The Sun.
London, England, 1818-09-12 00:00:00

roLITICAL sKETCLIES.

(No XI.)

E-- 0f S- -.

The tAiewq, iflligtry, and very extensive information of
this Nobleman, ant and admired by all, even
hy those to whom they are toppoSel. The personal regard I
hare for him., as well as his high abilities, occasion my regiet
that hr left env service, and would render his return to Mi.
oist,rial Employment perfectly agreeable to me. Ite.ides,
thoogh Irt has opposed the Measures of Administration with
spirit and vigour, I do not know that he has ever stitlered his

pa“ions to preclude propriety and moderation from his con-
Auct. Abuse and calumny have not mingled in his debates t,
and he has it, managed his public opposition as not to lose
his private friends. lle treats the Ministers as men with
whom. in the Oil, and flow of polities, he maybe again united:
in this he acts with wisdom, and I sincerely wish that such an
union may not he far distant.—The political erudition of this
man would do honour and service to any Administration.
Lord S— found a eery early prepossession against him
In the-opinion of mankind. The late Lord llolland has heel'
accused of giving this unfavourable idea of him t; ami the
world, which did not pay any great regard to his sentiments
in general, were disposed to adopt it very universally in this.
But his steady perseverance, uncommon industry, great abi-
lities, and consistent application Of them, seem to hart wiped
away these prejudicial notions of him ; and I should not be
surprised if he was to become a popular character, and an
object. of public confidence.

I am not sorry there is such a Peer in my realms, thonzh he
to steadily and so powerfully opposes the m?asures of Covern-
picot. Besides, lam not so averse to some kind of Opposi-
tions as many, who think they have a Lynx's eye, may sop_

E- S- -.

Sarah, Dutchess of Marlborough, acted, without doubt,
from caprice, in the division of her immense fortune; but if
inch a disposition of property hid proceeded from one who
was accustomed to cool deliberation in the affairs of life, it
wmild hare been considered as an act of wisdom.

This Lord is a very honourable character ; many znofi and
prat qualities belong to him; and if sudden gusts of pacsion
cquetimes discompose his temper, he has a friend always at
liana, whose smiles hush the storm in a moment.

Vat a blessing it is to have such a certain and delightful
remedy for the weakness or violence of human nature. To
be thus governed, •uhmission is a pleasure ; and when the
failings of the husband call forth such amiable and uncom-
mon exertions of tenderness in the wife, they may be said al-
most to lose their evil tendency in the good they occasion.

It may not, perhaps, be univercally!own, that this
Nobleman was the only person v,,ho ever excited any consi-
derable etnolions of jealomy in tie breast of Lott! B—.
Thor was a certain tino. wlicti the Faum,irifr SAW with ap-
prehension what appealed to be too great a share of It— —I
favour,

'r hese !rutin-lents, I should apprehend, were written, at
least, before List winter: however, if they should he the
writer's present opinions,—the 11—h—p of V— will not, I
believe, subscribe to them as the Articles of his Faith.
Lord H-- is thought to be the unlucky Godfather,
who to his other names added that of Merrgrida.
§ A Parliamentary Opposition, though it may be very
troublesome to Mitostets, and sometimes even mortifying to
the Sovereign, appears to be necessary to force circumspec-
tion upon the former; tool, if they should he had men,which
has sometimes been the case, to give savior{ informatiou to
tire latter. A King of this Conntry would he the most de-
pendent man its it, if his ""'s were secure from ally check
but that of conscience. State Policy and ;s:eccssity, which
are mentioned by the Writer of this volume with an affectiog
sensibility, are too often at enmity with moral honesty; and
a Mitii.ner, whatever integrity he may pos:ess, will he fre-
quently obliged, and in length of time habituated, to do
thiugs in his public capacity, which, as a iirivate laan, he
would blush to think ,if. They whoa re called to share in the
business and eillolUllielltS of the State, are 110 more exempt
from frailties than other tnen, and are more in the way of
templatiotti than almost any others. A Briti,di Sovereign,
therefore, who, considering the changes and chances of Mi.
nisrerml Establishments, and the uncertain tenure of the
best-formed Adininistratimis, cannot, with prudence, repine
art imiilicit confidence in any, is indebted to an Opposition,
which, by coutinually sifting the conduct of Ministers, may
awaken their caution, and give that insight into political
matters, which the latter would, firth ips, wish to hide from
their Master. By these means be is Cr equent ly !setter quali-
fied than he otherwise might be, to examine the measures of
his servant¢ himself, and to deliberate with them tut the im-
portant Affairs of Government. Besides, a Minister who
knows the ability and vigilance of his opponents, if possible,
will not venture to he incorrect in private consultations pre-
vious to any public business, lest his errors should be de-
tected, and his ignorance ur indolence t xposed to the Supreme
Power. . .

I he present Opposition, though small in numbers, is great
in Aliihty and political Industry, and spares neither pains
nor eloquence to expo,e the measures of Government. With-
out doubt, prejudice and passion may sometimes govern t flew,
as it does all parties; nevertheless, a great deal of know-
ledge, and curious observations, flows from their lips and
their pens ; which, however directed, may enable the I'm
to form a noire accurate judgment of any propositions or de-
signs of Monsters, and give him a chic by which he may be
aide to detect any hit-king Interests or errottions Principles.
In short, an' Opposition is the altrrof piir.k, the other side of
the question, which it is absolutely necessary fur the Judge
to hear, in order to determine with wisdom.
It is almost trilling to suppose such an improbable event ;
butt if, in some future time, a Si" should league with his
Ministers to increase his own prerogatives at the expense of
Public Liberty, then an able Opposition would be a •tublioru
obstacle to the it— —I designs, and the people might be in-
dehted to it Gil their preservation. But, :teem-dim; to the
above faint sketch of the matter, when a Prince, as is the
case at present, wit hes from his heart the true welfare of hit
People, both he and they would be at the mercy of Minister.,,
if there was no Parliamentary Opposition ; an idea sutleietit
to make a Stoic tremble.—Ditide et impera is a trite, but
not always a contemptible maxim.

LONDON JOURNALS.

[Morning Chronicle, Sept. 12.)

In a Letter from Tobago, in our Paper of Monday last, the
Writer mentioned his having, at the mouth of the Orinoco,
fallen in with Admiral Brion, in the Victory, with a part of
the squadron under his command, having on board 10,000
muskets and a large quantity of gun-powder, and other mili-
tary stores; and ha stated also, by way of 'hewing the im
pittance of these supplies, that 4,000 stand of arms did not
remain in the country. By a letter from Trinidad, of the 3uth
July, it appears that these supplies have enabled Bolivar to
recommence hostilities under great advantages, and that he
is proceeding to the province of Cumana, to assist Marino in
the attack by land, whilst Brion proceeds round to attack it
by sea. It is stated that the accounts from Nlarino are most
favourable, and that the affairs of the Patriots never wore a
Inure brilliant aspect than at the present moment.

Our friend, whose Letter from Tobago we have already M-
inded to, states, that when Bolivar commenced his operations
ha December last, he bad out more than 1200 muskets in his
possession, and that he was frequently obliged to send away
recruits from the want of means wherewithal to arm them.
There are hut too many people in Trinidad and the Neutral
I•lands, interested in micrepresenting the affairs of the Pa_
tc iuts ; and iu tli:s country we are apt out to make sufficient