The Sun.
London, England, 1835-01-01 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

We once more raise our voice to warn the Electors of
the United Kingdom to do their duty to their country at
this momentous crisis. We are well aware of the hardship,
so needlessly imposed on them, of abandoning for a time
their affairs, to participate in the agitation of an election.
Two years only of the late Parliament had expired. Mi-
nisters have prematurely terminated it, and exposed the
country to the inconvenience of a fresh election, not from
a wish to promote the public good, but to obtain the power
of defeating the reforms which the people confidently anti-
cipated. But the electors must neither slumber nor sleep ;
this is not a time for apathy or indifference. The question is
not now whether we shall have more or less Reform ; but whe-
ther the Reform Bill itself shall continue the law of the land.
If Ministers succeed in obtaining, through the listnessness of
the electors, or their culpable blindness to consequences, a
majority of Anti-Reform Members in the House of Com-
mons, our tenure of the Reform Bill is worth next to
nothing. Let no Reformer lay the flattering unction to his
soul, that if, by his giving a corrupt vote to a Tory, or by
his shrinking from the performance of his duty, in conse-
quence of intimidation, he contributes to the placing a
Tory majority at the disposal of Ministers, no advantage
will be taken by them of the victory. With blind fanatical
men like the present Ultra-Tory Ministers, prudence will
always be a feeble restraint. When they feel themselves
sufficiently strong, they may dispense with the ser-
vices of the more timid of their body. Once let them
have a majority in the Commons, and they will seek to
turn their command of the Upper House to good account.
It is much easier to preserve the Reform Bill, than to gain
another triumph over the bcroughmongers if we lose it.
What unspeakable" calamity may be averted, by the dis-
play of energy and activity at this time ! We believe that
we shall have a great majority in the Parliament summoned
for the 19th of February. But we must not let our con-
fidence paralyze our efforts. Every elector should act as if
everything depended on his single efforts. The clergy
and magistracy, and a great proportion of the gentry, are
against us. The intimidation of the fifty-pound tenantry-
at-will will be extensively resorted to. In many of the
old boroughs, especially the smaller, the poverty of
the freemen, and the habits of the old boroughmon-
goring times, open a wide door to corruption. It is
their last stake which the Tories are now playing. On one
hand we have a greedy Oligarchy frantic with the idea of
losing for ever the rich plunder of this industrious nation,
and determined to make one great effort to regain it ; and
on the other, the industrious classes, to whom the Reform
Bill first gave an adequate protection. Let us act, then,
like men. If the Tories gain the victory, the name
of Englishman will be a bye-word for all that is mean and
degraded among the nations of the world. Every friend of
Reform—every friend of retrenchment—every lover of a
Constitutional Monarchy—every man who wishes to see
the Church of England freed from its abuses, and the
Church of Ireland thoroughly reformed—every friend of
civil and religious liberty, must fight the good fight at this
time, or he may long be without an opportunity of again
effectively discharging his duty as a Reformer and friend
of liberal principles.-=Morning Chronicle.
The nomination-day for the City of London Election is
fixed for Monday next, and the poll will take place on the
two following days. The citizens of London are, therefore,
the first body of electors who are called upon to answer the
appeal which has been made to the sense of the people, on
the late surrender of the powers of government to the keep-
ing of their ancient enemies, and It becomes them to answer
that appeal in a manner worthy of their position in the
country, and so as to set a bright example to those consti-
tuencies by whom they are to be followed in the exercise of
the same constitutional privilege. That the citizens will re-
spond to the appeal of their Sovereign in the spirit by which
they were animated on the occasion of the Reform Bill be-
ing submitted to Parliament, we are well persuaded from the
unanimity and energy by which they appear to be actuated in
their support of the four candidates with whose success the
principle of Reform is identified. They are fully aware of
the strife of principle which "characterises the approaching
contest. They know that there is no alternative between
the triumph of Reform, and its inevitable consequences,
amended institutions and an improved system of Govern-
ment on the one hand, or the consolidation of Tory power,
and its equally certain result, a retrograde movement in the
attempted redress of the great national grievances of which
the people have so long complained, on the other. As
they feel the importance of this question, and have brought
a corresponding and united effort to its decision, we see
little reason to doubt the result, We are well persuaded
that all classes of citizens will do their duty in seconding
this effort. To their exertions, as firm and uncompromising
Reformers, we commend the glorious cause before them,
feeling assured that, ere another week llas elapsed, there
will only remain to us the more gratifyio4 duty of eongra-