The Sun.
London, England, 1839-09-16 00:00:00

LORD BROUGHAM.

[Lord Brougham has just published his speeches on
the Administration of Justice in Ireland, to which he has
given the following Preface. In justice to him we re-
produce it entirely, remarking merely that his avowal
of having been driven into a reluctant and long-deferred
opposition, no longer leaves any doubt as to what the
Noble Lord's future line of conduct will be as long as
the Ministers remain in office.]
The violent attacks and more than usual misrepre-
sentations made by slanderous, and probably venal,
writers of the Government upon Lord Brougham's
conduct in bringing forward the Irish Administration
of Justice for the consideration of Parliament, have
naturally given rise to the separate publication of
the following speeches. Those who read them
will judge whether they are filled with vio-
lence, bitterness, personal animosity, factious scur-
rility, and a number of other things ascribed
to them by persons, who most probably never heard a
word of them—very possibly never read any report
of them. But a few particulars may be stated
usefully enough for the purpose of affording an
additional proof that the people of this country are
very well advised in no longer taking their opinions
from the anonymous writers of newspapers, gene-
rally engaged, sometimes hired, by one of the con-
tending parties to blacken the other, and who have
long been in the practice of having their hand
against every public man, and but few hands held up
for them even among those who amuse themselves by
reading their handiwork.
That any kind of personal feelings or interested
views should by possibility dictate Lord Brougham's
conduct on this occasion, is quite as absurd as the
same charge, or rather insinuation, - always flung
out against him since the time when (November
1837) the declaration of the Government against Re-
form, followed immediately by their unconstitutional
measures and refusal of common justice towards Ca-
nada, drove him into a reluctant and long deferred oppo-
sition. No one who holds this very silly, and still
more false, language can answer the question so often
put to them—why Lord Brougham supported the Mi-
nisters during the whole Session of 1835, acted in con-
ceit with them during the year 1836, and supported them
on all but th• Canada question in 1837 ? In 1836 he
even remained in the country at the express desire of
Lord Melbourne, who said that if he came and opposed
two or three of their measures, which he conscientiously
disapproved, it would overthrow the Government. This
he stated in 1838 before Lord Melbourne, to whom
he appealed for the truth of his assertion in the face
of Parliament and the country. Surely, if he had
any personal grounds of opposition, these existed dur-
ing the three first years of the Government formed
in April. 1835, and could never have been created
since. That he had ample personal grounds, who
doubts? Not certainly the Ministers, who never pre
tend to have the shadow of a claim upon him, though
they suffer their adherents to argue as if Lord Brougham
had deserted them; and was bound-to return thanks for
their ingratitude. But he did, till late in 1837, return
good for evil. What has produced the change? Say
rather, what change has since taken place ? The Go-
vermnent has changed its policy. When the King and
the Court were against the Ministers, they were fain to
court the people by affecting a more reforming
policy than they really approved. The moment
the Queen and the Court were delivered over to
them, bound hand and foot, they abandoned all
pretences of the kind, and made their famous declara-
tion of Finality. But this proved very distasteful to the '
country, which had been taught to fancy that Lord
Melbourne wanted much to grant further improvements,
only the Court would not let him. The country now
found that, the Court being for him, he was quite satin- '
fled ; and having no further occasion for the country,
pulled down the Reform colours. and hoisted the Con-
servative under the Royal standard. Be it observed
that Lord Brougham has never once blamed Lord
Melbourne for this ? Why ? Because, independent
of personal considerations, Lord Melbourne never
pretended to be much of a Reformer ; nay, he
had often passed as an enemy of Reform. There
were others, over whose conduct he well might sorrow,
though he should avoid to cast blame. But the Mi-
nisterial organs of both the press and the hustings—all
their papers, all their spouters—took every occasion to
deceive the people. One said that Lord John Russell's
declaration was misunderstood—he repeated it with
aggravations the next day. Another said, it is Lord
John Russell, and not the Cabinet : the Cabinet avowed
it was theirs to a man ; and indeed Lord John was and
is, after all, the very stoutest Reformer among them. A
third said, they don't mean what they say ; wait
and see their measures.—No measures came ;
men were weary of hoping, though the deceivers
were never tired of their base trade ; and discon
tent began to spread through the Ministerial ranks.
The Bedchamber quarrel brought the Ministers back
to office, after confessing that they bad not even the
shadow of a constitutional right to hold it ; and the re-
gular Whigs now were content to be in place without
the confidence of any but the Court, and that bestowed
on the avowed ground of a mere back-stairs movement
—in place, too, stript of all power, either in Parlia-
ment or in the country. Forthwith came a strain of
adulation,—and the trumpet was once more sounded to
rouse the hopes, the sinking hopes, of the Liberal
party. It would show human nature it its very basest
form to collect the falsehoods with which the newspapers
in town and country now teemed, and the speeches
of Government supporters abounded, as to the new and
reforming policy intended to be pursued. Falsehoods
they must have been ; for not one of the Ministers even
so much as gave the shadow of an authority for such re-
ports ; and accordingly no change whatever was made in
the pokey, the anti-reform policy, of the Government.
The organs of misrepresentation, thus foiled in their at-
tempts to propagate delusion among the people, now
turned their attacks upon those who still adhered to
the Reform principles which their patrons, the Minis-
ters, had abandoned ; and Lord Brougham of course
came in for his very full share of the assault, as he
had been among the greatest of those most unpar-
donable of all offenders—the men who persisted in
clinging to the principles which the Ministers had de-
serted.

It was a new feature, however, and a most unexpected
one in the aspect which the Ministry now presented,
that the Whig, or Constitutional, or Popular party
stood upon the worst ground ever occupied by the
Tories, whom their Liberal adversaries never assailed
more bitterly, than for their disposition to stand upon
Court favour, and parade the wishes and feelings of
the Sovereign as a protection for his servants against
the wrath of Parliament and the people.
There was no one article of their political creed
to which Whi,s were, up to this period of time,
more religiously attached, none in which their faith
more widely differed from that of the Tories, than this,
of the use to be made of the King's name, the King's
favour, and the King's influence. " The good old King,"
was the Tory rallying cry fo: many long years of misrule.
" Don't disturb the good old King's repose." " Respect
his Majesty's scruples." " Don't force his Majesty's con-
science,"—was the comparatively decent appeal which
that great and consistent party made to the coun-
try as often as a measure of toleration was to be op-
posed. " The Ministers are the King's choice." " Don't
deprive your good old King of his favourite ser-
vants," was the constant set-off against all failures,
all proofs of incapacity, all loss of public confidence.
But never was there indignation more loud, never
scorn more bitter, than were exhibited in the treat-
ment which such appeals constantly met with from the
Whigs. It would be hard to say whether Mr. Fox,
Lord Howick (now Lord Grey), Mr. Whitbread, Mr.
Tierney, Lord Holland,
or
Mr. Brougham (now Lord
Brougham), poured forth
the most fierce invectives
against these topics and this policy of the Tories—in
whom, nevertheless, they were tolerably consistent with
their avowed principles—just as they stood in wide
and impudent and disgustint, repugnance to every ar-
ticle of the Whic, faith. Leta sin; le speech of Lord
Grey in 18 sample of 07 be given, as a
tothe sort of
retra
with-
out power, and profit without credit, have deemed
things which Whigs are now called upon
now that this Whig party, for mere love of
place,
ct—
it be-