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

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
mom Tita Immo .roasts b tr.srituatf:
GLOBE.—We regret, of course; that the constituency
of Birmingham have shown so perverse a fancy-that
their Parliamentary repreeentation, 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 Peelite;" 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 1 .The case is
parallel, as regards Parliamentary !Conset'vatisele to
what it would have been had Parlianteittery 'Liberalism
claimed a triumph in the return of some Ultra-Chartist
candidate, who had-expressly declared he was " no Rus-
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 than 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 afford-
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
fir 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 Poor-law Bill and Sir Robert
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 hal 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 rote black was white on Friday, and reverse
his vote on the following Monday." It may be perceived
n-oat 'the above samples, that we can afford to
speak impartially of this return. And our impartial
(pinion is, that it dces pretty nearly 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
t') extreme views on the other. If these gentlemen have
convinced themselves that no bread is better than a
half-loaf, we know no argument which can avail to
prevent them', where parties are nearly balanced,
from reducing themselves and us to the "no-bread"
predicament. Neither can we think that the oppo-
site party derive much credit from their choice. Mr.
Spooner may be, and *e believe is, a very respectable
end -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 inflaencing actual measures, as Sir James
Grahath's past opinions on corn and Currency" of af-
fecting his preeent conduct.
STANDARD).—The Birmingham election terminated
on Saturday, in the return of sir. Spooner. Taking it
as an exponent of the prevailing sentiment of the county,
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
liele of Great Britain. In Birmingham the politi-
i'al unions had their mirth, and there these unions
lioueislied the longest and most vigorously. The "New
411-;:ill meeting" at Birmingham set the example of
; 01W p:iysical force demonstrations of which the Whig
Ouveroment availed itself to control by intimidation the
Crown and the Parliament. Finally, the army, as strong
as both the c' ntending forces at Waterloo, with which
the Legislature was menaced, was to come from
kirrningh:stn. Yet such has been the happy
inforevement of public feeling, that within less
:had twelve years from these violent indications of
discontent, we find Birmingham returning a Conserve-
, i vsO Member to the Howe of Commons, upon, cons
f 'es464l.y, as pure, as calm, as deliberate, and altogether
es unexceptionable an exercise of the right of election
es any patriot can wish for. Dues this prove any dis-
creditable incensistency 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 tp government,
Ilene 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
edium 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
ftdminstration. 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 yeers of the worst government that can
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 preierve the institutions of the State by the
said of the people themselves than in defiance of them—
the distinction as,' we believe, between Conservative
and Tory principles, and the ground upon which
the people have.preferred the former to the negation. of
at! principles, of which the Whig creed is apparently
n.ada up. Parallel to this progress of the political
mind of the country, and -largely contributing to it,
as 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, oaf the clergy of the Established Church.
The electors of Birmingham hate: 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 htimiliating. state of privation. The
Reform Ministers Who 'ga've 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
reforening Miniaters 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.

: • • , NEXT- EASTER.
The following curious article regarding " Easter-day,
1845."ia by ProfesSor de Morgan :
" In in -article which I havo• prepared for the next
number of the Companiot to the Almanac,' I have dis=.
cussed the reasons why Easter day will 'next year fall,
in apparent defiance- of the Act of Parliament, upon
the eery day of the full- moon. But as an acci•
dental application which I have received (and I—know
that the superintendent of the Nautical Almanac has
received another from a different quarter) makes me
think that, the computers of almanaes will lee puzzled,
and that the useless discussion of 1818 (when. the dis-
-crepency last.occurred) will be revived, unless some ono
twill forthwith state the reason of the difficulty, I re-
witieet. that you, will publish some of the conclusions
of the paper; to which I refer, which will in due
;pee appear in the work: cited. ' And I hope that
th,, daily papers will give additional currency to
Nine conclusions ; and I should reoommend that
tt.e salt, ‘e thing should bo done---in, the almanacs. The
rule ado, eteet in Ibis- country for finding Easter is that.
~f the Ro, nan Catholic Church, as established at:what
is called t. be Reformation of the. Calendar by • Pope
Gregory the t Thirteenth, in the year 1582 The mi-
thority forth s rule is contained in the papal brief of
March Ist, 1. iB2, in which reference is Made, for all ex-
p!anations, to the then forthcoming work of the Jesuit
Clavius, to whi en both the adjustment and explanation
of the Calendai ?.had been intrusted. The British Par •
lament, in allot 'sting. the rule of Clavius, made two
mis-
takes in the exp l 2 ',nation of that rule. Their explana-
tion is, that Eas tee • Sunday is the Sunday: after the full
oon which col nes ole-or next after the f2lse of March,
and that if the moon &lion a Sunday, Easter Sun-
day is the next 3etnday.
The two mists tk es are as follow :-
1. Instead full moon,' they should have said,
reetrteenth (I,ty •of the moon,. the day of new moon
being reckone. .1 a s the first.' That Easter, as well as
tl e Passover, sea 4. always regulated, not by the full
moon, but by le fourteenth day of thtemoun, is of the
utmost histori eat ,notoriety. And Clavius says that
none but a fe, v who fancy themselves sharpsighted ever
imagined that the fourteenth of the moon and the full
u.oun were the 'same in the Church of -