The Sun.
London, England, 1840-09-19 00:00:00

MORNING EDITION

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE DAILY PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
(From the Morning Advertiser.)
We take occasion of the registrations which are now
going on with activity in the metropolitan districts, and
reports of which will be found in this day's Adver-
tiser, to make some comments on a subject most im-
portant to the welfare of the entire community, both
in and out of Parliament. During the Session of
Parliament that has just terminated, as during several
preceding Sessions, an ardent desire has existed both
in and out of Parliament to simplify the system of
registration, and to render it as little troublesome
and expensive as is consistent with its efficiency.
One great object has been to reduce the number of
objections, by requiring the specific ground of objec-
tion to be stated on the notice, and adhered to in the
inquiry before the Barrister, Another reform in the
system will consist in the allowance of more time for
paying the rates ; and a third, in doing away with the
anomalies relating to the removal from one house to
another in the interval between the registration and the
election. The objections made to each of these re-
forms by the Tory party in Parliament, have been
such as to prevent Ministers from effecting the re-
quisite alterations ; and it has placed upon the ene-
iei rs to change the whole responsibility of imposing
.. the constituency so much trouble and expense as
that to which they are now subject. The Tory policy,
with some honourable exceptions, is this—to make the
registration as troublesome, as expensive, and as restric-
tive as possible, while the policy of the Liberal party
has been to diminish the trouble, to reduce the cost,
and to open as wide a door to the free exercise of
the elective franchise as is consistent with the existing
qualifications. The effect of the Tory policy is to dis-
franchise vast numbers of persons, both in counties and in
boroughs, who would otherwise have votes for knights of
the shire, and for borough Members. But if the electors
act with spirit, and maintain their privileges by all possible
diligence and attention till all the reforms which must
ultimately be made are effected, the evil now so loudly
and generally, we may add so properly complained
of, avill he remedied. Nothing can prevent this but
the restoration of Tory rule, which may arise from
the Parliamentary electors neglecting to register when
they have just claims, or neglecting to attend in the
Barrieter's Court to support their rights when they are
improperly objected to. This is a dereliction of duty
which no man who values his own rights and privi-
leges personally, or the interests of his country gene-
rally, will be guilty of. Let no elector say, " this re-
gistration is attended with more trouble or with more
cost than the privileges it confers are worth." The
worth of having electors under the influence of Liberal
principles, rather than electors who are regardless
of the interests of their country, carsiot be esti-
estimated ; even as a :natter of personal ease and
public economy, it is every man's duty to attend to the
registration, that the alterations, which sooner or later
are sure to take place in the system, may be effected
by those who veould wish to bring it into disrepute by
making it work ill. Now that many of the other
great questions, which have so long divided public opi-
nion end occupied the attention of Parliament, are
settled, registration both in England and Ireland, and
both parliamentary and municipal, must be taken up ;
and we are quite prepared to expect that in the very
next Session of Parliament this highly important sub-
ject will. occupy the principal attention of both
branches of the Legislature. If ever there was a period
at which Reformers should put forth their energies it
is at present. Indeed, this is so obvious that it is
scarcely necessary to enforce it by any argument.
Parties in that branch of the Legislature through which
the Government of the country can alone be carried
on, are so nicely balanced, that should a general election
take place, a very few seats gained by our enemies—
and at what politica! villainy would they stop to attain
them ?—would give those enemies the command of the
House of Commons, enable them to dictate to the
Queen, and establish a reign of terror in Ireland ; the
consequences of which there arc few men bold enough
to contemplate without alarm. The enemies of our
country are ever active, not merely in increasing their
own numerical strength, but—that which to them is
equally effective—diminish our forces. Let us fight,
them with their own weapons, and let every man who
eei oppose a Tory successfully he satisfied that next
to registering his own vote he does that which best ad-
vances the interest of his country.
(From the Morning Herald.)
The meeting of the Royal Bucks Agricultural As-
sociation, of which we, yesterday, furnished a report,
was of a highly interesting character. The Duke of
Buckingham stated the objects of the Association to
be, to secure protection to the agricultural interest—
and to reeeard deserving farm servants. In regard to
the first object, the Noble Duke observed, that the
members of the Association had " no desire to inter-
fere with any other interest, and he felt assured that
upon the prosperity of the agricultural interests must
mainly depend the prosperity of the country in which
they lived." In regard to the second object of the As-
sociation, the Noble Duke stated, that it less
pletely attained. "In the agricultural county in which
they resided, it was of the greatest necessity that a
friendly feeling should exist between the farmer and
the labourer ; and he was rejoiced to say that in this
county, no bad feeling had ever existed between
them." It will be a long time before the Anti-Corn-
law League- shall be able to boast that their free-trade
principles iaave created between manufacturing capi-
talists and manufacturing operatives, that cordiality
of feeling which exists between the farmers and the
farm labourers of Buckinghamshire ! " They all knew,"
observed his Grace, " that a man was liable to reproach
and misrepresentation for the course he might adopt in
the discharge of his public duty. He had encountered
some treatment of this description ; but he would as-
sure them, that he would always keep straightforward in
the line that he knew he ought to pursue." Of the mis-
representations to which the Duke of Buckingham had
been subject, we remember one remarkaole instance.
During the late Session of Parliament, the Earl of
Radnor, after railing on a certain occasion at the Corn-
laws, observed, that "he was not of the number of
those who thought that a repeal of the Corn-laws would
increase wages. No :—for his own part, he thought
wages unnaturally high at present." " What may be
the rate of wages," inquired the Duke of Bucking-
ham, "to which tr he Noble Earl refers ?" " Nine
shillings a week-in the parish in which I reside," was
Lord Radnor's reply. " If, then," rejoined the Duke
of Buckingham, " the Noble Earl declares that under
the Corn-laws wages are too high, what right can the
labourer have to complain of the Corn-laws ?" Next
day the Anti-Corn-law Journals broadly asserted that
the Duke of Buckingham had alleged nine shillings a
week to he too high wages for an agricultural labourer I
Mr. Dupre, one of the Members for the county of
Bucks, after expressing entire concurrence in the senti-
ments that had fallen from the Noble Duke, observed,
in reference to the late Devenport election, that " he
rejoiced at the defeat of Mr. Dawson, the brother-in-
law of Sir Robert Peel. The defeat of Mr. Dawson
was justly deserved by his conduct in suddenly turning
round, and declaring against those Corn-laws, which he
had formerly supported as a master-piece of legislation.
He hoped every trimming and time-serving politician
would be served in like manner." This is, undoubtedly,
the tone which: it becomes the agricultural body to
take in regard to all who ought to be found in the rank
of the protectors of agricultural interests. There are
many men in the House of Commons, styling themselves
friends of agriculture, who yet vote regularly in support
of the present Ministers—the present Ministers having
declared the Corn-laws to be an " open question," and
having shovrn practically what they understand by the
" openness" of the question in this case, by nearly una-
nimously voting in favour of repeal !
(From the Morning Post.)
Her Majesty's Whig Ministers were yesterday fa-
voured.with a lecture, or chapter of friendly admonition,
in the columms of that admirable organ of modern Whig-
gery, the Morning Chronicle. The text or thesis upon
which our Liberal and didactic Contemporary thought
fit to hold forth on this occasion, for the benefit of its
Downing-street patrons, was " the importance of being
true to the principles which raised them to power."
This, our readers will 'at once perceive, was a lofty
theme, meet for the eloquence of a Whig patriot. But,
alas
alas ! the days for the display of Whig eloquence have:
gone by. It was all very well to declaim about liberty,
ne
humanity, disinterestedness, and
so on,
. :re out of office ; but now that they when Whigs
have good
!o give away, something more homeAlschcosudhstan-
tiaa practical must be attended to.
ingly,
instead of the magnificent abstractions with whichr
Whig
political lectures were wont to abound, we find this
liberal remonstrant touching" the prince-pies which raised
the Ministers to power," dividing his whole discourse
between indignant complaint that the Whigs sometimes
give away good things to those who are not of their
party, and earnest entreaty that for the future they will
be wiser, and only bestow their patronage in return for
political support. Let no one suppose that this is
meant by our Contemporary for sarcasm. Nothing of
the kind is intended. The excellent " liberal" writer
never was more serious in his life, and the burthen of
his seriousness i that if Whigs would be true to
the " principles" which raised them to power,
!hey must take care that no good thing which Go-
vernment has to give away shall be bestowed
upon any but Whigs ! This is the grand Whig
political "principle" of these highly enlightened times,
when philosophy and " the march of intellect" have
done so much to enlar,:e the minds of all who are not
Tories! Our Contemporary admonishes the Ministers
that they owe it to the Sovreign and the people to—to
do what, do our readers suppose ? To administer the
laws of the land in the spirit of the Constitution ? To
Lk* of preserving
eerN To be continually at once public order and public
iciferl-7and always earnest for the national glory ?
No, none of these things insisted upon as that which
Ministers bye to. Sovreer and the people, but
thoiir
ar: • that they owe ietta the Sovereign and the
rKiie oestove their patronage ,‘•
in such a way as
raralyz,. the Government by
them without leadingthose
who seek facours to hope they may obtain
quitting the milks of the opposition." What a migna-
Aimous Whig philosopher!