The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-27 00:00:00

PUBLIC OPINION.

The Morning Herald takes Mr. Ward to task for
having moved—by way of amendment to the clause-pro-
posing to grant compensation to Master Scarlett for the
extinction of his office—that "no compensation should
be awarded to and• officers appointed to their situations
subsequently to March, 1841." "For the great abettors
and maintainers. of a defunct Ministry," observes our
Contemporary, " the last stages of , whose existence
Were distinguished by a species of financial misma-
nagement and incompetency which carried on their
annual deficiencies of income from . one year to ano-
ther on a scale of geometrical progression—an in-
creasing series of diminishing quantities, as it were,
—these cheese-paring reforms are signal efforts, indeed,
to check the downward career of our public revenue!
Modest hundreds to counterpoise the dead weight of la-
vished tens, and scores, and hundreds of thousands of
pounds whirled away by Whig-Radical Ministers in
Whig-Radical schemes, till the deficiency, which was
four or five years ago little more than half a million, in
these five years has. become a deficit of more than seven
millions!"—When the Tories, for mere Opposition pur-
poses, advocated economical principles, then the Herald
discovered that' economy was the first duty of all Go-
vernments ; now that the Reformers advocate it, our
Contemporary discovers that it is mere humbug, and
speaks of it contemptuously, as a species of " cheese-
paring ".Reform. Such is the consistency and straight-
forwardness of Tory journals!
The Times, returning again to the Poor-law question,
expresses its satisfaction "at the promptness with which
Sir R. Peel has caused an inquiry to be made into the mal-
administration of the Poor-law at Bolton, and our hope
that be will direct a similar investigation into the extra-
ordinary statement of Mr. Sharman Crawford concern-
ing the condition of the poor in Rochdale. We mean the
statement that in that town there are now 136 persons
living on 6d. per week, 290 on lod., 508 on is., 855 on
Is. 6d., and 1,500 on Is. 10d. per week.' We are as
much at a loss to understond how these exact statistics
can be obtained, as how life can be supported on such in-
credible paltry sums ; and we think it a matter of im-
portance to ascertain whether this assertion, and others
like it, are true. If they are, they amount to a demon-
stration that the poor of this country are willing to starve,
and do starve, by thousands, rather than avail themselves
of Poor-law relief when encumbered with the, work-
house test."

• In reference to Lord Stanley's extract from M. Du-
vergier de Hauranne's Revue des Deux Mondes, in his
recent North Lancashire speech, the Chronicle remarks
as follows ;---" If the Tories are a pack of apostates,
how comes Lord Stanley in their ranks ? Is that a
-place for an honest man? They are the same people,
holding the same 'opinions, and seeking the same ob-
jects, now that he systematically co• operates with them
that they were when he systematically opposed them.
He cannot damage them, without damaging himself.
And yet. he cannot acquit them without condemning
himself. It is a miserable predicament, notwithstand-
ing the testimony of M. Duvergier de Hauranne."
Are the Whigs the apostates then ? Why, no ; for
this most providential witness, this, M. Duvergkr de
Ilauranne, comes very distinctly to their exculpation.
He deposes to the opinions of the Whigs being the same
in 1826 that they are now. He then told Lord Stanley
that his friends the Whigs seemed to have different views
on this question of Church property."—The Chronicle's
question, " how comes Lord Stanley in the ranks of the
Tories ?" is easily answered. He is there, because he
is most at home among them. Like clings to like.
They are apostates ; so is he, They care nothing for
character; he is equally regardless of it. They put on
the mask of liberality in order to further the purposes of
'party ; and he can adopt the same disguise with equal
readiness and facility.
The Post says :—" Nothing can be more malignant or
untrue than the repeated declaratior.s of the organs of
the late Ministry, that the present Government displays
indifference to the distress existing in the manufacturing
districts. It may he that, in the opinion of Whig-Radical
partisans, there can be no evidence of sympathy with the
people's distress except in the discussion of the Corn-
laws. But this is a very foolish opinion. At best it is but
an opinion • and it is rather too much to attack a Govern-
ment for indifference to the condition of the poor merely
because its ifiode of showing sympathy is rather more
practical than that of talking about the Corn-laws."—
If the present Government be not " indifferent " to the
. distresses of the people, how comes it that it allows the
session to expire, and five long dreary months to elapse,
before it proposes to take those distresses into considera-
tion? Can starvation afford to wait? The Government,
by its conduct, says "yes;" and shows its solicitude for
the interests of the country, by postponing all remedial
measures till the sporting. season and the Christmas
revelries are all at an end. , Then, when they have had
their full swing of pleasure, the Tories will condescend,
by way-of relief, to inquire into the distresses of the
people—but not till then.
The following is from the West Briton :—" Between
the late and the present Ministry there is this important
distinction—that whatever measures of liberality were
proposed by the first, they were unable to carry—while
the second have it in their power to effectuate whatever
measures a generous spirit of legislation may prompt.
That any such spirit will prevail in their councils we
fear there is but little hope, but should they at any time
be influenced by it, the benefit is certain. They
,have
it in their power •to conciliate a vast amount of angry
and insulted feeling by devising some plan of extinguish-
ingChurcli-rates,'

'The Leicester Mercury thus comments on Sir IL Peel's
dilatory course"of policy Five months ! Sir Robert
Peel. Death ! Five other months' endurance of hunger
and cold and wretchedness ! Why, Sir ! men, strong
menl full of hope !—men in whom the rich and
ruby stream steals joyously through their veins DIE OF
HUNGER in half a month ! Either the people have lost
their Courage, or poverty has brought about a careless-
ness—that is absolutely fearful. A million of men, wo-
men, and children of all grades I—suffering unheard of
hardships are to wait till February, 1842."
The Brighton Guardian makes the following remarks
in allusion to the New Poor-law Bill :—" The majority
of the Commissioners of Somerset House arc Tories, as
are most of the Poor-law Assistant Commissioners. It
never ought, therefore. to have been treated as a party
question ; and the Tories will find, before the year is
out, that their inconsiderate charges against the late Ad-
ministration on this-score will recoil with fearful violence
on their own heads."

We. find the following in the Leeds Mercury :—" The
fact is simply this—the Cabinet is decidedly and tho-
roughly a Pro-Corn-law Cabinet; and Sir Robert Peel,
whose commercial principles would make him favourable
to a free trade in corn, is made by his political views and
connexions the great buttress of monopoly."