The Sun.
London, England, 1834-12-11 00:00:00

SIR ROBERT PEEL.

Sir Robert Peel, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer and
probable First Lord of the Treasury, the eldest son of the
late Baronet by his first wife, the daughter of his partner, Mr.
Yates, was born the sth February, 1788. He commenced
his instruction at Harrow, where he displayed uncommon ap-
titude and ability, uniting ready talent with steady application.
Lord Byron, his contemporary, sass of him, " Peel, the
orator and Statesman, that was, or is, or is to be, was my
form-fellow, and we were both at the top of our remove, in
public school phrase. We were on good terms, but his brother
was my intimate friend. There were always great hopes of
Peel amongst us 'all, masters and scholars, and he has not dis-
appointed us. As a scholar he was greatly my superior—as a
declaimer and actor I was reckoned at least his equal. As a
school-boy, out of school, I was always in scrapes, and he
never ; and in school he always knew his lesson, and I rarely."
In due time Mr. Peel entered the university of Oxford; as a
commoner of Christchurch. In 1809 he took his seat as
member for Cashel, and early in 1810 seconded the address of
thanks to the Throne. During the same year he was made
Under Secretary of State ; and in September, 1812, was ap-
pointed Chief Secretary for Ireland. It is generally supposed
that from the period of his leaving Oxford he' was marked out
for the honour of representing the University in Parliament,
whenever a vacancy should occur. This took place on the ele-
vation of Mr. Abbott, Speaker of the House of Commons, to
the Peerage, in 1817, when Mr. Peel was elected to suc-
ceed him.

In 1822 he succeeded Viscount Sidmouth as Secretary of
State for the Home Department, and, with a short interval
only held that high office eight years.
In 1826 he commenced his most important measures, those
for the improvement of the criminal code. On the appoint-
ment of Mr. Canning as Premier he resigned, but returned
to office under the Duke of Wellington. The change in his
opinions on the Catholic question led to the resignation of his
seat for Oxford; he accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, and stood
at the ensuing election, but unsuccessfully. In the Right Hon.
Baronet's public avowal of political opinion to the electors of
Tamworth, in 1832, he said, " That he had never been the
decided supporter of any band of partisans, but had always
thought it much better to look steadily at the peculiar circum-
stances of the times in which they lived, and if necessities
were so pressing as to demand it, there was no dishonour nor
discredit in relinquishing opinions or measures, and adoptimg
others more suited to the altered state of the country. For
this course of proceeding be had been censured by opposite
parties, by those who upon all occasions thought that no
changes were required, as well as by those who, in his opinion,
were the advocates of too violent and sudden innovations. That
middle course, however, he would continue to pursue ; he held
it to be impossible for any statesman to adopt one fixed line of
policy under all circumstances, and the only question with
him when he departed from that line should be, am I aetuated
by any interested or sinister motive ?—do I consider the mea-
sure I contemplate called for by the circumstances and neces-
sities of the country ?"
Tamworth, which is represented by Sir Robert, owes its
prosperity to the manufactories established there by his father.
On the demise of his father, in 1830, he succeeded to the
Baronetcy, and almost the largest private fortune of any com-
moner in England.
In 1820 Sir Robert married his present amiable and accom-
plished lady, a daughter of the- late General Sir John Floyd,
Bart., by whom he has a family of seven children.