The Sun.
London, England, 1831-09-23 00:00:00

sling, and that it would not require a vast deal of rhetoric
to persuade men, already impatient under suffering., to
have recourse to measures of a very efficacious nature.
They see that the time for trifling is past—that no class of
men can now be suffered to indulge in caprices, from
which such serious consequences may result ; and hence,
with heart and soul, all classes, rich and poor now pull
together. The meeting this day of the merchants, bankers,
and traders of the metropolis—men to whom peace and
order are of the first importance, and who know well what
would he the consequence of the slightest diminution of
confidence—will show the Peers, in a way not to be mis-
understood, that the wealth as well as industry of the
nation is bent on Reform. Earl Grey, from his announc-
ing a wish to consult the convenience of the House in
fixing on a distant day for the second reading, if there were
no discussion on the first, would seem to have been aware
that no attempt would be made to throw out the Bill in
the outset. After the second reading, we presume that
the Bill will proceed without delay.—Morn. Chronicle.
The argument of Sir R. Peel, that because Mr. Ri-
cardo and Sir H. Parnell thought, heavy as the taxation
of the country was, it might still outgrow it, we ought
therefore to take no security against the possibility of
future additions to it, was curious enough. " That there
was much taxation," said the Right Honourable Baronet,
" could not he denied; but he had the authority of the
ablest political economists—lie had the authority of Mr.
Ricardo and Sir Henry Parnell for declaring that the
people of this country were taxed less in proportion to
their means than the people of any country in the world.
4Tbe Right Honourable Baronet here read an extract
from Sir Henry Parnell's work, entitled Financial Re-
form, in which the author speaks of the energy which
existed in this country, and treated the difficulties under
which it was labouring as temporary in their character.]
How, with such opinions, the Right Honourable Baronet
(Sir Henry Parnell) could call upon him (Sir Robert
Peel) to consent to alter the Constitution of the country,
he was at a loss to conceive." Sir Robert Peel has not been
just towards Sir Henry Parnell, because, though Sir Henry
admits the energy and powers of the country, he also dwells
on the enormous waste of the public income, on the abuse of
superannuations, and other modes of quartering the children
and dependents of the higher classes on the country. All
these abuses flowed necessarily from the corrupt state of
the representation. No Minister, as is well known, durst
hint at economy till a falling off in the produce of the
taxes gave rise to discontent ; and then a Finance Com-
mittee was merely intended as a blind to the public. And
when latterly in the House, Ministers were a little press-
ing on economy, Mr. 'ferries plumply told Members that
they were always disposed to go farther in the way of
etonomy than the House would allow them. The country
is no doubt possessed of great energy ; but the borough-
mongers are possessed of still greater rapacity. The country
might outgrow its present taxation, but the borouglimon-
gers would take care to take equal strides with the ration.
The nun in the fable, however quickly lie walked, found
that his shadow kept pace with him ; and the borough-
mongers would keep pace with us, however quirkly we
might run. It is good to belong to an industrious arid
energetic nation ; but it is not good that the funds of that
indostry and energy should serve to maintain not mere!),
the industrious and energetic themselves, and the indivi-
stluals necessary for-the public service, hut also a number of
noble and genteel paupers, who might as well he employed
in adding to tlie resources of the nation as in diminishing
the weans of enjoyment of others.-Ilforning Chronicle
The efforts which the Ministerial Journals of Paris are
now making to purify, in the eyes of the nation, the
Cabinet of Louis Philippe from the disgrace which its
polity towards Poland has brought upon it, cannot he sue_
cessitel snail justice, truth, and honour perish altogether
from the' earth, and public virtue ceases to receive even a
hypocritical homage among mankind. To all the elabo-
rent sophistry which those journals have recourse to in
vindication of the weak and treacherous conduct of the
Trench Ministry, diirine a struggle which did not 'wren
affect the existence of Poland, hut involved the interest,
of France and the rights and hopes of civilized Europe
ras opposed to the increasing power of that giant barbarism
Which threatens at some day to overwhelm them, there is
one short, decisive, and resistless answer. It is the reek-
ing sacrifice of Warsaw—enveloped in flame and carnage—
with the bitted of her slaughtered inhabitants—filling to
the brim the last trenches of freedom, and crying up to
Heaven for vengeance ! Shall the blood of Poland cry to
Heaven in vain ? That question is at the disposal of an
Almighty Power, who will remember justice, and wh.
saith " Vengeance is mine." But the earthly Powers
that might have averted the calamity that inflicts upon
Europe the crime of the third desolation of Poland, woule
now endeavour to escape from the reproach of that atro-
cious massacre which they permitted, and to leave a.,
Russia the undivided infamy of that guilty triumph at which
they connived. As to the Governments of Prussia and Aus-
tria,the infamous partiality of their conduct during their con-
flict between Poland and Russiawas to be expected of them.
Prussia especially violated the principal of neutrality in
every thing but actually taking up arms against the Poles.
British property was seized in its transit through that
State to Warsaw—British and French passports treated
with contempt, and British and French subjects illegally
detained upon their journeys ; but no remonstrance worthy
of England and France escaped the lips of either th.
British or French Minister for Foreign Affairs, in vindi-
cation of the insulted national honour, which it was their
duty to protect. In diplomatic tact and flame, Sebaatiani.
though infinitely superior to Lord Palmeraton, rivalled hilt
in a truckling subserviency to the arrogant injustice of the
Prussian Government. Cautious at first in its vexatious
proceedings, the Court of Berlin, emboldened by the feeble-
ness or connivance of French and English policy, soon
threw off all disguise. and assisted the hostile operations o.
Russia without moderation or decency—furniatiing het
armies with supplies, and with all the materiel of war,
with as much z al as she intercepted every thine of the
sort, or suspected to be intended for that purpose, on in
way to Poland. We gave some time ago an account of
the seizure of the property of a British merchant in in
passage through Prussia, and the sort of redress which
he obtained at the hands of Lord Palmerston- But
we never supposed this third-rate pupil of the school o
Castlereagh had the capacity, intelligence, or principle,
which would qualify him to fill with credit to himaelf, or
advantage to the country, the important office for which
the evil genius of a Whig Administration selected him ;
we are therefore not surprised that the honour, the cha-
racter, and the interests of the country, have suffered
in the most important of our foreign relations. When
we first charged Prussia and Austria with a violation of
the principle of neutrality with regard to Poland, we re-
collect that the Courier denied the charge, by opposing to
public facts its own inference—namely, that it was the
interest of those States to aesist rather to oppose the esta-
blishment of Polish independence, and therefore it was
not possible they could show any partiality for Russia. It
was in vain for us to say there was no reasoning against
facts, and to argue that although those States feared Rus
elan ambition ever so much, they dreaded freedom, in
every shape, still more; but we must do the Courier the
justice to say that when the evil became very flagrant, that
journal warmly denounced the conduct of the Prussian
ainoverament, though it still endeavoured to screen that
official weakness at borne which encouraged its insolent in.
justice. But if the despotic genius of the States of Prus-
sia and Austria, along with the criminal consciousness of
being themselves sharers in the plunder of oppressed and
defrauded Poland, naturally made the Governments of
those countries anxious for the success of the Russian
arms, neither of those causes existed to induce the Eng-
lish Cabinet to sympathise with the council of the
autocrat; but, on the contrary, as free States, they bad
An interest in seeing that the freedom of Poland was
secured as it had been guaranteed to her by the Treaty
of Vienna, to which England and France were subscribing
parties. Was it an inflexible attachment to the principle
of non- interference which prevented our Whig Ministry
front remonstrating, in a manner worthy the character of
tile British nation, on behalf of the holy cause of Poland,
of justice, and humanity ? Alas ! their volumiineas pro
tocols and multiplied conferences on the affiirs of Belgium
and Holland take away from them such a subterfuge. But
the Holy Alliance were the associates of England and
France iu the " settlement" of the affairs of Belgium, and
the Holy Alliance were opposed to any Intervention by
England and France on behalf of Poland ; and it must
be admitted that the great despots of the Continent have
hitherto found the Administration of revolutionized France
tend the Whig Ministry of Great Britain abundantly sub.
eervient. The French Government is attempted to be
delsended by the Messager des Chambred, on the ground
that as France could give no assistance to Poland in the
years 171;:1-5, it was not to be expected that it could
afford Any at the present time. But the two cases are
not parallel. Frai:Ce had then not only to sustain a ter
rible war along the Whole line of her frontiers against
the armies of the Contineotal despots, but to oppose, in
addition, the mighty power and Yast resources of England
--that England, without whose fleet and whose
'
treasures the whole united strength oth
des-
pots would have sunk for eovl•se, r
db
ieffneeraet.nht t iteiee s
rior genius of France.
ease
now, Lobate` n energetic re-
when England is the friend Instead of the enemy
of France ! We are quite confident
monstrance from both those Powers,
of Poland; nor
en from Eng-
land alone, would have averted the fate
tnity of tngl")d?
With the certainty of provoking she hos ,