The Sun.
London, England, 1827-12-18 00:00:00

SPIRIT 0£ THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Lord Goderich's tender of resignation is no doubt
an important occurrence at the present moment ;
for, the fact being unquestionable, it is impossible
not to look with some anxiety to his successor. His
Lordship did not, as a late noble Premier was used
to do, threaten to quit the King's service, merely
to carry some point to which the King was adverse.
Lord Goderich had no such petulant motive to in-
cite him to the act pf which we first gave public
notice : he had his own way, at least enough, so far
as related to his colleagues; and his wishes have
never been thwarted by his Majesty. His resigns,
tion was made in good earnest; and in such a case-
the tender of resignation may be considered as
tantamount to the act of resignation. - It is im-
possible to keep the man long against his
will, the motives for the act continuing the same.
Some of our cotemporaries—if evening papers can
he called the cotemporaries of those of the morn-
ing—assert that Lady Goderich's health and feel-
ings have been the cause of the proceeding which
her Lord has adopted. We are willing to allow that
her Ladyship may have had her share in the busi-
ness : but still, motives, personal as confined to his
Lordship individually, and political as resulting from
the state of the country, have, as we at first asserted,
been, the chief operating causes: Some persons
speak of Lord Holland as likely.now, or soon, to be
admitted into his Majesty's Councils : we know not
in what station. It is obvious that the Ministry
cannot be considered as a settled body till Lord
Goderich's wish has had its completion. His Lord-
ship will, no doubt, continue afterwards to defend
and support those with whom he has acted, and to
his co-operation with wham he owes the honour of
the Peerage. Lord Lansdowne, though'under an
understood engagement to hold his first Court of
Lieutenancy on the 18th (this day),',we.still believe,'
remains in town.—Times.
By further information, we learn that the attempt
to supply Lord Goderich's place was not long in
being made. On Friday—yes, so "long ago as
Friday last I.—we have some reason for believing a
messenger was despatched to Lord Harrowby, at his
seat, Sandon, in Staffordshire, with an offer of it.—
His Lordship came to town immediately, and went
-yesterday with Mr. Huskisson to Windsor. The
result of the visit of course is not known ; and it
must only be taken as our simple opinion or conjec-
ture, that the proposed or attempted arrangement
will not succeed. Should our conjecture be verified
there will then, no doubt, be a considerable discus-
sion whether a Whig or an anti-Catholic shall suc-
ceed to the chief office in the State. We do not
think it likely that even the difficulty of finding a
successor to Lord Goderich will produce the ef-
fect of making him resume or continue his place.—
Family reasons might in part weigh with him,
but excessive apprehension and embarrassed feel-
ings, created by what he esteemed the perplexity
of public affairs, constituted- the predominant mo-
tives for the step he has taken. We believe his
Lordship is not expected in town before Thursday

The temporary stoppage of cash payments by the
Bank of Lisbon, mentioned in our letters from that
capital, is an event of much less importance than
persons unacquainted with the state of Portuguese
currency and the resources of the establishment in
question would be apt to imagine. The circulating
medium of Portugal is chiefly silver and Govern-
tnent paper. In most payments the receiver (un-
less there be a positive stipulation to the contrary)
is obliged to accept of the latter, to the amount
of one-half of his debt or contract. The paper
thus kept in circulation by law, is usually at a
discount of from 14 to 16 per cent., and thus
affects the prices of commodities, and the state of
the exchanges, to the extent of one half
,its
own depreciation. The qaantity of it at present
in existence is not accurately known, but is usu-
ally estimated at six millions of milreas, or about a
million and a half sterling. It yields no interest to
the holder, and the • only security enjoyed by the
public against its depreciation is a pledge that it may
be diminished, but cannot be increased. This kind
of paper was at first issued by the Government in
discharge of its obligations nearly thirty years ago,
and is altogether unconnected with the Bank, which
was only established within the last live or six years,
'under the late Cortes. The operations of this esta-
blishment were at first independent of the Govern-
, ment, and ought for its credit to have remained so.
Its capital, as originally projected, was to have
amounted to 5,000 contos of reis, (or about a mil-
lion and a quarter sterling), but no more than a half
of the shares were disposed of, nor one-half of the
the subscriptions paid up. It was authorized to
issue promissory notes payable on demand; but these
notes could scarcely be considered as a part of the
common circulation, as the amount of the smalltt
is about 41. sterling. Their currency is generally
limited to Lisbon and Oporto. If found in the pro-
vinces, they are only employed in commercial
transactions of considerable amount, and are never
seen in the hands of the retail dealer. Up to
the 7th instant, their credit was fully support-
ed, because their amount was small, and because
they were duly cashed on demand. 'Their value was
equal to the silver which they represented. The
cause of the late stoppage was, no doubt, the folly
of the Directors, in taking the whole of the last
loan of a million sterling, and issuing too profusely
their paper in discharge of their contract. A country
whose internal trade is so limited that a million and
a half of Government paper is sufficient to compose
the one half of its more considerable payments, could
not bear the issue of a million or half a million more,
without such a depreciation as would compel its
almost immediate return to the coffers of the im-
prudent establishment from which it proceeded.
From this statdment it will appear, that the suspen-
sion of cash payments at Lisbon can create but a
trifling effect at home, and none at all abroad—first,
because bank-notes compose but a small portion of
the general circulation ; and, secondly, because the
credit of the establishment is still good, though the
Directors have been so imprudent as to issue more
notes than the circulation could absorb.—lbid.
The Courier of last night contradicts, in positive
terms, the rumour of Lord Goderich's resignation.
Notwithstanding this positive contradiction, we can
assure our readers, from good authority, that his
Lordship has tendered his resignation to the King,
on. the ground of his private: domestic anxieties, and
the state of his health consequent on them—that
his Majesty has requested him to hold his office
until an arrangement can be made for filling it—and
that there is every reason for supposing that there
still exists, in the highest quarter, a decided wish to
replace his Lordship in such a manner as may be
consistent with the maintenance of the principle on
which the existing Government is formed, and with
the retention of all the other persons in office who
now compose it. A few days will serve to show
the result.--Morning Chronicle.
The strongest sensation has been excited in Dublin
by the trial of the Rev. Mr. Maguire, on Thursday
and Friday last, for the seduction of the daughter of
a low inn-keeper, at Drumkeeran, in the county 'of
Leitrim. Religion enters into everything in Ire-
land; and to religious animosity we are indebted for
this trial, which, according to The Dublin Morning
Register, is the fruit of a subscription among the
Saints of one thousand pounds. The zeal of the
subscribers on this occasion has considerably outrun
their discretion, for a worse subject, for the purpose
of running down a distinguished opponent, could
not well have been hunted out. It was altogether
a bad case. Even if it had been established that
Father Maguire had, under the influence of ." Scal-
theen," forgot for a moment his vow of chastity,
and participated, with not a few others_ , in the favours
of this Connaught vestal, the triumph wouldat best
havebeenapaltry one. Sympathy with the frail fair one
• wai eIIAPAIY out of the question. A Jury, more than half
•'•
• ere Protestants, acquitted Mr. Maguire.
t4tl4l:.there can, we should think, be but
- • .'; to his innocence, it is by no means
to
that Mr, Maguire is indebted for
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