The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-19 00:00:00

ice must not do much ; Mr. O'Connell will scarcely
brook it. Mr. O'Connell must not visibly take the
lead ; his doing so would break up the Administration.
In the Commons, therefore, the party is, or rather we
ought to say the parties are, at a dead stand. And in
the Lords their paralysis is, if possible, still more
deplorable. Lord Melbourne is afraid to open his
lips, lest the unpropitiated Lord Brougham should
open upon him his terrible battery of sneer and in-
vective, and explain, perchance, to an admiring world
some of the contrivances and compromises by which,
within the scope of his own personal experience, a
Whig-Radical Ministry, constantly on the point of fall-
ing to pieces, has been kept together. Every body, in
short, now perceives that there is no chance of any thing
being done. So that, in all probability, the account at the
end of the session will stand thus :—Gain to Lord John
Russell and his colleagues : one or two quarters'
salary. Gain to Mr. O'Connell and his Tail: the
glory of having had for a time the government of the
British empire substantially in their hands, and the
advantage of augmenting and consolidating their power
in Ireland. Gain to the public, under the head of
economy : nothing ! Loss to the public under the
head of Reform : the English Tithe Bill of Sir Robert
Peel ; the Irish Tithe Bill of Sir H. Hardinge ; the
Dissenters' Marriage Bill of Sir Robert Peel ; the
Ecclesiastical Courts Reform Bill of the late Attorney
General ; the Church Reform measures about to be
presented on the authority of the Right Reverend
Commissioners. Such is the bargain which the pre-
sent House of Commons has had the wisdom and
patriotism to make on behalf of the people of England,
who must be exceedingly grateful, of course, foi what
their Representatives have done for them.—Morning
Post.

There are few parts of Sir Robert Peel's speech at
the late dinner in the Merchant Tailors' Hall more
deserving of attention than that in which he so strongly
remarks upon the neglect with which the privilege of
the elective franchise has been treated throughout
the kingdom. Were it not that this neglect has been
as apparent, if not more so amongst the wealthier
classes, as amongst the lower description of voters,
there might be sonic justice in attributing the strange
state of things wholly to the bad effect of the Reform
Bill having placed the franchise in hands totally unfit
to appreciate its value. But, as Sir Robert Peel
asks, how can people expect a redress of what they
may consider grievances, or that the affairs of the
country can be conducted in consonance with the
wishes of the majority of the intelligent electors,
"if so many chose to cast upon their neighbours
the public duties which they themselves ought to
perform ?" The right to vote should be looked upon as
one of the most valuable privileges of a free man, and
he who would neglect it, or basely prostitute it for a
bribe, is only less degraded, in cur cstiavitior, than the
infamous wretch who would thus seduce the elector
from his duty. The omitting to have their name:;
placed upon the registers of voters, or the neglecting
to vote when they are there—whether this arises from
a wish to conciliate a rich or powerful neighbour,
oblige a friend, or secure a customer, or from fear or
love of ease—is an equally disgraceful compromise of
principle, and wholly unworthy of a free subject of a
free State. After such conduct, what right has the
wealthy householder of Marylebone to complain of
having a Radical Representative, if he not only ne-
glects to see that his name is registered, but neither by
precept nor example takes any steps to counteract the
influence which he considers (whether rightly or wrongly
is immaterial) to be detrimental to the best interests of
the country ? Or with what justice can the farmer,
the mechanic, or the small shopkeeper complain of the
unequal pressure of taxation, &c., if, on the occasion
of an election, he is ready, at the corrupt invitation
of some wealthy and selfish candidate, or some unprin-
cipled political adventurer, to throw away his vote ?
With respect, indeed, to the registration of their
votes, all parties, and all classes of voters, seem to have
been ezually neglectful—proving that, to save them-
selves the trouble of once in every year bestowing a
few moments to inquire if their vote is secure, the ma-
jority of the constituents of the kingdom will leave it to
chance, or, what is worse, to a few party agents, either
to enfranchise or disenfranchise them, as it may happen
to suit their purpose. In South Devonshire, at the last
contest, it was discovered that by some little attention
having been paid by the Conservatives to the two last
registrations, from 400 to 500 votes had been gained.
With respect, however, to the registration, the Reform
and Conservative Societies, which are evATwhere
springing up, will doubtless do much to awaken the
constituency of the country from this disgraceful state
of sluggishness ; but though such societies may effect
some benefit, it is only from each individual elector
being impressed with the high importance of the fran-
chise committed to him that the Reform Bill can be
expected to work out the means of general ameliora •
tion, - and be the guarantee of good government.—
Morning Herald.
There are said to be honest, though timid men, who
have joined the Conservative party, because they have
been told that the measures proposed by Reformers
tend to shake the foundations of property, to destroy
the gradations of rank, and even to endanger the Mo-
narchy itself, who nevertheless profess their earnest
desire to correet the numberless abuses that disfigure
every department of the State. We beseech these
men to consider, if they be sincere in their professions,
that by attaching themselves to a party which has no
other bond of union than the maintenance of abuses,
they are contributing to uphold that very system
which they wish to destroy. There may be Con-
servatives who are not enemies of reform, but of

this we are sure, that there is no enemy of reform
who does not call himself a Conservative. Is
there a pluralist in the Church who performs his
duty by deputy, and enjoys at a distance from his
cure the income which ought to be expended within
his parish, that is not a Conservative ? Is there a
clergyman who aspires to one of those devoted stalls
doomed by Sir Robert Peel himself to destruction,
that is not a Conservative ? Is there a younger bro-
ther who looks forward to a rich bishopric in return'
for his father's services to the Minister that is not a
Conservative ? Is there a sinecurist, or a placeman,
who employs another to discharge the duties of his
office, that is not a Conservative ? Is there a bar-
rister or attorney who looks with dismay to reforms
that may shorten the duration or curtail the ex-
pense of legal proceedings, who is not a Con-
servative ? Is there a Mayor or Lord Mayor who
abuses and brings into contempt the brief au-
thority of his office, that is not a Conservative ?
Is there a close corporation which wastes the
funds of the community entrusted to its care,
that is not Conservative ? Is there a noble family
that seeks places for sons, and pensions for daughters,
which is not Conservative ? Is there a landed pro-
prietor who maintains the Corn Laws, because he can-
not afford to lower his rents on account of his mort-
gages, that is not a Conservative ? Is there a veteran
contractor who 'regrets the glorious times of our just
and necessary wars, and sighs at the recollection of the
profits he then acquired, that is not a Conservative ?
Is there a monopolist who has suffered from the free-
dom of trade opening to others the sources of wealth
which were formerly shut against all but himself and
his partners, that is not a Conservative ? Is there a
money-lender who has risen to greatness by supplying
the powers that were with the means of controlling
and trampling on the liberties of mankind, that is
not a Conservative ? Is there a speculator who
laments the quiescent state of the Funds, which
renders it impossible to realize a fortune ty one lucky
hit, that is not a Conservative ? Is there a political
adventurer checked in his career by the reform of
abuses, that is not a Conservative ? Is there a mil-
gade from popular principles who despairs of reconci-
liation with his old associates, that is not a Conserva-
tive? Is there an upstart, suddenly and without any
merit of his own, raised above the station in which he
was educated, that does not think it genteel to become
a Conservative ? Is there a broken-down dandy de-
sirous to efface at Court the remembrance of His youth-
ful follies, that does not enlist among the Conserva-
tives ? But if this be the composition of the Con-
servative army, what correction of abuses can an
honest Reformer expect from such associates ?
Whatever weight his name, his influence, or his
purse can lend to his party, will be employed to
defeat the objects he has at heart. It will be