The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-06 00:00:00

l ~ .

CITY OF LONDON ELECTION
(From the Cheltenham Examiner.)
We cannot help thinking that the House
.otfhPaeherdserhiaves
committed itself to a struggle from w ihshi
of
the
neither honour nor advantage. Itscham
obsolete principles of intolerance and exclusionP. is notP only
unwise but ill-thned arrayedtless. t
.s certain not to be
andl aec a ut shee iht hasg g
heagainst
stet
f t
hger growing
csuonceveicssfluonl,
the House of Ler&
thh.ee,riennwevhierhyet was an instance,
mass of the nation; and
and probably never rill.
a The po s thi
vote
en
whichadverse
threw t to
outt h e
hasge general
succeedederal
opinion
in
of tlretapmeolnpgle.
the Bill for admitting the Jews to Parliament was a grand
and elaborate mistake. Their Lordships had done enough
already to mark their disapproval of
_the measure in
throwing it out once; but to reject it again, when it
came recommended by increased majorities of the House
of Commons, was an act of sheer infatuation. Their
Lordships' decision on Tuesday evening was one which,
in the memorable language of one of themselves, will
" go forth without authority, and coene back without
respect." The majority of 3,515 in favour of Mr.
Rothschild's reelection must have alreudy convinced
them of that, for by that re-election they- stand com-
mitted to a struggle with the electors of London, in
which they must sooner or later be defeated.
Mr. Rothschild re-enters the walls of Parliament with
a prestige which he never possessed before, and which
has scarcely ever been possossed by any man since the
doors of Parliament were flung opea to the Catholic by
the Clare election. What Daniel O'Connell then did for
his creed Mr. Lionel Rothschild will now do for his. He
becomes, not simply the Landon merchant—the
representative of the first ci:y in the kingdom
—but the representative, and champion, and
embodiment of a great principle, In his Per-
son that principle will be fought out and carr'ieA.
No adverse vote of the House of Peers, though a dozc-n
times persisted in and repeated, will now turn the people
of London from the struggle in which they find them-
selves involved, They will fight out this principle as
they have fought out others before it. They will main-
tain the struggle 'as only an English constituency can
maintain it; and thoy will win the battle against intole-
rance and bigotry, as they and their fathers have won
hundreds before.
We have no wish to couvlain unfairly of the conduct
of the House of Lords, or to impugn their motives. We
have no doubt that many members of that House do
honestly and conscientiousl.,v believe that it would be
wrong to admit the Jew to PaT.liament. But let us look
for one moment at their posit,'on in reference to this
question, and the righttuluess or justice on their parts of
any offensive persistence in their p.‘•e.sent cond uct,as against
the repeated and unmistakeable expression
ht of the House
opinion. public
opinion. No one denies the abstr.act rig
measure ()f state
of Lords to modify or einventhveetopia,ent usYelaws of the
policy, or any change
realm, or any innovation on the
Constitution, as
to th fct,
(eufitnedeinlcthanenosttrictshleuttter
ooufrtheela.esws of Parliament;
bl
tha w t
this is a question which y
concerns primarily
and solely the constitution of the House of Com-
mons. No one as yet dreams of making a Jew a peer
of the realm, or a Privy Counsellor., or Lord High
Chancellor : the question is simply whether the peo?le
shall elect, and the House of Commons receive, a gen-
tleman against whom there is no shadow. of objection,
except that he is a Jew, and as a Jew refuses to blas-
pheme against his creed, by swearing "on the true
faith of a Christian."
Now, we submit that this is a question which may
fairly and properly be left to the people themselves, and
to the House of Commons, who are chosen b/ them. If
the public opinion in England was against the admission
of the Jew to Parliament, constituencies would ,aot confer
their suffrages on members of that persuasion. If there
were anything derogatory to, or contaminatory- of; the
House of Commons by the admission of Jews, majorities
of that House would not consent to their admission. But
the negative of both these propositions has been established
beyond all question—Baron Rothschild has been twice
elected by the largest and most intelligent constituency
in the empire, and the House of Commons has affirmed
by repeated majorities the proprie'y of those elections.
The principle contended for by the people has thus been
affirmed by the electors of London, by the House of
Commons, by the members of her Majesty's Government,
and (without at all trenching on the non-responsibility
of the head of the State), we may safely add by her
Majesty herself. The House of Lords, or rather some
ninety or a hundred Members of the House of Lords,
is the only party which opposes the measure, and
that opposition is, we take it, more on theo-
logical than on practical or constitutional grounds.
We cannot but rejoice, therefore, that the citizens of
London have confirmed Mr. Rothschild's election, be-
cause such a step is the surest way of bringing about a
solution of the difficulty. And we cannot but hope that
the House of Peers will, after this demonstration of
public opinion, give way to a power which they cannot
conquer, and before which they must ultimately succumb

THE LATE JAMES KNOX POLK.
The Eleventh President of the United States is no
more. Mr. Polk died last Friday night near Nashville,
of a chronic diarrhoea, after a very short illness. Pre-
sident Harrison closed his career within a month of the
day of his entrance upon the duties of his office; Presi-
dent Polk in about three months after his term had ex-
pired. Of eleven ex-Presidents, Messrs. Van Buren and
Tyler alone remain among us. Mr. Polk was the
youngest man ever inaugura'ed as President ; only
49 years and four months old when he took office. His
connexions were members of the old revolutionary party
who bad aided and favoured independence before and
during the war of 1776. James Knox Polk was
born in Mecklenburgh County, North Carolina, No-
vember 2. 1795, and at the time of his decease was 53
years and seven moths old. Some accounts make
his ancestors Irish, others Scotch; some say their
original name was Pollock, others that it was Polk.
We think it probable that they emigrated to the colo
Dies from the north of Ireland. It appears that his
branch of the family had resided in Maryland, in Penn-
sylvania, in North Carolina, and finally removed to Ten
n,,ssee. Andrew Jackson stated, in 1844, that he had
known James lima Polk from his boyhood, and that " a
citizen more exemplary in his moral deportment, more
punctual and exact in business, more energetic and
manly in his expression of his opinions, and more
patriotic, does not live." Mr. Polk's father is, we think,
still alive—he was a farmer and removed to Tennessee
in 1800, when James Polk was in his 11th year; it is
also said that he acted as a surveyor, and with bii
family had to toil hard for a living in the valley of the
Duck river, then a wilderness. James Polk was the
oldest of ten children, acquired the rudiments of an
English and classical education near his home, and
after years of suffering from a very painful complaint
was relieved by a surgical operation. He gained high
honours at the University of North Carolina, was assi-
duous, persevering and regular in his attendance, a good
mathematical and classical scholar. In 1819 he began
to study the law with the celebrated Felix Grundy, of
Nashville; was admitted as a member of the bar of
Tennessee in 1820; and was well employed in his line.
He served as clerk to the Tennessee Legislature,
was next a member for Maury, his place of residence,
and in 1825, in his 30th year, elected to Congress. It
he was opposed to a national bank, he hesitated to ex-
press that opinion for the first two years in which
ho sat in Congress ; but after Mr. Van Buren went
to Washington as secretary, to wit, in August, 1830,
Mr. Polk began to give the Tennesseans some hints about
" the monster." Upwards of 24 years since he married
the daughter of Mr. Joel Childers, a merchant of
Rutherford county, Tennessee. Mr. Polk had no children
'—was unostentatious, quiet, domestic, and religious—
not fowl of show, dancing, dissipation, and late hours.
Mr. Polk was a member of the Presbyterian church.
It is greatly to his credit that he had the reputation of
being no duellist, no gambler, but a steady opponent to
speculation. He was 14 years in Congress, and two or
three of these years Speaker, having been chosen in
December, 1835, and in September, 1837. No more
thorough-going party man could be found than Polk;
he was very industrious, and, while on the floor of Con-
gress was reported never to have missed a vote. As he
received a vote of thanks at the close of the session of
1837 for his impartiality as Speaker, it may be inferred
that he had great control over his temper. He was a
ready debater, delivered long and animated speeches, and
was one of the few hardworking legislators in his day.
To those who saw him when on a visit to this city,
during his Presidential term, his countenance and
manner bore the impress of anxiety and care. In
his intercourse with the public he was affable and
courteous; his voice was strong but unmusical ; he was
clear-headed, and capable of grasping, comprehending,
and explaining complicated matters of public interest; a
polite and attentive listener ; and so regular and devout
in early life that during the four years that he was at
college he (Mr. Polk) never once missed prayers. His
per,onal character was irreproachable. "Of Mr. Polk,
as a private gentleman, and as known to us in his social
and domestic relations," said the editors of the National
Intelligencer, " we have no disposition to speak otherwise
than with entire respt ct."—New York Tribune.
Or

PosT-OFFICE NoricE.—Scariff, county Clare, Ire
land, having been constituted a post town, the post-
office there will be opened for the issue and payment of
money orders on and after the 6th instant.
BEACON ON THE GOODWIN SANDS.—During the
last few days, several men under the direction of the
Trinity Board have been employed on the Goodwin,
about midsand. It appears the object is to force, by
means of atmospheric pressure, several lengths of cylin-
drical iron tubes into the sand until some solid mate-
rial is arrived at; each length of tube is about 10
feet long and 2i in diameter, but although six lengths
securely fastened have been made to penetrate
a depth of about 60 feet beneath the surface, no
foundation has yet been reached. It is in contemplation
as soon as a substratum sufficiently firm is found, to place
several tubes of similar dimensions at approximate dis,
tances, and to erect a beacon thereupon. Should the
attempt succeed,
and sanguine expectations are enter-
tained that it will, there exists little doubt of the impor-
tant effect of a structure of this kind, in diminishing the
—Doversnou LeKleguritasp!„%A.
amount of danger to shipping on a spot proverbial for
its disasters and fatal consequences to life and prep -rty.
foun-
dation-stone of the l •
LMSHOUSES —Wednesday the foun -
the metropolitan master boot and shoe makers, at Mort-
out being erected by
lake, as an asylum
observancesio by R. Taylor,
decayed members of the trade,
Esq., president of the instirtyu*
will contains habitations for 14 individuals. proposed erection
d entirelyTh e funds,
by
now exceeding 5,0001., have been suvlrscurailbse
cluittoAllpirrovAildeSatelLtZ;
persons connected with the shoe trade.
f.T
townprAc
councilAiusE U
have
v eANreDsolLvei
TheP
the requisite accommodation and en tt d a ance for done.
tions, &c., in a mansion-house, in Peel's-park, to which
the public will have free access at all resonabl
A rate of ar a id. per pound way afterw dbe "times.
authorised,--
Ruilder.

HOUSE 0 F LORDS, July 6.
Their Lordship., ass(-0 iblf d at. Five o'clock.
'ers from the. Comm.Jus brought up certain
Bil\ilel4
s:
Lord
6s
I3IIOUGHAM pt esented a petition from Ham-
mersmith prt Lying for an alteration in the laws relating
to the sale of br:er.
The Marqui A of BREADALBANE presented a peti-
tion from the General Assembly of the Free Church of
Scotland, praying for the abolition of the present tests
in the Univer 3ities.