The Sun.
London, England, 1835-06-16 00:00:00

' SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.
Wonders will never cease in the
,political world. The
second reading of the Corporation— pill passed last night
without opposition, and the selr-eleit corporators were
offered up as victims on the altarMcpublic opinion, by their
late Tory eulogists and defenders,- Such profieients have
the Tories thus suddenly beconcel 1
osn,tliein trees doctrine of
Municipal Reform, that they haytlkaiill)i undertaken to
improve the Ministerial measure—ht(lektoyelinerft, how-
ever, after their fashion, which the Refornters-afe not likely
to receive with favor: The want of experience of Sir Ro-
bert Peel, and his militia of Conservatives, disables them
from the succyisful pursuit of their new vocation. 'Who,
too, but the /veriest idiots would credit the sincerity of the
" converts ?" 'We judge them by their acts, not by their
professions. The Tories boldly and invariably defended the
existing corporate system until within the last few weeks.
With rare exceptions all the Corporations in England, Wales,
and Ireland were, and are, filled with the exclusive political
partisans of Toryism. The Tories vehemently opposed
the Reform Bills in 1831, as destructive of the private
rights of the Corporators. A close borough, worked by a
self-elect municipal body, was in their sight an integral part
of the constitution, and sacred from the touch of " De-
structives." In vain abuses were detected and exposed in
Parliament ; a shield was always thrown over their perpe-
trators. Coventry, Leicester, Northampton, Penryn, East
Retford—as long as decency allowed—were all in turn
zealously defended by Sir R. Peel.' When Lord Grey issued
the Commissions of CorporatiOn Inquiry in 1831, the Tory
journals daily teemed with advice to the municipal autho-
rities not to obey4he authority of the Commissioners; and
Ministers were rep ached with designs against vested in-
terests and private • ts. What were the indications of
Sir Robert Peel on th. übject, in his celebrated Machiave-
lian address to the elector of Tamworth? He simply under-
took not to advise thecAwn to interrupt the progress of the
i nquiry, and pledgedtimself only not to transfer the conduct
of the Commission from those to whom it was committed by
the Whigs. Of any sincere intention to reform the corrupt
institutions, Sir Robert Peel never betrayed a symptom.
Indeed, he distinctly said, in his crafty manifesto, that on
the part of the Government he would not give " any other
pledge than that they will bestow on the suggestions it
(the Report) may contain, and the evidence on which they
may be founded, a full and unprejudiced consideration.' On
the 24th of February, in his Speech on the Address, the
ex-Premier expressly contended that it would be unconsti-
tutional and unreasonable to expect him to "indicate any
opinion" on the question of Municipal Reform ; and he again
contented himself; and discontented the majority of the
Commons, by coldly limiting his liberal pledges to a
" full consideration" of any reports or suggestions of the
Commissioners. Surely Sir Robert Peel wanted not the in-
quiry of any Commission to inform him that the constitution
of the Corporations was a political nuisance, and that
elective assemblies, periodically chosen, would alone
satify the burgesses of the corporate towns. In effect,
therefore, and intentionally, this expert politician
sanctioned the system which he would now have the coun-
try believe he is so anxious to reform. On the introduc-
tion of the Bill, on Friday se'nnight, the progressing Ba-
ronet admitted that " the time had arrived when it is of
the utmost importance to the well-being of society to esta-
blish a good system of municipal government." This tardy
confession was, however, made only in consequence of the
honest proposition of the present Cabinet, and which none
knew better than Sir Robert Peel must ensure the cer-
tainty of a sweeping Reform, and would be inevitably sup-
ported by the country. We, therefore, deny Sir Robert
Peel all merit of conversion. To the 'last moment ho
stood out against this great question of Municipal Re-
form : he only abandoned his former position when it
was untenable. When the besieged have consumed
their last provisions, it is common for them to send a
flag of truce to the besiegers, and to offer terms of
capitulation. We no more believe in the sincerity of this
yielding politician in the present instance, than in his former
forced concession of the Catholic claims, and the repeal of
the Test and Corporation Acts. Sir Robert Peel cun-
ningly makes a virtue of necessity ; that, and nothing else,
we award him : but the country is not to be humbugged by
specious declamations or false professions of liberality. It
is fitting that we should expose the real motives of the Tory
proselytes, because Sir Robert Peel last night displayed
his insincerity as a Municipal Reformer, or his ignorance
of liberal principles, by insidiously attacking all the essen-
tials of the measure. We shall to-morrow reply to his
objections in detail. In the meanwhile we may observe that
the reception of his speech by, the Tories was cold end sus-
picious. Sir Robert Inglis denounced the principle of the
Bill, and nothing but the dependence of the Tories on Sir
Robert Peel, as a temporary head, prevents them from
" running a muck" at the measure. The contradictory state
of the Tory Press is very instructive. While the Standard
is going " the whole hog," and desires to root up altogether
the Corporations (we presume that the Reformers may now
occupy the town-halls heretofore tenanted by the -Tories).
The Albion, an evening paper of the Carlton Club, is crying
out against the entire Bill, and its correspondents are pro-
phesying evil and destruction to the Conservative cause.

All the country papers also in the pay of the CorpOrato;
are distracted by the impending danger, and the' turn-out"
of the self-elect. But we leave the protesters to the supe-
rior powers of the Standard. New converts are generally
zealous apostles, and our Contemporary is a leveller of Cor-
porations.—Morning Chronicle.
Amongst the various discussions which took place in
the House of Commons last night, was one which occurred
on the presentation of a petition from certain printers in
York, against the repeal of the duty on newspapers. The
subject has been swollen into greater importance than it de-
serves, by the exaggerated hopes of one party, and the
equally exaggerated fears of another. But whatever may
be the importance of the subject itself, either as deducible
from its probable effects upon society, or upon the large
capital embarked in the extensive establishments supposed
to be affected by the contemplated change, it is at all
events entitled, like every other question, to calm and dis-
passionate consideration, and ought to be decided by the
judginent of reasonable men, and not by the frenzy of in-
flamed and inflated ignorance. In the tirade which Mr. Roe-
buck thought proper to pronounce against the Press gene-
rally, and against all the individuals connected with it, we
have a specimen of the tone of mind in which one legis-

lator is prepared to exercise his legislative functions. That
the liberty of the Press has been sometimes abused—and
abused very grossly, is a proposition which cannot be de-
nied. But is that the only liberty of whose abuse the
world is cognizant ? Has the liberty of speech furnished
no instances in which a rabid animosity has given utterance
to the foulest calumnies and the most gross injustice ? Let
history answer the question. But what would be thought
of that patriot--what of the feeling or the understanding
of that man who, because one or more individuals had
abused their privilege, could think himself justified in
charging the whole body to which they belonged with
baseness ? Anger is notoriously a bad logician,' but
this sort of influence—this jump from the particular to
the universal argues a degree of anger incompatible with
the possession of sanity. The course which Mr. Roe-
buck adopted last night, must sink him for ever in the esti-
mation of those who require prudence and discretion in a
Member of Parliament. There was not a Member in the

House, of whatever party, to stand up and give counte-
nance to the assertions of Mr. Roebuck. On the contrary,
every one who spoke disclaimed them. This should have
recalled him to his senses ; but he persevered, and the short
speech of last night remaining unretracted and unexplained
will be at all, times a sufficient evidence of the value of his
judgment and the extent of his liberality. We hope that
the next time he toasts " the liberty of the Press" in pub-
lic, he will explain to his auditors that he does not mean
the press that it has ever existed, but as he proposes to
make it by the operation of some untried measure—that
withholding all gratitude for the past, he gives his approba-
tion to the distant and uncertain future.—Morning Herald.
In the House of Commons last night the Corporation
Reform Bill was read a second time without opposition,
and with very little discussion. The Bill appears to have
been received, as so important a measure should be re-
ceived, in the most friendly spirit, and all seem to be ac-
tuated by the common desire of making it as perfect as pos-
sible—to deal with it, in fact, as with a private Bill, and
not as a political measure. Some very important sugges-
tions, however, were made by Sir R. Peel and Lord Stan-

ley. Lord Stanley, agreeing generally in the principles of
the measure, expressed his apprehension lest the mode of
voting should prove a secret, not an open, mode of voting.
If the voters were merely to sign their names to the lists of
the persons for whom they vote, hand the lists in to the
Mayor, and no inspection of the lists and signatures be
allowed, that would be secret, not open, Toting. This was not
what Ministers professed to desire, and it beanie' them,
therefore, to guard sufficiently against such a result.`] Lord

Stanley thought, too, that trierilal elections -of the ConnUon

Councils would be found too frequent, especially when coupled
with the provision that one-third of the Council is to go out,
every year. He thought that elections taking place every
six years and a half, the Councils going out every three
years, would be a better arrangement.' He was of opinion,
too, that the division of boroughs into' wards should be

much more extended. One great advantge resulting from
this would be, that when a part of the Council went out,

and when individual vacancies occurred, by death or other-
wise, the whole borough would not be disturbed by a
general election. Sir Robert Peel concurred in the sug-
gestions
of Lord Stanley, and offered no opposition to the 4'
second reading of the. Bill, declaring that he approved of its
main principles, and that he did not consider it as a political

measure, but as a great and necessary change in the local

government of large and populous towns, which are -ex-
ceedingly ill.regulated at present. The Right Honour-
able Baronet said, that while .he completely reserved