The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-23 00:00:00

PUBLIC) OPINION.

The Times observes, in an article on the Irish State
trials :—" The present disaffection throughout Ireland
is, we believe, most conscientiously, a fabric, not a
natural production. There was nothing like it fifteen
years ago, before the Roman Catholic Relief Bill.
/There was nothing like it before the reform in Parlia-
ment, or before the Corporate Reform. Where dis-
content, therefore, and grievance do not maintain
their relative proportions, but when one swells as the
other diminishes, it is too much to lay down as an
unvarying principle that the Government must be
exclusively to blame. At all events a transfer of
Government to the Whigs would be but to encourage
voluminous, and practised, and long-detected little-
ness. As a party they have not one atom of bold or
national feeling. They are a coterie of empirics.
They would sacrifice O'Connell to-morrow if they
could exist without him. But being, as he is, their
patron saint, they are content to sacrifice the empire.
They play into his hands and repeal the union by a
separation of the spoil—the English patronage for
themselves, the whole of Ireland for O'Connell.
Against this precious prospect, it behoves the Minis-
ters, if they have wisdom and courage worthy of
their office, promptly and at once to interpose."
The Herald says :—" The spirited movement that
has recently commenced in opposition to the Anti-
Corn-law League, seems to have taken the Leaguers
so completely by surprise that they hardly know how
they ought to speak of it. The first impulse of the
free-trade journalists was to sneer at the notion of a
successful move been made by those who have con-
tinued so long inactive. The reluctance hitherto
shown by the classes interested in agriculture to enter-
into a contest with the League, fully warrants the in-
ference that they will be as slow to abandon the task
they have commenced, as they were deliberate in un-
dertaking it. It is in the nature of Englishmen to
evince a sluggishness amounting 'almost to apathy on
public questions in which their own interests are
more or less remotely involved, but. when they have
once made up their minds to act they are not easily
deterred from the pursuit of their object. The per-
sons engaged in British agriculture are likely to be
more essentially British in their habits and feelings
than those whose views on free trade cause them to
yearn with liberality and sympathy towards every
country—except, perhaps, their own. When, there-
fore, we see English landlords, farmers, and agricul-
tural labourers united at last for their own protec-
tion, we have every reason to believe that they will go
on steadily and stubbornly towards the accomplish-
ment of their purpose."
The Chronicle, speaking of the Irish State trials,
says :—" It was supposed that the case for the Crown,
which has yet made very little way, would occupy
another week. None of the newspaper publications
have yet been tendered as evidence. We may take
this opportunity of briefly adverting to the unfair
and discreditable course pursued by some of the
journals for the prosecution. The Standard continues
to give garbled extracts of the evidence, and to abuse
the counsel for the traversers, simply because they
discharge their duty to their clients. The Times,
affecting indignation at an expression which appeared
in this journal before the jury was even sworn, and,
using this as a pretext, throws out a plain intimation
that when the verdict is returned, the Judges will
pass sentence, and her Majesty's advisers will execute
it. We have hitherto refrained from offering any
remarks either upon the speech of the Attorney-Gene-
ral, or upon the evidence as yet brought forward, not-
withstanding the tempting materials for commentary
with which they abound."
The following is from the Advertiser:—" It is time
that commercial principles come into operation the
exact opposite in character of those which have so
long maintained over the world a baneful influence.
It is preposterous to cry up the advantage, or for
England to wait for reciprocity treaties. With what
countries is it our trade has decreased—with those
who have levelled hostile tariffs against us, or with
those against whom we have shown an inimical front ?
With the latter, as may be proved on statistical
data. 'lt is not with France, nor Prussia, nor Russia,
that our commerce has so lamentably fallen off, but
with Brazil and the United States. It is for this
country to misunderstand its own interests, to assume
that foreign countries lose and itself profits by pro-
hibitory enactments against foreign produce. It can
never be too often impressed that it is by what na-
tions bring home to their own shores they are en-
riched—not by what they rid themselves of. It is
when Manchester, for example, has exchanged her
eotton wares for the tea of China, the sugar of Brazil,
the wheat of America, that she has reaped the fruit of
her toil; and so with the other parts of the United
Kingdom."