The Sun.
London, England, 1827-07-17 00:00:00

trim or Tall ruttte JOURNALS.

Whilst Ministerial movements are making, a
thousand false rumours are of course afloat :
one We notice to-day. It is said, that the
Marquis of Angleiea, having been urged to ac-
cept of the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland, stipu-
lated for the retention of his anti-Catholic
opinions. Now the fact is, that his Lordship
always voted for emancipation. Provoked by
the intemperance of the Catholics themselves, lie
certainly once hinted to them in pretty strong
language, that they had nothing to expect from
force : if they liked to try it, let them begin.
But of the propriety of placing them on an
equality with their fellow-subjects by legislative
provision, his Lordship never entertained a
doubt ; and, with that opinion inherent in his
mind, he will go out as Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland.—Times.

It is so clearly the interest of. the King of this
country (as far. as he has a separate interest) to
exhibit the Government in a formidable aspect
to the world, that the idea to which certain per-
sons are fond of giving currency, that his Ma-
jesty exerts his influence in counteracting and
weakening the influence of his Ministers, and
consequently of the Government, supposes his
Majesty to possess much less understanding than
the world has generally assigned to him. A
Sovereign who knows his own interests will
never seek to encourage hopes in those who are
opposed to the Administration for the time, be-
cause no course could be more dangerous than
to encourage in the people the habit of wavering
between the men in power and those who are
anxious to obtain it. In an age like this, when
claims to extraordinary advancement are so con-
fidently put forth, it would be surprising if
Kings snould not, as well as other persons, make
advances in knowledge,- and study how best to
maintain and secure their power and influence,
It requires much less penetration in a King than
that which his Majesty generally receives credit
for to make the discovery, that the Royal Au-
thority is best preserved by changing his servants
as seldom as possible, and discouraging as much
es possible all hopes of any such change. All
soles are, of course, liable to exceptions, and it is
possible that a continued course of misgovern-
ment, the result of ministerial weakness or
wickedness, may, from the unpopularity
and discontent thereby occasioned, be more
sletrimental to the Royal authority, than a
change of men ; but, as we have said, this
is merely the exception, and it only serves to
prove the rule, that it is the Royal interest to
change men . as seldom as possible, that the
strength of the Government for the time may not
be impaired by the habit of calculating whether
it would be most prudent to look to those in
office, or those who are out. We consider,
therefore, all these attempts on the part of the
Ex-Ministers and their friends to show that the
King is secretly inclined to favour them instead
of the men in office, to be not only ridiculous in
themselves (because if the king really favoured
them, it would be both unnecessary and foolish
in them, by proclaiming the circumstance, to put
their enemies on their guard, like cats which,
sAlen they succeed in getting a good thing, often
iose it th'rough the warning they give), but really
a libel on the King, as if he were so weak as not
to know his own mind, when the breaking up of
the late Ministry compelled him to choose be-
tween one set of'men and another, and to expose
the Royal authority. to contempt, by secretly en-
couraging opposition to the servants of his
choice. The object, however, of those who
persevere, day after day, in libelling the King,
bye" imputing to _him a policy inconsistent with
the most vulgar. prudence, and excusable only
-in a boy in. his pupillage, or a man in his-se-
cond childhood, is obvious enough : it 'is to
strengthen themselves by the adherence of all Who
may feel inclined to speculate on the state of
sitsubt they may produce on the chance of the
Outs. But if men would only reflect a moment
son the subject, they would see that for the very
reason that such insinuations tend to strengthen
an Opposition at the expellee of a Ministry,
there is every chance against their being founded
in reality. We alluded yesterday to a story re-
Jecting the Bishopric of Rochester, told in the
ohn Bull of Sunday last. " The object of
this kind of insinuation, says a contemporary
BThe Globe), is plain enough. If the John
uil could persuade the Clergy that Mr. Can-
ning has not the disposal of ecclesiastical pre-
ferments, they might manifest their independence
by opposing him without danger to their hopes."
If the John Bull could persuade them ! But
the Clergy have too good noses to follow such
a scent. They are too sagacious, using the
term in its original sense. Belief, as Mr.
Brougham observed at Glasgow, is not volun-
tary ; and we should think very few of the'
Clergy would stumble on the belief that Kings
are fond of giving benefices to Clergymen who
are in opposition to their Government. The
following account is given of the transaction re-
.specting the Bishopric, by the contemporary
above alluded to :
" The facts about the Bishopric of Rochester, as they
are related in those clerical circles where there is no desire
to twist the truth, are Raid to be these :—A Bishopric
was promised to the Duke of Northumberland, for his re-
lative, at the time of his expensive Embassy to Paris, and
the
,Bisbopric of Rochester was accordingly offered to him.
Bed all the world knows that it is a very poor Bishopric.
of 'about 1,0001. a-year, and that Doctor Percy was in
poesession of other pieces of Chnreh preferment, more
than one of which were better than the See of Rochester.
It was, therefore, doubtful whether he could take the Bi•
shepric and hold all his other preferments; or, whether,
if obliged to give up any part of them, so poor a Bishopric
ivould be **titbits acceptance. Whether he gave up any
of his preferments we. know not ; but we hope the matter
was settled to hi. satisfaction, for he has got the Bishopric.
" This story is at AMY *ate much more likely than that
which we have quoted from the John Bull, for though it
is not *possible to look through the list of Bishops without
feeling convinced that there must have'been many parallel
cases to the alleged bargain for" the support of the Bever-
yet it is not easy to conceive a
lays and Northumberlands;
motive for the King, thi usting a Bishopric upon a refrac-
tery Deen."—Morning Chronicle.
We see it confidently stated, in some of the
papers, that Mr. Sturges Bourne, on his re-
tirement front the Home Office, gets a pension
of 3,000/. ; which, it is added, taking the value
of his life, would be a reward of something
like
500/. a-day for the Right Hon. Gentlenisn s
services since Easter. We do not believe that
any such pension can be for a moment intended.
If such a thing were even contemplated, still
more to take effect, we know of no terms of re-
prehension too strong in which we should be
inclined to express our sense of it. Reasoning
upon it, merely for the sake of argument, as
barely possibly, we would ask, could they be a
greater mockery thin to talk of economy in the
face of an act so profligate in defiance of it, and
we might add, so destitute as it would be of
common honesty ? Mr. Bourne, it has been ad-
mitted on athands, was an unwilling and tem-
porary holder of the Seals. Why he should
have been so, unless from his own attachment to
private life, we never could discover ; as he Would
us all probability perform the duties of the ROM,

Office quite as well as the person who is about
to undertake them. But a precious unwilling-
ness for office a man must possess indeed, if tw©
or three months' service as a mere locum teams,
can entitle him to the same reward as is intend-
ed for persons who have spent the best part of
their lives in the public service. Besides, Mr.
Bourne has himself a high, and, as we have al-
ways understood, most irreproachable character
b. maintain, which no man of honour, who pos-
sessed the bare means of subsistence, would put
at hazard on such an occasion. We do not,
therefore, believe one word of it ; and that such
a report may not gain currency, we would
strongly recommend Mr. Bourne, or his friends,
to give it immediately a flat and authentic con-
tradiction.— Herald.
'We shall not, we trust, be suspected of wish-
ing to withhold one tittle of information from the
public, which can with propriety be given to
them ; or of; in any way endeavouring to curtail the
true freedom of the Press ; but if we were asked
whether the contents of an- Ambassador's bag
should be ransacked, or letters in the General
Post-office opened, and sent to the Press, there
can be only one answer, we should think, on the
gross impropriety of the public being served upon
such terms, or through such means. Though
our readers will readily perceive that our remarks
have reference to the way in which the treaty re-
lative to Greece first fbund its way into print,
yet we only reason generally, and from supposi•
tious cases. If the copy of the treaty, as pub-
lished, actually came from Paris, as it is alleged
to hare done, all blame as to breach of official
confidence or propriety on this side of the water
is at an end ; and it will be for the French au-
, thorities to say how such a document could be
obtained out of their hands. It is clear that the
matter cannot rest here ; nor can we be at all sur-
prised at the evident bustle and Anxiety it has
created among the high personages whose signa-
tures the treaty bears. If any treachery has been
had recotase to here, we trust, for the honour of
the country, that it will be shifted to the bottom,
and exposed ; if, on the other hand, the docu-
ment has been fairly obtained, let not suspicion
for a moment rest. unjustly upon any man, or
upon any quarter. With the exception of' the
secret articles, we suppose the treaty may be said
to have been ripe for publication, and we con-
' clude, that with that exception, it would, had
' Parliament been sitting, have been, at the very
moment it was published, communicated to both
Houses, and would by them have been ordei ed
to be printed. It is not usual, we believe, in
such cases to wait for the ratification of treaties,
especially when so long a period as the one taken
for the ratification of this is in question. When
Parliament is not sitting, where would be the
impropriety of state documents being officially
published in the Gazette ? If this document
was, as we presume it to have been, ripe for pub-
' lication, this would have been the best and most
authentic source through which it could obtain
publicity ; and the awkward dilemma to which,
we apprehend, sonic parties may be reduced,
would have been altogether avoided.---/bid.

PROPOSED DINNER to MR. BROUGIIAA.

IN WESTMORELAND,

(From the IVes4moreland Advertises.)_

We have heard various suggestions within the
last few weeks of the propriety of inviting Mr.
Brougham to a public dinner in his native county;
and fully agteeing_that such a mark of the increased
confidence of the Freeholders of Westmoreland in his
public virtue, of their high admiration of his talents,
their approbation of his conduct in his late patriotic
efforts to free the country from the trammels of the
Tory administration, and of their unshaken attach-
ment to the cause which they have together so long
Contended for, would be particularly appropriate at
this time, we make ►to apology for inserting in this
place the following communication from a Cor-
respondent :
TO THE INDEPENDENT FREEHOLDERS OF