The Sun.
London, England, 1835-10-28 00:00:00

DUBLIN.

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" If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels
kad been churches, and poor men's cottages princely palaces."
SHAKSPEARE.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
As stated in a former letter, the prevalent opinion
in this country is, that the present Government is in
a position enabling them to effect a salutary change,
as beneficial to every class of the community, as de-
void of those characteristics which have marked the
progress of every former revolution. But to carry into
effect all these pleasing anticipations, there is need of
vigilance and perseverance on the part of the Re-
formers. The vanquished Tories are still so strong,
and intent on recovering their lost ground, as to allow
their opponents no sinecure enjoyment of their victory.
The latter must not sleep on their arms ; they must
be on the alert. The enemy is for the present defeated,
and his forces discomfited, but not destroyed : if they
be allowed sufficient time to rally, and bring them to
the conflict once more, desperation giving energy to
their efforts, the balance of warfare may vibrate long,
between liberty and justice in one scale, and bigotry
and corruption in the other. This is certainly true as
regards, England and Scotland, and may not be wholly
inapplicable to Ireland, which must be for some time
the scene of action ; that is, the adjustment of its in-
terests,t equally with the rest of 'the empire, must be
he
primary object of struggle between the parties now
contending. For, as it is here; more notoriously than
elsewhere in the United Kingdom, that those monopolies
and abuses which corrode the vitals of a nation have
for centuries taken deepest root, so it is here the chief
means of their extirpation should be adopted. And
though the weight of numbers, property, and intelli-
gence be at this moment, by a happy conjunction, on
the side of Governmem, yet it is not impossible, con-
sidering the state of society, that differences may arise
injurious to the permanency of such a state of things.
It is therefore incumbent on our rulers, to be exceed-
ingly cautious and discreet in the management of the
political materials now at their command. They have
it in their power to convert them all to useful pur..
poses, provided they take care to controul that jarring
and confusion, naturally incidental to bodies rendered
a°, Inewhat incongruous and disunited by the storms
tnat have long beat against them.
The history of mankind establishes this fact—that
the number of Reformers, for. Reform's sake, is not
the most plentiful ingredient in the liberal portion of
any country ; and, for obvious reasons, Ireland cannot
yet be said to form an exception—,, bonum publicum
4imulantes, pro sun quisque potentia, certabant." A
great portion of the liberal elements now in motion
consists of different sectaries and classes, s horn reli-
gious discord or civil disappointments have made hos-
tile to each other, or to the policy pursued under Tory
domination. This may be easily understood by all
who have heard how much of civil and religious dis-
union has long existed amone. us. Nor will it be diffi-
cult to picture to the mind what is the necessary con-
sequence of such a state of things—great ignorance
and poverty; and a corresponding want of fixed prin-
ciples and habits of industry amongst a large propor-
tion of the people—besides the corruption and vena-
lity of many persons not exposed to these more sensible
evils. It is this latter condition of society that comes
More immediately within the reach of a Reforming
Government, and to which their care should be inces-
santly directed. Almost the entire magistracy is paid-
call,y depraved—not physically nor morally, but habi-
tually so. By which I mean,—that however naturally
averse many of them may be to injustice, and however
unconscious they are of evil intentions or misconduct,
Yet, from habit and education, they become so inured
to a perverted and crooked mode of proceeding in all
Public transactions, that they know not how to move
straight forward in matters wherein they wish to be
Just. It is no unusual thing to hear in private society
a man, who may happen to be recommending some
Plain, simple, and honest line of conduct, on the part
.3f magistrates and other public functionaries, answered
in such terms as the following :—" You do not un-
derstand human nature, Sir, or you would not sup-
Pose such a mode of proceeding as you speak of prac-
ticable. We do not live in times of Arcadian sim-
plicity, when Truth was naked, and the honest Astrcea
'walked among men in her primeval robes, unadorned
by art or party-coloured habiliments: There are wheels
within wheels, Sir. What you say is very plain, to be
sure ; but there is such a thing as tact, by which men
must be guided, rather than by the old rules of truth
and justice." Now the speaker means by the word
tact, not mere perception, discernment, or any of those
mental faculties, by which men are enabled to distin-
guish right from wrong, but that je ne scais quoi,
that inexpressible sort of instinct, which suggests that
things are not usually managed by the dictates of
Plain honesty in Ireland, but that there are reasons for
°rdering them otherwise. In fact, the great evil in the
moral condition of this country is, an obliquity of
Judgment among the parties,—one habituated to ini-
quity, for the purpose of upholding their ascendancy
and its concomitant advantages,—and the other indis-
Posed, from habit also, to believe or admit anything
right on the part of their-opponents. The late Dr.
60.Y/e, who had a most profound knowledge of his
countrymen, and their peculiar state and condition
alising from ages of misgovernment and other misfor-
tunes, has thus described them :—" The whole frame
T society, ainongst us, is disorganized, and the dis-
trust, apathy, fraud, jealousy, and contention which
prevail universally as they derange the public will,
and prevent the mutual co-operation of all classes,
:'!ast necessarily prevent the country, whilst they con-
"flue, from deriving advantage from any partial
measure, or emerging from its present depressed, if
not degraded condition."
This state of the public mind and feeling is, no
,noubt, produced by the inequalit of the laws that
n, ave hitherto existed, and more inmediately by the
Incessant collision and conflict of religious opinions
still kept up amongst us. No Government can all at
°nee rectify it, nor devise means of instantaneous im-
Provement. It will take time, in addition to their
111°st honest and strenuous endeavours, to adjust the
Moral machinery of society, which, like a watch out
Of order, cannot be immediately restored to an equal
and proper movement. They should not, however,'
ecause of such difficulties, be slow with the remedies,
°r relax their efforts. It is in their power, and the
Present is a propitious opportunity, to promote the
welfare of the many ; as the old system of mis-
rule is certainly shaken, tottering, and almost
crumbling into ruins, under the well-directed at-
tacks of more than one modern statesman. The
faction which, like the creatures of Pisistratus in an-
elent Athens,, have for ages tyrannised over the people
tif. Ireland, are all but--expelled. The people are
and there is strength and virtue enough amongst
nem, to prevent a return—provided the Government
la,._ersevere in the true principles of Reform. For on the
"'Partiality of the Executive authority alone can we
relY for the prevention of a new Pisistratides arising
allongst us. They must not bestow their patience
4clusively on any class of persons that might promote
4 faction—recent appointments are a guarantee that
tha. i
rlMulgrave will not do so—always bearing in mind
i
,ti g?eirt is not those who are most vociferous in urging
claims that have done the State good service.
There is•
a numerous and importunate party of this
s.bdescription in Ireland, against which Government
ti,,°'ild be on its guard. Few of them ever possessed
e qualities essential to patriotism.
their ‘ For where was public virtue to be found
If
Where private was not ?
promotion, to places of public trust would
1g discredit on the good cause of Refom, truth, and
18t ice—I allude not to individuals—those most be
11: public eye are unquestionably protected from the
tview of my observations. Nor will Government be
a :oss to find out the most deserving, as long as
eheY bear in mind the principles which have given
__
Power ; and Scipio 's maxim for retaining.
oit,
Peat elicut'ose paucis end, quod nzultorum esset.' The
0,0,1 ,b0i1.,; of the people are not place-hunters ; those
leutia have eissolved the relationship of landlord and
frietid or neighbour, and chosen a stranger to
histheir interests in Parliament, did not do so
trtb e
his Purpose of enabling that stranger to promote
own, or particular friend's exclusive interest.
aeirs
was a more enlarged policy—to effect a change
41eficial to all—not to favour the objects of indivi-
i em:a`la• But their views can only lie attained by the
operation of Government, in estimating public, and