Star.
London, England, 1821-12-05 00:00:00

MINISTERIAL CHANGES.

Our Readers will perceive that the Ministerial
Changes announced, demi-officially, yesterday, were
not unknown to us on Wednesday last. We then li-
mited our notice to the postponement of a former Ca-
binet Minister's accession to office, not feeling at li-
berty to announce further measures which, however
connected with that question,.were then not fully de-
cided upon. • _ _ _

It is evident that the appointment of Mr. Prat
is an experiment, on the event of which must depend
the continued non-accession of a former President of
the India Board. Briefly, we have no doubt that it
is contemplated that the acknowledged talents and
high character of Mr. Part will amply compensate.
in the House of Commons, for the support that had
been expected from the Right Honourable Gentle-
man for whose return to office the negociation al-
luded to bad failed.

If the experiment succeed, we may, without pre-
tending to the gift of prophecy, predict that other
changes in the Cabinet are at no great distance—and
we say this the more confidently, because we are not
ignorant that more than one prominent office in the
Ministry cannot fail to be influenced by a recent re-
markable change in the Household.

The Meeting held yesterday at the Thatched House
Tavern, ou the present state of Ireland, was little cal-
culated to raise the hopes or allay the fears of the suf-
fering part of that distracted country ; for notwith-
standing the general interest of the occasion, not more
than a hundred Gentlemen were present. The real
state of Ireland received very little elucidation from
the collected speeches of the Gentlemen, though
some ot them were sufficiently diffuse. When Major '
TlGue., in moving a Resblution for an Address to
his MAJESTY to convene Parliament speedily, boldly
declared that the evils operating in Ireland were
neither owing to bad government, the supineness of
the Magistracy, the oppressive exactions of land-
lords, nor politics, nor t) the,; it would have been
well if he had pointed out the cause, which he con-
fessed himself unable to do. We should have thought
this would have been no difficult matter, as the infor-
mation might have been obtained by a very short re-
sidence there, or by the evidence of those who have
written on the subject.
To whatever extent the outrages in Ireland may
be carried, there can be no doubt they have their
origin in the wretched misery to which the peasantry
have been reduced, and of which we, in this country,
can scarcely form an adequate idea. It would indeed
be a bad feature in the character of the Irish, if, with
good government, kind landlords, trifling tithes, and
an absence of party feelings either religious or poli-
tical (and according to Major Trona they have all
these), they were to pursue such a course, of rapine
and murder as every day's Paper now records: but
it is not the case ; of whatever acts of desperation the
Irish peasantry may be guilty, it is the desperation
of misery and of want, unrelieved by kindness or

We have never disguised our opinion respecting
the policy pursuing by the 'magnanimous ALYZANDER
of Russia, respecting Turkey. We have ever con-
sidered war as the unavoidable result of that policy,
and been of opinion that any professions of a pacific
aspect were only intended to lull the suspicions of
those who may imagine that their interests, political
or commercial, would be involved in the issue. Mat-
ters have now assumed an aspect calculated to,
awaken the suspicions of the most credulous respect-
ing the conduct likely to be pursued by the Court of
St. Petersburgh. Even those Journals which had,
time after time, been stating, " on authority," that
there would be no war, begin to have the film re-
moved from their eyes: or, if they themselves have
never been deceived, to cease attemptink any longer
to hoodwink those who pay attention to their state-
ments. Indeed, if it be true, as now stated, that the Per-
sians have attacked the Turks with a large force,it would
be difficult to persuade any pawn, at all acquainted
with the relations of the Persian, Russian, and Turkish
Governments, that there was not a secret understand-
ing between the two former at the present moment.
Btu let us suppose the contrary, and, even in this
ca.e, it will follow that the inducements to Russia to
hasten the execution of its long practised prospective
policy are so much heightened, that it can hardly be
believed that Power can ever hope for a more favour-
able crisis to execute its-Tong concocted projects
Against turkey.
May we not go even farther, and ask whether it.