The Sun.
London, England, 1835-09-26 00:00:00

Z!b itU

LONDON,
SATURDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 26, 1835.

The Northamptonshire Conservatives have been
endeavouring to get up a public dinner at Peter-
borough, but the affair seems to have been a miserable
failure ; for in the first place there was a sad paucity of
attendance ; and in the second, those who did attend
were, with scarcely one exception, clerical and military
men, both of whom have of course a direct personal
interest in the maintenance of Tory principles. And
yet this dinner, thus deplorably attended, took place
at a cathedral city; where, in nine cases out of ten,
the influence of the clergy is all-powerful.—a con-
vincing proof that Toryism, notwithstanding the at-
tempts made to bolster it up, is in the last stage of de-
crepitude ! Had the ovation in question taken place
in any other town in Northamptonshire, where the
inhabitants are less under the domination of the par-
sons than they are at Peterborough, we believe the
Conservatives would have been sadly puzzled to have
filled even a decent sized cup-board with guests of
their own persuasion. Compare the numbers who at-
tended the Tory dinner at Peterborough, with those who
(lined in company with Mr. O'CONNELL at Manches-
ter—Newcastle—Edinburgh, and Glasgow—and what
a ridiculous contrast do they not present ! Yet we
are told, forsooth, that the movement party is decrea-
sing in influence, and the antagonist faction increasing
in proportion ! If this be the case, how is it that in a
cathedral town, the very hot-bed of rank Toryism,
the Conservatives cannot muster more than a few
dozen nameless spouters ? It cannot be from want of
exertion ; for the Tories, never lethargic, have—
within the last two or three years—shown them-
selves more active and energetic than ever, and would
scarcely fall asleep at the very moment when it was
most essential that they should be on the watch. It
is to the moral weakness of their cause, not to any lack
of spirit in themselves, that we must attribute the pre-
sent hopeless condition of the Conservatives. They
are feeble because they are in the wrong, as the Re-
formers are strong because they are in the right. Yet
if bord words could ensure a triumph for the faction, it
would L-carcely fail to succeed; for at the Peterborough
dinner, the speakers vied with each other in the fury
of their denun ,
niations against the " vile democracy."
Major KELLY p,articularly distinguished himself in
this line, and talked of " base agitators," and " revo-
lutionary poison," just as' if there were no agitators
and no revolutionists among those of his own way
of thinking ! Who, by the intolerant, dictatorial
way in which he opposed himself to all Re-
form, was the first great agitator of the Reform
Lu 11 ? The Duke of WELLINGTON ! Who, by his
resolute hosility to the Municipal Bill, during the
last Session, has s',:q the people ',Ton—what Major
KELLY would call—a "revolutionary" enciairy into
utility of the House of Lords ? Lord LyNDITURST!
Yet these men are not revolutionists—are not agita-
tors I Why, they are convulsing the country to it's
heart's core; arming O'CONNELL with tenfold more
powers than he could ever, even in his wildest day—
dreams, have imagined he should possess ; and putting
a weapon into the hands of the movement party which

must strike them en 2nasse to earth. Let the Conser-
vatives but persevere, during the next. Session, in the
same course: that they adopted during the last, and
they will become our best advocates for the Ballot,
fcr Triennial Parliaments, and, above all, and
before all; for a prompt, searching Reform
of the House of Lords. For all putposes
of agitation„ and if .Major KELLY will have
it so—" re-volution," commend us to a good
Tory opposition. - One red-hot Conservative is of
more practical- service to the cause of rational improve-
ment than a dozen Reformers. He saves them the
trouble of fighting their own battle, by fighting it
most disinterestedly for them. In a word, he is the
only creature in existence who-possesses, what the late
CASTLEREAGH used to call, the faculty of
'sis back upon himself."

turniitg

Mr. O'CONNELL _put our hereditary legis-
lators on their defence. The t;:gans which they
have bought up, or which they hire by the job,
have at last been set to work, in order, if possible,
to counteract the effect which, it is no longer de-
nied, has been produced by the great Liberator on
the public mind. They pretended at first that Mr.
O'CoNNEL L's exposure of the character and pro-
ceedings of the " Upper House," as true as it was
eloquent and forcible, was unworthy of notice ; but
when they find that among the various topics,
all of them interesting, on which his powerful
artillery has been brought to bear, there is
none the battering of which has excited so much
admiration, and given such heartfelt satisfaction
as the House of Lords, they feel the neces-
sity of saying something in vindication of the incura-
bles. " At Manchester," they said, "to be sure
great numbers crowded about the Agitator ;' but what
were they ? only a mob of ragged Radicals : At
Newcastle it was little better—people flocked
from mere curiosity, to see the Lion,' and hear
him roar; but—when the sedate and reflecting
people of Scotland were seen to participate in the en-
thusiasm of the English, and even to go far beyond it,
the matter became too ggrious for silence—something
must be done, or at least said, to prop up the falling
cause, and repair the dilapidations made in the charac-
ter of the hereditary assembly. Some attempt must
be made to save our Lords the Peers, from the effects
of public indignation, otherwise they are likely soon
to have an old house about their ears.

Whether this catastrophe shall overtake them spee-
dily or not we cannot tell, because it is impossible to
calculate the extent to which they may carry their
absurd pretensions to control the representatives of the
people. But we may venture to say that the
public mind is now made up, that there shall be either
an alteration or an abolition of the hereditary system of
legislation. We are no advocates for the entire abo-
lition of the House of Peers, because we think it
may be made the nucleus of a second chamber, and
much incidental and temporary mischief would ensue
in the struggle that would take place for its violent
suppression. How it is to be made a useful coadjutor
with the popular branch of the Legislature may be a
matter of some difficulty, and will, of course, require
mature consideration ; but the elective plan seems
indispensable. In no other way could a suffi-
cient sense of responsibility be created ; nor
can it be objected to as an innovation, as
it has been recognized by the Constitution since
the union with Scotland. Might we not take a
hint from the Lords themselves ? They introduced
a little House of Lords into each Municipal Cor-
poration, by ordaining that the Council should
elect an inner Chamber under the designation of Alder-

me; ; and we would recommend that a second Lewis
lative Chamber should be selected by the representa
tives of 0— people, from the arrn t cif th.
Peerage.

The Paris Papers of Thursday afford us good
grounds for believing that M. IVIENDizABEr, will be
cordially supported by the Spanish patriots. Catalonia,
Andalusia, Murcia, and Cadiz, have already expressed
themselves satisfied with his appointment ; and some of
the other Juntas have addressed letters to the Minister
'of the Interior, in which they express the most un-
bounded confidence in any Administration of which
MENDIZABEL forms a part. In the capital his
presence has been attended with the happiest
effect. As soon as his expected arrival was made
known to the populace, the greatest tranquillity pre-
vailed, so that the REGENT found it advisable to recal
the Royal Ordinance published on the 16th August,
which declared Madrid in a state of siege. The second
ordinance is dated the 16th inst., and declares that all
disturbances in the capital being now at an end, and
het' MAJESTY being satisfied with the loyalty and at-
tachment to order displayed by the citizens, the decree
for the establishment of military tribunals is no longer
in force. The pr,e:mpt adoption of this salutary mea-
sure is universally attritted to the councils of MEN-
DIZABEL, and even this is r,:garded by the Spanish
people as a happy omen. If he succeed in gaining
the confidence of the nation, the salvation of Spain
will be effected in three months. Now the only 1-.:2y
to obtain and to secure the confidence of the people
is to tell them—frankly and honestly—what time
Government proposes to do, in the event of the
Carlist conspiracy being crushed in the North. The
people are every where suspicious of public men, and
will not trust them unless they lay aside all diplomatic
subterfuge. General professions are utterly worthless,
and ought not to he depended upon. We trust that
M. MENDIZABEL has not taken the reins of govern-
ment in Spain without having matured a plan for the
political enfranchisement of his country. It is not
enough that the end which he proposes to himself
be the establishment of good government ; he must
be prepared to develope the means, and to lay clown
the principles upon which be intends to establish and
maintain such Government. In his address to the
QUEEN he states in almost direct terms that the Re-
presentative principle, as developed in the British Con-
stitution, shall form the basis of the Reforms about to
be effected in the Spanish Government. This is so
far well ; but in our opinion M. MENDIZABEL ought
to publish an address to the nation at large, containing
an outline of the Constitution which he proposes
giving to Spain, and calling upon all the provincial
Juntas and incorporated towns to favour him with their
opinions upon it. A course so straightforward as this
would relieve the Juntas from their anxiety as to
political rights, and enable them to direct their v.llole
energies against the Carlists. The people too would
learn that they were not compelled to fight for a mere
choice of oppressors, but that the struggle was between
constitutional liberty on the one side 444 rebellious
-1-.notism on the other. The provinces which now
aloof would press forward in defence of
hold themseiv,_• - -;nbts of her faithful sub-
their lawful QUEEN, and the i-o-
-jects, their brethren, in Navarre.

It is not because we entertain the shadow of a
doubt of M. MENDizaBEL's honesty, zeal, and
abilities, that we throw out this suggestion, We