No incident illustrates more forcibly the magnitude of what Sir

Robert Peel has done for the country, than the remarkable contrast between the last Whig attempt to form a Cabinet and the present completion of one. Then, all was embarrassment, diffi- culty, impossibility : now, all is smoothness and facility. Then, the cry was, what will Lord John Russell do to carry Corn-law Repeal? how can he muster a Cabinet 9—now, the Corn-laws are out of the way, and the Cabinet is formed. It was so much a matter of course that there was no anxiety about it—nothing be- yond the commonest curiosity. It was not expected that the Russell Whig Cabinet would be more than a revival of the Melbourne one ; and so, in its elements, it proves to be. This is the list.

IN THE CABINET

Lord Chancellor Lord Cottenham.

President of the Council. Marquis of Lansdowne. Lord Privy Seal Earl of Minto. Home Office Sir George Grey.

Colonial Office Earl Grey.

Foreign Office Viscount Palmerston. First Lord of the Treasury Lord John Russell. Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr. Charles Wood. Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster Lord Campbell. Paymaster-General Mr. Macaulay.

Woods and Forests Viscount Morpeth.

Postmaster General Marquis of Clanricarde. Board of Trade Earl of Clarendon.

Board of Control Sir John Cam Hobhouse.

Chief Seeretary for Ireland Mr. Labonchere. Admiralty Earl of Auckland.

NOT IN THE CABINET.

Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland Earl of Besborough.

Commander-in-chief Duke of Wellington.

Master-General of Ordnance Marquis of Anglesey.

Here we see the old familiar cards, only shifted. Still there is change both in the adaptation of men to particular offices and in the circumstances ; and on the whole the change is for the . better.

In glancing down the list, the eye is first stopped by the name . of Sir George Grey. as Home Secretary. Although not unknown for ability in official routine, and although Sir George made a marked improvement in his style of speaking, (relieving the fluent lame with smart personalities,) he has yet to show what powers he hastagndertake this very important office. Times are tranquil, but they may not always be so ; and the Home Secretary cannot " exchange" at the prospect of danger, like a dandy officer. And even to suppoit a comparison in mere administrative ability, the successor of Sir James Graham has no light task.

"Foreign Office—Viscount Palmerston" : well,the fear of that sound has passed. The troublesome dangerous questions in America are settled—just in time. Lord Palmerston, with capital tact, improved the last opportunity to pay a propitiatory visit to Paris, and assuaged old rancour& in that quarter. Moreover, the lesson which was received at Christmas, when the same appointment of Foreign Secretary destroyed a Ministry in em- bryo, no doubt taught the Whig leaders that Lord Palmerston's licence must be settled beforehand ; and it is to be presumed that a clear understanding has been come to on that head. The fact that Earl Grey, who protested before, has consented to sit in the Cabinet now with the very clever Viscount, is some guarantee. Of Lord Grey, in the Colonial Department, the very highest expectations are formed. Should he disappoint them, it will be a public misfortune ; as the chances of party have put forward no second statesman to supply the place which he is expected to fill.

Mr. Charles Wood possesses aptitude for finance, knowledge, and general ability ; and good is augured from his elevation to the Exchequer.

Lord Clarendon has earned a reputation in commercial diplo- macy; he has also the reputation of earnestness and soundness of view: the way for a Minister of Commerce is now so well marked out that he can scarcely fail.

The reappointment of Sir John Hobhouse—lazy, negligent, and an abettor of the Afghan war—is unpopular with the Indian public at home, and will be so in India : it is too great a con- cession to individual " claims " upon party connexions. Lord Auckland also lost as well as won laurels in the East. Lord Ellenborough succeeded him in India as Vice-King, and now he succeeds Lord Ellenborough at the Admiralty as First Lord : so there is party compensation at least.

Lord Besborough, when Lord Duncannon' was well known to the public as a liberal but thoroughgoing Whig ; Irish affairs are well known to him ; but it is not so well known whether he has the peculiar capacity for coping with the great " difficulty " of the day. The Duke of Wellington opened his mouth on Monday to do little more than utter a kind of general order announcing the re- tirement of the Ministry. Afterwards, at a private interview with Lord John Russell, he is said to have declared that hence- forth his mouth is to be closed on political subjects : he relapses into the mere military commander. ' So he says; but we look forward yet to some bits of his plain naive good sense on suit- able occasion.

Such is the Cabinet : whit is its Premier ? Recently we feared that he was the same punctilious cadet of "the house of Bedford" who would have headed a, crusade to preach the particular doc- trines of Lord John, but would not soil his glove in any other quarrel. Some rumours, however, indicate conversions on his part too. According to their showing, he has become alive to a true sense of thejuncture, has looked a little beyond the Whig

circle, and actual i

ly has invited to join his Ministry the most popular young members of the late Government—even the three named by the Spectator, Lord Dalhousie, Lord Lincoln, and Mr. Sidney Herbert ! The invitation failed of immediate effect ; but the will may be taken for the deed. We begin to suspect that Lord John is a more promising student of living history than- we gave him credit for being ; and we shall watch his new career with interest. He left office at a time of commercial difficulty and impending revolt : he returns to it in time of prosperity, profound tranquillity at home, and peace with all the world. His old diffi- culties have vanished : Ireland has grown to be one for the Whigs as well as for their political rivals ; but the great new difficulty is to keep pace with the immense progress achieved while he has been out of office. Surely, however, be may count on a fair trial in that arduous enterprise.