The Sun.
London, England, 1833-06-10 00:00:00

The Tories are skilful in court intrigue, and have
frequently discovered a considerable degree of tact
in blinding the judgment and exciting the passions
of the multitude. Thus, for many years, the cry of
Church and King enabled them to grasp the go-
vernment of the country, in spite of their financial
blunders, their waste of public money, and their un-
English league with foreign despots. But as their
power was founded mainly upon the continuance of
ignorance and bigotry, so the spread of liberality
and education has worked its downfal. Of this
fact, however, which appears indisputable to most
men of ordinary sagacity, they are not yet aware :
they seem incapable of understanding their actual
position in the country. Were it otherwise, their
conduct as politicians and placehunters would be the
reverse of what it is. They would not obtrude the
most hateful features of their own politics on public
view ; tliey would give an effectual opposition to the
unpopular measures of the Whigs in that branch of
the Legislature where they possess an unquestioned
majority ; and would seem, at all events, to be con-
verts to Lilieral principles. Such would be the
true policy of a party desirous of regaining their lost
ascendancy in the country. But the Conservatives
are the ready tools of the Ministry for the purpose
of carrying those measures which ate sure to envelop
it and them with odium; and its strenuous oppo-
nents when any good work is to be done, or any
sound and liberal principle is to be affirmed. They
imagine, no doubt, in the extremity of their igno-
rance of public feeling, that all that is necessary to
insure their recall to place and power, is to render
Earl Grey's ministry unpopular,—apparently un-
conscious of the notorious fact, that the Whigs have
lost ground with the nation pari passe with their
approximation to Toryism ; and that nothing so ef-
fectually reconciles the country to their Government
with all its faults, as a deep-rooted aversion to a
Tory succession.
Under the influence of this delusion, the Con-
servatives have committed numerous blunders in
politics, but the blunder of last Monday is unques-
ti nably the greatest of all. By adopting the cause
of Don Miguel with so much zeal, they have aug-
mented the national disgust at the principles of their
own party, and afforded the Ministers an opportu-
nity, of which they stood greatly in need, once more
to take up a position on popular ground. As to
their majority, it signifies nothing : in a struggle
with the House of Commons on a question of this
description, they are very much the weaker body,
and must go to the wall. And yet that sagacious
statesman, the Conservative Coryphaeus, the Great
Captain of the age, considered doubtless that he had
turned the Ministerial flanks, and would rest the
following night in their camp. It is clear that he is
still the came impracticable person who declared
against all reform. He has no connexion, no sym-
pathy with the sentiments and opinions of the Bri-
tish people: as a pretender to statesmanship, he has
thrown away the last rag of reputation, and stands
exposed in all the nakedness of a weak and mean
mind.

'lt is a matter of no great impertance what be-
comes of the Duke of Wellington ; but the conse-
quence of his infatuation may be serious to the
" Constitution," which he pretends to uphold, and
which recognises a body of hereditary and noble
legislators, as well as a King and a House of Com-
mons. It was a true saying of Machiavelli, that a
Government, however cruel, arbitrary, and unprin-
cipled it may be, may yet stand ; but from the day
in which the governed begin to regard it with con-
tempt, its downfal is rapidly approaching. Now the
people of England are learning, under the tuition of
the Peers themselves, to regard the House of Lords
with contempt. How is it possible to esteem or
fear a body of men who needlessly court repeated
struggles with a stronger power, in which they al-
ways are, and inevitably must be, crushed ? If the
Duke of Wellington had pursued the same tactic
when commanding British soldiers, as now, when
he leads the Tory Peers—had he fought Soult and
Napoleon only when he was sure to be defeated—
where would have been his military reputation ?
Precisely, we imagine, where his character as a
statesman iests—in the mire.
While the Duke and his subalterns were blunder-
ing away in the Lords, his more crafty associate, Sir
Robert Peel, was endeavouring to baffle the Mini-
stry in the Commons, on the slavery question. The
Duke of Wellington, to do him justice, spoke out
plainly enough : it was clear all through his ha-
rangue what he would be at. But Sir Robert tried
to stab in the dark. Here he hinted at faults, and
there insinuated approbation—" damned with faint
praise," and "assented with civil leer." No one
could have been prepared, unless thoroughly aware
of the trimming and egotistical character of the
man, for the decided and unqualified disapproval of
the Ministerial propositions with which he con-
cluded. In this speech, as in all the others which
he has delivered during the session, he had an evident
eye to the Treasury Bench. He was well aware of
what was going on in " the other place ;" and was
doing his best to pick up a party among the repre-
sentatives of the people, while at the same time he
avoided pledging himself to any definite scheme for
the emancipation of the negroes—for that would
be embarrassing to the future Ministry, which lie
yet hopes to lead. The House, however, saw
through his hollow purpose; his harangue fell dead-
horn from his lips; and Sir Robert may learn from
his reception on Monday, that a popular assembly,
prefers the reality to the show of candour, and con-
siders honesty of purpose in a statesman as a thing
to be valued after all.
Thus, once more, the two great leaders of the
Conservatives contrived on the same night, though
in different spheres and modes of action, to expose
their incompetency again to take the lead in the ad-
ministration of public affairs,—the one by his ill-
timed display of attachment to arbitrary prine'ples
of government in their worst shape; and the other
by his vacillating, trimming, and contemptible mode
of discussing a question of the highest importance
to millions.
The partisans of the existing Ministry complain
that the nation does not place sufficient confidence
in its rulers. A nation's confidence is not to be
extorted ; and we are of opinion that Earl Grey's
Cabinet enjoys quite as much of it as it deserves ;
but we would not insult our readers by supposing
for a moment that the present Ministers could be
replaced with advantage to the country by such
statesmen as the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robt.
Peel.—Spectator. 4*

The old and experienced whipper-in of the
Tories was actively on the alert on Wednesday and on
Thursday. Especial messengers were sent into the neigh-
bourhood of Ascot to bring back the Conservatives, who
had hoped for a few days' reprieve from their labours—
and some of them that had deferred their journey until
Thursday, were detained upon pain of incurring the high
displeasure of the " Great Captain of the Age."