The Sun.
London, England, 1827-04-18 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

We are not able to announce any farther ar-
rangements in the Ministry, for which we should
be sorry, if we thought that the delay could re-
vive any hope among the seceders, of indecision
in a certain quarter. Indeed, we think that the
fondness with ,which the fallen party adhere to
this hope of timidity or weakness in him whom
they have insulted, is, if possible, yet greater
insolence than the original affront, However,
we shall here give Them, for their edification, a
short extract from the Gazette of last night :
e 'Whitehall, April 17.
"The King has been pleased to direct letters-patent to
" be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom,
" constituting and appointing his Royal Highness William
" Henry Duke of Clarence, Admiral of-his Majesty's Fleet,
"to be High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great
". Britain and Ireland, and of the dominions, islands, and
" territories thereunto belonging."
Thus are the Melvilles, whose administration of
the navy (that of father and son) has been so
great a curse, at length shaken off. God be
with them ! May England.neVer heas,,of their
names again ! But, to shew that we bear them
no spite, except for our country's cause, and as
retiring statesmen are sometimes honoured with
an accession of heraldic fame, we would recom-
mend that the title of " Marquis of Catamaran"
should be conferred on the present Lord, to
commemorate one of the most notable exploits
• during his father's naval administration; and
that, together with the registry of this title at the
Herald's-office, be inserted a copy of the tenth
Report of the Commissioners of Naval Inquiry.
—lt is, we believe, as certain as if the appoint-
ment were Gazetted, that Sir John Copley is
Chancellor. Lord Bexley goes back again to
his unimportant situation of Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster. His fate reminds us of a
story in the Romish Legends :--When Saint
Anthony, who preached to the fishes, was per-
forming miracles every day, the chief of his,mo-
nastery spoke to him on the subject, reprehend-
ed him for being too lavish of the power of God
imparted to him, and prohibited his performing
any more miracles. The Saint knew his duty,
and promised obedience, but, in coming . out
of the monastery soon after, he observed a
crazy plasterer throw himself down from the
pinnacle of one of the towers. " Stop," said
the Saint to the falling body ; and the- body
stopped midway between the pinnacle and the
earth. " I'll just step in," resumed the Saint," and
ask the Prior to allow me to perform this one mi-
racle more, of replacing your stupid carcass, unhurt,
on the point from whence you started ; if he grant
permission, well and good ; if not, with a precious
clatter, you will come to the ground !" In like
manner Lord Bexley precipitated himself from the
tower. St. Canning stopped him when falling—
stepped in and asked the Prior's permission, and the
precipitated body is replaced unhurt. •The Lord
Chancellor resembles the thief in Prior's Poem, who
is for ever taking leave, " and yet loath to depart."
Sir John Copley is the Cordelier who confe'sses him,
and with a wink to the executioner, and a •
Prithee despatch me this troubksome blade," •
looks to the spoils. By the way, our French quo-
tation was misprinted in yesterday's. paper..: Whit
we said was, " The Master of the .Rolls-a.bien jotte
Jan role in speaking against Catholic emancipation."
With respect to the filling up of the offices still va-
cant in the Administration, we should imagine that
antecedent events point out a course. The .Whigs
have already, when•out of Ministry, defended and
justified that liberal and more diffusive system, of fo-
reign and commercial policy, of which Mr. Canning,
with his friend Mr.,Ftuakissou, was the, author.—
These same gentlemen, therefore, now that the au-
thor of the, policy is in a situation to give it, accord-
ing to their principles,
,greater developement, and
more useful effect, cannot oppose or decline contact
with him; and if he, on the other side, seeks for ad-
herents among the enemies of his system and polac,y.
what proof will he give the King and the nation of
his sincerity ? Let there be a cordial eo-operation
among men whose principles are, for the most part,
the tame; and let not factious nor personal visws
be allowed to interfere on either side, to the risk of
destroying a noble opportunity of effecting a public
good.--Timer.
The appointment Of the Duke of Clarence to
be Lord High. Admiral,. appeared in the Gazette
of last night. According to the Court Circular,
several letters have passed between Mr. Peel and
Mr. Canning within the last few days. , We
trust the correspondence was of a more amicable
character than that between the Duke of Wel-
lington and Mr. Canning. , If Mr. Peel, as his
friendsallege,haveno private grudge towards Mr.
Canning, it is difficult to understand why he
should deem it necessary to retire at this time.
He himself told us some time ago that he owed
nothing to the Lord Chancellor ; and we all
::r now that the Chancellor expressed himself more
their once very contemptuouslyrespecting his le-
gislative labours, and particularly his attempt to
put a stop to sham pleas. He had absolutely
nothing in common with the rest of the old
stagers who have withdrawn to the obscurity
from which they ought never to have emerged,
except his opposition to • the Catholic Claims.
He, on the, contrary, has beeti.exerting 'himself
to benefit his country, by grappling fairly with
the. Herculean task of freeing the lamp fnatri the
grievous defects which at present attae.kto them;
and it is but justice to him, to admit that the
principles which lie has laid down,, and the man-
ner in which he has hitherto applied them, be-
speak a clear and unprejudiced head, and an
honesty of intention which entitle him to the
gratitude of the nation. We confess we should
he sorry, on many accounts, were he to refuse
office under Mr. Canning. Even supposing a
successor were to tread• in his footsteps, it might
be long before he acquired the familiarity with
she subject possessed by Mr. Peel, and conse-
quently the business of legal reform would ne-
cessarily be suspended for a considerable. time.
We therefore trust he will be induced to return
to an office -in which he can be eminently useful
to the country. T. ate, like Mr, Peel, placed
'
by his fortune above the necessity of caring for
the acquisition of wealth, the devotion of his ta-
lents to the service of.hie country is a, noble
object of ambition. The man is
greatly to
be envied, who has the means within his
reach of diminishing the evils that
affect
society, and consequently adding to the, amount
of virtue and happiness. To decline power
when a man is persuaded that he can wield. it for
Praise-wor;by purposes, so far from being an act of
magnanimity, is a mean dereliction of duty,
an un-
warrantable yielding to selfish indulgence, for which
his cons i
e-ence ought to sting him. We hold this
language' &Peaking of Mr. Peel, because we areiper.
suaded he can understand it. To the Lord Chan-
cellor, we should i‘leeer,think of suggesting any
con-
sideration, not immediately y connected with self. If
he could have comprehended why a man ought to
act occasionally from
her motives than the mere
wish to accumulate pea, iould have shrunk with
horror from the mass of
human miner to which he
was constantly adding b;,
hi
eciszadcect money
ioa.oaneeitermi-
nation to part with nothingshas
and
patronage, though it ,wasnf_t°rict!,,at the anke
politicals.
ruptcy ought to have been separated 14'54#,ti.ie Court
of Chancery, and that the business arum- frons the
former, the Scotch 'Appeals,'Appeals,
inf~nmade such havoc on the time demanded,t)lin.
...!ery suitors. But we will not do Mr. Peel the in.
Justice to class him, for moment, with the LW

Chancellor; and we think that, for the benefit of his
own reputation, the sooner he quits a course, in
which he may, possibly, be confounded as an asso-
ciate of is Lordship, the better. The Marquis of An-
gles'earSir John Copley, and Mr. Canning had au-
diences of his Majesty yesterday. The former has
actually. accepted the Master Generalship of the
Ordnance, and transacted business, yesterday, for.
the first time, at the Ordnanee Board. M. W.
Courtenay, Assistant Clerk of Parliament, is spoken
of as likely to succeed Sir John Copley-as -Master
of the Rolls. We have no further intelligence to
communicate- respecting the negociations on foot to
slipply the deficiencies in the Cabinet. It would be
strange indeed if, in the two Houses, better men
could not be found than those who conceived their
services were so indispensable to the Government
that their strike would bring their Royal Master to
terms.—Morning Chronicle.
The formation of a new Ministry under the
auspices of Mr. Canning so occupies public at-
tention, that: the actual state of the country seems
for the present forgotten. The worshippers of
the new Premier are
,so eager to seize the golden
opportunity of offering up the earliest incense to
the rising sun, that any one who listened only
to their language must believe that this country
would become, in a political point of view, a
perfect Garden of Eden, by his condescending
to. shine upon it. These flatterers would fain
persuade the public, through the agency of the
Press and otherwise, that the appointment of
Mr. Canning to the chief place in- the Cabinet
and the salvation of England are identical pro-
positions. When we hear so much said of the
destinies of the British empire depending upon
the official pre-eminence of an individual, we
can hardly imagine that we live in a nation dis-
tinguished for its cool judgment and intelligence.
It is curious to observe the similarity which ex-
ists in more points than one between the situa-
tion of this country and that of France, at a
period not long preceding the Revolution. The
rulers of that kingdom had, in the vain pursuit
of what is called military glory, entailed on the
nation an enormous debt—the bitter fruit of long
and ambitious wars—more especially did the
wild project which Louis the fourteenth enter-
tained, at one time, of subjugating the states of
the Seven United Provinces, and overthrowing
their free Constitution, involve the Government
in extravagant expense, and precipitate the people
towards insolvency. It is true that this Monarch
did not live to see any thing like the consumma-
tion of the evil which his ambition worked—.
its first appearances were manifest in the closing
years of his reign. Louis XIV. imagined him-
self despotic; as did his ,immediate successor,
while the wishes of favourites prevailed over the
councils of the most veteran Statesmen—and the
nation, while flattered with the vision of univer-
sal empire, was in a state of contented obedience
to a female government. It does not require to
be proved at present, that those who preside
ever the'intrigUes of Courts are bad'guardians of
the public purse. France with' all the studied
gallantry of her habits, was obliged to admit this
truth. The financialernbarrassments of England
arkgthose of France under the ancient regime,
e the result of wars, of ambition, and conquest
±-but more particularly of wars arising
nut of a hatred of freedom. The last
Ipng and most sanguinary conflict, which
brought this country more than once to the brink
Of ruin, was begun in a spirit similar to that which
ipduced Louis XIV. to make a sort of exterminat-
itig war on the free States of Holland.- 'Our Mi-
nistry, with Mr.Pittat their head, attacked the French
j4eople, when exercising 'the right of an independent
nation to choose their own form of internal govern-
Ment. Out of this aggression arose the military
power of Buonaparte, and out of the same aggres-
sion was created the More formidable 'power which
nag survlVed-hii•==-We mean the power of the.debs.
The debt has entailed on us an enormous taxation,
which, in the twelfth year of peace, reminds us of
the most disastrous periods of the late war. This
taxation necessarily cripples the industry of the
dpuntry, while the necessity of paying the interest
prevents the reduction of taxes, and at the same
t me involves the State in financial embarrassments.
We are now paying the bill of expences for endear
miring to put down the freedom of another nation,
d for attempting to force alovernment upon a
ople. Now the marmer in which 'the flatterers of
Lr. Canning speak of him appears to us very ab-
sprd, for this reason—that Mr. Canning can no more
remove the debt, or cut doWn the taxation while-the
debt continues, than he can lift the tallest mountain
ii;i the island from its base and throw it into the sea.
Xust as wild and insane adulation. as we now see
plaid.to Mr. Canning, was paid to M. Neckar, when
he was called into office to redress those financial
difficulties which were facilitating the French Revo-
lotion. It is true the French Government made
ppper money the representative of the principal of
the debt, which brought about the crash sooner;
and we made such medium the' representative of the
interest of our debt, by taking advantage of that
*ding system, by which the day of the great ac-
ctunt may be delayed, though it cannot be pre-
y nted. What did .M. Neckar' do,?—he retired

. ..__
ff • m office, leaving the country in a worse condition
t an he found it, and abandoned his idolators to dis-
a pointment—so it was with M. Calonne; he was
to be another saviour of the sinking State, but
tough a better financier than Mr. Canning, the
dpbt was too powerful for his talents, and he was
crhed by the weight which he attempted-to raise.
.i . orning Herald.

A sufficient time has now elapsed to have
enabled the distinguished persons who have se-
ceded from the Ministry, to cause the reasons
which induced them to take that extraordinary
step to be generally understood, if they had, any
reasons which would bear to be explicitly stated.
liut all is. silence on their part. Their Sove-
reign reproacheS thcm—their country condemns
them ; they submit to this reproach and con-
demnation; and not a syllable is breathed by way
of justification or. apology. They cannot, surely,
be so infatuated, as to deem themselves superior
to the censure of their King, and the opinion of
their countrymen. . If they had any plausible
criound of complaint—any well-founded appre-
hension
that the elevation of Mr. Canning would •
lead to a course of policy inconsistent with their
principle S—it would be for their interest to let
this be understood in a plain and tangible form ;
bit no reason is assigned for what all. men think
could be justified only by very cogent reasons.—
Sitat pro ratione voluntas. They resign because
they choose to resign ; and they leave the public
to b auess.why they have done so. Statesmen so
experienced as some of our Ex-Ministers•are,
would not keep silence if they had any explana-
tion to give, which could avail them ; and it is
not a harsh inference to draw from that silence,
if we- suppose that they have acted,
not upon
public grounds but from personal feelings and
views, such as would lower them. beneath the
dignity even of a
fist instance,.
party, and degrade them into
a cabal. Let
'us always understood to sepa-
,
i4te, from the rest. the name of Mr. Peel. The
elrses stated.gi
wholly Hon. Gentleman, as
e
originated in mod
idistinct from those which must be
tlrvi ati°
inn of
the thatfist
suppo d to have influenee(thi colleagues—rno-
tives, alike unimpeachable and
`impeached. If
se
had employed any ;
Mr. Canningintrigue gue to di-
vert the beams of royal favour from them; and to
himself—if he.fi d.,, •bi
turnibeir radiance urn a 7 un.