The Sun.
London, England, 1829-04-13 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE LONDON JOURNALS.

(FROM THE TIMES.)
If the Bills for relieving the Catholics and for
purifying the elective franchise have not yet received
the Royal assent, that is the only step which now
remains wanting to constitute these important mea-
sures the law of the United Kingdom. He who
lives until to-morrow morning will find the sun
where he used to be, though Lord Eldon, on one
occasion of his long life a poet, assured us that the
sun of England " would set for ever." Nevertheless,
the Englishman who sees to-morrow will receive the
light through his window from the same source and
in pretty much the same direction as on yesterday.
He will only have the satisfaction of knowing that
the great luminary shines alike for his Catholic fel-
loW-subject and for him,—that the same breeze will
no longer parch the Catholic, while it cools the Pro-
testant and cheers him,—that the Catholic will stand
erect beside his Protestant brother instead of crouch-
ing at his feet, and resent and punish, as an outrage
upon himself, what he would formerly have rejoiced
in as an insult or a mortification to his deter-
mined enemy. What, then, will have wrought
this wondrous change ? Why, the Royal assent
will, in the course of this day, be given to those
Bills which on Friday last were read a third time,
and sent from the House of Lords to the King, and
by an immense majority of the aristocracy of Eng-
land. We have little to say on this heart-stirring
amelioration of British policy. Having long since
viewed and discussed it in all its bearing; there is
nothing left for us to remark upon. The debate it-
self was, on Friday, of trifling interest, except for two
or throe characteristic speeches. The first was from
Lutd Eldon, and was meant, no doubt, for a clincher
against the Government. In that point, however,
it was a failure, deplorable even to the adversaries
of the person who spoke it, for miserable soreness,
intemperance, and imbecility of spirit. Except in
one instance, and that was an unlucky one,. the
Learned Lord never once was betrayed, into even
the affectation of a serious objection to the conduct
of Ministers. That single exception to the pre-
vailing character of his speech, was where he re-
peated the twenty-times-refuted complaint of
"-the country having been taken by sur-
prise,"---a point on which the Duke of -Welling-
ten re-stated his own satisfactory assurance,
that the moment he had authority to act upon
the concurrence of an illustrious personage in
his views, he did announce it to the nation. Lord
Eldon talked of the people of England being dread-
fully " agitated." We wonder much who are those
agitated people, or where are they ? for, positively,
beyond a score or so of noodles with coronets on
their coaches, we have seen nothing like men at all
excited, though to be sure, among the said noodles
may be found some one or two in an ugly condition,
and not a little to those about them. Jr Lord
Eldon's opposition to the relief of the Catholics
had any thing either generous or rational to recom-
mend it, the slightest knowledge of human nature
might convince any one that he would neither talk
so peevishly, nor so much about himself. If the
Learned Lord had available arguments he would
use them, instead of abusing other people so grossly.
If he had any solid matter to bring forward, he
would not lose his temper, nor launch into long
rigmarole narratives which concern nobody but
himself alone. From the whole personal history of
the Learned Lord, we could collect this one va-
luable confession, viz.—that in his best days
he judged himself not fitted for any political station
whatever, but only for the professional appoint-
ment of Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
Then with what face can this avowed incapable put
himself at the head of a furious faction in the
country, and attempt to thwart the Government
and Legislature upon a broad question of State po-
licy ? The truth is, that the man was not merely
placed in an office for which he was unfit, but he
remained a Cabinet Minister a great many years too
long, and is outrageous that he cannot rule the na-
tion for ever, according to his own caprice. The
Duke of Wellington's reply last Friday was well
worth attention. His concluding passage, where he
thanked the old Opposition for the liberal support
which they had given him, was the result, we are
convinced, of honest and grateful feeling ; nor
could it bear, with any particle of justice, the co-
lour which we learn that some mischief-makers
have been eager to fix upon it—viz. that of being
a civil conge to the Whigs—as if his Grace's de-
claration that he had no political connection with
them, was to be a sufficient excuse for his
treating them, individually and collectively, as a
party -who had no claims to his regard in fu-
ture. Those who saw the Duke's manner while he
spoke, will clear him—if a knowledge of his manly
character did not—from auy such sinister imputa-
tion. We are not aware whether his Majesty in-
tends to do, or whether health or other circumstances
'ill permit his doing, what would be to his Catho-
lic subjects, and to the powerful and dignified ma-
jorities by which his own policy has been supported
against a fierce opposition in both Houses of Par-
liament, a most gracious act—viz., giving his Royal
assent in person to this the most admirable and tri-
umphant measure that has for centuries afforded
honour to the name of England, and,strength to her
mixed- monarchy, and her free and enlightened in-
stitutions. .The language of Queen Anne from the
throne, in announcing her approbation of the union
with Scotland, and enjoining her people to act to-
wards each other in the spirit of kindness and mu-
tual affection, which that great measure was framed
to promote and cherish, would be in nowise unbe-
coming her illustrious successor, in addressing his
three nations on the accomplishment of this im-
mortal law.