The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-25 00:00:00

for change such as that he exhibited
in reference to the sugar question ; and a short rusecation,,too, has its effect on statesmen as well as on
conceited and refractory scholars. The Earl of ST.
GERMANS will also be a useful acquisition to the
Cabinet. He is moderate in his political opinions ;
he conducted himself with impartiality and kindness
towards the Irish nation, and, from all accounts, is
a practical man of business, who can think for him-
self while he is not so bigoted to his opinions as
to make their fulfilment, like some statesmen,
the only condition in which he can remain in office.
Excepting, therefore, Sir JAMBS GRAHAM and Lord
ABERDEEN, there is scarcely one Minister that the
public care much about. The Earl of LINCOLN de-
serves great credit, considering his family ties and
position in society, for adhering to free-trade
principles, and, above all, for consenting to a
repeal of the corn-laws, which nearly all
his " order " regard with so much horror.
But, as for RIPON, and HADDINGTON, and GouL-
BURN, the sooner they are out of office the better.
Whatever they may have been formerly, they are now
of no use. The Minister and the public anxiously
desire that their places should be filled with better
men. In the meantime, however, all eyes are turned
to Sir ROBERT PEEL. He represents the whole
Cabinet—he has it, we presume, entirely under his
control, and on the manner in which he extricates
himself from present difficulties, and reconciles con-
tending interests for the good of the nation, will
depend his future fame, and his character as a
statesman.

Aide toi et Dieu t'aidera is the wisest of political
maxims, and upon this maxim the Anti-Corn-law
League have acted, are acting, and will continue to
act. A meeting was held at Manchester on Tuesday,
in the Town-hall, for the purpose of commencing the
subscription towards the Great League Fund of a
Quarter of a Million, and before the meeting sepa-
rated, 59,1601.—ye5, FIFTY-TINE THOUSAND ONE
HUNDRED AND SIXTY POUNDS sterling, were sub-
scribed towards the Great Quarter of a
Million Fund. This is a demonstration which,
in the words of , Mr. BROTHERTON, ig
well calculated to inspire the free-traders
with hope, and the monopolists with alarm.
What will the "curry-powder Dukes" say to this ?
Do they imagine that " the miserable monopolising
minority," which they claim to represent, could
raise the sinews of war thus easily ? Let them read
also Mr. COBDEN'S promise, and they know full well
that Mr. COBDEN never yet made a promise but he
fulfilled it to the letter. "In less than three years
from this time," said Mr. COBDEN, " I will
undertake to unseat a hundred county mono-
polist Members, and place in their stead men
who will vote in accordance with the interests of the
people." We doubt not but that this demonstration
will produce its effect upon Sir R. PEEL. The Right
Hon. Baronet is a shrewd judge of "the signs of the
times," and he must see clearly that the game is up
with the protectionists. Should we unfortunately
be involved in war, the development of our
manufacturing industry can alone enable the
country to bear the heavy burden of additional
taxation which must be laid upon us. Sir ROBERT
PEEL cannot forget the magnificent present which
his father was enabled to make to the country during
the last war. Does he imagine that it would have
been in his father's power to have done this had he
been robbed of the fruits of his industry by an ini-
quitous corn -law ? The late Sir R. PEEL certainly
was not of that opinion himself, for he, high Tory as
he was, vehemently protested against the enactment
of the corn-law of 1815, and foresaw and foretold
the fatal results of that highwayman piece of legis-
lation. The wealth, the talent, the industry, the
numbers of the country, are now with the League
and Sir R. PEEL, who perfectly understands that,
since the Reform Act, every Minister who
wishes to retain power must adapt his mea-
sures to the interests of the people, and
vaio, moreover, bath always entertained a wholesome
horror of powerful bodies like the League, will not
hesitate, if he possess the shrewdness and caution for
which every one gives him credit, at once to throw
the monopolists overboard, and by a total and imme-
diate repeal of the corn-laws dissolve the formidable
League into its primitive elements. If he pursue
this course he will have the firm and unflinching
support of the League to assist him in his good work.
" This meeting," says Mr. COBDEN, " gives me
great pleasure, because from the first
,com-
mencement of it, not a word has been said
about the changes of the Ministry that are going on
every day. It will show every Minister what sup-
port he will receive from the country, and on behalf
of this meeting I may say, with perfect safety, that
Sir R. PEEL will have the support of the people of
Lancashire if he will but come out and do his duty
as a man and a Minister." To secure this support,
however, it must be clearly understood by Sir R.
PEEL that there must be no shuffling—no vanishing
duty —no patching up of scales —no shift-
ing of taxation under pretence of compensation.
The repeal—the simple, total, sad immediate repeal
of the corn-laws—is the measure which alone can
secure to him the support of the League. On those
laws the judgment that has been passed, and must be
executed, is La mort—sans phrase. If Sir R. PEEL,
as the executive Minister, will content himself with
carrying that judgment into effect, the League—and
the League is now the nation—will support him, and
enable him to triumph over all opposition. If he
hesitate, " the watchman" will be there, and he will
keep his eye on all suspicious characters. " I beg
to inform my friends," said Mr. COBDEN, " that it is
not the intention of Mr. BRIGHT and myself again
to attend public meetings, as we did last summer, be-
cause I believe we can be more useful in our places in
the House of Commons."

Owing to the very boisterous weather which pre-
vailed on Tuesday, we have not received the French
papers of Monday, nor any continental intelligence
whatever.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, DEc. 23.
Anglo-Belgian — ;Madrid and Valcncia...
Barbadoes
Boulogne and Amiens.. 8 ~i !Namur and Liege
Bordeaux &Mediterran ;North Jamaica
Bordeaux and Toulouse ;Orleans and Vicrzon
Do. & Cette (Espeleta) ;Orleans and Bordeaux 10,j
Do. (Mackenzie's) .. Over Yssel .......
Callao, Lima, and I'a- Paris& Lyons (Lailitte) 2
citic Coast
Central of Spain .. Ditto (Caloa's).... .. 21,4
Ceylon .
Demerara
Dendre Valley ' .....
Dutch Rhenish ... ...... 734 Paris and Strasburg
Dieppe & Paris Jana. (Ganneron's)
Dijon and Mulhouse ... Do. (Compe de L'Est)
East Indian ....- ........ Do. (Aymard's) - -
Fampoux & Hazebrouk Paris and St. Quentin —
Grt Northern of France Rouen and Havre 273/

Constituted l5
Do. Pepin le Hallow —
Great Paris and Lyons 2%
Great Western Bengal
Great Western Canada
Jamaica S Mid. Junction
Do. North Midland ~,
Do. Extension
Jersey
Louvain and Jemappe —
Lyons and Avignon —
Luxembourg ... 214

Royal North of Spain.
Sambre and Meuse —
Strasburg and Bale 10
Tournay,Jurbise, Lan-
den, and Ilasselt —
Tours and Nantes
(Mackenzie's) .....
Do. (Lefebvre's) —
Do. (O'Neill's)
Trinidad
Verona an 4 Ancona —
West Flanders

THE

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