The Sun.
London, England, 1844-07-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY MORNING, JULY l6, 1644.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
GLOBE.—We regret, of course, that the constituency
of Birmingham have shown so perverse a fancy that
their Parliamentary representation, like their pound
sterling, should represent nothing at all. While this is
matter of regret to a Liberal Opposition, assuredly
it affords the party in power no matter for exulta-
tion. The new Member comes in on the express de-
claration that he is "no Pedlite;" on the express
pledge of opposing all the principal Ministerial mea-
sures now pending. and adding the gratuitous sweetener
to his supporters—that he would have opposed those
which are carried—had he been in time The case is
parallel, as regards Parliamentary Conservatism, to
what it would have been had Parliamentary Liberalism
claimed a triumph in the return of some Ultra-Chartist
candidate, who had expressly declared he was " no Russ
sellite ;" and that he meant to oppose all the leading
measures characterising the Whig party. Had the
Tory candidate mounted Peel colours, it is evident he
would not have been returned ; so that the moral drawn by
the Government organ from the event is most ludicrously
inappropriate. " Let the Young Englanders," says the
Herald, " and the other discontented Conservatives
meanwhile take instruction from this unequivocal proof,
that, whatever they may allege against Sir Robert Peel's
administration, they must admit that that administration
has advanced the Conservative cause throughout the
country." It would seem that " the discontented Conser-
vatives" have matter of. encouragement, rather thansi of
warning ; and that Young England may live in hopes
of flattering 'fraternisation with Young Brummagem.
The only mode in which Mr. Spooner's return can
be colourably argued as indicating that the present Mi-
nistry have advanced the Conservative case, is as affords
ing a fresh token that the -measures of Ministers have
aroused the Conservative strength against them. They
have been useful in rousing and rallying that " great
national party" from its slumbers. So successful have
!ir Robert Peel's measures of the present session
proved, in this point of view, that the Conservative '
candidate for a place like Birmingham finds no rheto-
ric so powerful as the distinct enumeration of those
measures, with a distinct note of reprobation attached
to each! Mr. Spooner, in his first speech to his friends
at Dee's Hotel, declared as follows:—" He was a true .
Conservative, but he confessed he was no Peelite.
During the present, session he had seen many deviations
from what he considered to be a constitutional course
of Government ; - and under such circumstances he
could not undertake to give a constant and undeviat-
ing support to the present Government." Mr.
Spooner opposes the P.or Dill and Sir Rouen
Peel's currency measures, including the pending Banking
Bill. Mr. Spooner would have opposed the Factory
Bill and the. Sugar Bill. It is difficult to conceive a
candidate coming in with a more complete and raisonne
manifesto of "no confidence." "Allusion had been
made to the Factory Bill, aye, and to the Sugar Bill.
He had no vote on those subjects; but he would tell
them, if he had had, he should, together with
upwards of 100 Members who are usually supporters
of Ministers, have voted against Ministers ; and
he should, together with Mr. Newdegate, their
county Member (then on the hustings), have stuck to
his vote, and no threat of turning out should ever have
made him vote black was white on Friday, and reverse
his vote on the following Monday." It may be perceived
.from the above samples, that we can afford 'to
-speak impartially of " this return. And our impartial
opinion is, that it does pretty nearlyi equal dis-
credit to both parties. We need say nothing of the
conduct of the local minority of the Liberals, who, un-
able to carry extreme views on their oWn side, ap-
pear to think it the next best thing to give the victory
to extreme views on the other. If these gentlemen have
convinced themselves that no bread is better than a
half-loaf, wo know no argument which Can avail to
prevent them, where parties are neartv balanced,
from reducing themselves and us to they" no-bread"
predicament. Neither can we think that the oppo-
site party derive much credit from their Choice." Mr.
Spooner may be, and we believe is, a very respectable
and respected gentleman amongst his fellow-townsmen.
But he represents no party of possible government, un-
less Birmingham could be isolated, like San Marino.
.The Birmingham notions on "Corn and Currency" are
as incapable of influencing actual measures, as Sir James
Graham's past opinions on "Corn and Currency" of af-
fecting his present conduct.
STANDARD.—The Birmingham election terminated
on Saturday, in the return of Mr. Spooner. Taking it
as an exponent of the prevailing sentiment of the country,
it, is impossible to exceed in rejoicing upon the occasion.
But twelve years have passed since Birmingham was the
focus of that political discontent which overrun the
whole of Great Britain. In Birmingham the politi-
cal unions had their mirth, and there these unions
flourished_ the longest and most vigorously. The "New
Hall-hill meeting" at Birmingham 'set the example of
thoSe physical force demonstrations of which the Whig
Government availed itself to control by intimidation the
Crown and the Parliament. Finally, the army, as strong
as both the contending forces at Waterloo, with which
the Legislature was menaced, was to come from
Birmingham. Yet such has been the happy
improvement of public feeling, that within less
than twelve years from these violent indications of
discontent, we find Birmingham returning: a Conserva-
tive Member to, the House of Commons, upon, con-
fessedly, as pure, as calm, as deliberate, and altogether
as unexceptionable an exercise of the right of election
as any patriot can wish for. Does this prove any dis-
creditable inconsistency on the part of the electors
of Birmingham ? Very far from it. It merely
proves that these electors have not been blind
or indifferent to the events of the last ten or
eleven years, and that they are manly enough
to act upon the instruction of experience and of
common sense. Twelve years ago few then living had
seen Whig principles practically applied to government,
none had ever seen Conservative government. The
Whig party was then in blossom, full of grace and of
promise, the Conservative party was loaded with the just
odium of the overbearing Tory policy. The bitter
fruits of Whig principles were, however, soon to show
themselves—the blossoms fell one by one—all those
who possessed the respect of the country by charac-
ter or talent dropped successively from the
adminstration. First, Lord Grey, then Lord Stanley,
Lord Ripon, the Duke of Richmond, Sir James Gra-
ham ; lastly, the, greatest of all, the one man whose
gigantic powers of mind had created the party, made it
popular, and while he countenanced sustained it—Lord
Brougham; five years of the worst government that ran
afflict mankind followed—the combination of perversity
and weakness—and the country suffered all the injurious
and irritating effect. Meanwhile the Conservative party
unfolded itself with consummate prudence, under the
guidance of the great statesman, to whom may be
confidently ascribed its existence and its triumph. Sir
Robert Peel taught the friends of the Constitution that
to be imperious or jealous over the people is not, as the
Tories were accustomed to suppose, necessary to good
government ; but that it is not only more just but even
more easy to preserve the institutions of the State by the
aid of the people themselves than in defiance of them—
the distinction as, we believe, between Conservative
and Tory . principles, and the grouni upon which
the people have preferred the former to the negation of
all principles, of which the Whig creed is apparently
made up. Parallel to this progress of the political
mind of the country, and largely contributing to it,
has been, within the last twelve years, a prodigious
improvement in the intelligence and in the religious
sentiment of the nation—the work of the pro-
moters of education, and chief among these pro-
moters, of the clergy of the Established Church.
The electors of Birmingham have merely followed
in a great and most happy revolution of opinion, produced
by these causes. And if they are a little later in the
road than others, it is easy to understand why they are
so. Birmingham had to complain justly of a wrong be-
fore the Reform Bill ; its great population had grown
up without any participation in the representative Legis-
lature of the country ; and according to the maxims
laid down by Tory statesmen they must continue
for ever in that humiliating state of privation., The
Reform Ministers who gave representatives" to Birming-
ham appeared, therefore—until their purely selfish pur-
pose, in the gift was unequivocally proved, by the at-
tempt to make a " Reform Club" borough of the place—
as generous benefactors ; and the violences which these
reforming Ministers countenanced, and ever prompted,
in 1832, were, by the people of Birmingham,
regarded as a kind of pledge from which it would be
discreditable to swerve. This, however, we rejoice
to see has passed away, the electors of Birmingham
have since 1832 seen nine years of Whig government,
and three years of Conservative government, and they
have drawn from the comparison the inference which a
majority of the nation had drawn from the sad expe-
rience of Whig government alone, and without the
contrast.

Mr. Charles Dickens (Boz) has left town with his
family, for Genoa, where he has taken a house, and purposes
to make a residence of some months' duration in Italy.
APPREHENSION OF A GANG OF COlNERS.—lnfor-
mation having been received by the police that a gang of
coiners were in the habit of assembling together at a house
situate in Half-moon- alley, Milton-street, St. Luke's, for the
purpose of manufacturing counterfeit coin, and that in order
to elude the vigilance and suspicion of the police they carried
on their illicit trade on Sundays, Inspector Penny, Redman
224, and Sergeant Brennan, 20 G, determined on visiting the
plaee yesterday morning at eleven o'clock, for the purpose of
making a capture of the delinquents, and being given to un-
derstand that they would have a desperate party to en-
counter, they armed themselves, in order to prepare fur re •
sistance. On their arrival at the house they were arranged so
as to make a safe capture, and acting upon the information
they had received, cautiously proceeded up stairs to the second
floor, where they overheard voices and parties at work, evi-
dently coining. The door was barred and fastened inside, but,
the officers instantly burst through, and discovered a man
sitting before a large fire with a plaster of Paris mould excel-
lently executed, for the purpose of making sixpences. A woman
and a girl were also in the room assisting in the manufacture.
The woman screamed and the girl fainted away. The man,
however, smashed some moulds under his feet, and swallowed
several counterfeit shillings that had been fresh made, and
by which he was nearly choked. The officers, finding they
had a desperate character to deal with, commenced securing
him with handcuffs, but he fought, bit, and kicked at them
like a madman. The officers searched the room, and found
plaster of Paris moulds, Queen's metal, pewter, tin, salt and
water, scissors, and all the implements applicable to the
purpose of coining, and also a quantity of base coin newly
made, with " Gots," all of which were so hot that Inspector
Penny's hands were much burnt in seizing them. The
officers took possession of everything in the shape of evidence,
and secured the prisoners, in spite of considerable opposi
tion from the mbly that., bad assembled, The male pri-
soner gave his name Henry Brown, the elder woman Emma
Brown, and the girl Eliza Jones. It appears that the party
had for some time past occupied the apartment in the above
house, and numerous persons of suspicious character were in
the habit of visiting their place, no doubt for the purpose of
purchasing and manufacturing base coin. Sergeant Brennan
was very severely injured, in consequence of the extreme
violence and resistance of the male prisoner, who is known
as a perfect adept in the nefarious traffic for which he was
Apprehended. .