state of Europe. Nevertheless, we think the Hon. mover merits the public thanks for having brought before parliament, at all, the case of that little republic, which the three great powers, by a confederacy similar to that which led to the first partition of Poland in 1772, have trampled in the dust, contrary to the faith of a solemn treaty-the Treaty of Viennato which the name of England was signed, and by which her honour was bound. * * *

The Cause of the Factory Child, defeated in the House of Commons.-May 11, 1836.

MR. POULETT THOMSON [member for Manchester], the ministers, and the mill-owners, may boast of their triumph over humanity and the factory children. The triumph, inglorious as it was, and transient as it will be, was obtained for them by the support of Sir Robert PEEL, Lord SANDON, and one or two more conservatives.

* ** *

But Mr. O'CONNELL is in the same category, upon the factory question, with Sir Robert PEEL. We recollect when the learned and hon. member for Dublin, in an eloquent speech in behalf of the factory children, at a public meeting, exclaimed, "Who are they that dare, in the face of this Christian country, to weigh the blood of infants against pounds of cotton and bales of silk?" Yet Mr. O'CONNELL voted with Sir Robert PEEL, for the cause of the pounds of cotton and bales of silk, against the cause of the helpless factory children.

* * *

Lord ASHLEY, the worthy successor of Mr. SADLER, whose memory is hallowed with the blessings of the most helpless of the children of oppression and misfortune-advocated, with the generous energy of a manly devotion, the cause of which he has taken the sacred charge. Such a man is not only an ornament to his high rank, but to human nature itself. Compare the conduct of many of the professed advocates of liberal doctrines, the philosophers of the "march of intellect," with that of the conservative scion of a Noble stock - the faithful and unflinching champion of the rights and interests of the suffering

poor. How greatly does their conduct fall below his, in the scale of moral worth, of social benevolence, and in the estimation of all good men!

If we feel some degree of shame and mortification at beholding the names of some men-of whom we expected better things in the majority against the factory children on this occasion, we have no less satisfaction in observing, that with many liberals, many conservatives united in resisting the attempt of Mr. Poulett THOMSON to take away from the infant victims of manufacturing cupidity, the scanty protection which the legislature had thrown over them-after hearing evidence of their sufferings and wrongs, which was calculated to excite the sympathy and compassion of every bosom animated by a human heart. We find, for instance, the names of Lord CHANDOS and Sir Henry HARDINGE, with those of Dr. LUSHINGTON and Sergeant TALFOURD. But among the names of the protectors of the factory children that chiefly deserve to be honoured, are those of Mr. FIELDEN and Mr. BROTHERTONboth mill-owners-but mill-owners who would make the manufacturing system a blessing, not a curse, to the human race; and who would not sacrifice the health, the morals, the happiness, and lives of the infant poor, upon the altars of a relentless cupidity.

Now that the ministers have got a majority of two in support of the infant white-slavery system, what will they do with it? Will they consider it a virtual defeat, as it is, and retreat in time, though not to save character, yet to prevent a more decisive overthrow? If they do not turn their backs upon their ignoble trophies, and retire from the field of their disgraceful achievement, they will suffer a more signal defeat; or, if their majority of two should help them through the House of Commons, what will it avail? Will not the indignation of public opinion pursue them? Will not the generous energies of the Christian and enlightened nation that

[+ All the names will be found in the division lists published by the Morning Papers of May 11, 1836. The Majority was 178-minority 176 2. ED.]

broke the chains of the African, demand that white slavery shall be extirpated from the soil of England? Is there not, in the last resort, the House of Lords, as an impassable barrier between the poor and their oppressors ?

Public Tribute to the Memory of WILLIAM THE FOURTH.

July 10, 1837.

[Flattery may beset the portals of living princes, but it visits not the tombs of kings. Its siren voice may breathe delicious poison upon the mind of the possessor of a throne; but it seeks not the gloomy vault where departed royalty reposes, to insinuate the subtle charm into the "dull cold ear of death." Truth, which is too often scared from the council chamber of kings, may take undisturbed possession of the palace, where the hand that wielded the sceptre is nerveless, and the diadem and royal robe are laid aside for the mouldering weeds of mortality. We have no inducement to say anything but the truth of WILLIAM IV. Do we say more than the truth, in saying, that if ever the monarch of a mighty realm laid aside the cares of an earthly crown, amid the deep and heartfelt regrets of a great people, it was the late KING, who had truly earned, by the parental virtues of his reign, amid which his clemency shone pre-eminent, a prouder title, a nobler distinction than is achieved by any conqueror-that of FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY?—June 21st.]

THE spontaneous tribute of affectionate sorrow, which was paid to the memory of our late revered Sovereign, WILLIAM IV., on Saturday, the day when his remains were committed to the tomb of his ancestors, testified more strongly to his virtues, than the most eloquent and elaborate eulogy of orator or poet. Compared with such an unforced, unbought, and unpurchaseable testimony to the exalted worth of him who lately swayed the sceptre of the mightiest of empires, and who now sleeps within the "narrow house," what were the pageant honours lavished upon the unconscious clay! What the "pride of heraldry," and the voice of courtly panegyric!

It is not the adulation of slaves, but the generous regret of a free people, that has sanctified the obsequies, and embalmed the memory of England's sailor-KING. Bred upon the ocean, his youth was familiar with danger and fired with manly emulation. * Removed in boyhood from the luxuries. and flattery of a palace, he shared, without repining, the roughness, the hardships, and the privations of a sailor's life. On that element, though a prince of the royal blood, he knew how to respect his superiors in professional rank-he learned to

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esteem and admire the merit that achieves its own distinction— nor less was he taught by our ocean warriors, that it is the part of a brave man to feel for misfortune, and to respect a fallen foe. Well might the captive Spanish Admiral, LANGARA, who had felt the prowess of the immortal RODNEY, wonder at beholding the son of the KING of Great Britain standing uncovered in his presence-well might he exclaim, Truly England deserves the empire of the seas, when princes of the blood fill the humblest stations in her navy." Such an incident had not happened since the gallant son of EDWARD III., commonly called the BLACK PRINCE, stood behind the chair of the captive JOHN, the French King, and the distinguished prisoner was waited upon by the most youthful of his con

Of the perils of the future KING upon the ocean, independently of those of battle, one circumstance may serve as an example. It is thus related by his historian:

"In a storm, off Cape Finisterre, the Duke, of 90 guns, Captain Sir Charles Douglas, and the Prince George, on board of which last was the royal midshipman, were driven so close together, that to use the sailors phrase, you might have tossed a biscuit from one ship to the other. Had a collision taken place, one, if not both ships would have gone to the bottom; but, through the extraordinary exertions of the respective crews, and the good management of the officers, the threatened danger was averted."

HE, whose voice bids the tempest blow, and calms the raging sea, preserved the life of the youthful PRINCE for the fulfilment of the higher destinies which he was to accomplish, when in the character of a sailor-KING he steered the labouring vessel of the State, through a stormy sea and amid rocks and quicksands, into the harbour of peaceful and constitutional reform.

Whoever would pourtray his character as a Sovereign, must make clemency one of its most prominent features. That beautiful attribute, which softens the sternness of power without impairing its dignity, was not with him the offspring of state policy, but the emanation of a naturally kind and merciful disposition. More than one anecdote of his earlier life, have been related in the journals in confirmation of this. It is gratifying to those who like to trace consistencies of character

through the life of a distinguished individual, to find that he, who, when on the throne, so exercised the prerogative of mercy, as to stay executions in the metropolis of the British empire during the space of three years, had signalized himself—soon after his entrance into the naval service by drawing up and presenting a petition on behalf of a brother midshipman, condemned to death at Jamaica, for insubordination; and who, but for his timely and successful interference, would inevitably have been executed.

"Ye who love mercy teach it to your sons !"

WILLIAM IV., as the "father of his people," taught it, by his kingly example, to all his children. The old Romans awarded the civic crown" to him who saved the life of a fellowcitizen. Our late beloved sovereign never wore upon his manly brows the crown of a free people with so much pleasure, as when he was performing acts of charity, beneficence, and mercy.

We know that the day before his death, conscious that his death drew near, but full of fortitude and holy resignation, he spoke with confidence of being able to "get through the business of another day,"-for his mind to the last, true to the character of a patriot-KING, was upon the service of the country. Looking calmly on death, and prepared to lay aside his earthly crown, with an humble hope of an incorruptible one, he was resolved to perform the duties of his station, as long as the state of his physical powers would permit. He did, as he anticipated, get through another day's business ; and what was that business, or, at least, an important part of it? Placing the sign-manual to the pardon of three criminals, previously to its passing under the great seal. To that document we understand his signature is remarkably firm. Thus were his last moments blessed in the performance of acts of mercy. How poor and perishable are the garlands of conquerors, compared with those trophies of humanity which adorned his reign, and shed their mild lustre on his dying bed! WILLIAM IV., loved his country with a Briton's love, and a sailor's devotion. The pupil of RODNEY, and the firm friend of