The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-26 00:00:00

TliE SUN, LOS

accident of party has been raised for a few
months into the position of a Minister of the
Crown. Our assailants, if you examine the matter
for a moment, you will find they are the monopolists
of political power in this country, and the base
creatures, who for selfish purposes are found crawl-
ing about them." After this elegant language, so
pre-eminently characteristic of Mr. BRIGIIT, we
next find that he goes on to state the nature of his
crime in the eyes of those " creatures," who pre-
sume to scan his actions and criticise his
doings. Since the first hour he entered
public life and stepped upon a public
platform he has resisted that monopoly,
and pleaded for the rights of the millions of the
people of this country. This sounds very fine, and
in some degree may be correct; but Mr. BRIGIIT
claims to ignore how, or in what manner, ho has
done these things of which he glories. tie has,
indeed, often advocated the just claims of some por-
tion of the community, but he has never done so

without casting slanders on another portion of it.
He has striven hard to set class against class, and
to impress upon his hearers that those
whom the accidents of birth, fortune, or posi-
tion, had placed higher than themselves
in the social scale were unworthy of trust,
and devoid of sympathy for those below them'
Another thing of which he is conveniently oblivious
is that he has not been consistent in the part he has
played of the advocate of the rights of the people.
When the questions relating to labour have come
forward he has always been on the side of those who
opposed the improvement of the condition of the
working classes and the curtailment of the hours of
labour. It needed the existing stimulant of op-
posing the hated Tory party tooth and nail to raise
Mr. BRIGHT'S energies ; the very notion of doing
anything they disapproved of was as the trumpet that
calls for the war-horse to the charge ; but turn the
picture, and a very different scene presented itself.
As for Mr. BRIGHT'S declaration that he has never
asked that the lower orders should change laws or
settle our institutions, we think that he has been
consistently alluding to such things of late, and in-
timating pretty plainly to his political opponents
that they would experience most unpleasant results
if they did not speedily change their tactics and

modify their views. It is almost amusing to hear from
Mr. BRIGHT that he is no " flatterer." We really
do not think that any one has been found presump-
tuous enough to lay this sin to his charge ; but he
says that he has been guided by a higher law than
" the prejudices and passions of any class of the
people." Immediately after uttering this grandilo-
quent assertion, we find him referring to his own
conduct twenty years ago in a manner which shows
that he does not deem it necessary to be exempt
from passions and prejudices of his own, or from
making meaner views guide him in his public
career. The Factory Act, he says, was
brought forward twenty years ago, and he
did not deem it to be his duty to support it, and
many deemed him wrong in his decision. lle now,
after this lapse of time, condescends to tell us his
reasons for the opposition he made to this proposal
for benefitting the condition of the operatives. " I
was against any interference by Parliament with the
freedom of labour and capital in this country. I
did not wish to trust a Parliament of landowners

with the control and the disposition of labour and
capital in this country. I knew by their infamous
conduct, which had lasted for thirty years, they
hal confiscated an untold and countless amount of

labourand. capital of p3glandwith the view of turning

it into the channel of rent themselves, and therefore
aid not like this body of men to meddle with the
question." Now we consider this as disgraceful an
admission as any that was ever made by a public
wan in this country, and surely his most bitter
enemy could not devise any slander against him
which could damage his reputation more than the
words he himself utters. It is a mockery for a man

to get upon a public platform and denounce the
political immorality of his opponents, and then
disclose such a glaring instance of his own
want of honesty. He is showing in this
explanation of his course a signal proof of
die folly of those who preach the old Whig
doctrine of "Men, and not measures." What pos-
sible difference did it make to Lose employed in
the factories which side of politicians passed the
measure which was to improve their condition, and
bless their hard lives of constant and unremitting
labour? The truth is, that it did matter to Mr.
BI IGIIT and his friends that their opponents should
be seen to be the benefactors of the people, when
they were always denouncing them as the oppres-
sors and the tyrants of the lower orders.

Perhaps, however, the most inconsistent thing
of the whole matter is, that Mr. BRIGHT now says
that he rejoices as much as any of them that they
are now working ten hours and a half instead of
eleven hours and a half daily, as before; endea-

vouring, however, to qualify the assertion by in-
timating that if the Corn Laws had not passed
the full benefits of the change could not have
been made so apparent. lie expects that if any
one looks back to the discussions of that time
they will find that he said nothing unfriendly to
the operative classes, and that he sought to defend
them and
.their employers from the " exag-
gerated and calumnious statements of those
to whom he was opposed." This one word
aptly explains the meaning of Mr. BRIGHT'S
policy past, present, and future. All who
are his opponents must be found wanting in the
one thing needful, honesty of purpose, and he can-
not and will not believe that they are to be trusted.
Mr. BRIGIIT concluded his speech by saying that he
thought no people could be happy without a wise
legislation and a just administration of the laws.
This is no doubt quite true, but there is another
thing which goes a long way to ensure happiness,
and that is contentment. So long as angry and bit-
ter feelings are allowed to hold sway in men's
minds there will be no prospect of steady

or lasting improvement, and in the desire to make
out the worst case against other people will be very
apt to forget what might be best for themselves.
We might all have made a little allowance for some
irritable expressions on Mr. BRIGHT'S part last
night, under the circumstances, were it not that he
never loses an opportunity of decrying those who
are his political antagonists, and still more of under-
mining the reputation of those who are higher in
rank and influence ; so that jealousy and
seem to be the sentiments he desires the most as-