The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-02 00:00:00

SAN,

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
CHRONICLE.—A person of the name of Cochrane, who
has lately, as some of our readers may have chanced to ob-
serve, been laying himself out for notoriety, as a political
busy-body, by way of introduction to the suffrages of a me-
tropolitan constituency, has at length fairly succeeded in
establishing a sort of a claim to public notice. So long as
the individual in question was known only as one of the
illustrious obscure, who please themselves with fancying that
a certain obtrusive loquacity is a valid title to the confidence
of English electors, there was of course nothing to do but
let the absurdity run its course, and go quietly out in the
natural way. Even the stimulant and attractive heading,
" City of Westminster Election," was insufficient to give
interest or dignity to what it was impossible to look at
in any other light than as an awful heavy joke.
As 'Westminster happened, moreover, to be well enough
suited with a candidate already, no practical inconvenience
could arise from treating nonsense as nonsense, and letting
Mr. Cochrane, or Mr. Anybcdy, recreate himself in his own
fashion. Nobody cared to inquire who or what Mr. Coch-
rane might be—first, because it did not in the smallest de-
gree signify, as regarded any apparent practical purpose,
who or what Mr. Cochrane was, and next, because the seem-
ing anxiety of this gentleman to advertise himself in every pos-
sible way operated as a damper on one's speculative curiosity.
The secret was sofe, since nobody dreamed that there could
be any secret worth knowing about a person at once so un-
important and so garrulous. The prying industry of an
evening Contemporary—or rather of our Contemporary's
correspondents—has, however, had the effect of lending a
momentary interest to an otherwise ridiculous and insipid
affair. Certain letters have appeared is the columns
of Vie Sun, reviving disagreeable reminiscences of a va-
gabond imposter who once rejoiced in the name of
Don or Senor Juan de Vega, and to whom, as our contem-
porary's correspondents suggest, in terms pointed rather than
conceivable degree of consanguinitytrilbanq, that of down-
right-personal identity. Mr. Cochrane is accordingly re-
quested to enlighten the Westminster public on this point of
his history—the only point on which the Westminster public
have ever betrayed the faintest curiosity. Mr. Cochrane's
answer to what, under the circumstances, must be allowed
to be a very natural and legitimate question, consists, first,
in a threat of an action against The Sun for defamation ,
of character, and next, in a public confession of the youthful
" indiscretions," or frolics" heretofore fathered on Don or
Senor Juan -de Vega. From this moment, of course,
our illustrious obscure may safely assure himself
of that public notice which he has so long been vainly
craving, thongh we cannot exactly promise him that noto-
riety
will come in the shape desiderated. There is now a
dash of romance about the thing, which may at least serve I
idle people for a nine days' wonder. Plain, vulgar Mr.
Cochrane could not so much as get himself laughed at ; but
Juan de Vega is a fair circulating-library name, and smacks
of mystery. Everybody will be wanting to know about
Juan de Vega, especially as the fellow is said to have been a
decided scamp, and to have played the guitar. It is super-
fluous to observe that the oddity of a Parliamentary candi-
date, on the flaming patriot interest, answering a plain
question through his lawyer, is of itself a sufficient stimulus
to popular curiosity. We cannot undertake to present our
refuters with anything like a complete account of the
real or imaginary life and adventures of Don or Senor
Juan de Vega. A very brief summary will, however, suffice
for those practical purposes with which alone we are now
concerned. This Juan de Vega was, then, be it known to
the electors of Westminster, an exiled Spanish Nobleman in
disguise, who tramped about the country some years back,
on a tour of minstrelsy and mendicancy—picked up all he
could get in the way of cash, kindness, and broken victuals—
wormed himself into the good graces of many worthy and
respectable families of the most gullible class of British
society, who made the unfortunate and interesting refugee
free both to their sympathies and their dinners—and finally
wound up the " frolic," by publishing a disgusting book,
foully slandering the wives, daughters, sisters, and ser-
vants of his kind-hearted dupes. In two words, Don
or Senor Juan de Vega was an excellent subject
for the discipline of the cart's tail and the horse-
pond. It is a matter, of course, of the smallest possible
concern to us whether Mr. Cochrane be capable or not of
knowing good advice when he sees it. But as we wish the
simpleton no harm, we make him kindly welcome to the
benefit of our very decided opinion that he had better let the
memory of his "youthful indiscretions" go quietly to sleep
again, as soon as may be. We do not suppose there can be
much use in advising such a person, and we certainly do not
feel disposed to take any particular trouble about so unpro-
mising an experiment. It, however, he should think proper
on our well-meant suggestion, to refrain from enlarging the
catalogue of his " indiscretions," and to throw him-
self at once on the mercies of public oblivion, we shall always
feel a Christian satisfaction in the idea of having been in-
strumental in sending home a fool to be taken care of by his
friends.
WEEKLY DISPATCH.—Ma. CocnneNE AND TAM
REPRESINTATION OF WEATIAINSTES.-1 hat remarkably vain
and equally silly personage, Mr. Cochrane, who has lately
rendered himself conspicuous as a working member of the
Poor Man's Guardian Society, and by poking his nose into
soup-kettles, and all for the sake of gaining a little popu-
larity ere the struggle for Westminster's representation take
place, has threatened the worthy proprietor of The Sun with
as action, because he has admitted into the columns of his
independent journal a number of letters relating to one Juan
de Vedra, and who, it was hinted by the writers, is no less a
personage than Mr. Cochrane himself. Two or three meet-
ings of the electors, all consequent n on the appearance of
the letters in The Sun, have since ken place ; and from
(cleat transpired at those meeting,. -e advise Mr. Cochrane,
iitieetriameeeep.reeeree...,eor his ceeeeuei the case euto...be.-,
to- those who had not an opportunity of perusing an
article on the subject of the election of Westminster, inserted in
the Dispatch last week, we may repeat, that sonic years
since one Juan de Vedra travelled the counties of Kent and
Sussex as a Spanish minstrel. He was a smart foppish sort
of a fellow, who thought every girl who Caine in contact
with hint deeply smitten with his personal appearance. His
black, glossy hair, rendered still more glossy by sonic unc-
tuous appliance—his fanciful dress, and his gentlemanly de-
portment—all these, added to a good natural voice and the
proficiency_ be had attained as a guitarist, rendered him an
object of peculiar interest among the gentry, by whom he
was noticed, and taken from the streets into their houses and
petted. Sundry young ladies thought him " a nice young
man," and married ladies confessed their admiration of him.
The young people flirted with him, and the old folk became
quite gay in the company of the poor exiled Spaniard—the
dear young creature who had been obliged to quit his country
and his home in consequence of having formed political notions
inimical to the existing Government. Presently Juan de
Vedra, _ after having visited Canterbury, Margate, Rams-
gate, Hastings, and Brighton, published a book, in which
he was not sparing in his remarks upon the gay and vola-
tile cenduct of these who had fed him, and furnished him
silver and gold. The young were ashamed that they had
flirted with a stranger, and the more matronly blushed for
the'r folly and the dirty conduct of Juan de Vedra. Time, the
great agent in developing all hidden things, at length dis-
covered the author of the work to be, not Juan de Vedra, but
a Mr. Cochrane, and many were the curses uttered against
hirtrin consequence. We had lost sight of Mr. Cochrane for
many years; but at length his name came upon the carpet,
in conjunction with that of Mr. Walter, Mr. Bond Cabbell,
and Mr. Hansard, and since then he has been a sort of soup-
manufacturer-general to the Poor Man's Guardian Society
_s society, by-the-by, whose greatest claim to notice has
been the facility with which it has hitherto wormed subscrip-
tions out of the pockets of the rich, for the alleged object of
benefitting the poor—though how many poor men and
women have been assisted by the society, except in the
article of soup, we have it not in our power to state. Well, ,
Mr. Cochrane, backed up by the soup-kettles, and thinking
that his connexion with a few great men besides, and
especially the Poor Man's Guardian Society, must
secure him a great deal of notice and popularity, offered
himself to represent Wes•minster, and then came the letters
in The Sun, v4ondering whether Mr. Cochrane was the Juan
de Vedra of such unenvialde notoriety. Mr. Cochrane bore
the pelting like a martyr for some days ; but at length the
leaven of uneasiness was so strong within him, that it turned
up his bile, and he forthwith caused an advertisement to be
inserted in the daily journals, stating that he had employed
a solicitor to bring an action against the proprietor of The
Suss for the levelling observations of his correspondents.
There was more in the proceeding than was meant. Mr.
Cochrane never intended to bring an action against Mr.
young, and Mr. Young is not the man to be frightened at a
shadow. So a parcel of Mr. Cochrane's friends called a
meeting, and they summoned him to their presence. Then
and there Mr. Cochrane- admitted that he had travelled
through Kent and Sussex as a minstrel ; that he per-
sonated Juan de Vedra ; that he wrote a book ; that he re-
ceived money from the public--lonly he said that the book was
not of such an infamous character as had been descr bed ;
still he would not have written what he had printed upon
more mature deliberation, and he must attribute the
publication to youthful folly. With regard to the money
which he had collected some 50/. or 601.), he said he had
presented it to the Spanish refugees. Now, we ask whether
such a man as this is a fit person to represent the important
city of Westminster? We look upon Mr. Cochrane as a mere
adventurer; a sort of place-hunter, to whom any situation
would he a god-send. We must look to men of character,
talent, and station, to represent our metropolitan boroughs,
possessing as they do immense and enlightened constituen-
cies. We do not require your Quixotic adventurers; we
want a man acquainted with commerce, statistics, and figures,
and, above all, well read in the history of Europe; and if
we may draw a conclusion, after reading Mr. Cochrane's
speeches, he is a mere surface man—a person of small-talk—
with no mercantile knowlege, and with just tongue enough
to humbug an old woman and blarney a young one. Mr.
Cochrane's doom is sealed. He will not be the future repre-
sentative for Westminster. We give him this timely hint,
;.hat he may save his money.
IC. 1 ==------."--".-----.------. ------

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