The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-23 00:00:00

a et3unt

t' LONDON
THURSDAY HORNING, JUNE 23, 1842.

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Lord BROUGHAM'S erroneous opinion on the
sugar duties, by which he makes himself an advocate
for keeping wholesome food from the people of
England. Lord BROUGHAM'S error, it is plain, is the
growth of his long connexion with the Anti-Slavery
party. He has taken the lead amongst them, and all
his feelings and opinions have become so bound up
with their pursuits that he forgets what is now due
to the suffering people of England. On these grounds
we conclude that leading statesmenshould stand aloof
from all Societies bound together by' some principle
which is far less comprehensive than the general
welfare.

As far as we recollect, Sir R. PEEL has never made
himself conspicuous at any such meetings. He has
been the chief of a great political party, but never an
active leader of 0. clique. He has participated, we
recollect, at such meetings as those which were held
to do honour to W ATT, SCOTT, and WILKIE, but he
never sought popularity by catering for a few enthu-
siastic philanthropists. We approve of that caution,
keeping himself separate from and above all minor
sections of the community ; and, approving of his
conduct, we regret to see the late leader of the House
of Commons taking a prominent part on Tuesday at
the meeting of the African Civilization Society.

In Lord Join RUSSELL'S conduct, there seems to
us a great want of decorum. The public is still
smarting under the recollection of public money
wasted, and gallant lives lost, by the ill-contrived ex-
pedition to the Niger. It should, if possible, have
been buried in oblivion. Lord JOHN RUSSELL could,
unfortunately, boast that he had done his best to se-
cure that the expedition should be so fitted out as
would be most likely to secure success. In truth, the
public is made aware that but for his subserviency,
as a Minister, to the African Civilisation Society, at
least the cost of the expedition would-not have been de-
frayed out of the public purse. Lord JOHN Rus-
SELL'S appearance, therefore, at the meeting of the
Society, and his boast that he had taken part in fit-
ting out the expedition, is nothing less than an insult
to the public, whose interests he sacrificed, as a Mi-
nister, to serve the cause et* that private Society of
which he is a member. his example confirms our
opinion, that a statesman, whether he be actually in
&fief.) or a chief of the Opposition, should carefully
avoid becoming an active and passionate member of
any such Society.

What is very improperly and very falsely called
the Royal Assent was last night given to the Income-
tax Bill. That measure is now the law of the
land. ner MAJESTY may possibly, by the advice
of her .11inisters, go through the form of affixing her
name to the Commission, appointing certain dearly
beloved cousins and counsellors of tier's to give her
nominal assent to the Bill, by which it is converted
into a law; but it is plain that her MAJESTY has no
more will in the matter, than one of the Ushers of
the House of Peers.

It was only on Tuesday night, about twelve o'clock,
that the Peers passed the Bill, and, legislatively speak-
ing, her MAJESTY could hear nothing of it before that
hour. In sixteen hours, however, from that time,
which would not suffice for the swiftest reader
to read the Bill through and understand it,
ner MAJESTY'S assent to it was formally sig-
nified. What is the plain inference from this, or
rather, what is the certain fact ? Why, the so-called
Royal Assent is riot the assent of the QUEEN at all, but
the assent of the Minister to the 111 inister's tax. PEEL
ordains the Income-tax ;• and PEEL forces it through
the House of Commons, as Sir R. VYVYAN has stated,
by a threat of resignation ; the House of Lords dare
not touch the Money Bill ; and then Dictator PEEK
issues directions to certain officers and certain Lords,
who go .througlii a certain form—mocking Royalty—
and they give P EEL'S assent to PEEL'S ordained tax.
This Royal Assent is one of those shams or fictions
with which' our law and Constitution abound, and
which shams and fictions, according to those who ex-
pound the law and the Constitution, are more essen-
tial to the preservation of society than all the daily
toils of all the artisans in the empire.
Her MAJESTY, GOD bless her! has nothing to do with
giving any assent to such an odious tax. It is a
calumny on her to assert that she assents to it. She
is its victim, like the people. Her income is dimin-
ished as well as the wages of the bread-eating artisans
by the rapacity of the aristocracy. They sur-
round
her with a gorgeous Court, which gives great
salaries to themselves ; and the QUEEN, shorn of all
real power, a mere pageant in their hands, is held out
to the community as taking some 600,0001.
! a-year, from the people, when in fact she
gets little more than the tenth part of the
sum. The Lords and Ladies in Waiting, the Master
of the Buckhounds, &c., &c., have the bulk of the
money amongst themselves. Her MAJESTY gives up a
part of her income to this tax, as the people must give
up a part of theirs. Now, as the Income-tax is the
consequence of the Corn-law, it follows that the
QUEEN is actually taxed to preserve the wealth of the
aristocracy. It results also frpm what we have said,
that what is called the Royal Assent is merely the
assent of the Minister, giving his own decree the so-
lemn sanctity and form of law.
A great deal is said in both. Houses of Parliament
about the advantages of monarchy, but they cannot
spring from the Monarch having here any power.
The President of the Republican United States has a
substantial monarchical legislative power, and he has
more than once thwarted, by his veto, the designs of
those who sought to oppress both the President and
the people. But our Monarch has no power to arrest
the progress of any bad Bill, except by breaking up
the Ministry, which cannot be done without the
consent of *tin Houses of Parliament, and must
always, cause great inconvenience. If her MA-
JESTY had- any such power, she would now be
besieged by the suffering people from one end of the
empire to the other, to give them relief by abrogating
the laws which cramp their industry and deprive
them of food. But it is due to her to make it now
widely known, that She has no real legislative power ;
that it is all in the hands of the Ministers ; that the
, Royal Assent is their assent ; and they ought not to
be allowed to hide their awful responsibility for the
present condition of the country behind the throne.

The African Civilization 'Society has already put
the country to an expanse of 65,0007. for an expe-
dition to tglie Niger. The wealth. is a great deal to
lose, but the loss of the brave men who were se-
(laced to volunteer on the pestilential service, and
who perished in consequence, is still more to be
regretted and deplored. But that, doubtless, is not
the whole amount of the mischief which has been
done by this assemblage of philanthropic, but ignorant
and idle, gentlemen. They interfered with the genuine
and legitimate 'commerce that was growing up on
the Niger, and did what they could to ruin it ; and
so in reality they impeded the attainment of the object
they professed to promote.
We beg to be understood as making no. objec-
tions in the abstract to such Societies; they
are no doubt useful as a warning, if not as an ex-
ample ; they teach us that philanthropy, under the
guidance of ignorance, may cause more mischief than
the most sordid selfishness ; and they inspire us with
'a wholesome mistrust. of those who commit injustice
at berae that they may be generous abroad.
We reg. et ; cry much; however, to observe that
1,171 r, was present at their meeting.
Iz'-16Pires to be a statesman. and to act for the
public bencii:, shOuld care fully eschew an intimate con-
nection with clique of enthusiasts. A Minister
of England should be a Minister of the whole people,
and have no precielletion for sects and cliques. Lord
J. ItussEra, should leave the coterie popularity that
lotty be obtained by attending such meetings to the
benevolent Lord Asithty. He cannot forget, We
should think, that ;his own ".‘linistry was overthrown
the welfare of the people
v those who thougiu
thm of their consistency, members of an Anti-
slavery 'ASSCCILtion. Last year, Dr- Lt.:BIIINGTON,
and gen Oemen. like him, 3aeri fi clod' the interest of their
constitunti patiftt of thet: Ampite to their connection
with sida bbeicties. We deplorti what we regard ris
-

We learn with regret, that the Anti-Corn-law
League, as will be seen by an advertisement, is com-
pelled to postpone the general meeting, which is to
be held in London, from the 27th inst. to the sth
proximo. If the League is to do any good before the
Parliament prorogues, the first appointed day was not
too early for it to assemble.

CITY TOWN CLERIL—The election for this imlilh•tant
office takes plabe this day, the principal candidates. are
Mr. Sergeant Merewether and Mr. Pritchard. The
latter gentleman has been long connected with the Cor-
poration of London, and has had many honours conferred
on him for his services to the City. He is well acquainted
with the bye-laws, charters, customs, and privileges of
the City of London, and from his independent character,
his habits of business, and general knowledge of all that
relates to the first commercial corporation in the world,
he may be safely recommended as a fit candidate for the
office.

We have been favoured with copies of a lithograph
drawing by Mr. O'Driscoll, of the criminal Francis, who
has been convicted of one of the deepest crimes that it
is possible to contemplate ; and of the hardened villain
Cooper, who has been sentenced to die for shooting the
policeman. We cannot speak too highly of the like-
nesses. Mr. O'Driscoll has been very happy in hitting
them off ; he has just caught the expression, and appa-
rently at the most advantageous period. They are
struck upon good paper ; and those who are anxious
to obtain a good likeness of the man who could so far
forget himself as to fire a pistol at our beloved Queen,
may depend upon having a correct one before them, if
they have one of Mr. O'Driscolrs drawings.

A CURIOUS LOAF.—A conrrethspeonpdoesnsetssiNo7liotefsi‘:;
ofc, breadDerbyshire,
i r
‘sioTarhseroer
ils'huarllsotoanfupwards of 400 years
old. It is a funeral loar, befartt; the date of 1436, and
yeta)rstthiaegio.a,mi.7l3,tihaoeeasetp.thauttetp..bes!
was liscovered upwards
with some old writings, belonging
The writer has been acquaintedwith
wards of 50 vears, and called the attentieonsaolfd
tshnetelelatheln it has
lid to the old bread some years e.,0
pl'auud,dmitgoautida
e rs,h Nev hciatnh
truly d .
become a Lion, and has suffered' b;
pilfering of the curious. Sirs. Soars has
handsome glass salver and beehidvaeir7,v
greatly to its preservation and appearance. As Sirs.'a add
>,
noted for the excellency of her
'How are
(and often does) reply to interrogations,
getting on ?'—` Well, pretty well ; we have an old loaf
uncut in the house, and some decent cheese." iywats
Mercury.
Tan WEATTIER.—(From a Correspondent.)—The
fanners and gardeners in the Isle of Wight will be serious
lasers by the continued dry weather. With the exception of
two or three slight showers, there has been no rain since March.
The hay crop is a failure ; the oats, barley, peas, &e., are in
a miserable state ; some farms have hardly anything green upon
them. Yesterday (21st) the mercury fell to 29.32, and great
hopes were eutertaieed.of rain, but to-day -it has risen to 29.42.

•. a

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING. JUNE 23, 1842

Parish Bank Friendly Society of Ruthwell.' Its capital
amounted, at the time of publishing the second edition
of his essay, to a sum exceeding 1,4001.
" It appears, therefore, on the whole, that 'though
some institutions similar both in their principles and de-
tails, had been formed before the Parish Bank of Ruth-
well, yet it was the first of the kind which was regularly
and minutely organized' and brought before the public ;
and further, that as that society gave the impulse which
is fast spreading through the kingdom, it is in all fair-
ness entitled to the appellation of the Parent Society.
If we spoke of the Original Society, the Charitable Bank
at Tottenham would be entitled to. that appellation."

JAY'S WORKS. Vol. 111.
Bartlett, London, 1842.

In this volume we have a series of morning and
evening meditations for the months of July, August,
and September, from the pen of Mr. Wiliam jay.
The meditations are in general appropriate to the
season, and a fervent, but unaffected spirit of piety
pervades them, that cannot be too warmly commended.

TRADITIONS OF THE RHINE.
011ivier. London, 1842.

The numerous scattered traditions that are asso-
ciated with the castellated Rhine, and its neighbour-
hood, are here collected together in one small compact
duodecimo, and illustrated with several apt embel-
lishments. The volume is the production of Captain
Knox, who has told the different legends with great
skill and simplicity, and will form an entertaining
companion to the tourist of the Rhine.

MAGAZINE OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY.
Vol. Vll. Orr, London, 1842. .

As may be inferred from its title, the present mis-
cellany is exclusively of a homely, practical character,
and gives, among useful matters, several valuable sug-
gestions respecting the management of servants,
needle-work, paper-hangings, quack medicines, &c.