The Sun.
London, England, 1828-01-01 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

A correspondetv:„ signing himself " S. 8.," ex-
presses much 'regret at the disastrous issue of the
recent war 'in Georgia to the Persian empire, and
not a lif:tle anger at the Government of his Britan-
nic Majesty for failing to avert theioatilities of the
Russian troops, or for not having,, by some sort of
unexplained power, prevented their victorious Ge-
neral from taking the natural benefit of his or their
successes.. We perhaps: are almost as sensible as
our correspondent of the possible evils to be feared
from the aggrandizement of Russia, whether on the
west or east. If the power of that state were in
any common degree proportitmed to het magnitude,
or if there were not in her very bulk an active ten-
dency towards inward disorganization and dissolu-
tion, it is plain that all the other communities in the
world would have solid ground fisr tombining,against
hsr on principles of self-defence. But while we
thtis qualify the intensity of " S. B.'s" alarms at the
visible progress of the conquest and ascendancy of
Russia, we do not by any means concur in his views,
either of what England ought to have done by
way of interposition between that empire and the
Schah of Persia, or in the reasoning on which he
would justify her interference. From such accounts
as have reached us, we really do believe that Persia
was the aggressor in this contest, The British resi-
dent manifestly went upon the conviction that she
was so, because he repeatedly and earnestly (co far
as he durst) remonstrated with the Court of Teheran
on its proceedings, instead of addressing his com-
plaints or counsels to the more sober and temperate
Minister of his Imperial Majesty of Russia. No
more extraordinary picture of wild and frantic few-
ticism, or of military passion beneath the vizor of
fanaticism, was ever drawn than that in the authen-
ticated statements which have been transmitted to
this country, of the conduct of Abbas Mirza, the
Ministers of the Schah, and the Chiefs of the
Persian Priesthood, in their exhortations to the
people. It is true that the Persian is not quite a
barbarian Court. Its members, and those of the
upper class generally, are more than skilled in the
arts and luxuries of a life of pleasure; but tht,y are
less than half' etilightened as to moral and political
duties. The higher ranks have long reached that
refinement of vicious habit, which shuts out the
capacity for severe and noble , meditations; the
lower class are sunk in ignorance and wretched-
ness, belonging invariably to the degraded multi-
tude, the herd of prostrate vassalsunder a tyranny
of the Eastern world. There exists no such
thing as public opinion in Persia, formed on a
clear calculation of the national interests; nor have
the servants of the Crown been sharpened like those
of the Grand Seignor at Constantinople by a per-
petual friction with the hard and manysided combi-
nations of European politics. Half-taught politi-1
cians in an isolated and haughty Court, like that of
Teheran, may flatter themselves with carrying a
particular object, and terrifying a rival power by the
same military coup de main; and there is reason to
suspect that, in the recent inFtrlnce, hba..
and his advisers imagined they would have no fur-
ther trouble, after the success of their first irruption
beyond the Russian frontier. We do- not, therefore—
at -least until new facts shall be produced—agree in
imputing the aggression in this conflict to Russia;
and that the British Government has not centidered
its friends, the Persians, to be the aggrieved party,
appears probable from the fact of its riot having paid
the subsidy of 200,0001. per annum to the Schah,
stipulated for, and restricted to, the case of " de-
fensive" warfare. With power in the hands of
Russia to vindicate her own interests when assaulted,
it would be .monstrous to blame her for employing
it, however we may lament the issue.-Times.
It has been observed again and again by Philo-
sophers, that repose soon becomes painful, and that
to lee enjoyed it. must be preceded by-action.. This
will give us at once the key to the inventiveness
with which many of our Governors of Provinces
get up disputes, Thus, for instance, Lord Dal-
housie, our Governor of Canada, feeling the oppres-
siveness of a too long protracted repose, and wisely
considering that Government would never be so
inhuman as to send him to Canada to do what
Ire could have done as well at Dalhousie Castle, with
the assistance of the murmuring waters of the lovely
Esk—namely, pass his time like the Poet Lafon-
taine, between sleeping and doing nothing—has very
ingeniously contrived a variety of disputes with the
Canadians, which have the merit of having no in-
telligible object. The conduct of his Lordship
mieht furnish an useful lesson to those who coin-
s?
plai n of getting fat do what they will. But the man
who is so happy as to be able to throw a whole pro-
vitiee into agitation, and to keep it agitated for weeks,
furnishing matter for long and stormy discussions, on
the subject of whether M. Papineau shall be accepted
as Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament of
Canada, can never be in danger of supplying M.
V/add with an illustration for a new edition of his
book on Obesity. What would the science of go-
vernment come to, in a country where a people are
without the stimulus of taxation, and hare land in
abundance for their sons, grandchildren, and great
grand children, should they breed even like Mile-
sian Irishmen, were a genius of the Lisnzahago
school not to appear among their', to instruct them
that the science of government means the science .+f
disturbing ! A people must feel that they areiJ-
verned; and in the absence of the tax-gatherer and
the parish overseer, an'd game-preserving justice of
the peace, they might forget that they were really
living under a Government, if such ingenious gen-
tlemen as Lord Dalhousie were not enabled to spend
half a million of money, wrung from the pale-faced
artificers of England, on himself and his favourites,
to satisfy them that they live under a Govern-
ment—the wise and paternal Government of Bri-
tain. His Lordship will not allow M. Papineau to
be Speaker ; the House of Assembly will have
him. He is doubly endeared' to the House, no
doubt, because his Lordship dislikes him—and M.
Papineau is again chosen. Nothing could be
happier contrived than such a dispute. It affords
a fine example of the facility with which a man
of genius can produce great results by comparatively
unpromising means. To a vulgar mind, it might
appear a desperate enterprise to create dissatisfac-
tion in a country where there are no taxes, and plenty
of fertile land; where there is no established reli-
gion, but, on the contrary, a latitude to preach, and
pray, and sing, in every conceivable manner, with the
accompanying sauce of love-feasts, camp-meetings,
and jumping, ad libitum; but a • sublime genius can
strike disaffection out of nothing, or next to nothing.
The Governor will not have M. Papineau—repre-
senting Majesty, he probably thinks that he would
not be acting his part, that Majesty might suffer
in his keeping, if he were not to be wilful as any
Autocrat—

I do not like thee, Papineau,
The reason why I do not know ;
But there is one thing I do know,
I do not like thee, Papineau.
And then, if the people had been quiet, how
could he have displayed energy? Having created
the disaffection, he can show also his skill and
energy in putting it down; and, perhaps, entitle
himself to the thanks of Parliament. Some persons
may suppose his Lordship would have been at fault
if M. Papineau had, like other Yankee and Canadian
Legislators, gone phi after making too free with
bitters, as the, celebrated James Boswell went off
with the kindred beverage of mahogany. But any
other name would have done as well as Papineau.
Lapineau or Chevieau, or any other cue, would haVe
equally served his Lordship as pegs to hang objec-
tions on. are the blessings of Colonial Ou-
verninent. As long as we have Lord Charleses and
Lord Dalhousies, we need never alarm ourselVes
with the fear of the want of matter for keeping the
people of England in occupation. They will take
care that the English sway shall be felt, and that
the English in turn shall feel what it is to have a
sway.—Morning Chronicle.
The visit of his Royal Highness Don Miguel to
the Court of our Sovereign forebodes, we hope, the
commencement of a more auspicious era to that

country whose Government he is called to direct.
If this Prince, whose early impressions, from the
manner of his education, have all been on the side
of arbitrary. government, has hitherto believed that
not to possess absolute power was not to be a Kill,
he will find, at the British Court, that Royalty is
not shorn of any of its honours or its dignity by ap-
pearing in the person of a Constitutional 21onarch.
He will there observe, on the contrery, how much
more majestic and graceful is that sovereignty which
governs according to established laws, emanating
from the Estates of the realm, than a despotism,
however powerful, which is left to the isuidance of
its own capricious ntld is always te sport of
its passions br its fears. Example is always more
instructive than theory ; and whatever Don Miguel
may have heard from his former priestly advisers,
about the tendency of Constitutional limitatiOns to
operate towards the extinction or disparagement of
the attributes of Royalty, his own experience
may now afford him its practical refutation.—
If his mind be independent enough to ellow him
to think for himself, the. infertben which he
will draw from what falls tinder his own view of the
grandeur and 'Security of the Regal power in Eng-
land may be of incalculable advantage to himself and
the people whom he is proceeding to goverii. What.
ever may be the political conflicts of party, which
are as much incidental to a free State as sudden and
violent revolutions to a despotic one, where is the
Prince whose throne is more devotedly guarded by
the affections of all classes of his subjects, than that
of George the Fourth ? and whet niereenery pro-
tection can be depended on lb the hour of dangerlike
that of voluntary defence which is found in the ranks
of a people united in attachment to their laws, and
fidelity to their constitutional King ? But whether
this example will or will ant make oim impression on
the mind of Den Miguel favourable to rational and
limited Government, we hope that, since the " work-
ing of events" has enabled our Statesmen to recall
their policy in Portugal, they will leave the Portu-
guese dynasty and its subjects to arrange their own
affairs between themselves, and to exercise as much
independence, as sve claim to be our right, in the
choice of their own mode of Government, whether
that shall be absolute or constitutional, without the
interference of a British army.-11forning Herald.
In taking our usual retrospect of the occurrences
of the past year, our task is for the first time one of
unmingled pain; for the year 127 is the only year
within the memory of any living man, during which
uncompensated calamity and unredeemed disgrace
have characterised the political career of our coun-
try. At the commencement of the past year, Eng-
land was slowly but surely recovering from the
effects of one of the most tremendous commercial
convulsions of which history bears record. Hope
of the national energy and resources, and confidence
between man and man, had already revived; the
elements of our commercial greatness had already
begun vigorously to work; and nothing could have
blasted the fair prospect then before us, but that
degree of political confusion and uncertainty which
is to nations the infallible. prognostic and the certain
cause of commercial decay. Nor had we at that
moment any reason to dread that political confusion
or uncertainty would arise to blemish our national
character, or to impede the progress of our com-
mercial greatness. Principles,—fixed, definite, in-
telligible, rational, and honest principles, main-
tained an absolute dominion over the conduct
of our Government, and the voice and the ex-
ample of the British Government possessed a
controuling and tutelary influence throughout the
world. It was impossible at that time to foresee or
to believe, that so short a period as has since elapsed
would have sufficed to render every thing connected
with the policy of England and of Europe vague,
uncertain, mysterious, or wicked. That such is the
mighty change which one -short year has produced
in the condition and prospects of England and of
the world, is an indisputable fact; and when we
reflect that this appalling change has mainly arisen
from the death of one British Prince, and the
hopeless prostration of one British Statesman, we
are taught the lesson, humbling as it is to the
pride of theories and syssems, yet congenial to
our social nature and stimulating to our moral
faculties—that no degree of perfection in the insti-
tutions of a nation can raise it above the condi-
tion of dependence for its peace, happiness, and
prosperity, upon the individual characters of its
leading men. A powerful body of British troops
had at the beginning of the year just landed upon
the territory of the most ancient Ally of the British
Crown, called thither in virtue of the unequivocal
letter of treaties, and promptly despatched in obe-
dience to the imperious dictates of national faith.
The threatened hostility of a neighbouring State
formed the federal ground of this interference. It
was thus far obligatory upon England. But besides
this it was generally hoped, and apparently not
without reason, that it might be productive of im-
portant advantages to England, and to the general
cause of political improvement and human freedom.
Portugal had received from her Sovereign the gift
of a free Constitution, which, had it firmly taken
root in the hearts of the people, and assimilated to
itself their habits and dispositions, would have
strengthened by a new and firmer tie the connection
between Portugal and England, and have presented
to the world another salutary example of a people
improved in happiness and prosperity under the
mild and genial influence of Constitutional Law.
These splendid anticipations are about to vanish
like the illusions of a dream, and the British
troops to be withdrawn or driven away from Por-
tugal, leaving the Constitution in greater danger
than they found it. Nor is this unfortunate result
of our enterprize an unapt illustration of the influ-
ence which individual character so frequently pos-
sesses over the destiny of nations. The Foreign
Minister of &gland, in stating to Parliament the
ground, and' predicting the consequences of this
intervention, took occasion to exult in the power
and glory of his country, omitting the proud topics
upon which British Statesmen had always been
accustomed to insist, and dwelling powerfully and
exclusively upon another topic. England, accord-
ing to his erroneous exposition of her greatness,
glory, and power, possessed these attributes, not be-
cause she enjoys political institutions which secure
the happiness of her own people—not because that
people are in a pre-eminent degree brave, industrious,
enterprising, and patriotic—not because every ad-
vancing and receding tide floats into and out of her
thousand harbours the rich products of all soils and
climates, in exchange for the boundless creations of
her own industry and skill—not because she can at
will send forth invincible navies from her sea-bound
coast—not, in fine, because the genius and heroism
of Englishmen nobly correspond with her geogra-
phical and political advantages—but England was
pronounced by this her Minister to be formidable to
other Powers, chiefly because she had a formidable
body of auxiliaries, consisting of the turbulent and
disaffected in every country, dormant at present, but
ready to start into instantaneous action at her slight-
est signal. This speech it was afterwards meanly
attempted to deny. The words were spoken, we
believe, for no other purpose than to flatter and ca-
jole a contemptible party in England, but the im-
pression they made thoughout Europe was deep,
and will not be easily effaced. They created wishes
for the failure of the Portuguese Constitution
where they did not exist before, and strengthened
them where they already existed. The full effects
of this wicked and too eloquent harangue are not
yet visible. The overthrow of the Portuguese Con-
stitution, and the destruction of British iufluence in
that country are among its probable effects. Early
in the last year Providence visited this country with
an afflicting calamity in the death of his Royal
Highness the Duke of York, who, for many years at
the head of the British army, had combined the
prudence of a Statesman with the ardour of a sol-
dier, in his unwearied and successful efforts to im-
prove its character, to perfect its discipline,
to extend and secure its comforts. The model
and the father of the army, he was no less
the object of profound respect and ardent affec-
tion to all ranks and classes of the people. His loss