The Sun.
London, England, 1837-09-06 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

" Raw beef-steaks and cayenne pepper" have done
their work, but still not effectually. The Morning
Post, since it published its determination, has only got
the steam half up, and its fury is yet kept within
bounds. The Times, which at present participates in
the polities, probably participates also in the pabulum
of our fashionable Contemporary, and we can imagine
a very edifying tete-a-tete between the two worthies
over their new and invigorating diet. They have both,
we suppose, hitherto come under the class of milksops ;
but though they have " changed their copy" in this
sespect, they are still, as we have stated, far from be-
ing "up to the mark :" though violent in their rage,
they are not yet absolutely ungovernable. We have
the satisfaction of informing our readers, that, in spite
of all the exterminating threats from the Times and
Post, we are still in existence, and hope, through their
mercy, to be allowed. to live a short time longer. We
are not yet annihilated, which is saying much, con-
sidering our own natural fears, and the horrid impre-
cations of our enemies. The fact seems to be, that
the food of the two editors is not sufficiently indi-
gestible : " raw beef-steaks and cayenne pepper" are
not adequate to the end ; and in the hope, per-
haps, of propitiating favourable consideration when
shrinking and sinking under the upraised arm of one
or other of our adversaries—for ne Hercules quidem

contra duos—we humbly beg to make the suggestion
of a still farther change of viands. When Mossop
the contemporary and would-be rival of Garrick
wanted to fit himself peculiarly for Tamerlane, Bar
barossa, or any other " bloody-minded tyrant," his
plan was to dine, not upon raw beef, which is compa-
ratively light of digestion, but upon raw pork, which
in a short time wrought him up to the proper pitch
of fury and relentlessness. 'qrs. Radcliffe's testimony
to the same effect might also be adduced ; and there is
an old Italian poet who wrote a long chapter on the
virtues of pork, but he omitted this among its excel-
lencies, as it has been only a comparatively modern
discovery. It is like lending a stick to be used on
one's own back ; but as "raw beef-steaks and cayenne
pepper" have failed, to-a certain extent, after an ex-
periment of four days' duration, we may hint that it
would be worth while for the Times and Post to try
whether raw poll: chops smothered in the strongest
mustard, and washed down with liberal potations of
boiling brandy, or, if that will not do, of vitriol
or aqua fortis, might not answer their purpose.
Why the diet hitherto adopted did not suc-
ceed with the Times we can very well understand. The
pride of Printing-house-square must have the diges-
tion of an ostrich, to which horse-shoes and hob-nails
are sugar-plums and comfits, or it never could have so
often swallowed its own principles and eaten its own
words and lived through the operation. Since the end
of 1534 the Times has been in the almost daily habit
of putting its gastric juices to this severe test, and now
it has become nearly a matter of indifference to it
whetter it eats its own words or those of other people.
To be sure, its own words are sometimes the hard-
est of the two, but it has always been fond of
hard words, and they do not seem to have pre-
sented any additional obstacle to digestion. Per-
haps from time to time we may contrive to give
our Contemporary a few which will not go down
quite comfortably ; and already we have observed
some odd contortions of visage which indicate that
it did not relish what we offered on Monday.
Possibly the appetite of this Pistol 9f Puddle-
dock was as queasy as that ofits prototype
when the leek was so earnestly recommended to
his mastication. We have a few similar edi-
bles in store, and as occasion presents it-
self, we may offer them to the notice of. our
Contemporary. The spirit in which they will be re-
ceived is quite another matter. The Times of yester-
day proves that it is as raw as the pork to which we
have ventured to direct its attention. It may have a
stout stomach, hut it has a rely sore skin, and touch
it ever so gently it winces like a galled jade. " The
unhappy writer (it says smartingly, rather than smartly)
who cudgels his unproductive brains, and thumbs his
do;fs-eared common-place book for scraps from farces
or from comic song hooks—the staple of his smart-
ness—still reproduces the twenty tunes repented wit-
ticisms' of his former hebdomadal lucubrations, and
serves them up with fresh garnish for the readers of
the Grunticle." Is this all the Times can reply ?
Are personalities and nicknames, as usual, the whole
furniture of its armoury ? To call the Chronicle the
Grunticle, and to fancy it sees into the arcana of our
office and proclaims its mighty mare's nests, era the
utmost resources of the Times. Upon these alone it
relies, and to these. it is heartily welcome. It may call
;is the Grunticle as often as it likes ; it cannot call us
apostate—it cannot call us renegade—it cannot call us
traitor. It used to affect exclusiveness, and may do
so still, but in a different way; the titles we have given
it are exclusively its own.—Morning Chronicle.
_ e,,;n; in mind that the Earl of Minto, as First

Lord of the Admiralty, enjoys a large salary and a
splendid residence at the country's expense ; that his
brother, the Hon. George Elliot, was recently a
Second Lord of ditto ; that though public disgust at
the insatiable appetite of this blood-sucking family has
literally shamed brother Gorge out of the Admiralty,
he has taken care to fasten himself upon quite as rich
a vein in the form of a lucrative naval appointment ;
that Earl Minto's brother-in-law, Sir Charles Adam
is a Third Lord and Leech of the Admiralty ; that
Sir Rufane Doukin, another of his Lordship's
brothers-in-law, is Surveyor and Sucket-Gencral of
the Ordnance ; that their cousin, the Rev. Gilbert
Elliot, whom they have surpliced and qualified for the
Church-jugular, is doing the needful in the way of
pamphleteering and electioneering., preparatory to fixing
his fsngs on the first vacant bishopric worth having ;
that the Hon. John Elliot, his Lordship's younger
bro:her, Lord Melgund, his Lordship's eldest son,
and a whole nest of callow Elliots are waiting with
gaping maw to be gorged with whatever prey the great
Border Reiter may be able to get for them ; keeping
these things in mind, our readers will learn without sur-
prise that the efforts of this brnditti to retain their swag
arc proportioned to its priceless value. Of course the sta-
bility of Lord Melbourne's Ministry is indispensable to
the continuance of the Elliot booty. On their loss of a
single division in the House of Commons, Lord Minto
could not but foresee that both himself and his consan-
guinaries must immediately be shook off from the coun-
try's cuticle, not half glutted, and without the slight-
est chance of ever being able to slake themselves again.
As far as regards public plunder, therefore, the all of
the Minto officials was obviously at stake during the
recent elections. We find, accordingly, that in order
to keep their places, these Elliots, from highest to
lowest, from peer to priest, have been exerting them-
selves with a desperate energy to obtain seats in Par-
liament for the purpose of keeping the Whigs in
power. By dint of Admiralty discipline, Lord Mel-
gund has been thrust upon the constituency of Hythe,
one of the Cinque Ports. By the superhuman übi-
quity of Earl Minto aiding and abetting the most scan-
dalous !coercion of :the Roxburghshire electors, the
Hon. John Elliot has so far succeeded in usurping
that county that a Committee of the House of Com-
mons will be required to displace him. Sir Rufane
Donkin's attempt upon Berwick has not been equally
successful ; but, if ever there were an instance in
which the general power of Government, and espe-
cially the Ordnance department, were oppressively
wielded to extort votes for an unpopular Whig, we
have reason to know, from the confessions of a
Radical Berwick journal, that the employment of the
screw and rack on behalf of Sir Rufane Donkin has
been wholly without a parallel. Berwick is a garrison-
town, with a permanent barrack establishment. The
place has also a considerable Custom-house corps, a
cutter or two in the preventive service, various local
contracts for Government supplies, and, withal, it is
the residence :of many military, naval, medical, and
artillery veterans, who have retired thither on account
of its select society and cheapness of living. The
Nl'Efentlemen in all these departments were treated at the
ast election like so many galley-slaves. We shall give
a few instances. The barrack-master, a venerable
officer, 'eh° during his whole life has voted for Con-
servative candidates, was so sternly interdicted from
the Exercise of his political predilections, that he was
sha;mefully compelled to vote for the Sucker-General,
gin spite of sixty yews previous consistency, and on
pain of losing his residence, which happens to belong

to her Majesty's Ordnance. That the worthy barrack-
master may be forced to contradict this, will by no means
disprove its truth. On the contrary, it will only show the
revolting profligacy wherewith the tyranny of the Whigs
is exercised. To the same purpose has been the treat-
ment inflicted on a military gentleman and a medical
officer, both of whom had been prominently active in
canvassing for the Conservative candidates. Sir Ru-
fane's significant threats were so unequivocally uttered,
that these gentlemen were not only paralyzed into in-
activity, but literally pillaged of their votes by an act
of highway plunder. On these cases we subjoin
the following evidence given by a local Radical print,
in answer to the reclamations of the Berwick and Kelso

Warder:—
" The conduct for which they were reminded of Go-
vernment control was not the giving of their votes, but the
influence they were so active in exercising over others.
Nothing has wounded the popularity of Ministers so much
as their protection of sinecures, and nothing is better cal-
culated to make them feel their error than such occurrences
as the Warder now reminds us of. The senior of the gen-
tlemen alluded to has been very conspicuously active
against the Government candidate throughout the whole
of the canvass, so much so, as to merit universal remark ;
and we do believe on Sir Rufane Donkin finding in the
course of his canvass, that at all times, and in all quarters
of the town, he had to encounter one under the pay and
leniency of the Government, that it did occur to him to be
a singular anomaly. And on this activity and zeal being
displayed to the prejudice and under the immediate cog-
nizance of Sir Rufane, he did remenzber the old soldier of
the error of his rendering himself so hostile to the Go-
vernment of his country, possessing as it did the power to
remove the place of his duties."
This, be it observed, is the defence set up for Minis-
terial intimidation by a Whig-Radical Paper. Two
othergentlemen, Lieutenants b'Baillie and Riddell, were
seduced by promotion to vote against their known prin
ciples. The men in the preventive service also hav-
ing been pledged to the Conservative candidates, were
at first ordered to sea during the election ; but as on
second thoughts their presence was found indispensable
to Sir Rufane's object, the artifice of putting their
cutter under repairs was resorted to, and their votes
inexorably seized. These poor dependants, therefore,
were compelled to vote against their orders, and
against their principles. Nevertheless, the Minto
Whig-official was ignominiously defeated. All his
menaces were in vain. Not a man of good education
or creditable character voted for him. Not even the
support of the vicar and the anti-burgher Minister,
two swollen bladders of lard and laziness, could attach
the slightest respectability to the rotten cause. Where-
fore the noble chief of this ravenous family is a vote
shorter than he had reckoned on. The jaw of the
faction has lost a sturdy grinder. Whether their re-
maining tusks will serve them for any length of time,
remains to be seen. But until Parliament shall shake
them off, the country, we suspect, must be content to
bleed.—Times.

Between the termination of a general election and
the assembling of a new House of Commons, it is but
natural that a variety of speculations should be Oliva
with regard to the character and disposition of the
newly chosen representative body. Acting upon the
general tendency of frail humanity to tender its alle-
giance to the party most likely to be in the ascendant,
each of the opposing powers endeavours to exhibit its
strength in the most formidable array. On one side,
the Tories boast of their gains in the recent elections ;
on the other, the Liberals point to the state of public
opinion, which Tory machinations have excluded from
legitimate expression in the Legislature ; and on these
grounds the antagonistic parties severally claim a para-
mount influence on the governing policy of the country.
Under such circumstances the intentions of Ministers
necessarily form a subject of the most grave and im-
portant speculation. Some—the wish fathering the
thought—suppose that Ministers will pursue what
is understood by a " Conservative" policy ; others,
amongst whom we are happy to number ourselves,
hope and believe that the Cabinet will faithfully
adhere to the principles of its inauguration. The
verification of either supposition rests in the womb of
futurity ; but we may observe, that of the wishes and
determination of the great intelligent body of the
British public no doubt can be entertained. If Mi-
nisters, of which we have not the slightest suspicion,
were so besotted and base as to adopt a Tory policy,
or coalesce with the enemies of the people, it would
certainly cause much disturbance and embarassment,
but the consequence would be more fatal to Ministers
themselves than to the cause which in such case they
would have deserted. There might, and would no
doubt be a change of Ministry. It is more than pro-
bable a Tory Administration would succeed ; but how
long would it last ? Not for a month. And after
that little month, before their silken hose would have
been soiled in attendingat Court—why, the exasperated
indignation of public opinion would scout them from
office, nor cease operation until they were reinstated by
men pledged to principles even more liberal than those
which constituted the basis of the present Government.
We mean not to boast being sufficiently dosed in this
respect by our Contemporaries on both sides of the
question, but we ask any impartial observer to look
calmly to the state of public opinion in these realms,
and say if it be possible that any Government can
maintain a permanent existence, otherwise than by a
judicious and well-timed concession to popular neces-
sities. It is perfectly absurd to hope or to fear that
Ministers will pursue a Conservative policy. On all
sides arise a host of evidences, to show them the ien-
policy of such an attempt ; and even if their inclina-
tions were less in accordance with the wishes of the
people than they arc, good policy would dictate to
them the necessity of abiding by that connection which
has sustained them in opposition to hostility of the
most elevated, but fortunately not of the most power-
ful character. Whether the next Session wilt prove
productive or unproductive, time only can determine ;
but whatever may be the collisions, conflicts, or con-
cessions of parties, it will the fault of the people
themselves if the principles of Reform be not ulti-
mately triumphant.—Morning Advertiser.
The present Government, being wholly unable to
accomplish those Legislative changes which it has al-
ways held forth as matters of li;gh national concern-
ment, has now found out that by far the best
thing to do is to wait quietly, and allow circumstances
to work these changes of themselves. This might be
thought to be a wise discovery, were it not that it so
jumps with the self-interest of those who have made
it as to lead to something more than suspicion that it
is mot exactly a view to the public good alone which
has caused its avowal at the present juncture. When
the Members of the present Government were in op-
position they appealed to the country to place them in
the Government, because they, and they alone, ,verc die-
posed, and likely to effect, such liberal improvements
as would satisfy English Dissenters, and make Ire-
land what is called, in the habitual rhodomontade of
Mr. 0 Connell, " great, glorious, and free." Since
they have regained the Government they have not suc-
ceeded in doing the things which they declared to be
absolutely necessary for the satisfaction of both Eng-
land and Ireland ; and now they tell us that by far
the best way is to wait, and let these things accom-
plish themselves. When they were in opposition, and
when Sir Robert Peel, as Prime-Minister, offered
many practical improvements of great value to the
people of the whole empire, they said " No."
They said "We will not listen to your pro-
jected improvements ; for, one thing there is,
which takes precedence in importance of all others,
and that we must have established. If you
will not consent to it you must go out of office, and
again admit us to the Government, who make this our
great and leading principle." And what was this
leading principle, the declaration of which, and the
adoption of, which was to take precedence of everything
in the policy of Great Britain, whether foreign or do-
mestic ? It was merely an abstract principle regarding
the property of the Established Church in Ireland. It
was assumed that the question of first importance in
the whole range of British policy was a satisfactory
adjustment of the tithe question in Ireland, and it was
asserted that no adjustment could be satisfactory unless
it contained what is generally known as the " appre-
priation clause"—a clause which is neither more nor
less than a declaration of an abstract principle that the
property of the Church is liable to be alienated there-
from, and applied to the secular education of the
people, whatever their religious or non-religious per-
suasion may be. A majority of the House of Com-
mons assented to this, and upon these terms the pre-