The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-07-28 00:00:00

POLITICAL CHARACTERS. No. XIII

(From the Oxford Herald.)

OF RICHMOND.
" Awake, awake !
Arm, fight and conquer for fair England's sake !"
If there be one virtue more highly esteemed in our public
men by the people of this country than another, it is that of
consistency. Nothing can possibly be more distasteful to
the honest, straightforward character of Englishmen, than
to see a man abandon the political principles which be had
espoused, and forsake the party with whichlie had acted,
for the sake of some dirty personal gain or advantage. Let
a man's principles be what they may, conservative or radical,
good or bad, provided he shows by his conduct that they are
the result of conviction, and not adopted from interested
motives—that man, whether leader or follower, will be held
in high respect and esteem. Abuse of the foulest kind may
be heaped upon him—he may be a butt for the shafts of ridi-
cule and wit—exposed to the taunts and jeers of the factious
and time-serving—no matter, the people know that he is
honest, and love and reverence him accordingly. On the
contrary, let it be seen that the principles which a man pro-
fesses to entertain are taken up only as the means of bene-
fitting either himself or his friends—that they are like goods
brought to the market to- be disposed of to the first or the
highest bidder—not all the weight of lofty talent—not all the
glory of the most heavenly eloquence—not all the influence
which private worth and integrity invariably give its possessor
—not all these united can suffice to make such a man other
than an object of distrust, and scorn, and contempt. There
is not a man, whether radical or tory, churchman or dissen--
ter, as we before had occasion to observe, that does not hold
the wise, the good, the excellent Sir Robert Inglis, in the
highest honour, because he can trace in every line of his fea-
tures, in every word that lie utters, the characteristics of the
" noblest work of God—an honest man. But what man is
there, whose opinioa is worth a rush, that will say that he
considers Lord Palmerston, as a public character, worthy to
be esteemed? Granting for the sake of argument that he is
what we have just supposed, a man of great talent, and elo-
quence, and influence, in the senate, and of unblemished in-
tegrity in private life—granting this, we say, for the sake of
argument, and for the sake of argument only, for God forbid
that we should be guilty of telling an untruth so monstrously
extravagant, so outrageously ridiculous, as to assert that
Palmerston is possessed of either eloquence or talent, either
influence or integrity,—still he will ever remain, as he has
ever been, an object of distrust, and ridicule, and contempt;
because he has sold himself over and over again to every po-
litical party in the country—he has been everything by turns
and nothing long, and that for the most base, the most dis-
honourable, the most infamous of motives. These two in-
stances fully establish that the conscientious man, whatever
his opinions, is beloved, and the time-server is despised.
Much, however, as our countrymen may esteem consis-
tency, they do not consider it an object of such blind idolatry,
as to expect a man in order to be consistent to act in viola-
tion of the dictates of his conscience. True it is that there
are some Whig-Radicals who are so fettered to their own
dangerously erroneous opinions, that they think a Man who
has once been foolish enough to act with them, must ever
continue in their ranks, however much lie may dissent from
their volley, or however much he may be convinced in his

THE DUKE

own mind that their opponents and notthemselves are in the
right. It is an established fact that the Liberals are the most
illiberal, and Tolerants the most intolerant people, with
whom a man can have to deal. Liberty of conscience such
people blusteringly claim for every man, but real liberty of
conscience they insolently deny to any one. Therefore it is
that Lord Stanley, and Sir James Graham, and Sir Francis
Burdett, and the Duke of Richmond, have, all in their turn,
been the objects of the foulest abuse from the Liberals.
These men were all at one time tainted, though, thank
Heaven, it was but slightly, with Liberalism ; but they saw
the error of their ways and returned to the paths of right-
eousness and truth, or in other words they became Conser-
vatives. Although they were assailed by the " Liberal"
faction with the most inveterate hostility, they gained the
good opinions of the great and overwhelming majority of the
people, because no doubt was entertained even by the Liberals
themselves, that they had changed their party, not from in-
terested motives, but from conscientious scruples. Men who
act so correctly will always be respected by the intelligent
classes of the community, and they will hold a place in the
esteem of the people, second only to that occupied by those
men, who, Eke Sir Robert Inglis, and many others, have,
throughout the whole of their career, unflinchingly advocated
the good and holy cause of Conservatism.
These remarks have run to much greater length than we
intended; but we have the vanity to hope that they arc not
without their use—at all events, that they are not altogether
inapplicable to the Duke of Richmond. Time was when his
Grace was a member of a whig administration ; but he is
now, we are glad to say, though not perhaps nominally, but
really truly, and to all intents and purposes, a conservative.
The distance which separated him from the whigs has gra-
dually become wider and wider, and is daily widening, whilst
every day has been drawing nearer and nearer to the con-
servative camp. He has not yet formally taken his place
within that sacred arena, but the day, we predict, is not far
distant when he will do so. His Grace is one of whom the
conservatives have reason to be proud. Of great wealth, of
right noble lineage, and possessed of very respectable talents,
the accession of the Duke of Richmond to their ranks will do
honour to them, whilst at the same time it will render his
illustrious name still more illustrious. There is something
ennobling in conservatism—it is a creed that unites all that is
good in politics, all that is holy in religion, all that is excellent
in morals. Conservatism is like Christianity : it refines and
. elevates our nature, it makes the bad man good, and changes
the worthless to respectable members of society. Such is its
genial influence, that it would make O'Connell a gentleman,
and would change the impudent ass, Hume, into a modest
and unpretending person. It would make the soap-boiler,
Hawes, a man of some consequence, not alone in his own
conceit, but in the estimation of others. Russell it would
make almost a statesman, Macauley, something of a debater,
and Bulwer not such a preposterous dandy as•he is at present.
It is a question whether it would not even transform Lord
Morpeth's mouth into something like beauty. In short, its
excellence and virtues are more than we have time to number.
Said we not rightly, then, that new and greater glory will be
shed on the name of-Richmond, when its worthy represents.
tive shall boldly quit the neutral ground that he now
(apparently) occupies, and take his station on the benches
appropriated to her Majesty's opposition ? When that event
shall take place, it will be, as we have said before, no mean
triumph for our cause, because it will show the force of the
truthfulness of our political creed on the mind of an intelli-
gent and excellent nobleman, who was formerly opposed to
it, and who, certainly, had no interested motive, bat the
reverse, for adopting it.
secession of the Duke of Richmond from the admi-
nistration of Lord Grey was a heavy blow and great discou-
ragement to whiggery, although it was then in its palmy and
triumphant state. The refusal, too, of his grace to have any
thing to do with the present administration has been a great
service to the good cause, for it has shown the people that'
the ministers must be extraordinarily bad and worthless
when no nobleman, even though biassed in favour of the
political principles they profess, with any pretensions to cha-
racter or talent, will not only not act, join, or vote with them,
but declines even to sanction their proceedings in so far as
occupying a seat on the same bench in the house of parlia-
ment could be said to sanction them. By this conduct his
grace has earned the thanks of the people. It may be said—
" Courageous Richmond, well hast thou acquit thee !"

But we Would not have his grace stop here. We are anx-
ious to see him at once boldly and decidedly avow himself a
conservative—to see him formally enrolled in the conserva-
tive ranks—and we desire it for his own sake—we wish it
for his own reputation. Let him become a conservative,
and there will then be no occasion to say of him, as may be
said of perhaps one man in the whig-radical crew—
" Oh, pitiable case ! so rich a stamp,
And yet the metal base! In what high things
Did nature fashion him ! whose rich intent
Had he but half fulfill'd, no wealth, no state
That earth can furnish for aggrandisement
Of craving and insatiate ambition,
Conferr'd on him, had given him half his due,
Far less its debtor made him ! Misery !
To find the good we hop'd, the bane we hate !"

The Duke of Richmond is second only to the Duke of
Buckingham in his zeal for the English farmer. In him the
corn laws have an earnest, an indefatigable, an able advocate.
He is President of the English Agricultural Society, now
holding its annual meeting at Cambridge. He is, too, a faith-
ful friend to the poorer classes of the community. To the
poor fruit growers of Kent and other counties, who have so
much reason to complain of the injustice of the government
towards them, especially, he has rendered much assistance,
though not perhaps so much as he himself could have wished.
All, however, that it was in his power to do he has done.
The duke is constant in his -attendance to his parliamentary

duties : and he is incessant in his attention to those matters
to which he devotes himself. As a speaker he is ready and
fluent. He is always listened to with attention. He does
not trouble himself with the flourishes of rhetoric, but he de-
livers good plain and practical speeches. He states his views
clearly and distinctly, and often with great force and effect.
He speaks very frequently, but seldom at any length, from
the reason which our readers will recollect he gave when at
Oxford last year, viz., " the reception of a bullet in his breast
on the plains of Waterloo." In person he is tall, and rather
slimly built. He looks younger than he really is. He is no
dandy, and his appearance is that of a perfect gentleman.

The banner of a female friendly society in Bolton bears on
the reverse, an inscription of which the following is a copy :
—" To the Queen, Victoria of England, may she always
rule, and the same to all other women !

It has been observed of the present " Petticoat Ministry,"
that it owes its existence so completely to female influence
and support, that it may, on that as well as every other ac-
count, be appropriately styled a Miss-Government.—Argus.
A person died at Guy's Hospital yesterday week, in con-
sequence of a dresser in the institution having punctured an
artery instead of a vein, whilst bleeding him.
AN AWKWARD MISTAKE.—A circumstance of a novel
and amusing nature occurred on Friday in the County Court,
before Mr. Sergeant Green, while trying an appeal from a
decree obtained by a person named Margaret O'Brien v.
Keating, a minor. Mr. Freeman was engaged on the part
of O'Brien, the' applicant, and having been handed his in-
structions in court, conceived he was employed for the other
party, and accordingly showed that the defendant was a minor,
and consequently not liable to be decreed. His lordship
agreed with the learned counsel, and the rule was about to
be taken down, when he was informed by Mr. Darcy, the
attorney for O'Brien, that he had been " in the wrong box ;"
and amidst the laughter of the court, in which his lordship
joined, he very gravely commenced upsetting his own argu-
ment, and quoted several cases in support of his new position.
He had, however, done the business so effectually in the first
instance, and his client was accordingly nonsuited, after a very
entertaining scene.—Limerick Chronicle._

STEAM-SIIIPS OF WAR PLANNED FORTY-SIX YEARS
AGO.—ln 1794, Lord Stanhope addressed a letter to Wilber-
force on the question of peace or war, likely, he thought, to
be brought under discussion on the meeting of parliament.
In this he speculates on the possible resources of France, and
hints that England is not invulnerable. His reasons are
curious, and, considering the date, not without interest :
" This country, Great Britain, is vulnerable in so many ways
that the picture is horrid. By letter I will say nothing upon
that subject. One instance I will, however, state, because it
is information you cannot, as yet, receive from any other
quarter ; though in two or three months from the date of this
letter the fact will be fully established, and you may then hear
from others. The thing I allude to is of peculiar importance.
The fact is this, I know (and in a few weeks shall prove,)
that ships of any size, and, for certain reasons, the larger the
better, may be navigated in any narrow or other sea, without
sails (though occasionally with), but so as to go without
wind, and even directly against both wind and waves. The
consequences I draw are as follows :—First, that all the prin-
cipal reasons against the French having the ports of Ostend,
&c., cease ; inasmuch as a French fleet, composed of ships of
the above-mentioned description would come out at all times
from Cherbourg, Dunkirk, &c., as well as from Ostend, &c.,
and appear in the same seas. The water even at Dunkirk
will be amply deep enough for the purpose of having them
there. The French having Ostend ought not, therefore,
under this new revolution in naval affairs, for it will be com-
plete revolution, to be a bar to peace. Under the old nautical
system, naval men might have reasoned differently upon that
froms u subject; e c
thet ;
sb
tnut
ptehoed
emooss
factt importantmentionedco
an
ts et re et
on cpe
owf ht
pI
adgrea
iws
meanw l l shortly
military
arendervieo, all
no
othe e t existingter th a
nthaivsi—esnoaftn
the,
world that
It
lumber. For what can ships do that are dependent upon
wind and weather, against fleets wholly independent of
either ? Therefore, the boasted superiority of the English
navy is no more ! 'We must have a new one. The French
and other nations will, for the same reason, have their new

ones."