The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-29 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, MAY 29, 1858.

Misrepresentation seems to be the order of the
day with the opponents of the Government. We
have already witnessed the refutation of Lord
SHAFTESBURY'S tardy statement, by the Premier,
and last night Lord JOHN RUSSELL was convicted
of gross inaccuracy by the Chancellor of the Ex•
chequer. The home truthq, the caustic severity
of that remarkable oration, had excited the ire of
the Palmerstonians, and more especially of the
recent :convert. With the reckless temerity for
which "the Small Johnny who upset the coach" is
notorious, be thought fit to attack the speech of the
Right Honourable Gentleman to his constituents,
in which he so successfully vindicated the policy
and the proceedings of the Government, and so
unsparingly exposed the factious character of
the motion. Lord JOHNNY winced under the
stig4tieu. He fat that the cap fitted him,
and with the audacity so clearly explained
by SIDNEY SIIITII—the temerity which would
induce him "to take the command of the
Channel fleet, or perform the most difficult ope-
ration in lithotomy,', at a naomenes notice, he
rushed to the onslaught, cc rive/.
inipar congresses dchl//i." He Zslanpteelo.4(li?yuctnite
vinced of the grave mistake into which he had
fallen—of the terrible "`lough" in which
- he was
floundering—to him a veritable " Slough of

despond."
Every successive movement only plunged him-
self and his coconspirators deeper in the quagmire.
The Chancellor of the Excherer eventually extin-

guished the -petty rushlight which he fondly ima-
gined would illuminate the House, and sabdued the
flickering igniis fatuus by the broad light of
truth, and every assertion put forward by the
noble lord was clearly and distinctly refuted. He
attempted to show that there had been an impu-
tation on the House of Commons, that there was
an implied censure on the majority of that House.
So far from that being the case, there was not " a
single statement, a single phrase, or a single sen-
tence, which justified the impression which he
wished to convey." So far from it, it was lau-
datory of that House—of the impartial treatment
and generous consideration displayed by indepen-
dent members for the Government, which had
accepted office under such extraordinary difficul-
ties, in obedience to the will of their SOVE-
REIGN and an imperative sense of duty, Mr.
DISRAELI declared that the Government had
" received from the House of Commons, as a
body, a generous courtesy," which " had on
more than one occasion baffled the unceasing in-
trigues and the restless machinations, by which,
from the first hour of entering office, the Cabinet
bad been assailed." So far from its being dero-
gatory to the popular branch of the Legislature it
was altogether laudatory—save as to those who
participated in the insidious schemes—the un-
warrantable machinations so justly and un-
sparingly denounced.

On each of the othor points referred to the
Noble Lord was equally infelicitous, and equally
inaccurate. He seemed astounded at-the intima-
tion of the delicate nature of the relations be-
tween France and England, at the period of- the
accession to office of Lord DERBY and his coad-
jutors. 1161 consulted Lord CLARENDON, who
saw nothing of immediate danger. Buf, unfor-
tunately, Lord CLARENDON does not now possess
the confluence of the country. It was his truckling
policy, his cringing to despotism, and palpable
exhibition of weakness that produced the evil,
created the danger. Lord CLARENDON was the
worst possible authority on such a subject !
Why was not Lord PALMERSTON consulted? Ile
could speak feelingly of the errors of his coad-
jutor at the Foreign-office, and might have
removed the misconceptions of the would-be Pre-
sident of the Board, at Cannon-row ; or the new
Secretary of State for India. But he was
avoided, although he might have give❑
better information than the nobleman who
occasioned the overthrow of the late Mi-
nistry. It is unnecessary to refer to inter-
mediate points. We need not even dwell on
the substitution of the word " extermination " for
" confiscation," nor need we allude to the "inge-
nious spirit of perversion, and the dexterous tone of
exaggeration, which distinguished the somewhat
penurious invective of the Noble Lord." We shall
merely speak of his unjustifiable allusion to the
alleged threat of dissolution. It was not the Go-
vernment that ventilated that threat. It was the
voice of public opinion out of doors, that pene-
trated into the Clubs, and was repeated
by the consciences of the conspirators.
They felt that there.,ought to be a dissolution, in the
event of the success of the factious movement.
It was not the " wish," but the "fear" that was
" father to the thought." And those who writhed
with troubled minds strove to cast the responsi-
bility on the Ministry. Lord JOHN took nothing
by his motion. It would be well for himself if
he had avoided the dangerous topic, and he might
well.( xclaim at the termination, "An' I had known
that he were so cunning of fence, I'd have seen
him - before I meddled with him."