The Sun.
London, England, 1828-02-07 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOUVgALS.

The very important event of Mr. Huskisson's re-'
election to serve as Member of Parliament for
Li-
verpool, took place on Tuesday„ and is reported at
great length, as we 11,,. we hope, as with much ex-
actness, in this day's journal. Mr. Huskisson's ex,
planation, on this occasion, may be cOnsidered as
the rehearsal of the same part which he must soon
perform in Parliament. The applause or disappro-
bation of the late auditors may suggest slight chasm-
ges,—may lead to the supply of omissions, the re-
trenchment of superfluities,--but the piece must be
finbstantially the same. The whole performance,
therefore, will be read with interest. In the first
place,,,we may observe that those who criticise Mr.
Huskisson's conduct most severely, seem to have
tacitly imbibed an opinion, from his acting recently
with Whigs, that he was of that political sect. We
should be glad if the names of Whigs and Tories
were suffered to die away, now that the measures
which served to call forth the opposing principles of.
the two parties are placed as it were on nel,,ral
ground. Mr. Huskisson is, as was his late friend
Mr. Canning, an advocate for a liberal system of
external and domestic policy ; but from the party
called Whig, during its existence under that appel
.is.tion, they were both always far remote ; nor is there
any reason to suppose that the survivor has approached
it more nearly of late day. He should not, there-
fore, be reproached with ceasing to be that which
he has never been. With respect to the late Ad-
ministration, it is obvious from Mr. Huskisson's
.Ipeech,—as well as from other information now in
our possession,—what has been the cause of its dis-
solution : it wanted a head to hold it together. The
Government of a State has often been compared to
a carriage or waggon, which the Ministers are to
drag along. But if the horse who is placed first,
and should lead, wants the courage to advance upon
any road, what can the rest do bat remain quiet ie
their traces, whatever may be their activity and
strength ? The State-carriage, then, could not
%wive forward as it ought, with such a leader; and
it became unavoidable to unharness the whole team,
and yoke a fresh one. With whom, then, after this
dissolution of the Ministry, was Mr. Huskisson to
unite himself? He did not belong to the Whigs :
he respected their integrity, consistee cy, and honour
—(indeed, who could abstain from respecting such
principles, represented by such men as Lords Lens-
downeeCarlisle, and Mr. Tierney ?)--but still he
was not one of them. Such is his language: The
other party were opposed, or supposed to be op-
posed, to those liberal views of commercial and
foreign policy, to which he was as much attached as
the Whigs to their Whiggism ; yet the other party
applied to him for his co-operation. Upon this
point hinges the whole gist of the transaction, and
we solicit attention to it. Why did the Duke of
Wellington apply to Mr. Huskisson for his support,
thinking it in vain to apply to Lord Lansdowne
Not, we hope, because his Grace suspected the
former to be more lax in his principles than
the latter.—(This would indeed be an insult to
MI. Huskisson.)—The Duke, we presume, ap-
plied to Mr. Huskisson ,simply because his.
Grace thought he could himself snore easily.
accommodate his own policy to that of the Right
Honourable Gentleman, than to the more rigid
maxims of the Whigs. 'Let Mr. Huskisson look to
this in his future 'conduct.- Let him not give a
sanction to the suspiciOUthat. the Duke thought him
in •
Man to be tampered "with a point of honour,
end that his Grace was not deceived. Mr. Hes-
-
kieson had every thing to gain, or rather to retain,
that is dear to a man of character, by.an invincible
adherence to every, principle. and measure which he
professed and supported during the.: Canning' Admi-
nistmtion. The Duke has little to gain or lose.
Should Mr. lluskisson prove as unbending as his
situation requires, nis'Gkitee will Onlilitteie tried' to,
tempt one whom he thcingtOi':kkeioOrTri'6o(eli *rtiV
failed; 'But- Mrvelinsltihsors, it iiiay.t&:•urOd, has'
united' hirriself to thoSo,Who heePedeverykitell
abuse, upon his deceased friend.' TO this we reply,
that the chief traducers of nr. Canning are not, we
believe, in the Cabinet. Besidee, a num maybe
-heir to the principles of a departed friend, but he
need not necessarily inherit his feelings under insult.
This is not a political question. To the Duke's re-
tention of the chief military command with the si-
tuation of Premier, we think, it right to state that
'the people of England are decidedly adverse : and
we think farther, that their aversion will be in-
creased by assigning the ordinary_ management of
the army to a person" of inferior rank and coese-
quenee ; for the inquiry immediately suggests itself;
with whom do the supreMo honour and power still
reside ?—Tinies.

Mr. Huskisson was re-elected for Liverpool on
'Tuesday, as our readers will perceive from a report
in another part of our Paper. It WitS expected that,
.on this occasion, the Right Hon. Gentleman would
furnish to his constituents some explanation of the
circumstances connected with the breaking up of the
last Ministry, and his entrance into the present; and
Cie proceedings were, therefore, looked forward to
no small degree of anxiety. The conditions on
which he had consented to serve under the Duke of
Wellington ;were variously represented, and reports
were confidently circulated with respect to the rela-
tion in which he stood towards some of his late col-
leagues, amounting to somewhat like an impeach-
ment of his good faith. Mr. Unskisson dwelt
‘w.celhtaN' l
et
considerable length on the subjects to w
alluded. Having paid a tribute to his departed
friend, Mr. Canning, in detailing the circumstances
which followed the political demise of Lord Liver.
pool, he animadverts with some severity on the
bounding ambition of his present colleague, Mr.
Peel :—" I have no hesitation in saying, that when
the Administration of Lord Liverpool was brought
to a close, difficulties which I shall ever deplore, and
which my lamented friend had not foreseen ; diffi-
culties which ought not to have been thrown in his
way, SOMC of which may perhaps have originated in
personal considerations, and some from other causes
which I do not know—difficulties arose as to the
formation of the new Government, and my lamented
friend (Mr. Canning) was therefore placed under the
necessity of departing from that which was his first in-
tention, and was, in fact, the command of his
Sovereign, to fOllll a new Government upon the same
principle, and, if possible, of the same individuals
who served under the administration of Lord Liver-
pool." Mr. Peel would not serve under Mr. Can-
ning, because e was favourable to the Catholic
Claims, but he would have had of course no objec-
tion that Canning should serve under him.—
Mr. Canning was thus driven to the necessity of
either withdrawing, or nerrociating with the Whigs,
and he chose the latter. '
latter The conditions of the
union were, "that the Jovernment was to he con-
ducted without any
departureupon which the affairs of the Liverpool—that
country
were conducted
from those principles
under the Earl ofthe Catholic
was as to remain open a t d t hat, uponr all
other points, those Gentlemen who took office,
were at liberty to accede to the Gos,'-einthent, with-
departure front out any their pcm. The
speech of Mr. Peel, in which proscribed'Pe Mr-
anning on account of his liberal o • • '
t. ons CI t,
there no other ground, formed alone
,p
" sunicient jos-
tification of the accession of Lord Lansdowne and his
Canning; it being not friends to Mr. more the duty
of a public man to obtain for his country, if he
can,
the very beet Government, than. to'
Prevent by his
exertions, if it depend 011 tthem,i his country from suf-
fu'ing from the substitution to the existing Govern-
ment of one which he believe; to be worse. Thus
Carnot, who refused to serve under Bonaparte in
the days of his prosperity, rushed to his aid when
the alternative was Bonaparte or the Bourbons,
from the latter of whom he anticipated (no matter
whether rightfully or wrongfully, if conscientiously)
the destruction of all the good effected at the ex-
pence of so much suffering by the Revolution. No
man ever thought of accusing Carnot of inconsis-
tency because in a choice of evils he preferred what
he thought the least; and no reasonable persons
ought to blame the Whigs for rallying round Mr.
Canning, when the alternative was an Administra-

tion not such as they could have wished, or one
which they had reason to believe would he much
worse. Mr. Huskisson praises the spotless inte-
grity, high honour, and straight-forward policy of
Lords Lansdowne, and Carlisle, and Mr. Tierney,
and affirms that no part of the system of Administra-
tion experienced any change by the death of Mr.
Canning; but " events took place in the course of
the month of December, for which neither his
Noble Friends above alluded to, nor himself were in
any degree responsible." . The head of the Admi--
nistration had shewn himself unfit for the perfortn
ancc of the great trust committed to his charge.
Now comes the critical part of Mr. Huskisson's posi-
tion, with respett to the Whigs. He merely men-
tioned generally the vacillation of Lord Goderich,
the project of having recourse to a temporary heati,
and the abandonment of that idea iron an apprehen-
sion of its giving a 'character of weakness to the Ad-
ministratien. He disclaims all knowledge of what
passed between the King and Lord Goderich, when
his Majesty sent for the Duke of Wellington ; but
he says nothing of the causes of the dissension in the
Cabinet which preceded this event. It is generally
understood, that Mr. Huskisson, early in the month
of December, enforced an opinion, that the service
of his Majesty and the good of the country would be
best promoted by the admission of Lord Holland
into the Cabinet, and by the nomination of Lord
Althorp to the Chair of the Finance Committee,
with a view to secure the cordial support of the
Whigs. How far this implied a virtual compact to
stand by the latter when the alternative was their re-
tirement or the serving with such an Administration
as they took office to prevent the formation of, is a
point on which we do not feel ourselves warranted to
decide. Mr. Huskisson, after warmly eulogizing the
Duke of Wellington,and bearing testimony to the com-
petency to the Premiership derived from all the pre-
vious habits of his life, proceeds to relate the appli-
cation to him by the Duke, his subsequent interview
with Lord Lansdowne, and the different determina-
tions to which they came. " I wish (says Mr.
Huskisson) we could forget these terms Whig and
Tory ; but as I never did belong to the party which
is called Whig, when Lord Carlisle retired because

the Whigs retired, that could form no reason for my
retirement." We come now to the question with
the public. "In the progress of my interview with
the Duke of 'Wellington, he says, I felt myself
bound to look to two things—first, to the measures,
and secondly, to the guarantees which the New Ad-
ministration would give that the measures would be
carried into effect; and a third object, which I had
as much at heart as any other, was, that nothing
should be done which could be supposed to diminish
my respect, attachment, and fidelity to those mea-
sures and those principles which I had the good for-
tune to vote for with Mr. Pitt and Mr. Canning in
succession." He explained these propositions by. a
reference to a Finance Committee and a Corn 13111,

the same in principle as that of last Session. A
press of matter prevents us from giving more than
a brief outline of the speech of Mr. Shepherd, and
from giving at all the speech of Colonel Williams,
to both of which Mr. Huskisson alludes in subse-
quent speeches.—Morning Chronicle.

In the House of Lords, last night, there was no
.business of interest. In the Commons, Sir John
Beckett; Mr. Herries, and the Knight of Kerry,
took their seats. Mr. A. Ellis and General King
presented petitions in favour of the Catholic Claims.
The latter declared himself decidedly hostile to the
question, although, in the course of his Parliamen-
tary duty, he had been called on to present a peti-
tion in its favour. lie animadverted with severity
on the threatening declaration, of the former even-
ing, of Mr. A. Dawson, that there were a million of
Catholics fit to bear arms. Sir John Brydges con-
curred with the Gallant General. Mr. Leycester
lamented the conjunction which he said virtually
:existed in the Duke of Wellington, of Common-
Mer4n--Chief and Premier. He was of opinion
that by opposing Catholic Emancipation the Mi-
nistry were bringing down on this country the in-
4olerable burden of a poor Irish population to de-
vour its prosperity_ Sir John Newport said a few
swords in corroboration. _a what um. :asserted by Mr.
Leycester. Sir Thoinas Lethbridge declared his
conviction that the present Ministry was in all re-
spects the most auspicious that the country could
possess, and that its internal and external policy
would be equally beneficial. Mr. Spring Rice de-
fended the legality of the Catholic Association, while
he deprecated its violence. He considered the con-
cession of the Catholic Claims unattended with any
hazard. Mr. Fergusson expressed his assent to this
statement of Mr. Rice. Mr. W. Smith, in present-

ing a petition in favour of the Roman Catholics, re-
peated what was asserted on a former evening by Mr.
r. Smith, respecting the feelings of the Dissenters
towards the petitioners. Sir George Cockburn
brought up the Navy Estimates. Mr. Hume present-
ed a petition from NIT. Robert Gourlay, respect-
ing emigration. Mr. Dennison, and Sir Matthew
White Ridley presented petitions for the repeal
of the Corporation and Test Acts. Mr. Hume con-
cluded a speech of considerable length, in which he
dwelt on the alleged grievances of niesne process
arrests, by moving for returns of the persons com-
mitted to the Bench, the Fleet, Whitecross-street,
the Marshalsea, and Horsemonger-lane Gaols, for
debt, in 1827, distinguishing the forms of the writ,
and the sums for which they had been issued. Mr.
Dawson moved for an account of the Net Income of
the State, for the year ending sth January last, the
Balances on the sth of January 1826, and those on
the sth of January, 1828, and the sums applied to
the reduction of the Funded and Unfunded Debt in
1827. In Committee of Supply, after some conver-
sation, 22,800,0001. were granted in payment of
Exchequer Bills, for the services of 1826 and 1827;
734,2001. for the same purpose, for carrying on
Public Works; and 5,000,000/. for the same pur-
pose, for the services of 1823, 94, 25, 26, 27.
New Times.

In another part of to-day's paper will be found an
interesting account of the proceedings at Liverpool,
on Tuesday, at the re-election of Mr. Huskisson.
The Right Hon. Secretary, considering the imputa-
tions of inconsistency made against his political cha-
racter, may be said to have come cleanly and cleverly
off. A show of opposition was indeed made, but it
was only a show for the nomination of Lord
Molyneux, made without his consent, or at least
without his knowledge, and so feebly supported that
only five or six hands were held up in favour of it,
which opposition cannot be looked on as seriously
intended. If we were to judge of Mr. Huskisson's
future popularity in Liverpool, we should, perhaps,
draw a more certain augury from the apparent
coolness of his friends than from the warmth of
his enemies. Mr. Gladstone, who seconded the
nomination, declared that on some of Mr. Huskis-
son's measures he looked with distrust. Mr.
Wallace Currie, who had been especially active
in the Right Honourable Secretary's service, de-
clared that he had abstained from attending the
' two last meetings, because he would not commit
himself by expressing approbation, where, in defect
of satisfactory explanation, he might be compelled
afterwards to condemn. He put also some ques-
tions respecting the Corn Bill, which, indeed, Mr.
Huskisson answered, but ‘vhether to Mr. Currie's
satisfaction or not, does not appear. The part of
31r. Huskisson :s speech which will he read with
most interest, is that wherein he describes the ne-
gociations between the Duke of Wellington and
himself. The next .
interestis that part where, in
a strain of feeling and eloquence, not unworthy of
the occasion, he adverts to the circumstance of Mr.
Canning's having
addressed the freemen from the
same spot. The disnate
.panegyric passed on
his departed friend does equal
credittol‘r.lius.kiss-,
Huskis-
son's heart and understanding• The highl praise
bestowed on his late colleagues (Mr. Tierney, Lord
Lansdowne, i
and Lord Carlisle) is, we doubt not,
equally
sincere, but
ill-natured uttnhaetirshort-lived connection
give it, with
interpreters, some-
what the appearance of extravagaßee. If, indeed,
the rumours of chancre that have been abroad be
at all founded in act: and we rather think there
must be some truth in them, as they have been

formally contradicted by the friends of the parties,
the Right Hon. Secretary may be acting on the
principle of the "canny" Scotchman, who would
not speak ill of the devil, as no one could say into
whose keeping he might come. The events which
led to the dissolution of Lord Goderich's Cabinet
happened, Mr. Httskisson says, in December last.
What these were he does not state—for theSe nei-
ther the Ministry nor any body else were respon-
sible, and, of course, the retiring Members are free
from all blame respecting them. In reconstructing
the Ministry his Grace the Duke of Wellington had
first recourse, as was naturally to be expected, to
Mr. Peel, and next, in a general way, to Mr. Hus-
kisson. The general application was afterwards
changed to a Ppecial one, and Mr. Huskisson joined
hiS Grace. Mr. H. says, whether jocularly or not
we do not pretend to judge, that he was no Whig,
and, therefore, nothing called on him to go out at
the late dissolution of the Ministry; from which it
may be inferred that that unhappy class of politi-
cians have, in all possible cases of Cabinet d►ffer-
ences, but one duty to the country to perform,
namely, to walk out in peace and quietness. Whe-
ther those who follow their principles ought not to
be compelled to follow the modesty of their example,
is a question which, for want of room, rather than
want of purpose, we must, at least for the present,
abstain from entering upon.—lbid.