The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-24 00:00:00

indefinite position between the Whig and the Con-
servative sections of the Legislature, at the same
time that they give the new Government a general
but independent support. For many years the Con-
servatives themselves have not presented a more
compact array. Since the election in March they
have been continually receiving aeressione whilst
the bold attitude assumed by their leaders has
raised them in public estimation. Ominous rumours
have been for some time in circulation, and those
who watched the tide of events had formed the con-
clusion that in their ranks alone are tgoland from
be found
the statesmen capable of rescuing Ens
the perils with which she is surrounded. During the
short session the weakness of the Palmerston Admi-
nistration was rendered still more plainly apparent.
We say this without any disrespect for the member
for Tiverton, who justly enjoys a high reputation
both for official capacity and his dexterity in the
management of parties. For nearly half a century
has Lord Palmerston taken a prominent part in
public affairs, and as a leader of the House of Com-
mons, although he had many formidable rivals, he
was for a long interval without any superior. Yet
he was the Atlas upon whose shoulders the mini-
sterial experiment rested, and we question whether,
at his advanced age, Lord Palmerston was equal to
the overwhelming labours of his position.
Such will not, however, be the case with the Con-
servative Administration. Lord Derby's name is
indeed a tower of strength ; yet the noble earl will
be supported and assisted in the direction of public
affairs by colleagues of tried experience and ability.
Even as far as the list at present extends, the ad-
vantages secured to the country by recent changes
are evident at a glance. Lord Malmesbury re-
places Lord Clarendon as Foreign Secretary, and
upon the salutary nature of this change we scarcely
need expatiate. To the new Minister the public
are indebted for the formation of that alliance with
France, which though at first derided, afterwards
became the sheet-anchor both of the Coalition and
the Palmerston Cabinets. During Lord Malmes-
bury's short tenure of •ffiee our attitude towards
foreign powers was of the most dignified character.
Not a syllable was breathed of that Muscovite
aggression which soon after burst upon Europe ;
and, whilst our honour was maintained in this quar-
ter of the globe, our relations with the great re-
public beyond the Atlantic were placed upon a
proper footing. Nor was this nobleman insensible
to the advantages to be derived from the develop-
ment of our commerce with South America, and
under his able direction a treaty was concluded by
which many privileges were secured. At the Board
of Control, Lord Ellenborough replaces Mr. Vernon
Smith ; the former, one of the most prescient and
diligent administrators of any country or period,
and the latter, probably the most incompetent of
public functionaries that ever, in any part
of the globe, aspired to that lofty vocation.
Of Sir Frederick Thesiger's appointment to the
Lord Chancellorship we refer more particularly in
another article. It is the theme of every tongue ;
and we do not believe that a single member of any
party could be named who does not rejoice in the
honours bestowed upon this distinguished member
of the Senate and the bar, and at the same time
admit that a more striking illustration of the right
man in the right place could not by any possibility
be afforded. Mr. Walpole, as Home Secretary,
will prove more efficient than Sir George Grey ' • ar d
the same may be said of the substitution of Mr.
Henley for Lord Stanley of Alderley at the Board
jof Trade. The onerous duties of the Secretaryship
of War weighed heavily upon Lord Panneure, and
General Peel will prove not only more vigorous,
but also, we imagine, less devoted to red tape and
routine.
It will afferd the public no small gratification to
learn that the finances of the kingdom are once
more placed under the able direction of Mr. Disraeli,
whose short career of Cuancellor of the Exchequer
in 1852 displayed his wonderful aptitude for de :ling
with the difficult questions belonging to that depart-
ment. It must be confessed that Sir George Corne-
wall Lewis bad been thrust into a position fur
which he was not in the least degree qualified. It
is not our intention to insult the new Lord Privy
Seal by instituting a comparison between bis lord-
ship and the former occupant. The Earl of Hard-
wicke has already served the state in various capa-
cities, and brings not only strength but honour to
any Administration. Lord Egliuton was the most
copular Lord Lieutenant that ever held his state
in the Castle of Dublin. Proceeding upon a sys-
tem diametrically opposed to that more recently
pursued by Lord Carlisle, the noble earl did more
to tranquillise Ireland, and to allay the fury of party
strife, than any occupant of that office. To no
cliques was the smallest favour shown, and the ex-
traordinary impetus given to the Conservative cause
in the sister kingdom may be in a great measure
traced to the benefits of Lord Eglinton's firm but im-
partial rule. The Irish people learned to respect a
Ministerabove the petty cabals and factious struggles
of the time, and in his noble conduct beheld an
example which theysfelt they might imitate with
advantage both to themselves and their country.
The Board of Works loses Sir Benjamin Hall,
and, as a compensation, receives Lord John Man-
ners. Everybody acquainted with the new Minister
will allow that the accession of this scion of the
illustrious house of Manners to the vacancy, is, in
every respect, a gain for the public service. Sir
Benjamin, with his pomposity and inflated notions
of self, might make a good member for a Radical
constituency ; but Lord John Manners's devotion
to his duties render him a more useful servant of
the public. Without any disparagement to Eal 1
Granville, we may state that the Marquis of Salis-
bury will not be less popular or less efficient as
President of the Council. The comparison might
be carried further, but we believe that enough has
been said to show that the new Conservative Ca-
binet contains not only some of the ablest states-
men of the day, but a more brilliant array of effi-
cient, experienced, and high-minded administrators
than are to be found in any of the political parties
into which public men aro at present divided.
Reputation, after all, has more to do with these
matters than people are wont to imagine, and a
Cabinet composed of men of honour and integrity
will win its way in spite of factious opposition. In
some of his appointments Lord Palmerston cer-
tainly committed himself, and we are now assured
that this error materially accelerated his fall. Be
that as it may, Ministers must feel all the more
comfortable and secure in not being put to the
blush en account of their colleagues. The mem-
boi s of the new Administration may challenge the
world in this respect. The effect is already ap-
parent. Lord Derby has shown that his principal
aim is to promote the best interests of the stats,
and in order to do this in the best manner the
noble earl has secured the co-operation of some of
its most illustrious members. Signs of increas-
ing confidence appear on every side. Assur-
ances of support have already been recei red from
quarters that the public would hardly anticipate.
In fact, the conviction gains ground hourly
that Lord Derby, at the head of a Conser-
vative Government, can alone restore the healthy
tone of the constitution, and rescue the state from
the numerous perils by which it is environed. The
Conservative lea :er it clearly master of the situa-
tion. The new administration will commence its
career with courage and confi _knee, and we feel
il.:$111 3d that su-cers will ..rowa a C-aii.ZU I.lllderta;fen
in this spirit. The best hopes as well as the warmest
sympathy of all good c.tizens attend these distin-
guished statesmen, and from one end of the king-
dom to the other a reverent and an affectionate
prayer will be uttt red that the efforts of Lord
Derby and his true-hearted colleagues may be
blessed to the maintenance of England's honour,
the advancement of England's glory and the de-
fence and the dissemination of Christian principles
throughout the whole world.

(Front the Morning Advertiser.)

Whether or not Lord Palmerston will politically
profit from the lesson he has just received, time
only can tell. But if ho do not personally learn
wisdom from it, he will be one of the dullest
seholais that ever occupied a seat in the school of
experience. If he fail to discern from what is
hourly transpiring, who are his real friends and who
are not, he is the only man among her Majesty's
subjects who does not make the distinction. Thoso
who were his parasites on Thursday last, before he
sustained his fatal discomfiture, and while in the
full swing of Ministerial success, are his foes to-day.
With the loss of bis power has gone their fidelity.
But, bad as that is, worse remains behind. Not
content with deserting him, now that his power
and prestige are gone, some of those who, eight
clays
ago, exhausted language in the fulsomeness of
their adulation, now turn round and assail him in
t - rTmask of faunnimn
setaasnucree di
nabt
the
abuse.
one knows how that 'our.nalahsessoflattheelyTliemalse.dEzoerrdy
Pdaaylmiers.t,ovin
iwthiithn i,t,s jpratse. What said it yester-
day
last. remarked our contemporary,
few 'months there
deny it, a dimunition,
is esAY to account for. to
trium-
phant abroad, successful
great iMinister,
able to withstand the almost
to lead every public
bveeryry.
ill-advised—advised
to many of his recent
of his popularity. This it
La oi:1: s
Dictator,bPalmerston,
has
asi t ins ouselesst
beeia
repeat, has neon
,ai and honoured at home,
nial-alder influences which
derv,isawent
toratasisat:ouritiatai
and)t tend
appointments.viuilil.in respect
may indeed be men of piety and good intentions,
but but how is it that they have been chosen almost
I
universally from the narrow class
clergy ? More than one of his military
of aristocratic
appoint-
ments has been exceptionable. But the chiet error
was the introduc ion of Lord Clanticarde into the
Cabinet. All the late Premier's friends agree in
thinking that this act, more than any public mea-