The Sun.
London, England, 1827-08-14 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

We have nothing to add to' the statement
which we first presented, that Lord Goderieh
,vas First Lord of the Treasury. The Marquis

of Lansdowne acquiesces _readily and cordially in
the appointment ; and or those who remained
out of office before, but gave their independent
support to Mr. Canning's Administration, some
will, no doubt, be selected to fill the vacant si-
tuations. A heavy domestic affliction induces
Lord Harrowby to retire from the Presidency
of the Council. We know not what use it is
endeavoured to make of this fact. Had the re-
tirement taken place at the beginning of Mr.
Canning's Premiership, it might have been ma-
nufactured into a disapprobation of 'that gentle-
man's principles or advancement : at present it
can be liable to no such construction. His
Lordship accords perfectly in, the promotion (if
we may use that word) of Lord G.)derich. Mr.
Peel is said to have left town for Mansfield on
Saturday, the day after we announced that Lord
Goderich had been " sent for" to Windsor.
But a cotemporary journal mentions a ridiculous
circumstance with respect to a certain Noble
Lord ; which is, that on hearing of Mr. Can-
ning's death he had posted up to London, in
the hopes, perhaps, of filling the vacant place.
" This is too bad !" Lord Liverpool would say,
if he could speak.—Times.
The Lord High Admiral' has now, as will be
seen from our reports of the movements, speeches,
And other proceedings of his Royal Highness,
concluded his tour of naval inspection, and re-
turned to his official head-quarters in or near the
metropolis: The Duke of Clarence has, ever
since his appointment (a brief period however)
been rendering hiMself "popular .with the mem-
bers of that. noble service' over which he has the
honour to preside. His Royal Highness has
throughout his tour been described as conduct-
Mg himself affably, frankly, and good-naturedly,
thereby extending to the community at large,
with which he associated, those favourable senti-
ments of his character and intentions, which he
has won, and (we speak it to his credit) endea-
voured to win, from' all ranks of his naval bre-
thren. Our earnest- and honest hope is, that
both the praise which has been achieved by the
heir presumptive, and the meritorious feelings
Ind resolutions which have obtained it for him,
.will wear well, and cheer and support him
through every period of an existence which, if
he lives, cannot, in the nature of things, be either
an idle existence or a tranquil one. Through-
out the whole of the Duke's speeches we
rind the most unqualified declarations of pride
in his profession, and attachment to its wel-
;.are, and of a resolution to protect its most
deserving members. These are engagements
which we think it our duty to impress
upon the public mind, as well as to fix
them upon the memory of his Royal Highness.
The Duke of Clarence, if he acts upon his pro--
fessions,—cherishing the service for its own
sake and that of the country, and discarding
every seduction or temptation thrown in his'way
by oflieiai jobbers, to advance men of fortune and
r'amily interest over the heads of unprotected
merit,—will raise the marine of England to a
pitch of eminence unrivalled even in its own
magnificent annals; and his personal fame and
renown beyond that of either prince or subject
who has gone
'before him. Let us add but a
ew "words more. The Duke of Clarence might
)eneficially turn his attention to one or two
)ther subjects. The exercise of the great guns,
and that with small arms, including the pike-and
cutlass, ought to be much more diligently prac-
tised than we have reason to believe is now the
ease in our service, even after the severe and
mortifying lessons which we received from North
America in the former branch of discipline
(luring the last war ; 'and secondly,, a provision
ought to be made _ for releasing British sailors,
during hostilities, from their 'bondage on board
men-of-war after moderate period of duty, thereby
rendering the expedient of impressment, if still
be continued, some degrees less terrible,
the common seaman's life less hopeless and
burdensome, and the name of the service less
odious.—lbid.

We cannot disclaim in terms more strongly
than we feel that we are bound to do, any parti-
cipation in the vile, insidious, and contemptible
allusion which has been made to the religious
:)pinions of Mr. Canning. The insinuation,
such as it is, has been triumphantly refuted by
his friends ; but whether it had been so or not,
we should have felt just the same contempt and
abhorrence at an attempt to carry political an-
tipathy to the death-bed, and to judge between a
man and his Maker. There is a bitterness of
party spirit in this to which we could never have
expected to see the Press lend itself; and, we
must be permitted to say, is doubly reprehensible
in the High Church faction from whence it
emanates. The religion of an individual is
entirely . a matter between himself and his
Maker ; and it is not at the bar of public opinion
that the last hours of any, even the best of men,
can with propriety be tried. With public men,
and with their public conduct, the Press has a
right to deal, for so far they are public property ;
but to attempt to blast the reputation of any
man on a point which no human eye can fathom
is an intrusion equally, indelicate and unjust.
We agree in all that has been said in condemna-
tion of such a practice, by a repetition of which
we trust never to see the Press again degraded.
In Mr. Canning's case the insinuation has been,
AS we have seen, triumphantly refuted. But the
Press, as we have no hesitation in saying, would
become both a tyranny and a curse if it were
permitted to 'violate the sanctity. of private life,
the tears of the widow,. and the memory of the
lead, by comments and insinuations, the truth
of which it cannot know, and with which, if it
ould, it can have no manner of concern.—
Morning Herald.

There are two obstacles to Mr. Peel's return
o office at the present crisis, which •ippear to
he in a great measure insurmountable; the one,
his avowal on leaving office, that he had all
along felt himself uncomfortably situated in a
Cabinet divided on the Catholic Question ; the
other, his almost positive declaration that he
oever could belong to a Ministry, as in Mr.
Canning's case, the head of which was favourable
to that
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