The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-01 00:00:00

eurning

LONDON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1846.

Nothing can now interfere with the realisation of
the Ministerial project as to the abolition of the dif-
ferential sugar duties. The prean of commercial pro-
tection has been sung ; efforts the most strenuous
have been made to preserve the ghostly residue of that
very ricketty system ; but garbled statistics, exag-
gerated oratory, pathetic appeals, and vituperative hos-
tility have proved equally inefficacious. The mandate
has been issued, and Monopoly beholds the moment
of its immolation. Like " great Julius" at the base
of POMPEY'S pillar in the Roman capital, Protection
sees the futility of keeping its enemies
any further at bay, and, " muffling up
its garment round its face," prepares to
die, if possible, with dignity, not to say decency.
The honourable and melodramatic Member for the
University of Oxford is the spokesman upon the oc-
casion—Mr. SPOONER is the false friend plunging his
weapon into the bosom of the doomed system, in the
name of patriotism— and with despairing accents and
agonised features Sir ROBERT H. INGLIS ejaculates
a kind of Et to Brute ! reproach, and resigns him-
self and his party to the decrees of an unpropitious
destiny. " When I see a majority so large," says
he, referring to the division which has just given one
hundred and thirty in favour of Lord J. RUSSELL'S
proposed scheme, "when I see a majority so large,
I cannot but be conscious that further opposition is
hopeless, and can only lead to irritation and to an
useless interference with the discharge of public busi-
ness." At last, therebre, these redoubtable gentle-
men are becoming conscious of their real position—
they are proving themselves to be literally political
jouN WILLETTS. It takes such an amazing time
for any single idea to soak regularly into their peri
craniums, and at length slowly and deliberately to
break in upon their comprehension. Nay, so striking
is the analogy between their character and
that of the famous Mr. WILLETT, that we
should hardly have been surprised if, supposing
Mr. SroorcEn to have made some correction, like that
of SOLOMON DAISY, " your senses, Johnny, not your
sense !"—we should scarcely have been a,toniahed
had Sir ROBERT INGLIS turned upon the Hon. Mem-
ber for Birmingham, and after surveying him in the
dull and immobile fashion of JOHN WILLETT, at last
silenced him in the words of his prototype—" You're
a comin' it pretty strong, sir, you are !" But seri-
ously, we are rejoiced to perceive these protectionist
representatives showing some consciousness of the
fact that their position in the House of Commons is
no longer tenable—that they can no longer continue
a kind of heavy drag upon the wheels of the Legisla-
ture. The light of this idea is at last breaking in through
the crusts of their prejudice, and illuminating the
darkness of their comprehension.
Happily the Ministerial project in relation to sugar
is winning its way slowly, but surely and peacefully,
through the lower ordeal of Parliament. The House
has formed itself into a Committee for a consideration
of the various resolutions; and, despite a variety of
specious or blundering amendments, those resolutions
have been successively agreed to, and the report
ordered to be received on Monday next. These are,
in short, indications of the ultimate acceptation of
free trade by all parties without distinction—landlord
as well tenant—the men with enormous rent-rolls
and the men with a capital of sixpence-halfpenny,
agriculturists as well as manufacturers. This we
more than anticipate. The old hull of Monopoly
is reduced to a wreck, and is floating off
upon the surges of oblivion, the drowning
protectionists are rescued from danger by a con-
siderate reform ; they must gradually become incor-
porated (not among the compulsory passengers, but)
among the working crew of free-traders. That is the
posture of present affairs; the protectionists are now
in a state of transition. That they will ultimately
emerge from this transition, and assume a healthy
and tenable attitude, we are confident. That they
may do so quickly is cur cordial aspiration.

The enlarged accounts received of the extraord
nary scene that occurred in Conciliation Hall, on
Monday, ;strengthen the view we took on Thursday
that an irremediable division has taken place among
the repealers, and that every right thinking man
will temperately rejoice at the separation effected
between the advocates of " physical force," on the
one side, and " moral resistance," on the other. If we
thought that this exhibition of discord, and of inter-
nal weakness in the body ofthe Association would be, in
any wise, meanly taken advantage of by the Executive,
and lead to any relaxation of their expressed inten-
tions to introduce " comprehensive measures" for the
political regeneration of Ireland, we should not be of
those who will feel gratified at the secession of Mr.
SMITH O'BUIEN and his intemperate disciples from
Conciliation Hall. But our satisfaction is based upon
the conviction that a high-minded and generously
disposed Government will recognise the present
posture of affairs among the repealers as the most
favourable for their pursuing with increased energy
any schemes which they may have in contempla-
tion for promoting the future welfare of Ireland. The
healthy functions of a Government are disordered, and
its moral influence, which, to be effective, it ought al-
ways to maintain with the great body of the empire,
becomes impaired whenever any great changes are
wrought, by reason of their principles, repudiated, in
the first instance, by the Executive, having been
thereby subsequently embodied in a powerful associ-
ation, acting independently of, and in declared oppo-
sition to, the regular authorities of the land. Con-
cessions thus accomplished are deprived of all grace
—they are ever attributed to fear—even, though
late, moral conviction should ultimately lead the Go-
vernment to sanction them. Therefore, had the
Repeal Association preserved its unity of strength,
and, in the meanwhile, the Cabinet had se-
cured the approval of Parliament to the most
salutary measures of different kinds of reform, there
would not have been wanting many of the self-styled
patriots of Ireland, who would have attributed their
enactmea exclusively to the agitation they had up-
held, and not, in any degree, to the intrinsically pure
motives of a British Legislature. And such has
really been the pernicious view enforced upon the
minds of the Irish during the last seventeen years.
It was so stated, acknowledged, and commented
upon by the Duke of WELLINGTON, in the earlier
part of the present session. But now the Government
have an opportunity for reversing this untoward
feeling, such as has not presented itself to any one of
the numerous Administrations that have of late years
ruled over our national concerns. Theirs will be the
pleasing and opportune task, whilst dissension has
broken the ranks of the repealers, to evince that a
righteousu lt.i pone tn
political of what
ha is n
p pin
eessss essential t ial
the t
no e
gh the
neighbour
or au
rn
n g isle, and not a craven senseue: of civil commotion,
alone animates their every legislatorialttl as well as
administrative, having reference
acting with promptitude and zeal in this spirt, theyd. By
will turn the present conjuncture to the greatest
possible account. They will cause the warm
and ardent feelings of the Irish to flow in legitimate
channels, and they will do much to take the sting out
of the reproach which has been thrown over the past,
that, not from good-will, but from unworthy appre-
hensions, has any boon been received by Ireland.
Anger, jealousy, and discontent would be no longer
suffered to gangrene a nation's mind, whilst gratitude
and affection would gain a rapid ascendancy. Consi-
derations such as these will not, we are convinced, be
lost sight of by Lord J. RUSSELL and his coadjutors, and
hence our rejoicing at the rupture to which we have
yesterday and to .day called the attention of our readers.
repeal itself we have always treated as the diseased
production of An over-heated imagination. The exis-