The Sun.
London, England, 1832-11-13 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF Ti!'. PUBLIC JOURNALS.

A desperate push is making by a section of
the Conservative interest in the city, who have
contrived to hook in some of our most respect-
able merchants, hitherto passive, at least in poli-
tical affairs, against his Majesty's Ministers.
The pretence, or cheval de battaille, is the
Belgic question. Remembering what the cla-
mour of the Opposition and its partisans has
been for the last twelve months—that nothing
has been heard among these Tories hut loud
and contemptuous laughter at the long delay in
settling the dispute between Holland and Bel-
gium--a man who looked for anything like con-
sistency in the conduct of political factions,
might expect that the purpose of a meeting, the
advertisement for which will be found in this
day's Times, was to congratulate the country
and the Government that the season of pro-
tocols and procrastination had at length been
ended, and that now at last some decisive mea-
sures were on the point of being executed for
repelling a system of stubborn aggression, con-
demned alike by England and by every con-
tinental Power, for quieting the terrors of the
commercial world, and removing the causes
through which trade has been every where para-
lyzed, as well as the peace of Europe exposed to
most imminent danger. Such a man would show
himself an egregious simpleton. A meeting of
merchants, shipowners, and others, has, indeed,
been called, but it is not to rejoice at the
cutting short of imbecile and abortive diplomacy,
or at the settlement of a question which must
inevitably, if left three months longer undecided,
have involved all Europe in open war. No ; the
gentlemen who project this meeting describe
themselves as persons " anxious for the preserva-
tion of pacific relations between this country
and Holland." These requisitionists certainly
have contrived to put the best face upon their
intended meeting. They bring forward "pacific
relations with Holland" as the one thing needful,
and prudently keep out of sight the alternative,
which is nothing more than war and convulsion
throughout the civilized globe. If they say such
an evil could he avoided through any other ex-
pedient than the clapping a strait-waistcoat upon
the Dutchman's lunacy, will they be pleased to
point out to us the nature of that expedient ?
We know that there are grave persons to be
found who still prescribe the restoration of Bel-
gium to the Dutch sceptre, the crushing the
mutiny of King William's " revolted subjects,"
and the settlement of the whole question by the
very " pacific" method of marching. in Holy Al-
liance armies upon Belgium, to put down a
spirit " subversive," as Prince Metternich has
it, " of law and order," and so forth. These
men are your honest ultras of the old school,
who make treaties in the hot blood of recent
and momentary victory,—treaties setting all na-
tional records, interests, habits, and feelings, at
defiance, and who nickname this moral butchery
" the settlement of Europe." To do such
politicians justice, however, they do not call out
for war for its own sake, but only when war
might, in their opinion, he made subservient to
the overthrow of free and popular institutions.
We are aware that if Louis Phillippe had set up
a more stern and rigorous despotism than that
of Charles X. these honest men would not have
made much stir about the revolution of 1830 ;
or if Don Carlos had succeeded in usurping his
niece's throne, they would have forgiven the
traitor in complaisance to the tyrant, as we all
see they have done in the case of Donna Maria
and her exemplary uncle. So with regard to
Holland and Belgium, had the " revolt" of the
Belgians been professedly not against misgovern-
ment, but only against Dutch government, and,
instead of a very limited monarchy, had they
declared for one allied in principle to the auto-
cracy of Russia, there would have been no
bounds to the indignation of our " honest ul-
tras" against Holland for seizing the keys of
Antwerp, and shutting up the navigation of the
Scheldt. Then, indeed, we should have heard
little about the necessity of maintaining " pa-
cific relations with Holland ;" then the com-
mercial spirit would have coalesced with the
political ; the opening of the Scheldt, and
the Tory principles of Belgium, would have
found equal favour in the sight of our Conser-
vatives of the counting-house, and would have
supplied a text for a somewhat different sort of
meeting. But we do not address ourselves to
the swashbucklers of legitimacy. We ask those
who deem themselves the more soberminded,—
we ask those who have been drawn in against
their better judgment to support the meeting,—
what objection do they state against this present
endeavour to replace the Belgians by means of a
joint French and British armament in possession
of their own territory, which would not lie with
far greater weight against any other proceeding ?
Are Holland and Belgium to be reunited by
force ? Would that be a " pacific " measure ?
Would its consetifuences be " pacific ? " Would
France and Belgium look on quietly and suffer
it ? Could Belgium be retained in Dutch do-
minion but by arms ? Would any army, such
as Holland could supply, be sufficient to perpe-
tuate that dominion—in the teeth of France,
mark you, the rooted determination of whose
people of all ranks, upon that subject, must be
taken as a preponderating element in the discus-
sion of it ? Besides, would the Dutch them-
selves spend life or money for such a conquest ?
Again, if Belgium and Holland are to remain
separated, and the former an independent
state, as was long ago pronounced by the Duke of
Wellington to be indispensable, and since repeat-
edly confirmed by all the great Powers of Europe
—Russia, Prussia, and Austria included—is, in
that case, the most important and commanding
point of the Belgic soil to be kept for ever in the
gripe of a Dutch garrison ? Would that be
Belgic independence ? Would that be the " se-
paration" in which all Europe has concurred ?
Well, then, Belgium is to have possession of
-Antwerp, as Amsterdam and Rotterdam are
(we presume) to be held by the Government of
Holland. But Holland says, " I will not sur-
render Antwerp !" We turn to our Tory " pa-
cific relation" men, and pause for a reply. What
will they do in the predicament now proposed to
them ? The question comes upon them in a
thousand shapes. How is Antwerp to be re-
stored to Belgium, it never yet having been a
part 9f Holland ? They tell us that England
must not meddle in the business. Is it, then,
the will and pleasure of the city Conservatives
that Belgium and France (for it is vain to blink
this mattter)—Belgium anti France united, shall
proceed against Holland in their own way ? If
so, who can calculate the consequences ? Who
can predict the point at which France and Bel-
gium may think fit to terminate their joint mi-
litary operations ? Now, with England for her
active ally, France is tied down by terms of part-
nership, specified in a solemn treaty, to limit her
hostilities to the release of Antwerp, and then im-
mediately to withdraw her troops. Was there ever a

more rational or effective precaution devised for the
arrest of all coercive measures beyond that single
recognized object, the datum of all disinterested
parties to whom the Belgic question in its
various bearings has been submitted ? Let
England but retire from this convention, against
which the worthy Mr. Baring and his brother
malcontents are to-day to set up their protest,
and what follows ? Why, the Holy Alliance
Courts will at once step in as parties to the ge-
neral conflict. England,—the presence,—the
known pacific policy,—the known integrity,—
the understood feelings and interests of Eng-
land,—these are the powers which restrain the
Courts of Europe. All these, as long as Eng-
land marches by the side of France, are consi-
dered by the Holy Alliance Kings as forming a
solid guarantee and surety that they themselves
need not intermeddle by force of arms. The
next hour they take the field—the moment
Great Britain withdraws her hand from the
helm—away runs the peace of Europe into irre-
parable shipwreck. These unreflecting Tories,
therefore, little know what is the tendency of
their unfortunate requisition. They mean it,
we are quite as sensible as they are, for no more
vicious object than to worry Ministers, per.
chance to shake them, on the eve of a general
election. But the. consequence of their success
would be an instantaneous explosion throughout
the continent. We shall watch the meeting of
this dav, and if there be matter for commentary
produced there, we shall not be wanting to our
duty.— Times.

The consequences of the arrest of the Duchess
of Berry are magnified into matters of great im-
portance by the journals of this country which
espouse the hopeless cause of the Doctrinnaires
of France. They use language such as this :
" To the sincere exertions of the present Cabi-
net the capture may, perhaps, bring an accession
of credit. It will be something striking to an-
nounce in the King's Speech on the opening of
the Session on the 19th instant. It will be pro-
duced as an evidence of the decided resolution
of the Government to overpower the enemies of
the new institutions and the disturbers of the
public tranquillity, whether Royalist or Repub-
lican." We have no doubt this " mighty
affair" will be made use of for the purpose above
described—and we believe the whole thing is
" got up" for that purpose—namely, to intro-
duce a clap-trap into the Citizen King's Speech,
whose popularity is at such a miserably low ebb,
that even the military display in the neighbour•
hood of Belgium fails to gain him the plaudits
of the people ; and hence a new tragi-comic
divertissement, of which the Duchess of Berry
is the heroine, has been produced on the Paris
boards. It is worthy of the authors of the
" Flags of Ulm," and other political farces. It
will not deceive the people of France, who know
that the movements of the Duchess have been
all along under the eyes of the Police, who could
lay hands on her whenever they pleased. The
whole affair breathes of romance more than of
reallife.—Morning Herald.
That writer must presume upon the British
public being gifted with an exceedingly short
memory who states that " the Continental
Powers, have, one and all, pronounced their full
conviction that, if the King of Holland will not
peaceably yield Antwerp, he must be made to
yield by that species of interference now in course
of execution." We say -the writer of this state-
Mott must presume on the British public having
a very short memory, for it is only a few days
since the two Plenipotentiaries of the greatest of
those Powers—namely, Russia—officially noti-
fied that they had no authority to agree to
coercive measures against Holland, and they
were under the necessity of withdrawing from
the Conference because England and France had
intimated their intention of adopting coercive
measures. Hence it is evident there is more
boldness than truth in asserting that " the Con-
tinental Powers have, one and all, pronounced
their full conviction that the King of Holland
must be made to yield by the species of inter-
ference now in the course of execution." Let us
remind the public once more of the exact terms
of the Russian notification. It says, " The
adoption ofmeasures ofcoercion which France and
Great Britain have resolved to take against Hol-
land brings the circumstances of the case to that
position in which the Plenipotentiaries of Rus-
sia, in virtue of the instructions with which
they are furnished, and with the tenor of which
the Plenipotentiaries of the allied Cabinets are
not unacquainted, find themselves under the
necessity of retiring from the Conference." The
Plenipotentiaries proceed to say, " they will
transmit immediately to their Court a statement
'of the important circumstances which, in alter-
ing the character of the pacific mediation in
which they were invited to take part, permit
them no longer to associate themselves in the
labours of their colleagues." If this be an ex-
pression of the Russian assent to coercive mea-
sures against Holland, then " white" means
" black, that is all. The Government Papers
now admit that the recent proposal of Prussia
to settle the question, without the interven-
tion of the French army or the Anglo-Gallic
squadron, was a mere pretext to gain time on
behalf of Holland, and, as such, has been re-
jected by the French and English Ministers.
This is rather an awkward sort of fact to trans-
pire just at the moment when the Government
Papers would make the public believe that
Prussia has also assented to the adoption of war-
like proceedings against the Dutch people and
their King. To a mind that looks for truth,
unclouded by the noxious fumes of party, it
affords conclusive evidence that the sympathy of
Prussia is on the side of Holland, in whose favour
she still practises a tortuous and deceptive policy.
As to the third great Power of the Conference,
Austria, whosoever believes that she would take
a part opposed to Russia and Prussia, in a ques-
tion involving a struggle between the monar-
chical and revolutionary principle, must have a
faith as implicit as that of Tertullian when he
said, " Credo quia impossibile est."—Morning
Herald.

We were not altogether unprepared for the
present concerted movement of the Conserva-
tives and their allies throughout the country.
Too many interests are affected by any interrup-
tion of the commercial intercourse with Holland
to allow them to remain idle, when so promising
a subject supplies them with the materials for
agitation. As England is the greatest commer-
cial country in the world, it must always suffer
greatly from an interruption of the tranquillity of ,
Europe. A regard for the interests of the
country ought, therefore, at all times to induce a
British Ministry to exert their utmost influence
in preserving a good understanding among the
different Powers. We have always contended
that England ought not to mix itself up in the
quarrels of Europe, and that a great deal of our
blood and treasure has been unnecessarily ex-
pended in wars for the restoration of the balance

of power—wars for the honour and glory of the
nation—wars for the maintenance of our holy
religion—wars to put down Jacobinism, &c.
We have contended that England, being, itself
invulnerable, could in no case have anything to
fear from the Continent, and having no need of
assistance from any Continental Power, ought
not to form any alliance with any Continental
Power, which might draw it into a participation
in a Continental war. But in the present case,
England interfered not as a hostile Power in the
quarrel between Holland and Belgium which
grew out of the separation of these two countries,
but in order to prevent a war which could hardly
fail in time to embroil all Europe. England,
France, Russia, Prussia, and Austria forined
themselves into a sort of tribunal for determining
the controversy between the two minor States. The
parties were heard, great patience was manifested
by the representatives of the great Powers, and
at length the decision was pronounced by all the
Powers. With respect to the decision itself,
the Powers were fully agreed ; but all were not
equally ready to compel obedience, should both,
or either of the two minor States prove refrac-
tory. This task, however, has been undertaken
by England and France, the latter from a just
dread of the consequences of a continuance of
the present state of things in the Netherlands on '
her own tranquillity ; the former, as having a
deep interest in the preservation of the peace of
the Continent, and as possessing, in greater
abundance than the other Powers, the means of
acting with effect against a country in the pecu-
liar situation of Holland. France and England,
possessing as they do forty times the resources
of Holland, were not warranted in anticipating
from Holland any resistance, when peremptorily
demanding that that country should acquiesce in
the arrangements of the Conference ; for why
should Holland, with the sense of Europe so
decidedly against her, be guilty of the incon-
ceivable madness of opposing her pitiful re-
sources in a fruitless struggle with the two most
powerful nations of the world—with no ally to
aid her, and with no sympathy to sup-
port her. In calculating probabilities, we
cannot take madness into consideration ; and
the determination of Holland to resist France
and England is downright madness. Eng-
land and France, then, are not making war on
Holland ; but adopting such measures, with re-
gard to Holland, as shall prevent that power
from involving all Europe in war. The present
interruption of peaceful relations with Holland
will be necessarily short ; and it has for object
to prevent a war, in which the commerce of the
country would suffer incomparably more. We
submit to a powerful operation, in the hope of
averting a disease of great severity and of long
continuance. But a question now forces itself
on us. What has induced Holland to resist
England and France, and to render it impera-
tive on the latter to have recourse to force ? The
treacherous advice of the Conservatives, who are
now hypocritically lamenting the interruption of
tranquillity. They have all along encouraged
the King of Holland in his obstinacy. They
have buoyed him up with the idea that the sym-
pathy of the people of England with their old
allies, the Dutch, would never allow them to sub-
mit to any coercive measures against him. The in-
trigue is as mere an intrigue as can well be con-
ceived. Unfortunately for the Conservatives, the
people of England must be as blind as bats
if they do not see through the policy of the
Conservatives. Under the mask of sympathy
with British traders, they are anxious only to
embroil Europe. They long to see Europe once
more involved in war, and this country dragged
into it, that internal improvements may be de-
layed, and the reforms they dread may not take
place. There is to be a meeting this day at the
City of London Tavern of all those anxious for
the preservation of pacific relations between
this country and Holland. Who is not anxious
for the preservation of pacific relations between
England and Holland ? But the object of those
who profess this anxiety at present is not to pre-
serve pacific relations between England and Hol-
land, but to retard the settlement of the quarrel
between Holland and Belgium, and to involve
all Europe in war and conflagration. We trust
to the good sense of Englishmen at this trying
conjuncture. Do not let them be led away by the
hypocritical pretext of anxiety for peace of the
Conservatives. They long only for blood. They
have been baulked of their desire at home, and
they dream that they may yet obtain their object
by a general war.—Morning Chronicle.

Some of the leading houses in the city con-
nected with the Mauritius have prepared a memorial to
Government on the subject of the late transactions there,
and on the expulsion of Mr. JEREMIE. It has received,
we understand, many most respectable signatures,—nearly
the whole of those, in fact, who have a direct interest in
the colony, and who have made advances on mortgage or
otherwise to the owners of plantations there. The memo-
rialists do not offer any justification of the violent conduct
of the planters, nor do they object to the appointment of
Mr. JEREMIE, but they endeavour to show that a perse-
verance in the intention of Government to send that gen-
tleman back to the Mauritius, will produce a dangerous de-
gree of excitement among the planters, by which they,
who have a large stake in the colony, must either be
ruined or suffer very severe losses. The property placed
at hazard in the manner thus described is undoubtedly
large enough to make its protection a fair object of the at-
tention of the Government, but the difficulty in which
it will be placed, on the other hand, of appearing to encou-
rage opposition in the planters, by allowing them to carry
their point with respect to Mr. JEREMIE, is felt by all
who have considered the subject to be very great. Mr.
Jutxmix's embarkation, on his return to the Mauritius, was
intended to take place in a few days from the present time.

GERALDINE HAMILTON:—" Many endea-
vours have been made, we understand, and some of them
with not the best intention, to identify the character of
the heroine of this remarkable story, with several ladies at
present moving in the first society, whom it would be in-
vidious to particularise. If, however, the noble authoress,
in constructing the novel, had really any particular event
or personage in contemplation (which cannot be affirmed)
the reader would be more likely to detect the real origin
of the tale, were he to refer, not to the immediate topics
of the present day, but to the fashionable annals of the
year 1829."—Morning Post.

MARCH OF MlND.—Walking up street the
other day, we were stopped by an urchin scarcely in his
teens, who bad already begun to pay some attention to
political economy; he pointed out to us the immense con-
venience it would be, could all the apple-womeu in the
kingdom be induced to take white pebbles instead of half-
pence, in exchange for their apples and tarts,—and then,
added our young casuist, if other people would take the
white pebbles from them, how could they be losers ? We,
not having time to argue the point, referred our interro-
gator to Mr. ATHERLEY, who, we have no doubt, will ex-
plain to him why 140 millions of white pebbles would not
relieve the distresses of the country quite as well as 140
millions of bank notes.—Carlisle Journal.

On the Ist instant a child, six years of age,
was buried at St. Alban's Abbey-church, and followed to
the grave by its father and mother, grandfather and grand-
mother, and its great grandfather and great grandmother.
We find, from the registers of the Society
of Friends, or Quakers, that, as a consequence of their
temperance, one half of those that are born live to the
age of 47 years ; whereas, Dr. ParcE tells us that, of
the general population of London, half that are born live
only 2 years ! Among the Quakers one in 10 arrive at
80 years of age ; of the general population of London
only one in 40. Never did a more powerful argument
iupport the practice of temperance and virtue.— Colin
M'Kenzie.