The Sun.
London, England, 1835-09-19 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

We published yesterday, from the Taunton Courier,
the copy of an Address, agreed upon at a public meet-
ing of the inhabitants of Taunton, to be presented to
Lord John Russell. This Address is exceedingly
well timed ; for however much we disapproVe of the
conduct of Ministers in making concession, when they
should have applied coercion to the Lords, their ge-
neral firmness, and before all others, that of Lord Mel-
bourne, through the whole course of the past Session,
has more than equalled the expectations, and fully con-
firmed the confidence, of the country. By concession
a collision with the Lords has been deferred ; but it
would be childish to suppose, that it is on that ac-
account the less inevitable : the only question for con-
sideration is, as it is to be done, whether it be better it
were done quickly, and at once relieve the country from
uncertainty and apprehension, or by delay to afford time
for such an organization and incorporation of Reform
principles throughout the country, as must overwhelm
the machinations and opposition of hereditary pre-
judices—its absurdities and abuses. But to return to
the address. The inhabitants of Taunton, after ex-
pressing their high sense of the important services
which his Lordship's unwearied zeal and unflinching
perseverance have conferred upon all classes of his
fellow-subjects (the corruptionists no doubt excepted)
thus offer their congratulations :—" It is, my Lord,
with equal pride and satisfaction that, whilst we most
cordially thank, we can also congratulate you on the
successful termination of another great step in reform
—the Municipal Reform Bill—which was so wisely
originated and so ably- completed, under your discreet
superintendence and control." For our part, we pro-
test against the assertion-that the Municipal Reform
Bill was " ably completed." The phrase is quite
inapplicable to a thing so miserably mutilated, and
we doubt if Lord John Russell himself will be
pleased with the compliment to his discretion.
The recent struggle was no time for the exhi-
bition of tins—the better part of valour, and
had his " discreet superintendence " given place to de-
termined adherence to the original Bill, the House of
Lords would not now be in a condition to renew the
battle, as undoubtedly they will, in the next session.
However, the tribute to Lord Melbourne must be ac-
cepted without any qualification, and in the expression
of our fullest coincidence with the sentiments expressed
in the following extract from the address, we. conclude
our observations :—" Animated with these reflections,
. we naturally and 'gratefully turn to your able col-
leagues, and especially Lord Viscount Melbourne, the
first Minister of the Crown, to whom a hea4 debt of
obligation is due for his spanly and firm adherence to
that statesmanlike policy which has enabled lihn,
amidst the most trying difficulties, to uphold inviolate
and without compromise those great principles of re-
form which arc the invincible basis of his Government,
and thereby, in despite of a party, deluded, as it would
appear, by notions as antiquated as they are unconge-
nial with the feelings and interests of_ the nation at
large, lie has exhibited an example of political inte-
grity and inflexible patriotism seldom surpassed and
never to be forgotten."—Morniug Advertiser.
*We refer our readers, with the confidence that they

will share our satisfaction, to an excellent letter in an-
other column, under the signature. of a " Working
Man," who deseribes himself a native of Scotland, in
which the character of Mr. O'Connell is very fairly
v:ewed, and ::hick has a tendency to dispose Catholics
and Protestants to cherieli the kindest feelings towards
each other. It would, indeed, as our able Correspon-
dent justly observes, be strange were Mr. O'Connell
—conscious of the injustice suffered by himself -indivi-
dually from belonging to a proscribed race (to say no-
thing of his love of country) and smarting under in-
cessant attacks levelled at him, because he,was known
to possess sufficient power and inclination to break
the chains of his countrymen—to be at all times mas-
ter of his feelings. Indeed, with a less impassioned
character, Mr. O'Connell would have been prudent
and selfish, as men without passion usually are,.
and he might not have had bitter enemies, but
his country would have been without a deliverer.
Vie look on the ravings of the Orangemen and
of the Exeter-Ball .mountebanks as the heaving
of the billows after the storm., Power has de-
parted from the Ascendancy, and all their noise and
violence will not regain.it. No Government can here-
after exist in Ireland which does not intand equal jus-
tice to all classes, be their religion what it may. Pro-
testants and Catholics must be the same in the eye of
the law. Of this truth the present Government seems
to be fully aware. We consider the Administration of
Lord Mulgrave to be in that respek the greatest of
blossiings to Ireland. He has not contented himself
with mere declarations of principle, but honestly en-
deavoured to give effect to the principle. By seeking
to purge the Bench and the Magistracy and the Police
from Orange and sectarian leaven, he has given confi-
dence to the honest and well-disposed, and taught the
factious that they have nothing to hope from the means
by which men have hitherto risen to power and autho-
rity in Ireland. The honours paid to Mr. O'Connell,
throughout his progress to the North, and the
kind and flattering reception which he is sure to
meet with from the Scotch, will have the best
effects in cementing the union between Catholics
and Protestants. It is, indeed, no small triumph to
Mr. O'Connell (and it is a most striking proof of the
progress which liberal opinions have made in this coun-
try) that, in the very city in which John Knox pro-
claimed that the Magistrate. who suffered a Catholic
to live ought not himself to be suffered to live, the man
through whose instrumentality the Catholics have been
elevated to an equality with Protestants has been spe-
cially invited by the inhabitants to receive from them
their grateful acknowledgments for his services as a
public character. When we see the Times labouring
to rekindle in the minds of the existing generation of
Scotchmen the hatred which the forefathers bore, to
Catholics, we can only laugh at their mistake. The
Times reminds the Scotch that if their forefathers
hated the Church of rrgland, it was because of its re-
semblance to the C ..frolic Church. It is true the
Scotch did consider that there was very little difference
between the Old Lady and the Jezebel, her daughter
but the reception which Walter Scott's historical
novels met with in Scotland might have taught our
Contemporary that the old feelings have no longer
an existence. Walter Scott' had too much tact to
allow him to touch on themes that would have
disturbed the feeling with which works of imagi-
nation ought to be received. The Presbyterian
who could laugh at Cuddy and his mother, is far re-
moved from the feelings which displayed themselves in
1780, in the destruction of Catholic chapels. The
-whole Catholic body must feel, in some Soit, as an ho-
mour to themselves, the distinction shown to the most
gifted among them. In this way the journey of Mr.
O'Connell will be productive of the happiest conse-
tjuences. In truth, the whole empire owes much to
Mr. O'Connell and the Members whom Emancipation
Ira's introduced into the Legislature. However way-
war3. Mr. O'Connell may have seemed at times, he has
always, in critical conjunctures, been directed by his
tact to the wisest course. In his speech at Newcastle
he alluded to that peculiarity in the late Henry Hunt,
which induced him constantly to lose the main chance
for some crotchet—some matter of no earthly impor-
tance at the moment. Now, Mr. O'Connell's
shrewdness has alwas saved him from this folly.
Through him we obtained a majority on the
Reform Bill, in 1831 and 1832. During -the past
Session, neither taunts nor artifices have ever
seduced him from the straight course, because he saw
tile good cause might have been endangered by one
false move. It is this high quality that has, no doubt,
particularly recommended him to the Scotch at the
Ares. ut tune. Mr. O'Connell, without first-rate abili-
ties, could not have played the part which has been
assigned to him ; but still, it must be confessed, he
has been powerfully assisted by the blunders of his
enemies. By singling him out for proscription they
have taught his countrymen the importance of his
services to them, and consequently prevented any dimi-
mucion of their regard for him. It was worse than
folly, when all the Catholics were emancipated, to
legislate against him individually. Again, during the
late Session, the Tories seemed to see O'Connell, and
only O'Connell. The first question they-asked, with
regard to any measure which came before them was,
How will 0 Connell be affected by it ? Was there