TOPICS OF THE DAY.
SIGNS OF A POPULAR ADMINISTRATION.
WHEN men of capital hoard up their treasure, or invest it in foreign funds, we are apt to suspect that there is something rotten in the state of public affairs,—that the Government is weak, or the People inclined to turbulence ; or, for some cause or another, that political convulsion is apprehended. When such is the case, projects of national improvement are discouraged; large under- takings are suspended ; the Finance Minister pays heavy interest for his borrowed money ; the poor-rates are augmented; foreign trade languishes; the Gazette is crowded ; and men cut their throats.
If the Tories speak truth, this ought to be the state of affairs in England at present. }'or, according to the Tories, the domi- nant party in the country is factious and revolutionary ; the Mi- nisters are the contemptible agents of this faction; every valuable and time-honoured institution in the land is in jeopardy ; an un- scrupulous de ma gog ue—" a rancorous-mouthed ruffian "—wields the whole power of the Government, insulting the King and bearding the Aristocracy. This is what the Tories say in their speeches and writings, usque ad nauseam. Now glance at the actual state of affairs. We find that many millions of money are in the process of being laid out on railways, without the least prospect of any return for several years to come, but in the full confidence of continued prosperity. New manufac- tories are springing up in various parts of the country. A Glasgow paper states that at no former time were so many persons engaged in building houses in that city as at present. In all the other principal towns there are similar marks of prosperity. The num- ber of private acts passed last session for local improvements was unusually large. Our dock-companies are increasing their dividends. Newly-built steam-boats crowd our rivers. The trade to Canton has been extended prodigiously ; and we ara not aware that it is on the decrease to any part of the world. The Poor- rates have been reduced one-third within the last year. The Slavery Loan was negotiated on terms unprecedently low. The Three per Cents. are at 911" The disposition of the People is to be tranquil and contented : they meet by the hundred thousand together, and not a single act of violence is committed. And yet, say the Tories, the Government is incapable, unpo- pular, feeble, and revolutionary ! Do these persons expect to be believed ? Not in England, certainly. But on the Continent ? No—they cannot hope to make fools of Louis PHILIP, Merren- ?nett, ANCILLON; and NESSELRODE. Those Ministers know well enough what are the signs of a discontented people and an odious government ; and if the Tories swore till they were black in the face that their ridiculous calumnies were true as the gospel, they would be only laughed at by the shrewd statesmen we have named. Facts give the lie to the Tory assertions ; and until the baffled Opposition can produce facts to back their pottle-deep harangues and flaming newspaper articles, they may as well bottle up their eloquence and their ink.
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