The Sun.
London, England, 1828-05-28 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP Tin PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The general:concern at .Mr. Huskisson's, Los
Palmerston's, Mr. Grant's,' and Mr. Lamb's -resig-
nation, can surprise those only.who see the predo-
minant spirit of this country represented through.
the deceitful medium of a courtier's chuckle or a
Tory print." If the nation were,polled, ten .men out
of every dozen would deprecate such a misfortune,
as if it were a signal for delivering over the kings
dotn at once to the fangs of the Tory enemy. Al-
though- the liberal Ministers now dismissed were
few, in comparison with their 'adyerse Colleagues,
the people were, nevertheless, prone to regard their
• existence in the Cabinet as a pledge that, while they
remained, no obnoxious description of measures
would be undertaken; and nowa---sio matter what
specific and especial circumstance may have served
i as an opportunity for the resignation of " Mr. Can-
ning's friends,"—it will he impossible. to convince
; the public (and indeed if possible it would not he
nseful) that there was no predisposing cause for
• such a breaking up, in the natural tendency
to • divergence between one class of - men who
.took credit for being immoveable Tories, and
'another who had on most occasions' avowed
themselves the advocates of civil liberty and of
economical reform.. The part to be taken by Lord
:Dudley has given rise to some anxiety. It is certain
• that alone, arnidst a Cebinet composed in all other
respects of Tories, his Lordship wool& enjoy even,
less infiuenCe over his. colleagues, than that which,
when reinforced by three:other liberal statesmenshaft
salready proved itself too little. By what considera-
-lions, therefore, ought a Minister like Lord Dudley
to be swayed at such a crisis ? We answer briefly.
'by the degree of power' which he might reckon on
commanding, to sealise. his own views' for the nae
**eta honour and security. 'Sortie light would be
thrown upon this question by the mannerist which
Mr. Huskisson's resignation was said to have been
acted on by .the head of his Majesty's Government.i
Did Mr. Huskisson tender to the Duke of Welling-
ton ton the option of continuing him a Cabinet Minister
or, not, from a feeling of delicacy, because he' had
been impelled, by an unforeseen circumstance, to
Vote- against,Ms. Peel on the East Retford motion ?
And,24ly, did the Duke of Wellington.exercise that
option, not by asking Mr. Huskisson to remain; but
by carryistg his letter to the King, without any ex-
pression of a friendly wish to Mr. Huskisson
How the Cabinet thus Mutilated is to be patched
up, the Duke of Wellington, we take for granted,
will well consider. Our sentiment has always,been
thatsthe worst possible governors of British colonies
Were iititary men, yet such are in most cases selected
for our Colonial Governments. Men educated to
issue orders, jot to propose subjects of- inquiry or
discuSsion,—meis used to coerce those who are
punished for daring, to' •shink, instead of to conciliate
free and rensonableheings,s7these are the persons
from amongst wkssm the condsictors of our colonial
system in every quarter of the
.1;0)i:table world are
appointed bys the, Ministers of Greet
,Britain, to
perplex,' distract, an,d•fitially.to dissolii an empire
which oughttorest upon opinion. And now -what
a spectacle is offered nearer home ! The army of
colonial martinets obtains a military bead. The old
Quarter-Master-General or the Commander-in-chief
becomes Secretary of State for the Colonies,Sand a
Cabinet Minister.! Ve know and admire the talents
of this respectable officer, but we own we had not
looked foi this result ! • A Secretary 'at War the
country might have accepted from the hands of the
Duke of Wellington, in the person of his able
and sagacious 'friend and : colleague Sir George
Murray; but we do. not wish to see the Cabinet
Council sitting ,With, aiguillettes on every shoul-
der, and constituted. precisely "like* a Council of
war. Should (which we hope will not happen)
Lord Dudley's resignation leave vacant the seals of
the Foreign Department, the Marquis of London-
derry has only to step into the chair of Mr. Canning.
The First. Lord of the Treasury will then have his
Adjutant-General to dragoon the FOreign Courts,
and sis Quartermaster. to levy contributions on the
colonies ; so that with Lords Hill and Fitzroy So-
Merset at the Horse Guards, his Grace's staff will
softly be rompOte! Such arrangements may do at
"Ttrataor, imer-Oue.o, the sword is
held in honour • but how wilt the people of England
relish them ? 'We respect the Duke of Wallington
in his proper sphere, and even out of it we upheld
him ; but this is "too had," It is by far too Ger--
rnatia—it smells confoundedly of the moustache.—
Theevent which we have depreeaferi has certainly
occurred.: • Lord Dudley-resigned yesterday morning.
It is no less certain that Mr. C. Grant hss re-,
signed. In order to.' ,arrive at a complete finder-
standing'of this disagreeable case, it is fit that the
public should know that Mr. Huskisson did not re-
sign ; but merely .told the Duke of Wellington in a
letter, that he would resign if the Duketlimight- it
necessary, in consequence of his vote on Monday
week last.--Tinfes.
With respect to the resignations, we have little,
fartker to add. It is yet ,uncertain whether Loaf
Dudley will or will not remain in .offiee ; but it is
generally supposed that he will resign. Several aircum-
stances favour this suppositions and, among others,
that of theinipossibilit y of liiseontinuing in office with-
out thereby approving of the isystetst which has led:to
the secession. it is obvious-that . the-resignation of
Mr. Huskis.son cannot be considered as an insulated
act—and that it was the consequence of a constant
opposition- between his vies sins and those of another
party in the Cabinet. Mr. kitaisson' s letter to the
Duke of Wellington, immediately ,after the vote on
the Eastßetford business, was not no unqualified
resignation, but a declaration that, if hisre..4gnation
should he deemed necessary after the course he had
adopted, he was prepared to resign. If his Grace
had wished to keep terms with the liberal part of
his Cabinet, he would not have hastened to lay Mr.
Iluskisson's letter before his Majesty as a resignation,
but have sought for some explanation before tasiug
Bo:decided a step. His conduct :therefore amounts
to ji declaration, that, being no longer able, to pre;
serve harmony between Ale liberal and illiberal divi-
sions 'of ale Cabinet, he hid been forced to Make, an.
election of the latter. His Grace would not, of course,
have parted
easily with by far the most expert-
creed useful Minister a 4,14 v, but
enced Statesnsang
for, the conviction *rived from the experice pf ,
the Session, that the Oro. divisions of the Cebines.
Could not be brought to tut together._ Should Lord 1
friend,' he
Dudley, therefore, continue joie-Ace afhter so marked
a condemnatiou of the' principles ab:,
-would thereby confess that he had a an pectin?"
principles, and embraced apse of the HiighTOS42.s,
We have heard that Mr. W. jamb hen no g'!eat:
reason to be satisfied with some porta of the
_cond.u.ct
of Mr. Peel, tsvo or three weds 4tgo. n
s-
son's succeasor is Sir George Ainr.raY, aPu '
‘i
Henry Haediuge spoken of as Mgt), to succee,
Lord Palmerston, Str Qeorge Murray enjorn Ake
his Grace,, the reputation of sing a good soldiee,
and he has gathered laurels in other fields than those
of Mars; but of his qualifseations as a -Stgesman his
countrymen were not before aware. The sem/10gs
with which Statesmen can be obtained at a MQ:
ment's notice, perfectly adequate to conduct the.
. .
-vessel of state, without nay previous Miming, Mot
who has the welfge
L'e very gratifying to every nun
of isis country at heart. We now know that no man
need despair 0f his fitness to be a Minister. We
are not . aware that Sir George Murray is deficient
in confidence any more .than his Grace
; but
should hes have had any misgivings when this new
career was opened to his ambition, his Grace would,
no doubt, inform him that the old-fushioned way of
labouring to obtain knowledge was exploded, and
ignorance of any
thai he had never found 44
disad-
vantage
to him is the Cabinet. We hear a great
deal of the march of intellect. Are not these eleva-
tions a striking proof of the rapidity with Which in-
tellect marches in our days ? Ogre we see two Nr,en
whose lives have been passed in the tented Add,
springing in an instant over *A lalsedienents, and
earryingsthe science of polities byii up
.co pytin.
The veteran Iluskisson tags 'been toiling from his
youth in public offices, and sacrificing his 'with io.
the painful endeavours to Nina of obtaining an intk