The Sun.
London, England, 1833-11-11 00:00:00

.
6 SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS•

The political dinner at Leeds, to which we
alluded on Saturday, (given to the two mem-
bers of that borough, and to the members for
the West Riding of Yorkshire,) assumes a con-
siderable degree of importance from the parties
by whom it was attended, and the sentiments for
the expression of which it applied the excite-
ment or afforded the opportunity. The guests
were chiefly the principal manufacturers of that
new Parliamentary borough best entitled to
speak the opinions of its numerous and weal'hy
constituency, because best acquainted with its
feelings and identified with its interests. The
occasion was a meeting with their representatives
to obtain from the latter an account of the exe-
cution of their trust after the first session of a
reformed Parliament, in which the voice of
Leeds had been heard for the first time ; and
the chief speakers were a young nobleman
(Lord Morpeth), respectable for his talents, and
respected for the liberal views and enlightened
principles common to himself and his family,
together with one of our most promising young
statesmen, connected with the existing Adminis-
tration, avowing its principles and defending its
policy. The subjects of discussion in such a
society, and at such a festival, included, of
course, the acts of the last Parliamentary cam-
paign, the votes of its borough members present,
and the conduct and measures of the Reform
Government, by whom its policy was directed.
Into this latter topic Mr. Macaulay entered at
considerable length, with a confident unfaltering
spirit ; and few men in England are better able,
or entitled, to express an opinion on the character
of any administration, or the tendency of any
system of public measures, than the writer of
the best estimate of the Walpole Administration
which we have yet seen, and the author of several
of the most brilliant speeches within the last
two or three years in support of the Reform
Bill and other liberal Acts in the House of
Commons. We allude to an admirable article,
not less powerful than just, by Mr. Macaulay, in
the last number of the Edinburgh Review, on
the letters of Lord Orford, and to his late Par-
liamentary orations, in which his eloquence,
though rich and splendid, never overlays his
argument, or withdraws attention from the object
of his reasoning. Having lately traversed nearly
the same ground as Mr. Macaulay, in a series
of articles on the ministerial pamphlet published
at the beginning of September last, and in cri-
tical accounts of several of the Acts of last ses-
sion, we shall not now follow him into that field.
We are fully prepared to agree with him in
thinking that the first session of the Reformed
Parliament has disappointed public expectation,
chiefly because it was impossible that public ex-
pectation, excited as it had been by delusive sti-
mulants and extravagant promises, could have
been fully satisfied. The minds of the great
body of the people had been thrown into too
vague a state of beatific hope, by the extravagant
advocates of Reform—like patients subjected by
quacks to the influence of animal magnetism—
to be pleased with sober results. They were
taught to look for undefined and undefinable
advantages, as the immediate fruit of a great
and necessary, though slow progress of political
amelioration. In the ardour of their anticipa-
tions—from the employment of a new instru-
ment of improvement—they could not distin-
guish between what a government and a legisla-
ture can do, and what they cannot do—between
what is desirable and what is practicable—be-
tween the wished for result and the necessary
means. Suppose every demanded reform had
been granted that statutory law can accomplish—
suppose no member's liberal nostrum during the
session had been opposed—it cannot now be
proved to sensible men that our situation would
have realized the fond dreams of even the most
moderate of fanciful Reformers. Let universal
suffrage, let annual Parliaments, and vote by bal-
lot be established to•morrow, and thus let the
House of Commons be a direct emanation from
the popular volition, with no restraint from the
House of Lords or the Crown, and with no bias,
of course, against the people, and what could
such a Legislature do to realize the Utopia of
universal abundance, order, and happiness,
formed in the imaginations of those who now
proclaim their disappointment at the insignificant
results of last session ? In trying to excuse
ourselves for not participating in the extravagant
hopes of some Reformers, we by no means wish
to insinuate that all that was done in the course
of the session was well done—or that a great
deal more of w hat was unequivocally right might
not have been accomplished. We objected to
several measures, and parts of measures, at the
ime of their adoption, which we still think
objectionable ; and we urged the introduction of
others which were adjourned, and may still be
postponed. But to whom is the blame of such
postponement chiefly to be ascribed ? Why to
the over-eager and transcendental advocates
for precipitate innovation who now complain that
nothing has been done ! By their zeal to dis-
play their legislative aptitude before their consti-
tuents, they occupied every avenue to sober
legislation, and took up the time of the House
by making speeches on all subjects, without
advancing any. On the first day of the session
notices of motion were given for measures the
discussion of which would not have been com-
pleted in twelve months, and in the last day of
the session we have a bill of fare left as a legacy
to the ensuing year, which may last for the
duration of the Parliament. The following is
Mr. .Macaulay's enumeration of the measures
which have been accomplished :
" Well, gentlemen, the session has passed, and we
bring before you, completely executed, several great and
importaut measures, any one of which would be sufficient
to ilistinguish a session, and of the whole of which I
will say" that 110 ten sessions of Parliament since the Re-
volution Lave ever produced so much real good to the
people.—(Chters.) .Slavery extinguished,—China thrown
open to English trade, —lndia thrown open to the settle-
ment of Europeaug,
Vestry Cess abolished in
Ireland,—Law Reforms of great extent and importance,
some passed, others carried forward, and failing, if they
faile not from any fault of the Government which in-
troduced them,—a great inquiry into the municipal
government of the towns of England, commenced under
Parliamentary suthority,--ietrenchment carried to such
a point that the annual expenditure under the control of
Parliament has b,,en, since the accession of this Ministry
to power, reduced from 15,000,0001. to 12,000,000/. ;
and while all this has been takir.g place, public credit still
maintained inviolate, public order preserved, peace with
foreign Powers continued, and that coun ry which
Ministers found in a state of disorder unparalleled, now
(in my conwe nee I believe) in a state of returning and
advancing prosperity."
Mr. Macaulay, after making these remarks,
entered on an announcement and an explanation
of hisappipions on several disputed points,. on
which the popularity of a less practised orator,
or of 'a less liberal or sincere politician, would
have been in danger of shipwreck, but on
which he delivered himself with so much
temper and moderation, and at the same time
wit ao much reason or plausibility, as to
cosini*d not only the assent but the
applause of his audience. These vexata

questioneB were, the vote by ballot, triennial
elections, and the corn laws. The first he thinks
the best remedy against intimidation, when inti-
midation is practised, but he believes that it will
become less necessary every day, in proportion
as men advance in the knowledge of their re-
spective rights, and in an enlightened view of the
public interests. To triennial Parliaments he
objects, that as triennial Parliaments would ge-
nerally lead to biennial elections, such a fre-
quent recurrence of appeals to the people would
either call forth a too frequent display of their
discordant passions, or, by disgusting respectable
electors with a burdensome discharge of their
duties, would drive them away from the polling-
booth, and thus leave the nomination of Members
exclusively in the hands of small busy, interested,
and intriguing juntas of voters, instead of having
it decided by the free voice of property, num-
bers, and character. We have not now room to
discuss either of these topics,—a task the
less necessary, from our former examina-
tions of the same subjects ; but we cannot
omit some allusion to Mr. Macaulay's de-
clarations on the corn laws, both because
we believe that they express the sentiments of the
Ministry on the question, and because we think
that, having such approbation, they are more
dangerous than any of his opinions about the
ballot-box or triennial elections. The learned
gentleman announces that he is as hostile to the
existing corn laws as Lord Fitzwilliam and Mr.
Whitmore, who have moved for their repeal,—a
declaration in which we believe him perfectly
sincere ; but he thinks that in the reformed
House of Commons a motion for their abolition
would be one of doubtful success,—that in the
House of Lords the Bill would be defeated by
a great majority,—and that in a case where the
Commons were so equally divided among them-
selves, where the Lords voted against the measure
by so great a majority, and where the two great
parties in the state out of doors—the agricul-
tural and commercial—had taken such opposite
views, the Crown would scarcely dare to turn the
scale by a new creation of Peers sufficient to
carry the measure. Hence he would seem to
conclude that nothing could be done in the next
session to abolish the most odious and the least
defensible of all monopolies. We are not tacti-
cians enough to dispute the estimate of the an-
ticipated majorities in either House on the
question of the corn trade ; but our inference
from the learned gentleman's premises (on the
supposition even that they are correct) would be
directly at variance with the course recommended
by the Ministry and their friends. Convinced of the
indefensible iniquities and evident dangers of the
existing system, we would call upon the people
to exert their influence to procure its repealr
Our advice would be, let frequent discussions
take place every Session, let Bills be regularly
introduced, though they may be rejected, let
the two Houses be placed in collision with each
other, as in the case of the Catholic Relief
Bill, let it be seen by the people that the Peers
reject their demands only because the great body
of the Upper House are landed proprietors, and
that the Commons agree to them because they
express more truly the national sentiment, free
from partal interests, let the progress of discus-
sion reach the actual cultivator of the soil, and
convince him that " cheap bread is best for the
farmer," whatever it may be for his landlord,
and we are convinced that the corn laws will not
stand the assaults of two successive sessions, that
the Lords will yield to justice and common sense
or fear, without any further exercise of the Royal
prerogative, and that the only display of prero-
gative which will be necessary will be that of
public opinion and popular control, acting on all
" the orders" of the state.— Times.

The country papers contain copious reports
of the proceedings of public meetings, which
exhibit the real state of political opinion. In
Edinburgh, Leeds, Halifax, and other towns,
it is gratifying to notice the real relations esta-
blished between the representatives and consti-
tuencies ; and in the public dinners given to the
Earl of Durham, a popular connection is also
forming between the people and the peerage.
In almost all the large newly enfranchised
boroughs, the members have met their constitu-
ents for the avowed and praiseworthy purpose
of exchanging their sentiments on the legislative
acts of the last session of Parliament, and on
the pending questions of immediate and public
interest to the community. The best results
must arise from this habit, and unquestionable
public duty. The representative explains those
parts of his political conduct, which may have
been unpopular, or occasioned a division of
local opinion ; and, on the other hand, informs
himself correctly of the wishes and views of the
electoral body—consequences most important to
both parties. The great preponderance and
rapid progress of liberal principles is palpably
manifest in these meetings, and it is equally
obvious that a change of " measures, not men,"
was the general object of the reformers through-
out the empire, in the recent national contest
to re-organize the constitution of the House of
Commons. In the order of precedence, we
direct public attention to the proceedings at the
dinner given to Lord Durham at Sunderland,
on `Wednesday last, on which occasion his
Lordship made some excellent comments on the
relative duties of members and their constituents,
and which equally prove that, so far as his
Lordship was concerned in the preparation of
the Reform Bills, he acted on principle and
sound views of the spirit and constitution of a
representative government.
"1 know that you must think deeply of the present
state of the country ; and to you, who are now awakened,
so far as relates to the exercise of the constituent privilege,
to a new-born sense of the duties which are attached to
that sacred trust, I would recommend strict attention to
all that passes around you. I would press upon you the
paramount necessity of continuing a vigilant superintend-
ence over the conduct of all who are engaged in public
life, and especially over those who rule the destinies of the
country—in conjunction with whom, I acknowledge,
with pride and exultation, the part I took, as alluded t,.
by my lion. Friend, in introducing the great measure of
Reform.—(Loud cheers.) I impress upon you the nee
cessity of devoting your attention to the conduct of your
representatives in Parliament; and I trust my Ilon..
Relation will not feel annoyed if I press upon you, his
constituents—and I believe the greater port of you are
such—the necessity of examining every vote he may give
in Parliament ; for be assured, that second only in impor-
tance to the conduct of their representatives is the conduc,
of the constituent body.—(Cheers.) Of what avail is it to
confer those privileges upon you which raise you to the rank
and dignity of freemen—which enahle you, through your re
presentatives, to defend the commercial interests of this port,
and of the country at large—of what avail, I ask, are those
privileges, if you do not exercise them with reference to
the gen, rel good of the country ?—(Cheers.) I exhort
you to impress upon your friends and neighbours the
absolute necessity of acting upon public principle, and of
increasing vigilance; for if the rights and liberties of the
country are not strictly attended to, they may, in the hour
of triumph, be suffered to fall as much into abeyance as
they were before.—(Cheers.) We live in no ordinary
times. I repeat that I fear there is a restless spirit abroad ;
arid I am sure it can only be allayed by the means to
which I alluded on a former occasion—and by wise and
good men, like yourselves, who also have property and a
stake in the country, demanding those wise and useful
reforms which would lead, not to convulsion, but to eecu-

rity.—(Loud cheers.) We have to contend against those
who desire no reformation, and would return to the old
days of corruption, and also against those who would in-
troduce confusion and revolution amongst us.—(Cheers.)"
These meetings also have the furtherim-
portant effect of showing to the people the diffi-
culties which beset the present Administration
in the conduct of public affairs, and of informing
them of the impediment opposed by long pre-
ceding misgovernment, and obstinate party
spirit, to a further and more rapid reformation of
abuses and political grievances. They further
recall public attention to the quantum of good
really effected, and thus give unanimity and con-
fidence to public opinion. Lord Durham hap.
pity and forcibly noticed the local gain of the
electors of Sunderland in the eventful course of
the last few years :
" I have been led into this train of reasoning by the
considerations that were suggested to me, by the observa-
tions of my Hon Friend, with regard to tbeglorious events
of the year 1820, and by the comparison which necessa-
rily forced itself upon me, of the state in which I found
the county, when I first came into Parliament, and what
I trust it now is, after twenty years of anxious devotion
to your service, and of unwearied labour for your interests.
—(Cheers.) I found it with four representatives. I now
see it with ten.—(Loud cheers.) I found it without any
of its great commercial towns enjoying the invaluable right
of representation ; and I have had the pleasure and hap-
piness of seeing this great and important town placed in
the enjoyment of the privilege which now belongs to it,
and which I trust you will ever be found to exercise ac-
cording to the principle on which it was extended.—.
(Cheers. )"
Lord Durham, in his recent public speeches
in the north of England, has with great dis-
crimination and effect, drawn the public mind
from the contemplation of the acts of the old
political parties of the State, to the discussion
of principles. " Whig" and " Tory" ought to
be obsolete terms in our political vocabulary ;
they are now only the cunning and convenient
phrases of prejudice and party nickname. But
it is not surprising that Lord Durham, who has
individually contributed so much to advance
popular opinions, should be visited by a corre-
sponding misrepresentation from the Conservative
press. Malevolent, but vapid articles, in the
Quarterly Review, and in a Sunday and a
morning paper, will not revive the rotten
boroughs, or bring back to office Mr. John
Wilson Croker; Mr. Theodore Hook, Mr.
Horace Twiss, or Mr. Wm. Holmes; nor will the
sharp and vituperative college verses of Mr.
Praed set that gentleman in Parliament or
the Treasury. The diligent purveyors of
the Conservative press will not be long in dis-
covering that the blackest ink, and the most
poisoned pens, will not retard the march of reform,
or permanently injure private or public charac-
ter. Lord Durham has naturally had his share
of vulgar abuse and calumny. If he were really
the revolutionary " Destructive" portrayed by
the " Tories," he would be petted by them, for
the Conservatives seem enamoured of any Ultra-
Reformers or Political Unions that are occa-
sionally hostile to the present Government. But
Lord Durham's real sin in the eyes of the Ultra
Tories is the sensible support he has given to
Ministers, and the moderate principles of pro-
gressive reform which he wisely advocates. He
contends for the expediency and necessity of
gradual political changes, as the only means of
avoiding destructive, sudden, and sweeping
organic changes in the constitution and form of
Government. Lord Durham acutely argued at
the preceding Gateshead dinner, that intelligence,
not property, ought to be the ruling and omnipo-
tent power, a doctrine which has excited the
most violent anger in the advocates of the
ancien regime. and his Lordship spoke advisedly,
because he knows, if they do not, that all that
is good in property is included in intelli-
gence—and that all which may be bad and
corrupt in property is excluded from intelligence.
Hence proceeds the rancour of his Lordship's
political enemies ; but he will survive them, and
the country will appreciate his honest and
patriotic principles. Not being able to give at
length the report of the Leeds dinner, and being
unwilling to abridge Mr. Macaulay's speech, we
shall to-morrow give the report at some length,
and the speech of i\lr. Macaulay in particular,
as given in the Leeds Mercury. A more just
and consistent estimate of the conduct and value
of the present Ministry is evidently gaining
ground in the country ; and if they meet next
session of Parliament with prepared and popular
measures of further reform—if they will rest on
the people—they may despise the plots of party
faction, and, by the support of public opinion,
will overcome the opposition of any supposed
majority against them in the House of Lords.—
Morning, Chronicle.
The Times of Saturday contradicts, or ap-
pears to wish to contradict, a report, to which
we first gave circulation—that of the meditated
appointment of Major-General Ellice to the
command at Portsmouth. We feel much plea-
sure in giving insertion to the argument by
which the Times proves the impossibility of such
an appointment. We have in the first place an
admission that the practice of Tory Administra-
tions with regard to such appointments has been
laudable ; and we have in the second place an
admission that the appointment of Major-Ge-
neral Ellice would be an appointment which
hat practice of Tory Administrations would net
lave sanctioned. With these two admissions,

we are for the present contented ; and here they
are :—" The practice of the army has usually
been to bestow similar governments (and
Portsmouth is one of considerable impor.
tance), on those officers—and those only,
who have rendered themselves the most dis-
tinguished in the profession by length,
or brilliancy, of warlike service. The late
Military Report defends the grant of such
governments, nay their existence, on that ground
alone; and, even under the curtailed emolu-
ments which it recommends, the expediency of'
some conspicuous reward for eminent merit
implies that the merit ought to be of the highest
and most recognised order. Now such a time
at least the public would feel to be extremely
ill-chosen for the appointment of Major-
General Ellice, the officer hinted at in the
newspapers, to the post in question ; and—"

Proh hominis impudentiam !

“—the well-known delicacy and honour 0
of Lord Grey would revolt at the suspiciol
insinuated by the slanderous Tory prints that
General Ellice was hoisted over the shoulders
of so many of his older and far more distin-
guished brethren from no other motive for the
partiality than his being a connection of a con-
nection of the Noble Earl.” These are the
terms in which the Times contradicts what we
ventured to assert. We have thought ourselves
hound to give as much publicity to the con-
tradiction as we have given to the assertion.
Now let it be observed that the Times pro-
pounds an argument where we state afact ; the
Times infers what it thinks to be probable—Nye
tell what we know to be true. The observation
we have drawn to the intention of Lord Grey
may induce his Lorthilup to abandon it. In
that case we shall lack the means of proving