The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LoWnplf,

TO CORRESPONDENTS.
No communication can be attended to unless authenti-
cated by the name and address of the writer.
Rejected communications cannot be returned.

THE WEATHER.—SUN OFFICE, JULY 15.
THERMoNETER, Lowest, 58; Highest. 77 ; Noon, 69.
Li-AMMETER, 30.34.—W1ND E.N.E.; cloudy.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE THIS DAY.
Morning .. 13 min. after 1 I Evening .• 3i min. after 1

blighted prospects and damaged character, the case is
altogether different, and we unhesitatingly assert that,
under such circumstances, he is entitled ex debito
justitice, to the fullest, and most unreserved statement
of the true facts of his case, and a thorough investi-
gation as to the truth of the charges that have been
preferred against him. In such a case the rules of
official subordination and etiquette can no longer be
violated. He has ceased to be the servant of the
Government, but he still remains a member of the
great body corporate, and as such is entitled to the
undoubted privilege of every British subject, that he
shall not be condemned unheard, and without the
fullest opportunity being afforded to him of repelling
the accusations that have been made, and of vindi-
cating his character, conduct, or acquirements, which-
, ever may be called in question. It is due to the com-
munity in general, that the grounds upon which any
person who has once held an honourable and respon-
sible station, and who has been removed therefrom,
should be clearly and explicitly revealed. If he be a
bad man who has degraded his office, the sooner the
public receive full information as to his delinquencies
the better, and he has no just claim that his errors
should be shrouded under the official shield, and he
himself protected from the contempt and reprobation
which he had richly deserved. But if, on the other
hand, he has been the victim of a faction, or of the
personal dislike or hatred of a superior officer, every
manly feeling in the human breast, every principle
of fair and impartial justice demands that he shall
not be permitted to perish in silence, his wrongs
being not only unredressed, but unheeded and un-
known. The subsequent full and unreserved expla-
nation also answers another good purpose. The
knowledge that these explanations may be demanded,
and, if so, that they will undoubtedly be granted,
exercises a salutary influence, and imposes a whole-
some moral restraint upon those in power not to
abuse the temporary authority with which they are
invested for any private or personal motives, as they
must be conscious that the secret springs of their
actions may one day be brought to light.
We have been led into the foregoing observations
in consequence of a conversation which took place in
the House of Commons, upon Ai onday evening, rela-
tive to the case of Mr. THOMAS O'BRIEN, late Colo-
nial Secretary for Sierra Leone. It appears from the
statement of Mr. llswEs, in reply to a question asked
by the Honourable Member for Youghal, that Mr.
O'BRIEN had been removed from office in consequence,
first, of his general unfitness, and, secondly, of his
pecuniary embarrassments. Towards the close of his
statement, however, another and a very different
ground was put forward, namely, that it was neces-
sary to choose between Mr. O'BRIEN and the present
Governor of the colony. As it was impossible both
could be retained in the public service, one or the
other should be removed, and therefore Lord GREY
decided upon dismissing Mr. O'BRIEN. Now this
appears altogether at variance with the former part
of the explanation. It does not distinctly appear
what were the real causes of the dismissal. This,
however, is not the portion of the case with which we
desire to deal. Mr. O'BRIEN may, for aught we
know, have been deservedly suspended. But that is
not the question. Upon public grounds, we protest
against the distinct refusal to produce to the country
the papers explanatory of the circumstances. This is
the portion of the case in which every Englishman
must feel interested. Even the humblest felon is
entitled to a copy of the indictment preferred against
him ; while a gentleman—from his recent official
position alone, if he possessed no other claim to that
character—is refused the production of the documents
which must completely crush him, or which will vin-
dicate his character in the public estimation. Could
a more effective mode be adopted of damaging the
Governor, and serving the ex-Secretary ? Why
should they not be produced? It appears rather a
lame excuse to say, " that they abound in personali-
ties, and display a most acrimonious feeling." Let
it be conceded that Mr. O'BRIEN has not displayed
tact or discretion, points for which his countrymen
have never been very remarkable. If that personality
and acrimonious feeling be wholly unwarranted—if
the charges against the Governor (charges which, if
rumour be correct, are of a very serious character) be
unfounded, upon whom will the missile recoil ?
Manifestly upon him who now demands the produc-
tion of these documents. If it be intended by the
refusal to shelter the Governor (we do not hereby de-
sire to be understood as offering an opinion on the
case, for we know nothing of that gentleman or of
the merits of the controversy), surely a more silly
expedient was never adopted. The Hon. Member
who moved for their production states that he has
read them, and that so far as Mr. O'BRIEN is con-
cerned, he sees nothing objectionable therein. Should
the refusal be persevered in, can it be doubted that
when the motion is renewed on Monday, for which
evening the Hon. Member has given notice of his in-
tention of bringing it forward—that he will quote
everything serviceable to his client and injurious to
his opponents? Mr. ANSTEY is by far too acute an
advocate, and Mr. O'BRIEN, who we believe ventured
to enter the lists with the departed Liberator, with
whom he waged a wordy war for several years, is
too practised a controversialist, and too hard a hitter,
to permit the Governor to obtain a safe and efficient
shelter under the official robes of the Colonial Secre-
tary. Let the acrimonious documents be permitted
to lie upon the table of the House, and the public
will then know upon what grounds Mr. O'BRIEN has
been dismissed from the service of his QUEEN and his
country.

SPAIN.

Madrid journals of the 9th instant have arrived.

The troops in garrison at La Granja, during the
sojourn there of the Court, are under the command
of ESPELETA. NARVAEZ was to leave Madrid for
La Granja on the 10th.

The inhabitants of Madrid are still kept in a state
of profound ignorance of the state of things in Cata-
lonia and the Basque Provinces. They are told that
there is not a single insurgent in Biscay, Alava, or
Guipuzcoa, and that CABBERA is laid up with the
gout at Toulon.
It is with great delight that we have read a second
proclamation, issued by CABRERA, which we give
below :

" True to my oaths, and in pursuance of the honour-
able mission with which the King our Lord (whom God
preserve) has deigned to entrust me, I come to com-
mand, in the kingdoms of Aragon, Valencia, and
Murcia.
" Men of all parties will find in me but a friend who
will protect their persons and their interests. Being
the first in observing most exactly the sovereign anti
beneficent instructions of the King, those shall be the
only rule of my conduct. I will only be severe towards
those who may interpret them falsely, or elude by ter-
giversation their fulfilment.
"Let nobody prejudge my actions before knowing
them, or doubt that they will be conformable to the just,
conciliating, and admirable policy adopted by the fore-
sight of his Majesty. According to it all parties disap-
pear, and only Spaniards remain ; hatreds are put au
end to, and a happy reconciliation, founded in complete
forgetfulness of the disunions of past strife, promises us
an era of peace and happiness, so much desired by deso-
late Spain.
" Let no one abandon his home, or interrupt his ordi-
nary avocations. Everybody will be respected in his
own abode ; all just claims or complaints will promptly
be attended to, and justice done to them.
" I make war upon the common enemy—the Govern-
ment of Madrid, and those who by orders of the same
Government may come to oppose me ; but even these,
from the moment they have surrendered or are con-
quered, become also my friends.
"The officers of all ranks, and the sergeants, will be
received in their grades and according to seniority. The
soldiers will be incorporated in our ranks, if they wish
it ; if not, they will be left at liberty to go wherever
they please.
" I shall make no reprisals, or imitate atrocious deeds
such as disgrace the generals of the enemy—deeds which
an experience of many years makes me condemn in my
heart and conscience.

" Spain, that ought to be independent, found herself
exposed to be sold by miserable and disloyal men,
whose rapines and mismanagement have sold her to a
pusillanimous and covetous foreigner, who does not
know even how to respect his own ln.nour. Spain
ellims your support to shake off the ignominy which
ruins her.

" Let us be Spaniards, and nothing but Spaniards ;
let u:.4 all march united to the restoration of the throne
of St. Ferdinand, so miserably outraged and soiled;
that we may attain the reestablishment of order and
equity, under the august direction of the King our Lord,
wnose enlightened experience and misfortunes offer a
precious guarantee
.of. the legality of his acts, of the
economy of his administration, and of the foundations of
his government being in perfect agreement and harmony
with our usages, manners, wants, and beliefs.
" Inhabitants of the three provinces belonging to my
to arms, to ennoble, by new titles your
will be that in which
acioimciemnatngdi fly
glories! Spain and Europe will admire you, and
the happiest day for his Majesty
he shall be able to reward you, and, having secured the

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