The Sun.
London, England, 1845-02-10 00:00:00

structing these harbours of refuge at various parts of
our extended coast-line, without delay. His Grace
demonstrated the very imminent jeopardy to which,
in the defect of such defences, the whole trade of this
metropolis and port, homeward or outward bound,
must always be subject in the estuary of the Thames,
in the event of hostilities with a Continental power.
About the month of August last, if we remember
rightly, his Grace again bore testimony to the
paramount importance of improving the port of
Dover to a very considerable extent, and converting
it into a harbour of refuge for the accommodation
and rendezvous of our steam navy, as well as of our
commercial marine. The report of the last Com-
mission, signed by professional authorities of such
eminence as Admiral Sir BYAM MARTIN, G.C.B. ;
Admiral DUNDAS ; Mr. COLQUHOUN, Captain WASH-
INGTON; the very celebrated Engineer, Mr. J.
WALKER, &c., not only amply confirmed the judg-
ment and testimony of the Duke, but specified the
works necessary to be executed, the site and the scale
upon which they should be constructed, and the pro-
bable amount at which their cost might be estimated.
But Sir ROBERT PEEL, who has not hesitated to
inflict upon the country the odious Income-tax, in
order to maintain that dashing " surplus of Revenue,"
on which all his hopes of political canonization now
repose, is little inclined—it seems— to spare 2,500,0001.
for a department of the public service from which he
can secure so small an addition to the sum of his
Parliamentary influence, as the extension, strengthen-
ing, deepening, and improvement of Dover Harbour.
He could not conceal his irritation at being questioned
by the Member for Dover on so distasteful a subject.
He—innocent man !—after his little apprenticeship

in official and public business of thirty years,—he
" really did not know by what means the public got
access to documents which were not, for a time at
least, intended to be circulated."
Between the two extremes of a galvanic telegraph
and the fast carts of the London Parcels Delivery
Company, Sir ROBERT cannot even figure to himself
the possibility of a swift process of communication
between the penetralia of Downing-street, and the

sanctum sanctorum of a London newspaper-office.
He declared, with a grave face, that " He had not
the slightest idea through what channel these docu-
ments were obtained, but somehow or other the news-
papers continually managed to get hold of them."—
(A laugh.) He did not venture to say he had never
heard of such things being done in his time, but
" He could only regret that a document which had
been confidentially prepared for the Government alone
should have been published to the world." With all
respect for Sir ROBERT, this species of red-tape
prudery is very unworthy of him. The French
Government do not appear so nervously sensitive on
such subjects. They know, very well, that such
affairs cannot be gone into, now-a-days, without a
certain peril of publicity, however much publicity,
under many conditions of circumstances, may be to
be deprecated. But for an English Prime Minister,
in 184.5, to talk as if he " really " expected that a
document which must have been to some extent with-
in the cognisance of many Members of Parliament,
not Members of the Government, could be withheld
for any length of time from the knowledge of the pub-
lic,—of that constituency which now exercises so
much vigilance over, and requires so much vigilance
from, its representatives—is foolish affectation. But
now let us see how the Minister of the greatest nation
of Europe, the most extensive maritime power in the
world, can balance, hesitate, and finally sit down
promising nothing—doing nothing—hoping no-
:;hing,"—when the amount of the cost is set against
the construction of public works pronounced by the
highest military, naval, and civil authorities in the
,mpire to be indispensable to our preservation, our in-
depmdence, our honour, our existence. In the first
place, the report, is " really " found to be worthy of
every consideration. But then—nothing has been
done, nor seems likely to be done, in consequence of it.
"In answer to the lion. Gentleman's question, he
could assure him that the report had occupied the most
serious attention of her Majesty's Ministers. To the
opinions of the very distinguished officers who had
formed that Commission great weight would naturally be
attached."

We should hardly think Mr. RICE, or his Dover
friends, Will attach much value to so very
specific an undertaking as this :—" And the Hon.
Gentleman (Mr. RICE) might depend upon it, that
a subject of such vast national importance should
not fail to receive the most anxious consideration
upon the part of her Majesty's Government." For
what is Sir ROBERT'S own view of the probabilities
that any practical result will follow ? Just the most
unfavourable one that can be imagined. The notion
of an expenditure that will knock down his financial
surplus, despite of the income-tax screw for rais'ng it
to the highest attainable pitch, drives him into ecsta-
cies of economical alarms, that are as pathetic as if
they came from WINIFRED JENKINS. "A t the same
time, he (Sir R. PEEL) felt that the cost of carrying
out their recommendations would be very great in-
deed. Take, for instance, the case of Dover alone,
there would be a sum required of not less than
2,500,0001."
So, again :
" In measures of such vast importance, and involving
such a very large outlay of money, the greatest conside-
ration was necessary on the part of the Executive. The
Commissioners had divided their recommendations into
classes, in which they stated that the carrying out of
their suggestions as to Dover stood first, Portland
second, Seaford third. They then gave a general esti-
mate of expense, which, however, could not be entirely
relied upon, and which, as he had before stated, would
require for Dover alone no less a sum than 2,500,0001.
The experience of the expense already incurred at Holy-
head would cause him (Sir R. Peel) to be sure of his
expenses before he entered upon any important works of
the kind ; but inquiries were still being pursued."
Now, let it be observed, in all this, not a word to
impugn the vital, national, urgent, paramount ne•
cessity for those new defences and this harbour of re-
fuge at Dover. Only the expense of 2,500,0001. !
a Prime Minister cannot get over that. He feels it
is incumbent upon him to experience a sort of choking
at the bare idea. " The experience derived from the
cost already incurred at Holyhead is a warning to
him." He will not, off-hand, engage in any more
costly public works. And so he throws overboard,
naming no day for taking them in again—holding
out no hope of ever doing anything for them at all
—Dover, Seaford, Portland, in succession. And
what then ? Why, with an inconsistency, a violation
of prit:ciples and pledges announced but the moment

before—absolutely startling even in Sir ROBERT PEEL
—he coolly announces, as to that " Holyhead," the
charges already paid for which have taught him the
frugal severity he has been so didactic upon when
other ports were in question.—" Now, with respect to
one of the ports mentioned by the Commissioners—
he meant Holyhead—the recommendations made by
them would be at once carried into effect, for the im-
portance of the intercourse between Ireland and this
country required that this should be the case.—(Hear,
hear.) But upon the other recommendations of the
report, Government had not yet come to any decision."
The mot de r inigme is too evident here, and the
mystery of Sir ROBERT'S non sequitur is solved at
a glance. "Ireland has been always my greatest
difficulty," said he, on a memorable occasion, a long
time ago. So she is still. Sir ROBERT cannot open
the Exchequer to make Dover what it ought to be
for the salvation of this country, in the event of hos-
tilities with France, which may break out at any
moment; but he will do so at once to curry favour
with his Irish supporters and the Irish people at large.
No portion of the English press has more consistently
or ardently vindicated the just claims and rights of
the Irish people than our own journal; but we pro-
test against postponing, sine die, the national works
essential at Dover, to the further improvement of
Holyhead, at a vast expense, in addition to the im-
moderate sums already devoted to it, and on the
Minister's single plea of the superior importance of
still further facilitating the communication between
England and Ireland. Is it the simple fact that he
wishes to propitiate Irish support on the one hand, and
prefers the Holyhead works because they will so much
less diminish his surplus than the Dover works, on
the other ? In our opinion he has seldom more egre-
giously or palpably committed himself; and we trust
and hope that Parliament will insist on the recom-
mendations of the Committee's Report in favour of
Dover being fully, promptly, and honestly carried
into effect.

Madrid journals of the Ist inst. have been received.
The return of CASTELLO-Y-AYENSA, the Spanish en-
voy at Rome, had created some surprise in the capi-
tal, as it was generally believed he had failed in his
mission to procure the POPE'S acknowledgment of