The Sun.
London, England, 1828-07-23 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

An alarm appears to have been created in the
silk trade by some .expressiOns of Ministers
when this subject has been before Parliament:
—lt was there hinted, that probably no change
would take place in the., present law, but that
still the matter would be reconsidered, and that
time for ► econsideration was accessary. It is
wrong to create fears upon slight grounds ; and
the head of the present Government has perhaps
not yet learned the extreme sensitiveness of men
engaged in any manufacture on the subject of
their particular trade. He cannot appreciate the
anxiety with which they watch every thing that
falls from official persons, and the various ways
in which they torture and twist their words. It
is very well for the Duke of Wellington to
profess that he will reconsider the question of
the silk trade. We know that he has the power
to do this, and to affix the seal of 'authority to
any conclusion at which he may arrive ; but still,
as he does not understand the subject so well as
those who have gone before hits, it is more than
probable that, asserting his-theoretic right to do
what he pleases on the subject, 'his prudence and'
discretion will induce him to make no change.—
it is a pity, therefore, to create fear where "no
fear is." The protraction for another. year of
the present system with regard to Bandana silks,
which system was to have expired in October
next, besides unsettling the minds of men enga-
ged in the trade, does positive injury to those
who had speculated upon the assurance that the
high duty was to expire next October; so that,
at the same time, the plea of consideration and
further inquiry is futile and will end in nothing;
and the temporary measure founded on that plea
is ►mischievous. The trade, as we before said,
have taken the alarm, and are to have a meeting
►n the business at the Old London Tavern this
day. The alarm of course is for the future—
w!th the existing regulations they have no dis-
pute, if carried into effect according to the, un-
derstanding with the late Ministry.—Times.
The Catholic Leaders are too much impressed
with the importance of order and tranquillity as
a means of extending the power and influence of
the Catholic body, to sanction any movements of
an insurrectionary nature. TO suppose that
with so complete an organization as theirs—
with a com►sander in every parish, the Priest,
any rising could take place unknown to the na-
tional authorities, is no doubt extravagant
enough►. Yet this paltry affair, a natural and
almost every-day occurrence, in a country whiere
every fair has its feud, and congregations hardly
leave the chapel door before they range theni•
selves in parties of combatants, has been ab-
surdly enough magnified into a rebellion. Our •
.Ascendancy men may rest assured that the Ca-
tholics will not give them the advantage of any
insurrectionary movement. What the present
state of things may end in; it is not so easy to
foretel; but much must happen before the Ca-
tholics are driven to any such expedientastaking
up arms.—Morning Chronicle: '
We made yesterday some remarks upon Mr.
Grant's statements, delivered .in the House of
Commons o►► Friday, showing the complete
resuscitation of the Silk Trade under the liberal
system adopted by that gentleman, and those
who with him lately presided over the txade

the country. But the argument was very much.
understated by us'; for the returns quoted by
Mr. Grant were not returns of the quantity of
silk imported in the years named respectively,
but of the quantity actually taken out of the
warehouses, which can only have been so taken
out for the purposes of consumption, artd not,
as has been ignorantly asserted; for purposes of
mere speculation. from ,these returns there
can be no appeal ; nor, when we regard the pro-
gressive improvement of the trade since the re-
duction ,of the duties, the slightest reason to
rai:trust the beneficial influence of the policy
which dictated that reduction.--Aid. • ,

The anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne
has seldom pasied off' without Orange, proces-
sions anti scuffles between the Orangemen and
Catholics., The last
.anniversary has been a re-,
markably peaceful one. It happened, however,
that in the county of Leitrim, the Catholies;„,in,
anticipation of a procession of the Orangemen,
assembled at Ballinamore in conaiderable num-
bers to prevent such a measure... If the bad
been any thing unusual ul anneiLassemblages in
Ireland on the 12th July, there might have been
reason for surprise at .the assemblage at Ballina-
more, which, after all, is only stated by the paper
of the great Orange Hero, Sir Harcourt Lees,
at 500. But the novelty in the case is, net that
there was an armed assemblage, but that this is
the only anniversary which passed off without ,
frays .between the Catholic; and the armed. I
Orange processions.—lbid.
No decree has yet' been issued hy,:the Portti-,
auese Government for confiscating. thCproperty
,
of Constitutionalists,tne. but it would app.:ar,
from accounts received 'front different' quarters,
that such a measure is intended. . We should
be the last to recommend any tnterference of
Foreign Powers with
.the internal affairs of
another country, for the purpose either of favoi:r-
inga particular system of Government, or of as-
sistin one party against another; but between
such interference, and that which h,ls for its
object the promotion of peace and huntanity;
there is a wide difference ; and if ever the Powers
of Eur9pe could.be justly called upon to inter-.
fere for such purposes, it must be on the present
occasion. The cases of these unfortunate hull-
viduals require only to best4ed? to receive the
support of every friend of justice and hunia-
uity. The daughter of Doh Pedro is recbg-
rlized by all the Courts of Europe as future
sovereign of POrtugal; his brother is appointed
his Lieutenant, takes the oaths of fidelity to the
Charter, and soon afterwards, regardless
of
the, most .tiered oaths and promises, assumes'
the title of King. The Courts of Europe, almost
without an exceptitm, protest against sueh a pro-
seeding, and 111Scilia t.ifeir.:AnibasadOr,to leave
the kingdom as soon 3s the measure is carried
into effect, A considerable Pi4triber of Portu-
guese, faithful to the oaths IViiich agly.had taken,
and trusting to. ;he countenance *hid, their
'cause bad received from f) many difrerent,
teo, resist what they. believ.ed, and the different
Courts encouraged thetn to believe, wfi# an usur-
pation.' Owing partly to, their own Want of
energy, perhaps; but still more to, the general
feeling of the Portuguese nation, tlAey are unsne_
messful, and obliged to seek shelter in fo„iigii
.countries. Yet for this attempt to support the
cause of honour and legititnacy they are to be
outcasts from their country, anti their property
is to be, confiscated to the successful party. .The
character,ioo, of these unfortunate men, pleads
powerfully in their favour. As far as w have
had means of information, Paimella, Saldanlia,
Villa Flor, Taipa, and several others of the Con-
stitutional leaders, could not be surpassed, per-
hapS not 'equalled, for intergrity.. and prin-
Ciple, by "any' equal number of the same

rank in Portugal. The property which some
of them have in the country is the
best proof that- their object was not to in-
troduce -a levelling system, like that which pre-
vailed in France at the Revolution, but to sup-
port that- Constitution which they believed would
be for the..good'of all, which had been granted
by their acknowledged Sovereign, and which the
countenance of all the European Sovereigns had
encouraged them to uphold. If they are to be
sacrificed for such an attempt, without the
strongest remonstrance and decided interference
on the part of the Sovereigns, particularly those
who support legitimacy, we should regard it as
a dereliction of principle on their part, and as a
measure of the greatest hardship and injustice.
Such conduct would be the more inexcusable,
because a decided expression of opinion from
the different Courts would be sufficient to save
these men and their families from ruin. They
have yet to arrange a compromise between Don
Pedro and Don Miguel, and we think that one
of the articles which they should insist upon
above all others is a full and general amnesty for
all those who only adopted the course which the
SoVereign recommended, as the more legitimate.
We have differed from the Constitutionalists as
to the rights of Don Pedro, but still we think
that, taking all the circumstances of the dispute
into consideration, they have the strongest claims
for protection.—Morning Herald.
In an article which we have extracted from a
well-informed Evening Paper, it is asserted on
" undoubted authority," that Ferdinand of Stain
has made a most pressing solicitation to our
GOvernment to acknowledge Don Miguel King
of Portugal. 'We have little doubt that if this
be not the fact -now,- it will be so soon ; and
that after a certain exhibition of squeamishness
on the part of the different Sovereigns of Europe
Miguel will be cordially,shaken by the hand, and
duly recognised, as one of the Holy and Legiti-
mate Alliance. England will of course be the
last to submit to the disgrace ; .for she has re-
Cognised Don Pedro as the only lawful King of
Portugal, and cannot, therefore--at least, we
would hope she would not—without his per-
mission and assent—recognise Don Miguel
without a gross breach of the national faith. Don
Pedro is the only lawful and legitimate King- of
Portugal ; and the usurper, Don Miguel, has re-
cognized his right by assuming the title of Re-
gent, which was conferred on him by Don Pedro,
but which he might just as well have conferred
on any one .else. Nor is this all. If Don
Pedro had chosen to be King of Portugal in-
stead of Emperor of the Brazils, who could have
gainsayed his right ?. Not Don Miguel cer-
tainly, notwithstanding his desire to possess the
crown ; and if not lion Miguel, certainly no
one else. But Don Pedro has not resigned his
right except on certain conditions ; and if these
cOnditions have not been complied with, which
they have not, Don Pedro is still virtually the
King of Portugal. How then can the British
Government recognize Don Miguel as the lawful
Sovereign of Portugal, without having, pre-
viously received the reCognitiOn of Don Pedro?
It would be a gross breach of national faith—
and so gross a degradation of the British name,
that we cannot, for a moment, bring ourselves to
believe in the probability of its occurrence.—
Morning .Advertiser.
It will be seen, from a report in another part
of our Paper, that that sort of jobbing in the
granting of Licenses, which we always anticipated
would take place, has been all but realized.—
Two Magistrates in the City of London, who
owed their elevation to Licensed Victuallers,
promised a license where we will not say no li-
cense was ..due, but where certainly they ought
not to have granted a licence, without consulting
their brother Magistrates.. We do not know

whether we ought, or ought not, to regret the
result. We warned the Licensed Victuallers of
the
.consequences of the Hotel-keepers' Bill ; we
were not only the first to give them intimation
of the matter, but we counselled them in private
to use their most strenuous exertions against it :
they,eame short of our wishes, and they are now
in a situation to suffer from it. Let us, how-
everhope•that the example will not be without
.its use, and:that though our counsels were un-
attended to during the present Session of Par-
liament, their grounds will he urged still more
forcibly during the next.—lbid.
The Corporation of the City of Dublin have
unanimously resolved to petition the Legisla-
ture to disfranchise the forty-shilling freeholders
of Ireland ; urging in support of their prayer
the strong and unanswerable reasons, that this
description of voters have already abused the
trust committed to their charge—that they are
so much under the direction and influence of a
politipal priesthood, as to be incapable of exer
cising tins important trust either rationally or
independently—and that in their hands the right
of voting has had, and can have no other effect
than to augment the. power of an illegal
megtin.g under the name of the Roman Catholic
Association; for the professed purpose of seeking
Emancipation, but for the real purpose, as its
conduct attests, of promoting revolution. This
prayer of the Dublin Corporation, wp have
no hesitation in saying, ought to be granted im-
mediately c.O the next meeting of Parliament.
The measure they rt.:Ppm m end would produce
incalculable benefits to irol3ntl. It would

31 once humble the turbulent and boasting
derni.gogues who are a curse to their coun-
try, and :date the political power of the
priests, which is its ober greatest curse.-6-

It would , withdraw .pne 1344 temptation
to the tpo minute subdivision of land, frPlO.
which the greta,e,,,t evils have sprung ; whilst
upon the 40s. freehOldars themselves it would
impose no other than a most bene?olent depriva-
tion, Niiice it would rescue them from the pain-
ful,necessity of deciding between the authority of
their Landlords 41“.4 their Priests, and from the
fatal altprnative of, drawing upon themselves the
resentment of one or the other. It would be
iiltireOver such an exhibition of energy on the
part of the British Legislature as is now abso-
lutely required, to check the growing presump-
tion of the orators of the Association, and would
rescue atthe same time the United Parliament
of containing a considerable
frPm the disgrace
nutnj,ei- pf ken)bers who ate such only by the
sufferance
.o.i 'Vopisb Priests and, demagogues ;
and from the stn.!•ci,cepy di sg race which
it, of alq3e Nein-
inpends over , •00 .•
in favour of
bers sp64ily displaced others
who mill come into Parliament as the
Pxpiess representatives
pppishdemagogues
wl4ch the .and Priests. The measure lor
Cor-
poration
,of pnblin is about to petition, p one,
In fine, whirl] the statp of 'lreland imperatively
demands. • The loya) Corp,oratipn of the Irish
metropolis have already performed another duty
of no less importance to the peace and welfare
of Ireland—that of petitioning for the suppresr
nsion of that ASsociatton which they denounce as
seeking to bring, about a revolution. The lead-
ing agitators are, we perceive? or profess to be?