NEWS OF THE WEEK.
Tnoectr the Parliament has been sitting since Tuesday, there is not much of national interest to record; partly owing, in the Com- mons, to Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S absence, which has occasioned the postponement of the more important motions. On Thursday, Lord MANDEVILLE made a formal attack on the Earl of GOSFORD, Lord Lieutenant of Armagh; whom he accused of acting partially and unjustifiably in the conduct of an investiga- tion into the outrages committed in the neighbourhood of Armagh in January last, by certain Orangemen on the Catholic peasantry. Lord MANDEVILLE appeared to have no evidence whatever to sup- port his charge; which was refuted triumphantly by Dr. LysniNG- TON on behalf of Lord GOSFORD; • and the House passed a resolu-- tion highly commendatory of Lord GOSFORD'S conduct. That con- duct, indeed, appears to have been exemplary, and such as the most bitter Orangeman among his brother Magistrates could not avoid approving.
Of course we cannot suppose Lord MANDEVILLE guilty of stat- ing what he knew to be false ; but Dr. LUSH INGTON declared, and proved, that his statement against Lord Goseoen was destitute of truth. It was incorrect in every particular; and had lie yielded to the sense of the House, he would have retracted every item in it, as the only reparation he could make to the man whom he had been made the instrument of misrepresenting.
But Lord MANDEVILLE, though lie labours under the censure
of the House of Commons and the mortification of having exposed himself to public disesteem as regards this matter, may derive comfort from the reflection that he has not swerved from the sys- tem of political warfare common to the party of which he is a member. We are not disposed to speak harshly of this Lord, who
appears to be an exceedingly weak and violent person, easily im- posed upon, and so deeply imbued with Orange prejudices as to be unable to resist the artifices of those who use him. He probably had no idea that he ran any peculiar risk in making unfounded -charges against a Liberal nobleman, as he must have seen that his political associates and their organs of the press were systemati- cally and constantly guilty of like offences—all for the good of the cause. Lying is indeed characteristic of the modern Tories. To exaggerate or colour, is common to all men engaged in party con-
ests; but the Tories persist, day after day and week after week, in
nventing absolute lies, and repeating them shamelessly, even after detection and exposure. Fabrication and calumny are resorted to without remorse whenever it is supposed that the slightest advan- tage can be gained thereby. At one time the object of their slan- der is Lord DURHAM; at another, Lord JOHN RUSSELL, or Lord GOSFORD. When PEEL and WELLINGTON deserted the High Church party for a season, the leading Tory journals reviled them in almost the same terms that they now apply to Lord JOHN RUSSELL. In short, slander is the natural ally and never-failing instrument of' the faction. They vary their terms of abuse; but the object which prompts a journalist in Blackfriars or a parson in Devon to stigmatize Lord Joins RUSSELL as a " Papist," is the same as that which prompts Mr. Cnisnocm in Inverness to hold up Messrs. WARBURTON and HUME as "Infidels." In each case, the aim is not to gratify personal spite, but to forward party views; whether at the expense of truth or not, matters little. Sir ROBERT PEEL has put himself forward on more than one occasion this week in a way which discovers anxiety to keep him- self constantly before the public. To aid this design, the news- papers in his interest have got the cue to cry him up as the virtual leader of both sides of the'House of Commons. To those who were in the House, or who read the debates, it is evident enough thatSir ROBERT was merely officious and pushing when his services were not needed. On Tuesday, for instance, Mr. SPRING RICE had given a very prorer answer to Lord KERRY who brought for- ward a motion respecting the improvement of the navigation of the Shannon. It was apparent enough that there was an under- standing between Lord KERRY and Mr. Rica that the former was to withdlaw his motion ; but Sir ROBERT PEEL pretended tea think that the Minister wanted his assistance in managing the
House, and therefore ostentatiously gave it. The next day, as we have said, his newspapers exalted this piece of unnecessary in-
terference into a proof of Sir ROBERT'S double-leadership. The circumstance is only worth noticing as illustrative of the role Sir ROBERT PEEL is anxious to enact. If the Ministers are wise,
they will treat him very cavalierly whenever he assumes his patronizing airs. They have more to dread from his hollow, self- interested, and treacherous support, than from his fiercest opposi- tion. When Ministers are seen to act and vote in accordance with
Sir ROBERT PEEL, suspicion at once is roused that they are not moving in the right path. Ilas he not allowed it to be clearly
seen, that his aim in giving Ministers his support is not merely to damage them with the country now, but to serve his own pur- poses afterwards ? In his speech on the Address, he made good
use of his votes in favour of the unpopular measures of Earl GREY'S Ministry—referring to them in proof of his liberal and candid treatment of his political opponents, and his freedom from factious motives! He is now trying the same trick over again; but the same snare is not apt to succeed a second time. The spirit which actuates the Opposition Peers, broke out last night in the Upper House. Lords Wicitcow and LONDONDERRY feel aggrieved at the enthusiastic reception given by the Irish to the Liberal Lord Lieutenant, so different from the cold affairs of ceremony got up when Lord HADDINGTON entered into and de- parted from Dublin. They gave vent to their spite and mortifica- tion in an attack on Lord MULGRAVE, for permitting the proces- sion; which they declared to be illegal, and the work of 0 Cox- NELL, whom Lord LONDONDERRY designated as the "Protector of the Government." This angry ebullition was met by Lord MELBOURNE with perfect coolness, too dignified for contempt. He must indeed, have enjoyed the rage of his antagonists ; who, unpopular themselves, regard the popularity of others with such feelings as the damned are supposed to enjoy in viewing the hap- piness of the blessed. The motion of Mr. MoituAsr O'CONNELL respecting General DARLING'S treatment of Captain RoBisoN, with whose sufferings and wrongs the readers of the Spectator are familiar, has been postponed to the 3d of June ; the reason assigned for the post- ponement being the propriety of waiting until the legal proceed- ings against Captain ROBISON are brought to a close. We regret this delay ; which, we fear, has been granted more in accordance with the wishes of the Horse Guards gentry—the patrons of DAR- LING—than from any punctilious dread of interfering with the course of justice. Still, Governor DARLING, powerfully supported as he may be by birds HILL and FITZROY SOMERskT, and Sir JOHN MACDONALD, will not be able to shirk the Parliamentary inquiry which he evidently dreads. Captain ROBISON'S ease is, we understand, fortified by new evidence ; and Parliament may do him justice, though he may bd condemned by our iniquitous law of libel, and trampled on by a powerful favourite of the Tory Commander-in-Chief.
