The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-17 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
TUN EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
STANDARD.—TheHouse of Commons re-assembled
last night. Sir Robert Peel, in reply to a request of Mr.
Wyse, to delay the Irish Registration Bill, offered some
advice upon the subject of the progress of the public busi-
ness, which might indeed have occurred to gentlemen
upon reflecting that ten or eleven weeks of the session
have already passed without the perfecting of any of
the proposed measures most important to the general
welfare. Now is the season for economising
the time of Parliament the economy of time
comes too late when the time has been idly
spent. Parliament has a great deal of work before
it. There are the Ecclesiastical Courts Bill, the Bank
Charter Bill, the Factories Bill, the Local Courts Bill,
the New Poor-'aw Amendment Bill, this Irish Registra-
tion Bill—all measures of vital interest—besides a
multitude of other measures of greater or less
importance. Now, considering the little that has
been done since the beginning of February, it
is plain t' at Parliament must mend its pace,
if it is to get through all these measures, or,
for that matter, half of them, before the beginning of
September. As to the demand for delay in the case
of the Irish Registration Bill, it is difficult to conceive
upon what rational ground it can be supported. The
Parliament and the people, both in Ireland and Great
Britain, have had ample notice of the purpose to intro-
duce such a measure in the Royal speech at the open-
ing of the session. Nor can the people of Ireland
pretend ignorance of its spirit, after the intimations
they have had of the resolution of the statesmen by
whom it is introduced to insist upon a bona fide fran-
chise, and to support the interpretation cf the law
given by ten of the twelve judges of Ireland. The Bill
can take no one by surprise. Why then waste the
time of Parliament by delaying it ? Mr. Wyse
says, that the Irish Members are not in
town. Why are they not in town—why, at least,
cannot they be in town on Friday ? The assizes
are some time since over, and what is there to detain
the Irish Members from attending their Parliamentary
duties ? Mr. Smith O'Brien is we see, qualifying
for the office of locum tenens to Mr. O'Connell during
any period for which the law may claim the latter
gentleman's person. Mr. Dillon Browne, too, see:ns to
be in like manner preparing to suceeed Mr. Steele for a
time in the office of " head pacificator ;" but these are
not all the Irish Members, and if they were, we doubt
that Parliament ought to take their present occupation as
an excuse for the neglect of their duties as legislators.
There are, indeed, other Members of the House of Com-
mons who may be disagreeably pressed by urgent per-
sonal if not private affairs on Friday ; but as it
is not unlikely that they will be non-effective for the whole
remnant of the session, their temporary absence cannot pro-
perly be taken into account. The fact is, that the purpose
of the Repeaters is to defeat the Bill by all means, fair
and foul, and this supplication fur delay is merely the
beginning of the foul play. The parti pretre in Ireland
have reason to be contented with the fraudulent struc-
ture of the Irish ;constituency in a majority of the
counties, for though they have not upon the registry
as many unqualified persons as they could wish,
they aro successful to the extent of keeping
a multitude of qualified persons off from it,
which serves the double purpose of securing their power
and establishing a plausible show of grievance, in the
reduced and diminishing number of Irish electors. We
hope that no consideration of difficulty, however, will
prevent Ministers from passing this Bill, which
as as necessary to Ireland on the ground
of constitutional policy, as in social, and,
if we may say so, material policy, it will
prove beneficial. Nothing, indeed, but such a Bill
can save the Irish constituency from practical extinction
in many counties. The fraudulent system cannot main-
tain itself finally, but it can last long enough to drive
all Lona fide electors from the registry. The Times,
we see, intimates an opinion that this Bill
ought to be given up, lest it obstruct the
business of the session. This, however, were the
worst possible course. Something must be done
in the matter, and the more promptly and peremptorily
it is done, the less waste will there be of the public
time. A good part of each of several successive sessions
has been squandered upon it to no end, for this very
reason, that it was too easily given up. This good effect
(the only one) has followed so many discussions and
postponements, that the subject is now thoroughly
understood. The Ministers can carry it if they please,
and we sincerely hope that it will please them to do so.
GLOBE.—" The promotion of Mr. Kelly to the place
of Solicitor-General was," says the Post, "generally
expected by the Bar." In this expectation there was an
almost universal concurrence. The profession looked
to Mr. Kelly's superior qualifications as a lawyer—the
Tories to the extraordinary sacrifices which Mr. Kelly
had made for the Government. In both these gene-
rally-recognised qualifications for legal office, Mr.
Kelly's superiority over Mr. Thesiger was univer-
sally allowed. By selecting an inferior man, the Minis-
try has disappointed the lawyers ; who, irrespective of
party considerations, have a commendable satisfaction
in seeing the honours of their profession conferred on
confessedly eminent legal superiority. The par-
tisans of a Government naturally expect that
great sacrifices in the support of the Administra-
tion should be recognised by the Minister, and
rewarded, in due course, in the distribution of the
patronage of Government. The passing over of Mr.
Kelly in favour of Mr. Thesiger, although not altogether
unexpeeted, has therefore caused a general expression of
disapproval in Westminster Hall; while among the ex-
pectants of appointments to office, in return for zealous
exertions and expensive sacrifices for the Ministry, the
observation is heard:—" If Kelly has been thus treated,
what hope have we that our claims will not be disre-
garded, and our hopes terminate in disappointment?"
The blundering explanations and lame excuses of the
Government journals—while they imply a knowledge
of the general dissatisfaction which the selection of Mr.
Thesiger for the office has produced—instead of mend-
ing the position of the Government only increase its
difficulties, by strengthening the dissatisfactions already
prevalent. To soften the asperities which prevail, the
Herald yesterday offered two considerations—sufficiently
extraordinary. The first relates to Mr. Thesiger's
call to the bar, which is stated to be of an earlier
date than that of Mr. Kelly ; and on this ground "it
would have been a slight to Mr. Thesiger had Mr.
Kelly been appointed over him." Mr. Kelly was
known as one of the most rising men of the outer bar,
and as such was engaged irtheavy causes, the " tackling"
of which was confided to his caution and skill ; while
Mr. Thesiger's practice was principally confined to
the Palace Court and to the Quarter Sessions, beyond
which his name was but rarely heard. That Mr.
Thesiger has worked his way up to a very respectable
position in the superior courts, and that his popular ad-
dress has made him a favourite at Nisi Prius, is not dis-
puted. In Banco, where the legal knowledge of the
advocate is most required, and glibness of tongue is
less in request, Mr. Thesiger does not possess an
estimation worthy of being compared with many
men much his juniors in the profession. Besides, if
this argument be worth anything, its throat was already
cut by the selection of Sir W. Follett in 1834.
The second suggestion of the Herald is, that Mr.
O'Connell—who in this, as in everything else, seems to
exist for no other purpose than to increase the " diffi-
culties" of Sir Robert Peel's Government—Mr. O'Con-
nell prevented Mr. Kelly from getting the Solicitor.
Generalship!—" Knowing," says the Herald, " that
Mr. Kelly had been retained on .behalf of Mr.
O'Connell and his fellow traversers to conduct
the proceedings about to take place in the House
of Lords, as their leading counsel, Ministers
would feel a great delicacy in depriving them
of sich invaluable assistance as that of Mr. Kelly. This
This must inevitably have been the case, had Mr. Kelly
been promoted to the Solicitor-Generalship." Only
think of the " great delicacy" of Ministers ! Rather
than deprive O'Connell and his fellow traversers of
the " invaluable assistance" of MreaKelly, in their
appeal to the House of Lords agaifeT the decision of
the Court of Queen's Bench (Ireland), in a Govern-
ment prosecution, Ministers have actually deprived
th mselves, a Government, of Mr. Kelly's "in
,
valuable assistance" as one of their principal law
officers ! The appeal, in which Mr. Kelly's " in-
valuable assistance" is to be afforded to O'Connell and
his fellow traversers, is known to be contingent on
other decisions, upon proceedings which must inter-
vene. If ever required, it must necessarily be at a
future and a considerably distant period ! Such an
explanation cannot fail to satisfy every one that the Go-
vernment must be sorely pressed for excuses in defence
of their appointment, felt to be indefensible on tenable
grounds, The reason we assigned some days since for
the probable preference of Mr. Thesiger to Mr. Kelly is
believed to be the true one. When, on being appointed
Solicitor-General, Sir Thomas Wilde's seat for Newark
became vacant, it was deemed highly important to the
Tories, that the Government law-officer should ba op-
posed, with every means and appliance, to prevent his
re-election. Mr. Thesiger was selected as the best man
. for the purpose, with a distinct promise that he should
be Solicitor-General under a Peel Ministry, on the first
vacancy after Sir William Follett
was)', tl •
o
disposed of. A desperately hard fight was sustained,
and a heavy expense incurred. Mr. Thesiger claimedcn
the fulfilment of the pledge ; and is Solicit r
• vo patter about Peel's purity-of-election p-nclri 'eprlaes,
le
which would not allow him to confer office on Mr. Kell
because of his connection with bribery at Ipswich, isy
ridiculous. Was not Sir James Scarlett made Chief
Baron, with a peerage, after the Norwich exposures ?