The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-18 00:00:00

CROYDON POLICE.

A miserable-looking, object, named William Perry, was
brought before Messrs. Currie and Foss, upon a charge of
stealii,g twopence, the monies of Sarah ENerest, under the
following circumstances.

It appeared in evidence that the complainant was in the
tap-room of the Bricklayers' Arms public-house, at Croyden,
• and upon her laying down the sum in question tor a pint of
beer, the prisoner, who had been sitting by the fire, ani who
appeared to be in a most distracted state, snatched up the
money, anti ran out of the house to a baker's shop, where he
purchased some bread, which he was in the act of devouring
with avidity, win n he was taken into custody.
The prisoner admitted the offence, and said that he had been
driven by hunger and distress to commit it. lie said he was
completely destitute and had no food, neither Lad he any home
to go to. In answer to questions from the Bench, he also stated
that he had been engaged in working upon railways in different
parts of the country, and upon their completion he was dis-
charged, and he had coma into that neighbourhood to endea-
vour to get work upon the South Eastern Railway.
Inspector Collier informed the Magistrates that he hadrea-
son to believe the story told by the prisoner to be true,
at.d that he really was in a distressed and destitute state, and
that he had committed the offence in order to allay the cravings
of hunger. _

The lilactsTuAras said the case was either a felony or no-
thing ; but they did not think that, under the circumstances,
it should be treated as one of stealing.
The complainant having expressed her willingness to with-
draw the complaint, the prisoner was set at liberty, and the
bread he had purchased, and a trifle in money, were also
given to him to enable him to go to seek for work.

THE 131::"IPLE AND THE ARISTOCRACY are arraying,
against each other foot to foot. The latter, strong in their mono-
polies and having a House of Commons packed with their minions,
seem determined to dispute every inch of ground ; and even if
they were inclined, the time for compromise is fast passing away.
In tact, the proposition seems to have been especially devised for
stimulating opposition, and hastening the ultimate downfal of the
system. Now is the time for a bold and resolute remonstrance on
the part of the public. It is appalling to think of the conse
quences which a blind and besotted maintenance of the landlords'
tax may involve, at a time when multitudes are perishing for food.
Reform in this matter is, in reality, Conservatism. A selfish and
unfeeling oligarchy have endangered the vital interests of the na.
Lion, at a period when wrong is least likely to be patiently borne,
and every friend to peace is bound to stay, by every constitutional
means, the progress of the unholy work.—Scolsnian.
DEATH OF MR. HECTOR.—(From a Corres-
pondent.—Petersfield, Sunday.—Died this afternoon, of apo-
plexy, at Stodharn-house, near Petersfield, J. C. Hector, Esq.,
late M.P. for Petersfield, after a few weeks illness, brought on
by over excitement through certain parties gross misconduct in
causing his banking-house to suspend payment for a short time.
The death of Mr. !lector has thrown the town of Petersfield
and neighbourhood into sad gloom, he having been a very
benevolent man to the poor, also affording the greatest ac-
commodation to all parties at his banking establishment. He
was elected M.P. for the borough, January 7, 1835, and sat
until the death of his late Majesty, June 1837. Ile was op-
posed by Sir H. Jolliffe, Bart., and after a verysevere con-
test lost his election by a majority of one only. He unseated
Sir H. Jolliffe, by petition, which came on Feb, 34, 1838,
aud sat for the borough from that time until the last Dissolu-
tion. His age is about 68.
iVe find the following in the broil:—"0 A. swindle/-
in high life, wbo called himself a Prince of the Roman empire,
and assumed the title of Count S., has just been arrested by
the Police, charged with a series of frauds upon several jewellers
and other tradesmen. It appears that this person, who lived
in a handsome house in the Champs Elysees, and always went
out in a handsome carriage, some time since ordered from a
tailor of the Palais Royal a chamberlain's costume, saying that
he was one of the chamberlains of the Grand Duke of Lucca,
and having paid for it punctually, he obtained the confidence of
the tailor, who introduced him to a neighbouring jeweller, the
soi-disant Prince wishing to purchase some jewellery. He
made several small purchases at this and other shops, and pzky-.
ing for them regularly, and calling frequently to get Imint-
notes exchanged, captivated the confidence of these toadies/nen
who naturally concluded that he was a rich, nmss, and re
,-,
, executed orders to the amount of 70,P1/4/4., which hP - slily
paid for. Recently some of the /I;,amozas sold t- has not
of these tradesmen having ti,e„qi, ofWered Xo an-' .o him by one
nized them, suspicion, was entertainer, .other, who recog-
eventually tAen into custody. 4' ~ and the Count was
was so, 4-zinced in eireuinst,-- ...t the time of his arrest he
peiled to borrow 151. - *Aces, that his wife had been corn-
' lived, and to wl- 0/ the porter of the house where they
the Cone' ..om they already owed 600 f. It appears that
A, ..‘ was in the habit, as soon as be had exchanged a note
. a jeweller's, of taking the silver to a money-changer, and
obtaining another note. In this way he was able to return
frequently with notes, and to establish a belief that he was very
opulent."

A Toulon letter, nth inst., says that the men accused
of peculation in the Marine Arsenal have been tried before a
court-martial. One, only I I years of age, is sentenced to twelve
mouths' imprisonment and a fine of 33 francs, for taking away be-
tween eight and ten pounds of copper, and another is to stand for an
hour on the pillory before the clock-tower, and pay a fine of forty
francs for receiving certain stolen articles. They are both declared
to be
THE
of ever again being employed in the Arsenal.
SCHOOL FOR WIVES, BY THE AUTIIO-
- or "TEMPTATION.".—An excellent novel—an admirable
"'school," not only for " Wives,' but for almost every other social
relation of life—husbands, mothers. fathers, brothers, sons, daugh.
tors, in short, all the specific relations, especially the female ones,
growing out of the actual state of society—from triumphant
beauties to despairing old maids. Thus much as regards the
tastes of those who seek in their reading for something better than
mere empty amusement. But to those who read, not that they
may " learn, mark, and inwardly digest," but merely that they
may kill the time which would otherwise kill them, this novel
will be equally acceptable ; since it would be difficult to point at
any other recent work of its kind, where they may meet with a
larger fund, and a greater variety of title, lively, and amusing
pictures of the actual society of the day in which we live.--
Naval and Military Gazette.
THE LATE ACCIDENT AT THE SONNING-
HILL CUTTING.—Charles Russsell, Esq., M.P., as Chairman
of tke Great Western Railway Company, has forwarded 100/.
to the Berkshire County Hospital, as a testimony of the deep
tense which the Company entertain of the humane and im-
sortant services rendered to the sufferers by the medical gen-
pemen of that establishment.

LLOYD'S SHIPPING.
LONDON, FEB. 17.—Wind this day at noon S.S.E.
DEAL, FEB. 16.—Wind and .variable.—Arrd. Hyder-
abad, Newcastle,ifor Bombay':
PORTSMOUTH, FEB. 16.—Wind W.— Arrd. Westminster,
London, New York. Arrd. off, Shatford, London, Mauritius.
SouniAmprox, FEB. 16.—Arrd. Oriental (st.) Alexandria.
OFF PoamAxn, FEB. 13. —Alayflower, Hobart Town.
TORBAY, FEB. 14.—Arrd. William, London, for Calcutta,
with trifling damage, having been in contact with a bark near
Dungeness, on the 10th inst.

FALMOUTH, FEB. 15. —Wind W. S. W.—Arrd. Swiftsures
London, for Algoa Bay. Arrd. off, John, Curling, Boston, for
Amsterdam, with less of boats and bulwarks.
PORT TALBOT, FEB. I.s.—Trevartnalice, Homan, Swan-
sea to this port ; got ashore at the entrance of this port,*es-
terday, with three other coasters, but expected to be got e
KINGSTOWN, FLia. 15.—Arrd. Dalkeith, Smyrna.
KINSA LE, FEB. 14.—Arrd. Mary M'Kenzie, Liverpool, from
Carthagena, with les:, of sails, &c.
CORK, FEB. 14.—Arrd. Jeremiah and Sherraton Giange,
Malta ; Active and Hand, of Providence, Taquanroz ' • Mary
Jane, from Malta, and the Amanda, from Newfoundland, whieh
were ashore yesterday at Carlisle point; got off in the evening
with the tide. The former is leaky, the latter does nut appear
to have suffered mmli damage.
STA NG ATE CREEK, FEB. Alexander, Malta;
J111)0, Lind, Leghorn.
JERSEY, FEB. 13.—S1d. Bela; and Dido, Gibraltar.
SHIELDS, FEB. 14.—S1d. John, Gibraltar. The achooner
Pitt, of Bristol, was wrecked off the river Mazarette, in the
beginning of November ; the master and two of the crew were
drowned.

OFF THE WIGHT. FEB. 14..-Tricolor, Apenes, Rio, for
ilamburgh ; Maximalian, Bolphouwer, Batavia, sld. 2d ult.
VESSELS SPOKEN WITH.-The James Ray, Liverpool to
Buenos Ayres, 9th inst., lat. 48, lon. 48, by the Sea-bird, ar-
rived at Falmouth. Majestic, Bombay to Singapore, Dec. 9,
lat. 46, lon. 83, by the Thomas Wood, arrived at Ceylon.
Hebe, Anderson, London to the Falkland Islands, Dec. 15,
lat. 20, S., lon. 34, W. ; Emma Whaler, of and for London,
Nov. 29, lat. 35 S., lon. 23, E. ; Rebel, Long, London to St.
Michael's, Dec. 29, lat. 40, lon. 18, by the Minalto, arrrived off
Penzance. Nelson, Sims, and Laura,Dee. 25th, in the Gulf of
Venice ; Serring, Dowing, from Ancona, 31st, by the Siren,
arrived at Plymouth. Jane, of London, 20th ult., off Cape
St. Vincent, by the Intrepid, arrived at Falmouth. John
Gray, Stockton to Anemia, sth inst., 100 miles. S.W. off
Cape Finisterre, by the Convivial, arrived at Falmouth. Bos-
phorus, Newcastle to Constantinople, 2d inst., off Cape St.
Vincent, by the Allison, arrived at Falmouth. James Ray,
Liverpool to Buenos Ayres, 9th inst., lat. 48, lon. 9, by the
Sea-bird, arrived at Falmouth. Alarm, Steward, of Poole,
lat. 2 N., lon. 21, by the Bresbach, arrived off Dungeness.
Lady Mary Fox, from Cork, sth inst., lat. 43, lon. 'by the
William, arrived at Portsmouth. Manuel Boucher, Cadiz to
Monte Video, 3d ult., lat. 16 S., 1 n. 32 W., by the Lima, ar-
rived in the River. Caroline, Portsmouth to Jamaica, 12th
inst., lat. 21, lon. 40; No. 109, 3d inst., lat. 41, lon. 28, by
the Byker, arrived off Margate. Invincible, St. Ive's to
Naples, off Gibraltar, by the Scipio, arrived at Dartmouth.
Georgiana, Liverpool to New Orleans, Bth ult., out 21 days,
by the Rowley, arrived 'in the Clyde. A lease', No. 2,047,
bound west, by the Harriet, arrived in the Clyde. Dvr, inahair,
of Sligo, off Cape Trafalgar; Eleanor, from Whitby, sth inst.,
lat. 46, lon. 12, by the Guiana, at Cork. Isis, Liverpool, Trieste,
19th ult., off Cape de Gatt ; Kingston, Hull, Malta, 2d inst., St.
Vincent • Seaflower, Campbell, from Liverpool, lat. 48. lon. 11,
by the Vesta, arrived at Cork. Olympus, Madras to London,
Nov. 26, 25 S., 49 W. Rajathan, Calcutta, Dec. 14, of
Cape Adelaide. A large ship, steering westward, 3d lint.,
lat. 37, lon. 29, by the Alice, arrived at Liverpool.
EAST INDIA SHIPPING.
Arrivals.- Bassorah Merchant, Ferrier, from China, off
Margate, sailed Sept. 26; Anjer, Oct. 20; Cape, Dec. 18;
Marquis of Hastings, Carr, horn Bengal, off the Wight,
sailed Sept. 16 ; Cape, Dec. 12 ; St. Helena, Dec. 25 ; Alice,
Amoyle, from Mauritius, at Liverpool, sailed Nov. 18.
Arrivals at Mauritius.-Union, Nov. 4, from the Cape, and
sailed, 15th, to Maranset ; Ann, Rankin, sth, from Cal-
cutta ; Royal Sovereign, Bth, from Calcutta ; Athena, Bth,
from Cadiz, anti loading for Liverpool ; James Gibson, from
Calcutta ; Artemise, 9th, from Dothenburg ; Laura, from
Algoa Bay ; Gem, from Point Pedro ; Tasso, from London ;
Levant Packet, 10th, from Bordeaux ; Deborah, 1 Ith, from
Bourbon ; Sarah, from Vohemar; Courrier de Bourbon,
from Nantes, and sailed to Bourbon ; Gazelle, 13th, from Leith ;
Comet, 15th, from Maranset ; Ariel, from Tamatave.
Departures from Mauritius.- Reliance, Nov. 6, to Bristol
Triton, 7th, to Amsterdam; Vanguard, 7th, to London ; Cos,
ner and Annundchunder, 7th, and Ranger, Bth, for Calcutta;
Hindley, 9th, for Cork ; Mary Charlotte Weber, 9th, for Sin-
gapore; Europe, 11th, for Angontcy ; William Bryan, 16th,
for Penang.
Arrivals at Table, Bay, Cape of Good Hope.-Raymont.
Nov. 11, from New York ; Montezuma, 12th, from Gulf of
Niceya to Liverpool, with pumps choked and wooden ends
started forward, is discharging ; Emancipation, 14th, from
London to Pert Philip ; Edinburgh, 15th, from London to
Bombay ; Charlotte, 15th, from Sunderland • Mermaid. 16th,
from Calcutta and Mauritius ; Bland, 17th, from London ;
Lancaster, from Liverpool.
Departures from Table Bay. -Dawson, Nov. 11, to Sydney
Le Paix to I3ourdeaux ; Cambridge to Bombay; Indian, 12th,
to Calcutta ; Packet, 14th, to Mauritus ; Nankin, 15th, to
Calcutta ; Emma, 16th, to Bourbon.

Arrivals.—Royal Albert, Tessier, from Bengal, sailed Aug.
8, Cape, Dec. 3; Harlequin, Harrison, from Singapore. in the
Downs, sailed Sept. 14, Anjer Oct. 10, Cape Dec. 9; Eleanor.
M'Pherson, from Bombay, at Liverpool, sailed Oct. 12; St-
Helena, Dec. 22 ; Simon Taylor, Brown, from China, off
Dover, sailed Sept. 24, Anjer Dec. 17, St. Helena. Dec. 23 ;
Morley, Evans, from Bombay, in the Downs, sailed Oct. 5,
St. Helena Dec. 30; Janet Boyd, Topping, from Mauritius,
off Dover, sailed Nov. 5, St. Helena Dec. 14; Byker, Christie.
from Lombock, off New Romney, sailed Sept. 6, Mauritius
Oct. 6, Cape Nov. 25, passed St. Helena, Dec. 11 ; Harlequin,
Garwood, from Algoa Bay, off Margate,: sailed Dec. 5, St.
Helena Dec. 28.

Arrivals at St. Helena.—Marquis of Hastings, Carr, Dec.
23, from Bengal and Cape, and sailed 25th, to London ; Lncie„
Bulling, 23d, from Batavia, and sailed 25th, to Rotterdam ;
Reflector, Jenkins, 23d, from Calcutta and Cape ; Valparaiso,
Lockwood, 26th, from China, and sailed 2Sth, to New York ;
Penningham, Green, 27th, from London;
Theodore, 27th, from Batavia to Amsterdam.
Arrival in Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope.—Nankin,
Palmer, Dec. 11, from London to Bengal.
Arrivals at Moulmein (Bombay ).—Kitching, previous to
Nov. 14, float Hobart Town, and was loading for.-Loudon;
Alderman Thompson, from Calcutta.
Departure from Moulmein.--Lord Glentig previOus to,
Nov. 14, to London.
Arrivals at Bitavia.—Abberton, Catt, Or!. 16, froni Sydney,
and to sail 17th to ; Countess of Dunmore, :Snowden,
from Sydney and Sourabaya.
Arrival.—Alagaret, Canning, from Bengal, off Portsmouth,
sailed Sep. 4, Cape Dec. 10, S. Helena 22d.

A
letter has been received at Lloyd's, from the Fore:apt-
office, dated the 12th of February, instant, enclosing a spy of
a despatch from her Majesty's Consul, at Marseilles, of the 20th
ult., with states that the Havana, of Glasgow, was seen at sea,
on the 12th of January last, dismasted and abandoned, by thu
French brig Speculateur.

p
A JUNGLE SCENE.—AS they Ptnetrated ':iee
er
in
lence to the w f
sooods,
litude the gloom became ti...,,•;re intense, „„..„ the
sileep
si o
them with a feelin inrgiosing. It almost inspired
g 0( Uwe. Not a bird, not even an
insect was heard. appeared as if no living thing
had ever disturbed the solitude of the primeval forest.
And
yet there were occasional traces of life. The tall rank
grass.
,
which grew up to the height of ten or twelve feet was in
many places trampled down by the wandering herds of
wild elephants ; several recent footmarks of tigers militia
be traced along the sandy path ; and once or twice a junee—
dog was seen to glide across the road, with the drooping
tail and stealthy pace which indicate the prowling savage.
ilere and there an occasional opening in the tree.tops
varied the monotony of the scene, exhibiting a gorgeous view of the
mountains. Their stupendous crags, hanging woods, and spark.
ling water falls, backed by a sky of deeper blue than even Italy
can boast, formed a striking contrast to the sombre gloom of the
forest, and made the panting travellers sigh for the fresh mountain.
breezes which they had so lately left.-01dPorest Ranger, by cape.
Campbell.

WITCHCRAFT.—King James's reason in his
" Dimon°logy," why there are or were twenty wornen givers to
witchcraft for one man, is curious. "The reason is vasy," as this
sagacious monarch thinks. " for, as that sex i 3 frailer than wan Is,
so is it easier to be entrapped in these gross snares of the Divelk
as wag over well proved to be true by the serpents deceiving or:
Eve at the beginning, which uiskes him the homelier with thrs;
sex sensive."

Why does this present year resemble the. rear
before last ? Vest la tame chose P—Because the year before last
was 1540, and this is eighteen hundred and forty too.
VOLUNTARY ATTEMPT AT STARVATION.....
A girl, named Saville, living at Felted, Essex, had been trussing
for twelve days prior tot he oath inst. On that day sonic men, who were
about to fell wood in llichardson'x.spring, on Fenton's farm, held by
Mr. Ridley, found her nearly in a dying state from abstinettre
from food and exposure to thi, weather. She gives no satisfactxay
account of why she thus voluntarily attempted starvation, but
she says she was In the wood ten days and nights, with no•
other covering than the clothes she had on, nor any protection,
from the inclemency of the season than a few leaves she tied cot.
lected together to :le on. She had seen no one during the time
nor had she eaten anything whate.er, or took any austx_nance fur-
ther than sucking some water from the brook throttr:h a reed. She
is gin in a very precarious state, but, under Uredical treatment,
hopes are entertained of her recovery.—CstryN,t.
A merchant advertised lat:l‘. for a clerk (wells-
-
fumed to confinement. lie receive an al wee (rout a person who
had been seven years iu gaol!.
On Tuesday ara 41P:uninv, accident happened to
Mr. Butler Lamtkit,
NV lob Yarn Compar n overlooker in the employ of the Nor.-
house 4 Mr. li_ jiA;rYti, A party of friends had assembled at the
Oita 4 then in party of friends had assembled at the
house csf tlr. Ii
Lod, in Bet-street, to spend the evening.
barn 4„ .a,Thomas Galloway, a wool-sorter, from Wien.
' sitting down upon a chair, accidentally sat upon the
„Loner of a pistol he had in his pocket (which he carried for
his protection on the r. ad), and by his pressure upon the per-
cussion cap discharged it, and the ball lodged in the lower parts
of Mr. Lambert's body. We are sorry to say the ball cannot
be extracted, and there are not the slightest hopes of his reco-
very.—Norteich Mercury.
_

An inquest was held on Saturday, before Mr.
Wakley, coroner, at the Dudley A rms,.Dudley-grove, Padding-
ton, on view of the body of a lady, apparently about 30 years of
age, at present unknown, who was found floating in the Pad-
dington Canal on Thursday last. There not being any bruises
about the body, or any evidence to prove in what manner she
came into the water, the jury returned a verdict of " Found
drowned." The body lies at Paddington workhouse to be,
owned.

LONDON AND BRIGHTON RAILWAY.--Its -19
expected that William Alackenzie, Esq., the gentleman. who
fur a long time assisted Mr. Wood, and who, since his seces-
sion, has performed the duties, will be appointed Secretary of
the lirinliton Railway. —Dover Chronicle.

WEST INDIA STEAM-SHIPS. Intelligence
has been received of the arrival at Barbadoes of the Tweed and
Solway steam-ships, which left Southampton on the 15th De-
cember. The former arrived on the 4th January, and the
latter thirty-six hours later, on the 6th. The voyage of the
Solway had been delayed by bad stowage, and she was ten data
in teaching Madeira, which she made on the 25th December,
her run from that island to Barbadoes occupied twelve day..
Much interest was attached in the Islands to the success of this
experiment in steam-navigation. The passengers by both.vdeta—
sets are unanimous in their applause or the comfort and rapidity
ay
of the voyage. By the same arrival we have intelligeimnee.
and
collision between her Majesty's ship of war the Chiare)
audacity
the rebel lquadron at Carthagena : the latter had
with
ii fire
interest, upon
andthe Britishthe a dm filraa„,,iyc talinteancoo7p6r compliment
with,
to forty of
rebellion
ug.nalfs
his crew
killed. This is considered as having put anrrim
A non-commissioned officer ilig
enniteartedAiintttossa'erp,
orrneeeegye,ii
ivihelede
nat distributed
a at
thousandthe
whose period of service had expired,.
re-
engagement as a substitute,
it among the suffering poor.
A taaskltien
siege of ll'
John Co inson the Rector n, R.N., to.
of Boldon, ill
father, the Nev. ,
his
at the house of 31r
now to be :"" 1 r . John Merriman, West
Canton, and sent by Commander Collins°
imam, IN'e le cashe .ortrnal.
hadt
.r,; rnell:l:eriavweTdh iaterhhtoahmre recently

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM TILE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
. _

GLOBE.—We axe inclined on the whole to
the view which is taken by those Ministerialists who
keep a weather eye open, and know they must look
out for squalls, which will at no distant day capsize
the crazy craft they are pitching and patching, in
the forlorn hope that it may not "finally" founder till
the end of their trading voyage. The Times re-
presents this class of Ministerialists, and has no better
character to give of the Peel project than that
it will pave the way for a fixed duty ! Sir
James Graham also has repudiated the notion of
finality (and, if what we. quoted yesterday respecting
him as a landlord is true, the Right Hon. Baronet
permits no' finality in the rise of his rents at least).
It appears then, on the whole, that the best
which the cunning and long-headed portion of the
supporters of the Corn Bill can say for it is, that
it lists in the small end of the wedge. We ac-
cept the augury ! We admit the success with
which the New Corn-law Minister has placed the inte-
rest, by force of whose alarms he was hoisted to office,
on an inclined plane, where the mere momentum of the
masses behind them must press them onward. lie
has deprived their position of that cis inertice which
could alone give it a hope of permanence; and they
have now before them the prospect of indefinite inno-
vation. 'They have moved just enough to demonstrate
that their disinclination to moving does not enable
them to resist the pressure from without. They will
still less be able to resist that pressure when it shall be
brought to enforce the necesssity of substituting reality
for pretence. So far, then, the abolition of monopoly has
been certainly forwarded. It does not follow that the cre-
dit for this first step belongs to those who have made it.
This is what the " No-finality" Ministerialists would
palm on the public. We do not hesitate to denounce
this as effrontery even in them astonishing. What
credit can be due for action against the most recently
professed principles ? What credit can be due to
claims for resemblance in principle to the very oppo-
nents who were driven from power by dint of raising
hostility to their principles ? What credit can be due
for legislating on bad principles, to prove the value of
good ones ? That credit, whatever be its amount, the
Times claims for the scheme of Ministers.

STANDARD.—The debate upon Lord Jobn Rus-
sell's motion terminated last night in a signal victory
obtained by Ministers over all the various sections of
the Opposition, united for the occasion, and voting, if
not speaking, in perfect harmony. The numbers
upon the division were—For Lord John's motion,
226 ; against it, 349.—A Majority of One Hundred
and Twenty-three ! This looks like a return to old
usages and speaks well for the power and solidity of Sir
R. Peel's Administration. It is impossible to overrate
the value of such a display of strength in relation to the
interests of the nation at home and abroad. We need
scarcely say that nothing of the kind has been seen
since the fever of the first reformed Parliament; but
we may properly remind those who resisted any re-
form, as necessarily disorganizing the Constitution,
that they held such a manifestation of the just
power of the Executive, as impossible, after any
reform should be effected. We—our readers will,
we hope, be just enough to remember—maintained
the opposite opinion, avowing our conviction that
some reform had become necessary, we professed
comparative indifference as to its form, confident that
whatever law might be presented to the people of this
nation, their good sense and good disposition would
draw from it the best consequences. Our anticipation
has been realised more promptly than it was possible
to hope. Within ten years from the passing of the
Reform Bill we see a Conservative Minister, supported
in a contest forced upon him, because as it was
believed to be the contest in which he must be most
seriously embarrassed, by a majority of one hundred
and twenty-three, The majority of ninet=y-one, with
which Sir Robert Peel commenced his Government,
has been augmented by more than thirty per cent. in
four or five months, in defiance of an agitating con-
:piracy indefatigably employing for more than a year
all the incendiary topics by which popular feeling is
most easily excited. Is this the triumph of the Mi-
nister ? Certainly not. In the first place, it is the
triumph of the people—the triumph of the people
over the League—over their mercenary lecturers and
hired mobs.

COURIER.—The only speeches worthy of any
special notice delivered from the Opposition benches
were those of the three ex-Ministers—Lords Pal-
merston, John Russell, and Mr. Labouchere—and
principles as adverse to a free trade in corn were
maintained, in each of these, as in any emanating
from the Ministerial benches. The great object for the
accomplishment of which the leaders of the Opposition
appeared to labour, was to prove that the step
adventured by Sir Robert Peel, though admitted
to have been taken in the right direction, did not.
go far enough ; indeed they struggled hard to
make it appear that the benefits to be expected from
the proposed change were not worth contending
for—" You innoN ate, but do not improve ; you
disturb, but do not settle ; you concede, but
do not conciliate "—were the burden of the
reproaches levelled by each succeeding speaker
against the framers of the measure then before the
House ; reproaches, which a glance at the construc-
tion of the proposed scale of duties, contrasted with
that it is intended to displace, shows to be utterly un-
justified. But it has ever been the characteristic
of the Whig party to mean abolition, when they
peak of amendment—to contemplate revolution, when
they speak only of change. All the supporters of the
Government measure assert hilts favour is, that it will
prove a decided and important improvement orr the
present system, and not that it will revolutionise all
previous laws and regulations with regard to the im-
portation of foreign corn into this country. Against the
objections to details urged with such one-sided perti-
nacity by Lord John Russell, and the succeeding
speakers on his side of the House, Sir Robert Peel
vindicated his measure most triumphantly last night,
demonstrating that though it may fail to con-
ciliate extremes—though it may prove distasteful to
Anti-Corn-law brawlers on the one side, and to those
who exclusively look to the interests of agriculture on
the other—it will command the approval and sanction
of that large intermediate class, which may be justly
,aid to constitute the great bulk of the nation.