THOUGHTS ON POLITICAL MORALITY.

Otago Witness, Issue 568, 18 October 1862, Page 7

THOUGHTS ON POLITICAL MORALITY.

A LECTURR DELTVEItJID BY MAJOR RICHARDSON TO HIE

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN 'ASSOCIATION.

I ii'tle thought when I last had the pleasure of addvpfcsitig you tli.it the duty which you then so kindly requested me to undertake hal anything in it of a perennial chn.i\vter. I then imagined that I had received a ceuuieale diachaivjiag 1 me from all futun: liabilities} ; hat, alas for the character of all human anticipations, 'I am nec2ss : tate I once more to throw mjaolf up hi your iuduLjeucc, and crave your attention for n. short time. There is somefciiim? so in'sfcrucbive in the mode by which I arrived afc the choice of th') subject which I shall biins; under your consideration, th'it I must plead for pardon, if I am somewhat rtrolix in explanation of it. One fine day, about a fortnight, since, T was chewing the cud of reflection in my otlice, when I reue.vi'd intitna! ion fc'uit a geuHeman was desitous of seeing me. Now, Ikno.viiod how it X but Hie very id.^a of hic!i a demand had so. nothing iv it which was far from nsjurim; ; for it is the term generally selected by thos? wh ise a»rec-ab!'3 avic<iti').i it is to cal' at people's houses and. on admission, to place in their h uul-s in the most obliging manner, a printed i document which is sonerally kaown us n writ ; b'lt it \va3 not so much on thu account that I was apprehensive, though from, my unfortunate position I have constantly to read in the public prints an intiaiation thntlhwo his bi-L'ii some pie^mt le^al intcroamso going on between m ysO,{ versus some on-; cUe, or f>y that respected individual vcrstis myself; nut I was somewhat ajiprciieusive tfiab the so desirous of bcirio; a lmittet wat a deputation ibr evt'i* siuce I incautiomly admitte 1 a dyput-ition of fifteen ia one long uubrok'in conti'iuity of iiurauticy, my political nervous system lias received a severe Qiock, and as on this occaiio.i, (i'id I am mi re ymwill pardon th<s pa-.-ii'ig llluaion,) each m-mbT appeared to tike a dirt'ureTit view of the hu'ijscfc u.idor consideration, or to look at it. from a diftdient angle of observation; and (13 ib was evident tli.it au opinion prevailed tlwfc with two pars I could lieu- what was •■aid by three pario'in.spjakin^ at one time, I uncontjeioualy assumed the attitudo of tint toy wkioli represents a Chinese mandarin ns turning an-l bowing in all diriefcioas. To return, however, to the outs'der. I intimated, without fmther delay^— but with an internal ppaam, tlut I sliuuM have miuh pi iisure in seeing him. Uq entered wlch a smile, and I lead at a irlanco wbib was in store for me. Who fiat lias seen a similar smile can target it? It is rwlolent of an appeal to your bsaevoie'ise in some form r-r other. I awaitei in mute dismay the production of a mamoi'ial, praying for the more rapid infcioilu •tion of fuli -grown fein.ile immigrants of a m.irriajieaSle quality ; or of a subscription list to present a testimonial to some one whi> !:ad earned for hiin'c'.f the. uncommon merit of having done his el u by as a gentleman bhoidl ever do it ; or ot a request th.it I ' would aid id sending moral po-jkot-hauikerchiei's to a beni;;btel rac», w'.io invariably, when received, couvort theuj itit) gowiid, on the plea of not being -<u.ij ct to att-tcks of iufluenza in their aboriginal condition ; but oj hhe present occasion xhe demand was of an entirely eh&renp drirantcr : ib was that I wouid deliver one of n series of lecfcun?3, and in order to axo.d in anticipation iMy do ibc iw to tlu: seiuolion ot a su'j"ct, I lu>! a list uf Siigg.>ted subj.-et-j place I in my hiu'.o. On a-has l y pariw.l, I found thit th«?y a'td f 'werj by no mean* on intiunitj t'rnis. Aruong them was th.it of "politij^i liioialify,'' a'ul it w.is i-a'ii-jiii.tely pressed on mvntteniim by a fri<*iui oathe "r. un.l tii.:t, as "famiiiuity breeds .■onleiupt,"' I uiu^t at Ie i«.t Ik;ou very decent teriiis withpolitic.il inoraiiry \.-.t!i a iiicii it was si ly insinuated, that I h.ul nob uiucii a-^so-shted. As a di owning miv c tchos -it :i i-iv.iw, I grasped the subject p-tsented to me, i:nd went hoa»e Wii-.ls to tnedlfcile, with tlie hint that ti-c porio I of i.iculj.itiou was about eight or ten dij T s : and I >it 6:icj re-o!ved that, ratiiei tlian bt-m I tlnvoring oil tiie bank, I would dive in head foremost, which ia the proper attitude in au intel!ect!Ml effort. I took tiie subject to bxl with me. Idreamelof it in the night wntelie-, and, ns a vi-inn, it pursued mo under every form and shape — now, as a handwriting on tbe walls of tho ijov^i-ous banqueting b.ill of the Aboyrian monarch, and I tliouir.'tt I deciphered the worls " P.iliiical Morality '' Tb'iii .iqain I fancied myself in the Court of Sir Cr<.ss>\ell Cresswell, and there was a divorce c ts3 g"i»g on, and the nouu " morality" was urging to bb divorced from the atijfctive " po.itical," ou the ground or' incmipatibiiity,— and, then again, everything went Simwth and eisy, like the even tenor of nrinied life, wluu the solemn question lias bet'ii sstticl as to ilie right of proprktorahip ia the nether garments (name \iiknoww); and I at list, found myself lcsoiviag to grapple with tho subject at once, on fhe principle enJorsed by the immortal Pi^kwiyk — ns a 'opted l>y Mr Potts, when wiring o*i Cltino-.e niotnphy.-ics, by leading iii the Eucjvlii[i;T? iia fJiit-mnici about met iphysics under the letter M, and about Chin si> under the letter C, and thpiimmbi liiy Ui2 madi of vA'uib'.j inf lrmatijn thus collectfd. I think, therefore I hr.ye eitablishel a clam •» your attention and indulgence, in consideration i t only of tho mental agmies I have undergone, b r > the score of the vast litsr.iry assiiluify and erf,j:i-.i research I have b"out;ht to heir upon this i-nport- ■ ant subject, and because also the bantling 13 none 1 of my adoption. . The first quts'iou which instinctively arises iv the consideration of tiie subject before us~ h, as to what may ba regarde 1 to be the imtiins of political nio- [ r.ility— l answer without hesitation, a. d without fear of contradiction, that tlw morality of the Gos.wl w ' tho only foundation of political morality; that the code of the Christian h the code of th'e&titcsmnn. ', A transpirent ont'poken truthfulness i 3 tin iirst article of belief and practice with each. Dojs any one 'isk whrthcr in is possible for di;»lomacv to a-b etf.ictivvly if so r. gu lntel ] I reply m llnatlirmati\e. 1) )os tlio iulidel snecre*, who toys with what is P sact'fd in the eyes of the believer, do.» he exclaim tliat iv politics as in war everything is fair — that the I end, j-.isiines the means ! I utterly repudiate the 1 doctrine ; in politics our object is t) find tho inttii. .. not to triumph over it ; in -var we design to enforce , the truth and defend what is right ; for wars which ' have other object-, in viiw c^unot bajuslifiuet. Thus much for the political co>!e. I will endeavor, in the progcess of this lecture, to conlinc, as much as possible, our invest igut' 0:1s within nan-iw limits; but, as without doubt the suhj. ct h somewhat of a dry i:ature, I nny be pardoned if I occasionally digress. Before, however, proceeding to graver c moderations I desire to give a few brief sketches of some of the 2 veni.il offenders against political morality. , "If there is one thing more than another 1 which precludes a statesman from attaioins? to the highest eminence in his profession, either in t the council-chamber or the senate, it is the breach . of that element of political -morality, which is exhibited by those who envenom debate by condo3 scending to personal invective and vitupeintion, and thus iutioJuee feelings antagonistic to calm investigaI ti»n amongst tho^e who lead the councils of the nation at the present day is a master in this art; not only has ') he graduated in the science, butacndemically speaking - has attained to the highest honors, or rather to a II fatal pre-eminence. Lavishly gifted with a literary capacity of no ordinary character, endowed with if powers of reasoning and imagination of dazzling , r brilliancy, and possessed of au eloquence whijb ia well adapted to captivate and enthrall, the lustre ot his glory is dimmed by a bitterness of sarcasm and a pungeucy of invective which may irritate, and per- ® haps destroy, but cau never subdue or convert an op- '" ponent. I need not tell you that I allude to n O'Jsraeli. Like the Australian weapoa, the boomern. rang, in unskilful hands, which returns t'i wounds n it projector, a vindictive eloquence recoils upon 1 1 1 ir overwhelms itself. The vituperative declamation 1 1 1 d the taunting sneer, can with almost unerring ::•- tainty be regarded only as the substitute tori's iie nient; it is like the ejection from the scuitlo if. which is designed by its opacity of color to ojwilder and baffle the pursuer. ~ When reading some of Disrneli's impassioned m masterpieces e>f art, we are insensibly reminded of io that noble passage in the life of Lord Thuriow, when re taunted for want of nobility of birth by the Duke of g Grafton, whose ancestor owed his existence to the as fact of Charles the Second indulging in the patrinriq dial privilege of having more thnn one wife. "Tho er noble lord," said Thuriow, "cannot, look before him, in or behind him, or on either sule of him, without seetit ing some noble peer who owes his seat in this house >'s to his successful exertions in the profession to which c- he belongs. Does he not feel that it is as honorable ? to owe it to these, ns to being the accident of an acic- cident ■? No man venerates the peerage more than I b. do ; but, my Lords, I must say that the peerage solim cited me, not I the peerage. Nay, more I can say, is and will say, that es a peer of Parliament, as c, Speaker of this Right Honorable House, as Keeper a- of the great seal, as Lord High. Chancellor of Engiis land, nay, even in tliat character alone in which the 3- noble Duke thinks it an aSVoct to be cousidpred, but i" which character none can deny ~w\e,->*^ man, lam nt at this moment as much respected as thc-proudest to peer that I now look down upon." -~- 0- You may rerarmber a similar instance of swift ard crushing retribution which occurred in the case of ed Cumin, when pleading before Judge Robinson, a ,r© man who owed his elevation to tho bench to sycoto phancy and the production of political pamphlets, ,h, alike distinguished by tho abseuco of merit, as by the he presence of the most scurrilous vituperation. The he youthful advocate, then in the dawn of his brilliant Id, career, but, with briefs as few as angels' visits, and a remarked in reply to fhe opposing couusel that, ♦' He nd had studied all Ms law hooks aud could not find >p, a single case where .the;- principle contended it for was established ;" when • the brow-beating , >m .judge iutervened with thfrxreiaark-— " I suspeotisiSfied that your library ia rather contracted." - Pealing VhiV ><> icfc to be- a pn^eriat^is-ppyfrjiy^Cttnaa mdlgnaatly^ '\& plied, <( It ia true, my Lord, that lam poof, and tita '

circumstance has rather curtailed my library — my i bouk3 are not numerous, but they are select, "and, I j hope, have been perused with proper dispositions. I have prepared for this high profession rather by the 1 study of a few good books, than by the composition 1 of a great many bad ones. lam not ashamed of rt.y : poverty, but 1 should be ashamed of my weilth could I sioop to acquire it by servility and coirui tiou. It I ri<e not to rank, I shall nt le.ust be honest ; and 1 fchould I ever cease to be c o, ninny nn example shows met 1 at au ill-acquired e'evatiou, by making me the more conspicuous, would only m ike me the more uni\< rsaily and the more notoriously contemptible.'' J Among the vetiial offenders against political moia!it\, cr inorewseetly speaki' p, political propriety, may Iv faiily leckoned that vastly disagreeable man, wl'n X always ready at a moment's notice, nnd with infinite zest, to talk against time, in order to serve a parly purple; and thut insufferable proser, who evidently considers that Parliaments meet for the simple purpose of heariii": him speak. It would be difficult to say which is entitled to the belt for beiiie the pieati-ot. nuisance. It they could read with others' eyts they would shrink within themselves, were it not that they are generally case-hardened against nil external inipic.-sions. The lewaid of both is invariably the sime ar. empty House. Let either of them but get on his legs, ami you will find that au intimation has been universally received that the attendance of members i-> urgently required in some other room. On one occasion an amiable member of the House of Commons had been indulging himself in an tloquent harangue, until there was nothing but empty b ni'hea tu'ound !dm, and suddenly asked, for the pur1,050 of illustiatinir his argument, that the Riol Act might be read. Burke hnd long been agonizingly t-ipecting tlie conclusion of the harangu-, and his p Itience being thoroughly exhausted, he started to his lief aud exclaimed — " The Riot Act, my dear friend ! to what purpose ? Don't you see that the mob is entirely dispersed already r f" There is another habit which we must class among the vonials, but it is not so inoffensive in its character. The man addicted to it is generally one who uaies not what he does, so that he cau gain his point, lie delights to select an object to whom an interruption is annoying. He will nt one time try a derisive c!i' e;\ ar.d, it' that fail, he will inti-rpc^e a remark, a qup.it.ioi;, or an explanation, in th" hope that the thread of the address may be bioken and not easily joi.iod together iigiin. A skilful debater may of 1 en mitke capital out of such interruptions by an appropriate ;iud slinging repartee ; while others are so put off tli.-L {•uaidtliat the enemy tiiumplis. Awell-k'nown i'Manco of this occurred in the case of Burke. Parliament h id been d : ssolral at the request of Air Pitt, and IGO new member* hud been returned to the 1 1 011- e, who °carcely knew, aud certainly did not appro iate the niastcis of oratory who had held undisputed sway over it iv the previous sessions. Burke, w \<d had never risen but he had obtained an attentive Riuti< -ice, had, on the present occasion, just risen with a for:ii : 'lablo roll of papers in his hand, when a couniry <!".itipraan, fresh from the wild«, had the impudeace to get up and express a modest ho[ie, "Tint th° lion, member did not mean to read that lar^e bundle if papers and bore them with a long speech info the 1 argain." Buike was silent with astonishment and indignation, and rushed violently out of the House without uttering a word. *' Never before," sail the ■vs ir, Gi.or.je l^elwvn, "did I see the fable realized '•'A Lion put to flight by the braying of an ass.'" Veiy diffeient treatment did an honorable member on t K c opposition members receive whe > he attempted to interrupt Peel by crying out derisively, "Oil. dear." "Sir," said Mr Peel, addressing the Fpeikcr '"I believe the House will be of opinion that I take tlie most becoming course iv passing without notice the inarticulate sounds with which the hoiionib'e gentleman baa interrupted me, although llw-e inaiticniate sounds are, I admit, equally jx)werful with any arguments which the honorable gentleman could adduce, and at lca«-t equally entitled to consideration.'' Tlieie i? al-o a somewhat peculiar disregard of the obligations of political morality, in what might b-> def-cribed as the "a- tipathy vote." A member has been enjoying the " fumes of a mild cuaiette in that abode of bli^a, known in ali English colonies as Bellamy's, when he is suddenly summoned to ex-rcise his representative right of roeordins his vote. The subject whicli has ben unJer debate is unknown to him, and he has not the finite^t shadow of the arguments which have been ur^ed on either side, but on entering the council chunber a rapid elance is sufficient to assure him that an honorable member, to whom he has a mortal antipathy, intends to vote with the " ayes,' 1 and, forthwith, with deliberate step and conscious dignity he emols himself amongst the " Noes." Glisely allied to this specimen of a conscientious debater is the partiality voter, The absent member when summoned to the House by the ringing of the division bell, ascertains that bis friend is with the " Noes," and he follows in his wake, and if? saved an endleps amount of patient investigation and prosaic nohsense. It would scarcely be generous to notice the deep Benso of political responsibility ot that member, who, during the session, most religiously attends to his own business, and visits the House just in sufficient time to vote, when the keeper of his conscience informs him that there is great apprehension that schedule A is likely to be burked, and schedule X to be elongated into unnatural diinens'ons ; or that an Act of 300 clauses, involving property to a large amount, and dealing with Ie»al niceties of the most delicate character, has to be passed before au honorable member, hourly expect, d, nnd whose vote may upset a desired decision, may arise. Among the many phases which political immorality assails, there is one, which, in tne classical language of the Senate House, is familiarly known by the ex; ration—" log-rolling.'' It is an ingenious application to senatorial uses, of a system whichprcvailsinthebackwoodsof America, where the pauci'y of hands occasionally necessitatesa combination of force*, to effect a desired object, a log of gigantic proportions has to be moved, and the aid of neighbors is solicited and obtained in consideration of a return s u-vioe at some future day. This principle introduced into politics, speaks thus— "• Help me and I'll help you." There can be no question that such a procec"uic is a violation of the commonest rules of ordinary morality, and to speak in good sound English is neither more nor less than selling your vote. I can not conceive an occasion where such conduct would be justifiable. It may arise that in order to strengthen a political party, with whose principles you acrree, and to prevent the accession to office of a party whose principles you hold to bo injurious, that you may have to forego your convictions on some minor points ui.der debate, rather than incur a greater evil; but then you act simply from a regard to the general interests cf the State. It was my misfortune on one oee.T.'ion, to be placed in this predicament, before I had f'i'ly considered in what way it was mv duty to act. 1 was apprehensive that the Ministry, which, in an hour ot difficulty, had stepped forward, undc-si-roiiri of such honor, to fill n gap, /ran in jeopardy, and I stooped low to bring all my strength on the log Lefore the House ; when a gleam of sunshine, exhi- j bit ing the danger to be illusory, I leaped over the log, and escaped to the retiring room, just in time, nnd thus avoided ilie Lorns of a dilemma, between which it would have been far from agreeable to be tossed, at so emiy a date in my political existence. If the practice which prevailed among heathen nations r-ere revived— of deifying those who stand pie-orninent among their fellow men, 1 would select, as the objects' of my political adoration' Burke, Pitt, and Peel,— a triune divinity embodying all that is noble,manly, patriotic, sublime profound, unaffectedly sincere and truthful. These lmiKS should be embalmed in my heart, and, from the inspiiation of their writings, I would derive »ll that should equip me for the performance of the duties of political life. If we wish to drink at the ■well-spring of political worality, we must resort to the 11 aster minds of political 3cience— nut to those only who have dwelt in the sequestered abodes 01 philosophic retirement, but to those who have battled on the arena of public life, and have personally illustrated the maxims which they have advocated : and to whom among these could we go with greater conJidenee than to Edmund Burke, of whom it has been paid by the late Sir Robert Peel, " that he was the most eloquent of orators and the most profound of the philosophic statesmen of modern times." Sir James Mackintosh regarded Mm as •' without any parallel in afi.v age or country, except perhaps Lord Bacon and Cicero ; and his works as containing an ampler store of political and moral wisdom than can be found in any other writer whatever.' 1 With a kindred fervor the most eloquent divine of his dny, Robert Hall, exclaims, " The compositions of Burke are master pieces Who can withstand the fascinations of his eloquence 1 His imperial fancy has laid all mture under tribute, and has collected riches from every scene of the creation, and every walk or life :" and a living pbilosopher,Lord Brougliam, himfclf a fellow worker with Burke, asserts tbat " no ene can doubt that enlightened men in all ages will hang over the works of Mr Burke, and that Mr Fox might well avow, without a compliment, that he had learned more from him than from all other men and autliflw." I fim sure, there r ore, you will concur iv the propriety of the course I shall adopt, of expiessing the views I entertain regarding j political morality, and such kindred subjects as much as possible in tho language of others, especially iv that of Ifjlnrutid Burke. There : " no surer evidence to my mind of the want of on,, of the essen'ials of political morality, than the riiiseiice i»i a constituency, of all interest as to the character and opinions of thoge who shall represent tliem iv the Councils of the State. It may be asserted as general rule, that the reprcsen'ative will fairly jiourtray the constituency which elects him, What cm Le a more painful evidence of a dereliction of duty than our e'ections have lately exhibited? Interests of the greatest magnitude to the welfare of the Province liave scarcely had attractions sufficient to induce eren a tithe of the constituency to step aside for an hour to record their votes: no wonder then that men are wanting to devote themselves to our service, when we are callous and indifferent ; or that we find our representatives faithful resemblances of ourselves in being listless and apathetic ; That it is sometimes otherwise, ia to be ascribed more to the high principle in those that are sent, than to the ardour

and zeal of those who send them. If, in a religious point of view, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church, we may also with equal propriety say, that the irou hctl of oppression is the only cure for our lethargy- They who vv.ll r.oo us.; tluir constitrtional powers might w.'ili c\e-yj :«=? <v ' o 'K-,>iiv3ti of them and they would then more iu.ly apjueiiite the privilt-g' s lik-y 01 cc pos^i s S fi\. is it no , indeed our ■hame, t'nt that which is, an cbj'Tt of intsn-c lousing miir.nrr European n itions. and to obt.'in wli! -h bloj 1 ha< been ino>-t hvUily .she I, has no real value in our eye. 1 And is it not a si-:n of politic d dcgeiievacy that such tkinys are, and that we are apparently content that they should so remain ?

V c pas-s on from (he constituency which elects, to the representnt've who is to be ekcti\l, anil here we often find such btringeiit demands made, that, wou'd better befit a slave representing a master, than a fretman his fellows ; an 1 lho=e, too, ofUn at tl.e dictation of a few who revel in their liberty too well to allow others to enjoy the s.ame privilege. It is, indeed, but right that on all matciial points of the highest magnitule there should exist au unity of judgment aud sentiment ; and tliat the repie^entative should Ik selected in accordance with this unifoimity of general ideas. Mr Burke said, in returning thank's after his fhs>t election for the city of Bristol, 'in 1774, " Certainly, gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness nnd gloiy of a n-pve-cntuive to live in f !ie htiictest union, the clo--cvt coirc-<ijondcnce, and the mobt unreserved communication with his constituents Their wishes ouiht to have gicv.t weight with him ; their | opinion high respect; their busings unrenuitcd attention. It is his duty to saei iflee his repose, his pltasuies, his satisfactions," to theirs ; and, above' all, in e\ery aud in ail case-, to prefer then interest to hi.; I own. But his unbiassed opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he oujrlit not to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living. These he does not derive from your pleasure, no, nor from the hw and the constitution. They aye a trust from I'rov idence for the abuse of which he is deeply an&weiable. Authorifaticc instructions; inundates issuui, which the member is bound blindly and implicitly to obey, to vote, and to argue I for, though contrary to the clene.st conviction of his judgment and conscience— the'-e aic things utterly unknown to the laws of this land, and wlii'-h arise fiom a fundamental n>i-t.ilte of die whole oidcr j and tenor of our constitution." " Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and hostile interests ; which interests each nnst maintain, ns an a-^ent, and nd-.ocaf* against other turents and and advocates ; but Parliament is a deliberative assembly of one uaiion, with one interest—that of the whole; wii°ro not local parpose< — not local prejudices ou^iit Lo miide— but the lieiiei-al good, resulting fiom the general reason of the 'whole You choose a member indeed, but vdien you hive cliosm him, ho is not menibrr ■>{ Brht'il, but, lie is a member of Parliament. If the local constituent should have an inleiesr, or should form a hru.ty opinion, evidently opposed to the red good of the re<-t of the community, the member for that place ouc'it to be as far as any other from any cndeavois to give it effect.' 1 I feel sure that the«e sentiments meet with your hearty concurrence, ilapriv indeed are the people who could bend representatives formed on c uch a model to our Assemb i*s. They wou'd not he ashamed when they met with their enemies in the syate. In 1780, after a dissolution of Failiament, Burke appeared amongst bis constituents through wlio<w ranks the voice, of slander had been lva-y Mark well the noLle language which falls fnmi his lips " Look, uentlemen, to the whole tenor of your member's conduct. Try whether his ambition or his avarice have jost'ed him out of the straight line of duty ; or whether tliat «tand foe of the o'fiees of active life, that master vice in men of business, a dct'encate anil inalorious sloth has made him ll.i» or languish in hi. couise. If our we.ubers conduct can bear this touch, maik it for sterling. If we degrade our member* mind by seivihiv. it will be absurd to expect that they who are creeping and abject towards us, vi'l ever he bod and i'leoirupLiWe a*B'rfers of our free lorn actahut tiic most blueing ! and themo^t formidable of all powers. 1 ' When defending hiutv;lf against uiijuM; aspersions, and ia jjstification of his vote, contrary to the opinion of his constituents, he proudly and nobly says, '• I did not o^ev your instructions. Ko ; I conformed to tho instructions of truth andnaturt.., aid maintained your interest against your opinions with a constancy tlmt became me I knew tlmt you chose me i.i vny p!."ce. I along with others, to be n pillar of the. State, and not a weather-cock on the top of the elifiee, exalted '< for my levity and versatility, and of no use but to indicate the shiftincrs of every fashionable gale." Again, in another adnress previous to an election, he says—" I must fairly tell you that, «o far as my principles are concerned (principles which, I hope, will only depart with my last breath) I have no idea of a liberty unconnected with honesty and justice When we know that the opinions of even the greatest multitudes are the standard of rectitude, then I shall think myself obliged to make those opinions the niters of my conscience." Of all who offend ac;ainr-t the code of political morality, there is not one that is with more justice, exposed to severest animadversion than he who panders to the prejudices of the populace, or fawns like the sycophant at tlie feet of rank and power. It is a species of moral prostitution, deserving the reprehension of every honest mind - a lowering of the dignity of man to the most menial and servile position. In this country, mid under present circumstances, we are not likely to know much of the last-mentioned ciass of unmanly, cringing servility • but we are the more exposedon thpt account, to those influences which are in exercisa when the electoral power is almost within the reach of every man. I know not which I most fear and dislike — the despotism of a democracy, or the tyranny of an autocrac /. Their end is thesame— the silence of the tomb where freedom has expired. Where the despotism of a monarch or of the nobles of tlie land prevail, there still remain the elements of hope in the recognition and assertion by the people of the power which emanates from them selves, but of which they have been d (.spoiled ; but the despotism of a democracy sc.irco'y admits of a cure._ Each appears, as by a I;ivt of nature, to teiaiiuiite in the other. When the wild surpin_'s of democracy have attained their height, aril the human family is in tha lovve-t stajre of degradation, then there emerges f.-om the wreck ?oine piedominant power which assumes the form of a military despotism, nnd the opposite extreme Is reached On th" other hand, w hen oppression has spurned and crushed tie people whom the M march «,i- elevate 1 to protect and nourish, an universal uprising vindicates humanity ; and it is fortunate indeed if the power is not transferred from a despot to a mob. It is just and wise that retributive action should overtnke the crime of injustice and the madness of folly. When Mnnarehs- forxik" the paths of righteousness, th^y evoke a spirit thut is the destined instrument of their puniihment. The Magna Chartu of Engia-nii was the result of an uprising of the nobles of the land against the usurpation cf .1 kins; nnd the foundations of the (Joinunnwealtli were laid amid the ruins of thp aristocratic and wealthy classes, wholojally, but unjustly, supported a traitor king in his l»..se designs acainsr lib subjects. That country and kingdom alone jvn-sid'o which metes out equal justice to all; throiip-h who*e remote provinces and districts the life bluod flows with unabated vipour, and in every pai t of which may he seen that verduie and prosperity which arc the surest indications of an iuipartiil alministi.ition. Let but the opposite course prevail, and the paralvMs- of the extremities vvi.l recoil upon thoeemiv. 'iml the arterial blood will lose all its restorative and invigorating elements. _ Seek we examples ] They rise to our view on every side. The American colonies, wiee the biifrhfcst jewel in the British diaiiem, w ore alicnatd through the tyip.nnous oppression oft he parent state. The United States tells us, in the blood of her citizens, that amid the other cau^s of the present deplorable fratricidal war a protective tariff; enacted for the advantage of the northern manufacturers, thmugh increasing 't!ic cost of foreitjn productions, cripples the resources of the Southern producer, by decreasing the value of Hie inw material which he raises. Cross over to the continent of Europe and witness in thediscomfiture, bankruptcy and decrepitude of Austria, the legitimate offspzing of the gross neglect, and debasing- tyranny exhibited by her towards Hungary and the Italian States, now hers no more Visit th j far North and amid the incendiary conlla'rrations of every city and town throughout the lpnfftli and breath of Russia, and the all prevailing disaffection among her noliKs and her seifs, jou may learn that hnman endurance has its limits, and though it cannot as3ert its manhood in the embattled plain against the serried ranks of a <^poti«m, tutored to blind obedience, it has learned from the crawling worm to turn on him who treads on it. In France, the native soil of the despot am! of re\olution, we see a high spirited and "chivalrous people prostrate in the dust before a gigantic system of military and political organisation, defiling in the hour of a temporary success, tho garments of liberty, by the intoxication which is ever the certain accompanimon^ of a sudden triumph ; and then again, writhing in the grip of power only to collapse in the silence of the tomb, or to wear, in moody su!ieu"ess, the livery of disgrace, feeding meanwhile on the husks of hope which the remote future may perchance cast before them, Time would fail me, were I illustratively fo dwell at any length on the political immorality which preceded, and accompanied the rise, progress and termination of that bloody episode in European existence, the French Itevolution— its talo of horrors is too familiar to every mind. Well might Burke in reviewing the e-irly history of this sanguinary period exclaim— " Tho nge of chivalry is gone. " Never, never more shall we behold that geueious loyalty to rank and sex, that pioud submission, that dignified obedience, that subordination of the heart which kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted freedom. The unbought grace of life, the cheap defence of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic, enterprise, is gone. It is gone, that sensibility cf principle, that chastitj of honor, which felt a stain like a wound, which inspired courage whilst it mitigated ferocity, which ennobled whatever it touched, and under which vice lost half its evil, by loosing all its grossness."

It is a fearful crisis in the history of a people, when it may be recorded of it in the language of the inspired apostle reviewing tin darkest perf/l rf heathen degradation— '• Thai .ts fl.-y did i"".t hue to roiaiu God in their k .o»i, i'»<-, (iof > (v i' t'.o.n to a reprobate mii d/ and ui.o, ••!;. .>< ir. t-«.iot -«.io j 'dun-ent of (t d, that they who dv l!i.n_, ate wouhy of iit.ith. not only do thes.nne, I.ud have jiltasiue in th'ia that do tlit-m,''

Dnink with thn h.'ool in ili« saints w!io perMicd on the fv'al St. J>artiu.',.nio«\ ilay, iio wond-r lint, later iv her hist -rv, a co .1 ulc-iUe-s p'i«eeution. after hn»'in^ "snorted away th- ! \v\v^ of the blood of the i-oveui^i,"' foliowef with the guillotine all that Mas lovo'y and vktiim-, in the land, of eveiy aj,'e and cv! ry in cwiy juoviii'v and evuiy tlepaitment, until safht'd the hiunic oi^irA, if such gluttony of human i.fe couM 1-e satiated, it ca'lcd on tho \,'iy htivann ami :ivers tv aid in Uie universal and iii'l'sjrimLi t<» s'ua^'iUer, find which, 10-« cruel than th.-> t^ropioti- i,iMi ;^t"r=i of evil, received them in thrircdid eiubract s, an 1 allowed them to find a dwelling p! ice in the depth of their tranquil bosoms, wheie tUo wicked cea.se from troubling and the weary are at rest.

Oh ' if there cvci- a «cenc win -h could make angoh wee]) audil<'\il-> iej"i >, ii v, a,pourt;ayed whon a once gallant nation, rni'jvv.ie I cvii illy in the paths (if pi-ace, the n\ nU sof «.ciciu , nn\ il'.o dee Ibof davin*, att"r ha - iiiia: exteiminati-l ,'.ll tli\t » lovely and of good rcj ort in tli: land, iinpi(iu>l> reached aloft its gory hand to ilia.; from H.s> tlsrono, the Majesty of He.ucn ; by a v>l"nm ficcrc 1 , if rolemnity can accompany sucli auS of iiisjaicy, it Jeliberat' ly by an expiess I'di. t. :il)olL>'ie(l Cliiistinniry, nnd raised an altar for tne gluiiiica'.ion of all tint was vile and all that wih containiiia'inir, and whe-n for fear the moral and intellectual poi-jon niip.ln, in fho succession of a^'os, lose its virus, it made an academical arrange went for the Inm.viii-inii to pointy of that inlieiitance of woe, a moral and uitrHcrtual atheism.

It may bo that, in the meioif'ii dispensations of Him who kecpoth not lii^ :iv>v-'' ''>'' over, the generation which p.irticij'fiteil in {h» c c fearful fcrenes may, by their sutfL-rings, have evp.iti ited their ciime>: but the reflecting observer will no doubt perceive, in plumbing the depth-, of In. noli <.ocrty, that though the volcuio Is silent it is n «t extinct : "that tremulous vibrations lvmiiid v.-. ot an internal activity, which niav at any moment (■', the tin- lovely pLuis, in the •uhle {jsinnenu, of inimnii,!.'. True it" w tli.it, siutjil tv the genius of the l.nti.m, lie:- -.i'l.eu chains atid gilded m.iiiaulca do not offciul the eje; that unlike the chiMrci of Israel "in their npUvity, she doj-, not hang her h-.rp upon the uill.m-*, wl,e:i lir-r memory fondly travols haWc »o the l-Yanep of ot'icr <1 1} : but no le»'s tr.ie n it, tii it tlie liberu only uo!ih\ of the namethe libcityof thought is deniel liJr, an-1 tlie aspiration* (it f.'iedoui, even thcuji =c.iree whi l -,p..-i > el in tlie car, arc etacko I, while a milit.iiyde-putiMu, with the 1-ayoiiei- at the bi\.a-c, a smv>s, hei' that she is free. It may be that, t'lep^il <{ of piuu-Jmipnt U passed, aiul the pic^eiit is tlie tnue 01' probation aud ttiitioD for—

" Gul mow ; in a ri_\--t,er'ou-> way, His t<> jrii'* -in, II' 1 plants hi-, f, ir-'i i>i on the sea, And r!«io-> ti[ on the f\nti,\." Hut whatever in..y l.t >.h • ullnnnte ueMt'n in the preheat abject pjsitioii ot' Kr.nirc, wo cannot but recognise it as :m evident' thaf l-olitiral immorality 'is piegnuit wich t'iy iii( -t, fj.uful cviK, thy i.dluence of wliirlimvi lcvh t'><;, i.^.a^io! l^ j^ttinimvu. It is not tor m;ui tn iuv.tr ■ on; the juiib of liis follow» ; to one vno -^reih ioi us m.n lie will stand or full, out in *ho hour uJioa impaitial justice will lieailiniuHu-P'i. irtiidi'.l by unenini; wisdom, it may bo that tlie siihim' at v a toi^ in that poati. ,il Act lilema will io--'-ivl' a 'r.inii r MMit^nc" than they, — who by iicpiiv.ru t'n< in or" lhfh : -_-hts dvo\n them.' or by annifidf! pl.ilo«. 'p)n , Ik -illlil t'luin. into the perpctr.iti'»n ot' tlios.- iUoii of ilarknr.s-. To these -,\ill I'j aseiibnl, not i.nly the i n i:e of i.r_;iji,uion, but ail tho aeeinnuhtcd hoiroi-o which followed, in ghastly anav, in its train.

I know not lio v ado<vntv>ly tv oharnoteri/.e that infringement of fie l:nv- nl p.i'itica! mo'alir>- which is manifytod in the \i Lintucy abdic ition, h.\ theeducafed ;n d wealth} e!,is-y>, m" the power -tnd iu'iluence which their position entul. s .1 id <|ii,,iih\" thei.i to exercise. When the evils. u!.ii' ; i tbj t i. 10 mm ops in on ih/> opening of llio tlood <r ;l t, i,; 1 ('.finocrncy overtake them, they will 1: ivu only tlu msclves to hinmc for the ilcv.i'-t liioa whi'-h e,.v lopt'- th.'in : and, nub only h the ii jury {rre.it e< u>-uC, thunsuV 1 ", lmt they have committed a "rievoas vn>;><i a_rainsf humanity, for the recoil uf di-mo vni- in-iLutioi.b tells most heavily auainst t lie vrv ela-s - which it h tli-ir duty by a wUe .vii] ju-t kvislatMn to proftc!-. Tiif possession of wealth and educated lineHi^c cc is a power committed to their chartfo !n an ovoiniliu_- Providence, to be used ii) accord nice with tho i.ni'iutable principles of rectitude, and imi-t not hj >.yd ,t-,;<le iiecan^e it cannot he made to sui>eivo pii\ ite interests or peculiar views. It is almost iuiji'^-il.lL' in eakulate the result of such a voluntary ab lira, urn of power. If we <to to a neighboring coloin, wheic universal suiFrasrc is the ruin, we caniiui, f.iil to iui:o_iii«a at a glance the baneful influence whiuli mioli .1 state of things originates, 'i'hew the po-sc-s>o:s of i\eiltii, by having at one time clo-sed tli? oountry a/aJKfc m ttleiu«v.t, rou&cd thp spiiit of the class iv l.oiu the cloctoi.il ])n\\fr is vested, aad, if report spi..ik tml\. co.i>'uU'rable sums of money have been expanded, the produce of some imvihiiile and ins'^i.o.vn ;"^nry, in order to neutralize the apprehended di. alters. \\"! other this he true or uot, Iliere ciniiot be a qii< 4i ( ,n that political immoiaiity abound-; when; power b, disassociated from inteliignnce and propeitv, ir.s ivitur.il accompaniments. If it weienecesbaiy to indi-ite the individual reMiltiii-r evils, the t.is't wo.ilil not be .1 dirtK-ult one. It has lteen truly slid of de'i,ou.u-,' that it is impatient of taxation, and th.it it p;ufer.-> „n\ a nount of infamy to the burthen of a tav, lio-e\-.r luhl. It requires no pretfiencc to Puete'l on whom tlie tax will liiil when the neeesstty f)V its iiajo^ilion ari<^. Durinsr th Q fearful sti uncle in which Britain v;i, ciua^cd with France unilor the fiist Napoh 0.1, while bhe'Veil to the iitm.i'-t, t.he iii.ii". eiloiw liouer of borrowing, which her connnerohl civdio cuable'l her to exercise, lipr war taxes wore heavy and opp'evive. In tlies-trugirle now <roincc on nmonj; the .-U".te* >.f Am -licM, a fti^'antic debt, supposed to be one fourth of tint incurred by (ircix Bi'itiiin throu'_ r li a lonj; Sfripc of veaiN. has boon accumulated in a f<>\v shott mouth ; and the source whence it v;as obtaii c 1 hclu.i u\hau ,t"d, the XOl them States have now to have rei'ourio to a m-sU'iii of taxation of which the vriy euii'n -.niion of the articles makes the t,ix Imithone-l Biiton st md ,i^ha>t. We have yet _to «;ee t'i': ioce;it!op the t '\ u-Uherer will meet in his domrlliarv vi-it.ilin'is. The hand of a mastpr mind ha-, ekftoho'l :!ip ehanctcr of democracy with sue.li marvellous --'<in, and. 'as pissing events evidence ) w'tli such prnjili.'tie. foie>:y;lit, that 1 cannot do belter than place his lepi.^-uitation bjfbre you. Do Toc.|iievii!e, lii:u-i 'f .1 witne-s of w Int liedescvil.es, a«s>cits, " Tliat : mons tha immoii-e crowd who, in the United States, take to the caieor of politics, I met with few men who posses ih.it independence of thought, that in.mly candour which chnrar teri/ed the AnicriuaiH in their war of independence. You would s-ay, on the ontnrv, tint i.'l th ir minds aro formed on the same model, so tly do tlk-y adopt the same opinions. I have «-om»ti.m.s nut v.'ith ti ue patriot-i-m ainn? the p'up'e, but ran ly :.mon{j the rulers. This i* oa, ily f\p!ained. Supr. me power ever cornints and depiavcs its servants before it has irievocably t'linted its pos cs'ors. Tiie courtici^ i>i Amaica do not indeed snv, '' Sire ! Your Alye^tj" — mighty diiferencp— but they spool \vthout intenni.s'-ioii of the natural intelligence of tii>-ir iuni.y he'tdcl .sovereign • they attribute to him cverv viitue and capacity under heaven ; they do not «ive him the ir wives and daughters to make hi*- mi^frcs-t&, but, by sacrificing their opinions they pro^titiiio then selves ro his service. What re\ oils t!ie mind of an European in America, is, not tlie cxtieme lilierty which prevails, but the slondcr Ruar.intoe which' exists against tyranny Wlihi a mnn or a jiaily suffers in the United. State-, from injustice on the part ofthemajoritv, to whom is he to appb, for lediew ? To public opinion? It is' forme'l by the majority. To the Le^'islativo body "> It is uloct&l by tiie majorify To a jury? It i* the judicial committee of a majority. To tiie Executive power .' It K appointed Tiy the majority, and is the meio executor of its wishes. llow cruel or unjust soever may he the .stroke which injures you, redrpis is impossible, and submission unavoidable. I know no countiy In which there is so little true independence of mind and fiecdom of disoutsioii as in America The majority imiscs such formidable barrieis to liberty of opinion that it is impossible to pass them ; within them an author may write whatever he pleases, but ho will ropeut it if be evrr step iboi one! them. In democratic states, organised on the pi ineiplo of the American Hepubiie, the authority of the majority i.s so ab-olutc, so irresistible, that a man must up his rights as a citizen, and almost abjure his quality as a human being, if he means to stray from the tr\ck which it lays down. If pvor, therefore, the free institutions of America are destroyed, tbnt event will ari«n from the unlimited, tyranny of this majority ; anaichywill he the result, but it will have been brought about by despotism."

.So important do I consider n ri.-lit apprehension of th 's branch of our .-.ubjeot, that you will, I am ijure, pnidon me for 1 ivinsr before you what lias been wisely and beintifully said by Burke on the Fame point. "Do not," h<; snys, "Imagine that I wi-h to confine power, autlioritv and distinction, to blood and names and titles. No sir. There is 110 qualification for Government but virtue and wisdom, actual or prcE>uinpthe. VDuruver they arc actually found, they liave, in whatever state, condition, profession, or trade, the pnshport of heaven to human place and honor. Woe to the country which would madly and impiously reject the service" of the talents, and virtues civil, military, or r< Unions, that nre given to grace and serve, and would condemn to ob&ciuity everything foime'l to diifuse lustre and glory around a state". Woe to that country thai parsing into the opposite extreme, considers a low education, a mean contracted view of things, a sordid mercenary occupation, as a pieferable title to command. Ido not h^stiUte to Kay that the road to eminence and power, from obscure condition ought not to be made too easy, nor a thing too much of course. The temple of honor ought to be set on an eminence, if it be opened through virtue, let it be remembered, too, that virtue is never to be tried but by

some difficulty and some struggle. Nothing is a due and adequate representation of a state that does not represent its ability a:* well a^Us property."

1 feul that tlioie is a masculine vi-'or and a lofty e'evation of sMitiiiie.it in thevs words, tint needs no commendation. But ict us not in our just aversion t)the ow'iflo wings of doiivvjracy foree t that, there are rights which it is dangerous totritteici>h f andichich it fo wise and only just to recognise.; and that the surest ;vid only way to retain power in the hands of the educated classes is by the exhibition of n justice which will "bear the closed scrutiny, and by an administrative action which is beyond suspicion. There is a natural deference to worth and intelligence implant I .*! in man, by. »no, who does »11 things wisely, an 1 when this is supplaufd by another feelinj; it may be safely said that the fine gold has become dimme I by a contravention of a natural law. But how shall we sufficiently reprobate that recreant spirit which voluntarily abdicates the position which nature has ac:orde%l to the educated cla-ss ; which, because its duties are severe, and may be uup'.eisanr, retires from the conflict and absorbs itself in the more honorable occupation of money making. The element of democracy has been allowed to enter into the electoral and legislative bodies, and it will not so much as handle the polluted thing. I know not what to say of the conduct of such. The liuigurit*e of severity htv*not edge keen enough for such recreancy, and* I feel almost tempted to exclaim, "Thy money perish with thee." If there be any fear of the cultivated intelligence of this country being jostled from its lawful position, it is their duty, like honest men, and true, to stand iv the cap, and endeavur to arrest the whelrainp tide ; but if they shrink from the contest, if they refuse to I exerei.«e their beneficial influence, then let them remember that in the bowlings of the U'inpe<>t they forsook the helm, and now that the vessel of state losses helplessly and hopelessly upon the raging waters, that they alone are responsible for the wreck that will ere loi.^r be eiifrulphed.

There is a principle of political immorality which cannot be too strongly reprobated ; it has been expressed thud : " You know the consequences you want, nnd out a principle to justify them." ft is this _ principle which actuated the religious controversialists of a past generation, who resorted to fie scriptures, not to learn the will of God, but as to an armoury where they would obtain weapons to repel and ovei throw their adversaries. Some who have been actuated by nob'er principles, have been unjubtly asperse I as acting under the influence of thia false morality — expetienee, obserration, increased knowledge, and reflecti >v have modified their views, and while honestly acting up to their cjnvictions, they have been exposed to the -uspicion of seeking for principles to jititify a foregone conclusion. We nii<rht adduce as an illustration, the case of Sir Robert Peel, who, in the language of his bitterest opponent, may ho regarded a3 having been placed in " an a»e of rapid eivili/.ation and rapid transition, and who adapted the practical character of his measures to the condition of the times." I know not what may be the opinion of others, but the character of Sir Robert Peel has ever endeared itself to my affectionate esteem : well miijht Lord John Rus-sell declare of him— " that Peel always acted from tin purest, the noblest, and the most honorab'e principles ; " aud th» Duke, in his homely language, affirm that " Peel always spoke the truth." He has beca justly described as " never haviiuj employed his influence for factious purposes, and never having boen stimulated in his exertions by n disordered desire of obtaining office," nnd. "whether in or out of offiiv, of having 1 done his best to make the settlement of the constitution of England, work for the benefit of the present genera tion. Avoiding violence liinibelt', and disliking its exhibition in hissin>j))rt>-rs; he never lost the respect of tl c Wing-, and r,a-s invariably treated by them with deferential regard.''

I cannot refrain from alluding to an incident in his life, which his been recorded by Disraeli himself, na the "Canning episo le, 1 ' but which may more appropiiately be designated as the piini«hment of slander. The " Champion of Protection had decided on a fierce attack on the ministry, of which Sir Robert Peel was tiic he id, in order to prevent the repeal of the Corn Laws. The Irish Coeicio.i Bill offered Lord Bentinck and Mr D'l'-raeli their only chance, and a vilification of Sir Robert Peel was the weapon of offence. Lord George eminence.'! the attack by accusing (Sir Robert of having hunted Mr O.miinp; to death, in 1827, on the Catholic Emancipation 'iue.s!ion, while, as they stated, in 18-2"), Sir Kobe, t and) ?»h- Canning "were of one mind on the question. This was the charge; and imt only were tho rinh of wrath poured out on the he;id of £v- Robot t, but those win followed in his wake in advocating the repeal of the Corn Liws— men of renown, were branded as "paid janissaries"' and ".renegade?." This imputation of per&ojal dishonor was at once satisfactorily disposed of, amid the enthusiastic cheers of the House. But the end was not yet. On a future night D'fsraeli, who had been brooding over the mischief, returned to the charge, caiue to the rescue of his leader, and, under tho shallow and hearties pretence of vindicating his friend, renewed the assault by the most deliberate and measured approaches, coveting his a-lvance by nil the t-nqinery of biting snreasm and milignant invec'ive that a mind capacious of such th'mj;.-, could produce— and, to the shame of the inanhoolof England's country gentlemen, that i'l-passioned and envenoincJ orator, the srlf-clected advocate of Protection, was received with frantic anulause, and re mined his <.eat amid tremendous cheei ing. Sir Robert, in reply, calmly claimed the indulgence of the House while ho rebutted the groundless attack ; and he, challenged the production of a document upon which his assailants laid great stress ; but it was no.t till soin" d-iys aft t, with the sympathies of the llou.be in his favor— for the sympathy of the generous he-irtod i; ever ready" to encourage a manly repellant— he resumed " his defence. Step by step ho demolished the sophis tical cobwebs that_ uialiunity had woven around him, amid the fci'encc of the opposite <amp, so lately jubilant, while triumphant ''iieers ponied forth from his own ranks, which never doubted the honor of their ohicf. a.s tho sun of truthfulness sprung undimmed from bchinl the frowi.iiuj clou Is that had enveloped it. DonujlMii-ig D'ls-aeh's mainarmnnent. a confident n fereni-e to tlie Timrs of seventeen veuV date, Sir Robert calmly a.sks, " There were four* other papers: as \ou hunted up the report in the Times, I ask the question, did you search the others ? If you did, why did you not, in common honest y. admit the discrepancy tht-y exhibit" i There wis apauss, hut no reply; the p.-ironal honor of the minister \va-. triumphantly vindicated; the noblest te.stinnny was borne by members hiidi in the estimation of the'hou'e to the completeness of the rcfuta ion ; and the ere>tfalieu slanderer retired humiliated from the scene, without sufficient nobility of mind to acknowledge hierror, and to brood in silence over as crushing a dele it as ever calumny had received at the h mds of virtue. In March, 134fi, on the debate on the. Corn Importation Bill, we find !>ir Rob?rt, anticipating his political downfall to be at hand, concludes thus :— " I am not sui prised to hear honorable members predict that my tenure of power is short. This mjisure beins oncG passed, \ou on this s-iue and on that s-ide oS the House in ly adopt what measures \ou think proper for terminating uiyjpolitical existence I a-ssuie you I deplore the lo'-s of your confidence much more than I deplurc the loss of political power. Every man has within his own and bosom con-.eieuce the scales which detTiniie the veal weight of reproach; and if I had acted from any corrupt or unuorthv motives, one tenth part of the accusations you lm-e levelled a^iust me would have been fatal to my peace and mv existence When Ido fall, I sl*tll have the satisfaction of r< fleeting that I do not fill because I have shown any subserviency to a party ; and I shall carry with me the satisfaction of reflecting that during the course of my official career, my object has been to mitigate monopoly, to increase the demand for industry, to remo\e restrictions upon commerce, to equalise the burden, of taxation, and to ameliorate the condition of those that labor."

On the '29th of June, 1840, on finally retiring from office, he concludes wth those noble words: — " Within a few houi.s, probably, that power which I hay« held fora period of five years, will be surrendered into the hands of another— « ithout repining— without complaint on my part— v.ifch a more lively rcoileetion of the support and confidence I have received during several years, than of the opposition which, during a recent period, 1 have encountered. In relinquishing power, 1 shall leave a name, severely censure.! [ fear, by many, who. on public grounds, deeply regietthat severance, not from interested or personal motives, but from the firm conviction that fidelity to pai ty engagements— the existence and maintenance (.f a gieat party— constitutes a powerful instiument of Government ; I shall surrender power severely censured also by others who, from no interested motives, adhere to the principle of protection, considering the maintenance of it to be essential to the welfare and interests of tho country. / shall leave a name execrated by every monopolist, who, from less honorable motives, clamors for protection beca use it conduces toh mowti indivblual benefit ; but, it mny bo. that I skill levee a name somctimcji remembered with expressions ofyood will in the abodes of tlios". whose lot it is to labor, and to earn their daili/ bread by the sweat of 'heir brow, when they shall recruit their exhausted strength with abundant and unt a,ccd food, the. sweeter because it is no toiu/er leavened by a sense of injustice." Within four years of an honest, impartial opposition—and within forty years of his being n distinguished member of the House of Commons"Sir Robert Peel was laid iv the sileut grave, ninid the profoundest admiration, and universal tribute of respect, Men felt when they heard their loss, that they had lost a brother- -nnd even now, when years have passed over the last days of that noble statesman, tlie eye dims with the recollection of the unvarying constancy with which, amid the estrangement of friends whom he loved, he paused not on the path of political martyrdom until he hnd gained his noble end. And truly may it be said that he lias attained his fondest wish, a name not sometimes, but often remembered with expressions of good-will in the abodes of those whose lot fit ia to labor— for" the paths of the just are blessed.'' He forsook all to follow trutti, and a crown that a monarch might envy is his reward. Well might Lord John Russell emphatically say of him, "that this country, now, and

posterity hereafter, in reckoning the names of eminent, Statesmen who have adorned the annals of our laud, and contributed to its lustre, will place amongst the foiemosfc the name of Sir Robert Peel."

Poremo.it among tlie statesmen of England and of Europe, we may, without fear 0! contradiction, place the name of William Pitt, of whom it has been said by Chateaubriand, " That while other contemporary reputations, even that of Napoleon, are on the decline, the fame of Mr Pitt alone is continually increasing, and seems to derive fresh lustre from every vicissitude of fortune." At fche early age of 22 he took his teat in the Birish Parliament, and even then assumed a position with Burke, Fox, and Sheridan in the front rank of debaters, and within two years he attained to the pre-eminence of becoming prime minister, the duties of which office he held continuously for 17 years, and with the exception of three years till the hour of his death ip 1804. Time does not admit of even passing rapidly in review the stirring events of that momentous period ; the ablest and the most elcquent historic writers have deemed the character ot its chief actor a fitting theme for their eulogy ; it may suffice us to clance at a few only of tho leading features of Pitt's career. Though at first somewhat indisposed to regard the republican movement in Frauce as injurious to the cause of freedom, he was early awakened to a sense of its inevitable tendencies, and stepped forward to arrest the desolating p'ague, and avert from Kurope, the impending calamities. In this course he never faltered for a moment, but summoned to his aid ail that the highest intelligence could devise, and the most energetic will could control. He stood as a beacon to warn, and as a general to rally around his standard the isolated and independently resisting- forces of Europe, until there might be seen arrayed against the scouree of the world the united forces of the three great continental powers. The momentum of such a force would tlun, as it subsequently did, have hurled the Jcspot from his throne ; but the errors of generalship neutralised the genius of the statesmnn, and the battle of Austerlitz broke at once the power of Enrone and the heart of Pitt. Originating at an early period the financial system which enabled Europe to do battle in defence of freedom, he fostered in his native land, amid the excitement, of democratic progress, that genuine love of liberty which is our present inheritance : and, though in the course of the necessary deadly strucrple for independence, bo created a debt of no less than three hundred millions, he raised this country to a pinnacle < f prosperity and glory from which she has never descended. Her naval victories under his premiership read more like the fictions of romance than the sober realities of actual existence ; and her revenue, commerce, manufactures, and colonies received an extension nnd obtained a permanency, which would have been more in keeping with a time of profound pence, than a period during which her apparently undivided and concentrated energies were devoW to self-preservation, and to re1 indling the expiring torch of a wise and well regulated liberty. The poet's impassioned eloquence is the only fitting vehicle for the expression of our admiration :—: — " .Nor mourn ye less his perished worth, Who bade the conqueror go forth And launch'd that thunderbolt of war On Egypt, llafuia, Trafalgar ; Who, born to cuide such high Emprise For Britain's weil was early vviso ; Alas ! to whom the Almighty gave For Britain's sins an early graye — E\\ worth, who. in his mightiest hour, A bauble held the pride of power ; Spurned at the sordid lust of pelf, And served his Albion for herself — Who, when the frantic crowd amain, Strainel at subjei-tlon's bursting chain O'er their wild mood full conquest gained The pride ho. would not crush, restrained ; Showed tlpeir fierce zeil n worthier cause, And brought the freeman's arm to aid the freeman's caa.se. HacUt thou but lived, though stripped of power, A watchman on the lonely tower — Thy thrilling trump had roused the laud, When fraud or danger were at hand ; By thee, 'as by the beacon light. Our pilots had kept cmr.se aright — As some proud column, though alone. Thy strength had propp'd the tottering throae. Now is the stately column broke, The beacon-light is quenched in smoke, The trumpet's iilver sound is still, The war.ler silent on the hill. Oh, think how to bis latest day, When death, just hovering, claim'd hia prey; With Palinure's unaltered moid, •Virm at his dangerous po9t he stood — Each call for needful rest rep.-lid, / With living baud the rudder held : Till in his fail, with fateful sway, The steerage of the realm gave way. When Europe crouch'd to France's yoke, And Austria bent, and Prussia broke, And the firm Russian's purpose brave, Was bartered by n timorous slave ; — E'en then dishonor's peace he spurn'd, The sullied olive branch returned ; Stood for his country's glory fast, And nail'd her colors to the mast." Wo may indeed fear that England will not tee bis 1 like figain. It has lieen said of him tha*;, while millions flowed through his bauds, he himself died poor. His personal disinterestedness was so marked, that even his political enemies found iv it the theme of a warm admiration. His nnble nature could not drawnurture from the life's blood of his blet^ing country, buch was Pitt in hia life ; but it is in his death that we may reid the moving principle of his action. Lst. me then ask you to step aside for a short time longer from the turmoil and strife of the world, and accompany mo to tho chamber and couch of the dying patriot state-man. England had but just wept over the remains of one of her noh!e=t sons, the im mortal Nelson, when a shaft from an unerring how winged its way to the b0.30m of her Heaven-born minister. Truly has it bejn said of those who stood in the foreground of England's hi.-torv, that there were *' gi;>nts in those days," nnd of him of whom we speak it may be said, that of all tlmt constitutes indomitable courage, lofty intelligence, nnd deathless patriotism (as was said in another sense of Sui!), '• that there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he : fom hi* shoulder, upwards, he was higher than any of the people." But Death is no respecter of persons; his impartial scUhc alike lays low the tender bud and the perfect flower. He \vho3e very name caused a tyrant to tremble on his throne, and to whom prostrate nations looked as to a last hope, was on the threshold of eternity — nobles hastened to his door to lenni the latest tidings, and royal messengers returned hreathle«s with their tales of woe; while in the chamber of death itsqlf, nfJectionate solicitude suppressed its burstiug s)bs and gazed on iv solemn silence, and in unutterable woe. Draw near and listen to the incoherent utterings of the st'icken patient,— note tint look of angelic tenderness which even in the throes of death teltaof» soul alive to the tenderest emotions— mark that radiant smile supplanted by a look of saddened intelligence, ns the sunlight is obscured by the flying cloud — toop low, and catch the last lingering utterance of the departing hero, as ho passes the confines of time and stops into eternity. " Oil, my cjuntry, how I love my country." 1 And what is the lesson that I desire we should read from this solemn scene * It is this,— that, with the elements which equip the statesman for the battle of hfo. he is still unfitted for the warfare unless Irs soul is absorbed with the love of his country ; this it is which breathes life into the marb'e statue- this is " the altar which «anetifies the gift." without which, as the Christian without cha! ity, he is but " as tho tinkling cymbal and the sounding brass." I have now done, and I know not whether J shall be overstepping the bounds wi hin which those who have the privilege of addressing you should confine their observations, if in conclusion, I say a few words with reference to the course you shonld pursue in connection with the subject we have been considering ; but t! is I know, that you, who nre now in the spring-tide of youth, will not take unkindly the suggestions of one over whom the shades of autumn l.nve prevailed, but who still looks forward with deep interest, aad no inconsiderable anxiety to the future of tl/e home of his adoption. You have already, in the Association you huve foimed, indicated your earne>t_ deaire to hold fabt to the profession of your faith without wavering ; your solicitude muUu filly to strengthen each other's hands in the promotion of Gospel truth, and the exhibition of Gospel morality ; and your resolution to combat the infidelity of the day by a more faithful adherence to the truths which have been banded down to us by our forefathers/ whose blood was freely shed, nnd who cluerfully gave their bodies to be burnt to leave us as au inlicritancc.a pure nudundefiledgospel.l need not speak, even had the. subject admitted of mv doing so, of the latent exhibition of a soul-destroying heresy, the " Es-s-ays and Reviews," the more deadly becnuse presented to us in the golden chalice of a simple and enticing eloquence — deadly, not only because of their glaring and outspoken unbelief, biit because of their infusion of the subtlest poison, and their studied omUsJon of the important and fundamental truths imbedded in every page of inspiration- a libel on Christianity, an outrage on common sense and common honesty, and a burning brand of shame to tho Church, within whose bosom their authors aTe n'lowed to remnin as ministers of God's truth, as dispensers of His word and sacraments, Ido not, speak of these things because, as I said, the subject will not admit of my so doing j and because, in course of the present lectures, an abler head than mine will do every justice to the cause of truth ; but I would remind you that beyond the more immediate and direct objects of your Association, there are others which come legitiaately within the sphere of your duties, and to which I would earnestly invite your individual attention. There is a tendency in thn human mind to contract our vision to objects immediately before us, or extend it so as to rest only on those in the distance. These phases of Christian life are exhibited by some who'e devotion is confined simply within the walls of the Church, or the privacy of the family circle ; and by others, whose charity overlooking the precincts of home, stretches forward to the nations hemmed in by lieathen darkness.

I plead with you in behalf Of that which will be next in your affection to your family circle, the land of your adoption. I ask you to bring the ervor and open-hearte Iness which you exhibit elsewhere, and lay them on the altar of your country. It is n subject of boasting with some, and tif self complncncy with others, that they do not meddle with politics, but it seems to me like glorying in their shame. I do not ask you to become political agitators— l would entreat you to flee from such, but I do ask you to make political subjects your study, to enable you to take your part as good citizens in political life, aud to bring your Christian} influence to bear up >n public morality. If I know aught of th<- generous impulses of y tuth, it i 9 not in its nature to see others bearing the* heat and burthen of the day ; battling for whether rightly or wrongly, they consider to be their country 'B good, and itself the while to stand by with listless indifference. Even if it were lawful to overlook these obligations, it la expedient that they should be fulfilled, for it is not possible to over-estimate the baneful influencn of a politicil demoralisation ; it is like the oveifldwing lara which leaves desolation in its track-— the shade of the \ipas tree which carries death in its embrace. We may dwell in a fancied security that the circle of ii f s influence will not reach us ; but if we neglect our duties, and prove recreant 3in tho day of battle, tlie whelming wave of national humiliation and sorrow will overtake us. " Not Enjoyment and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way ; But to act that each to-morrow, Finds us farther than to-day. Art is long, and time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and braye — Still, like muffled drums, are beating * Funeral marches to the grave. In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of life ; Be not like dumb driven cattle, Be a hero in the strife."

It may be sai I that for the statesmen of Britain's out-lying domains there may be no prospect of the coroneted brow or the star-decked breast ; but there is a nobility which the humblest may aspire to and the lowliest win ; the smile of approving majesty raav fade ere it reach these distant provinces, but nothing can rob us of that which monarchs cannot confer, the testimony of a good conscience ; and yet, far above and beyond all this, there is an hour coming when assembled nations shall stand in solemn silence before a spotless throne, and happy, thric happy, he— the envy of the proudest monarch who has ever trodden earth's boundless realms, and on whose breath the destiny of millions has depended -to whom ifc shall be then ssidj - "Well (tone thou good and faithful servant; eutor thou into the joy of thy Lord."

The Currents of the Ocean.— Mr A. Tudor, of the Coastguard, Abbotsbury, writes under data July 22 :—": — " It may be interesting to some of your pp ientific readers to know that a spoeies of moiusca, known to sailors as ' Portujjuese-men-of war,' and which are natives of the Gulf of Mexico, have been within the last few days washed on shore in this neighborhood in great numbers. As an old sailor, I have have no recollection of having seen them north of the 48th degree of latitude, and then only in what is considered the usual track of the Gulf stream. Their visit to thi.s coast must indienfe an extraordinary eluncfe in the course of the currents of the North Atlantic " True Theory or Love.— Love, pure and simple, the very deepest and highest, sweetest and most solemn thing in life : to be believed in devoutly until ife cotnes, and, when it does come, to be held to firmly, | faithfully, with a single-minded, fettled constancy, | till death — a creed quite impossible, many will say, in this ordinary world, and most dangerous to be put into the head of a poor servant. Yet a woman is but a woman, be she innid-servant or queen ; and if, from queens to maid-servMits, girls were taught, thna to think of Jove, there might be a few more "broken" hearts, perhaps, but there would certainly be fewer wicked hearts ; far fewer corrupted lives of men, and i degraded lives of women ; far fewer unholy mar- [ riagfs, and desolated, drear}, homeless hom«3. - Good Words. Powkh of a Lattgh.— The man that laughs is a doctor without a diploma. His face doe 3 more pood in a sick room than a bushel of powders or a gallon, of bitter draughts. People are always glad to see him. Their hands instinctively go half-way out to meet hU grasp, while they turn involuntarily from the clammy touch of the dyspeptic, who speaks in the groaning key. Ha laughs you out of your finlts— while you never dream of being offended with him ; and you neter know what a pleasant world you are living in, until he points out the sunny streaks oa its pathway. Fine Writing.— A penny-a-liner, describing a. fire, says :— The devastating element, unsatisfied with, floods of water, belched forth its crimson tints, ftm) spread the ' fiery flan; of devastation over entire, squares, unchecked by the superhuman exertions of the firemen, who seemed like lost spirits in the haU of Pandemonium, as they flocked round the terrlflo. spectacle. Ciia.hcoa.l. — The u*e of charcoal ns a deo'larWag acent, from the readiness with which gases become absorbed l>y it is will_ knovyn, but it may not be generally known that it is a mild lnxntive or purgative, nccording to the quantity administered. On occasions when no other remedy was within reach, wo have known pounded charcoal given to cows to net aa a purgative ; two handfuls b°ino: sufficient for thi9 purpo-e. Pi^s are remarkably fond of it, and there can be no doubt of its being beneficial to such animals in preventing the formation of gases.— Veomnn. How to Proceed when Conftioktinq a Mad Dog.— Look at him with your fie* from between your legs, holding the skirls away, an 1 running at hju* thus, backwards, of conrs.\ head below, stern *$•* posed and above, and prowling angrily ; most dogs^ peeing so strange an animal, the hpad at the heefe^ the eyes b°low the mouth, &c, are so dismayed, that, with their tails between their less, they are glad to scamper away, some even howling with iiiffht. I have never tried it with a thorougluhred bu!l-dog, nor do I advise it with them ; though I have practised it, nnd successfully, with most of the other kinds ; Jt mitrht fnil with those, still I cannot say it will.— Colonel de Berenger\i Helps and Hints. Polaxd.— Among sovereign*. Waldemarthe Third of Poland stands distinguished for solemnly ennfeasiner, at the moment of his coronation, that his sole right to royal dignity rested on the will of his people. "I hold," said he "roylifa from my God, my propprty from my aneesfors ; but my crown-I hold onh? because my subjects think proper to trust m§ \yrtb, it.*' The modesty of this assertion has oft^'beenj praised, but the truth is, that there i* little juodestj? in it after all ; for the crown of Poland was elective and the ense stood exactly as the Sclavonic king lia^ put it. The sentiment, however, h seen in strong contrast with that which was signified, if not $t» pressed at the crowning of the Czar, Explosion in a.n Jrqnsttoxh Pit.— On Wednesday morning, n man ?vnd a hoy were severely burned, through an exp'oMon of 'fire-damp, whicl\ t'wk place }n tho Broomhill Ir nstone Pit, Denny belonging to Mr Foster. Several of the men state that, on setting to the bottom of the pit. they (Vlt tha Hmelloffoul air, bu& apprehended no danger* na the* considered the strength of t'le gas insufficient to cause) an explosion. As speedily as pGSsiMe tha ir.jured rn.RH an 1 boy were conveyed homo in a cart. The man, whose tiarae is Jnmes Stevenson, is frightfully burned, and no hopes are entertained of his recovery.— Scrtsmnn. O^s Kfpeot of the Cotton Famine — One of mv friends told me that he had met a sexton the day before, and asked him how trade was with him. The sexton replied that it was " Venn bud— nowt tioin*, hardly." " Well, time sees," answered the sexton, "poverty seldom dies. There's far more kilt wt* o'er-heytniu, and o'er-dhvinkin' nov thero fc wl* beingpinched." — Mnnshestor JSxnmintT\ Paved with Gold.— Tho pmeiice of scraping dirt off tils roads for the s-ike of the gold it contains ! is carried to such an extent iv some plnoai that several prosecutions have recently been instituted foy the flarastee occasioned in this manner. In one spat, on tho Mount Korong nr.d, the polioe have boon I watcHng for the depredators for some time, and at last en light two young" men carrying away a sack full of earth, between three and four o'clock in tho morning. The road had been metalled with broken quartz, which had become powdered by the traffic $ vehicles. There cau be no doubt, from the extent 0$ the operations in this locality, that the washdU* pai^ well for the trouble. In another case three Chinamen! were fined for a similar offence. — ijej^rftgro Inde-\ pendent, 27th September. A Slave Jokk —The fn which "human cattle" nre treated when they incline to go beyond defined bounds has boen illustrated in the shape^of a. slave yoke taken from, the npek of a fugitive last; September, on the Maryland side of the Upper Po* tomao, by a member of the First Massnchusett^ Regiment, after two hours' hard filing of the riv«t, which bound the collar and two antler-like prongs about ten inches long 1 , round the negro's neok. Ankcdotf. oj vSydnky Smith.— ln preaching a charity sermon he frequently repeated the assertion that, of ali nations, Englishmen were most distinguished for generosity and the love of their specks The collection happened to be inferior to his exractiK tions, nnd he said that he had evidently raa/lo great mistake, for that his expression shouW fyiye been that they were distinguished for \ove <tf thefc specie. # It has been stated that aawa and goats fed exclc«» sively upon beet-root yitvld a milk exaotly like that of the humau secretion, and, therefore, may be substii tuted for it. A chicken fancier is trying to get up a new race of pullets by crossing Aventher-cocks with Shanghai hens. We shall watch his success with much in* terest. This is a progressive age. Rope-walks will be made to trot.

Printed for the Proprietors by Danxbl Camfbjll, at the Otago Witness Office, Princes-itrefiL Duiiedln, Qtago, N.Z *