The Sun.
London, England, 1835-07-28 00:00:00

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LONDON,
TUESDAY EVENING, JULY 28, 1835.

The Irish Church Reform Bill made good progress
in the Committee last night, the first forty-nine clauses
having been got through, when the House adjourned.
Lord MORPETH and the ATTORNEY-GENERAL for
Ireland mentioned a few alterations in some of the details
which they meant to propose at a future time, and certain
amendments were suggested by my Lord STANLEY, but
there was no division on any one of the clauses. Sir IL
PEEL having shot his bolt, seems to think he has
done his duty. The Right Hon. Baronet took no
part in the discussion, relinquishing to Mr. GouL-
ßUßN—his brother journeyman, according to the
happy designation of the Times—the task of announ-
cing the cessation of all Tory Opposition to the Bill
in the Committee. This is one happy result of their
defeat on the 20th. The Tories are like spaniels,
very impudent and unruly until they are well beaten.
Thrash them soundly, and they become submissive
and obedient.

The prevalence of distress in Ireland is a subject of
such every-day occurrence, that the public mind in
this country appears to have grown callous to the
sufferings of the miserable inhabitants of that long
mis-governed portion of the British empire. The
starvation of the Irish peasantry has come to be re-
garded as a matter of course—an incurable malady, for
which the utmost that can be done is to provide a mo-
mentary alleviation of the more excruciating torments.
Did the speech of Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD in

the House of Commons last night, on moving an
Address to the Crown relative to the distressed
state of the Mayo peasantry, disclose an equal amount
of misery in any of our dependencies in the East or
West Indies, all England would be agitated by the
bare recital of such horrors. But as the Hon. Gentle-
man confined himself to a statement of the starvation in

Ireland, the only good effect produced by his speech was
that the Right Hon. Secretary for Ireland admitted the
existence of the distress complained of, and offered, on
the part of the Government, not to oppose the appro-
priation of any sum towards its alleviation which Par-

liament might feel disposed to grant. This apathy,
on the part of the British Parliament and people, is
solely to be attributed to the gross misrepresentations
of the landed aristocracy of Ireland. These misre-
presentations have preceded every cry for relief, till
at last the people of England regard the starving poor
of Ireland as the victims of voluntary idleness, and in-
curable dissipation.
The speech of Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD has
confirmed us in the belief that no effectual relief
can be extended to Ireland, unless the boon be ac-
companied with a wholesome system of poor laws.
Temporary aid will only aggravate the evil at a
subsequent period. It is putting new wine into
old bottles—new patches upon a worn-out gar-
ment. Every grant made by the British Parliament
for the alleviation of poverty in Ireland is so much
added to the rental of the Irish absentee landlords, so
long as that country is without any legal provision for
the destitute poor. We shall return to this subject
to-morrow, or the day following.

We spoke yesterday, in terms such as it appeared to
us to deserve, of Mr. HoGG's Protest against the
Municipal Corporation Report ; observing, inter alia,
that it was characterized by grammatical solecisms, ab-
surd premises, and still more absurd conclusions_
that, in fact, from first to last, it was a mere farrago of
elaborate dulness and unconscious inconsistency. A
subsequent attentive perusal has convinced us that we
were correct in our estimate of this curious produc-
tion ; whose author, nothing daunted by any appre-

hensions of ridicule, "goes the whole Hog " in point
of absurdity. The main object of his Protest is, of
course, to expose, what he calls, the errors of the Com-
missioners' Report ; but in attempting this, he has at-
tempted a task above his capacity ; and is consequently
compelled to have perpetual recourse to such common-
place clap-traps, as the " good old times," the " wis-
dom of our ancestors," the " perils of innovation," &c.
—clap-traps which stand him in the stead of reason-
ing, and by which he evidently calculates on making
an impression on the House of Lords. As for im-
pugning the truth or justice of the Commissioners'
Report, this he is unable to do, though he strives
hard to do so, in any one single instance. Never-
theless, deficient as his Protest is, in all that should
constitute such a production, he apologizes for it on
the score that it is too " often argumentative"—an
apology perfectly superfluous, inasmuch as no offence
in the way of argument has been given by it. But
this is not the only specimen we meet with of Mr.
HoGG's bashfulness. Towards the close of his
Protest, he has actually the effrontery to lament that
he is so much wiser than all his brother Commissioners
—a regret, which, we intreat him to lay aside, for
we can comfort him by the assurance that, like his
claim to be argumentative, it is wholly without foun-
dation.

But enough of prefatory matter ; let us now pro-
ceed to give a few of " the Beauties of HoGG,"
in the shape of extracts, &c. Speaking of elec-
tioneering, he says, " a careful examination bids me
' doubt whether any considerable bodies of men have
really been much deteriorated in any case by election-
eering, so as to be wholly corrupt." Indeed I What,
then were the Grampound—what the East Retford—
what the Warwick—what, more recently, the Ipswich
electors ? If these men were not " deteriorated "
were not " corrupt," where—in what form, does cor-
ruption exist ? Boroughs are not usually disfranchised,
as was the case with the two first, in consequence of
their purity ; nor are agents lodged in jail because
they are proved to be wholly without influence over
the votes of Ipswich electors. In alluding to the old
Municipal Charters, Mr. HOGG insists that it is
hazardous even to spread a report that they are going
to be amended, or annulled, " the appearance of jus-
tice being no inconsiderable part of justice," by which
he would imply, we presume, that the wig and gown
of the Judge form no " inconsiderable part" of his
judicial wisdom and integrity. The legal wig and gown
have, unquestionably, great virtue, as in the case of Mr.
HoGG himself, for they have enabled him to gain credit
with the House of Lords, for the possession of legal know-
ledge, which he might still, by virtue of these " appear-
ances of justice," have been supposed to possess, had
he not, in evil hour, dissipated the delusion by the
publication of his present Protest. Disguised in the
lion's skin, he might still have been mistaken for the
lion, could he but have checked his disastrous pro-
pensity to braying. To a certain extent, therefore, he
is right in his appreciation of the virtue of the wig and
gown ; but, unquestionably, they have no such vast
judicial influence as he would attribute to them.

Mr. HoGG professes to entertain a holy horror of
all Constitutions founded on reason. They are no-
thing in his eyes, unless they are propped up and
fenced round by the prejudices of the " good, old
times." The people, he tells us, are of the same way
of thinking, who " prefer a title derived from King
ALFRED, to one originating in a statute of the nine-
teenth century." We suppose then that it was its ex-
treme antiquity that delighted them so much in the
Reform Bill ; Inv! induced them so readily to give
twenty millions to put down the slave trade- t--

We now come to one of the choicest specimens of
the " Beauties of HOGG?' He is speaking of elec-
tioneering influence. Hear the Oracle on this point !
" Custom has been used more effectually to influence
votes than employment. The artisan may be dis-
charged, and so put to some inconvenience, but the
shop-keeper may be ruined ; the one is free, the other
fixed to the curb-stone in front of his shop." Now it
happens to us to have seen tradesmen in most of the
towns in England, but we cannot take it on our con-
science to assert, that we ever yet saw one " fixed to
the curb-stone in front of his shop." We once saw
one " fixed," much against his inclination, in the
Stocks, but never to " the curb-stone." As Mr.
HOGG, however, is remarkable throughout his
Protest for the strange things he hears and
sees, and consequently reports as Gospel truth,
it is by no means impossible that he may have seen a
shopkeeper in this perplexing predicament, and thought
it his duty, as a Commissioner, to report the pheno-
menon to Government. We hope, when he next
makes a similar discovery, he will communicate the
good news to us, that we may hasten to feast our eyes
on the startling spectacle. A shopkeeper " fixed to
the curb-stone in front of his shop," especially if it
be a rainy day, and he has no umbrella, must be a
sight as puzzling to the philosopher, as it must be
painful to the philanthropist.
In another part of his Protest, while prattling about
the way in which Corporation Property has been too
often disposed of, Mr. HOGG takes the opportunity of
observing, with all the dignified gravity of one whose
legal qualifications (" the appearance of justice being
no inconsiderable part of justice") are represented
and vouched for by his wig and gown, that " tolls,
town-dues, and other sources of revenue, have too
often, by reason of the mode in which the right to
such franchises is determined, been converted into a
bottomless gulf of dissipation." It is odd, that not-
withstanding our acquaintance with most public
grievances, we never yet heard of that most surprizing
one, the transformation of a " toll," or " town-due,"
into a " gulph." We will confess that we once saw
Harlequin convert a toll-bar into a stage coach; but to
convert a " toll" into a " gulph," is an achievement
that surpasses even his dexterity. None but a HOGG
could have accomplished such a miracle.
Were we to point out but one half the specimens of
tautology, broken metaphor, showy antithesis, and in-
accurate reasoning that abound in every page of
this extraordinary Protest, our remarks would
" stretch to the crack o' doom ;" we must, therefore,
hurry to a close, with the single observation
that in the last passage but one, the cause of all Mr.
HoGG's hostility to the Commissioners' Report is laid
bare in the most undisguised manner. He was, it
seems, originally, to have been Secretary to the Com-
mission ; but from some cause or other, which he very
vaguely hints at, he was deprived of this situation,
and appointed Commissioner instead ! Hence the
present hostile Protest, which, we strongly suspect, is
not so much the result of conscientious conviction, as
of disappointed ambition.

The whole of the Paris Papers of Sunday have
been received. The following telegraphic despatch,
which appears in the Moniteur, was received by the
French Government on Saturday evening
Don Carlos was at Estella on the 21st. He has ap-
pointed Ituralde to be Commander-in-Chief of Navarre, in lieu
of Eraso, who has resigned, owing to the state of his health.
On the 20th, Cordova left Pampeluna with the army for
Puente la Reyna. The Carlist forces are concentrated in the
vicinity of Los Arcos."

The corps of Volunteers about to be raised in Paris
for the service of the Queen of SPAIN are to be com•
posed entirely of Frenchmen. No foreigner will be
permitted to join these bodies. The Temps states that
among the persons who have engaged in the corps of
volunteers for the QUEEN, the Baron VILLENEUVE
is mentioned, who will command a battalion. Al-
most all the officers wear the insignia of dif-
ferent Orders, and have seen much service. Among
them are to be found the names of several who
are honorably mentioned in the Order of the
Day of the War in Algarve, and a great many
who received from Don PEDRO the. Order of the
Tower and the Sword. It seems that the Spanish ,

Government wishes to employ principally French
officers, and will not have to accept the services of
several Italian and Polish refugees. Nevertheless, it
appears that several persons, not being included in this
organization, will go at their own expense with the
corps of Baron SUARCE. The companies are now
complete, and there is reason to be astonished that the
orders to march are not given. The officers will not
put on their uniforms till they reach the frontier, and
will conduct their detachments dressed as citizens.

Lisbon papers to the 20th inst. have been received
this morning. They announce a change of Ministry.
This is rather sudden ; but what renders the affair still
more curious, if not important, is that the dissolution
of the late Cabinet is attributed to the representation
of Lord HOWARD DE WALDEN, his Britannic MA-
JESTY'S Ambassador at the Court of Lisbon. The
announcement of the dissolution of the Ministry, and
the manner in which it was effected, are thus given in
the Tribune du Peuple of the 11th instant :
" The ' impossible' Ministry has fallen; we are only asto-
nished at its having existed so long. This desirable change
is thus accounted for:—The English Ambassador, Lord Howard
de Walden, not having attended on the Bth to pay his respects,
an interview took place on the 9th with certain personages,
who demanded of him the motives for his conduct. He replied
frankly that the Ministry did not offer guarantees of sufficient
stability to act in concert with the English Cabinet in a ques-
tion so delicate as the execution of the treaty of the quadruple
alliance by the four contracting Powers, having for its object
the termination of the cival war in Spain and the consolidation
of the representative system in Portugal. The Ambassador
added that it was now more necessary than ever that a perfect
understanding should subsist between the two Cabinets of Madrid
and Lisbon, and that M. Mendizabal having accepted office in the
Spanish Ministry, anything like good understanding between him
and M. Campos, his political adversary, was impossible. Things
having once arrived at this point, the result was inevitable."
The circumstantial form in which this intelligence
is communicated would incline us to regard it as correct,
were we not persuaded that the British Government
would not sanction any tampering with the appoint-
ment of a Foreign Cabinet. We are quite confident
that Lord PALMERSTON has never given any
instructions to the representative of this Government
at Lisbon, which would have the effect of restraining
the Sovereign of Portugal in the free exercise of any
part of the Royal prerogative.
The following has been forwarded to us as a correct
list of the New Cabinet :
Marquis SALDANHA, Minister of War and Presi-
dent of the Council.

Senhor AUGUSTIN JOSE FREIRE, Minister of the
Interior.

Senhor JOSE DA SILVA CARVALHO, Minister of
Finance.

Senhor JUAN DE SoUSA PINTO MAGALHAES,
Minister of Justice.

Marquis LouLE, Minister of Marine.
Duke of PALMELLA, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The papers assure us, that the return of CARVALIIO
to the Finance department has produced the most salu-
tary effect on the public mind in Portugal. The con-
fidence of the Capitalists is completely restored, and
offers of sums of money to any amount are daily made
to the new Government.

The QUEEN was in good health, and tranquillity
prevailed throughout the country.

In the German Papers received this day we find a
decree promulgated by the Grand Duke of BA DEN, to
the effect that having reason to believe that the poli-
tical union and machinations of foreign fugitives and
artisans will no longer be tolerated in Switzerland, he
has revoked the previous ordinance by which journey-
men artisans were prohibited from going to Switzerland
from the Grand Duchy.

VIENNA, JULY 17.-5 per Cents., 1021 ; 4 per Cents.,
97i; Bank• Shares, I,33o.—Allgemeine Zeitung, July 22.

The following article appears in the Chronicle of this
morning. We cannot vouch for its authenticity :

" The people of this country will learn with no slight feeling
of indignation, that, on the 19th instant, three of the marines,
British subjects, serving on board the steamer under the com-
mand of 1-Tnrr7, havhig bet:n decoyed out of Bil
boa, to an ambuscade, where some Carlists were watung for
them, have been shot by those banditti under the authority of
the decree recently issued at Durango by Don Carlos. These
men, named Smith, Dowling, and Delauder, when so decoyed,
had no arms, their side-arms alone excepted. Smith offered
resistance ; he was shot first, and then bayoneted in the most
savage manner. His body was stripped, and allowed to re-
main in that state or, the road. It was brought into Bilboa on
the following morning and interred. The other two men were
taken to San Miguel, allowed a short time to prepare for death,
and then shot dead on the spot.
" It is supposed that this deed of ferocity was perpetrated by
way of revenge, for the part which these men and the whole of
Commodore Henry's brave companions had tal4..‘n in defend-
ing Bilboa from the late attack of the Carlists. It assumes a
peculiar degree of wickedness, when we consider all the trouble
which Commodore Henry took upon himself upon a recent
occasion, when ho succeeded in saving the lives of twenty-
seven Carlist officers, whom he had captured on the coast of
Spain.
" As a violation of the Eliot Convention there can be no
doubt that this flagrant act must be noticed by his Majesty's
Government. Don Carlos is, by this time, aware that he will
be held personally responsible for any departure from the terms
of that Convention, with reference to British subjects. In
what manner, and to what extent that responsibility will be
exacted, we are not at this moment prepared to say."

A Correspondent, passing through the West of
England, states, that the Liberal party have been on
the alert respecting the Registration. He writes from
Frome, Somerset, where there was a Registration So-
' ciety formed on the evening of the last election. The
Society has been in constant action since that time,
and the result has been that of placing about 100 good
claims for the Liberals on the County list, and up-
wards of that number added to the Borough list, and
that the future independence of the Borough will be
achieved. It is expected that Mr. T. SHEPPARD, in
the event of an election, will be relieved from any future
trouble in attending the House of Commons, as the
representative of his family, and to misrepresent the
town. W. BRIDGES, ESQ., the late candidate, is
still the favourite with the liberal party, and, no doubt
will be returned at the next election. At Warminster,
the reformers have been very active in placing claims
on the Registration List for the county, and also at
Westbury, where there is a likelihood that Sir R. LOPEZ
will .not be successful again. Trowbridge and Brad-
ford have not been asleep, as will be seen should the
Tories attempt to oppose UETHUEN and LONG. At
Malmsbury upwards of 200 county votes have been
added in the reform interest.