The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-25 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

)ItOK THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
GLOBE.—We may now, we think, consider our-
selves as pretty completely justified in the intention
we expressed of calling certain assertions by no other
name than Ferrancls,—although there is a name
snorter by one syllable for assertions of the sort we
Vude to. On any point, therefore, referring to the
Loor-law or Factory question, whenever an assertion
1,1:153' be put forth in any quarter, which neither
Proof nor probability=neither document nor fact
°f any kind can be brought to vouch—whenever
an assertion is put forth which no man of honour
would hare made, without anything to adduce
its ground, or any idea that the only alternative
fora man of honour is to support or retract his words
--to state on what supposed ground he uttered them,
apologise for them, as words which should not
&sa.re been uttered—whenever such assertion shall
come before us in future, thus gross, thus unsupported
7-we:shall be saved a world of trouble in describing
its
character, by simply treating it as a " Ferrand."
Fernand and
his friends are, indeed, right worthy of
each other; and we rejoice to have found so succinct
an expression for the style of assertion characteristic
of them as of him. The Times, Post, and Herald are
tyi.i.ittefthattavaloss to imagine how it should be expected
%able friend should justify in one place
what he L'e, said in another. Sufficient for the day
to tens thereof; what Mr. Ferrand said
e r s-slc:etahtingone time, he could not expect
.gentlemen to call him to account for at another...
to be said in favour of this view
of the matter; and it has at least the advantage of
Setting, for all future time, all assertions of Mr. Fer-
rand (endorsed, as the case may be, by Times, Post,
°r neralor) at their just value. Those who like to
take such inconvertible currency may. He and they
111It'Y fly any more such kites as they think proper;
their reciprocal attestations will henceforth only
'flake the most predestined dupes. The citation
of 'Mr. Ferrand's authority will render quite
harmless anything else that follows ; and the
broadsides of the Times and his other confede-
rates will flash a mere brutum fulmen, whenever
they seek to blaze away in future with Ferrands in
lieu' of facts. Thank heaven, one " tall bully" at
least may henceforth " lift his head and lie," as un-
cuallenged as the old original Monument—and for the
sa,rne reason. We pave always thought it a pity the
Old flagrant inscription brazens it out no longer ; and
we should think it a still greater pity that Mr. Fer-
rand should henceforth be treated by any one as an
accountable being. There are varieties of vermin
11 '
hich feed on each other • there are newspaper agita-
tions which require such pabulum as the speeches,
Fband which nourish, in turn, the notoriety of a
4:errand.
STANDARD.—The unpleasant and unprofitable
scene of Monday night was last night renewed in the
Rouse of Commons. Mr. Ferrand, who, it will be
re...taenibereil, made a promise to examine the reports
'-`O,? the speeches ascribed to him, and then to disclaim
iravow his charges against Sir James Graham and
dr• llogg, declared that he had read the reports and.
ond then faithful, and having reiterated his convic-
ir of the truth of his charges, walked out of the
wic)nse• The scene that followed illustrates in a re-
v arltable manner the extreme impropriety and incon-
a„enAie,nee of the meddling of Messrs. Roebuck, Hume,
er„ Ward. Mr. Ferrand had made two grave charges,
vi the utter injustice of which we are as fully con-
ricedi as we are of Mr. Ferrand's bona fide sincerity in
advA •
-"lug them; but they were charges from their
esetraYbinish i
aturne incapable of specific proof, for who can
evidence the motive of a judge, or trace
A• the lips of witnesses the influence of a Mi-
ter le, For this reason a cool and discreet man,
star Mr. Ferrand is not, will carefully ab-
-84" from making such charges ; for the same rea-
°Ts a zealous and bold man, which Mr. Ferrand is,
VI be
prompt to make them and will be
eIY forgiven for making them ; and for all these
rec
as'anil such charges rarely do harm to any one,
never to men of such established high character as
the Home Secretary and the Member for Beverley.
taiseems to have been the view of the matter
take
n by Sir James Graham and Mr. Hogg, who
it the charges of Mr. Ferrand's speech unanswered
and unnoticed, until the officious zeal of Messrs.
:oebuck, Hume, and Ward suggested the policy of
putting them into form as a distinct impeachment,
and bringing that impeachment by a certiorari pro-
ceas of their own into the House of Commons.
Thi• s, we say, Messrs. Roebuck, flume, and
.„.",ard had no right to do, and this we say,
"th all respect, the Speaker ought not to have
Permitted them to do. The House of Commons
hi work enough to do, and duties of sufficiently
ectlortance to discharge, without looking after
the "net of its Members out of doors, except where
condis of the country have pronounced upon that
whe ~--"
, or, as in the case of Mr. O'Connell's slander,
elf ,me direct attack is made upon the House
are , 'nBo its collective character. If Members
rite Lo be followed abroad by the censorial appa-
egir„rs of Parliament, in order to compel them to
ra an account of their reports of other Mem-
-8008 of whom they may speak, Parliament will
if. „a have .enough to do. There were but few,
11;',t1Y, of the monster meetings last summer at which
co'• Daniel O'Connell did not deal out tolerably
Ruses
and minute charges against Members of both
lt,i°llB,es of Parliament, but we do not remember that
it r. Roebuck, Mr. Hume, or Mr. Ward, ever thought
,re necessary to require the Member for Cork to
s3eat those charges in the House of Commons, and
LLostantiate them by proofs. True, Mr. O'Connell
or chartered slanderer, and Mr. Ferrand is a man
a honour ; but surely the mistakes of a man of honour
al! entitled to as much indulgence as the deliberate
A.,4nders of one of an opposite character ; and one
an,_Lantly indulged case opposing it, is decisive
bliAlnst any rule. 'We repeat it, then, that Messrs.
offing
Hume, and Ward had no right to
Mr. Ferrand's Leeds speech under the notice
Larliament, and that the Speaker ought
,1111 to have permitted the introduction of the
dJect• When, however, the subject was intro-
luced, neither Mr. Ferrand, Sir J. Graham, nor Mr.
gg had any choice as to how each ought to act.
Ferrand ought to avow or to disavow
be2Peech at Leeds ascribed to him in the news-
„ie'F'ro• Sir James Graham and Mr. Hogg ought
~show themselves ready to
.vindicate their cha-
fiers ; and this is pretty much what has been done.
Ferrand avows the speech, and being forced
ee answer, professes that he adheres to the opinions
f.,tweyed in it. It is, however, going too far
o
treat this avowal of the speech and of its
4111°us as a pledge to substantiate anything by
te dente. Neither at Leeds, we believe, nor cer-
fr; nbr in the House of Commons, did dr. Ferrand
have any such pledge. The charges, as we
th.:l° intimated, are hardly of the same kind
re'rt admit of specific proof, and were they dif-
pr ent, the House of Commons has too often ex-
tieeasl-Y, by implication, and by an unhappy prac-
aw:' Condemned itself' as a judicial tribunal for
moan to look for a just judgment from it,
tpare especially in a matter in which strong
atty feeling must have place. It is unjust,
fliec,ref°re, to treat Mr. Ferrand as one who
seroln an accusation that he has pledged him-
lie ip to support. As to Sir James Graham and Mr.
peFg, they have acted as might have been ex-
from their high spirit, integrity, and
`ltorti• g sense, and from the tranquillity they main-
Lied until Messrs. Roebuck, Hume, 'and Ward
rt,st'ew the coal." Sir James Graham lets the matter
iing„fs,rld Mr. Hogg seems to 1111'4 been disposed to
tie the Right Hon. Baronet, except for an insinu-
QOll4 its the Times of yesterday ; this insinuation our
thistmenVerary has. very handsomely withdrawn this
sucruing, and therefore we trust that the business
atira $,(,). no further, and that Messrs. Roebuck, Hume,
ss ard will be disappointed.