The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-21 00:00:00

fltnA rn*

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 1847.

England may well be satisfied with the prospects
of her internal government. Notwithstanding the
momentary confusion of principles resulting from the
dispersion and discomfiture of Party, she may be
satisfied. In that very confusion there is an augury
of our ultimate unanimity—of an unanimity more
comprehensive, more national, and more sublime, than
has ever before been manifested since the first crude
materials of the Constitution were created by the
bloodless concessions of Runnymede. Is any indi-
vidual premonition required as a testimony of the
advent of this prospective unanimity ? It is disco-
verable—if nowhere else—in the coincidence, the
extraordinary and unprecedented coincidence, of opi-
nion between the two Great Statesmen of the Age.
The destinies of Great Britain have long oscil-
lated between the championship of Sir ROBERT
PEEL and of Lord JOgIN RUSSELL. In the strife of
political sentiment those Leaders have maintained the
most prominent, and, until very recently, the most
antagonistic position. In the din of ParlFamentary
disputation their names have resounded above all
others. PITT and Fox were not more peculiarly the
two. Riost conspicuous statesmen of their generation.
S
ince the times of those illustrious orators, however,
the contentions of political parties have
continued to
rage
unceasingly ; private and erclusive op;lnions have
come into immediate collision
inclusive opinions of the '0 with the 'rand and
multitude : the la titter have
proved overwhelming—irresistible—triumphu ant : and
p
the two great statesmen of the empire are at length
recognised side by side under the national banner—
that banner upon which is emblazoned the
glorious
of
motto, " Civil and Religious Liberty"—in th van
the popular movement.
This unparalleled and encouraging coincidence be-
tween the views enunciated by Lord Jour; I ,ussEt.t.
and Sir ROBERT PEEL is equally visible U. 3011 the
most superficial or the most scrutinizing come arison
of their manifestoes to their respe.•:tive constituencies.
There is, nevertheless, just such a dissimilarity
in the details as to prevent anything like a I nono-
lonous sameness. The two Daomos befo ce us,
but. they are instantly distinguishable frot n the
litrlZcing difference of their costumes, the 'ir acces-
sories, and their position. Identical in the c
of their political creed,'ht raster
and in the consult,
which their political principles are intenets7 nation
• d to
if • realise, they are
Bard to their auditors, teir diction strangely contrasted',
,re-
th
spections, and their relative situation.'" °la RT
:..ro•
4),..13E.Er.,, with a tranquillity of manne befit ling t
2) t, *4,4-
he
s • 4;l'
.54.4,2-El9-92parative privacy of his station as an ex-1 ?reenfel'l
iatiresses his provincial constituents throt the
t.' cf7i:=7 ° §bailiktict of a pamphlet. Lord JOHN RUSSEL L, with
„„ becoming the eminence and P'y
of
?°..z,....9.11,""Phi417N,..41.... nas Prime Minister of the country, per-
?
3-) 4 ../..913POntg his metropolitan electors, and ap-
•.l;.;4l'PAler: t 9 4610 orally and oratorically Both tl iese
7"1:7 ii _
=) ti-lditsses are argumentativ, 4, and ti test ,
(.
s*, z4Z 4.7

arguments are strictly sequential ; both are peculiar
for their felicitous allusions to the past and their
liberal indications of the future ; both are thoroughly
and admirably independent.
The occasion and the speech of yesterday, in the
City of London Tavern, will long survive in the
recollection of our fellow-citizens. The occasion was
impressive, and the speech most memorable. A
second time did Lord JOHN RUSSELL stand
before the constituents of this vast metropolis,
illustrious in a twofold dignity as their representa-
tive and as the First Minister of the Crown. "Gen-
tlemen," lie said, " I stand in a position which is one
of great responsibility—one of great eminence—but
by no means one of ease or pleasure. It has been
asked poetically—
' What is grandeur, what is power,
But heavier toil, superior pain?'
I confess, however, with that very toil'—with that
`superior pain '—there are charms in power to which
I do not profess myself insensible." Unbowed by
those Ministerial toils, unembarrassed by those official
pains, the Noble Lord courted the renewal of the
suffrages of the metropolitan Liberals, for, said he,
with a beautiful simplicity of enthusiasm—" it
is a charm to be able to advance in any way the
prosperity, to promote the interests, or to enlarge
the liberties of such an empire as the British em-
pire." Never has Lord JOHN RUSSELL appealed to a
constituency under more propitious circumstances
than the present. When he appeared upon the hus-
tings fresh from the glories of having introduced the
Reform Bill in the House of Commons ; when his
credit as a Reformer was immediately enhanced by
his triumphant labours for the disfranchisement
of Gatton, of Old Sarum, and similar places
of corruption ; when the Test and Corpora-
tion Acts were vividly in the recollection of
the multitude ; when his decisive letter in
favour of free trade was most recently published—
Lord Join.; RUSSELL was not in so prominent a man-
, ner the recognised champion of Liberality as new,
when his generous assurances of an unconditional
system of secular education—when his benevolent
labour for the amelioration of Irish miseries—when his
noble expression of sympathy in the return of Baron
LIONEL DE ROTHSCHILD, have in a paramount and
distinguished manner proclaimed him a great cham-
pion of civil and religious liberty. The cause of the
Prime Minister is, therefore, not a party cause, but
the cause of a nation of freemen.

The wholesale suspension of judicial and law
officers in the island of St. Lucia (an account of
which was contained in our columns of yesterday)
will, we trust, receive that strict and searching
investigation, that mature consideration, which its
vast importance, not only to the accused parties, but
to the inhabitants of the colony, so fully merits.
The summary removal of the Chief Justice, the
second puisne judge, and the Attorney-General at
one fell swoop will require for the justification of the
party who adopted so decisive a course the most
satisfactory reasons as to its expediency,7grounded on,
and supported by, evidence of the most convincing
character as to the truth and certainty of the charges
preferred. In this case at least inquiry will not be
withheld on the ground that it might imply a doubt
of the official infallibility of former Colonial Ministers.
We doubt not that Earl GREY will honestly and
impartially deal with the several cases to the
best of his judgment, and that he will be
prepared to justify his final decision and
the propriety of the reasons by which he may
have been actuated in forming his judgment. The
whole responsibility will be his own, and we are con-
vinced that he will not shrink from that responsibility
in any particular. As yet the matter is sub judice,
and it would be premature to argue on either side
before the evidence is fully known, and everything,
that can be alleged either in justification of, or oppo-
sition to, the suspension, is fully before the public.
A great constitutional question is to be settled. How
far is the independence of the judicial bench to be
maintained in our colonies ? We have already
pointed out the absolute necessity for that indepen-
dence.
It is still more urgently required in our de-
pendencies than in the parent State ; and the further
removed from home, the less readily the public
opinion can be brought to bear on the question, the
more pressing is that necessity. Something more
dignified is required on the part of a judge
entrusted with an enormous power over the
lives and properties of the inhabitants of the
settlement than that he should be compelled to curry
favour by those underhand means, or to have recourse
to those backstairs influences, that are so much
relied on by the underlings of Government, more
particularly in the smaller colonies. What is re•
quired at his hands is an adequate knowledge of the
law. He is required to possess a reasonable share
of professional skill and attainments, and to exhibit the
strictest integrity in the discharge of his official
duties. If he is possessed of these essential qualifi-
cations, and they are zealously applied, he should
he unhesitatingly supported. If he is deficient
therein he should be got rid of without ceremony—
that deficiency, and the overt acts by which it is esta-
blished, should be decided on by a competent tribunal.
In fact, a colonial judge should only be questioned
for acts relating to' the performance of his official
duties, and that before the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council. The power of suspension of course
should be vested in the Governor for the time being,
but he should be held liable for any abuse of that
power.

Whatever may be the ultimate result of the present
case (or rather cases), it must be valuable in this
respect. Competent persons are at this moment with-
held from offering their services to the Crown in our
colonies from a fear of the arbitrary and undefined
power to which they would thereby be subjected.
They will not relinquish their professional prospects,
or the pursuits by which they may hope to obtain an
honest livelihood, to earn an independent support, for
any situation, however lucrative or honourable, from
which they may be driven at a moment's notice, at
the mere will of a tyrannical Governor, or to gratify
the petty spite and malignity of a Governor's lady.
True it is there must be an appeal to Downing-street
before the party can be fully crushed, but even that
is not much relied on, for all have not the same reli-
gious faith in the impeccability of Colonial Secreta-
ries (of whatever party they may be) that is felt
by Earl GREY. Neither are they fully aware of the
various influences that may be brought to bear, the
concealed hands that may set the wires in motion,
and exercise a fatal effect over their future fortune.
Every motive combines to urge the adoption of some
clear and well-defined rule by which the subject shall
be regulated. We would gladly see these regulations
emanating from the Colonial-office. We are sure that
the present Noble Secretary would not be withheld
from bringing forward that which would appear to
be for the benefit of the numerous interests
committed to his charge from any personal motives,
or for the maintenance or increase of the power or
patronage of his office ; but should matters remain in
their present condition we trust that the first week
of the ensuing session may not elapse before some in-
dependent Member will give notice of motion for a
strict and searching inquiry into the system, with a
view to the establishment of the entire and perfect
independence of the judicial bench in our colonies.:

A letter from Turin of the Bth, in the Augsburg
Gazette, states that the Sardinian Government having
demanded from the Cabinet of London an exposition
of its opinion on the present state of Switzerland, had
received a communication from Lord PALMERSTON
Diet st
wouldes
which it consideredapdedrsfectly satisfactory. The same
letter states that it was expected that the prudence of
the
powers. It alsoprevent any t
that
a collision 01l i sion
France,with
_ ut
shter foreignia,n
a d
Prussia are agreed as to the
arprtincnipilne,
Dilent,tealsligtheenyeehandasatbfieernst intended.'
c or buta mt
oh
na t
to
the
receivedo from Rome of the
Gum,
resignation of Cardinal inconsequence of the
recent measure relative to the National
Guard
been adopted contrary to his advice. C ar-m A' a, A. l having
ERRATI
will, it is said, be his successor.
A letter from Rome of the 7th says_...“ The Ponti-
fical Vicariate has just issued a decree modifying the
regulations for a cessation of work during Sundays
and festivals of the Church. Tradesmen are not to be
bound to keep their shops shut up, except between
ten and twelve in the morning, and three in the after-
noon and sunset. Shops for articles of food of all
kinds, taverns, eating-houses, and coffee-houses, may
be kept open at all hours, except for an hour and a