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

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 t 3 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
of a Conservative First Lord 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
daftest day-dreamer would cherish for an instant
the visionary notion of a Parliamentary Reform
Bill otherwise than one 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 the path of civili-
zation. 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 sta-

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 prospect
of our obtaining a measure productive of great,
judicious, and comprehensive changes in our
whole system of representation.

The resolutions of the committee appointed to
investigate the charge against Mr. Bril'T have
fully and completely exonerated that honourable
and learned gentleman from the charges -which
were sohastily adopted by Mr.ROBBIJOK. They show
that he did not corruptly enter into an agreement
with the Ameer ALT MooRAD KHAN or his agents
to advocate or prosecute his claims in the House cf
Commons. Nor was any money paid in pursuance
of any such agreement. The resolutions will be found
in, ex tens° in another part of our impression. They
confirm the statements made by the Hon. Gentle-
man to the Committee, that his parliamentary
advocacy was wholly disinterested, and was be-
stowed from a sense of the injustice with
which the AMUR 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 put 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 earning 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
extra risk, not sanctioned by policies 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. ROEBUCK 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 c3m-
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. ROEBUCK 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.
He expresses his belief in the truth of the charges
without hearing the defence of the party incul-
pated, and must now deplore the credulity which
induced him to lend himself to a proceeding so
vexatious, and so completely without adequate
foundation.

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Mr. BUTT has passad the ordeal, and we trust
that Mr. ROEBUCK will be prepared to make the
amends honorable for the trouble and expenEe
which his rashness has occasioned, on the earliest
opportunity for so doing.

The last official aot of Lord Palmerston was to send a
donation of loot. to M. Mogrtdge, the widow of the
admirable writer so long known as " Old Rurephrey."