TOPICS OF THE DAY.

THE MASSES versus THE MINISTRY.

THE speech of Sir ROBERT PEEL, in justification of his abandon- ment of the Anti-Catholic party, must be fresh in the recollection of most of our readers. He yielded to the force of public opinion, as expressed in the divisions of the House of Commons. The majority was sometimes in favour of removing Catholic disabili- ties, sometimes against the concession; but Sir ROBERT disregarded the mere numbers when they were so nearly balanced, and looked more especially to the constituencies represented by the opposing parties. n I have, he said, carefully looked over the division-lists of the debates upon this subject ; I have examined the constituencies on either side of the question ; and I find the Representatives of the great and important constituencies on one side, and those of the smaller places on the other ; and I yield to the force of public opinion. For a numerical majority of Members in Parliament is net what I consider an indication, that is a fair indication, of public opinion ; I am bound to look at the weight and importance of those who elect and send Members; and I cannot conceal from myself that the preponderance is great, and all upon one side, namely, in favour of the claims being granted."

He then went into a number of calculations which made good the general assertion we have quoted. We propose to adopt the same rule which Sir ROBERT PEEL selected as the fairest, in order to estimate the comparative strength of parties in the New House of Commons, the elections to which are almost completed. The criterion has lost none of its value since 1829 ; and if it shall ap- pear that the preponderance is against the Ministry now as it was then, we shall have a right to call on Sir ROBERT, if he be in- deed the consistent person he declares himself, to resign his post as head of an unpopular Administration. It must be borne in mind that the new Ministers have been on their trial; and that the result of the elections is the national verdict upon their capacity and fidelity.

Let us first take the principal Cities and Boroughs of England. The following have returned Anti-Ministerial Members-

Population.

The Metropolitan cities and bo- roughs (in 1831) 1,500,000 Manchester 187,000 Salford 40,00(1 Birmingham 147,000 Sheffield 92,00(1 Wolverhampton 67,000 Newcastle-upon-Tyne ...... 53,000 Portsmouth 50,000 Devonport 44,000 Nottingham 51,090 2,231,000 The following are neutralized, having returned one Tory and one Anti-Tory.

Leeds I Sunderland Liverpool Exeter

Hull Brighton.

The only large places which have returned two Tories, are Nor- wich and Bristol; the population of which is as follows.

Population.

Bristol 104,000 Norwich 62,000 166,000 On the large Cities, therefore, the account will stand thus-

Population.

Anti-Tory 2,231,000 Tory 166,000 2,065,000

This gives a balance of two millions against Sir ROBERT.

Now for the Counties. The following have either elected all Anti-Ministerialists, or a majority opposed to the Government.

Population.

Yorkshire (in 1831) 1,371,000

Middlesex 1,358,000 Durham 253,000 Stafford . . 410,000 Sussex 272,000 Devonshire 494,000 Cornwall 301,000 Rutland 19,000 Somersetshire 402,000 Worcestershire 211,000 Herefordshire 110,000 Lincolnshire 317,000 5,518,010 The next list is that of the Neutralized Counties.

Norfolk Gloucestershire Wiltshire Northumberland Cheshire Kent Warwickshire Bedfordshire Hampshire Huntingdonshire Derbyshire Monmouthshire Surry Cumberland

The Tory Counties follow-

Dorsetshire , Berkshire Essex 159,000 14.5,000 317,000

Hertfordshire ... ... ......... ...

143,000 Leicestershire ............... ......... 197,000 Northamptonshire 119,000 Shropshire 222,000

Suffolk

296,000 Buckinghamshire 146,000 Oxfordshire 152,000 Nottinghamshire

0-25,000

Cambridgeshire 143,000 Westmoreland 55,000 Lancaster 1,335,000 3,714,000

It will be seen by this list, that we have given the Tories the benefit of the Doubtful gentlemen; but even with this aid, the numbers preponderate vastly against them-

Anti-Ministerial 5,518,000 Tory 3,714,000 1,804,000 A majority of nearly two millions in the Counties, despite the fifty-pound clause. It is not worth while to go into the Welsh calculations, as they could only very slightly affect the result on either side. Gla- morganshire, the largest county, is on the Reforming side ; and Carmarthenshire, the next, is neutralized.

SCOTLAND furnishes an equally dismal account for the Duke. The Reforming Cities and Towns are-

Edinburgh 162,000

Glasgow

202,000 Aberdeen

58,000

Dundee 55,000

Paisley

31,000 Greenock 25,000 Perth 2.5,000

Leith (with its adjoining districts Z30000 of Portobello and Musselburgh s ,

588,000

This statement has only one side to it. There is not a single large town or city in Scotland that has returned even one Tory.

Ministers have been a little (not much) better treated in the Counties, as far as the returns go; and they embrace every large county except Fife and Renfrew, which are all but certain to go against them.

The Anti-Tory Counties are- A rgyleshire 101,000 Ayrshire 145,060

Forfarsbire 139,000 Lanarkshire 316,000 Perthshire: 142,000

843,000 The following have returned Tories-

Mid Lothian. 219,000 Aberdeenshire 177,000 Stirlingshire 72,000

468,000

Balance against the Tories by deducting the latter from the former sum 375,000 It might perhaps be considered an unfair advantage to call in the aid of the Irish population, which would of course vastly swell the numbers against Ministers. We shall therefore merely remind the Tories, that the capital, with a population of 250,000, and Limerick with 66,000, are not on their side ; that Belfast is neu- tralized; and that Cork, which they have for the present, they will inevitably lose. As for the Counties, our sum-total against the Tories is so formidable already, that we can afford to " bate" thein the wild millions of Munster and Connaught.

But taking England and Scotland alone, Sir ROBERT PEEL may learn from the foregoing figures, that in the large Cities and Towns there is a majority of 2,653,000 against him, while in the Counties he is beaten by 2,179,000.

According to his own rule in 1829, the question is decided against him; for the masses will not have him for Minister. In addition to this, he is numerically weaker in the House. In whatever light he views his position, he must discover his unpo- pularity. A few votes more or fewer are of no consequence. The MASS OF THE NATION we have found to be ANTI-MINISTERIAL. We have turned Sir ROBERT PEEL'S arguments against himself. They were irrefragable in 1829, and he cannot break them now.