The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-13 00:00:00

SPAIN.

The Madrid journals of the 6th have reached
us. The English Ambassador is stated to have
notified in the name of bis Government that

Spain was warranted in requiring reparation '
from Mexico for the assassinalion of her sub
jects ; but that the English Cabinet hoped it
might be obtained peaceably. One of the jour-
nals says that both England and France are
labouring to bring about an arrangement of
the differences between Spain and Mexico. The
Government had sent a note to the Emperor of
the French, representing that the aggressions on
Spanish subjects in Mexico must be considered,
not as acts of individu•ds, but as part of a system of
declared hostil ty to Spain. The receipts of the
Treasury in February last amounted to 212,124,477
reals, which were 8,675,306 reals more than those
of the corresponding period of last year. It was said
that a Ministerial department for the Colonies was
about to be established, and that M. Gon-
zalez Bravo would' most likely be appointed to
it. The Duchess de Montpensier had a faussel
couche on the 31st ult. The trial of the
for publishing a seditious article, had taken
place, and ended in the acquittal of that jour-
nal, which was ably defended by M. Olozaga.
The Queen had written an autograph letter to
the captain-general of Catalonia, M. Zapatero,
thanking him for his recent energetic measures
for the preservation of order, and announcing to
him that his wife had been made a member
of the order of Maria Louisa. A letter says :—" The
Government has this day•received the news that
the Mexican Government has executed four of the
assassins of Spaniards at Cuernavacco, but it does
not appear that it has proceeded against' the func-
tionaries of the Republic who acted withgreat fe-
rocity against the Spanish, nor against the assassins
San Vicente. These executions do not satisfy
the Spanish government, which requires a more
complete reparation." •

AUSTRALIA.

LIVERPOOL, APRIL 13.

The Royal Charter has arrived with upwards of
200 passengers, and brings 128,000 oz. of gold and
13,000 sovereigns, besides a large quantity in the
hands of passengers.
One gentleman, Mr. G. Sparrow, brings a splen-
did nugget weighing 328 oz. pure gold.
The Royal Charter had nothing but light winds
from Cape Horn to the Western Islands, and strong
north-east winds from that until she made the land.'
The passengers are well pleased with the ship's per-
formance.

LIVERPOOL, SUNDAY.

This morning the Sir W. J. Williams, Captain
Rees belonging to the Black Ball line, arrived in
the Mersey from Hobart Town. She has made the
voyage in 69 days, having left that port on the 2d
February. Her news has been anticipated.

REFORM OF PARLIAMENT-LORD JOHN
RUSSELL'S "FINALITY."

(From the Press.)

The Edinburgh, Review once said that "the spirit
of self-assertion was the predominant characteristic
of English statesmen ;" and a more self-asserting
politician than Lord John Russell does not exist.
If Government bring in a Reform Bill, we cannot
suppose that Lord J. Russell will allow a measure
of importance to be easilypassed without his opinion
having been consulted on such a scheme ; if, on the
other hand, the Ministry postpones its reform mea-
sures, then Lord J. Rus-ell, true to his antecedents,
will endeavour again to attract towards himself the
gale ofpopular. favour. The oldfirm of " Russell and
Co." will again issue their circulars, requesting
the support of their friends. " Our Sir James
Graham" will, possibly, be introduced as a part-
ner, and the credit of the ", Tiverton Company "
will be adroitly disparaged.
But if the Premier will have his difficulties in
avoiding a Reform Bill, it cannot be denied that Lord
J. Russell will also have some obstacles to encoun-
ter. Foremost amongst these is the memory of the
vacillation that he has shown upon the whole ques
tion. He was for a long time called " Fieality
Jack," and the manner in which the noble lord
earned that appellation contrasts with his anxiety
during the " Coalition" to pass a Reform scheme,
at the withdrawal of which he wept in the
House of Commons. The changes of tone of Lord
John Russell with respect to "finality" cannot be
overlooked. We have been at some trouble in find-
ing out when Lord John Russell first made use
of the phrase. We believe that it was so far back
as the time of the passing of the Reform Bill. On
the sth of June, 1832, Lord John Russell moved
that the house should agree to certain amendments
of the Lords, when, as the report states, " a
long and animated debate ensued, in which
the political unions were strongly deprecated byboth
sides of the " house." Amongst other speakers, the
late Mr. Hume (then M.P. for Middlesex, at the
height of his vogue) " declared that he would not
give a pin for the bill if it stopped at its present
point, without paving the way for further changes,
whereupon (continues the Report) Lord John Rus-
sell rose, and said " that he trusted that the Bill
would be received by the country as a final mea-
sure ; he could consent to nothing which went be-
yond it. If it were received the public would soon
cease to waste their time on political unions."
These are strong and significant words. In 1839,
the "Letter to the Electors of Stroud" uttered the
same tone. On the 21st of June, 1849, the noble lo rd
(then Prime Minister) defended the Reform Act
against the onslaught of the Radical Reformers,
led by Mr. Hume ; and en the 4th June, 1849,
the noble lord made so moderate and Con-
servative a speech, that the present Secretary
to the Admiralty called it " a melancholy exhibi-
tion." In justice, however, to the noble member
for London, we must admit that on one of those last
occasions he said that "he had always been of
opinion that the Reform Bill would admit of im-
provement from time to time" <<a phrase which may
mean anything or nothing, as " improvement" and
" time" are equally vague ; and in politics, as in
other things, " words are but wmd —actions
" speak the mind."
Between " the bill, the whole bill, and notbing
but the bill,"
cg a final measure," "progressive re-
form," and "improvement from time to time," it
would be difficult to ascertain the permanent con-
victions of the noble member for London. But his
inconsistencies are as nothing, when compared with
those of the present Prime Minister ; and in the
coming session both those noble lords will be com-
pelled to speak out.

ELECTION INTELLIGENCE.

SCOTLAND.
WICK BURGHS.

At the close of the poll in the burghs of Tain, Cro-
marty, Dingwall, Dorno6, and Wick the numbers
were—
Lord John Hay ..• ••• ••• 272
Mr. Shaw ... 162
At Kirk wall, at 2 o'clock, there was a majority of 21,
and only 12 electors to poll.