The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

Secretary, Lord ABERDEEN as Colonial Secretary,
and the Duke of WELLINGTON at the head of the
Foreign Department—with Lord LYNDHURST as
Chancellor, Earl DE GREY as First Lerd of the
Admiralty, and (the only one of these Ministers
still in the same place !) Lord ELLENBOROUGH—
President of the Board of Control. As if to mark
yet more distinctly an epoch in the annals of Par-
liament—the first great division in the House of
Commons showing the actual results of the new
Reform Bill was preceded on the 16th of October,
1834, by the total destruction by fire of the old
Houses of Parliament. A little more than a
quarter of a year afterwards, upon the heels of the
new Cabinet came the necessity of choosing a fresh
Speaker. Another Parliament had been called
into existence--and this, of course, under novel
circumstances. Under circumstances indeed so
novel that in regard to one of the Irish elections,
O'CONNELL had said—" Every one who dares to
vote for the Knight of Kerry shall have a death's
head and cross bones painted on his door !"
while in regard to another, SHIEL bad cried out
in a strain yet more impassioned—" If any one
should vote for him (the opposing candidate) I
will supplicate the throne of the ALMIGHTY that
ho may be shown mercy in the next world, but
I ask no mercy for him in this !" In
the midst of such excitement as words
like those sufficiently indicate, the new Parliament
was called together at the commencement of 1835,
beginning its career contemporaneously with the
PEEL Administration. It assembled on the 19th
of February, and, according to custom, on the
day of its assembly the Speaker was elected—the
opposing candidates being the late Speaker, Sir
CHARLES MANNERS SUTTON, who for eighteen years
had presided, to the universal satisfaction of all
parties, over the deliberations of the national re-
presentatives, and a new and untried man,
Mr. ABERCROMBY, the one just now deceased
as Lord DUNFERMLINE, at the age of more
than an octogenarian. In many particulars the
division which then took place is very: remark-
able, and in some respects:it is altogether unparal-
leled. It occurred, for one thing in the fullest
house upon record—namely with no less than 626
members actually there assembled together. It
yielded a clear majority of ex•tctly 10 votes for
Mr. ABERCROMBY, shewing that the numbers were
in truth pretty evenly balanced. Those numbers
being exclusive of the four tellers-316 to 306
Mr. ABERCROMBY voting for Sir CHARLES SUTTON
and Sir CHARLES SUTTON voting for Mr. ABER-
CROMBY. The division in reality proved among
other things that although a majority of 35 English
county members supported SUTTON, and although
the defeated candidate, in point of fact, was aided
by a clear majority of 23 English borough and
county members—that majority was reversed by
the opposing division of the members for Ireland !
Notwithstanding a clear majority of 13 of the
Scotch members voted for the successful c indi-
date, Sir C. SUTTON, supported by the English
majority of 23, was still of course left with a clear
advantage of ten over his antagonist. But—the
Irish members, by bringing to bear a clear round
score in favour of Mr. ABERCROMBY, transformed
this majority of ten for Sir C. SUTTON upon the
English and Scotch votes together, into a minority
of ten upon the whole, viz., the aggregate of 622,
told out in the opposite lobbies ! exac‘ly 41 of
the Irish members voting for Sir C. SUTTON and
61 for Mr. ABERCROMBY. Another and a yet
more striking revelation of this division was that
of the county members of the entire of the United
Kingdom being outvoted by the borough mem-
bets• in the proportion of a: clear fifteen gained
upon every score, or,• in other words, by 35 to
20—the total of 622 being divided into 231
county and 391 borough representatives. Tnis
analysis we have conceived not unworthy of par-
ticular mention at the present juncture in our
Parliamentary history ; when the last breathing
time is yet allowed to our legislators prior to the
revision, let us hope, next session of the whole
scheme of our national representation. The
lesson first taughtto Reformers,twenty-three years
ago, upon the election of Mr. Speaker ABER-
ORMSBY, has been now impressively enforced
through the recollections naturally awakened by
the recent demise of Baron DUNFERMLINE. Elected
Speaker at a period of life, when at the close of
a brief Speakership of four sessions, he had
actually already attained what is called the grand
climacteric, being then (in 1839) sixty-three years
of age—Lord DUNFERMLINE has for nearly twenty
years enjoyed his otiurn cum, dignitate, until he
expires at last in his ripe old age, as more than
an octogenarian. It may be not uninteresting to
remember, in conclusion, in regard to the late
ex-Speaker, that he was proposed for his high office
by Mr. DENISON—the representative of whose
ancient family now occupies the chair of the Com-
mons House of Parliament.

DEATH OF ROBERT STEPHEN
RINTOUL, ESQ.,
Late Proprietor and Editor of the Spectator.

Death has terminated the life and labours of the
above highly accomplished gentleman, honest poli-
tician, and good man. Mr. Rintoul expired last
evening. Disease of the heart accelerated his
death ; but there can ba little daubt that too close
application to his eliiorial duties—in endeavouring
to make the Spectator a perfect paper—has be n
making sad inroads on his constitution for the last
few years.
Mr. Rintoul's connection with the press com-
menced in Scotland. On coming to London, Mr.
Whiting placed the Atlas, at that time a very large
sheet, but eclipsed since by many contemporaries,-
under his editorship. Mr. Rintoul, with great tact,
surrounded himself with the best talent of the day,
and the consequence was, the Atlas soon. obtained
tae reputation it fairly deserved. It is understood
that th 3 unnecessary interference of the proprietor
in the editorial departtnent of the paper indue?cl
him to retire. Mr. Rintoul then started the
Spectator, the uncontrolled power of which lie
exercised most ably and honestly for nearly thirty
yen's. Personal attachment to their chief indu ied
the principal part of the Atlas editorial staff to join
in the new paper. It is hardly necessary to
say that with such an editor and so well-:.elec'ed a
staff of coadjutors the Spectator at once took its
position as a paper of the first class. The Spectator
at this time had the advantap of the t dents of Mr.
Fonblanque, whose articles in the Examiner in
after years have so widely spread his name as a
newspaper writ3r. The litcrary department of the
Spectator was wisely placed by Mr. Rintoul (always
himself exercising a vigilant eye over every depart-
ment of the paper) in the hands of that highly ac-
complished critic, Mr. Southern, a name well
known in the literary world same twenty or twenty-
five years gone. The musical department, the fi it
arts, sQ &c., were all place I under the super
c:of the first men of t'te day. The con-
seqiience was, as might have been expected, the
Spectator rose rapidly in reputation, aid gradually
tit c'reulatien. But when the country demanded
Reform, and the cry was,
"The bill, the whole bill,
and nothing btu-, the bill, Mr. Rintoul took his
stslid
voted
3mong the leading reforeiera of the day,. de
ntiring energies to the cause of the
ll
in the columns of the- Spectator,
e tle; his
and,
gr
a sasni3.e 1 in carrying that measure. The ana-
tomy of the House of Commons ati,tl yf ;the Pee-age,
published as supplements to the Speeirttor, remain
to this day specimens of his untirlig'industry in
carrying out any measures he bdieve.l to be con-