The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-22 00:00:00

Surgeon James Donovan, M.D. (1835), to the Win-
chest,r.
Paymaster and Purser William Brydone (1835) to the
Winchester.

Assistant-Surgeon Henry Slade (1847), serving in a
naval hospital, to the Winchester.
Acting Assistant-Surgeon Daniel Saunders (1852) to
the Winchester; F. Lekeux (1851) confirmed to the
Castor, 36, at the Cape of Good Hope.
Second Master Edward Hughes (1852) to the Victory,
flag-ship at Portsmouth.
Masters' Assistants Henry S. L9y and W. A. Cronin
to the Victory.
Commander the Hon. Francis Egerton (1850) and
Lieutenant Joseph Dayman (1843), having completed a
course of study at the factory at Woolwich Dockyard,
were examined during the present week by Mr. Charles
Atherton, Chief Engineer, and on passing satisfactorily
received their certificate accordingly.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
TIMES.—Last Monday all the world was impatient
t 6 see bow Mr. Disraeli and his squires would perform
their new parts. As to the merits of their performance
critic's will bp divided, but perhaps the most striking re-
flection suggested by a review of the week is that if the
Members of the present Government are in a new and
trying position, much the 'same may be said of their an-
tagonists. Lord John Russell, to be sure, is well ac-.
quainted with both aides of the House, but it is evident
that both he and his friends find their situation rather
novel and embarrassing. To have put themselves out of
place by their own blunders and quarrels—to have sur-
rendered a commanding position to Mr. Disraeli and
some chairmen of quarter sessions—to be a majority at
the mercy of a minority—to be obliged by every consi-
deration of honour, loyalty, and patriotism, to vote the
supplies and do the other necessary business of the ses-
sion—and to wait for a dissolution under hostile aus-
pices,and a new Parliament possibly adverse to the=ir
cause—constitute an amount of disagrees intisfSts
and in posse, for which even Lord John Russell
after his long career is evidently unprepared.
It now strikes us, that instead of asking, How will
the new Government behave ? we ought to have
asked, How will the new Opposition behave ? They
have behaved without method or concert. They have
asked a shower of questions, dictated the replies, and
lost their temper if the replies were not in their own
terms. Our Parliamentary columns have been loaded
with tedious disquisitions on constitutional and econo-
mical questions, to all appearance composed, in the
American fashion, more fur the public than for the
House. An Opposition that deprecates delay and that
demands a dissolution before June spends a whole week
in personal altercations and essays upon general sub-
jects. Like Dionysius, first a tyrant and afterwards a
pedagogue, Lord John Russell, no longer permitted to
govern, gives lessons in constitutional etiquette. At
least half a dozen times since his Lordship commenced
his long and useful career he and his colleagues have not
hesitated to disregard constitutional precedent for the
paramount claims of the public good; yet be can now
stand up and gravely tell Ministers they are bound, in
constitutional decorum, to divide the House of Commons
and appeal to the country on a principle which they have
not made the subject of a motion for two years. When
we add to these discursive and dilettante occupations an
interchange of complimentary remarks between the head
of the Government in the Lords and the head of the
Opposition in the Commons, endieg with a direct charge
of " falsehood," made with equal levity and untruth by
the latter, we have said enough to show that Lord John
and his friends have still to learn the duties of Opposi-
tion, and are not yet at home on their side of the House.
To ourselves of course nothing would be more delightful
than a session of the most laconic brevity and smart-
ness. If the Opposition, confiding in that majority the
strength of which they have so lately discovered, should
content themselves with simply voting the supplies and
outvoting every attempt to do more than the most ne-
cessary business, so as to enable all the world to get to
bed betimes, and make the perusal of the Times rather
less than a day's work, it would be so much gain to us
and our readers. But we regret to say that everything
threatens a contrary result. We confidently antici-
pate the time, in June or July, when the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, half worn out with his thank-
less task, shall be imploring his three-headed Oppo-
sition to allow him to get through the business of the
House, and dissolve Parliament, in time for the pro-
mised autumn session; and imploring in vain. At least
four hundred Members will not yet have addressed their
constituencies through the walls of the House, while
Lord John, Sir James, Mr. Cardwell, Messrs. Cobden
and Bright, and all the other chiefs, will still be groan-
ing under the weight of undelivered harangues. What
makes the proceedings of Parliament as brief as they
are is the fact that it is not a debating society, or a
mere nightly conversazione, there always being a motion
before the House, to which everybody must wake and
a division, to which everything must tend. There is
now, however, to be no business, no legislation, no mo-
tions except of course, no division—in a word, no rule
or limit to the most ambitious or most desultory elo-
quence. It is understood that both- sides are to use
blank cartridge, that is, to do nothing, however much
they may talk; and that not only the most furious rhe-
toric, but even the most business-like expressions are
to be interpreted in as harmless a sense as the make-
believe debetes in a Parliament of schoolboys. Thus, on
Friday night Mr. Osborne rose on the motion of the army
estimates, and after a long and entertaining address said
gravely, " I propose to grant the Government
neither money nor men," and was supported in the
gem ral tone of his remarks b, Lord John Russell and
all the chief speakers of the Opposition. It appears,
however, on reference to the minutes, that there was no
real amendment before the House at all, and Mr. Os-
borne had no wish to divide. He had no other otject
than to " draw out" her Majesty's Ministers. As, ha his
opinion, they refused to be drawn out, it is evident that
the victim of the sport is still scatheless, and ready for
the entertainment of any other gentleman who may wish
to draw it out.
Such, therefore, in all probability, will
be the peculiar business of the session of 1852, and if the
badger lasts long enough, and terriers can be found with
sufficient pluck, there really is no reason why the ses-
session should ever come to an end. In a war-
fare which is warranted not to hurt it is not easy to
count the gains and the losses. The speeches on one side
may he better than the speeches on the other, just as the
pamphlets on the one side may begetter than the pamph-
lets on the other. One thing, however, is evident,
and that is, that the conditions thus rigorously and
emphatically imposed by the late Government on
the new one are precisely those most convenient to
Lord Derby and the novices composing his Cabinet, on
the common estimate of their administrative capacity,
and also of their political position. It is assumed,
whether justly or not, that Lord Derby, Messrs.
Disraeli, Walpole, and perhaps one or two others of the
lot, can make very good speeches, but cannot make laws
or developo a policy. It may be salely granted that
they certainly possess the former gif', end not so cer-
tainly the latter. Now, if these men had the choice of
their own couditions, what: would they require? To be
allowed to speak and answer speeches as much as they
pleased, but to be spared the necessity of action. 0: all
things in the world a raw statesman must dread most
the seep .risibility of framing end carrying through an
actual Bill. Neither Lord Derby or Mr. Disraeli, at ail
events, have ever been at a loss n hat to say, and have only
failed when obliged to commit themselves to a defin to
measure. Then, into whose bands is the Opposition play-
ing when it tells the new Ministers they may talk as
much as they like, and shall have a good deal to talk
about, but shall not be allowed to do anything? Of
course when the general election comes the Conservative
party will say to the electors. " Gentlemen, we were
anxious to do so and so ,h our Lord Chancellor prepared
one measure, our Home Secretary another; in feet, we
had many measures in preparation which we had reason
to believe would be most useful and acceptable. But
the Opposition, who had latterly been unsuccessful in
their own attempts at legislation, informed us that they
would not let us do anytting lest they should lose iu
the comparison. They would only allow us to talk,
which we flatter ourselves we did as well as they. Give
us a majority, gentlemen, and you shall 800 D see that
wo can act as well as talk." For our own part we
should have thought that if the new Ministers are really
incapable of sound legislation, the best course was Co
give them abundant opportunity of showing it; in which
case their continued failure would tell against them
Admi-
nelicit
istration the forthcoming election. But that strange
of measures and of men which broke up tlae- ilf
nistration seems to have followed it into opposition. Un-
deniably the proceedings of that Oppositionso are at this
moment factious in the strictest us
being intended simply to disable a eof that word;
Government at the
serious cost of a whole year's legislation. That factious-
ness we believe to be as suicidal I
as
likely to miss its own interests by following them too
closely.
ADVERTISER.—It is
that Lord John Russell, in perfectly well understood,
again called, before long,Administration,
to
fthe anticipation of being
has made, if not in specific term_ a et in way not t°
be misunderstood, overtures ofromffisCeiteo Mr. Cobden, and
one or two others of the Manchester school. It would
probably be as well for the ex-Premier to remember the
sage advice of Mrs. Dodds, when about to give instruc-
tions as to the best mode of cookinga hare—"First catch
your hare:, It will be time enough for Lord John
Russell to distribute the pieces in his new Government
when he Majesty
to received the instructions of her
to form one. Lord John believes that that day is not
distant. In that convicton he is peculiar.
We know
of no one who shares it
-witwhhio'isme mindsunless
the wish
it
be those
cormorants for Place, in
is
father to the thought. The country neither desires to
see the ex-Premier recalled to power, nor anticipate
such COntingen°Y• It
Lord Derby's friends were es
ingenious as some. persons give them credit for being,
they would labour with the zeal of apostles to create the
impression, that there is no alternative but a Darby or a
Persuade the
Russell Government.
chance lies between the two Noble Lords, and the Tory
have
Cabinet, under the leadership of Lord Derby, may
a longer term of office before them than the most san-
guine of tbeir supporters hare yet imagined. The
alternative cf another Russell Government
would have a nowernil eff et in reconcilirg the
country to the infittion of a Derby Administration.
We say this on the supposition that the country
'had faith in the probability of the sitaso