The Sun. — 1846-06-30 (London, England)

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY ‘MORNING, JUNE 80, 1846.  RESIGNATION OF MINISTERS. (From The Sun of Last Night ) The general belief is, that, within almost an hour of the publication of these remarks, the walls of both Houses of Parliament will be filled I to hear the official announcement of the resignation of Sir ROBERT PEEL'S Ministry. The occasion is momentous. The pages of history will be searched in vain for a similar political sunset. A whole nation are intently gazing upon it. The luminary descends to the horizon, surrounded by every attribute that can add brilliancy to its exit. A beneficent course has been run, and the solemnity of the eclipse will create a sensation among grateful millions. The dark clouds that have hastened to shroud the closing scene, have, by the contrast afforded, only added to its gorgeousness. The brilliant coruscations of light emitted by the setting orb, in its sudden descent, have pierced the feeble shadows of circumjacent enemies, and contributed a lustrous grandeur, whilst it vanishes from the sphere in which it has so nobly moved. Sir R. PEEL will no doubt take occasion this evening to review his governance of the greatest empire, ancient or modern, in the known world, since his accession to power in 1841. The summation of his labours will renovate him with feelings beyond all price. The gratifying close of the Chinese war, the honourable termination of that of Affghanistan, the brilliant victories recently achieved in India, the preservation of peace, compatibly with the full maintenance of the national honour, in other parts of the world, where concord has at times been seriously threatened ; the; admirable - restoration of our finances, the efficient state of the navy, the diminution of crime in England and Scotland, the prosperity of our agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing interests—each and all of these are points of political triumph at the command of Sir R. PEEL, and may fairly constitute the ingredients of his address to the House of Commons on rising to communicate the resignation of his trust as Prime Minister of England. But, above all, may he dwell with pride upon the crowning acts of his Administration, by which he has broken down the barriers of monopoly, and opened wide the ports of these kingdoms to the bounties of nature, in exchange for our unrivalled productions of art. The author of all this good resigns the helm of Government—a man who, in the language of Mr. COBDEN (a shrewd observer and faithful expositor of the feelings of millions of our countrymen), " carries with him, in retiring from office, the esteem and gratitude of a larger number of the population of this empire, and especially of the working classes, for having successfully conducted one of the most magnificent reforms, than ever followed any Minister that was ever hurled from power." To be deprived of a statesman to whom such credit is due, and by whom such great things have been accomplished, is a source of unfeigned regret. In this feeling Mr. COBDEN himself participated whilst giving his conscientious vote against the second reading of the Bill for the Protection of Life in Ireland. Unmitigated rancour drove a large portion of the protectionists to stultify themselves by voting differently upon the second reading to what they had upon the first. They did so, avowedly, upon the charge that they had been betrayed by the Minister. For ourselves we rejoice, for reasons previously given, that this measure has not met with the sanction of the Legislature. At the same time we give full credit to Sir R. PEEL, and believe that he had most reluctantly persuaded himself of the necessity of his measure for the repression of crime in Ireland. But far otherwise were the motives of the protectionists. They have committed suicide. They knew - the Premier was too high minded to hold office "by sufferance"—they knew that other opportunities would present themselves, independent of the Coercion Bill, to place the Government in a minority ; yet such was the blindness of their rage, such their fell and inveterate hatred, that the very first opportunity was seized upon by them unhesitatingly to vote black was white. It was idle bombast to allege they would not trust unconstitutional powers in the hands of Sir R.