The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-06 00:00:00

MERSTC/N completed his brief but comprehensive
announcement of the determination arrived at by
her MAJESTY'S Ministers—when Mr. Donau',
without one moment's hesitation, intimated his
readiness to facilitate by every means within his
power those preliminary labours of the session
which are absolutely requisite before Ministers
can venture upon the bold measure of a Dissolu-
tion. The conduct of the Right Hon. Gentleman
the Member for Buckinghamshire, upon the ocne-
sion of the present conjuncture, as upon that of so
many previous emergencies, cannot fail to be re'
cognised, upon the instant, by one and all, as indid
cativo on his part of a view of affairs at once most
statesman-like and most magnanimous. Here, at
least, in the instance of the Leader of the OW'
sition, there is nothing factious—there is no ell'
deuce whatever of the " petty jealousies" which
wore said last evening to have encompassed the
reputation of the Prime Minister, and to have in-
terfered detrimentally with the operations of bis

Government.
Neither thus magnanimous, however, nor WI
statesman-like, were the views taken of the Minis-
terial resolve by the other (motley) Chiefs of tb°
late very singular Combination. Politicians, hi
the way, so thin-skinned and so irritable, that
they must needs carp and cavil, with almost spiteful
resentment, at the mere matter-of-fact application
of that one simple word "Combination " to the
miscellaneous gathering of the representatives of
all parties in the lobby of the Opposition I it
" Combination" that strange assembly literal
was in the strictest meaning of the word—what
ever may be the virtuous indignation expressed
about it by the Noble Lord the Member for the
City of London, or by the Honourable and Learned
Gentleman the Memberfor Sheffield, or by the Right
Honourable Baronet the Member for Portsmouth.
Conservatives and Radicals, Gladstoneites and
Cobdenites, the Manchester Party and the Tort
Party, Manufaeturing Representatives and Aga'
cultural Representatives combining—whatever
they may say to the contrary, there upon the div?
sion list is the indisputable fact—combining bl
walking out amicably together into the same
lobby to vote upon a grave question of the veil
first importance against Her MAJESTY'S GaVellY
went. However painful it may be to such exceed"
ingly sensitive men as Mr. GLADSTONE, and Mr'
ROEBUCK, and Sir FRANCIS BARING, and my Lard
JOHN RUSSELL, to be told so ; there, in the event of
Tuesday evening, or rather of Wednesday morning'
is the glaring and undeniable fact of their having
lent themselves—literally, and positively, and ad"
visedly be it said—to A COMBINATION ! There is
no mistake at all about it. The fact is there be'
fore us clearly and incontrovertibly. They--.411°
—combine I The plain and simple reality of the
fact is not to be got over. It is written legibly
in every individual name in that long catalogue
of 263 of perhaps the most diversified and inenij:
grous members out of the whole body of our 65'
representatives. Yet Lord JOHN, for example'
with the absolute fact of that Combination Joint°
his eyes, within the recent experience of the
House, and under the recent cognisance of O.
whole community—haughtily and arrogantly re.
pudiates the bare idea of any Combination ! The
Noble Lord—bungling even beyond this---Pe!.•
versely denounces Lord PA LMERSTON'S strlntil
constitutional and only rational course under the
present conjuncture of circumstances as--a Pen
al
Dissolution Incited to this astounding den°.
elation by his infatuated veneration for Mr. F•l'
and his no less characteristic infatuation in favour
of that old abstract object of his idolatry--Pre"
cedent. "A Penal Dissolution I" exclaimed
Lord PALMERSTON, in sarcastic amaae last even'
ing, in the course of his very masterly and dig"
nified explanation in Reply—" Why, I should
have thought the supporters of last Tuesday
night's successful Opposition instead of
regarding an Appeal to the Country al
a Punishment, would rather have looked
upon it in the light of a Triumph Ift It
was a significant, though wholly unconsoiono;
admission, however —that unfortunate epithet
blurted out by Lord JOHN RUSSELL, that hltin.
Bering epithet of a Penal Dissolution—it was gl
significant, though unconscious, admission of
weakness and insecurity on the part of the OPP°'
aition. An admission loudly and wondrousli
corroborated by the intelligence now fast throng'
ing in upon us from all quarters of the United
Kingdom. Intelligence of the extraordinary
effect produced simultaneously, far and wide, bl
the spreading news of the late majority of Sixteen'
Liverpool merchants upon 'Change affixing °el
names, with enthusiastic eagerness, to an
Address to the Prime Minister of England'
expressive of their admiration of the bold
and patriotic course hitherto pursued by his 00'
vernraent I Citizens of London rapidly crowding
LOT
their signatures to a Requisition entreating
PALMERSTON to allow himself to be put in noinv
Lion upon the ensuing elections at the Guildhall 1
All the larger constituencies, without exception,
throughout the land enforcing the all but unapt'

mous opinion expressed by their representative°
through the minority of 247. A circumstance
(this last mentioned) which was intimated 'Tote:
day with characteristic pleasantry by gallant, out'
spoken, honest Toll Durrcomaz--M.P. and pet °,
the Finsbury constituency! An enthusiasm, afar'
spreading and spontaneous enthusiasm such as thiat
will more than compensate to Ministers, we should
conjecture, for the "sixteen" majority of that
astonishing medley of parties which we shall take
the liberty of designating—
THE OXFORD MIXTURB
The Voice of the Country expressed thus loudif
through its constituencies, will tend, let us trust,
not only to inspirit the Hopes of the Cabinet; but

to strengthen, if that be possible, the firm deter'
mination of the Government—to vindicate the

honour of the British Empire, to maintain lOW
late the glory of the British flag, to protect At

all hazard, and at all cost, the lives and proper'
ties of British citizens—what though to accolg'
plish this it becomes imperatively requisite to

carry fire and sword to the heart of an empire
having a population of 300,000,000.

As we predicted, there is to be an appeal to the
country. Lord PALMERSTON last night announced
that there is to be a dissolution, at the.earliest
period at which the state of the business of the
House will permit the Goveinmout to call u13°13
the constituencies to exercise that privilege which
the Constitution places in their hands. In the
meantime they will only call upon Parliament 0
pass those
provisional and temporary measure°
which may be necessary to provide for the public
service until the earliest period at which the fleet
Parliament can assemble. This is as it should bel
This is the straightforward and Constitutional
course, which the manly and independent charac-
ter of the Noble Premier induced us to antici-
pate. It would have been a betrayal the
trust/ trust/ reposed in his hands, to have deserted his
post in consequence of the temporal
success achieved by a factious vote. Lord PAL-
MERSTON owed it to his sovereign, to himself, big
friends, and, above all, to the people, to apPea
from the decision arrived at, to the only
legiti-
mate tribunal—the Court of public opinion ; and
he is abundantly justified, under the circuni-