The Sun.
London, England, 1830-06-28 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The death of King George IV. is known by thi,
time throughout the greater part of England. His :..
acute and protracted bodily afflictions had prepares''
his Majesty to anticipate, with less regret than
many of his subjects did for him, that final issue of
all things on 'earth. For the formal consequences
of that important event, so far as they are registered
;among the acts and ceremonials of office, we ref,' ...
to the Gazette account of the proceedings which .
took place throughout Saturday at St. James's and
in Parliament. The accession of King William IV.
is there explicitly recorded, and the Royal engage-
Hent of that Prince to maintain the reformed " la -
ligion established by law, to protect the rights and
!liberties, and to promote the prosperity and happi-
ness of all classes of his people," will be every when
read- with lively confidence and satisfaction. But
the memory of a Sovereign who has, through k: •
period so long and so memorable, tilled the cup of
worldly grandeur to the brim, and who has guided
these realms, through such variety of struggle, and
to such heights of fortune, cannot be dismissed thus
easily. Something more is due to the name or.
George IV. His Majesty was born at St. James's
on the 12th of August, 1762; and lived, therefore,
to be far advanced in the 68th year of his age. That
he existed so long, might, considering the habits of
his earlier life, be looked upon as an extraordinary
proof of the original vigour of his constitution.—
From boyhood upwards to the age of 30, the frame
and aspect of George IV. were in the highest degret
robust and beautiful. After that period other
ravages than those of time began, though slowly, to
make themselves visible in his person. Its line
proportions were gradually lost in an uninterrupted -
inclination to corpulency. The irksomeness of
active exertion was increased by occasional fits of
the gout, until of late years exercise on horseback
proving altogether too severe a discipline, the King's '
unwieldy bulk became a ready receptacle, and a fre-
quent prey, to disorders, of which the symptoms
were, for the most part, inflammatory. It is, there-
fore,
we repeat, more surprising that his Majesty
'should have survived to nearly his 70th year, than
that he should not have given way much sooner to .
the series of ' maladies which, afflicted him. The ..
reigns of Kings, though when taken fur divisions of
time, unequal and slovenly, as compared with olym-
piads,
consulates, and lustres, are nevertheless re-
cognised
in all countries where monarchical institu-
dons
have been established, as so many stages, or
marches, in the national history. In free countries
it is obvious that the general reputation of a reign
affords less clue to the personal merits of the Sove- .
reign, than in others where his will is the only rule
of action. The title of a constitutional King rarely
becomes more than a convenient index to the occur-
rences of a given number of years. We must not,
however, infer from this, that the lives of Kings pos-
sess no interest, or involve no serious topics for re-
mark, besides what are suggested by the operation
of contemporary laws and treaties. There are two
points of view under which the chief of a civilized
people forces himself on every man's attention—the
political and moral ; and two questions arise out of
them—viz., How has he acted upon the state by his
policy, or by the policy which passes under his .
name ? and, 2dly, What has been the influence oe
society of his temper, tastes, and morals ? The po-
!ideal relations of a King to the commonwealth take
precedence as proper subjects of history : but for grave
and durable importance to mankind, we know not
that the best work of the historian will bear compa-
rison
with that of the honest biographer, when the
latter has for his materials the life of a contempo-
rary individual, and that individual a Monarch,
whose characteristic propensities have been developed
for more than fifty years by the possession of almost
unlimited power to indulge them. The political
!history of the late King of England need not detain
us lung. George IV., when Prince of Wales, was,
for the greater part of his life, as is usual with heirs •
apparent in this country, an ostensible rallying point
of Parliamentary opposition to his father's Govern-
ment. His Royal Highness, in his professed ad-'
herence to the party out of office, felt con-
scious of the exercise of an independent power, •
which gained him popularity and cost him nothing. -
Whig doctrines having a smack of liberty about:
them, were showy appendages to a Prince, and wore
handsomely in fine weather, when all was calm and
sunshine. But the sunshine did not last for ever.
The French revolution carne, and menaced all
thrones, and Royal families, and courtly institutions,
with destruction. The King and his Ministers made
war upon this foe. The Whig leader and his partisans'
were compelled to struggle against the course adopted
'by the Minister, or they must have been extinguished
as an opposition; and this again forced them into a
constructive and reputed, though certainly an unde-
signed, co-operation with those who laboured un-
der the reproach of being Jacobins, and at least
theoretic rebels. The Prince, therefore, less than
any man inclined to lose caste, or incur peril, for'
such a cause, bade farewell to the Opposition, in a'
speech against revolutionary politics; and was
thenceforth designated by Mr. Fox's friends, as one
unworthy of political trust or attachment. The
Prince of Wales was nevertheless associated in this
censure with some of the ablest and most estimable
individuals of their generation. Burke, with Wind-
. ham by his side, and in their train Lords Spencer,
Fitzwilliam, and the Bentincks, expounded the
, mystery of the times in the sense in which it was
understood by the heir apparent, and transferred
their influence to the King's Government, embarked
as it then was in the quarrel of constitutional mo-
:narchy, of law and liberty, against headlong vio-
lence and injustice. The Prince of Wales appears
not to have borne any active or conspicuous part in
politics, between the day on which he ceased to
countenance the Foxite opposition, and that far
more memorable epoch in December, 1810, at
which, on the mental demise of George 111.,
his Royal Highness assumed the government
of these realms as Prince Regent. From . that
hour, which a variety of events, flowing from
`a common centre, and directed by Providence to .
a single end, had conspired to render the most critie
cal perhaps in modern history, to the termination
of his father's reign, and thence to the conclusion of his
own. George IV. was not merely in name, but actually
and effectively, King of England, to the full extent
to which the term can be applied to a Monarch whose
advisers are responsible. So far as regards the,
foreign policy of the realm, his late Majesty was in°
very few instances we are told, inclined to be a roi
faineant. He may have occasionally differed from
his servants--at times be may possibly have thwarted
them—but we believe that he was hardly ever an
unobservant speetator of the measures which they
adopted towards foreign States ; making the expres-
sion of a deep interest in the affairs, more particularly
of continental Europe, and an earnest attention tP
their progress, the role of his communications with
Ministers on subjects of external concern. George,
IV. bad long before his accession to the Regency!
encouraged the popular, though we suspect unfounded
notion, that the bias of his sentiments was in favour
• el' the persons and politics of Whig Statesmen.
`That he had any predilection for the individuals com-
posing that party, except (and that on motives not pet,
litical) to one whom we are under the painful neces:
sity of acknowledging to be the most unprincipled of
`their retainers, there seems no inducement—none, at
least, in the nature of satisfactory evidence—to be-
lieve. That the Prince had no weak partialities for,
the doctrines of " resistance," " King-cashiering,:'
.:&c., usually assigned to professed students in tliek
Orval of 1688, may be inferred frOm that plain rea-I
sorting which led William 111., though indebted to
. the Whigs for his Crown, to exclaim, that Sove-
reigns" ought cx ojicio, to be Tories." But if the
clioic
in
:'choice Mr. Perceval and his colleagues for Mini-
sters,defiance of the Prince's impa;tatl tiredges 1
and to the overthrow of many anxious expeetations:l
founded on a belief that such pledges had been
givenes--if that choice has been made 4 reproach to'
his Royal Highness on the score of personal consis-
tency, we must acknowledge that the Regent ap-'
pears to have acted from higher and more extensive

views. England was at war with Napoleon for her
existence. By Mr. Perceval and his party the war
had been carried on—feebly, perhaps—perhaps
ellildishly,—but with a conviction, shared by tin -
great body of the people of England, that the
country must go through, or perish. The Whig,
opposition, when forming the Ministry of 1806,
had shown that they could arrive at peace neither
through successful war, nor through skilful negoti-
ation. They had failed in all their military projects,
from undertaking none but these of which the
object was absurd, or the means contemptible.
They made war in that happy and harmless spirit
which must have proved to such an enemy as Buo-
naparte, that he had nothing to fear from them but
peace. The Prince Regent must have remembered
such proceedings, with the additional and decided
consciousness, that the Whigs, who could not fight
~
in 1806, declared in 1812 that they were averse 4
from fighting. While the contest raged in Spain
Hind Portugal, and Wellington was teaching a
British army " to flesh" its, youthful " sword" in
the lives of Frenchmen, a scattered though perti- :
tracious murmur arose now and then, like some strange
discord upon the general harmony of the nation;
and a perverse and unseasonable cry was heard for s.-
" peace." It came from the Whigs and was repeated
by them, until at last it was their only note-e-" that
we were engaged upon a hopeless quarrel in the
Peninsula,—that we were there expending lives and -
money, without end,—that our enemies were the
bravest and most invincible soldiers in the world,—
that we must unavoidably be driven into the ocean,'.' I.
—that therefore the British troops ought to
be recalled to England,—and that we ought
either to negociate a treaty with Napoleon, or to
make war in such a manner that it should wear the
nearest possible resemblance to peace! These were!
,ii effect the Opposition counsels of 1812. Is it'.
then to be wondered at, if the Prince of Wales ad-
dressed but a languid invitation to men professing -
such opinions, to co-operate in the measures of his
~
Government? It will be confessed that in no long
period after the powers of the Sovereignty devolved
..,
upon the Regent, proofs were afforded that a stre-
nuous and resolute policy would, if adopted by his
Ministers, be encouraged and enforced by their
Master. The scale of warlike action was speedily
enlarged. A bolder spirit was displayed in the ma-
nagernerit of more powerful and decisive operations.
The national sympathies which pervaded the people
of Europe, were seized upon as facilities for a re-
newel of friendship amongst her estranged and
distracted Courts. England became once more the
soul of a tremendous confederacy against the uni-
versal tyrant. From the Tagus to the Garonne she
subdued every thing—she reanimated every thing
from the Beresina to the Rhine. It is not to be
disputed, that in those events which fix the ge-•
rreral attention of mankind, and stand promi-.
'nent among the annals of a nation, the reign just -
ended furnishes a rich contrast with that of our la-:'
merited Sovereign George 111. The long life anti?
government of the last named Monarch were dis-
tinguished by defeats and misfortunes. The first;
achievement of his Administration was a disgraceful„:
peace. Its next, a more disgraceful civil war, by e
which the British empire was enfeebled, exhausted,
and finally dismembered. A third, the war with
°evolutionary France, in which England uncloubt-
edly lost no honour, but gaining it largely through -,
the triumphs of her unconquerable fleets, it secured
her nothing more than her national independence; e
and included in that contest was another civil war,,
through which Ireland all but completed the same ''.
course which North America had run before her."
The basis, indeed, and principles of a change of that
unhappy fortune which marked throughout the
larger portion of his reign the foreign policy of
George 111., may have been laid by him at such 1..
period as would enable his successor to profit by '
them from the moment of his accession to power.-
That, however, was all. The rough-hewn materials
were as yet " unshaped" by Providence, and the
end itself-but dimly seen, and at a distance. Yet
Spain was in the field, Russia was arming, and ,
Europe clanking her chains. The Government
..
of George the Fourth knew how to mould`
these elements to its purpose, and wrought..
upon them Rich spirit, perseverance, and devo;ion.
The consequences need not be detailed. After ye.-
rious and severe experiments, the most formidable'
military potentate of the earth was extinguished,
Although in the prosecution of that great victory
immense sums were levied from the people, and an
enormous debt incurred, under a certainty, in the
minds of all intelligent men, that the resources which
enable us to bear it, would be diminished by the
very success of its application to the end of universal
peace,—although the re-action against Buorraparte,
of which the first example had been set by England,.
became after 1812 so strong, that to co-operate with
it may seem, on her part, to have been little more than
passive wisdom,—still, weighing the results of those
extraordinary occurrences with so much as we can
yet presume to affirm of their causes, if there was
error, there was more of decision and sagacity,--11.
there was miscarriage, there was also more of me-
morable triumph,—exhibited and accomplished in
the name of George IV. than in that of any Sove-
reign, from the great Elizabeth downwards, wino has
ever sat upon the British Throne. The war waged
by England from 1793 to 1815 became, under an
auspices of his late Majesty, the instrument of a
general and solid peace, which, notwithstanding
some partial interruptions at the extremities of
Europe, has already maintained itself for the
unusual period of almost fifteen years. Even
should that compact not be destined to endure
much longer, it must have proved a consolation to
the expiring Monarch, that the repose for which
mankind were mainly indebted to tho energy of his
free and enlightened people, and to the constancy of
his unyielding counsels, he had succeeded in pre-
serving to the last moment of a brilliant reign, un-
broken, Such is a rude and hasty outline of the poli-
tical annals of George IV., in so far as they directly
involved the relations of England with foreign
Governments—whether allied, rival, or in spirit,
more than once, nnfrietally. Confining our sentence
to that single department of his reign, we may ven-
ture to anticipate from the historian, on behalf of his
late Majesty, that lie will be represented to after
ages, as a vigorous, discerning, and honourable
Prince—possessing, where tire welfare of his people
required it, a masculine and intrepid resolution—
fulfilling hie engagements, expressed or implied, with
fidelity—and discharging the duties a iaternational
neighbourhood, with judgment, patience, temper, and!
success, amidst jarring interests, trying provocations,i
and in,petuous and deeply exasperated passions. In'
its domestic Government of the British nation geeee
rally, the spirit and,maxims of the 18,4 -Nign were such
on the whole as the age slernanded, and such as
might challenge Coe deliberate approval of sober and
clear-sighted men. pr?rogativo made no harsh or
unbecoming pretensions under the deceased Mo-
narch. The public liberties were disembarrassed,
since his accession to the Crown, of
.restraines or
menaces by which the Ministers of hisAegency had
insulted them. The sesitainal laws were at once mi.-
tigated, samplined, and compressed. Justice was
" administered in mercy :," weer was the gracious
prerogative of pardon exercised with more readiness
than by George IV. The foundations .were laid of
extensive reforms in the law of real property and of
Judicial proceeding. Some glimmerings of light sad'
hope were thrown across the gulf of equity jurisdice
!ion, and attempta sveee tolerated for cheapening
ittettee to the poor, But one vast measure of wisdom
f and integrity will distinguish to remote ages the
reign of George IV. from all that preceded it,.
• and from all by which it can be followed, The
single act of Catholic emancipatioes was, to Pros
testant and Catholic, an art o; political redemptioth
It stripped rsepesey of martyrdom, her eatery
wop-:_77:lE rescued the reformed church from the
disgrace of persecution--it breathed a living soul,
into the dead letter of the Union with Ireland-2
restored five millions of British subjects to their,
birthright—and transformed the same number a
malignant enemies into eager citizens of a cotronoril
country. Here we might close our allusion to the
reign of his late Majesty, with a consciousness on

our own parts that we had not said too much ; and
that there are many who would pardon us for ab-
staining from further observations. But there re-
mains, unfortunately, a task to be executed, which
it were disgraceful and pusillanimous to evade
Kings cannot be viewed in all, or in their most im-
portant phases, by regarding them only on horseback,
and in the camp, or in robes of state, or at th,
council board. There is a moral no less than a poli.
tical influence which a Monarch seldom fails to exer-
cise over his people. Apart from prerogatives and
political institutions, Kings reign over society ie
their persons and their habits, as they do by thei,
:elinisteis over the state itself. A Sovereign on the
throne cannot enjoy an exemption from the first law
of his regal existence, which places him on higl
fora constant spectacle and frequent model to others;
nor can he grant to his subjects a licence to fret
themselves from the fetters of sympathy and imita-
tion, cast over them by the unavoidable ascendant:
whether it be for evil or for good, of that Court o
which he forms the inspiring and moving power
The qualities of individuals concern chiefly thenesel se s
and their connexions. An ordinary gentleman trn..
have private virtues or vices, and he and the.
find refuge and oblivion in the grave. But a King
has no private character; he is all " matter of re-
cord ;" he acts incessantly on the manners or morale
of his subjects; all his proceedings affect the taste,
or principles of the community, in a degree of which
, he precedents established by other men are altoge-
rther incapable. Of a King, therefore, there is no-
thing sacred but his person; for we have a right to
'speak of those things of which we feel and trace the
results upon our own best interests. A King, it:
'the truest sense, "belongs to history ;" and his name
and reputation fall within her" stern grasp from the
hour at which the tomb receives his ashes. Th(
strenuous and elevated character of Elizabeth formed
the minds of her admiring subjects for deep reflec-
tion and vigorous action. That of James, so far ta
it had any influence, imbued them with his own are
petite for solemn littleness and the display of leant
ing drawn from books, however indiscriminate am :
unprofitable. Charles If., by a course of audaciou
and systematic profligacy, transplanted into Eraglant
every foreign vice. George I. and 11. were sow.•
gers in the heart of England, and she was little di-
halted by their intrusion, or wrought upon by ti
coarse and vulgar stupidity of their vices. Georg(
111. was an Englishman, and was a part, and en
mean part, of the nation. He made an early and
happy marriage with a virtuous woman, and his Court
and family were moulded, as nearly as circuire
stances would admit of, upon the model of a private
but noble house. The decorum and graces of do-
mestic life surrounded this whole establishment.
Husband and wife were seen every where togethet
and attended by their children were seen frequently
and familiarly, without ehurlisimess, or insolence, ()I ,
airs of exclusion, by the poorest suljects of Georg( ,
III.; while the good-humoured ease and simplicity
of the King's deportment,—bis regular habits, and
,punctual attention to ordinary duties,—his love of
rural scenes, and sports, and business,—his affahlt
and kindly manners;—his unostentatious, but wel!-
Ijudged and extensive, charities,—his manifest con-
Isciousness that he and his countrymen belonged tt
reach other, and were governed by common tastes
!and feelings,—obtained for George 111. an uri.-
1 versal access to the hearts of the people, and rec -
Formally influenced the farmer's fireside and tin
'Royal palace. But we turn to his successor, now
'deceased. George Prince of Wales was an intelli-
gent and spirited boy, and too soon discovered that
he was heir apparent to the Crown of England. Th
,authority of his father, exercised over him mi.
strictness In his childhood, relaxed of necessity as In
advanced in years; but vicious flatterers—those .
vultures whose prey is the heart of Princes—lay i:
wait for the adventurer as he quitted the parent::
[roof, and launched his young bark upon the worl,
l'We have recorded, from the authority of an indivi.
!dual familiar with the subject on which he bon
witness, the assertion--the disgraceful end provokin,
assertion—although undoubtedly it was meant as :
screen to something, if possible, still worse—the
neither the late Prince of Wales, nor the Duke c..
York, could ever be made to comprehend Me volt'
of money, the difference, as it was insinuated, be.
tween pounds, shillings, and pence! If so, both
brothers must have been deficient in the most ordi-
nary powers of intellect, which, as to one of then,
at least, is known to be an egregious error. If i
was intended to establish the fact, that neither of
these Princes had ever been made conversant wit!
the means through which money is lawfully pr( -
cured, or with the uses to which it ought to b,
directed, the defect is, unhappily, too common to he
incredible, in relation to persons of a rank so elevate
that they need not labour for their bread. Let the
cause, however, be what it may, the Prince of Wale:
soon acquired, if not an appetite for wasting money.
an habit of prodigality the most reckless, unceas-
ing, and,unbounded ; nor has the country ceased t( .
feel to this hour the effects of an indifference to the
sufferings of others,, little creditable in him who se
frequently agggravated or produced them. To .'ere las 1
years of his existence this woeful spii.t,
::-of
Pavilion,waste a I I
prodigality has possessed the Subj°'7 of our memoir. A
Prince of Wales in the tawdji.
mountebankchildishness of Carl-
ton-house, and in O.
cluster of pattod`.*.S at Brighton, his Royal Highness i
afforded tin infallible earnest of what might on(
day be expected from his Majesty, when the app'- 1
tite for profusion, and the contempt for all that de-
serves the name of architecture, should have reached
their full maturity and perfection. In July, 1783
50,0001. per annum was settled on the Prince, titer,
about completing his 21st year. In July, 1780,1,
only three years afterwards, his debts amounted ts
. something more than 160,000/., and were shortie
afterwards discharged at the public expence. le
1795, after eight years more,.a fresh accumulation
of debt was disclosed, to the extent then admitted
of 630,0001., and was provided for by an addition
to the Prince's income of 88,0001. per annum. Not-
. withstanding this, in 1801, a farther addition et
8,000/. a tear was bestowed upon his Royal High--
ness ; and again, in 1805, the debts formerly rates
at 630,000/. having been found to exceed 800,0001.,;
the national bOunty was once more drawn upon, and
the Royal spendthrift was gratified by a fourth pen-
• sion of 60,0001. per annum, terminable on the expi-
ration of three years. In the mean fis'ne the mat-
riage of the Prince of Wales had taken place ; an(!
1795 was the era of that mournful ceremony—of
that festivity, dark miii tragic. The nation, as his
Royal Highn,visa was well informed, would have
been disgusted by any attempt to relieve him from
tha importunities of his creditors, by yet another
grant of money, while the first encroachment on is
, generosity was still so recent. Some familiar then
counselled him to bribe the people of England by
an appeal at once to their good nature and their
morality; and to marry—for , the public good :
Those who knew little of the Prince's character,
. and tvho discredited as calumnies the eurrem
rumours respecting his life, were eaFer for this
earliest of a second example of domestic regularity
and concord in the Royal family of England, and
asked each other " who was to be the fortunate
object of his affections " Those who knew better,
" asked who w' es to be the victim of his necessities?"
And her name was in due season announced, Re_
. ports at that period were circulated every where,
that the Royal patents of the Prince had differed
in opinion with regard to the lady who should be
thus distinguished; that a niece e each of these
illustrious persuages,had been proposed; but that
after see )e interval, George 111, prevailed, and th,
elkoice lighted on Qtrolitte Princess of Brunswlth.
IWe would gladly forbear to touch any further or..
the fete of this most ill-used of the Brunswick race,
awl with one exception the most unhappy ; bat wt.
dare not. avoid the subject, Although now to dwell
upon it would excite feeling's which may be let sleep,
without the sacrifice of any paramount duty. Th,
Princess of Wales would not, it is probable, make
any circumstances, have made her husband a Ii
member of the marriage state. To supply that
absent grace to Ids character she must Lace
reclaimed, him,; and the st ife who, svoui 0
reclaim a libertine must begin by awakening lei,

affections. But the affections of the Prince of:
Wales ! where were they ? of what nature ? by
what engaged, or by whom ? His passions, alas
were known to be far otherwise excited. His pity
might have been touched, but if Caroline of Bruns-
wick herself could feel that sentiment, she dis-
dained to sue for it. Her reception in her hus-.
band's house was a stain to manhood. A fa-
shionable strumpet usurped the apartments of the
Princess—her rights—the honours due to her—
every thing but the name she bore, and the bonds
which galled and disgraced her. The Master of:
the mansion felt not his own dignity insulted, when
the half-drunken menials made their Royal Mistress
the subject of gross ribaldry or spiteful abuse She
complained to her parent : her letters were inter-*
cepted, and the seals violated; the offence of her'
misery was unmercifully punished. She became a
wanderer over the earth ; she sought, after many
years, a home in England, the birth-place, and once'
the expected kingdom of her only child. Unsated
malice, vengeance, perjury, and persecution, fol-
. lowed her; she grappled with—strangled them—
and bravely perished. The heroine has now at least
nothing to fear from her destroyer. She has the
sympathy of one who yet survives —who in ho-
nour, and in the face of God and man, had antici-
pated her title, and superseded her pretensions,:
even before they were promulgated. But that
was not a reproach to the Princess of Wales
whom the law of England recognised. She knew
not the affecting history of Mrs. Fitzlierbert. Mr.
Fox, who had spent his life in England, knew it
not ; on the contrary, he pledged his honour that
the tale had no foundation. He declared before
• Parliament, that no marriage had ever taken place
between the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Fitzherbert ; •
and he proved the negative by a letter from the
Prince himself. But who could attest the truth of
the Prince's letter ? We close this painful subject -
by observing, that Mr. Fox never afterwards for-
gave the falsehood which had duped him ; nor
could the Royal person in question prevail upon
• himself to forgive Mr. Fox for having so much to'
pardon. If the Court of George 111. had a power-
ful influence in maintaining the decencies of social
intercourse throughout England—if his virtuous
Queen, by her resolute contempt for vice, and •
rigorous exclusion of female profligates from her
presence, did actually carer the cause of the
adulteress with authorised and merited scorn—
thereby awarding to female chastity that worldly
honour which, next to religion and her husband's and
children's love, is the surest guard of the matron's.
virtue—if such were the respective meet* afforded
at the Court of George 111. to worth and to impu-
rity, it grieves us to speakof the opposite system which •
prevailed notoriously during thereign of his successor.
It might sound sarcastic or ironical to pretend that
the associates of George IV. were selected by that
Prince, from a manly confidence in his own capacity
for repelling vice, and resisting the temptations of
the profligate. Georgia IV. may, indeed, have felt
that confidence : but rugged must have been the •
virtue which could have justified such perpetual ex-,
I posure. We do not wish to press hard upon the
weaknesses of human nature, nor insist on it as an
argument so much of anger as of sorrow, that the
late King, before his 20th year, was supposed to
have been initiated in all the vices by which an ad-
vanced, and affluent, and corrupt society is iefested.
We do not complain with a too morose rigidity, .
that the gaming table, which exhausts the most im-
measureable resources, and which creates and feeds •
the vilest and most hateful passions, was familiar to
the youthful Prince. his Royal Highness could
throw off, and did, successively, all the companions
of his earlier years ; except, perhaps, those habits of
life which are the sole, but brief and precarious bond
of auc'a immoral intercourse. Nor would it, but for
what follows after, be our duty to bring forward the
mortifying fact, that not one, but a series of licentious •
favourites, are understood to have presided over the
Royal Household of George IV., and to have
affixed upon his Court a character the reverse of
that by which his father's reign was distinguished.
The divorced of both sexes, and of all ages
were not afraid of meeting a suitable reception from
congenial spirits near the British Throne. The late
King had many generations of intimates, with
whom he led a course of life, the character of which
rose little higher than that of animal indulgence.
The Royal taste in the choice of male companions,
usually exhibited its changes at the same periods
which marked the transfer of his more particular
attentions from one fair favourite to a rival. But
never, we lament to say, except in the instance of.
Lord Moira, with whom the friendship was of the
holiday kind,--showy, not solid,—and in that of
Sheridan, where the alliance was a traffic of dex-
terous and familiar service against the hopes of pa-.:
tronage,—never have we seen recorded, among the
Prince's intimates, the name of one man distin- •
wished in the world for any intellectual attributes
(we say nothing of the moral) which it would not
have been charity to forger. If George IV. en-
eouraged and professed that species of philosophy, •
„ejlich takes its name, though not its doctrines, or
real gee:ll6es, from Epicurus,—or if, in the practice
of the late and his companions, it degenerated
into something more gross than Epicurus would
have deigned to ackne;7ledge,—we are bound to
state that London is a rich se;foel of voluptuousness;
and that of all the pupils in such a school, an 1.
heir apparent will probably be among the most
conspicuous and docile. It is, however, a ground -,
of something deeper than regret, that the gentle
and noble families of England should have no access;;
to the Sovereign, or to the females of the Royal
House, but through the den of Circe. It is shock-
ing that foul examples should emanate from so high
a source—that the very name of modesty should be .
so obliterated from the walls of that edifice whose
lord is the "fountain of honour," for all English-
, men and their children. But let us hope for better
things. The Court is now about to be remodelled. -
It will begin, we trust, by being purified. A more
amiable or considerate lady, it is said, does not
exist than is her present Majesty. The correct:, le
even though it may have been the severe, Court of
Queen Charlotte, and her times, will no doubt be:.
revived, and -virtuous women may once again pre-d
sent themselves and their daughters in the Royal'.
chambers with impunity. What political changes
may be consequent on this great one in the person
of the reigning Sovereign, it might be hazardous to
guess. That a new arrangement of names and
persons may, to a considerable extent, be made •
known, as affecting public functionaries of even the •
superior order, is reported with an eagerness which •
adds nothing to the authority of such predictions.
All the Ministers of the late King kissed hands las -
Saturday, and have been thefe!ey recognized for
the present as official servants of !?is Majesty
William IV. With regard to a total change
of the Cabinet, nobody, so far as we yet
can learn, apprehends it. Those who thus far
' indulge their imaginations, might recollect that
there is at least one sturdy oak to be uprooted,
native to the soil, and familiar with the storm. but
we will go further : we state,—not hypothetically,
but positively,—that there is no reason to believe
that the Ministry will be changed. We cannot use •
too strong language in describing the cordiality which
the new Monarch exhibits to his Ministers, or the
confidence which he expresses in them. His Ma-
jesty has declared his intention to support them ev'itii
equal frankness and zeal. We should fail in our
duty if we did not suggest, that (row the precarious
health of King William, to whom we nevertheless
wish most heartily a long life and prosperous reign,
it become. a matter of instantaneous prudence to
take measures for meeting, by a Regency Bill, the
' possible—though we hope not probable or speedy—
emergencies of the kingdom. His Majesty has been
, subject to spasmodic attacks, extremely sudden, and
at the time very doubtful in their consequences. If,
therefore, which God avert, any one el these should
• prove fatal, what sort of condition would the empire
-I be redueed to, without the enactment of some pre-
vious law, for committing to proper hands the
guardianship of an infant Queen, and the admini-
stration of a widowed realm ? This object is of
'such prime and manifest importance, that we con-,

Iceive there is no public business whatever to which
it can discreetly be postponed,—Times.

We announced in a Second and Third Edition ofi
the Chronicle of Saturday, the death of his late Ma-
jesty George the Fourth, which took place on the
morning of that day, at a quarter.past three o'clock.
For this painful event the nation was long prepared.
Our readers will find in our columns of this day an .
;'ample account of particulars connected with the
termination of one reign and the commencement of
another. We cannot allow the occasion to pass
without offering a few observations on the character
of our late Sovereign. In a government like ours,
in which the powers of the Sovereign are Fmited,
the personal character of a ruler is, no doubt, of less
importance than in a pure monarchy. Still, how-
; ever, the share of power possessed by the King in
this country is far from inconsiderable, and the reign
of George the Third affords ample proof that the
proceedings of the Government may be very ma-
terially influenced by the character of the Sovereign.
It is now understood that we owe to that Monarch
the loss of our North American Colonies, and that
his Ministers, long before the conclusion of the
American war, yielded to his desires for its con-
tinuance against their better judgment. So eager
was the King for the continuance of the war, that
it is even stated, on good authority, that he threat-
ened Lord North if he refused to remain Minister,
he would have to answer to the country for
having gone on so Jong. The same Monarch
'defeated the Aristocracy in 1784, when Mr. Pitt
• became Minister. And it is well known that Mr.
Pitt resisted for some time the wish of the King for
a war with France, till the great Whig families de-
clared in favour of hostilities, which enabled the
Monarch to overcome the reluctance of the Minis-
ter. Thus it may be said that we owe to the in-
clinations of our King George the Third the two
wars which have entailed on this country nearly the
whole of the heavy debt which now presses so
• heavily on us. The obstinate prejudices of George
• the Third prevailed also in the case of concessions
to the Catholics. In short, the share of power al-
lotted by the Constitution to the King is so great,
that a Sovereign possessed of ambition, energy, and
talents might, in most cases, by a little manage-
ment, prevail in the policy which he has most at
heart. We are induced to make these remarks on
the share of power allotted by the Constitution to
the Monarch, from a belief that the influence of
the personal character of George the Fourth on the
character of his reign is riot so well understood as
it ought to be. The world is apt to suppose that
what is could not have been otherwise. If George
the Fourth had in 1811 possessed the ambition and
the love of business of his father, the struggle be-
tween the Monarch and the Aristocracy for ascendancy,
the peculiar character of the events which agitated
Europe long after the peace, and the disaffection of
large classes of the population, especially in the
manufacturing districts, might altogether have given
• a very different complexion to the times from that
which they have actually borne. But George the
Fourth, from his first accession to power to the
close of his reign, seems to have been seldom actuated
by a wish to interfere with the measures which hi,
Ministers for the time recommended. During the
greater part of his father's reign, the Ministers for
the time often complained of the intrigues of the
friends of the King, and the nation was familiarised
with the terms of back stairs influence, of a power
behind the Throne greater than the Throne itself,
&c. The King's party in Parliament used not un-
frequently to vote against the Ministers, whose
situation was, in consequence, anything rather than
a bed of roses. But George the Fourth, with na-
tural abilities of a far higher character than those
of his father, had from his early years abandoned
himself to pleasure, and had he been so inclined,
when verging on fifty, he could riot easily have ac-
quired habits of application to business. The wish
nearest his heart seems to have long been the enjoy-
ment of domestic quiet and private friendship;
and his friends and confidants were not chosen
with a view to political influence or intrigue.
With such a Sovereign, an Administration has
little to fear in the way of unnecessary inter-
ference, and the unfortunate event which threw
such a shadow over the earlier part of his reign can
hardly be urged in disproof of this, as the personal
feelings of the Monarch led to the very questionable
'measures on which the Administration reluctantly
entered, in obedience to his wishes. The educa-
tion of George IV. had been ill-conducted, and
subsequent diligence had not atoned for early ne-
glect. Possessing, however, good natural abilities,
he must have learned much, both in his intercourse
with the world and in his snore confidential inter-
course with the distinguished men who enjoyed hi
intimacy. With respect to the actual measure of
his acquirements, accomplishments apart, different
opinions are entertained. There seems, however,
to be little doubt that he approved of the vigorous
prosecution of the war in which the nation was en-
gaged on his accession to power; that one great
reason for his continuance of Mr. Perceval in office
after the year of restrictions was at an end, was
his approbation of the mode in which he had se-
conded the operations in the Peninsula, and that he
shared the aversion of his father to all changes
in the Constitution of Church and State. Weser
we to judge of his political discernment from his
opposition to the claims of the Catholics, we should
not be inclined to rate it very high. Imperfect in-
formation may be the parent of timidity as well as
of rashness. Where we do not see our course dis-
tinctly, we naturally hesitate. The King was
anxious to conciliate the people of Ireland, without
any change in the political relations of Catholics and
Protestants. He was not aware that it is iespos-
sible to conciliate the oppressor and the oppressed,
till the oppression is at an end, and he seems to
have been equally unable to see that there was more
danger in persisting in a system which retained five-
sixths of the people in a state of violent excitement,
than in the innovation which destroyed the sources
of the excitement. If we know that the course'`.
which a herk is pursuing will soon precipitate it
over rapids, prudence requires that we should stop :
it in time. The late King is allowed to have been.
of a kind and benevolent disposition, and to have.
aken much delight in promoting the happiness of
all who approached him, We consider the events
which grew out of his unfortunate marriage to'
form no exception to this, because here he re-
seeted an attempt to abridge his own happiness, and
he acted throughout under the influence of strong
excitement. l3ot he took no delight in abridging
the happiness or pleasure of those who did not
come In collision with himself. lie was born the
heir to a throne, and taught to believe that 1:e was
entitled to every indulgense. Hence the defects in
his character which became the source of so much
misery to him in after life. But, though spoiled by
indulger .e isr early life, and ill qualified to brook
opposition to his wishes, the kind substratum of his
disposition remained unchanged; and though when
in poseer he might not possess a pscfound know-
ledge of the means by which the happiness aid
prosperity of a nation are best promoted, the well-
known benevolence of his disposition afforded a se-
cusisy, that at least he would not ecoliy popaent to
any measures of a harsh and violent nature, W
.might be relectant So accede to measures of a de-
cided chesracter, in critical times, from inability to
estimate the degree in which the good would prevail
over the evil in the consequences.. but as this de-
fect was connected with the wish that his subjects,
sh,ossid share the tranquillity he himself loved, great
sillowanee was spade for it. It was believed, arid
not without reascos, 4)4 though averse to interfere
with the course of the Aduiiassers.tion, yet that this
well-known love of moderation Was 14.0 t 177;..?01fit its
el;fect Gil his public servants.To the love of re-
pose, therefore, in the late King, coupled with
his moderation and benevolence, we owe the
simple and straightsforward march of the Go-i
yernenent, the absence of Court intrigue, the tosi
{oration which allowed public opinion to attain consl
1
fidence and strength), and many other blessings. It)
may be said that these are the natural results of

peace, and the spread of education ; but the period'
which elapsed between the termination of the C;zr-1
man war and the commencement of that of Ame-!
rica was a period of faction and domestic discon-
tent. The spread of education has, by enlighten-1
ing the lower orders, improved the higher, by di-1
minishing their ability to deceive; but still much'
must depend on the character of the men who are
in possession of power. But while we owe much
to the character of George the Fourth, it must be
"allowed that the love of profusion which marked
: his life before his accession to power continued with
him on the throne, and led to some unfortunate re-
sults. To say nothingl of the excesses of the Civil
List, which year after year scandalized the nation,
the sums expended on palaces and cottages have
been enormous. The Palace in St. James's Park
1 has cost upwards of a million, we believe, already,
and it is impossible to tell how much more must be
..expended on it before it be completed, if it be ever
':. completed. From the difficulty Ministers have ex-
perienced in withstanding or moderating the inch-
. nations of his late Majesty for wasting money on
bricks and mortar, we may easily conceive that if
' he had possessed other inclinations irreconcilable
• with the public good, he would have found means
to insure obedience to them. Various opinions have
been hazarded as to the good or bad consequences
to the nation from the late King's love of retire-
ment. It has been said by a clever Nobleman
• (Lord Normanby), that—
; " The want of a Court is greatly felt by this grandeur
and pomp-loving people. There is something in the out-
ward show of a Monarchy as necessary to the crowd of
idle gazers and admirers, as there is in that of religion.
' Methinks the cause of Monarchy has suffered by the long
eclipse of its brightness here. The widowhood of the
King, his age and secluded habits, has estranged him from
' the nation. They don't seem to have the personal regard
for him, which a kind of acquaintance with his subjects
procured for his predecessor. The people arc neither
dazzled by splendour, amused by show, nor fascinated by
condescension. Hence they may begin to ask a quoi bon/
Methinks, too, the spirit of British feeling has become
- more aristocratic and democratic from this cause. The
' Nobles stand at the head of society, erect, unbowing.
They have been left undisciplined, unused to the glance and
presence of a superior. Hence they are more unsocial
more self-wrapped, more petty princes than they used to
be, at least half a century since. The mania for ribbons
and decorations has decreased. Royalty, shorn of its
splendour, has lost much of its prestige. The Sovereign
will seems no longer the centre either of fashion or of
power, and in either political circles or those of ton, you
might at times fancy yourself in Venice. The Democrats,
on their side, take advantage of the same dereliction.
They speak and argue openly with an irreverence equalled
only in the French Revolution, cavil at expenses, &c."
It is possible that Court splendour might have
made the Aristocracy less proud, but we question
whether the nation would not have dearly purchased
their increased affability by the consequences in
other respects. The people of this country are
slaves to fashion, and the desire to be fashionable
would powerfully counteract any tendency to improve-
ment among us. We are satisfied that the retired
life of the King has had a beneficial effect on the
nation. That George the Fourth, however, would
have been much more popular with the mass of the
people, had he appeared more in public, may easily
be inferred from our general proneness to worship
idols, and the flattering, if not fulsome reception his
Majesty met with, when he visited Ireland and Scot-
land. His father overcame the early feeling of dis-
like towards him by his accessibility. The notice
of a King is not soon forgotten. Whatever, there-
fore, may be the case with regard to the public,
there can, we fear, be little doubt that Kingcrafi
does not lose by the frequent exhibition of the
Monarch. The private virtues of George the
Third were in every man's mouth, and formed
a very material element of his power. The people
were but too apt to excuse the long bloody and
ruinous wars in which ha plunged the nation, on ac-
count of his conjugal fidelity, his temperance, and his
accessibility. George the Fourth took less pains to be-
come popular. He was known only to his own circle.
His profusion and extravagance, his early liaisons,
his unfortunate marriage, and the proceeding which
grew out of it—all tended to injure him in the
general estimation. But at length his errors were
forgotten in the gild and peaceable character of his
reign. A veil seemed, as if by general consent, to
be thrown over the earlier part of it. For years he
was never spoken of but in the language of kind-
ness. And during his long and painful illness tht
public sympathy was manifested in a most unequi-
vocal manner. We have endeavoured, in these
brief observations on the character of George the
Fourth, to speak according to the best of our judg-
ment, as we conceive history will speak of him. He
is now gone to his account, and beyond the reach of
praise or censure. May we enjoy as much happi
ness rind tranquillity under the reigning Sovereign
as we have enjoyed under George the Fourth !
Morning Chronicle.

If the functions of the Executive were performed
by the Sovereign himself, instead of being exercised,
according to the constitution of this country, throng{
the instrumentality of responsible servants, the
Government could not have exhibited a more re-
gular decay of energy, ending in a total extinction
of power, than we have witnessed during the lust
few weeks preceding his late Majesty's demise.
Some decent interval may be suffered to elapse ere
,the Administration shall be remodelled; but with ,
'the life of their master, George the Fourth's latest
Cabinet has ceased to exist as an operative body of
Ministers ; nor is the corporal malady by which
the sceptre has been transferred to another
Monarch, more decisive in its effects titan the
moral imbecility so clearly evinced in the recent
transactions of the Session by the Duke of Wel-
lington's Administration. There is no need to in-
quire what may be the inclinations of the new King.
The men now in place can never be allowed to go on.
Their failure has been complete and general through-
out all the chief departments of the public service.
In Foreign Affairs, witness the compromise of na-
tional honour and interest in the affairs of Greece
and Portugal. In finance and commerce, see the
vacillation and impracticability of the schemes pro
posed. As regards the Juridical Institutions of the
country, to the most solemn pledges for amendment
wantonly violated, and the measures of that naturt
proposed brought forward with so little discretion,
and with such small appearance of earnestness, as
to make Law Reform a jest and a byeword. Nay,
in the Home Department itself, mark how the Ma-
nager of the House of Commons is defeated in his
impotent attempt to enforce, in a particular instance,
capital punishment against the unequivocal sense of
all classes of the community. Nor is this exhibition
of the discomfiture of Ministers to be completed
• without noticing the scandal brought upon them b)
the absurd proceedings against the press, undertaken
by the Attorney,General. After Sir Robert Peel's
defeat on the Forgery Question; the general repro-
bation of Lord Aberdeen's conduct towards Prince
Leopold, and his Lordship's disposition to protect
the Usurper of Portugal; the miserable incapacity
of Mr. Goulburn, and the real jeopardy in which his
Sugar patties' Bill stands ; and, to crown all, the
bility of Ministera to catry the second reading of
the Lord Chanceffor's Equity Tileafixr two debates,
nature's great law of continuance' must, indeed,
possess mixee than its accustomed force, if thing's un-
dergo no change. -Vet sever had Administration a
fairer trial; nor do the annals of Eng:and afford any
example of a Cabinet going to pieces from
sheer weakness, and without any assault or
eternal violence, in so clear and unequivocal
a manner, 74ere is not, and there has not been,
any regular opposition to the Duke of Wellington's
Government. Parties have been completely disorga-
nized; and while his Grace united among the blet-n.,
bets of his Administration s€veral persons heretofore
associated with opposite factions, he had the sup-
port of a large body of independent men, who re-
garded nothing but the merits Of his measures
That disorganization of parties'he effected, and to
that suppoet be entitled himself by his resolution in
carrying' Catholic Emancipation. Unhappily, as his
Grace at one time mistrusted his own capacity foci

the supreme conduct of affairs, so in the sequel he;
fell into the opposite error of imagining himself all-
sufficient ; that it was enough if he gave the word ;
that from his judgment there ought to be no appeal;
that any diversity of principle or independence of
action in the subordinate servants of the Crown,
.must embarrass or paralyse the business of GovernH
meet, and was not to be tolerated. Without ad-
verting to the distinction between civil and military
affairs, the Duke of Wellington applied to the one
the principles proper for the other; he discarded the
able men whom he found in office, because they did,
not choose to render to him that blind and implicit
obedience which he demanded ; and he resolved,
having got rid of these inconvenient spirits, to carry
on the government by the force of his high volition
through the agency of officials, no otherwise re-
garded than as orderlies entrusted to make his plea-
sure known. It would have been well for the Duke
if he had derived from the old Roman fable of the
Belly and other Members, the second lesson which
it may supply, and reflected that impossible as it
may be for the inferior members to do without that
chief which regulates and distributes the vivifying
elements, neither can it subsist without their aid ;
for both pieces of homely wisdom are comprehended
in the words " Inde apparuisse ventris quoque hand
veva ministerium eggs; nec magi: nliquant alere
mot." In the Duke, therefore, to think of cen-
tering in his own person the entire Administration
was absurd; and his experience may show, since it
seems the proof was wanted, that however well-
,meaning a Government may be (for the intentions
'of Ministers are not bad) its Members must be per-
sons of same ability both to form, and defend their
measures, as well as evincing some respect for
'principle, past pledges, and consistency, and, at
least, free agents.--Morning Chronicle.

The Court Circular contains some interesting par-
ticulars respecting the last moments of the late
King. The following account of the last moments,
from a Paper of yesterday, is in substance the
same, but is more particular :
" The death of his late Majesty took place under the
following circumstances :—Towards three o'clock yes-
terday morning he felt a sudden attack of the bowel., and
desired to be removed from his couch to his (hate perch
—a violent discharge of blood ensued—the King instantly
placed his hand■ upon hi. breast, and said, ' I feel an odd
sensation here—can this be death—call Halford.' The
King was removed to his couch, and Sir Henry Halford
was called. Before he could arrive, the glaze of death was
over the eyes of his Majesty, and in a few minute. be was
no more."

Various rumours are in circulation respecting the
Ministry. Inferences have been drawn from the
Speech of the King in Council on Saturday, which,
do not appear to be borne out by the version in the,
Gazelle of yesterday. In that Speech he merely
speaks of " the affliction which he is suffering on
account of the loss of a Sovereign, under whose
auspices, as Regent and King, this country has
maintained during war its ancient reputation and
glory—has enjoyed a long period of happiness and
internal peace—and has possessed the friendship,
respect, and confidence of foreign Powers." This
language is too general to admit of being tortured
into a meaning either for or against the continuance
in power of the present Ministers. The general
belief is, that partial changes will take place. That
changes in the household will take place is confi-
dently anticipated. Sir Herbert Taylor is spoke',
of as successor to Sir William Knighton, as Privy
Purse, and the Earl of Cassilis will, it is said, sue-,
ceed the Marquis of Conyngham as Lord Steward.
We have heard of other changes; but we do not
repose much confidence in them.—Morning Citron
llaving, in our Second Edition, on Saturday
morning, published an account of the lamented
death of our late Sovereign, which we received by
express from Windsor, we now proceed to lay be-
fore our readers some observations on those re-
markable events of his life which develope the prin-
cipal features of his eharacter. The character of
George the Fourth, like that of most Princes whose
fame has filled a large space in the world, has beet,
oppositely drawn. If flattery worships even the
Faults of Princes, calumny loves to depreciate theit
virtues. The destiny which raises Kings so high
above the ordinary lot of mortals, expose their cha-
racters peculiarly to the misrepresentations of inte-,
'rested panegyric or malicious dispraise. It is the
part of sober history to relieve them from the delu-
Hive colouring of both, and to place them on that
pedestal where truth inscribes the just estimate of
their fame for the instruction and example of
future ages. Few reigns will be more memo.
irable in history than that of George the Fourth,
'who, as Regent and King, wielded the sceptre
of England during the most eventful period
of her fortunes. That reign, in its most perilous
crisis, received its impress from his personal charac-
ter, which was one of energy, perseverance, am.
great determination. If he had not possessed these
qualities he never would have had the firmness to
follow councils which brought the late war to its
triumphant conclusion—and made that which hen
long been but a struggle for existence a source of
consummate glory. His late Majesty added to con-
'siderable natural talents the advantages of a various
and careful system of education. A detail of the
events of his life we give in another part of our co
lumns. We confine ourselves here to those general
observations which are suggested by a review of
those events as serving to develope the prominent
outlines of his character. If education has a great
influence in forming the character of private indivi-
duals, how much more important must its effects be
on the habits of Princes who have to guard against
more temptations than any other men ? All whi
'are intrusted with the education of those who are
born to ascend a throne should ever bear in mind
that admirable sentiment which D'Alembert says
must have inspired the great Fenelon in his writings
for the use of the grandson of Louis the Fourteenth
What I am now going to say to this youth,
will be toe happiness or misfortune of twenty mil-
lions of men." We believe that such a sentiment
'as this influenced the mind of George the Third,
.vhen he had to choose preceptors for the delicate
land difficult task of educating the Heir Apparent
to the throne of Great Britain. Such men as Dr.
Markham, Dr. Cyril Jackson, and Dr. Hurd, justi-
fied his choice—under those able instructors the
young Prince made a rapid and distinguished pro-
ficiency in that classical knowledge which liberalises
the understanding and .corrects the taste. The
beneficial effects of their early and judicious train-
ing were seen in that correctness of judgment and
elegance of taste which made him while yet young.
admired for those acquirements in which Princes
are but too often deficient. His Royal father's
education had been limited ; but lie knew the ad-
vantages of knowledge, and was resolved that his son
should not rely for respect on the sole superiority
of birth, or fashionable accomplishments, or a
eraceful exterior. Ile thought the cultivation of
the mind and heart would constitute the best or•
nament of the hrone. When the Prince entered
upon public life he was, in consequence, well read it'll
the ciascic anthers; end conversant with several of
the modern languages. When Ifs I;a4 opcaeion to
express himself on public occasions, he proved thus
he possessed that acquirement which is of signal use
to all those who move on the political theatre of a
free State—a ready and persuasive eloquence—the
result of a natural gift, improved by judicious cul-
tivation. His first address in the House of Peers
on the memorable occasion or the amendment
moved y th:2 Marquis of Abercorn to the address
upon his Majesiy4s 'proclamation to put down sedi7
tious meetings, afforded a specimen of manly, fluent,
and impressive elocution, which showed that he
could have risen to eminence as a senator, if he had
not been destined to fill the station of a King. Who
cap wonder that he should then be the idol of the
public, who displayed this intellectual power in
union with those fascinating mariners and attractive
exterior which acquired for him the early reputation
of being the most accomplished gentleman of the.age:
As"to the formation of moral character, he could not
be under a rriOre'auspiciOui influence than that of
parental example. In the household of George 111.
the domestic virtues flourished, and Royalty was

associated with those benignant attributes which
give its purest lustre to the diadem. Happy would
it have been for the memory of the Sovereign, whose
loss the people mourn, if he had cultivated with as
devoted an attachment as his father those domestic
qualities—those simple virtues which, when they
grace a throne, are a powerful incentive to the mo-
ral improvement of a nation. But young, and stir-
I °untied by flatterers and relieved from restraint, who
can be surprised that his passions sometimes got the
better of his reason, and that a disposition, natu
rally generous, was betrayed into acts wisdom re-
' buked, and charity would forget ? His disposition
was certainly marked by strong feelings both of
kindness and resentment—his memory was tenacious
of the sense of injury—he was deficient in that
magnanimity which is swift to forget the occasion
of displeasure. He was affable, and familiar in his
address—fond of even facetious intercourse with
those who were honoured with his personal intimacy.
But at the same time jealous of his dignity beyond
what so exalted a station required, and to any
thoughtless violation of personal respect, even
in moments when he appeared to lay aside the
formal distinctions of rank and indulge in social
merriment, he was sensitive in the extreme. Yet
he had a heart feelingly alive to the claims of hu-
manity—a benevolence truly munificent, and a hand
" open as day to melting charity." His fine taste
led him to patronize the arts which embellish life
more than any British Sovereign since the days of
Charles the First—he was a patron and promoter
of literature and of learned men ; his collection of
pictures afforded ample evidence of a chaste and cul-
tivated taste in the fine arts. His love of architec-
tural display, though in some instances indulging
more in what was rather curious than correct, was
on the whole, associated with ideas of grandeur and
splendid improvement, as the streets and buildings
which he caused to be erected abundantly prove.
Although he could not realise the boast of Augus-
t-us, that "he found the metropolis of brick, and
left it of marble," yet, under his auspices, a great
part of London underwent a transformation quite as
unexpected, and nearly as beautiful. Such was he
who now lies on the bier, surrounded by the mourn-
ful glories of Windsor; and receiving in his death
a nobler testimony to his regal virtues, than all
the honours that funeral pomp scatters upon the
hearse of Royalty—the genuine tribute of a people's
afflict ion.—Morning Herald.

We stated in our first edition on Saturday morn-
ing, that the dissolution of his late Majesty was
momentarily expected; and our paper had scarcely
issued from the press before an official account
reached us by express, that his Majesty had ceased
to exist I We published the account in a second
edition, which, as it did not, in all probability, reach
the whole of our readers, we now repeat in another
part of our paper. he manifestations of sorrow,
as soon as the intelligence of the death of the King
became generally known, were as general and un-
equivocal as, we have no doubt, they were sincere.
The shops were everywhere half-closed, and the
countenances of the people betrayed a feeling of
some sad calamity having occurred. We do not,
in fact, ever recollect, since the lamented death
of the Princess Charlotte, to have witnessed
such a general expression of sorrow on the part
of the public ; and far be it from us to endeavour to
subdue that feeling by any reflections on the per-
sonal character of the deceased Sovereign. He was
a man, as men generally are, in the peculiar situation
in which he was placed ; and but for that situatior,
there can be no doubt that he would have excelled
in various respects most of his cotemporaries, whe-
ther Sovereigns or subjects. In personal appear-
ance he had no equal in the kingdom, and in what
'may be styled personal accomplishments he had no
superior in Europe. It was his evil genius to have
the scope of his talents confined within a narrow
circle, and the natural liberality of his mind circum-
scribed by coteries of peculiar sentiments and feel-
ings—a circumscription which occasionally gave an
appearance of weakness to his conduct, but which
never succeeded in wholly subduing the native
strength of his mind. In matters of taste his Ma-
jesty, with the sole exception of architectural
beauty,, had few superiors ; and in general kind-
ness and benevolence of disposition, he was
not surpassed by any of his subjects. We
wish not to allude to his conduct on an important
occasion, when, assuredly, that conduct appeared in
no very amiable light to a great portion of the
public. Let the sin of that matter, if there was sin,
die with him. We believe that he was less to blame
than was generally imagined at the time in ques-
tion ; and that if he had been left originally to
choose a partner for himself, he would, as a hus-
band, have manifested all that kindness of disposi-
tion for which he was distinguished in every other
circumstance and relation of life. We have said
thus much in the most unprejudiced spirit, and
merely upon a cool judgment of the facts before us.
Others will unquestionably give a different charac-
ter of his late Majesty; but while we readily allow
that flattery would be as useless as it is invariably
base, we can, at the same time, see no more sense
in reviving unpleasant and harsh truths of the dead.
Peace to our late Sovereign I We may have many
Kings characterised by greater vices; but few, we
fear, who will much excel him in the virtues, de-
cencies, and, if we may use the expression, gentiH
lities of life.—Morning Advertiser.
His Majesty William the Fourth is now the King
of these realms, and we augur for him, as earnestlyl
as we wish him, a long and happy reign. In public.
life, he has been hitherto distinguished by zeal and
activity ; and in private, by that domestic affection
and careful attention which are more frequently to
be met with in the abodes of the poor, than in the
palaces of Princes. The Queen, too, is charac-
terized not only by the most amiable disposition,
but also by the greatest good sense ; and there are,
few, we believe, if indeed any, of his present Ma-'
jesty's subjects, who are not delighted that her Ma-1
testy has come to the throne of these realms. His
present Majesty appeared at St. James's Palace to
take the oaths, awl to return, on their being preH
sented, the seals of office, of the Members of the
present Ministry, in an Adrn!ral's uniform. We
trust the token is of good omen, and that the navy
of England will, under the gracious auspices of his
Majesty, regain that splendour and reputation which
have hitherto been the terror of other countries, and
the safeguard and honour of our own.—Morn. Advt.
Our limits will not permit us to say much of the
political changes in immediate contemplation. The
Marquis of Lansdowne has been already applied to,
though we do not know what were the terms pro-
posed ; and we believe there is no doubt that Scar-
letr, Goulburn, Melville, Croker, and some others,
will immediately retire. Other changes will na-
turally follow. The Duke of Wellington and the
Earl of Aberdeen are, it is said, to be permitted to
remain in office if they please. The King, we are
credibly informed, manifested some hesitation in re-
turning the seals of office to some of his Ministers.
—Aforning Advertiser.

Our beloved, most amiable, and excellent Sove•
reign, George the Fourth, has departed this life of
care for the regions of eternal bliss, where peace
undisturbed, will not, in the heavenly indulgence
of the King of Kings, fail to attend his illustrious
manes. This event, of which all the painful
particulars, and those of the proceedings necessarily
consequent upon it, in Parliament and in Council,
are given in varicis parts of our Paper in this day,
and which it was our distressing dii;.y to announce
in 4 part of our impression of Saturday, took place
at a quarter,past three on that morning. Although)
from the commencement of his protracted and fatal
malady the country had mournfully anticipated
as inevitable what has at length taken place,'
still has the event excited among all ranks
and plasses of the community one universal
feeling of poignant sorrow. Hope is sel-
dom if ever wholly extinguished so long as life re-
mains. It can excite no surprise therefore that the
prospect of an occurrence which all linen regarded as
an approaching national calamity, clear and distinct
as that prospect has been for a considerable period,

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY MUItDO YOUNG,
THE SUN OFFICE, 112, STRAND, LONDON.

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With ever

Kensington

TO PAIVNBE
LOST,
a large
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street, Tottenh;
will lead to t
POUNDS RE

N.B. It is p
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WRITING TA
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all that elegant
generally admi
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by a method so
highly interesti
Specimens of
dente, 75, St.
sons 151.—S(i
terms.

" Improveme
who professes t
really deserves t
man connected
course of which
gaiuly, became
World.

BENJA!
Tooley-
Board of Ordm
Sail-cloth, Flal
has now on
CANVAS suit,
&e. complete,
good preservati,
the Shakspearit
embarking for
other Settleaner
Marquess, witl
their comfort a:

N.B. Marqu
Orders by
Edgingion, 5,

MR. JO]
Regen
AUCTION, in

This very col
between the tw
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high road from

a comfortable v
modation for a
occupied by Jo]

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ONE TIRO

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lequate cottage

containing abot
and a large por

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Estate fur resid
Further part
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White, solicitor
to Mr. Robins,

11EI
Sold by BUTL
of St. Paull':
street, and 2
street ; BA
WINDUS,
Alinories; E

Borough.
COOLIN
These
extremely refrei
at the same tier
adapted to reli
and counteract
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Epsom Salts, I
which often del
desired effect..
in the luxuries

wine, the mud
Boxes at 2s. 9d

The VEG]
Dentifrice has
dage to the fuel
to offer any fu
Composed of N
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the usual object
other Dentiftici
remove those
Gums and the
lady will preset
In Boxes at 2s.

FLUID EX
and compound,
quired, in a ni
dessert-apoonfu
it is used as an
toms, and oth
for the in-Trope
7s. 61., and 2(1

COMPOUN
partition is a st
tion with other
and innoxieus t
perience materi
Cuhebs. It io
these affection:
Bladder, &e.,
which the use
able. In bottle
QUININE
Flatulence, Ind
brash, &c. and
2s. and 45. 6d.
ACIDULAI
bitual Sore Th
&c.—also a ref
&c. In Boxes
CAJEPUT
common use) u
inatism, Sprai:
and 2e. 9d.
PECTORA.
Colds, habitua
Bottles, at Is.

* The abi
the Name and .
attached to thei
P.,Titteeted.