The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-01 00:00:00

ti.--1-: ?gra Ix 51m

LONDON, THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1847.

Political parties are so utterly dismembered that
there is the feeblest possible chance of a vigorously-
contested election on the dissolution of Parliament.
A few weeks alone intervene between this moment
and the general appeal to the electors, and yet the
note of preparation is only sounded at intermittent
intervals, and in a comparatively small number of
metropolitan and provincial constituencies. At an
epoch when there is a greater necessity than ever for
exertion and discrimination on the part of the en-
franchised population, an universal lethargy seems to
have abated all the sentiments of division and ani-
mosity by which they have been incited to activity.
Happily there is a consolatory prognostic in this
very quiescence. From the self-reliance which is
perceptibly the prevailing influence among the con-
stituents of the United Kingdom it is impossible not
to behold the conquest of the prejudices and the anti-
pathies which formerly caused such perpetual dissen-
sions. During the last session, indeed, of this 'most
memorable and most eventful Parliament no Op-
position worthy of that distinction has confronted
the Ministry and the Ministerial supporters.
Lord J. RUSSELL presides over the legislative
destinies of England without almost the shadowy
phantom of a competition. Nor must it be pre-
sumed from this partial stagnation in the rivalry
of statesmanship that the Cabinet of the Noble
Lord the Member for the City of London ex-
ists merely upon sufferance. In an infamous sense, it
has recently been said by M. ALPHONSE LAMAR..
TINE, in his magnificent "History of the Girondists,"
that ROBESPIERRE was the consummation of the Revo-
lution—that the Revolution, after embodying itself in
a variety of forms and personages, ended ill ROBES-
PIERRE. In a noble and humanising sense, it may be said
that the prolonged struggle in politibal opinion which
has followed the passing of the Reform Bill, the moral
revolution of Great Britain has been consummated
in RUSSELL. And it is most fitting that this eminent
statesman should be the result of such a diversified
and triumphant contest against the abuses of the con-
stitution ; it is most fitting that the man who had the
immortal honour of introducing that renowned mea-
sure in the House of Commons should be the chief-
tain selected by the nation for the government of its
affairs when the full advantages of Parliamentary
reform were beginning to be realised.
Contented, however, with the benefits already en-
sured by the destruction of political party, the consti-
tuencies of the empire show signs of degenerating into
inertness. They seem to be impressed with a notion
that the requisite impulse has been given, and that
their work is consequently in a great measure accom-
plished. Probably it may be so. Probably the time
has actually gone by when there could be any chance
of retrogression. We believe that that time has gone
by. We believe that the triumph of liberality is se•
cured for ever, that the pathway of civilisation has
been trampled smooth in the very struggles of de-
fence and progression ; we believe that the wedge has
been so inserted in the upas of ignorance and
Toryism, that it must with every additional blow rive
the stem from the crown to the root. Still the devo-
lopement of the blessings of social advancement will
be better secured and expedited by the continu-
ance of popular activity. Inertness in the electors
conduces to indifference in the elected. Quietude
out of doors necessitates an abatement of energy
within the house. It has become proverbial, indeed,
that public opinion is the chief motor in the
mechanism of the Government. Without ardour and
consistency, and perseverance and precision in the
prime motor, the movements of that State machinery
naturslly relax correspondently. The fire smoulders,
the water becomes less heated, the piston flags in its
directing force, the rotation of -the wheel slackens.
This is inevitable. It is inevitable, we maintain, that
unless there is an increased ardour among the consti-
tuencies, there will be a decreased energy among their
Parliamentary representativea.
It is incumbent, therefore, upon the electors of
England, 'Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, to bestir
themselves betimes for the selection of the most
competent candidates among those who will solicit
their suffrages at the hustings; otherwise the
character of the new Parliament must be neces-
sarily deteriorated by procrastination and careless-
ness. Precautions and preparations are conse-
quently requisite in every city, borough, and
county.
We gladly direct attention to the meeting con-
vened on Tuesday afternoon at the London Tavern
by the Registration Association of this great city, a
lengthened report of which meeting is duly published
in another column. The course of the metropolitan
constituency is thereby mapped out beyond all pos-
sibility of misconception, and certainly beyond all
possibility of failure, providing the Liberal electors
are only true to themselves, and earnestly unanimous
in the great principles involved in the approaching
struggle. Considering that the registered majority
of Liberals over Conservatives is something approxi-
mating to two thousand, there can assuredly be little
hesitation as to the result of the election, in the
event of a general combination. Nor is there now
any uncertainty whatever as to particular candidates
deserving of the suffrages of the London constituents
—the candidates enumerated by the Registration
Association are at once distinguished men and ex-
treme Liberals : foremost amongst them the Prime
Minister of England; secondly, Sir GEORGE Lag-
PENT ; thirdly, Mr. JAMES PATTISON ; and, fourthly,
Baron LIONEL ROTHSCHILD. Let it not be forgotten
ft oh ua thrice
rt t
Liberal
;e
nam previouslyre representativesinwshimenultthaenesouticseleyssftuol Par-
liament
can-
didates were Alderman MATTHEW WOOD Alderman
ROBERT WAITIIMAN, Mr. GEORGE GROTE, and Sir
JOHN KEY ; in 1835, when the same Members were
returned, with the exception of Mr. WILLIAM
CRAWFORD in lieu of Sir JOHN KEY ; and in 1837,
when the successful candidates of the preceding elec-
tion were each of them victorious. To London
an immense number of the provincial constituencies
will look immediately upon the dissolution of
Parliament for an example as to the disposition
which should be evinced. What must not be
the consequence of the visible unanimity of the
metropolitan electors in the triumphant return
of Lord JOHN RUSSELL, of Sir GEORGE LARPENT,
contagion the
ofo
ticEL
nJi ar, stp
livPhAaTtTmlBuosT n
oat nbde fßa On L
hat
ROTHSCHILD
enthusiastic manifestation of liberality
?
Upon
decision of the City of London depends therefore, the
toa
considerable extent, the character of the new Par-
liament.

There can be no question as to the deep and serious
importance of the subject to which Lord BROUGHAM
on Monday directed the attention of the Upper
House. The enormous quantity of business an-
nually brought forward, the extensive interference
with the rights of property, and the weight and mag-
nitude of the interests involved in what has been
termed " private legislation " imperatively dernand
that the tribunals to whose decision they are to be
submitted should be so constituted as to diminish to
the lowest degree the chances of an erroneous or un-
warranted judgment, and to prevent the possibility
of fraud or of corruption. The first question, there-
fore, that naturally arises is, are these points attained
by the present system ? and, secondly, if not, and
that great and glaring abuses are to be found in its
administration, what measure of reform is necessary
in order to obtain tribunals in every respect unobjec-
tionable—suitable for the grave and important
duties entrusted to their charge, and responsible for
the just and efficient discharge of these duties ?
The Noble and Learned Lord gave an interest-
ing account of the ancient machinery brought
into operation, of the " recevours " and

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