The Sun.
London, England, 1830-02-16 00:00:00

upon their mental information. The inhabitants
of a free country must always possess in a greater
or less degree the elements, at least, of noble
thoughts and high aspirations. Circumstances
may, indeed, tend to prevent the display of
these, and partial enactments—the objections, as
it were, to a general rule, may here and there
suppress or even annihilate the finer feelings.
But where every man knows that his house is
his castle, that he is free as the air that blows
around him—that the proudest man, and
wealthiest aristocrat, who passed him unheeded,
is just as much amenable to the laws of the land
as himself, it were strange, indeed, if that man
were net conscious of his own importance, as
one of a nation of freemen, and an independent
member of the great family of mankind. No ,
notions can, therefore, be less founded in fact
than that our own hardy peasants present few
points on which the delineation of human pas-
sion and human manners may work; fur though
the peculiar characteristics of the Italian, the
Spanish, and even, the Frenchman may, perhaps,
be more prominent, the feelings of Englishmen
are at once deeper and more lasting than those
of any people, not in Europe only, but in the
world.

We have been led into these reflections by
the perusal of the intensely interesting work
with which the author of " The Subaltern" has
just enriched the literature of his country.
With some exceptions it is devoted entirely to a
delineation of the feelings, conduct, and senti-
ments of the lower classes, under circumstances
of peculiar excitement, and we freely confess,
that it is a long time since we have found our-
selves more completely engrossed by the details
of a work, avowedly of mere fiction. The
author, indeed, tells us that his sketches are all
drawn from life. We believe this perfectly ; for
we apprehend that no man's imagination, how-
ever vivid and acute, could conjure up such
pictures as these volumes bring before us. Of
course, we cannot pretend to analyze the con-
tents of the volumes themselves ; but, if our
readers, after perusing the following specimens,
refuse to adopt our opinions, we shall ow❑ our-
selves exceedingly surprised at the occurrence.
" THE PARISH APPRENTICE.
" John Bushell, the natural son of a woman of depraved
habits, first saw the light in one of those abodes of profli-
gacy and wretchedness, a union workhouse. his mother
dying soon after his birth, and before an opportunity was
afforded of taking an oath of affiliation, the little orphan
became dependent for support upon the parish officers,
who maintained him, with other paupers, in the place
where he was born, and, as a matter of course, gave up
the care of his education to strangers. It very seldom
happens that persons circumstanced as the masters of work-
houses are, find it either convenient or practicable to pay
much attention to the moral training of children. Th• re
is occupation enough for them in striving to maintain
something like the appearance of order, among the
crowd of idle and debased wretches who, in addition
to the aged and infirm, usuilly make up their families ;
and hence the young people are, for the most part, left to
form a character for themselves, after such models as may
be placed most prominently before them. The conse-
quence is, that, in nine cases out of ten, a child reared in
a workhouse proves, when he attains to manhood, both
idle and wicked. It is early instilled into him, by those
with whom he associates, that to make the slightest effort
to procure a livelihood for himself, were an act of extreme
simplicity and folly ; whilst the examples before his eyes
are almost invariably of vices the most disgusting and the
most gratuitous. To the full influence of such a training
was the boyhood of Bushell exposed ; and the tenor of his
maturer years was, in some respects, not such as to do in-
justice to his early education.
" It is contended by many accurate investigators of that
most inexplicable of all fiddles, human nature, that there
are no persons living who are not, and have always been,
in a greater or less degree, the slaves of some one roaster
passion. Whether there be any truth in the theory, I take
it not upon me to determine; but nothing can be more in-
disputable than that we do see, every day, the most power-
ful bias in men's minds towards things and objects for
which it is difficult to conceive how they could have ever
acquired a predilection. Perhaps there never lived a mare
memorable instance of this anomaly in the order of things,
than John Bushell. A parish pauper, brought up among
persons who either never earned a penny, or spent it, as
soon as procured, in low debauchery, the child's faculties
no sooner began to develope themselves than he exhibited
the most determined disposition to accumulate ; hoarding
up every thing of value which came within his reach, and
pilfering, not to enjoy a passing pleasure, but to hide the
article stolen where no eye besides his own might see it.
Young Bushell was not, indeed, backward in learning the
other lessons which his situation spread out bef ,re him.
He could swear as round an oath as any individual within
the walls; he set truth boldly at defiance whenever it
suited his own purposes to do so ; but not all the exertions
of those about hint succeeded in imbuing him with the
true spirit of a pauper,—that of squandering away, with a
free hand, his own means, and looking to the parish for
the support which- our laws compel it to afford. On
the contrary, his saving propensity grew every day more
and more strong; at first, to the amusement, and latterly,
to the annoyance of the ribald set about him ; till in the
end it attracted the notice of his superiors, who admired
it in proportion to the infrequency of its occurrence.
" I have said, that the boy's instinct of boarding led
him, on all favourable opportunities, to appropriate to his
own use such articles of value as fell within his reach.
Pieces of bread and cheese, trifling bits of clothing, occa-
sionally a penny, a knife, and even a button, were found
to have disappeared, no one knew how ; yet such was the
cunning of the young thief, that he either escaped auspi-
sion altogether, or, if suspected, he managed to avoid
detection. But it was not to such proceedings only that
the love of gain impelled him, He was ready to perform
any office, to undertake any task, to run on any message,
provided a pe:uniary reward was promised; indeed, he
became marked before long as a lad of exceedingly indus-
trious turn, whom it was a pity not ta treat with more
attention than was generally wasted upon parish boys.
The result was, that his master took him by the hand.
He was taught to read anti write, and he made rapid pro- '
gress in both accomplishments; he was sent out to keep
cows in spring-time, and to tend pigs in autumn ; and as
he always received a portion of the hire paid for his ser-
vices, no lad could be more attentive or more zealous. In
a word, John Bushell having discovered that the readiest
way of indulging his ruling propensity was to acquire
habits of regularity and industry, applied himself dili-
gently to whatever occupation his superiors chose to chalk
out for him ; and he became, in consequence, an especial
favourite with the leading men of his parish. Nor was
this all. John Bushell possessed the happy knack of ac-
commodating himself, with perfect ease, to the humours
of those about him. With his fellow-paupers .he was a
blusterer and a blasphemer, taking care however, even
among them, not to speak evil of dignities ; whilst with
his superiors, he was gentle and docile, mean, abject, and
servile. Thus, whilst the former estemed him no bad
fellow after all, though abominably stingy, the latter• re-
garded him as one of the most discreet and well-behaved
'ails in the house."

SELECT ORATIONS OF DENIOSTHENES,
LONDON, 1830.

" Germany" and " Agricola" or Tacitus. We
have an awful school tecollection of those works,
particularly of the huge mass of notes which
page after page spread themselves in cumbrous
deformity throughout each volume. Here,
however, we have luckily nothing of the sort ;
the notes arc numerous but not exuberant ; in
fact, the work is edited with consummate skill
and good taste. As such we warmly recommend
it to those among our readers who may wish to
acquaint themselves with the works of the most
manly and vigorous orator the world has ever
known.

HISTORY OF FRANCE AND NORMANDY.
LONDON, 1830. _

An excellent school abridgement of the His-
tory of France, penned in an easy simple style.
Every chapter is followed up by a series of ques-
tions on the main points discussed in it ; which
will serve to impress them more forcibly on the
attention of the young reader, than if he were
left to the unassisted exercise of his memory.

GRANEVS FRENCH GRAMMAR.—LoNnos, IS3O.
Clearness, conciseness, and simplicity are the
chief recommendations of this little elementary
treatise, which will, no doubt, be duly appre-
ciated by students in the French language.

LORD GRAVES.

on the contrary, reduced to a state of complete disc
tress. He was aware that what he was saying was
not new, for during the last ten years he had un-
ceasingly laboured to point out the evils of the mis-
chievous course which Mi isters were pursuing.
They had ever since the conclusion of peace kept
up a war establishment. It might appear to some
gentlemen that our situation was not capable of any
great relief from any remission of taxation which it
was in the power of this House to effect; but when
he called to their attervion what might have been
done if, at the conclusion of the war, a system of
economy had been acted on, they would see at once
that a •great deal of mischief would have been
avoided ; and they would likewise perceive, that by
adopting a plan of retrenchment now, much good
might yet be effected. Taxation, which was at no
time light, was, by the chanee which had taken
place in the currency, rendered almost one-half more
onerous on the count!), than it ought to be.
When that change took place, they ought to have
insisted on a proportionate decrease in the
amount of taxes, which had not been done.
In 1817, 1818, and 1819, the taxes were not
greater in amount than they were during the last'
three years. Ministers had taken care to keep up
the different establishments to the full means which
were at their disposal. He therefore called on the
House to do that which the whole country mewl-
moils's, demanded of their representatives in various
way: to do—namely, to reduce the taxation and the
expenditure. Now, he would ask, under what cio-
ctonseaeces they had assembled ? His Majesty did
not, in his Speech from the throne, say one word'
about lowering the taxes, and he could not find, from
any thing which had occurred in that House, that
aay reduction was intended. There was scarcely
a Speech from the Throne, since the year 1817,
which did not state the wish of his Majesty to-reduce
the public expenditure ; but, notwithstanding these
professions and promises, they would find that the
estimates of last yiar, the lath year of peace, were
upwards of 1,000,0001. greater than the estimates
of 1817. Under all the circumstances, he felt it
necessary to call on the House to demand, in strong
terms, a reduction, and a great reduction, of the ex- i
penditure, toeether with a change in the extent of
taxation. In 1821 he had moved an address, calling•
for the adoption of a system of rigid economy, which
was unanimously carried ; but so far from that ad-
dress having the desired effect, the contrary was the
result. No sooner did a vacancy in any situation
(however useless) occur, than it was immediately
filled up ;—witness the office of Treasurer of the
Navy, which was given to a gentleman .a few days
since. lie was convinced, that if they had made
proper reductions in the first year of peace, they
might, without detriment to the establishments of
the country, have reduced the amount of their debt
between 8,000,0001. and 9,000,0001. He had cal-
culated the sum extracted from the industry of the
peonle of England, in the shape of taxes, during the
fifteen years which had elapsed since the war, turd
he found it amounted to no less than 896,000,0001.,
—a sutn which, if they could have retained it, would
have enabled them to pay off all their debt, or if
they could have saved from it but 8,000,0001. or
10,000,000/. would have afforded the country very
great relief. From 1817 to 1828 inclusive, the net 1
money received was 700,000,0004, of which to the
amount of 56,000,0004 was raised last year.
Now, he would ask the House what portion
of this gross sum of 896,000,0004, levied since
the peace, was within their controul ? Now,
looking to a paper which had been laid on their
table, he saw, tent from the pee iodof the peace, uP
the year 1829, the sum of 316,500,0001. was de-
voted to the support of the establishments -olthe
country. The House had, therefore, to deal With
this sum of 316,500,0001.: and there could be no
doubt that if the most ordinary attention had been
paid to economy, the one-half or the one-third of it
might have been saved, and the country have kept
up, nevertheless, all the civil and military establish-
ments that were necessary to be maintained. By
this means they might have paid off from
130,000,000!. to 150,000,0001, of their debt, and
thus given permanent relief to the country to -the
amount of 6,000,0001, or 7,000,0004 He asked
the house to recollect what was stated by the Se-
cretary at 'War and by the Ministers generally last
year, as to the military expenditure. '1 he Weise
was told that it would be considerably lowered;
but how stood the fact? He found the expendie
ture of 1828 was 17,300,000/., while that of 1829
was 17,666,0001., lacing an increase of upwards of
300,0001. He hoped the House would excuselite
if he very shortly showed them what appeared to
him to be, iii a great measure, the cause of their
present situation. There had been a call in the
country, and to very general one, that the landed
proprietors should return to the rents of 1792;•-e'
because, in fact, their expences had fallen to the rate
of 1792. In his opinion, if they expected that this
country should go on, under the changed. cirt-tun"
stances of the present period, they must approxis
mate as nearly as possible to the standard of
1792. He said this the more confidently,
because the Finance Committee of 1817, wits
Lord Castlereagh at its head, had laid down I!
in the clearest and most distinct manner, that .they
ought to approach to that standard as nearly
as they could. The establishments of 1791
and 1792 were every way sufficient to maintain
the rights and interests of the country, and thel
ought unquestionably to return to them. The '
Finance Committee of 1828 also took the expel'
diture of that period as their basis. All their cony
parisons had reference to those years, and he will
exceedingly sorry to say that the investigations of,
that Committee were cut short by the proceedings of
Government. We well knew that except we. had •
full exchequer our fleets and armies could not be
maintained with effect, and yet we proceeded year
after year screwing every shilling that was practicable
from the pockets of the people,--a course that must
eed in general poverty and destitution, and wae
equally inconsistent with policy. And justice. Per-
haps Government wished to make England the arbi.,
tress of the world, and therefore ',thought it neces•
cessary to keep up our military and naval establish•
.
ments on au extravagant footing; hut an attempt
like this was absurd and impracticable, and if per
sisted in could only have the effect of impairing the
national resources. The present amount of taxation
was upwards of 56,000,0001.; in 1792 it was only
16,000,0001. In the latter year the whole of our
naval and military expenditure, that for the Kips e
household, &c.,—in fact, the cost of the civ'
and military government,—was not more ths°
5,300,0001. on, an average of three years; the sato°
items of expenditure now amounted to a sum es:
needing 24,000,0001. Now When. the value_ of :ire
currency was so much altered, and the rate of pro
and wages fast coming down to the level 0
1792, it was only right to demand from Minister,
such reductions as would approximate, our,tel
penditure to the scale of 1792. .The:only. .inateri°
reduction in our expenditure that: bad been-01
complished of late years consisted-in the loaiering
the interest upon the public debt from 31,500,000('0
which was the amount payable in 1818 or 1819, t„
28,500,0001. or 29,000,000/. But though), 14 Po
garded the public debt, we had made some litre,
progress in reduction, we had made little or n 1.•
trenehment as regarded our establishments. D.
charge on the consolidated fund, hiCh 179241
w
only 105,0001., now amounted to 1,200,000/.;' ti
the expences of our army, navy, and some of
items, which were then about 1,000,000/., were
17,600,000/. We bad raised the expenditure °
the civil list to a scale of great extravagance
the last few years. The present scale was^framel
in 1815, on an average of. the expenditure of 1813
and 1814, one of the most extravagant periods
English history. li.e could not approve of tbii
present profuse expenditure, and • would 11,J
support the dignity of the Croton at the expense
the infi:cting increased sufferings upon the peopl;
at a time when rags, starvation, and misery preVaild
throughout the laud. Why prefer a Monarchy, I))
because we conceived that form of government II
culated to procure in greater degree of happiness