The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-27 00:00:00

THE SU LONDON,

organs, the chiefs of the Country Partydfeiind
discretion to be, indeed, the hetter, part, a idilour.
They have shrunk away, reluctaptlzfrorc4e.tte;npt-
ing grapes of office, compelled to aCkno4ledsee tbseir

incapacity to reach them, and assuming for the nonce
irtirittfte- fa-their resplinlibilitreV'''TlWirtithli that:
the faction is altogether impracticable._
„Rs numbers,
asetinaufficient. ...Its hold upon the ion, Oren of
its enthusiasts, is precarious. Its powers of per-
etrasion"--" and' - (sr are restricted:'
Its radii, though possessed of onitironiate abilities
has' contrived 'to estrange fkom `himself the devotion
Of his quondam. colleagues, ,Its princiPal, orators are
unpractised in. the labours of administration. Its
hopes are!,vsgue,• its 'views scattered, its vitality
dwindled to the merest mockery of existence. Such
is thopolitical party- which Lord STANLEY dreamt of
conducting -into the Ministerial Ctnaan, the land
flowing with the milk and, honey of emoluments. A
brief .but delicioui interval has proved. -enough to
dissipate.all the visions of authority indulged in by
the more sanguine believers
;in Protection. The
fary-guld of tibticiplition' nielted away in their
asp. They fancied themselves waking like Cultist°.
WIER SLY, in 4he embroidered silks of office,' and have
recovered their reason'after their momentary' intoxi-
cation in all thOPaverty of; opposition. The truth is,
.that Lord STANLEY appears to ;111tVe'collnted without
his host in looking forward. to •:tlie
,adheiion of Mr
GLADiTONE,'. that Itight:.noii: Gentleplan :refusing
,most peremptorily to join in the work or building
tup ts.Goverament over which the former would exer-
cise the sway of sniisrgitigY. Inlhis,unexpeeted
;re-,
Ir ction'' of an allian-ce'wit)i:4.,.on:tbe part 4;4...die'
'ilaost powerful among bis ..supposed -adherents, Ler;d

STAIcLBY may recognise the deserved retribution called

down 'upon his oviti head
,bY,liii3,,soa.rcelydefensible
.
',ati teceilints...:Conce-iving bialsellreo be,on,the eve of
,Autnstructing. a Cabinet, the Noble Lord may bave
flattered himself w ith -:the- :V iiin- Idea -that the ;o'cill c -
LIT?. of; thosei ant4edenta had,.lnOpine.;Oblitelta ect,'
Ticf,suctiNere the ngtinucherisheci.but for.aei,inatan by
Lord STANLEY, the recent reftnial.44l/ 14.1r..GnstifitoNs
''t.i; take-part in his •MitififirtaeEibteififainiisti hive
o,}iidaceiveci hip very quickly,
.ffle ro,ust have per,
ceived in that rejection 'of's proffered - union of their
n'Arceil the meritgOnSeiluedce.iic his career. :in suite
',orAft. , .I.l,pon,himielt. individual.)3i‘ we .do - not , anti
pate even foran insthnt-that the lesson thusenergeticp
.fbrced' Von hiS: ittretiticiti'ciin 'exerel-- any bsnefil
'inlidence.: ' With iiii`contenii,:oraries.. and
.coin

•
tiros, but more especially and 'above all. Kith
rising generation of politiciaris, the -example n.
, .
;Urn out:tO, be frrght with advaatsge, iAomich of
inculcates the truth that fickleneast.of.vp inion can
_ . 4

4dleratedeelthet itX the-teits tidtaiiiistration c.
legislation, and that" 04-enrettalfiOts-ot etri
' and We-:-;ithenis-clthipi4OO'karWaidto
lengthened impunity.
6 or.. Seeing diat,LortiriTehiCituSsimitast failed-entir
end.....;.vour pk'ch' tip a'dabinet even
n'fia.til-nt,Lord ;STANLEY, hl like, mann
has found his energies incapable-of :drawing togit
gr'stafficint'utnber of statesmen .;th'undeitalle w
hiin the duties. of the Gote.rpm2n-,—,the qaeqi9n
coaidered just now ia: that referring ,to the proLa
-subtatitute: •Fllge/rhere' thror-witir the .PrOtectiosi

ici-
-113,,
!ial

1 •
Of then" With tbe follewen Ofthe'ol(l Wfilig. faCtion; we
must lock for the Means of bringing,r4itting 4i4M.,.cri-..
:titmr..,-.,. to-, a- aettlenivat., Whe ~,,faithAit few: lattlrii
dint upon thiirspresentaiitre of th 4 house ofTsdfotd,;
and the still fever.' and` le=is
,- faithful paiiii4t.s.
r:A
.of
-the heiO:3l,e earldolto.of.Derby,, must ahanc4e,4
at Itast lyet awhile, the antWipation -so 'earnestly.'
clic rished
tartlet gtkie:a of shsriitthre 'piiiiii of., ovil. er
kid, ihe7, pr4pgatlves.,ol,-.patrattge,, Other hands
.thin theirs:roust,igratp ..the.,banbles.uf iNlinibteriil
'~authority? -Forothtr intelifilets'-intistbb'fekerVed'the
I
task' of extricating the ritation'T:froitc", its', prei nt
iciileriatuasr-its ,dilemmas , in .:klgard.to:the curren 3._,,
in legard.to the exchequer 'in Aiegard•to taxation; lin`
reard to retrenOlu?nt; • tii:a ''spoiiii :"reform, !to
.ecclesiastical re-.organixatiqn, ~ to, th.e.
,_ hiprarchiL.
eta ~,forsa of government
.- I-established • .amonkst
ottf• by ' the • Pontifical head;- f .Itutnn ... Catholi-,,
"Cfitn: '' IrortiititelY;'... there': 4,re .`inany:,., litatesnin
.still;surviving..of splendid ttliiiities, of spotless reputa-..
, tie!), of dariug'and,experience, ,who,7 might -1111, with'
honour to theinaelyea and tolhe country; -the rank 1;t.
_'lrst Taord.pf the Wreasury.. ' The .interest , just new
is to discover which of these will -ultimately. be se.-

lected tot occupy the post of the vacant Premiership.
..)-AalgS GRAHAM, with hiS many and' gifted is-
socist6s—Lord OLARENDON, .inyested with all the
prestige of - his brilliant career as • the Irish Lord-
Lieutenant—Lord PALMERSTON,' and the• principal
_champions _of liberty throughout the, world,, may
.blend together those capacities, which taken singly
would be almost adequate for the labours of Adini-
nistration. • Whether the ore' other, or all of these
diatiliguished.men,
.will respond, to the call,of their
SOVEREIGN and to the exigency of the occasion, by
collecting:around theria,colteaguisin:ibtled with sinai:
44 Tar'ngs nr.loyulti and, patriotism, , a very narrow.
interval of time .gay decide. Upon thelisaue' of the
-•negbtiationsi' now •' for:osta the desti-:.'
nie7si,. of
..England, au4 through • those the; des-o,
. thaesi more .or less, of . Enrol" • spaybe regarded
as dependent. .Therefore , it as that we await. with'
feelings of profound emotion the result caplibleatlny
• <1- 1'•
,AIRMFI2t, „mpg, announceo.
~ppr nspiraLloils
theroubieo are illtogether too high to .admit, avenick
a while, of our entertaininghthe hopes .and +foals 4f,
`ticiperents'to any party; or'oliqVe, or faetion
We- yearn for : the close ;of , the temporary •
crisis :now. agitating .•,the country %•fxs, ite farthest

extremities. We cherish a solicitude to wit-
ness re,colriliation of, - the. , most: eplighteced
aßct capable members oc, the sever,al liberal

:sections- r•hs• the- Parliametit,Atkettot tat imer-biar
long, the formation of •:striNlfiltrti of lattMiltra
;, .
a, 14E, .
f,thq f.A . see' uirsib
;present *ran geme nt> !-) Ware; ein re tiles,
i'lienfirnents:--the truss` of Mei thalmudity;being
tuated by si
..tn4itateliugs....tuuLluaing with the Same
sanguine; eggettrmss:(grittre -,sycark, or. conciliation and
recofistruction.-7.(People begin ,gt length' to 'be Itkare
of tlhe `geiestui Consequences iestilting from ' the
,proleogation of the seviegV and -antagonistic
;state s int which isq„ many clusters of smen
itribothPmses fstandxin regard,iei.eaeh other:- •To
reflective and obSentint,theiVetait7, of thist con+
4141,pn has, long -beep apparent,'.,4,the. least,
uiaing,..,the truth ofit, has within. 1130,--1 ittst-davi.dayi
been, rendered obvious and --nndeniabble•PA •is'beeo-
• •eloß v. *t. •-)
sqtol4ll, each It9F,-,tikorA,„ Oil more the
opinion 'of thelnultiettde tbat alm(l4 any amalgams
Lion orpa,rties. would- be prefetibleto 4he continuance
lof e]FistAng, uncertain.ty. • Whatever Cabinet, there.:
if-gie,` he raised among the ruinstt•ifilip4);rp'st:l4:444-
nistration will be stele° medwith s; eertainrdegra e ofjoy-,
Ertl enthusiasm. The larget its Tievis in rtfbretice to the:
jeliifinci. ‘ielicivir,ltiiticiory and
'the more gladly will:it be acpepteti,;, #ll4
,tampering
tthetie liberal ideas 'with prudeneet Andt *solution, it
'May terkieedily stirtrfor ihielNifengthened tenure,
pttlei 1'64 gf-Q9.vexxixn/Lit-, `o `t"'"''
- ; ;

An honest and. independent.ipreii hay heel:Oddly,
of the
,rhciAt' Yffi lCieht gii,ardlinr; of
its:" certain guaiahtee4
for the liberty of tlie.subject.. It may,`, in !fact,-
kW tin its the sentinel•whOttekbusinistiit'lli ttileep
Et' witch Alia' Ward,". ;otiieis;'relying oh its
lance, slumber, inperfect security,,,,Aßfidant,iinst its'
warning voice •be uplifted lon evefy fitting'
beio'nflso to givb notice" of.
danger.. But that it €: iniay ;be
enabled to discharge that important duty,
faiihftillrand -effiCiently; Moat be .blothed'
with .
ptivileges to protect it Triirp. undue Imnoyance,
or intips7 while acting fairly and Out fide in the per-
forsnanee of its arduous functions. must be autho-
rized to expose boldly' any invasion 'of publiU or;
private rights,,hiul, for . that purßoae to congpenc upon
the publictets of public men or of private individuals,
if these acts should be prejudicial or hazardous to. the
welfare. of'the community. • If deprived of' am
powers it . would, be worse than, useless,
it could not bold the mirror = up to startle
vlce t3;!'' its own hideous reflection, or to .pre-
ikit corruption'froiii stalking barefaced through the
land, without shame or fear.

•Dne'of its not least important functions is to give
publicity to the proceedings in courts 'of justiee. The
various tribunals are,
to the constitutional
theory, supposed le thrown -open, that all her
MAJESTY'S liege subjects: may • have free admission
wikati. is going forward,...and receive
salutary
ncautions from the difdeufties which

-they
.have seen others involved' , injUdicjens
or illegal :-.conduct. But the ntirria**4, restricted_
dimensionsCif the great majoritY of .',theletiildingi in
which the —sittings are held, prevent- many frceit
availing themselves of this great privilege, which
'Would- be-all but throWn away if the reporters Of the
Iptele9 press. evereeenot iu attendance, - by- iiaeans
whereof ,faitliftillsecoids of the transactions` of daily
occurrhnce before the several tribUnalS are circulated'
'throughout the `length and breadth of the land. IC
hai; 'therefOre,' long • been held - that to pub-
lish a Tull, true,:: and entire account of
proceeding in. a court of justice cannot be
considered as libellous, however unpleasieg
it may be to the parties implicated, or hurtful to the
feelings of an individual or individuals.
Considering, however, the multifarious avocations
of the public journalist, and the various pressingde-
mends upon the space at his disposal, it cannot be Sup.:
posed that he can give insertion to everything that
has transpired; for, as Lord Cammeen justly re-
masked in a. recent trial, "if that condition were
imposed, the liberty of publishing reports of proceed-
ings in courts would be merely illusory, and wholly
useless, because it is not possible that everything
that takes place on any trial should be put into
print." The, broadest sheet sanctioned by the
_ExcheqUer • wonld, in such case, be incapable of Con-
taining one-tenth of the matter that shoUld be ;in-
cluded. , The true'criteeion, therefore, by which any
publicatign tested is, whether it is a fair
report, written tin impartial spirit, without preju-
dice or malice, :and calculated to. convey an accurate.'
imPreseieip of what has really taken. ;place.
the '..olden time, however,: there .. v4ere
so: e many traps laid, that almost any Melee'
vOlent and, vindictive_
.person could occaion
the greatest annoyance,. vexation, and expense to any
publication in which' hie, 'name wait mentioned in
terms othei`than those of adulation, and many specu-
lative attorneys Were.looking out for opportunitiee of.
bringiag actions, convinced that a farthing damakes
-Wronld;caYrY•costs'. :
Although, that fornaideble state of affairs, when
the definitien seam time since given in a court of
justice- of the freedom of the press, " that a man
might publish Sehat''he Ilik@tl, but lie should be pu-
nish4 fot:it'afterw`ar4s," ,Might he.lconsidered acme
rate, is happily removed, thanks to the exertione of
that distinguished stidge Who • now ably presides in
the highe?t seitserthe'higheit'codit4"common
there are many 'dfthcaltiee that stilt obstruct the pith
.of the journalist to which, we would respectfully
di-
rect - the attention of Lord CAMPBELL, and which
"=.tirgently.require forbe revised. The' great Object to
be kept- -in view to accord the : fullest
.liberty, withoutPeimitting that liberty to degenerate
isto licentiousness. I Anything that could be traced
'to an improger.motive, where tt -could be shown that
"malice" was an ingredient, should be treated with
Tthe utmost severity ; hut if that was Wanting, and
that it should appear that everything on the 'part of
the defend'antwite straightforward, and that he Was
only actuated by an 'honest desire to perform his
Fluty to the public fairly and dispassionately, lhe
should' be profeCtea from every annoyance.
Two_ casca tried,l,l3l; we'.k, viz., Wieles v. Laweoie
and WEAV•bIi •13' ShfiTtli. in • which the results were
tirecisely similar—one fatthing damages being gien
in each instance-afford the strongest illustrations of
the grievanees above referred to. In each case the
established limits were, if at all, only exceeded to the
'inost-trivial extent' the first, .which was an ac-
tion , against the Times, if the word " suspicion "
had been inserted, there must have been a verdict
-for the 'defendier, ' bat that trifling omission;
whiehe in rteuth. could have little effect one.
way or . the.. other, eso far as the plaintiff
was' concerned, 'had- the effect of changing' the decision,
and ma dug it_appear that th,e complainant had been
really- aggrieved, iiithough an independent jury as-
sessed the amount of that injury at the smallest coin of
the realtn. The matter was, hoWever; in that particular
instance, of but little importance. The "farthing"-'
was practically -the only point in -.dispute; for had
the defendant been' enabled to have established the
clearsist anerhost'satisfietc!tly justification he would
Still have borne his own costs—the plaintiff having
been admitted to sue in forma pauperia, it could not,
be-Supposed that he could satisfy these costs, and it
would afford but little satisfaction to the defendant to
cast the " pauper" into gaol. This, then, is one'
instance of the much vaunted liberty of the
press, where the publisher must, under the most
favourable circumstances, be mulcted in a very heavy
sum, that would, if inflicted as a fine; be considered
as a sufficient expiation for a very serious offence.

In the other case of WEAVER v. SMITH, another
•
morning contemporary, the Daily News was concerned,
The alleged libel consisted of a report of certain pro-
ceedings which -had taken place in the Thames Police-
court, and which, it was contended, _was to a certain
extent garbled. •The • reporter by whom it• • had
been written was produced for the defence; and
proved the f general aCcuracy., of the account,
and even the ,warrant officer of the police court, who
was produced on the part of the plaintiff, deposed
that " the" report was fair and Accurate,. and that the.
terms in: which the, statements of the witnesses .
were reported - -were very moderate ;" . and
yet,- • not*ithstanding a' sound • and constitutional •
charge, Worthy; of pie. distinguished. Judge by whoin
.Was delivered, 'a. verdict for a farthing damagei
was returned, the effect whereof was to' make eaelL
party pay their oWn costs. The Daily News its thus
n3inleted,. 'although the injury (?) to the
plaintifg, was adequately - compensated by one-fourth
Tirt of ix penny. •
isTorryeriiSk„. cannot an adepiate remedy be found
'f,Wihtfrltatt,e; of affairs sufficient to, .prevent the
,Thpaiitiqn.: of -such cases, and ',to- remove *bat
-Inuxt be felts to be a -crying, grieVanee ? :We think
posiible, aye, and,easy „of acgornplishuien .'
.The object is to defend private characters from was:
- ton and-malicious attacks,- and that •-is -universally
'adMitted to, be best 'vindicated:hy applications for
liberty, ti file inforinatiaiis2 Why, We
ask; should not such an applicatios, were only
to.-si single judge- in chamber,: -be rendered necessary
in civil actions also ? There would he no • great ex: •
penditure incurred in Placing, the real facts before
--him: 7by affidavitsif.' and,. •he would - then

be ' enabled to whether • the plaintiff
,`would .ha.ve any . reasonable pruspect• of re.
covering -substantial damages, in which ma he
might :authorize the 'proceedings, or he might impose
aziy concliflOta it the way of, procUring security for
costs, or making, mutual admissions that would mate-
rially reduce the expense of the trial. We ihrow out
Sufggeation 'for further consideration, fully tool
winced that it is the anxious desire of tbe,cOmmunity in
'general, ithat the *" liberty of the Press" should be
'plated'ola that firm aticttioad foundation of which it
. f
eiOikniVdeieriing7 i• I

m

elhe'tenth tilbual• meeting of the Benevolent De-
, partmeqt of the Provident Clerks' 'Association
Was held yesterday ,evening at the London Tavern,
Slogiv, Esq., M.P., treasurer,:in
fhe.:chair; istiorted by Baron LIorrAL
94* and other gputlimen connected with the
commerce of-.the ;city of London. ". By the fUlf
report in • our 'columni it • will- be- seen,
thit a slight improvement has taken place `during. the
petit, year, considering the many advantages
offered to' the great 'body of dells, it
fretrch to' lie: regretted that this ''department of
:the • association does not meet"with 'greater
support from those who may by , unfore-
'Eisen circumStances be thrown out• of 'employment,
'and Consequently into distress. We tbirik -withferoni
Botisscump, that a wide field is open• to —extend!
the good such an institution as this is ca-
pable 'of doing, but we also agree with'
Mr. JOHN ABEL SMITH, that the clerks them-
selves must, as a body, come forward and aid the.ex-
ertions of- those who take such a deep interest in the '
welfare of the institution. .

SIR JOHN Putp.7-.:We have Areceived a communi-
cation from a member of the family of Sir John Pirie, stating
that there is no foundation for the statement which appeared
in The Sun of last night of the death of the Eton. Baronet.
Sir John Pirie is still alive, we are happy to say, although
he has been suffering from severe
BIRT/I.—On the 25th inst., at Manor-road, Upper
Holloway, Mrs. •William Swainson, of a son. •
WALBitoOK ELECTION.-•-r-The' poll' deManded on
Tuesday took place yesterday, r front, ten till four, when the
numbers were declared ?to, be—Mr. Murrell; 34c •Air; Le
141ond, whereuporkThe , ftorsner .gentleman was declared
duly elected common councilman, in Abe roonaiof blx,
luau Wire.