The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-22 00:00:00

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SPIIIIT of the PUBLIC.. -o\j'
FROM THE EVENING PAPERS or Y EsTEr
GLOBE.—The answer given in the • ilist! InstittiPll-I'.
Sir Robert Peel to Captain Layard, whether Lord De
Grey had resigned the oflice of Lord Lieenenant of Ire-
land, is utterly inconsistent with the statement he sub-
sequently- made, upon reflection, to the Mouse. Cap-
tain Layard's question was propounded ice th.e most
plain and intelligible form. It made no allusition to the
motives which might have Induced the No! sle Lord's
resignation. It sought an answer—aye, or to—to the
inquiry. The answer given was, " No, Sir, there is
no truth whatever in the report that L ord De
Grey has resigned." It appears, however, ilat the
answer which the facts of the case demanded was,
" Yes, Sir, Lord De Grey has resigned," The fact of Lord
De Grey's resignation could not but be offiseially known to
Lord Eliot. His Lordship declined to answer the ques-
tion, but referred the inquirer to the "Right Hon.
Gentleman at the head of her Majesty's Gooernenent ;"
thus shifting upon him the responsibility of a deenial,
or an admission of the fact, as best pleased h.. m.
'With characteristic consistency, the Premier did both,
He positively denied, amid the cheers of his adherents,.
that there was any truth whatever in the report a
and then, to the surprise of all parties in the House—a%
surprise which seems to have covered his own followers
with confusion, and filled even his opponents with regret
—the Right lion. Baronet admitted the very fact which
lie had just before asserted to be altogether without
foundation! Anomalies may admit of explanation; but
that a thing can be, and cannot be, at the same time, is
—at least in our view—a contradiction, beyond our
ability to harmonise with truth or reason. Probably Sir
R. Peel is competent to the task. At least, we think,
he ought to try. We believe the real state of the case
with reference to Lord De Grey's resignation,-to be thus::
—The disclosure of the secret instructions contained in
the letter addressed to the Irish Government by the
Home Secretary, respecting the course to be henceforth
taken with respect to ecclesiastical patronage in Ireland,
in connexion with the national system of ,education in
that country, gave huge offence to the Cabinet, which was
strongly expressed to Lord De Grey by the Premier. The
Viceroy's countenance of the Irish clergy, in their efforts
to obstruct and counteract that system, was notorious to
all. Lord De Grey tendered his resignation immediately;
but the State trials, which were then proceeding, ren-
dered it inexpedient, if not dangerous, for a change
to take place in the Executive until the proceed-
ings against O'Connell were brought to a close.
Lord De Grey was therefore prevailed upon to re-
main at his post until the Government could extricate
itself from the difficulties in which it was placed by
the protracted proceedings in the Irish Queen's Bench,
and the blunders in form, and indiscretions in sub-
stance, which the Crown lawyers, subordinate and princi-
pal, had committed in managing the prosecution. Lord
De Grey complied with the request, so far as continuing
at his post for a short time ; but refused to withdraw his
letter of resignation. This remained in the hands of
Sir Robert Peel. The fact of such letter being in the
Right lion. Baronet's hands would havecontinued a State
secret until the writ of error had been disposed of by the
House of Lords, had it not got wind by some mysterious
means, on this or the other side the Channel, and led to
Captain Layard's question. This accounts for Lord
Eliot's declining to answer the inquiry when ad-
dressed to him. It also explains Sir Robert Peel's
emphatic " No," when the question was unexpectedly
addressed to him, and accounts, with no less probabi-
lity, for the Right Hon. Baronet's subsequent "explana-
tion to avoid misapprehension," which he gave at a sub-
sequent period of the evening. This explanation
amounted, as we have shown, to a palpable contra-
diction of the answer he had; given to Captain
Layard's question a short time before. The fe-
verish anxiety displayed by the Premier to put
the resignation of Earl De Grey on the ground
of impaired health, also conducts to the same con-
clusion. Again, the laboured assurance which he gave
the House, that nothing in the state of public affairs had
led to the Noble. Lord's retirement from the Irish
Government, strengthens this view of the case ; and,-
coupled with the extraordinary discrepancy in the two
statements made by the Right Hon. Baronet to the
House of Commons, on the same evening, go far, in our
view, to establish the explanation we hare given of the
real cause of Earl De Grey's resignation, and which we
believe, on good grounds, to be the true one.
STANDARD.—It was intimated last night by Sir
Robert Peel, that though Earl De Grey has not resigned
the Lieutenancy of Ireland, the state of his Excellency's
health is unfortunately such as to render his continuance
in the office, much longer, improbable. Earl De Grey's
retirement has been for some months anticipated,
and anticipated with regret by all men of all
parties, except the very worst. The Noble Earl has
governed a disturbed country with unimpeached
impartiality and vigilance, and though' doubtless
the Ministers, whose policy he administered, are entitled
to share the praise with him, .he will be long remem-
bered as the Chief Governor of Ireland, under whose
administration the industry and enterprise of the
country were first effectually awakened from their
long sleep, we will not say of centuries, but their
long sleep since the creation.- Much of this happy
effect of Lord De Grey's goiernment is due to his
direct activity, by example and otherwise, but more
to his firmness tempered with forbearance. Never were
the "suaviter in node, fortiter in re" more happily illus-
trated in the conduct of public affairs than in his Lord-
ship's Government. He has effectually put down, by
"the ordinary law," a sedition, before which all his pre-
decessors retreated, though fortifying themselves from
time to time with extraordinary powers ; and he. has
accomplished this great object without giving a
pretext of offence to any human being. From the day
of his Excellency's landing in Ireland to the present
hour no one has complained of private injury or insult.
Many of both the great parties that diiide Ireland
have been disappointed in their political schemes
—some have been thwarted in the pursuit of their
private objects of ambition, but no 'man has
been insulted or injured. The Lord Lieutenant,
therefore, otherwise favourably known by his generosity,
charity, hospitality, and truth, is personally a favourite
with all parties—so easy is it to conquer prejudice and
even political hostility by good nature, good manners,
and upright dealing. Whenever Lord De Grey shall
leave Ireland, he will leave the country more in-
dustrious and richer, and if not happier, in pos.
session of a better security for a happy future,
than Ireland has ever been before. It is no doubt true,
some of our Contemporaries deny that the repeal sedi-
tion his been suppressed ; but, if not suppressed,
we ask where is it ? Where are " the monster
meetings ? " Where the seditious harangues of Mr.
Daniel O'Connell ? " Oh," it is rejoined, " these
have no doubt been extinguished, but there is an
enormous augmentation in the subscriptions." The
Freeman's Journal, however, acknowledges with honest
sorrow that this augmentation is by no means a satis-
factory symptom of the progress of repeal, intimating
not very darkly that the most liberal contributors of the
present time are paying their unusually large subscrip-
tions, in the character of a " final composition," a leave-
taking of the repeal and all its exactions. Even,
however, should this not be the case (though we
firmly believe it is), we really see nothing to alarm— •
nothieg like active sedition—nothing promising a con-
tinuance of discontent, in these subscriptions. A sedi-
tion that does nothing but pay money—and eve, hear
of nothing else in prospect or at present—is not
a very formidable sedition. OA the other hand,
the tax thus imposed upon disaffection, though self-
imposed, at least at present, is apparently a very
well contrived means for diminishing the number
of the disaffected. There must be more truth than
we supposed in Swift's bitter maxim, that " proposi-
tions true everywhere else are not true in .Ireland,"
if the eternal cry of Pay, pay, can serve as the rallying
cry of a serious rebellion—and this, let it be remem-
bered, is at present the only cry. We observe in
the Morning Post to-day a whining lamentation over
Mr. O'Connell's imprisonment, which seems to indicate
an intended movement of Young England in that
person's we look upon all this com-
paasquiteo‘uvi of place. Mr. O'Connell:a
s com-
passion behalf. No
nS
imprisonment has been made as gentle as it can be.
made a far gentler punishment than that to
which ten thousand better men must submit for:
far lighter crimes than his. We make, however,
no objection to this. Mr. O'Connell deserves the.
highest punishment allowed by the law ; but they who,
have been, directly or indirectly, his accomplices have
no right to inflict that punishment. Now,- every
Government of the last twenty-five years has
politics,
alnPds
inde-
pendentas of the direct so
ciateadmitted into its councils the Right .Elonour-
able Anthony R. Blake, who, as it now turns
suppliedb y
out, hasand
fe
alongbeeiniowallboarern
i Mr.
olOitia nne
link
between Mr. O'Connell and the Irishothese Governments
t
he conduct Msur.ccßesisaikvee:
has, with few exceptions been such
as to encourage Mr. O'Connell in his recent
course. Upon all these considerations, we think.
that the public has reason to be satisfied that,
oGfo twenty-fivevernmnts Years,
the punishment of the incendiary has been made
as light as is consistent with its safety. To the
public safety, however, it is necessary that Mr. O'Con-
nell be restrained by imprisonment from agitating the,
country at the moment, and that he be restrained front
agitating it hereafter by heavy securities. The authority,
of the law vindicated, and the peace of the country
secured, nobody need care how the prisoner fares, at,
least we do not care, for peace, not vengeance, is that
which we wish to see achieved. While we are upon this'
subject, wo cannot help repeating our opinion that that
punishment of all the prisoners, except Mr. Daniel,
O'Connell, might be mitigated with advantage to the
public.

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FIDELITY OF A DOG.—On Tuesday, Mr. Bushell
farmer, of Eckington, having walked into the home or-
chard, where the bulls and cows were, he noticed that
the bull exhibited symptoms of mischief ; not knowing.
how to get from him otherwise, he began retreating)
slowly backward, when the bull immediately ran furi-1
ously at him and knocked him down near an apple tree
after goring him, the infuriated animal tossed hiss
victim up against the branches of the tree; the suffered
fell to the ground, and the bull repeated his attack,t
goring and trampling his victim in the most savage,
manner. Just as Mr. Bushel had given up all hope
pc rescue, his dog, one of the shephfrd breed, flew to!
the 's pt, and instantly recognising his master, attacked)
the'thll with the most determined bravery. Hel
" pinnarliim at once, and standing over his master's,
prostrate bottsl,* defended him from further harm,
save scratches froth his own claws, as he was compelledt
to move about by the ;Waggles of the bull. After ai
fight between the dog and bull of some minutes over Mr.,
Bushell's- body, the former proved the victor, and the'
bull took tv his heels, leaving the field to his brave and
faithful opponent. Mr. Bushell is severely bruised abditt
the head and body, but we are glad to say is not dange-
rously hurt.— Worcestershire Chronicle.