21 FEBRUARY 1835, Page 13

THE TRUE POLICY OF THE WHIGS.

THE Tories would fain tempt the Whigs to their destruction. They are labouring assiduously to separate them from the body of the People, and to alarm some and bribe others into a desertion of their : party. This was Mr. Perr's game; and it succeeded admirably in his hands. Towards the close of the last century, the Whigs dwindled into a party of' remarkable insignificance. The FITZ- WILLIAMS and PORTLANDS were first Coaxed and then insulted. The end of the Minister had been gained: he had broken down the fssce of the Opposition, consolidated his own influence, and could then afford to dispense with the support of the deserters. The People saw little to choose between the two oligarchical factions, : that contended for place and power, and consequently the Whigs had no point d'appui against the Minister. To this day they would have remained in that powerless condition, had they not thrown themselves into the arms of the Reformers. The result of this union was the defeat of Toryism, She carrying of the Reform Act, and the restoration of the Whig Aristocracy to the highest offices of State.

The Tories now seek to dissolve the connexion between the ; Reformers and the Whigs, in order that the reins of Government may be placed in their own hands for another half century. This can only be done by seducing credulous or treacherous Whigs into a ! support of the existing Ministry. The arguments employed for this purpose are of the same description as those used with such effect by Mr. Pim It is pretended that the established institutions of , the country are in danger; that democracy is making awful strides l 1#:swards the overthrow of the monarch and that it has become y; the duty of all men of propel ty and rank to lay aside party dieer- ences and unite for the support of the Throne and the Church. The meaning of all this is, that the Tories find themselves in a minority in Parliament and the country ; that Toryism is in danger, and that Oleic only safet) lies in the divisions of their adversaries. This is palpable: the trick succeeded once; but surely the Whig's of the present day have too clear a recollection of the ruin which fel lowed the division of their party some forty years ago, to be taken in again.

Suppoee, however, that any considerable number of real or pre- tended alarmists should join the Tories, what would be the come- quesee to the Whigs? Would the change add to the existing securities against the march of democracy ? On the contrary, it would isioder the quarrel between the People and the Aristocracy more bitter ; and time IV hig leaders, instead of being the safeguards of their order—the leaven of liberality in the mass of bigoted high Ter) ism—would become more odious than the Tories themselves • the) would be busked upon, and justly, as traitors as well as aris- toerats. This would answer the purpose of the Tories admirably, but it would give a finishing-blow to the Whig party.

A dissolution may occur any day : what would be the fate of the Waverers and Rats it hen returned to their constituents? There would be three parties—Reformers, Tories, and W big deserters. To suppose that the Tories would drop their own candidates to sup- port the damaged Whigs—whose ruin it had been their object to bring about—is absurd. The Reformers would spurn them with contempt. Where then would they find a resting-place ? Their boroughs, except half a-dozen perhaps, are disfranchised.- They would have greater difficulty in getting into Parliament than ever. In fact, the party would almost disappear from the House of Com- mons ; while Reformers and Tories would recruit their strength vastly.

But, on the supposition that the Whigs adhere to the principles, the profession of which has been the main cause of their recent success and existing influence, the case would be far different. Multitudes who hung back in distrust at the last election, would press forward to support them. Men who neglected to register their votes from a feeling of indifference and disgust at some of the exhibitions offoryism in the Government of Earl GREY, would be on the alert to secure the return of those who had proved them- selves to be Liberal Whigs. The foices that returned the trium- phant majority of 1832 would again be brought into play, and Toryism at length would indeed be laid low.

The Whigs have the choice in their own hands. A manly and direct course of conduct must insure victory. Desertion to the Tories, or wavering in opposition to them, will prove the destruction of their party. The Whigs stand in a peculiar positisn. They are a minority iu the Aristocracy ; the Squirearchy as a hely are against them ; the Church bates and dreads them; the middle classes, the bone and marrow of the nation, are disposed to accept them for leaders, and able to make them victorious over all, their enemies. It is an insult to the understandings of grown-up men to suppose that they will hesitate as to which side they ought to choose. But it is the constant aim of the Tory press to prevail on theist to commit political suicide, in imitation of the Alarmists of 1790. We do not believe the Whigs to be such idiots. A few weeks, however, will determine the question.