The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-23 00:00:00

binding

LONDON, THURSDAY. APRIL 23, 1846.

The House of Commons met at Twelve.
The order of the day for the further consideration of
the report on the Friendly Societies Bill was read. A
long discussion ensued, and eventually clauses up to 16
' were agreed to, with amendments, and the further con-
sideration of the report was postponed to Friday.
A new writ was ordered for Falkirk, in the room of
Mr. BAIRD, who has accepted the Chiltern Hundreds.
Mr. ELPHINSTONE moved the second reading of the
County Eletions Bill, which limit the time of polling in
elections for counties to one day.
Colonel WOOD moved as an amendment, that the Bill
be read a second time that day six months.
The Bill was supported by Lord WORSLEY, Mr
BRIGHT, and Mr. BICKRAH ESCOTT, and opposed by
Div NEWDIGATE, Mr. BECKETT DENISON, Sir JAMES
Gus!'Amr, Colonel SIDTHORP, and Lord G. BENTINCK,
and on a division it was rejected by a majority of 23 ;
there being for the second reading, 32, against it, 55.
The Railway Deposits Bill, and the Commons En-
closure Bill were respectively read a third time and
passed, and the House adjourned.

r The Earl of ABERDEEN, some weeks ago, made some
brief remarks in the Lords, expressing, with more
warmth than he usually displays, his disapprobation of
the conduct pursued by the Greek Government towards
England in regard to the interest of the loan, and an-
nounced that it was the determination of the British
Government, as well as the Emperor of Russia, to take
some strong measures to enforce payment, in
case the present Minister, Cox,Ern, should per-
sist in refusing redress. The subject was ad-
verted to in the French Chamber of Deputies, when
M. GUIZOT took part with COLETTI, blamed the lan-
guage of Lord ABERDEEN, the Members approving of
M. Guzzor's remarks, and a few days afterwards the
amount required to meet the interest was voted unani-
mously. A wide difference has thus sprung up between
England and France about this small bankrupt state,
though it may be regarded rather as a personal than a
national feeling, the two eoreign Secretaries having
their respective favourites at Athens ; and
the Greek 'Minister seems resolved to make
it • still wider by setting the British Govern-
ment at defiance. After a great many shuffling
promises of payment, either by setting apart a portion of
the revenue, or including the Interest in the budget, or
some other equally improbable step for meeting the debt,
the budget, according to the last accounts, had just been
presented to the Chamber, without any provision what-
ever for meeting the demands of Lord ABERDEEN.
The foreign loan is not even alluded to in it,
and care is taken, in exhibiting the income and
expenditure, to show that payment at present
is utterly hopeless, as the revenue falls short of the
amount absolutely necessary to carry on the affairs of
Government. What step, then, will Lord ABERDEEN
adopt to enforce payment ? Will he seize upon some of
the more thriving seaports and collect the customs'
duty, or lay an embargo on the shipping, or threaten
to put: an execution into the royal exchequer at
Athens ? We fear he would be opposed, in ever
efficient attempt to enforce British rights, by the
French Minister, backed by the Chamber, for Greece,
ins dvent and ungrateful Greece, is a great fesourit,
there at present. COLETTI is devoted to French inte
rests, and he will make his devotion more conspicuou>
by insulting both England and Russia under the wing 0,
France. It iv, however, at best a contemptible quarrel
and the interests at least of two of the powers require
that it should be settled without delay. Greece is not
worth contending for ; she could render no assistanet
whatever to either of the two countries, shell!,
they unfortunately be brought into collision. Sht
is bankrupt, her KING remains what he was whet
be was first placed on the threme, there is no Minister
that really takes an interest in the welfare of the state ;
COLETTI, and MAVROCORDATO, and METAX" are en
gaged respectively, when, out of office, in devising
schemes for supplanting a rival, and Greece, whose
emancipation from Turkish dominion was so ardent!)
desired by the enthusiastic admirers of her former
clJeds, and, which has now existed as an inde-
pendent kingdom, for eighteen years, is, per-
haps, next to Spain, the worst governed country
in the world. Does it become the dignit)
of England and France to embroil themselves with her
affairs, and to rouse old national antipathies in their re-
spective Houses of Parliament for a people so lost to
all sense of gratitude and honour ? Looking at the cast
impartially, a e can make excuse for Lord ABERDEEN'S
irritation. Greece owes her independence to England.
Englishmen left their country and devoted themselves
and their property to her service. Loans were raised
and battles fought to release her from the yoke
of Turkey ; and all these services are repaid
by refusing to acknowledge her just claims, and
by treating England with contempt. These are
just causes of annoyance to the British Minister, but
they furnish no sufficient reason for quarrelling with
France, or adopting any strong measures that might
call forth a national display. Two men so little pugna-
cious as ABERDEEN and GUIZOT, and generally so much
guided by sound discretion, might settle the differences
by official negotiations without at all involving the sus-
ceptibilities of two rival nations.

We have read in one of the essayists of the last cen-
tury, that where two politicians of opposite views have
been fur some time discussir.g the character and stabi-
lity of a Government, if the disputant, nho is unfavour-
able to its continuance, should feel that his different
views and arguments have been well challenged and re-
futed, his dernier resort is, not unfrequently, to take a
familiar hold of one of the buttons of his adversary's
coat, and sinking his voice into a confidential whisper, to
assure him that he has good information of the Pre-
mier's health being in a most unsatisfactory state.
It such a conversation should happen whilst Parliament
is not sitting, a tew days suffice to set aside the gratuitous
assumption ; if it should occur during the session, a few
hours establish the same thing. In the mean while the
discontented politician has beaten his retreat, rejoicing
that whilst his own mind i 3 rank ling with his failure in
not having cAnbined another's with his own prejudices,
he has, at least, started a presumption, calcu-
lated to disturb for the moment the triumphant
composure of his antagonist. Much in the same
way has a morning Contemporary been driven to
a miserable expedient. After beating the air for several
maurpomneot hvuesrr
armoury
fpt with
ancienteei
ev
se every conceivable
andinvective,
exploded
a weapon
depahrp; drawnjoranrdthiege
sit,s
missiles
afterf r o mu a
it
using
gne
every direction against the overnm t, tot sump it with
the degrading marks of incompeteennc
an immediate, n
u:pu
0:
to):aeaurdi:
national suicide, it confidently announces
tlioambeenatn eallny,caisfensoot dissolution
that there is
generally what is known to be a "lightening before
death"--the surest sign of the patient being near his enhear dis the sudden impression he is under, that his
heead alottvhis.:
takes
se
it delusion
into
his
has h
fasttake nreotuurrncinogntetmo
phoirina;y. TheHe
tasa
a state physician can be found to uphold a
worn-out
cor:stitution by the power of the corn-laws ;Wthatthuet
House of Lords will. still find means to prolong life by
the continuance of the same stimulating regimen in
which it has so long indulged, and without which
it is fancied existence must immediately close. Such
is the tenacity with which he clings to his own
opinion, that be astenishea everybody by the strength
of his hopes when they can only recognise
the elements of devair. The dying monopolist builds
his chance of recovery first upon his belief that after
I July the Whigs will be strong enough to check the
1 further progress of Sir H. PEEL as Prime Minister, and
1 next upon the assurance he gives us that the Peers will
reject the Corn-law Bid. We look in vain for any suffi-
cient grounds for the latter opinion, and, without some
specific reasons, we cannot cAtcede the likelihood that
the prophecy of a speedy dissolution comes from
a quarter better enabled than others to judge
of such a contingency. On the contrary,
we confess that the vaticinations upon which ho ven-
tured during the past year do not inspire us with suffi-
cient confidence to receive implicitly the augury pro-
mulgated for the future. These are not the times when
the House of Lords would willingly repudiate any great
measure passed by a powerful majority in the Commons.
Thaneyt, trainedd s:,:hrealluigred se utnoderrecLoa Lord
frni
GoßEY';sheGosvheorenk-
rathat emanated from their inconsiderate policy. Sub
sequeatly they refused their consent to several