The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-05 00:00:00

THE SUN, LOiNDON FRIDAY EVENING-

Reform Bill, the one in the responsibility and
glory of carrying which he himself had personally
participated. And—in addition to this signifi-
cant admission, he now immediately added to his
announcement of his inerradicable repugnance to
enter into any positive engagements—this suffi-
ciently emphatic and re-assuring declaration, " I
prefer to go beyond rather than to fall short of any
pledges or promises which I may give in this house."
Remarking still further—" But this I may say,
that as soon as the pressure of Parliamentary
business enables us distinctly and carefully to
consider the question, we will direct our attention
to the defects which exist in the laws regulating
the representation of the people in Parliament."
Nor is this all—the Prime Minister observes ab-
solutely in so many words, " We the advisers of
the Crown will give that attention to the subject,
" with the sincere and earnest desire to trifle no
longer with this great question, but with the hope
that we may be able"—mark this ; not vaguely,
not indifferently, not upon the arrival of the
Greek Kalends, or contemporaneously with the
quadrature of the circle, but—" in the next ses-
sion of Parliament, to lay before the Legislature
and the country"—in so many plain words, A New
Reform Bill ! As Lord DERBY describes it—" a
measure upon that subject which may for a time
settle a matter of such deep importance, and
which, if we cannot hope to please everybody—
which would indeed be a most extravagant expec-
tation—may at least be accepted as a fair and
reasonable measure, by moderate, impartial, and
well-educated men." More than this, perhaps,
we could hardly in reason look for from the lips 1
of a Conservative First Lard of the Treasury.
More than this—of course in their own peculiar
interpretation of the words—would hardly be
projected by the more rationally advanced of our
Liberal Reformers. For no one surely but the
deftest day-dreamer would cherish for an instant
the visionary notion of a Parliamentary Reform
Bill otherwise than ono of a purely temporary
character ; Reform upon every imaginable
subject obviously " growing with the growth
and strengthening with the strength, of
a people steadily advancing on th© path of_civili-
zstion. Wherefore, what we perceive we must
expect to make up our minds to now, is the post-
ponement of the question of Parliamentary
Reform until the next session of the Legislature.
Lord DERBY tells us this bluntly and point blank.
Lord PALMERSTON intimated the same unwelcome
truth indirectly and inferentially. It comes
pretty much to the same thing in the end—as to
the time lost before the giving of these wished for
improvements. Only that circumstances have
now happily elicited from the Conservative
Leader the very satisfactory explanation of what
is really meant by Conservatism—implied by the
almost indignant exclamation, " My Lords, there
can be no greater mistake than to suppose that a
Conservative Ministry necessarily means a s! a-

tionary Ministry."
A slight difference, this, from the ever memor-
able dead-lock declaration—the dogged " thus far
and no further"—of the late Duke of WEL-
LINGTON. Ulteriorly there is every fair pro;pect
of our obtaining a measure productive of great,
judicious, and comprehensive changes iu our
whole system of representation.

The resolutions of the committee appointed to
investigate the charge against Mr. BUTT have
fully and completely exonerated that honourable
and learned gentleman from the charges which
were so hastily adopted byMr. ROEBUCK. They show
that he did not corruptly enter into an agreement
with the Ameer ALI MOORAD KHAN or his agents
to advocate or prosecute his claims in the House of
Commons. Nor was any money paid in pursuance
of any suchagreemen

H-oniiir impression. They
confirm the statements made by the Hon. Gentle-
wan to the Committee, that his parliamentary
advocacy was wholly disinterested, and was be-
stowed from a sense of the injustice with
which the AMEER had been treated by the East
Indian authorities. It was not until a
certain result had been attained, and the Ameer
recommended to return to India, that any pecu-
niary question was ventilated, and that not as a
remuneration for past Parliamentary services, but
for professional aid to be rendered in India.
Considering the high professional character of
the Honourable and Learned Gentleman, and
the extraordinary ability he invariably displayed
on every occasion, we cannot feel surprised
that the Ameer should have been desirous of se-
curing his valuable services in India, so that he
may be enabled to aid and advise in carrying out
the objects which he had previously placed in such a
satisfactory position. It could not be asserted
that 10,0001. would be au extravagant re-
compense to a barrister in large practice for
surrendering for at least a year the emolu-
ments he was realising, and the prospects of
professional advancement which he might fairly
anticipate. It will be in the recollection of our
readers, that when the vacancies on the judicial
bench occurred in Ireland, Mr. BUTT was
generally considered as having an excellent
chance for the Solicitor-Generalship. That
prospect would necessarily be relinquished
had he gone to India, and his practice necessarily
impaired. He would also have devoted a large
sum to Insurance Companies to guard against the
cxtra risk, not sanctioned by plicies previously
granted, or those which might be effected in
anticipation of the journey. It was, there-
fore, only wonderful that he should have accepted
even 10,0001. as an adequate return for what
might so greatly have affected his future position
both in the Legislature and at the Bar.

The Hon. and Learned Gentleman having been
thus completely exonerated, it is only to be
regretted that Mr. Rozzucx should have
lent himself to what calm investigation must
have proved to him to be harsh and
untenable proceedings against a brother mem-
ber. It would have been well if he had
considered more closely the character of the com-
plaint, which did not proceed from one who had
been in any way defrauded of money, but was a
matter of private vengeance by a third person, who
was himself a party to the agreement, if any such
existed, and who never said a word on the subject.

until there had been a dispute with the man whom
he attempted to injure. Mr. Rozsucic ought, at

least, to have awaited the production of the docu-

ments which Mr. BUTT offered to lay before him on
the following Monday, and also to have received
the explanations which were freely tendered.
Ele expresses his belief in the truth of the charges
without hearing the defence of the party incul-

paced, and must now deplore the credulity which

induced him to lend himself to a proceeding so
vexatious, and so completely without adequate

foundation.

Mr. BUTT has passed the ordeal, and we trust
that Mr. ROEBUCK will be prepared to make the

amend, honorable for the trouble and expense

Which his rashness has occasioned, on the earliest
opportunity for so doing.

The last official act of Lord Palmerston was to send a
donation of 1001. to Mrs. Mogridge, the widow of the
admirable writer No long known as "Old Humphrky.,,

THE CHARGE _AGAINST WR. ISAAC
BUTT, M. P.

The following are published as the resolut ions of
the committee of the House of Commonsispfioinfed
to investigate M:. Roebuck's charge against Mr. I.
Butt :

1. Esq., Q. C., a member of
this Thatllot e,lsdaial nßonts stzted in the petition of
Edward Lees Coffey, in or about the months of
Julyor August, 1836, corruptly enter into an agree-
ment with his Highness Ameer Ali Moorad Khan,
or his agents, to the effect that the said Isaac
Butt should, for a sum of money, advocate and
prosecute, in the House of Commons, with her
M
Government and the Honourable East
ajclndiascs Company, the claims of his Highness for the
recoveryof histerri tory, of which he had been deprived
by annexation by the Honourable East India Com-
pany,en b t nora ,c in pursuance of such corrupt agree-
m have divers sums of money been actually
paid by the said Ameer Ali Moorad Khan to the
said Isaac Butt."

2. That Isaac Butt, Esq., in or about the month
of July,
1857, did enter mtoan agreement with his
Highness the Arneer Ali Moorad Khan to go to
India to assist him in prosecuting his claim with
the local government of Bombay, in consideration
of the sum of 10,000/., of which the said Isaac Butt
received 2,000/. (1,9991. net), and the remainder
was to be paid in bills proposed to be drawn or ac-
cepted by the Arneer.
3. That Isaac Butt, Esq., did, in the period which
elapsed from the month of June, 1856, to the
month of Sept., 1807, advise and assist his High-
ness Ali Moorad Khan in prosecuting his claim on
the government of India, and with that view had
frequent personalinterviews in the year 1857, after
thePid
es meeting
fthli present Parliament, with the
Board of Control, and also some
communicationsohe
coent of
mmunications with the Chairman of the Board of
Directors of the East India Company, and with
ono other member of the board.
4. That on the 11th day of August, 1857, Isaac
Butt, Esq., received from his highness Ali Moorad
Taal' a cheque for another sum of 3001., but it
has not been shown to your committee that such
had any reference to
paymentpro
eintgos
ilns ara
ac
rßi
iva tmt,

LORD CHELMSFORD.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—Allow me to advert to two errors in your notice
of Lord Chelmsford, coutained in Wedneirlay's Suva.
First, Sir F. Tnesiger Wag gleen's Conned, but nerer
was Sergeant._

Secondly, Lord Cottenbam was not, like Lord Chelms-
ford, transferred from the bar to the woolsack per saltum.
The former first sat at the Rolls as Sir Charles Christopher
pepys, where he dPcided several reported cases.—l am,
Sir, yours obediently,