ADMINISTRATIONS OF THE HALFCENTURY. [From the "Illustrated London News," March 8.]

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 564, 10 September 1851, Page 4

ADMINISTRATIONS OF THE HALFCENTURY. [From the "Illustrated London News," March B.]

The di-solntio 1 ! of the Russell TVl mistiy induces us to diaw up a bmf skeli.ii 01 the pievioiis Administrations of the halt-centuiy. M.my ul our le.irtiib .11 c 100 junng to leniemhei "v*li«it ocunieil 111 politics Ikjoikl unlit 01 ten yeais, and many moie have, piobibly, heeii t<io little inteitsted in such sublets to hive ])ii'sei\od ,1 viwd lecollection of them. We .lie not acquainted »ill) any sinsjlc book liom which thej ran gatliLi this inlomi.ition: it innst be sought iov in Anun il itogi&tnes, or 111 the other fKiiodicals ot the peuod ; and we may hope, thoieioie, to (ill up a page ot special lustoiy by supplytug even a list ot the (liflrrtnt MiniMiies ot the lialf-centmj. X\ c shall, however, bnefly advcittothe piinciples of each Adniinistiatioii, as well as to the names of Us wunbeis, and enable oui icadeis, by compiling piotession with peitoimance — what was intended with u hat his uciiuly conic to pa"-s-to loiui a tolfiably distinct i'lea ot the dneeiioi. in whii.li =ociet> is> niouii", am) of the lnllueiiru ot Ginciutncnt ovei its conisc. We begin by a list of (he Pinne Minibleis, and the <I itc- of the coninicntement and the clo'-e of their Admimstialion. We itccfl not eiu-uuibei our column? hv [.'ivitijj the title? at length of each Mu.i-tei. Kvety Cabnut Ministei is nectsoanly a member ot the l'nvj Cmmcd, mil is tlu-ieioic Ri^it llonoiuablc. We may adil lh.it Hie I'm)' Council ilsell is a laige body, ctnbidciiK'.i numbei rt noblemen, piel.ites, and |iid«es and all iM-Koiii who havee\ei been 111 the t'abniLt (theie bring only one iiio.le.ii in-tame ot a Pnvy Comuilloi boing . rjecteil l -the name ot Mi. Vox was ei.ised by the hand o( (..eoi<re ill.;, anil is totally distinct ftom the Cabinet, the numbei ot which n not dehnitP, is deteiinincd by the Mmisteis themsehe^, ami lias ■vailtd tioin eleven to fifteen. At the beginning of the icntni> Mi Pitt wis at the head of aflaus, and his Admiiititidtion W.lll scveial jcais befoie; but heie is oui budVeje view ot all the AdiiHiustidtions of the u.ili-ccntni) :—

Mi. Pilt's pnntip.il colleagues were Loid Gicnwlle, Secietary for Foieign Allans ; Bail hpi ucer, Fust Loid of the Admiralty ; Loid Loughboioiigh, Loid Chanccll./i , Mi. Dmidas, aftuiwaids Loid Melville, Piesulent ol ihe JJoaid of Conliol ; the Marquis Coinwdlis being Loid-Lieulenaut of It eland and Mastei-Geiieialot (lie Oklimikc. 'Ihe MmiMiy was composed on the two pimriples ot i existing Fiance and pievciiling political change, the demand toi which, then made with much vehemence, and canted to a gieat extent, was called Jacobinism. In putiuil.w, Pailiamentaiy lelonn w.is demanded, and stienuonsly lc-Msied. The Government was earned on with a sliong hand, a laige militaiy and naval loice was employed, much ol the foinier being at homo, and the Habeas. Coipus Act had been moie than once suspended. Coeicion combintd with enoimoiis taxation, was the nile ot the Goveinment, and was piaiscd and delcmlcd by the gieat majouly ot the middle and uppLi claxM'i. The Ministiy was all powerlul. A eompaiati\ely small mtmbei of VUiigs, headed by Mr. Fox (many of whose paHy, disliking his views of the Fiench Revolution, which had alaimed them, had tMiistened then support to Mi. Pitt), weie the opponents of the sevcie system then in vogue, and woe in fa\om ot recognising the Fiench ie\oliittonaiy Goveinment, and tiymg to establish peace with Fiance, 'ihey wcie extremely niipopiilar, and weie in a smallei minority, peihaps, in the country than in Pailianant. Like (he extieme Libual 01 Radical paity of our day, they \\c\c opposed U> lestricUve and coeuive measuic»; but weie vciy tecbly or not at all, suppoited by the people, whose political creed was cntnely tiaditionaiy, and mainly expressed by ihe then pievalent ciy — to uhich the mob binned Turn Paine jn efiigy and sacked Pnestliy's hoasc — ' ot "Clmich and King." The Ministiy, meetiiig no toumdablc opposition in Paihament, and heing popul.u in the coimtiy, appealed calculate J to last as long a 1 - Mi. Pitts hie ; audits bi caking up, in Ifc.ol, came upon Ihe nation most unexpectedly. One ol its. most iinpoitanl and most valuable domestic measnies was the Union with lie-land, concluded in 180 U, and promoted by a hope ot lessening the disaflcctiiui of the lush, and oi fttrt'iigtlunini; and consolidating the einpne. To bung it to to pas*, a piomise liad been implied, it not actually made, to iche\e the Roman Catholics ot luland tiom the peml laws, on account ot then leligion, to which they wcie then liable ; and to li'iidri Ihe Union as beneficial as possible, it was deemed ♦■ssrniial by Loid Gicimllc and his inenilsto comply with the pioini&c. It w. s Mi. Pitts opinion also, but he held it less tenaciously lli.ni (he othcis, and was not so willing as they weie to make its fnllilnient a sine qua non foi letaiinng oflice. Loid Giemille and Ins luends pioposcd in the Cabinet lliat the Catholic disabilities should be leiuoved immediately the Union was cat i icd into elicct , and not obtaining acmclial acquiescence, they iesi§iied. In tact, Geoige 111. opposed Ins Ministeis. He was detciminrd Mgoionsiy to maintain the pnnciple ot excluding the Roman Catholics lumi all pi ices of ttusl ami powe'i, as the bails ot the legal light ot his laindy to the tlnone. Mi. Pilt, piobably, was disposed to acquiesce in the King's deteilmnalion, as he did at a latei peiiod ; 01 his attachment to office, in which he may be said to ha\o passed Ins hie, was extieme : but Ins leccntly ,<\o\ved opinions, and the moie detci mined political intrgiity ol his colleagues — losing whose assistance <>n such a qur-Mion would lia\e damaged his lcpntation and his powei — led him also toiesign; and his stiong Goveinment, to the stupiise of the whole woild, wa3 suddenly biokcn up eaily in 1801, by what has evci sinie been known — and is as formidable at this day as )t was then, it having at least helped to destroy the late ministiy — by the name of the " Catholic question." An line \.],ectcd*inci ease of taxation, and an invasion of the public libel ties almost unexampled, weie less injuiious to Mr. Pitts Ministiy than the disposition to favom the Catholics, and the King's lei vent attachment to Piotesunt pnnciples, They weie eonsideied to be no longei a propn executive to a Piotestant state, when they adopted the eouclus-ion thai (he Roman Ctlholics ought to enjoy the same stem it es and hbeitics as any ollici body ol the people , and weie biokeu up by being opposed to the King's peculiar opinions. Mi. Addington succeeded Mi. 'Pitt. He had pieviously been for aeveial yeais Speakei ot the House ol Commons, and was not supposed to be very well veised in the afiaiis of executive government. He had never displayed any commanding abilities ; he had taken no pait in the management ol the gieat war then threatening the salety of the country; he was emphatically a piofessoi ot civil wisdom, and a man ot peaceful habits; but he -was of the Kind's opinions to the piopiuty of continuing Hie disabilities on the Roman Catholics. On account of this one iiimlmty, without ever having won or deceived the confidence ol the public, he was placed, vi the cans ot a fieice wai, waged on the one hand loi the- salety, and on ihe othei lot the extinrtion, of the empne, at the head of the Administiation. His chut colleagues weie Loid HawUesbury, Seciotaiy for Foreign Atlans; the Bail ol St. Vincent, Fnsi Loid ot the AdiuuaUy; Mi. Chailet. Yoike, Mr. Biagge JJathtiist, Mr. Hiley Addington, and othei insignificant pei.-.ons. lie had Loid Elclon lor Chancelloi—a man wlio picsened hu place and his powci foi a quaitei of a centuiy, and who, gieat as a judge, was, amongst the small men of the peiiod, gieatei as a politician. Mi. Addington, being a pindent man, possessed ot common sense, soon won the confidence ot the House of Commons, and gained much in the good opinion ot the countiy. Not bung so emphatically pledged as Ins predecessor to a policy of fieice and undying hostility to Fiance, his Government was moie open to amicable negotiations, and in se\eu months after his accession to office the preliminaries of the shoit-hved peace ot Arnicas were settled by Loid Hawkcibury ioi England, and M. Otto lor Fiance. Till lint peiiod, Mr. Addington, snppoileil by Mr. Pitt in Pailiament, followed his picdecessoi's measures. He go\erned on the same principles, cicept as to the admission ot the Catholic He renewed the act foi suspending ilie Habeas Coipus, and was, peihaps, even more di terminally than Mr. Pitt, who was once a Pailiamentaiy letonnei, opposed to -ill Jacobinical changes. The peace gave him an oppoi tuiuty of m'ncing the public expenses; and, as long as it continued, his Admimsliation gained popnlaiity and stiengtb. When war agun broltc out— which lie could not pi event- it was geneially felt that a niojc commanding spiut, as Minister, was necessary to cany on the war. Then again (lie public mind revolted to Mr. Pitt, and his followeis and liiends wcic assiduous in turning it in that dnection. We have lately leaint, liom ihe jnenions ot Mr. Plnniei Waul, that the then Eail of Mulguve, Mr. Canning, and sevcial other ostensible suppoiteis ot the Addington Adminisliation, were engaged, soou atter, the letum of war, in a kind of plot to destioy it, and leplace Mi. I'itt, not without his sanction, in oflice, on the giound that he alone was capable of conducting the wai. In 1-04, Mi. Addington's Adinimitr.itioii, liom a want of vigoui in canyiiigo.i (lie wai, had become disciedited ; and Mi. Put, as a gieat wai Minister, was placed in posvei, unaccompanied by those colle/gm s< who, in JBOI, had rclurd with him, because they wcie not allowed lo emancipate the Catholics. He lesumed office with an understanding that he was not to moot the subject; and, though fie returned on such a condition, his fmmer colleagues wonjd not, and he had to loim his Administiation ot many of Mi. Addmgtou's fnends, assisted by the Eail ol Muigrave and others. JU is not iiniiiMinchve to nolice that Mi. Addington, notwithstanding repioaches of weakness, and notwithstanding the vciy liene opposition he enccmiilered from Mi. Canning add others of Mi Pitts fnends, retired tiom office gi mi ally lespicted, on account ol his economy and patuotism, and is one of the few examples of a man lathei gaming than losing public esteem by the possession ol Ministerial power. Mr Pitts second Administialion, cairied on in the same spnt and on the same principles as at lust, was distinguished by cie.it naval victories, and by the complete defeat of all England's ContinrnUl allies. He died in his foily-ieventh year, worn out, if not bioken-heartLdby hit uiisiiccessiul cacmioiis to desttoy the powci of Bonaparte, by impelling against Fiance the Russians, thr Aiistrains, anil other nations oi the Continent. His de- nil dissolved the AdniinisnatHiii, stiong only in him. His coercive views ot the lWouaith weie still those of the people; but they weie still favouied by Ihe nation and ilie anti-ealliohe views weie no longer the views ol the leading stausmen ot the day ; and Mr. Puts sneicsjoi was his former colleague, Loid Oienville, joined with Mi. Vo\, Loid liowick (the lite Eail Giey), ■with LoiflEnkmas Loid Cliancelloi.and othei Libeial andpioCathohc politicians. 'I hough thej pioposid to cany on the war •with vigot, they wcie not aveisu liom peace, which they endeavouii'd unsuccessfully to iirgolidte ; but they *oun bioke up on the Catholic question.

In Scptembei, IbOO, only seven months afiei Mr. Pitts d-atb, Mi. Fox, his gieat i iv.il loi moie than twenty je.n^, theleuHng niomber ot the Whig paity in the Gienvdle Acliuiiii^n .1(1011, lollowed him to the ei.ive. His death weakened a Minislij, thil was r.illiei conceited than was piaetically skiliiil.and it fell to pieces attci a little moie th.vi a seal's existence, Jiom tin* dcteiminfi" opposition given by the King to a imagine mtioduced foi admitting tlie Uolll.ul Cailiolics ot eveiy -Hit ot the elliptic to hold commissions 111 ihr aimy. Loid Sidinonth, fonncilr Mr. Addington, was Piesident of the Council in Loid Grenvill's Admunsiiatton, and still adhei.ng to Ins old opinions, he opiuwd j his colleagues w hen they mooted the question, and stood dimly by the King. The was a considei able contest at the time w hclher or not the King and Loid Howick had imsundcietood each othei as to j his Majesty having given hU assent to the pioposid nunsnic; but this we pass over, morel v statins that in the end the hill was withdiawn. Tlie Mmisteis," however, having refused to pledge themselves to piopose no furthei concessions to the Catholic-, the King dismissed tliem. They had not losi the confidence ot P.nliament, though they weie never exliemely populai,and weie not likely to command a majoiity after losing his Majesty's support. For Ihittfen months only, between 178 1 * and 1827, when some of the Whigs again enteied oflice undei Mi. Canning's wing, ai in this case they entered it under Loid GienvilleN vtinjj, did the Libeial patty taste the sweets of oflire ; and foi that long pei'od the Tory piiiiciples ofcoeicion and aiili-C.ttholicism lield nndispntul sway vi the councils of the koveieign This sl<o)t Ailmimstiation w n s distinguished by one 151 eat seivice to hiinmnity — lt> i( the Sl.i%e Tiacle, which 'had long been legarded as au oppi olii nun to tlie nation, was abolished One of Ihe mo^t conspicuous opponents of Lord ITowick s mea ure for allowing tlie Catholic* to hi id commissions in the aimy, wan Ah. Peieeval, a baiustei ot h)in>- eminence, and of sonic- standing a-> a politician. He became Chancolloi of the Exchequer, and leadn in the Hohsp ot Commons of the Administiation Hut was foimcd on Loid Giunille's dismis-al, milking vriy stionglv its anti-Catholic chai.ictei. The Duke ot Poitland was nominally its head; and Loid Ilawkesbuiy, Loid Castlereagh, and Vi. Canning, is Secielaues of Stite, with Loid Hldon foi Ch.lnn.llln , and LOl rt Mnlui ave loi Fn st LOI A oi the Admnality— 111 cnniumtion vith Mi Peiceval, earned on Ihe Goveinnieiit. Though Mr. Canning was f ivotnable to the Catholics, the Administiation was lonndcd on the punciple of making no fin tlici concessions to them, and o(' canning on tlie wai till an honourable peace was obtained. In 18()(), Loid Castleieagh and Mi. Canning quaiipllod about tho Sch. kit expedition, ami the mannei in which the wai was conducted' the lattei, holding ihe toiniei to be u.ilitted foi luioOice, had endc ivomcd to undcimine him, anil had made it a condition with the Duke of I'oitl.nid that one 01 the othei must ictne They both ictncd from the Adn. initiation, and a duel between them ensued The Duke ot Poitland also K'tued, and soon afteiwaids died. On these events ocenmng, Mi. Puce\al became Fn«t Loid of the 'Jioasiny, and held the office until he was assassinated at the door of the* House of 1 omnions, b> Beihngham, on May 1!, 1 b 12. No AdiiiiniMiatuni, pethan«, had less mout thin the one which existed between 1807 and 161?, notwithstanding it was aided by the bullunt talents ot the M.nqiiis of AVellesley and Mi. Canning. Ytt- being f noiued by the using in Spain, the offensive auoganoe of Buonaparte, and the 1 xtiaoidinary skill of the Duke of Wellington— undei it weie achieved the great victoues in Ihe Peninsula, and the imlitaiy gieatness ot oui coiintiy was laisid to a le\el with its naval gieatness. Mr. Peiceval— thought it is a imittei of tact that the admimshation of the aimy was scandalously neglectid — shaied the lustie that Wellington spie.id over the finpne; and tlie success ot hi-, Adniimstiation, combined with the manner of his ■ eath, gained tor him a irpuMliou gi eater than his talents deseived. He was an honest and sincere nun; a toleiahly good maniget of the House ot Commons ; a follower ot Mr. Pitts pimciples with icgud to France and caiiymg on the war, a lovei like him, of coeicion, and a staunch opponent of concession to the Catholics. On Mi. Peiccval's death exertions weie made to form an Administiation on bioadei piincipUs. Geoige 111., afllicted with insanity ,>t difleient'pciiods ot his life, had become peimaneiitly a piey to tint diendfnl maladj, and his son, altei wauls George IV., was Piince Regent. At an earlier peiiod he had been the associate and liiend of Mr. Fos and the Whigs, and it was supposed that he would piefer an Adimuistiatiou composed) at least, of apoilionot his old fi lends. They lelied on linn, but then expectations weie deceived. Pimces air not lenowncd for giatitude ; the mteifeience ot hispcisonal fneihl, the TCau of Moil a, attached to the Whigs, was utiMiceesstiil; and the Regent continued to ciny on the Government with his fathei's Min-l-ilcis The Eail of Livt-iponl, foimeily Loid Hawkesbmy, and a meinhei of e\eiy Administiation aft'ei lip enteied public life, evcept tlie shoit one between ISOfS and 1807, succeeded Mr. Pticevalas Fuel Lord of the Tieasuiy, and ictaincd his high post till his death. He had the good An tune to see the war (nought to a successful clo«e Undei his auspices the ti cities tli.it settled the peace of F.mope weie negotiated. He was in oflice when Bounapaitc escaped f 10111 Elba, and re-established his dominion in Fiance He was still in pov-ei when Bounapnte was defeated at Wateiloo, and finally banished to St. Helena, where he ended hisdays. Loid Live* pool -was in Do\\n-liig-stieet at the beginning of the career ot that extiaoidinary man, and was its chief occupant at his death. In his time 1 Geoige 111. died, and the Piince Regent became Geoige IV., ! and piescived as King when unshackled, the Ministeishe had ac- | cpted as Regent. Loid Livei pool's Ministry was othei wise inaiked by gieat events that shed a lustie on England ; but they can seal cely be said, 90 little personal influence had he ovei them, to have bestowed an\ reputation on him. He is lar less known, less lemcmbcii'd, and less spoken of, than the lonowned Gen- ! eral who acted under him, and than the gioat Soldiei whom Englind, while he was in office, subdued. While the name ot the great EaiJ of Chilli tm, and the name of hi, son. Mi. Pitt, are in eveiy man's month nobody ever spnks oi him, who ns Loid Ilawkesbuiy and the Rail of Lneipool, w.<s at the head ot the Cabinet when England le.uhed the pinnacle of imlitaiy f une. The whole meut belongs lathei to the Dnkc of Wellington, than to the cleiks who weie Mimstcis, Loid Lncipool whs .1 man of plain, good sense. Bred up in office utidei a t.ither long 111 olhco, he was a good adniinistia'nr of the «)<-tem he was nuitnied in. Respected lathei than admired by his coleaoucs, he wisable lokeep them togelhei ; and the want lather than the possession of bnlliant talents, which sometimes made him the jest of men of genius, enabled him to lemain at the head of the Administiation for a kmgei period than any other Ministei 111 modem times, except Sir Robeit Walpole and Mi. Pitt. For the last twelve j ears of his official life, peace pi evaded, and he desetves ciedit for maintaining genei ally through that pei tod tianquility at homo and abioad. He confuted, H i-s tine, no honour on the eonntiy, but he inflicted on it no disgiace. He did not piomote the incicase of the population and the giowtli of society, but the piogiess tedects no ciedit on the Govcinmcnt 01 ilssjstem, and was not gieatcr in peace than in wai. Jiemg destitute of any well-founded pimciples to guide bn policy, being a mete ied-tapibt, a follower of expediency, Loid Liveipool, with singulai inconsistency, undei the influence ot the land-owneis, enacted the Coin-laws; and undei the influence of two of ins own subaltern officeis, Mi. Wallace, Piesident of the Board of Trade, and Mr. Hn«kisson, he peimitted the Navi«a-tiou-laws to be modified, and no inconsideiable ninnbei of restnctions on tiafle to be lemoveel. With one hand lie boim i, with the othei he set loose the eneigiesot indiistiy. Under the influence, too, of gi owing public opinion, as expressed by Sii James Mackintosh, Sll S lmucl Romilly, Mr. Biougham, and otlieis in the House of Commons ; by Loul Holland, Loid King, and olheis 111 the Honsp of Loids; and as continually and delibeiately setloith by the public picss, he peimitted, lathei than made, gi eat atiicltoiatiou in the penal code. For .1 considei able penodoi his Adiirnistiation, Mr. Peel was Seciet.ny for the Home Depaitmrnt, and di-1 a gicat deal, with Mr. Wallace and Mr. Huskisson, to 1 educe the chaos of onr laws to some oidti, to simplify the statute-book, and impiovc the admintstuvtion of justice. Though vutually the punciple on which the Administiation was foimed, denved tiom the time of Mi. Pitt, washo'tility to politic il impiovement, denounced as Jacobinism ; though the Catholics weie still steadily excluded tiom equal lights; though retoim of Paihament was sometimes mockingly and sometimei sternly refused; though the retoimeis weie cut down in 1810, and the Six Acts, a continuation of Mr. Pitts coeicion, imposed unknown rcstiictions on the liheities of Englishmen, still the piogtessof sociefy cained with it the unwilling Minisfiy ; and before Loid Liveipool was smitten with paialysis in 1827, the giound wai laid for electing tint 111010 liberal edidee his successor weie, in a mannei , compelled lo build. Loid Liverpool, because he could not oihetwiMi foim a Ministiv, hart been obliged to leave the Catholic question an open one in his Cabinet, though he wai pei tonal! v and consistently opposed to concession ; his feuccesbois weie obliged to make it a Cabinet question, and, in spite ot inanv pit'vioiis ploiiges, to do that which eveiy Administiation iiom 1801 to 18:29 had icsolutelv opposed. Loid LiVei pool's immediate sitccessoi was Air. Canning, who had the icpntaiion oi being the most libeial membei o) the pievious Admimstiaiiun, He was pledged to Catholic Emancipation ; but. hew is sn much oppiesscd v.itti difficulties while in othce, as scarcely to be able to keep his feet. The gi eater pait ot his colleagues 111 the foi met Administration, the Duke of Wellington, Eail Bathuist, Lord Chaticelloi Eldon, Loid Melville, All. Peel and otheis, refused to =eive undei him; they resigned in a body immediately he was appointed, and he was obliged to seek foi suppoit amongst the Wings. The Aliiquis of Lan-downe (who as Loid H. Petty was Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1800-1807), Mr. Tieinay, and otheis took oflice under Mr. Canning. M>. Hrougham; Sir Fiancis Burdett, and othei Libeials l«j*t him their aid. The Cabinet was an ill— assoited union ot old TOl ies> and aspiring Whigs, and only continued till Loid Godeiich, who cndeavouied to pieserve Air. Canning's Administiation after it hid been depiived of its brad, met the Parliament in 1823. The membeis of the C.ibimt did little moie than levive old quairels amongst themselves, and the instant the 111-contiived machine was touched by otheis, it fell to pieces. Though Mr. Canning'b libemlify in Lord Liverpool's Government gained lum considerable reputation, his own Administiation was too shoit to enable him to do anything for the couutiy. Almost the only oieasuie ol importance he attempted 10 cany forwaid, nilioduced by him under Lord Liveipooi's auspices, was to amend the Coin-laws: it was rejected in the House of Louis by the influence of the Dnkc of Wellington. His possession ot power was a son ice of great tiouble to himself, and it confeiied no immediate benefit on the nation; but it was a Mgn that the punciple pioies«ed by Lord Liveipool.ot "maintaining the laws «is they were, 1 ' had given way, and been supeiscded by the principle pmlesscd by Mi. Canning, ot " subvening the laws that weie opposed to the advance of the people." The short hie of his Administration was wholly filled with dissensions, and, after his decease, in August, 1827, it was only lemaikable, undei Loid Godench, tor complete imbecility. Though the Duke of Wellington had, not veiy long befoie, expiessed an opinion that he >hould be mad to think of taking on himself the office ot Prime Ministei, he was leady, on Loid Goderieh's resignation, to supply his place. He seized the rudder with a fnm hand, but the ship soon ran away even tiom the lion Duke. He teitoicd to oilice most of the membeis of Loid Liveipooi's administiation, let lining such ot them as had joined Mr. Canning, but casting out the Wings. He kept Ins ciew in an admnable slate of dmipline. He was not called on to use any seveie acts towaids the people, but he soon convinced Mr. Huskisson and others, who, like the public, had taken the Duke at his woid and undervalued his administrative talents, (hat he could cany on the Government without them. In Is2B, the question ot Pailiamcntaiy retoim had gained much giound with the people; even the libeial Tones found it necebsary to do something, and it was proposed to confer the foifeiled franchise of Eist Itetfoidon Manchester For this measuie Mi.Hinikissou voted against his kadrr, and immediately wrote a note to the Duke ot Wellington icsigning his office. He afterwauls wished to ictracl, alleging that he had been misundei stood, and that his resignation was a mistake ; but, as he did not unconditionally iccall hii letter, the Duke told him in leply that "it was no miitnke, and that it should be no mistake." He kept Mi. Huskisson to his v,oid, and conteued his oflice of Secictary lor the Colonies on Sn Geoige Munay. AVith Mr. Huskisson, Loid Dudley, Lord Palmeiston, Mi. Chailes Giant, and otheis ot Mr. Canning's fnends retiied ; and their places weie filled by Lout Aberdeen, Foh ij»n Secietary ; Sn 11. Haidinge, Secretaiy at War; and Mi. Vessey Fitzgeiald, President ot the Board of Tiade ; giving to the Cabinet a completely Toiy at|l even unlit ry character. X The JUnke of Wellington's Administration, however tigourouhly he conducted it, wasiemaikable fot two great concessions, which were exloi ted from him by the pi ogress of event". It was ananiit his will that the Test and Coipoiatioii Acts weie lepeafed, a subject that had not boen brought beloie Paihament except once in the centuiy, by a vote in tht House of Common 1 adverse to the Ministry. Tlie emancipation of the Catholics, also, to which the Duke ot Wellington and Sir R. Peel had been all their Jives opposed, was by them, in deterence to public opinion and the force of events in liel.uid, reluctantly tainuf. They seceded fiom Mr, Canning on that giound, and

they foimed thcii AdmniHution on the principle ot oppusiiion to llie Ctttuhcs Gcoige IV., too, was opposed to the concession, as well ,is his Ulitij'-toi t-, ai»ci his assent to it was f luctantlj Uivcn, Tb.it ichlt «etms to us .1 meiiioiable lesson foi politicians, Geoigo 111 , Geoige IV., a.icl e\ei\ Rlinistiy of the centurs, except the shoit one 01 IBHO, Miennously fought against stitb an event; bul men's u Imious bi'luf, mid .1 sense o( justice, weie 100 pott ci fill for tl c Kings and then Miiii«teis. Thcj cm only aiteet m.iii's welfare heie; and the influtneo tlicy cm exucise ovei hope iind Icai is small compaied to tho influence of man's belief in an eternity ot pleasme and pain. Nevertheless, lliey had committed tliemselvos to a contest willi the 1 vligioua beliel ot then subjects, and were shamefully defeated. Nor h.is then gicit concession lin.illv settled the qiiest'on. PlObrtbly, lcligious bvliel is so ovciwlirlminglv poweilnl, that it is nevei puideiit foi statesmen to meddle with it. The Catholic Question, thioiigh fiftj ycais of agitation, kept eveiy Administiation in diflicul \ : it bi'oke up two 01 thite Admiuistiatious; it has had gieat inlliiencoovei ihe existence and tcinunition ot the Cabinet lately biolicn up, and it si 1 11 lemains, thoua;li in another form, to plague us as it pi igued Mi Pitt, and at it thi eaten? to plague cm fuccrssois. We aie inclined to conclude that leligion is altogether bcvoiifl the con do] ot the civil ma«tstiate, and that he should never inteifeie with it, either to piomote, direct, 01 retaid Us influence. The Duke* Administiation, with the exception of his defeat on the Ti'-t Acts, was powerful and unilbimly successful, but it did not lust Ions;. The Revolution winch occuned in France in 1830 i;ave an impetus in England lo the deMie forufoim which had b"en excited In pievtous concessions. It was manifesied to a gieit extent in tin- elections which occmred in lft 10. then ihe Duke's popiil.nity had declined ami/.wgly; even the populanty of tne 1 ew Soveieign, William IV., was endangeied; the City was so excited, that his Mimsteis advised him not to visit it, as had been appointed; and, on Paihament ineitinc 111 the aiitiimii of 1830, Ihe Duke's pirty was outvoted on a question ot the Civil List, and ictired. Then was former! the Ad>;iiiii>>tiitinn ol Rail Guv, with Mi. Brougham (created a Peei) for Loid Chancellor. Loid Palmciston asForcign Seriet.uy, Lord Althoip as Clnncilloi of the Eschcquer and le.ulei of Ihe House of Commons, Loid John Russell as Pavmastei «t the Voices, with c ome ot Mi. Canning's liiends, and othei Hefoi piers and Whigs. Then ensued, in compliance with the public desne, th.it gieat, but nnfoitnnately, \ery incomplete measure ot Pailiamentaiv Refoiin which has given the middle classes power to accomplish whatevei may be ruht, but left the system of lepiespntation «o anomalous and incomplete as still to requite much levision. Then, too,en«Uttd municipal icform, a little retoim in the Chinch of lie! iiid, a cons idei able leduction in taxation; the abolition of the (lading functions of the East India Company, and its rest net ion to the function of governing its vast teiittones; a new Pool -law was enacted; then, too, the abolition otsl.nny was settled ; and moie was done in the ftnu years which el ipsed between 1880, and the return of Sir Robett Peei to office in 1834, than 111 any pi evions equal peiiod in 0111 histoiy, though even then not enough was done to bung tonvaid legislation to the advanced poiut society had leached. The discieppncy between (hem had, in fact, become aiaiming; it was. society that had piogressed, aud the law, in atie.u, had to be bi ought toiw.ud to its level. All or most of these acts weie passed befoie the Whigs had got hampeicd by the old tiaditons of office, and bv the new uiles they made foi themselves. They soon fancied 01 found that it was foi theii inteiest to adopt the rcstnctive and coercive pnnciples ot their predecessors; and Loid Giey was deserted by Loid Stanley and Su Junes Giaham, the Duke of Richmond and Loid Godeiich, in the beginning of 1831, because they would not make a fmtliei appiopnation of (lie tempoiahties of the liish Chinch, a question on which the Cabinet was di\ ided in opinion. In the summer of that >ear Loid Giey himself resigned in consequence of other divisions in the Cabinet concerning ihe Cerciou Jiill foi litland. Di awing the udes of their conduct lather fiom the acts of their predecesbois than fiom Ihe condition of society, the Whigs introduced in 193 i such a measute, veiy much to the distaste of many of then iollovvcis ; and, on an attempt to renew the bill in 183-4, the opposition was so strong that it broke up the Administiation. Loid Melbourne then became the chief of the Cabinet, and the Whig Mimstiv, with some changes, was continued. A modified Coercion Isill was can led, but the Administiation was so damaged by the depaituie fiom principle and its internal dissensions, that, on the death of E.ul Spencei, which icmoved Loul Altlmip fiom the le.uleishipin the Honsp of Common", nnd made some new anangementb necess.ny, William IV. signifud to Loid Melborne that v he would dispense with his sei vices. The King had rccouise foi advice to the Duke of Wellington; and the Duke being of opinion tint the chief of the Government must henceloilh be a nicmhci ot the House of Commons, by his advice the King sent foi Sii Robeit Peel tiom Rome, »nd entinsted to him the toi mation of a Conservative Cabinet. Sir Robert Peel's fust Administiation was brief. On the meeting of a new Pailiament, which he had summoned in Febniaij, IBtfl, he found himself 111 a miuonty. The Speaker lie pioposed was lejected by ten, and the Speaker proposed by the Whigs elected. For two months lie gallantly struggled against the ma)outy of the House of Commons, and in Aunl, finding that tkrie wa< no chance of success, though the majority against him was a small one, he lCMgncd. lie bad sutfeied successive defeats. His shoit Administiation was leuiaikablc toi a display on his pait of veiy extended liberality, and toi ."iippljing a pioof that the old party, denying its pnnciples and its name of Tones (10111 Pitt, Peicoval, and Liveipool, become under Sn Robeit Peel's leadeislup the Conservatives, had regained gieit strength in the count! y. The average majonty against him 111 the Commons wasiaiely above 20, and on the questions that united all Ins opponents was at most 33; while the majorities of the Wings in the first Parliament aflei the passing of the Retoim Act weie niimbeied iiy hundicds. Then decline did not teach them the wisdom of moie closely studying public opinion, ! and of throwing themselves moie cordially on the people. Lord Melbourne's secuud Administiation succeeded that of Su Robeit Peel, in Apiil, ISW, with Lord John Russell foi lu.idci m the House of Common?, and the other posts chiefly filled as beloie, csccpt that Loirt ftiongham was not lestoied to the Woolsack, on which, aftei an interval, Lord Cottenhim was placed. It was, unloitunatcly cauied on moie and moie on the Toiy piinciple, of piesei ving old laws and creating new abuses. Some lefonns the Ministry pflected, but they did not sitisfy the public. It giadually fell into dis-csteem. It was obliged 111 profound peace to extend taxation. In 1811 the imjouly against it, in a Pailiament assembled undei its auspices, was npwaids of $>0. Loid Melbonine, being then debated on the Addicss, lesigned, and ma.de way for i>n Robuit Pccl'a second Admiuibtintioii. The icfoims 111 r our commercial code, which Sii Robeit Peel began in 1842, which be earned fmtliei in 1845, and fwi.illy, so i;n ashe was concerned, completed 111 1840, by a measiue abolishing pi ospectively ihe Coin-laws, weie but the continuation and extension of the le'ouns in 0111 coimncicial cole which weie begun by Mi. Wallace and Mr. Huskisson, and weie tamed fonvjid, though slowly, by all their successois, till Sir Robeit lound it necessity to .ict with much gieatei vigour. The PlOperty Tax, which he imposed at the 'ime he abolished many commeicial lesliictions, was the neccssaiy consequence of defalcations in the revenue and the abolition he contemplated ot Customs and Excise duties. But bis measuitsaie leoiectut, and aie yet 100 much the sub|ects of paiiy disputes, to make it tleMiable loi us to notice them, 01 those of his immediate snecessoi, in exlpnko. In 1810, Sir Robeit, after can y ing the icpeal of the Coin-laws, dnven to that by the demand or the English and by (lie famine in lieland, was forsaken by his Piotectionist snppoitcis ; and being unable, theicfore, to eairy a nie.ibuic of coeicion loi 111 1 eland which he deemed necessaiy, he it signed. Loid John Russell siicceidtdSn Robeit Peel; and the gieat measure ot Loid John's Administiation, as f.ll as Hade is concerned was the modification, almost the total lepeil of the Navigation Laws. The noble Loid's Administiation, howovei, isbaiely at nn end, and It is not toi us hcie and now to discuss his measuies. "We aip lathei hislou.ms than conlro\ciM.ilists oi cittics, and must conclude our hasty sketch ot the Mimsteis and parties that have cauied on the Government for the last titty jeais, and 0111 veiy biief notice ot their leading measuies -ind j principles, by one 01 two reflections. In the fifty ycais theie have been sixteen Pi ime Mini-leis; the dilution of each — v.vying between the 15 yens that Loul : Liveipool enjoyed ottiee., and 4 months the dmation ot Sii Robeit Peel's fust Administiation— was on the aveiage, 8 j'eais, I mouth, anil 2 weeks. The changes that have taken place in the tevcial Ministnes is, however , fai less lemaikable— loi some of their members, like Loid Palmeiston and the Deke of Wellington, who took part in public atf.uri \eiy early in the ceutnij', aie yet shaiing in the management of them; ard sonic, like Lend Bexlry, the Cbancclloi of the E\cheqnei of moie than one Toiy Goveinment as Mr. Vausittait ; aud like Lord Sidmuuth (the Mr. Addington of 1S01) have only a short time igo depaited — than the changes that have taken place 111 the piinciples 01 government. If we may believe repot t, the peisoual influence of the Soveieign, lately manifested, is considciable, particnlaily in lehgious ratteis; yet no Soveieign since Geoige 111. has fonnd it pnetic ible to make hispnwml pieililt-clious tho Miles tor his Ministers' conduct. Geoige IV. was as much opposed, at the lattei end of his life, to Catholic Emancipation as Im father; but he submitted to the advice of couuselloisas much opposed to it as himself, and to a state necessity, and conceded that measiue. Now, instead of lefeniug to the will of the Soveieign, it is cle.iily lecognised by e»eiy statesman, fiom the Duke of Wellington to M>. Disiaeli, that the majonty of the House of Commons must decide the clniactei iiml the measinesol the Government, and that public opinion, as manifested thiongh the lepie&cntatives of the people, must exclusively detcimine public polny. It is not, however, only the Sovereign who has declined in power. At the beginning ot the ccntmy a sjslem of coeicion was in use to govern the people and contiol public opinion. It giadually subsided, and may now be said to be extinguished — nevei, we hope, to be ie\ived. Fiom 1783 to 1827, e\eiy existing Administiation, commanding a great majority of iho House of Commons, idled moie on its mditaiy and police than on the attection of the populace foi the pi enervation ofoidei. With 1827 the new system that eiicnmstances had made necessaiy came into notice ; and we owe it toSn John Copley, Loid Livei pool's Attorney-Gencial— aftei wauls Loid Lyndluust, Mi. Canning's Loid Chancclloi — that he fust set the example of abstaining <iom piosecnting the piessloi seditious and othei libels, which befoie his time was of common oct in lence. Both the p'ess and the Government, tinder the influence of gi owing public opinion, have since liupiovcd, and, though we occasionally heie of pioseentions loi pnvate libels, piosecnlions loi seditions libels aie now almost unknown. Public opinion calmly governs public allans. Coeicmn is at au ci.d, and bayonets aie far less liistiumental in pieseiving peace and older than men's convictions. Remaiking this gieat change in lociety, and 111 the iclatiotis to it ol Government, we aie not sin pi feed that the Duke of Wellington, bred up in the system ot cow cion— knowing no othei~ should, at the period ot (he discussions of (he Reloun Bill, have inquired emphatically and despairingly "how the King's Government was to be earned on." Ihe experience oi twenty yeais alter he so evprcsicd himself now gives an answer to the question. Twenty quieter, moie peaceable yens, notwithstanding the jji cat changes abioadthat have excited the spiiit of change heie, aie not to be found in our annals, than the ye.ns that have passed since public opinion superseded coeicion as the mle and guide of (he conduct of public men. Let us eoncliile by adding, that the gieat Republic across the Channel-at least a Republic in name, to lesist the beginning of which Mr. Pitt lavished the resources ot the empiie— is now cheeitully acknowledged by our Government, is closely in alliance with it, and the people ot both countries aie now united in the same peaceful pm suits and by a common inteiest. To thencontinued nnion— not to their hostility— we now look as the best, if not the only means of preueiving the peace and of securing the ctviliKatioti o( society (lueateiied by the hall-b.ub.uous nations of Ausm.l and Russia, whom England, by her money 4iid policy, shove thionghout the e.nly pait ol the half-cuitwy to make poweifuland piedominant in Em ope.

NAMLb Oh 1* It IMB SllNlil LRS, THEIR A Commenced. I .DUIMSTR4TION. Closed. Resigned Match 17, ISO I (diffuiul with the King) RcMgncl about May 8, 1804 (not being btippoiledby Pailument) Mr. Pitt Occ. 18, 178J Mr. Addington (aftciMaids LoidSidmonth) March 17, 1801 Mi. Pitt (Second AdmiuistiaUoii) .. M.iy 12, 1804 Died Januaiy 23, 1800 Resigned Match fi, 1807 (King would not suppoit him) Rciigiicd about the beginning oi Sept., 18l'9 (dissension in Cabinet) Assassinated May 11, j 1812, Lord Gicnville Feb. 5, 18D0 Duke of Poilland March 31, 1807 Mr. Peicival .. Ihe Kail ot Livcipool (loimi'ily Lminii -'* Lonl ll,i«Kisbuiy) Mi C inning r. ■\ ivuiuiii CJoileuch (foimeilj Known .is the Hon. Ml Fieri. Robinson, now V no aii as the Eail of Ripon) [1809 Sep. (about) 20, June 8,1312 \ Died Feb. 18, 1827 Apulia, 1827 i Died August 8, 1827 August, 1527 Unsigned Jan. 8, 1823 (ilu-sciiMous lit the CaUnet) The Duke of Wellington Eail Giey (founeily known as Loid Ho■\viek) •• Viscount Melbourne (loiim-ily known as the lion. Mr. William Lamb) . . Jan. 25, 1828 Resigned Nov. 10, IS.IO (defeated in the House ot Commons) Resigned July 9, 1814 (<] 1^501) aious in the Cabinet) Nov. 22, 1*30 July 17,1831 Tinned out, Nov. 10, 18 i 4 Sn R. Peel (formerl) Mr. Peel) .. Yiironnt Melbourne (2nd admimsliation) Dec. 9, 1631 Apiil 18, 183") Resinned, ApiiiS, 1835 (defeated in theflouse of Commons) Ri^igmd Aug. 30, 1841 (delcated ni ilielloiisc ol Commons) Resigned June UO, !84<> (detailed m the lluu&e oi Commons) Sn Robert Petl (.'ml .idmiiiibtiation) .. Sep. 8, 1841 Luiil John Russell . . July 3, IS4G Rpsi^ncd Feb. 22, 18 r >l (Cabinet tell to piee>'a{