The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-10 00:00:00

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LONDON:
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1841.

It seems perfectly -clear that the Whigs can
only recover their strength by falling back on
the people. That is the mother earth they
spring- from, and they must touch it again to get
back into power. Accordingly it was well done
at the Whig dinner given to Mr. BYNG, on Wed-
nesdey, to make "Extension of the Suffrage and
Vote by Ballot" one of the most conspicuous
toasts. was well done to place that toast
in-the..hands of Mr. WARD, who put himself too
To-;enineittiy forward in resisting Mr. S. CaAw-
ieoe.o's amendment to the Address, embracing
an extension of the suffrage. The lion. Member
had an opportunity of explaining his conduct to
ei,e satisfaction of the assembly. He proved by
hie conduct at the dinner that he was not hostile
t..e extension of the suffrage, though from a
e4.-2,0n of Parliamentary etiquette, and a much
greater deference to the House of Commons than
the pubic it deserves, he threw obstacles in
Air. Cii,wroali's way. The Hon. Member well
observed, enforcing on the Wliigs around him the
truth weset out by stating, that the Tory aristocracy
could only be resisted by the middle classes en-
listing the sympathies and interests of the masses.
Conformably, therefore, to the true interests of
the Whigs, the Party assembled at Brentford
adeocated an extensiOn of the suffrage.
But while the Whigg at that meeting were
propounding a just and wi:."e doctrine, a Whig
jouurnalist was inditing a parag eaph deprecating
ee extension of the suffrage. We copied it yes-
terday into The Sun, and from that it appears
filet not only the. Globe, which has been 3upposed.
;peak the sentiments of some Members of the
Ltte Cabinet, but the Morning Chronicle and the
_ll".)eds Mercury, both being alsoleading organs of
the Whigs, are of opinion that the " Parliamentary
constituency wants expurgation much more than
extension." This is an unhappy schism, which
strikes at the root of all zealous co-operation
amongst all classes of Reformers, and shuts out
those who most need the aid of the people from
all claim on their support. The bulk of the
latedowners, the bulk of the priesthood, and a
hrge propfirtion of men of property in the towns,
arc opposed to the Whigs. From them the Whigs
can get nothing, because they cannot posibiy
serve Conservatives as well as Sir R. PEEL.
They can only get strength from the people, and
illyce of their leading organs contemptuously
• reject the condition on which alone the people
. •tn be even asked to support them. It may be
',tact the opinions of the journalists are merely
those of individual editors which are not adopted
ii hie party, but if so they ought to be publicly
disowned and reprobated. To give such a toast,
and not to repudiate the opinion of the presumed
organs of the Whigs, gives a colour of truth to
the Tory accusation, that the Whigs are double-
faced, and wish to use the people for their own
purposes, and will deceive and betray them.
.• The ground on which at present the Liberal
press appeals to the people for support is, that
monopoly of all kinds is injurious ; but three of
the
,journats which make that appeal are the
adeocates of a monopoly of legislation. Not
contented, too, with the present narrow mono-
, oly, they wish to make it narrower and more
exclusive. If the Whigs mean to throw them-
-o.sre,e wholly on the Conservatives, and sepa-
rate themselves altogether, and for ever, from
the original source of their power, th;.yr do right
the Globe, Chronicle, and
aokelowledging
Leeds jierettey, when they advocate a more
limited and 'nore aristocratic constituency.
What is the
motive Ihr this suicidal policy?
Not a principle, for
neither of these journals
contend that one naan or one class has not as
good a right to share in the Government, and
N
in makinglaws, as another. either will affirm
that the poorest man in the kingdom is not
affected by laws equally with the richest, and
therefore needs quite as much as the other the
le.litical power which may serve to protect him.
The immediate motive is, we are afraid, personal
vexation. The Whizs have been defeated. It
cannot be denied that bribery and intimidation
lease contributed to that end, nor that
these have been chiefly effective with
the poor and the dependent. Hence these
yeaters jump to the coDeleesion, that with
forger poor and fewer dependent voters the
Whigs would have triumphed, and hence they
become advocates for Lord S •TA-NLEY ' plan of
contracting the constituency. They would
fashion it to .ensure, if possible, a perpe-
tual triumph to the Wh;g party and Whirr
principles. They are rigid monopolists after
ti te vn fashion, and if they continue to es-
pouse such principles, we must, in all cases, as in
this case, separate ourselves from them.
The remote motive for this doctrine is the ter-
rible mistrust which most of the upper and mid-
dle have of the lower classes. They hate them
as if they were conscious they had injured