The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-10 00:00:00

" Castigat auditque dolor,"
first punishes as if they were well founded, and then
expresses himself ready to hear the exculpation of Sir
EARDLEY WILMOT from those anonymous calumnies,
He admits that it would be his duty, but for those
rumours, to express a willingness to consider of any
favourable opportunity which might offer for re-
employment. He admits that, if they were sanctioned
by the names of parties, it would be his duty to
refer them to Sir EARDLEY for his answer before acting
on them, but, as they are not so guaranteed, he treats
them as if fully sustained by evidence. Sir EARDLEY
lirmasoT appears to have acted in the manner becom-
ing a high-minded gentleman—conscious of his own
innocence, he courted the strictest investigation. He
laid the secret dispatch before the Executive Council,
who, at his request, appointed a committee to under-
take the inquiry. That committee, consisting of the
chief justice, the commander of the forces, and a
highly respectable clergyman, reported that such
an inquiry was absolutely impracticable, no charges
having been brought capable of being directly substan-
tiated or directly met, and they very properly refused
to accede to the request preferred by Sir E. WILMoT,
who, possessing the mens conscia recti, was anxious
that they should invite every person who had any
charge against him to come forward and substantiate

it. Addresses were forwarded even by his political
opponents, contradicting in the strongest manner the
unjust imputations, and showing that what in Eng-
land were considered as notorious facts, in Van
Diemen's Land were looked on as notorious falsehoods.

Desirous as Mr. O'CONNELL is of visiting Rome,
we nevertheless collect from the most recent intelli-
gence, in regard to his health, that his chief anxiety
is to find himself permitted, by renewed strength, to
revisit his native country at the earliest possible mo-
ment. We trust that he will be speedily relieved
from all apprehension in the above respect ; and we
sincerely rejoice to be informed, from authentic
sources, that firm hopes are entertained of his
health becoming promptly and satisfactorily
improved. No one should be unmindful of the
services which were rendered by Mr. O'Con-
NELL, within a recent period, to Ireland and the
empire at large, by his bold and manly opposition to
the desperate principles embraced by the seceders
from Conciliation Hall. We had hoped that, smitten
as Ireland has been with a severe national calamity,
and succoured as she has been in her misery by the
splendid munificence of Great Britain, intervening
reflection might have produced a wholesome
change in the principles and feelings of the " phy-
sical force" association. This expectation, however,
never strong at any time, has completely'.
vanished, and hence it is we deplore the unavoidable
absence of Mr. O'CormELL from the shores of Erin.
On Wednesday last the Irish Confederation held
their monthly meeting in Abbey-street, Dublin ; and
whether we regard the speech of Mr. SMITH
O'BRIEN, M.P., or the resolutions that were passed,
it is impossible to refrain from passing the severest
censure both upon the one and the other. The
address of the Member for Limerick was fraught
with ingratitude and public vice ; happily, however,
it was as inconsistent as pernicious. Sweltering in
his venom, his feelings carried him too far and
led him to prove too much. The be-all and the end-
all of both speeches and re-solutions was to urge the
repeal of the Union. But the very men who were the
most bitterly arraigned by Mr. SMITH O'BRIEN were
members of the confederation, styled, par excellence,
" The Irish Party." Their conduct and votes, in
reference to Lord GEORGE BENTINCK'S railway pro-
position in the House of Commons, were such that
Mr. S. O'BRIEN considered it "a spectacle that made
him ashamed of the name of an Irishman ; he saw
those men, who had vowed before GOD and
their country never to allow any interes

to weigh one feather in the balance with

the interests of their country— he saw them,
under the influence of the British Minister, record
their votes against that measure; from that moment
he saw that the very name of an Irish Member was a
bgeword among nations." This language was rap-
turously applauded. But if it conveys a true de-
scription of the character of the Irish party, who
have claimed for themselves the credit for the
purest patriotism, and have consequently felt
themselves emboldened to agitate for a repeal of
the Union, can we find a stronger argument in
favour of its maintenance ? And how grate-
ful ought not Mr. SMITU O'BRIEN and his
0 chosen few" to be that Great Britain firmly resisted
patriotismrnvad
handing over the government of Ireland to the
tender mercies of the phalanx of whom the Member
O'Base.l and
for Limerick has spoken in such unmeasured terms ?
justified in uphold,:
Leti us though suppose that the Irish Party at large
clares " that it was not themselves equal to the self-vaunted
concentrated wisdom of Mr. SMITH
justified
should we then have been one whit less
the Union ? This oracle de-
s . on any light grounds that the
Ish Confederation were prornul-
Principles of the

-:a `t.

territory over which he is placed, but suited to the
exigencies of the old country, and determined on by
persons utterly ignorant of many circumstances that
necessarily should be taken into account before a
final decision was arrived at. Many months must
elapse before an answer can be obtained to
any remonstrances forwarded to head-quarters;
and during that period he must continue to
act against his own conscientious convictions
and in obedience to fallacious principles ; any
remonstrance must be of a peculiarly delicate
description. If he insists on the impossibility of
carrying into execution that which is prescribed to
him, and urges its impolicy in a bold and ener-
getic manner, he offends the Minister, who has full
power over his destinies, who, on his mere fiat, may
hurl him from his position, and consign him to a pri-
vate station, branded with the Royal displeasure.
All he can do in such a case is, to state the
results of the system, in plain and simple language,
and allow the Secretary to judge for himself as to its
policy or impolicy, and as to the necessary altera-
tions to be effected. If it should eventually fail, he
is the ready scape-goat to bear the odium and dis-
grace attendant on that failure, and the great man is
too often happy to give him up to public condemna-
tion, and to transfer from his own shoulders the
merited opprobium to those of the ready victim.
While the duties are necessarily of this ardu-
ous character, it is incumbent that the Go-
vernor should be supported in the strongest and
most efficient manner in their discharge. No
vague rumours or calumnious insinuations should be
listened to. If the Governor shows himself to be
manifestly incompetent, he should of course be dis-
missed, but a full explanation of that incompe-
tence should be afforded, and of the acts
of omission and commission by which it was
manifested, and also any directions by which he was
prohibited from the free exercise of his judgment.
The public would then judge between him and the
Minister about to displace him, and that judgment
would in nine cases out of ten decide correctly as to
the party really in fault. If any direct charge is
preferred, if it bears on its face a verisimilitude, and
that a reponsible party puts himself forward and de-
clares his ability and readiness to substitute it, he
should be apprised thereof, and given a full oppor-
tunity to enter into his defence. And he should have
accorded to him that which is the birthright of every
British subject, viz., that he should be deemed inno-
cent until his guilt was fully proved and established ;
but anonymous accusations—the whispered insinua-
tions of the coward—should betreated with the con-
tempt and disregard they merit.
The case of Sir EARDLEY WILatOT, the late Gover-
nor of Van Diemen's Land, presents features of pecu-
liar hardship. The correspondence on the subject,
recently ordered by the House of Lords, if that can
be called a correspondence which is wholly one-sided,
consisting only of a public dispatch and private letter
from the late Secretary for the Colonies, ap-
peared in our columns a few days since ; and we
this day insert a letter bearing the sig-
nificant signature, "AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM," which
casts a strong light on the manner and the injustice
with which he was treated. That private letter of
Mr. GLADSTONE plainly shows that the dismissal, as
well as the refusal to hold out any hope of future
employment were founded, not on the public acts of
Sir EARDLEY, but on the rumours relating to his
private life. Those rumours admittedly did not take
the form of charges or information, supported by the
names of the party tendering it; but, like Rhadaman thus,
that inexorable judge, Mr. Secretary GLADSTONE,