The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-30 00:00:00

PUBLIC OPINION.

The Morning Herald praises in exaggerated terms
what, it is pleased to call, " the forbearance and good
sense" of the landed interest, observing :—" It is highly
to the honour of the landed interest that, after the un-
measured and coarse imputations which their support of
the Corn-laws has drawn down upon them at public
meetings in manufacturing towns, their own forbearance,
and good sense, and a just appreciation of the danger
of loosely accusing of unworthy motives an interest
of such immense and extensive influence as the
manufacturing masters and mill-owners—have mani-
fested themselves in a remarkable degree of for-
bearance and even of good feeling. Every lover of his
country will pray for the continuance of such friendly
relations' between two such pillars of the State.',"—
It is easy to talk of the " forbearance and good sense" of
the land-holders, when they have everything their own
way; and as for "friendly relations," of course they will
always be ready enough to cultivate such " relations"
with the manufacturing interest, when, like Irish reci-
procity, the advantage is all on their own side. But
wait till the land-holders are imperatively called on to
relax the present despotic Corn-law system, and then see
how far their "forbearance" towards the manufacturing
interest will extend !

The Times, after quoting some remarks on the present
dissatisfied and distressed state of the country from a
Liberal Journal of yesterday, goes on to say :—" Let it
be observed, that this is a description, in a Whig
Journal, of England as left by the Whigs, after their
having had the management of its affairs fur a period
of ten years. This is the state to which they have re-
duced her ! They have brought the machine of Go-
vernment to a standstill, and now hand the country
over to their successors, by their own showing, with a
bankrupt Exchequer and a population on the brink of
insurrection ! 'Let it ever be borne in mind that this is
a Whig's own confession of the lamentable predica-
ment in which the nation had been involved by the
blundering and mismanagement of his own party."—
Has our Contemporary no recollection of the state to
which the Tories had reduced the country when they
left office in 1830? Has he forgotten the blazing hay-
ricks and farin-yards; the all but general insurrection of
the peasantry in the agricultural districts; and the alarm
so generally prevalent in the metropolis, as well as the
provinces, that the King was actually recommended not
to expose himself to th perils of a carriage-drive into
the city of London ? Though the country be certainly
just now in a state of great distress, yet that distress is
nothing to what it was when the Tories quitted the helm.
There is no Swing abroad now to carry dismay to the
hearts of the Barings; though as this monster was ex-
clusively of Tory creation, it is not improbable that,
under their fostering patronage, he may -agaii. appear,
like the Devil, in flame and smoke.
_ _

The Morning Advertiser contains an article on the
subject of the progress of Puseyism, which, if we may
rely on the following, passage, would seem to be endea-
vouring to insinuate itself into Scotland :-:—" As the first
step towards their contemplated incursion into Scotland,
tine Puseyites are now busily engaged in raising funds for
the erection and endowment of an episcopal university in
Perth. The Perthshire Advertiser, we observe, hints a
doubt as to the accuracy of the fact. There is no ground
for the doubt. With regard to the success of the scheme
in Scotland, that is another matter. Scotland is not the
soil for Puseyism. The intended Perth university may
breed as many clerical Puseyites as it please ; but the
projectors of the scheme reckon without their host when
they calculate on being able to find a resting-place for its
foul spawn on the other side of the Tweed. Episcopacy
of any kind will never flourish in Scotland ; the genius
of the Gospel and the memory of the. Covenanters
equally forbid it."
_ _ _

The following is from an article in the Chronicle, on
the subject of the Tory system of tactics;,—" The late
Ministry conceded to the suffering people, suffering by
no failure of theirs, a bold (but to themselves suicidal)
effort at relief. The present Ministry declares no effort
to be necessary, and postpones any inquiry about the
matter, that Members may go a-shooting. This is the
plain difference between the two Governments. Accord..
ing to the Tories we ought to be contented, thankful,
and hopeful. Our troubles will all blow over. We
are rich enough to plunge a few millions deeper into
debt. The loaf is 10d. here, while it is. only 51d. in
Paris ; but there is cash in the savings' banks, and
why should we dream of mitigating the bread-tax
till the deposits are drawn out ? No occasion for
hurry. Honourable gentlemen have just got into the
receipt of official salaries, after not having touched
public cash for ten long years ; and if we ask how they
intend to earn it, there is surely some consolation in
being told that till. next year they will think fur the
money. Of what is really their own condition, the
people themselves aro the best judges. Those who
neither feel, see, hear, nor read of any considerable
public distress, or reason to apprehend it, will of course
applaud Sir Robert Peel for his present system of post-
ponement. Though even they may think lie would have
been an honester man had his conversion to procrastina-
tion been somewhat earlier. For those who think dif-
ferently the course is plain. They see a progressive
evil at work in commercial restrictions, the ravages of
which cannot too soon be arrested."

The Post says Such. leadership as the Opposition

*al boast of in the House of Commons, seems to be left
in the hands of Lord Palmerston. We do not think he
shows much fitness for the post. He is well enough for
a light skirmisher, but, for many reasons, incompe-
tent to the weightier matters of debate. The men-
tion of one of these reasons will be sufficient. No
one feels that Lord Palmerston is in earnest. Lord
John has, or had, his little tricks, which were any
thing but creditable to a man in his • position ; but still
there was in general an impression that he felt the im-
portance of this or that course of policy,.and was really
concerned beyond the mere strife of • the hour in what he
contended for or opposed. This gave a weight to what
he said, which is wholly wanting when Lord Palmerston
speaks. A few may smile at the smart things of the ex-
Foreign Secretary (though most of them are but old
spangles . brushed up to look almost as good ac new); but
no 0110 confides—no one attaches importance to the views
he throws out."

The Cambridge Advertiser gives the following cha-
racter of the Tory Premier :—" The whole public life
of Sir Robert Peel demonstrates that his country is
nothing to him. He is not ambitious to serve her, but
to gratify his own vanity. Egotism is the ruling prin-
ciple of his mind. He has no object in view to ennoble
the petty and paltry means by which he tries to im-
pose upon the world. Through all his doubling
and turnings, self, predominating self, peeps out. All
his stratagems have but one end, to gain applause ; be
would sacrifice the most patriotic measure ever proposed
to obtain a few cheers from an audience."
From thC following passage, it seems that the DuUin
Pilot has no hope of redress from a Tory Government:—
" Peel's policy is still postponement—postponement of
relief to England—postponement of persecution to Ire-
land—and the English will be lucky if they are as sure
of relief as Ireland is of persecution."
The Tyne Mercury observes of the present Minis-
try :—" Our opinion is, that they will not agree in any
considerable haste—that even five months' delay will not
produce any agreement—that Sir Robert's time for con-
sideration, and for maturing his plans, actually means
time to mix oil and vinegar, to make ropeS of sand, to
cause carriages to run smoothly and circularly upon
squaie wheels, to make misers liberal after a life of
hoarding,. to make rivers flow up hill, to compound es-
sence of sunshine, and to perfect the patent of forming
timber out of sawdust. Sir Robert's consideration, and
the maturing of his plans, consist in arranging the dis-
cordant elements by which he is surrounded, but when
will that be effected ? Not as long as those elements are
together." •