The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-11 00:00:00

PUMLIC OPINION.

The Penny favour with the
Morning Herald, which, accordingly, advocates an in-
crease of the rate:—" For our own parts we honestly
confess a desire that a return should be made, not to the
old rates of postage, but to such a rate as, while it would
not check correspondence, would improve the revenue;
it being evident that a much higher rate than the pre-
sent would not restrict written intercourse, would be
cheerfully
.borne by the public, and would he most bene-
ficial to the Treasury. The Penny Postage.is an incon-
testable example of the danger of adopting the wise
saws of political economy in all their ultimate simplicity;
yet, during the Parliamentary discussions on this sub-
, ject, Mr. Rowland Hill constantly vociferated that his
great discovery (!) would fiscally fail unless his penny.
' plasters were adopted."—An increase of the rate—not-
withstanding the _Herald's assertion to the contrary—
would unquestionably have the effect of restricting " the
written intercourse" of the working classes of society,.
and so far, would be an obstacle thrown in the way of
their intellectual improvement. Regarding the matter in
this light, we should not be at all surprised` if the Tories
' were to attempt, an increase of the Postage rate, for
what do they care about the interests of the labouring
' classes, so long as their own remain uninjured?
, The Advertiser thus comments on the Duke of Wel-
lington's late strange declaration in the House of Lords
' respecting the distresses of the country There is
plenty of food, he avows—no less than three million
quarters of corn, in addition to the produce of our own
harvest ; and yet, in his Grace's estimation—the man
whose knowledge and wisdom, preside over the Cabinet,
and mould its policy—in his Grace's estimation, Parlia-
ment ' could not relieve the distress ;' he has seen
Parliament sit for many years, and distress always com-
plained of ; but he has never seen measures proposed
which could create work '—the want of work, not the
want of food, being, in his Grace's opinion, the cause of
the prevailing distress. Let the sufferers take comfort
from that ! They. bare been suffering for many years ;
why should they Arow become impatient ? Habit, is
said to be second nature ; and his Grace of Welling-
ton has therefore some' reeron for thinking that long
habits of fasting should long since have reconciled
the poor to the process of starvation."—lf the
Tories could change places with the workine.
classes, and be put upon a course of starvation for the
next five months, they would be clamorous for an inves-
tigation into their case, long before that period had ex-
pired. They would not allow themselves to be put off—
as they now put off the' destitute operatives—with a
vague promise that their situation should be inquired
into next February. It would be no satisfactory answer
to than, that the amusements of their betters must be
considered before thele own necessities. They would
not rest contented with a smooth speech froni Sir Robert
Peel, No they would boldly take the question' into
their oWti Minds, for no one is so desperate anti deter-
' mined as a Tory, when his personal interests are invaded.
Witness his conduct on the Reform Bill, when he con-
vulsed the country frdm one extremity to the other, for
the sole selfish purpose ofpfeeereing his pocket boroughs.
The Chronicle is of opinion that f. 4. it Robert Peel will
have some difficulty in satisfying the expec!ation:.which
he has raised atriotig the people. We do na
for the people expect little or nothing from him,.. and
cannot therefore be disappointed to any very provoking
extent. The following are our Contemporary's own
words :—" That Sir Robert Teel will be able to satisfy
the expectations which he has excited is very question-
able. He has to invent a scheme of protection which
will satisfy the landed interest, and of enlargement
and freedom of commerce to satisfy the industrious
classes. He has to invent a scheme by which, without
adding to the taxation, he is to augment the re-
' sources of the country. He is not only to do what
the Whigs proposed to effect, but he is also to do
a great deal more. He is to mitigate the rigours
of monopoly, without offending or alarming the mo-
nopolists ; he is to make a change in the
Corn-law, and yet retain the support of the agricultu-
rists in trying to benefit the manufacturer; and, in ad-
, dition.to equalising the income and otpenditure of the
country, he is to maintain the Poor-law, and yet Ittain
the support of its opponents. The Duke of Richmond
h 1 given Lit /mike a change in the Corn-law,
provided he protects the agriculturist; but how fair play
is-to be thine to the commercial and manufacturing inte-
rest, iii etinitiitetiert with the amount of protection which
will satisfy- the Duke of Itielirtiond is, we fear, a pro-
blem which will'require a .PrOfounder mind than that of
Sir Robert Peel's to solve."—A change in the Corn-lave
that will satisfy the'.Duke of Richmond, and those who
think with filar, 0,1 be .equivalent to no change at all.
The Change, to be really valuable, must be exceedingly
distasteful to the monopolists:
. The. PitneA says=" The real misfortune Is, that the
distfess which does exist, Mid which Is likely to increase,
is of a.kind.whieh no lawahave created, and which no
legislation can cure. This may be perceived from the
feet, that etell4rifornied persons anticipate a speedy re-
moval of the Cloud which at present hangs over the mer-
chant ,and the mantifeettiter, without, however, at all
ekpecting that the cOilditiciti of the labouring classes will
be thereby improved. Trade, they say, seems likely to
get better; the complaints of the master manufacturers
may be expected to subside, but no such hope exists for
the cotton-spinning operative ; he, and all connected
with him, tlitist look for the fats which has long since
overtaken the handlocnri weavers, and from the same
cause."-31f,as our Contemporary states, " nolegielation can
cure " the present distresses of the people, than the task
of the Ministry is in one respect a sinecure, as indeed
they seem strongly disposed to consider it" Ilhit for
what, we ask, has Sir Robert Peel taken office, if not to
ameliorate the condition of the people ? For what has
he ititreated fire- months' clellberatlOn, If not to devise.
some remedy for: the distresses, which all parties aehnow-
lodge to he get-1004 ptefitlent iii the emititty ? Far
what did he turn' out the late MiiiiStfyi if hot to legislate
in a more efficient spirit, than he contended they could
do 'it if We agree with the dictum of the Times, then we
must come to the conclusion that ill dedeptin,s, office, no-
thing was further, from the Tory Prefiliere thoughts
then to pro*lde a remedy for the distress of the' people,
geeing that ito remedy. can possibly affect that distress,
We quote the following from the nip. A troliti.
cal petition comes up from Tamworth The Secie2l
of State desired to know whether the signatares are ge-
nuine or fraudulent, arid sends down to inquire. Old-
faehioned honesty would have rejoiced at this, but Whig-
. Radical honesty Was exceedingly sore (not without same
reason, as it appeared upon examination), anti cried out
most lustily, Whig-Radicalism cannot bear that the ge•
nuineness of its political doeturients should be carefully
scrutinised. Again Whig-Radical honesty made complaint
of the bribery and intimidation at the late general election,
Such things are very wrong, said the Conservative Prime.
Minister. Let the facts be inquired into, and where we
'find tho crime let us punish it by disfranchisement with-
out regard to the population of the place where it has
occurred. Does not Whig,Radical honesty rejoice and
clap its hands at this
By no means ; it is, on the con..
trary, very much vexed, and says that Sir Robert Peel's
proposal is g‘ a distinct announcement of a wish virtually
to repeal the Reform Act "
The Plymouth Journal, r emarking Oh the titorbigtion
of Parliament, says We are almost tempted to wish
for a power to compel the Members of a Parliament deaf
to the remonstrance of reasont and the cry of distress, to'
remain and attend to their duty, instead of hasting to
the country to kill hares, partridges, and pigeons, and
fine and imprison poachers."
The Somerset Gazette observes, in an article on the':
.distresses of the country—" England is the country for
the rich ;—it-is a very paradise for the privileged, for,
as the,y make the laws, so the laws are made for their
profit and advantage. But it, is not a habitation for the
poor, nor is it any consolation to the millions, who are
'unduly depressed by. class 'legislation, that a few of the
most energetic among them, when favored by a combine-
' lion of lucky' accidents, are permitted to raise themselves
to rank and fortune."
We quote the following remarks from the Liverpool
Chronicle:—" The new Ministry has justly earned for
itself the title of the Apostate Ministry. If there is
any truth in the aphorism, Qui.facit per alios, facit per
se, never were so many pledges and promises broken by
any Administration as those which have already been
scattered to the winds by Sir R. Peel mod his friends."
The following is from the Dublin Evening Post "It cannot be too often repeated that it is in England.,
. this enormous bribery—this most degrading and con-
firmed rottenness prevails, and yet .it is to England
alone that the Tories are indebted for the boasted
majority which has enabled them to force themselves !
upon the Queen, and to spiee..upon the government of
the country." •
The Scotsman says :---" The people have themselves
to blame for forcing a Tory Ministry upon the Queen,
and must place their chief reliance on the legitimate in-
fluence of public opinion, and on their own exertions in '
the Courts of Registration. ' i

• MONEY—TRADE—COMMEIZCE.
The accounts from the manufacturing districts are on
the whole wore favourable than they have been for some

time. At Lee* more activity had been displayed during
the last week- in the wool trade, than for weeks past.
The prices of cloth's are steady. At Huddersfield the
demand for heavy plain and fancy woollens, and light
fancy goods, was considerable. In the Bradford market
prices remain steady. Stocks are not accumulating. The
accounts from Halifax state that long wools are steady,
and though short wool is scarcely so brisk as it was,
prices are steady. The state of trade at Manchester is
still very bad—the tendency is still downwards, which,
with the slight advance on Cotton, makes things worse
.than they have ever been seen.
" A great number of compositors and pressmen in Lon-
don are said to be out of work at present, owing to the
stagnation of trade caused by the failures among book-
sellers. One or two meetings have been held by the
journeymen printers preparatory to a public meeting,
to consider the propriety of an appeal to the public on
their behalf.
The distress at Paisley continues unabated. The
number of persons dependent on the relief fund amounts
fully to 4,500.