
London, England, 1852-02-20 00:00:00

and harassing Circumstances of the case, was it just or
generous to seek to slander a man's character because,
for the interests of peace and good order, he applied
to a public journal to counteract the poison of
I Socialism with which the general press of Ireland
was for each a long period teeming? That
was the head and front of Lord Clarendon's offending.
If the Noble Lord opposite, instead of bringing forward
this resolution, introduced a motion for the appointment
of a Select Committee to inquire into all circumstances
connected with the employment by former Governments
of such agents and spies as were deemed requisite, he
would find that they were not very particular as to the
characters or morality of the parties they employed.
For his part he could not bring himself to vote in favour
of that motion. He could not forget that Lord Claren-
don was one of the best Viceroys that ever ruled in that
unhappy country—that he lost no opportunity of pro-
moting in every way its best interests, whether in agri-
culture, manufactures, education, or the general deve-
lopment of its resources.—(Hear.) Bat there was one
thing above all others for which the Noble Earl was
entitled to most conspicuous credit, and that was the"
effectual manner in which he had chained down the
monster of Orangeism.—(" Hear, hear," from the Radical
benches.) The Noble Lord opposite and the Hon.
Member for Bucks might perhaps come into office, as the
result of the division upon that motion; but he would
warn the Noble Lord and Hon. Members that a great
many of his present supporters would soon expect them
to repeal the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, give tenant-right,
arrange the revenues of the Established Church, and do
other things which they might not find so convenient.—
(Hear.) All he could say was, that if Hon. Gentlemen
opposite made these concessions, they would have no
more strenuous supporter than himself (Dr. Power).
Under all the present circumstances, however, he could
not give his sanction to any measure which might tend
to the removal of the best Lord-Lieutenant whom Ire-
land had ever seen.—(Hear.)
Mr. NE WDEGATE was not surprised at the political
morality of the two Hon. Members for Cork, who said
they would vote against the motion before the House,
because if it was successful it would place the party to
which he had the honour to belong in power. But that
party would not accept power on such terms.—(Minis-
terial cheers.) While he admitted the eloquence and
statesmanlike qualities of the Noble Lord (Lord John
Russell), he must say that his powers as a partisan were
equal to his other qualities—(A laugh)—and these
powers were displayed effectively that evening. What
was the real state of the case? Why, that the Irish
Government were reduced to the necessity of employing
a convicted libeller—Mr. Birch and the 7 imes news-
paper—(Laughter)—the World newspaper, to support
it. If the House, carried away by the eloquent address
from the Noble Lord at the head of the Government,
successfully opposed the motion before it, the people
of England would, notwithstanding, remember the
facts of the case must always be prejudicial to the Go-
vernment.
Colonel THOMPSON said, that in listening to the
speeches on the other side of the House, he had come to
the conclusion that the Hon. Counsel laboured under
the disadvantage of having had the wrong briefs deli-
vered to them, for the main portion of their eloquence
had been applied to blacken with intensity of ingra-
titude the character of their worthy client, Mr. Birch.
—(A laugh.) For himself, the only question he had
conscientiously to decide was, whether he should
take aide with this convicted libeller,—he borrowed the
term from the gentleman's own advocates,—with the
man who was stated to be notorious as practising the art
of wielding threats of the betrayal of public and private
confidence as a means of making money, or with this
man's victim.—(Hear, hear.) That Lord Clarendon
had been imprudent no man more clearly saw and ad-
mitted than Lord Clarendon himself; and Lord Claren-
don, were he present, would probably apologize for his
imprudence, in much the same terms that had been used
the other night in the House by an Hon. Gentleman
who admitted that he had been guilty of one fault in re-
lation to a certain borough, which fault was that of hav-
ing ever gone near the borough—(A laugh)—there could
be no doubt that Lord Clarendon quite as clearly recog-
nized his mistake in having ever gone near Mr. Birch.
The short statement of the case was, that Lord Claren-
don had made a false step, an e fallen into a quagmire
—(Hear, hear)—H.on.Gentlemen opposite scarcely meant
to propound that public men were to bo debarred from
all communication with the press; nor would they pro-
bably affirm that when they or theirs had been hereto-
fore in office, they had never had recourse to the aid of
the press; though, of course, they had always taken the
utmost care to secure the perfect purity of their press
agents.—(A laugh.)
Lord C. HAMILTON said it was because Lord Cla-
rendon had fallen into a quagmire, that he supported the
motion before the House. In doing so he violated his
own private feelings, to carry out what he believed to be
his public duty; for knowing Lord Clarendon well,
and enjoying the privilege of being upon intimate terms
with him, he knew that Nobleman was most anxious to
promote the welfare of Ireland, and history would hand
down to posterity with honour and credit the name of
Lord Clarendon.--(Hear, hear.) Such then being his
feelings, he could only give his support to this motion
with a feeling of regret. He had heard nothing from
the Noble Lord to induce him to suppose that Lord Cla-
rendon had relied upon any extraneous assistance than
that of that despicable paper the World. Ho had
altogether overlooked the loyalty of the Irish people,
and had attributed everything to the effect of those
articles. Voting, as he intende to vote under those
circumstances, in favour of the resolution, he hoped he
should not be told that he was giving a party vote. As
an Irish Member, he felt that he owed a deep debt of
gratitude to Lord Clarendon, bat at the same time he
felt that he should be placing a stigma on the whole
course of his public career, were he to mix up this affair
with it. He was convinced, too, that that high-minded
nobleman deeply regretted the whole circumstance.
There was a remarkable fact, and one which the press
especially—the mighty organ of the public—should keep
in view. The Noble Lord at the head of the Govern-
ment, and another Noble Lord high in office, had loudly
inveighed against the independence of the press, which
had since won much praise in asserting it nobly, repu-
diating the charges brought against it, and criticising
the language in which those charges were conveyed.
The Noble Lord was pleased to censure the way in
which the unbought press of this country had criticised
the acts of foreign Goveruments, and it was a corollary
of that censure, that on the first occasion on which, in
the present session, the forces of parties were marshalled,
the Government should endeavour to obtain a majority
directly in the support of the principle of buyirg and
rendering venal the public press of England.—(Hear.)
Sir D. NORREYS observed that the opponents of
Lord Clarendon praised him to the tides, and his friends
supported him, though not with respect to the intrinsic
merits of the question under discussion. God bless
Lord Clarendon. (Cries of " Hear, hear," and
laughter.) Never was a man so singularly defended
al Lord Clarendon. The Noble Lord was attacked for
having recourse to the public press. Many an honest
man had sought the aid of the press, but Lord Clarendon
it was said, forsooth, had had recourse to a convicted
libeller. The Noble Lord who brought forward the re-
solution, when ho described the paper as libellous and
scurrilous, did not show, as ho ought to have shown, that
the political talent of its articles was extraordinary.
What else did Lord Clarendon want?—(Hear, hear.)
Only look at the press of this country. Did not 999
out of every 1,000 of the people delight in the press as
the speaking and thinking machine of the nation? Did
men in general think for themselves?—(Cheers and
laughter.) Was it not a fact that 999 out of 1,000 were
guided by the press, and was a public man to be blamed
because he thought to gain the assistance of such impor-
tant means of securing the approval of the public? On
that ground he had taken his stand there, and de-
clared that Lord Clarendon had acted rightly. He
would not stand forward as the apologist of Lord Cla-
rendon, and acknowledge that there was a blot upon his
character: He repudiated such an argument. Any
public man who felt confidence in his opinions, was ja
Clarendon
had in having recourse to the moans which bel thoughtoo
best suited to give effect to them, and Lord sre
had taken the right course, for he had availed himself
mself
of the assistance of a journal circulating oug
the
very classes of the people who it was most desirous
shouldv:: o
plaien broughtion did
theyto acquiesceenter entertain
oi n
ohfi s
te Government.press ia thisßu t
what opinion
ujDidortahles it ycownassiduenrpiatrtdoobneablileke
toa voiorrtruoopnt, and
virtuous wo-
man,with whose fame it was horrible to tamper ?—(Great
laughter.) No such thing. Such an idea was not to be
realized, and he repeated that he could see nothing dis-
honourable in the offer or acceptance of literary services
under the circumstances. He thought that Lord Claren-
donea an r e ats
had done nothing more than any stateaspmp
justified in doing. He had been unfortunate,
tatto certainly,bheiymon d tha
in having had to do do with Mr. Birch, who
have no honourable feeling whatever,
greeted with almost
not the smallest moral censure
aavttiancghfeodr
Lord PALMERSTON (who was
aor
aenandootn
recon-
cile' pri
universal cheers) said—Sir,---en
oavffiincin'alrelation
the advantage and the honour of Lord ars had
8 been closely and directly
s,cl many ye
ovoanteneferiteenddwshitihp,hiamndbyh
Lee a silent negative to the
it to my feelings to •
motion of the Noble Lord.—(Cheers.) (Cheers. ) I feel bound, Sir,
to bear my testimony to the private: worth, and to the
personal honour, and to the public value of Lord Claren-
don as a servant of the Crown—(Cheers)—and to ex-
press my deep regret that he should upon this occasion
have been selected as the object of a personal attack.—
(Cheers, and 6, No, no," from the Opposition.)
Noble Lord who made this motion disclaimed its being a
personal question. Sir, if this be not a personal ques-
tion,question is.—Sir, the
I am utterly at a loss to understand what a personal
measure of the(C h eGe rob;
0) r n
In en Thist
attack
uo nAdministration,a
but the Noble Lord brings under the decision of the
House, and he calls upon the House to censure, a
isornotthean
strictly personal act of the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.
—(Heer, hear.) Now, Sir, I hate personal attacke.—
(Cheers.) I think it is an unworthy mode of political
warfare—(Cheers)—but, at ell events, if any Hon. Mem-
ber considers it his duty to bring forward a personal
attack upon a public man, I think he ie bound to st e
that the grounds on which his attack is founded are
broad, clear' and substantial.—(Cheers.) Now, Sir, I
appeal to those who have heard whet has passed this
fling, to say whether the Noble Lord has succeeded
in laying any such grounds before you?—(Cheers.) I
confess, Sir, that it has never been my lot to see so un-
substantial grounds laid for so grave and serious an ac-
cusation.—(Cheers.) What is it that the Noble Lord
has established? On his own showing, what is the
charge which he brings against my Noble Friend? It is
this:—Ina moment of great public peril, when danger
of the greatest magnitude threatened that part of the
empire of which he was the responsible governor, a
newspaper editor comes to him and says, "I agree in
the policy which you are carrying on—l wish to support
the cause of monarchy, the caw a loyalty and