THE LANGUAGE OF SLAVES.
A FOREIGNER, ignorant of the nature of the British constitution and its conventional phrases, might suppose, from reading the Parliamentary proceedings of the week, that WILLisar the Fourth was either as despotic as the Sultan or the Czar, or that he enjoyed the most exalted reputation for political wisdom. It would seem that he was the only person able to decide on the pro- priety of keeping or revealing Cabinet secrets ; that his Ministers could not ventine to open their lips on subjects highly interesting and important to Parliament and the country, without having first obtained his royal permission; and that the personal comfort of the Sovereign, not the general welfare of the community, was the first thing considered in the resignations of Ministers of State, or their acceptance of of It appears from the debate in the House of Lords on Monday, that the Duke of RICHMOND, having received the King's permis- sion, talked freely about the Cabinet differences respecting the Irish Church Commission; while poor Lord GREY, not having had leave given him to speak out, was obliged to keep silent on the subject. On Wednesday, however, Earl GREY'S tongue was loosened by the same all-powerful word; and he descanted largely upon the late Ministerial difficulties, about which he would not have whispered a syllable to the eager nation, had his Majesty commanded him to be taciturn. Then the Premier declared, and again reiterated, th It be should have resigned long before, but for the difficulty into which, above all, his " Royal Master" would have been thrown by such a step on his part. On the same even- ing, Lord A LTHORP took a similar advantage of a similar licence. And Lord BROUGHAM, when pressed by Lord LONDONDERRY to name the person likely to be the future Premier, declared solemnly, that " neither interrogatory, nor sneer, nor joke, nor even torture itself, should compel him- to answer that which the duty be owed to his Sovereign forbade him to answer." Lord BROUGHAM'S defiance of torture is very laughable ; espe- cially as every one must be aware that he could not tell what he did not know. But the Eastern servility of the language of Mi- nisters is something more or less than laughable. No one sup- . posed that Earl GREY was so bad a patriot as to consult Royal whims or convenience at the expense of the national welfare. Neither is any one deceived for a moment, by all this palaver, into the belief that the King is really the discerning and sagacious personage which Ministers of State affect to consider him in their formal harangues. The practice originated in another state of society : it is now offensive, because unmeaning, and therefore should be dropped.
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