The Sun.
London, England, 1826-12-25 00:00:00

instance at least of something like public virtue and
self-denial in a person balding a high and lucrative
Lublic appointment. This instance is furnished. by
ord Camden—a name dear already to every lover of
sound law and constitutional freedom, and rendered
not less so by the splendid contribution of its, )resent
possessor to the finances of the country. Whether
the mantle of the ancestor has descended to any of
his successors on the Bench, it would probably be
deemed libellous, if not downright reason to inquire
—that- the present Lord Camden stands alone, a soli-
tary but conspicuous inttance of rare public disinte-
restedness is at least
,honourable to him, however little
, ,
his example nas served to stimulate others to follow it.
The Marquis of Camden, it should be remembered,
as a reward for his ancestor's service, holds one of the
Tellerships of the Exchequer, the profits of which
consist, we believe, of a certain per centage upon all
nioneyS imprest - through each office to the public ser-
vice. Those profits having, from the increased
amount of the public revenue, become greater .than
could 'have been contemAted, an Act was passed
some years since substituting a fixed salary in lieu of
the per centage ; but saving, of course, the rights of
the then holders, of whom the Marquis of Camden
was one. Of course, the original grant of the office, and
this Act of Parliament, rendered the original profits of the
office as much the fixed, unalienable property of the Mar-
quis as the rents of his own freehold estates But the
Marquis, prompted by a patriotism and disinterestedness
beyond all praise, reasoned thus The profits of the
office which I hold under the Crown are become, by un-
foreseen circumstances, much greater than ever was con-
templated. Pkrliament has declared, that at my death,
those profits shall be reduced to a fixed and reasonable
amount. I will not allow my life to stand in the way of
what is deemed by the Legislature just and proper : and
I will therefore, by a sacrifice of my personal interests,
place the country in the same situation, as fin. as I am con-
cerned, as if'the office I hold were now vacant." Acting
upon such principles as these, the descendant of the great
Lord Camden has ever since
,paid over to the public
Treasury the difference between the actual profits of the
office and the amount of the salary which his successor
*ill be entitled to. That sacrifice amounts to little short
of 10,0001. for the present year, and
.altogether upwards of
130,000/. We hear of trophies erected to men's honour,
and of eulogiums passed upon their actions and their pub-
lic virtues; and we can only say, if the conduct of
this
Nobleman is not worthy of some imperishable memorial of
his country's gratitude, we know not what is.—Morning
Herald.

Though we are far from joining in that kind of in-
discriminate tirade against stockbrokers which has ap-
peared in the columns of a contemporary journal, we
find that the number of the persons frequenting the
Stock Exchange and the Bank Rotunda, who pursue
disreputable practices, so far exceeds that of the honest
and honourable part of the profession, that it behoves
the latter, if they do not wish to be lost
.in the crowd,
to adopt some means of separating themselves from the
herd of black sheep with whom they are unfortunately
congregated. We should be inclined to draw one very
plain line of demarcation between these two classes.
—On the one side we should . place
'those who
ex-
ecute none but bona file commissions for real osten-
sible principals, entering into no kind of speculations
for themselves : on the other (we fear the far
more numerous class), those who use the public funds
only as a source of. gambling for themselves, and for'
principals, who, with no more of honour and integrity
than it is of the nature of gaming to instil, sometimes
support them, and, when unsuccessful, not unfrequently
leave their brokers in the lurch. .We are quite aware
that this line places on the sinister side many who
hold their hoads very high in society, and who think
themselves " all honourable men." If honour really
depended upon success and wealth, there is honour of
that kind to be found among thieves of various deno-
minations. It has been remarked by Burke, that
there is, no safety for good men but by think-
ing all possible evil of evil men ;" and if the
present lamentable thirst for gaming, which is every day
more and more blackening the character of society in this
country, is ever to be defeated and driven out of it,it must be
ifiy those who hold it in abhorrence, keeping no terms with
ir, but setting their face againist its professors in whatever
rank or station, or hell they are to be found. We take then,
as unerring principles, that no gambler of any kind can by
possibility be a man of probity and honour; that he can be
neither a good father, son, nor brother; or one in any way to
be trusted beyOnd the reach of his own interest. Let any min
look impartially at this Class of persons, in whativer walk of
life be finds them, and he will see that this criterion is true to
the letter. Let him search the Stock Exchange and the
clubs—the hangers-on ut Bath and Cheltenham, down to
the very card-players in a cathedral close, and he will dis-
cover, that while a thirst for play has sharpened the facul-
' ties of some, it has blunted the affections and the honour
of all, Recurring to the more immediate subject which
gave rise to these remarks, we would strongly urge the
truly respectable members of the Stock Exchange to adopt,
if possible, some means of separating themselves, and being
publicly known, from the vile, disgraceful crew with whom
it is at present their lot to be associated. Nothing short
of some such measure as this can save them from being in
some degree affected by the kind of indiscriminate censure
which almost unavoidably follows every association whose
evil communication of necessity corrupts and degenerates
good manners.—Morning Herald..

The various communications. received through
Spain, and eagerly copied into the Paria prints, re-
specting the successes of the Portuguese refugees, now
supposed to be rapidly and triumphantly marching on
Oporto, have thrown a considerable damp on the spi-
rits of many of our countrymen connected with that
opulent town. This circumstance, and the variety of
conflicting opinions we have heard on possibility of the
place falling into the hsnds of the Silveira party—a
Misfortune which, no doubt, would be followed by ex-
ceases even more aggravated than those which occurred
at Braga»za—have induced us to enter on a brief exa-
mination of the chances of such an event taking place.
The few particulars we are enabled to furnish, in the
absence of direct information, may serve to guide the
opinions of our readers. This is the second time that
Silveiras have raised the standard of rebellion in their
,native country, and the plans to which they have re-
sorted, on both occasions, are nearly similar. The
young Marquis de Chaves, the chivalrous and restless
leader of the present enterprise against the Constitution
of Portugal, is a native of Villa Real, in the proviriee
of Tras-os-Montes, where 'his family and relatives have
extensive estates and numerous connections. He is
the son of the old Count de Amarante, who com-
manded a Portuguese brigade during the Peninsular
war, and was frequently mentioned in Lord Wel-
lington'a despatches as General Silveira. He defended
the bridge of Amarante against the French, and for
bravery and occasion
Items on that he received the
title of Count. He was always known as a high-
minded and fanatical character, and in the establish-
ment of the Conatitution of 1820, refusing to take the
oaths, he withdrew to Spain, and some 'time afterwards
died, when the title descended to the son: Ile latter, is
said to have inherited all the religious and aristocratical
prejudices of the father, Without, is inilitarytalents. The
young Count raised the standard of revolt in his native
province against the Constitution and,Corttijin the year