OPINION IN TOWN AND COUNTRY.
MORNING CH !IONIC LE—The "march of intellect" has been exceedingly rapid within these few months. Among other things, we have discovered that the lessons of history are quite useless. For instance, it used to be be- lieved, on the faith of history, that towns were favourable to knowledge and independence—that from towns, as so many centres, civilization has been diffused over countries,and that ignorance and prostration of mind prevailed in the ratio of the distance from towns. In former times it would not have been taken for granted that public opinion in England ought to be sought for in the wealds of Kent; or round Dartmoor, or in Wales. What do the people of London, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Norwich think ? would have been the first question. Now, however, we have ex- ploded all these notions. In ascertaining public opinion in England, towns ought to be left quite out of consideration. In France, public opinion ought to be sought after in Brittany or Auvergne; in Scotland, round Ben Nevis ; and in England in the wealds of Kent or Sussex. In Leeds the Bruns- wickets dare not call a meeting; in Manchester they are equally afraid ; hi Liverpool we hear nothing of them ; there is not a movement in all Scotland ; and, lastly, in this metropolis we hear nothing of them. We are to presume then, that because in all these places, that used formerly to be taken as the centres where public opinion could be most satisfactorily ascertained, not one word has been said in favour of Brunswick clubs, therefore the people of England are to be presumed hostile to further concessions to the Catholics, because the only part of a population which ought to have an opinion in such a case is that which is at such a distance from towns, and under the influence of the Aristocracy.
STANDARD—We beg to remind the Morning Chronicle, that Exeter is a city, and that, therefore, it can be no longer contended that the rural popu- lation only are resolved to preserve their constitution. New ground must now be taken : Leeds and Exeter have shown that even an abode in towns will not change the nature of Englishmen ; and we trust that similar mani- festations of English feeling will before Christmas drive our opponent to the last refuge of Liberalism and Popery, St, Giles's.
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