The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-05 00:00:00

STATE OF PARTIES.

( Front the Morning Chronicle)
The schism. iu the Liberal party, is $o
,ap-
i arent in the House of Commons, xists also in the
cowl Try. The constituencies tire as much divided
as their reerc;•:..ntatives. it is, therefore, qeeite in
the natural; of.ihines, that the Conservatives
.1,1 it thee.l.ost wienl.9l sty of t he. r rivAls, if
that froni th.Vunktio..en and the ufitiied much
e - xpecte i. For, to the great mass of the commu-
ni.y, the Miutsterialists are unknown and untried.
Treat they had long since ceased to be the " Toties"
of a f rmer epoch had become matter of notoriety. -
It was equally evident, that-naany of the leading
members of the party publicly professed opinions,
which the most advanced Liberals Might be proud
to acknowledge. Under 'such circumstances,• cu-
riosity alone would secure for them a fair bearing
and a patient trial. It is no slight evidence of the -
progress they have made since they haVe been in
office, that now no opposition is expected to-there-
turn of Sir Bill wer L for-Elerifordshire.. Three ..
nad:e.the ago, the r' barahet declined-to ac-
cept the office-he' f 4 because a defeat,. was
considered within the range of possibility. The in-
testine divisions of the Liberals, which at that time
had scarcely shown themselves, have since reached
such a height that it is said they dare not risk a
coutest. - -
It is remarkable, too, that not the, slightest de-
monstration has been made from .any part of the
countryiagainet the party in powee, such as we
were familiar with on former occasions of the kind.
In every town or district thereexistsepreity clique
of political busybodies, who iive,..alWays shown
themselves very fussy in calling- j nblic meetings,
and getting up declarations -egaiest:.the Coneerva-
tives, or, as they term them, the Tories." Now,
all these noisy and active personae-es:are wholly
silent. From one, end of the country to the other
there has not been a single manifestation of the
kind—no tribute of sympathy to either afire Whig
chiefs, or any censure of their opponOatq. . So that
even the old and well-worn machinery Of prditicrl

agitation appears to be no longer, at the command
of the d-feated faction, wh..) are completely para.-

lysed out of doors as within the House of Common/.
Through the influence of the press, in which cer-
tain journals have shown a most praiseworthy but
inexplicable fidelity to the fallen pt►rty, they have
been ensbled to maintain a semblance of what they

desited should pass for public opinion. Bat those
of of have met with no response from the nation,
and it is very clear that they are in course of being
abandoned. Such a signal collapse of an almost
unbounded popularity is without a precedent or a
parallel in our political history.
It is now the everyday remark that Ministers
are "safe," at all events till next year.. Reflective,'
men saw this at the outset, but their opinion was
regarded as ridiculous. The formidable majority
which Lord Palme ston, by raising a false issues
had obtained about twelve months , before, still
maintained its gigantic prc,portioris in the 'eyes of
the mass of the community. It was believed that
the defeat of the late Ministry had been an acci-
dent—that Lord John Russell and Lord Palmer-
ston had but to combine in a well-planned assault,
and the fate of the new Ministers was sealed. The
Oppo-dtion Chiefs have to thank themselves alone
for the entire dispersion of these illusions. Their
ludicrous fdlures, and the palpably factious spirit
which has pr-,vented their silent acceptance of the
obvious will of Parliament and the country, have
done far mere injury to their in'erests than any
active movements of the Ministers. They bad a
game in their hands which they did not know how
to play. From the purely defensive, the Conser-
vatives are nuw able to take the offensive, and Mr.
Disraeli's late speech fell like a bombshell among
the Whigs, scattering them in all directions.
The more this idea of the Consolidation of Minis-
terial influence gains ground, the more will the
people of England desire to know what is to be the
future course of the Government. We are happy
to see an abatement of that tendency of the ad-
vancel Liberals to domineer and dictate. It is well
for them to prefer their claims, but they must also
reflect, that the Ministers of the day are bound to
legidafri end administer public affairs for the benefit
of the whole community, not for any class or sec-
tion. On the other hand, while this forbearance
to exercise extreme demands is a becoming defer-
ence to public opinion, her Majesty's Ministers
must nut take it for wore than it is worth, When
they were first appointed to their present offices,
some of their most sincere friends, seeing what dis-

cordaut elements were associated—and that those
who held Liberal views were by no means in the
majority—feared that they would fall into the error
of believing, that there was a reaction in favour of
Conservative" principles, and that they were less
through the misdeeds of their antagonists than
through their own proper virtues. Their natural
tendency to this belief is for them a much greater
danger than anything they have to fear from their
opponents. By adopting the principle of " open
quistions" with iegerd to some delicate subjects,
they have avoided certain difficulties but the peo-
ple will note from time to time the different views
taken by different members of the Cabinet on
the sime subjects, and will infer therefrom that
there is re .t much prospect of a vigorous and united
action. It will also be noticed. that althceigh the
Parliamentary talent of the Ministry, in both
Houses, may be arrayed on the side of the more
LiberaCprinciples, the territorial influence is all
the other way. This also, will be regarded as an ill
omen, and ever), act of thel Administration will be
watched with jealous eyes, and with suspicions for-
tified by the adoption of a forgone conclusion.
All these are so many reasons why her Mejesty's
Ministers should at the earliest convenient moment
afford some clue to the line of policy they are pre-
pared to adopt, with regard to many questions on
which the public are really desirous of reform.
There is not the slightest disposition to hurry
them on, or to support factious movements
by those who neglected their duties while in power.
Ample time would be given for deliberation and
preparation, and a confidence reposed which would
not hastily be withdrawn. But to arrive at this
re salt, it is absolutely necessary that the people
should know whether they have a stationary or a
progressive Ministry at the head of affairs. The
course taken with respect to+the Property Qualifi-
cation for Members of Parliament has already shown
that Ministers are disposed to remove anomalies,
and the projected settlement of the question re-
specting the Jews is another manifestation in the
same direction. Bat, where gentlemen notoriously
opposed in opinion are banded together
of
thhee
u
ex-
pedient of agreeing to differ upon someto the nation
jects most iuterestieg and important
shouldvic victories
ebe e felt
over
. it
ts
itsontohte 17,117
itmu unnatural thatdeci
esioomn
se. a nTetcetiyr
their antagonists have been signal, chieflythose antagonists chose to rest their opposition
because
upon grounds in which the people took no interest.
All those efforts having failed, it becomes daily
more probable that the Whig chiefs will change
their tactics. The support afforded to Ministers by
the Independent Liberals is partly dictated from a
desire to avenge themselves on those whim they
believe to have betrayed them, and partly by a
hope of what may be obtained from a new Govern-
ment, which, for the present, is in a minority.
Both motives would cease to operate were the
Whig chiefs to embrace a broader policy, and in
the possibility of such a change courists the chief
difficulty of the present AdininistraVon.

RATS EVERYWHERE.—Rats bt-d and labour in the
dark ; they shun the approach of man. If we enter a
barn or granary, where hundreds are living, we shall not
observe any, unless we disturb them in their biding-
places. It we go to a rick that may be one living mass
within (a thing by no means uncommon), we shall nob
see one ; or if we dive into a cellar that may be perfectly
infested, the result is the satee—unless, perchance, a
stray one may scud across for a more safe retreat. .Hesce
it is that men seldom think of rats, because they rarely
see them ; but if rats could be made by any means to
live on the surface of the earth instead of in boles and
e
corners, and feed and run about the streets rTd
in the open day, like dogs and sheep, the whole bolds ld
na-
tion would be horror-stricken ;
would not be a man, woman, or cbilddebsu
a dog, stick, or gun to Effect their _
wig,
wher-
ever they metand ultimately
trutwould have
there
with them.—Rats, their History,
numerous Anecdotes, by " Uncle 'Mmes.—,