The Sun.
London, England, 1838-08-02 00:00:00

listened to the affecting detail of the sufferings of
their fellow-subjects in the Highlands of Scotland, but
they contributed their money w;th a liberality and
promptitude which proved the means of saving thou-
sands from death. A fund of princely extent was im-
mediately raised, and from that fund the necessaries
of life were forthwith supplied to all who stood in need
of them. The amount collected exceeded the tem-
porary exigencies of the case. It furnished the famish-
ing Highlanders with food until the bounties of Pro-
vidence rendered unnecessary any further assistance
from charity. And even, after this great and glorious
triumph of humanity had been achieved, the sum of
20,0001. remained in the hands of the Committee. It
has pleased Providence to visit ane,v the population of
Shetland with all the horrors of famine. The pain-
ful fact is vouched for by the Clergymen in the dis-
trict, and by other eye-witnesses of undoubted vera-
city. And yet, with the knowledge that the original
objects of the benevolence of our countrymen are as
much in need of charity as ever, the London Com-
mittee sit down, and deliberately vote away the
20,000/., which would just be adequate to the relief
of the famishing Highlanders, for the purpose of build-
ing an hospital, and promoting scriptural education !
Amore flagrant breach of faith with the public, a more
daring disregard of the wishes and resolutions of
those who placed,their money in their hands, was never,
we repeat, committed by any body of individuals.
How any man could have the audacity to stand
up and make such a proposition to the Committee,
does, indeed, surprise us ; but that the propo-
sition should not only be listened to, but adopted,
is certainly surpassingly strange. Our wonder is,
that every individual present did not resent the base
proposition as a personal insult. A body of men are
appointed to appropriate a certain amount of money to
the relief of perishing Highlanders; in their hands is
vested no discretionary power whatever, with regard to
the purposes to which the money shall be applied ;
and yet a man has the assurance to propose to the
Committee that they shall, instead of appropriating it
to the relief of its legitimate objects, erect an hospital
and promote scriptural education with it ! Where was
the spirit ? Where the feeling of honour ? Where,
above all, was the sense of justice of the Committee,
when they did not only scout this proposition, but hoot
the party making it out of the room ? So far from
doing either, they adopted his suggestion ; they agreed
to his motion. It shall not be our fault, if they have
not a practical illustration speedily afforded them of
the well-known adage, " That honesty is the best
policy." Their resolution to expend the money in the
erection of an hospital, or in tire spread of scriptural
knowledge, must be rescinded, and the money must yet
go to its proper destination, and be appropriated to its
proper purposes. A word or two on this point to-
morrow.—Morning Advertiser.
A new and fierce accord, breathing enmity and in-
sult towards France, is manifest in almost all the Jour-
nals of Germany, North and South. No doubt this is
in part a tribute of welcome flattery to the Czar on his
visit to that country, and shows a desire on the part of
Courts and Court-organs to stand well with the Impe-
rial visitor. The Augsburg. Gazette stands foremost
in the chorus, and its articles, whether dated from Ber-
lin, or from Switzerland, or from Vienna, are all preg-
nant with insult and defiance to France. We have
reason to believe that the acerbity of the German Press
is not the result of its own ill humour, or of its
writers' wish to flatter, but proceeds from the feelings
and passions of those who have deeper influence. The
august presence of the Czar has gone far to carry all
hearts with him ; and though we are well aware that
the true Statesmen, Metternich and Werther, backed
by their Royal and Imperial masters, are prepared to
put a veto upon any wild crusading schemes of the
Czar, still it is clear that those feelings of mistrust and
dislike to France and its new dynasty, which the ad-
dress and conciliatory policy of Louis Philippe had
succeeded in softening down for a time, have revived
with undiminished inveteracy. The King of the
French is ten segecions not to acct pt the lesson, and
the conclusion too obviously to be drawn from this
state of things. When Belgium was to be withheld
from adding fuel to the dangerous flame of religious
excitement, caused by the abduction of the Prelate of
Cologne, how honied were the words of Prussia. A
continuance of the same language, a reciprocity of
good offices, might now be expected from her. But,
no : the dreams of Prussian friendship, if ever Count
Mole or Louis Philippe entertained such, have
vanished into air, and prove as fallacious as those
dreams of an Austrian alliance which lulled and
softened the pillow of a former French Minis-
ter. Well and good : it is far preferable that
France should know by experience and facts,
than by mere reasoning, where lies her true sup-
port. The King of Holland and his great supporters
certainly deserve credit for address and management in
bringing about this levee de boncliers on the part of
the German powers against Belgium and France. We
have learned, however, that the address of Filch has
not been disdained by Dutch diplomatists, and that a
notable robbery of State documents has been one of
the acts employed by the Absolutists on this occasion.
Morning Chronicle.
As the Session is now rapidly drawing to a close,
it may be worth while to inquire what the Tories have
gained during the nine months' sitting of Parliament
by their opposition to the measures of Ministers ?
Do the Tories stand a jot better with the country,
or the Whigs a jot worse ? On the contrary,
have not the Whigs been constAntly gaining ground,
not in the confidence of their friends only, but even
of their enemies, while the Tories have lost weight
and influence exactly in the proportion that it has
been acquired by their political opponents ? One
point we take to be quite clear—that the Tories have
been unable to accomplish anything in the House of
Commons. They began their career in the new Par-
liament with vast hopes, and for weeks before the
meeting of the two Houses their organs gave out that
Ministers would not be capable of resisting the earliest
division, and that the first fortnight of the Session
would see Sir Robert Peel again at the head of the
Government. The Whigs were to be suppressed at
once, and the possibility of their return to power for
ever extinguished. " Threatened men are lone
lived," says the proverb, and so it is with
threatened Ministries. The Tories son found that
they could do nothing, ; that, notwithstanding
their boasted numbers, they were considerably in
the minority, and they must wait until election
committees had turned out a large body of Libe-
rals and seated as many Conservatives. Here again
the unhappy Tories were destined to he disappointed ;
they reckoned without their host, and the result of the
various inquiries before selected tribunals, left them,
if anything, in a still worse condition. In the mean
time the disturbed state of the Canadas had given
them a glimpse of hope that the Government might be
embarrassed ; but with grief they saw Ministers ex-
tricate themselves from this difficulty with address and
determination. The revolt was at once put down,
and effectual means were adopted for removing admit-
ted grievances and securing an improved system of
colonial administration. What then was to be done ?
What could be done ? The unfortunate Tories were
willing to avail themselves of any expedient, but none
presented itself. Long speculative debates were got
up which terminted in no practical result ; but
still served to postpone the really important busi-
ness of the Session. This was something, be-
cause it could then be asserted that Ministers had
delayed their measures until so late a period that
it was impossible to give them due consideration. So
far so good : there was no advantage, however insig-
nificant, of which the Tories were not eager to avail
themselves. All was gain to them, and in the mean
favour.
the boards,Their
atime there was no
their knowing what might not turn up in
gamestill nd a was a sal desperate,eveil
tevents,
if
hbtute
i t was
upon worst
came. tTohtehye
hoped that Heaven some miracle would show,
Attlnide for theirht
h sakes theme sund ‘t
owould
be backward
only h
rd
chance, but
the sun obstinately refused to alter its course, and as
•
the Whig Government would not alter its course and
give way to the Tories, they hit upon the stratagem of
sending two notorious turn-coats into the great manu-
facturing districts, in order, if possible, to produce
something that would look like a reaction in public
opinion. The issue of this remarkable experiment is
well known. The twin worthies went their round, re-