The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-08 00:00:00

PIJIMIC OPINION,

The Morning Herald,. referring. to the, Exchequer bill
affair, says The course pursued by. Beaumont Smith
in pleading ' Guilty'—(by the bye, this plea appears
to have been recorded without the usual precautionary
monitions which the Judge is accustomed to make in
such cases, or any pointing out to the prisoner the inevit-
able consequences of his determination)—this course
effectually precluded the .necessity for calling Rapallo
into the witness-box, and the, public from learning the
revelations he had to niche—if any. And were there none
to be made—of unusual interest7-of unusual importance
—unusually redolent of.criminations involving some.of
those parties; darkly. hinted at, the significant .and
memorable address of the prisoner, as invested with
a plausibility, 'power, and talent whichhe could not resist ?'
If there were such revelations to be made the defrauded
public have some right to question the soundness of the
legal adviCe, if upon such advice he acted, tendered to
Beaumont Smith, inasmuch as whilst it may be said to
have entombed him in an oubliette of legal and civic ex-
tinction, it 'opened a-Toopliole',t'or the sate escape of' more,
crafty, less pitiable, and nicheairy criminals. If there
were not, it is. inconceivable why, up to Thursday last,
Rapallo should have been the .91.1,1ect of a strong and
successful appeal to the. ciyig irOagiSterial authorities, and
made to undergo rigorous examinations and imprison-
ment."

The Chron,'cle' makes the fallowing observations on
the peculiar position of Sir Robert Peel :—" There is
one circumstance in the behaviour of every organ of
Toryism in the press which would shake any faith less
strong than that which we have in the truth of its con-
stant assertion, that the present Ministry is the most
everlasting, united, and trusted Ministry that ever met
at Cabinet dinners. There is one circumstance that
would, if we had not the word of the Times, the
Herald, and Standard, to the contrary, make us
think that there is a screw loose somewhere, and
a split apprehended ; and that is, that every organ of
the Tory party has carefully provided, and is perpetu-
ally looking to its own particular means' of retreating
from its present connection with Sir Robert Peel.
Oastler has distinctly stated that he and Sir James
Graham cannot be connected with the same Govern-
ment. Peel must make his election ; and of course, as
the Papists said in Titus . Oates' time, "to pot James
must go." The Times has its 'owe casus belli with Sir
Robert ; if he does not
.repeal the Poor-law he
is a doomed man ; he must go the way of Tyler."—
There are two parties among the Tories who, though
they may use him as their tool, have an innate distrust of
Sir Robert Peel. The one is the high aristocratic squad,
who are all for the old Castlereagh system of dragoon-
ing' the people into passive obedience ; and the other is
composed of the drivelling bigots of Toryism, who resent
anything like Reform or innovation as an impeachment
of their own foresight and sagacity. The one would fain
insist on their Premier carrying matters with a lofty and
stern air of authority ; and the other would have him
not stir at all, but just stand stock-still, staring stupidly
about him, as they themselves have been in the habit of
doing ever since they could count ten on their fingers.
Between these two, and the opposition of the Reformers,
Sir Robert is like to have a troublesome time of it.
The Post thus holds forth on the text furnished by
Lord Palmerston at Bridgnortli :—" While Lord Pal-
merston proclaims to the illustrious burgesses of Bridg-
north that the victory of his political opponents will be
' short-lived,' and while some of his friends, in a poetic
rapture, exclaim that the,glow of hope is upon them,'
we find the leading journal Of 'Whig-Radicalism incul-
cating a very different lesson. Whether this argues
a 'rent difference of intentions, hopes, and actions, on
the part of the' ex-Ministerialists, we need not stop
to inquire. No 'one Who is . aequainted with them
can doubt that 'they will get back to office as soon
as they can, and some of them have of late been giving
rather ridiculous indicationS that they intend to get
back spilt very soon. Of this the Spectator has taken
advantage, in order to show • that these Whig patriots,
while they speak so confidently of. their probable return
to office, do not take any pains to show how the mea-
sures are to be carried to which they have pledged them-
selves. Their hope seems to be to get their places
again owing to internal dissension which they look for
in the Conservative party."—lt will not be •by the dis-
sensions among the Minister's, but by the bold and ge-
neral declaration of the people ih favour of anti-mono-
poly principles, . that the Liberal party will again get
into power. And unless the Tories change very mate-
rially their present course of policy, it will not be long
ere their • places are supplied by the Liberals.
Things cannot possibly continue much longer in their
present state. The contagion of distress is now affecting
not one, but every branch of trade. It is not the manu-
facturing districts only that are suffering, but every town
and district where any thing like a trade is carried on.
The-south chimes in with the north, and the east with
_the west, in one loud, heart-felt complaint of distress and
bitter.disappointment. And are we to be told that there
is no remedy for this condition of affairs—and to be • told
so, by a set of men who are paid expressly for doing
their duty to us ? Are, we to have mockery added to
injury ? Sir Robert Peel little knows how thoroughly
undermined is the ground he stands on, or he would not
take matters-with such ineffable sang froid.
_The following is from the Times :--" Lord Palmer-
ston's lot, in spite of its present discouraging aspect, is
not devoid of sundry little cheering passages, after all.
Although his Lordship is understood to suffer more men-
tal depression from the up:break of the late Cabinet than
any of its other members, his superior sensitiveness is
equally active in indemnifying itself with small and
shadowy consolations. . Amidst -the universal desertion
which the Whigs have' recently experienced, the
smiles of a Shropshire Town-Council are hailed by the
susceptible Viscount as the pledge of a happier future.
The wonderful scantiness of addresses complimentary to
the discarded Ministry, naturally tempts his Lordship to,
consider the Bridgnorth eulogy as a very singular dis-
tinction ; and if the fervid terms in which the noble re-
spondent returns thanks to the authors of that document
afford any just criterion of the sanguine hopes it has
inspired, we should certainly infer that Lord Palmer-
ston is holding himself in readiness to kiss hands as
soon as her Majesty and Parliament may deem fit."—
The political influence of Lords J. Russell and Palmer-
ston is clearly proved by the sensation that their move-
ments create among the Tory Journals.. Neither of the
Noble Lords can stir an inch, or speak so much as a sen-
tence at a public meeting, but they instantly throw the
whole squad into hysterics. The Times is specially agi-
tated on the subject—an involuntary homage to the in-
fluence Of two ex-Ministers, which it would dispense with
paying—if it could.
The Advertiser thus expresses itself on the subject of a
proposed collection at Manchester for the relief of the
destitute operatives':—"'We are happy to be able to state
thatia committee 11;s been formed in Manchester for the
purpose of recerving immediate contributions, however
small, in money ; which will be applied the moment they
are received to the relief of those whose ne2essities are
most urgent. This is as it should be ; it is what the
extremity of the case demands. And, we trust, that
the announcement of the committee, that they are
ready to receive subsCriptiOns, and to incur all the
personal trouble consequent on seeking out the fittest
objects of charity, and administering to their wants,
will not be made in vain. tinder judicious management
a comparatively small sum may be made productive of
incalculable good. For example, we can state, from pri-
vate sources of information, that many of the more ex-
tensive manufacturers are willing to give large pieces of
cloth to be made into garments for those who, at this in-
clement season of the year, have scarcely a rag where-