The Sun.
London, England, 1822-12-13 00:00:00

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and to-morrow hug as denizens to their bosoms and invite into
the Councils of the state, the very men that, in Parliament and
out of Parliament, are doing all in their power to discredit,
disannul, and for ever cancel those disabilities.'
Defect of political integrity does not, however, as to the
guilt of it, apply with an equal reprobation to all, though the
evil engendered by it is, I fear, nearly the same be the motive
to it what it may. In the present instance it has been alleged
by those who wish to excuse their votes, and to cover their
uneasiness on the ground of a sort of Conipulsatory bending to
circumstances, that M. Bankes was late. in his application ;
that solicitations were pressing ' • and that as no avowed Anti-
chatholic Candidate had offered, nor to their knowledge, was
likely to offer, they were induced to pledge their support tothose
who, by their youth and ingenuosness, seemed the least likely
to involve themselves under the permanent yokeof Catholic ad-
vocacy.
Gorr knows we are all sufficiently frail to feel the duty of ex-
tenuating frailty.in one another ; and we rejoice when the mind
is able to redeem it faults by any mode ofto.:gument which rea-
son can approve of, and which justice can reconcile with virtue.
This apology, therefore, mint be allowed its due weight. It
must be considered as extenuating, though it does not justify
this purblind approximation to political delinquency. It may
serve well enough to get these gentlemen out of the black Ka-
leader, though it is, hardly, I doubt, of sufficient potency com-
pletely to reinstate them in the white one. Mr. Bankes cer-
tainly was late in his canvass, very late. But what of that ?
Where none had offered themselves worthy of the representa-
tion, votes conscientiously might, and prudently should have
been kept in reserve. There was no necessity for any man to
entangle himself by a hasty determination. He was not called
upon to go so. The folly and the discredit of it were of his own
seeking. • .
The same reasons that shauld have operated With the volun-
tary seceders from a righteous cause, ought to have had some,
and perhaps no inconsiderable influence on these involuntary
defaulters. What business had any man, honest and vigorous
in his opposition to the Catholic claims, -to commit himself by
pledging his vote, when he knew there was no one fit to receive
it ? Mr. Scarlet, a hoary political offender, albeit- his Whig
friends, accustomed to puffing off their wares which are not
for every market, represented him, as one
Whose honesty they all thirst swear for,
Though not a man of them knew wherefore.

Mr. Grant—, dipt in " Presbyterian true blue" and of course
canonized by the evangelical apostles of Calvanism ; my Lord
Hervey, in the fashioning of young opinion apparently not
disposed to pay any peculiar respect to " old experience;" and
all of them avowed advocates for Catholic Emancipation. Was
there a candidate among them capable of r:ceiving anti-
catholic vote ? Looking upon Emancipation in the de-
cided light these gentlemen have given us reason to believe
they do; petitioning their Sovereign, session after session,
never to admit to Civil power those who, sanctioned by
the notion of " doing God service," would be certain to
make the very worst ecclesiastical use of it ; should they--
I put it to the' sober reflection of their, own hearts—should
they have consented to arm such adversaries of their peace
against them—to invest them with those rights and privileges
which they knew beforehand would be applied to the sub-
version of the very cause they had been straining every
nerve manfully, faithfully, loyally, and in a becoming spirit of
orthodoxy to support ?—O no ! They should have acted like
men whose own loss or gain, credit or discredit, weighed but
as dust in the balance. Openly and patriotically they should
have declared, that no vote of theirs would be given so long
as there was no candidate of their own persuasion to give it to ;
and, that if in the event none appeared, that that vote should
never be defiled by any prostitution of it to unworthy purposes.
If it unfortunately could effect no good, all " innocence of the
great offence," pure as it came out, it should return into their
own bosom.

• As for those Gentlemen who, on this occasion, may have
been influenced in the disposing of their votes by a sense of
gratitude, and may have acted under the impression that such
conduct would be agreeable to their patrons, we have hardly
the heart to blame them, though a plea of this kind for the de-
reliction of an acknowledged duty must never be commended :
gratitude is a great, it is a valuable virtue. It weighs much
with every mind, and with every mind it ought to weigh much.
It ia a heavenly feeling that operates upon the best dispositions
in the most forcible and affectionate manner. l t evinces, not
an impatience of obligation, but a disposition to return the be-
nefits we have received, and, by such return, to manifest that
we are not undeserving of them. It is of so gracious a nature
that it seems almost to sanctify any course it may take in running
towards its parent fount. Where, unadulterated with impnrer
motives,it is the sole source of a man's political retrogressions, we
learn, if possible, to pardon it. \% e must recollect that the
failing is an amiable one, and will probably in the mind's re-
tirements be competent to Correct itself; that the error is an
error of virtue, the sacrifice a sacrifice to virtue ; arid that there
is enough left in such characters very highly to esteem, thou
igh
somewhat be deducted from that entire veneration with which
we have been accustomed, and still fondly hoped to continue to
contemplatelhem.
I verily; Sir, believe, in mercy I may not do otherwise, that this
excellent feeling, where the heart is right, has great part in
many, not to say in most of our. political inconsistencies. By a
sort of holy violence it turns the eye of rectitude from that open
straight forward path- in which she had delighted to tread;
and tempts to what is wrong under the semblance of what is
" pure and good report." But virtue must not thus be made
accessory to her own reproach. The sense of obligation must
not he suffered to supersede the vitality of principle; nor
must grateful conduct, highly as we revere it, innovate upon
the claims and usurp the rewards of moral conduct. There is
no defalcation of gratitude when we maintain, anti determine
to act upon' our settled opinions, evermore our most valuable
opinions, even in the midst of received or expected favours. If
there be a proper spirit in our patrons, they will not feel obliged
to UR for any sacrifices of this kind. They will indeed wish for
our support, and hope we may be enabled to give it; but unless
we can give it conscientiously ; unless we can enter into their
feelings, imbibe their sentiments, and advocate their cause
" with all our heart and all our soul," as honourably minded
men themselves, they will forbear to request and will disdain to
accept it. _ _

Reserving for your next week's paper the grosser offenders
against political integrity, those swayed in the disposition of
their votes by mere interested motives, and those influenced by
a modification of opinion without seeming to recollect that jus-
tice requires a correspondent modification of conduct.
I remain, &c.

MARCUS.

SHIP-OWNERS' SOCIETY.

Yesterday the Anniversary . Dinner of the
Ship-owners' Society took place at the City of London Ta-
vern. The Earl of LivEnrooL, as President of the Society,
officiated as Chairman, supported by Lord Melville ; the Right
Hon. Frederick Robinson, President of the Board of Trade;
Mr. Lushington ; and the principal commercial gentlemen con-
nected with the shipping interests.
After the cloth was removed, the usual healths of the Royal
Family were drank, and the Cum nYLAN next proposed " the
health of Lord Melville and his Majesty'S Navy."
Lord MELVILLE, in returning thanks, said, that when he
considered the important place which the naval force of the
country filled in its maritime strength, he was not surprised to
find such a toast given and received with so much enthu-
siasm. if it was fair for them to judge from the past, they
were in every respect entitled to anticiN to fiir the future,
that the navy of the country would m t b-! wanting in the
faithful performance of their duty—they :tad already bled in
the cause, their best efforts had been given, and would again
be given, to support the best interests of their country.—(Ap-
lause.)—He entirely concurred with this society in thinkink that
the maritime strength of this country was its strongest hold—
that it was the best citadel of its defence, and the main pillar on
which they must rest the basis of their dependence for the
maintenance of their own power, and the p:trmanent security of
the high situation which this country had a right to hold
among the nations of Europe._(Hear, hear !)—That situation
was as proud as it was strong, and would be firmly upheld as
long as their navy maintained that high discipline and effi-
ciency which had given to it so much reputation and character.
—(Applause.)—He concluded by requesting them to accept his
warmest thanks for the honour of coupling his name with that
of the navy of the country.
The next toast was—" The Army of the United Kingdom."
The Earl of LIVERPOOL, in proposing " Prosperity to the
Shipping Interests of the Country," begged leave to say a few
words upon a topic so essentially connected, not only with the
object of their meeting, but with the best commercial interests
of the country at large. Independent, however, of these immc_

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diate motive for proposing the toast, he begged to put In his
e'.&m for introducing it upon still higher grounds ; for he must
ever consider the shipping interests as mainly connected with thb
best security of the country itself. " We," said the Noble Earl,
" owe our security to our Navy, and we owe our Navy to that..
system of Navigat on Laws under wh-ch our country has so long '
acted with so much advantage to her best interests." It had -
been supposed (but erroneously) by some, that England oweel •
her Navy to the nature and facilities of her insular situation.
That ante facilities were favourable to the growth of her Navf,
no man would deny ; but all who were acquainted with the •
history of this country must know, that, England did not derive
her safety from the advantages alone of her insular -situation ;
that at different periods of her history afforded her inadequate '
.protection, and all who had attentively considered this sub..
ject must know, that tf.e growth of her Navy and the firmness
of her security' had been established, and were coeval with her
.system of Navigation Laws.—(Applause.)—And it was by the •
promotion and salutary application of.the true principle of those
laws, not by the adoption of fanciful and impracticable theories,
but by a real and careful attention to the situation of the Coati- •
try, that England could look to the permanent security of her
naval system, to the maintenance of her national honour,. to'
the enjoyment of her happiness, and to the general diffusion"
of those blessings which attended well regulated industry and
enteprise. (Applause.) Ile trusted that these principles would
long contribute to the same happy results, and that they would
repeatedly meet to celebrate them. (Applause.)
Mr. J. W. BUCKLE next proposed the health of the Earl
of Liverpool, the President of their Society, which was drunk
with great applause.
. .
The Earl of LIVEItPOOL, in returning thanks, said, that
the honour he enjoyed of being President of their Society was •
both unsolicited and unexpected by him at the time he received
it. He could not, however, but consider it as the highest proof
of their respect for the principles he supported respecting thle
nature and value of the shipping interests of the country, as. •
well as a compliment of a personal nature. • •
Mr. ROWCROFT, in proposing the health of the Right Hon.
Frederick Robinson and the Board of Trade, observed,. that •
whether trade were the mother of navigation, or navigation tire
foster parent of trade, was a question which he would not rune
discuss. He would not trace the.history of navigation flan-a the;
time of the Carthaginians downwards ; but he would hail the
adoption of commercial principles in the present day whiels."-
gave a fair encouragement to the industry of all nations, and
e
left each to the cultivation and enjoyment of her own resources.
Mr. ROBINSON, in returning thanks, said that he was
highly flattered, and extremely grateful for this mark of their
approbation ; and he hoped they would allow him to say, that
having entered upon the discharge of those duties which had 7
brought him under their notice with the full persuasion and -•
knowledge that every step he took woukl he'under the.inemedi7
ate observation of those- whose interest it was to watch his pre-
gress, and who were competent to judge properly his measures—
he hoped they would allow him on this occasion to say, that he ac.
cepted this mark of their approbation as the most gratifying testi-
mony
which could be furnished of the propriety of his course.
--( Applause.)—Long before he had become official] v connected •
with the administration of the naval and commercial affairs :of
the country, he was deeply impressed with the truth of the .
opinions just expressed by his Noble Friend, their, Chair-
man : he looked upon them as identified with, and supporting..
those principles, by the maintenance of which the navy of Erg-
land would essentially contribute to the security of the country,.
the exaltation of its glory, and the permanent confirmation of its
prosperity.—(Applause.)--They had,indeed, to boast of a series
of unparalleled triumphs during the late war—a war of unexam-
pled extent, and, he might say, except where the navy were can.
cerned, of equally unexampled vicissitudes. No man could
take a retrospective glance at that war, without seeing hear
powerfully the best interests of the country were preinoted by.that
great body of the commercial interests whose representatives
were assembled in the present company. They who had been
living witnesses of the -spirit with which the country-had main-
tained its character, and of the means afforded by the commer-
cial interests of the country for that great purpose, had seen
enough to authorize them in holding, out to their posterity•the;:
same assurance of security which they had themselves in times
past derived. Should the crisis ever come when their descend--
ants might be called upon to make similai exertions for the
maintenance of the national honour anti the protection of their
indispensable interests—should such a time ever arrive, he had
not the smallest doubt that their descendants would be animate-
ed by the same spirit, would persevere in the same efforts fcir'
the security of their rights, and would, in their turn, establish
a claim for the gratitude of those who would succeed them is
the possession and enjoyment of the privileges which their wisa
dons and foresight had provided:.--(Applause.)
Mr. Manus-AT, in rising to propose the health of Mr. Cati
ning.; and the rest of his Majesty a Ministers, said, that the clouds
which had overhung the commerce of this country, at length
became dispersed, and those" engaged in her mercantile interests •
had now a clearer and more cheering prospect before them. Ifv'
said this from the auspicious result of a part of the investigatiett
in
of the commercial system of the GoYernment, and the deteri--
nation which had been adbpted to probe some of its most essdie
tial branches. It was gratifying to see that proper and reason;-,
able, not fanciful endeavours, were making, to fix the prin,
ciples of commerce on a basis of the utmost freedom, without
going the length of those impracticable theories of univerltll
free trade. His Majesty's Government had lately legitimatizell.
the trade with South America—a (Darter of the globe that had
but lately emerged froth darkness into light, and emancipated
itself from tyranny and oppression, and acquired a station 4
freedom and moral eminence.—(Applause. )—To the NewWqrld
he thought must the commercial interests of England look for
an indemnification against the errors of the Old—these they
would fiad a new impetus and scope for commercial enterpristl,
which would, in .its beneficial consequences, be felt by all classes
of society, commercial, manufacturing, and agricultural.—
( Hear I )—From what had transpired of the proceedings of tit elate
Congress at Verona, (little as perhaps it was), the country bud
reason to rejoice at the predominancy of British principles over
the arbitrary and unsuitable opinions of more despotic powers (ap-
plause); and he most sincerely trusted, that the salutary operation
of such principles, and the feelings which they necessarily en-
gendered, would eventually terminate in securing the peace of
the World': by a steady perseverance in such a course his Ma-
jesty's Ministers would not only secure the applause asf this
meeting, but of mankind in general. (Applause.) He con-
cluded by proposing the health of Mr. Canning and the rest
of his Majesty's Ministers; and may they long continue to 'be
the guardians of the commercial interests of this country.-4
(Drank with great applause.)

The Earl of LIVERPOOL returned thanks on the part of Mr.
Canning and the other absent Ministers; and said, that to his cer-
tain knowledge Mr. Canning would havc.been present on this
occasion were it not that unavoidable business, over which he had
no controul at a late hour in the day detained him elsewheri.
He had requested him to state how gratified he should haye
been had circumstances enabled him to he present, and how
much he regretted his absence on such an occasion.
The healths of the Vice-Presidents, the Committee, and their
Chairman, were then successively drank, after a few words in
acknowledgment, and in proposing them, front Mr. Rowcioft,
Mr. Gillespie, Mr. Bowles, and Mr. Buckle.

Mr. ROBINSON said, that surrounded as he was, not only
by the shipping interests, but by the general commercial, n-
terests of the country ; concentrated as they were in this, the
greatest commercial city in the world; and knowing how essen-
tially the prosperity of the State was connected with the pros-
perity of the city of London, he begged to take this opportunity
of proposing " Prosperity to the City of London. —Thzee
times three.

Mr. Alderman BRIDGES, in returning thanks, regretted the
absence, through indisposition, of his colleague Sir Wm. CurtiS,
who would have done Justice to the toast, and who was rarely
absent when the interests of the city of London were to be con-
sidered.

Mr. MARTIN proposed the health of Mr. MARRYAT, who
confined himself in acknowledging the compliment to the ex-
pression of his thanks.
The CHAIRMAN next gave " the health of Mr. J. Black-
hurne, and success to the Seaman's Hospital," " the ,West
India School Society and Lord MELv mix," as a Director of
each, returned thanks. _

Mr. GUTHRIE, in acknowledging the Stewards' healtiks,
pointed out to the company the necessity of replenishing the
funds of the Ship-owners' Society.
" The outward and homeward bound" was the • toast which
followed, and
The Earl of LxvEaroOL; in conclusion, said that there was
one toast which he had to give before they. parted, which was
peculiarly a-propos on the pretent occasion—kwas, " 'The
wooden walls of Old England,"—drank with great applause.
The Chairman and Cabinet Ministers left the room. at half-
past ten o clock. _ :t, • •
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Messrs. Taylor, Broadhurst, Leete, and Pyne, sang several
pleasing airs in the course of the evening.