The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-22 00:00:00

PUBLIC OPINION.

The Morning Herald, alluding to the late fire at Wool-
wich, observes :—" That wisdom is the most useless, the
most costly, and the most tardy which, when the steed
is stolen shuts the stable door.' Doubtless, we shall now
hear of engines of such enormous power at our dock-
yards, that they could cool the blazing fury of Etna and
calm the perennial irritability of Vesuvius—if volcanoes
would only be content to wait for the arrival of a battery
of Bristow's or of Hadley's most improved patents.
But—how had they managed these things at Woolwich,
up to the actual outbreak of this fire ? Let us see.
' Inspector Robinson, who was on duty at the dock.
yard, mustered his men, and proceeded, in company
with a detachment of the 15th foot, to the spot, taking
one of the small dockyard engines along with him.
Unfortunately the engine was in such bad repair that it
broke down upon the road.' So that in the dockyard of
Woolwich, wherein, of all the dockyards in her Majesty's
dominions, it might have been naturally anticipated that
there would have been the most' ample supply of fire-
engines, buckets, hose, and all their equipments—and,
amidst the multitude f artificers constantly employed
there, the most ready means of repairing and renewing
them whenever they had become deteriorated, or unser-
viceable—the very first engine which is brought out at
so alarming an emergency tumbles to pieces from neg-
lect and decay before it can be brought to the scene of
the conflagration ! ! "

The Times insists as follows, on the expediency of
cancelling Captain Elliot's appointment to the Consul-
ship at Texas:—" The nomination of Captain Elliot to
the Consulship at Texas, after the flagrant proofs of in-
capacity and mismanagement which he has left behind
him in China, cannot be permitted to remain uncan-
celled without doing injury to a variety of interests
which her Majesty's Ministers are especially bound to
protect. Whether it be in contemplation to dispense
with the further services of this notable employe, we can-
not of course conjecture; but as no intimation to that
effect has yet transpired, the presumption is, that the
Government may be somewhat reluctant to exert their
dutiful interposition, for fear of appearing to act dis-
courteously towards an appointment made by their pre-
decessors. Now, really, if there be any faltering in this
particular, we must enter our protest against it in the
strongest possible form."—There is no question that this
obnoxious appointment ought to be cancelled, and with-
out delay, too, for Captain Elliot has had an ample trial
as a public servant, and has shown, not what he can do,
but what he cannot do, in that capacity.
The Chronicle observes, with reference to Mr. Warren's
recent appointment to the Queen's Sergeantship, which
has created such dissatisfaction among the Dublin
Orangemen :--" This is the melancholy and ignominious
result of Lord De Grey's first timid experiment of jus-
tice. He has sent for Mr. West, humbled himself before
him, and, what was of much more consequence in Mr.
West's eyes, promised to repair his recent oversight. All
that is positively known is, that Mr. West, who is not a
man to be contented with mere apologies and civilities,
left his Lordship highly pleased. The rumour is, that
Sergeant Greene is to be coaxed into giving up some
office, for which he is said to be fit, and that the office
so vacated is to be given to Mr. West. It is said to
be further understood, that there is to be no more of this
nonsense in future ; that impartiality is a very fine thing
to talk about, but an absurdity in practice, and that the
proper way of practising it is that :which is to be
adopted in future—merely selecting men for office on ac-
count of their party services, and swearing through
thick and thin that they are the most competent and mo-
derate men in Ireland."—We never placed much faith in
the Irish Government's professions of moderation and
impartiality, and the result has fully justified our dis-
trust. Toryism will take special care to vindicate its old
supremacy in Ireland.; and, in the present Lord Lieu-
tenant and Secretary, seems to have found very apt and
willing agents.

The Cumbrian thus speaks of the present-state of the
country :—" Certainly at no period within our remem-
brance was the distress of the manufacturing, mining,
and agricultural population of this country more severe,
or apparently irremediable than at present. Whilst on
every hand we hear complaints of reduced wages, want
of work, and dilapidation of capital, no where do we
hear any prophet' bold enough to predict that things are
on the turn, or tliat any avenue opens up towards future
prosperity. The vista is gloomy to the end."
The Bolton Free Fress comments in the following
terms on the proposed Government emigration scheme ;
—" As a stroke of policy, the rumoured scheme is wor-
thy of its•alleged originators. It is a tub to the whale,
and something more. It will afford a way of escape to
pining thousands, who will eagerly embrace the sad al-
ternative of leaving their native land ; while it will tend
to relieve, for a time, the intense and deadly competi-
tion among our operatives, who remain behind. But
why have recourse to this expensive, and to its miserable
objects, at best, painful mode of relief ? How much
easier would it be to bring the food to the people, than
to take the people to the food?"
The Dublin Evening Post says :—" The landlords
must relax the screw, while commercial people will
tighten it. The process will go on until the farmer feels
the pinch. The rents, even at their reduced amount,
cannot be paid, when the rate becomes enormous. If
things should come to this, never will the wicked be
more thoroughly and snore speedily punished. It may
be too late then to talk of the Sliding Scale, or of any
scale. Hunger will demand the total and unqualified
repeal of the Corn-laws."

The following is from the Leeds Times;;---" People are

perishing of hunger ; ' deaths from starvation' are in-
creasing in frequency. The demand for bread every day
becomes louder and more menacing. Every week the
pressure on the means of subsistence is increasing.
Whatever the lawmakers may suppose, this state of
things cannot last. The people must be ed •, if they are
deprived of the means of earning their bread by their
own honest labour, they will assuredly, sooner or later,
attempt to wrinc, a sufficiency for themselves by some
other means ; and who knows what will content them in
the hour of desperation and revenge ?"