The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-10 00:00:00

the few bornushs, and the few Members subjected to I
?ti-; inquiry.
In the col:: of the debate L ti , at,
LUch comprowises had long been known and practised,
and he doubted whether they were either illegal or a
breach of the privileges of the House. Lord JOHN
RUSSELL referred specifically to the case of Norwich,
in the last Parliament, as a notorious compromise which
had not called forth the censure of the House. It
seemed to be considered, as Major BERESEORD stated,
that such matters were private affairs, of which
Honourable Members, from a son of fellow feeling,
were never to inquire into. That House of Commons'
law and House of Commons' logic, is consistent with its
general conduct. The decision of au election petition
concerns the constituencies, and about them the House
never troubles itself, unless they happen to be coincident
with the party or private interest of some of its own
Members.
Whatever may be the result of the inquiry, the
public are so convinced of the great corruption of
elections, that they will not be 'satisfied with any-
thing short of a general measure to repress it That
House has essayed in vain, for several years, to
re-establish itself in the public esteem, and all its efforts
for this purpose—whether they were partial alterations
in the constituent body, new contrivances to settle con-
troverted elections, or bills against bribery—have only
damaged it more and more. Its conduct of late is uni-
versally stigmatized as in the highest degree immoral. The
bulk of its Mem hers were elected on the principle of preserv-
ing the Farmer's Protection Bill entire, and the bulk of
them have voted to lessen that protection. They have
forfeited their word, and have broken all their vows.
At the same time they have signified that the measures
fur which they have voted do not meet their approbation.
They have been equally false to themselves and false to
their constituents. Their votes and their convictions,
their acts and their consciences, have been at
variance. To keep in Sir H. PEEL they have cast
political honesty to the winds. Now has come this ex-
posure of the manner in which many of them have
obtained their seats, and there is now not a debating
club in the country which, on account of the sincerity
and honesty of its proceedings, and the just manner of
entering the club, is not more respected than the House
of Commons.

1 We fancied yesterday, as we copied from the Morning
Post the announcement that a general charity sermon
is to be preached fur the relief and subsistence of the
starving millions of the manufacturing districts, that
we saw awn- pallid faces, at first lighted up with smiles
of joy and hope. They started up, a e thought, as the
news reached them, and huzzaed for delight. Then
came over them a doubt, and they whispered, " Is it,
indeed, true ? Can it be that the humane and patriotic
advisers of her MAJESTY' have thought of us poor
wretches ? Can it be that they have counselled with
the Great PRIMATE and the Bishop of LONDON, the
• lineal heirs of CHRIST ? Can it be that these wise men
are coming to our aid ? The news is too great and
good to be true. But it must be true, it is printott ;
it is double-leaded in the Pest; it is sent forth by au-
thority ; it is propagated throughout the empire in a
solemn manner, as an important piece of news, that her
MaaEs'rv's htuaiane and patriotic advisers' are coming
to our help by o.edaining a universal charity sermon."
Wonderftil, indeed' ! And is this the quack nostrum,
we think we hear them saying, as they become sensible
of the mot ding insult, which PEEL offers to a starving and
industrioi is people, after ten months' cogitation ? Wo
think we see the people recovering from their astonish-
ment, the smiles of joy and hope changing into smiles
of withering contempt and derision, followed by one
universal shout of indignation. We want justice not
charity. We spurn your charity, and we will have
justice."
The announcement in the Post is the most awful event
we have fret witnessed. We thought the National Peti-
tion ominous enough, but a general charity sermon,
ordained tap the Prime Minister, because he finds his
hopes and his schemes for relieving the people a dead
failure, as he avowed on Friday, is a subject for more
painful reflections than the presentation of the National
Petition. What I the industrious millions of this
country, who have just appeared in the House of Com-
mons, by a petition to demand admission into the pale ofthe
Constituti on, to be relieved by a charity sermon Are
they to be so fobbed off by the Prime Minister! What! the
great distu7esi that is eating into the core
.of the nation,
the flagrunt injustice of which the people complain, to
be relieved-as money is gathered for a mission to the
South Seas, or to rebuild a church struck by lightning !
Impossie, absurd—a proof only that Sir R. PEEL has
lost his :tenses, and kno‘vs not what to do. We have
entertm tied. an opinion from the first that his policy
was shortcoming and inefficient. But this plan of
eking it. out by a great charity sermon, makes it abso-
lutely &spice:tie. A masqued -ballet Court to give
vigour to our arms in India is not a m pre contemptible
expedien.t.
Can Sir ROBERT. PEEL' suppose for a moment that
the people will be gratified by such a course of pro-
ceeding ? They, ask for- Universal Suffrage ; he con-
sults willa the Archbishop of Cals-rEarantv, and issues a
QUEEN'S; Letter. They ask for the abolition of
the landlords' monopoly and of class legislation .; he
ordains a charity sermon. . Does he now suppose
that the' people are-to be so bribed and preached into
contentment ? Does he- expect, by thus putting fora and
the priesthood, in what he sUppoSes a good work, to re-
store them to public es twerp ? If he means both to
elevate the priesthood anti content the people by such a
contrivaz ice, never was a poor charlatan more miserably
deceived. The cunning triclt is at once seen through, and
the people will only despise the more the bungling con-
triver, as well as the ministers of religion, who are so
willing to substitute the charity of others for doing
justice themselves. ,
But will this scheme even answer Sir R. PEEL'S
object ?' The plain intention of it is to bolster up, if
possible, the landlords' injustice. We take it for granted,
therefore , that not a single free-trader or Radical in the
empire • will contribute a ftrthing to the fund. It is
intended . also to relieve the manufacturers, they there-
fore can contribute nothing. Adding the unwilling to
the unable, there will rem. tin few persons to con-
tribute beyond the landlords themselves, and a few
of the opulent tax receiv 'ers of the metropolis.
The alr eudy over-burdened middle' closes will need all
that the y can scrape together to pay Sir ROBERT PEEL'S
Income- tax, and it is not likely that they will contri-
bute
lac gely. The bulk of the funds, thsrefore, will
come fro in the pockets of the landlords and clergy, who
will pro trebly give more than, they will gain by the
Corn-laws. They will have, tb erefore, all the dsgrace
and all the odium of support ing those laws, without
reaping a, single penny profit to compensate them for
the just -indignation and hatred of the people.
The cs trious announcement of a general begging in
behalf o f men who despise the alms, is accompAnied
by anet her equally curious announcement. We .say
nothing against the benevolent motive-of, the anlia,b.:e
and well-meaning Lady who is about to enliven her
Court, and excite the attention of all,Europe, by a most
splendid and novel en tertainment. . We believe that she
and her Ministers entertain the 'opinion that the
extravagance of the rich benetta the poor, Thinking
neither of the bad example nca, the tuiprOductive con-
sumption, they suppose, therefore, they are doing good
to the nation by giving splendid entertainments. On that
economical question we now after no opinion ; but we
mayventi2re to remind those who are continually admo-
nishing tbe people to take t he Bible as their guide—that
the wise Kings of Judah,. when their kingdom was
afflicted, clothed thetnselve s in sackcloth and ashes.
Our rulers, on the contrar;7, when the nation is in dis-
tress, ord sin charity sermons,' and give masqued balls.
The same journals which con Lain the announcement of our
"patriotic Ministers" to issuo a QQEEN'S Letter, inform
the public that " for years the re has not been a season of
so much f 4 stivity, cnd so many amusements of every descrip-
tion, as a t this mo vtent ; all thoughts are absorbed in
breathless 'expectati on of her MAJESTY'S Masque." Are
the nobility and g& !ntry aboi it to dance over the grave
where they have bus led then ational welfare ?

......... ........ woolen

Some of the Tory jour -was , have been, and occasionally
still are, virtuously indit, ;nanit against the repudiating
States of the North Ameri can Union. "How atrocious,"
they have exclaimed, ." in . those States not to pay the in-
terest on loans contracted i n their name 1 They have lost
their credit in the murk( it, and no capitalist will now
lend a farthing to an Amet ican repudiating State." We
agree in this instance with Our Tory Contemporaries; but
wha; can they say for Ent r 'and, become a repudiating
State to a certain extent moil .r the administration of Sir
R. PEEL ? England does.not repudiate—the fashionable
phrase for artfully def :audit ig a State's creditors—the
whole of her debt, Ate oril .y repudiates, at present,
2/. 18s. 4d. per c, att. of it. But it is whispered
that the Income-tax io b y and by to be ex-
tended, in order to give more commercial relief,
eXt6
and instead of 24 18s. 4d. per cent. it witl be 10 or 12
per cent. Sir IL "'Era, ha vin g.
established the principle
to the form( 1r
of repudiatingnt, must carry out nis
own principle, and make aal the State creditors pay 10
or 12 per cent., as he now ro ;to make them pay
se.
21 18s. 4d., whenever the. Income- .‘ ax is extended. It
is, however, a certain fact t hat Ennl st.,d has become a re-
pudiating State under a se wori'd Government of the
Tories, and has so become- ,on Sir pk.EL'S theory, to
preserve public credit. 11 rat is a k :rime, therefore, in
the new republics, is a vii 'tue itt the old Tor.y monarChy.

••••■■■—• _
We have now befor' a c Jpy of the amended In-:
come-tax Bill, as it pa. ftsed throe gh Committee, and as