The Sun.
London, England, 1831-01-29 00:00:00

of Mr. Sedgwick, the Chairman of the late Stamp
Board, whose letters to Lord Wallace appeared in
our Paper, is a else in point. To act uprightly,
was to act against all the received notions of official
subordination. Individuals, whose integrity and ta-
lents would be duly valued by an Administration
like the present, would, under its predecessors, have
ensured annoyance of every kind, and ultimate dis-
missal. Government is happily composed at pre-
sent of men who give an example of intwity in
their own persons, instead of visiting it in others
with odium and resentraeht ; and no better pledge
than this can cr ,teed be given of their determination
to act up to the principles they have so nobly pro-
claimed.--iltorniug Chronicle.

The Press teems, at present, with pamphlets on
Parliamentaty Reform, some of them possessed of
much merit. To notice all, or even any consi-
derable portion of them, is impossible. One has
just made its appearance, which it would, however,
be unpardonable Hot to recommend to our readers.
Its title is, " The Question of Reform considered,
with Hints for a Plan." The writer, in the outset,
makes a remark on the subject of the strength
which the Government would derive from Reform,
which, though contrary to the notions commonly
entertained, we believe to be founded on truth.
" It is not merely," he says, " that men doubt whether
the House of Commons, as at present constituted, is qua-
lified to discharge the functions of an enlightened, diligent,
and faithful guardian of the public interest, and to form a
wise, intelligent, and dignified legislative assembly; but
whether it has not, by a suspicious connexion and identi-
fication with the Executive Government, contributed nt,
less to impair the constitutional energy and efficiency of

t' e Executive Administration, than the exorbitant in-
flu,.nce of Government has operated to corrupt the purity
and to sully the reputation of the House of Commons.
Thee may appear contradictory results, but they are na-
tural and consistent. The Exerutve Government, by
drtiitt'ng the Home of Gammons to an undue participa-
ti at in the functions of Government, has been reduced to

the neces,ity of admitting them to a corresponding share
in the profits and patronage of Administrati•in. This is
a natural and equitable arrangement. Quorum facinus
est commune eorum delta esse prtrda communis.
" The loose invectives of party violence, or prpular ma-
_.

lignity, in casting indiscriminate charges against Mini-
sters of systematic corruption, in order to carry through

tunisures destructive of the public freedom or welfare,
have little foundation. The faults of Ministers, in the
influence they employ in securing Parliamentary majo-
rities, are the faults not of the men, but of the system.
They must always be under the necessity of conciliating
the great Parliamentary interests—that is, in truth, the
owners of boroughs and the purchasers of seat.. The
force of that portion of popular representation which finds
its way into the House of Commons, naturally ranges
itself in opposition to Ministers ; while, under the present
system, Ministers deprived of the general confidence and
support of the people, ate driven into an offensive and de-
fensive alliance with the unrepresenting portion of the
House of Commons. The systematic opposition, how-
ever, given by the proper representatives of the people (as
thus distinguished), appears to me rather accidental than
necessary, and inherent in the true principles of the Con-
stitution. That the Executive Government, meaning and
at•tiug fairly, should be the object of systematic and vexa-
tious opposition by the people Of their representatives, ap-
p •ars to me an unnatural state of things. The interests
of the Government and of the people ought always to be
the same ; and, under a fair representation of the people,
would be so. As things are now constituted, the constant
leaning of the popular parts of the representation against
the Executive Government, seems to have arisen from the
necessity of counterbalancing the dangerous preponde-
ranee on the other side, arising from the dead weight of
purchased seats or proprietory influence.
"It is evident, however, that the powerful Parliamen-
tary Proprietors, either by the right of nomination or
actual purchase, must naturally be drawn into an associa-
tion with Government, of which a partiCipatien in its pa-
tronage is the condition and the pledge. The caprice or
the rapacity of these high and mighty powers, with whom
Ministers confederate, must often prove exceedingly embar-
rassing to an honest Administration. Extravagant de-
mands refused may, at a critical moment, throw a power-
ful interest into the ranks of opposition."
We have bore a very natural explanation of the
phenomenon in English politics, that men in place
regularly follow the same practices, no matter what
their profe'sions when out. When in opposition,
they address themselves to the nation; when in
place, they forfeit the opinion of the nation, because
they cannot propose what is best, but what is ne-
cessary to command a majority in Parliament.
hence, unpopularity is the fate of every Ministry
without Reform. Were the Members, however,
accountable to a respectable constituency, Ministers
might safely propose such measures as they deem
the best adapted to promote the interests of the
nation ; and if these measures should be opposed fac-
tiously, the Members so opposing would meet their
punishment at the next election. To oppose
Ministers is a road to popularity only when
the measures are objectionable; and most mea-
sures must be liable to many objections when
Ministers are under the necessity of purchas-
ing majorities ; but to oppose a Ministry when
their measures are good would be a sure
road to unpopularity. Besides, a Ministry under a
Reformed Parliament stand on firm ground. The
caprice of two or three great borough proprietors,
the intrigues of Court favourites, may suddenly
overturn the best-intentioned Ministry. But a Mi-

nistry acting fairly and honestly towards the nation,
and not destitute of ability for business, need fear
no cabals, no intrigues. They might always count
on the approbation of that public they were con-
scientiously serving. The author.shows the futility
of all the pretexts of which the object is to show
that Parliament, as at present constituted, is .ade-
pate to the wants of the nation.
" The House of .Commons (lie observes) which we de-
sire to see arise from the hands of Reform, is a House of
Commons calculated to give new vigour to the Executive
Government, trammelled and subdued as it now is, in its
natural functions, by the predominance of Parliamentary
influence. The House of Commons, which, we trust,
will, be produced by the infusion of fresh popular spirit,
will be a House of Commons that will emancipate the ser-
vants of the CrOwn from an ignominious dependence upon
Parliamentary caba!s, and from a timid and enervating
subjection of the executive authority, to a system as in-
compatible with high and generous action as it is incon-
sistent with all practical responsibility."
_ _

We shall in our next number allude to the views
of Reform of the Luthor.—Morning Chronicle.
We do not regret the result of the late City elec-

don, for this plain reason, that the candidates being
equally qualified for the office they aspired to, they
were fa'rly matched against each other, and, there-
fore, on whichever the election fell, it was sure to
devolve upon efficient hands. At the same time we
cannot but look upon the treatment which Mr.
Waithman has experienced as most disreputable to
that party, bo:h in the country and in the Corpora-
tion, of which he has been long the ostensible, the
consistent, and powerful organ. It is now little
short of forty years since Mr. Waithman took his
stand in defence of principle., of which, whether
right or wrong, he has evec since, through good
and evil report, been the sincere and intrepid advo-
cate. After years of struggle, the Livery of Lon-
don chose him as their representative in Parlia-
ment ; where, without assuming a station beyond
his merits, he has consi-tently redeemed the pounds
upon which he put himself forward as a candidate
for their suffrages. Well then, how do the
party whose organ he has been, and who have
hitherto extolled him to the skies, redeem their
consistency when it is put to the test ? Why,
without rhyme or reason, by turning their backs
upon him and upon themselves, the moment an op-
portunity occurs Land how frequently do such op•
portunies occur) of rewarding the faithful and con-
sistent advocate of popular rights and opinions.
The conduct of some persons upon this occasion
presents a sickening view of human nature. We
%%ill not particularise—public observation has done
that already. One thing we cannot help mentioning.
In the performance of our public duties, .it has fallen
to our lot to speak very often, in no very measured
terms of contempt, of the corruption which per-
vades the civic body. We happen to know that
Mr. Waithman, with an esprit du corps, which he
must now feel has both been thrown away and mis-
placed, has felt our remarks as being too severe.
He cannot now think so. The rottenness which