The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-01 00:00:00

iltelliatit aim

t7z!o,
LONDON, MONDAY, JULY 1, 1850.

By a most extraordinary coincidence the present
Ministries of France and of England have secured
themselves in office by a similar majority. It has
already been observed by ourselves as somewhat re-
markable that the debates, upon the result of which
their very existence was dependent, commenced upon
the same day in the House of Commons and in the
National Assembly. The consequence of the two
discussions has been still more remarkable—forty-six
being the majority by which the popular re-
presentatives of France indicated their acceptance
of the Dotation Bill, and forty-six being also
the majority by which the popular representatives
of England proclaimed their approval of the
foreign policy of Viscount PALMERSTON. Of course,
this circumstance is simply entitled to allusion as a
coincidence, and it is simply as a coincidence that we
refer to it; yet the accidental similarity of the Mi-
nisterial majority gained by the Cabinet of St.
James's and by the Cabinet of the Elysee is not
without meaning, if it only, serve as an attraction of
the public scrutiny to the position in which the rulers
of these two great countries find themselves.
Contrary to the feelings which actuated them
lat the commencement of the present century, the
Legislatures of the French Republic and of the Eng-
lish Monarchy have evinced—the former an inimical,
and the latter a conciliatory disposition. Whereas in
Paris the predilections of the mass of politicians were
formerly in favour of an alliance with England and her
constitutional government, now-a-days the elected
legislators of the French multitude have betrayed a
hostile sentiment towards ourselves and our adminis-
trators. The fierce acclamations with which the droite
received the petulant announcement of M. LAHITTE,
to the effect that a rupture between the two nations
was becoming imminent, in consequence of the with-
drawal from London of the French Ambassador,
cannot very soon, and should not very soon be for-
gotten. The sound of those ferocious cheers was of
itself peculiarly significant. It was the yell of hatred
raised against the liberal Cabinet of England by the
conspirators of the counter-revolution. It was the
articulation of the long - suppressed animo-
sity cherished by the " Legitimatists " for
the Government which sympathised with
the Republican movement, and acknowledged, in
IFebruary, 1848, the majestic and humanizing princi-
-1! ples of Democracy. Not all the duties of ordinary
gratitude—devolving upon them from the lavish ex
t penditure of blood and money by this country during
1,! the infamous wars waged against NAPOLEON—couId
assuage those pangs of wrath which have been in-
spired by that nation whence came the tacit approval
of the deserters from CHARLES X., the Dethroned; and
of the contemners of HENRY V. the Pretender. Nothing
can obliterate from the minds of the monarchical
intriguers in France the sense of the enormous force
imparted to their Republican antagonists by the
virtual complicity of England—not even the remem-
brance of two Restorations—not even the remem-
brance of the hospitality shown to one royal exile
at Hartwell, and to another at Holyrood. While
gratitude weighs heavily upon the consciences
of the Legitimatists, antipathies of all kinds
rise up, in like manner, against the people,
and the Constitution, and the Government of Great
Britain, in consequence of the analogy existing be-
tween those and their own Republican people, Re-
publican Constitution, and Republican Government.
Hence the fury of their acclamations when surprised
into a disclosure of their real sentiments the other day
by General LAHITTE. Meanwhile a strange contrast
-to this antipathy to England, on the part of the
majority of the National Assembly, has been
afforded by the generous eulogiums upon, and
magnanimous predilections in favour of, the
French nation and the French Government, ob-
servable in the masterly oration of Lord PALMERS-
TON. The panegyrics there passed upon the neigh-
bouring democracy, the sympathies there betrayed
for their institutions,had a more than usual significance,
coming as they did so immediately after the cries of
execration raised against the Noble Lord in the
French Assembly by the great body of the
Legitimatist conspirators. The cordial goodwill
for. France and her enlightened population
expressed by the illustrious statesman, her MAJESTY'S
principal Foreign Secretary was an emphatic and
withering response to the yells of hatred so very re-
cently raised from the benches of the droite. Lord
PALMERSTON could not more decisively have thrown
contempt upon his assailants in the aggregate, whether
here or on the European continent. He thereby in-
timated his defiance of their machinations, and his con-
viction that they failed to express the real sentiments
of their constituencies.
From what we have already observed it
will be directly apparent that we regard the accla•
mations raised in the Legislative Assembly as merely
the voice of a conspiracy, and not as the voice of the
multitude. We are as fully satisfied that Lord PAL-
MERSTON was only giving utterance to the feelings of
the English population in his earnest encomiums on
the French population, as we are satisfied that the
amicable sentiments between the two countries are
thoroughly and entirely reciprocal. Of this the visits
of the National Guards to London, and the
visits of our own countrymen to Paris, were ample
testimony. Not all the cheering in the world, either
from gauche or droite, can convince us to the con-
trary. The absurd rivalry once nurtured between na-
tions, only divided from each other by a narrow channel,
has gradually abandoned its warlike character, and
has given place to a peaceful and industrial competi-
tion. Tne ensuing year will yield noble proof of this in
the form of the approaching Exposition. As a
fitting preliminary to this great assemblage of the
industrial representatives of the various countries of
the earth, we look upon the speech of Viscount PAI,
amtsxosr, in its reference to the champions of Euro-
pean liberty, with unalloyed satisfaction ; and that
satisfaction is only increased and completed by the
favourable decision subsequently accorded to the
Noble Lord and his Ministerial colleagues by the
popular representatives in the English House of
Parliament.

On Thursday the Marquis of LoxpoisresuaY
brought forward in the House of Lords the resolu-
tions, of which he had some time previously given
notice, with respect to the intended abolition of the
Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland. As we had already
alluded to the propositions of the Noble Marquis at
considerable length when first placed on the notice
book—as those propositions were ultimately with-
drawn without a division—but more espe-
cially as the public interest was concen-
trated on the all-important subject under
simultaneous discussiGn in the popular branch of the
Legislature, and on the brutal and atrocious outrage
perpetrated on her Most Gracious MAJESTY—we
deferred the further consideration of the matter until
the public mind had in some degree resumed its
wonted tranquillity, and could weigh the conflicting
arguments for and against the question.
The Noble Marquis candidly acknowledged that
he himself was influenced by personal motives in
bringing forward the resolutions. He believed
that the memory of his brother, through whose in-
trumentality the Union was chiefly carried, was in-
volved in the issue. The first Lord CASTLEREAGH
had stated, during the anti-Union debates, half
century since, that " though the Parliament of Ire-
land was to be destroyed, the Court held at the
Castle of Dublin would remain uninjured." Al-
though we do not participate in the profound admira-
tion with which the Noble Marquis regards the
political conduct and public character of his deceased

brother, we must respect the feelings of attachment
and veneration with which -he clings to the
memory of the departed statesman, whose opinions
are still retained as a sacred inheritance or family
heirloom, by the successor to his estates and title.
There was ever a more than fraternal love be-
tween the brothers. The elder let slip no opportu-
nity of advancing the interests of the younger—of
affording him those chances of distinguishing himself
in his profession of which he so fully and so nobly
availed himself; while the younger repaid those benefits
with an almost filial piety, exhibited, not only during
the lifetime of the former, but maintained with
even increased intensity for more than a quarter of a
century after his death.
But, however conclusive the views of Viscount
CASTLEREAGH delivered fifty years since, and under
totally different circumstances, may appear to the
present Marquis of LONDOND EERY, we cannot attach
the same weight thereto, or suppose that the progress
of amelioration is to be suspended, because a member
of a particular Government bad declared that
there was then no intention of doing away
with the office. As we have already pointed
out, matters are at present in a very different condi-
tion from what they were in during the last year of
the eighteenth century. The country is no longer
involved in hostilities ; peace and tranquillity reign
on every side. Communications which were then
tedious and doubtful may, since the application of
steam to purposes of navigation and locomotion, and
the construction of railways, be effected with cer-
tainty, rapidity, and safety. Even the patronage
of the office has been materially clipped,
and a Viceroy is not required to arrange
the representation of the various constituencies, or
to mediate between the Government and the Irish
Members. All the advantages that were connected
with the office have passed away, while the evils
attendant upon a divided administration are even
more perceptible than ever. Jobbing and intrigue
are still carried on in the precincts of the Castle.
" Back-stairs influence" is in full operation, and party
feeling—the fatal divisions that separate "the orange"
from " the green"—are perpetrated through the bale-
ful atmosphere of the mock Court. If Lord CASTLE.'
REACH himself were now in existence he would
most probably recognise the propriety of the change,
and the expediency of rendering Ireland an integral
portion of the British empire, of cementing and
rendering indissoluble the union which was effected
through his agency.
The Noble Marquis adduced, as a further reason
against the abolition, the existence of a separate
bar and a separate judicial staff. In other words, be-
cause certain distinctions are kept up which we
verily believe to be deeply injurious to both countries,
no attempt is to be made to effect any amelioration.
It may, perhaps, be considered desirable, fur a time
at least, to preserve the local courts, but we have
no hesitation in saying that the complete
fusion and amalgamation of the English and Irish
Bars is exceedingly desirable for both kingdoms, but
more especially for Ireland, to whose welfare and
prosperity it is absolutely essential. Why, we ask,
should distinctions be maintained which only

tend to keep alive and foster a spirit of spurious
nationality ? What public benefit can be derived
from preventing an English barrister from
practising, an English physician from prescrib-
ing, or an English surgeon from setting
broken bone?, in Ireland ? The laws are
practically the same. There is no difference
in the general principles on which they are based.
Diseases, too, are the same in character in England
and in Ireland, and yet the most eminent member of
the Irish Bar would not be allowed to plead in one of
the Courts of Westminster or Lincoln's Inn, although
he had received the same education, paid the same
stamp duties, and even was entitled to be heard, and his
position recognized in the highest tribunal of all, the
court of ultimate resort—the appellate jurisdiction of
the House of Lords ; neither could the most learned
licentiate of the College of Physicians or Sur-
gfons in Ireland legally practise the healing
art on this side of St. George's Channel.
Away, then, with these absurd distinctions at once.
No longer seek to perpetuate the causes that lead
to divisions and heartburnings in both nations, and
prevent the inhabitants from considering that they
are the same people, owing allegiance to the same
SOVEREIGN, and that their interests are one and in-
divisible. Remove with all convenient speed every
existing barrier to a complete and thorough union.

And, first, let the administration of state affairs, and
of the laws of the land be closely assimilated. Abo-
lish the Lord-Lieutenancy, and let the Bars be amal-
gamated. The Bill for the former purpose stands
for Committee this evening, and we trust that a
clause may be added to remove the objection so
strongly urged by the Marquis of LONDONDERRY on
Thursday evening.