The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-12 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 1841

POLITICAL SUMMARY OF THE
MORNING JOURNALS.

The Morning-.Chronicis of yesterday contains a leading arti-
cle on the subject of peace or war with America, the object of
which is to prove that, as yet, there is nothing to justify the
apprehensions which . have been expressed, of hostilities be-
tween the two countries.—The Morning Post, in an article on
home and foreign trade, expresses an earnest desire that the
agriculture and home trade of Old England should be protected
from injurious foreign competition, adding, however, that some
competition, or the continually-existing possibility of compe-
tition, is good as a spur to activity, and a shield against extor-
tion.—The Morning Advertiser ,observes, with reference to
the Chinese affair, that much time has been wasted in pre-
liminaries, and that the " course of action is so manifest, that
delay only argues incompetency or imbecility."—The Morn-
ing Herald endeavours to show that there is still a chance left
of our maintaining peace with the United States, notwithstand-
ing the bluster and menace of the Van Buren faction.—The
following is from the Times :—" The Hatti Scheriff, which
professes to confer upon Mehemet Ali the hereditary Go-
vernment of Egypt, is a new and threatening element in
what is called the settlement of the Eastern question.
Byimposing a variety of conditions, not anticipated in
the recent conferences of London, it has undone the work of
the last few days, which already promised to place upon a stable
basis, and under the recognition of all the Powers, the great
general interests of the Ottoman Empire. The conditions im-
posed upon the Pacha are in themselves calculated to keep alive
constant jealousy and civil war. The selection of an heir from
the various branches of an Oriental family would be the infal-
lible prelude to those horrid scenes of fratricide and butchery
which have been but too frequent in Oriental history. The total
subjection of the Paella's naval, military, and financial resources
to the Commissioners of the Porte is totally unprecedented
in the Ottoman Empire ; where, subject to the penalty of his
life, amid the payment of tribute, a Pacha has always been the
full and sole representative of the supreme power within the
limits of his province. But the question is not whether these
measures are intrinsically good or bad for the Turkish empire
or for Egypt. A larger interest is at stake—that of Europe
itself. How are these conditions to be reconciled to the lan-
guage of our Government here and abroad? to the tenour of
Admiral Stopford's convention ?—to our subsequent com-
munications with the Pacha himself? They are calculated
to disappoint the hopes of every lover of peace and fair-
ness in Europe ; they are no less calculated to expose the
advisers of the Sultan to the reproach of underhand deal-
ing and diskonest machinations, which has hitherto been
thrown upon his antagonists. In the face of Europe it has
been proclaimed that the fleet was to be surrendered to its
rightful master, Syria evacuated, and peace consolidated, upon
the restoration of Mehemet Ali and his race to the Pachalic
of Egypt. In the face of Europe the Sultan and his allies
evade their part of these stipulations, which were trusted in by
Mehemet Ali because they were made in the name of Eng-
land. There is but one man, we verily believe, in the public
service of an European Power capable of urging on a weak and
unwise Government like the Porte to measures so shamefully
devoid of justice, prudence, and honour. If Lord Ponsonby
was retained at Constantinople to foster the dark intrigues
of the Seraglio, or to take a part in the base vengeances of
Asiatic courtiers, the country might understand his conduct.
But he has failed—and insolently gloried in his failure—in the
great object of restoring the relations of the Sultan and the
Pacha to a firm and fair state of peace. He has exposed the
Government and the country which he represents to the im-
putation of extreme bad faith. He has done all that in him
lay to defeat the efforts of the best and wisest statesmen in Eu-
rope for the maintenance of peace, by stimulating the brutal
passions of the semi-barbarous Divan, and by pledging the
policy of England to a course of action which had no source
but in his own wilfulness, rancour, and audacity. Until
Lord Ponsonby be recalled, it is impossible that the
Cabinet Council of the Queen of England can have
their own instructions carried into execution ; it is hopeless to
anticipate an adjustment so promptly or equitably framed that
this Alarplet will not upset it by some fresh extravagance.
No ambassador, we repeat, ever before presumed to disobey
the orders alleged to have been given him by his Sovereign,
and avowed by the Ministers of the Crown in Parliament,
with no better justification than his own caprice or intem-
perance. Certainly no ambassador having committed such
desperate and dangerous violations of his duty to the Queen,
to the country, and to the common interests of Europe, was
ever before allowed to retain a post which he has so frequently
and enormously abused. If the Government of this country
were in the hands of men who respect their own promises or the
credit of the nation, Lord Ponsonby's successor would by this
time be on his way to Constantinople.
FROM THE EVENING PAYERS OF YESTERDAY.
(From the Globe.)
The debates and resolutions of Congress and the
Maine representatives, brought by the Englaarl, have
nothing so surprising in them as the Report of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and afford no additional
reasons for apprehending a rupture, as they me.-ely pro-
ceed from the twofold sources of discord which sae
were already acquainted with—the local spirit of some
of the American people, and the party spirit of others.
The adherents of the party who have been lately de-
prived of power are making use of the popular suscep-
tibilities to embarrass their successors. It may reason-
ably be hoped that the same reaction against their prin-
ciples, which had strength to expel them from power, will
lime strength to frustrate their attempts out of power.
The difficulty of dealing with our independent American
kinsfolk is the same which sometimes occurs in legal
transactions with lesser associations—the difficulty of
knowing by what name, or agent, they will 'sue and be
sued—what responsibility they will admit or will abide by
collectia ety. If the federal authorities had in any way
sanctioned what they did not prevent (and what we can
lardly blame them for not preventing, in the present
state of their power)-rthe Lawless acts, namely, of the
"extraordinary and adve turous characters" on the fron-
tiers—then Great Britain must base already gone to
war with the United States. Again, if the federal au-
thor:ties had seen proper to resent the treatment which
we gave to their " extraordinary and adventurous
characters," then the United States must have already
gone to war with Great Britain, for most assuredly we
could have given them Lo satisfaction for that merited
treatment. But what a singular and anomalous position
it is, for the federal Government, which represents
the people of the United States in their foreign rela-
tions—what an extraordinary position it is, for this Go-
vernment, which we must resort to, when aggrieved by
the proceedings of the State authorities—that it gives no
sign of feeling itself the responsible party towards
foreign nations—the power which has to pronounce
whether the local authorities, against whom the British
Government appeals to it in the case of a British
subject, are, or arc not, to be supported, in detaining
that subject, by the will and force of the whole Union!
That is the plain question for the federal authorities to
decide. It can only be darkened by such rambling and
ridiculous diatribes as that of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs (or rather, Mr. Pickens of South Carolina.)
(From the Standard.)

The speech of Sir Robert Inglis last night upon the
the new Jew bill may be fairly taken as the protest
of the religious portion of the British people, whom
the Honourable Member for Oxford so faithfully re-
presents, against the de-Christianising of this nation.
The law of England, from the earliest times, has
assumed that the people of England are a Christian
people ; and for nearly 300 years had assumed that
they are a Protestant people. The assumption was
practically easy and obvious while the religion of the
State was guarded by penalties. Penalties, however,
as they are the instruments of intolerance, have
been justly and wisely laid aside, and the especially
Protestant character of our State has been with less
justice and wisdom abandoned ; but still, according
to law, we are a Christian people. " The faith of a
Christian" is still held to be an essential requisite of
British citizenship. Is this intolerant? Then Chris-
tianity itself must be intolerance ; for there can be no
question of the right of any society, whether national
or otherwise formed, to declare its profession and to act
upon the declaration. As is said by Coke (17 Co. 18. v.)
—it is not " cceluni nec solum" which constitutes a

nation, but a compact of allegiance and law. The
British nation, then, constituting a Christian society
by compact, there can be no theoretical intolerance
in its strictly maintaining that character, unless Chris-
tianity itself constitute a form of intolerance. But
is there any practical intolerance ? Questionless
there is not. The Dissenters from Christianity who
seek our shores, or who, being born here, continue
to live among us, attest by their conduct that the
government of a Christian society is that which
they prefer. They practically acknowledge that
they have all the benefits which the bulk of man-
kind can ever hope to derive from good go-
vernment protection of lifo, property, and ho-
nour, an open field for the exercise of industry
and adventure, with the most complete indulgence
in the enjoyment of their particular opinions ; in
short, a perfect equality in all the um-onditioned rights
of citizenship. More, however, is now claimed for
them ; they are made to demand, in addition to the
full enjoyment of the effect of good government, the
right of themselves constituting a part of those by whom
the Government shall be administered. This is more
than any one has the right to demand absolutely. AU
men are entitled to be well governed—that is a univer-
sal right—but from it results this qualification, that no
man has a right to share in the Government, except
upon conditions insuring its general goodness.
(From the Courier.)

We see by the Paris papers of -Tuesday, that the
Chamber of Peers has convicted M. Delaroche, the Editor

of the National, of the offence laid to his charge ; the
head and front of which was an insinuation that the
Peers were old and antiquated, and were, therefore, ra-
ther fitted for the grave than for the exercise of legis-
latorial duties. This offence seems so heinous in
the eyes of the Members of the Upper House, that
they have condemned M. Delaroche to a fine of 10,000
francs, about 4001. It would appear from this, that
the Peers of Prance are somewhat more tenacious
of their dignity than those of other nations,
more particularly anxious not to be held up to the
world as being too old. The senators of Venice
did not seem to take any offence when Othello
addressed them as " reverend seigniors," and as the
counsel for M. Delaroche observed, our House of
Lords were not dismayed when Edmund Burke called
them a " House of Incurables." To come to the pre-
sent day : the Radicals are exceedingly fond of attack-
ing the Upper House. O'Connell has declared it
a
nuisance, and in spite of the wholesome con-
trol it has exercised over the destructive mea-
sures of the Whigs, all sorts of insinuations arid
accusations have been made against it. Its
although
exercise
Cdruiritn,isihnedthe
been
nisiiomn in the as
pugnedin the
ece of the Earloarsestandm of
most
st injuriousCa
r i Cardigan he r
mass,
a rude at the Central _
directed an acquittal in the similar
of his honest opinion,
Yet that august body is not
case of Captain Douglas.
and the insinuationshacverimninoatl
quite so thin-skinned as the Members of the Chamber
of damage done to them by a
of Peers, who estimate
her