The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-15 00:00:00

kirmintx

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1852

In the fulness of years ani reputation, the Duke
of WELLINGTON has paid the great debt of nature.
The " hero of a hundred fights," whose busy man-
hood Was passuitin a variety of climates, he escaped
the perils of ;eh', and died, yesterday, at Weimer
Castle, in his 114th year.
It is a singular circumstance that many other dis-
tinguished men •,, ere born in the Fame year (1769)
With the Duke :—greatest among these was the.
Emperor NAPOLEON, and it is recorded that when
this circumstance was mentioned in the hearing of
Louis XVIII., that Monarch, with the graceful turn •
of expression which distinguished him, remarked,
addressing himself to the Duke, "It was PROYI-
D"cE, who, when it sent the bane, at the same,
time gave the antidote."
The life of the Duke of WELLINGTON, from
the date of ',his first commission (7th March, 1787))
until yesterday, when his remarkable, brilliant,
and very fortunate career closed, is, in fact, a history
of his country during sixty-five years. In peace, as
well as in war, it has been his good fortune to have',
served his country in most distinguished offices. His'.
own opinion is said to have been that Nature intended
him to have been a statesman. Re was mistaken—as!
most men are—in the estimate of their own capacity
and character. As a Minister, be was deficient in';
many qualifications, and his administrative faculties
•
(ever prompt, decisive, and arbitrary), appear to have
been schooled in the camp, for their operation .
smaaked somewhat of its discipline. v 0,,,,
en. he first
became Premier, the manner 'n which r
\" fluttering
the Volscians" in the public offices), the Duke
struck dismay into the hearts of the Down-
ing-street officials—young gentlemen who came
e for.
gotten. retired early, and devoted most of their time tor
the perusal of the newspapers—will never be
gotten. The Duke, who was himself thard-working
underlings man, had no idea of permitting to be idle,
and his example and command
speedily effected)
many and much-required improvements in the
public
offices. Indeed, his industry, his application to
bu-
siness, and his never allowing to-day's
necessary'
work to wait until to-morrow, enabled him to have no!
arrears of business, and allowed him to exact industry,'
attention, and application from others. 1
The services of the Duke may be divided into two!
separate eras. From 1787 until 1815, a period of!
nearly thirty years, he was actively em-i
131°Yed in the military service. From 1815
until yesterday (thirty - seven years), the I
Duke yea at the command of his country, in the'
G
Senate, and in Jo TENANT FARMER.
the Cabinet ; while, at the Horse; uards, he governed the Army with justice, good';
sense, and alivel ' ridiculous as its position has unfortunate)
" Now, small as is the power of. the class at this mo.
y
y regard for the welfare and comfort eliment,
no persons in the kingdom
or in fact, are so entitled to
of the soldiery, 1,
wh f
ever he did at home or becomea,ndthereare
abroad, in camp or .a'
the Duke ' , whether by socialquestions to
cabinet, .valte was actuateak be heard and attended to on most
the as the
by one surpassing iThe far.mer is
betgr7
-nftuence—a strong sense of DUTY occupiers of the soil.
the constitution,
ruled him, whatever he did. It was this, we think, and
wealth,many and the
which eminently distinguished middle-man between poverty a
the man ;—for, under eI flabour
Inandh capital,
fbetdwi
distress
s s
the battle always
this influence, he hesitated not to surrender his ownPfalwl; bac utpoen him. According °According
convictions, no matter how unpleasant it may have' is the responsible man. The landlord is comparatively
been to the constitution he
been to run counter to his avowed opinion. In 18"19C;funknown to the law. Whether ho livetsheab d
heartru of his
grant Catholic EmanciAdam
this sense of Duty made him ort is never heardh of, or residneaantiinty.
In respect to
/Dation, which be had strenuous) opposed for years ; int-.4'it'ihraer prroYp'erteymhaeybaes esqcuaarcyelya onen legal obligation. He
and submit 1846, it made him perceive it to the neces-'pis sleeping partner in the concern; but in law, of course,
sity of Free Trade, though his convictions, preta-V the
dices, partner at all. The tenant pays the wages,
diees, and wishes ware all the other way..
d ~'poor-rates, the way-rates, the church-rates, the county
'.,rates, and the tithes; and, directly or indirectly, be.
We have said that the Duke's has been a die- is the assessor of all but the last two. Add to these
tinguished career. It has also been a fortunate one, 'h.nayments rents and taxes, and the numerous' small;
himself in
Family connexion and dietingu;shed rank (hiskerendtesern who live on the tenant-farmer, and he pre-
the light of the universal paymaster..
father was an Earl) pushed him so rapidly in thethiu
.half an hour's walk from almost every market place
army that he was a Colonel at the age of five-and- Ulu this kingdom you find yourself under the sway of.
twenty ; family connexion sent him to India, where-these powerful and responsible, though unassuming:
his brother was Governor-General, with the desire'.' potentates. Once cmong green fields and hedge-row:,,
and the power of advancing his brother; family road You are4n trifdairnmg cr
upon,is
eirndimtcehdyiaotue leap superior.
over, The
connexion, when Lord WELLESLEY was Foreign 'damagegetyocross, are maintained by hi. you'
Minister of England, int7Lehiit h The cattle are his. The la-: helped the Duke (by giving him pourers area
such a powerful friend in the Cabinet) during the - ting. He keeps St
Ifeaya carpenter'sc d tbe choetntacfle rtsh arethe,
s ain w hti s landset
Peninsular Carnp4igns. Let us aid, in justice, that 4: ,vtlailelaforge incessantlyh at work. The village shop't and
unless he had been fully equal to each occasion when ' lahoug;erPs.o ief-hpnruobfietare filled by his servants and''
family influence pushed him forward or kept him in ,-;'capital to keep thinsysfallobhe h.fas to draw oned
reduced
advance, the onnortanitic4s of distinction would have ;;,he has to bear the odium; dwisaagffecs.cfoen rsprueads
been useless. Want of capacity is never so obviouss.his rickshe amreusbtursntti.ll When he can no longer pay
as when it is displayed by those who are in %.-:wages'or pay rates• if there are widows,
high :or orphans, old men, or cri plc', • places. The Duke was a superior man, in all respects,vtbe tenant-farmer must maintains ohr sick ,or vagrandt?,
and deserved his good fortune. In India • ktwithout friends, he must bury them. We; i"h7
for-
and in,,,,
Europe, his career was brilliant beyond example,betting that mere land occupied for egiie are
enrualu pur-
it and g isnot more than half the
..poses
was to him, chiefly, that the defeat of the E Em For island; but in many respects land has an amt iportance and

It is not to be supposed that " the vilest rabble
ever seen" by a Secretary of War should be admitted
within the pale of the Constitution. A vote for a
parish officer is, a dangerous privilege for them,'
,but a
vote for an honour aspired to by a BERESFORD is ut-
terly out of the question. Let them eat their big loa
now they have it, and not trouble their heads about
national politics. But there is another class whom
we are confident no county candidate would venture
to denounce as a rabble, much less to deny that it is
Peculiarly qualified to enjoy the electoral suffrage—a
°lms on which Mr. Huse E and the Marquis o
et:1'1"os united to confer increased votes for the
'V Members, and which is sometimes even style 4
" th •
eir country's
pride ;" we mean, of course, thel,
tenant farmers. All D arties agree that they possess
that measure
of Social. respectability which should
confer a vote for -
a Member of Parliament. Fairly
looked at, they occupy a very important position in
'.. the community ; and so much of local administration
'. is already in their hands, and so efficiently conducted
yaliatatdor.
on the whole, that they have all the advantage of that
them to be led
;,practical knowledge which in •
Times thus eloquentl
away by the visionary or tha:Po.ses
ago the Some while
than eloquently—wrote of the ten
England : n not less truly
ant-farmers of