The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-29 00:00:00

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f
fa7iemaicizttanto:
give
(filej '
car 'rem
that
acedrtikeem
Administrationsnwste
cchenlhi tennib:e etarcroenosrintynostg_fr
cal
fsieHtoreocArwihfareewitdiihootetransactions
ofttd yhta4
jesyhoss oeorfevdmseleevreynnni.
(tl)m,
aetahiyi
who
When some future -Macaulay shall have dived
s
last (three years-7-when the true motives which have
_during that-period .shall be tiefolded-for the futtike
and Mary our statesmen will
_appear in a light at
all more respectable than they do ? We are said
to live .in an age of progress. Have titer statesmen
progressed ? If so, we may well inquiringly ask,
have they progressed in baseness or in virtue ? It
is true that no exiled Monarch ,now exists with
whom they can keep up treasonable communica-
tions to bring about his restoration to his throne -
but the same principles—if principles they.can be
produzed the " base and wicked
conduct" of the Russells and the. Churchilli of
those days, have evidently been in full op°.
ration amongst the Russells, the Aberdeens, and
the Paliners.this of these. "They have," as Mr.
Macaulay shows that their ancestors did—they
have only done "after their kiiid. The times
have been troubled. A thick cloud has hung over
the future. The most sagacious politician cool I not
see with any clearness three months before hittr.
To a man of virtue and honour," says the indig:
nant historian, "this matt-red little. His tin ier-
tainty as to what the morrow might bring forth
might make him anxious but could not make him
perfidious. Though left in utterdarkness as to what
con ::erned his, interests, he had the sure guidance of
his principles. But unhappily, men ofvirtu3 and
honour were not numerous amongst the statesmen:,
of that age."
A future Macaulay, writing .
,present events,
might state with truth that Downing-street bad
during a quarter of a century " swarmedwith-low-
minded, double-dealing, self-seeking politiltianail
These politicians have acted as it was natural that
men profoundly" profligate in political affairs
" would act at a crisis of which none could predict
the issue. Some of them had a strong predilec-
tion against the French Emperor ; some of them
had a strong predileetimi- iiGfaxplir of Russian,-
power ; but it was not by any such predilection
that the conduct of any of the breed was guided:"
If they had thought that the spirit of the nation
would compel an alliance with the French Em-
peror, they would all have been fur Louis Na-
poleon : if they had thought that the nation would
have tolerated Russian encroachment, they would
ail have been for the Czar. " But what could
they do when the chances were so nearly balanced ?
The honest men of our party answered," resist
Russia to the death in the attempt to crush the
liberties of the world. " The honest men of the
other party answered"—Russia is the great Conser-
vative power which uphold the despotic monarchies
of the Continent. Let us not assail that Conser-
vative CJlossus. Eut such consistency was unin-
telligible to the noble and the powerful; their ob,
ject.was to be safe " in office" in every event ; they,
therefore, openly argued for going to war at WI
Russa, and secretly gave their assurance to Russia
that they would avert such dire extremity. This
denounced Louis Napoleon as a tyrant on the Ett it,
ings ; but hastened to crouch to him when hey
waute 1 him as an ally. Such, with a few trifli ig
ad ,pta ions to the al. ered circumstances, may well
I e the contemptuous words of some future Ma(au-
lay, words which the -present Macaulay has em-
ployed when describing the statesmen of the time
of William and Mary. Who can deny their being
strictly applicable to the statesmen of the
.tim)
of Victoria ? To them the word "c, nsistenoy"-is
unintelligible. They can see no baseness in hold-
ing one language to the Ozer, and another to the
British nation. They can see no baseness in pro 7
mising the nation to conduct the war with the ut-
most vigour, yet nevertheless so conducting it as
to spare the foe whom they undertook to conquer.
When the language of the late Czar comes to be
accurately ascertained, and the exact nature of it
set forth by some future historian, will it not be
found that it was full of complaint against the
Euglish Ministers for having betrayed him into the
war ? They beguiled him into the belief that they
would not fight, and then consented tobe the agents
for carrying on the fight against him. They sought
a balm for their concieuce in a fresh treason. Tney
promised the British people to carry on the war
with the utmost vigour, and they have contrived so
to conduct it as to do the least possible injury to
the country which they assailed. Their state of
mind was this—if our armies are triumphant, well
and good ;we shall reap the glory. If they are
defeated, well and good ; excuses can be formed,
and Russia is saved from being humbled. They
failed in both. Our army, triumphant in battle,
was destroyed by shameless neglect.. England
was dishonoured; but Russia, nevertheless, was
humbled.

[PRIOR 4D.- STAMPED SD•

lan I and all other expenses, had been brought down to.
15,000 g. per mile. Taking the cost at 15,0001. per mile,;
and a.suming that the line :between Shrewsbury and,
Hartlebury afforded traffic equal to that portion of the
Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton line, and allow-
ing 50 per cent. for working' expenses, the receipts of
that line applied to this woula pay 61 per cent, on the
outlay. Taking it in comparison with the Shrewsbury
and Hereford they would have rather over 5 per cent.'
In looking through the retails of the different lines,
of .railway, he did not find any lower in its receiptst
than the Shrewsbury and Hereford, and, with the ex-I
ception of the Aberdeen Railway, none so low. In the,
eastern counties of England the average weekly receipts:
of the different railways were 281. per mile ; and, as-,
sliming that this line received only 261. per mile per week,'
they would have five per cent, on the outlay. Before'
the line could be carried out 150,0001. must be
raised in shares. He, as the chairman of the corn-:,
pany, would never sanction the corntnencernent of,
the line until he saw that they were in a position
honesty to pay for the whole of the undertaking,
and to carry it out in its. entirety. .Within the
!ast fortnight he had been. instrumental in obtaining'
subscriptions for shares to. the extent of 748,0001, ; and if`
Bridgnorth, Bewdley, and the other' towns along the
line, came forward liberally, the directors would be en-
abled to start the undertaking this summer, and the
line between Shrewsbury and BriagnOrth might be com-
pleted in fifteen months from the time of its commence-
ment, and the whole lice in two. years and a quarter.
By completing the Shrewsbury end of the line first, they
would have twenty miles opened, which would be earn-
ing as much at least as would pay the interest on the
debentures. In, conclusion, the hon, gentleman said he
wished to correct a statement that had gone abroad to
the effect that the directors intended only to carry out
the line to Ironbridge ; the directors were determined to
make the whoie
Mr. J. PRITCHARD, M.P., sp Ate- at some length in
support of the undertaking been at once carried into
effect, and to aid the directors in doing so he suggested
that a committee be formed to canvass the town and
district. He was himself prepared to support it.
Mr. FOWLER (engineer to the line) explained that if
the landowners could be induced to take tae value of
their lend in shares, a loss sum than that named by Sir
S. M. Peto (150,0000 would be sufficlent, and it was
not necessary that the whole of that sure should be lo-
cally raised. If one half was subscribed by parties re-
sident in the neighbourhood, the other half would no
doubt be provided by capitalists.
A discussion of some considerable length ensued, and
ultimately a resolution was adopted to the effect tbatthe
statement of Sir S. M. Pete was sa'isfactory to the
meeting ; and a committee of gentlemen was appointed
to cavass the town and neighbourhood for shares.
Votes of thanks were accorded to Sir S. Dl. Pete
and the Mayor, and the meeting then separated.

Tile Russell of William's days led his oil master,
King James, to believe that he would deliver up
to him the English fleet, over the command of which
his confiding new master, King Willi.llll, had placed
turn. And when King James, relying on his assur-
ances, acted in full conviction of their fulfilment,
Russell, with characteristic faithlessnes,4 crushed
James's hopes for ever by the decisive
victory of
La Hogue. The Rus-ell of these days first openly
approved of the Papal aggreis!on, then secretly
connived at it ; then fanned the flame of wrath an 4
indignation which had sprung up against it, by
fiercely denouncing it ; and then when, by these
means, he had regainLd the confidence of the public,
he betrayed that confidence by bringing in a mea-
sure which cinfirmed rather than repelled the ag.:
gression. Allowing for the difference of circum-
stances, what is there to clio.ise between the
Ru:-ell and the Nottingham of William's time,
and the Russell and the Aberdeen of Victoria's /
Are they not the same motives by which " the
conduct of the breed is guided I" We ask thou, in.
this age of progress, if cur statesmen have pro-
gressed, have they progressed in baseness or in
virtue ?