STATE OF PARTIES IN ENGLAND.

New Zealander, Volume 2, Issue 56, 27 June 1846, Page 2

STATE OF PARTIES IN ENGLAND.

The arrival of the MauJein, from Sydney, has put us in possession of further English intelligence respecting the late Ministerial Crisis, which has arrived by the Rifleman, from the Downs 24th January, and Falmouth 12th February ; and we direct the attention of our readers to the copious and interesting extracts which will be found in our columns. Many changes have taken place in the Ministry, but few in the- Cabinet. The alterations, more especially interesting to us, are the following — Mr. Gladstone is placed at the head of the Colonial Office, and Lord Lyttleton succeeds Mr. G. W. Hope, as Under-Secretary. • The most important feature of the Crisis, however, is the evident breaking up of the systemof monopoly and protection, which was the grand characteristic of modem conservatism. The failure of the crops has" been the immediate cause of this political convulsion ; but it may be interesting to trace the course of those circumstances which led to such important results. For ten long years after the passing of the Reform Bill, did Sir Robert Peel strive to get together a party which should be of some weight in the nation ; and at length he succeeded. On the ruin of the old Tories, and Tory principles, he erected the stately edifice of modern Conservatism. Each year saw him increase in strength, and his party became more numerous. The majority enjoyed by the Whigs dwindled away ; and in 1841, they were routed and overthrown. Sir Robert became the head of agovernmentof unprecedented strength. The party which placed him in power commanded a majority in both Houses of Parliament — and possessed the favor and confidence of the greatest portion of the nation : nevertheless, this party is now scattered and utterly discomfited. Though presenting, apparently, an unbroken phalanx, Sir R. Peel's party was composed, to a certain extent, of heterogeneous materials, and contained within itself the seeds of dissolution. He was brought in upon the faith of one set of principles, — but the exigencies of the times demanded another ; and no sooner had he securely seated himseff in office, than he began to follow out the system of policy, which, in opposition, he had reprobated. This he did in consequence of the wisdom he had acquired by observation and experience, and in noble defiance of the trammels and constraints of party prejudice. Sir Robert Peel could afford to do this. He could exist and maintain his position without succumbing to his party' — but they, without him, could not survive. Had the Premier preferred the interests of his party to the public weal — had he been determined to maintain his political consistency inviolate — to disregard the exigencies of the times, and sacrifice the welfare of the people, in order to preserve, what, in compliance with common parlance, we may term — his political morality, unimpeached; — had he done this, he too must-have fallen, with his party, beneath the ponderous necessity which was urging on the destruction

of the principles of monopoly. But he wisely preferred the interests of the Nation to the wishes of his paity ; and chose rather to give a death wound to the faction that had raised \ him to power, than withold his sanction to those measures which, he had become convinced, were necessary to the prosperity of the people. We hail the anticipated*commercial policy of the reconstructed Peel administration with unmingled delight. The anti- Protestant tendency of some of his late measures, have filled us with indignation and regret ; but in this instance, we think Sir Robert has nobly determined to act upon the convictions of his judgment, in opposition to the interested persuasions of party-spirit monopolists. The broad line of demarcation, which existed for so many years, between Whigs and Tories, on the momentous questions of protection and free trade, is waxing fainter and fainter. The rival forces are now uniting, and the nation is divided into two great bodies, the monopolists on the one hand, and the free-traders, as represented by the "Anti-Corn Law League," on the other. From a small knot of Manchester manufacturers who, ten years ago, met for the first time in a little room, at Brown's Hotel, in Palace Yard, this body has arisen to the summit of its height and greatness, and now numbers its millions of members ! During the late crisis, the " League" was unusually active. At a meeting at Manchester, it was determined to raise £250,000 for the purposes of that body. Of this sum, £60,000 was subscribed in four hours, by the men of Manchester and its vicinity ! Nor is wealth the only characteristic of the free-trade party — it has absorbed nearly all the talent of the House of Commons, and is backed by the sympathies and support of the great body of the middle classes, and the whole of the commercial and manufacturing interests. Nothing can present a stronger contrast than the relative strength of the two parties. It is like the struggle of a worn out giant with a youthful Hercules. The wisdom of some of the noble advocates of protection, as displayed in their arguments, in defence of the system, is remarkable. The world has hardly yet done laughing at felie recommendation given to the poor, by a certain Duke — an advocate of protection. He advised them to obtain some curry powder, and put a pinch of it into some hot water, which, he asserted, would be found very warm and comfortable to the stomach; and a good substitute for bread ! ! ! We should be very sorry to judge of the soundness of the arguments adduced by the supporters of the monopoly, according to the standard furnished by this sapient duke ; but we certainly have failed to discover, in any of the papers which has come before us, anything like a rational apology for the maintenance of the principles of protection : much less a refutation of the solid reasoning in favor of freedom in trade. The effects of these important changes can scarcely be 'predicted ; > they will be so numerous and diversified, that it would be vain to speculate upon them* But, we may rest assured, that the repeal of the Corn Laws is intimately connected with great moral and social improvements in the condition of the people of Great Britain, and will exert an influence, more or less powerful, over the future histories of most of the civilized nations of the world.