The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-07 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 1858.

It seems to be now generally understood that
the first great battle between the " ins" and
" the outs" will take place on the Government of
India Bills, the rival projects of Lords DERBY and
PALMERSTON. We confess we wish that it had
been otherwise, It will not give the people of
India a very favourable impression as to their
prospects under Parliamentary Government.
When they learn that a matter of such vital im-
portance to 150,000,000 of her MAJESTY'S sub-
jects in the East, and involving so many important
interests, both at home and abroad, should be
made the ground of a factious opposition against
the actual occupants of office, and of a
merely political con tesf. The object of 02/
persons, without exception, should be to
render the measure that must be carried as
efficient as possible, and for that purpose, to work
harmoniously together, selecting the best parts of
each scheme, and gracefully to yield points of

minor importance.
But such, unfortunately, is not the case. Thero
is no subject that has been so incessantly attacked
by the Times, and its servile flock of imitators
amongst the public journals, by the Times led—
men who, unable to think or reason for themselves,
swallow with implicit faith all that the Times is
pleased to enunciate ex cathedra, or by the small
politicians of the House of Commons and the
clubs, who look only to men, and are profoundly
indifferent to measures, caring only that the dis-
tribution of patronage should be in the bands of
those from whom they might hope to obtain
something for themselves or their proteges. These
onslaughts are too systematic to be accidental.
Day after day, the Leviathan hurls its ponderous
missiles, deserting the principles it once professed,
and varying the attack in every possible way ;
while those who derive their inspiration from it,
columns re-echo its arguments, and with ominous
nods, assert that " the Government scheme can
never work I"

As an instance, we may refer to the first leader
in the Times of Monday, which clearly indicates
the character of the opposition offered. The
thunder is directed mainly against what it is
pleased to term " The New Democratic Consti-
tution for India." The representative principle
which professing Liberals were once accustomed
to boast of as the best and most eligible that
could be devised, must now, according to the
oracle of Printing-house-square, be regarded as
a mockery and delusion, something altogether
antiquated and obsolete, and by no means
suited to the spirit of the age. If large
constituencies are entrusted with elective
powers, there must necessarily be a breach of
trust. It is not men of high character and
unblemished reputation that will be selected, but
broken-down merchants—persons bankrupt alike
in character and pocket, who will, by the simple
process of popular election, be pitchforked into
places of trust and emolument for which they
would be by no means qualified. It is certainly
not complimentary to the electors of London,
Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and Belfast to
suppose that " fire Micawbers" could by any
possibility be " introduced into public life under
the auspices of the Ministerial Bill." It de-
dares that " a thousand a year and little
to do is the very thing for the turning up' of
which this amiable class are continually waiting ;"
adding=" Indeed, we rather think that the bene-
volent mind of Mr. DISRAELI must have contem-
plated these very persons as the object of his
bounty." Aud again, after proceeding to show
that no prosperous trader, or retired trader iu
good circumstances, would think of accepting the
office, sums up in these terms —" It seems, then,
that the very object of Mr. DISRAELI'S bounty
must be the unfortunate trader, and that we have
in this part of the Bill a clever expedient for
neutralising the injustice often done by BAnk-
ruptcy Commissioners, and sometimes, we grieve
to say, by juries, to gentlemen who have been
unfortunate in business, and we cengratulata the
great constituencies, who are to elect five of the
Councillors upon the qualification of members,
which leaves them so fair a. prospect of a saectiou
from the noble army of bankrupts."
Reader, the above extracts are not from the
, Ifoniteur, or any acknowledged organ of a des-
potic Government. Nor an they taken from
those whose business and pleasure of late have
been turning into contempt and disrepute the
time-honoured institutions of the United King-
dom. They are from the Times—the pro•
fessedly liberal Times ; and the object is t
bring back a professedly liberal party to power
in the place of those who offer " a new
democratic constitution t) India," and recog-
nise the principle of representation ! What
really consistent Liberal can be led astray by such
flimsy pretexts—such shallow devices ? What
sincere Radical can support a party with liberality
on their lips, but unalloyed Toryism in their
hearts, against men who desire to be judged, not