The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-19 00:00:00

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Government may be assured that they have as little
ground for hope in the support of the late Cabinet and_
their party, as in the divrsiense arelent—ln this
sense they may be quite confident there will be no " change
of Ministry." Although, perhaps, the French Court
writers are not altogether wrong when they in-
clude in the general felicitations upon the late " happy
event" at Madrid the minister who really "gave away
the bride," yet we cannot but think that even Lord
Aberdeen must regard such congratulations less in the
light of a compliment than as an insulting mockery.
Our generous ally distributes promises of office to those
whom he considers to be his servants in England just as
he sends the crosses of his Legion of Honour to his
creatures in Madrid. This, however, is to mistake our
national character—to confound the principles of action
in one country with those in another—a blunder hardly
to be expected from oue who has had such peculiar op-
portunities of knowing us. The members of the late
Government must now feel how completely they have
been duped. W hen they call to mind the successive
steps by which they have assisted an ambitious and un-
scrupulous Powezto arrive at an object which they admit
to be unjustifiable, which they believe to be dangerous
to the peace of the world, they must fe-1 how grossly
their confidence has been abused, and We have no doubt
they will, as far as they can, co: pensate for their error
by supporting those upon whom is imposed the duty of
repairing its effects.

POST.—Attempts are daily made by a section of the
influential Irishism of the sister kingdom to fix upon
England the whole responsibility of checking the famine
which is decimating their unhappy countrymen. The
people are taugl.t to believe that it is the Government
and not the scarcity, which starves them ;—that the
price of food depends not upon the amount of ininrta-
tions from abroad, but upon the reality of English sym-
pathy, and the inclination of the Imperial Parliament to
do " juetice t Ireland." In their political di,cussions,
the settled misery of their condition as a nation is
trace', as to a solo cause, to the " domination of the
stranger," and if the occurrence of the potato blight is
not directly ascribed to the same source of evil, we are
significantly assured that the onus of administering effec-
tual relief lies properly at our door, and that we are
justly held accountable for the consequences of possible
failure. We deny the soundness of these conclu-
sions ; England is properly responsible for so
much I.f the famine as can be shown to have
resulted from the denial of seats in the House
of Lords to Catholic prelates, or the non-assimilation
of the political rights enjoyed by the inhabitants
of both countries. Trace the connexion of the dearth
with the want of a domestic L, gislature ; show that the
genius of famine is enlisted iu the cause of repealaand
that O'Connell has won over to the side of his profes-
sions the powers of the air, and we will admit at once,
that. the suave,: peasant who shouts for a dissolution of -
the Union, is a martyr in defence of his country ; but
until these facts are established, the efforts now made to
relieve Ireland will be considered as so many sacrifices
on the part of the State to assuage misery, which it had
no share in creating ; which could never have existed,
if Irishmen of all classes had done their duty; or which,
if inevitable, ought to have been alleviated without the
aid of Government charity, or help of any kind, save
that which native interests could furnish. It is at the
present moment that the interference of England is truly
degrading to the patriotism of Conciliation Hall. The
value of good advice is great even in a time
of national scarcity ; but we are at a loss to
know the grounds upon which the " Liberator" con.
tinues to urge, despite the recent measures of the
Viceroy,
.and whilst rejecting the idea of calling Par-
liament together in extraordinary session, the assem-
bling of the Irish landlords in Dublin, to "direct
and control the Government" in the present emer-
gency. We should have no objection to the calling in
of landlord-counsel, provided it were landlord-purses
which had to find the means of carrying into effect the
result of their deliberations ; but as it is the wealth of
the national treasury which must rescue the people from
starvation, the Government haven right to say to the
Irish landlords, "Stand from between us and the inter-
ests which you are not able to protect. You have,
socially, at least, ruled the land for ages, and this is the
result of your supremacy—an inability to supply the
want of Jumpers. Talk not to us of the uninalienable
title which you have to the possession of the soil ; the
existence of a perpetual right involves the performance
of a perpetual duty: If the land is yours for ever, the
necessity of finding food for the human beings who
were born on it rests for ever with you also. If they
die of famine, whilst it can be made to grow something
more life-sustaining than weeds or hemlock, it is you
who are justly chargeable with the guilt of their destruc-
tion. Thu now appealed, as a last resource, to the
supreme authority of the State, which can dispose of all
rights, whether of property or existence, when the
general good is in peril. Give way then, and pass into
oblivion, wanting the charitable benison of—' Heaven
bless you I' "