The Sun.
London, England, 1823-06-04 00:00:00

Tilt, LONDON JOURNALS.

DAILY

Extracts from the Morning Papers, June 4.

[BR 1TISI! PRESS.]
The cause of freedom in Spain is cheering, and
gives promise of being ultimately triumphant.
We have long feared, and we think the patriots
of Spain i►ave long felt, that our Government was
playing an tinder game ; that, outwardly neu-
tral, it was actually hostile ; affecting an anxiety
to conciliate, and secretly seconding the efforts of
the Holy Alliance, to give the last blow to the
liberties of Europe. Is it not lamentable that
the instructive lessons of the last half century
should have produced so little effect ? Is it not
surprising that the selfish interest and short-
sighted policy of Kings and Cabinets should,
after all that has passed, beguile them into such
a desperate course as that which they are at pre-
sent pursuing ? A revolution in government is
always sown in distant causes; it is never the re-
sult of this. plot or that event ; it never happens
hut when certain general causes have produced a
gradual change of opinion in the people, and a
consequent determination to better their political
condition, and to remedy whatever in the system
of their rulers tends to perpetuate abuses and to
legalize oppression. The present crisis of Spain
is the result of a long series of years, and
events, and is connected with that general ef-
fort for political improvement which agitates the
whole Christian world. To attempt to vanquish
the energy and to heat down the efforts of the
Spanish nation, is the extreme of idiotism. The
true policy of the Allied -Monarchs is' to forsake
the errors of their way, and to rule hereafter in'
the, hearts of their su'bjects'. The spirit of
freedom must and will force its way, in spite of
the cabals of Kings, or the cajoling of Courts.
The swarm of priests and bigots in Spain may
set their broad shoulders against the wheel of
revolution, but they cannot stop its course ; they
may create disunion for a time, but their power
is fast passing away ; they may cling, perhaps,
a, little longer to the putrid body of despotism,
but the distemper must, in the end drive them
from it, and they will go ter the grave with the
carcase.

[THE TIMES.]
The small majority of 35 against Lord Arai.
bald Hamilton, on his resolutions in favour of a
Scotch Reform, looks rather discouraging to the
friends of " virtual representation." The case,
indeed, is such, that the only difficulty in refer-
ring to or discussing it, arises from its indescrib-
able grossness. About two thousand two or three
hundred electors chose all the county members of
Scotland. This is not the worst of the above
electors : a considerable number, in some counties
a large majority, do not, possess one foot of hind
in the counties for which they vote. The votes
proceed from " superiorities," or paper title-
deeds, which may he the property of any men
who choose to buy them, born and resident where
they will. The Rank of England, NV hich careful-
ly excludes all Scotchmen from its direction,might
buy up the superiorities of more than half of Scot-
land, and send in a score or two of its own clerks
into Parliament ; the Treasury might do the same.
A Scotch county member may faithfully represent
his own constituents, without representing one
square font of landed property in that part of
Great Britain. The whole county representation
of Scotland may stand on the same footing as that
of certain English boroughs a few years ago, whose
members were actually sent into Parliament by
the money of the Nabob of Arcot! This is a
right of
,election vested in no principle recognized
by common reason, or by British• policy—neither
in property, nor in population. It is a species of
autocracy; and the fruits of it may be traced in
the votes of gentlemen returned for Scotland from
the Union to the present. hour. But as a system,
it begins to shake ; and we think that a few more
discussions and divisions like those of Monday
last) will level the unseemly edifice to the ground.

[MORNING CHRONICLE.]

Lord Milton, in our opinion, took the most
correct view of the question respecting the
County Representatiorrof Scotland, When he de-
clared it was one of wide!) the interest could not
be said to be confined to the country, as from its
Members speaking and voting on all matters that
came before Parliament, the rest of the empire
was necessarily affected by its Election system.
in fact, the empire at large suffers grievously by
a state of things which g:ves, with a trilling
exception, the whole of the Scots Mem-
bers as a matter of course to every Minister
for the time being. If a Scots Member
were to desert the Minister on any question, the
reign of that Minister would be considered by
all reflecting persons Rs hastening rapidly to an
end. Scotland is, in fact, less interested in the
question than England. The state of the Re-
presentation England, however defective,
still secures the Etnpire from many of the evils
of arbitrary Government. Bat though protec-
tion is in some degree secured under our defec-
tive system, that system is not the less produc-
tive of a host of, evils, from which, if the
franchise were placed on a better footing we
should be exempted. There is hardly a branch
of industry in England which does not suffer
in some way from the complicated system
-which Parliamentary jobbine. has eegendered
and rendered necessary. Now, Scotland, has
the protection of the English Parliament, equally
with England, while the People are freed from
the mischiefs of an extensive system of English
Parliamentary Jobbiug, the ramifications of which
are felt in every direction. To take as an exam-
ple Puhlic'-honses,—it is altogether unnecessary
in Scotland to give any persons vested rights to
sell bad beer at a high price to the poor, and
therefbre any man can obtain a license to sell beer
wherever he pleases. To take another example—
the occupation or Land. The Landlord does not
-require the assistance of the Tenant for election
purposes, and therefore it becomes unnecessary to
hive the lands occupied at will, as a very great
pat of England. is. Things in ..Icotland are in
gen eral allowed to take their 'natural course,
whereas in Enghtol7 almost every thing comes