The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-05 00:00:00

LAWS.

"We understand that the following letter has been re-
ceived by a zealous free-trader, who was induced to write to
the Duke of Wellington, expressing his conviction that the
corn-laws must be given up, and regretting that the Duke
should stand in the way of Sir Robert Peel's repealing them.
We do not vouch for the authenticity of the letter, but pub-
lish it as it is sent to us. If genuine, it is a remarkable do-
cument :

' Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington presents his
compliments to Mr. He has received his letter.
" Mr. - is pleased to say of the corn-laws that the
game is up. Perhaps it is. Perhaps the Duke thinks so.
But that is the Duke's business, and not Mr. -'s.
" ' The Duke has long made it a rule to do his own busi-
ness, and leave other people to do theirs; and never inter.
feres with other people, except to advise them to do the
same. lie does not know how Mr. -found it out; but it
is quite true that he has told Sir R. Peel, it is not his busi-
ness or the Duke's to repeal the corn-laws, but Lord John
Russell's and Mr. Cobden's. And whatever Mr. - mar
be pleased to think, the Duke means to go on giving Sir It
Peel the same advice."'

The Morning Chronicle is quite right not to vouch for the
Authenticity' of any letter received from "a zealous free-
trader ;" for there is nothing in which such persons trade
more freely than forgery and filseliciod However, we can-
not but wonder that our Contemporary could be imposed upon
even to the extent of being made to doubt that the letter
ascribed to the Duke of Wellington is an impudent fabrica-
tion. Such as it is, however, the article is just as trust-
worthy as the article of the Times ; and as the Chronicle de-
clines to vouch for it, neither so impudent nor so likely to
do mischief to dupes as the Times' announcement, Which
affirms, with all the gravity of "men of drab," an affirms.
tion of which the " men of drab " will make a very good
thing, if they can only prevail upon extensive holders of
grain to believe it. We do not believe one word of it.
TIMES.—The surprise excited by the announcement in
the Times of yesterday on the subject of the corn-laws has
been nowhere so intensely felt as in the offices of the " twin
journals" which have been kir some time under the delusion
that they are the organs of the Government: It has been
the monomania of these two melancholy prints to imagine
that they possessed the confidence of the Treasury, and they
have been babbling about the corn-laws to the very last
under the erroneous impression that they would be the first
to be apprised of any important resolution of the Cabinet.
It was only yesterday that the morning half of these pre-
cicious Gemini indulged in a dreary drivel to prove that the
corn-laws were " no failure," and that therefore the Premier
ought not to be expected to abandon them. The aged
gossip was not aware that the question on which she was
exhausting her garrulity had been already virtually settled.
Having been amused at the blundering ignorance of the
Mrs. Gamp of the press, we looked with some curiosity to
what she would say in the character of Mrs. Harris. The
effect produced upon that female, nobody is quite astound-