The Sun.
London, England, 1838-09-15 00:00:00

OFTIIE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

One good result at least has accrued from the diseutsi::,
rind °there ise barren declamatien of the last fen.: sessions ;
she Legislature has exhibited itself
li*Fght of such in-
vompetencv to the country, that -0;1; pe4le are the by the ineiliciency- of their represeetativee to organise the
unplianees necessary to a b-etter svetern of legislation.
Under the impres:=ion
et in defeating the measures of
Reform proposed by -Ministers in the last Session they had
ffected the gre:d objectl of their party, as far as ?elates to
domestic &fairs, the Tories now direct their whole energy
egainst the foreign policy of the Administration. On this,
ho7iever, we at present forbear to pronounce an opinion,
because, vital as is its importance, and dangerous as is
the consequence of imbecile or timid diplomacy, tho
sef the. struggle within the bosom of the euontry must
stemp the tcnour, character, and coleur tot* our foreign
ixsiiry. The cue of the nation is at present to leok at
Lame; that of the Tories, with opposite consistency, is to
lank abroad for eviis to be redressed by internal agitation.
20 whatever sie'oject, however, popular attention may be
directed, we would above all things impress on the public
mind the necessity of adhering firmly to the object it may
ropose for its accomplishment. Let there be no vacilla-
tion of purpose. It is for the weak and the wicked to pur•
ate a tortuous policy, the direct and straightforward is the
roily safe course for :he people. Individilals awl parties
may endeavour to effect by wile what they are unable tr'
accomplish by more direct mean.; ; but the public needs
not the aid of stratagem or of sieinterfuge—the turn-e open and
direct its course, the more Certain its success. The time is
one for the enunciaf.on of practical truths, which are
certain to find a reF:ponse in the national bosom, however
"interested individuals may shrink from their promulgation.
Blame is cas..epon the people for not returning more Li-
'bend Rerxesentatives to Parliament under the extension of
she Siiifr‘aga -mide by the Reform Act ; but of what ad-
van;sagu is th, extension of the Suffrage without protection
tn. its exercise ? It is too much to expert the electors of
tioen.L Britain to encounter the persecution so frequently
ran in so many evays co tsequeat upoa the open exercise of
'the franchise, especially when, after the utmost sacrifices,
the party el4eted may prove unworthy of the trust reposed
in him. If the Ballot were in operation, so that the elec-
tors might exercise an independent and unbiassed vote,
I:nen, indeed, might they be with justice accused of allowing
unworthy and unfit individuals to be foisted into the repre-
sentation : but where the eleckrs are exposed to all man-
lier of undue influence, espeerly the vengeance of land-
lords, it is too much to expect them to prove martyrs to a
cause, to whb h, even by their martyrdom, they cannotinsure
a faithful advocacy. We look with deep anxiety to the result
of the meeting to be held in Palace-yard on next Monday.
At is incumbent on those who have taken a prominent part
iu popular proceedings now to come forward and give a
frank exposition of their sentiments. The working men
"have fairly invited discussion, and promised en attentive
consideration, even to the opinions of those who differ from
them ; therefore, in the present crisis., no Member of Par-
liament, calling himself Liberal, will disehargebis duty to
the nation, unless he give to his immediate constituents or
to the public an upright and rodnly expression of his views
on the condition and wants or the country. Westminster
bas long led the van ie the march of Reform ; and the pro-
ceedings of next Monday promise to give additional glory
to the locality. The High Bailiff has assented to take
the chair : deputations from the counties arc to be present,
:and Mr. Leader, with several other Members, have pro-
mised their attendance, so that the meeting may be looked
to with more than ordinary expectations. It is a most de-
sirable opportunity for the metropolitan Members to direct
the current of public opinion to those objects which they
believe to be most conducive to the public welfare. On
the Members of Westminster this direction to public opi-
nion is an important duty. Where is General Evans ?
Adecrtiser.

The waywardness of the Conservatives is such that they
Contrive to twist tvcry piece of intelligence into a proof
of tie decay of the influence of the British Government
with foreign powers. 'When we inform our readers that
she Spanish Minister has been received and the Queen of
Spain recrgnised at Constantinople, within a few days be-
fore the date of the last intelligence from that capital, and
that these proceedings arc owing to tho exertions of our
reraresentative there, we expect to hear the Times state
;gravely that the Emperor Nicholas has now obtained such
an ascendancy in Turkey, that he can afford to allow the
Grand Signor to exhibit a little complaisance now and then
towards the British Government. Another instance of the
influence of the British Government at Constantinople.
may equally be misconstrued ; but at the hazard of draw-
ing into the field such doughty champions as the Mar-
quis of Londonderry, Mr. Adolf Slade, or any of the
other great Times authorities, we will venture to allude to
it. Captain Townshend left Constantinople lately
with a frigate, carrying orders to Admiral Stopford
to cruise about with the Turkish fleet ; and, also, or-
ders to the Ca pit an Paella to join the Admiral.
If a Russian fleet were to cruise about with a Turkish
fleet, it would at once be inferred by our Tory Contempo-
raries that the sun of England was set for ever. We,
however, by no means wish to rush into the other extreme,
and, because the Turkish Government have the good sense
to prefer the English as instructors in naval manoeuvres to
any of their other allies, to infer that the English can do
everything at Constantinople. It is pretty clear, however,
that a step like this would not have been taken were there
not a very good understanding between the two. Govern-
ments. As the English Government can have no interest
at variance with that of Turkey, and, on the other hand,
must wish, above all things, to see that empire in a situa-
tion to resist the encroachments of its ambitious neigh-
bours, what we have stated is at all events a proof that the
Turks have the good sense to attach themselves to those who
are their real friends, So long as the Turkish fleet is with the
British, it will at least be safe. We have already alluded
to the commercial treaty which has been concluded be-
tween the British Government and Turkey. For the
last three or four years both England and other Powers
have in vain attempted to induce the Turks to consent to
such a treaty. The consequences of destroying monopo-
lies, prohibitions and restrictions throughout the Turkish
empire, must, in the first instance, be a great increase of
trade, and development of the resources of the fine
countries over which the rule of the Grand Signor extends.
But the commercial results, however important, are not the
only effects it will have. Politically, this treaty will, per-
haps, be still more important than commercially. It can
hardly fail to bring matters to a crisis with the Viceroy of
Egypt, who, with all deference to the Times and Mr. Adolf
Sleile, only flourishes by a system which creates desolation
nll around him. In Lord Lindsay's Travels, recently pub-
lished, there is a long letter from our Consul in Syria, to
which we all-dried, in which strong proofs were adduced
that the Viceroy of Egypt's great talents (for he is
undeuhtedly a clever man), were employed solely to
forvtard- his own srlish objects, and that his Govern-
ment was skilfully contrived to work the ruin of the
countries over which his sway extends. Permanent
dominion etnnot be the result of such a s:, stem ; and with
ali deference to the. Tories, the Times, and Mr. Adolf
Slade, and the Frenchmen who have crammed him, it
cannot he the interest of England, though it may be that
of rtussiA, to abet this powerful subject in his attempts to
break up the Turkish empire. Lord Ponsonby has had a
difficult time of it a ith the Urquhaqs and other wild en-
thusiasts, who, instead of forwarding his views, have only
involved him in difficulties. Between the extravagant
nataut of Mr, Urquhart that Turkey is a model for
other natiAss, ar:d that the Turkish institutions are
all perfect, and the opinion that it is useless to bestow
a thought on the Turks, as their empire must fall
to pieces, t!terc is a third way of viewing the subject.
Ita appears to us that Lord Ponsonhy is quite alive to
the defects of the Turkish rule, but that he does not
despair of the regeneration of the country under wise and
energetic ruler., provided it be allowed Lir play. At all I
events, judging from these effects of his agency as the re-
prcsentative of the English Government at Coust:intinoplr.,
we think he is entit:ed to credit for the s:(gaeity and
vigour of his prceeeding4. But we are prep wed for a
chanac iu ties la.ogn •g.. 1 of the Tories The Times will
t.(..1 us that Lord Pansonby ought to bare remained quiet
at his post, doing nothing to stir up the jealousy of Russia.
It would not at all zurprisa U 3 were our vcrrati!e Contem-
porary • of Printin
•n ,--house Square to betake itself to prove
that Russia is the p3tv,r dr all others which we should he
the most anxious to avoid off:ndirra, and that it is really
of no cons quenee %ILA becomes ( f Turk y. The at-
tempt to advocate a di-nlinuberment of Turkey, which
the taking; part with the Viceroy of Egypt really is, prep ires
us for any extr.aa;an,:e. and any hiconsisteney.---allorniog
Chruni le. _ _

---
It scents that a meeting of the popul tea is to take glace
in Westmuster or ::sionday next, for the corisid, rat.oll of
cc -tan v;:•ry weighty m Ito rs connected with the philosophy
of Goevrnment. Frain a Ltter which has been published
by the managers of this ii.tetrdcd me,,ting remonstrating
against to= I-An:irks of err., Nowspapers on the non-util.ty
of Universal Sutfra,r, it, mr,1u1..1 appear that these managers
arc n:.t wholly destitute of the capactty to state their views
With literary pr.:priety. There is neither violence nor
coarseness in the manner of their written address, nor any
very obvious violation of gra;nmar. Bat there is never-
theless, a lamentable wi-int of practical good sense.
Exci-pt for the plain il,•elaration of the full extent of their
revolutionary scrttialents, the document savours more of
Wbiggcry than of Radicalism, 6.. cause it so confidently. yet
quietly assumes dogmas fur axioms, and jumps to con-
clusion 7., without argument to support, or cridence to con-
irm them. If this written essay be a fair sample—and it
may be presumed to be a favourable one—of what is to be
erected from the meeting on Monday, it will, we fear,
turn out to be "a display of hnpes formed without founda-
tion, and of labours pursued without fruit." The points