The Sun.
London, England, 1850-01-30 00:00:00

oks,

5,1;0)•
LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1830.

The close of January is peculiarly the season of
expectation. The opening of Parliament is antici-
pated as the infallible panacea for every grievance
and the certain harbinger of every desired boon.
One by one these fair hopes are generally dissipated,
and the close of August witnesses only a barren
harvest as the result of so much political promise. The
coming session commences under, in some respects,
better auspices than its predecessors. There is less
talk—always excepting among one peculiar class,
which may appropriately adopt the motto, vox et prcs•
erea nihil—there is less talk about what is about to
he done, but, at the same time, there is manifestly
more practical determination as to what must be
done. The public anticipate much actual benefit
from the coming labours of their representatives ;
they look for something :more attractive than the
roost brilliant orations of the most brilliant speakers
—something more eloquent than even the caustic
p:lilippics of DISRAELI, or the rounded periods of
Alecaureey, which a few sessions back cast such
occasional splendour over the debates of St. Stephen's.
Eloquence is undoubtedly admirable, especially when
devoted to its true purpose and noblest employment,
the enforcement of truth ; ye*, after all, the most
popular specimens of Parliamentary eloquence are the
Division Lists which announce some popular boon.
This is the kind of eloquence anxiously looked for in
tha present; year ; and no marvel ! Since the Feb-
ruary of 1849 a very potent impulse has been given
to the popular yearning for practical reforms. During
the two last sessions of the British Parliament conti-
nental Teurope had been agitated with revolutions
The people of this country, meanwhile, happy in
their conscious security, felicitated themselves on the
admirable acquisition of that Constitution which pre-
seried the country alike from the misrule of tyrants
or the violence of anarchists, and the Parliament was, of
course, regarded as a model of legislative wisdom. But
the lesson was only half learned. Very soon a disturber
of the national tranquillity, as insidious as ASTUTIO
and as implacable as HAT :eau, made its appearance.
Before the attacks of one disease multitudes fell more
plentifully than on the battle-field ;
.while, amid the
general lamentation, it was universally admitted that
grievous sins of omission and commission on the part
of the Legislature had prepared
_the way for the de-
vastating progress of the cholera. The blood of the
people was, in a great measure, on the heads of their
negligent guardians. Hence this session we no
longer boast of our amazing national superi-
ority. humbled by sorrow, we are com-
pelled to confess that in that point,
which is the surest criterion of national wisdom—
the protection of the people—we are sorely deficient.
Hence it is but natural that, on the re-assembling of
our Legislators we should anxiously, yet confidently
desire such a system of government as shall prevent
a recurrence of past evils_ Also, the paiefal distress
of a whole section of the people hcs been recently
laid bare, and it is but reasonable that we should
look for the real:remedy—for private benevolence can I
only effect a passing alleviation—to that distress at
the hands legally empowered to promote the greatest
good of the greatest number. It is unnecessary to
recapitulate the numerous and crying necessities of
the people. It is et-lough—ir it should be enough—
that those necessities are publicly known. It re-
mains to be seen if 1850 is to witness the non.-fulfil-
meat of our just and reasonable expectations. The
people have, to a certain extent, the remedy
in their own hands. The moral force
of
public o-einion is irresistible where the menaces
of an armed faction would be powerless. That moral
force must be exerted, that potent " pressure from
without" must be app:ied with unanimous energy in
the forthcoming session. Our reforming representa-
tives require all that support, and the time-
serving have need of that intimidating "per-
suasion." Let the people be unanimous and their
triumph is inevitable, let them be resolute and their