The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-06 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—In an address marked by feeling and
, good taste the Lord Chancellor has personally an-
nounced his resignation to the House of Lords.
From the respect and sympathy with which he was
listened to his lordship may learn how little there is
of private or political animosity in the minds of those
who have been recently compelled to give expression
to opinions adverse to him. There is certainly in
this country no desire to pull down those who have
risen to eminence. No people are more free from
envy than our own, and if there be a character whose
advancement is looked upon without a shade of ill-
feeling it is the able and hard-working lawyer, who,
after good service in the House of Commons, re-
ceives the high rewards of his profession. Among
those who listened to Lord Westbury yesterday, or
who took part in the debate of Monday, there are,
we are sure, few who do not feel deep regret that
such a blow hould have fallen on such a man. It is
needless, however, to speak further of this matter.
Only the strongest conviction that the honour of the
country must be vindicated would have made such
an assembly as the House of Commons censure a
Lord Chancellor. The unhappy events which have
led to the Chancellor's resignation cannot be re-
called ; they cannot be deprived of their unfavour-
able character. All that Lord Westbury can ask of
his countrymen is that they shall now as far as pos-
sible forget them, so, at least, to judge his future
career without prejudice derived from an unfortu-
nate past. This oblivion the public will be glad
to extend to the transactions of the last few months.
Indeed, the advice of Lord Westbury's colleagues
has been to some extent the cause that the charges
against him have made so deep and painful an im-
pression. Lord Westbury explained at length the
reasons which induced him to hold office up to
the present time, and after a committee of either
house, as well as the voice of the country, had
accused hii2a. This explanation is quite intel-
ligible, nor can we say that there may not be valid
reasons why a man in high position should at times
disregard the popular voice. But in this case we
think the Chancellor was ill advised. He tells the
house, as Lord Palmerston told the Commons on
Tuesday, that when the first charges were made
against him he desired to resign. "My lords," he
says, " I believe that the holder of the Great Seal
ought never to be in the position of an accused per-
son, and, such unfortunately being the case, for my
own part I felt it due to the great office that I hold
that I should retire from it, and meet any accusa-
tion in the character of a private person." But, in
deference to the opinions of his colleagues, who
thought that a too ready resignation might lead to
the encouragement of charges against public men,
the Lord Chancellor retained office. This principle,
however, which might be sound as regards the early
phases of the inquiry, could hardly apply to a period
when the opinion of one of the houses of Parliament
had been given. The Chancellor, we think, would
have done well if he had resigned after the rescind-
ing of Mr. Edmunds' pension, and certainly he
ought not to have held office a day after the report
of the committee on the Leeds Bankruptcy Court.
As long as a man retains office he speaks at a dis-
advantage. The eminence on which he stands makes
him a mark for his opponents, while it lessens his
own power of repelling them. If the Chancellor
had insisted on resigning even a week ago he would
stand in a better position than at present. The act
of resignation itself disarms resentment, and from
the moment it is performed something like a reac-
tion in the parliamentary and popular mind sets in.
It is strange that a man so acute and experienced as
Lord Westbury should not have seen that the advice
of his colleagues was more in accordance with the
supposed convenience of the Ministry than with his
own interests and honour. But these mere details
will be soon forgotten. What will remain in the re-
collection of the country will be that a very eminent
Chancellor resigned in consequence of faults in his
administration. It is in the power of Lord Westbury
by degrees to weaken the remembrance which his
countrymen have of this affair, and finally to wipe
it out altogether, and place in its stead the image of
an able lawyer and politician present in Parliament
and daily rendering services to the country. The
account which Lord Westbury was able to give of
his judicial labours shows how much the public lose
by his retirement ; and there is no one acquainted,
in any degree, with the Chancellor's duties who will
not admit that they have been ably and vigorously
performed. As a Law Reformer Lord Westbury
has had few equals. Both as Attorney-General
and as Lord Chancellor he has devoted himself to
the simplifying of our tangled jurisprudence, and
he is even now engaged in one of the most useful
works which a lawyer can undertake, the digest of
the whole body of the law. These labours Lord
Westbury may usefully continue in the more private
but still exalted position which he will now occupy.
Resignation to a Chancellor is less of a change than
to an ordinary statesman. He remains a Judge of
the two supreme Courts of the country, and one of
a small and select body which virtually supervises
all the proceedings of Parliament in legal matters.
Lord Westbury has still a field for the display of his
abilities, and we venture to say that if he apply
himself to the duties which still remain to him it
will not be long before the remembrance of the late
scandals will be lost in the sense of the benefits
whicli he has conferred on the public.
POST. —During the session which closed on Tues-
day the. Corps Legislatif has been conspicuous
among the representative assemblies of Europe for
the freedom and the animation of its debates, as
well as for the importance of the subjects that have
come before it for discussion. The policy of the
Imperial Government has been explained and vin-
dicated with remarkable ability. Under the leader-
ship of the orators of a past regime, the Opposition
has become useful and ornamental. The discus-
sions' have, upon the whole, been conducted with
due regard to Parliamentary order, and in language
which has equally displayed talent and a proper
sense of dignity and decorum. M. Rouher has
laboured under the disadvantage which a great
English statesman once deplored. The strength of
the Government operates against rhetorical success.
But on one or two occasions when M. Thiers, with
his habitual indiscretion, made a fair opening for
recrimination, the Minister of State proved that he
was competent to engage in a more even contest.
The controversial aptitude of the Opposition has
contributed to the political instruction of the nation.
M. Thiers and M. Jules Favre have been the means
of informing the public mind and enlightening
the popular understanding. France would reason-
ably object to place the management of her finances
in the hands of M. Thiers, and be still more indis-
posed to trust M. Fevre with the control of her
foreign affairs ; but criticism, however superficial, is
serviceable in its way. It is a matter of universal
regret that M. Berryer has been prevented from
taking a prominent part in the debates. Men of all
opinions render homage to the marvellous eloquence
and the sterling qualities of one who represented
the ideas and the loyalty of an epoch that belongs
to history. The French people have every reason
to be satisfied with their progress at home and the
position they occupy before the world, and the con-
victions on which they have acted cannot fail to be
confirmed by the proceedings of the Corps Legisla-
tif in the now concluded session. The Opposition
did not deny the national prosperity, but contended
in effect that it rested on an insecure basis. It is
remarkable, however, that those who hazarded these
statements hesitated to endorse them by their votes.
It doesnot seem to have ,occurred to M. Thicrs that
the people who read his speeches may also take the
trouble to examine the division-list. Nor do the
members of the Opposition appear to have consi-
dered that to make political capital out of a finan-
cial argument it is necessary that it should have for
its groundwork a more or less oppressive taxation.
The nation at large must be able to form a tolerably
accurate opinion as to whether it is living beyond its

means. It depends on the conditions whether bricks
and mortar forma good or bad investment for money.
Of course it would be reckless waste to construct
boulevards, railroads, and canals in the absence of
commerce and industry; and, on the other hand,
it would be miserable economy to limit the enter-
prise of a country by declining to draw upon its
capabilities. Living from hand to mouth, people
are prone to be deluded by political schemers ; but
when they have a material interest in maintaining
existing institutions it is otherwise. However, with-
out searching for the motives of the Opposition, it
must be observed that if private undertakings were
to be carried out on the surplus income of the pro-
moters, they would in many instances have to be
wound up before the work contemplated was even
commenced, and the remark applies equally to pub-
lic improvements. Given that anything is desirable,
and the question as to the expediency of providing
it must be answered with reference to the actual
wealth and the future prospect of the community to
be benefited. Now, France has hadl2 years' experi-
ence of the Imperial Government.. In that period
thenation has advanced with unprecedented rapidity
from anarchy to order, and from unrest and appre-
hension to security and confidence. This modifica-
tion was indeed so extraordinary as to raise doubts
of its durability. The elasticity and resources of the
country were scarcely appreciated, and by many it
was thought to be an impulsive effort or an outburst
of unsteady enthusiasm. It must be owned that,
looking at antecedents and taking a superficial view
of the situation, the misgiving was not unreasonable.
The error in the calculation proceeded mainly upon
the assumption that the French were fickle and given
to change, whereas really the Governments they
discarded had not complied with the legitimate re-
quirements of progress. Although it may be incom-
patible with certain exalted theories, the fact that,
to render political reform permanent, it must be pre-
ceded by social and industrial amendment, is alto-
gether indisputable; France simply obeyed the law
of nature in electing to be governed practically for
the common weal, and having attained her object
she is now as steadfast as she was before unstable.
As to foreign policy, it is extremely difficult to un-
derstand the language which has,been held by the
Opposition in the course of the session. It would be
absurd to impute ignorance of the subject to M.
Thiers, but it is entirely evident that he fails to
comprehend the meaning of recent events. The in-
tervention in Italy, the convention of September,
the Mexican expedition, and also the inaction in
' regard to Poland and Denmark, represent a policy
which, if it were intelligible to M. Thiers, could
hardly. be reconciled with the prejudices he enter-
tains. But pdliticians of even less rank, who take
an impartial view of the circumstances, cannot be
insensible to the military and diplomatic advantages
which France has gained under the Government of
the Emperor. If all that was undertaken has not
been accomplished, there has been no abandonment
of the ideas that were enunciated. The unity of
Italy is assured, the arrangements with respect to
the Papacy are placed upon a f9oting that admits
of no doubt as to their realisation, and the settle..
ment of Mexico is not likely to 'be much longer
impeded. M. Thiers may turn over these pages in
the history of the Second Empire without perceiving
that they contain evidence of the vitality of the
Power that crowded such great and splendid
achievements into so short a space of time, but
France and Europe have clearly expressed their
sense of a policy that revealed its noble and prescient
inspiration. Nor can we omit to acknowledge that
during this session of the Corps Legislatif the
Emperor of the French has again signally mani-
fested feelings of friendship towards our own
country which were heartily reciprocated. But, in-
dependent of interest and sympathy, we are firmly
persuaded that a Government which, established by
the will of the people, fulfils the obligations it con
tracted, stands upon a foundation which is morally
impregnable.