The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-12 00:00:00

of justice. The laws for regulating the future go-
vernment of Canada, for settling the question of Irish
corporations, and for improving the distribution of
the Church revenues, were all of them important, and
each one, with the subsidiary business of voting
supplies, would have been considered fifteen
years ago to have been work enough fot one
Session. But the current of society now flows
so fast that they seem as nothing compared to the
wants of society, while they were as much or more
than Parliament could successfully achieve. The main
business of Parliament should now be to clear away
the obstructions which its predecessors have placed
to the progress of society, and unfortunately most
of what it has clone this Session has been to con-
tinue or increase the obstructions. We, too, like
the Herald, therefore, are discontented with Par-
liament ; but we blame it much more for the direc-
tion than the paucity of its labours.
_ _

After all, if society is divided in opinion, Parlia-
ment ought not to be united ; and being divided, three
hundred Members voting on one side, and three hun-
dred on the other, nothing of great importance could be
done. The Corn-law and the Church-rates, two promi
nent subjects of discontent, are favoured, we must
admit, by large masses of the people. The mob
of farmers and of Churchmen are as unrighteous
as the landlords and the Bishops, and support
them in maintaining these obnoxious taxes on the
Dissenters and the eaters of bread. Now, while
the people insist on treating each other so unjustly,
it can hardly be expected that their representatives
—though the Legislature should set the people a
good example, and make rules for their guidance—
should be much better than the constituency. The
people aim at oppressing and plundering each
other, and the Parliament does but countenance
their proceedings. It gives a technical sanc-
tion to some popular sentiment, and, till
the popular sentiment take a decided cha-
racter, whether it be to abolish Church-rates,
to extinguish the Corn-laws, or to establish
the Charter, the Parliament will be able to do no-

thing effectual. We have not the smallest concep-
tion of what that Conservatism is which the Herald
wishes to see established, and from which Sir R.
PEEL has dhparted—•for that journal on the ques-
tion of the punishment of death is as.anti-Conser-
vative as any journal we are acquainted with ; but the
demands of the Chartists, of the Dissenters, and of
the Anti-Corn-law men are clear and definite, and

if nothing can be opposed to their demands but
vague general terms, we may anticipate a time when
they will be acceded to. We repeat, however, that
the people must be united, or nearly united, on
these or other subjects, before the Parliament can
or will do anything effectual, and, consequently, it
is foolishness to blame the Parliament for doing
nothing, when the divided people will allow nothing
to be done.

Having said so much to indicate that all effec-
uai reforms must take their rise from the people
themselves, we must, in conclusion, say that

the Parliament was closed by a Speech, which for-
tunately contained no allusion to war, except the
Chinese dispute; but it also contained no allusion
to the condition of our people. We regret this.
Great suffering exists in several places. At Car-
lisle, Leicester, and other places, great complaints
have of late been made of distress. Now, if Go-
vernment and Parliament can do nothing to relieve
the distress, it would have been gracious to men-
tion it, and might have soothed feelings which are
every day becoming more bitter and exasperated.
With this exception, the Speech may be described
to be fully as satisfactory as the ordinary run of
Royal Speeches.

In the House of Commons on Monday evening
the CHANCELLOR Of the EXCHEQUER stated, in
reply to Lord G. SOMERSET, that the Government
had not yet decided what port the mail packets pro-
ceeding to the westward should sail from. At the
same time he said that the Commissioners had
strongly recommended Dartmouth. It is therefore
very likely, we are informed, that Dartmouth will
be substituted for Falmouth. The considerations
which have led to this recommendation are, no doubt,
facility of access and security of the anchorage, com-
bined with a closer vicinity to London. Dartmouth
is 203, Falmouth 269 miles from London. Dart-
mouth has a good harbour with deep water, and is
easily accessible, and may easily he left, we believe, at
all hours of the tide and with all winds A consider-
able struggle, however, will be made to keep at least
a part of the service of the packets at Falmouth, the
inhabitants of which will certainly claim a vested
interest in these vessels.

T THEATRE.