A FAIR TRIAL.
"Give us a fair trial," is the present amount of the Tory demand. Their title to it is founded upon various reasons or assertions, of which the following are the most prominent,—lst, That they have for ever abandoned their own political principles, and adopted those of their opponents ; 2d, That they are now prepared to substan- tiate that abandonment, by carrying into effect the very measures which through the whole course of their existence they have de- nounced as unnecessary or pernicious; 3d, That every opinion formerly held by thsm, sworn before God and man to be based on unalterable conviction, is finally retracted as false or worthless ; and lastly, That, acknowledging their previous treason to the People, and sincere in the repentance of their manifold crimes, they desire to continue in office, under a pledge to follow that identical line of conduct for pursuing which, they procured the dismissal of their predecessors. The case is without a parallel in history, or in life. The Duke and his colleagues contend, not merely that they are converted to political virtue, but that they are more worthy of confidence than those who have never once swerved from its path; that they, reformed rogues, are more fitted to do the work of honest men than honest men themselves; that, after lives spent in plundering the People and trampling upon their rights, they are now the only persons qualified to guard their remaining wealth, or to protect their reviving liberties. They urge the badness of their previous character as a security for their future good behaviour; avowed traitors, they ask to be trusted; convicted liars, they require faith to be given to their words ! What would be thought of the banker who, having dismissed his cashier for gross fraud, took him back to his em pl oyment and restored him to the control of his money- bags? Would he not almost deserve to be swindled for his credulity and imprudence! In what respect do the Reforming Tories differ from dishonest clerks? Are they not now grounding their confi- dence on hypocritical repentance for former deeds of evil ? Were they not discharged and disgraced, as servants un- worthy of trust, in 1830; and what have they done since to deserve the confidence they now claim? Where is the measure of public good they have not thwarted, of liberal and safe advancement they have not opposed, of enlightened legislation they have not bedarkened, of extravagance they have not supported, of abuse they have not defended ? Place their former deeds against their present promises, and strike the balance. " A fair trial" indeed! Why, the woman taken in adultery had a better right to be re- ceived back unsuspected into her husband's arms, than the Tories have to regain the confidence of the public. It remains for us to notice, and we shall merely glance at, some of the instances in which" a fair trial" has already been granted to the King's Ministers. The specific acts of which they have been guilty since their accession to office may be enumerated as follows.
1. In order to colour their pretended desire for Reform, the Premier demanded the assistance of Lord STANLEY and Sir JAMES GRAHAM; whose sole merit in his eyes consisted in their having shown a disinclination to remove certain "acknowledged abuses."
2. In taking KNATCHETILL and STORMONT to his counsels, he proved that his Reformers were persons hating its very name. In receiving Sir GEORGE MURRAY, he recorded his approval of dis- regarding solemn pledges. 3. He dissolved a Parliament favourable to Reform, in the hope ef getting another hostile to it. 4. He intrusted the mighty empire of India to an avowed enemy of liberty, and a determined supporter of tyranny in what- ever shape it can be found. He selected the abhorred name of A COURT for the homage of Hindostan. 5. He appointed the notorious and imbecile LONDONDERRY to represent free England at the court of the destroyer of Poland.
.6. He named a Church Commission ; and, because he has given Bishop BLOMFIELD a razor,- he asks the People to believe that his spiritual Lordship will commit felo de se.
7. He attempts to foist his Tory parasite into the seat of the first Commoner of England, as a recompense for work done in the back-stairs ; while a Peerage would not only be more suited to the man, but a more appropriate reward for his services. We shall not continue the list, although materials for doing so are abundant. If Sir ROBERT PEEL has not yet been fully tried, he has at least been snore fairly tried than ever Lord MELBOURNE "VV/1. But, in the view of the rapacious Tories, nothing can be fair that deprives them of office. They are already proclaiming That the ultimate verdict of the jury summoned by themselves
will be foul and partial ; and indeed, it is scarcely to be expecte that they will approve of their own sentence of condemnatioi The worst Old Bailey criminals are said to complain loudes of injustice ; and, no doubt, in this respect at least, the Tone will imitate their example. But, foul-or fair, the trial is over, an the day is at hand when the delinquents are to be brought up fo judgment.
If Ministers are sincere in their professions of amendment, the will iw able to prove that sincerity as well, and their disinterested ness better, out of office than in.
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