( 589 ) 



CAN THE TORIES TAKE OFFICE AFTER ALL ? 



THE consternation and dismay avowed by some of our contempo- 

 raries, upon the rather unceremonious dismissal of the Whig ministers, 

 by his Majesty, are feelings in which, we must confess, we do not 

 participate. Our surprise and great it was undoubtedly presented 

 no tinge of consternation, and was wholly untinctured by dismay. 

 There is nothing in the aspect of affairs at the present juncture, that 

 can for a moment be supposed to justify, or even to excuse the in- 

 dulgence of despondency. The people need not betake themselves 

 to sackcloth, or make hair-powder of ashes, or wring their fingers 

 out of joint, although the times may appear to be so. The Tories 

 would fain try another fall with the nation. They had te a dying 

 fall" about four years ago, but they are not yet dead. Another close 

 hug, " as though you loved them," and they are extinguished for 

 ever. They would pick the last crow in the rookery of corruption 

 with us. Be it so. We have got the bill they cling sadly and des- 

 perately to the tail ; and it shall go hard with us if we show a white 

 feather during the operation. 



The particular causes that led to the extraordinary step taken by 

 his Majesty, of ejecting the ministry from his counsels, by the neck 

 and shoulders, are, as yet, enveloped in mystery. We shall wait 

 patiently for its elucidation, contenting ourselves, in the meanwhile, 

 with offering our own opinions upon the matter without scruple, 

 reserve, or qualification. If the present compact cabinet chooses to 

 hold its peace, the nation, at all events, should speak out ; and if we 

 have not even an explanatory Burleigh shake of the head, it is time 

 that our heads should begin to shake. 



Political motives that superinduce mystery are, in all probability, 

 bad motives. It has become a thing of custom, when bad motives 

 are assumed, to turn a suspicious eye towards the Tories. In a word, 

 the Tories are at the bottom of this business. Does the reader suppose, 

 for one moment, that the dismissal of the Whig ministry was the 

 prompt and unprompted act of his Majesty ? Does he imagine that this 

 act,|which in good time and happily, has brought the reformers to their 

 senses, and knitted them instantaneously into a firm and invincible 



M.M. No. 108. 4 G 



