The Sun.
London, England, 1836-03-04 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

La ruse la mien' ourdie
Peut nuire a sou inventeur,
Et seuvent la perildie
Retourne sur sou auteur.
La Fontaine.

Sir,—The English are pre-eminently distinguished for
that rara avis common sense—that indefinable kind of
talent which makes them come to right conclusions intui-
tively, and is by far the most valuable safeguard of their
liberties ; notwithstanding, therefore, that the Tories are
moving heaven and earth to blacken the character of Mr.
O'Connell, and throw odium upon all who may be disposed
to defend him, I feel confident that the plain, straight-
forward, anti-humbug people of England will see through
the whole job, and tear off the flimsy veil of sophistry
with which it is covered. If, however, any man is disposed
to halt between two opinions, let him candidly look at the
animus displayed in the investigation ; let him call to mind
bow for the last two months the pack have hallooed each
other on in the work of slander ; let him reflect on the gene-
rous sentiments that inspire his accusers, as evinced in the
never-to-be-forgotten speech of their precious little leader—
Lord Stanley. The Tories—the honest Tories—the pure
Conservatives—they who bad never sanctioned election
bribery or intrigue—neveidefended the system of close bo-
roughs—never sought or attained power per nefas—how
was it to be expected that their uninitiated olfactory nerves
could endure even the most distant odour of corruption ?
Their associates must be not only not guilty,: but, like them-
selves, clean from head to foot, and unsuspected. Some mur-
murs have indeed been heard of party feeling, prejudices, &c. ;
but these are simply idle ebullitions. What could animate
Messrs. STANLEY, SCARLETT, RAPHAEL, HARDY, et id
genus omne, but a stern law of country and justice,
a vigorous sense of right, such as MANLIUS might have glo-
ried in possessing ? Oh ! the patriotism of Tories ! HOw
beautifully it shines with its new varnish, " prick'd from
the chaff and ruin of the times !" How pellucid Its source !
how guileless its operations!
Nec viget quidquam simile, aut seeundum.

The greatest mishaps are often productive, in the end, of
some good ; and I will venture to say that neither RA-
PHAEL nor HARDY will ever again seek notoriety in the
most dangerous of all games, practical jokes. The sole ob-
ject of these worthies was to inculpate Mr. O'Connell ;
this was to " be the be-all and the end-all ;" but, alas / the
the hands that set the trap are themselves caught in it.
The tables are turned, and the plaintiffs become defendants.
The prosecutors must answer charges, and grave ones too ;
they it is who are suspected, and must feel the lash pre-
pared for their victim. We shall see of what stuff Carlow
Conservatism is made. Raphael, poor creature, could not
foresee this—but solemn John Hardy should have known
better than to have participated in the transaction. The
Member for Bradford, who is, I believe, a Reformer, ought
to have been better acquainted with the " slippery turns" of
his adversaries ; but experientia docet, and he will not again
be so ready in offering his services as the Sancho Panza of an
" incomprehensible" vagabond.
The Tories, be it observed, have taken no pains to con-
ceal their motives. The more cautious are silent, but the
many whose judgments are swamped by their feelings dis-
close to view the one grand object—the destruction of O'Con-
nell. His energy, his enthusiasm, his undaunted perseve-
rance and nervous eloquence, all daily and hourly employed
in demolishing what they most venerate, render him an
enemy dangerous in the extreme, and sinking minor
considerations, the delenda est Carthago is the motto' of
the unanimous body. With their accustomed short-sight-
edness, and eager for revenge, they behold only the perish-
ing individual, and completely pats over principles that
cannot die. They forget that were success to crown their
efforts, O'Connell's influence would be increased a thou-
sand fold ; they forget that persecution, like charity, covers
a multitude of sins, and throws a halo of consecrated glory
round the head of the political martyr ; they forget that
the probing knife of Reform searches and lays bare the in-
nermost workings of all public measures, which are no
longer allowed to sap in secret the foundations of Liberty.
Mr. O'Connell the other evening rightly applied the epi-
thet " dangerous " to his influence ; but who first produced
it ? Could such an inzperiunz in imperio exist if there were
not " something rotten in the state of Denmark"—if justice
had always been duly administered ? As a distinguished
foreigner, who has recently been among us, well observes
with respect to the position and power of O'Connell:
" This, say some, is merely a consequence of the madness
and revolutionary tendency of our times. But is this really
a satisfactory answer? Whence come, then, that madness
and that tendency unless there were political quacks who
first produce the madness and then complain of it e#
The roots of his extraordinary influence are deeply planted
in the aching hearts of thousands who are continually wa-
tering them with their tears. The oppressed, the hungry,
the infirm, the broken-hearted cling to their eloquent ad-
vocate, and prompt him with those burning expressions of
indignation, and that shrill cry for redress which make his
adversaries turn pale with rage and shame. A renegade
Press may continue to aim its venemous shafts against him,
and public men of some weight may degrade themselves to
the level of common liars;; yet will O'Connell come trium-
phant out of the storm, with power unshaken, and autho-
rity undiminished. Do JUSTICE TO IRELAND—his sove-
reign wand crumbles into nothingness.

MILO.

* " England in 1835," by M. Von Raumer. The public are
indebted to the Atheneum for several extracts from this interesting
work, which will shortly be published, translated by Mrs. Austin.
The Berlin Professor is already well known to the learned world,
and he appears to have been an acute and impartial observer of our
" sayings and doings." I should for one, however, have been more
pleased with him had he not spoken somewhat disparagingly of
Lord BROUGHAM ; wantonly abused the French ; and though last,
assuredly not least—sneered at the Grisi ! Now, it seems to me
that of these offences the first was out of place, the second out of
date, and the third out of spleen. Cuo is, after all, only one of
the nine.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

TATTERSALL' S.
THE PORTLAND HANDICAP, P.P.
3 to 1 agst Mr. Bowes's Mundig
6 to 1 agst Mr. Mostyn's Birdlime—taken
7 to 1 agst Mr. Greville's Dacre
7 to 1 agst Mr. Etwall's Revenge
7 to 1 agst Mr. Sowerby's Rioter
8 to 1 agst Mr. Cooke's Brother to Hope
10 to 1 agst Lord Chesterfield's Hornsea—taken
7 to 4 agst Birdlime, Rioter, and Revenge—taken
OAKS.
16 to 1 agst Mr. Scott's Skilful—taken

THE DERBY.
10 to 1 agst Lord Jersey's Nell Gwynne—taken
11 to 1 agst Mr. E. Peel's The Mummy—taken
15 to 1 agst Mr. Bowes's Brother to Maria
15 to 1 agst Lord Exeter's Muezzin, Bro. to Beiram
20 to 1 agst Mr. Ridsdale's Bro. to Bamfylde
25 to 1 agst Mr. Ridsdale's Neva colt—taken
40 to 1 agst Lord Chesterfield's Alfred
40 to 1 agst Mr. Gratwick's Aaron colt—taken

ST. ALBAN'S STEEPLE CHASE.

Notwithstanding the insignificant amount contributed to the
stake by the town, and the consequent smallness of the entry,
this race attracted a highly respectable company, and went off
with considerable spirit. The starting place was a long field
near Harpenden Bury farm, the winning flags being placed in
a large meadow near the cricket ground at the back of St.
Michael's. The four miles included between forty and fifty
fences, mostly light ones, three or four easy brooks, and the
river, which happened to be fordable at the part crossed by the
riders. There were a great number of ploughed fields in the
first two miles, but the latter part was wholly grass. The line
crossed the main road about a mile from the finish, the run in
from this part being so well selected that spectators could see
it without quitting the road ; indeed the greater part of the
distance was so near to the turnpike road that those who •were
on horseback or in carriages saw nearly the whole of the race.
At half-past three, instead of twelve, as advertised, the follow-
ing horses started :
Mr. Bryan's b. g. Red Deer to be ridden by 'Mr. Bean.
Mr. Elmore's gr. g. Grimaldi
Mr. Harris's ch. h. Prospero .. Mr. J. Mason
Mr. Firth's gr. m. Laurestina Mr. Powell.
Mr. Vetches b. h. Billiard Ball

Red Deer backed against the field for small sums, but no
other betting worth quoting. Prospero and Red Deer were
a trifle in advance on starting, but nothing like running was
made for the first mile, where Red Deer refused a fence in a
lane. Laurestina at this point took the lead, which she kept,
with Grimaldi, Red Deer, and Prospero close at her heels, fOr
about a mile and a half ; here she fell at a fence, threw her
rider, got away from him, jumped into the road, and ran nearly
into the town before she was caught ; Mr. Powell, we regret
to add, had his shoulder dislocated by the fall. Red Deer im-
mediately took up the work, followed by Grimaldi and Pros-
pero, and was first into the road, but refused the jump out of
it, and enabled Grimaldi and Prospero to precede him into the
field, the grey getting a start of sixty or seventy yards of Pros-
pero, and the latter almost as much of Red Deer ; these two,
however, gained upon him every stride, and at the fence (a
ditch, with a hedge and a drop on the other side), separating
them from the last field but two, they were within three lengths
of him ; the grey at first refused it, Prospero taking it and
being first inw the field, Red Deer following him ; Grimaldi
took it immediately after, caught his horses when about half-
way through the field, raced with Prospero about fifty or sixty
yards, outpaced him, resumed his lead, and won by three
lengths ; but had no sooner stopped than he reared up, fought
the air for a moment, and dropped ; he was bled instantly, but
in a few minutes the gallant animal ceased to exist. Red
Deer overreached himself in the middle of the last field but
one, tore off a shoe, fell, and came in third ; he was going very
well at the time. Billiard Ball was beaten off a long way.
When we quitted the town it was reported that an objection
had been made to Mr. Elmore's receiving the stake, on the
plea that Grimaldi did not return to the post. As Captain
Beecher brought his weight to the scale, we apprehend that
the objection is satisfactorily disposed of by No. 15 of the
Jockey Club rules, which decides, that " If a rider be disabled
by an accident which shall render him incapable of riding back,
he may be led or carried to the scale."

General Lord Lynedoch is, it is understood, to re-
tain the Governorship of Dumbarton Castle, which is not to
be abolished during the life of that venerable Nobleman.