The Sun.
London, England, 1832-07-17 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The House of Commons was engaged again
last night in a dull and prosing repetition of the
former debates on the Russian Dutch Loan.—
We must say, that Ministers tax the patience oi
their friends very freely. Mr. Robert Grant was
set up to make a long legal argument, evidently
prepared for the previous debate, on the legality
of the payment without the sanction of Parlia-
ment ; and was of course followed by Sir Charles
Wetherell, in one of his happiest effusions, for
another tedious hour. The exhausted Mem-
bers might have been well spared these two
hours waste of their time, by Lord Palmerston
rising before Mr. Grant. When the Session is
to end, or how an attendance of Members is to
he insured under such management, we do not
understand ; but we hope the remaining busines,
will be got through with more despatch, and
every endeavour made to get rid of the present
House of Commons at the earliest possible pe-
riod. Short speeches will conduce more than
any thing to this result. Mr. Hume wisely and
manfully supported Ministers, and may console
himself, for the ridicule and abuse which Sit
Charles 'Wetherell and Sir Robert Peel attempted
to cast upon him, by the reflection that he
has done that which was both for the satisfac-
tion of his constituents and the interests of the
country. Neither the people of Middlesex or
Great Britain have the least desire that power
shall be transferred from the present Government
to the factious party whose motives Mr. Hume
so ably exposed.—Morning Chronicle.
Mr. Baring, by way of pretext, last night
professed not to be in possession of sufficient
information to enable him to decide whether

there is any truth in the allegation of Ministers,
that though according to the letter we might not
t he strictly bound, we were according to the
spirit of the treaty. He wished to hear some
evidence for the assertion that the Convention of
Aix-la-Chapelle merely intended to guard
against the encroachments of France, and con-
templated no severance of Holland and Belgium
but by foreign invasion. This is, of course, a
re-opening of the question. It has been alread%
decided twice over that Ministers were justtified
in paying the money on the anterior engage-
ment, and the motion for further papers is oril
intelligible with reference to the fresh agitaticn
of the question. The pretext is further informa-
tion ; but the object is, the playing into the
hands of the Tories, who do not say that if
they were in power to-morrow, they would not
pay erery farthing which Ministers have paid, and
are to pay. The motion is, therefore, altogether
without an object ; for no men capable of carrying
on the Government of this country will refuse to
pay the money. On the part of the Tories, the ques-
tion reduces itself to a mere quibble. They do not
say that they would have acted towards Russia
differently from Ministers ; but merely, that as
nothing appeared on the face of the engagement
to sanction the payment, they would have had
recourse to Parliament. They have no objection
to avail themselves, however, of the aid of those
who wish to get rid of the payment altogether;
but should they obtain a majority, they would
turn round on their allies, with a " Gentlemen,
.ve thank you for what you have done ; but
hereafter we take different directions. You
wished to keep the money, we wished for place ;
hut having obtained place, we have no intention
of refusing to make the payments, to which in
spirit, though not in letter, we are bound." It
is really scandalous to consume the time of the
House at this advanced period of the Session
with tedious debates which can have no practical
result. They who, like Mr. Hume, think that
we were not bound to pay the money to Russia
are so few in number, that it is only in so far as
they may turn the balance either way that they
are of consequence. We have already alluded
to the course taken by Mr. Hume. He sees
that the question is not whether the money shall
or shall not be paid, but whether the Whigs or
Tories shall be in power.
" With regard (he said) to the terms of the amendment,
if it were carried, and if, in consequence, the present Mi •
nisters retired from office, those who brought forward and
advocated the amendment were not themselves prepared to
assert that they would have refused the money to Russia ;
and the nature of the counter-proposition of the Hon.
Member for Thetford did not show that if the Tories oh-
Gined power they would not pay it. They still cun-
ningly left a loop-hole, out of which they might escape.
--(Cheers.) The object of the proceeding of Thursday
night was avowedly only to turn out the Whigs, that ti.e
Tories might get in. He (Mr. Hume) had come down
with a determination to vote against Ministers, until he
found out the game that was playing. He soon saw how
he was surrounded, and would not become a party to the
scheme.—(Cheers.) He had, therefore, not changed his
opinion, but his action. He had supported the Whigs,
even though be thought them wrong—(Cheers, and
laughter)—because he did not wish to lose their services
in the great cause of Reform.—(Cheers.) The real ques-
tion was, not as to the justice of the claims under the Rus-
sian-Dutch Loan, but as to the comparative merits of
Whigs and Tories; and be, for one, could not entertain
a moment's doubt about it. If once the Tories obtained
office, they would soon find the means of defeating Reform,
eves although the Bill had been passed."
We trust the country will carefully examine
the lists of the majority and minority on these
questions. No man who voted against Minis-
ters on Thursday night or last night is deserving
of any confidence. This vote is a proof that he
is either an enemy of the people or a fool. On
a division, the numbers were—for the Motion,
191 ; for the Amendment, 155 ; majority, 36.
—/V/co fling Chronicle.
We confess we cannot understand the object
of the third debate on the Russo-Dutch loan
which took place last night. On Thursday the
Opposition moved a vote of censure on the
Ministers for paying a debt allowed to be due to
Russia. Their motion failed. They last night,
with a somewhat Irish sort of hysteron proteron,
and with that kind of modesty which once also
was peculiarly Irish, besought the Ministers to
have the goodness to furnish information which
might, perhaps, justify their late abortive endea-
vour to censure and turn them out. This illo-
gical argument, this innocent appeal, had such
success as might have been anticipated. The
reasoning of their opponents did not convince
the Ministers—the simplicity did not persuade
them—that they ought.to comply with a request
which was founded on the hope and intention to
destroy the Government. It was suggested,
however, by a clever and promising young
Member (Mr. Vernon Smith), that the object
of the Opposition was t o " make a splash on
the hustings" at the next general election. We
agree with the Hon. Member, that this object
will also be defeated. The people of England
are too intelligent to be duped by the cry of eco-
nomy from Anti-Reformers. They are too
honest not to support those representatives who
adhere to the stern demands of justice and na-
tional honour, however odious the party to whom
the debt is owing.—Times.
Asitiell,speculation, indicative of extreme con-
-. d 0 eucy, has been thrown away
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