The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-14 00:00:00

PUBLIC OPINIOZ.T.

The Morning C'Trortiiie contains an article on the
conduct of some Rochdale Magistrates, who last week
imposed penalties on certain individuals for not attend-
ing their parish Church, or any other place of religious
worship on Sundays, and committed them for non-pay-
ment of the penalties. The following are the Chronicle's
strictures on this subject, which are more immediately
called forth by a letter from Mr. George Ashworth, one
of the Magistrates in question, in which he hints
that the men were punished apparently for ne-
glecting Church, but in reality for other offences:—
" We know not of a worse vice in Magistrates than that
of punishing for what is not judicially before them. It
is, however, a vice which the unpaid are supposed to be
peculiarly open to. Let a fellow be suspected of poach-
ing, or interfering in any way with the pleasures of the
squire, and, though he escape detecti,,n for his suspected
offence, some convenient enactment will be laid hold of
to get him out of the way. Indeed, in the country, the
belief is prevalent that a man is never really punished
for that of which he is convicted. But then the Magis-
trates who do these things keep their own counsel. If Mr.
Ashworth and his brother Magistrates had been merely
bigots,we could not have had a word to say against them."-
To punish men for keeping away from Church on the
Sabbath, is an act of tyranny worthy only of the darker
ages. It is making them religious by Act of Parliament
—the surest way to encourage hypocrisy. A man may
be a sincere Christian, and yet never enter a Church
door ; as he may be a gross infidel, and yet punctually
attend Divine Service twice every Sunday. But if men
are to be punished nominally only for neglecting Church,
but in reality for other faults, what becomes of the just,
straightforward character of Law? Enforced under such
circumstances—wrested to such purposes—it is a mere
mockery. To profess to punish for one offence, while the
punishment is inflicted for another not avowed, is to con-
found all the distinctions between right and wrong, and
to make the Law itself an arbitrary despotism.
The Times speaks of Sir R. Peel's Cabinet in the fol-
lowing terms :—" There was scarcely an individual who
aspired to share his power who had not already been as-
sociated in his councils and in his confidence. He had
not to look abroad for the materials of his Government.
He had not to strengthen himself by offering allurements
to out-lying forces, that were to be purchased, but re-
luctantly, and at an extravagant cost. He had to pay to
no man the price of a conscience. Those whom he was
to commission knew already their own recognised posi-
tions and relative values in the cause ; and the personal
ambition of each had been trained, by years of cordial
and united service, to regulate itself toy the exigencies
of the common welfare, and confine expectation
to existing means and reasonable proportions."—
The idea of Sir R. Peel's colleagues having been " trained
by years of cordial and united service," is one that would
only have suggested itself to the Times, which, in gene-
ral, is not remarkable for speaking as if it were on oath.
" Years of cordial and united service," indeed! why,
it is not five years ago since Lord Stanley and Sir James
Graham both professed their utter want of confidence in
Sir R. Peel ! So far from being " trained" to his ser-
vice, they would have nothing to do with him on any
terms ! Then, as regards the Duke of Buckingham.
Has he not been purchased at an extravagant cost?" Pos-
sibly not, seeing that the purchase-money has beeu
nothing more than Sir R. Peel's own conscience, which
we are not disposed to assess at a very high valuation.
By accepting the Duke for a colleague, the Right Hon.
Baronet has told us in so many plain terms that—no
matter what hints and promises he may have thrown out
to the contrary—we shall have no Corn-law Reform worth
a straw.

The Herald thus refers to Lord Eliot's appointment as
Irish Secretary :—" A few words as to an objection
from a very different quarter to a minor but most im-
portant appointment in the Peel Administration—that of
Lord Eliot as the Irish Secretary. Sir Robert Peel and
his colleagues suffered severely in 1835 during their short
tenure of office, from the indiscretion of some of their

Irish supporters. We trust that the experience of the
past has not been thrown away on these well-meaning
and highly-principled, but not at all times judiciously-
acting men. It is the duty of every individual to make
some sacrifices for the sake of party. Political combina-
tions can no more exist without such sacrifices than can
society without an abnegation of many natural rights ;
what is now required from the individuals to whom we
refer is only some slight restraint on their personal feel-
ings and conduct. This their brother Conservatives in
Britain and in Ireland have a right toand do demand."--
It is plain from this, and other indicaions in the Tory
Journals, that it is the intention of Ministers to fling the
Orangemen overboard. As we said before, we think this
faction most unjustly dealt with, for it has always been
the firm supporter of Tory politics in Ireland ; and as. it
is notoriously impetuous and high spirited, we think it
far from unlikely that it will ere long make another dis-
covery respecting Sir Robert Peel, similar to that which
it made when he carried Catholic Emancipation.
We quote the following from the Post:—"lt is satisfac-
tory to find that the country generally appears to be well
pleased with the new Government which has been formed,
and tranquilly 4waits those measures which the necessi-
ties of the State demand, and which the abilities of the
present Ministers are deemed competent to supply. If
any one had believed the Whig-Radical writers and
declaimers a few months ago, or even a few weeks ago,
they must have expected a tremendous explosion of po-
pular discontent as soon as it was known that the lead-
ing Conservatives had actually become the Government
of the country. But no one, we suppose, with even
the slenderest pretensions to the possession of
common sense, did believe them, and if they did
they have now seen how much they were misled."—
It is not the. fact that the " country generally is well
pleased with the new Government." Toryism may be
so; but Toryism is not the nation. The truth is, there
is a halt just now in the great action of the country—a
sort of temporary lull, like that which so often precedes
the tempest. The people are biding their time, and
hoping, even against hope, that the change of Ministry
may be to their advantage. When they find out their
error—when they learn that bad as the Whigs were, the
Tories are a thousand times worse, a storm will arise,
which will not be allayed till Toryism is torn up by the
root, never again to put forth bud or blossom.
The Advertiser remarks as follows :—" We have rea-

son to believe that it is the intention of Sir Robert Peel

to propose, immediately on the re-assembling of Parlia-
ment, to raise a loan of 4,000,0001. or 5,000,0001., for
the purpose of meetinc, the temporary exigencies of the
public service, and that on his proposal obtaining the
sanction of the House, and the Poor-law Bill being re-
newed for another year, he will prorogue the Parliament
until the end of January, or beginning of February.
The new Premier calculates, we understand, that his
proposal to raise his intended loan will be acceded to by
the House as a matter of course. He does not anticipate
that a single word of opposition will be uttered, nor a
syllable of explanation be demanded as to the line of
policy which he means to adopt."
The Dublin Evening Post, in noticing Lord Fortescue's
departure, pays the following tribute to the Whig Admi-
nistration in Ireland :—" Lord Fortesue has taken his
departure from our shores, and he has left the country in
a state of tranquillity unexampled in our annals. In
enunciating this fact, which none can question, we pro-
claim at once the impartiality of Whig policy and the
complete success by which it has been rewarded."
The Devonport Telegraph speaks very distrustfully of
the new Ministry, as will be seen by the following pas-
sage :—" It would, indeed, be gratifying to be enabled
to say that the majority of the people were inclined to
repose a higher degree of confidence in the New Ad-
ministration than in that which it has been successful in
supplanting, but the melancholy fact is obviously the
contrary. So far as an opinion can be formed of the
policy of the present Cabinet, from the political history
of its leading characters, there is nothing to justify
an anticipation that the country will be more prosperous
and happy under its control, than had Lo change been
effected."

The following is from an article in the Leeds Times,
on the subject of the Corn-laws :—" The assertion that
wages rise with the price of corn is opposed to experi-
ence, and can be proved to be an absurdity. It is an as-
sertion which many of those who use know to be false,
but it is an assertion—a falsehood—which the experience
of every day tends to divest of its venom and power. It
will be found of little service to the landlords at the next
general election."

- The Cambrian thus alludes to Sir James Graham's
apostacy :—" Sir James Graham all his life advocated
an alteration in the Corn-laws, and proposed ultra-libe-
ral sentiments. He was a Member of Earl Grey's Ca-
binet, and in a moment of pique deserted with Lord
Stanley to the Tories, and became an apostate. He now
makes use of his old intimacy with the Whigs to say the
most violent and ungentlemanly things of his former Fol-
lergues on all occasions. He wrote pamphlets against
the Corn-laws as au earnest of his sincerity. Suddenly

he foc,,, rig:lL round, like that c,tirier " representati,
his breeches pocket,"
_Lord Ashburton, and passes hi
. -

nights in the House of Commous in recantinghk juve-
nile opinions of fifty-five ! Dirty work this, one would
think !"

The Liverpool Chronicle states, in some r( maks on
Sir R. Peel :—"He is but the tool and utensil in the
hands of these Noble Lords and Dukes to whom lie is
represented as being so very 'condescending.' The
Indian takes a log of wood, cuts it into some sort of
hideous shape, with nose, eyes and mouth carved upon
it and then calling it his god, falls down and worships it.
But presently, if his affairs do not prosper in the world
or if for any reason whatever he quarrels with his god-
ship, he goes axe in hand, and hews him up into fire-
wood and faggots without ceremony. Now Sir Robert
Peel, with all his blushing honours thick upon him,' is
only like the Indian's god after all."
The Scottish Pilot is of opinion, that nothing is to he
expected from Sir R. Peel's Cabinet, observing—" What-
ever the new Premier intends to do, the nation sees that
his Ministry is destitute of character and principle, and
that any specious measure of relief he may originate.
will only be intended to secure the oppressive monopolies
on a firmer basis than ever."