Literary cadet, and Saturday evening bulletin. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1826-1827, 1826-06-24
MISCELLANY.
BRITISH STATESMEN.

hear something of those British statesmen, who,
since the days Of the Foxs, PITTs, BURKEs and
SHERIpANs, have flourished in the British Parlia-
men, we have commenced copying Sketches OF
those who are at this moment the most eminent,
from British publication called Babylon the
Great" The eulogy on the late THOMAS ERs-
kline is not more than he deserved, and we be-
lleve that it will be pronounced just and correct by
those who were the admirers Of the talents of that
great and good man.
Whatever influence the titles and the honors Of
the English N,bility may have upon their talents
and their morality, there be no question that
both out of their House of Assembly and liz it. they
give tone of order and dignity to their conduct.
This may, in some measure arise from The circum-
stance of most part of them heing older men than
the members of the House OF Commons; the occa-
sonal presence of the Monarch, and the continual
presence of the throne, may also have an effect; and
very probably the presence OF the Church dlsnita-
res may not be wholly without influence. But
whatever may be the causes-and IT Is not worth
while to analyse investigate thcm-iti Is certain
that there isa suaviy and decorum IN the con-
duct of this House. which belong not to any other
Assembly. whether of la men or Of churchmen. that
ever witnessed. Ii is true, that their haranSues
are not Just brilliant some Of those IN the lower
House; but it is equally true, that they are less
discussve, stick closely TO the matter IN de-
BATE preserve a greater show OF civiity towards
each other, do not cackle so much when they are
pleased or triumphant or make such attempts to
browbeat when they are apprehensve; nor 30 they
carry their animosities often beyond the arena
of their oratory, as they of the House of Com
mons They have been taunted by men o more GLIB
tongues and more flexible notions; they have been
called the House of ncurahlea; but, to me at least,
they appear to he incurabe only in the same way
with who is already in perfect health. Nor
ought il to be forgotten that, Notwithstanding the
Commons the Constitutional watcnmeD III every
thing that concerns the rights and Interests of the
peopIe the Lords have often detected flaws, and
resisted eucroachments upon rights which DID not
belong to themselves as body, and which the
Commons had wholly overlooked. At the present
moment, notwithstanding the mass OF business
talent which is in the lower House, it is the Chair
man ofthe Standing Committee of the Lords. who
is the grand assaymaster OF all private Bills, and
who certainly discovers. and as certainly strikes
out those illegal but concealed clauses, which the
trainers of such Bills often smugele n in order to
forward their own interests. had myself occasion
to know of a in which the public had TO fight
against unprincipled set Of jobbers ever DIS
giace1 office, IN situation so remote as TO be with
out the control ofthe high and honorable wants
of the Crown, and guardians Of he public right
Clause after clause, and sentence after sentence, oi
the draft of the bill had, by those who had no par
y nerest to serve, beer foughten hard, and won
rs fairly, as ever the inches of battle field.
| When the Bill was brought into the House OF Com
mons it was known that there was one faulty little
| clausc-one provision for a ajob-a,job not better
| than beggar's aims indeed, but still job and it
was hoped that the wisdom of theflOuse OF Commons
would wash out the little spot. But they did not.
| Il passed that House without single observation;
and those agents and members who were aware of
it, and hostile to IT, afraid to bring 1t INTO no
tce lest they should thereby stir up opposition
| which would be fatal to the whole MEASURE
| The moment. however, that il went to Commit
tee in the House of Lords, and the Earl OF Shafts
| bury laid his fuSer upon the faulty clause, he
dashed il out as supplementary TINS, ot course.
is hut one instance out of many; and, trifing tho
il be, 1t shows the prejudice which exists, or ra-
thcr which occasionally exists, that the capacity
and utility of this House do rest upon the very
| surest OF all foundations. 1t is true. that the
coronet is often placed upon brows, where 1t can
neither dignity be dignifel but it is not less
true that tho Peers OF Parliament are rs thorough
y imbued with the principles and the love OF iecr-
ty and with the knowledge OF every thing that can
advance the interests Of society, as any class of
| British subjects Nor are they the less likely to
exercise those feelings, aud defend those rights
! because they are somewhat more measured in their
! temper and their eloquence than the members of
| the other House.
The debate which followed the presenting ofthe
| Welch Bill, and sundry other minor matters of
form and detail, was long, interesting and annated
so that in the course of had occasion to see and
to hear most Of the leading speakers OF the day
One ofthose speakers and in point OF ardent love oil
liberty and Of man, of perfect and impa'soned elo-
auenee, of keen perception, of foverpowerlng ele-
sancc of commanding manlIpess, and OF uniivalled
empire over every passion of the human heart, has
ince then paid the final tribute to nature; and no
equal or near follower to him, any OF his higher
! attributes, has yet been found. need not say that
| ! alu lie TO the late Lord Erskine-.a man in whom
| The sheer and almost unbdden power Of genius
| planted itself with frmness, and shot up with n
strength and sublimity, to which there Is nothing
| counterpart in the recent annals of the world
Born not under the most auspicous circumstances,
| and nurtured not upon the worlds most lowery
side, portion of the genuine spirit OF man-an in
tense breathing of that aflatus which not all the
Courts and all the Colleges in the world can in
spre, came upon the Hon. Thomas Erskine, and
enabled him. in the teeth Of many an adverse cir
cumstance, TO make a stand for English liberty,
| anil take a station among British patriots Of
which the genuine instances are but too easily num-
| bered.
When n general movement toward revolution
on the part Of nations and general disposition to
meet that movement with haughtness and harsh
ness on the part of their rulers, threatened to lace
rate the social compact in many OF the European
States-when the Government OF this country, yet
feeling the disgrace and defeat which IT had sus-
tained from its own colonsts in the West, and
dreadng the dark clouds which were every where
,c tk,o y,,st l,x arn0 anpalnp