The Sun.
London, England, 1834-12-18 00:00:00

CANTON.

Extract of a letter from a passenger in the American
ship Coliseum, Captain Stoddart, dated Canton, June 25,
1834 :

" On Friday the 6th of June, at five in the morting, we
made Java Head, and had land at only half a mile on one
side; and about a mile on the other, so that as we ran along
we had a fine view of it and its productions. It seems a
most beautiful country, tha whole of it being overgrown
with cocoa-nut, orange, and other fine fruit trees. There
are no inhabitants on that end of Java or the contiguous
islands. The prospect of this delightful scenery is termi-
nated by some very high mountains at a great distance. At
ten o'clock in the evening we got as far as Anger Point,
where we anchored till the following morning. As soon
as it was daylight we got under way, and soon had
a swarm of Malays about us. It is here that ves-
sels get a supply of fresh provisions, fruit, and vege-
tables, so delectable after a long voyage. Every
article they brought seemed as cheap as dirt itself ; for in-
stance, fine young fowls, at the rate of Isd. a dozen, of
which we bought a good stock ; eggs, a hundred for about
os. ; a fine turtle for half a dollar, and the same for about
a bushel of oranges ; sugar a penny a pound ; and, in short,
everything else they had at equally moderate prices. The
people are short, and well made, and seem pretty civilized.
They are fond of having a bit of European clothing about
them, such as a sailor's coat or half-worn-out jacket or
tattered pair of trousers or old woollen shirt—for any of
which they will give a high price, either in money or in
whatever they have to barter with. Some of them, who
appear to be a kind of master, have plenty of money, and
they all show the greatest inclination to trade. But the
things they are the most passionately eager to obtain, are
opium, gunpowder, and arms, for which they will give any
thing ; or for a clasp knife, or old iron tool, or even a bit
of iron hoop. This shows how badly the Dutch have ma-
naged their commerce in this part of the world, not to have
been carrying on a great trade with these people, and
in which the English have not been much, if any
better. But now, with the trade thrown open, things
will be very different in all those islands, as well as in this
empire, where they say, all the northern parts especially,
are most anxious and determined to trade, whether their
Government like it or not, and Lord Napier is just the
man to manage the business well. We were obliged to
keep a good look-out against the pirates, who have lately
taken many small vessels, of course small ones and de-
fenceless. They dart out suddenly from behind points of
land, especially in calm weather, and attack by boarding.
I have been fagging very hard at my Chinese all the voy-
age, and have succeeded in acquiring an easy and familiar
sight of the character, and a facility of writing it. The
great difficulty is at the beginning. If Mr. Morrison or
Mr. Gutzlaff should be engaged in the Government service
by Lord Napier, I shall have a good chance of becoming
perfect in the language soon, which will be of great use-
fulness and importance to me. I wish I had brought out
some opium, as any that I could not have sold to the Malays
would have done well here, where it is immensely dearer
than in England. I saw an opium smuggling vessel, with
70 men, capsized yesterday, in a squall, and all lost. In
my next I hope to be able to tell you some useful news
about trade, &c.--I remain, yours truly.
" Our cargo, which consists principally of woollens, and
iron and steel in bar, it is expected to realize a great profit."

The new novel entitled " The Princess," by the
popular author of " O'Donnell," is rich in humour, and in
scenes which will be peculiarly welcome at this season of the
year, and will beguile the politician from the annoyance of his
wearisome pursuits, seeing that they excite in no small degree
the risible faculties. Her Irish characters are full of fun, and
in their native drollery, exhibited no less in their actions than
in their epistles to their friends at home, are as irresistible as
Mrs. Malaprop, Mrs. Tabitha Bramble, and Mrs. Honour,
that glorious triumvirate bequeathed to us by Sheridan, Smol-
lett, and Fielding. In the novel of " The Princess" we have
some sketches that will endure even with these ; we allude to
Larry Fegan, that matchless Irish valet, Sir Ignatius and Lady
IX.Therty, and the pompous Doctor De Burgo.
MODERN MUMMY. A curious discovery has
been recently made in a Swedish copper-mine. On opening
a gallery between two levels, some miners found the body of
a young man in a spot 150 feet deep, which had not been vi-
sited in the memory of man. The weak solution of sulphuric
acid in water, with the alkalies which had formed there, had
petrified the corpse without at all robbing it of its youthful
appearance. So unusual a sight collected the whole neigh-
bourhood together. An old woman soon came up, and burst
into tears upon recognizing the features of her betrothed
bridegroom, who had disappeared 50 years ago, but what had
become of him was never known. The interval that had
elapsed had wrinkled and furrowed the old dame's face, whilst
the bridegroom, thus disentombed from his grave, appeared
in all the fresh lineaments of youth. The body was exposed
for several days, and at last interred with much ceremony ;
the funeral procession being accompanied by the whole body
of miners.

LONDON,
THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 18, 1834.

The Tory Cabinet, through its head, Sir
ROBERT PEEL, has at length published its declara-
tion of political faith. The document is a most im-
portant one, and has been drawn up with evident skill
and subtlety. On a hasty perusal, it wears all the ap-
pearance of frankness and liberality, but when more
diligently examined, it will be found that its tact is
more to be commended than its strait-forwardness.
That Sir ROBERT PEEL is its sole author, no one
who is at all conversant with his mode of oratory, will
for an instant doubt. It has all his pomp and round-
about manner of expressing the simplest fact—all his
studious vagueness—and favourite peculiarity of in-
sisting on his matter-of-factness, at the very moment
when he is saying nothing at all.
The leading defect of Sir ROBERT'S present Ma-
nifesto is, that, with much pretension and virtuous
horror of apostacy, it leaves the reader nearly as much
in the dark, with respect to the course of policy that
the Tories will adopt, as he was before. It is explicit
only on the wrong side. Thus, on the great question
of Municipal Reform—which is ushered in with a very
ominous Ultra-Tory preface about " ancient rights"
and "prescriptive authority,"—we are merely told, that
though the inquiry will not he interrupted, yet that
Government can give " no other pledge than that they
will bestow on the suggestions it may contain, and on
the evidence on which they may be founded, a
full and unprejudiced consideration." Of course they
will I Who ever doubted it ? Even an ELDON
Cabinet would promise as much as this I But is a
great question like Municipal Reform, on the abso-
lute necessity of which the mind of three kingdoms is
made up, to be disposed of by a side-wind like this ?
Are the people, who have smarted so long and so
severely under Corporation abuses, to rest satisfied
with the empty assurance that Ministers will give
them consideration? We all know that a vague
promise of this sort means nothing more than
that, if Ministers find the future House of Com-
mons refractory, they will do their best, by giving a
bit-by-bit Municipal Reform, to appease it ; but that,
if otherwise, they will adjourn the question to the
Greek Calends.

On the Pension List, however, Sir ROBERT PEEL

is far more explicit. Here, there- is no mistaking his
meaning. He is frank to a degree that must electrify
Mr. HERRIES, whose whole existing dynasty figure
among the Pensioners, at a rate frightful to think of,
and still more frightful to have to pay. Our Premier
declares that there shall be no revision—no " retro-
spective inquiry." He will not lop off one of the
Hydra's heads, though, by way of softening down the
sternness—to give it no harsher term—of this declara-
tion, he promises that in future no heads, but such as
may be furnished with a creditable stock of brains, shall
sprout up on the Pension List. Truly, this is but a
sorry consolation for Reformers.
On the ticklish subject of Church Reform, Sir Ro-
BERT has again recourse to vagueness and generality,
except indeed where he tells us that he will not give
his " consent to the alienation of Church property in
any part of the United Kingdom, from strictly eccle-
siastical purposes," by which, of course, he implies
that Catholic Ireland shall still be saddled with an ex-
travagant Protestant establishment. She shall be
saved, in spite of herself. And how ? Why, by pay-
ing just as dearly as ever for the support of a Church
whose creed she repudiates ! Tithes, however, our new
Ministry will endeavour to settle, as they can, "by
means of a commutation founded on just principles and
proposed after mature consideration while as re-
spects the Irish branch of the Establishment, they will
strive also to " do the handsome thing by it"—that is
to say, they will not object to improve the distribution
of its revenues, " if"—oh, that " if," it has a fearful
meaning in a Tory mouth I—the Church's " influence
can thereby be extended and its true interests pro-
moted 1" The plain English of this is, the Tories will do
nothing but what they are absolutely driven to do. Of
their own accord they profess their perfect readiness to
stand stock-still ; but if they be compelled to move,
why they will just creep forward a little, at a pace
" founded upon just principles, and proposed after
mature consideration."

One passage, however, in Sir ROBERT'S Mani-
festo, we must not in justice omit. He says, " I con-
sider the Reform Bill a final and irrevocable settle-
ment of a great constitutional question, a settlement
which no friend to the peace and welfare of this country
would attempt to disturb, either by direct, or by insi-
dious means." To a certain extent this declaration is
satisfactory. It assures us that the Tories will make
no attempt to alter the Reform Bill ; but then it assures
us at the same time that they consider it a " final"
measure, and that consequently we shall have no
Triennial Parliaments--no Ballot—no Household
Suffrage !
We have no dislike personally to Sr ROBERT
PEEL. He is an active, quick-witted, practical States-
man—though we wish he would not be always show-
ing such a disposition to faint, at the mention of the
word " apostacy"—still we must frankly tell him that
his Manifesto will never do. It is throughout (ex-
cept on the wrong side, as we observed before) a
studied begging of the question of Reform. It looks
at it, like a man blinking at a fierce, meridian
sun. Now the country, for the last month and
upwards, has been daily—hourly, expecting something
explicit on the part of the Tories ; instead of which
Sir ROBERT here puts it off—not, indeed, with a
point-blank denial, but most assuredly with an evasion,
of justice. He equivocates where he should be de-
cided—is decided, where he should entertain a whole-
some distrust. His present Manifesto is evidently a
feeler, put forth to try the pulse of the House of
Commons previous to a dissolution ; but its only effect
will be, to render a dissolution inevitable.

Again ! Look at the men Sir ROBERT brings with
him in his train ! There is actually not one among
them all, whom a Reformed House of Commons is not
bound to regard with the keenest eye of suspicion.
Associated with more liberal colleagues, Sir ROBERT
might be a valuable Minister ; but linked as he is
with GOULBURN, HERRIES, KNATCHBULL, DAW-
SON, and other such "small deer," we do not see how
his system can outlive a Session.

The Marquis of CHANDOS is found again I
At the Agricultural Dinner yesterday he hoped
that the new Ministers would remit a part of
the Malt Tax. The whole I said the Agri-
culturists ; but to this his Lordship made no
response, so that we may safely infer there is no
split between him and Sir R. PEEL. Indeed,
there can be no doubt on the point, for he told
the meeting to rely on the justice of the Legislature,
and to confide in the loyal and honourable men that
now form the Administration.

After this, the Agriculturists will do well to put the
Marquis of CHANDOS'S promises in their pockets, and
take what they can get in the shape of relief from their
distresses.

It is stated officially that the Colonial Department
has been offered to the Earl of HADDING TON, and
the Woods and Forests to Lord LOWTHER ; but that
no answer has yet been received from either, though no
doubt is entertained of their acceptance of office.
The other vacant offices are likely to remain so, until
it be definitively determined on what day Parliament
shall be dissolved. Monday or Tuesday next are now
confidently spoken of—but doubts are still entertained
in some quarters. The Reformers, however, should
be prepared—
_ . _

" To doubt's to be resolved."

The honest independent electors of the city of Bath
will he glad to have their attention directed to an ad-
dress from their tried and valued representative General
PALMER, which they will find in another column of
The Sun. The General is not a new man—he ap-
peals to an experience of twenty-five years of public
service--and after so long and confidential an inter-
course, it would be an act of mere presumption were we
to enter into any detail of his principles, or of his pe-
culiar ability to discharge the duties of an upright and
efficient Member of the House of Commons. General
PALMER has always professed Radical Reform prin-
ciples, and during the many years he has had a seat in
Parliament, he has always supported those principles
by his votes and influence. He is moreover one of the
most regular members we know with regard to constant
attendance in the House, and unremitting watchfulness
over the interests of his constituents. This is im-
portant—much more so, indeed, than the electors in
general appear to be at all aware of. Notwithstanding
the period during which General PALMER has repre-
sented the city of Bath in Parliament, he has thought
proper to enumerate his opinions on most of the great
questions now before the public ; and although we
differ with him on some points, we cannot sufficiently
commend the example of speaking out, which he has
thus set to the other candidates throughout the coun-
try. Most earnestly, therefore, do we trust that no
obstacle will be thrown in the General's way during the
ensuing election contest. The electors of Bath are indeed

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1834.

provided with two able and indefatigable Reformers I
—General PALMER and Mr. ROEBUCK. Better men,
in every sense of the word, than their present repre-
sentatives, cannot claim the suffrages of the consti-
tuency .of Bath. Mr. ROEBUCK is a man of talent,
and we believe, of sterling integrity. During the
last Session of Parliament he gave the strongest
assurances of his zeal in the defence of the
rights of the people ; and though many of his
votes were given in opposition to measures which
we advocated ; and some of his opinions are
directly contrary to ours, yet on an occasion like the
present, we deem it of the utmost importance that
all Reformers should merge their individual differ-
ences of opinion, in order to obtain the services of
those men most capable of.defeating the machinations
of our deadly enemies the ultra-Tories. The Reformers
of Bath are now called upon to discharge a great trust
reposed in them for their own and the nation's benefit.
Let them continue to support their present Represen-
tatives, and they will discharge that trust honestly,
faithfully, and efficiently. They have now " good
men and true," and we entreat them not to suffer
themselves to be imposed upon by the professions of
more accommodating Statesmen.

We are happy to find, as well from reports which
have been privately conveyed to us by parties on whose
statements we can place confidence, as from other more
public sources of information, that the return of Mr.W.
H. Ho BIIOUSE for the borough of Finsbury may be re-
garded as quite certain. Mr. HoßuousE's address to
the electors of that borough is given in another part of
our paper, and to it we refer the public for a full exposi-
tion of his principles. He does not mince matters,
nor has he had recourse to sounding phrases, which
explained, mean everything, or some part of everything,
or nothing—just as it may suit the convenience of
the person who adopts them. He distinctly and
emphatically states that he will advocate Triennial
Parliaments ; the Ballot ; the abolition of all Plura-
lities, Translations and Church Rates ; the admission
of Dissenters to all civil privileges and honours in
the Universities ; the Reform of our Municipal
Corporations ; the abolition of the Window Tax :
and the careful revision of the Pension List.
There is no mystery in all these solemn
pledges which he offers the Reformers of Finsbury.
They are not words which mean nothing ; but they
are the frank, unsolicited avowal of opinions which
entitle Mr. HOBHOUSE to the confidence of the
Constituency to which he addresses himself. Of
Mr. HoßUousE's sincerity in the great cause
which he espouses, no better proof can be
given than his retiring from a contest in
in Bath rather than endanger the reform principles by
creating a division among the constituency who sup-
port General PALMER and Mr. ROEBUCK, and so
giving a Tory a chance of being returned. We wish
we could persuade some others in Finsbury to follow
the example of Mr. HOBHOUSE in this particular.
We are sorry to hear that a liberal candi-
date, it is true, but at the same time a
gentleman having no chance of being returned, is
resolved to divide the Reform interest in Finsbury, and
so play into the hands of the Tories, while he rails
against them. We hope he will think better of it ; and
either wait for another opportunity, or offer himself
where he has some better chance of being successful.
Mr. DUNCOMBE well merits the support which
we are confident he will receive from the elec-
tors of Finsbury, and as the return of Mr. HOB-
HOUSE is equally certain, we cannot but regret the ap-
pearance of a third reform candidate, which will only
have the effect of creating great embarrassment, and
calling forth the most angry feeling. We know that
the Electors of Finsbury will return Mr. HOBHOUSE
and Mr. DUNCOMBE ; and we believe in so doing they
will consult their own interests, and the interests of the
country.

The German Universities have no cause to complain.
that they are ever overlooked in the deliberations of the
Aulic Council. Scarcely a month passes in which we
do not learn some account of the watchfulness of the
Supreme Diet over the proceedings of these learned
bodies ; and of the more than parental solicitude with
which the President of the Council is wont to mark
the conduct of the youthful aspirants for literary fame.
Even our own Most Gracious Sovereign, in his cha-
racter of King of HA No vER, is not behind the most
zealous of his regal confederates, in restraining the
curiosity of such members of the Universities as evince
a disposition to inquire how the institutions of. Ger-
many might be established, in accordance with liberal
principles. The Hanover Gazette, which we have just
received, publishes a royal ordinance, bearing date the
2d inst., in which it is commanded that in all Universities
the Professors shall carefully and strictly enforce the re-
solutions published by the Germanic Diet or Aulic
Council, for regulating the studies, and restraining the
conduct of the scholars. One of these resolutions con-
tains a clause that no student shall attend any club or
society for discussing the laws or institutions—civil,
military, or ecclesiastical—of his country, under penalty
of immediate expulsion ; which penalty of expulsion,
when executed, shall be duly notified to the Govern-
ment, in order that the higher authorities may mark
the expelled individual. Besides the secret terrors
which would attend expulsion under such circum-
stances, it is further resolved by the Diet, and enforced
in the Proclamation above alluded to,—" That such
students as shall have been expelled from the univer-
sity, shall not be eligible for any civil, military, or ec-
clesiastical employment, professorship, or academical
dignity, or to practice at the bal, or as a physician or
surgeon, in any of the states of the Germanic Confede-
ration." This is, in short, the same thing as declaring
it a capital crime for any person in Germany daring
to think who is capable of thinking with effect. The
student against whom every avenue to distinction is
closed, and on whose movements the paralyzing glare
of the minions of the Diet is turned, is lost. His
only chance of escaping ruin is to expatriate himself
for life, and even then he goes forth under the sur-
veillance of the secret agents of the Aulic Council,
who are to be found in every country in Europe.
Still the very sight of these proclamations, dated
from a German Court, and in the name of a German
SOVEREIGN, is cheering to an English Reformer.
It proves that there is a necessity for such re-
strictions —it shows that the German Uni-
versities are becoming objects of alarm to
continental tyrants. Kings seldom trouble them-
selves with anticipated evils, and their proclama-
tions have reference to an existing state of things.
There is then political societies to be crushed in the
Universities, and that is something. Yea, it is much ;
for where once such studies obtain so deep a footing,
they can never be eradicated.
We regret, however, that the students of the Ger-