The Sun.
London, England, 1829-08-29 00:00:00

supporting the Ottoman Porte, and opposing the vie-
tocion4 arms of Russia. It was necessary to prove
how the greater part of our Ministers, who were so '
long in the pay of England, and at the feet of
Austria, had on a sudden renounced their old in-
clinations and habits, and become all at once imbued
with those sentiments of national honour which
cause all idea of invasion or foreign occupation► to '
be rejected with horror. The Times found it more
convenient to answer us with insults than arguments.
It felt, without doubt, that it was not in its power
to delude the public upon the hostile intentions of
the Cabinet of London against Russia, or to restore
the reputaton of men who have only made them-
selves known by the most baleful acts, and against
whom a unanimous cry of reprobation has arisen in
France. The Times, however, was better situated
that any other journal to make known the truth, if
perchance we had unintentionally transgressed it.
Not only does it receive the confidential communi-
cations of its own Cabinet, but no secret of ours is
hidden from it. It has been easy to convince one-
self of this within the last few days. It is in this
Paper that the new projects of our Ministers have
been revealed. If to this sign it were necessary to
add a more evident proof of the disinterested re-
lations of the Times with our Cabinet, we would
say, that, about fifteen or twenty days ago, one of
its principal editors came to Paris expressly to learn
what was going on from M. de Polignac's friends,
and departed again with the assurance of being paid
a large subsidy, and having regular intelligence fur-
nished to him.;,' This revelation will, without doubt,
excite the rage of the Times again, but we have no
fear that it will treat it as false or absurd."—lbid.

We alluded yesterday to the imbecility of the
Legislature of this country as resulting neces-
sarily from its aristocratical constitution, and to
the demoralising influence of an aristocracy on
the lower classes. England enjoys from her si-
tuation advantages possessed by no other Eu-
ropean country ; and instead of wondering at
the. progress in industry in this country as com-
pared with others, the wonder ought to be that
our superiority is not more marked. Our insu-
lar situation gives us security from external at-
tack. The sea has spared us the labour of
opening up communications between the nu-
merous towns on the coast. The level nature
of the country has made an unusual proportion
of our rivers navigable, and facilitated the cut-
ting of canals.. We possess coal in abundance,
and great facilities in consequence for the manu-
facture of iron, Our happy position, too, for
commerce with every part of the world is of in-
calculable importance to us. Still the arts which
have chiefly flourished among us are the arts
which lead to production. How happens it that
the wealth so extensively diffused in this coun-
try is turned to so little account in the way of
moral improvement ? Low happens it that
education is at so low an ebb in this country ?
that you find everywhere so many men possessed
of property with ill-furnished minds ? From
the inordinate love of extravagance, which
is betimes driven into the population of
this country, male and female, all know-
ledge which does not immediately lead to the
acquisition of wealth is in some sort despised.
From the same cause proceeds the constant
struggle for the attainment of more than is ne-
cessary for comfortable existence, to produce an
impression on the world. Hence the want of
leisure for mental cultivation ; and hence the
inability to make a good use of wealth when it
has been acquired. We ought to be far beyond
all the other nations of Europe in knowledge ;
and yet we rank in all that regards the noblest
branches of knowledge amongst the lowest.
Why should not the increase of material wealth
be accompanied with increased cultivation of the
intellect ? Among the most important objects
that can engage the attention of a rational being,
are the circumstances which determine the wel-
fare or misery of the body of the people. flow
little is this important object attended to in
England ! And what a proof of the low condi-
tion of the nation, in point of morals, is the
fact, that such numbers of men in easy circum-
stances should be so indifferent to the welfare of
their fellow-creatures as to deem themselves jus-
tified in abstaining from inquiring into this im-
portant subject ! At present, for instance, there
ss great distress in many parts of the country.
The distress among the weavers and in the
iron trade can be accounted for. The im-
proved machinery of the power loom has de-
stoved the hand loom weavers ; the advantages
of the Welsh iron works have injured the works
in other parts of the country less favourably
situated, and which cannot continue to work at
the reduced prices. But this will not account
for much of the distress that is felt. The con-
nection between population and comfort is too
little attended to in inquiries into our condition.
If, with a limited territory, ten millions of men
enjoy not snore than is necessars to comfortable
existence, the comfort will be diminished if the
population reach twenty millions. Population
cannot exceed the supply of food ; but an in-
crearae of population causes the share to each
person to be less than before, Our population
has been increasing rapidly, and is still increas-
ing ; but the comforts of the people have beer.
eliminishing. The Rev. Mr. Townsend, who
pointed out, in his Observations on the Poor
Laws, published so early as 1785, the connection
between population and the condition of the peo-
tale, inserted a aeries of articles in the Uviversal
.Maigazine for 180, on the same subject. In one
them, in the number for March, 1808, he ob-
serve's, " When I came into the Vale of Pew-
sey (Wiltshire), in the year 176 i, the poor had
plenty. Every cottage had its buttery well sup-
plied with bread, butter, cheese, • and beer.
Every one had a flitch of bacon on the rack,
with some money in the chest. Every cottager
appeared well clad, and the poors' rate was so
low as scarcely to be felt. But by dezrees these
comforts have all vanished, the labouring poor
are badly clothed, many of them have scarcely
any linen on their backs, and their principal sus-
tenance is merely bread and water. In the
mean time their numbers have incrgased, the
demand for labour has diminished, awl the
poors' rates have doubled every fourteen years.
ream what has been said, it is evident that in a
coantey of limited extent the population must
sooner or hater reach the boundary where afflu-
ence terminates, and where penury beg;ras. • For
to suppose a limited supply of, food and popula,
Lion without limits is a palpable absurdity.
Yet here a question wiil arise which it will be
needful for us to answer. By the law of Eng-
land there are no limits to the supply for the
poor. Why, then, are not their numbers dc4hled
every fifteen years? The only answer to this
question is, that what law has given them has
been withheld, and the owners anii occupiers of
houses, land, and stock in trade, have been in-
cessantly struggling with the indigent in defence
of their property. The law says that no man shall
want ; yet from what I have stated as to the vale ot
Pewsey, which is not the only vale in which po-
yertv prevails,the wants of the poor are great. Should
It is due to the TiTes to state, upon the authority of
a iwr 601 a, and 711-informed Corespondent, that no
s~ cur 141 Luis article appeared in Paris, thin the friends
of NI de,Vol;vlo
gave tlic most unqualified contradiction
.
to the cali!inap ...• •