The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-25 00:00:00

the keenest, and, in some, about the wisest of all
the great Observers of our Age discovered from
the contemplation of the history of that one Ad-
ministration that the science of politics in this

country was really and truly How Not To Do It—
that the hull of the good ship BRITANNIA was

heavily and alarmingly encrusted with Barnacles,
and, above all, with Tite Barnacles—that the one

great offioe for the misrule of the affairs of Eng-
land was the cruel, inexorable, unreasoning, slow,
and jolter-headed office of circumlocution.

Then came the three years of Lord PAL-
MERSTON's arrogant, flippant, irritating, and
utterly evasive and preposterously inefficient Go-
vernment. An administration so deplorably ineffi-
cient for any good purposes whatever, that it was
dashed to pieces, at last, through the no longer
governable indignation of the House of Commons.
Speaking of which Government, Mr. LINDSAY in that
telling speech of his, to which we have already
alluded, and which will be found given elsewhere,
in extenso, in another part of our impression of this
evening, observes to his constituents down at Sun-
derland, that " Before they did him the honour of

returning him to parliament, they might be we
aware that he did everything that within him lay
to overthrow the administration of Lord PALMER-
STON, as the worst administration he believed that
ever ruled the destinies of this country." Therefore,
he continued, a little later on—" if it was
[as it was] a question of overthrowing Lord
DERBY merely to reinstate Lord PALMERSTON, it
then became a question of very grave consideration
with him as to whether he should assist in over-
throwing Lord DERBY'S Government or not, for he
himself believed that Lord PALMERSTON was no
more a reformer than Lord DERBY." It will be
seen at a glance that Mr. LINDSAY is, like our-
selves, or like the hon. and learned gentleman the
member fer Sheffield, a thoroughly independent
Liberal, a thoroughly advanced Reformer, and—
not a bit more of an infatuated Derbyite than a PAL-
MERSTON. And Mr. LINDSAY adds, later on, to the
words just quoted, " He believed that neither (Lord
DERBY nor Lord PALMERSTON) were reformers,
except through necessity." Therefore, as he remarked
afterwards, " If it were a question of choice be-
tween Lord PALMERSTON and Lord DERBY, it was
to him as a reformer a choice between two
evils." Yet—evils though they were—he had to
choose between them. And he chose, as did so
many others, as did we, as did the member for
Sheffield, as did all but the mere creatures of
Party—the Whig underlings, and those who know
not what is meant by political independence.
Previously, however, to his vote against Lord
JOHN'S petty Resolution, Mr. LINDSAY, as he re-
minded his constituents, spoke out plainly as to his
intention in regard to the one great and permanent
question of Reform. "In respect to the question
of Reform, he said, not at a public meeting,
but at a serai-publie meeting, that if Lord
DERBY attempted to bring forward such a mockery
of a Reform Bill as that which he brought forward
before the dissolution—and which he gave his
humble aid towards throwing out—and if no other
moved a vote of no-confidence against Lord DERRY,
he, humble as he was, would do so. This had been
misconstrued. The first part of the sentence was
left out by those who did not wish him well, and by
those who doubted him ; and the last part only
was noticed." Advancing more fully and directly
thereupon into the explanation of his course after-
wards in the new House of Commons, to which he
was chosen at the time of the late general
election, not as a delegate, but as an indepen-
dent representative of the liberal borough of
Sunderland—Mr. LINDSAY added, that then, at the
period of that general election, " He pledged him-
self to do everything that could lay in his power
to have this great question of reform settled ; for
whether it was necessary or not—and he was one
who considered it necessary—it was time that this
question of reform was settled. He had no faith
in Lord PALMERSTON settling this question ; there-
fore he made a condition with the Government, and
he had that condition in writing, before he would
give his support to maintaining in office the Admi-
nistration of Lord DERBY. He would read to them
this condition." And then, after a few words of
indignant repudiation of charges imputing to him
personal motives of the meanest and the most
selfish description in regard to this preliminary
understanding of his with the Derbyites—then,
added Mr. LINDSAY, " The conditions were these—
First, in regard to Reform—that the late Govern-
ment should declare that they were prepared to
bring in a bill, and to use all their power to pass it,
which should provide for boroughs a £6 rental
franchise, and for counties a £lO rental franchise ;
and that, at least,thirty of the smaller boroughs should
be disfranchised. That was one of the conditions
which he made before he would promise his support
to the late Administration. Had he not proved him-
self an earnest reformer by that condition ? The
next was this : that the Government should pledge
themselves to take all necessary steps to maintain
an honest and honourable neutrality, showing also
that they were determined to take part with nei-
ther of the belligerents, and that they were pre-
pared to defend to the utmost the honour and the
interests of England, if either should be attacked."
Not a word of comment shall we add to this—it
explains clearly and eloquently enough of itself how
very much we have gained by the paltry, little,
selfish party move which has installed in office
at the cost of Reform (for this session at least), and
for no gain whatever to the interests of Nationality
(already secured)—the shuffling installation in
office of the makeshift coalition of this new Pal-
merstonian Government.

The pocket blue-book just issued from the
press, comprising within it the twentieth annual
report of the Registrar-General for England of
Births, Deaths, and Marriages, is as instructive as
ever, and, if that be possible, more than ever sug-
gestive. This authentic and authoritative register
is dated 3d of May, 1859. It is, to employ a fami-
liar phrase of Mr. COBDEN'S, like " taking stock"
(live stock) of the whole community, socially con-
sidered. It is a sort of annual revision of the census
accumulated more directly and searchingly every
ten years. From this last annual revision of the
census, we learn that about the middle of the year,
the population of England alone amounted to
19,304,897, not very far short, in round numbers,
of 20,000,000. During the year last estimated,
namely 1857, the names inscribed in one
way or another upon the national register reached
the grand total of 1,401,080. Subdividing that
aggregate and apportioning it under it under its
three great heads or sections, there were 318,194
persons
other
two
wwoalo wereii\isienswme
eaorrorieedtoiwn 185
ho iwe—re(under
ssitbhlee
under this, viz., to odd numbers)-419,815 persons
of all ages who died--and 563,071 children who
were born, in a proportion as usual far more than
making up the deficiency. Not exceeding the
deficiency, however, during this last 'year, rp o or-
tionately with the excess shown in this way propor-
tionately
its predecessor. The excess of births over deaths in
1857 being rather less than in 1856—although still
amounting to 243,246. To reduce that excess ho wever
in another way, there was the emigration, amount-
ing, in 1857, to as many as 312,875 individuals