The Sun.
London, England, 1822-04-27 00:00:00

THE LONDON JOURNALS.

EXTRACTS FROM THE D 111,Y MORNING PAPERS,

April 27, 1822.

, [MORNING POST.]
So far as we have yet had means of ascertaining,
the effect of Lord John Russell's speech has been
such as we yesterday predicted. The Reformers,
instead of attempting to shew that he made out
even a plausible case, are either silent on the
subject, or merely express their approbation of
his Lordship's industry in collecting general in-
formation.. In our opinion, the Noble Lord is
inherently too much a Gentleman to be a useful
instrument for factious purposes. He is not suf-
ficiently disposed, or drilled, to the practice of
suppressing truth, distorting facts, and all the
other arts of low pettifogging partizans, to pro-
mote a mere party object, by his advocacy of it.
So little instructed is the Noble Lord in Oppo-
sition tactics, that we doubt not he felt some
pleasure in depicting, as he did, the unex-
ampled strides in prosperity, happiness, and
greatness, which the country has made within
the short space of thirty years. But this
task, so gratifying to any man of unsophisticated
heart or mind, was wormwood to the Faction,
whose sole business and only comfort is to paint
our situation in the odious and wretched colours
which their own jaundiced politics throws upon
every thing. Lord John Russell, however, so
far as his statement went, told the truth, and by
doing so, as we have already observed, cut away
the only ground on which his motion for Reform
could stand. In insisting on this conclusion, we
adopt the principle on which the Reformers
themselves proceed. Why, and from whom,
almost exclusively, is there a call for Reform at
present ? Merely because accidental circum-
stances press at this moment on the Agricultural
classes ; and, therefore, out of the whole king-
dom, petitions have been presented from a por-
tion of the owners and occupiers of land in nine
counties ; and the same prayer has been fastened,
as a rider, on a few other petitions in favour of
Hunt! But again—what is the avowed object of
these petitioners in seeking Reform ? To obtain
relief—to remove the existing distress, and pre-
vent its recurrence in future. Hence we have the
authority of the Reformers themselves, that pro-
sperity is the test of good Government. With
this admission, then, let them meditate upon
Lord John Russell's statement of the astonishing
prosperity of the country for the last thirty years,
and they must, on their own grounds, concur
with us, that there cannot, in the annals of the
World, have been so excellent a Government as
we have had since the year 1790. We must fur-
ther observe, that it is only by round terms of
time lite this, that we can estimate the effects of
a political system. Because the Agriculturists,
in the unavoidable vicissitudes of affairs, happen
to be depressed now, it is no evidence against
the goodness of the Government generally. If
we were to proceed by a contrary rule, it should
be admitted, that iu 1813, when they were
wallowing in prosperity, our Constitution was
perfect, though the fact is, it has every day
since been improving. The Commercial. and
Manufacturing Interests who at present are
flourishing to so remarkable: an extent, might
also assert on this principle that they are
now living under the best form of Constitution,
-while the AgricUlturists stigmatize it as the worst.
The -true criterion, however, is to take a period
of twenty or thirty years, and, including all the
irregularities occurring during that interval, as-
certain how, on, the whole, every class .in the
country, or in other words, the country itself, for
that time progressively advanced in every re-
spect. Lord j ohn Russell has shewn us that it
has, and to such an amount as baffles the imagina-
tion to conceive how it poisiblY could, under• any
system, have advanced more. It may likewise
be observed that many, indeed almost the whole
of those things mentioned by his- Lordship to
have so wonderfully increased, are,properly speak-
ing, luxuries—they are for gratifying 45cial not
physical wants, and enjoyed by the -humblest
ranks of the people.

[MORNING CHRONICLE.]

Lord John Russell established by a variety of
tests, some of them highly ingenious, that the
feelings and interests of the body of the people
of England are not represented in the House of
Commons. Without losing himself in the de-
bateable ground of the ancient state of the Re-
presentation, he shewed that it was at least for-
merly 'much more popular than it is now, and

further, • that while wealth and intelligence were
every day ,g,iving`more and more importance to
the middle classes (" the classes who were hap-
pily removed from the influence of those crimes
and vices which too frequently characterised the
indigent, and the rich and luxurious"), the
House of Commons was becoming every day more
and more the property of the Aristocracy. The
sort of reasoning by which Mr. Canning attempts
to support this system was very well exposed by
Lord Folkestone; By the help of generalities,
• and the artifices of sophistry, Mr. Canning, and
those who reason like him, may perplex under-
standings not trained to reason with correctness.
iinVevery day the number of the deluded di-
minishes. That there have been, and, are, many
conscientious opponents of Reform in this coun-
try; no one can doubt, and if, the Reformers had
been more anxious to persuade than liberal in
abusing their opponents, the cause would not
thereby have been a loser. It is a remark of
Hume, that the English are a very candid people ;
and though we are inclined to believe the im-
provement which has taken place in so many
other respects has been accompanied with the
drawback of no little hypocrisy, especially in
the upper classes (and we cannot give a better
instance .of this than the late disgusting justifica-
tion in the House of Commons of the mean and vin-
dictive treatment of Mr. Hunt, with reference to
Mrs. Vince, knowing, as every one does, the
conduct of and the notions entertained on such
subjects by the Aristrocracy in general), yet
candour is .still a leading feature in the English
character. If, therefore, due pains were taken
to disentangle sophistries, and to give to the ar-