The Sun.
London, England, 1839-05-21 00:00:00

fear of the Duke of WELLINGTON and Sir RO-
BERT PEEL was, that the QITEEN would be in-
fluenced by the political conversations of certain
Ladies of her Household—and until they were re-
moved the Tories] could not consent to accept
office. What does Mr. COWPER say (and he
should know as much about what goes on
in the Palace, as the Tories) ? —that the QUEEN
makes it a rule never to converse on politics with
her Household ; and, further, that the two Ladies,
whom Sir ROBERT PEEL dreaded so much, have
left the Palace—the one tendered her resignation on
Friday, and the other is at present on the Continent.
We always thought that Sir ROBERT PEEL
attached too much importance to the conversation
of the Ladies of the Bedchamber, and we have
little doubt that he is now of the same opinion,
and that if the same offer were to be made again to
the Tories, they would avoid even the most distant
allusion to female political conversations. They
are always wise too late.

We learn that the Ministers are making inqui-
ries as to the cost of the envelopes which will be
required by Mr. HILL'S plan of a uniform penny
postage. Its success, as a question of revenue, will
in some measure depend on the cost at which the
envelopes may be furnished. We hope, therefore,
that those who have to answer the inquiries will
go to the cheapest shop. The instant it is known
the Ministers are willing to adopt the plan, the paper
makers will no doubt task their inveiltion t• supply
envelopes at as cheap a rate as possible, and will
be willing to contract for them at the lowest pos3i-
ble figure. That Ministers are diligently investi-
gating all the points of the case is for us a proof
that they mean to concede, as Mr. COWPER an-
nounced at Hertford, the uniform Penny Postage.

By a return recently published by the House of
Commons, it appears that, since 1828, when the
present execrable Corn-law was passed, 2,330 qrs.
of wheat, 63 qrs. of barley, 783 qrs. of oats, 4 qrs.
of rye, 23 qrs. of peas, 33 qrs. of beans, 42 qrs. of
Indian corn, and 26 cwt. of flour have been aban-
doned in bond and destroyed. The hogs, sup-
posing it:vvere damaged, were not allowed to eat it :
supposing it sound and wholesome, it was not
permitted to reach the mouths of the poor. It
was destroyed in the presence of the proper officers.
The return is very particular, and fiscal laws made
by landlords very precise. To make sure that not
a grain of these more than 3,000 quarters of corn
should be used, it was " all destroyed," so says the
" all destroyed under the inspection of the
proper officers," appointed, of course, to destroy the
abandoned corn. What an outrage against the
goodness of GOD I and this was solemnly perpe-
trated under the sanction of the laws of the
most enlightened (Qy.) nation on' the face of the
the earth. A century and a half ago the Dutch
were execrated by all Europe for burning a few
nutmegs and a little mace and cinnamon in
order to keep up the price of the stock in their
hands. But their conduct is angelic compared
to that of our landowning Parliament, which
deliberately orders human food to be carefully
destroyed under the inspection of the " pro-
per officers," rather than allow the hungry people
to eat it, whom its measures have reduced to poverty
and want. They take the precaution deliberately,
and of forethought, to order it to be destroyed ;
making it doubtful whether a more conspicuous
example of resolved and avowed wickedness is to be
found in the annals of legislation.

return,

We have inserted elsewhere a letter from Mr.
VINCENT, one of the Delegates to the Conven-
tion, who has been arrested and committed to pri-
son. He is now in Monmouth gaol, and is sub-
jected, we understand, to the same rigorous treat-
ment as if he had been condemned to death by sen-
tence of the law. This mode of proceeding, we
take leave to say, is but ill calculated to calm the
excitement which is at present so prevalent among
the working classes. It does not vindicate the
majesty of the law ; it merely sets forth its injustice
—proclaims its barbarity. Of what use is it to
din into our ears -the humanity of the maxim, that
the laW considers 'every man innocent until he has
been found guilty by.a.jury of his fellow-citizen',_
when we have before our eyes daily proofs that-
this is nothing but an empty boast, and that in
practice the rule is the very reverse. Fact is here
directly opposed to theory, for there is not a
gaol in the kingdom that does not bear testimony
to the monstrous truth that the law presumes every
man guilty until he has proved his innocence.

In the case of Mr. VINCENT, as in that of Mr.
POTTS, the conduct of the Magistrates has been
highly imprudent. It cannot fail to lead the work-
ing classes to the conclusion that the bounds of
law, as well as of justice, have been over-
stepped, in order to put them down. We
honestly confess that that is our own opinion.
'Who can look at the excessive bail demanded
of these men, and not be convinced that there are
other motives besides those of justice at work
in the breasts of the Magistrates? Mr. VIN-
CENT is a compositor, we believe—and yet,
though moving in this humble station of life,
the enormous sum of one thousand pounds is
required as the amount of his bail ; and to this
exorbitant demand on the part of the Magistrates
is superadded the condition that he must keep the
peace for twelve months—that peace, be it observed,
which he is not even charged with breaking !
Where is such a man as Mr. VINCENT to find
such bail as this ? The thing is impossible. The
committing Magistrates know it to be impossible ;
and therefore the demand resolves itself into
a sentence of perpetual imprisonment—impri-
sonment at least until the accused is brought
to trial. If a thousand pounds be a fair
and lawful demand from a man in Mr. VIN-
CENT'S circumstances, what, we should like to
know, would have been required of a rich squire,
such, for instance, as OLD GLORY, had he been
caught, as he might have been hundreds of times,
using language infinitely more seditious than any
ever uttered by a Chartist ? Would their Worships
have meted out equal justice in such a case? We
fear not. We fear the Aristocrat would have been
let off on comparatively easier terms.
It is fortunate, however, that there is an appeal
from this unmitigated severity of ante-judicial pu-
nishment. Both Mr. TINCENT and M. POTTS
will be brought up before the Judges on a writ of
habeas corpus, and we shall then see whether per-
sonal liberty is a privilege derived from the British
Constitution, or a gracious boon held at the will of
Worshipful Justices of the Peace.

'e are glad to think that there is now a fair
prospect that the differences which have unhappily
subsisted among the Reformers of Marylebone
will be accommodated. Two of the three sections
i understaudia nto which the Reformers are split have come to an
gand have submitted to the third a
,
plan of operations for general adoption, which it is
hoped will be accepted by them. A meeting of the
Reform Association takes place to-night, to receive
and discuss the answer of the Warren-street Asso-
ciation to this proposal. lye trust that all parties
will see the necessity of yielding for the general
good, such points as may
be conceded without in-
',giving a dereliction of principle. This is the
bounden duty of all true Reformers, for there never
I was a time when success depended so much upon
union as it does at the present moment.

Letters and papers from Madrid, of the 12th inst.,
have been received, but they merely confirm the ac-
counts published yesterday, of the capture of Ramales
and Guardamino by EsrArvrEito. It was reported
that M. AGUILAR, the present Spanish Minister at this
Court, would be the new President of the Council.
General DIEGO LEON was repulsed in an attack upon
the Estella lines on the 12th inst.

There is no political news of any moment in the
French Journals just received. The lhloniteu, of Sun-
day announces the death of Cardinal PESCH at Rome,