The Sun.
London, England, 1832-06-11 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The appointment of Sir Charles Bagot
Ambassador to Russia is then officially au•

nounced !! Our contemporary, the Globe, i,
obliged, for decency-sake, to preface his instruc-
tions from the Foreign-office by the introductory
remark that " objections are not unnaturally
made to the appointment of Sir Charles Begot
as successor of Lord Heytesbury.' No man can
doubt the source—scarcely the authorship—of
the remainder of the article, who will pay the
least attention to its tone and spirit—or to the
flimsy pretences on which the public is further
outraged and disgusted by an attempt to find an
apology for this transaction. We marvel ex-
ceedingly that our respectable contemporary
should proceed in the sickening and dirty work,
which his connexion with the Foreign-office im-
poses upon him. He cannot " wash the Blacks-
moor white," or raise his own character in public
estimation by further exposing himself to the
imputation of bartering a reluctant defence of
such proceedings for the scraps of intelligence
which he can gather from the hacks of Downing-
stieet. The official grounds on which Sir Charles
Bagot—the Tory in habit, principle, and con-
»exion—the Apostle of the doctrines of the
Holy Alliance—the chosen and worthy instru-
ment of Lord Aberdeen's foreign policy—has been
selected as the fit organ of the liberal feelings of
the English nation, to enforce, at this mo-
mentous crisis, upon the Despot of St. Peters-
burgh, a respect for the rights of the people and
the independence of nations—are even more in-
sulting to those who have raised Lord Palmerston
to his present position, and who maintain him in
it, than the appointment itself. Who or what is
Lord Palmerston,or hispower? The army recol-
lects the pert Secretary of War—the adept in smart
and offensive correspondence with Colonels of Re-
giments and staff-officers. The public recollect
one or two prepared speeches on Terceira and
Greece, which rather raised his reputation be.
yond that of others of the red-tape school, when
his " wits" were sharpened by a little experience
in opposition. But no person dreamt of his
elevation to his present post, till the liberal party,
relying upon his becoming the faithful organ of
their sentiments, warmly and cordially adopted
him. His followers in the House of Commons
consist of his own vote. Where will he find
z:iiother, amongst the ranks of his new con-
nexions at least, who will sanction the apparent
dereliction in principle, and the betrayal of their
interests and opinions, manifested in the recent
conduct of his office ? People of England, listen
with patience to the pretences on which the ap-
pointment of the King's representative at St. Pe-
tersburgh is attempted to be justified ! His
knowledge of—we hope and believe not his par-
ticipation in—the recent intrigues at the Hague,
is supposed to be Sir C. Bagot's first qualifica-
tion for his new office, " his experience in refe-
ranee to this negotiation" making it quite con-
clusive " that no Minister could be appointed so
likely to terminate it satisfactorily." His second
tp la] ification, his connexion with the Duke of Wel-
lington, " which will not, it is supposed, ope-
rate unfavourably to the negotiation." The exe.
cution of the measures of Lord Grey's Govern-
ment, to depend on the experience of this agent
in intrigue ; and upon the underhand influence
of the Duke of Wellington ! ! Shade of Chat-
ham ! are these the means by which the will
and the interests of the English people, in the
great cause of civil liberty throughout Europe,
are to be expressed and enforced ? And at a
time, too, when appearances indicate danger not
only to the rising liberties of other nations, but
the most fatal consequences to our own institu-
tions in the struggle which may ensue, if a pre-
tence should arise out of the complicated rela-
tions between Belgium and Holland, to set in
motion the masses of the Holy Alliance, now
lowering on the frontiers of Prussia, Poland,
on the Rhine, in the Tyrol, and in Italy. The
Russian advance guard of 100,000 men, ready
to reinforce the Prussian army, concentrated and
prepared in anticipation of any movement in
the Netherlands—and the Austrian force spread
over the frontiers of the smaller states of Ger-
many, and menacing Switzerland—are all
symptomatic either of an apprehension, or
an intention, of some interruption to the
hollow state of peace on the Continent,
These movements, combined with those
of the Carlists in the west of France, simulta-
neously with the attempt of the Duke of Wel-
lington to assume the government of this coun-
try, furnish ample ground for suspicion and re-
flection. On the other hand, the state of France
—the impatience of the people in Prussia and
Germany of the burdens imposed upon these
countries, for the maihtenance of enormous mi-
litary establishments—the discontent, arising
from disappointment in their expectations of the
liberal institutions promised them at the peace,
and, more than all, the recent conflicts respecting
the freedom of the Press in the Rhenish Pro-
vinces, constitute elements of combustion which
spark may ignite. In such a state of things,
what ahould be the conduct of England ? How
can she best put forth her power, or, even with
the greatest advantage, the influence which her
position gives her, for the benefit alike of Europe
and of herself? Is it by a crooked and devious
course of policy, by adhering to the diplomacy
of the old school, in which she has been alter-
nately the tool or the butt of more experienced
professors here and on the continent—is it by
vainly striving to reconcile old rules with
new circumstances ? Is it not rather by as-
suming a decided though conciliatory tone, by de-
claring herself the determined opponent of unjust
aggression, though she is no less the friend -of
peace, that she may place herself in the proud si-
tuation of standing forward alike the protectress
of the liberties of the world, the refuge • for the
oppressed, and the mediatrix between the con-
tending parties. Undoubtedly! But to effect this,
"<yliat must be her instruments ? Are these ends
s be effected by means such as we hear of? Are
your Statesmen of the Castlereagh and Holy Al-
liance school the men to hold language such as
this? Hampered by their recollections of the diplo-
macy of Vienna, can they be expected to assume
the tone befitting the occasion ? It is impos-
sible, it is out of the nature of things ; grapes
grow not on thorns, or flowers from thistles.—
Will the very Powers to which they are sent be-
lieve in the conversion of your agents, were they
indeed converted ? With what face can Sir
Charles Begot, the tool of the Duke of Wel-
lington in the millennium of the Holy Alliance,
now hold language so opposed to his former
character ? What hope of success can there be
for such a mission ? If ancient associations and
Tory sympathies do indeed lure on Lord Pal-
merston to so fatal a course, the nation at least
should not be sacrificed to such caprices. If,
indeed, he venture on such appointments, the
House of Commons must repeat, in language
not to be misunderstood, the energetic declara-
tion of one of our contemporaries, that he is
unfit to remain for one hour the colleague of
Lord Grey ; and let tie Foreign Secretary well